𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 - 𝑨 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

CHAPTER ELEVEN - Mona

UNEIDITED
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"Start over Mia....again." Donna says sternly, tapping Mia's shoulder with her rolling pin as she scowled at the unsatisfactory, crumbled up soufflé the younger girl baked.

She sighed, looking up at Donna as she disappears around a corner before bringing her attention back to one of the desserts she dreaded making. She stared at her sad dish, caved in like it had given up on even trying.

"Let's start over then, again." She mumbles to herself, throwing out the so called souffle. She padded into the large pantry where she tried gathering the ingredients she needed from memory.

Start over....she's been doing that a lot recently.

First with Severus, now this. With a huff, she returns to the kitchen counter to proceed with baking. When she accompanied Severus to the Malfoy Manor again, she didn't expect to be put to work, but unfortunately Mona was out of the Manor again and Donna decided to take this opportunity to put her skills to practice.

It's not that she minded practice, but there are many things she simply just didn't enjoy making, but alas in the Pureblood Family Handmaid's handbook it was necessary to know at least the basics of every British dish.

She carefully cracked the eggs, separating the whites and adding the yolks into a separate bowl, washing her fingers every five minutes. She hated the feeling of the sticky liquid on her skin. She stared down at the bowl, adding sugar before slowly stirring.

She ignored the ache in her wrist. She was stirring this batter for the second time and she was fed up with it. She just wanted to get it over with, get this day over with.

She wasn't sure what was making her so moody. Was it Donna's presence? Was it because she hated soufflés? Or was it because she was confused?

Mia felt like she was in a box of feelings that was being kicked around. She was thrown into feelings that she wasn't ready to face, feelings that she didn't know how to face.
She admired him. She was smitten by this man who couldn't reciprocate. When she tried to get him to show her that he felt the same - by foolishly seducing him - she ended up embarrassing herself.

Now she was facing a wall so tall it surpassed the clouds. She knew what she had to do. She had to pass it, but she didn't know how to. She didn't know how to move on.

She had considered stopping working for him, but she didn't want to. As much as she used to love working in the Manor, with Severus she felt more at peace, her schedule wasn't as hectic and she simply just enjoyed being around him.
She remained lost in thought, mindlessly stirring the eggs.

Meanwhile, Severus stood in Lucius's study, his eyes shut in concentration with his back faced to the blonde. Lucius used his influence to gain them both access to The Trace, a charm used to detect the whereabouts of wizards, yet Severus couldn't get access to Mulciber's location with it.
He tried harder, his dark brows knitting in immersion. He stopped once he felt his head start to ache. With an annoyed sigh, Severus turned to look at Lucius with a frown.

"Ah, see? I did warn you it wouldn't work." He said. "I've spent hours last night attempting to search for him."

"You don't find it strange, Lucius?" Severus says, his tone tinged with frustration as he slowly made his way around the desk he was standing by. "He was so determined to seek the rituals from me to bring back the Dark Lord, and now, all of a sudden he is nowhere to be found?"

The older wizard shrugged, propping his silver cane up on his desk before rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "Perhaps he left the country in search for whatever he's looking for, otherwise The Trace would have found him by now."