Journey to Passion

Chapter Seven - Wizards, Wands and the Waltz

"How long will you be staying at Hogwarts?"

As they leisurely walked down the corridors of the castle, Jessica kept her hands wrapped comfortably around Snape's right arm. As far as she knew, it was Dumbledore's belief that she would be staying at Hogwarts until she had a husband to take her elsewhere.

"I'm not really sure," Jessica told him instead. When she looked at him she was tempted to tell him what her uncle had told her earlier that morning, but then figured that it was too soon to let him in on her deal with needing a protector upon leaving Hogwarts. "As things stand now, I'll be here at least until the Aurors are able to find and imprison the wizards who killed my mother last summer. Although as long as they're unconstrained they'll be looking for me, waiting for the perfect time to take me back to..."

Jessica's troubled eyes fell to the floor and she sighed as a memory of being taken by the Death Eater's plagued her mind. Snape dropped his hand on top of hers when she paused. Obviously whatever it was that she wanted to tell him was becoming a little more difficult than she'd first anticipated.

"Perhaps we can talk about something else," he told her. "You don't need to tell me anything about what happened to you last summer. It's probably none of my business."

"No," Jessica stopped and turned to face him. She took both of his hands in her own and pressed their fold against her chest. "I don't mind telling you at all," she assured. "It's just that... I don't know exactly where it was that I was taken. It could have been Siberia for all I know. My uncle doesn't know either." Jessica let out a small sigh and then clapped her hand once over top of his wishing that she could muster the courage it would take in order to ask Snape if he knew where it was that the Death Eaters had their hide outs. "I suppose if Uncle Albus did know where to find them, this would all be over by now." She looked up into Snape's dark eyes and cautiously thought of the words she wanted to say to him. "Severus, since we met in the Hospital Wing, how much has my uncle told you about me?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Not very much," he answered. "Only that you are Guinevere's granddaughter and that you were raised in Muggle London before you were orphaned last summer."

The sudden look of shock on Jessica's face took Snape by surprise. Her shaken reaction had him feeling like he'd broken her heart already. The grip she had around his hands loosened and she nearly let go of him.

"What is it, Jessica?" Snape questioned as he took his hands and cupped each of them around her elbows to hold her still. "Is that not true?"

Her head shook gently. "He only meant that my mother's passed away. Isn't that so?" she asked. "He didn't say that my father's dead, too?"

Snape's head nodded back and forth. "No, he only said that you were orphaned." He squinted curiously at her concern and pulled her a little bit closer to him. "What does it matter if your father is still alive? You said you don't know who he is, or even care what his name is. Have I been mistaken?"

Taking Snape by the hand again, Jessica walked him over to the edge of the corridor where there was a bench and sat down with him. She folded her hands in her lap and looked out into the courtyard where there were a couple of students in robes sitting with their study books. Before any of the students could see him, Snape pulled his hand away from Jessica and sat back.

"It is true, I don't know who my father is. I never want to know who he is either, so if my uncle ever mentions his name I never want you to repeat it back to me. Is that clear, Severus?" Jessica's full, emerald eyes looked deep into his dark eyes and effortlessly captivated his attention. He nodded at her and then wondered if Jessica was going to tell him why such a seemingly ridiculous thing was so important to her. What harm could come from knowing one's own parents?

Sensing Snape's curiosity, Jessica decided that it might be best if she told him what it was he wanted to know. After all, out of all the professors of Hogwarts, he was the one most likely to understand her reasons.

"I know very few things about my father," Jessica began. "However, what I do know is enough to make me hate him more than anything. He's a cruel, selfish man and he hasn't got a trace of love in his heart. He raped my mother so that she would conceive his child who would share the same blood and powers as Albus Dumbledore. With abilities such as those, my father's intentions are to one day use me to serve his master."

With her last remark, Snape's mouth opened slightly and he turned his eyes away for a brief moment. "Your father is a follower?" he asked slowly.

Jessica nodded her head and watched as a couple of older students walked past. Once they were out of hearing range, Jessica returned her attention to Snape and settled his curiosity. "If you mean a Death Eater, yes. My father is one of Voldemort's followers."

It made sense now why she didn't want to have anything to do with her father. It had been the Death Eaters who'd murdered Espiranza Van Eden. And since Snape wasn't sure of whether or not Jessica knew that he had once been a Death Eater himself, he remained silent and took her arm again as he stood her up and continued to walk with her down the corridor. Even though he was sure such a thing wouldn't surprise her, the last thing he wanted to do was force Jessica into being reminded of her father every time she looked at him. Now that he had her, he was going to do everything he could to keep her. He loved her too much already, and love was something he never would have permitted himself to fall into before.

