Chapter One
"Uh, that speech you gave on wolfsbane was very inspiring Professor..." Severus Snape looked up from the test he was marking to see a sixth year Slytherin standing before him. She was wringing her hands through nervousness and he could see her chewed lip through the curtain of her copper coloured hair. Her large, doe-like eyes gazed inquisitively at him, the same colour of amber or liquid gold.
"Thank you Hestia." He murmured before returning his concentration to his work. His long, black hair framed his pale face like a curtain and his cunning black eyes stared impassively at the paper resting on his desk.
"I, uh, was wondering... It's just that on Saturday I was going to get some supplies for Potions and I needed some help... Professor Dumbledore said that I couldn't go out alone, so, uh, I thought that maybe you could come with me? Unless you're busy of course, I could always -"
"That would be fine." Severus said quietly, still not glancing up from the desk. He could feel the corners of his mouth twitching up into a small smile at how nervous the girl before him was. Young woman really.
"Oh! Thank you so much Professor! Where shall I come and find you?" The note of excitement in her voice was clearly noted by Snape who struggled to keep his mouth from grinning.
"I will come to your common room to find you, I am the head of Slytherin after all."
"Ok Professor! I'm sorry if it will be too much of a bother but thank you so much for agreeing to come with me! I could do with your expertise." With that she all but skipped out of the room, a warm blush creeping onto her cheeks.
*~*~*~*~*
"I am looking for Hestia." Severus snapped when asked for the hundredth time what he was doing in the Slytherin common room. He lent against the cold, marble fireplace and tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for some girl he didn't even know to bring Hestia from her room.
He struggled to hold back a gasp when she came to the top of the stairs. The black, skintight skirt she wore barely covered her thighs and the emerald green long sleeve jumper was extremely low cut. It wasn't this that startled him, although it was a little strange to see her dressed like this when at school she was such a stickler for rules and regulations. No, it was the pair of scuffed army boots that fitted halfway up her calf were what surprised him. They were an exact replica of his own.
Hestia noticed the Professor staring at her and blushed before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. When she reached the bottom step she jumped off and waltzed over to Snape who had composed himself but was still staring avidly at her feet.
"Do you like my shoes Professor?" Hestia asked, grinning slightly when her eyes met the Professors. She could see a small smile tug at the corner of his lips as he realised that they were the exact same ones that he owned himself.
"Very nice Hestia. Now I really think we should get going." With that he strode from the room, black cape billowing dramatically behind him. Hestia had to practically run to keep up with his long, fast strides until he came to an abrupt stop just outside the castle gates.
The watery dawn sunlight was spreading rapidly across the dew scattered glass, spraying pigments of light everywhere as they refracted through the water. The sky was a deep azure blue and was blemished with small wisps of white cloud. Hestia was too busy admiring the scenery that she didn't realise Snape had stopped and ran into the back of him, sending him sprawling across the gravelled path.
"I am so sorry Professor!" She gasped, reaching out a hand to pull him up of the floor. His mouth was set in a firm grimace as he was pulled to his feet and he glared darkly at her before beginning to speak.
"I would prefer it if you payed attention next time Miss Bell. Now grab my arm." Hestia looked slightly alarmed and wary as she stared at the professor as if to clarify what he just said.
"Grab your arm ?" She repeated, slightly confused. Severus sighed with frustration and thrust his arm out in front of her.
"We are going to apperate." As he said this Hestia grabbed his arm tightly before being thrown blindly through a twisting maze of darkness and landing on her front in the middle of a busy high street. She pulled herself onto her knees but swayed slightly, trying to fight back a wave of nausea and dizziness.
Snape bent down and helped her to her feet. She wobbled slightly but after a short while she was able to place one foot in front of the other without vomiting.
"Are you alright now? Side-Along apparation is always more uncomfortable than single person." Hestia nodded weakly and Snape released his grip on her arm. They continued walking slowly in silence before coming to a stop outside a large, crooked shop. The sign was faint and peeling, but the words were just legible. Flourish and Blotts.
A bell jangled slightly as the professor creaked open the door. The room was stuffy and crowded, yet there weren't many people there, taking up all the space. It was the books that occupied most of the room, stretching from the cracking floorboards all the way up to the ceiling of the second floor. Towering piles of books balanced precariously on top of or beside one another, there was barely any space to move around the strange little shop.
The room smelt strongly of dust and parchment, Severus could feels his fingers itching to grab hold of all the books he could carry. He glided over to the textbook section of the shop and started leafing through the collection of Potions, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts books.
