Hunted

Chapter 4: A Kiss is Just a Kiss

Ravena Hawkins sat next to Severus Snape on the overstuffed leather divan in the study of the Hawkins family mansion. Her brilliant blue eyes stared over at her companion with a longing look. Snape lounged back on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. His sullen eyes surveyed the mahogany bookcases lined from floor to ceiling with leather-bound tomes. Ravena sidled closer to Snape, her thigh now pressing against his. Snape shot her a sideways glance, then his eyes rose to stare at the elaborately-carved wooden panels that covered the ceiling.

"Really, Severus," Ravena huffed, "just how long do you intend to stay mad at me?"

Snape didn't answer. He merely edged away from her on the divan to study the world globe perched on the mahogany end table. Little lights twinkled on the globe, highlighting the locations of the various investments of the vast Hawkins fortunes. The lights brightened or dimmed depending on the degree of success or failure of the investment.

Ravena watched him, a pout perched on her wine-colored lips. Their passionate kiss before the end of the last term had left her desirous for more. What she had hoped would be a summer of his company had turned out quite differently. For at the beginning of her holidays, she had been called away on a fool's errand that took her far from Hogwarts and lasted all summer long. Upon her return, Snape had turned a cold shoulder to her every attempt to explain her long absence. He seemed determined to make her suffer for what he assumed was a summer of wanton pleasure-seeking without him.

"Do you really believe that I was cavorting on the beaches all summer with some sun-tanned Greek god?" she soothed. "I told you, it was family business. I didn't get to the beaches at all." She lifted her head and thrust her chest toward him, showing off her alabaster neck and the milky-white bare shoulders emerging above the off-the-shoulder gown. Her delicate finger stroked her collarbone. "Look! I'm not the least bit tan. Don't you think I'd have some color if I was romping on the beaches?"

Snape's head whipped around. His eyes locked upon the expanse of flawless white flesh above the scooped neckline of the plum-colored satin gown. He cocked an eyebrow.

"How I wish that I was on those beaches." Ravena sighed. "You can't imagine the gorgeous view. That crystal clear water and cloudless sky. Instead, I spent my days in those infernal incense-choked shops in the Ephesus bazaar, haggling with some sweaty salesman in the forty degree heat." She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the memory of the scent.

Snape shot her an incredulous look.

"Well, it's true," Ravena insisted, meeting his gaze. "Then riding around out-of-the-way locales on desolate islands on the back of a donkey. Now there's a smell I wish I could forget! And all for the sake of a bloody jewel." She scowled.

Snape's head whipped around to face her. His eyes narrowed with a cunning glare. His curiosity piqued.

"What sort of jewel?" he inquired, arching an eyebrow.

Ravena's faced flushed with alarm at the slip. "Nothing," she rejoined. "Just a bit of family business, as I said before."

Snape's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Family business that takes two whole months?" he inquired.

"Well, yes," Ravena insisted. "Two tortuous months of my summer holidays wasted." She crossed her arms, a pout returning to her lips. "And two agonizing months without your company, Severus." Her eyes softened. She cast him a disconsolate look. "Unless you count those three days in early August when I returned for Angela's wedding." Her lips curled into an inviting grin. She walked her fingers up the sleeve of his arm, a teasing tracery. "You were the highlight of my summer."

Snape looked unconvinced. "Really?" He sneered. "How touching!"

Ravena gazed down into her own lap, her mind hard at work. It was bad enough that her summer was squandered searching for that blasted trinket. But Severus' attitude upon her return was almost unbearable. His insane jealousy drove her to distraction. And his resistance to her advances only further enflamed her desire for him.

And now that Hogwarts was back in session, she was forced to resume an appearance of propriety in front of the students. Any trysts that she might devise had to be carried out with the utmost discretion. That proved difficult without a cooperative accomplice. She had to win him back. But how?

Ravena cast Snape a sidelong glance. A sly smile played upon those full lips. She leaned in toward him.

