XXI: Immaculate Deception

Chapter XXI: Immaculate Deception

'Miss Charis?'

Charis pulled the blanket over her head. It was way too early for anyone to be talking to her. Surely, she must be dreaming.

'Miss Charis?'

The voice was high-pitched and squeaky, and now there was somebody pulling at her blanket.

'What?' she slurred, the word turning into a yawn. 'Winky?'

'No, Miss Charis, not Winky. It's Silvy. Winky is Silvy's cousin twice removed.'

Charis Accio'd her glasses and was suddenly wide awake. What the hell was Lucius Malfoy's elf doing in her dormitory at such an early hour?

'What are you doing here, Silvy?'

'Silvy brings greetings from Miss Morgana,' the elf explained, a broad smile on her face.

'Morgana?' Charis frowned. If Morgana had sent Malfoy's elf, then that must mean ... 'Silvy, you're not telling me that Morgana has been at Malfoy Manor, are you?'

Still, the elf was beaming. 'Miss Morgana has indeed had dinner with Master Lucius. And now she sends Miss Charis breakfast.'

'Breakfast?' Charis started to feel really stupid as she seemed to be repeating everything the elf said. But she had just woken up, and Morgana sending her something was definitely unusual. She and Morgana had barely spoken over the last couple of weeks.

Charis' thoughts were interrupted by Silvy holding up a little pink box from which emitted a heavenly scent.

'It is a chocolate croissant,' the elf explained. 'Miss Morgana said you would like it. And Miss Morgana sent a note as well.'

Charis sneered at the Malfoy crest that adorned the parchment, but her lips turned into a smile when she read Morgana's words:

Enjoy the croissant, Star Sister. Silvy has made it herself. Trust me when I tell you that it is delicious!

Morgana

'Morgana praises your baking skills very highly,' Charis said, surprised to see the elf's eyes fill with tears.

'Miss Morgana is being very kind to Silvy. Even though Silvy failed to carry out her task last night.'

'What task?'

'Miss Morgana sent Silvy to find the dark professor, and Silvy could not find him.'

'Professor Snape?' Charis enquired as the elf blew her nose in the bedcover, her heart suddenly beating at least twice as fast as it was supposed to. 'Why did Morgana want you to find Professor Snape?'

'Miss Morgana had a message,' Silvy sobbed.

'What message?'

'Miss Morgana said she was sorry,' Silvy explained, looking up at Charis with big, watery eyes.

Charis frowned. 'Sorry for what?'

'Silvy does not know, Miss Charis,' the elf replied, sobbing even more than before. 'Miss Morgana said the dark professor would know.'

Then the clock chimed seven, and Silvy flinched. 'Silvy must return home at once. Master Lucius will be angry if he has to wait for his breakfast.'

And before Charis could even utter another word, the elf had disappeared, leaving behind the chocolate croissant and a huge wet spot where she had dried her tears on Charis' bedcover.

Charis scrambled out of bed and made her way to the shower, trying to make sense of everything she had just heard. Morgana had had dinner with Malfoy then. Well, that had happened before. But since she had sent Silvy with a freshly baked chocolate croissant, she must have spent the night as well. Was that what she was sorry for? Was that why she had wanted the elf to find Snape?

Snape. Charis felt the breath catch in her throat as she turned on the hot water. Last night's events were still fresh in her mind, and she had replayed them over and over. She had felt dazed for hours afterwards at the pleasure he had taken from her. The raw passion between them had been so hot and exceeded Charis' expectations by miles. The man was incredible. He knew exactly where to touch, exactly how to fuck ... she shivered at the memory.

So her suspicions had been correct after all: he did want her. And those glances did allude to something more between them. And yet Charis was confused. Why did he walk away? Why did he not succumb to his own peak? And why the lesson on lust?

But at the same time, she reasoned, it was Valentine's Day. The day love was universally celebrated. Surely, the fact he came to her on that day of all days was his way of revealing his feelings for her? And as for the lesson in lust, well, he was acknowledging their shared desires in the open once and for all. Charis could not wait for her next lesson – the lesson in love, for the gentle side of Severus, for his tender embraces, for his sweet words.

