Where Your Loyalties Lie - {Severus Snape x Reader}

-85-

Wormtail forced me to go down a steep flight of stairs, that seems so dangerous anyone could slip and end up breaking their necks. At the bottom the stairs is a heavy barred door. Wormtail unlocked it with the tap of his wand and pushed me and Sniffy into the dank and musty room and quickly left us in total darkness. The only light in here is coming from the upstairs fadely. For a moment I hold the cage Sniffy is in against my chest, taking this all in. Sniffy feels a bit more calm when he's finally alone with me. Then, my eyes goes down to look at my beloved niffler. "Hi... Hi, love." my voice sounds like a whisper. With that, I put the cage down and open it. As soon as I get the tiny door open, Sniffy rushes into my arms and I wrap my hands around him to hug him. My left forearm is aching from the pain underneath the sleeve. Once again, tears appears on my eyes, but I try my best to keep them down:"It's alright, Sniffy. We're okay. We're okay...".

Some time goes by. No idea how long we've been down here. An hour? Maybe even two? I really don't know. No matter what we've tried, there is no way out. Sniffy can't even go thru the bars, a invisible wall won't let him whenever he tries. Even I can't use Apparate spell to move myself from here to the other side of the door. The cellar is enchanted. After it became clear to me there is no way out, I have done nothing but sit here, having my back against the cold stone wall while Sniffy is on my lap. Since got nothing else to do, I've thought once again everything thru. From the start to this very moment. Everything Severus and I have gone thru together... Every word, every touch, every kiss... Was it really all just... Part of his plan? Whatever it is in the end. How should I know? I'm just half-witted witch, according to him. I really feel so small right now. Sniffy and I also feel hungry, which does not help the situation - at all. My gaze lowers down to my left arm. Disgrace.

Finally, I hear someone's coming down the stairs. Quickly, I raise myself up from the floor and compose myself, ready to deal with whoever is about to appear soon. For my surprise, it's Draco! My lips apart a bit, ready to say his name, but ended up closing my mouth. The boy comes to stand right at the door. He still looks like he's on the edge - almost like he shouldn't be here right now. "...What are you doing here?" my voice sounds like a whisper. "I..." he starts, unsure what to say. The poor boy can't even look at me directly. Slowly, I approach him and keep the voice down just in case someone might hear us:"It's okay, Draco. You did what you could.". He finally lift those sad eyes on me. Even he isn't saying anything, I can just tell his eyes are saying:'But it wasn't enough.'. Now I'm standing right in front of him, looking back to him with softer manner while holding onto one of the bars with one hand:"It's okay.".

There is self hatred written all over his face. "It's okay." I repeat, eyes going glossy. Draco quickly glances over his shoulder, like he heard something coming from the upstairs. I too automatically lift my eyes up to see the top of the stairs, but can't see as well as he does. He does a little gulp before turning his head back to me. We make a quick eye contact before his gaze goes down as he picks something from his pocket. Both of my eyebrows raise when I see what he pulled out. "An apple?" I wonder out loud. Without a word, he reaches his hand out to hand me the fruit. I frown slightly confused:"But why..-", "Just take it." he whispers quickly. With both hands, I hold onto it, still confused. Sniffy climbs against my leg up to my right shoulder to see what's in my hands. "Is this one of those poison apples?" I ask with hint of jokiness. Draco looks at me confused:"What? No.". Guess he hasn't heard the Muggle fairy tale of Snow White...

Then, Draco turns around and climbs up the stairs. I stare after him as long as I can't see him anymore. Sniffy won't waist anymore time and takes a bite of the apple after sniffing it's indeed edible. He really came down here... Just to give us something to eat. Being so touched by the gesture, I sigh deep and walk away from the door. Gotta give it to the Malfoys, they raised their son pretty well after all. After Sniffy and I shared the apple, we hear how someone's coming down the stairs again. Thinking it's Draco, so I got up from the floor again and turn around, forcing a smile:"Did you bring some dessert as well?". My heart skips a beat and eyes goes wide as soon as I realize it's not Draco - no, it's Snape. Soon my heart quickens, feeling somewhat nervous as we stare at each other for a moment longer without saying anything. As he's standing there, right behind the bars, he really does look like over sized dungeon bat like the students likes to call him. The sight makes me question if I even know this man.