Snape’s actions were methodic and instinctive when he carried Tori into his bedroom.

He laid her down on his bed and checked her pulse. It was extremely weak. He tried to calm down. She probably just fainted, but he wanted to be sure.

He threw some powder into his fireplace and yelled, “Poppy, please come down to my rooms, it’s urgent.” A few seconds later, the nurse appeared in the green flames.

“What happened?” She saw Tori lying on the bed and sat down next to her. She examined her closely and looked sharply at Snape. “Severus, what have you been doing to her?”

“Uh, well, I drew some of her blood a few moments ago, but it shouldn’t…”

Her face went hard and she sounded furious when she said: “How could you have weakened her like that? Didn’t you notice that she is underfed?”

“What??”

“When’s the last time you saw her in the Great Hall for a meal?” she asked him, knowing the answer for herself all too well.

“Last night, for dinner, but now that you mention it, she was only playing with her food and before that…I don’t know.”

“Really Severus, I should think you would pay more attention to the well-being of your former student. Now, you must wait until she regains consciousness and then a good hearty meal will fix things. Next time, be more careful!” and with that she left.

Reassured it wasn’t anything serious, Snape waited for Tori to wake up. He could beat himself up for not noticing she was starving herself. Why? Did Black have something to do with it?

Before he could lose himself in figuring out the appropriate torture for Black, Tori moved her head and let out a few moans.

He jumped up immediately and went to sit by her side, gently brushing her brow with a wet cloth, his other hand caressing her cheeks.

She opened her eyes and felt the delicate touch of his fingers on her face. She closed them again, wanting to prolong this moment for as long as she could.

He muttered some sweet nothings in her ear, slowly encouraging her to open her eyes and to sit up.

She responded to him, strengthened by the warmth of his voice. “What happened?”

“You fainted after I drew your blood.” He waved his wand and a plate of food appeared in front of her. “Eat this; it will make you feel better.” He turned around and left her alone in the bedroom.

At first, Tori was reluctant to touch any of the food, she didn’t feel hungry. Still, she forced herself to eat something, after the first difficult bites, she realized she was actually starving.

After a few short minutes, the plate was empty and Tori leaned back into the cushions. She felt much better now, but decided to stay in bed until Snape came back.

It took her some time to realize that he would be teaching now and she got up, thinking she couldn’t play the patient all morning. Halfway through the morning, she received an owl from Ron. It was the first letter he had sent since they had argued and she was a bit reluctant to open it, but she shouldn’t have worried.

Hi Tori,

How’s everything? We’ve had some great results with the potion Snape brought us. Apparently he’s not such a jerk after all. Maybe you have a good influence on him! But I’ll still feel better if you’d be working with McGonagall.

Say, I hear Harry is coming to Hogwarts for Halloween. If we’re not too busy, I might come down too. It gives me a chance to catch up with you, Ginny and Shannon.

Well, I’ll probably see you then. For now: Kick Snape’s butt!

Greetings,

Ron.

Tori laughed; happy that everything was back to normal between her and Ron. Then she realized something: if Ron and Harry were to visit for Halloween, they would discover Shannon’s attachment to Malfoy for sure. No doubt that would bring another argument!

She was tidying up the lab, gathering notes and feeling very much on top of herself again, when Snape entered. “How are you feeling?” he looked her over, trying to make out if she was her old self again.

“I’m fine, thank you. It was just a little moment of weakness I guess.”

Snape narrowed his eyes and murmured: “I wouldn’t call starving yourself a moment of weakness.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean, starving myself?”

“I do no think I should explain to you the symptoms of an eating disorder. Just think about it, when was the last time you actually ate something and I’m sure you’ll see for yourself.”

Tori raised her voice. “I do NOT have an eating disorder! I just didn’t feel hungry lately, that’s all!!”

“Hmmm.” Snape didn’t seem convinced and he came closer, as if he would be able to see the evidence of his theory reflected on her face.

“I am not unaware of the fact that some young girls are obsessed by their weight and go to all kinds of extreme measures to obtain what in their deluded mind is the perfect body.”

