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Making Ends Meet by Obadiah Slope [Reviews - 7]

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The next day Rosie and Severus went off together to the Gothic Exhibition. Severus surprised Rosie with his knowledge of the London Underground, although he was slightly alarmed by the automatic doors. He seemed to know London well; he told her all his favourite places, like Covent Garden and Soho – though apparently he wasn’t too fond of the nightlife that accumulated there.

The exhibition itself was amazing. Rosie had never seen such a display of exquisite artefacts. There were stained glass windows, armour and swords, to name just a few. There were also many illuminated manuscripts which greatly fascinated Severus; he was amazed at the intricacy of them, the delicate beauty of them – Rosie suspected that the perfection of the manuscripts was not unlike the exactness Severus expected in his potions.

There was also the most beautifully crafted crown that Rosie had ever seen. It was Gothic in style, and was bedecked with many fine jewels and gleaming precious stones. Rosie was entranced by it; she stood, as though mesmerised, at the object whilst Severus wandered around the rest of the room, throwing her impatient glances as he did so.

Rosie had been standing, gazing at it for a good ten minutes, when Severus came to stand behind her.

“Would you like me to buy it?” he asked, resting his head on her shoulder and bringing his arms around her waist. Rosie lent back into his embrace and smiled.

“I don’t think it’s for sale,” she said. “You could always steal it.”

“Not really my style,” he said, releasing her from his grasp and standing to the side of her, his nose inches away from the glass.

“Oh?” Rosie asked. “And what is your style?”

He looked her with a mischievous glint in his eye. “I’m sure there’s a post card in the shop.”

Rosie laughed at him and then took him by the hand and led him into the next part of the gallery. “Oh, now you want venture into the remainder of the exhibition!” he exclaimed sarcastically. Rosie ignored him.

It was amazing, Rosie thought to herself as Severus intertwined his fingers with hers, that only a few weeks ago Severus would never have even considered holding hands. He certainly would never have shown such obvious love for her when they first met.

Rosie was inclined to brush away her immediate thought that she had brought this to Severus, but then, after a moment’s consideration, she thought that she had, really. If it had been down to Severus they would probably never have got together. She snorted quietly, without realising what she had done and thought, ‘I’d never have guessed how – shy you were.’

And now that she thought about it, he was, in his own way, though he wasn’t exactly the atypical ‘shy’ person. He was hardly modest, and he was very rarely considerate to other people. Severus’ manner was seen by many as brusque and curt – and his behaviour often bordered on arrogant. But Rosie also knew that Severus would be the first to put himself down. If he made any error he would continuously mull over every single consequence. Whilst being a man who was not afraid to speak his mind, he was also a man who was deeply fearful of being made fun of, of being laughed at. To Severus, being the centre of attention meant the possible fate of being ridiculed. Rosie realised that this was a form of torture to him – a feeling exacerbated by his constant memories of James Potter and Sirius Black.

Rosie would have helped him to realise that his life was not as bad as he thought, and that his appearance (whatever he may have been told at school) was nothing to be ashamed about. Rosie would have told him that she thought that he was the most delicious man on the planet, but the truth was that she knew how he would react. He would be irritated and would refuse to believe her; he would snort derisively and tell her what he thought, which was the exact opposite. Rosie did believe that he was gorgeous but she just couldn’t be bothered to tell him when she knew that it would be thrown back in her face.

Rosie felt as though she had been hit by a tonne of bricks. Something that Minerva had said to her suddenly appeared in her mind:

“He won’t tell you what he thinks may be thrown back in his face.”

At the time Rosie had wondered what Minerva had meant; she had realised of course that Minerva had meant Severus but Rosie hadn’t been able to work out what she was getting at. Then, more recently, the thought had been pushed from her mind, what with all the troubles that they had had. Now she realised, Minerva meant that she should make the first move – so to speak. She meant that Severus was a reserved man. Of course Rosie realised this by now, but to understand that Minerva knew it too emphasised the fact to Rosie that Severus had lived his life for too long in his current gloomy state.

