Snape groaned. He was simply not up to this right now. Damn Dumbledore.
"Three square meals a day, Severus. And you will take them in the Great Hall with the rest of the staff. There is simply no reason for you to bury yourself in the dungeons and be so antisocial."
Senile old fool. He had every reason, and that infuriating fossil knew it! The Dark Lord had been in an exceptionally foul mood, the Cruciatus had been thrown left and right, and he had to go sit and eat dinner as though every inch of his body did not ache and burn.
He stalked into the hall. and glanced around. Malfoy was holding court at the Slytherin table as usual, that pompous Hufflepuff fellow was boring some of his table mates to tears, more than half the Ravenclaws had their noses buried in books, and the prat who lived was displaying his normal atrocious table manners. Snape walked up behind him.
"Five points from Gryffindor for managing to get more food on your face than in your mouth. Really, Potter, I've seen toddlers with better manners."
"Severus."
"Minerva."
"Nice to see you're in such a good mood. Come sit with me. I want to talk to you."
"Oooh, Snape's in trouble," came from further down the Gryffindor table. One of the Weasley twins' gang, probably. Snape made a mental note to make their lives hell. Well, more hell than usual, anyway.
"Certainly, Minerva."
Snape followed her up to the head table, and sat at the empty chair next to her. The food in front of him was unappetizing, to say the least. The aftereffects of a Cruciatus always made him queasy, and the fried food the house elves insisted on serving on Friday nights did not help settle his stomach in the slightest. He sipped a glass of juice and pushed away the plate.
"You should eat something, Severus."
"No, I really shouldn't. Especially not any of this. I'd prefer not to be wearing my stomach contents in twenty minutes, thank you very much."
"Are you feeling alright?"
"No, that should be obvious, Minerva." He bit his tongue to keep himself from being more scathing than he needed to be. "I need to go to my quarters and go to bed, but thanks to our doddering fossil of a Headmaster, instead I am here."
"You should go to the Infirmary."
He was surprised to see concern in her eyes. Most people didn't seem to care whether he lived or died.
"Minerva, there is nothing Poppy can do. I will be better presently."
She studied him for a moment.
"Then you're coming with me. I think I know exactly what you need."
"And if I refuse?"
"I think you're far too tired to argue, Severus. Come along. Feel free to be suitably argumentative if you wish."
"Damn Gryffindors. Always needing to save people."
"I have good scotch. You're quite fond of Longmorn, aren't you?"
Now Snape was really confused. Obviously he'd stepped into an alternate dimension where Minerva McGonagall knew what his favorite drink was.
"How?"
"Never you mind. Now do you want some?"
It sounded like heaven. Good scotch. Really good scotch. The kind of scotch he only got when Lucius gave it to him at Christmas and his birthday. The alcohol would dull the pain and give him a lovely warm fuzzy feeling. Merlin, that sounded so good, even if he had to cope with Minerva.
"If I say yes, do I have to pretend to be friendly and nice?"
She laughed.
"Is that even possible?"
He raised an eyebrow, in an expression he had stolen from Lucius. She started to laugh harder.
"Merlin, Severus, that's far too funny."
"I am not trying to be funny."
"Are you sure, because that's a wonderful Lucius Malfoy imitation. Can you do the aristocratic drawl as well?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer."
"Pity. Now do you want scotch or not?"
Snape slowly stood up from the table, and realized three things. First, the Hall was abnormally silent. Second, everyone was staring at him. Third, it was going to take him months to rebuild his reputation. Damn. Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as his father used to say.
“I could use a drink. A very strong one.”
He'd never been to another professor's quarters before. Hers were much neater and brighter than his. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting - maybe something like Umbridge's office, with lots of pink and disturbing kittens. Instead, it reminded him of a cozy personal library, with bookcases everywhere, and a fire burning merrily in the fireplace. There was a green day bed against one wall, and a large bay window looking out over the Quidditch pitch. A door in one of the walls probably led to a bedroom.
“Have a seat, Severus. I'll go get the scotch.”
He sat down on the surprisingly comfortable daybed. This day had been very confusing, and Minerva even more so. It was a side of her he'd never seen before. He was used to being able to predict the actions of those around him, and today he'd been thrown for loop after loop.
At least the students had been acting normal. If he'd walked in on Malfoy and Potter making out in the Great Hall, he'd probably be having a psychotic break.
Snape started rubbing his aching back. It had been one hell of a day.
“Severus, is your back bothering you?”
“Yes.”
“Take off your shirt then, and I'll give you a back rub.”
“Obviously I have gone completely insane. The Dark Lord's tortures have finally driven me around the bend. I am in the quarters of Minerva McGonagall and she is offering me a backrub. You aren't planning on using the good scotch, are you?”
“Dear Merlin, no! I have lotion. Now have a drink and take off your shirt.”
He took off his robes and shirt, and spread himself out on the daybed. She handed him a glass of scotch, and he sipped at it.
“Damn, that's good.”
Minerva looked at Severus, stretched out on her daybed. He wasn't what anyone would call handsome, but he had a certain appeal. He was an acerbic man, and could be as caustic as some of the acids he used to clean cauldrons, but she couldn't help thinking there was so much more to him then his astringent armor. There was a sharp wit, a brilliant mind, and those hands and dear Hecate, that voice. She poured some of the lotion into her hands and began to rub his back.
"Oh, Minerva."
She was finding every sore spot in his back and easing them all away. It was sheer bliss. How had he worked with this woman for so long and never realized she was so talented? He could spend the rest of his life here, on her bed, with a glass of scotch in his hand, and call himself a happy man. Obviously, he had gone completely round the bend.
