Blood Ties and Betrayal//A Severus Snape Love Story

As giddy was Cassie was after her activities with Snape, she was also exhausted. She had to make the extra effort to clear her mind before allowing herself to drift to sleep. It was a routine she had become accustomed to in the last few weeks, and she couldn't afford to break that habit. She had a secret to guard and someone else's livelihood to protect now, and she couldn't allow someone to infiltrate her memories.

She didn't know what time it was when he came back to her, but he woke up her gently, climbing into bed with care so he wouldn't startle her. Wrapping his arms around her still naked body, he swept her black hair aside so he could plant gentle kisses on the back of her neck.

"Mmm," Cassie didn't know where she was for a second or two, at first thinking she was in a dream. "How was your patrol?"

"Tedious," Snape replied, pulling her backside up against him. "Sinistra always insists we patrol together, and she was droning on about advances the Muggles are making on their telescope lenses and the like."

"Maybe she has a crush on you," Cassie teased, and Snape snorted.

"Absolutely asinine," he declared. His hand was on her knee, and it was slowly trailing upwards, making her squirm.

"What, you don't think it's possible?" Cassie pressed on. "You're young, she's young. You work together. Maybe she'll invite you up to the Astronomy tower some night and you two can have a romantic look at the stars - "

"That's ridiculous. We're colleagues," Now he had a hand on her breast, kneading the soft flesh liberally, and Cassie closed her eyes, wanting to relish the feeling. But even so, the topic of her jesting had her wondering.

"Severus?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever done...this, with one of the other staff members?"

He growled, obviously annoyed. "It should be easier to derail your train of thought!"

"You have, haven't you!" she exclaimed in utter delight, and she turned herself around in his arms so she was facing him, wanting to see his expression. His expression of embarrassment made her laugh, and she clapped a hand to her mouth. "Who was it?"

"This is not a conversation to have right now," he muttered darkly, not quite meeting her eyes. His unease made her feel bad for continuing to bombard him with the topic, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh, come on," she said, grinning at him broadly, but she could tell it was just making it worse. "It's just me. I might not know everything about you, but I know that you prefer boxers over briefs, which I knew before I saw you naked, by the way, and that you absolutely loathe The Waterboys, although how you even know enough about them to hate them, I'm not sure - "

"Okay, Cassie, enough - "

"And that when you get into making a potion, and someone interrupts you, this vein pops out on your forehead, and it only makes an appearance then, not when you're angry in any other situation. So that must mean you're really ready to skin them alive - "

"Enough, you ridiculous girl!" Snape said sharply. "What is the point of all this rambling?"

"My point is," Cassie said, smiling at him, and giving him a quick peck on the lips, "Is that it's me, and it's us, and I want you to know that you can tell me things, Severus."

"So you want me to tell you who on the staff I had relations with," he summarized dully, looking rather unamused.

"Only if you want to," Cassie replied. Snape didn't say anything for a few moments, and then the next thing Cassie knew, he was kissing her again. If he had intended to thwart her goal of learning who on the staff he had slept with, he had swiftly succeeded now. With one hand back on her chest and the other between her legs, he had her moaning and completely lost in the moment in no time at all.

Not in the mood to beg for it this time, Cassie pushed Snape on his back and climbed on top of him, catching him off guard. Grasping his swollen erection in her hand, she lowered herself onto him, making both of them moan in pleasure, and she began to move up and down slowly on his shaft.

Wanting more contact, Snape sat up, clinging to the young witch and pulling her towards him, and they moved together in unison. He kissed her neck, nipping at the soft flesh, moving his hands to her hips to guide her and urge her to move faster. It wasn't long before she was gasping his name again, and he shuddered, finishing soon after.

They only got a few hours of sleep before the morning was upon them. Cassie, making sure there wasn't any evidence of their passionate romps left on her, bathed quickly and pulled on her school uniform once again. It made her feel like she was going back to a different world, even if it was just on the other side of Snape's door.

