Over the next few days, the rumors about you and Professor Snape have altogether disappeared and the ones about you, Josh, and Peter are in full circulation. The girls in the school seem to either give you looks of disgust or apprehension, but you weren't really close with many of them before, anyway. The guys at the school look at you with a mixture of contempt and interest, and it creeps you out.
Right now, you're in potions class, and you keep sneaking little glances up at Severus, just wanting another little look every time you look away. You're wearing a turtleneck to hide his bite marks, and your fingers keep slipping under the collar and feeling the little wound, your smile soft and dreamy. You try to focus on your work, but he's so..."You really do need to learn to pay attention, little one..." Your eyes snap up to his and without making eye contact with you, he smirks and continues scrawling across his parchment.
It's so hard to look at anything else, Professor. You are so...pretty. You smile to yourself, wondering how he'd take the compliment. You notice his expression of surprise, confusion, and eventually an unimpressed look, yet a small blush forms on his cheeks. "Get back to work, Miss Y/n..." His stern response make you want him all the more as you smile to yourself.
One of the guys your in class, Trent, comes to your desk and whispers something to Ben, who stands and begins rummaging through his bag to fetch the item he sought to borrow. Trent circles around between you and Ben, closer to where you stand stooped over your desk, still cutting herbs for your potion while Ben searches. You notice Trent is leaning unnaturally close and wonder if he realizes you're even standing here. Suddenly, he turns to you and you feel his hand sliding over your bum and grabbing it firmly. When you gasp, he mutters lowly to you, "What? You're a loose little hussy so you ought to like the attention."
Before you can even respond, he's yanked back, you hear a cracking noise, and he's on the floor, grasping at his kneecap and shrieking in pain. You gasp and look up to Professor Snape, calmly and confidently holding a large, rusty lead pipe with an unbothered expression as if nothing out of the ordinary were going on. He circles around Trent's cowering form, his eyes narrowing down at him and speaks in a harsh, unhurried tone, "What? You're a loose little hussy, so you ought to like the attention," with a disgusted but mocking smirk on his face.
His eyes soften and fill with concern as they flash up to you and he asks softly, "Are you alright?" You nod slowly, still shocked by what just took place. You glance around the room and see everyone turned to the back of the class where it all transpired by your desk, wide-eyed and watching Snape stare smugly down at a sobbing Trent, lead pipe still in hand. He stoops down, his robes swishing with the movement, and leans into Trent, touching the pipe to his cheek to turn his gaze to meet his own. He mutters in a low, lethal tone through clenched teeth, "Do...not...ever. Touch her...again."
Trent's eyes are wide and burning with tears from the pain of his busted kneecap, "I––y...yes, Professor!" he whispers in a frenzied breath. Snape smirks victoriously and stands, and adds in an icy tone, "I suppose there's always the other kneecap, should you make such a mistake again." He turns, and after returning the pipe to the corner where it had been propped up against a shelf, sits back down at his desk and goes back to his work as if nothing had happened.
The class murmurs quietly a moment until Ben steps forward, "P...Professor? Shall I take him to the hospital wing?" Without looking up from his writing, Snape responds languidly, "Mr. Johnson...can take himself, if he would like to receive medical attention, Mr. Jeffreys but I will inform you...should I require your services." Ben's eyes widen and he looks down at Trent's injured and crying body. He returns to his seat in quiet defeat.
Your brows knit together in concern as you watch Trent try to stand, cry out in pain, then begin crawling toward the exit. You look up pleadingly at Snape, your heart breaking a little. After a moment, you walk to the front of the class, your knees slightly wobbly. "Professor..." you say in a quiet voice that's just above a whisper, standing in front of his desk. His dark eyes flash up to you, and you see that his jaw is tight and that he's white knuckling the arm of his chair with one hand and gripping the daylights out of his quill with the other. "I..." You clear your throat and speak, "May I please take him to Madam Pomfrey?"
The crease in his brow deepens and his eyes flash with rage as he whispers venomously, "You...will do no such thing...I will not have him receiving any kind of compassion for his actions, least of all from you, he––" "Professor." You almost hiss the word, catching yourself and Snape by surprise, "I...will not have him suffer like this, over me." Snape's eyes narrow before he drops them back to his work, pressing his tongue against the inside of his cheek in anger. "Return to your seat, Y/n. I will alert someone to get him."
