Three - Applying The Stain

The Sempra Deck is dedicated to the real mystic goddess Mimi Manderly; to her beloved SeverusMuse, and to my precious Dahlra. All characters with the exception of Mimi Manderley, Peter and Dahlra belong to JK Rowling. I make no money from this publication.

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As strange as Mimi's first day had been in the Hogwarts world, it was nothing compared to the following week. She had been dutifully informed that the Headmaster wished her to join him and the other professors at the Head Table, and she was introduced to the student body as "Miss Manderly, from the Salem Institute". While it was not exactly the truth, it was close enough for Mimi not to get caught in a lie.

It both thrilled and excited her to see all of the characters she had come to know and love; Professor McGonagall, who was kind and warm, in spite of her flinty exterior; Professor Flitwick, who chortled that it was refreshing to meet an American that was not that much taller than himself, and Professor Sprout, a merry, boisterous sort of woman who gave Mimi a hug that felt like a rock crusher and an appraising look that caused Mimi to question the woman's sexual preferences.

And there was the "Golden Trio" themselves, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. Mimi was astonished at how they interacted with one another; they were like different sides of a triptych; each standing alone, yet the whole being greater than the sum of their parts. Mimi studied Hermione especially; the girl practically crackled with intelligence.

She had been very effusive when speaking to Mimi, asking her all about America and the Salem Institute and how Muggles were treated there. Mimi had cried off with a very weak excuse that she had to see Professor Dumbledore, but promised the young girl a long talk soon. Mimi couldn't get away from the curious Gryffindor quickly enough.

She had been largely left to her own devices for a couple of days, and assigned a very nice portrait to show her around the castle. The young lady, who informed Mimi her name was Guinevere, had startling green eyes and a warm smile that made Mimi feel as if she had made a friend. Gwen, as she preferred to be called, took her task seriously, and after the first two hours, Mimi was begging the portrait for a rest.

"At this rate, I'll either be in great shape or I'll drop dead by the time I get my bearings!" Mimi gasped, grimacing at the stitch in her side. "At least I don't have to worry about working off my meals. Have you seen the food they pile onto the plates here?"

Gwen, a plump young girl with a round face, giggled wistfully. "If only I could enjoy them! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to keep up this figure! There are only so many portraits with food in them, you know!"

Mimi looked at her painted companion and laughed. "I suppose you have to really gorge yourself when you find something good to eat!"

"Oh, the kitchens have some lovely still lifes," Gwen said. "I like to have a wander down there in the evening. Always good for a spotted dick or two."

Mimi, who had never heard of spotted dick and didn't like to ask, merely shrugged. "I tell you what, Gwen. Come and find me tomorrow night, and we'll sneak down in the kitchens for a midnight snack together!"

"I hardly think the Headmaster would appreciate you taking advantage of his hospitality by risking your health stumbling around the castle in the dark, Miss Manderly."

Mimi whirled around to see Professor Snape standing nearby, his arms folded across his chest. He was looking at her with a little disapproving frown that she found almost endearing. Really, he was the most uptight man she'd ever seen! Even though he spoke in a languid, rather sexy drawl, he was like a coiled spring; nervy and jittery, like a teenager with a chip on his shoulder.

Instead of taking offense, she smiled, and replied innocently, "Heaven forbid, Professor. I would never do anything to abuse the hospitality of the residents of Hogwarts."

As he relaxed, somewhat mollified, she added mischievously, "Perhaps you'd be so kind as to accompany Miss Guinevere and myself for our midnight raid? You could vouch for us." She tried to keep her voice hopeful, but Severus wasn't fooled. He simply sneered at her, spun on his heel, and walked away, his dark robes flying behind him, leaving a trail of terrified Second-years in his wake.

"Oh, dear," Gwen said, with a soft sigh of regret. "Young Mr. Snape is on the warpath again." She shook her head sadly. "Poor thing. He's not had a happy life. To be so young and full of anger and fear..."

