The Lady in Waiting

Disclaimer: All said characters in this story are not mine in any way, shape or form. They belong to the highly talented J.K. Rowling. She gets the cash and credit.

Chapter 2 – The Lady in Waiting

Severus Snape had fancied Rosmerta for some time. She was the proprietor of the Three Broomsticks, which was a pub down in Hogsmeade. He would go down there on weekends, sit in a dark corner and watch her work her magic across the crowd. Almost everyone liked Rosmerta. One would describe her as pretty and radiant. She had a good nature, was quick to laugh, and was equally quick to lend a sympathetic ear. She could be a bit bawdy at times but not to the point of being terribly crass. This aspect of her personality was part of an act, for she did, after all, have to deal with a lot of rowdy and drunken warlocks.

At first, Severus never really paid much attention to Rosmerta. To him, she was just the barkeeper of the local drinking establishment. It was not until Snape started attending the occasional Friday staff meetings at the pub that he started noticing her enchanting personality. From that point on, he would linger a little longer after these meetings, and this led to more frequent independent visits. Eventually, Rosmerta started keeping a special table in the back free for him. She always made Severus feel welcome, whether his mood was pleasant or not. She had a good sense about her and knew when she could push him or when to give him a wide berth.

Their conversations, in the beginning, started out as small quips and pleasantries, then graduated on to more formal modes, and eventually they crossed into the personal. Snape was reticent to move past the conversational aspect of their relationship. There was always that nagging voice that told him that he didn’t deserve happiness. Not to mention, he feared that with his not so illustrious background and lack of experience courting witches, he would ruin what friendship the two of them had built. It was, however, Rosmerta who finally took the bull by the balls.

It was a Friday evening and, as always, Snape came into the Three Broomsticks and took his usual table. Rosmerta took it upon herself to personally deliver his drink to him.

“Professor Snape!” Rosmerta said sharply. “I do believe this lengthy conversation has gone on quite long enough. Now, are you going to introduce me to your friend or not? It seems a show of bad manners on your part, not to introduce us when he obviously seems so eager to meet me.”

Snape was taken off guard and quite confused by her remarks. Rosmerta gave him a sly smile, and it was then that Severus realized the true meaning of her words. Feeling like a young schoolboy caught in the act of masturbation, he became slightly flustered and spilt his drink onto himself.

“Oh dear me!” said Rosmerta with a slightly seductive tone. “It looks like I’ll have to clean that up. Don’t you worry though; I have just the cleansing spell up in my room. That’s if you care to join me.” She paused a moment to watch Severus' reaction and continued. “It’s an old family charm guaranteed to lift stains immediately.” She gave Severus a quick little wink.

Snape stood up from the table, promptly took Rosmerta's hand and nearly burst through the crowded bar room.

As Snape sat in his quarters thinking back on their first evening together, his friend began pushing against his trousers. It was aggravated at all those buttons for hindering its escape.

Now, now, Snape said to himself, there will be no foolish wand waving here. Let's wait till the lady arrives.

Snape had a couple of hours to prepare for Miss Rosmerta’s arrival. He had planned a quiet, romantic evening in his private quarters with the hopes of impressing her with his finer points.

“Dobby! Winky! I need your assistance!”

Always eager to please, the house-elves Apparated quickly.

“Yes, Master Snape? What woulds you need? Dobby and Winky always like helping Master Snape. He’s a great wizard, he is.”

Winky stood slightly behind Dobby, bobbing her head in agreement.

“I am entertaining a female guest tonight, and I thought we would dine in my room. Could you arrange to have dinner brought to my quarters, say around 7:00 pm?”

“Oh, yes, yes, Dobby and Winky would be most glad to.”

Now both elves were bobbing their heads.

“I will tell cooks to prepare something extra-special for Master Snape and friend.” In saying that, Dobby gave Snape a wink.

“Ah. No surprises Dobby, please,” said Snape firmly.

Dobby had a tendency to overdo things a bit, and that made Snape nervous. Severus wanted the evening to go smoothly without courting some disaster, especially a disaster propagated by this over-achieving house-elf.

"Winky?"

“Ye... Yes, Master Snape?” Winky said nervously. She was not as bold as Dobby, and Snape’s presence seem to make her uneasy.

“I have some laundry in the corner that you can take. Also, I seem to have lost a button on my good frock coat. Could you make sure that it is repaired before my guest arrives?”

“Of course, Master Snape,” Winky said as she bowed.

“That will be all.” Severus gave them a little wave to motion them along.

The elves gathered up Snape’s clothes and vanished in a snap.

“Now, that taken care of, I have some time to relax and freshen up. A good, hot bath is first in order.”

As Snape headed to the bathroom, he grabbed his latest copy of Potions Monthly Magazine off the desk.

Nothing like relaxing the muscles and stimulating the mind, he thought to himself. He patted the magazine and mumbled, “At least this will keep me from getting too anxious.” He smiled and closed the bathroom door.