The snake and the lion (Severus x OC)

5- Accident at the lake

The weeks passed and November arrived with the cold, the rain and the first snow.

Lily managed to leave the infirmary, and to her joy, her face was as perfect as ever, although she was not happy, because she had a lot of homework and overdue work. Even though the teachers had assured her that she didn't need to turn them in, she set to work steadfastly, helped by Rose and, surprisingly, by James.

The first day James sat next to Lily in the common room, all the Gryffindor students remained completely silent, waiting for a verbal attack from the redhead. However, she just looked at him and said: "Please don't make too much noise, will you?"

Rose knew that this change in attitude was the result of the Flying Objects that James had to stop every now and then. That was a practice they had decided to keep from Lily's nursing days, and they took it as a game. In fact, Lily's projectiles were launched every time with less force and with better intention.

Rose was happy about this change in attitude and the closeness of her friends, but deep down she was a bit uncomfortable, because Sirius was almost always next to James, and she no longer wanted to speak to him.

And it wasn't because the boy was avoiding her, on the contrary, Sirius was increasingly insistent in his flirtations. He followed her everywhere and took advantage of any moment to approach her and try to kiss her again, probably hoping that Lily's change in behavior would rub off on Rose.

Rose was tired of that situation. She couldn't talk to Lily as much as before, because James was always with her, and she couldn't be left alone with her other classmates, because then Sirius would appear ready to play Romeo.

Her only refuge was Severus.

After her panic episode in the dungeon, Rose began to trust him. Severus had not only listened to her but had also kept her secret. It would have been very easy for him to tell his Slytherin friends about her stupid fear of brewing potions, so they would laugh at her, but he didn't.

For her part, Rose decided to work even harder to improve her situation.

The next few lessons were more therapy than a potions class. Rose still needed time and help to overcome her fears, but knowing that her problem was emotional, she decided to study more about it, and ordered by owl several books that talked about overcoming trauma, to better understand how to deal with the issue.

Not wanting to give up on potions class, they continued meeting every day in the dungeon number three, repeating the same protocol: Rose dedicated herself to brewing the potion while Severus stood behind her to keep an eye on her and making her nervous.

The first few days, Rose felt very uncomfortable, because she still remembered her father and her body continued to show an intense reaction of panic and flight, but little by little, applying the techniques in her books, she learned to face those emotions in a different way, and she got her childhood memories replaced by what was happening in the present, and she began to feel better.

Severus tried to make her nervous to test her ability to concentrate, but true to his promise, he never touched her. He just watched her closely, like Slughorn did in class, and from time to time he got close enough that he could breathe on her neck and whisper little advice unexpectedly in her ear, with the coldest voice he could muster.

Once the initial discomfort was overcome, Rose did not feel bothered by that procedure. In fact, she felt more confident every day and was able to control her nervousness.

As the days went by, and they gained more confidence, they began to fill the lost minutes by talking about their lives and their problems. Rose found it very easy to vent and tell Severus things that not even Lily knew.