The Potion Master's Apprentice (A Severus Snape love story)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Florence slipped through the wrought Iron gates with surprising ease. Perhaps Hogwarts allowed her such effortless entrance because she had been a teacher and it still knew its loyalties. But a nagging thought in the back of her mind told her that it was for another reason - Dumbledore, always admirably wise, knew that one day she would want to come back (Albeit only briefly) And when that time came she should not be faced with any difficulties that may force her to changer her plans and leave again.

Disillusionment charm securely in place - She felt as if she had been dunked in wet paint and left to dry - The masked woman made her way stealthily through the moonlit bathed castle, very timbers and founding blocks of which seemed to grumble with sleep.

Shuddering at the loudness of her footsteps, she prowled deeper into the slumbering castle until she felt the minuscule amount of warmth leave the air along with the eerie glow of moonlight - Instead it was replaced with the flickering guidance of a dozen lamps strung up along the dungeon walls.

Luckily, the familiar door only needed a swift Alohomora for it to click then swing open soundlessly. Florence glanced around the room and felt a unmistakable pang reverberate throughout her body. A small sigh escaped her lips as she ran her fingertips across the back of the sofa where they had once made love.

But she knew that she could never be intimate with Severus again. She hadn't come back for good, no - that'd be impossible, instead it was a passing visit during which she may be able to see her children for what could be the last time (Who knew what the Dark Lord could do even in his weakened state).

Deep, heavy breathing echoed from the room that she was just about to enter - Could she do it? It'd be all too easy to just turn and walk away, Severus hadn't noticed that she was there so she could still get out without him realising.

No, she argued, I have to do this. And with that she pushed open the door and stepped soundlessly inside. Beneath the enticing black covers Severus shifted in his sleep, chest rising and falling in a steady tempo. Florence eyed the space beside him eagerly, willing to let every inhibition go and get in beside him. But she knew that that could never happen, she had left to keep him safe and she would be doing no-one a favour by crumbling so quickly.

Resisting the temptation to plant a small kiss on his slightly moist lips, she stepped around the bed and avoided the jumble of children's toys that lay poking out from under the bed. Instead, she wrapped her fingers around the bars of the double cot that lay dormant in the corner.

Sophia and Romulus had changed in what seemed to be an immeasurable amount of time. The whispy, fluffy hair that used to adorn their heads was now relatively thick and abundant, both shining a chestnut brown. As she looked closer, Florence could see that actually Romulus' hair was the same shade as her own, and instead of the colour she thought it was, Sophia's hair was far darker - the same mahogany as Severus'.

Her fingers delicately brushed their cheeks in turn, and she suppressed a sob as Romulus' obsidian eyes fluttered open and he gazed inquisitively at the mask that was now leering at him. His fingers curled around his mothers and he tried to pull them to his mouth, A laughing Florence having to pull it away quickly.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end as she froze, Romulus still staring at her. Something was wrong... Severus' heavy breathing had stopped and there was now silence from the space where he lay. Correction - Used to lay.

"Take off the mask, slowly." He growled, wand jabbing sharply into the unidentified person's spine as Florence quickly retracted her hand. With a small flick of the wrist her hood fell from her head and tendrils of hair tumbled down her shoulders.