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Bibliomancer by bibliomancer [Reviews - 1]

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The next morning, Snape awoke to the blissful, warm sensation of a soft, naked female body draped across him. His own bare flesh against the smooth sheets offered another welcome respite. For the past few months, he had slept fully clothed, slumped over his desk or at best, stretched out on the chesterfield, staring into the barren hearth.


He held Adoxa tightly and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. That woman would be his undoing. Only a few hours before, he had sated himself on her as she begged and screamed for him to stop. And now, the mere recollection of their exchange stirred his flesh once again.


Thinking that the poor woman needed her rest after enduring what she had the previous night, he rolled gently from beneath her, covering her in a warm blanket and stalked across the cold floor to the WC.


He indulged in a blazing hot shower, the steamy water doing little to diminish his urges but helping to take the chill off the morning.


After drying himself and towelling off his hair, he went to his dressing cabinet and donned a clean set of clothing, leaving off his teaching robe.


Snape lived for Sundays, though a religious man he most certainly was not. To an instructor at a boarding school, it was the the closest thing to a day off that he knew.


Lighting his improvised burner, he set a kettle to boiling and contemplated his options for the day. He would let Adoxa sleep. All day, if she wanted. Not that he didn't enjoy her company, but he would relish a few hours of silence and solitude.


Perhaps he would continue reading 'Secrets of the Darkest Art'. He believed that he had made the right choice, vanishing the books from Flourish's vault at Gringotts to Madam Pince's workroom. A notoriously unpleasant women though she may be, she had always been a willing participant in his endless, clandestine bibliophilia. He had presumed correctly too that Adoxa would know which, if any, books within the Flourish collection would prove useful.


The kettle whistled and Snape made tea. While it brewed, he paced about the quarters, pondering his many plots.


Draco was progressing admirably. In truth, he hadn't thought that the boy had it in him but the focused tutelage and subtle praise was proving highly effective. In the past few months, Draco had evolved from a privileged youth with a spark of raw talent to a focused, disciplined young man. Snape was pleased to see that, instead of spending his evenings with Crab and Goyle, bullying pathetic first years and Muggle-born students, Draco was frequently to be found in the library, bent over his work.


Adoxa had developed delightfully as well. After making the difficult adjustment back to Hogwarts and enduring a few weeks of unwelcome attention as the 'unfortunate Madam Snape,' she had immersed herself in her work. Madam Pince was relieved to have an extra pair of hands around and Adoxa had done wonders for the Hogwarts library.


Using a combination of her extensive magical ability and Muggle training, she was able to sense lost books, keep the collection in good repair and encourage interest in study among students. He suspected that her pleasant demeanour and good looks might have played some part in the increased number of students biding their time in the library, but so long as they were studying, he was glad for it.


Even in her extracurricular activities as a member of In Defence of the Dark Arts class, Adoxa was proving an apt pupil. While her natural inclination remained toward more academic pursuits, she had vastly improved her spellcraft. From a wandless witch living in Muggle Cambridge to a Hogwarts staff member with mediocre skill in offensive and defensive magic within a few short months, Snape was impressed. His beloved bride had even managed to learn how to Apparate and was planning to sit her license at the next opportunity.


Pouring himself a mug of tea, Snape resumed his train of thought, wandering to the barren hearth and leaning against the mantle. With thoughts of his wife drifting through his mind, he took the opportunity to send out a command over the Floo Network to Teleport his post from Spinner's End to Hogwarts.


A fat stack of letters shot out of the hearth and plopped onto the floor. Bending to retrieve them, Snape fanned through the collection of junk and bills, finding letters addressed to Adoxa from Narcissa Malfoy.


Snape set Adoxa's correspondence carefully onto the end table, chucking the remainder of the post back into the hearth where it burst into green flames. He permitted the fire to grow and it radiated a pleasant warmth. Not about to change his entire way of life to suit his new bride, he could, nonetheless, allow her some small indulgences. Truth be told, he rather enjoyed the fire himself.


As if responding to his thoughts, Adoxa stirred in bed. She stretched languidly, rubbing her wrists and whimpered.


“Severus?” she called, pulling herself into a sitting position.


He strode across the room to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Bringing her hand to his lips in a gentle kiss, he asked, “How are you, my love?”


She stretched, grimacing. “Sore,” she laughed weakly, “very sore.”


“Allow me to bring you some tea,” he offered.


“No, no. That will not be necessary. I'll be alright. I just need a hot bath.”


