Dark Coil

Dark Coil Chapter Eighteen

Remus opened the shopping bags and began to lay the clothing Olivia and Poppy had selected on Snape's hospital bed. Lupin had been gracious enough to accompany the witches on the shopping trip, and since Severus and Remus were roughly the same size and build, the fit hadn't been much of a problem. Nor were they frustrated when it came to color selection. Slacks? Black. Shirt? Black. Shoes? Black. Jacket? The man was a walking eclipse.

"I will have a taxi waiting downstairs," Lupin told the silent Snape.

Black hair gleaming from recent washing and tied back in a low tail, Snape sat in a chair by the window. Glancing over the clothing, Snape said simply, "Thank you, Remus."

Lupin nodded briefly and left the room.

Snape reached for the new clothing and inspected each item carefully before pulling it on. The Muggle doctors, their eyes filled with amazement for Snape's rapid recovery, had signed his release papers just this morning.

And not a moment too soon.

Snape's personality had eroded in direct proportion with his pain. The stronger he grew, the more saturnine he became. On the third day, Snape had been transferred from ICU to a private room on the ward floor, where the impression he made upon the nursing staff was immediate and disastrous. After two young women had abandoned the field, the first in tears, the second declaring, "He can piss himself!" the ward matron had taken the matter into her own capable hands.

This lady had spent the majority of her life as an Army nurse and had retired a full major. In the seventies, she and many others had nursed sick and dying children while fending off Vietnamese deserters during Operation Baby Lift. The woman had seen action on the Faulkland Islands and served during Desert Storm, operating a field hospital directly on the front lines. Her hair was gunmetal gray to match her eyes. She wore black frame glasses and disdained makeup. She liked her meat rare, her whisky neat and she wasn't about to let some razor-tongued academic with a bad hair cut foul up the smoothly-oiled machine that was her ward.

Ironically, her name was Daisy.

The purposeful squeek, squeek, squeek of rubber soles on vinyl should have alerted the outraged wizard, but he was so deeply immersed in his indignation over what had been attempted upon his person, he had paid the determined steps little heed.

As a result, he was somewhat surprised and a tad intimidated when he looked up to find a female version of the Hogwarts gamekeeper standing in the doorway to his private room.

While she was, perhaps not as large as Hagrid, her presence filled the room. The blue glare of the florescent lights flashing off her glasses magnified the irritated gleam in her eyes. Snape stopped himself in mid-cower, then matched the creature in white glare for glare.

"Sir, what is the meaning of this abominable behavior? My nurses have duties to perform and they haven't the time to indulge your maidenly sensibilities." She strode into the room as she spoke and now stood looming over the irate wizard.

Feeling slightly Longbottom-ish, but blaming it on his recent run-in with the law, Snape launched into his defense. "Madam, have you any idea what those ladies--and I use that term quite loosely let me assure you--have you any idea what they were attempting to do?" He cocked one arrogant brow. Surely, justice was in his corner. He then watched in amazement as the woman's lips slowly disappeared into her face and were replaced with the barest of slits, while her nostrils, her nostrils actually expanded to twice their normal size!

"Sir, my nurses--and let me assure you they are ladies--my nurses were to remove the catheter from your person. I have been informed by two members of staff that you object to the removal process. Is that true?" Snape drew back. The matron had not raised her voice, simply projected it in such a forceful manner it was almost a physical presence.

Snape recovered enough to curl his lip disdainfully. In his most scorn-filled voice he addressed the frowning head nurse. "It is not the procedure, but the personnel that I find objectionable." Snape felt the heat returning to his cheeks. "I am not in the habit of allowing such...familiarities."

Noticing the flush of red that touched the sallow cheeks, Matron considered taking pity on the embarrassed man, but she had a ward to run here and she could not allow patients to undermine the authority of her staff.

"Professor Snape, while I appreciate the discomfort you must be feeling at this time, I assure you the staff here are all trained professionals. They see you as a patient, not as a man. I can promise you the removal will be complete before you realize they have even begun."