Severus must like her very much to have taken her so passionately in the library, in such a public place where they could have got caught. And the library was symbolic, too: it was an acknowledgement of her academic efforts, of her house.

The more Charis thought about it, the more she thought Severus was struggling with the concept of her still being a student, and that was what had caused him to hold back his own desire and why he had left the library so quickly. She smiled to herself. In a few short months, she would graduate and then they would be able to be open about their relationship.

Images of strolling with him arm in arm, and kissing tenderly, and shopping together in Diagon Alley all flitted through her mind, then. Soon, they could be together. Soon, they would have all the time in the world to truly get to know each other.

She smiled as she lathered up her hair. Charis Snape. It had quite a nice ring to it, she thought.

* * *

Snape's eyes snapped open, and he shot off his pillow. He did not know what had woken him up, but it felt as if he had had a horrible nightmare. His nightshirt was drenched with cold sweat and his heart was racing.

He let himself fall back onto the pillow and closed his eyes. What a night it had been! Once more, he saw everything before his inner eye: Lucius, Morgana, Charis; hot kisses and fingers on naked skin; laboured breathing and eyes full of need. Everything came rushing down over him like a tidal wave: the memories, the fantasies; real, hard sex and an orgasm that had shaken his very core.

Snape growled. Damned be the weak flesh! He should not have given in!

Charis had been only too willing. He had given her a chance to say no, but he knew perfectly well that it had just been for show, a way for himself to tune out his conscience. He knew perfectly well that the girl would never say no.

He knew what kind of feelings she harboured for him. He knew that those feelings clouded her judgement and made it impossible for her to say no to him. And although he had spoken to her about lust and love, he doubted that Charis was able to separate the two. And he had taken advantage of it.

He would meet her soon. She would be in the Great Hall for breakfast and then in his classroom for Potions. And she would certainly give him one or two of those shy, longing glances. How should he react? Should he pretend that he didn't see and with that pretend that last night had not happened? Should he talk to her and thus acknowledge that something had happened? Or should he do what he did best: scowl and snap at her and hope that she would turn away?

With yet another angry growl, Snape swung his legs out of the bed and padded towards the bathroom. There was no point lying in bed contemplating his deeds. When he met the girl, he would know what to do. Besides, he had other things to worry about as well.

He knew that Morgana had not returned from Malfoy Manor yet. He had instructed an elf to inform him of the girl's return but so far he had not heard anything.

He sneered. He did not like the idea of Morgana having spent the night in Lucius' arms. Heaven knew how much nonsense the man had been filling her mind with and her heart. And as much as Snape hoped that the girl had been keeping a cool head, he was afraid that she might have succumbed to Lucius' charms.

Who could blame her? Older and smarter witches had been tangled up in Lucius' web of lies. And smarter wizards. Snape himself had been one of them. He, too, had believed in Lucius' promises of riches and power, and he had paid dearly for it.

Now he hoped that Morgana would not come to share his fate.

* * *

Five minutes to eight, Charis was queuing outside the Potions classroom, munching on her chocolate croissant, butterflies in her stomach. She had never made it to the Great Hall for breakfast. All the thoughts that were running through her head had made her stay in the shower for over half an hour, and she had had to get dressed very hastily to make it to the dungeons in time. Quite how she would be able to act normal in front of Severus after the momentous events of last night she had no idea, but for both of their sakes she would try.

She was just about to take some steps in the direction of the Slytherin common room to see if Morgana was on her way, when she found herself being pulled into a hug. And she almost dropped her croissant when she found that the person hugging her was Morgana.

'Um, are you alright?' she asked as Morgana released her, giving her friend a curious look.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Morgana replied. 'Why would I not be?'

Because you haven't talked properly with me for over a month and now you're hugging me in public, and to top it all you've just spent the night at Malfoy Manor with a suspected Death Eater, Charis thought, but knew better than to say it out loud. Who knew how her Slytherin friend would react to a comment like that?

And before either of them had the chance to say anything more, the classroom door flew open with a bang, and there stood Severus Snape, glaring down at his students like a Dementor.

Not a single student dared to look up at him, let alone say Good Morning as they filed into the classroom. And Charis was overjoyed to see Morgana take her old place beside her at the desk in the front.

