Darkest Desire

25. Lost Chances and Missed Opportunities (EDITED)

"Why did you do that!?" she exclaimed angrily, her voice a bit hoarse and not quite as accusing as she would have liked "I told you I didn't want to involve Albus in this just yet!"

"And that's not an option" Severus gritted.

"Well... I'm not coming with you" Aurora brought out with difficulty, trying to look stern and failing miserably.

With one fluid motion Severus gathered the witch into his arms, carrying her like she weighted nothing as Aurora struggled weakly in his grasp. She wanted to fight him, she really did, but her body was too weak to give much of a real fight. Not to mention that the teeny tiniest part of her mind had already decided that she was actually quite comfortable in his arms and refused to move. It felt safe. Secure. When had that happened? Her hands were wrapped around his neck and as we walked she wondered about how easily Severus could carry me. She wasn't small, not by a long shot, but he seemed to have no problem whatsoever carrying her.

"Again, not an option" Severus breathed.

Aurora wanted to snap at him for being such a pushover, but instead she let her head fall back against his shoulder, snuggling closer to him as her head rested in the crook of his neck. She was feeling quite light-headed, her mind not quite catching up with the events transpiring around her. Her head was feeling heavy, as if it had been stuffed with cotton balls, each thought slower and more confused than the last.

"Not fair"  she murmured, bretahing in the sharp smell of spices and wood. The crisp smell of perchament and old paper was mixed with something more masculine, the musky fragrance combined with something minty, a biting scent that was earthy, rich and decadent. Given how often they argued she had figured she'd strongly dislike everything about the man, but now even his smell seemed appealing to her. The thought was ridiculous.

"You're ill, Aurora. Poisoned. I have to tell Albus" Severus replied, and Aurora felt a shiver go through him as her breath fanned his throat. For someone who shunned away from any sort of physical contact this must be tortuous, Aurora thought distroughtly. She wanted to feel bad about it, but the truth was her mind was foggy and clouded, unabe to fully comprehend what was happening around her. 

"Well at least my parents are unavailable" she muttered under her breath, her fingers involuntarily tugging softly at a few strands of wayward hair at the nape of his neck.

"Aurora, stop" Severus commanded in a harsh tone, looking down at her, eyes burning with a fiery intensity. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. The girl was obviously very ill, distressed, and not completely coherent. Not wanting to let Albus know about being posioned seemed absolutely ridiculous, and now she seemed pleased that her parents might not find out about it. Not to mention having her so close was proving to be quite distracting, the insufferable witch curled up against him causing his step to falter as she looked up at him in confusion.

"Stop what?" she asked innocently, the silky strands of hair holding a weird fascination over her.

"Just... stay still" Severus growled.

Aurora complied, her distrought state of mind picking up on Severus's unease.

"And what do you mean by that? Why would your parents be unavailable?" Severus inquired after a short silence.

"They sent me a letter. They.... left for a while. Buisness trip or something. Said they'd be unreachable for  the next month or so" Aurora said slowly, wondering how much further they had to go. The infirmary couldn't be that far.....wait. No. He'd said something in his message to his patronus. Something about his chambers. Why was Severus taking her to his chambers? Why couldn't he take her to the infirmary?