Descendant of Merlin (Severus Snape) Book 1: Anger and Awe

The Merfolk

I jumped back with a gasp as if his hand had burned me. He spun to face me with wide eyes.

"What just happened?" he asked slowly. He was giving me a very strange look. It was like he was afraid to hear my answer. I was trembling as I took a single step closer to him again.

"Hold up your hand," I prompted with a suddenly dry mouth. His look turned questioning but he did as I asked. I lifted my hand and brought it to his gently. My cloak, which had drained back to its normal color as soon as our contact had been broken, flushed crimson again.

"What sort of cloak is that?" Severus asked without drawing his hand away. It was cold. I looked down at his feet and bit my lip nervously. Severus's eyes never left me.

"The letter I got with the cloak said that when I touch someone I love who loves me in return that the cloak would turn red," I was glad I didn't stammer. Severus was silent for a painfully long time. So long that I started to fidget, but I never pulled my hand away from his.

"It also said that the type of love had to be determined by me," I explained further when I could no longer stand his silence. I couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not, but I wanted desperately to know what he was thinking. What feelings were hidden behind those charcoal eyes?

With deliberate slowness he took the hand that was still in contact with mine and twisted it so that my hand was cupped inside his. Then he lifted it, with such an agonizing slowness I thought I might faint, to his lips and pressed a soft, tender kiss to the back of my hand. Our eyes held each other the entire time.

My heart was pounding as I held my breath. I savored every moment that his lips brushed my skin; the warmth of his breath burning into my very soul and contrasting sharply with the cool smoothness of his skin. He brought my hand away without letting it go.

"In that case we must avoid each other whenever possible," he said in a coarse whisper. I felt the full weight of disappointment and longing crash down on top of me like a mountain of despair. I thought I was so close to winning him over, but at his words I felt I had never been farther.

My heart was breaking, but I refused to cry in front of him again so I pulled my hand free of his and ran from his chambers without a backwards glance. I heard him call my name a couple of times before I was free from his room, but I didn't stop.

I ran all the way to my dorm and threw myself on my bed. Lynx glanced up in surprise when I came in and was instantly at my side trying to sooth me. She pulled me so that my head rested in her lap as I sobbed. She brushed my hair back softly and rubbed my back. It was so nice to have her to comfort me.
      
       She brushed my tears away and my cloak flushed red once again. My eyes widened for a moment and so did Lynx's, then I laughed. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe, and only part of it was from bitterness. Lynx asked what was with my cloak and I hugged her tightly.

       "I love you, Lynx. You're the best friend I could ever have asked for," I told her without explaining further. She patted me on the back softly with a quizzical look on her face and told me she loved me too. I knew for a fact she was telling the truth.

       Then the night's memories came down on me once again like a crashing wave. I clung to my friend, not entirely understanding where all the pain was coming from but feeling as though I was drowning in it. Lynx was the only one who wanted me...Thank Merlin I had her at least.

Once I had calmed down a bit, which took a good half an hour in which the very walls of the room groaned under the pressure my emotional distress placed on them, she asked me softly what had happened.