Shade (A Severus Snape Fanfiction)

|chapter six|

The voice returned shortly after Severus left and had plauged me since. I realized during that time that the voice usually only attacked me when I was alone. It always started the same. First came the gentleness as it tried to coax me into giving in, and then came the anger. That's when the screaming began, making it feel as if my head would split open with each violent word.

I wasn't even sure what day it was as I sat silently on the sofa, holding a cup of tea that had grown cold long ago in my trembling hands. I stared blankly at the wall, too exhausted to do anything else.

A knock sounded from the door, causing me to flinch so hard that I dropped the tea cup, which shattered as it smashed into the cold hardwood.

"Kathryn, what was that? Are you okay?" Came the worried voice of Severus Snape. Was it Saturday already? He began to beat on the door again, but I quickly rushed over and opened it. His eyes widened as he looked me up and down. I must have looked like shit.

"Hello, Severus..," I said, not quite able to find a smile like usual.

"You look terrible. What's happened?"

"Oh you know, the usual shit. Voices and dreams and such ruining my fucking life," I replied dryly. I hadn't realized that the cottage was a mess until now. "Sorry about the mess," I added, finally actually looking at him.

He was dressed in his usual black attire, though his hair seemed to be combed down more neatly than usual. His obsidian eyes traveled to the broken teacup on the floor before saying, "You should go have a bath. I'll take care of that."

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he held his hand out and shook his head, mouthing the word go rather sternly. I sighed and headed for the bathroom, secretly touched by his unusual behavior.

I stripped down and allowed the tub to fill up with steaming hot water, hissing slightly as I sank into the scalding water until my skin adjusted to it. I leaned back and closed my eyes, listening to Severus walk around the cottage.

After a while I finally washed my hair and made use of the vanilla body wash Dumbledore had placed there for me before climbing out and wrapping a plush white towel around my body. I had no extra clothes in the bathroom and realized I would have to walk out in the towel. I cracked the bathroom door open to find Severus with his back to me as he stood in front of the stove, cooking what smelled like bacon.

Deciding he probably wouldn't even notice me, I slipped out of the bathroom silently, but I hadn't accounted for the creaky floorboard beneath my foot. Severus turned and glanced in my direction, quickly doing a double take at the sight of me standing there hair dripping, in nothing but a towel. Ha, bet he sure the fuck wasn't expecting that.

His body stiffened but his face portrayed nothing as his eyes slowly traveled over my scantily clad body. After a moment, he seemed to realize he was staring and quickly returned his attention back to the stove, his posture rigid.

"I made you breakfast," he said, keeping his eyes on the pan of food before him.

"Thank you. I'll be right back," I said before retreating to my bedroom. I released a shaky breath once the door closed behind me. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Severus enjoyed seeing me standing there practically naked, but I thought back to the time I had tried to kiss him and was rejected.

I doubted much had changed in the short amount of time it had been. I rummaged through a drawer, finding underwear and a bra. I pulled them on before choosing a loose fitting t-shirt, a black pair of leggings, and a thick pair of knitted socks. It was rather cold in the cottage, and I tried to think back to when the last time I started a fire had been.