Mimi could hear the unmistakable sound of a soft heart from twenty paces, even a painted one. She nodded. "It's too bad, Gwen, because I think under that darkness is a decent person. He just doesn't know it."

Guinevere looked at Mimi carefully. "Perhaps he just needs the right woman to show him." She gave Mimi a little approving nod. "Ever since he was a boy here, I've told anyone who'd listen that he merely needs the love of a good woman." A hint of devilment glinted in her painted eye. "Or a bad one, depending on how you look at it!"

Mimi gasped in pretended shock. "Miss Guinevere! Listening to you, one might suspect you have a sneaking desire to get a hold of Mr. Snape's buttons!"

Gwen's merry peal of laughter echoed down the hall. "Why, Miss Manderly, I can assure you – nothing would give me greater pleasure than to get a little paint smeared on his... buttons!"

The younger students smiled as they heard the ringing laughter of the portrait and the new guest from America following them down the hall. It had been a tense year; laughter sounded like music at Hogwarts – rarefied and clean.

As the days passed, and Gwen had shown Mimi all of the unrestricted areas in which she could move freely, Mimi's interest and enthusiasm waned. She missed home. She missed her routine. She would look around the crowded Great Hall at mealtimes, amidst the chattering students and gossiping staff, and feel so alone and isolated she was sometimes hard pressed not to cry.

Being alone when you were alone was one thing; being alone surrounded by a sea of people was starting to feel like punishment.

There were times when she would simply stop eating and look down at her food, and feel his eyes watching her. Whenever she looked up, Snape would be regarding her thoughtfully. Their eyes would meet for the briefest of moments, and then he would return to his meal, or turn his attention to another professor. It was strange.

Mimi knew the man was lonely, but when she tried to seek him out or engage him in conversation, he ignored, insulted or dismissed her. There were times when he looked positively exhausted; he would appear at the Great Hall for breakfast, looking like he'd spent the night pacing his chambers, thinking too many dark thoughts. On one occasion, he looked deathly ill; when Mimi tried to inquire about his health, he brushed her aside with a terseness that bordered on rudeness. The other professors were well-meaning, but they, too, kept their distance.

Because she had one change of clothing, Dumbledore had generously provided her with several long robes and dresses, all black, at her request. "I've never worn orange in my life and I'm not about to start now," she muttered, eying the Headmaster's ensemble. With her dark hair, her dark clothes and pale skin, she was perceived as someone associated with darkness. The students left her alone.

The nights were the hardest. Mimi, in spite of Severus' admonitions, found herself often wandering around at night. High up in the Astronomy Tower, she would look down at the Black Lake and feel so lonesome. She was a solitary person by nature, but this imposed exile from friends and routine was starting to grind her down.

Dumbledore was no closer in finding a way to send her back to her own place or time than he had been the first day, and Mimi was starting to suffer from ennui, depression, and despair. The knowledge that Mimi knew the future weighed on Dumbledore, and Severus, no doubt, and they kept their distance to avoid the temptation of asking her what the future held.

She would sometimes look at the two men, Dumbledore and Severus, and have to turn away. She alone knew that the two of them were facing precious little time ahead. Mimi had often speculated on how it would feel to have 'second sight', or be able to see the future. She had once foolishly thought of it as a gift. Now, knowing what she knew, Mimi realized that being able to know the future was a burden, and it weighed on her heavily.

One night, sitting on the windowsill in the Astronomy Tower, Mimi heard a soft sound behind her and whirled around to see Severus watching her closely from the doorway. It had been a bad day for both of them. Mimi had spent hours with the Headmaster, trying to find a way to send her home, to no avail. Severus had been summoned by Voldemort earlier that day, and his information regarding Hogwarts and Dumbledore's precious Order of the Phoenix was deemed unsatisfactory.

He had been given a round of the Cruciatus Curse for his troubles, and he'd stumbled back to Hogwarts feeling sick and defeated and aching all over. He had come to the Tower to get away from prying eyes and to tend to his wounds. Finding the Manderly woman here had been the last straw, and he snapped, "What the hell are you doing here? You have no purpose here!"