"I fail to see how you could possibly 'appreciate my discomfort,' madam as you are not the one being assaulted. I suggest that since I am perfectly capable of removing the...ah-device on my own, I be allowed to do so, thus freeing your staff for more important matters." Satisfied with his irrefutable logic, Snape leaned back into his pillows, fully expecting her enthusiastic agreement.

"You shall fly to the moon!" the matron bellowed.

Snape refrained from asking why he would want to do something so asinine.

"Sir, this is a medical facility where those trained in the medical profession practice their medical skills. You are not a trained medical professional and you will not perform a medical procedure while I am on duty. Now, I am going to remove the catheter and you, sir will lie still and allow me to perform my job. If you refuse to comply..." Here she fixed Snape with a threatening glower.

"What will you do?" the trapped wizard snarled. "Sit on me?"

The matron reached above Snape's head to a shelf holding a box of latex gloves. Pulling out a pair she snapped them forcefully over her hands before answering briskly.

"I will be otherwise occupied with your willie. There are two big, large lads down in maintenance, however who will be more than willing to pin you to the bed. And while they have you there, I shall sweeten your personality with a bit of an enema. You are most likely constipated, hence your sour disposition. A nice, warm solution should set you right."

Snape opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut with an audible 'click!' then turned his face away.

Daisy, the Matron allowed the agitated man in the bed to ruminate over the matter for a bit before she surprised him by inquiring patiently.

"Well Professor, will you allow me to proceed?" She watched as the muscles in the angular jaw tightened. His thin lips barely moved as he responded.

"What other choice have I? You may proceed."

"Right," she responded briskly, and set to work.

She kept up a steady flow of one-sided conversation as she worked, hoping to put him more at ease. He didn't seem inclined to answer, keeping his deep-set eyes fixed on some point on the plaster ceiling.

Finally, she inquired, "I see by your chart you are an instructor? What subject do you teach?"

"Chemistry," Snape responded in a brittle voice.

"So, you like teaching?"

"It has its rewards. Summer holidays being one of them." He was rewarded by a rich laugh as her hands continued in their task. Before he realized it, she was rolling up the sterile pad and arranging his hospital gown.

Pulling his gaze from the ceiling, Snape drawled, "Isn't this the point where you say, 'See, that was nothing to fuss about'?"

"I would never insult you in that manner. This was important to you. I would never dream of belittling your feelings." Daisy removed the gloves and tossed them into the wastebasket.

Snape growled, "What care have you for the feelings of a child murderer?"

"Pish-posh!" Daisy groused, causing Snape to flash an inquiring glance her way.

"You are no more a killer than I am," she stated, much to Snape's amazement. "Oh, I am not saying you haven't killed. No." She snapped the sheets in a professional manner. They landed smoothly, evenly, as if even they dared not cross her. "You have killed, but you are no killer." The Matron studied him carefully, gray eyes holding fast to black. "You have the look of a soldier about you. I should know. I've seen thousands just like you. But my question is this: What war are you fighting?"

Moving to the foot of his bed she took up his chart and made a few notations before looking to the wary man on the bed. " I don’t believe you killed those children. I am more inclined to believe you are hunting those who did." Returning the chart to its hook, she concluded, "Don't make me regret my inclination."

Returning to the bedside, the gray-haired nurse folded her arms across her ample bosom. "Now Professor Snape, it is very likely the doctors will release you tomorrow. You have made an amazing recovery, considering the wounds you sustained. I ask that you behave yourself until such time as you are released. Could you possibly refrain from further outbursts for the next twenty-four hours, as a very great favor to me?" Her lips did not smile but there was a hint of admiration in her eye as she spoke.

Accepting the truce offered, Snape nodded. "I shall be on my best behavior," he assured her.

As Daisy left the room, she heard a low murmur.

"But only for the next twenty-four hours."

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Severus Snape inspected each item of clothing carefully before pulling it on. He approved of the cut of the slacks and the stitching on the shirt was tiny and tight.

Satisfactory.