After saying their goodbyes with a quick kiss, Cassie made her way through Snape's office and into the Potions classroom, her bouquets and cards in hand, hoping that no one would notice what direction she was coming from. But it was early enough that the dungeons were deserted, and when she entered the Slytherin common room to put her flowers down and put on a fresh uniform, only Laanstra asked her of her whereabouts.

"Hospital wing," Cassie explained quickly, pulling on a new skirt, and her dormmate didn't ask anything further.

Having been distracted in the last twelve or so hours, she hadn't thought far enough ahead to anticipate the looks she'd get when she entered the Great Hall for breakfast. Perhaps if she had been more awake, she might have expected the murmurs and stares. But alas, she had already started to make her way to the Slytherin table, and not wanting to make more of a scene by turning abruptly and leaving, she took a seat and started to eat.

She allowed herself to look up at Snape once during her morning meal. He wasn't looking in her direction and seemed to be watching something at the Gryffindor table. It was for the better, because even without him making eye contact with her, images of last night started to play in her mind, and the butterflies in her stomach started to make quite the commotion. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from grinning ear to ear, and didn't want to answer any questions about why she was smiling like an idiot for no reason.

But once her smile left, it didn't return for the rest of the day. Her first class of the day was Transfiguration. She noticed right off the bat that two Gryffindors were missing. Without giving Cassie a chance to ask anyone what was wrong, Fiona Jenour spoke up.

"Their parents pulled them out last night when they heard you weren't being expelled or sent to Azkaban!" she cried, and when Cassie turned to look at her, it looked as though she had been sobbing.

"Oh," Cassie said, dumbfounded at the notion, and feeling hurt that the Head Girl sounded dismayed that she hadn't been thrown into the wizard's prison. She knew parents were upset, as she had seen the mob outside of Hogsmeade, but to do something as drastic as pulling out students in the last year of their education was unexpected. "I can't believe that - "

"You can't, can you?" The Head Girl said, placing her hands on her hips. "And you have the nerve to just show up to class the next day like you own the place!"

"Listen, Jenour, you'd better shut up, because you have no idea what the hell you're talking about!" Cassie said, her hands balling into fists as she fought to control her temper. McGonagall walked in, immediately picking up on the tension in the room.

"Now, girls, what is going on here?" she demanded, the rest of the students in the room watching the scene unfold silently.

"Oh, nothing, Professor!" Jenour said dramatically, folding her arms across her chest. "Just informing Black of all the trouble she's caused, costing my friends their educations!"

"Trouble?" Cassie barked. "I get attacked, and I'm the one that caused trouble! You are off your rocker, you twit, I didn't make their nutter parents take them out - "

"That's enough!" McGonagall said shrilly. "I will not tolerate the matter being discussed in my class again, do you two hear me?" She glared at each young witch individually, and Cassie nodded, trying to calm herself, not wanting to be cross with the Deputy Headmistress that had done so much to help her the day before.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall, I apologize," Cassie said, sitting in her seat.

"Yes, Professor," Jenour mumbled, following suit.

"Good. Now, I expect a studious environment for my seventh-years, and if you can't adhere to that level of professionalism, then you will be asked to leave and assigned detention. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Professor," they said in unison. So Cassie tried her best to do just that and focused on practicing their assignment for the day, which was changing the color and length of a kitten's fur. She was happy that each student got their own so she didn't have to sit through idle chit chat. But the downside was that without the distraction of a partner, she had to listen to the Head Girl's complaints during the lesson.

Cassie's kitten, who was currently short-haired and white like pure snow, changed to fluffy and bright orange with a quick flick of her wand. McGonagall awarded Slytherin five points and kept circling the classroom.

"I mean, it just doesn't make sense," Cassie heard Jenour whispering hurriedly to whoever was in earshot, "what makes more sense to the school board? Keep all of the students and make her leave, or lose a whole bunch of Gryffindors just to keep her?"

Cassie flicked her wand again. Her kitten turned calico with little effort, and she reached out to stroke it, trying to keep herself calm by caressing the purring little creature.

