To Find Where We Belong

February 15

Severus

Thank you so much for the gift! They are just too wonderful to eat but I shall do my best to put in a dent in them. Quickly.

You will be pleased to know that next Monday I'm going to tell Dark Lights Chemicals that I have found another position and will be leaving. I have too, so it won't even be a lie. There's a small company in East London that's just forming and they need chemists. While the salary isn't as much as one could hope for the work sounds quite challenging and exciting, dealing with new areas for medical research. I met one of the owners at the hospital when I went for my checkup. He asked to see my resume and references and was impressed. I received a phone call from him last night and interviewed with the company's board of directors this morning. They offered the position starting immediately in two weeks. They are still setting up the laboratory. They've agreed that with my leg impairment and the upcoming surgeries that they are willing to give me appropriate sick leave as necessary. Very understanding and open-minded of them, I must say.

Are you happy now?

Clara

Severus couldn't help it, he spent most of the following two weeks grinning to himself for no apparent reason. Well, that wasn't true, he knew the reason, as did Dumbledore, but it was making everyone else decidedly nervous. Professor Moody, a former Auror who suspected Severus of being the devil in disguise even after all these years, kept hammering after Severus to discover why he'd gone from surly to close to pleasant almost overnight. Moody seemed to think that Severus was up to something and even Dumbledore couldn't persuade the wily gentleman otherwise.

Clara and he kept up correspondance but the chances for Severus to make a quick trip to London grew more and more difficult to find so he never made it. Clara had informed him that neither Malfoy nor Patrick O'Reilly had made too much noise about her leaving Dark Lights Chemicals and when, after a month of leaving the company, nothing untoward happened, Severus began to breathe easier. Obviously it was indeed a coincidence, but a chilling one.

Unbeknownst to Severus, though, Clara had been keeping information from him and as the winter months passed into springtime, it was getting difficult to keep it all to herself. While it was true that Patrick and Mr. Malfoy had not made too many protestations to her leaving her position, Clara was finding that Patrick still was intent on remaining in her life. He refused to believe that there was nothing more to her and Severus beyond friendship. Clara could only conclude that maybe she wasn't as clever at giving out lies as she had thought.

April gave way to May and May began to wane into June when Patrick relayed information to Clara that alarmed her greatly. "You know, yer boyfriend in Scotland isn't all he's made himself up to be, Clara."

"Oh?" she said as she munched on her sandwich. Patrick had badgered her into a lunch in a little bistro between their two work places. Not having heard from Severus in a week and feeling a bit lonely and depressed, she had reluctantly agreed. "How so?"

"Mr. Malfoy knows him from way back. They have some friends in common, y'see," Patrick stated in an off-hand manner.

"Really?" Clara tried to sound uninterested but was in interested in spite of herself.

"Mr. Malfoy said that the crowd that Snape hung around with were big troublemakers where they're from, into some pretty scary things." Patrick paused to take a sip of his drink but his eyes never strayed from Clara's face, as if gauging her reaction.

"Would that mean that if Mr. Malfoy and Severus have friends in common that it's likely that Mr. Malfoy was into these pretty scary things as well, Patrick?" Clara pointed out logically.

Patrick looked affronted. "Mr. Malfoy is an upstanding member of the community, Clara, and an important businessman! What kind of scary things could he be involved in?"

"The mobsters in Chicago and New York City are businessmen and important men in the community but you wouldn't consider them upstanding, now would you?" Clara again pointed out. Patrick sputtered but could think of no reply to that statement. "Are you jealous, Patrick? So jealous of me having someone important in my life, that's not you, that you have to find ways to discredit him when he's not around to defend himself?"

Patrick stared at her in shock. "He was right!"

Clara was confused. "Who was right?"

"Mr. Malfoy said that Snape had no doubt bamboozled you. That he'd done it before and used the young lady for bad things." Patrick gave her a pitying look that infuriated Clara. "He even inferred that the other woman had never been seen shortly after meeting up with Snape!"

Clara slammed her napkin on the table and stood up, knocking over her drink in the process. "That's preposterous! I've had it!" she snapped. "I don't want to see you again, Patrick. You've gone too far." She turned and limped away, waylaying the waistress and handing the woman enough money to cover her bill. Patrick caught up with her as she got ready to cross the street and go back to work.

"Clara, wait!"

"Stay away from me, you monster," Clara snarled. He grabbed her arm above the elbow and pulled her to him. "Let me go!"

Two men in crisp business suits stepped in. "The young lady wants you to leave her alone," one of them said protectively. Clara shot them both a pleading expression of help.

"She and I are friends -" Patrick began but Clara interrupted.

"Not anymore, we aren't, now let me go!" With two champions beside her, Patrick had no choice but do as she demanded. He stalked away and Clara had two gallant escorts to her work. After reassuring them that she was perfectly fine and thanking them for their help, Clara was glad the ordeal was over.

She refused to tell Severus what had happened and maintained a cheerful facade through her letters but the truth was she was shaken up by what Patrick had revealed. He continued to send her emails and messages with more defamatory remarks about Severus. She tried her best to ignore them but the last straw was when Lucius Malfoy visited her one evening.

(and thus we go to "You Belong to Me"!)