While his shoulder and chest ached and pulled in the wounded areas, it felt good to be moving, dressing himself, doing anything besides lying in that damn bed. Through legal wrangling and deal making, Olivia had succeeded in getting Snape released into Lupin's custody. He was forbidden to leave London until an inquest was called to determine whether there was ample evidence for prosecution.

The delay in returning to Hogwarts greatly disturbed the moody wizard. He had spoken to Olivia repeatedly of the grave danger she faced outside the protective wards of the wizarding school, but she was unmoved. Snape had broken down and revealed the reason for his concern, Voldemort calling her image from the silent flame, loosing his hounds to the hunt. Even now Death Eaters and their supporters were searching for the woman whose form had been burned into their brains. Her revelation of a spy in the Muggle government only increased his agitation.

He had refused to provide further information as to his actions the night of the shooting, and he steadfastly refused to undergo examination using the Visum Memoria scroll. Olivia was frustrated to the point of physical violence. She had considered using her newly-tapped powers to "persuade" the stubborn man to accept her lead, but she could not bring herself to violate him and the tentative trust they had established.

So, twenty-four hours prior to the inques, they were in a stand-off.

Snape was cinching the belt around his narrow waist when a soft tapping at the door caught his attention. "Enter!" he barked.

Olivia popped her head around the door, "You decent?"

"I would have hardly permitted your entry had I been less than fully clothed, Miss McGonagall." The words slid from his tongue with more acid than intended. He was still irked by her refusal to flee for the safety of Hogwarts and Dumbledore, but at the same time her staunch support and gentle company pleased him.

"Severus, you make me feel so special, I'm giddy," Olivia teased as she stepped into the room. "I am amazed that some lucky witch hasn’t claimed you for her own, you silver-tongued devil." Her green eyes moved appreciatively over Snape's lean form, delighting in the amount of neck revealed by the open collar of his black shirt. She could even make out a few curls of fine black hair peeking above the first button. "Black is a good color for you, Severus, you should wear it more often."

Snape snorted and turned his back to gather up the empty boxes, bags and wrappings scattered across the bed. That was fine with Olivia as to her way of thinking the rear was just as tempting as the fore. Her lower belly clenched in delicious discomfort as the material of his shirt strained across an expanse of shoulder, the well-defined muscles dancing seductively before her eyes as they traveled down the tapered back, past the narrow waist and hips to rest on the high curve of his buttocks. Olivia's palms ached to tread the path her eyes had blazed. The womanly places in her body filled with heat as she imagined grasping at the flexing muscles of his butt as Shape ground his hips into hers. Olivia felt her nipples tighten under her thin chemise, the soft material suddenly abrasive to the sensitive flesh.

While the temptation of his physical form was driving her frantic, the seductive qualities of his mind could not be disregarded. With humor so dry it could spontaneously combust, and a tongue that could cut glass, Snape managed to tickle and tease her mentally as well as emotionally. Simply attempting to keep up with his agile mind, much less surpass him was enough to keep Olivia cognitively fit.

She found herself falling deeper...

Tossing the rubbish in the waste can, Snape turned in time to catch the heated gaze being slathered over his body before Olivia averted her eyes. The experience both pleased and annoyed him. He had never been the focus of such single-minded seduction and the Y-chromosomes in his body preened themselves, urging him to surrender. The fact that Olivia actually desired him was irritating because outside of the obvious, he didn't know how he was supposed to react to her advances. He who constantly prided himself on his logical mental processes, the structured orderliness of his life, his damnable calm detachment, was faced with a situation where he had very little hands-on experience.

Don’t worry about it! the Y-chromosomes screamed. You are a quick study!

I don't even know what I am supposed to say now, Snape fumed.

You don't have to say anything. The sneaky little Ys whispered. Use that tongue for something other than lambasting first years!

I suppose I could kiss her, Snape thought.

YES!

cried the chorus in his bloodstream.

The floundering wizard watched in fascination as Olivia brushed a stray wisp of hair from her brow. Unthinkingly she moved her tongue along her upper lip, leaving a glistening trail of moisture that held the man enthralled. Olivia glanced sideways at Snape from beneath the shadow of her long lashes, before her green eyes darted away shyly. Snape felt his body react instantly to the 'come-hither' in that glance.