"Severus, you look as though you could use a little color," she whispered. Her bottom lip skimmed against his sallow cheek. "Perhaps a little rouge artfully applied with the proper stroke. There." She pressed her lips to his cheek. Then her hand turned his face, her mouth hovering a fraction of an inch from his thin pale lips. "Or maybe here." She met him this time with a tender kiss. She pulled away, holding her breath and bracing for his reaction.

He cocked an eyebrow. A deprecating smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Are you trying to seduce me?" he asked, casting her an incredulous look. "You are wasting your time."

"Is that a dare?" she rejoined, arching her thin eyebrows.

"I am impervious to seduction," Snape replied with a confident glare. "Even from you, Ravena." His dark eyes swept over her curvaceous body.

"I never back down from a challenge," Ravena retorted. "I can reduce any man to a quivering Gobflubber in three kisses, if I choose. I'll wager that I can get a reaction from you. And if I win, you must dance with me. A tango. I name the time and place."

"And if I win?" Snape rejoined, cocking a self-assured eyebrow.

"Just name your prize," Ravena replied, adjusting the bodice on her satin gown. She flashed him a coy look.

"If I win," he sneered, "then I teach your Defense Against the Dark Arts classes for one day. My choice of curriculum. No interference."

Ravena's face fell with disappointment at his choice. "All right," she replied, shrugging. "If that's what you want."

"Rules of engagement," Snape said. "You get three kisses. Nothing more."

"Don't worry," Ravena retorted, "I won't need any more. Are you ready?" She flashed him her best come-hither look. A slender finger beckoned him toward her.

"Ready," Snape replied, his face a picture of bland indifference.

Ravena leaned forward. Her right hand grasped the labels of his robes and pulled him sharply toward her. Her left hand slid up his chest to the nape of his neck and then ran through his greasy black hair. She met him with a long, deep, wet kiss full on the lips. She pulled away with a slow, teasing brush of a ruby lip against his chin.

Her blue eyes studied his face, searching for any signs of a response. His dark eyes stared back at her, impassioned, bottomless, black holes. His face registered only apathy.

"Is that your best shot?" he mocked with a scornful look. "I felt nothing at all."

"Nothing?" Ravena queried, raising an eyebrow.

"Less than nothing," Snape repeated with that smug smirk.

A troubled look flashed across Ravena's face. She must be losing her touch. Perhaps she had underestimated him. Time to up the ante.

That sly smile was back on her lips. This time, she slid her body into his lap, settling herself comfortably upon his thighs.

"That wasn't part of the bet," Snape protested, the smirk wiped from his face.

"But it isn't prohibited either," Ravena retorted. "I don't recall any restrictions on where I sit to perform the kiss." She flashed him a crafty smile.

Snape frowned. His mouth dropped open to protest and then snapped shut again. He had lost that one.

Ravena leaned in nestling her chest against his body. She wrapped one arm around his neck. With the other, she stroked his cheek. Then she planted her most passionate kiss upon his lips. It lasted a full minute and a half. When their lips parted, Snape gasped for air.

Ravena's eyes studied his face, a self-satisfied smirk playing on her lips. Snape stared back with an indifferent expression, apparently nonchalant about the whole affair. Ravena's face fell.

She heard the lock click. Her head whipped around to see the doorknob to the study turn. With a look of alarm on her face, she jumped off of Snape's lap. She smoothed her dress and forced her face into a look of purest innocence. Her eyes raced back to the door and then rolled with annoyance when the figure of Lucius Malfoy appeared framed in the doorway.

"Hello, Severus, Ravena," Malfoy said, his cold gray eyes sweeping over them. They stopped on Snape's face and stared. His lips turned up in a leer. "I trust I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Actually, you are," Ravena huffed with a frown.

"Obviously," Malfoy sneered, tapping his cheek with his finger.

Ravena's gaze flicked from Malfoy's face to Snape's. She gasped. Her nimble fingers fished her handkerchief from her dress pocket.

"Lipstick," she whispered to Snape under her breath.

She handed him the handkerchief. His sallow complexion flushed momentarily with the slightest hint of color, as he wiped the telltale smudges of rouge from his cheek. His hand absently pocketed the handkerchief.