Mimi, stunned at the vitriol in his words, drew herself up to her full height and retorted, "I have just as much right to be here as you, Severus Snape!"

He sneered at her with withering contempt. "Just because the Headmaster has allowed you to stay here doesn't mean you can just fanny about the place anytime you fancy it. Merlin, I can't even get away from you in the sodding middle of the night!"

She shook her head in disbelief. "Jesus – why do you have to be an utter prick twenty-four seven?"

She forced herself to maintain eye contact; she was ashamed of her own outburst, but still smarting from his stinging words. Almost to herself, she continued, softly, "Why on earth did I ever think you would be anything other than a complete arse?"

They stood glaring at one another for almost a minute. It was finally Severus who looked away. Gradually, his shoulders slumped in defeat, and Mimi's heart reluctantly went out to him.

He looked back at her for a long moment, and saw the same helpless, hopeless feeling reflected in her eyes that he himself felt. "Miss Manderly, I apologise." He ran a trembling hand through his stringy hair. "I am very tired, and I – I didn't expect to find company here."

Mimi stared at him. Quietly, she said, "It's alright. I accept your apology. I was very rude as well. I'm sorry. I'm just feeling so blue, and..." She finished her sentence with a little shrug, which he seemed to understand.

He nodded. "Apology accepted. I'll leave you to your thoughts." He turned to go, and wrenched his injured side. He could not stifle the grunt of pain.

Mimi ran to him, concern on her lovely face. "Severus! You're hurt! What happened?"

His eyes widened. "Nothing of importance, Miss – "

"Severus, what has happened?" Mimi gently put a hand on his shoulder. "You've been holding yourself strangely since you arrived, and you're obviously in pain. Please let me help."

Severus, who had indeed been slightly hunched to ease the ache of his spasming muscles, barked back, "This is none of your business, Miss Manderly." He added stonily, "I have merely come here to relax at the end of a trying day, and if you will not do me the courtesy of leaving me to my thoughts – "

"Well, I'm not going to." Mimi reached for him, and he flinched as she touched his shoulder. She looked into his eyes. "Severus, please. I'm a friend. If you believe nothing else about me, believe this."

She placed her hand on his chest, and he stood stock still. "I told you I knew you. I'm not trying to hold anything over your head, or blackmail you or take advantage of you, sweetie. I just want to help you."

He shook his head. "You say you know me. You cannot. No one knows me." He looked down at his feet. "I'm not worth knowing."

He felt her hand on his face, and he turned to her with a start. No one ever touched him like that; gently, with care. It frightened him. So did the look of compassion in her lovely eyes. They were a startling colour...

She smiled at him, and there was affection in the smile, but also a terrible sadness that he didn't understand. She said, "Severus, you know I come from a future time. I've had a long time to learn all about you. I know all the horrible things you've been through – that you're still going through.

"I can't tell you the future, but I can tell you now. And I can tell you now, nothing you could ever do or say could shock me, or scare me away, or make me lose my respect and admiration for you, and believe me, I know you at your worst. But," she smiled gently, "I also know you at your best, and it's about the best a person can get."

He looked deeply within her eyes, and looked away. "I don't have much..." He slumped. "I'm so tired."

Mimi gently guided him over to a sofa that sat in the corner. He grimaced in pain, and when Mimi reached to loosen his cravat, he made a soft sound of protest. She huffed in frustration. "Severus, please! I am not here to hurt or humiliate or cause you discomfort."

He looked at her and scowled. "This is highly inappropriate."

Mimi ignored him and loosened his clothing, and he seemed to relax. "I promise I won't take advantage of you." She tried to sound flippant and playful, but to her ears it came out very suggestive. Judging from Severus' face, he had the same thoughts.

As she helped him to divest himself of his heavy over-robe, he gingerly reached into one of the pockets and pulled out a jar of Bruise paste. Mimi opened it, and then unbuttoned his waistcoat vest and shirt.