I suppose I really should say something before I kiss her. Complement her on her hair...or something. Tell her how delightful she is in that soft green dress that falls so softly from her shoulders and clings teasingly to her perky breasts. How when she stands in the light, just so, I can make out the juncture of her thighs and the outline of those silly, strappie panties...Oh gods!!! His brain was starving for blood since all the red cells in his body had decided to head south.

Nookie! Nookie! Nookie!

the dirty little Ys were chanting in his brain.

"Miss McGonagall?"

Olivia turned her face to him. "Yes?" she inquired softly.

His tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth, when it would have rather been glued to hers. Words failed Snape so he latched on to habit.

"If you have quite finished ravishing me in that nasty little mind of yours, we should be going." The words and tone felt slick and familiar in his mouth. They also left a very bitter taste.

Noooooooooooooo!

wailed the Ys in tinny little voices.

"Well…yes." Olivia stammered, set back by his harsh tone. "The head nurse is completing your paperwork. There will be some things that you must sign. Oh, by the way, I have made arrangements for Barker and Peale to handle the medical bills. They are a financial firm here in London that specializes in business transactions between Muggles and Wizards. The money will be transferred from your vault into their account as the bills come in to their office. It would have been a bit odd to have owls waiting around in hospital bookkeeping." Her voice faltered. "Don't you know?"

The awkward silence filled the room, expanding into the corners and pushing the oxygen from the chamber with an almost audible hiss. The pressure continued to build until Snape and Olivia felt their lungs would surely burst.

The door slammed open and the pair released penned up breath in a rush. Daisy marched onto field pushing before her a wheelchair, Madam Pomfrey in her wake. Lying on the seat was a sheaf of papers bound to a clipboard.

"Right," the Matron announced briskly. "You've managed to mind your manners for a solid twenty-four hours. Sir, I commend you. Now, if you will just sign here..." She scooped up the clipboard and poked it into Snape's lean abdomen. "And here." She moved smartly through the stack of papers. "And here." Snapping up another layer, "Here and here, just your initials, if you please." Lastly, handing him a smaller slip of paper, "And here. Done and done." Snatching the board from the wizard's numb fingers she grasped the back of the wheelchair and performed a neat doughnut, bringing the seat in line with Snape. "Now, if you will have a seat, I will--"

"I will most certainly not!" All the frustrations of the past few moments flung themselves out of Snape in one burst. He could admit he was a tad rusty in the romance department, but damned if he was going to be wheeled out of here like some decrepit oldster. His tone softened. "Madam, I commend you and your facility for your excellent care. Under your careful and professional hands I am a healed man. I am in no need of your wheeled chair to depart your excellent hospital."

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

Olivia covered her smile behind one hand.

Daisy never wavered. Pointing to the conveyance she smiled, "Now laddie, this is not a slur at your manhood. We all know you are hale and hearty. It is simple hospital policy that upon release, patients will be taken to the exit in a wheelchair." She cast a benign smile at Snape.

"No."

"Professor Snape, really!" snapped Poppy irritably.

"Severus, please!" Olivia sighed.

"I said no. I will not be paraded through the corridors of this hospital like some weak old man. I am perfectly capable of walking."

"Sit your skinny ass in the chair!" Matron ordered.

"Madam! Your language is not--"

"Look, I have a ward to tend to and I haven't got the time to sweet-talk you into following policy. Now, either sit your scrawny carcass in the chair or I will 'lose' these discharge papers and you will find yourself back in that bunk." She glared at Snape through her thick glasses.

Snape glared back.

"What's it going to be, soldier?" the Matron barked.

Cursing under his breath, Snape flopped into the chair.

Olivia fetched the shaving kit she had purchased for him, quickly checking the contents for his wand. Satisfied that all was in readiness, Olivia handed the leather case to Snape and moved to hold the door as Daisy wheeled the scowling wizard through.