Hestia, however just stood motionless, her eyes wider than usual as she struggled to comprehend the sheer enormity of the book collection. She had always been a passionate and avid reader, so this seemed like some kind of fantasy. It surely couldn't be true.
She began to move slowly around the shop, stopping now and then to thumb the spines of various books, or to read a couple of pages. Each time she stopped walking the floorboards creaked ominously beneath her, and a large sculpted lens that was hanging from the ceiling swayed gently, the twine it was hanging from humming under the immense strain.
Severus had once owned a lense like this, they were enchanted glass used to magnify a book so large that it is reflected onto the opposite wall. This, however, didn't look like it had been used for years judging by the amount of dust that had accumulated on it. It was obviously just for show.
The lens was around the size of his fist, the gold rimmed lip seemed monstrous compared to the fingernail-size of a normal lens. He heard a loud twanging sound and glanced up at the string securing the heavy object to the ceiling. One by one, the small threads were snapping lose, the lens jerking more wildly as it was lowered towards the floor.
Just as the last thread snapped, Hestia happened to be walking underneath it. It seemed to happen in slow motion, the lens was thrown from the ceiling just as Hestia stopped walking, Severus leapt over the large table situated in the middle of the room that was covered with books. He stood gawping as the heavy lens hit Hestia square on the head before rolling out of sight under the bookcase. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious.
~*~*~*~*~
Hestia emmerged from darkness with a splitting headache. She lifted her hand to the back of her head and gasped when it came away wet and silky with blood. She heard someone murmuring nearby, but it still seemed so far away. It was as if she was trapped between living and breathing or some kind of dream. She swallowed loudly, coughing as spit became trapped in her throat. Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, finally getting her breathing under control.
She gritted her teeth through the pain before sinking back down onto what she thought was a comfortable pillow. When the pillow began to move she realised that her head was resting in Professor Snape's lap. She tried to pull herself away from the slightly uncomfortable situation when she was pushed back down harshly by an old woman she didn't recognise.
"She's fully awake now Severus." The woman cackled. Hestia blinked as her sight finally came into focus and she could glimpse her surroundings clearly. She was sprawled across the floor of the bookshop, the proprietor sitting by her feet and Professor Snape trying to heal the large dent in her head with his wand.
"Done, you can sit up now Miss Bell." Hestia pulled herself into a sitting position, struggling to maintain her composure as she felt her stomach churn violently. She turned to face the Professor who was staring at her intently. "Do you remember what happened?" He inquired gently.
"I...Uh... I was looking at that shelf there when something hit me on the head. Hard. I don't know anything else because I blacked out before I could see what hit me. I'm sure I remember someone shouting for me to get out of the way though."
Severus scratched his head sheepishly. "That was me... I was trying to get you out of the way but I obviously wasn't quick enough." He glanced guiltily around the shop, obviously annoyed and upset that he didn't get to her in time.
"How do you feel now dear?" The old woman croaked as she uncertainly pulled herself to her feet and walked over to the closed shop door before flipping over the sign to 'OPEN'.
"I feel fine actually... I just want to get back to looking at the books if you don't mind."
"I'm not really sure about that Hestia... This woman has already had to close her shop once for us when you were hit on the head, we shouldn't really cause her any more disruption."
Hestia glanced sadly around the shop before nodding. She pushed herself onto her feet and walked slowly towards the door, rubbing the back of her head from time to time.
When they stepped out onto the busy street, Severus immediately started to make his way towards Knockturn Alley. Hestia stopped walking and instead stared anxiously to the arched entrance to the sinister cobbled lane.
"Where are we going Professor?" She shouted, struggling to be heard over the din of the raucious crowds. He turned round suddenly, obviously having forgotten that Hestia was following him.
"I just need to go to one shop down here, and then there is a place I thought we could have a rest for a while."
"Down Knockturn Alley?" She asked cynically
"Yes." He sneered before turning around and starting off again towards the alleyway, Hestia running uncomfortably behind him.
*~*~*~*~*
The Professor stopped walking when he came to the entrance of a dark, dingy looking shop. The tattered sign proudly exclaimed 'Borgin and Burkes'. Through the dust splattered windows, Hestia could see an assortment of interesting yet slightly sinister looking objects, one of which being a shrunken head seemingly staring back at her. She jumped away from the window when it smiled menacingly at her.
"Wait outside." Severus snapped before pushing open the ominous looking door.
"Do I have to?" Hestia squeaked.
