Love is Chaos Part 2 of A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 15: Patience, Darling

 Severus walked along the halls of Hogwarts, trying to ignore the students whose eyes lingered on him.

He could hear their whispers, their mutterings, filling the air as he passed them by.

"Can you believe Professor Morellis married Snape!?" one student whispered to another.

"She must be a bitch behind closed doors if she can put up with him," another student muttered. "Who could ever love him?"

Severus rolled his eyes as he heard the words of students filling the air around him. He almost wanted to spin around and lock his dark, inky eyes on the students, watching the blood run from their cheeks as they realize he had heard everything they said.

And yet, he chose to walk on, ignoring the words, his thoughts heavy.

People only see what they want to see.

Severus had intended on keeping his marriage to Laura a secret, at least for now. But Slughorn had spilled the news on accident, and it wasn't a surprise when the information spread like wildfire through the school.

And Severus knew the students would be too scared to say anything to his face, but he knew they'd be merciless behind his back.

But deep down, he knew he deserved the cruel words they would whisper about him.

He only hoped Laura wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.

She was kind; he was not.

She was beautiful; he was not.

She was everything he didn't deserve, and hearing those mutterings only increased those negative thoughts bouncing around in his head.

Severus walked the halls, heading to his chambers; the only place that felt like a sanctuary. He walked inside, surprised to see candles everywhere.

"What the bloody..." Severus trailed off, seeing Laura on the couch, in a black dress.

A sexy, little black dress that hugged all of her curves.

Severus stood, dumbfounded. There wasn't much that could bring him to his knees, but Laura, in a dress like that, made him want to drop to his knees and worship the ground she walked on.

"What... what..." Severus trailed off. "It's not a holiday. It's not an anniversary or birthday so why are you wearing that?"

Severus felt a bit pf panic stirring. Was he missing a special day?

A soft sigh slid from Laura's lips, a little chuckle slipping out, and she scooted to the edge of the couch, grabbing the bottle of wine that was on the coffee table, pouring two glasses of the dark red liquid. She stood, handing one to Severus.

"I know that what the students have said about us is bothering you," she said softly.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked with a sigh, glancing down at the glass of wine in his hand. "I was worried about this from the start. I never wanted your reputation to be ruined because of me."

Laura looked at him for a moment, letting his words digest. "Severus, you and I have been through a lot," she started. "We've been pulled apart and brought back together. We've been through so many fights, so much pain, and now we're here. And to be honest... and pardon my language," Laura said, "but I don't give a shit what the students say. They don't know us and they don't know me and they certainly don't know you. And now, I can change my last name, just like we talked about."

Severus felt a warmth in his heart at Laura's words. "You really feel that way? And you want that?" he asked. "I'm not expecting you to change anything." He had asked her variants of that question nearly a million times, it seemed, and yet, he always needed reassurance. As a man who had only ever felt despair in his heart, weighed down by pain and agony, the love he shared with Laura was weightless.