Bittersweet (A Severus Snape fanfic)

Strange Affair

Dinner was a strange affair. Never had Snape sat at a table with so many people - and he had attended hogwarts. The table seemed endless, and Snape had stopped estimating how many people were sat at this table that curved into a semi-circle after he got to 200.

Elvira sat next to him, sipping some kind of golden coloured liquid from her goblet, and was talking in a different language to the people around her. Snape felt like an outsider, so he focused on his food.

They had treated him well, he couldn't fault that. Elvira and him had been given a small wooden house to share, each having their own small bedrooms and a kitchen and living area downstairs. It was as if they thought the pair were staying a while, and while everyone seemed nice enough, Snape had been slightly unsettled by his chat with the boy earlier.

He hoped he had not gotten himself into something that was far more complicated than Elvira had let on.

"Stop frowning," Elvira said, nudging his arm with her elbow, knocking him out of his thoughts. "You'll get wrinkles."

Snape glared at Elvira and she chuckled, finding amusement at his look. She finished drinking from her goblet and smiled.

"Nearly ready for bed?" She asked him. "I don't know about you but a comfy lounge by the fire is what I'm feeling right now."

"Don't you have business to attend to?" Snape said, more bluntly than he had intended. He looked over and down the table to Vladimir. Elvira followed his state and then looked back at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I was assuming you'd be spending the night elsewhere."

"Wow," Elvira said, furrowing her brow. "Vladimir and I are just friends. I'm gonna pretend like you're not jealous and-"

"-I'm not jealous." Snape interrupted.

"Why the long face whenever you see us talking then?"

Elvira smirked and Snape rolled his eyes.

"Please, I have nothing to be jealous of. You can literally do as and who you please."

"I don't want to do anyone right now," Elvira sighed, getting up from the table. "Jesus, didn't realise Laura had rubbed off on you so much."

"Laura hasn't rubbed off on me." Snape replied, getting up also and following her as she exited the room.

"Rather rubbed you off then?" Elvira laughed.

"Shut up you imbecile." Snape spat.

"You didn't deny it." Elvira sang, mocking him.

The pair walked back to their cosy house and when inside, Elvira immediately lit the fire and went upstairs. Snape watched as she climbed the stairs and sighed. She was annoying to him, and yet he still didn't mind her company.

He brushed off the weird feeling and went into the kitchen, taking out two glasses and looking at the bottles of liquid on the side. He opened one, sniffing it and putting it back down. It smelled like a love potion of sorts. He was very good at smelling different potions, being a potion master.

Snape took the bottle and hid it in the cupboard above the kettle, which was stocked with herbs and spices.

Soon enough, as Snape was sniffing another bottle, Elvira returned in a long black sleeping robe. It was black silk, and a tie of the fabric around her waist complimented her figure, making her look good rather than a black oblong.

"That's alcohol." Elvira said, walking towards Snape and taking the bottle to sniff it. "It's a rich wine they make. Let's have it."

Before Snape could argue, Elvira was pouring the wine into glasses. He wasn't very fond of wine, but he could drink it.

The pair took their glasses and went and sat on the sofa in front of the fire. Snape sat down next to Elvira and she promptly moved, swinging her legs round to rest on his lap. He looked at her, frowning, to which she responded with a grin.

"I'm comfy," Elcira shrugged "hope you are too."

"It doesn't seem like I have much choice in the matter." Snape said, rolling his eyes.

"True, very true," Elcira laughed and took a sip of her wine. "How you liking it here anyways?"

"It's not a matter of interest for me. I'm accompanying you."

"You can still have an opinion on it."

"My opinion is that I have no opinion."

"Why are you being so difficult?" Elvira sighed.

"I'm not." Snape said simply, looking at Elvira. She tilted her head, and he could see that she was trying to figure out what he was thinking through her inquisitive eyes which were illuminated by the warm glow of the fire.

"Fine." Elvira said, sighing once again. "I was just trying to make conversation."

Snape felt guilty for not just answering with an easy answer. He shrugged the thought off.

"I'm so grateful you're here, even if you're not enjoying yourself." Elvira admitted. "There's a lot I'm thankful for in terms of you being my friend. I haven't known you awfully long and yet you've been with me through a lot already."

"It's nothing." Snape shrugged. "It's what friends do."

"Hmm." Elvira simply replied, nodding and then staring into the fire as she sipped her wine. The air became dense with deep awkwardness, a feeling somewhat encouraged by the hormones of the confused aura.

"What's the matter?" Snape said, looking at Elvira who wasn't looking at him. He waited for a reply while he swirled the glass of wine slightly in his hand before taking a sip.

"Are you a virgin Severus?" Elvira said after the long wait for her reply.

Snape coughed as he finished his gulp of wine, pushing her legs off of him and putting the glass onto the table in front. Elvira moved quickly, patting him on the back.

"I don't see why that would be bothering you or why you would even be thinking about such things." Severus said after recovering, pushing her hand away from his back and standing up. "Now I'm going to go to bed before you start asking anymore weird questions. Good night."

Snape started to walk up the stairs, his footsteps heavy and moody against the wooden steps.

"So I take it you are then?" Elvira called up after him, to no reply. She rolled her eyes, downing the rest of her wine and then also going upstairs to go to bed.