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Innocence Found by sarabella76 [Reviews - 1]

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Severus lazily turned over and wrapped his arms around Camilla’s waist. He brushed his lips across her bare shoulder and mumbled, “You awake?”

Camilla leaned back against him and smiled. “Barely,” she murmured, basking in the warm softness of the bed and the feeling of security that came from being in his arms again.

“You smell sweet,” Severus commented, burying his face in her hair. “Just like before.”

“And,” Camilla replied with a grin, “your feet are as cold as ever.”

Severus rubbed his ice-cold feet up and down her calves. She squealed and struggled to get away from him, but his grip only tightened around her waist. “I’m not letting you go,” he said.

“Well, will you at least let me breathe?” she begged, prying his hands away and turning to face him. Her heart leapt at the sight of a genuine smile on his face. She wondered how long it had been since he had smiled like that.

“I missed this,” she said, lying back to rest against her pillow.

He rose up and kissed her tenderly, his fingers entwining in her dark brown locks. “I missed you,” he said, planting a small kiss on the tip of her nose. “I missed you more than you can imagine.”

“There’s something I want you to know,” Camilla said, brushing her fingers across his cheek.

Severus gazed at her inquisitively.

“It’s about Jon,” she said, taking a deep breath.

He pulled away and sat up, staring at the wall. “I’m not sure I want to hear this.”

Camilla drew herself up and pressed herself against his back, wrapping her arms around his chest. Kissing his shoulder, she said, “I want you to understand this, because I’m not sure you believed me before. Jon is—was—nothing more than a friend to me. He was a good friend, Severus. He cared about me. And I cared for him, too. But he knew, as I did, that my heart belonged to someone else. I belong to you, Severus. There’s never been anyone but you.”

Severus didn’t respond; he simply covered her hands with his and laid his head back against her shoulder.

“And I hope you feel the same,” she whispered.

He turned to face her and took her face in his hands. “What do you think?”

Camilla bit her lip and pulled his hands away. “Narcissa seemed to think you, er…enjoyed her company.”

A shadow passed over his face. “Do you honestly believe I felt anything for that harlot?”

Camilla averted her eyes. “I’m not sure what to think.”

Severus sighed. “Narcissa is good for one thing and one thing only. I was foolish enough, in my youth, to succumb to her. We came to an understanding early on. We met in secret, whenever one or both of us were in need. More often than not, she came to me when Lucius rejected her. Our agreement was mutually beneficial; we fulfilled our lusts—“

“Please, Severus,” Camilla interrupted. “I don’t think I want to hear this.” She blinked back the tears that were stinging her eyes and pulled the covers up to her chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking her hand. “The last thing I ever wanted was for you to be hurt. When I met you, I was determined to break away from Narcissa. But then, we broke up. You left for London and when I visited you and thought you had found someone else, I thought I had lost you. Narcissa took advantage of the situation and then when we reunited, she threatened to tell you about our encounter unless I…” He paused and looked away, his jaw clenching. “I couldn’t bear to lose you again, so I gave her what she wanted. I’ve never regretted anything more, Camilla.”

“I know,” she said softly, squeezing his hand.

“You’re amazing,” he mused, lying back and resting his head on her stomach.

“I know,” she answered smugly. “You’re a lucky bastard, Severus Snape.”

“And you, dear wife,” he began, rising up on his knees and straddling her, “need to be put in your place.” He took her wrists in his hands and pinned her to the bed, smirking down at her.

“Do I?” she responded coyly.

“Yes,” he whispered, pausing to kiss and nip at the spot below her ear that he knew always drove her mad. “You have become quite cheeky, I’m afraid.”

“Well,” she panted as he began to focus his attentions on her neck and collarbone, “then I suppose I’ll have to be punished, sir.”

Severus smiled wickedly and pulled the covers over their heads. Camilla turned and glanced at the clock. Sighing, she accepted the possibility that they may never make it out of bed today.

She had never been happier.




Camilla reluctantly opened her eyes and yawned. “Severus?” she inquired to the empty room when she saw that he was no longer occupying the other side of the bed.

Sitting up, she stretched briefly and then swung her legs over the side of the bed. The most wonderful smell was wafting in from downstairs and she suddenly realized how hungry she was.

She stood up and, once again, became painfully aware of the fact that she had nothing to wear. Though she was certain Severus would not have minded had she come downstairs without a stitch on, she had no desire to eat lunch that way.

Cursing under her breath, she opened the closet and rifled through an endless row of black robes before finding a silk dressing gown buried in the very back.

As she pulled it out, her mouth fell open. “This is mine,” she murmured, running her fingers over the pale blue material.

Severus had sent all her belongings to her mother’s house, all her clothes… So, what was this doing here? She felt a sudden rush of affection for him as she imagined him holding on to this one item of clothing all this time, this one part of her.

