The next morning, you head to Transfiguration class for the first of your exams. Your heart flutters nervously in your chest and you try to swallow down the mounting anxiety you feel. Your mind drifts to Severus and you're almost immediately calm. What is it about him that is so grounding?
You give it your best, and to your relief you actually remember the answers to most of these questions. You're tested on your ability to both transfigure and untransfigure various objects, from household items to small mammals. You breathe a sigh of relief when it's over and you can unclench your jaw and release the tension you didn't realize you were holding in your body. Your shoulders are tight and your head hurts.
That evening, you make your way down to your favorite thinking spot and gaze into the water. Suddenly you feel a presence behind you, and you turn and see Angel. Her eyes are filled with anxious tears and you search her gaze until she speaks, "Y/n...um. Someone saw us. Saw me." "What? Saw what, Angel?" She pauses a moment, looking at her feet. "Saw me...kiss you." Your heart drops in your stomach, wondering what this will do to both of you. You worry for Angel, but also feel frustrated since your rumors had just died down, and the last thing you need is another cheating-on-Peter story.
"Who?" Angel's face wears a mixture of shame and anger. "Amy." Your brows raise slightly and your voice is soft, "Oh." Angel takes an exasperated seat on the little bench where you and Severus got very hot that one night...the thought makes you blush as you try to pull your mind to the present. "Well...I know you didn't really want this to come out, but at least it's just Amy, right? She would never judge you, you know that." Angel shakes her head and looks down. "You don't understand, she..." Her voice trails.
You take a seat next to her and gaze out at the lake. "She um. I sort of...put her through hell when our friend group dissolved. Georgia too, but mostly Amy. I was so angry that they would abandon me over this whole mess and...I guess I went too far one night, with some things I said. She said she'd ruin my life if she ever got the chance and we haven't spoken since. She's made my life hell in the meantime. Like she's trying to get payback for breaking up her and Tom."
You give her a dubious glance and bite your tongue a moment, but the words burn angrily in your chest so you speak. "Angel, you're telling me you were upset with Georgia and Amy for standing up to you? You punished them the way you punished me. And you broke her and Tom up? What the hell, Angel?" Her eyes flash to yours indignantly and she opens her mouth to speak, but no words come. She looks away and scoffs softly.
After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she finally speaks. "I...yeah. Tom came to me one night right before Christmas break to talk about issues he was having with Amy, said he needed advice on how to talk to her. We started drinking. After a few shots of rum he...kissed me. And I let him." She looks down at her trembling hands, "But I swear I broke it off after that. I wasn't even into him, it just made me feel...wanted, I guess." She exhales a heavy sigh, "Eventually I told her what had happened, but not for the right reasons...I was angry at her for leaving and wanted to hurt her." She quickly wipes away a tear rolling down her cheek. "And now she has a weapon she can use any time. And the worst part is, I deserve it." Her voice is quiet. Your mind spins with the information.
I know I was distracted with Severus, but Jesus...how did I miss all of this? You inhale when you realize you'd been holding your breath as you mulled everything over. "I guess I just...wanted to let you know. There might be another rumor that comes out about you." Your shoulders relax a little and you gaze out at the lake. "Well. There've been so many damaging things said about me this year, it doesn't really matter much if you tack on one more."
She nods softly and shame spreads across her face. "She doesn't have the right to out you though, Angel. Even if you do deserve retribution, this isn't the way for her to get it. Maybe I can talk to her, she and I were always chill." You offer. Angel bites her lip and looks down again, her eyes filled with new anxiety. You shake your head and close your eyes, huffing, "Okay...what else haven't you told me?"
She fidgets with her hands a moment before nervously revealing, "I...told Amy you said some bad things about her. I mean, I...lied." Your brows furrow and you give her another disbelieving glare. She quickly explains, as if holding the words in her mouth is too revolting to endure for another second, "Because I thought if I could make her think you had said those things, she'd see that you deserved what I was doing to you and would stay friends with me, but it...didn't work." Her voice gets quiet, "That's when I got angry and told her about Tom Fennigan."
You scoff and shake your head, then laugh. She gives you a strange look, as if you're the unstable one here. "Wow...!" You whisper, looking at her with a fresh perspective. "I've got to say, I'm normally a pretty good judge of character but...fuck, was I off about you." She guiltily looks away and bites her lip, her knee jumping with anxiety. You both sit there a moment as you marinate in everything she just revealed. After a few minutes of nothing but the sound of crickets and frogs filling the springtime night air, you finally speak in a soft voice.
"She still...doesn't have the right to out you. That right remains with you." Her eyes burn with tears and she speaks in an almost-whisper. "She...said she was going to. When I asked when, she just said she won't say, she wants to watch me squirm." You give her a thoughtful look, "Angel, when did this happen?" "Last night after you and I talked. I studied for a little longer outside and after a while I went back to the dorm. Amy and I hadn't been talking for weeks, but when I came in she just, told me that she had seen me kiss you a few weeks earlier but hadn't said anything, and when she saw us talking earlier that night, she decided it was "time to punish me." I don't know what to do..."