"Yes, I wont be long, don't go anywhere or talk to anyone and you'll be fine." He meant this to sound comforting but instead it made Hestia feel even more nervous. She nodded reluctantly before leaning against the crumbling grey wall of the shop, a few metres away from the door and out of sight of the disturbing shrunken head.
She tried to scream when someone grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her down a dilapidated side alley, but they placed a hand over her mouth. She bit down hard, sinking her teeth into the flesh, then smiled as she heard someone swear with pain. The smile was wiped from her face however when the person slammed her back against the wall, still gripping her arm.
"Hestia, what a nice surprise." Draco hissed in her ear, his mouth inches away from hers. She gazed fearfully into his cold, stone eyes and swallowed nervously.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" She sneered, trying to get enough freedom so that she could him hard in the shins, but his body was crushing her against the wall so that she couldn't go anywhere.
"I could ask you the same question." He replied smartly. "Now, you'd better give me what I want or else I'll tell everyone about your sordid little affair with the potions master."
"What are you talking about? I'm not involved with Snape, you idiot!"
"Oh, so why did you sneak away from the castle with him when no-one was looking?"
"When no-one was looking? You're being an idiot, I was going with Professor Snape to collect my Potion stuff."
"A likely story, but I'm sure that no-one will believe you. Especially when I say that I witnessed you kissing him."
"You know that never happened! Why would you do that Draco? What have I ever done to you?"
"You spend more time with our Professor than you do with me." He spat
"That is because I am studying Draco! He's my teacher, what am I supposed to do to earn extra credit or ask about essays? Why do you have to be jealous of the stupidest of things?"
"It's not stupid! Prove to me that you care about me, not him."
"But I don't care about him!" She screamed incredulously. "You know that nothing is going on!"
"All that I know is that my girlfriend is spending more time with my teacher than she is with me!"
"I am not your girlfriend." She growled, struggling to release herself from Draco's iron grip but he wouldn't let up. Instead he punched her hard in the stomach.
"Yes you are." He sneered before crashing his lips down onto hers. She could taste the saltiness of her own tears as Draco kissed her mixed with the metallic tang of her split lip caused when Draco smashed her lips into her teeth.
"Get off me!" She tried to whimper but Draco's lips were still glued to hers and his hands were roaming across her back.
It was at this point that Professor Snape came out of the shop to find Hestia gone. He had barely taken a couple of steps when he heard Draco and Hestia arguing. He rounded the corner and came face to face with an extremely unwelcome scene. Draco had Hestia backed against the wall. They were kissing but Hestia had blood dribbling down her chin.
"Get off her NOW!" he screamed, dragging Draco off of a hysterical Hestia who slid down the wall before sobbing uncontrollably. Draco glowered darkly at him whilst desperately trying to reach his wand from his back pocket. He wasn't quick enough, as soon Severus had him thrown to the floor, wand pointed directly at his chest.
"If you hurt me, The Dark Lord won't be best pleased, will he Snape?" Draco hissed, trying his best to seem menacing but he couldn't hide the trace of fear in his voice. Severus stood over him for a few seconds more, his breathing coming in angry, ragged gasps, before he dragged Draco to his feet and pushed him out into the main alleyway.
"Ha! I always knew you were a coward." Draco grinned.
"Don't push your luck, Draco." Severus hissed, getting into the boy's startled face. Draco sneered at the Professor before glaring at Hestia.
"You'll get what's coming for you." He spat before turning on his heel and marching away around the corner, out of sight. Severus returned to the narrow alleyway in which Hestia was slumped in. She was no-longer crying but her white face was pale with shock, a stark comparison with the luminescent blood dripping down her lips.
"Are you alright?" Severus whispered, crouching down beside her and placing an arm onto her shoulder.
"It's just a cut, I shouldn't cry about such a small little cut. Draco would think I was pathetic." It was this statement that made Snape retract his arm in anger. He thought he was saving her when actually she was probably enjoying herself, just upset that she had cut her lip.
"Get up." He growled, standing up himself and marching down the street. Hestia feebly dragged herself from the floor and limped after him. He turned around and stared angrily at her until she caught up. Grabbing her arm, he apperated.
*~*~*~*~*
Snape and Hestia stumbled up the pathway of an old miners terrace in a place called Spinner's End. Snape stormed up to the door and it clicked open. After pushing Hestia inside and closing the door, he ran up the stairs that lined the small, narrow corridor, and emerged in a small, barren room.
There was a small hearth fire surrounded by a couple of threadbare armchairs. The walls were heavily lined with bookcases laden with hundreds of books. There was one adjoining door that led into a cramped little bathroom and an understated four poster bed took up the majority of the room, towering over everything and bedecked with green satin sheets.
