His Obsession

To Love my Sister

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Aurora woke up to a very different Snape than the one she had healed the night before. He was back to his normal irate demeanor and he was using his favorite toy to take it all out on. She had already been reduced to tears three times that morning and it was only just after breakfast. The small sliver of softness she had witnessed in him last night was starting to seem like a hallucination. 

She was currently cleaning the dishes in the sink from breakfast by hand. He had told her that her cooking was disgusting after only one bite and shoved the plate away from him. He didn't care that she had told him she had never had to cook a meal a day in her life. Her punishment was to scrub the dishes by hand, and she was beginning to suspect he charmed them to stay dirty. Nothing was working to completely clean the pan. 

She was tired from taking care of him all night, and he rewarded her kindness with malice. Aurora didn't understand what she needed to do to please him. I should have let him die. She thought bitterly.

Her eyes were burning from the constant flow of tears and her hands were beginning to tire from scrubbing the stubborn pan that she had attempted to make eggs in. She sighed loudly and pushed her curls away from her forehead. A light sweat was beginning to dot her hairline and she suddenly felt really hot. 

She turned the water off and dropped the pan back into the sink. She pulled one of the dining chairs out from the table, and sat down. Her stomach grumbled loudly as her gaze landed on the burnt breakfast in the trash can. She really was starving. 

Eileen still had yet to show up again, and despite the elder woman's unpleasant attitude, Aurora figured she had to at least know how to cook. Snape had apparated away after barking his orders at her, and she tried not to care that he was gone but she did. Without him around, the air was always too silent. While she didn't love interacting in large social circles, she did need some manner of conversation. 

Her mind runs rampant with horrible thoughts and scenarios when left to its own devices. She fantasizes about running away, often. She knew Sirius would help her but something made her stay. 

Fear.

He would find her. She was marked now, and no matter where she went, the dark lord would be able to locate her. Snape would be directly behind him, and she knew when that happened there would be no hope for her. She would die, and it would be painful. Even though she wanted to be free from all of this with every fiber in her being, she wasn't ready to die.

Aurora gave the ruined food one last glare and began to walk out of the kitchen. She had no idea when Snape was to return. She knew she would regret leaving the pan if he came home early, but if she had to scrub it any longer she would go mad. Just as she was leaving the room a stray thought crossed her mind and she swiveled back around. 

She bit her lip in concentration as she looked over at the abhorrent dish. Thinking back to her house keeping lessons from when she was young, she walked over to the sink in contemplation. She moved her hand in an intricate manner and really focused on channeling her magic through her fingertips as she said, "scourgify." 

A frown marred her brow and she stared at the pan in anger. There was still a small film of burnt egg left on the bottom. 

"Um-hmm." Someone cleared their throat loudly from behind her. 

Aurora jumped nearly a foot into the air when she heard it. She turned to see Eileen in the doorway to the kitchen. "I didn't hear you get in." Aurora said in an explanation for her panicked reaction. 

Eileen cocked her head, "I used the floo." She said simply and walked over to the still pulled out chair. 

Aurora nodded slowly and turned back to the hopeless pan. She sighed loudly as she picked the sponge back up and started scrubbing it harshly once more. Now that Eileen was back, she lost any hope of being able to roam around the house freely.