She Healed Me | Severus Snape

Chapter 44

Hello hello! This chapter is going to be a little more focused on Lucia and Severus's emotional states. I know we kind of already explored that, but I want to show more of the aftermath (mentally) to what happened in the last chapter. And this may be a little filler-ish in the grand scheme of things, sorry about that.

Listen: This Is Not For You by Mac Quayle

44| love bombing

Things mostly seemed normal to Lucia after she decided to go back to Severus. They had been spending the evenings together grading again, which was a nice routine for them to settle into. They even helped each other prepare the final exams for their students. Well, they at least attempted to get them done. It was easy to become distracted when they were close. And there would be plenty of changes on the exams as the rest of the semester played out.

In fact, they settled so deep into a routine that Lucia nearly forgot about what happened to her a few months prior. That is until she received a letter from someone she hadn't expected to hear from again. It practically stunned her when that black owl showed up at her window one evening. And there her name was across the front of the envelope in that familiar handwriting.

Knowing she shouldn't procrastinate, Lucia opened the envelope to see just a short note inside. Kane was apologizing on Andrew's behalf, saying he wasn't entirely sure why he did what he did. Andrew was apparently under house arrest at their family manor. His friend, who she didn't bother to remember the name of, had been taken to Azkaban in the end. She would need to thank Tonks for that. Kane ended the letter by stating neither him nor Andrew would contact her going forward, it was the end of their involvement.

After reading that last bit, Lucia couldn't help but mourn for her lost friend. They've known each other since they were young and constant events between their families kept them in close proximity. It made sense for them to continue a close bond into their school years. Andrew was always around when she needed someone to study with or when she needed to be away from her dorm mates. Lucia had other friends of course, like Gwen, but he was always her first choice. It's such an odd thing to think that she wasn't matched with him for marriage.

Oh how simple life would have been if Lucia would've been arranged to marry Andrew. She wouldn't have been quite as upset. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure she would have ever felt a deeper connection to him. He clearly had an infatuation with her for years. But she had never even considered seeing him as more than a friend. So perhaps an arranged marriage to him would have been just as catastrophic.

Either way, there was no point in dwelling on the past. Her divorce was finalized and Andrew would be confined for quite a while. It was time to put the entire Abbott family at the back of her mind. There were far more pressing things to focus on, such as the direction her life is going.

Of course Lucia was referring to Severus there. She wouldn't get ahead of herself though, no that's how they got off track just recently. But she could plan on being with him for the foreseeable future. She truly felt in her soul she was in it for the long haul with him. And she knew he was the long term commitment type as well. She didn't want to ponder too much over that line of thought however. The idea of marrying Severus was appealing, but she could live without it.

But that was enough of that thinking Lucia decided after looking over Kane's note one more time. She then drew herself a bath, soothing oils and all, and made herself a cup of chamomile tea. She let out a long sigh as she sunk into the water, completely letting go of the tension in her body. It was so nice she could have fallen asleep right there. Yet she forced herself to stay alert so she wouldn't prevent herself from sleeping that night.