Severus Snape Phoenix Freed

Chapter 14 - Discretion

Severus dressed and readied himself to retrieve the students from Malfoy Manor. He kissed Phoenix on her forehead. She was still sleeping, but he wanted to let her know that her friends would arrive today. He brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, and watched her as she began to stir. Something stirred inside himself when he saw her open her eyes and then smile up at him. Their lovemaking in the middle of the night had soothed more than his physical desire for her, it had soothed his spirit. He had found her to be as forgiving as she was passionate, and although he was equally embarrassed and revolted by his dark side that had revealed itself last night, Phoenix had somehow understood that his rage had come from his fear and pain, and she had forgiven him his transgression. No, she was not a child, and he recognized the strength in her. He wished he could take away the pain that had driven her these last years to seek her revenge on those responsible, but he knew he would not be willing to give up his own pain that had driven him in the same way. It was a part of him now, ties to his past and to those he had loved and lost... Lily... Dumbledore... his mother. Phoenix had suffered such an incredible loss at such a young age, and he knew he could not take that pain from her, but even as he felt the impossibility of it, he had felt his own pain ease since meeting her... loving her. He would not deny her her quest for vengeance, but he hoped it would not consume her. "You look sad, Severus. Is everything alright?" she asked. "Yes," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. "I am going to retrieve your friends today. I will assure that they are settled into their rooms. Unfortunately, the Carrow twins have been assigned by the Dark lord to watch over them, as well as the other returning students, so I would ask that you do not give them too much of your attention. The Carrows will be suspicious of everyone and everything. Also," he said as he walked to the far wall and pulled back a curtain, revealing a door, "Your new rooms are through here. It would be best to make your exit through your rooms when you leave each day for your new position. The Dark lord is aware of our... arrangement... so the Carrows will not dare to question it." He was not necessarily happy with the possibility of her retreating to her rooms and locking him out, but he was aware that they had been thrown together to find themselves living with each other relatively quickly. Perhaps having her own private retreat was only fair. She must have seen the doubt on his face and smiled gently up at him, "Don't worry Severus, I will give you a key." He was a bit surprised, and he smiled back at her, feeling some relief at her trusting gesture. He bowed curtly to her, brushing her hand as he did so, and turned to leave. "Severus, I will be here when you return. Maybe if you have time you can give me a tour of the library. It's been a couple years since I've seen it," she said. "Then it's a date," he said, and winked at her before leaving.

He arrived at Malfoy Manor as scheduled. Lucius greeted him, looking even more haggard than the last time he saw him, if that were possible. "Have you lost your razor, Lucius?" Severus asked with a sneer. "Perhaps you should add a barber to your staff," he said, maybe even trying to goad him a little. "Severus, always a pleasure. Narcissa has said that she... enjoys the feel of it, and I wouldn't be one to deny her... her every pleasure," Lucius said with a wicked grin. Severus knew Lucius suspected Narcissa had a soft spot for Severus, as she was often overly gracious in his presence, but he was mistaken if he thought he could be baited into jealousy. It still took effort to keep the look of disgust off of his face. "Far be it from me to question Narcissa's... tastes," Severus said, letting that fall where it may. As if on cue, Narcissa entered the room and smiled as she greeted Severus, walking to him to kiss his cheek in greeting. "It's a pleasure as always to see you Severus," she said, and Severus did not make an effort to keep the self satisfied look off of his face. He could almost sense Lucius's seething glare, but he kept his eyes on Narcissa. "I hope that the students are ready for their departure?" he asked her. "Yes, follow me," she said, and he was pleased that neither one of them looked towards Lucius as she lead him from the room. "I hope all is well with you Narcissa," he said as they walked. "As well as can be expected. I want to thank you, Severus. I know what you did for my son... and how much it cost you. I will always be grateful to you for that. I only wish...," she paused, and placed her hand on his arm to stop him, "I only wish the price wasn't so high, and that..." she raised her head to look at him. "What price I have paid was my required recompense, however, I would have granted your request to protect your son regardless of the Vow. I only hope that your son finds even an ounce of your strength in him. If so, I'm sure he will find a way to deserve all of the sacrifices made on his behalf," Severus said, offering her a smile to ease her guilt. She returned his smile, and he saw the sadness behind it. He turned to resume walking... she had made her choices, but he still sympathized with the pain she endured from those choices. Severus found the students in better condition, as promised, and he apparated back with them two at a time. As he prepared to take the last two, he looked at Narcissa, "Take care, Narcissa." "Take care, Severus," she said in return, and he thought he heard a sadness in her voice.

When he returned to Hogwarts, he looked at the six bedraggled students. He knew it wouldn't be an easy year for them. He didn't expect it to be an easy year for himself either. The darkness had already begun to settle over the school. He didn't know what his course would lead to, but he would see it to its end. Until then, he would provide his protection as Dumbledore would have wished. It would have been much easier to leave it all behind after Dumbledore's death, but he had sworn to watch after the boy... Harry Potter... and he knew in his soul that this would be where he would be called upon to carry out that promise. So he would stay, and he would play his part as the yet unforeseen future unfolded. He saw the hate in the students' eyes as they openly glared at him. He wondered with a bit of amusement if they had learned that from Phoenix. "You all have made it obvious that you do not want to be here. I can assure you that your sentiments are not unwarranted... however, I require each one of you to uphold the level of deportment expected at Hogwarts. If any one of you strays from that expectation, you will all answer for it. Also, if any one of you find yourselves in need of assistance, I would ask that you come to me. I am aware of your... special circumstances, and you will find that you have my support... when it is reasonable," Severus said. He knew that they would find out about Phoenix, and possibly his connection to her, and he would need their caution and their discretion. "Follow me," he said, leading to get them settled in their rooms. He could not bunk them all together since there were four boys and two girls, but he had arranged two adjacent rooms for them alone so it would allow them some privacy.  He didn't want to risk any other students learning of their allegiances to each other and to Phoenix. "After you have settled in, I will have my research assistant see to your evening meal. Her name is Phoenix, but you will address her as Miss Alder. He saw them all open their eyes wider as he turned on his heel and left them to their conjectures.