Silk and Brocade

Chapter 2 - A Restless Night

"Calm down, Miss Weasley. Put that thing down, It's not like it can do much damage anyways," a silky voice said idly.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked, taking a few steps backwards, still holding the object in her hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you. Let me first do something, then I'll reveal myself," he whispered lowly.

The man turned towards the door and silently waved his wand twice. Ginny observed his every move, careful to keep as much distance as she could between him and herself. Her jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide in astonishment, when the man lowered his hood and took off his mask.

"Professor Snape!" she shouted, half surprised, half relieved. "Wait a minute! What have you done to the door?" she asked, suspicious. She refrained her enthusiasm, not wanting to fall in another trap.

"Just an Anti-intrusion Ward and a Silencio Spell," Snape casually explained.

"A Silencio? What are you playing at?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"At protecting you from what's going on outside of this room," he snarled annoyed. "I presume you've already figured out what's happening to the other girls," he sneered. "A fate that sheer luck has wanted to spare you," he added in a softer tone.

"You mean you're not ..." Ginny asked tentatively.

"Disappointed?" he whispered, raising a brow.

"NO!" she shouted scandalised.

Her indignation evaporated when she saw the smirk on his face. She had just realised how silly her question might have sounded to him. He had simply teased her, maybe to loosen the tension between them. Feeling more relieved and safe, Ginny put away the hairbrush she had grabbed by chance in the haste to find herself a weapon. She stood there unmoving, watching Snape pour himself something to drink from a bottle standing in a small niche in the wall.

"Professor, what will be of me now? Can I go home, please?" Ginny asked in a trembling voice, feeling a new anxiety squeeze her heart.

"The Dark Lord has given me permission to take you back to Hogwarts with me, but we'll have to spend the night here," he informed her in a clam tone.

"I see," she whispered lowly, immensely happy to know she would be free again in a few hours.

"You'd better go to bed now. We cannot leave before dawn," he instructed her.

Ginny obediently moved to the big bed, then froze. There was only one bed in the room. Was she supposed to share it with her teacher? She felt her face go on fire at the thought. She hesitantly looked at Snape who, to her surprise, had already removed his cloak and was putting a few cushions on the not-so-comfortable-looking ottoman. He stretched himself on the couch and used his cloak as a cover. With a quick flick of his wand all the lights in the room went out. Immersed in the pitch black darkness, Ginny quickly dived under the sheets. She had not realised how tired she was until her head touched the pillow, and she instantly fell asleep. But her well deserved rest was disturbed by a weird, vivid dream.

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(Start of the Dream)

She was walking barefooted along a twisting, dark corridor, leading to a door. Her hand rested a few seconds, hesitant, on the door handle before turning it. The door opened without a sound. The room inside was completely dark, except for a patch illuminated by the moonlight. Ginny silently stepped in, but the door closed itself with a bang behind her.

"Open up, stupid door!" Ginny protested, trying with all her strength to turn the impossibly hard handle.

She turned with a sigh and decided to explore the room in search of another exit. She felt a strange attraction pulling her towards the spot lit by the moon. As soon as her foot touched the edge of it, her surroundings changed suddenly. She found herself standing in the middle of a room identical to the one where she had met Snape that night, but it seemed to her that something there was different. She could see the Ottoman couch on which she had seen Snape lay to sleep, but it was empty. A few steps away from her stood the big bed she had fallen asleep in, but as soon as she was close enough to it, she realised that there was someone else in the room. The bed was occupied by a man and a woman and, by the sounds they were making, Ginny could tell they were not exactly sleeping.

"Whoops! I'd better get out of here and leave them some privacy," Ginny thought, embarrassed.

But no sooner she turned in the direction where there ought to be a door, she found herself to be standing in a room without doors nor windows. She was trapped there with the two lovers. Ginny tried hard to keep facing the wall, hoping that her presence would pass unnoticed. She suddenly felt a strange curiosity take over her, like if there was some invisible force trying to pull her towards the bed. Unable to resist it, Ginny timidly stepped to the side of the bed to investigate who the lovers were. The man had a sallow skin and black hair, his body was gaunt but with strong, muscled arms.

"I don't know why, but he looks quite familiar," Ginny thought as her stare wandered on the man's exposed flesh.

The man moved slightly to the side, revealing his lover's body. It was more a girl than a woman, or a pretty small one, as Ginny guessed comparing her size to that of the man standing on top of her. The girl had a creamy white skin, spotted with freckles, and a long mane of copper hair. At some point the man moved his head to kiss the girl's neck, finally revealing her face. Ginny was thunderstruck to find herself looking at another Ginny, who looked back at her with a lascivious smile. Not only the girl in the bed was really enjoying herself, but the greater shock for Ginny came when the two lovers switched positions, and she could have a clear look at the man. Dream-Ginny was having sex with dream-Snape.

(End of the dream)

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Ginny woke up with a start from her disturbing dream, panting and embarrassed. She instinctively checked underneath the sheets to see if she was still fully dressed or naked. She felt immensely relieved to see she still had her clothes on. Her eyes scanned the room for farther confirmation that everything looked the same, and that it had all been a nightmare - or a dream? The moon was full that night, and her silver rays pierced the darkness through the richly elaborated Arab window blinds. In the middle of the room stood the Ottoman couch, wrapped in that game of light and shadow. Snape was still there, breathing evenly. Ginny slipped out of the bed in a swift movement and tip toed towards the couch to check if Snape was still asleep.

"It's incredible how he can sleep in such an uncomfortable position," she thought, as she observed her teacher's chest fall and rise.

The moonlight played on his face, tracing geometric shapes. The lines of his face were more relaxed than Ginny could remember to have ever seen them. Even his customary frown had disappeared. Ginny was surprised to realise how much younger Snape looked in his sleep.

"Of course he does!" Ginny mentally slapped herself. "He's the same age as Lupin, which means he's much younger than my father!"

The images of her dream were still vivid in her mind, troubling her. Ginny stood there staring silently at her teacher. For the first time in her life, she realised that a teacher is first of all a man. Obviously, Snape was far from handsome, but he was not that ugly either. She remembered her mother telling her once that looks are not all that matters with charming man. Ginny fixed that pale face as if looking for the answer to the question that was tormenting her.

"Can I possibly feel attraction for him?" she asked herself, as her stare wandered over his features.

"Get back to bed!" Snape mumbled lazily, without even bothering to open his eyes.

The unexpected sound of his voice made Ginny jump, and she raced back to the bed and under the sheets. She felt terribly ashamed of her silly behaviour. Snape had probably been only half-asleep. Sleep deserted her for the rest of the night, and she actually did not want to sleep it at all. She was too much afraid to have another dream like the previous one. Now she wanted more than ever to be back at Hogwarts with her friends.