Serendipity [Book 2]

The Cold Light of Morning

A surprised shriek sent Snape flying up from his sleep. He looked around wildly, finding Ariella gone. He felt his heart stop until Ariella stomped out of the bathroom with her arms folded across her chest.

"You!" She screeched as Snape yawned.

"What is it now, you insufferable banshee?" He asked as his eyes drifted to the clock.

"This place is freezing! It's completely inhabitable!" Ariella whined with a pout. Severus's eyes widened.

"It's five in the morning, Cross!" He exclaimed with a scowl.

"So? Breakfast is at seven and both of us have to take a shower, which takes me back to my original complaint!" She answered. Ariella tilted her head to the side and folded her arms across her chest in annoyance. Snape only stared at her. He had long associated Gryffindors with tardiness and after last night, he had assumed she would sleep in. Instead she was standing at the foot of his bed, tapping her barefoot impatiently.

"What are you doing up?" Snape asked as Ariella frowned.

"I just told you! It is entirely too cold in here! The floors give my poor feet frostbite and your shower refuses to heat up! This is not how people are meant to live, Snape!" She exclaimed in exasperation as Severus climbed to his feet. After leaving the warmth of the tousled bed, he could understand Ariella's complaints. He journeyed to the bathroom and frowned when he noted she was right about the shower. Funny, he thought. He had never noticed it before.

"See? And I don't have my wand or I wouldn't have even disturbed you," Ariella commented as Sanpe nodded, understanding her frustration and helplessness. He easily casted a heating spell on the shower and smirked when Ariella's eyes lit up.

"Yay! A hot shower! Thank you, Snark!" She squealed in joy before launching herself at the unprepared Potions Master. She hugged him tightly before pushing him out of the bathroom.

"Now out! I shall be out in an hour!" She remarked before slamming the door in his face. Snape rolled his eyes before he turned back to the bed and took note of its disheveled appearance. His mind wondered how such a small woman could create so much havoc on his bedding in one night, while asleep. He shook his head at the thought. With Ariella Cross, he was beginning to think nothing was impossible.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Ariella was silently contemplating as she let the now hot water cascade down her naked form. She somehow felt empty without Snape's presence. Funny, she mused. She had felt instantly at home in the Potion Master's bed last night. It was no wonder the room felt cold when she left his embrace this morning. She thought a nice, hot shower would alleviate the cold that seemed to seep from the floors through her skin. She had also thought it would give her time to think about her feelings for the enigmatic Slytherin Head of House. She sighed in remembrance of their past embraces. She knew he'd never feel the way she did. Merlin knows she knew that and yet the Gryffindor in her told her to try anyways. Make him feel the passion she had felt since the previous year. She had no idea how she'd make him feel anything.

"Bollocks," she sighed as she turned the water off. She wrapped herself in a nearby Slytherin towel and searched for her clothes. Her eyes widened in remembrance she wasn't in her room and she had forgotten to get her clothes before coming into the bathroom. She cursed to herself before tightening the towel around her form, hoping it covered more than she felt it did. She opened the door slowly and stuck her head out.

"Hey, uh, Snape?" She called out sheepishly before uncertainly stepping out of the bathroom. Snape reentered the room and his wide eyes greeted her. He quickly regained his tongue.

"What are you doing, Cross?" He drawled, afraid to say anything more. She watched his eyes sweep her body, and she felt heat rise throughout her body.

"My clothes, I forgot them," she muttered. The two adults stared at one another, unsure of how to approach one another. Ariella watched Severus clench and unclench his fists several times before he sighed. He turned to the nightstand and lifted the package a small house-elf had left while Ariella had been in the shower.

"I believe these are what you are looking for," he remarked as he stretched his arm out, afraid to come any closer to the half-naked woman in his room.

"Umm, thanks," She replied softly as she took the package, keeping one hand firmly wrapped around the edge of the towel. Her fingers skimmed his and the two felt electricity surge from the brief contact. Severus jerked back and turned to leave the room until her voice stopped him.

"Severus, I... thank you for last night. I know you like your solitude," She commented before returning to the bathroom. Severus sighed as he closed his eyes.

I thought I did, he thought bitterly to himself. Severus let his mind traveled to the woman humming in his bathroom and he felt his breath leave him. The door opening and closing behind him distracted him and he turned to see Ariella dressed and attempting to comb out her wet curls.

"Stupid hair. I miss my wand," she mumbled darkly to herself before she looked up, catching Severus's stare.

"Oh, um, the bathroom's free," she remarked to ease the tension she felt between them. Severus nodded, unsure of how to respond. Honestly, he lost his composure around Ariella.

"Do you want me to wait for you? Or should I go ahead?" Ariella questioned. Snape stared at herbefore frowning.

"Stay," he answered curtly. Ariella nodded, agreeing with him. She smiled softly, happy he had wanted her to stay. Honestly, she didn't want to be alone at any time during the day. She had spent the time it took her to get dressed to come up with ways she'd always be with someone. During her classes, she had the students and Harry. During her breaks, she switch between Remus and Severus. Maybe she'd add Minerva to her list. The elder professor shuold probably know what happened.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Severus Snape watched different and varying expressions cross his colleague's features. At last, her face fell into a determined expression as her eyebrows scrunched together in the middle of her forehead.

"Cross, don't think," He remarked before turning and disappearing into the bathroom. He could imagine Ariella's response to his comment. He could see her looked surprised at first and then grow angry before settling on feeling indignant. She'd sprout out that he had no right to tell her what to do and that he should follow his own advice. He let the hot water skate down his naked back and soothe him. He didn't want to think about Ariella Cross, however, his mind refused to think of anything else. He scowled at his weakness over the woman. He wondered what thoughts crossed her mind when she had been the very same shower he was now standing in.

Had she thought of him?

Had she relived her terror last night?

Was she thinking about him now? He frowned at the thought.

Why did he want her to think about him?