Rosie suddenly made a promise to herself that she would help Severus to get his life back. She had been the start of that, she knew that, but now she decided that it was up to her to help Severus to love himself and to move on from his past.

Even if that meant reintroducing it. ‘Severus’ father can’t be that bad can he?’ Rosie asked herself. She convinced herself that he couldn’t be and decided to send a letter to Maximus Snape tomorrow after Severus had gone back to Hogwarts. There was a lot of unfinished business for them to sort out, and Rosie was curious to know what sort of a man had hurt Severus so badly.

*

The next day inevitably proceeded the one before it and it was with a sorry heart that Severus Snape woke up to find that it was the first day of his term at Hogwarts. He had hoped that he had imagined that the school term was about to begin but unfortunately it wasn’t a dream; he had to go back.

It was quite unusual for Severus to dread his return to Hogwarts. Of course, when he had been a student it had been a different matter; he never knew which he dreaded most: going back to school after two months of ferocious beating and drunken violence or three terms of bullies, unpopularity and loneliness.

However since Severus had become a teacher things had changed – ever so slightly. Instead of being bullied, he was the tormentor. The children hated him, he knew that, but he also realised with a deep satisfaction that they were too scared to tell him. There was no way that he could be overruled – people were too terrified to challenge him. This made life easier, even if it didn’t make it any more pleasant.

And then there were people who he would almost class as friends; Minerva McGonangall was one of the few people that he actually enjoyed arguing with. She was witty and clever and even Severus would grudgingly admit that he enjoyed her company. And then there was Dumbledore. He had always made Severus feel like a misbehaved child; he had a sort of magisterial power about him, and although Severus never felt as though he meant anything to the ageing Headmaster, he dearly loved him. He was the father figure that he had never had and he was the complete opposite of his own failed father; Dumbledore was clever, patient, caring and, above all, dependable. He never seemed lost and nothing ever fazed him. On the rare occasion that Severus went to Dumbledore for advice, Dumbledore would always know how to help him. Severus felt his presence like a beacon: always and encouragingly there.

Maximus was the complete reverse of anything that Severus could have hoped for in a father. He was aggressive, dismissive, impatient, racist and he loathed his only son with a bitterness that Severus could never hope to equal. Whenever Severus dared to think back to his childhood all he could remember was a terrifying overlord who ruined his life. That was how he saw him – that was how he was.

Severus got up and went into the bathroom. He had a shower and shave and he even put on some of the aftershave that Rosie had bought him for Christmas, even Severus had to admit that it smelled pretty damn good.

Severus looked at himself in the mirror for a moment or two. He could see his face clearly in the glass and he could also see his torso. Severus felt different; he could suddenly see a side of him that he hadn’t seen before. For once in his life he wasn’t repulsed by his image. He wasn’t handsome, but then he had never thought so. Though now as he studied himself he saw a few things on his face that he would have classed as acceptable.

Realising what he had just done, he looked up at the heavens. “Merlin help me, I’m becoming vain!”

Severus looked at his body and noticed that it was definitely fatter than it had been. It was an improvement. Most people complained at the thought of an extra layer of insulation but Severus felt that it made him look more adult. He’d always thought that his face made him look fifty but his figure made him feel sixteen. He’d always been slightly plant-like, as though he had been kept in the dark for too long, and having a fatter body made him feel broader, stronger and more confident. There was a certain swagger in his step as he walked out of the bathroom and into Rosie’s old room that they were using as a dressing room.

He threw on a dark shirt and some black trousers. He pulled out his favourite pair of black boots and put them on; he had been very fond of them ever since Rosie had complimented him on his choice of footwear. Looking around he saw his suitcase and other belongings standing neatly in the corner. Severus sighed and mentally calculated the time that he would be away from Rosie – it was far too long for his liking.

