Saved by Love (Severus Snape / Original Female Character)

A Deal

O.W.L.s

First Day

Severus woke up early the next day, feeling unrested after a long and uncomfortable night; his argument with Florence was replayed in his dreams and he had reached the conclusion that she knew more about the Death Eaters than she let on.

Fucking frustrating witch!

To make matters worse, as irritating as he found her presence to be, he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was this precious gem, a uniquely cut diamond he felt hypnotised by – he'd never had anything so beautiful and refined so close to him.

Also, he couldn't deny she was a good friend – she had ended up in detention because of him – not to mention, according to all he had learned about her so far, she was friends with powerful families, and that was something that could come in handy for his future plans.

All things considered, Severus made a new decision – overlooking how quickly down the drain the first one had gone just the day before – and he had decided that he would not rule out a relationship with Florence.

He just had to keep his heart closed off from her, and nothing would go wrong in his plan.

Yes, she's gorgeous, smart and well-connected, being seen with her will only help me achieve my goals. He thought, getting up and dressed, feeling pretty confident about it all. I just have to talk to her and apologise for my behaviour yesterday.

So he left the boys' dormitory as quietly as he could and sat in the Common Room, waiting for Florence; she had woken up as early as he in the days since she'd arrived in the castle, so he believed she'd soon be out of her dorm.

Taking advantage of the empty and silent common room, Severus began reading his History notes as he waited for her.

But, as he reviewed The Wizardry Secrecy Code, an hour quickly went by and most fifth and seventh years students were up and on their way to breakfast already, before taking their first test that morning: History O.W.L.s and Potions N.E.W.T.s.

And yet there was no sign of Florence.

Severus gave up waiting for her, he concluded that perhaps she was still upset with him and had gone to the Great Hall by herself, seeing him in the common room but choosing to ignore him.

He pocketed his notes then and went to breakfast.

But Florence wasn't at the Slytherin table having breakfast either.

He worried about her, wondering why she wasn't there, but chastised himself for doing so, Today is the first day of the O.W.L.s, I can't concern myself with her missing status!

He tried to eat his breakfast as if completely unnafected by her absence, but that was only a façade for he couldn't stop himself from thinking that at the very least he needed to know if nothing bad had happened to her; the thought of her being hurt somewhere calling for his help had him about to lose his mind.

Admiting defeat, Severus walked up to the high table to ask Dumbledore about her.

"Good morning, Mr Snape. What can I do for you?" greeted the Headmaster, already imagining what the young man wanted.

"Good morning, Prof. Dumbledore. Would you possibly know, sir, where Miss Delacour is?"

Dumbledore stared at him over the rim of his glasses for a couple of seconds, before saying: "All I know, Mr Snape, is that she received a letter from her family earlier this morning and had to leave for a few hours. I believe she'll be back before the first exam begins at 9 o'clock."