Little did Snape know how Jessica could sense every tiny emotion that passed through his head. She knew he'd once been a Death Eater, she knew he loved her, and she knew how terrified he was of disappointing her. With a warm and soothing pat over his arm, Jessica smiled up at him and then intertwined her fingers with his. "You needn't be so worried, Severus," she began. "My uncle assured me that you're no longer one of them. It doesn't bother me at all anymore that you once were. My uncle trusts you with his life, and because of that, I do too."

"He has told you already," Snape assumed and continued walking without looking her way.

"No," Jessica said, much to his surprise.

The astonishment forced him to stop and look at her again. "Then how did you know?" he asked. There were many ways she could have found out. Madam Pomfrey knew, several of the students knew, or perhaps she'd just gathered the information herself by means of observing his dark attire, his sour behaviour and his fancy for the Dark Arts.

"You told me," she answered.

"I told you?" he repeated and looked at her through the narrow slits of his eyes. "What are you talking about, Jessica? I have never told you anything of the sort."

"Falsehood, evil, and despair," she said, reminding him of the words he'd used to describe his life before he'd been saved by Dumbledore. "The things you said to me yesterday didn't make it sound like your association with dark wizards was at all minimal. And in addition to that, I could sense a lot of hatred coming from you when you spoke of your past. Your anger was directed at them and at their leader, Voldemort."

Snape brushed a loose strand of hair out of his view and then tucked the hair behind his ear. "Perhaps," he began. "Nearly everyone I speak to sense loathing emotions, and it's a damn accurate assumption, too."

"No, Severus," Jessica said and shook her head. She placed her hands on either side of his hips and looked deep into his eyes. "You don't understand. I wasn't kidding you yesterday when I said I can sense your thoughts. My empathic and telepathic abilities are very real. They are a part of the abilities my father intended for me to have."

"You have been reading my mind all along," Snape assumed, sounding quite disturbed by learning this new information. "Every thought and every feeling," he continued, as he grew angrier. "Why the hell did you not tell me that before? For bloody sakes Jessica, that is a personal violation!"

"Severus!" Jessica called out in offence. She let go of his arms and took one step away from him. Her eyebrows curved down in anger and she looked him in the eye for a moment.

Just as a gust of cold wind swept down the corridor, Jessica wrapped her hands around her arms to keep warm. Snape crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at Jessica with the same expression as if waiting for an innocent speech, an explanation or perhaps just an apology.

"I haven't read your mind once!" Jessica confessed.

"You just said you are a telepath," he reminded. "What exactly are you playing at?"

"Let me explain," Jessica said sternly. "I am a telepath, but in order to read your mind I have to want to do it. It hasn't always been that way, but a long time ago my uncle taught me how to control my telepathic ability so that I could keep from hearing the thoughts of everyone within a few meters of me. When I was a child there was nothing I could do to keep myself from doing it. It was overwhelming and extremely exhausting. However, since my uncle started working with me I've always asked permission to read one's mind," she said. "You're right, it is a personal violation otherwise."

Just then, the trio of his least favorite first year Gryffindor students strolled by. The youngest, Hermione Granger was babbling on about some of Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration homework. The other two, Ron and Harry, were both walking on either side of her but didn't appear to be listening to a word she was saying. Snape noticed that Ron was walking with his jaw hanging open and was looking keenly at Jessica while he passed her. Harry was looking very oddly at Snape until the professor's lip curled up in a snarl and drove the young boy's stare elsewhere.

Snape watched the three of them until they exited into the courtyard and then looked back at Jessica's studious expression. "And what of your empathic abilities?" he quizzed, using the same cold petrifying voice he used when he challenged his students to tricky questions. "Have you the same ability to block that as well?"

Jessica decided to disregard the disrespectful tone he was using with her. She knew all along that he wasn't going to like being placed in such a vulnerable position. "It's not as easy," she finally admitted. "Some people are especially easy to block, others are a great deal harder. Then there are those who I can't block no matter how hard I try."

Snape raised an eyebrow at her. "And in which category do I fit?" he asked, although he had a gut feeling he already knew the answer.

Jessica knew she didn't have to tell him. Instead he looked out towards the courtyard and nodded her head in the direction the three Gryffindors had gone. "The girl, you hate that you can never catch her off guard or ask her a question to which she does not have an answer."

When Jessica looked back at him he showed her one tiny nod to ensure her that her assumption was correct. "Go on," he instructed.