You turn to leave, but stop to turn back and whisper softly, "Thank you..." before you go. You sit back down at your desk and try to focus on your work, whatever that was...Ben's eyes are wide and his hands are trembling slightly as he watches you. He asks in a panicked whisper, "Y/n...what the bloody hell happened?" You sigh softly and speak quietly so as not to be overheard, "I've been getting some...harassment lately over the rumor. I guess Professor Snape noticed something of the sort happening and...decided to take extreme disciplinary action..." Ben's brows jerk up incredulously, "Yeah, I'd say so..."
After you pick up where you left off on your brewing, your eyes dart up to his and you see him angrily scrawl a quick note, then send it floating out of the classroom. He doesn't look up at you again for the rest of the class.
After a few minutes, a couple of nurses arrive in the hall outside with a floating gurney, and you hear a shriek of pain as Trent is lifted onto it and taken upstairs to the hospital wing. Snape smirks smugly to himself when he hears Trent's cries of pain and your brows furrow in worry at that.
Later at dinner, you sit alone in your new spot, reading your textbook to study for your exams while you eat. Or rather, pretending to. You have mixed feelings about what Severus did in class. On one hand, you're a bit troubled and vexed that he couldn't seem to control himself. He can't just go around bashing in the skull of every student that harasses you. If his emotions get the best of him like that again, it would be easy for the rumor that had just died down to start back up and perhaps gain some validity, and you can't afford that. But on the other hand...
Seeing him react so aggressively protective of you sent a wave of desire through not only your body but your heart as well. He'd protected you...no one else had done that before, and it warmed your heart. Not to mention, he looked so sexy standing there gripping that lead pipe, barely restraining himself from inflicting further damage, his eyes narrowed and predatory...his teeth clenched...the flex of his arms and the muscles in his neck visible and pulsing with controlled rage. The way he carried himself so calmly and confidently made him all the more terrifying...and hot as hell.
You feel your heart racing and realize you're biting your lip and playing with your hair and you take a few breaths to calm down. You glance up to sneak a peak at him at the teacher's table and find him already watching you with a slight smirk, a look of unapologetic pride, and you quickly look away and shut all the doors in your hallway, your cheeks flushed.
You return your attention to your textbook, trying to focus on something else. You read the same paragraph over, and over...and over. Four times, not retaining any of the information. You can't help but overhear some students at the Hufflepuff table behind you whispering and you pick up your name in the conversation. You grit your teeth and strain your eyes, determined to just focus on the book.
There's no conversation to distract you from things anymore, and it's incredibly isolating being cut off from your friends. The cruelest part of it is that your real friends, Peter and Rupert, can't even be seen with you right now without the story falling apart. You feel a lump rise in your throat and snap the book shut, finally giving up on it altogether. You rise from your seat and dump your tray of uneaten food in a nearby rubbish can. Without looking at Snape again, you head back to your private room to just be alone.
"She's angry with me, that's fine. But she's lucky I didn't kill the boy on sight..." He thinks grumpily to himself, leaving his own table to go to his office to get away from the nuisance of humanity that surrounds him. "Though I suppose I'm somewhat fortunate that Minerva is such an old friend...no other headmaster would put up with so much trouble from me." His brow furrows as he thinks on it, descending the spiral staircase into his dungeon. "But Hogwarts owes me...the entire wizarding world owes me for sacrificing myself to the Dark Lord for so many years, for giving my life up for Dumbledore's plan, and I'm not misusing that favor...not really..."
His jaw sets as if determined to convince himself as his thoughts continue unraveling, "If I wanted to, I would have caused a lot more damage. I would have made him crawl up these stairs and––" He notices how aggressively he rips open the door to the classroom and is a bit surprised at his own rage. He walks straight past the classroom, through his office and to his chambers where he slams the door shut behind him with a flick of his finger. He heads to the shower, turning on the cold water. He undresses himself, suddenly irritated by the simple act.
"So many fucking buttons!"
