The Potion Master's Best Friend

Chapter 23- Good Riddance

Julia was bold enough to make the first move, and began to unbutton Severus' shirt. She looked at him for confirmation, and having received it, she continued. Whilst she was doing this, Severus' hands moved to her hair, to remove the numerous pins keeping her bun in place. When the last one had been put on the bedside table, her hair fell loosely around her in her natural curls, making her look even more beautiful. He manoeuvred his arms to help Julia pull his shirt off his body entirely.

She gazed at his torso, which was deathly thin, with scars littered over all of the skin on his protruding ribs. He felt the intensity of her fascination, making him cover himself self-consciously. Staring into his eyes with what she hoped was a look of acceptance and love, she slowly moved his arms away, and proceeded to pepper kisses over every single blemish on his body. He closed his eyes, not being sure whether it was through shame or pleasure; yet he allowed her to continue her tender assault on his skin.

Severus reached towards the hem of her nightgown, and started to raise the silky material. She inhaled sharply, as the cold air of the dungeons hit her pale legs.

"I've always said we needed central heating in this castle," she murmured, as goosebumps began to form on her skin. Severus smirked in response.

Just as their lips were about to meet, Julia pulled away, clutching her head.

"Someone is trying to break through my wards." She jumped up, her nightgown falling to her knees, and ran to the door. Severus wasn't far behind her, pulling his shirt on as he followed.

Both of them trained their wands on the door, ready to defend against a potential intruder. Severus looked Julia in the eyes, as he opened the door with a flick of his wrist.

They found that Lockhart was their visitor, who hadn't noticed that he was being watched. Julia cleared her throat, a look of disapproval on both teachers' faces.

He stopped in an instance, and started blushing furiously. His wand fell limply to his side.

"And what, may I ask, do you think you're doing?" Julia growled; the stern voice she normally reserved for troublesome students was working on Lockhart, as he had the decency to look ashamed.

"I just wanted to talk to Sever-" He broke off, upon receiving a glare from the dark-haired wizard, "Professor Snape about your feast tomorrow..."

"My feast? Severus, what-?" She paused, looking at Severus, who was paler than she had ever seen him, except for the rising colour in his cheeks.

Struggling to contain his contempt for the bumbling fool before him, he ushered Julia into their rooms, whispering, "We'll talk about this once I've dealt with that moron and restored your wards."

Although he had closed the door on her, she was still able to hear the conversation between the two men.

~~~~

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, you bungling idiot? The true purpose of the feast is supposed to be a surprise for Julia, and you bloody well know it!" Severus seethed. Lockhart was now unperturbed, his disposition seemingly altered by Julia's disappearance.

"Oh come off it Professor, you know that she'll never agree to spend her life with you! You're deluded to think that she loves you enough to do that! This is merely a passing fancy, she'll want to settle down with a real man-"

"What, like you?" Severus scoffed. "I have known Julia my entire life, and I know what qualities she values. Intelligence ranks quite highly, and since you evidently don't know the difference between ghouls and ghosts, I doubt that you're her ideal partner!" Severus looked at Lockhart with utter contempt for his stupidity.

Lockhart scoffed at the slight, but said nothing. Severus wasn't finished yet though.

"How such a dunderhead even managed to graduate is a mystery to me. At least you didn't let your education get in the way of your ignorance."

Affronted, Lockhart raised his wand, his intention clear. Severus rolled his eyes, but raised his wand as well.

"If I win this duel, you will swear to leave Julia alone," Lockhart said, narrowing his eyes.

"And when I win, if I so much as see you near this castle, or anywhere near Julia and I, I will not hesitate to kill you. You seem to forget who I used to serve; the Dark Lord was a particularly sadistic being." Severus the man had become Severus the Death Eater, and whilst he didn't intend to hurt Lockhart too badly, he needed to know that he was not to be messed with.

Both men raised their wands, and Julia strained to hear who would cast the first spell. She didn't want to interfere, because she knew that Severus could easily hold his own, and that it would serve Lockhart right for even daring to suggest that she didn't love Severus. Arsehole.

As she suspected, Severus had the quicker reflexes, and launched a loaded stunning spell at the obnoxious blond wizard. It obviously hit it's mark, and she heard Lockhart's body crumple against the stone wall, which must have been ten feet behind him. It was then that she chose to open the door.

Leaning in the doorframe in just her silk nightgown, hair tumbling in loose curls over her pale shoulders, with light pouring out of their chambers, Severus swore he had never seen such beauty in his life.

She stepped out, walked past her love, and down the corridor towards Lockhart.

"Ennervate," she said harshly, and he awoke to Julia standing over him, staring at him with hard eyes. She bent down so she was close to his face, and moved so she could whisper in his ear.

"If you ever have the gall to suggest that I wouldn't want to marry Severus again, I will personally ensure that any... vital appendages... will be removed slowly and painfully whilst you are still conscious. Do I make myself clear, you stuck up blockhead?"

"I'm no blockhead!" Lockhart argued defiantly.

"No, you're right, calling you a blockhead is an insult to stupid people everywhere. You're a whole new level of moronic. Now, get out of my sight before I do something I regret."

Lockhart only whimpered in response, and swiftly and clumsily ran away from the petite witch. Smiling smugly to herself, she returned to her wizard, looking gobsmacked at the fact that she frightened Lockhart so much. She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him back into their chambers, and the doors shut behind them with a resounding bang.

They were undisturbed for the rest of the night.

A/N Hello, hello, you wonderful human beings! I'm sorry for lying last time when I said I'd update the next week, I lost all motivation to write coz I went through a horrific breakup at that time, and I'm still getting over it even now.

I just wanted to say thank you for all the lovely comments, and for all the votes; as I write this, nearly 47 thousand people have read this, and 2 thousand votes! That's unbelievable! You're all amazing, and thank you for all your support, hopefully it won't be too long before I update again, I'll try not to leave it another seven months.

~Hannah~