Severus picked up his case and his bags and began to take them downstairs and into the hall. He then went into the kitchen and began to prepare breakfast for himself and Rosie. He opened the door and stopped dead; the kitchen table was already laid and decked with bowls, cutlery and food. Rosie was standing on the opposite side of the table grinning at him.

“When did you do this?”

“Just now while you were putting your face on,” she said brightly. He scowled at her and sat down.

He grabbed a slice of toast and poured himself an orange juice while Rosie began to eat her usual piece of fruit. “Thanks Rose,” he said biting into the toast.

“That’s all right.” She sat down and then added, “You’re the only one who would get away with calling me Rose, you know.”

“You’re the only one who gets away with calling me Sev.” He grimaced.

“How about Sevy?” she asked.

“No,” came the reply.

“Sevy-kins?”

“Definitely not,” he muttered.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said. Severus appeared not to hear her and he said,

“Is there something wrong with this bread? It’s tastes peculiar.”

“Oh,” said Rosie smiling, “yeah, I – don’t look on the other side.”

He immediately turned it over and saw the blackened underside. “You burnt it,” he stated sardonically.

“Well, yes.”

“I said that you were a bad cook and oh, how I was right!”

“Don’t you get above yourself – at least I made the effort!”

“I’ve already thanked you,” he said and took another bite.

Rosie shrugged and they ate the rest of the breakfast in silence. Once Severus had finished eating he got to his feet and started making sure that he had not forgotten to pack anything. Rosie waited for him to finish and sipped her tea quietly. After ten or so minutes Severus marched back into the kitchen and slumped down into one of the chairs. Rosie got up and walked around behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“If I’m this tired and stressed before I get back to Hogwarts I don’t know what I’m going to be like after a term!”

“Probably a nightmare,” Rosie said kissing him on the cheek. She moved round and made to sit down on Severus’ lap. He took the hint and moved his chair backwards to make it easier for her to sit down.

Once she was happily seated on him she wound her arms round his neck and smiled.

“As I said earlier, I will miss you.”

She moved her head forward and rested her forehead on his, the tip of her nose rubbing his.

“Don’t make this harder Rosie.”

“In what way?”

“For once,” he said, frowning slightly, “I don’t want to go back. I just want to be here with you!”

“Then it’ll make it all the better when you come home at Easter. Don’t you get weekends off ever?” she asked.

He shook his head slightly and captured her lips with his in a lingering kiss. He pulled back from her and said,

“What time is it?”

“It’s about seven thirty I think,” Rosie replied.

“We’ve got a while,” he murmured, kissing her again.

*

It was a very sad moment when Rosie and Severus finally parted. Rosie came to the station platform with him, (he had been ordered to return by train for this term as he was supposed to be keeping a check on the students in case of any sudden dilemma) luckily there weren’t any pupils lingering around – most had stayed at school for the holidays for fear of being assassinated by Voldemort.

Rosie was just expecting to say goodbye to him; she wasn’t expecting what he actually did. He gave her a warm hug, squeezing her tightly to him as though he was hoping that she would go with him this way, and as he left he gave her a swift kiss on the lips. Rosie grinned like it was their first kiss; he had never kissed her before in public. Rosie was almost tempted to believe that he was making up for last time. She waved him goodbye, but this time there were no tears; she knew that he was hers and that she would see or hear from him soon.

Rosie made her way back to the empty house slowly but happily. She was pleased with the definite contented turn that her life had taken. She was with Severus, she was healthy, and she was safe. Rosie smiled and let herself back into the house.

Now all there was to do was to think of a way to phrase a letter to Maximus Snape.

A/N: As you might have guessed, I went to the Gothic Exhibition. When I first thought up this story, I had just been, so I thought it apt to include the V&A in the plot! A pity that the exhibition is not on any more, otherwise I'd be advising you all to go and visit it!

Thank you to those people who have already reviewed; it’s great to read what you think. So, if you read this, please review!

Making Ends Meet by Obadiah Slope [Reviews - 7]

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