Hestia stumbled through the doorway at the top of the stairs and jumped as Severus slammed the door behind her.
"Why did you kiss him?" Severus hissed, striding across the bare floorboards until he was standing directly in front of her.
"Excuse me?"
"Why did you kiss Draco? It's obvious you don't like him."
"Oh! I see how it is. You're angry that I kissed him, aren't you? You think that I kissed him because I wanted to!" Severus just stood staring placidly at her whilst she shouted at him. "You're jealous aren't you!"
The Professor's eyes hardened with the last comment, and when he replied it was in an eerily calm voice like he was trying hard not to fly off the handle and scream at her.
"I am angry, yes, that's because it is clear that you hate the boy yet you still kiss him! Of course you wanted to kiss him, otherwise why did you? And don't you dare accuse me of being jealous... That is just wrong, why would I be jealous?"
Hestia sighed exasperatedly before replying. "He forced me to kiss him." She struggled to stop tears springing from her eyes as she added quietly "He hurt me. He Blackmailed me too."
Severus' angry features softened as she began to cry. He stood awkwardly, looking at her, for a moment before hugging her stiffly. She cried softly into his shoulder and when she lifted her head there was a large damp patch on the black fabric.
"I'm sorry for ruining your robe Professor." she said meekly.
"It's ok." He whispered, guiding her over to the armchair where he proceeded to sit her down. Sinking into the chair opposite her he said. "Where did he hurt you?"
Hestia slowly lifted up the bottom section of her top so that her stomach was showing. Severus winced as he saw the bruises smattered across her skin like a piece of morbid artwork. He leaned forwards and gingerly touched the tender skin before sighing and reaching for his wand. Hestia grunted as her broken rib was tugged sharply back into place and the bruising faded.
She carefully pulled her top down but pulled her feet up onto the chair, hugging her knees to her chest.
"What exactly happened?" Snape probed gently.
"I was waiting like you asked... but then he dragged me down the alleyway and before I could escape he had me backed against the wall - I couldn't move. He then went and blackmailed me about how he knew that you had kissed me and he was going to tell everyone if I didn't do as he asked. I told him it wasn't true and he got angry and hit me, and the next thing I knew he was kissing me and then you pulled him off me..." She trailed off, tears already beginning to spill down her cheeks, whilst Severus stared sympathetically.
"He didn't hurt you... In any other way, did he?" He whispered. Hestia, seeming to realise what he meant, gave him a dark look before replying sharply.
"No, he didn't" She sighed before closing her eyes, allowing the tears that had welled up to roll off her face.
"I just feel so... Unclean and disgusting." She gulped noisily. "Just thinking what he could have done to me makes me feel sick."
Severus was staring out of the window, his eyes clouded with anger. When he next saw Draco he was really going to enjoy reminding him about what happened.
Hestia pulled herself from the seat and walked towards Severus.
"Do you have a shower I can use?" She asked, desperate to get rid of the imprints she had felt Draco's hands and lips had burned into her skin. The Professor looked at her strangely before pointing to the closed door on the other side of the room.
~*~*~*~*~
Hestia strode from the bathroom wrapped in a large, black, fluffy towel. She had draped the clothes she was wearing over one arm whilst the other was holding her shoes. Severus glanced up from his book when he heard the bathroom door click shut behind her. Even with sopping wet hair that clung to her face wildly, she still looked remarkably beautiful.
She pulled her wand from inside one of her boots and flicked it gently, aiming at herself. The clothes which she had slung across a vacant armchair disappeared, only to swap places with the black towel. She walked towards Severus who was stood in the centre of the room watching her. She stopped in front of him and rubbed subconsciously at her hair, spraying water all over the Professor. After a muttered apology, Severus began to speak.
"That was an amazing piece of magic." He whispered. Hestia couldn't reply as she was gripping her wand between her teeth and trying to tie her hair up at the same time. She was unsuccessful as her wand dropped to the floor before she could pin her hair up into a bun.
She crouched down to reach her wand at the same time as Severus. They brushed hands and stared at each other. Severus released the wand and stood up at the same time as Hestia. They stood frozen, staring at each other. They were so close that Hestia could feel his warm breath on her cheek, and Severus could smell the strong, pungent scent of her recently used shampoo.
Neither of them spoke as Severus stroked her cheek softly before leaning in and kissing her tenderly on the lips. Hestia raked her hands through his silky black hair as his hands slipped around her waist and ran his fingers up and down her spine, oblivious to Hestia's dripping hair sticking to his forehead.