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"He is not going to appreciate your little joke, you realize that, don't you?" Remus warned. His eyes traveled over the young witch sitting across from him in the hospital lobby. Hermione was wearing the shortest piece of material the wizard had ever seen. The tiny bit of blue denim barely covered the firm roundness of her bottom and gave him a tantalizing glimpse of slender shapely thigh as she crossed one long leg over the other. Her top was even more alluring in that the slinky pink material flowed like water over her well-developed breasts before ending in shimmering tucks around her narrow waist where she had fastened a glittering silver chain. Remus had known for years, since that disastrous time he taught at Hogwarts, that Miss Granger would grow in to a lovely young witch some day. He had just not quite prepared himself for the results. He had been attracted to her then and had hated himself for it. She had been a child! No, she had been a woman hiding in a child's body.

She was hiding no more and the results of her coming out were having devastating effects on Lupin's composure.

"Remus, I have waited seven years for an opportunity like this and I am not going to let it slip by. He has been telling me for years what a silly, empty headed little Muggle-born I am. He hasn't a clue of what he is talking about. I am simply providing him with a scientific opportunity for contrast and comparison. I 'm going to have a bit of fun at Professor Snape's expense," she giggled wickedly. "And he won't be able to do a thing about it."

"Well," Remus told Hermione, glancing at something over her shoulder, "You are about to find out."

The pair rose to see Olivia, Snape and the both Matrons exiting the elevator. Hermione tugged at the hem of her skirt settling the fabric more comfortably on her hips. Lupin leaned close to whisper, "It won't get any longer, you know." The warm spicy smell of his breath moved over her cheek and Hermione found herself once again reacting to Lupin's presence.

Snape wore a thunderous expression on his face as the wheelchair was brought to a halt by the shining glass doors. Almost before the wheels stopped rotating, he vaulted from the seat and drew his considerable height erect. "Now, Madam you have fulfilled your duty to me and this fine institution. I bid you good day." That said, Snape turned to push his way out on the street only to find himself attacked by a cinnamon-haired young woman who threw her arms about his neck before covering his astonished face with exuberant kisses.

"Oh, Uncle Sevvy!" Hermione wailed. "We were sooooooooooo worried about you!" She pressed her hands to Snape's cheeks and ignoring the growing fire in his black eyes rocked his head back and forth. "Now, promise me you won't go and get your self shot again. Daddy and I were beside ourselves." This said, she placed a loud, wet kiss on his lips before releasing him and darting quickly to Lupin's side. Snaking an arm around the lean wizard she gazed at him coquettishly, "Weren't we, Daddy? Weren't we simply beside ourselves with worry?"

Lupin shrugged at Snape and grinned his lopsided grin. "Simply beside ourselves."

Snape growled low in his throat and pushed the glass door open. He paused briefly and glancing back over his shoulder, addressed Daisy. "Thank you for your excellent care, Madam." And then he was gone.

Lupin cleared his throat, "Well, shall we go then?" And keeping his arm lazily draped over Hermione's shoulder, headed out the door.

"That's the niece?" the head nurse asked Poppy who was watching Hermione's butt sashay through the door.

"Ah, yes. The niece. A very lively young lady," Poppy muttered quickly.

"Humph!" Daisy snorted. "Take my advice and get her spayed." She spun the chair around and bidding them God Speed returned to the elevator.

Olivia and Poppy exchanged startled looks. "What was that all about, I wonder?" Poppy gasped.

"I imagine Miss Granger took the opportunity to tweak Severus' nose a bit," Olivia answered. "I wonder where she found that skirt?"

"Most likely in a toy shop," Poppy snapped.

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The ride to the flat Hermione had found for their use was accomplished in silence. Hermione sat grinning at Snape who was glowering out the window at the passing sights.

Mercifully, the flat was close by and the ride brief.

The flat was located in a block of similar dwellings. An American couple who spent their summers in London teaching and lecturing owned the flat and let it out to renters when they were not in residence. It was a roomy place, kitchen, sitting room, office, three bedrooms each with a private bath. There was even a small walled garden with a tiny patio was located off the sitting room through sliding glass doors. It had cost Hermione a sizeable chunk of her savings but as Dumbledore had instructed her to keep the receipts, she was not worried about the cash.