He finally peels off his frock coat, then unbuttons his white shirt, little beads of sweat forming on his brow as his murderous thoughts continue. "Of course, it's no surprise Johnson is a close friend of that miserable worm Philiman...they always travel in packs." He unfastens his trousers and steps out of them, shaking his head at himself, his skin prickling with hot, suppressed rage.
"Would anyone really care if the miserable swines went missing? Honestly, I ought to gather them along with those impish little twits that call themselves her friends and Avada Kadavra their asses to the next dimension."
He steps underneath the cool spray and his breath hitches at the sensation, his heartbeat beginning to slow. He relaxes his jaw after a moment and leans his forehead against the cool tile of the shower wall, his forearm supporting him.
The cold water drenches his silky black hair and trickles down his body, cooling him down. He rubs the bridge of his nose in frustration and deep thought. "I can't keep watching her suffer like this...and I also can't step out of line again or everything will be destroyed."
After a few more minutes, his body is covered in tiny chills and he shivers, turning off the water. He dries himself and wraps the towel around his waist, heading to his closet to put on some loungewear.
"I need to find a way to protect her. She threw away her reputation...for me, of all useless things. And who knew a rumor about something so small would cause so much grief? And now...I've made her angry. She thinks I was too cruel, but truly, I was showing mercy! I restrained myself to no end."
Suddenly there's a familiar soft flutter in the other room, jerking Severus back to the present. He realizes he's been standing in his closet staring at the wall, silently massaging his palm with his thumb, deep in thought. His eyes dart to the side toward the sound. He peers around the corner by the fireplace as a letter drops onto the wood floor. His heart thuds as he strides over picks it up and sees your handwriting on the envelope:
Severus
He hesitates a moment, his hands suddenly having a slight tremble. What if he had really, really upset you? It was rare...actually, unheard of for you to willingly shut him out of your mind as you had at dinner. Millions of worries that had been blockaded by your love threaten to breach the dam as he holds the letter. He inhales sharply and opens it, scanning it quickly. His eyes soften and he reads it again more slowly, a soft exhale of relief escaping him. A small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth and he exhales a quiet, amused chuckle at the end of the letter.
"Severus,
Might I interest you in some elf wine in the Room of Requirement tonight around midnight?
I'd like to talk with you about today, if you wouldn't mind. I think we ought to work on a solution together. I'm no Slytherin, but I'd like to think I can plot like one.
Perhaps we can plot our path forward together.
Love,
Y/n
P.S. Don't bother with your frock coat."
You walk out to the lake after dinner in the chilly March night after sending the letter to Severus through the mail slot, feeling somewhat hopeful, but still anxious. Is McGonagall really going to let this slide? She's already tolerated quite a lot...and what if the Ministry hears of it? Will they take disciplinary action against Severus?
You chew on your lip as you walk and think, your mind wrapped up in your thoughts. Well, if they threaten to fire him I guess it won't matter too much. He's already resigning at the end of term. I suppose he thinks he has nothing to lose...nothing but his reputation, which has already been threatened for most of his life. Perhaps it's nothing new to him. You lean against the railing and peer over into the lake, noting how much your reflection has changed from that first autumn afternoon you came out here and did the same. Still thinking of Severus. You smile softly.
Midnight can't come soon enough. I hope Severus isn't still angry...and that we can reach some sort of agreement on how to move forward. We cannot risk being found out, and I need to focus on my exams. This whole situation is becoming too distracting.
"Well if it isn't the little teacher's pet," You turn and see six girls, Angel at the forefront. Shit, they're multiplying. You exhale in annoyance at her. "How can I help you, Angel?" you ask sardonically. "Just because McGonagall decided not to punish you, doesn't mean I'm not going to." She smirks conceitedly, "Ladies, if you please..." Two of the new recruits approach the water with your clothing trunk in hand and dump it in the lake right before your eyes. Your mouth drops open in disbelief.
Angel steps forward, "Do not...cross me...again," she seethes, then turns around as her posse follows her back to the castle. You quickly run to the edge of the water, looking at the splash where your clothes were tossed. You grit your teeth and kick off your shoes and remove your coat. You climb up on the railing and jump into the icy lake.
