An Unforgettable Love Story

She covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I..."

Severus stood up, unsure of himself all of a sudden. It seemed his heart had been glued together, only to be smashed by a sledgehammer. "Now it seems I know what you were up to that night."

"Severus, I had to. He offered me protection, said he would help me, and..."

"Stop! I don't want to know anymore. I sincerely thought that maybe it was something else that took you there that night, maybe even that it had only been your first time at the horrid place. But it seems apparent that there were multiple occurrences."

Clytemnestra watched as Severus threw on his black robe and covered his naked body. He suddenly felt ashamed and embarrassed for himself, though he tried desperately to not let it show.

"I'm a more accomplished Legilimens that you'll ever be Severus, and I sorry to say I know exactly how you feel. Do you think I'm proud of what it did?"

"By your reaction a second ago, it would seem like you rather enjoyed it."

She tried not to laugh, but it was difficult. "Do you honestly think that whore of a Death Eater wouldn't be as rough as you were just now? That was unlike you. You were always so gentle, so tender. That wasn't you making love to me. That was your anger that has been boiling inside of you for 18 years finally being released."

Severus' eyes wandered around his office. "Just tell me, truthfully, were there others? Besides Malfoy, was there anyone else?"

"No. They wanted me, oh yes, but many had wives who would kill them on a moment's notice if they found out. The Dark Lord even eyed me several times, though I think his personal vanity had the best of him. And if he hadn't, there would have been no possible way for my mark to have been situated on my shoulder and not my arm. Lucius was more devious that the others; he tricked poor Narcissa over and over again. And, of course, she was so blindly in love with him that it wouldn't have mattered if I had marched in the Manor and locked myself in room with him.

"Listen, please. I did everything for you. I loved you more than life itself, and to be Death Eater is as good as giving up your life. I was still an Auror at the time, and I thought, maybe if I could get out, then I could do the world some good. I hadn't killed anybody yet, so my conscious was still fairly clean, and at the time, you wouldn't have conceived me leaving. I took matters into my own hands, and for the only time it my life, I didn't think the situation through."

Severus let his mind wander silently for several minutes. True, he could still find reason enough to hate her. But in his heart he could never really. Their little encounter had proved that. She was his one weakness, and he wanted her, all of her.

He began speaking quite slowly, making sure his words were perfect. "Perhaps we should start over. From the beginning. Forget about our past and focus on our future. We will not get anywhere with our history. I love you. I do not want to lose you again. But we are also colleagues and professors. Our first objective should be first and foremost to protect these students and make sure they are prepared for what lies ahead. If we can manage to meet every now and then, we can, and we will."

He sat quietly, allowing her to think through what he just said. That was her way, always thinking, contemplating her next action.

After what felt like hours, she said simply, "Ok."

She stood up, put on her robes, and walked out of the office. She turned slowly before she left and said to Severus, "Please, call me Nessa, like you used to?"

"I love you, Nessa."