Ravena turned back to Malfoy. "So, Lucius," she said with an impatient wave, "what brings you to the study?"

"Actually, I was looking for Severus," he replied. He fixed an icy stare on Ravena. "Your mother sent me to find you both. It is fortunate that I stumbled across you before she did." He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Perhaps I had better go," Snape said, rising from the divan. "It would be best if she did not discover us alone together." He swept toward the door, his black robes billowing in his wake. "Lucius," he greeted, nodding to Malfoy as he passed.

Ravena walked toward the door to follow Snape. But Malfoy held out his hand to block her passage. His finger ran along her bare shoulder. It curled around a stray tendril of ebony hair, cascading from her upswept coiffure. Then it ran up her neck to her chin. He held her face in his hand and pulled it close to his own.

"Care to continue your little past-time with me?"

Ravena thrust her chin upward, freeing herself from his grasp. Her azure eyes flashed him a defiant glare. "Where is your other half?" she inquired.

"She's entertaining herself elsewhere," Malfoy replied with a snigger.

"Perhaps you should reserve your kisses for her," Ravena rejoined, curling her lip in disdain. "She's clearly not getting enough, judging from the sour expression permanently arranged on her face."

Malfoy's sneer melted from his face at her rebuff. Ravena attempted to push past him, but he stopped her once more.

"Not so fast," he drawled. "We haven't completed our business. I talked with Medea on your behalf and now you owe me. Where is the amulet?" His cold gray eyes raked over her body with a lascivious stare.

Ravena's hand wandered to the bodice of her gown and then froze. She eyed him with suspicion.

"What assurances do I have that you've kept your word?" Ravena inquired. "How do I know that mother is not out there hexing Severus as we speak?"

"I spoke to your mother, vouching for Severus," Malfoy drawled. "She has accepted your, shall we say, relationship with him. She has agreed not to harm him. I give you my word as a gentleman."

"A gentleman?" Ravena guffawed. "And I am the Muggle Queen of England."

"If you don't believe me," Malfoy intoned, gesturing toward the door, "you are free to speak with your mother yourself."

Ravena peered out into the sitting room to see Snape in conversation with her mother. Her eyes studied her mother's face, trying to read her emotions. Ravena's brow furrowed.

Medea Hawkins, an elderly witch whose silvery hair was pulled back so tightly into a bun that the wrinkles on her face were stretched taunt, was engaged in a discussion with the Potions Master. The woman wore a smile of forced civility, but she did not appear the least bit angry or agitated. It was a marked departure from the way she usually reacted to Ravena's suitors. No raging fury. No cold glare. No hexes or curses. Ravena stared for several minutes. Then she turned back to Malfoy, apparently satisfied that he had kept his word.

"Well?" Malfoy inquired, his eyebrows raised. "We had a deal."

Ravena sighed. Her hand reached down into the bodice of her dress, extracting a small velvet pouch. Malfoy's eyes followed her movements with a leer on his lips. Ravena's fingers tugged on the drawstring of the pouch, pulling it open. Then she reached inside extracting an object wrapped in a chamois cloth. Ravena opened it and displayed the object for Malfoy.

A large emerald lay in her open palm. The gem was flawed with an imperfection down the center that gave it the appearance of a reptilian eye. The stone was mounted in a setting of white gold, cast in the form of snakes encircling it. Malfoy's eyes opened wide when he saw it. His mouth curled into a delighted grin.

"The Eye of the Serpent," he whispered, a lustful look glittering in his cold eyes.

His greedy fingers reached for the gem, but Ravena closed her delicate hand around it.

"One wonders why you want this so much," she inquired, tapping her chin with a slender finger. "It appears to have no magical properties or powers. Other than that it once belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

Malfoy met her inquisitive look with one of surprise.

"I, of course, did a little research on the subject," she volunteered. "I wouldn't want to be party to something criminal." She raised her eyebrows.

"I have my own reasons for wanting the stone," Malfoy replied with a haughty stare. "None of which concern you." He held out his hand for the amulet. "Now hand it over. Or shall I have another little talk with your mother and explain what I just caught you and Severus doing in the study?" He cast a meaningful glance toward the divan and then another toward the sitting room.