'I am amazed so many of you showed up here today,' Snape said in his most silky tone once he had taken his place behind his desk. 'Although some of you look like they have had a rough night.'

'So does he,' Morgana whispered, and Charis bit her lip and chanced to look up at Snape for a fraction of a second. He certainly did look like he had been overrun by a Hippogriff. And she could not help but wonder if he had slept at all. Maybe he had been lying awake, thinking about how unfair it was that he had to wait for such long months until they could be together at last. Charis sighed happily.

'You will be stewing dragon liver today,' Snape declared, his eyes glittering menacingly. 'Anyone who is unable to control their stomach will receive a T and serve detention with Mr Filch until the end of term. And you will also fail your next task since you will be brewing a potion with that liver later this week.'

He flicked his wand and a huge piece of sickly green, bloody dragon liver appeared on every table, followed by groans and retching noises from the students.

'The liver is to be cut into cubes, two by two inches each. Every idiot can do this. Waste as little as possible. Dragon liver is expensive. Begin.'

'This is grim,' Charis pointed out as she sank her knife into her piece of liver, from which emitted a disgusting smell. 'I think I prefer Flobberworms.'

'Look at Smythe.' Morgana grinned. 'His face is actually turning green. Think he drank too much last night?'

'I hear he got so drunk he was snogging Millicent Bulstrode. No wonder he's green.'

Morgana giggled, and Charis smiled. This felt just like old times, she and Morgana sharing a desk, chatting and laughing.

But Morgana's giggling stopped abruptly and Charis' smile faltered when Snape stopped his round in front of their desk. He had had a devastating comment for every student in the classroom so far, and the girls braced themselves to get theirs. But Snape just turned without a word and went to stand behind his desk once more.

'Everyone,' he bellowed, 'I recommend you have a look at Miss Byrne's cutting board. Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is what your liver should look like. Five points to Ravenclaw.'

Then he swiped past the girl's table again. 'Good work, Miss Byrne.'

'T-thank you, sir,' Charis stammered, trying not to look too shocked. His kind words in front of the whole class were the equivalent of him confessing his love for her in public. Her heart swelled with affection.

And she almost missed it when Snape muttered: 'Do not thank me, Miss Byrne.'

Slowly, the classroom started to fill with the nauseating smell of stewed dragon liver, and Charis and Morgana were just discussing using a Bubble-Head Charm to keep them from suffocating, when Snape's voice rang out once more.

'Miss Belakane, my office. Now.'

Charis gave her friend a worried look. Maybe Snape, too, was aware that Morgana had not spent the night in the castle? Was she in for yet another lecture, like the one he had given her after New Year's? What if she was expelled for breaking the school rules yet again? But Morgana just shrugged and followed Snape into his office.

He bade her to take a seat and closed the door, locking out both the noises from the classroom and the disgusting smell.

'I trust your evening at Malfoy Manor was a success, Miss Belakane.'

Morgana cleared her throat and nodded. 'Yes, sir.' Although success was not the word she would have chosen. Sure, the plan had been executed, and she was certainly pregnant. But the evening had also left her utterly confused.

'Good,' Snape stated, although the expression on his face suggested otherwise. And once more, Morgana felt uneasy. She did not want Snape to think badly of her. And she could not figure out why she cared so much.

'In that case, Miss Belakane,' Snape went on in a cold tone, 'your Potions classes will be severely disrupted. You will from now on no longer take part in my lessons, since many of the fumes and ingredients are dangerous to the unborn foetus.'

'But, sir,' Morgana blurted out. 'My NEWT ...'

'This is not up for discussion, Miss Belakane,' Snape retorted. 'You taking part in my lessons is far too dangerous for the baby.'

'What does it matter?' Morgana enquired in a slightly annoyed tone. No one had said anything about her having to give up her favourite subject. 'That baby is not meant to be born anyway. What does it ma...'

'What matters to me, Miss Belakane,' Snape interrupted her, 'is your health! I find it appalling enough that you have been dragged into this mess in the first place. And I refuse to put your welfare at risk any further.'

Morgana had to concentrate hard to keep her jaw from dropping to the floor. Had Snape just said that he cared? About her and her well-being?