"It's not just Gryffindors," Cassie heard another Gryffindor respond. "I heard that Hufflepuff lost four second years this morning. Four!"

Cassie kept her eyes glued on the fuzzy animal on her desk. Now, it was grey, with white paws, and was rolling around, begging for her attention. She scratched behind its ears, wishing she could tune out the whispering around her.

"I heard," came Jenour's high voice again, and Cassie was gritting her teeth now. "That Fudge wanted to put her in Azkaban, but she threatened to do to him what she did to those wizards and witches in Hogsmeade! Can you imagine?"

"You do realize," Cassie hissed, still not turning around to face any of them, "that if you really believed I was capable of any of that, then you are the stupidest person alive, discussing it right in front of me?"

"You'd never dream of doing anything in front of McGonagall!" the Head Girl said shrilly, still trying to remain quiet, but unable to contain her voice to a whisper any longer. The Head of Gryffindor, who was across the classroom trying to instruct a boy who hadn't any luck even changing the color of a single strand of fur so far, looked in their direction.

"And yet I was so bold as to threaten the Minister of Magic in front of her?"

"I dare you, Black! You do anything, and my parents will make sure you're expelled!" Jenour shrieked. Cassie, who had not been threatening to do anything, but had completely lost her temper at the Gryffindor's irrationality, flicked her wand again, intending to change her kitten's fur one last time and then leave the classroom to avoid any confrontation. What happened instead and completely accidentally, was that the small feline transformed into a full-grown panther. Without hesitation, the animal that had bonded with Cassie turned towards Fiona Jenour. It was snarling and presenting its many sharp, white teeth as it leaped from Cassie's desk to the Gryffindor's, and the entire classroom started to panic.

"Nobody move!" McGonagall commanded, making her way towards the large predator, and the Head Girl was shrinking back in her chair, covering her face as if that would help her if the animal decided to attack. Cassie, while surprised, as she had done this unintentionally, found it rather amusing seeing the pompous girl in this state now.

"Don't worry, Jenour, I've got it," With a casual flick of her wand, the panther shrunk back into the harmless kitten again. The feline, not realizing that it was back to its original size, was still hissing at the girl, and Cassie scooped it up into her arms to soothe it.

"Black," McGonagall said, her hand over her heart, "out in the hallway, now!"

Cassie complied, and as soon as the two were alone, she said, "It wasn't on purpose, Professor, honest!"

"Even so, Miss Black, you do realize the danger you just put everyone in?" she said, and with a click of her tongue, took the kitten back from Cassie. "This thing could have seriously injured Fiona or one of the other students!"

"It's not the cat's fault," Cassie argued, "and that Head Girl of yours needs to learn to keep her mouth shut - "

"And you need to learn to control your temper, Miss Black! Is that not what Alastor Moody just told you yesterday?"

"Am I have supposed to have learned how to do that in one day, Professor?" Cassie asked, exasperated. "That seems a bit unfair, doesn't it?"

"It does," McGonagall agreed. "But everyone is watching you now, Miss Black, and I mean everyone. There's a reason why the students are talking. We've been getting dozens of letters from parents and concerned members of the community since the attack, and with the Prophet continuing to stick their noses into it, it's not going away anytime soon!"

"So maybe I should just leave," Cassie said quietly.

"What?"

"Maybe Jenour had a point," Cassie said. "If it's dozens of students leaving just to keep me, then maybe - "

"Now stop right there," McGonagall said rather sternly, although her voice softened significantly. "I'm suggesting that you be careful with your actions as to not give any of these muppets any more reasons to fear you. But you will not give up your right to finish your magical education!"

"But - "

"I don't want to hear it!"

Cassie looked up at her professor, trying to will away the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes. "Thank you, Professor."

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't decided if I'm going to put you in detention," McGonagall said, although rather playfully. She sent Cassie on her way then. She was hoping that the Transfiguration lesson would be the worst part of her day and went into her Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with a bit of optimism. But as soon as Professor Quirrell began to speak of his time spent in Burkina Faso, she smelled trouble.

