The Ten Year Hex [Severus Snape]

20

When Jynx wakes again, she is surprised to see blue eyes watching her from the next bunk, a glass of water clutched in his hand and a small smile on his face. Her body feels more rested and less like it will buckle underneath her. She swings her legs over the side of the bunk. Her eyes sweep the room and Severus is nowhere in sight, "How are you?"

"I should be asking you the same. What happened?"

"You don't know?" Jynx can't hold back the disbelief in her tone.

"I was heading back to my flat and that's the last thing I remember before I woke up here," Demi's fingers tap against the glass in his hands.

Jynx tells him about the note and Arvell, grateful that the words no longer feel like gravel in her throat. His expression tells her he didn't know. His brows shoot up as she recalls him lying lifeless and his jaw ticks when she mentions Arvell, there's no way he was part of it.

"I told him I wanted out. I took your advice," Demi admitted, "When I came to you the first time, it was on his orders," there was shame in his voice. "The way you looked at me after whatever it was you experienced, I couldn't ignore that."

Jynx fiddled with the sheet on her cot, "He wants you on his side-"

"He wants you too," Demi cut in.

Arvell was readying an army for when the Dark Lord returned. Greyback was a decoy to bring the wolves, that was why the print was left in her flat. No wizard would follow a werewolf, but they could absolutely fear them and Greyback was by far the most savage. The pieces took a different shape, built something different entirely. Time changes everything and yet it changes nothing.

"He will have to kill me," Jynx stated.

Demi's eyes climbed over her head, "I would like to see him try," said Severus, his voice smooth as glass.

His eyes tore into Demi as he sat next to Jynx on the cot. She could practically feel the disdain rippling through his body, "Now, tell me everything."

Jynx admitted to the reading and Demi to killing Adrian. Severus sat quiet, listening to the story unfold. It almost felt reminiscent of their youth, when they would tell each other of their day in the dorms. Though this time, the stakes were high, it was not simple homework and classes.

Demi's face fell when he explained that Arvell wanted him for his spells. Jynx, it seemed, was needed for later, after the Dark Lord returned. A prisoner, once again.

Severus was seething. If Jynx wasn't between them, she expected he would have struck Demi dead, right in the Hospital wing.

"Arvell isn't afraid of Dumbledore," said Demi, "he is absolutely unhinged. Willing to scale the walls if that's what it takes to get to us."

"Chop off the head and the body will fail," Severus said grimly.

"Kill Arvell?" Jynx felt her stomach curdle and flip.

Both Severus and Demi nodded. There was an unspoken truce in place, it had settled without them noticing. Demi reached for Jynx's hand and Severus did not sever it from his body, "Do you know how the Dark Lord comes back?"

Jynx shook her head sadly, she wished she had the answer.

Madame Pomfrey scuttled by, checking both Jynx and Demi. Her smile told them she was satisfied with their healing, though she was still unsure what had been done to Demi.

Severus made it clear that he did not want Demi staying within Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had made other arrangements. Demi would be staying in a room close to Jynx's for the time being. It wasn't safe for either of them outside, but Jynx knew the walls wouldn't keep Arvell out. Someone had already gotten into her room.

After they were released, Jynx and Severus accompanied Demi to his room. Jynx wrapped her arms around Demi's neck under Severus' scrutinizing glare before leaving him to rest and acclimate to being back within the walls of Hogwarts.

Severus followed Jynx into her room and she thanked him for walking with her, expecting him to leave her the same way they had left Demi. He hovered over her, "You're not staying in here alone," he said. His eyes checked the shadows around them for any potential threat.

"Where would you have me stay then?" Jynx spat.

"You're not leaving my sight again, you almost got yourself killed."

"Are you going to take me to class as well?" she smirked.

The look on his face said that he would, "Grab your belongings."

The few things she had brought with her were still mostly packed in her suitcase and the satchel. It took her no time to pack her life. Her instinct was to argue. She did not need to be guarded, but the air around Severus told her disputing would be futile. She had made a mistake and now she would pay for it.

When her things were packed, she followed Severus to his chambers. She had never been into his room and it was shocking how neat it all was.

Books lined the shelves that ran just below the ceiling, as if the books themselves were part of the trim around the space. A desk sat across from the massive four post bed that took up a large chunk of the area. The linens were the emerald green of Slytherin house with silver embellishments, the same as hers. The shadows in his room were thicker than her own, light was scarce.

To the right of the desk was a well worn wooden table with three cauldrons perched on top. A pile of books sat next to the last one, parchment stuffed between some of the pages. Vials stood in neat rows between the cauldrons, waiting to be filled.

Three massive windows made up an entire wall but the glass in them was black. The light would not flood the space in the morning, it would only breed more shadows. Severus watched her as if she would disappear without his gaze to ground her.

She slipped her bags into the large black leather chair that accompanied the desk. She noticed it was well worn, she wondered if he had spent some of his time in that chair, thinking about her.

She felt his hands on her shoulders, and she turned to face him, "Are you going to sleep on the floor? Because I refuse to share a bed with you right now," it was a lie and Severus knew it.

His thick brows drew up and his mouth twitched with an answer but it was lost in the kiss that he planted on her lips. His hands tangled in her hair as she angled her chin to deepen the kiss. It was needful and angry.

Her fingers danced along his shoulders as one of his hands palmed the back of her neck and the other tore at her coat. He pulled her closer, neither of them breathing as her hands followed suit, yanking at the many buttons that separated her from his skin.

The shadows watched as the anger poured from one to the other. A frenzy of bodies and sweat. Severus' growls filled the air as he thrust himself relentlessly inside her. Jynx's moans were lost along his skin as her teeth grazed his flesh.

She found her hands gripping one post of the bed, her nails screaming along the wood as Severus pulled and his palms dug into the flesh of her ass. It was everything they needed, the waves of pleasure shredded the high emotions of the day.

The room was in tatters by the end of it all, as Severus tucked her into the thick comfort of his bed. The smell of herbs flooded her nose as she nuzzled her face into the pillow. Severus curled his body around hers, pulling her into the shape of him. His fingers pulled the wild strands of hair that were stuck to her temples away, kissing the spot they had just been.

It was such a gentle gesture compared to the unrelenting sex that still hung in the air. Jynx slid her fingers between his and drew his hand to her chest. His breathing leveled and she could feel the steady beat of his heart at her back. She closed her eyes and kissed the back of his fingers, one by one. She wished she could hate him.