Jessica stepped around him and took his hand back into her own. "The boy with the glasses, you hate that you feel obligated to watch out for him. Even more than that, you hate that he may never understand why. Then there was the boy with the red hair. You disapprove of the way he looked at me." Jessica smiled at him and then stepped up on her toes to kiss his cheek. "It made you jealous."

Still unsure of how to respond to all of this, Snape tried hard not to think of anything at all. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but feel a little bit vulnerable and perhaps even embarrassed for some of the thoughts he had come up with earlier.

For instance, when he first saw her that afternoon, his first thought was to cancel the tour and take her right there in her sitting room. The very appearance of her made him want to confine Jessica to her chambers so that he could ravish her until the following morning. Her dress was beautiful and fit her body perfectly. Such attractiveness drew instant sexual desire.

"I can't seem to stop feeling what you feel," Jessica continued. "I have a particularly difficult time sensing my uncle's emotions. Even when I'm trying to sense his emotions I sometimes can't do it," Jessica smiled up at Severus and gently ran her finger across his brow to move his hair from falling in his face. "When I first met you I couldn't sense anything from you at all, then all of a sudden I couldn't help but sense your every single emotion. It's remarkable, really."

"Is that a meagre way of calling me a 'simple minded' man?" Severus asked, still feeling uncomfortable with the entirety of this situation.

"No," Jessica assured. "Not at all. You're a very strong-minded man. I can't explain why your emotions have suddenly come across so effectively, but it's nothing to do with being simple minded. I've met several foolish people in my time and their emotional strength is just as unique as any other. I can tell you one thing though; you're just as strong as my uncle is. It just so happens that he has the ability to block me from receiving the vastness of his emotions."

Snape merely raised an eyebrow and filled his head with the usual abundance of gloomy thoughts and turned back into the grumpy Hogwarts Potions Master. "A part of what makes the Headmaster unconquerable is his ability to control and not be controlled by his opponents... even if they are only playing simple mind games."

"I'm not playing any mind games, Severus," Jessica corrected. "It's simply an ability I have which was given to me by my father. He doesn't intend for this to be a harmless ability, but it is right now. I've never used my abilities to gain advantage over anyone, nor to cause anyone to feel embarrassed as you are now."

Silence fell upon them.

Jessica allowed for him to think in peace and quiet until they could be alone again. The next corridor they walked down was long, empty and far narrower than the rest had been. Jessica and Snape could both hear their footsteps echoing as they walked.

"Where are we going?" Jessica asked him.

"There's something I want to show you," Snape told her. "It's just up ahead, the Headmaster said you'll probably like it."

Wherever it was that Severus was taking her, Jessica could sense that it wasn't somewhere he was accustomed to going. He actually dreaded having to make the trip when an occasion called for it. Nonetheless, Jessica intended to enjoy every moment of her tour. She hoped that her guide would enjoy each moment as well.

A ways down the narrow hallway, Snape stopped at a large pair of solid oak doors. They must have reached up at least twenty feet. He took his wand from his robes and pointed it at the rusty old lock on the doors. He muttered a spell and the doors clicked open.

On the other side of the doors, which creaked very loudly as Snape pushed them open, was a large marble tiled ballroom complete with numerous instruments in the far corner. Each instrument was covered with tatty looking cloth on which lay a thin sheet of dust.

A crystal chandelier hung delicately from the centre of the ceiling and sparkled in the sunlight coming from the brass paned skylight windows above. All across the ceiling there were authentic paintings of witches and wizards holding their wands amidst the cosmic stars and planets.

Each corner of the ballroom had a silver statue of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. By the side of each statue was the representing animal. There was the lion curled up next to the feet of Godric Gryffindor, a badger standing on its hind legs next to Helga Hufflepuff, a raven perched on the shoulder of Rowena Ravenclaw, and nearest to Jessica and Snape, Salazar Slytherin stood proudly with the a long snake wrapping itself around his arms and shoulders.

Jessica looked curiously at Salazar Slytherin and the snake he had wrapped around in his hands. The captivating glare of his eyes seemed to be burning right into her own. For a moment Jessica couldn't take her eyes from the statue. It was as if she'd seen his face once before.

Behind her, Jessica could hear Snape's footsteps nearing her. Once they stopped she felt him place his warm hands over her shoulders. He massaged her gently and then leaned his head over her shoulder. Some of his long black hair brushed against her skin and left a tickling sensation behind.

With his lips no less than an inch from her ear, Severus took in a breath of air and then spoke softly to her. "Do you know who that is?" he questioned just before he pushed her hair over to her opposite shoulder and reached his lips even closer to kiss the nape of her neck.

