𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 - 𝑨 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔 𝑺𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

CHAPTER TWENTY - Flight

Severus' jaw tightened as he looked away briefly before fixing her with a sharp glare.

"Jealous? Don't be absurd," he snapped, though his voice held an edge of something unspoken. "My distaste stems from common sense and experience, something you seem to lack in abundance."

"Common sense?" He wasn't entirely wrong but she would die before admitting it at such a heated moment. "It doesn't feel that way, honestly. If that was the case, why get so heated up the moment I mention Marcellus?"

She takes another step close, narrowing her eyes. "Admit it. You are jealous. Jealous of another man you've never even met before."

His chest slowly rose, eyes filled with irritation as he glared down at her, daring her to speak on, and she did, her expression morphing from a petulant anger to a smug confidence.

She was standing right in front of him, her head tilted up to meet his eyes, chests almost touching refusing to falter to her precious fears of his intimidation.

Her heart started beating a bit faster, her ears getting hotter. As tense as she felt as that moment, standing up to him, she also felt a thrilling chill spiral down her spine, from challenging him.

"Is it me, that you're so worried about?" She lowered her voice. "The thought of me being with another man, sir? But I wonder why? I thought I was just....a maid."

Severus' eyes blazed with anger, glinting with a certain light, as he stared down at her, their proximity amplifying the tension. He clenched the coat tighter, nails denting the material, trying to maintain his composure despite the storm of emotions brewing within him.

"You presume too much," he hissed, his voice low and dangerous. "Your importance in this household does not grant you the privilege to make such insinuations."

He leaned in slightly, his breath warm against her face, his expression hardening. "Understand this, Mia. My concern is solely for your well-being, nothing more. Do not mistake it for anything else."

She didn't respond, tightly crossing her arms across her chest, refraining herself from thinking too much of their proximity. Nerves jumped and tingled in her arms and body, screaming at her to do something, do act upon her desires of affection despite their situation.

She had to keep taking slow breaths to maintain her unbothered demeanor, and so did he, fighting the many emotions, the loud, smoking trains of thoughts violently flashing through their minds, staring at eachothers eyes as if fighting for dominance, those eyes that spoke so much, yet so less.

He could handle the tension for any longer.

"Very well. Go on your date." He thrust the coat into her arms, his lips curling. "See if I care."

His long robes swirled, creating a small gust of wind behind him as Severus storms off towards his office, floating away with both grace and hostility.

The moment he disappeared from her sight, Mia let out the biggest exhale, clutching her chest as she fell back, flopping against the couch, shutting her eyes to rest her lightened head.

It took her a while to gather herself. She felt detached from her limbs, and it took the realisation that she was very late for her to get up, and pull the coat on, which felt a bit heavier.

After about thirty of taking bus rides and walking, Mia reaches her destination. It was a hilltop boarded with a fence, overlooking a few villages, some trees scattered about the large area. Marcellus sat against one, chugging from the same bottle she saw prior, with his broom sitting by his side.

She approached him slowly, her boots thumping against the cold ground, the sound catching his attention.

"Oh, you're here eh?" He smiled, shoving his bottle into his pocket before getting up on his feet, dusting off his behind. "A bit late, might I add."