The Ten Year Hex [Severus Snape]

13

Jynx opened her eyes to the black of night, the dim light from the street lamps filling the space just beyond the room. Severus' breath tickled the top of her head, he was still sleeping. Their bodies were tangled together, still naked. The destruction of her material life still lay in ruins around them, yet she felt content. As if she had finally toppled to the side of the fence she belonged on.

She basked in the steady rise and fall of the chest beneath her head, the warmth of his skin against her. She wondered if she would be able to leave, if she really believed that she could. Had all of her threats been meaningless, even to her?

Severus began to stir, his arms wrapped her tighter. It was only then that Jynx realized how comfortable she had slept. There were no nightmares, no moonlit hauntings. She slept as if she hadn't a care in the world. She wondered if he had enjoyed the same rest, a time of deep slumber instead of restless sleep.

She pulled herself free, seperating from the comfort. Like the first step outside your warm home into the heavy snow outside. Her skin was instantly chilled.

She found her clothes among the destruction and slipped them on. Severus grunted and rolled as if looking for her. She found her wand and began to clear the shattered pieces, mending them back into their former shapes. Even if this was the last time she ever stepped foot in this place, the home she had known for so long, she wouldn't leave it in this condition. Though the things in it were replaceable, her time spent within its walls was not.

She glanced at the mass in the bed, still safely tucked away in sleep. He deserved better as well, better than she had greeted him with. Better, she suspected, than she could ever give him.

As she continued to fix and clear, things she hadn't thought about in years came to light. Long lost photos that had been tucked inside books. Letters received from family she no longer had. She found herself holding each like a precious gem, taking her time to trace her fingers over the corners and creases.

When everything was in order, all things returned to their rightful places, there was one thing still out of order. One thing still caught in the chaos. A crumpled piece of parchment lay on the floor behind the sofa. She flicked her wand but it didn't move. It had no place to go, it didn't belong. Her fingers shook as she picked up the discarded paper, she unfolded it carefully. As if she were afraid it might bite her.

She heard Severus stir, and heard the soft sound of fabric being shaken out. He muttered her name, but she didn't answer. Her fingers continued to pull on the wrinkled edges in her hand.

She felt her stomach tie itself. A knot that could hold a boulder over a cliff and not break. Then Severus' hands found her shoulders, the strength in them already pushing down the tension in her muscles. He placed the side of his face against hers, unsure of what she was doing, but watching intently. His chest rose and fell on her back as she finally fanned the page flat and dropped it, as if it had become a snake.

The page fluttered to the floor, the print clear but the intention left to assumption. A paw print, made with a mixture of blood and ink. Severus' head craned over her shoulder, looking at the discarded parchment. "It seems you have a dog problem," he sneered.

Severus had always hated Greyback, he disliked Demi, but he hated Greyback. He always had, since they were impulsive and lost children who had just joined a cause they didn't grasp the magnitude of. At least, she didn't grasp its magnitude. Perhaps he had, his experiences during that time vastly differed from her own. Where she saw the shadows and began to back away, Severus opened his arms until the shadows twisted them and took something he cared about.

"It's not just him, both you and Demi have mentioned others. We can't stay here."

Severus stepped back and she turned to face him, "Did you see him again?" he asked, his arms crossing over his chest.