"A rr-ather skilled h-h-healer I met there, and s-s-till occasionally have c-contact with, sent m-me this recently," he was saying, and pulled a large golden box from behind his desk. He cast a charm on it, making it float in the center of the room so all of the Slytherin and Ravenclaw seventh-years could see it clearly. It was adorned with purple and green gemstones, and images of snakes and letters from a foreign language were carved on the sides. The students began to whisper to each other, obviously enthralled by its myster. Cassie's stomach began to turn over.

"I've t-tried m-many methods t-to open it, b-b-because the sender of this p-package said that there is s-something incredibly useful i-inside," Quirrell said. "B-but I've come to the c-c-conclusion that the o-only sure w-way to open it, is t-to have someone to c-command it t-to do so." Cassie was staring at the box, wondering if she should just get up and leave right then. She knew he was doing this intentionally, trying to get the students to fear her even more. What other purpose would he have for doing it in front of them?

"Miss B-black," Quirrell said, and Cassie winced, knowing what was coming, what he was going to ask of her. "I've h-heard a few i-interesting r-rumors about you, one being that your P-patronus is a Runespoor. Is th-that correct?"

Okay, Cassie wasn't expecting him to say that. But now she was pissed off. He was going out of his way to remind her classmates that she was associated with serpents, with creatures known to be linked to dark wizards.

"Where did you hear that?" she countered.

"It's true!" Babbs offered enthusiastically, and Cassie glared at him.

"Impressive that a w-witch your a-age can even produce a c-corporeal Patronus charm, and that c-creature, how interesting," Quirrell said. More murmuring among her classmates. Cassie wanted to run. "So what I-I w-wanted to ask of y-you Miss Black, and p-please, c-correct me if I'm w-wrong, b-but I've heard that you are c-capable of s-speaking Parseltongue?"

Cassie wanted to deny it, but the other seventh year students knew the truth. It would be pointless to deny it when it was likely that one of them would just blurt out the truth.

"Capable and willing are two very different things," she said, and the class fell eerily quiet. Cassie locked eyes with the timid professor, and for a moment, she swore she could see right through a facade, that she could see triumph in his eyes, as if he had proved something to himself. She was sure then, that this man that Dumbledore had commanded Snape to keep an eye on, was up to something.

Quirrell didn't press the issue after that, choosing to put the golden crate aside and continue speaking of his times in Burkina Faso. But when the lecture was done, he quietly called Cassie's name as the students were packing up to leave.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked, walking up to his desk as the last student left. She was alone with him.

"I'm g-giving you d-detention, for your d-defiant a-a-attitude, and for r-ruining your c-classmate's chance of learning," he said delicately.

Cassie narrowed her eyes, but didn't dare argue. There was a dangerous quality to this man, she could sense it. But she was also eager to see if she could find out more. "Yes, Professor."

"Report to m-my office t-tonight, 8 o'clock."

Dinner in the Great Hall proved not to be relaxing at all. Cassie was forcing herself to eat something, when a scuffle broke out between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables. She didn't even realize it had been about her Hogsmeade situation until she heard one of the fifth-year Slytherins yell, "If she was going to kill you all, she would have done it already!" as if it were the best defense imaginable.

Cassie's mouth fell open, as did a lot of the other students'. It was a boy who had learned at an early age to kiss her butt in case she decided to become the next Lord Voldemort, and she hated that fellow Slytherins were feeling the need to become involved in her current plight. She stood up and moved towards the commotion, ready to intervene, but Snape had already swooped down from the High Table and had grabbed her by the forearm. He was guiding her out of the Great Hall while Professor Sprout dealt with the disturbance among the students.

"Calm down," he muttered, and once they were in the corridor, he let go of her.

"If I get told to calm down one more time," she spat back at him, but she didn't have an end to that sentence, and she started to pace.

"Yes, Minerva informed me of your lesson today," he said. "You need to control your temper!"

