Goodnight, Sweet Princess
Chapter 2- A New Arrangement
Tara and Danielle made their way to the Great Hall, where they quickly found seats at the Slytherin table and began eating. Within minutes however, dinner was interrupted when the doors to the hall were slammed open, causing almost all heads to swivel to catch a look at who was making such a commotion. Tara and Danielle were too engrossed in their discussion, trying to discover just who Tara's donor was to pay much attention. They didn't notice Professor Snape was standing directly behind them until Tara felt an ice cold hand wrap tightly around her wrist, pulling her to her feet. Without a thought the girl broke his hold on her, and stared at him. "Professor Snape. What-" she started, but he cut her off. "Miss Landers, if you will please come with me, I need to have a word with the Headmaster, you will kindly join us." He sneered at her, his voice filled with anger and his gaze steely cold, making the girl shrink back into herself as though hit. "Y-yes sir, please, just let me gather my things." She stammered, as she knelt down, picking up her bag and sweater, and followed her house head to the front of the hall, then into a small chamber located off the great hall. Snape indicated her to sit in one of the room's chairs, then left to get the headmaster.
Dumbledore entered the room first, followed by the still irate Professor. Tara stood as they came back into the room, unsure of why she was here. "Now, Professor, please tell me why you have called myself and Miss Landers away from our dinners." The headmaster commanded. "The arrangement is not at all satisfactory, Headmaster, as you well know. I cannot, will not, allow this to happen." Snape spat out. Tara watched both men, confused about what was going on. Snape seemed to remember that she was still there, and he looked at her as though she were some potion gone terribly wrong, before turning back to Dumbledore. "You haven't told her yet, have you?" His rage seemed somewhat punctured; there was a resigned look on his face. "I imagine that there is no way I can change this, that neither she nor I have a say in this?" he continued. "No, Professor Snape, I am afraid there is no way to change the arrangements now, her parents have already been informed and agree completely with my solution. As to whether I have told her or not, I have not. I leave that up to you, as her Head of House. And now I am returning to my dinner." With that said, the headmaster turned and retreated to the Great Hall, leaving Tara staring at his back in confusion and Snape cursing again.
"Ugh... Professor Snape," Tara started quietly, not wanting to anger the man more than he already was, but unwilling to remain uninformed any longer. "What arrangements were you and the Headmaster discussing? If it pertains to me, then I should like to know what you were talking about." Snape didn't speak, just motioned for her to sit back down in the chair. "It would seem that the Headmaster has arranged with your parents for you to spend Fridays in London, to discover the meaning behind a dream you have been having." Sarcasm laced his voice, making it evident that he didn't believe her story about the dream at all. "As a result of this, you will be making up the potions classes that you will miss on Saturdays. Also, as I am now required to give you a potion to record your dreams, you will be moving out of the sixth year Slytherin dormitories." He stopped, and Tara was shocked. It took her a moment to process the information he had given her. When she finally grasped the magnitude of what was happening, she could barely believe it. To calm herself down, in a whisper, she asked "Then, Professor Snape, where will I be living?" terrified of the forthcoming response. The man in front of her seemed to take a moment to collect himself, and he turned away from her before answering. "With me. You will move your things into my chambers tonight."
Tara gasped in shock, this couldn't be happening. She didn't realize she had stood and moved to the door muttering, "N-no, this can't be happening. It simply can't be" as tears rolled down her face, until Snape's voice brought her back to her senses. "Oh, and Miss Landers, you will no longer need to report to Madame Pomfrey's every Friday, I will no longer be leaving your donation with her, instead, I will be administering it along with the potion to monitor your dreams." Though she never turned around, she could practically hear him sneering. Unable to control herself any longer, she ran out of the tiny chamber, out of the Great Hall, and out of the school. Finally, she stopped at the shore of the lake, and threw herself down on a patch of soft grass, burying her head in her arms.