Ravena felt a pang of remorse for what she was about to do, but what other choice did she have? With reluctance, she gave the gem to Malfoy. He smiled and tucked the emerald safely away in his vest pocket.

"Thank you," he replied, taking Ravena's hand in his. "It has been a pleasure." He raised her hand to his lips and placed a lingering kiss upon it. He looked up. "Care to reconsider my earlier offer?"

"No, thank you," Ravena replied, flashing him a look of utmost revulsion and pulling her hand from his grasp.

She turned abruptly and fled the room. Malfoy's eyes watched her go with an appreciative stare. He chuckled.

* * * * * * * *

Ravena bustled through the massive sitting room, her eyes scanning the faces of the mingling guests. She was looking for Snape and her mother, but they were not in sight. Where could the depraved old crone have taken him? Was she up to another one of her tricks? Could Lucius have lied to her?

Ravena's sense of alarm heightened as she dashed into the solarium. She opened the massive French doors and rushed out onto the veranda. Her body leaned against one of the cool marble pillars supporting the lattice pergola overhead. Once-showy blooms of clematis and morning glory hung limply in the afternoon heat. She rested for just a moment, catching her breath. Her restless gaze made a cursory pass over the sweeping lawns of the estate. Still no sign of her mother or Snape.

She was just about to turn back to the house, when her eyes caught a glimpse of black moving among the meticulously-trimmed privet hedges of the maze. She could barely make out two figures, heading in the direction of her mother's knot garden and the bog beyond. This was where her mother grew the most potent and deadly ingredients for her "special concoctions," as her mother referred to the poisons that she brewed. Ravena gasped.

She raced down the marble staircase and across the lawns as fast as her high-heels could carry her. She was about to enter the maze, when a tall wizard wearing flowing golden robes stepped in front of her path, blocking her way.

"Hello, Ravena," he drawled, flashing a dazzling smile. The sun glinted off of those pearly white teeth and the long golden locks of hair. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Get out of my way, Fredrick," Ravena replied, brushing him aside with her hand and attempting to push past him. "I haven't got time for your games now."

"Not so fast," Fredrick rejoined, grabbing hold of her shoulders and swinging her around. "Your mother told me that I might find you here. I just want to chat. A little harmless chat." He tossed his head and flashed another toothy grin.

Ravena shrugged her shoulders, trying to shake loose from his grip. "Release me, Fredrick," she commanded through clenched teeth. "I'm warning you."

"No!" Fredrick blustered, his eyes boring into her face. "You've been avoiding me all day, chasing after that...that poor excuse of a man." His hand gave a cursory wave. "I've been watching you shamelessly throw yourself at him all day. You could have been lavishing your affections on a worthier fellow, namely me!" He shot a spritz of breath spray in his mouth and cast her another smile.

Ravena rolled her eyes with revulsion. "Look, Fredrick," she replied, "I'm not interested in you and I never will be. And my private life is just that, my private life. I will pursue whomever I will." Her blue eyes flashed angrily. "Now for the last time, let me pass."

"I don't think so," Fredrick replied with an unpleasant grin on his handsome face. His eyes glazed over like ice. His hand seized her arm and held her in a vice grip.

Ravena's right hand reached into her pocket. Her fingers curled around the handle of her wand. Her lips turned up into a cunning smile.

"Have it your way, Fredrick," she purred. "But don't say I didn't warn you." She whipped out her wand, pointed it at his chest, and uttered "Petrificus totalus!"

The spell hit. Fredrick released his grip on her arm, his face registering a look of surprise. Then his limbs snapped together against his rigid frame. His body wobbled in place for a moment or two, before falling face forward in the dirt. Ravena stepped aside, not even bothering to break his fall.

"Stupid dolt!" she spat, as she watched him topple.

She stepped over his stiff body and raced off down the path. Around another turn of the maze, she came face to face with her mother. The old woman wore a gown of palest silver satin, the skin on her neck hanging loosely over the stiff lace collar. Her wrinkled lips curled up into a smile at the sight of her beloved daughter. A gnarled hand wrapped around her daughter's wrist.

