"Thank you, Albus," Sofia hesitantly pulled her hand away from his grasp. "I'm sure you can discuss the next steps with Severus. However, if you'll excuse me, I need some air-" Sofia began to ramble as she quickly got out of her chair. Both the men watched her as she scrambled towards the door of the office.
Albus politely tried to stop her as she could rush out, "Sofie, you have been a part of this-".
"I know Albus." Sofia sighed as she reached for the door. "-I'm sure Severus can catch me up with everything whenever he has a free moment. But for now, I need to go." Sofia didn't let either of them say another word as she quickly shut the door. The rush of adrenalin quickly left her body as she felt her arms drop as soon as she closed the door behind her. Her body went cold. Her lips were pursed, and her eyes were glass as she slowly walked down the cobblestone hallway. Nothing but the sound of her heels hitting the ground surrounded her. The voices of the students muffled around her as she continued to walk, to the click-clack of her heels. Like an annoying ticking of a clock, or a loose faucet dripping onto her brain. When Sofia finally made it to her room, acted on autopilot, taking off her shoes and her clothes, hopping into the shower. After her shower, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her expression was completely pale, emotionless, somehow reminding her of Severus. What am I meant to do now? She caught herself thinking. After changing into some clothes she walked over to her Potion's textbooks, attempting to busy her mind so the emotions couldn't overtake it. But as soon as she opened the first page she simply froze. Failing to comprehend any of the letters on the page. How can I face him when he remembers me? She felt another fleeting thought. Shutting the textbook she got up deciding to clean her room a little. But as soon as she began straightening the pillows on her couch she froze again. He's a monster. I don't want him to remember me. Another thought. She knew she could no longer blindly discard the information which Albus had given her, so she decided to sit down and think. Possibly attempting to process everything. She sat up awkwardly straight, on her couch, facing the windows. She felt like time was moving slower than it had ever done before. She suddenly flinched as she heard two harsh knocks on her door.
"Come in." She faintly spoke. She heard as someone roughly opened her door. She knew in an instant that it was Severus. She could feel the anger in his step as he approached her.
"You can not just run out of every unpleasant conversation that you encounter, Sofia." Severus was visibly annoyed as he marched in front of her. For a second Sofia stayed silent. She looked out into the courtyard before softly turning her head towards him. Severus watched as her glass eyes scanned his face.
"I didn't want to hear the rest."
"This is now the second time that I've had to rush out of his office to follow you." Sofia was taken back by Severus' somewhat unexplained anger. He seemed to be holding something back, but before she could decipher his annoyance he continued. "-You have to stop behaving like a-"
"Like a what?" Sofia nudged her head to the side, clenching her jaw at him.
"Nothing."
"Go on Severus. Like a what? A child? Is that what you wanted to say?" Severus was suddenly very aware that he had once more touched a nerve.
"Sofia..." Severus muttered, towering over her. "This is very important to Albus, and possibly the safety of Hogwarts. You need to learn to control your emotions-"
"Control my emotions!?" Sofia yelled. Severus' eyes widened a little as he watched her quickly get off the couch. "Control my fucking emotions?! Are you serious?" She barked back, waving a hand at him. "Do you have the slightest clue as to what I might be feeling right now!?" Sofia took another step closer to Severus, eyes now full of unexplainable rage. Dark enough to make even Severus afraid. He kept up his natural cold expression, however the closer she got to his face the more he wondered if the best thing for him to do for her right now was to simply leave. "Of course." She chuckled sarcastically. "Of course...I see what this is. You want me to be more like you, is that it?" She threw her hands up again. "Because what did you do with all the pain in your life? You bottled it up. So, so far down that it took you weeks, no, months, to speak about anything remotely significant with me. Do you know how damn difficult it is to get close to you Severus? Every time I say anything, anything, I need to think over it 1000 times, just to make sure that I'm not pushing your tiny emotional spectrum too far." Sofia was now gasping for air as she continued to yell but she couldn't stop herself. "Are you even capable of feeling something, anything, for longer than a minute!?" After those words left her mouth, Sofia suddenly realized what she had said. She looked at Severus who still had the same cold, emotionless expression on his face. She watched his eyes suddenly darken with something, but before she could catch another glance at him, he turned his face away. After exhaling a single deep breath, he swiftly walked by her towards the door. Sofia was frozen once more as she heard her door slam shut from behind her. She bit down on her finger as she stood in the middle of her now empty room. Her body suddenly washed over with dread. She kept going over and over her words, cringing at her own outburst. She couldn't believe she could say that to him. Clasping her hands together she began to pace her room. Pondering on if there was any way she could salvage the current situation. She continued to nervously walk around her room, pulling her rings on and off her fingers in an attempt to distract herself from what she had just done.