You pull out your wand under the water, lighting it to locate your not-so-easy to replace clothing. Unlike the other students here, you don't have family sending you money to help pay for such things and you have to work with what you've got. You swim about and find nothing but a bra that you rescued before they sunk too far. It's too dark to see, even with lumos. Your body feels too cold to regulate and you know you need to hurry out of the water. You quickly swim back to the dock and cast a warming spell over your body to bring your temperature back up. Can't make that mistake again...Well, that was a waste of time and energy.
Perhaps I can...borrow some clothes...from someone. You shiver violently and try to get warm, casting a drying spell over your drenched clothes and hair. Who am I kidding, what girl at this school is going to share anything with me, the "loose hussy"? The "teacher's pet"? You sit down frustrated but gradually growing warmer.
Once you're mostly dry, you head back inside the castle and head to your room, thankful once again that you get to be alone. You lock the door and exhale sharply. With your clothes sinking to the bottom of the Black Lake, you don't have anything else to wear...except the Slytherin panties Severus had given you that you'd stashed beneath the bed along with his letters. You stoop under the bed suddenly to check––a sigh of relief washes over you as you pull them out.
You also pull out from under the bed a bottle of elfwine you'd bought from an older student before the Harvest Ball last year. Hopefully he likes this kind...I don't know much about wine but leave it to him to be some sort of expert on it.
You return to your task of getting out of your damp clothes and into something dry. You think for a moment before you see your pajamas that were lying on your bed and your heart floods with relief. You quickly slip into your Slytherin undies and change into the satin camisole and shorts. You look down at where your clothing trunk had been and your shoulders slump, too tired to be too angry. I needed a new wardrobe anyway. Though it sucks I lost my only good bra.
You take the remaining down time to write and study for your exams, still two months away but you want to get a head start. A few hours passes and you finally check the little clock on your nightstand, striking 12. You take the bottle of wine and sneak silently, barefoot through the castle, up to the seventh floor in your pajamas. You stop every few yards to make sure you're not seen or followed, not exactly sure what you'd do or say if you were.
You finally enter the room, thankful to have this little haven for you and Severus.
Severus sits, void of his frock coat, facing the crackling fireplace in a large wingback chair, a distant but thoughtful expression on his face as he gazes into the flames. He turns to look at you when you enter, a soft and somewhat apologetic smile on his face. Then his brow arches in surprise as his eyes rake down your body landing on your bare feet, "Don't tell me you walked here through the castle like that?" His lips curl into a smirk and he utters in a lower voice, "Not...that I'm complaining, but...it's not exactly up to the school's dress code."
You bite your lip nervously, unsure of what to tell him about that. "I...must have forgotten to change," you respond in a quiet voice with a smile. His eyes immediately narrow on you and he stands, slowly stepping closer to you, speaking in an unhurried, low tone, "Miss analytical...cautious, vigilant Y/n...forgetting such an important detail?" His thumb tenderly lifts your chin to look up into his dark eyes that scan your face a moment before landing on yours, blazing intently into them. You feel him seeking entrance to your mind and you look down and away, lifting the wine bottle between your bodies with a smile.
"Is this kind alright? I'm not a wine expert." He doesn't take his eyes off yours to even look at it, his intense focus unwavering as he takes the bottle from you and replies in a low, calm but impatient voice, "Cheap swill..." His eyes squint slightly, "but a kind thought nonetheless, now what...aren't...you telling me?"
You swallow hard and think a moment, debating what to do. He sees the hesitation in your face and he softens and says gently, "Y/n...I want you to feel like you can come talk to me..." Your eyes flutter up to his and your brow knits together. You hesitate a moment more and exhale, "Something...happened to all my clothes. What I'm wearing is the only other clothing I have." He pauses, his expression dubious.
He sets the wine down on a little table by the chair and steps closer to you, taking your hands in his. He holds your gaze, this time with a tenderness in his eyes and voice, "What happened, Sweetheart?"
You look down at his hands holding yours and around the room, having trouble sharing it. "I...someone took my clothes." His jaw tightens slightly and he inhales slowly, his voice very quiet. "Do you know who?" You nod slowly, still looking down. "Who...Y/n?" You grimace slightly and whisper, "Angel..."
