Forever Yours [Book 2]

Chapter 69

Severus threw his bag on the floor of his sitting-room after he emerged from the fireplace. He was home, but it felt empty, especially since Amilia was back in his life. He glanced on the corner; the piano was covered with a cloth that was now covered with a fine layer of dust. His stomach turned the longer he looked at it; Amilia would kill him if she saw it at this moment. He walked over to it, lifted some of the cloth and the lid, and touched a couple of the keys. The sound the instrument emitted jarred his teeth. I need to get it tuned.

He wandered around his home; a table sat in the dining room, unused and littered with books and crates. Nothing in there looked worthy delving into at that time, neither did anything in his brewing room. "Sleep it is." Pushing aside the bookshelf, he ascended the stairs and entered his bedroom, threw himself down on the bed, and drifted off to sleep.

Amilia hummed while she cleaned her classroom, elbow deep in a bucket while scrubbing the floors. The House-elves did a fantastic job keeping the castle tidy. Still, they had a hard time keeping up with everything, with students from two other schools walking around and using the resources. Besides, this gave her time to think. I know that I am keeping everything locked away; I haven't even told my friends. She thought back to Aaron, expressing his feelings regarding the topic. She shook her head; she was sure they would support her in this choice, eventually. They only cared about her. That's what friends should do.

Amilia sighed, sat back on her heels, and wiped the sweat off of her brow, "I should still tell them. They would be hurt even more if I kept it a secret." But when? This weekend? No, Kylie is on vacation. She dumped the bucket out the open window and set it aside. This summer. That is when I will do it. We can plan a weekend and go somewhere lovely; Kylie could get away from the kids and...and...I can ruin the good mood. 

She dropped her head into her hands, "No, I could not do that to her. Why is this so hard!?"

"Professor?"

Her head snapped up, "Yes?" She grabbed a jacket nearby and threw it over her shoulders.

"I know that you are busy but I wondered if you had a moment?" Neville stuck his head into the classroom, having seen that she was washing the floor.

"Of course, what can I help you with?"

"Could you look over my potions essay? It is not due until Tuesday, but I want to do well."

Amilia smiled at him and held out her hand. The scroll floated over, and she opened it, her eyes scanning over the handwriting. "I can get this to you by Sunday night, that way you have Monday to make corrections or ask for more assistance."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Neville left, and Amilia tiptoed over her clean floors and sat at her desk. It was only Friday, so technically, her weekend had not started yet. If I get through this now, I can still spend as much as I want this weekend reading or cleaning.

Severus woke up; the sun filtered through his windows and the curtains surrounding his bed. I dreamt of you. Both of you. He stretched, showered, made breakfast, and sat down with a book. The small owl he had brought with him hooted sleepily in the corner, reminding him that he needed to send her a letter. Lily, you are not getting in the way this time. He closed his eyes, not this time.

After a little while, he wrote the note and sent the owl back to Hogwarts. Hopefully, Amilia would agree to at least having dinner with him. In the meantime, he busied himself with cleaning off the bookshelves.

The owl flew through her open window, dropped off a note, and left. Amilia set down her book and picked it up:

Amilia,