Jessica closed her eyes as she let Severus dot her with soft tiny kisses. Her hand reached up to touch his and she nodded. "Yes," she replied. "I've seen him somewhere before."

As he continued to dot his lips along her neck, Severus chuckled teasingly at her. "You can't have seen him before, Jessica," he ensured. "They've all been dead for a millennia. You aren't that old, are you?"

"No," Jessica answered with a soft giggle. "But I have seen him before. In a dream perhaps." Maybe that was why his face looked so familiar. Jessica had been having an outrageous number of dreams and nightmares since her mother had died. Not one of them made a lick of sense, but she still remembered the places she was at and the faces she saw. She was sure she'd even recognize voices if she heard them for real.

"How long have you been dreaming about dead men?" Severus asked teasingly.

Jessica turned around to show Severus the charming smile she had spread across her face. He loved to see her looking into his eyes when she smiled so sweetly. "I'm serious, Severus." Jessica took one last look into the eyes of Salazar Slytherin's statue and tried hard to remember where she'd seen that face before. "Why did Uncle Albus tell you I'd fancy this room?" she asked curiously. "Did he want me to see this statue, or did he want you to show me how well you dance?"

Suddenly every one of Snape's emotions began to scream with hesitation. He backed an inch or two away from Jessica and looked back and forth around at the statues in each corner. "I don't dance," he assured.

Jessica smiled craftily at him and began swaying her hips back and forth as she tried to lure him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Then why did you agree to bring me here, Severus?" Just as she began to swing his body alongside her own, Snape pulled her hands off of his body and clamped her fists at his chest.

"To show you the paintings on the ceiling," he made up. "What does it matter? You have seen it now, so why don't we move on?" Snape let go of one of her hands and then proceeded to head towards the doors with one hand still in his.

Jessica didn't budge. Instead she pulled him back into position and smiled up at him again. "Did my uncle perhaps tell you how much I enjoy dancing?"

"No," Snape told her. "He failed mention it."

"Well then why don't we? Come on, I'll show you."

This time when Jessica went to move, Snape stood with his feet firmly planted to the floor. "I did not say I don't know how to dance, I said I don't dance."

"And why not?" Jessica asked curiously. "There's no one else watching," she said and looked around the empty room. "Except perhaps these guys." She pointed at each of the statues in the corner and then smiled back up at Severus. "I know you're only afraid of being seen. I promise I'll let you know if anyone comes near the ballroom."

"This is hardly a waltz provoking atmosphere," he opposed.

Again, Jessica looked around the room and began nodding her head. She took a look at the orchestra of instruments sitting along the wall and then gradually began nodding her head. "Hmm, you're absolutely right," she agreed and then looked back at him. "Make the instruments play."

Snape began laughing under his breath. "I will not," he assured.

Jessica knowledgeably raised both of her eyebrows at him and then spun around to face the instruments. "Fine, then I will."

At that moment, Snape's mouth opened as he continued to laugh. "And exactly how do you think you can do that? You haven't got a-"

Before he could finish, Snape saw Jessica raise her hands and point them towards the instruments. A second later the cloth covers lifted up off of the instruments and piled in a corner next to Godric Gryffindor's statue. Then, a split second later, the instruments began to play all on their own.

With a look of satisfaction spread across her face, Jessica turned back around to see a most bewildered look on the professor's face. He tilted his head slightly and squinted his eyes. "You haven't got a wand," he noticed. "Intriguing. Perhaps you would like to enlighten me."

Jessica smiled proudly as she took a bow and curtsied. "An old family secret," was all she told him.

Snape slowly began nodding his head. "Impressive," he said softly.

"Now we can dance." Jessica took her position with him again and soothingly rubbed her fingers into his shoulder.

"No Jessica," Snape grumbled. "I don't dance, and nothing you can do will make me."

He wasn't terribly objected to dancing with her. Jessica could sense it. His refusal was purely based on the risk of being seen by another professor, or even worse, one of the students.

Slowly, Jessica let her hand slide down the front of his black jacket until she had his hand in her grip again. She looked deep into his eyes and gave him a gentle squeeze. "You're wrong about that," she told him. "Dance with me, Severus."

Her voice echoed inside of his head. His body went so numb he could feel the blood flowing through his veins as if it had thickened. Jessica knew she shouldn't have, but at least this was a harmless way of proving that she had the power to make him do anything she asked him to.

Snape reached his hands up to his collar and unfastened his cloak. A moment later he hastily threw the material aside and pulled Jessica into his arms. He held her hand out and then instantly began leading her into the waltz.