The rest of winter break passes by uneventfully. Students had started preparing for exams, and you knew you should probably study for the NEWTs you were taking, but you seemed to be severely lacking motivation. It didn't help that you couldn't focus because your mind was constantly consumed by Snape, who for the past few days had been acting distant.
In fact, he hadn't made any effort to talk to or spend time with you since the night he gifted you the necklace. Any conversation you had had since then was strained. You weren't able to shake the feeling that you did something wrong to cause this awkwardness, but you couldn't figure out what. Then again, being pushed away by him wasn't exactly an uncommon occurrence when it came to your relationship.
A couple of times you tried to pretend to run into him while wandering through the castle out of boredom, but besides an odd frown, he didn't react to you or try to pull you away to his classroom. You also tried to contact him with the necklace, holding it in your hand and squeezing your eyes shut while picturing his face. But you weren't able to connect with him like you did in the Great Hall during the Christmas feast.
It's the last day of break before all of the students return, and you spend it in the common room, enjoying the emptiness of it before it goes back to being filled with people every night. Your fingers mindlessly play with the necklace as you sit on a comfy chair in front of the fireplace, but you don't attempt to connect your mind with his, you've given up on trying to. Nothing makes you angrier than when he pushes you away, so you let him have his space so you can have some peace of mind.
You know tomorrow Laura will return, and although you can't explain it, you have an odd feeling take over your body whenever you think about the situation too much. A weird lump in your stomach forms at the thought of facing her again, facing whatever seems to be going on that everyone except you knows about.
Your eyes glaze over your charms textbook, attempting to get some studying in, but you're not taking in any of the words as you reread the same line over and over again.
"The Gouging Spell allows one to carve through earth and stone with ease. It's used in the work..."
You've spent so long in the same spot that you don't even notice that the fire has calmed to a dim burn and everyone has gone off to bed. You know you should get up, but you can't lift yourself up off the comfort of the soft cushions. Your eyes begin to slowly droop closed, your wakefulness falling away, but just then, you feel it.
The burning. It's a lot stronger than this time than it was during the Christmas feast, and leaves a light buzzing sensation on the skin around where the necklace sits. You sit up fast and your textbook thuds to the floor as an overwhelming rush takes over your body. It's more a feeling than a voice, but you sense it.
"Come out."
You know exactly what it means, exactly where it wants you to go. You let it guide you across and out of the room, leaving the warmth of the common room for the cold, dark, corridor. Once you're standing outside in the corridor, a light breeze sweeps past you, almost like a ghost moving through you, and you shiver, realizing you forgot to grab your robes in your rush out.
You begin to take a few steps forward, and although you're still in control of your movements, it feels almost intuitive. The winter winds outside hum lightly, and the cold that they bring seeps through the glass windows, making you feel awake and alert. Your body aches for warmth but your mind is completely calm.
You wander around for a few minutes and end up in a secluded corridor with only one door at the end of it. Confused, you scrunch your eyebrows; the feeling of your body being guided has ceased.
"y/ln." you hear in a deep, familiar tone.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath, preparing yourself to turn around and face him. You're planning your words carefully, but you feel your tangled mess of built up emotions building and you know you won't be able to contain yourself if you open your mouth.
Before you have time to comprehend what's happening, Snape's hand wraps around your neck from behind and pulls you closer to him. Your surprise gets caught in your throat, quiet literally, by the hand tightening lightly around your throat.
Your muscles begin to relax as the familiar scent of parchment and musk consumes you, and you know you're safe. However, you're not exactly sure why he chose now, in this way, to show that he still remembers or cares about you.
You strain your neck in an attempt to look around the corridor, worried you might be spotted, but it's completely abandoned. Snape pulls you closer to him by wrapping his other free hand around your waist, resting it on your stomach. The back of your head hits his hard chest first and the rest of your body follows, and quickly you're completely pressed against him. You can't help but relax against the warmth of his body.
His lips move to your ear and you feel his heated breath on your skin. Your eyes close, being completely engulfed by him.
"Naughty girl. Roaming the corridors at night." he says in a slow, hushed tone.
Your mind flashes with memories of how he confronted you in a corridor at night a couple of months ago, how angry you were at him then too.