Smiling, she pulled the dressing gown on and made her way downstairs. She found her husband standing over a large cooking pot that Muggles often used. His brow furrowed in concentration, he stirred the contents carefully, while adjusting the heat.

“Smells wonderful,” she commented, slipping her arms around his waist.

“You finally decided to get up?” he sneered, adding a pinch of salt to the pot.

“I was lonely,” she said, pouting.

He turned around and kissed her slowly, running his fingers up her spine. He broke away and stared at her, a curious look on his face.

“What?”

“Where did you find this?” he asked, fingering the sleeve of her dressing gown.

“In your closet,” she said, beaming up at him. “And I think it’s incredibly sweet.”

Severus frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I think it’s sweet that you kept this. I thought you had sent all my clothes, but you kept this, didn’t you?”

“Camilla,” he said slowly, “I’m afraid I am not as sentimental as you might think.”

Camilla stared up at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I intended to send all your things to you. In my haste, however, I neglected to check thoroughly, and this was left behind.”

“Oh,” she said quietly, her face falling. She should have known. It was very unlike him to do something like that.

“But,” he said gently, lifting her chin with his index finger, “you’ll notice I did not send it to you once I found it.”

Camilla smiled and brushed her lips against his.

“Now,” she said, gazing over his shoulder at the pot simmering on the stove, “what are you making? It smells delicious.”

“Beef stew,” he answered proudly. “Sit down and I will make you a bowl.”

“Well,” she said, taking a seat at the table and gazing up at him appreciatively, “I never knew you had this talent.”

Severus snorted as he dipped a ladle in the stew. “I’ve been alone in this house for quite a long time. I need something with which to occupy my time.”

“So you learned to cook?” she inquired, a small smile playing about her lips.

“I’m assuming you, on the other hand, did not.” He placed the bowl in front of her and handed her a spoon.

“Now that my husband is a master chef, I don’t need to learn, do I?”

Severus rolled his eyes and placed a plate of warm bread in the center of the table. “You are incorrigible.”

“Thank you,” she said happily, nibbling on a piece of bread.

Severus took a seat across from her and gazed at her appraisingly. “How is it?”

“Perfect, of course,” she said. “I suppose it is not much different from brewing potions.”

“It’s not quite the same,” he replied. “Unlike with potion-making, if I add the wrong ingredient to a stew, there is little possibility of an explosion.”

“You do not honestly expect me to believe the great Severus Snape ever exploded a cauldron?”

“It has been known,” he said thoughtfully, uncorking a bottle of red wine and conjuring a pair of wine glasses.

Camilla leaned forward. “When?”

He filled the glasses with wine and handed her one. Swishing his own glass, he slowly took a drink and eyed her carefully. “Seventh year.”

“Really!” Camilla’s eyes widened as a huge grin spread across her face.

“Yes, now you know. Shall we get back to our lunch?” He took a large gulp of wine and then spooned a large amount of stew into his mouth.

“Oh no,” she said, “You’re not squirming your way out of this one. I want details.” She crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

Severus paused. “She was wearing some new perfume,” he mumbled, staring into his bowl as a flush spread across his face.

“Oh, her,” Camilla said, stabbing at a potato with her spoon.

“You asked,” Severus hissed. “I won’t apologize for that.”

“Fine,” she said, glaring at him. “So, go on. Princess Perfect was wearing new perfume and what? You were mesmerized and threw your watch into the cauldron or something?”

“Drop it, Camilla,” he said through clenched teeth.

“No, I know. You were hypnotized by her gorgeous red hair and accidentally added ashwinder eggs instead of ginger!”

“You’re being ridiculous.” He rose from the table and threw down his napkin.

“I think I’ve lost my appetite,” she said, pushing back from the table.

“You are acting like a child,” he admonished.

She stood and pushed her chair in roughly. “Well, I’m sorry if I don’t want to hear about the woman I will never measure up to.”

Severus shook his head and approached her slowly, his expression softening. “Camilla…”

She bit her lip to stop the tears from flowing and stared at the floor.

“I married you,” he said, gently caressing her cheek.

“But you did love her,” she said, glancing up at him.

Severus sighed. “That was a long time ago. I was young. I am not sure I even knew what love was. It was more like infatuation. Please, Camilla, I do not want to spend our time together like this. Do you?”

Camilla shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m being silly.” She brushed away a tear and smiled up at him. “Let’s finish our lunch.”

“Actually,” Severus said deviously, pulling on the tie of her dressing gown and pushing it off her shoulders, “I think I’m ready for dessert.”

Camilla grinned wickedly. “My, my, you have a lot of stamina for a man your age.”

“I’ve been alone for a year, what do you expect?” He covered her mouth with his and pushed her gently down onto the floor.

