My Father's Best Friend

The Letter

I took special care to knock at the potions classroom door the next morning, and it opened by itself a moment later. Snape was sitting at his desk, looking intimidating as always, holding his wand in one hand and a quill in the other.

"Good morning, Professor," I said as I entered the classroom, trying to sound confident but my voice coming out a quivering mess. 

Without glancing up, he concealed his wand and continued writing on the piece of parchment that sat on his desk. "Come here," he commanded.

I hurried over, my heart racing and my palms beginning to sweat. Was I going to be punished?

Snape tucked the piece of parchment into an envelope and handed it to me. "Go to the owlery and send this off," he said, grabbing a book and flipping it open nonchalantly.

I turned the envelope over and read the address on the front. Malfoy Manor, it read in black ink. My heart dropped. "Sir, may I ask why you're sending a letter to my home?" I asked timidly.

Snape flipped the page. "Do you insist on sticking your nose in my business?"

My stomach lurched forward, and I looked down. "I apologize, I just-"

"If you must know," he interjected, "I am simply informing your father about recent events. Perhaps you were so intoxicated that you lost your memories, but last night, you were quite... disobedient."

My jaw dropped, and the letter fluttered from my hand. "Professor, I-"

He held up his hand. "Please, I don't want to hear any excuses. You've done enough damage."

As my heart pounded wildly, I thought frantically about what to do. There was no way I could let my father find out about what had happened - he would most certainly disown me. I would be deemed a disgrace to the Malfoy family.

I took a deep breath and stepped closer to where Snape was sitting. "I don't want to make any excuses, sir, I just want to apologize for my actions. I realize that they were incredibly inappropriate and I can assure you nothing like that will ever happen again."

Snape flipped another page, his expression remaining stoic as always. "Would you like a reward for apologizing to me, Miss Malfoy? Some points towards Slytherin house, perhaps?" he drawled, his voice dripping with condescension.

My cheeks burned red, and a familiar surge of humiliation came rushing back. After a few moments of silence, he set down his book, stood up, and gestured aggressively at the door.

"Go. Send. It."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I picked up the letter and walked shamefully to the door, feeling a swell of dread in my stomach. As I reached the door of the classroom, I turned around in one final attempt to appease Snape.

"He'll hate me, if he knows what happened," I said in a weak, shaky voice. I hated pulling the victim card, but I felt as if there were no more options. "My father. He'll hate me. Professor, I will do anything for you as long as it means that I don't have to send this letter. Anything you need done, I will do it."

Snape walked around his desk and leaned against the front of it lazily. He cocked an eyebrow. "Anything?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but stopped, as I noticed a hint of sarcasm in his tone. What was he getting at? Before I could even stop myself, my eyes flickered down to his crotch. I gulped. There was a noticeable bulge, and I felt a sudden wave of arousal wash over me.

Fuck, he can read your mind, you idiot, I cursed at myself. And why was I thinking about greasy, old, cruel Snape like that? What was wrong with me? I glanced back up at his face, and as I met his deep brown eyes, his lips curled up into a soft smirk.

Yep, he had definitely just read my mind.

Without even thinking, I flung open the door and ran as fast as I could to the girls' bathrooms. I went into the closest stall and fell against the wall, panting.

Why had Snape, of all people, just made me feel that way? Hormones, I told myself, placing a hand over my heart, desperately trying to slow it down. Stupid fucking teenage hormones.

That, and also the fact that I hadn't had sex since I broke up with Cedric Diggory last year. We started dating at the beginning of 6th year, and dated all the way through 7th. He was the first and only person I ever had sex with, and although Cedric definitely tried to please me, he never made me finish - not even once - so needless to say, I'm sexually frustrated.

It must have been because of these very specific circumstances that I had been turned on by the sight of Snape's... crotch. Yes, that's it.

My breathing slowed, along with my heart rate. It was only then that I realized that I had the letter still clutched in my hand. I lifted it up, and tried to smooth out the envelope. The wax seal looked quite loose, and it was lifting up at the edge. I suddenly had a thought - what if I opened it and read the letter, to see how much Snape had actually told my father, and then sealed it back up before sending it?

I only had a few seconds of self-control before curiosity got the best of me. I peeled the seal gently up and pulled out the letter to read it.

Lucius,

Yes, everything is going smoothly. Lyra has been quite amiable and responsible as my assistant, you have nothing to worry about there. Give Narcissa my best.

- Severus Snape

My jaw dropped.

All along, there had been nothing in the letter about what had happened. Why did he imply that he had told my father everything, had it just been to mess with my head? And why didn't he tell my father the truth?