He looked at her with some kind of compassionate sympathy and Tori could feel her blood begin to boil. She did not need his sympathy! “Personally I am happy about the way I look and I do not feel the slightest need to starve myself. Can you please get this into that thick head of yours?”

She could no longer keep up the politeness she had forced herself to maintain in order to keep her job. It seemed like some internal dam had been broken and all of the formerly suppressed irritations flooded her mind. Before she knew it, she was flinging them at his head.

“It seems I can do no good at all, no matter what I do. Is it because I’m Gryffindor? Clearly only a Slytherin is good enough to live up to the Potions Master’s high standards and expectations. Maybe if you didn’t bully your students that much, they would actually LEARN something instead of freezing their minds in fear!!”

He gave her a menacing look, took a deep breath and said: “Don’t you dare question my teaching methods.” His sneer had been barely a whisper, but the venom was unmistakable.

His glare made her feel very uncomfortable, but she held her head up high, ready for battle. “I can do what I please, you are no longer my teacher and I’m not afraid of you!”

He let out a short hysterical laugh. “Oh I do believe that YOU are not afraid of me. Just know one thing: the world is filled with softhearted righteous moralists like you. Do you think we would stand a chance if it was up to the likes of Longbottom to defeat Voldemort, when they can’t even stand up to their teacher?”

“I’ll always be the soft Gryffindor to you, won’t I? Well, hello! You were the one that asked for my assistance in the first place.”

He interrupted her before she could say more. “I can assure you, if I had any other options, I would NOT have chosen YOU to assist me in this delicate matter. Clearly, the pressure is too much for you.”

The way he stayed calm made her angry beyond reason and she clenched her fists, desperately trying to control herself. “I’m not the ONLY one that can’t handle pressure. You should have seen yourself in the Great Hall the other night. Pathetic, the way you were acting like a spoiled child that can’t get what he wants.”

Now she saw his eyes shooting fire, his face twitched in anger and when he opened his mouth the words came bellowing out. “I will NOT have YOU judging MY behavior, when all YOU do is run around shamelessly with that Black character.”

“Oh!” she cried out, as she tried to find the words to express her loathing.

Both looked at each other with intense hate. When she started: “You jealous, narrow-minded, cold hearted…” Snape went for her and placed his hands on her shoulders like he was going to jolt her, grinding his teeth.

“You little witch, I’ll…”

“Keep your hands off…”

Blinded by fury she placed her hands on his chest to push him away. She felt a shock going through him and opened her mouth to scream in her attempt to use more strength, but nothing cam out.

She just looked at him, his fuming eyes reflecting the fire in her own. She was so worked up that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she could feel his doing the same under her hands. Both of them were breathing heavily now and she realized he didn’t look angry anymore.

She heard him groan “I’m lost” in the tone of a man ready to surrender and then his lips were on hers.

He pushed her against the table and she grabbed the back of his head, running her fingers through his long, black hair. Again he moaned and covered her face with kisses. She pulled him closer to her, feeling that wonderful tingling sensation again. With one sway of his arm he cleared the table, sending scrolls and quills through the air. He made her sit on the table so her face was at the same height as his and spread her legs so he could stand between them. He continued kissing her, holding her tightly, a spark of pure, ravenous fire ran through her. She fumbled at his robe, without stopping the kiss; she managed to get him out of it. The buttons of his shirt proved to be more challenging, but soon she moved her hands over his bare chest. She felt him shiver as she kissed his collarbone. She heard his breath catch and continued exploring his upper body. It was his turn to battle with her clothes. He didn’t waste any time and tore the blouse off her, the buttons scattered all over the lab.

As he was closing the distance between them, there was a knock on the door.

Both of them flinched and Snape jumped up with a horrifying expression on his face. He ground his teeth, his chest rising up and down rapidly to control his breathing.

Again a knock on the door, followed by a faint “Professor Snape, are you there?”

Both Snape and Tori rushed back into their clothing. Tori slipped into a robe to cover her button-less blouse, her cheeks still flushed. They gave each other a quick glance to make sure that they were fully dressed before Snape opened the door.

A tearful Shannon stormed in, crying out: “Professor, it…it’s Draco. Something’s very wrong with him!”