A few moments later Danielle joined her, out of breath from running after her friend. "What happened? What did he do? I swear, if that smarmy bastard did anything to hurt you, then I'll... I'll curse him into oblivion!" she exclaimed as she rubbed the crying girl's back lightly. Tara slowly sat up and faced her friend, tears still shimmering in her eyes. "N-no, he didn't." She hiccupped, then continued, wailing. "He hates me! This is all my fault! If I hadn't said a thing, none of this would have happened." "Slow down, Ta, and tell me the whole story, okay?" Danielle commanded. Slowly Tara began to tell her exactly what had happened. "And so now I have to move out of the sixth year rooms, and take a potion every night to record my dream." She told her friend. "Wait, Ta, if you're moving out of the dormitory, then where will you be living? Are they putting you in another house?" Danielle asked, curiosity getting the better of her. At this Tara turned even more pale than she was before, all color going from the girl's face, making her look about to faint. "It... well, I will be taking up residence in Snape's personal quarters. Dumbledore and my parent's decided it would be the best course of action, since he's the head of house and all." She paused, and then blurted out "And I found out who my donor is. Snape. And he said that from now on, he'll be giving me my weekly... you know, when I get back from London. He'll be doing it personally, every Friday." She finished, and collapsed back onto the grass.
"Wait, you mean... Snape's your donor?" Danielle could barely contain her surprise. "I never would have guessed Snape would do that for you. And now, well, now you get to live with him, in his quarters. Did he say how long you'll be living there for?" Tara shook her head, indicating she had no idea. "Hey, it's ok, after all, you do get to spend all that extra time with your favorite professor!" Danielle teased. She was rewarded with a small smile from her friend, and she took a tissue from her pocket and handed it to Tara. Tara wiped her face, and stood. "You're right, of course, I should be ecstatic. I just can't help feeling as though he'll hate me for this." She grimaced. "Well, I suppose there's no help for it; I'll just have to try to get this worked out as quickly as possible. I should probably go pack. He said I'll be moving tonight." And with that they set off to go pack Tara's stuff for her move.
~~~~~*****Back in the small chamber off the Great Hall*****~~~~~
Snape slammed his fist into one of the stonewalls of the chamber. Damn Dumbledore, and damn himself. The girl was quite clearly upset at the news of their situation. Not that he had expected anything else, but for some reason, her reaction had cut him. He had was aware that he was had never been very nice to the girl, but he had never expected that she would cry at the news. And now he was doomed to spend his nights taking care of the little witch, and his days reviewing her dreams. "How could I have gotten myself into this mess?" He wondered, pacing the small chamber. Then he remembered that he had told the girl to move in straight away. He cursed yet again, and stormed out of the chamber, startling the students who were still eating dinner. Without a glance at the headmaster he swept out of the great hall, and made his way to his private potions storeroom. He quickly gathered the necessary ingredients for the draught he needed to make for Miss Landers, and set about mixing the ingredients.
He emerged from his office an hour and a half later a large bottle of bright blue liquid clutched in his hand. He quickly made his way to the Slytherin common room, muttering the password to gain entrance, startling the students who were studying in the room. Seeing that Miss Landers was not in the common room, he sent another sixth year girl to retrieve her. Moments later, she and her friend emerged from their room, carrying her bags and trunk. Snape motioned for them to follow him, and then led the way down the hall to his private chambers. Once they had set Miss Landers' things down, he sent the girl's friend back to her dormitory. "Now, Miss Landers, the password is 'Noir', I expect you to remember it. You will be back here every night at precisely 9 o'clock sharp. I'll show you where to put your things." Snape picked up her bag and started towards one of the rooms off the main living area. When she didn't follow immediately he stopped and turned around to face her. "Well? Are you coming Miss Landers? We haven't got all night." Tara reluctantly picked up her trunk and began to drag it into the room her professor was heading for.
When she reached the doorway she stopped, and looked at the room. The walls were hung in silver and deep green fabric, which matched the sheets and pillows on the bed. There was a tall dark wood dresser on one wall, and a writing desk on another, while the bed was set against a third. On one side of the bed was a night table; on the other side was a chair. Snape stood by the bed, moving a few things from a small nightstand, which he put in a small bag. He then proceeded to the dresser, where he began opening drawers and reorganizing the clothes inside. It was then that she realized that this was his room. "Ugh.. Professor... What is it you're doing?" she asked quietly. "I am trying to make this room more comfortable for you, as the headmaster requested, since you will be staying in my quarters." He fell silent as he continued moving things around. "Now Miss Landers, you will use the top three drawers for your things, and you have the bed table also. Do NOT, for any reason, open the desk, do you understand Miss Landers?" he paused to stare at her before continuing on. "Now, I am going to leave so that you may get changed, then I will be back to show you where the bathroom is, and to administer the potion." Finished saying his piece, he stalked from the room, closing the door behind him.