Chapter 9: Move-in Day

Chapter 9: Move-in Day

The month went by speedily. Between final repairs of the main parts of the school, peeling the Room of Requirement, getting ready for the new school year, and preparing to move, Sybill didn't have much time to rest.

She had been excited to see the last charred remains of the old wall in the Room of Requirement peeled away. The entire staff had been present. They had done some last minute cleaning and then exited the room, closing the door behind them. They each had held their breath as Minerva had walked by the door three times, wishing for a room that would prove that the Room of Requirement was healed. Sybill had been excited to see a new door form, and when Minerva had opened it, everyone had gasped as they had beheld the beautiful room that the Room of Requirement had produced. Great marble pillars had surrounded the edge of the room, and a grey marble floor had adorned the large room. There had been beautiful arched windows lining the walls. It had been like the Room of Requirement was saying thank you. The entire faculty had sighed in relief as they had admired the renewed room and its beautiful transformation. Sybill had trashed her liquor supply that very day.

Now, it was almost time for Sybill's departure from Hogwarts. She eagerly awaited the day in which she could move into her new home. She was incredibly excited. Everyone else was excited for her too, except for Severus. He scowled every time the subject of her moving was brought up. There was often talk of moving at dinner. Everyone had their own opinions on what she should do to her new home. She should paint it. No, she shouldn't paint it. She should put in new carpeting. She should get Victorian furniture. She should get modern furniture. There was always something to discuss.

Sybill had been accompanied by Rolanda and Pomona just last week to look for furnishings. They had Apparated to Hogsmeade and gone to a furniture shop hidden down one of the side streets. It was Rolanda's favorite store. The three women had spent two hours arguing about what Sybill should purchase.

"I think that this would be lovely in your home, Sybill!" Pomona had exclaimed, pointing to a bright yellow couch.

The arguments had gone on. Each woman had their own opinion of what would look fantastic in Sybill's home. Of course, Sybill, having been the only one to see her home, knew better than the other two what would look nice, but she greatly appreciated their help. Finally, all of the furniture had been picked out, and the three had left the store with a small box of miniaturized furniture.

oooOOOooo

Finally the day came, and Sybill had shrunk all of the rest of her belongings into a box. Her tastes were not what one would expect from Sybill Trelawney. She had bought the black leather couch and two ottomans. Her dining table was made up of a dark cherry wood and had high backed chairs to go along with it. She had chosen a similar wood for her bedroom furnishings as well. All in all, her tastes were modern and elegant. She carried her box of belongings down to the dungeons and knocked on Severus' door. He opened it up quickly.

"Are you ready?" Sybill asked.

Severus nodded with a scowl.

"You're never going to make this easy for me, are you?" Sybill asked.

"Of course not. I don't approve of foolishness."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, Severus. I truly appreciate it."

"Anytime," Severus said with a smirk.

They headed up the stairs and out of the building. Before Sybill knew it, they had Apparated to her front door.

"We'll have to do something about that," Severus muttered. "No Apparition within the property lines."

Sybill nodded in agreement, and Severus opened the door for her. The cottage looked different now that it was empty. The front room had a lovely dark green rug on the floor, which Sybill would leave as it was. She placed her box on the floor near the door and walked through the rest of the house. All of the carpeting was in really good condition and was mostly beige. There was a nice green and white tile in the kitchen. The appliances were in good shape.

"Great, I don't really need to do much," Sybill thought.

"Surely you're not going to leave the walls this color?" Severus retorted from the bedroom.

She went in to give it a look, not having really noticed the walls before. They were light pink.

"Eew," she said.

"I take it pink is not your color?" Severus said blandly.

"It used to be... but no!"

She lifted her wand. "Make it blue!"

The walls turned into a lovely, if not dark, midnight blue. Severus raised an eyebrow at her color choice.

"It's a bit dark, isn't it?"

"I like dark," she said.

"It is much better than pink," he mused.

"Of course, pink is sickening, especially that light baby pink. The blue is relaxing."

She turned and left the room, examining the other rooms for color changes. The library was white. She turned it into a dark red. The spare bedroom was light blue. She changed it to a cream color. The living room was an eggshell color, and she changed that to dark beige.

"Are you ready to set the wards?" Severus asked.

Sybill turned to him with a grin. "I am," she answered.

It took them over half an hour. Severus left nothing to the imagination. No one would come within ten feet of her door unless Sybill wanted them to. They finally lowered their wands, and Sybill looked to Severus.

"Thank you, Severus, I wouldn't have been able to make them as strong as you have," she remarked.

Severus fished a small box out of his pocket. "I have a gift for you. It's to celebrate your new home."

Sybill's eyes flashed. "Thank you!" she said as she took the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a ring. It was a pewter color, the band engraved with vines. In the center of the ring was a flat black stone. She looked back to Severus. "Why, Severus, I didn't know you cared!"

Severus' cheeks flamed. "It's a protection ring," he explained. "If you are ever in trouble, just turn the stone toward your palm. It will register in my ring." He showed her a similar ring that was on his finger. This ring also was pewter, but the band was smooth. There was a larger flat black stone in the center of it. "The ring also has a locater spell on it, so I can Apparate directly to you."