You shake your head, "And she won't hear me out if she thinks I talked shit behind her back. I don't know what to do either...honestly, I think you've destroyed all hope of fixing this. This might just be the bed you made, and now you've gotta lie in it." She nods and exhales slowly, accepting the destruction she's caused herself and others. The wind sighs through the trees, sending a little chill up your spine. The sun had disappeared almost entirely by now, the remaining dusty blue light covering everything in its hue. "Well. I guess I'm gonna go to bed. There's nothing to be done now," she says in a soft, resigned voice. You nod softly as she turns to go, leaving you alone with your thoughts.
Your heart feels torn. On one hand, Angel deserves what's coming to her. On the other, taking advantage of a personal detail like that is fucked up. That would make Amy no better than Angel. The fact that she's even torturing Angel to begin with is surprising to you. But then again, Angel had kissed Tom and deliberately used it to hurt Amy. Why are people so shitty?
Another half hour or so passes when you smell a warm, familiar scent on the wind. You turn in excitement and surely enough, see a tall black figure making its way down the path to the lake. You smile up at him from where you sit as he approaches, his pale face contrasting dramatically against his ebony robes and hair. "How did you know I was here?" You arch your brow playfully. He smirks back at you, "I always know where you are."
Your raise your brows and feign shock and horror, "That's so creepy!" He scoffs indignantly, "Well, I seem to recall that when a certain clumsy girl is left unattended for too long, she manages to get herself in all kinds of trouble..." He sits beside you and gently takes your chin between his thumb and finger, turning your face to look at his, "So I made it my business to keep my eye on her whenever she leaves the castle." You smile softly, "Is that right?" He nods, "Oh, yes. I never know what she might do next. She's been known to wander around in the Forbidden Forest at night. Give herself hypothermia. Get attacked and poisoned by dangerous plants." He shakes his head in mock disapproval and you laugh as he lists all your ridiculous run-ins with danger this year alone.
"I'm not sure she would've survived any of those encounters if it weren't for me." He says smugly, sitting back and putting his arm around you on the back of the bench. You laugh at his cockiness but can't help but nod. "Yeah, I suppose you're right...she has been rather careless." He smiles playfully down at you and you look into his eyes lovingly. You continue more softly, "She most certainly would not be here if it weren't for you." His eyes soften and yours drop to his lips. He gently strokes the hair from your face and caresses your cheek with his thumb. He brings your lips to his so delicately that you hold your breath.
"My perfect girl..." His low voice utters softly. His thumb sweeps across your lips and you smile at him. He sits back a little, looking out at the lake and the way the fog lifts over the water, its swirling shapes highlighted in the moonlight. "I wanted to give you space with the insufferable know-it-all before coming out to see you," he arches his brow questioningly. You exhale and lean back against the bench, shaking your head. You proceed to tell him everything you learned about the situation with Amy and the conversation you'd had with Angel the previous night.
His eyes narrow and he looks nowhere in particular as if calculating something. You talk a little longer and the conversation moves to your exams. You feel relief and support just by talking to him. His presence is so stabilizing and he gives you a confidence boost regarding your scholastic abilities. He seems to really believe in you.
You refrain from further clandestine activities while on school property...for now. Severus insists that you finish up your exams without any "distraction" from him, but you're pretty sure he's just turned on by denying you pleasure. He seems to have no problem getting you riled up. His breath tickles your ear and he whispers in it, kisses your lobe and looks at you with those dark, seductive eyes. He's having too much fun with this.
He sends you to bed with no release and it's frustrating. It's so hard to resist him when you're together. He smells so good and he's so warm and alluring...and confident. And there's something about his moodiness that draws you in. It makes you want to scream sometimes but the mystery of it keeps you hooked.
You go to bed that night and try to release, but just end up being frustrated and overheated. You finally fall asleep after distracting yourself with his riddle. "Stealthy, cunning and affectionate..."
"Which one is Miss Brown again...? That one. Wait. No, that one. Wait..." He searches her mind and sees a hand writing a name at the top of her exam paper. 'Georgia' dotting the 'i' a little heart and filling the margin with a doodle of a witch's hat. "On her finals? Merlin, help us all, this generation is––never mind that, wrong girl." He exits her mind and sets his sights on the other.
Amy notices Professor Snape boring his serpentine eyes into her, watching her carefully from across the Great Hall during lunch. She feels strange and unsure of his scrutiny. She gets the peculiar sense of being exposed, but pushes down the sensation and eats her lunch, distracting herself with conversations with her peers. She rises and dumps her tray, leaving the Great Hall to Herbology class.
She just finished her last class of the day and is heading to the Ravenclaw common room, walking alone through the corridors. Snape wheels out in front of her from an alcove, blocking her path and startles her. "Professor! Oh, I didn't see you there, I––" He raises a hand to stop her, "Miss Brown. If you would come with me to my office." Her eyes widen and she hesitates before nervously asking, "Have I done something wrong, Professor?" He rolls his eyes and turns in a flourish, snipping impatiently, "Just follow me and don't ask anymore questions."
She nervously clutches her book bag to herself, her eyes wide with apprehension but also undeniable intrigue. She wonders if this is why he was watching her during lunch so closely. Why the sudden regard? Was she about to be punished? She follows him down the dark, cold spiral staircase into the Slytherin dungeons.
Goosebumps raise on her skin and she chews her lip anxiously as she wonders what would elicit a meeting with the potions master. He thinks about what he's about to do, and feels a wave of guilt wash over him, but quickly swallows it down. He opens his office door and gestures her inside, "After you, Miss Brown." She steps in and the door closes behind her with a heavy click.