“Well, this is different,” she said, shivering as her legs made contact with the cold tile.

“We’ll just have to make the best of things,” he responded, lying down beside her and pulling her on top of him.

“I suppose,” she said with a smile. She kissed him with renewed fervor and soon decided the floor was not so bad after all.




“One more,” Camilla pleaded, picking up her glass and taking a sip.

She was lying on the sofa with her head in Severus’ lap, watching the snow fall against the backdrop of an inky black sky. A roaring fire was lit in the fireplace, but Camilla hardly needed it to keep her warm; she had proudly made her way through half a bottle of brandy in less than an hour.

Severus sighed and shut the book. “I believe you have had enough,” he said, snatching the bottle away as she was about to pour herself some more.

She frowned up at him. “I think I know when to stop.”

“Fine,” he conceded, handing the bottle back to her. “But don’t expect me to carry you to bed when you find you can no longer stand.”

Camilla made a face at him and defiantly took a drink straight from the bottle. “You can’t wait to carry me upstairs.”

“Yes,” he answered sardonically, “it is my life’s ambition. I do adore seeing my beautiful bride pissed.”

“Just shut up and keep reading,” she ordered.

“Which is it?” he asked, his lip curling.

She blew the hair out of her eyes, closed one eye and stared up at him. “What?”

“Which is it?” he repeated slowly. “Would you like for me to shut up or to keep reading?”

“Read,” she said, flopping her head back onto his lap.

“Very well,” he said, hiding a smile. He opened the book and held it out in front of him with one hand while the other gently stroked her hair. “Add three drops of unicorn blood and five grams hellebore. Stir clockwise five times…”

Camilla sighed. “God, your voice is sexy.”

Severus raised an eyebrow and gazed down at her. “Only you would find Moste Potente Potions so…stimulating.”

“Severus,” she said, propping herself up on her elbows, “you could read from Charm Your Own Cheese and I’d still want to do very bad things to you.”

He laid the book down on the sofa and eyed her behind darkened eyes. “Such as?”

She sat up and breathed in his ear, “Keep reading and I might just show you.”

Casting her an exasperated look, he continued, “Stir in belladonna and let simmer for fifteen minutes…” He paused, holding the book so close that his nose touched the pages. “Fifteen minutes? This is rubbish! Everyone knows it takes no less than twenty minutes to achieve the desired results.”

Camilla smiled. “Not everyone has your potions brilliance, love.”

“You would think the author would have some idea of the principles of potions-making before attempting to instruct others,” he said, tossing the book aside in disgust.

“Poor thing,” she cooed, climbing into his lap. “Anything I could do to make it better?”

“Perhaps,” he said, his fingers lazily dancing up her leg as he bent down to kiss her.

“Mmm,” she murmured, pulling away and resting her head against his chest. “I love it here. It’s just perfect. By the way, were you ever planning on telling me where ‘here’ is?”

Severus paused, absentmindedly drawing circles on her back while deep in thought. “It was my grandmother’s house,” he said finally. “I spent a lot of time here when I was a boy.”

Camilla frowned. “How do you know that?”

“How do I know what?”

“How do you know you spent time here when you were a boy? I thought…Well, your memory…”

“We have been apart too long,” he said pensively, his expression suddenly sad. “I regained my memory shortly after…Well, after you left.”

Camilla sat up and stared at him. “So, your mother finally was able to make an antidote?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “My memories began to return almost immediately. Though, it only seemed to make losing you far worse.”

“Why is that?” she asked, taking his hand and lacing her fingers with his.

“Because it seemed that every memory that returned to me was of you. They only served to remind me how happy our life was together and that you were no longer there.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, placing her palm on his cheek.

He took her hand and kissed it. “Don’t be. You’re here now. That is enough for me.”

“I missed you terribly,” she said, slipping her arms around his waist and leaning back against him. “Every day it felt like I was just existing, not living. I was so empty. But now that I’m with you, everything seems right again. I feel at home now.”

Severus pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Camilla sighed happily and said, “I’m never letting you go again. Finally everything’s perfect.” She closed her eyes and snuggled against him. Within minutes, her breathing became slow and regular. Severus knew she was asleep.

Taking care not to wake her, he picked up the bottle of brandy and took a long drink. He looked down on her as she slept and sighed heavily. She was so peaceful, so unaware. Staring into the fire, he was grateful she did not see the shadow that had crossed his face the minute she had said the word ‘perfect.’



A/N: You didn't really think I'd let it be perfect, did you? No, trouble's brewing around the corner, sorry to say.

Again, thanks for reading. I honestly love posting here because of all the support. I'm so glad you like my story and thanks for all the reviews. They really make my day! : )

Innocence Found by sarabella76 [Reviews - 1]

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