A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 11: Apologies and Depression

NOTE: I'm not sure if it needs to be mentioned but there are some mentions of depression in this part. This chapter doesn't have a lot of plot things going on but it's mostly adult content. Enjoy. :)

Severus avoided Laura the following Monday; he didn't want to be reminded of the marks he left on her body. He still felt incredibly guilty for hurting her, even though it was an accident. Severus didn't find it difficult to avoid Laura, especially because she hadn't gone out of her way to find him.

Severus had all sorts of thoughts running through his head Monday. He wondered if Laura was going to end their relationship, he wondered if she was upset with him, he wondered if he had hurt her with what he had said, he wondered if he had messed everything up.

He passed Laura in a corridor as he headed to the potions room and Laura didn't even look at him. Severus glanced at her, realizing she didn't seem to be intentionally avoiding his gaze; she looked like she was deep in thought. Severus noticed she had a turtleneck sweater on, hiding her neck, which made his guilt grow heavier.

Severus felt his worries growing by nighttime when he realized Laura wasn't at dinner. Had he not nearly strangled Laura to death, he wouldn't have worried, but even with Severus's one glance at her earlier, he could tell she was feeling off and distant.

Later that night, Severus was doing his rounds of the school, making sure students weren't wondering the corridors. Usually, walking the halls at night gave Severus peace, but his mind was too focused on Laura. He realized he should have just talked to her, but he was afraid of what she would say.

Severus reached the fifth floor and trudged along slowly but stopped when he heard singing and piano music radiating from one of the classrooms. He walked over to the room, quietly pushing the door open. Both surprise and relief filled his body as he looked at the source of the music. Laura was the creator of those beautiful melodies and Severus stood, watching. He didn't even know she could play the piano. He didn't even know she could sing. Laura was so engrossed by what she was doing that she didn't even notice Severus had come in.

Severus took the opportunity to observe Laura playing and singing. He was amazed that he was still finding things to learn about her. Severus watched, curious as to how Laura could move her hands as quickly as she did along the piano. He watched her fingers dance along the keys, reminding him of how her fingers moved along the spines of books in the bookstore they went to on their first date. Severus noticed that Laura's eyes were closed as she played.

When she was finished with her song, Severus said, "I had no idea you could do that."

Laura nearly jumped as she looked at Severus and he saw a light shade of red fill her face, like no one had ever heard her play music. "Oh, um...yeah. I just hadn't played in a while. Dumbledore told me if I ever wanted to play, I should."

"How do you play with your eyes closed like you were doing?" Severus asked.

Laura shrugged. "I guess after a while, you just feel it. You feel where the keys are, and you know how your hands move along them."

"You know you can use magic to spell instruments to play whatever you want?"

A dreamy look formed on Laura's face. "There's a magic in learning to play yourself. There's a magic in letting your emotions seep from your fingers, into the keys. There's a magic in feeling the music in yourself." Severus found beauty in the fact that Laura didn't feel the need to wave a wand for everything. He found that to be something that attracted him to potions; it wasn't all about incantations or spells, it was about creating something from parts and pieces, like Laura did with her paintings and music.