Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 3: Chapter 6: Invading Our Senses

Arc 3: Enraptured Revelation
Chapter 6: Invading Our Senses; Retrieving Their Own

All I could think about was food. My stomach was rumbling like it was an earthquake with its tremours. 

"I could get a pizza... or pasta... or steak... or..." I read aloud to the menu in front of me as images of the food spun around in my mind. Severus's eyes poked over the brim of the card. 

"You are aware you can read in your head, correct?" he reprimanded but he wasn't too serious about it.

I tutted my tongue in response and put my menu down on the table. "What if I was being kind and giving you ideas too?" 

He wanted to smile but he kept it to himself. "I am perfectly capable of deciding for myself-" I pointed my finger down to where I spotted his favourite food. "Well. Yes. That." he flustered after I caught him out. 

As a means to celebrate our halfway milestone in obtaining the Amulet of Ylgind's pieces, I decided not so subtly to go to a restaurant in Diagon Alley. Not only would it be a nice way to spend a rather pleasant and sunshiny day, but it also served as a way to scope out our next target: Gringotts. 

Our food promptly arrived to which we devoured it swiftly. For a short while, as it wasn't particularly busy, we lingered to discuss our situation.

"So," I begun. "it'll probably be located in one of the lower, more protected, vaults, wouldn't it? He didn't say it was in any specific vault so perhaps it's in a more general magical item preserve."

Severus nodded in agreement before replying in a hushed voice: "My vault is on the higher levels. I presume yours would be lower down but not that low down."

I gulped as I remembered that when I left, I lost access to the Fudge family vault. "Uh. No, I'm pretty sure I'm still excluded from accessing it. Father likely won't add me back anytime soon." I sighed reluctantly.

"You called him "Father" again." Severus pointed out.

I froze and the silence became deafening in awkwardness. "I-"

"You do not have to forgive him. He may be blood but that does not mean you owe him anything." he explained thoughtfully. I knew he was correct but it still hurt to think of myself as being a traitor.

"I know." I began to fiddle with my fingers anxiously. "It's just... After what he did to me and all I went through because of him, I thought I'd be able to throw him out of my life and hate him without ever looking back." My teeth nibbled at my lip. "And now he's trying to get back into my life and... he seemed genuinely remorseful, you know? But does that make anything that he did before good?"

"Not necessarily." he said, listening strongly.

"Every time I think about it, my stomach feels awful." Truthfully, I felt like I wanted to vomit everything I had just eaten when speaking about this. "I don't think we should always hold people to what they did in the past. You know that." He nodded once more. "What Dumbledore said... people blossom depending on the room we give them to grow. He could grow and change. I want to believe he had that potential."

My gaze drifted outside. There were people walking around the cobblestone streets and browsing the arrangements of goods inside store windows. Everyone had their own stories to tell. Fudge did too.

"But... not everyone does change. Ruberion didn't and it almost got me killed because of it. What if Father is like that? I don't want him to hurt me again." Tears began to prick at my eyes. Severus placed a supportive hand on mine to get me to stop the shaking I started. 

"You do not need to decide now. You do not ever need to decide if that is not what you wish. He had his opportunity for the life you spent with him and he wasted it. You owe him no kindness or opportunity and there is nothing on you for choosing to not grant it. There are still pieces of Ylgind to obtain as well. You may have an answer then, but it is acceptable to not have one."