"Oh, and you'll be the one teaching me, then? Brilliant plan, Severus!" she spat, and then she added, "Professor Snape!" before he corrected her.

"Let's go to my office," he said, and she sighed wearily. She knew it wasn't for any fun reason, based on his demeanor, but she followed him anyway. Once they were there, he closed the door and locked it before continuing. "The Deputy Headmistress and I met with the Headmaster today, Cassie. We feel that it may have been too early to put you back into the student population."

Cassie scoffed. "You make it sound like I'm an ex-convict being reintroduced into society!"

"Maybe so, but it might be better for everyone if you complete your studies independently for the time being." He sounded apologetic.

"For how long?"

"We'd start with a week, and go from there."

Cassie nodded. "Okay. Where will I do my studies, then?"

"The library, or the common room, perhaps."

"Wouldn't the other students see me? Wouldn't that be upsetting to them? Maybe we should clean out one of Filch's old torture chambers here in the dungeons, wouldn't that be more fitting?" she said, her voice growing louder, and she could feel her anger starting to boil. "Or I could just be banished to the Room of Requirement, but make sure it's got shackles so it resembles a cell - "

"Cassie!" Snape said sharply, coming up to her and gripping her shoulders. He bent down so his face was level with hers, trying to lock eyes, but she was so lost in her manic thoughts that she was barely registering that he was with her. "Cassie, this has got to stop!"

She shook her head, noticing that his face was inches from hers. "I'm sorry, Severus."

"I'm not going to divulge you every time you decide to have a pity party, you know," he said gruffly, and she yanked herself out of his grasp.

"Well, that's good to know," she said, and she started to head towards the door. "Wouldn't want that from the man I'm sleeping with, would I?"

"Cassie - " he started, taking a step towards her, but she put her hand in front of her.

"Severus, I'm fine. I've got to go, got detention with Quirrell."

"What?"

"Yeah, he decided to remind everyone in class today that my Patronus is a Runespoor and that I'm a Parselmouth," she said, smiling sarcastically. "Nothing like adding to the fear-mongering, you know."

"Why I am just hearing about this now?"

"You were busy," she said, and unlocking his office door with her wand and yanking it open, "deciding to banish me from the one normal thing in my life."

He followed her through the empty classroom, catching up to her easily with his long strides. "Why did he give you detention?"

"Because I refused to speak Parseltongue in front of everyone," she said calmly. "Thought it might freak everyone out more than they already are."

"That creepy little plonker is up to something," Snape growled.

"Yeah, he is," Cassie said, and with a flick of her wrist, she slammed the classroom door in the Potions Master's face, swiftly heading down the corridor to make her way to detention.

She made it there a few minutes early. When she knocked on the DADA classroom door, she didn't hear the professor's voice, but decided to head in anyway. Maybe she'd find something interesting in there while he was away, although she figured he wouldn't be stupid enough to just leave something incriminating lying out in the open. She was crossing the classroom towards his desk when she heard him enter the room, and she jumped.

"H-hello, Miss B-Black," he said, his hands folded neatly in front of him as he spoke.

"Hello, Professor," she said politely.

"P-please, h-have a seat," he said, and she obliged, picking a desk right in front of his. She got out a quill and some parchment, anticipating having to write lines. "Oh, y-you won't b-be n-needing those." He came and stood in front of his desk.

"Oh," Cassie replied, now feeling a bit nervous. "What will we be doing, Professor?"

"I'm a-afraid," he started, and then smiled at her meekly, "th-that I must i-insist," and then he bent behind his desk, producing the golden box from earlier. Cassie eyed it warily.

"You want me to help you open it," she said, and he nodded.

"Y-you're the o-only o-one who c-can," he said.

"What's in it?"

"N-not e-entirely sure," he replied. "B-but if it's d-dangerous, I'm s-sure it's n-nothing y-you can't h-h-handle, eh?"

"You have a lot of confidence in my abilities," Cassie said, sighing. "Okay, fine. But I have to ask, Professor. Why did you insist on having me open it in class, especially if you don't know what's in it? Why not ask me to do it in private?"