Ravena's eyes searched over her mother's shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of Snape. Her blue eyes flooded with disappointment. He was not in sight.

"Mum?" Ravena queried, her eyes now boring into her mother's with a defiant glare. "What have you done with him?"

"With whom, dear?" Medea inquired, casting her daughter a look of feigned innocence.

"You know very well," Ravena insisted.

"Oh! Your Hogwarts colleague, the Potions Master." Medea's hand jerked with a spasm. The corners of her mouth twitched. Her eyes glittered with a malicious twinkle. "Not to worry, dear. I haven't done anything with him." She frowned. "I gave my word to my cousin, Lucius, not to touch him and I have kept my word. Although, frankly, I don't know what you see in him." She furrowed her brow and searched her daughter's eyes with a piercing stare. "Surely, you could have fallen for a more handsome man. Someone like Fredrick Sharp, perhaps?" Her thin eyebrows lifted.

"Not this again," Ravena answered, rolling her eyes. "Fredrick is a vacuous conceited bore. I would rather die than marry him."

"But his family and ours go back a long way. Pure-blooded. Good society. And you can't deny that he's quite handsome."

"Yes, if you like preening peacocks," Ravena rejoined with an angry glare. "Why don't you just hire him to strut about the front lawns? Or perhaps, you could marry him yourself, since you're so fond of him."

Medea's lips twisted into an irritated sneer at her daughter's words. "There is no reasoning with you," Medea huffed. "I suppose there's no dissuading you from this Mr. Snape either?"

"No!" Ravena replied, the rebellious look back in her eyes.

"You know, dear," Medea declared with a perverse smile on her lips. "I don't wish to disappoint you, but Mr. Snape insisted that you two are merely colleagues and no more."

"Really?" Ravena protested. "What did you expect him to say after you hexed him for merely dancing with me?" Then her blue eyes glanced down at the ground with a melancholy stare. She hesitated. "And right now he's angry with me. We had a little tiff."

Medea's face brightened. Those wrinkled lips stretched into a hopeful grin. "Well, we'll see what your Aunt Eudora has to say. She's talking with him in the rose gardens right now."

Ravena's head jerked up. Her eager eyes scanned the path in front of her. She wrested free of her mother's clawed grasp and whisked away down the path in the direction of the gardens.

Ravena exited the hedge maze to see an older woman and a brawny wizard walking toward her. The woman wore a smart crimson Muggle suit with white gloves. Her short, stylish, snow-white hair peeked from under a matching pillbox hat. The wizard on her arm was tall and muscular with brown curly hair and sea-green eyes.

"Hello, Aunt Eudora, Francis," Ravena greeted with a wide grin.

"Hello, dear," Aunt Eudora replied, releasing Francis' arm and taking Ravena's hand.

Ravena leaned forward and gave her aunt an affectionate peck on the cheek. Eudora returned the gesture. She beamed over at her niece.

"I've just met your young man," Eudora intimated, giving Ravena's hand a reassuring pat. "He's a fine choice. I could see it in his eyes. Courage. Ambition. Yes, just what I would expect from you, dear." She paused, studying Ravena's face.

"And?" Ravena queried, staring back with an expectant look.

"And?" Eudora echoed. A look of understanding suddenly flashed in her eyes. "Oh! And love. Yes, he's in love with you, dear. I'm quite certain of it."

A broad smile spread across Ravena's face. "Thank you, Aunt Eudora," she bubbled, giving her aunt a jubilant hug. "And where is he now?"

"I left him just beyond the fountain," Eudora rejoined, pointing to an enormous marble basin behind her. "I'm sure he's still there."

Ravena dodged around her aunt and tore off down the path.

"Hey, what about me?" called Francis after her. "Don't I get a hug too, cousin?"

But Ravena was far too preoccupied to heed his call. Her feet raced down the pea-gravel paths to the rose gardens, pulling up short when she caught sight of the black hair and robes of Severus Snape. She stopped, gasping for breath. Her hands brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and smoothed her dress. Then she assumed a nonchalant stroll as she approached the seated form on the bench.