After a few seconds of silence he nods, looking up and past you, the tension in the air thick. His cheeks flush red and you glance up at him. He brings your hands to his lips and kisses them each delicately. "Thank you for telling me about it. I'm sorry that happened, Y/n...it's wrong," his voice gets tight as he speaks and he clears his throat. You lean your head against his chest and feel the tension in his body. You feel him clenching his jaw and you hear the pounding of his heart beneath his shirt.
"Severus...are you alright?" He scoffs cynically at your question, "Y/n, I...I'm not going to lie to you, it's taking an absurd amount of energy to restrain myself from killing that miserable witch and her little posse."
You step back from the hug, feeling the anger in his body growing. "Professor...you can't say that. Please, let's just forget about it. I'm unharmed." He grits his teeth and looks at you with black eyes, staring disbelieving at you for a moment. He throws his hands up in sardonic question, "Right, and what about Johnson?" His voice grows a bit louder the more he speaks, his fists clenching, "Unharmed? Is it not harmful to touch someone without their consent, to touch their things without their consent? Don't you see how this is not the first, nor the second, but the third time you have been violated by these people?"
You speak in a tight, frustrated voice, "Professor, I promise you, I am alright. I just want to get through the rest of this term. None of that matters now." "None...of it matters?" he seethes. You huff an irritated sigh, "You don't need to be angry for me." "Angry for you..." His eyes bore into yours. "Yes!" you exclaim.
"Y/n, I would kill for you!" he booms in an exasperated, venomous voice, leaving you speechless for a moment.
"I don't...want you to kill...for me," you reply quietly, looking into his stormy, dark eyes. He stares back at you a moment, and tilts his head back slightly, inhaling sharply, "Right...yes. And that is where we differ...there are certain things you cannot just "forget about." Unforgivable things..." His voice sounds angry but also grieved as he continues, "If people are allowed to take whatever they wish from you, if bullies are allowed to continue tormenting..." his voice trails, and you see deep pain in his eyes. You remember something fundamental at once, and understanding fills your eyes.
You take him by the hand and lead him to take a seat on the large chair, sitting across the end of his knee. "Professor..." you begin, with a quiet, compassionate voice, tears beginning to sting your eyes. "Do you think perhaps you are trying to defend the student at Hogwarts who was defenseless all those years ago? The boy who had no one, and had to stand up to his bullies alone?" Your voice breaks with the last word, 'alone'. His jaw tightens and he looks ahead, not meeting your gaze.
You continue, testing the thinness of the ice ahead, speaking gently, "I...remember what you showed me, about your time here as a student. Perhaps you're sympathetic to my plight because of it, and I'm grateful to you for that, but...if you cannot control your rage, your protective instincts, it could cause us both even more pain. And cost us everything. The truth could be discovered about us. Do you see that?" His eyes finally dart to yours, the crease between his brow softening.
"Yes..." he replies in a soft voice, barely above a whisper. You gently put your hand on his cheek and look into his eyes, "I love you, Severus. I counted the cost of this before I made the decision. It's worth it to me to endure it so we can have a good start to our lives together. I don't want this hanging over our heads, the stain of a scandal following us around. Mine will be forgotten in a few months. Yours...would last the rest of your life." Your eyes fill with tears as you speak earnestly. "Please...let me do this. I want to."
For the first time, his own eyes gloss over with tears and your heart breaks. You lean in and kiss him delicately on his perfect, soft lips. You pull back and brush a little tear from his eye with your thumb and kiss him again, then lay your head on his chest.
He holds you tightly to him for a moment, his steady breathing so rhythmic and soothing. "So...how will we manage these bullies in the meantime, then?" His deep voice vibrates against you. "Well...I was hoping we could scheme together." You reach back behind you to the little table to pick up the wine as Severus holds you in his arms. "What do you say; a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw plotting a course ahead?"
You pop off the lid and he asks with an arched brow and an amused expression, "Are you old enough to be drinking?" You shrug, "Well, I'm old enough to be fucking," and take long swig and his mouth drops open slightly in a smile at your coarseness, a disbelieving laugh catching in his throat. "Why, Miss Y/n...are we totally sure you aren't a Slytherin?" You wink flirtatiously at him and he chuckles, leaning in to kiss your wine-stained lips.