"Feel better?"
An inarticulate moan was her only answer. Now that was a wonderful sound. She moved her hands a bit lower and was rewarded by a slight shift in the timbre of his moaning.
"Minerva, what?"
"What do you think? You're an intelligent man. I'm sure you can think of what I might be trying to tell you."
Snape turned over to look at her.
"This is not a good idea, Minerva."
"That's your opinion. You're drunk. I think it's an excellent idea, and I'm sober. Whose judgment should we be trusting right now?"
"Do you really want to be involved with a bitter misanthrope?"
"Involved? That's an odd word to use. What do you think this is, Severus?"
"Other than a delusion born out of my own feverish mind? A fellow professor is currently massaging my buttocks. Were you anyone but Minerva McGonagall, I would take that as a clear sign of intent. Since you are who you are, I have no idea."
"Am I that opaque? I always thought I was rather transparent. I want what you think I want, Severus. I think you've been caught in so much deception that you're unable to see a truth for what it is. Do you need to look into my mind to discern the truth of this?"
Severus was now very confused.
"You would allow that?"
"Yes. I can keep you away from what I do not wish you to see. But if you doubt my intentions, I fear this is the only way I can make them plain."
Severus took a deep breath and entered Minerva's mind. He was immediately assaulted by mental images of the two of them, in some rather interesting activities. Her desire washed over him. It took him a minute to pull himself out. Part of him was very interested in those images.
"Well, Severus? Do you believe me now?"
"Gah."
Minerva smirked. The great Severus Snape, who always had an insult or look for every occasion, turned into a babbling fool with just a few images. She savored it for a moment and then it occurred to her that she might be able to render him speechless more often and have a great deal of fun doing so. She leaned down and brushed her lips against his. He pulled back and sat up.
"Minerva, as much as I want to participate in the activities you're suggesting, I am exhausted. No doubt I will regret this in the morning, but I feel I'm just not up to this right now."
She sat down next to him and patted his leg.
"We have plenty of time, Severus. Now, why don't you let me finish the backrub?"
He nodded, and she stood back up. He stretched out on the bed again, and soon was moaning in pleasure again. She rubbed for about ten minutes, and then realized that he'd fallen fast asleep, a smile on his face. She covered him with a couple of blankets, making sure they were tucked tightly around him, kissed his cheek, and went to her bedroom.
Severus woke up the next morning, very confused. He was not in his quarters. There was quite a bit more sunlight, for one thing. And his quarters were nowhere near this neat. He turned over, and noticed the tartan blankets and the carefully recapped bottle of Longmorn. Then the memories came flooding back. Minerva McGonagall had come on to him, given him a backrub, and he was obviously still in her quarters. He turned as the door to the bedroom opened, and Minerva walked out, fully dressed.
"Good morning, Severus. Feeling better?"
"Yes, much. Thank you."
"Well, it's the end of term, and I'm on train duty this morning. Got to make sure all the students get home safely for Christmas. By the by, what are you doing for the holiday?"
"Well, Lucius invited me to Christmas dinner, but other than that, just keeping an eye on the troublemakers here."
"Good. You're free for a Christmas Eve party, then."
"I don't like parties."
"You'll love this one. Trust me. And you can hide in the corner and make snarky remarks if you want."
"Minerva, I don't feel, well - we hardly have that kind of relationship, do we?"
"As I said last night, I want to have that kind of relationship with you. However, if in the light of day you feel otherwise, I won't be insulted."
"No, it's not that, it's just..."
"The students will gossip and it will be a horrible scandal? You're afraid of harming our fragile friendship? You're afraid I'll start prying into your life?"
"The last two, mainly. I don't care about the students."
"Severus, life's too bloody short. You don't need to be lonely if you don't want to."
"I'm not lonely. I'm solitary. There's a difference."
"Yes, there is, and if you wish to be alone, I won't stop you."
"I need to think about this."
Severus put his shirt back on, and left her quarters.
A few days went by, and Minerva had said nothing more. She smiled at him more, but that was about it. Severus couldn't make up his mind. He was so used to being alone, that the prospect of having some one in his life was more than a bit terrifying. And then there was the problem of the Dark Lord. He couldn't talk about what he was doing with anyone, and he wasn't sure she could accept that. It wasn't until Christmas Eve that he came to a decision.
The Great Hall was festooned with all sorts of decorations. Severus was lurking near one of the mistletoe clusters, insuring that whatever thoughts of desire entered the students heads would not be acted upon. He saw Minerva come in, and quickly moved to intercept her.
"Minerva, may we speak for a moment?"
"Certainly, Severus."
He took her by the arm and led her from the Great Hall, to a nice secluded spot he had found.
"Severus, if you wished to speak in private..."
He interrupted her and pointed upwards.
"Mistletoe?"
He kissed her, rather chastely, on the lips.
"You wanted an answer, you have it. I have secrets I can't tell you about. But I also want to try this, very badly. "
She pulled him down to her, and kissed him. This was not a chaste kiss. This was a kiss to set the blood running, to turn the mind to thoughts of nothing but the other person. This was one of those kisses where your knees go weak. When it finally ended, Severus stared at Minerva.
"Damn, you're good at that."
"And many many other things. Care to come find out what?"
Severus smiled.
"Oh dear Merlin, yes."
They turned together, and hurried off down the hallway towards Minerva's quarters.
"You know, I rather like the idea of Christmas coming a bit early."