Meanwhile, Severus was calmly marching towards the dungeons. He could feel the pain tighten in his chest as he opened the door to his room. Slumping in his armchair, he leaned his head into the fingers of his right hand as he leaned his elbow on the armrest. Lighting a fire, he watched the flames dance. Massaging his temples lightly, he continued to stare at the flames, going over Sofia's words, as the pain tightened in his chest. He wasn't daft, he knew that her outburst was not intended to hurt him, he knew that she was overwhelmed and probably scared. Nevertheless, her words still cut through him like knives. The pain he was now feeling was different from the one he had felt throughout the last few years if his life. It was fresh, almost unknown to him. It bothered him that he was completely unsure of how to deal with it. He searched for the familiar anger within him. But he couldn't find it. A small voice in his head was annoyingly reminding him that she might have been right. However, the pain was taking over him as he looked over to the desk, eying the half-empty bottle of whiskey which was calling to him. Before he thought of getting up to grab a glass something stopped him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stayed in his seat. Not taking his eyes off the fire, he continued to try to dissect exactly what he was feeling. Why there wasn't more anger within him and how it obviously had something to do with the now overwhelming and constantly growing affection he was developing for Sofia.
Sofia was sitting on the carpet in the middle of her room, motionlessly trying to understand what she had just done. She missed dinner, the sun had set, and her room filled with quiet darkness. Sofia was still sitting in the same spot on the floor. She felt her back begin to ache as her head dropped to face the pattern on her carpet. She knew what she had to do. She knew that she had to rush to apologize but her body seemed to disagree. The usual surge of courage which she always had, seemed to leave her right after she had said those things to Severus. Growing up, she was always the first to apologize, it wasn't easy for her but she never let that stop her. But right now for some reason, she struggled to gather the words to apologize. Maybe because she knew that she had gone too far, and maybe he would not want to see her or speak to her again. What was worse was that her mind was also plagued with the fact that her father was going to regain his memories. She was so paralyzed by her own mind that for a second she almost forgot to breathe. After she heard the clock tower strike 11, she knew that she had to do something. Pulling herself up from the floor, she grabbed her wand and dragged herself down the quiet Hogwarts hallway. She did not want to take the elf staircase in order to buy her more time before she had to face him. Slowly, she made her way down the spiral staircase into the dungeons, eventually finding herself standing in front of his door, once more completely paralyzed. After letting out a shaky breath she raised her hand to softly knock. After a short pause, she heard a grunt come from the other side. Swallowing her fears, she pushed the heavy door open. She saw him sitting in his armchair, facing the fire. The lamps were all turned off. No light broke through into his room except for the dim fire. Crossing her arms protectively over her body, she finally spoke.
"It's me."
"I know." He dragged without turning his head. Sofia took another small step into his room, taking a stand by his desk. She was scared of taking more steps towards him. She figured she could gather her thoughts better if she stood a few feet away. She was so embarrassed with herself that she wasn't even sure she could face him directly.
"I-" She stuttered as she tried to tie her thoughts together. No words seemed to come out of her mouth as she went quiet for a minute. He hummed in response waiting for her to continue. "I'm sorry." She quietly spoke. "I'm sorry for the thing's I said. I should have never said them. It was horrible." She finished. She watched as he continued to stare at the fire, softly nodding at her words. "I hope you'll forgive me." She watched as he softly nodded again without turning his head towards her. She suddenly realized that coming here was a lost cause. That what she said probably drove him over the edge. "I'll leave you to it." She quietly finished with a sigh. Pulling her hair behind her ears she turned on her heels, heading for the door.
"Is that really what you want?" She heard his deep voice echo as she reached for the handle. Fiddling with the handle she paused.
"No." She whispered back.
"Then stay." She heard him again. Sofia suddenly felt some of the weight lift from her chest as she turned back. "I still need to discuss Albus' plan with you." Sofia suddenly tensed as she realized the only reason he called her back was most likely for that.
"Okay,"
"Sit down." His voice cut the silence of the room again. Sofia pulled the chair from his desk sitting down. He continued to look forwards, without turning towards her.
"Albus is planning to go to the Ministry tomorrow. He will speak to them about everything that happened. He is planning to go to Azkaban with you and me as soon as the Ministry allows him to bring the watch directly to William Greene." Sofia took in a sharp breath as he continued. "He felt that you needed to be there when your father regains his sanity. After that, he is hoping that Greene will reveal the details about the apparent threat. Then this should be over with." Severus finished.
"And you're not happy with that?" Sofia asked, fiddling with her rings.
"No," Severus grunted. "There are a few things that don't quite add up." He sighed. The crackling of the fire filled the room as Sofia waited for him to speak. "I can't understand why the watch was hidden at your house." Sofia hummed confused. "How would he have known where you lived when he hid it?"
"Maybe he had some visions. Or maybe he's been lying all along and he does remember me. But is just too insane to vocalize it. That way he told someone where to hide the watch before his sanity was taken away."
"No. I knew him well. I am confident in the fact that he has no idea who you are." Sofia could feel that Severus was becoming annoyed.