'You will study the theory,' Snape went on, either not noticing or ignoring the flabbergasted look on his student's face. 'Then you will watch me make each week's potion behind the safety of a charmed glass screen in order to familiarise yourself with the methodology. Once your first trimester has passed, you will spend the weekends with me making vials of all the potions you have missed. Regretfully, your observations will have to be after hours, and you will be missing lessons. But there is no way around this.'

'But, sir,' Morgana piped up. 'My classmates might wonder why I am missing classes.'

'The Headmaster had already taken care of that,' Snape sneered. 'He has suggested that you use the time to take an extra credit in Ancient Runes, an additional project for three months.'

Morgana raised an eyebrow. 'Runes, sir?'

'Yes, Miss Belakane. Runes. A favourite of yours, I believe.'

The ironic tone in Snape's voice made Morgana grin. 'Haven't you always said that Runes were a waste of time, sir?'

Snape snorted. 'And since when, Miss Belakane, have you listened to my advice?'

Not often enough, Morgana thought but held her peace. 'When am I to report to you office then, sir?' she asked instead.

'Tuesday evenings at seven,' Snape replied. 'You will revise the theory in advance, and I expect you to be thoroughly prepared. I will not have you wasting my time.'

Once more, Morgana bit back a comment. He knew perfectly well that she was always prepared for Potions. He had no right to accuse her of anything else.

'You will sit in the rest of this lesson, seeing as it is almost over,' Snape went on. 'But from the next lesson onwards, you are excused. The Headmaster will enlighten you as to your additional project. Now, if you do not have any further questions, I have some dunderheads to supervise.'

He was already at the door, and Morgana took this as a sign not to ask any questions. Not that she had any. She had not expected any of this.

'If you have been working properly – which I seriously doubt – you have finished by now,' Snape addressed the class. 'Put your liver in the container in front of you, seal and label it and leave it on your desk for collection. When you have finished, you are dismissed. And those of you who have not managed to stew their liver properly can start mentally preparing for their T.'

Morgana was one of the first to leave the classroom since she had no stewed liver to box, but she lingered at the door, waiting for Charis. She desperately wanted to talk to her friend.

'You do have a free period now, don't you?' she asked tentatively as her friend left the classroom. 'Would you mind coming along to the Astronomy Tower?'

And to her relief, Charis nodded.

* * *

It was a very bright but also very chilly day, and the girls transformed their handkerchiefs into woolly blankets and wrapped them tightly around themselves.

'We need a new hideout,' Morgana stated, her teeth clattering, and Charis couldn't do anything else but agree.

'Why did we choose this place again?'

'Because we wanted to get away from my housemates, and they fear the Astronomy Tower since it is a place of knowledge?'

Charis collapsed in a fit of laughter. That was the Morgana she knew and loved. The Morgana that always had a biting comment ready and could deliver it without even batting an eyelid. She had missed her. And she deemed it the right moment to tell her.

She looked at her friend with her big green eyes and took a deep breath. It was now or never. 'I've missed you, Morgana,' she started. 'You have been so distant over the last couple of weeks. I thought ... I was afraid that all that blood stuff from you housemates had finally sunk in.'

'Don't you ever say that again!'

The tone in Morgana's voice reflected the cold look in her eyes, and Charis lowered her gaze. She had, of course, no idea why her friend reacted that way. She did not know in what kind of mess Morgana was in due to her blood status.

'You know that I don't care about what those brainless twits in my House say,' Morgana went on, her tone somewhat softer. 'But things have become complicated lately.'

Charis looked up. The cool look had gone from Morgana's eyes. And she looked tired now.

'Are you OK?' Charis asked.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Morgana assured her friend with a fake smile. 'I just have to watch my steps nowadays. But this is not why I asked you to come up here today.'

Charis looked intently at her friend, waiting for her to go on. But instead, an uncomfortable silence settled over the Astronomy Tower. Charis did not want to pressure her friend out of fear that she might turn away. And Morgana was torn between her need to share her secrets and the promise she had given Dumbledore. She could not tell Charis. It was too dangerous.

'Did you like the croissant?' she asked instead, desperately hoping that Charis would not ask any more questions.

'It was delicious!' Charis exclaimed overenthusiastically. She knew Morgana well enough to know that there was no point in pushing her. 'Made by Silvy, wasn't it?'