Soon after the group arrived, Madam Pomfrey had Disapparated back to Hogwarts.

"I have done all I need do for you, Severus. I don't want to imagine what the children have done to themselves while I have been gone. Albus has probably stacked them like cord wood outside the infirmary door." The tiny mediwitch said, laughing. "The rest is in Olivia's hands. You can trust her to get you through the rest of this mess and home to us soon."

She left him with several vials of strengthening potion with strict instructions to take it only when in close proximity to a bed. "It will speed the healing and build your strength, but you need to be sleeping for these things to occur."

Hugging Olivia, Hermione (who had peeled the skirt from her body and tossed it in the trash) and Lupin, Poppy nodded affectionately to Snape before disappearing with a small "pop".

"Anyone for tea?" Lupin asked.

"That would be lovely." Olivia answered. "I'll help."

"I will, too." Hermione said, rising from the sofa.

Olivia stopped the young woman with a raised hand. "No, Hermione. You stay here with your 'uncle'. We shouldn't leave him alone his first day out of the hospital. I'm sure you will have much to talk about."

Hermione watched as Lupin and Olivia exited the room and then turned to grin at the silent wizard seated before her. Though his long body was draped in a relaxed manner in a comfortable chair, his flashing black eyes betrayed his ire.

"Miss Granger," Snape spoke, the words oozing from his chest in a velvet rumble. "Kindly explain that display back at the hospital. I am sure you have a reasonable explanation for your outlandish behavior."

Hermione's stomach clenched a bit at his tone. He was healed and back in "Potions Master Mode," she decided, but she refused to be cowed. The day she had admitted to spying on he and Olivia, and he had comforted her, even kissed her hand, the young woman had determined to set her fear of him aside.

"Professor Snape," she began, taking a chair near him. "For years you have in turn ignored, insulted, belittled, ridiculed, punished, slammed, jeered at and scoffed not only me and my friends, but something else more important to me--my work. You have called me an empty-headed little Muggle-born more times then even I can count. I simply took the opportunity to show you some true 'empty-headedness.' If I embarrassed you, I'm sorry. No, I take that back. The look on your face was too priceless."

"Miss Granger, are you finished?" Snape's thin lips barely moved.

"No, not yet."

Snape fixed her with a withering glare. He was beginning to suspect she had ingested some strange potion.

"Sir, you can give me whatever punishment you deem necessary for what I did today. I will accept it gladly. I want you to know however, that while I will always admire your intellect, envy you your skill in potions, and respect you for being the finest teacher at Hogwarts, I will never, ever be frightened of you again. I just can't be scared for you any longer, Professor. I like you too much for that." The young witch slouched back in the chair.

"I am finished now, sir."

The silence hung over the room in a thick cloud.

"One hundred points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Miss Granger," he hissed.

Hermione waited as the moments dragged out, the finally asked. "That's it? One hundred points? What about detention? I was expecting at least a month scrubbing out bedpans for Madam Pomfrey after what I pulled."

Snape rolled his head around to fix her with an obsidian stare. "Miss Granger, your cheek has deprived your house of one hundred points. Your courage and honesty have prevented me from making it five hundred and having you expelled. Don't push your luck, Miss Granger."

Hermione had the grace to blush. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Remus and Olivia returned bearing mugs of steaming tea.

Passing a mug to Snape, Olivia whispered, "You two get everything worked out?"

"Yes. Believe it or not, the little chit was trying to put me in my place!" Snape replied in a snarling whisper.

"Hm, imagine that," Olivia grinned wickedly. She had changed out of the green dress into a pair of loose fitting drawstring pants and T-shirt. Her feet were bare and Snape noticed that she had painted each of her toenails a different color. Olivia took the chair vacated by Hermione when the tea had arrived. Lupin and the young woman now sat companionably on the sofa sipping their drink and talking in low voices.

