Visitors & Settling In

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

“I can never say thank you enough, or apologize in a meaningful way for all the ways I complicated things.” Harry Potter’s green eyes searched the face of his former nemesis. His expression lay bare and open.

An awkward silence settled thickly in the air between them. Of all the scenarios Severus had pictured in his mind, this was not one of them. Not only was the boy thanking him, he was apologizing. His eyes shut as he worked to control the emotions rising from within him. Didn’t Potter know? He was the reason his parents were slaughtered in the first place.

“You owe me no apologies or thanks,” he said, swallowing the lump of emotions that surfaced.

“All the same, if there is ever anything you need, I am in your debt.” His hand stretched out expectantly towards Severus.

Their hands met in a firm handshake cementing their fledgling truce. Potter’s visit was the most recent of many in the past few days. Almost all of the surviving members of the order that were privy to the location of Spinner’s End had come by with well wishes. It was a far cry from the cold, damp cell of Azkaban he was sure would be reserved for him. The past two weeks had been surprising to say the least. His unknown healer was turning out to be quite the surprise as well. Each time there was a visitor, his mysterious nurse maid disappeared. She was without a doubt a most infuriating puzzle. If the members of the Order knew her identity, they never let on. He had taken to addressing her simply as wench. Which to his dismay failed in garnering a response from her, she did not yell or storm. She smiled. His temperament seemingly had no effect on her.

In the last two weeks she had left his home three times, today being the third. Her absences never lasted longer than three hours at a time. The wench was infuriating. She was intelligent, that was a given. She had a strong knowledge in Potions, and her spell work was simply stunning. The ease in which she wielded her magic captivated him. Before he had first awoken she worked tirelessly healing him. Sleeping on a transfigured cot in his bedroom, she barely left his side. At least that is what he had been told when he questioned Minerva about the witch. Despite all the answers he received in regards to the witch tending to him, none of them led to her identity.

Reaching into his pocket he removed a charmed galleon that had been given to him. Grasping it in his hand, he focused on the word he wanted to appear on the coin, ‘Wench.’ A few minutes later she appeared in his doorway.

“Is there something you need?” She smiled sweetly.

“Your name would be a start.”

“Addressing me as wench has served you quite well. It’s not so different from the many names you have called me in the past.” Her blue eyes shone with mirth. “Besides it is fun to finally know something you don’t.”

“Fine, you will not give me your name then I ask this… Give me a chance to get to know you. I will allow the same, for you to know me. If you still believe me to be the man you knew before, then I will leave you in peace and never again question your name.”

The chance to know Severus Snape was almost too much to pass up. True she had plenty of experience with the dour man, but that was in a student- teacher context. This, while not exactly equal footing, was probably the closest she would ever get.

“Alright, I accept. Now would it be alright if I checked your bandages? The healers from St. Mungo’s say as long as you continue to improve they see no reason for you to be as restricted.”

She smiled warmly at his look of utter relief. Her hands worked gently cleansing the wound. “Easing your way back into your routine is best. As long as you don’t push yourself too much, you may begin brewing again.”

His neck began to throb with the pain of healing. The pain that was once sharp and unbearable was now a dull, achy throb. He released a breath of relief when she applied a numbing cream to his throat. She wrapped his neck in a sterile bandage carefully, attentive in the care she bestowed upon him. Her fingers trailed along his jawline fleetingly. Tearing her hand away, she was startled to find her wrist gently enclosed in his grasp. The look he wore upon his face was one she had never seen from this man before. He looked vulnerable and open, his inky eyes communicating to her an unspoken trust that had formed between them.

“Thank you. I have never been cared for before… never with such tenderness.” The pad of his thumb trailed lightly over the soft skin of her hand in imitation of the soft caresses she granted him.

Releasing her hand, he snatched a potions journal from the table. Flipping it open, he settled himself comfortably in the chair. Pretending to be engrossed in his reading, he made no further indication of interest in her. His mind however was filled with thoughts of her; he knew that she changed her appearance with charms. More specifically though he could tell which features she changed. Her eyes were undoubtedly not blue. The shape of her nose and her hair were altered. Surprisingly though, she had not altered her body. The soft curves he saw belonged to her.

“It’s time to get dinner started. Perhaps while we eat we could talk a little.” She looked to him anxiously awaiting his reaction.

“I would like that. For the sake of our… arrangement, you should think of a name I may use to address you.” His eyes shone full of mirth. “As much as I thoroughly enjoy wench, it seems prudent to come up with something less offensive.”

“I’ll think on that, sir.”

“I remember you using my given name last night. You have earned that right.”

A moment of disbelief flashed over her features. “Severus,” she whispered. Her voice caressed the syllables of his name in a manner wholly unfamiliar to him. The sound of his name from her lips echoed through him long after she left, resonating deeply within him.

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