"You don't plan on anyone getting to you easily, I'll give you that," she muttered, finally loosening the last shirt button. As she had applied herself to her task, Severus watched her, an inscrutable look on his face. She pushed open his shirt and gasped in horror. Tears came to her eyes, and when she looked up at him, he turned away.

"Oh, sweetie, what have they done to you?" she whispered. His chest was a mass of bruises, cuts and contusions. He looked as if he'd been beaten, cut and scratched, all at once. "Oh, baby," she crooned, helplessly.

Something in her tone angered and embarrassed Severus, and he tried to pull away. "I don't need your pity, Miss Manderly." He rose to leave. "I am perfectly capable of taking care –"

"Oh, hush, Severus, hush!" Mimi said, sniffing, and all but forced him back on the sofa. His eyes grew wide as she pinned him in place. "Of course I feel pity for you! How could I not hurt for you?"

Mimi shook her head. "I know what you've had to go through for years now. I've followed your path, and the path you chose. I've just never seen the proof of it until now." Mimi looked at the pale wizard, and her heart ached for him. She took the jar of salve in her hand. "Please, let me at least do this one thing to show you that I genuinely care about what happens to you."

He watched as she gently rubbed the paste onto the worst of the bruises, marveling aloud how quickly it worked. Her hands were gentle, her touch soft and respectful. Every once in awhile he would hiss when she found at a particularly painful area, and she would make little soothing noises of comfort, which genuinely seemed to help him.

Gradually, he relaxed as she continued her tender ministrations, and as the events of the day caught up with him, he felt his body unwind under her care. Mimi had finished his chest and was about to ask him to remove his shirt so she could check his back, when she looked up and found him fast asleep.

He was sitting with his head back against the sofa, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. His large hands rested on the tops of his thighs, and to Mimi, they looked like sculpture; pale, fine-boned, with long fingers and smooth knuckles. There were several minute scars around the sides of his index fingers, from countless small cuts from chopping ingredients for potions, no doubt.

Mimi stole a glance at his sleeping face; in the depths of slumber, he looked younger, less careworn and unhappy. His skin was so white; he must never get out in the sun. Contrasted against that was his black, black hair, which was greasy, but she imagined it would be naturally shiny when clean.

His large nose was his calling card; it was unmistakable, but not unpleasant to her. It was part and parcel of him, and she liked what she saw. The biggest revelation, though, was his mouth; soft, finely sculpted lips which, when relaxed in sleep, were fuller than Mimi expected; they had a lovely shape, and she could well imagine how soft and mobile they could be when kissing –

He snorted a bit and woke himself, causing Mimi to jump and say, much too quickly and loudly, "You fell asleep! I didn't want to wake you."

He looked at her for a moment, then sat up and stretched his back. Looking a little sheepish, he said, "Yes, well. I really must return to the dungeons. I thank you for your assistance, Miss Manderly. I will escort you back to your rooms."

He stood to go, and offered his hand for her. Mimi placed her smaller hand in his and rose with him. It seemed to her that he held onto her hand a heartbeat longer than necessary, and finally let go to retrieve the jar of bruise paste.

Even standing, Mimi felt small and child-like next to him; he still towered over her by over a foot; she found herself looking at his bare chest and the small little line of black hair that slid underneath his trousers...

She looked up into his face, and noticed a little smirk on his lips. Ass, she thought. He's acting like he knows what I'm thinking –

"Oh shit!" she said, and put her hand over her mouth. Severus was a skilled Legilimens – for all she knew, he had been reading her thoughts.

"Is there a problem, Miss Manderly?" he said, his discomfort returning, as he tucked his shirt into his trousers and began to button his waistcoat. Mimi gulped and smiled weakly.

"I, uh, was just, uh, remembering that you are a Legilimens, you know." She decided to try for flirtatious. "I thought for a moment there you might be reading my mind!" Okay, flirtatious it wasn't. It ended up sounding desperate.

For the first time since he'd arrived, he looked a little amused. He tilted his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. "You're a most unusual woman, Miss Manderly."

"It's Mimi, and you have no idea," she replied, through gritted teeth. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? She sighed. "Okay, I'll bite. In what way?"