His mouth grazes your ear, almost too light to be able to feel, but the sensation sends a shock through your body and you let out a small sigh.
"Shush now." he whispers, pulling you closer to him by your neck, you can tell there's a smirk forming on his face. "Don't want to give me more reasons to punish you."
Just as you pull yourself enough out of your trance to arch your back and give him a reason to do just that, he releases you and takes a step back.
You turn around slowly, your breath uneven, to finally look at him. All the things you were planning to say to him have fled your mind, and confusion swarms through your brain. How is he able to make you forget about everything just with one touch?
"5 points from y/h." Snape says, looking bored, "And you'll serve detention once term resumes."
You nod, too flustered to speak. The corner of his lip twitches, his eyes flicking to your ruffled shirt. He looks satisfied at your state for a moment before his gaze quickly darkens and he's back to his usual self.
"Back to bed then, y/ln..." Snape says.
When you remain standing in front of him, still processing the events that just took place, he raises an eyebrow at you. You're angry, but there is definitely something to be said for the rush you get when he touches you after ignoring you for so long.
You open your mouth to tell him off for avoiding you for the past few days, but he quickly speaks up, "Monday after dinner in my office. And don't be late."
You roll your eyes. Any other time you would've found the whole professor act enticing, but at this point you feel like you could scream at him.
He swiftly turns around, his cloak billowing behind him, and you catch sight of Mrs. Norris entering the corridor from a small gap in the wall. Letting you a frustrated sigh, you trudge back to the common room and into your dormitory.
In your mix of fury and excitement, you forget to pick up your charms book still laying on the ground in front of the fire, and you fail to notice the person sitting in the bed to the left of yours as you enter the dormitory and slam the door behind you.
"Hi." the person squeaks, and you let out a scream, completely caught off guard.
You quickly turn towards the source of the voice and find that it belongs to your roommate and ex-best friend, Laura, now flinching away from you. However, she looks completely different than you remember her from a couple months ago. Her hair is cut short and dark, a stark contrast to her lighter, more flowy hair in November. Her face certainly looks better than it did the last time you saw her, all the bruises and cuts have healed without a hint that they were ever there in the first place. Her arms are skinnier, she looks almost frail, like she would completely break if you touched her, and you see her shivering as she reaches to pull her covers around her.
"Laura." you sigh, slowly walking over to her, "When did you get here?"
She pushes herself farther back on her bed, away from you, while shaking her head. "You're not supposed to be here, you are NOT supposed to be here!" she mutters under her breath.
"What-?" you back up, slightly confused, and sit down on the edge of your bed.
Her nervousness seems to lightly ease as you distance yourself, and her muttering slows as she watches you crawl under your covers. You wonder if you should go get someone, but when you glance at the door, Laura shouts, "NO!"
You quickly look back at her, mustering a quiet, "Okay."
As she rocks back and forth, calming down, you observe her, trying to figure out what happened. She seems completely unstable and you wonder why they would send her back if she hasn't mentally recovered from being attacked in the forest.
"There will be people. You might be nervous. But talk to them. Try to make friends." she mutters quietly to herself, her eyes squeezed shut, "The bad ones are gone. The bad ones are gone. The bad ones..."
You attempt to push yourself down on your bed and pull the covers over you, thinking it's better to leave her alone. You grip your wand under your covers, anxious she might lash out at you. You try to steady your breath, convincing yourself that they wouldn't send her back if she would hurt others.
"y/n! You're y/n!" she says suddenly, letting out a laugh, but it sounds off, almost forced.
You sit up in bed again and try to keep your tone calm, "Yes, I'm y/n."
Laura laughs again, staring at the wall in front of her. You're not sure if you should say anything else, but she's calmed down now, and you don't want to do anything to cause her to panic again. Within a few seconds, she falls back, and her head hits the pillow. You lay down as well, and after a while you hear her breathing become more steady as she falls into sleep.
You can't do the same.
Author's note: thank u guys so much for 20k reads and over a thousand votes WHAT. sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, i rewrote it so many times because it just didn't feel right, and i'm having a little trouble with figuring out how i want to write everything. hope u all are well, take some time to do whatever the fuck you want today :)