Beauty in The Dirt -The Magic Behind Doors-

Chalice of Fallacy

Memories of the past consumed the deepest shadows of Severus' mind; swirls of colors, and mists of what once had been, transforming into light that devoured his darkness.

....... . .  .   .    .     .      .      .

Visions of Cassiopeia came storming through that darkness, surging forward fiercely and cutting through the pitch black like sunlight through the shadows.

Her whole body was drenched to the core, she was covered in dirt, and her lips were trembling. Long ebony hair was stuck to her face, her entire self covered in mud and filth-- beads of rain trickling down her cheek. The steady mist of water droplets suspended in the atmosphere began to spill from the night sky at a more rapid pace, the misty air turning bitter against her pale skin. An umbral gloom eclipsed the Forest in which she stood, a thick murkiness engulfing the earth below as the weather prevailed without preparation. The heavens roared with thunderous claps, lightening piercing the sky above and briefly shedding light upon the womans form. 

She was  weak. Power draining out of her in waves. The smell of her pale skin was faintly perfumed with lavender- a coppery aroma of wounds just below it. Snape's memory-self hesitated for moment, glaring at the uninvited presence of Cassiopeia Black.

So realistic was his memories, that his subconscious tasted the senses.

She attempted to shelter her wand wrist. He pushed her hand away and followed marred marks upon her flesh that stretched from the small of her palm all the way up to her neck. A few strands at a time, he peeled away her dripping wet hair; her head descending back to bare the havoc she had endured by the hands of the punishing Dark Lord. 

His eyes darted to her fading emeralds with shock. 

....... .  .   .    .     .      .       .

She was in his arms - a ragdoll of a witch - her magical signature fading with each step Snape's memory-self took.

....... .  .   .    .     .      .       .

Inside the warm confines of his private quarters within the castle, he could see with clarity just how exhausted Cassiopeia truly was. The dark circles underneath her eyes, the splotches of discoloration and ecchymosis along her skin-- the pallid paleness of her face all but giving away the state of her. Her sodden hair was sticking about her head and her dress clung to her womanly shape and curves. 

Severus couldn't help but gaze at her breasts that clearly shown beneath the saturated fabric. She truly was a sight to behold, even in her plight. He allowed himself a gander before meteorically setting to work.

He recalled the urgency. The vital need to put his potion mastering skills to a test.

In the moment, it had been nothing but that; a test. A challenge of his ingenuity and genius. Well.... of course there had been the fact, that- should Lucius had survived the Dark Lord's wrath, he would surely be infuriated if harm had befallen his newly acquainted love.

Oh, yes.... he had known. He had known early on of the affair between Cassiopeia Black and one Lucius Malfoy. He knew a many of things that others did not. Always had, always would. Yet, he had found it pointless to dwell on such things. 

Yes, he was a man-- a man with needs. But he hadn't indulged himself in such necessitates in a dogs years. After the loss of Lily, he'd become a monk of sorts. However, the urges were still there. Afterall, the caveman dwells within us all, and he had made home within the dungeons. As it was in those days, he merely kept himself busy with his double life and Potion making, to take heed of those rising needs.