Severus managed to look offended and smug at the same time. "Actually, I have tried to Legilimise you tonight. Several times, in fact." He looked deeply into her eyes, and shook his head. "I cannot. I simply cannot enter your mind."

Mimi was surprised. She shrugged. "Well, maybe it's because you're tired."

He made a moue of acquiescence. "Perhaps. And perhaps, also," he said, with a faint smirk, "there is nothing there to enter."

Mimi's eyes grew huge. "Stick around, honey, and you'll see there's lots in there, because you're about to get a rather hefty piece of it." She tried to sound stern, but she couldn't help but smile. It was hard to be angry at him, especially after the pain he'd been through; especially after looking at his soft mouth as he slept...

Severus gave her a rueful look. "I've no doubt, Miss Manderly, it would be weighty indeed." He sighed, and his weariness showed again. "It is quite unusual, though. I cannot Legilimise you at all." His gaze met hers. "That has quite simply never happened to me before."

Mimi helped him with his heavy robe, and buttoned the top button of his waistcoat. "Perhaps you can try again tomorrow. Tonight," she said, smiling, "I think you need to sleep."

He nodded, and the two of them walked slowly down to the dungeons. As they reached Mimi's rooms, Severus turned to her. "I will leave you here, Miss Manderly. I trust you will be able to sleep now. Goodnight."

Mimi looked up into Severus' face. Beneath the mistrustful exterior, she saw a tired man/boy, arrested in development, angry and frightened and resigned. Her heart broke a little for him, and before she could stop herself, she reached for his hand, and gave his large knuckles a quick kiss. He looked at her in surprise, but did not snatch his hand away, and for that, she was grateful.

"Just a kiss to make things better, Severus. Goodnight." She released his hand and turned toward her door.

"Miss Manderly?"

Mimi turned back to him. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. He risked a glance at her. "Thank you for tonight." He looked uncomfortable, and it was a moment before he continued. "The simple act of – of kindness, during these times... I... it doesn't happen often." He looked down into her eyes again. "Thank you, Mimi."

He turned and left her standing at her door, gaping after him. After a moment, Mimi sighed and opened her door.

---

Snape was running down the hall, in the general direction of the commotion. He had heard an angry shout, recognized it as one of his own Slytherins, and sprinted the last few steps down to the dungeons.

"You saw her, Draco!" Pansy Parkinson was saying, "It passed right through her!" A small crowd of Slytherins had gathered around, and he pushed through them to get to the heart of the disruption.

"What is going on, Miss Parkinson-" Snape stuttered to a halt as he saw the recipient of Miss Parkinson's wrath. "Miss Manderly, may I ask what is going on?"

Mimi looked at the Head of Slytherin, and sighed. He could tell she was upset, but in a strange, exhilarated sort of way. "Professor Snape, might I have a word in private?"

"Something's not right with her!" Pansy said, and she turned to Draco. "Tell him what happened, Draco!"

"I am fully capable of explaining what happened to your Head of House," Mimi said firmly, looking at Severus in a way that left no doubt in his mind that something strange had indeed happened. "If you will be so kind –"

"Certainly." Severus turned back to the small knot of his Slytherins gathered in the dungeon hallway. He nodded at Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, as Prefect, I suggest you remind your fellow Housemates that discretion is always an admirable trait, in light of any circumstance."

"Yes, sir," Draco said, and turned to his Housemates. "You heard the Professor. Scram. Shoo." Draco's cool grey eyes flicked back to his Head of House, and Severus felt his stomach clench at the troubled look in the boy's eyes. Draco was already walking on a tightrope, having been charged by the Dark Lord to murder Dumbledore and thus turn the tide of the war.

He had stopped confiding in Severus, and this told him that he was no longer trusted within the Dark Lord's circle; further, Draco was desperate to restore the Dark Lord's trust in his family, and did not want Snape to take any credit for it.

Thinking of this, Severus turned to the tiny American woman. "Perhaps we can discuss this in my study, Miss Manderly?"

She nodded tersely. "After you, Professor."