"I th-thought y-you m-might l-like the chance t-t-t-o show off y-your p-powers," Quirrell said, a surprised look on his face. Cassie raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know where you've been getting your information from," she said, growing more uneasy by the second, "But I don't like advertising the fact that I share powers with Lord Voldemort, Professor Quirrell."

At the mention of her father's name, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor visibly flinched, looking around the room as if the Dark Lord might appear any second. "M-m-miss B-Black, y-your b-b-b-oldness is astounding!"

"My boldness? What about yours, Professor?" Cassie said, words coming forth that she probably shouldn't be saying. "Do you think I'm stupid, that I wouldn't figure out that you're working for Fudge?"

"E-excuse m-me, M-miss B-b-black?"

"Go ahead, deny it," she said, shifting in her seat, casually folding her hands in front of her on the desk. "It's just my theory, of course. I know Fudge is afraid of me, and you spying on me fits. I'd just appreciate it if you stop trying to peer into my mind, because it's getting rather bothersome."

He was looking at her with narrowed eyes, and then they flitted upwards, as if he were listening to something else for a moment. "I-if I w-were a-attempting t-to l-look into your m-mind," he said slowly, "it's n-not as if s-s-someone c-c-could blame me, with the P-Potter b-b-b-oy here, a-and all. O-one would want to be s-sure of y-your t-true intentions, o-of course."

"If Harry Potter needs protecting," Cassie said, standing up, and coming around her desk. She took a few slow steps towards Quirrell, who was making no attempts to stand his ground, and taking steps back from her. "It sure as hell isn't from me, I assure you."

Quirrell was visibly shaken. Cassie still wasn't sure what his game was, but she was confident she wasn't going to be getting more out of him tonight. She turned towards the box that was on the desk, and in Parseltongue, hissed, "Open."

The top banged open abruptly, and white smoke erupted from the top. Curiosity getting the both of them, Cassie and Quirrell approached the desk to see what was inside. As the box wasn't moving or making any noise, it seemed safe.

"Runespoor e-eggs," Quirrell said quietly. "P-professor Snape m-might m-m-make g-good use o-of th-them."

Cassie nodded. "So what else were you going to have me do for my detention, Professor?"

"I - well - "

"Were you going to question my loyalty to my father? See what my plans were to kill the Potter boy?" she pressed on, knowing she was potentially getting herself into more trouble. Quirrell was wringing his hands now. She noticed that his eyes were flitting upwards again, and she wondered if he was having some sort of small seizure. "Well?"

"M-miss B-Black," he started, and then Cassie felt it, the familiar tug on her mind, the one she had felt throughout the beginning of the year, although it was much stronger this time. But she had practiced her Occlumency diligently and was ready for it, and slammed down on the advance like a trap door.

"How dare you!" she seethed, her wand out, now pointing it in Quirrell's face, and he began to whimper.

"P-please, it's n-not m-m-me, I'm just f-f-following my mast - m-ministry's orders!" he stuttered, a pathetic mess before her. "I'm j-just doing wh-what I c-can to k-keep other's s-safe!"

"I'm leaving!" she said, turning away, mustering every bit of control she had to not curse the blubbering professor.

And then something changed in his demeanor, something that made Cassie's nerves on edge for the first time that night. "We're not done!" Quirrell said, his voice clear and bold, not stuttering once. Cassie, who was near the door, turned to look at him.

"If you don't like it," she countered, her wand still in her grip, "take it up with my head of house." She left without another word, ignoring Professor Quirrell's requests for her to come back and fetch the Runespoor eggs for Snape, and headed down towards the dungeons.

She found the Potions Master in his office grading papers. She closed the door and locked it. She knew she should give him a play by play of what had just happened, because all of it had been suspicious. But right then, all she wanted was his skin on hers, and the feel of him inside her again, so she went around his desk and grabbed him, slamming her lips into his without a word, all worries forgotten for the next blissful moments as they found comfort in one another.