One More Light (Severus Snape's Love Story)

Chapter 19

The smell of bacon was so inviting that the sleepy Sam opened her eyes to find herself alone on the bed. She swept the bed and used the blanket to protect herself from the cold while walking slowly to the kitchen. She sat on one of the counter stools, lazily placed her cheek on the counter and grab a bacon on the plate.

Cedric was still cooking and he poured a cup of coffee for her.

"Morning, dear."

She lazily still let her cheek on the counter but moved her face so she could see him, still continue chewing slowly and asked, "dear?"

"Yes, 'dear'. Seems like I'm your boyfriend again."

She frowned, finally lifting her head from the counter and asked, "what?"

He pointed the beer.

"You're drunk?" She was still confused.

He chuckled and said, "Bran and something came last night."

"Oohh..." she said while putting her cheek back on the counter next to the plate, making her facing directly to the bacons. "Yeah, he kept on asking me to go for drinks. I do not like him. So I made up the boyfriend thing."

"Maybe he was checking on that." He said casually while putting the omelet on a plate. "Happy to help."

"Thanks," she said while grabbing another bacon.

"Get ready after this."

"Why? It's saturday, my sleeping day."

"I'm having brunch with Oliver and Hermione. I told them you're joining us."

She still let her cheek on the counter while chewing and asked, "why did you say that without asking me first?"

"Because I'm not giving you a choice. Look, they're getting married so they probably will be lovey dovey and I don't want to be the third wheel."

"Maybe they invited the maid of honor."

"Yeah, and if they did, we know she will come with Harry."

She laughed, "Fine. But you owe me."

"Hey, I paid as your boyfriend already."

She laughed again.

They took a taxi and arrived at a fancy restaurant and they saw Hermione and Oliver were already there waiting. They walked to them and they greeted each other.

"We're practically live in the same neighborhood but we rarely meet, aren't we?" Hermione said in friendly tone.

"Yeah," Sam said, "congratulations. Cedric told me."

"Thanks," they said.

"So, me and the girls will go to hunt bridal gowns and the guys will go for fitting. Will you join us?" Hermione asked.

Sam turned to Cedric before turned back to Hermione and said, "I don't want to be rude, Hermione. But I am quite tired. So, after this, I plan to have a lazy day in the bed."

Oliver turned to Cedric as if he was asking something with his eyes. But Cedric couldn't understand his question by reading his face so he ignored him. Being ignored, Cedric finally asked, "are you together again?"

Sam and Cedric were drinking their water and both of them sprayed them onto the air. Luckily the food was not been served yet.

"Is that a no?" Oliver asked again while looking both of them busy wiping their mouth and the table.

"You think?" Cedric asked.

"Because tonight we're going for drinks in the bar downtown to celebrate. You're invited too, Sam." He then turned to Cedric again and said, "Hermione wants to hook you up with one of her girlfriend. That's why I asked. Just want to make sure."

"Hmmm... is she pretty?"

"Of course."

"We're in," Sam said. "Tell us where and when, we'll be there."

They continued their chat. Hermione talked most of the time, sharing about the wedding they were planning. Then after the brunch, they split for the rest of the day.

It was almost 8pm when Cedric came back to the apartment. They got ready and left together.

The bar was crowded as Saturday night would be. Sam was letting herself go and she drank a lot. She was very dizzy when she left the bar by herself. Cedric was already making out with the girl, Hermione introduced him. Ron and Harry offered to escort Sam to go back but she refused.

She walked by herself and after few blocks she sat down at the park's bench. She regulated her breath and sat there in silence. Once in a while, she would closed her eyes. She was fighting her sleepiness that she was going to lose.

Then a man walked by to her and he apparently wanted to take advantage of her in this weak moment. A charm was performed that the man was thrown away. She turned and saw a man that performed the charm. He was wearing his black robe and his black hair was sweeping his shoulder following his movement.

She unconsciously called him, "Severus," before she really lost her consciousness.

It was the next morning when she awoke with a bad headache. The smell of coffee from the kitchen was tempting but her head was so painful that she still didn't open her eyes. He heard foot steps and knew it was Cedric. He put a small bottle on the bedside table.

"For your hangover."

She opened her eyes and drank the whole bottle. It was very potent that she didn't feel any headache anymore. She sat up and asked him, "what happened last night?"

He sat next to her looking unhappy.

"Found you unconscious by the bench at the park. You shouldn't go back by yourself."

"I don't want to disturb you." She said trying to recall what happened last night, "There's someone else there. But I don't remember."

"There's no one when I came."

She was still trying to recall what happened but then he rub her head playfully while saying, "have breakfast, come on."

"I'm sure there's someone else. A wizard, I think. But I can't remember."

He sighed, "I didn't see anyone."

"Are you sure?"

He sat down again and said slower, "look, maybe, maybe, before I arrived, there was someone there. But then he left. Because I really only saw you by yourself unconscious."

She looked so sad when she said, "I know it's stupid, I didn't even see his face clearly, it was dark. But, he seemed like the man I often dreamt about. I know it's just a feeling. But, ..."

"You feel safe and warm everytime you saw him in your dream." He looked at her gently, "you told me many times before. Last night you were unconscious, so maybe it's just another dream."

She sighed, "you're right."