Sybill could only stare wide eyed at Severus. Finally, she composed herself. "That's very thoughtful of you, Severus. I shall wear it always."

"That's the idea," he said and pulled the ring from the box.

Sybill extended her hand, and he placed it on her finger. The minute he touched her, her vision began to get cloudy. She looked up to Severus, and he grabbed her and pulled her close, enveloping her in a passionate kiss. She put her hand around his neck and stroked his hair as she returned his kiss. Suddenly everything cleared, and the vision was gone. Severus had not moved from the position he had been in when he had placed the ring on her finger. With a gasp, Sybill pulled her hand from Severus'. He looked at her quizzically.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Sybill shook her head nervously. "No, nothing."

Severus narrowed his eyes at her. "Did you just have another vision?"

She nodded.

"Do you need to bolt out of here and save somebody's life?"

Sybill relaxed a little and cracked a smile. "No, nothing like that."

"Well, what did you see?"

Sybill looked to the floor. "It was a personal vision. I can't discuss it."

Severus regarded her for a minute before speaking again. "All right, but if you want to talk about, it I'll give you some of my precious time so you can discuss it."

Sybill laughed at him. "I appreciate the time you've given me already, Severus."

"Speaking of which, should we unpack your things?" Severus asked.

"Let's do that," Sybill said in relief. This was certainly one vision she did not want to discuss with Severus Snape.

They spent the next hour unpacking and arranging Sybill's furniture and other belongings. When the entire box was empty, Severus excused himself and headed back to Hogwarts.

Sybill saw Severus out and then threw herself on the now full size couch that sat in front of the fireplace. Her mind went back to the vision she had had earlier. It replayed in her mind as clearly as if it had just occurred. Severus and she had kissed in this very room. What a shock! She liked Severus quite well, but she had never even considered that he might be someone she could be romantic about. That was probably due to the fact that she had teased him about a relationship for years as her eccentric copy of herself. She smiled as she recalled some of the things she had done to him. They had all brought a good laugh to her, and her years at Hogwarts had not been filled with many of those.

One instance stood out in her mind. It was during the Yule Ball when they'd had the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Sybill entered the Great Hall from the back. If this were to work, she would have to sneak up on Severus. He always ran the other way when he saw her coming. She had dressed extra special for this event, making her own dress gowns. She had chosen an incredibly gaudy pattern so she would look hideous. Brown paisleys on an orange background bedecked her robes. Sybill could barely stand looking down at herself, but it was all part of the game, wasn't it?

She gave him a vacant look and left the dance as quietly as she had entered.

She had to admit, hitting on Severus Snape had been one of her only pleasures. She knew she was a sick, sadistic woman to want to see a grown man cower in front of her, but his reactions were so classic, she couldn't help herself. She recalled a time, right before Dumbledore's death, when she had stumbled across Severus on rounds. It was one of the few nights she hadn't gotten herself stumbling drunk. She was grateful about that when she had seen Severus headed her way.

When he had noticed her, he had stopped in his tracks and turned. She knew he had wanted to go as quickly as he could in the other direction. The fact was, however, that he had been on patrol and had to examine the corridor where she had been standing. He had turned back reluctantly and headed her way.

"Severus!" she boomed.

He stormed around her and continued down the hall, never looking back, his robes billowing menacingly behind him. He missed the huge grin that was plastered on her face at his reaction.

She smiled to herself. It had been way too easy to goad Severus into a reaction. She had taken as many opportunities as possible to embarrass him. Thinking on that, she was surprised that Severus even came near her. Perhaps her lack of interest when he was Headmaster had cooled his aversion to her a little bit. Oh, she had contemplated doing more of the same, but he was so agitated all the time. She didn't want to cause him more grief.

But now, her vision had shown her that despite all of that teasing she was going to be in a real relationship with him. She wasn't even sure what she thought of that. Here she had moved to Hogsmeade, partially to meet men, but her destiny had been before her the whole time. Odd. That was life, of course. It always threw odd circumstances at everyone. What one did with those circumstances was the key to happiness.

Could Severus Snape make her happy? She certainly looked happy in her vision. At least, she looked relieved. Maybe this was their first kiss. She wondered what would happen after that. She didn't wonder long. Visions had a way of going sour if one decided they wanted more details. They almost had a mind of their own. Visions were incredibly fussy. They showed what they thought was necessary and almost got offended if one asked for more detail. If the vision even deemed the Seer worthy of more on a subject, it was usually a negative part of the vision that was shown the second time around, which usually resulted in a frightened Seer.

No, there was no point hoping for a more extended vision. If her sight wanted her to know more, it would reveal itself in its own time. She would just have to analyze what she had seen and act accordingly. She shrugged to herself. How else could she act? She would fall in love with Severus, and there was nothing she could do about it. Musing to herself, she found that she wasn't upset by that in the least. She was actually relieved. After living such a solitary life, she was eager to have someone to share it, and Severus Snape would be a wonderful companion.

A/N: Next up: The new school year is finally here.

Thanks everybody! I appreciate you reading and leaving comments. My mystery beta stands in the shadows and waits patiently to be revealed. Let her know she has my utmost thanks.