Yours truly | Severus Snape - Sequel to Sincerely yours

Consequences

In the beginning of October, the weather started to get colder and the Astronomy lessons in the highest tower of Hogwarts castle even more ill-favoured. Every Tuesday night, when Mary, Clary and Alison climbed up the endless stairs to the very top of the Astronomy tower, they could feel the air getting colder and colder with every step.

"How is it so cold already?" breathed Alison, whose teeth were chattering as she spoke, the freezing air rising up from her mouth in a form of misty clouds.

"I know right", agreed Clary. Clary had been the loudest to complain about the weather. Most days the Slytherin Quidditch team practised late in the evening, when the weather was even colder than during the day. Of course, they didn't practise because the weather was cold. They practised, because that was the only time when every member of the team was able to come. And as the first Inter-House Quidditch Match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, was drawing closer, the Slytherin team has been practising even harder.

Even though the date of the first Match lingering in the near future was the main reason for the increasing amount of practise, there was another reason as well. Clary had let Mary in on a secret, that the Slytherin team captain, Marcus Flint, had informed the team about a rumour in which the Gryffindor team had found a new Seeker. And not just any Seeker. They had found Harry Potter.

"Whose to tell if the boy can even play!" Clary had complained one night after she had returned from the Quidditch practise. "I mean, he was raised by muggles. I bet he hadn't even touched a broom before he came to Hogwarts..."

"So, how many practises do you have left this week?" Mary asked from Clary when they finally reached the top of the Astronomy tower. Clary turned her pale blue eyes to Mary and furrowed her brows.

"Let me think..." she mumbled and sighed deeply.

"We're practicing six times this week... We had one today, another tomorrow and on Thursday, and then we have one on Saturday. On Sunday we'll be practising in the morning and in the evening", Clary explained, putting down fingers as she enumerated the practises.

"Wow", Mary gasped, wondering how Clary had time for all that on top of the amount of schoolwork they've got to do.

****

It was a Friday evening, which meant that it was the time for another private lesson with Severus in the dungeons. Even though Mary was usually looking forward to those special hours, she had to admit that with the weather getting colder, the classroom of Severus began to feel less tempting.

Mary pulled a thick teal sweater over her body, hoping for it to keep her warm in the Potions classroom whilst she was working with Severus. But as she turned to face the mirror, she realized that it was the very same sweater that Clary had poked with a fork last spring.

"That Clary..." Mary mumbled, irritation seeping through her voice. She pulled off the sweater and took another shirt from the cupboard. It was a green turtleneck, which Mary loved very much, but it wasn't as warm as the blue sweater.

"What is it?" asked Alison, who was reading on her bed. Mary pursed her lips and pointed at the blue sweater which was now laying on the floor.

"It's ruined. By Clary", she stated.

Alison tilted her head; a questioning looks on her face. Mary sighed, took the shirt and showed Alison the gigantic hole in the left shoulder.

"What happened?" Alison asked. Mary explained all about how she often zones out, and how Clary has formed a habit of getting Mary's attention by poking her with a fork.

"Oh!" Alison gasped. There was a sympathetic look on her face as she offered one of her sweaters to Mary.

"Oh, no thanks. I'm already running late", Mary giggled, grabbed her bag and started making her way towards the exit.

"Oh, okay then. Have fun!" Alison smiled, to which Mary replied with a quick wave.

"I can't believe I'm late!" Mary cursed as she checked the time. It was already two past eight.

"Severus isn't going to like this..."

As if by magic, Mary somehow managed to reach the front of Potions classroom door in only a couple of minutes. Of course, that still didn't erase the fact that she was late.

Quickly, Mary tidied her hair and knocked on the door.

"Enter!" a deep voice announced from behind the door. Mary did as was told, and gently pushed the door open. She had barely entered the room, when the door was already slammed shut behind her and someone wrapped their arms around Mary's body.

"You're late", Severus mumbled to Mary's ear. He must have been waiting by the door, waiting for Mary to enter.

"I-I'm sorry, Severus", Mary whimpered, trying to escape Severus' tight embrace.

"No use", he chuckled and tightened the grip he had on Mary's body.

"You are late", he continued, still speaking directly to Mary's ear.

"What did I say about being late?"

Mary swallowed. She knew the answer. What she didn't know, was what was going to happen after the answer.

"You said... You said that if I was to be late, there would be consequences."

"I did, didn't I?" Severus breathed into Mary's ear. "And now, you will face those consequences."

Quickly, he released Mary, turned her around and pushed her against the nearest desk. Mary could feel her heart beating fast in her chest as she looked into Severus' dark eyes, wondering what he was going to do to her.

"Severus", Mary whispered. A smirk spread on Severus' lips as he leaned in and brushed Mary's lips with his own. Mary, who had thought that Severus was about to kiss her, reached in for one. But she wasn't met with Severus' lips. Instead, she was met with Severus' finger.

"Wha-"

"Too bad", Severus murmured, a teasing sparkle in his eyes. "You were late. No kisses for you."

Mary stared at him eyes wide open. This wasn't a consequence of which kind she had been expecting.

"If you want kisses, next time, try being on time", he added and pulled away. He then proceeded to giving instructions for Mary, explaining what they were about to do for the next two hours.

****

"Alright, I think it's time for you to go to bed", Severus said about two hours later, closing a book which they had been reading the entire time.

"I'll walk you to the door", he said and grabbed Mary's bag. Mary followed him to the door and opened it. After Mary had stepped out of the door, Severus handed the bag to Mary. He then leaned on the doorframe and eyed Mary with a curious look in his eyes.

"What?" Mary giggled nervously. A small smirk spread on Severus' lips as he leaned closer.

"Have you learned your lesson, Miss Montgomery?" he asked. Mary laughed and nodded.

"Yes, I have. I won't be late again", she promised. Severus' nodded. Instead of saying goodnight and closing the door, like he usually did, he kept on looking at Mary for a while. And then, he leaned in and gave Mary a soft kiss.

"Goodnight, Mary", he whispered.

"Goodnight, Severus", Mary replied, a fluttering feeling exploding in her chest. Little did she know that the fluttering feeling in her chest was about to be killed in just a couple of seconds.

Just when Severus was about to go back to his classroom, his eyes glanced at the corridor. A corridor, which wasn't empty.

Noticing the colour escaping Severus' face, Mary too turned her eyes to the corridor.

There was someone standing in the corridor, staring at Mary and Severus with a horrified look on their face.