'The little elf is a genius in the kitchen. You should try her desserts.'

Now Charis saw her chance. 'Did you stay at Malfoy Manor last night?' she asked quietly.

Morgana nodded slowly, her eyes on her hands and her teeth gnawing at her lip.

'Um ... how was it?' Charis went on. She was not judging her friend. She just wanted to know.

'It was nice,' Morgana replied with a quiet tone that was so uncharacteristic for her. 'Lucius was nice. He gave me another gift.'

She pulled up the pendant from under her school robes and held it up so the emeralds sparkled in the sunlight. 'Gorgeous, isn't it?'

Charis gasped. 'It's beautiful. One must hand it to the man, he has taste.' But she couldn't help but wonder why Lucius Malfoy, one of the most influential wizards in the country, a known philanderer, was showering her friend with such expensive gifts. He must want something.

'Did you ... I mean, did you two ...' she broke off and blushed, not sure if Morgana would want her to ask such an intimate question. Lucius Malfoy seemed to be a touchy subject.

But Morgana smiled. 'There is a reason why I did not make it back for breakfast in time,' she said and lifted the spell that revealed the love bites and bruises on her neck.

Charis' jaw dropped open. 'Did he hurt you?'

'No! No, Charis, no. Lucius would not hurt me. He's passionate. But he would never hurt me.'

'Did you enjoy it?' Charis wondered, thinking of the sexual encounter she herself had had the night before. It had not exactly been tender lovemaking either.

Morgana nodded. 'There is something about having a man overpower you. It's animalistic. It's erotic.'

'Yes,' Charis murmured. 'A man in control is very sexy.'

'So much for us being emancipated women,' Morgana stated dryly, and Charis giggled.

'We are independent women who know what we like. And by the looks of things, we like rough sex.'

'We?' Morgana's eyebrow shot up. 'What were you up to last night?'

She saw Charis bite her lip and pushed further. 'Spill it, sister. Who was your Valentine? Jack? One of the Weasley twins?'

Charis blushed. 'This is really difficult to say ...'

'Don't tell me you went for another Slytherin,' Morgana groaned, and had her suspicion confirmed as Charis blushed even more.

'You know,' Charis started, 'ever since New Year's, I've been noticing Snape has been giving me looks, meaningful looks. And I thought I was going mad or imagining things, but ...'

Morgana felt the muscles in her jaw tighten. This just could not be!

'And last night, I couldn't face going to the Valentine's Feast on my own, so I went to the library.'

'So Ravenclaw of you,' Morgana interrupted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

'That's what he said, too,' Charis murmured.

'Who? Snape?' Morgana was now struggling to make her voice sound steady. 'Was Snape at the library last night?'

Charis nodded and swallowed. 'He ... we ... He bent me over the desk and fucked me in the library.'

She said all this very fast and then squeezed her eyes tightly shut. And she never saw the flash of anger in Morgana's eyes.

'He did what?' Morgana exclaimed, her voice now trembling. 'He fucked YOU in the library? A student? And you let him? After what he did to you in his office?'

'That was different,' Charis blurted. 'He was in denial about our attraction back then. But last night ... Morgana, it was exquisite. I thought Zabini was big, but oh boy! I have never cum so hard!'

Charis seemed to drift off into her memories, and Morgana had to fight back the urge to start throwing hexes.

How fucking convenient, she thought. First Snape brings me to Malfoy Manor, gets his kick from watching Lucius feel me up, and then he goes and shags my best friend in the library!

But the strange thing was that she was not angry at Snape. She was angry at Charis.

'Congratulations,' she said, trying to sound indifferent. 'It looks like you have won our little challenge, Charis. You seduced the Potions master.'

'This is not about winning, Morgana.'

'Come on, Charis,' Morgana interrupted her. 'We have been competing for Snape's attention since September. It looks like I overdid it. He preferred the shy type. He chose you. I take my hat off.'

'No, really ...' Charis started but broke off as Morgana got up and Transfigured her blanket back into a handkerchief. Slytherins were bad losers, Charis knew that. And it did not seem to be a good moment to tell Morgana what she really thought: that Severus had chosen her because he loved her.