Chapter 3
The next couple of months flew by fast. My time was spread between the weekly order meetings and work and I didn’t have time to do a lot in addition to them. I had been watching the Hall of Prophecy closely, keeping an eye on everyone that went in. I got to know more of my coworkers outside of working hours and no-one of them seemed to be too suspicious.
I had installed one piece of muggle equipment at the entrance to the Hall of Prophecy. One clever camera, situated in a screw in the ceiling. At least no-one had noticed it yet and all seemed to be well. And before I knew it, the summer had turned into autumn and the leaves had started falling.
I was walking towards my home a book in hand. Kicking my shoes against puddles formed on the ground by the falling rain, I cursed the day. It was Friday the 13th of course. How else had the department been in such a chaos?
All of the ministry’s paper crane correspondence had been in a mess. Cranes had flown to wrong places, to the fireplaces, gotten stuck in doorways and hit people in the face. Also, several magical creatures had been going wild, causing havoc in the departments. One niffler had managed to escape and had made its way to the department of mysteries. It had enjoyed itself immensely and made a big mess in the Hall of Prophecy. And of course, it had been my fault, because I had failed to catch it.
The rain wet my hood as I walked. I could almost see my house and I prayed I had left the window closed. In the morning I had left in such a hurry that I wasn’t sure if I closed the window I liked to keep open during the mornings.
I sniffed. The cold made my nose runny and I made a mental note to get some cold medicine or potions before it hit. I knew I was getting sick. I was stressed and I had the weekend off. My body had already planned getting sick then because I could feel it holding the fever back in survival mode.
I crossed the street and approached my front door. A dim light shone in my window. I furrowed my brows. I didn’t remember using that lamp in the morning. I took out my wand and glanced around me for any muggles.
“Revelio,” I cast silently. The spell flew out, and I observed as it clouded the area. Someone was inside my house. I clenched my teeth. This was not good. How had my wards let anyone enter?
I laid a shield charm around me and took a knife form my thigh pocket. If someone was there, I better be careful. I swiftly unlocked the door and stepped in to the house. The corridor seemed empty and I stepped deeper into the house.
There, I sensed the intruder in the living room. And with fast steps I made my way there and pointed my wand at the intruder with the knife clutched in the other one.
I fired “Incarcerous” silently at the person as I rounded the corner. The room was quite dim, but I could make out a tall shadow near the wall. A red spark flew out of my wand and the shadow moved fast, deflecting my spell and firing one silently back.
I spun, moving away from the spells way and hissed: “Stupefy.”
The shadow moved closer and I could make out black hair before he deflected and shot one back at me. I ducked out of the spells way again and stepped closer to him, firing a couple hexes in a row. None of them hit their mark and I cursed.
Suddenly I was pushed against a wall, a hand grapping my wrist painfully making me drop my wand. I grunted as my head hit the wall.
“Stop fighting, you insolent girl,” a familiar voice said close to my face.
I lifted the knife and gently laid it against his side, letting him know that it was there. “Never,” I said. My heart was still beating hard and I took in Severus’s sharp face. He looked somewhat amused. Those black eyes wild and his cheeks somewhat tinted red.
“So, you learned something in Durmstrang after all,” he chuckled. “Though I could say your aim is quite terrible,” his breath tickled my lips. It made my face tingle and I noticed his aura enveloping me, pulsing with magic.
My body heated as it noticed how close we were. Severus was still holding my wrist, his other hand on my chest pinning me to the wall. I breathed deeply, trying to control my beating heart. Adrenaline thrummed in my veins. Arousal throbbed between my legs, wetting my underwear. How could he make me so horny in such a short time?
I prayed he hadn’t noticed my blush as his black eyes flickered quickly to my lips and back. My body wanted him, even my power seemed to caress his, the auras mixing together smoothly. I closed my eyes and gathered my willpower.
“What are you doing here?” I asked shoving Severus backwards. “How did you get in?”
He staggered a little and regained his balance, shooting an arched eyebrow my way. The bastard.
“Your wards let me in,” he stated.
“What?” I answered. “I never instructed such a thing,” I said.
How could it be? The wards had been the same since the beginning. I re-did them occasionally when I noticed the magic fading. But the spells were always the same. No-one should enter the house unless they are welcomed by me and safe. And even then, the house shouldn’t let them enter without me.
I shifted the knife into my other hand and tucked it into my magical pocket with my wand which I had wordlessly accioed to my outstretched hand. Then I turned the lamp on and saw Severus leaning against the wall in my living room, observing me.
“Your magic allowed me in. I was waiting for you outside of the house when I got curious and wanted to test your wards,” he said. “I wanted to see how far they would allow me.”
I crossed my arms biting my cheek. “This means nothing,” I said and turned around to the short corridor leading out of the house. I had left the door open for a fast exit.
“An order meeting has been called earlier today,” Severus said after me.
“Whatever,” I muttered as I closed the door.
I stepped back in to the living room. I hadn’t noticed how tall he was compared to me. It wasn’t much to ask when I was a nice 160cm tall. He had to be over 185cm.
“When are we expected?”
Severus smirked. “Now,” he said.
“Anything to worry about?” I asked.
“Stop asking so many questions, witch,” he sniped and straightened up from the wall. “You’ll see soon enough,” he continued and walked past me to the door.
I grumbled. I didn’t even have enough time to eat or change out of my damp clothes. Damn these order meetings. With heavy legs, I followed after Severus to the storage room outside of my house.
I slammed the door shut after me.
“You better not show up like that again,” I commented as we entered the room.
Severus snorted. “Waiting for you while observing your vast collection of romance novels was worth it. Why wait in the rain when you can read all the Fae erotica you can?”
This time it was me almost chocking as Severus apparated us away.