Snape sat with his arms crossed over his chest, a brooding expression on his face. His black eyes glanced up at her with a cold glare, then flickered and stared away across the gardens.

"Is that seat taken?" Ravena asked, pointing to the bench on which he sat. She flashed him a shy smile.

"No," he replied with a dour look. "I was just leaving." Snape rose to his feet.

Ravena's face now flashed with alarm. "No, please don't go," she begged, seizing his arm.

He cast her a withering glare and jerked his arm from her grasp.

"Please, stay," she whispered, shooting him a pleading look. "I just want to talk with you."

Snape's eyes bored into hers. He hesitated for a moment. Then he plunked himself heavily back on the bench and crossed his arms.

Ravena sat primly next to him. She arranged her gown over her knees. Her eyes stared into her lap with a demure look, avoiding his stare.

"So what happened?" Ravena probed, not daring to meet his gaze. "Mother didn't hex you, did she?"

"Not this time," he scorned, gripping the bench with white knuckles. "Instead she gave me a tour of her private gardens and we discussed potions. Poisons, to be precise." He raised an eyebrow. He sneered. "She made sure to emphasize just how unworthy she thinks me to pursue your affections."

"I assure you that I don't think you unworthy." Ravena replied. Her blue eyes cast him a wistful look. A shy smile perched on those ruby lips.

"Then she foisted your seer aunt upon me." Snape's mouth curled into a look of disdain. "An odd woman. She insisted on staring into my face and then presumed to give me advice."

"Aunt Eudora gave you advice?" Ravena's eyes popped open wide. "Whatever did she say?"

"Nothing of importance," Snape replied. He cast Ravena a look that let her know that he had no intention of divulging the details. "I suppose she fancies herself a great seer like Sybil Trelawney," he added with a disdainful sneer.

"Actually," Ravena replied, a look of amusement dancing in her eyes. "She's not a seer at all. She is Angela's Muggle mother."

"Angela's Muggle mother?" Snape's eyebrows rocketed skyward. His mouth fell agape.

"Yes," Ravena insisted, nodding her head. "She denies that she has any magical power at all. But she does have an uncanny ability to read character. As far as I know, she's never been wrong yet."

"Well, she is wrong about me," he snapped with another scowl. His dark eyes fell upon Ravena's startled face. "And I suppose you have some criticism to add?"

"No, of course not." Ravena's azure eyes opened wider. She shook her head. "I just wanted to sit with you. That's all."

Ravena sat beside Snape on the bench in awkward silence. She cast him a quick wistful glance and then stared down at the bench between them. She caught sight of his hand, still gripping the edge of the marble seat. Her own hand wandered over and rested on the bench next to his. She glimpsed his dark eyes staring over at her and averted her gaze. She blushed, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. A shy smile played on the corner of those full lips. Snape's hand slid over on top of hers.

"As I recall," Snape said, raising his eyebrows, "we never did finish our little contest. You still have one kiss left, I believe?"

Ravena's lips curled into a mischievous grin. She sidled closer to him on the bench. She puckered those ruby lips and leaned in for the kiss. Her eyes had nearly closed, when a glimmer of reflected gold caught her attention. Her head jerked around just as she was about to land the kiss. The expression on her face rapidly changed from surprise to disgust, as she spotted the figure of Fredrick Sharp lumbering toward them down the garden path. Bloody hell! Not him again!

Seeing her reaction, Snape's head whipped around to cast a withering glare in the direction of the interloper.

"Him?" he hissed, his face contorted with fury. "I have had enough. Ravena, I'll see you back at Hogwarts."

Snape rose to his feet. He strode down the garden path with a determined stride, his black robes flaring behind him.

Ravena cursed her luck. Anger wrought of frustration rose in her breast. Her hand felt in her pocket and took hold of her wand. Before Fredrick even reached her, she pointed her wand in his direction. She uttered a hex through her clenched teeth. Without even watching to see if her spell hit, she turned and fled down the garden path.

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