Once again, Mimi found herself running after Severus like an overly-enthusiastic puppy, as his long legs strode away from her. "Severus, short person here," she hissed through gritted teeth, and he slowed down infinitesimally to allow her to catch up with him.

Finally, when they arrived at his study, Mimi ducked under his arm as he held open the door for her. "I think you'd better ward your door, Severus. This isn't for all and sundry to see or hear."

Frowning, Severus obeyed her nevertheless. Silently casting ward after ward over his study, Severus turned and faced Mimi, his arms crossed over his chest defiantly. "And what, Miss Manderly, have you done now to get my House in such an uproar?"

Mimi stepped away from Severus, and said, with barely concealed excitement, "Hex me."

Severus looked at her blankly. "Excuse me?"

Mimi grinned, nodding her head. "Go ahead, Severus – hex me. Go on!"

"What reason on earth could you possibly have to –"

"Severus!" Mimi said, exasperated, "I wouldn't ask you to do something this radical without good reason, would I? Now, go ahead, big, bad, wizard," she taunted, challengingly. "Hex me, if you're man enough - "

"Petrificus Totalus!" Severus' aim was perfect, but nothing happened. He looked at the tiny woman, who was smiling back at him.

She winked. "Try again."

"Rictusempra!" Mimi merely stood, smiling at him, her hands on her hips. Baffled, Severus said, "I don't understand. You should be laughing uncontrollably."

Mimi looked genuinely interested. "Why, was that a spell to tickle me?"

"No, it was – it doesn't matter. Accio Mimi!" Nothing. "Stupefy!" Mimi shrugged. Severus threw a Jelly-legs Jinx; he attempted to bind her in magical ropes; they fell away from her. He tried several other small spells and minor jinxes; nothing affected Mimi. Finally, out of desperation, he cried, "Imperio!"

Nothing, Mimi covered her mouth in an exaggerated, pretend yawn. "You'll have to do a lot more than that if you want me to do your bidding, Professor Snape." She laughed at his stunned expression. "Do you see? I can't be touched here!"

Stunned at the implications of what he'd witnessed, Severus finally said, "Was this what happened with Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson?" When Mimi nodded, Severus frowned again. "Why did she attempt to hex you in the first place?"

For the first time since she had asked him to hex her, Mimi looked uncomfortable. "I was walking to my room, and I passed Draco and Pansy in the hall. As I walked by, Pansy said something –" Mimi hesitated, and bit the inside of her cheek. "She said something a tad inappropriate, and I called her on it."

Frowning, Severus looked at Mimi with a fierce scowl. "What did Miss Parkinson say, Miss Manderly?"

For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to answer. Finally, her face colouring, Mimi said, "She said something rather disrespectful, and I told her that unless she truly knew what she was talking about, she should keep her prissy little mouth shut."

Snape's mouth was pressed into a thin, impatient line. "What. Did. She. Say, Miss Manderly?"

Mimi sighed. "She said, in a rather loud voice, that –" she felt her face grow warm, "Professor Snape must be pretty damn desperate indeed to be fucking a Mudblood American."

Severus' eyes snapped in fury. "Why, that little jumped up – she had no – I'm sorry, Miss Manderly." He looked profoundly embarrassed. "She had no right to say something like that."

Mimi dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "I wasn't offended, really! Sticks and stones. But the thing was that I turned around and confronted her, and she got very angry and tried to hex me and the hex went right through me –"

"Miss Manderly, are you telling me that one of my House actually tried to hex you?"

Mimi continued, "Yes, but when it went through me, I thought she was going to have kittens!" She grinned at the memory of the snotty little girl looking at the tip of her own wand like she half expected flowers to shoot out of it.

Severus stared at her in shock. Tumbling through his head were the warring ideas of the audacity of the Parkinson chit, coupled with the stupefying realization that, in this universe, Mimi was impervious to magic. That, and the dreams he'd had since the night they'd come together in the Astronomy Tower...