"What if this was somehow planned before the war and Voldemort was the one that hid it. Perhaps he did believe in the rumours all along and wanted him to suffer never finding the object." She tried again.
"Well, that makes even less sense. Greene was sane when Nagini attacked me." Severus sighed. "Voldemort wanted the watch found. Otherwise, he would have never created it, he could have just killed Greene." Severus bit back, still refusing to look at Sofia.
"What if it was never Voldemort that hid it, seems like quite a dirty job for The Dark Lord himself. Maybe one of the other Death Eaters thought it would be ironic to hide it in my room. You told me yourself that some of them openly discussed the rumours." Sofia was scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point trying to find an explanation.
"Or perhaps this is something bigger." Severus finished defeated. Sofia sensed by his tone that he was done with this conversation.
"Either way, the Ministry has to agree. When he finally gets that watch back he'll regain his sanity, and I'm sure Albus can get anything that he wants out of him, and so can you," spoke Sofia quietly.
"And you?"
"No. I don't want to be there when it happens." Sofia firmly spoke. She watched as Severus nudged his head to the side in confusion, still looking at his fireplace. "It's too much." She tried to clarify. Severus nodded, leaning further back into his armchair which Sofia took that as her cue to leave. Getting up from her chair she quietly moved it back into position, heading for the door.
"Where are you going?" She heard him ask as she stiffened slowly turning around.
"I thought-"
"You thought wrong. Come here." She heard him quietly mutter. Sofia was unsure whether she should feel relieved or a little scared. She slowly walked across the room towards the fireplace and his armchair. For the first time since she had come to him, he finally calmy turned his head to look at her. When their eyes met, Sofia was welcomed by his dark somewhat sad eyes. She could see that he was immense pain although his face didn't show a trace of it. She realized that for the first time, she was the one that caused that pain. Sofia suddenly felt lightheaded. The immense guilt washing over her once more. Her emotions took the best of her as she felt hot tears begin to well up in her eyes. She now felt immensely stupid for being the one that was crying, she assumed that he must have now thought that she was being completely ridiculous. Looking down at his floor, she attempting to avoid his eyes. Severus was intently watching her. As soon as he noticed that she was crying his expression changed. Getting up from his chair he towered over her. His body was aching to hold her. He watched as Sofia exhaled a shaky breath. Before she could even speak he couldn't stop himself as he pulled her in, tightly embracing her. Sofia's arms were pressed against his chest, and so was her face as he held her. He could feel her heart beating like a quick drum against his chest. "Why are you crying?" He spoke from above her without letting her go. Sofia Scoffed as she looked up at him.
"Because I hurt you, and I care about you?" Severus pulled her into his body once again as soon as he heard those words.
"And since when is that a reason to cry, Sofia?" His low voice spoke almost sarcastically.
"I thought that you wouldn't forgive me." She responded, her voice muffled against his chest.
"I believe that is a little too dramatic if you ask me." He smirked as he felt one of her palms playfully hit his chest with a shaky chuckle. Whilst holding her, Severus realised that the ache of pain in his chest was now completely gone. Sighing in relief, he pulled away from her and looked into her glossy eyes, smiling softly. Leaning down he pressed a soft kiss on her wet lips. Sofia kissed him back gently. As she felt a tear trail down her cheek, she pulled back from him feeling embarrassed.
"I acted like a real bitch before, Severus." Sofia laughed a little as she wiped her face with her hands, trying to hide any trace of her tears.
"I won't disagree with you on that." He spoke before crossing his arms over his chest, and impatiently tapping his index finger. "That outburst could have waited, considering I was simply coming to tell you about Albus and my plan for tomorrow."
"What plan?" Sofia furrowed her eyebrows looking up at him.
"Albus will be at the Ministry tomorrow, he said that the earliest time to visit Azkaban would be Sunday. Therefore I was hoping we could finally celebrate finding that cursed object. Alone." He finished.
"Of course. How could I forget? A date with Severus Snape." Sofia teased.
"Mhm." He hummed back smirking. Standing there in silence for a little longer Sofia was feeling content, but still a little guilty.
"I'm sorry. Again. For what I said. I really shouldn't have said those things, I-"
"No." He stopped her. "Your delivery could have been better. But most of the things that you said are quite close to the truth. Some would even say you're one of the only people that I have spoken to about my past somewhat emotionally. But I'm sure you knew that already. " He spoke looking around the room.
"I did. And I'm truly happy I'm one of the few." Sofia smiled. After a few seconds of silence, Sofia figured it was finally time for her to sleep. "Alright. Well, goodnight. I'll come find you tomorrow to hear all about your plan." Sofia muttered looking up at him. She noticed how his eyebrows raised questionably at her, eyes squinting a little.
"So I have to spend my morning sneaking around the hallways at sunrise, but you get to slyly avoid all that?" He cocked his head to the side. Sofia quickly understood what he was referring to as she smiled again. "Come." He whispered, before pulling her softly towards the direction of the bed, to which she happily obliged.