Secrets and Protection

First Encounters - Chapter 4

Kylean was sitting on the bed in her room putting things in place using various charms with Wingardium Leviosa being the dominant one. Not one bit phased by the sudden movement, the woman finished putting the vase she had been moving in place. "I'd wonder when you would show up, Severus," She said not even looking up but knowing full well who was there. "And don't even think of yelling. Your voice so irritates me when you yell," Kylean said in a halfway bored tone.

"Why did you not inform me that Raven was to be coming here this year?" Snape said as he moved into a menacing position right in front of Kylean.

"Well, you were off doing your thing you had to do. So it was best not to disturb you," Kylean said trying her hardest not to look in into his eyes, knowing what would happen if she did.

"But I have been here for the past three weeks. You could have told me then," Snape said moving closer to her.

"Well, by then Raven and I were busy getting ready to come here. It is quite difficult to pack as much as we had to," Kylean huffed in an annoyed manner as she moved slightly away from him, not realizing she had made enough room for him to join her on the bed.

"But Raven is my daughter too. I only get to see her during the summers ever since you left me when she was five," Snape said showing some emotion in his voice, which he almost never did. This was a feeling of hurt that he had not revealed to anyone for a long time. It broke Snape's heart when Kylean had left him ten years ago, allowing him to only see his daughter during summer vacations instead of having Raven for one school term and then spending the summers together as a family.

Snape then moved to kneel in front of Kylean on her fluffy bed. "What does it matter now Severus? Raven is here at Hogwarts. You'll see her in class and she will be around the castle," Kylean said with a tired sigh. It had always been the same with him. It was the same old argument and Kylean was getting tired of it. She looked into her ex-lover's eyes for a second and could feel herself shake just by looking at him. After all the years of bickering Kylean still felt the same way about Snape as she did the day she met him almost 17 years to this day.

Kylean continued to look at Snape uncomfortably for a few seconds before she rose off the bed. "I think you ought to go now Severus. I cannot go down this path with you again. When ever we are in a room together for more than five minutes things get really nasty!" Kylean said her voice beginning to falter as she held the door open for Snape to leave.

Snape took a comfortable position on the bed. "I'm not going anywhere until we talk some more. We have some unresolved issues," Snape said in an indignant tone as he crossed his arm over his chest.

"What is there left to talk about?" Kylean said in a very annoyed tone. Snape was the only man who could grate at her nerves with such ease.

"We need to talk about us!" Snape said enjoying the look of horror that hit Kylean's face.

"Us," Kylean said letting out a yelp. "There hasn't been an us for ten years. We are not good together. We drive each other completely crazy. No matter what feelings there are between us, it does not mean a thing. We are poison to each other." She was losing her composure. Snape was the only one who was able to get Kylean riled up like this and he got great pleasure at seeing her in this state. Snape began to laugh which seemed to only make Kylean lose it more than she already had. He got up off the bed slowly and made his way over towards her while she stood still by the door almost hyperventilating. Snape's face twisted into a wicked smile as he lifted his hand and gently placed it on the face his victim.

"My...dear what is this lack of composure all about Kylean?" Snape said in an almost mocking tone as his hand caressed Kylean's cheek, causing her to tremble in response. Kylean's usually tough exterior was falling apart at the touch of a mere man. A man who had held her heart for a long time. "It seems to me that I still have the same effect on you still after all these years. Is it possible that the powerful Kylean Makowitz is still in love with me-- a wizard not nearly as powerful as a witch like you?" As always, he mocked her with a sarcastic dead-pan voice, letting a small smile spread across his visage as he moved only a few inches away from Kylean.

Kylean could feel her body begin to shake and she gripped her fists tightly together cursing herself for leaving her wand on the bed. She took a deep breath as she raised her head to look at Snape. "Get over yourself Severus...no one would love you...." Her words were cut off by the sudden presence of Snape's lips pressing urgently against hers. Kylean began to let herself be taken into the kiss still feeling the heat that was between them. Both of them began to let their minds go... just living in the moment of the kiss.

After a minute Snape pulled away from her embrace and smiled at a very flustered Kylean, her face having turned a bright shade of red. "No need to say anything, Pumpkin Pie. I still love you too," Snape said in a gentle tone that he only reserved for her, and one other person.

Before she had a chance to regain the use of words, Snape was walking away heading back toward the Slytherin dungeons. Kylean slowly backed away from the door and closed it. Leaning against the door, she took a few deep breaths before sliding down to the floor with her knees resting against her chest. The DADA teacher used the hand that was shaking less than the other to wipe a few stray tears from her face. "Damn him," she muttered to herself. "Why does he have to love me, too?"