Tarnished | Severus Snape [Book One]

Chapter Thirty Six | One Last Night

Author's Note:

Wow... Sorry for the wait, I haven't really realized how long it was since the last update. I decided to write and saw it's been almost a month! Sheesh, time goes by too quick! But, here is the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. This is coming to a close and I hope you all will stay reading to find out what will happen! Thanks for waiting, Ii'll be writing the next one after this. :)

I swear I stared at this dead plant for ten minutes. There I was, leaning my palms against the desk and my ears covered with earmuffs in the Herbology room, staring at a pot of a dead mandrake. It looked ghastly; the body was shrivelled and gray and the face was much more horrifying than if it was alive. Though, I kept my gaze.

"Amelia," I heard Severus's voice linger and I blinked my eyes and looked up. He gave me a frown as he slipped off his earmuffs and said, "You aren't focusing." I returned the frown, pulling down the earmuffs and looked down to my cracked necklace and said, "I don't think I can. I'm afraid it'll break for sure."

"The power your possessing is far more what the amulet can handle," he said as he moved towards me closer and leaned his hand into the desk. "That's the problem," I replied, "What if it breaks and I no longer possess what ever I can now? I'll be vulnerable, useless."

Severus grazed my cheek with his fingers, cupping it and pulling my attention to him as he said, "You are not useless." I felt my heart sink and I pulled away from him, hiding what ever tears may come. "Okay..." I breathed with little confidence and slipped down the earmuffs, "Let's do this."

I looked back down to the dead mandrake, concentrating all my might. "Focus, you'll be able to see its core. Reach in and grab it." I heard Severus say and I took a deep breath. The feeling of risking my powers were evident, I felt that I couldn't focus as hard as I needed to. My vision slowly faded into black and white and my eyes began to ink black. My vision was shaking as I saw a small ring of light shifting inside the mandrake. I followed the light, but a stinging pain filled my head.

I groaned as the pain worsened and I shut my eyes and looked away, stepping away from the desk.

"Revival is a great advantage," he said and I shook my head.

"I know that!" I retorted and ripped off the earmuffs and threw them at the mandrake pot. The pot tipped over and fell to the floor, shattering and the mandrake hit the floor.

"Every time," I shouted at him, "My head feels like it'll explode! If my necklace won't break, I will!" The stress was getting to me. The year was coming to a close and my heirloom became more fragile as each day passed. I was afraid if it finally breaks, I'd be the squib I was before. "I can't go back as some helpless squib." I whispered, yanking the chain off my neck and placing the jewel on the table. "Though a squib, you are a remarkable Potions brewer," Severus said, "And over this year, you've grown to be a superior fighter. You cannot give up now."

"Hmph... Before you were telling me to run away," I said as he inched closer to my face, our noses barely touching. "That's when I thought you were just a delicate flower, but you've bloomed into so much more, Amelia..." he whispered back and planted a slow and gentle kiss against my lips. My hands found his chest and I wrapped my fingers around his collar as I breathed out after he lifted his face from mine, "You'll stay with me, then? You won't leave me?"

I looked into his black eyes which were like a never ending abyss, but it seemed his words were broken when he opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I wasn't sure what to feel about that, but of course, he may not be the one that could answer that properly, but the war ahead of us. I looked down in obvious disappointment and grasped my necklace off the table, pocketing it in my robes and turning to the door. I expected Severus to stop me, but this time, he kept his silence.