Drops of Juniper (Discontinued, Rewrite On My Profile)

Chapter 11: Rationalizing

Junipers POV

When I woke up, I didn't recognise my surroundings in the slightest; I was in a king-sized bed with black blankets pulled up over me. The room had a desk covered with papers near the window, and there was a door next to the bedside table on my right. I sat up, and my head pounded; even though I wasn't that drunk last night, the firewhisky went to my head. It was eerily quiet; I got up from the bed and opened the door that led out of the bedroom. I walked out and finally recognised where I was, Severus' chambers. He was asleep on the too-small sofa, still wearing his white button-up, but a few buttons were undone, exposing his chest slightly. His shoes were off and placed near the door, his cloak hung up on a hook next to the door, and his robe was folded over one of the chairs surrounding the small dining table. He stirred slightly and looked over at me with his eyes barely open.

"Good morning," he said, his voice husky and dripping with sleep,

I smiled at him. "Morning"

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, sitting up and starting to button his shirt up; I nodded; my liquid courage from the night before had worn off, and now he made me incredibly nervous.

He gestured to the small dining table. "Sit; I'll make us some coffee; you look like you need it" I sat in one of the chairs as Severus put on his shoes and robe, buttoning it up as he walked towards the kitchen. He sat down opposite me and used magic to bring over two cups, and conjured a fresh pot of hot coffee.

We sat silently for a moment; I held the cup, letting the warmth seep into my cold hands.

"Why did you let me stay here?" I said, finally breaking the tense silence.

"You fell asleep; I'm not always cruel", Severus answered, taking a sip from his cup.

"I know that"

He hummed a response,

"I like being around you," I said quietly, looking into my cup "you aren't as awful as they say you are."

"So I am a bit awful?" Severus asked me playfully, a small smile now on his face.

"Yes, everyone is awful sometimes, but I can see past that and know somewhere deep inside is a man just wanting to be treated with kindness" I took a small sip of my coffee; it sent a rush through me, erasing any sleep that was left lingering. I looked back up at him and smiled, the rays of sunlight illuminating his eyes, and I realised his eyes in the sun looked exactly like the colour of amber whisky.

We sat in silence a bit longer, just sipping our coffee and mulling over the events of last night.

I put my now empty cup down and pushed myself away from the table; Snape looked at me, raising an eyebrow, "I really should get going, or the girls will start panicking if they can't find me; I've already missed breakfast" I laughed slightly.

"May I ask you a question?" Snape asked me, looking down at his own empty cup

"Of course" I looked back at him

"How drunk were you last night?"

"Sober enough to remember what I said and know that I meant every word of it."

He only hummed a response; I walked over to him from behind and put my arms around his neck, leaning down to his ear,

"You may be a grumpy old man, but amortentia doesn't lie, and neither do I." He reached up and held my hand softly, stroking it with his thumb. I pulled away from him, making eye contact. "I should get going, but I'll see you soon." I gave him a wink and left his quarters, swiftly making my way to my common room to get changed and find the girls, anxious to tell them about last night's events.

*Slight Timeskip*

I found the three of them sitting near the Black Lake studying, a large blanket wrapped around the three of them.

"Hey, girls!" I said, walking over to them, waving and smiling.

"Where were you!?" Kara demanded as soon as I sat down with them; I smiled slyly back

"Oh, you know."

"No, we don't; care to enlighten us?" Kara said, growing impatient

"Well, after you guys left, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Severus, and maybe the firewhisky didn't help, but I went to see him and told him how I felt..." I paused as I fished my pack of cigarettes from my jacket; I took the first drag and continued, "he let me get close to him, let me fall asleep while sitting in his lap, I woke up in his bed, and he spent the night on the couch, I'm not entirely sure, but I think the feelings are mutual" I sighed as I brought the cigarette back to my lips, the girls were wide-eyed.

"I can't believe you told him!" Sapphire said excitedly

"And he let you stay!" Serenity piped in

"Yes, but you need clarity; he can't just toy with you; you're going to have to find out if he's serious; Juniper, you can't afford to lose your head over a silly crush. Especially when you're more than likely to be watched and danger potentially being around the corner" Kara was always so reasonable; it still astonishes me that she wasn't put in Ravenclaw.

I nodded. "I know, but if I'm honest, I don't see myself with anyone else..."

"That's fine, but think of the future; what's gonna happen when we have to go home? We live across the ocean; you need to think rationally and not just about what your heart wants; I don't want you to get hurt again" she sighed and looked out towards the lake "you have to talk to him again, without firewhisky this time and don't just jump into his arms the minute he reciprocates feelings."

"Why aren't you in Ravenclaw?" I asked her, smiling; she smiled back at me

"I didn't want to be, but anyway, we're getting cold, and you have a professor to talk to; we'll see you at dinner" Kara got up, and the girls followed her, Serenity using magic to fold up the blanket they had.

"See you at dinner! I can't wait to hear about you and Snape" Sapphire gave me a quick hug and followed the rest of the girls into the castle.

I stayed for a bit longer, smoking another cigarette, just staring at the lake; I hadn't thought about a future with Severus or about eventually going back home; I could always stay here, couldn't I? Start fresh and leave everything that happened there behind.

It was too soon to have that conversation with Severus, and we hadn't even kissed yet. However, I knew deep down that the conversation was inevitable, but I could postpone it for the time being. I finished my cigarette and headed back towards the castle; I had other things to think about, like the Yule Ball.

Authors Note:

This chapter sucks, and I'm really sorry. I'm not proud of it and I'll probably time skip to the Yule Ball in the next chapter because writers block has made me its bitch.