Tucking her feet into the cushion Olivia watched Snape as the man relaxed with his mug. The muscles in his face were softened in the late afternoon light coming through the window and he allowed his eyelids to drift to half-mast as he swallowed a sip, sighing.

He was still too pale and thin from his brush with death, but Olivia was sure he would recover easily.

He is so strong, she mused, surveying him. He does things that he will never be lauded for, much less thanked. He is scorned, mocked, hated even. Yet he risks his life for the same people who hate him. And they will never know the price he has paid.

Olivia continued to rest her eyes on the long body. She observed the changing light move across his features as the day began to age, unaware of the passing of time, content to have him safe and near. So her face was soft and her green eyes smoky when Snape captured her with a penetrating stare. She had thought him dozing. He caught her unawares and the force of longing surging from those black depths stole her breath away.

Feeling a welcoming heat flood her body, Olivia answered his look with a tiny smile. Her tongue licked lips that were suddenly dry and she was rewarded by a twitch in his jaw as his eyes focused on her mouth.

Interesting, Olivia reflected. Let's try that again. This time she ran the tip of her tongue slowly along the line of her full lower lip. Snape's eyes were pits of black fire as he monitored the passage of that pink tip and Olivia watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed convulsively.

Snape had been feeling Olivia's close regard since she had placed herself in the chair beside his. He closed his eyes, seeing once more the narrow alabaster feet with their wild toes. She has such lovely ankles he admitted, so fine and pale. He appreciated how she didn't wear those wretched Muggle contraptions, "pantyhose". They looked beastly uncomfortable. She either shaved or used a hair removing charm on her legs, because they were as smooth as cream to his eye. His man's mind wondered how high she shaved and what else she shaved? Hmm? Snape remembered her today in his hospital room and the way that dress had formed to her slender body like a mist. While modest by Muggle standards, that little green number had excited him greatly. He was unused to having so much lovely flesh on display for his viewing pleasure.

And viewing Olivia was a pleasure. While she was not ravishingly beautiful by many people's standards, Snape found her breathtaking. The idea that she was attracted to him added to her allure. Her light brown hair, her creamy cheeks, the long slender line of her neck, those flashing emerald eyes. He was captivated by it all. He had only his imagination to supply the remaining picture, but he did not doubt that her hidden delights would be just as desirable.

While he had rebuffed her and scolded her for her blatant displays of affection, down deep inside his heart a small feeling had germinated. It had fed on her sunny smile and teasing manner, drinking in her delight and frustrating silliness. It had grown stronger and spread its roots far into his soul. Now a bud had ripened and was poised for blooming. Snape wondered what would become of this new feeling aborning in his chest. Would it continue to bloom and bear fruit, or would it waste and wither away from lack of--/P>

What?

Love? Did he love her? He couldn't be sure. Love was as alien to him as a Muggle shopping mall. Sex? Yes, he knew that desire, but love? What was it to love someone?

Confused, Snape turned his head to observe the woman that caused his meandering.

In her eyes was his answer. Her green eyes were filled with such an excess of emotion he could only define it as love. Tenderness, passion, respect, desire, compassion, understanding.

It was all there.

He could identify and label each as they flickered across her face and moved in her luminous eyes.

That's how I feel, he shouted silently, recognizing him self in her stare.

"Severus! I say, hello!"

Snape jerked his eyes from Olivia to the wizard standing before him. "What? I must have been dozing."

"Yes," Lupin said slowly a knowing grin on his handsome face. "Hermione and I are feeling a bit restless. Thought we would go for a bit of a walk. Want to join us?"

Behind Lupin's lanky form Olivia and Snape could see Hermione by the door waving her hands in a negating manner, mouthing, NO!

"No thank you, Remus," Snape answered for the both of them. "I have become quite fond of this chair and I am loath to give it up."

"Well, we should be gone for an hour or two. Maybe take in a movie. We will call you on the mobile phone if we decide on a show." Lupin was shrugging into a light jacket, having assisted a glowing Hermione into hers.

"Enjoy yourselves!" Olivia called as the couple made their exit.

And then they were alone.

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