The dream started out the same way as the actual event. He had stumbled, hurting and humiliated, up to the tower to be alone and lick his wounds, and found her there. After bullying him into allowing her to help him, she had unbuttoned his shirt and gently applied the bruise paste to the worst of his injuries.

Then the dream and reality went their separate ways. In the dream, she had stopped rubbing the salve onto his chest and simply rested her palms flat against his skin. He could feel his heart pounding against her hand and he held his breath when she looked deeply into his eyes.

She had lovely, unusual eyes; not the bright blue of, say, Madam Rosmerta's, or the deep emerald green of his own Lily's eyes, but a startling combination of both. Eyes the colour of the sea. Remarkable eyes, remarkable woman...

The dream Mimi then leaned forward and touched his lips with hers, and they felt as warm and soft as he knew they would be, and tasted as sweet as wine. She made a soft little sound of surrender, and then he was pulling her into his lap and kissing her madly, doing all the things he always dreamed of doing with a woman; feeling her pressing against an erection so hard and needy he -

Mimi, watching his face, misread his emotions entirely, and for a moment, felt her hackles rising. "Look, if I did wrong here, I'm sorry, but this little Madam of yours started it. I was just minding my own business – "

Startled from his reverie, Severus flushed, then felt humiliation stir. "Hush, Mimi!" he said, holding up his hand, grimacing. "I'm trying to think this through!"

She returned his grimace. "What's to think through? I can't be touched here! Do you know what this means, Severus?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me," he replied, rather sourly. Looking at her blazing eyes, feverish with excitement, meant something to him that he fancied would not be the answer she was preparing to give him.

She shot him an exasperated look. "Well, you could have taken one lousy guess." She gave him a 'pay attention' stare. "Severus, I can protect you. The next time you are summoned, take me with you, and I can prevent him from hurting you!"

She was pretty sure he was going to faint. The blood drained from his face and he stared at her, stunned at her pronouncement. It would have been comical had she not been so deadly serious.

Finally, in a voice so deathly quiet it sounded like it was being channeled through an exorcist, he said, "Have you lost your mind, woman? Have you any idea how ludicrous this sounds?" He shook his head. "How could you possibly protect me from the Dark Lord?"

She smiled, refusing to allow him to quench her excitement. Her voice was also soft, but trembled with expectation. "Any minute now, Draco Malfoy's family will be receiving an owl telling them what he saw, a strange, mysterious woman, a woman Professor Snape is sleeping with, having the living shit hexed out of her to no effect.

"I'll wager by the end of the day, Bella Lestrange will have already told your Dark Lord that Hogwarts, and you in particular, are hosting a very special individual. One that cannot be touched by even the darkest magic.

"I'll bet further that he'll be summoning you very soon to ask you about it, perhaps to arrange a meeting. And when he does, you'll take me there, and I'll make a bargain with him. My beneficence to his cause, in exchange for leaving my newly favourite pet alone. You." She ended her explanation with a little flourish in his direction. At his gobsmacked expression, she laughed.

"I have come to watch this tawdry little conflict between so-called good and evil because I am bored and I'm up for a bit of sport, but I've decided to amuse myself with you while I'm here, and I won't take it kindly to have my new toy returned to me beaten all to fuck just because your Master is having a little temper tantrum. I will sit back and watch, and favour the winning side." She paused to deliver the coup de grace.

"Because that's what goddesses do." She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest in an eerie imitation of Severus, smirking at her own cleverness.

Severus could literally feel his blood pressure rising. The stupidity of the woman! And he'd thought her intelligent, caring, and compassionate. She was making a sport of this! He was going to rip her to pieces. He was going to wipe the floor with her and when he was through, future or no future, impervious to magic or not, she would crawl from here with her tail tucked between her legs and he'd never have to suffer her presence again. She would rue the day she tried to ridicule him.

He opened his mouth, readying to launch into his tirade, when he cried out in pain, and clutched his arm. Merlin's hairy ballbag! He was being summoned.

---

To see the beautiful tarot deck that took its inspiration from this story, please go to: http://mimimanderly.livejournal.com/100663.html