She crawled out of bed, falling heavily against him when her feet touched the floor.


“Are you quite certain that you are well?” Snape wrinkled his brow, eyeing her carefully.


Adoxa nodded and turned away, walking slowly to the WC.


Snape followed her naked form with his black eyes, noting her stilted gait, the red welts on her wrists and ankles, the thin trails of dried blood snaking down her back and thighs. He chided himself for not having seen to her comfort the night before. Truth was, he had been exhausted himself when they finished and fell into a sweaty heap next to her. In future exchanges, he vowed that he would be more diligent.


The mere suggestion of repeating such uninhibited expressions of his desire, finding Adoxa so willing and able to join in his darkest fantasies, nearly sent him rushing to the WC to drag her out of the tub, weakened or no. Instead, he busied himself at his desk, reviewing his notes from the previous night.


After Adoxa had bathed, dressed and had her tea, he would ask her opinion. Her insight and intelligence rivalled his own and he had come to value greatly her thoughts on every topic from Hogwarts policy to interactions with the Dark Lord. Given her aptitude for Occlumency, he felt secure in discussing with her many of the secrets he carried within.


Adoxa returned to the room and chose a long, black robe from the cabinet. She appeared greatly restored as a result of her bath and smiled softly at him across the room. A bright flicker caught her attention.


“Oh! A fire!” she exclaimed, rushing toward the chesterfield. “How lovely.”


“I still prefer cool air when I am working.” He set down a mug of tea for her on the low table before sinking into the cushions next to her.


“You've more letters from Narcissa.” Snape gestured.


Adoxa tucked the letters into the pocket of her dressing gown without opening them.


“Female matters.” She shrugged and Snape gladly let it be.


She took a sip of hot tea, the tannins drying her mouth. “I am rather famished.”


“I could Summon breakfast if you like. Unlike us, the kitchen-elves work Sundays.” He smirked.


Adoxa rose to her feet and padded across the room to his improvised kitchenette. “You needn't trouble yourself. There should be a few tins of something down here.” Adoxa knelt on the floor and pulled out the paper sack she had brought with them from Spinner's End. Unfolding the top, she began pulling out tins of beans in tomato sauce and a single, unopened jar of marmalade. “On second thought, a proper breakfast would be quite nice.” She blushed, continuing to rifle through the sack. “Perhaps some freshly-baked scones.”


Snape made to turn for the hearth and submit the request but stopped instantly when Adoxa let out a high-pitched shriek upon unpacking the last tin.


“What is it?” He rushed to her side, visions of soft boiled eggs and buttery toast soldiers quickly fleeing from his mind.


A mute Adoxa sat on her haunches, pointing at the empty paper sack. Cautiously, Snape peered inside.


“Severus?” she questioned, not risking a second glance herself.


“Fetch me a vial.” He motioned toward his potions supplies with an abrupt flick of his head.


Adoxa obeyed, returning with a large, clear glass vial and a cork, which she handed to Snape.


He drew his wand and intoned “Levio Serpentem.” Something began rising from within the sack.


“Is that … ?” Adoxa hesitated as she watched Snape's elegant wandwork.


He nodded, sliding the sample into the vial with painstaking precision.


“Prepare a label,” he ordered and Adoxa darted to his desk for a quill. “On second thought, don't. This may prove simply too valuable to risk drawing undue attention.”


Corking the vial, Snape opened the door to his personal storage cabinet and slipped the sample unobtrusively behind some rarely used reagents. With the door latched shut, he eyed Adoxa.


“I daresay that was not quite what I had in mind for breakfast.” Snape smirked, making a rare joke.


“Nor I.” Adoxa shuddered. “Will it be useful?”


“I imagine so, although at present, I am not yet certain when or how.”


Her mind turned to his other intrigues and she asked, “What of the book? Has it yet offered any insights?”


“As it so happens, I was on the cusp of a revelation last night. Before you disrupted my study, that is.”


“Oh. Well, I do apologize.”


“You ought not.” He smiled.


Adoxa smiled wistfully, resting her hands on his chest and gazing up at him.


“Do not breath a word of this, but I believe that all work and no play makes one a dull man.”


“Is that so?” She let her hands trace down the front of his waistcoat, moistening her lips with the tip of her tongue.


“However,” Snape paused, displacing her hands from his chest, “I also believe in moderation. We shall have something to eat first, take a turn around the courtyard, if you would oblige me, and then on to the discussion of that cursed book.”


Bibliomancer by bibliomancer [Reviews - 1]

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