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A Matter of Time	By : AdaraB Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 7796 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything in the Harry Potter universe. I own nothing and I make no profit off of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 32 – The Annex

5 June

They were all exhausted. Every last seventh year looked as if they had been run over by a truck, or the Whomping Willow, which ever you prefer.

The fifth years were tired but didn’t look nearly as defeated as the seventh years. A fact which caused them great relief and massive amounts of stress at the same time. They couldn’t imagine being under that amount of stress but knew they had only two years before they experienced it for themselves. It was a truly terrifying thought.

It was the last day of actual classes which meant that O.W.L.’s and N.E.W.T.’s were officially over.

The entire school was congregated in the Great Hall for the Farewell Feast. Ashleigh and Draco had decided to sit with their Gryffindor friends. As they completed their meal they chatted about the school year and made jokes at each other’s expense. The entire hall was rowdy until a single owl flew in through the window. Gradually, the hall became silent.

The owl flew in a circle, teasing the occupants of the hall before landing in front of Ashleigh. Carefully, she took the letter from the owl before watching it fly away.

She sat the letter down in front of her plate, already knowing who it was from. There was no way she was going to open it now and in front of the entire school. What if it held something sinister or even worse, a Portkey.

They continued eating their dinner as if nothing was amiss. Although the appearance of any post during the evening meal that was not a special edition Profet was extremely rare. The students around the Great Hall could be heard discussing what the letter could be about and who had sent it. The group of friends at the Gryffindor table decided to ignore it and not reveal anything.

As soon as they were finished their meal Ashleigh, Harry and Draco made their way up to Dumbledore’s office. Once there, the gargoyle guarding his office immediately started to spin allowing them entrance. The office door stood open, they could see Dumbledore and Snape already seated. Slowly, they entered the room one by one before taking a seat. None of them wanted to know what this letter said.

“Miss Grey, if you would do the, well I would usually say the honors but in this case that word does not really apply. Please read the letter, if you would.” Dumbledore asked.

Ashleigh nodded and tore the wax seal before taking out the letter that was neatly folded inside.

“My Dear Miss Grey,

It is my pleasure to inform you that our meeting is upon us. Tomorrow evening I would like you to attend a gathering as my personal guest. At this gathering you will be introduced to the finest witches and wizards in the Magical community and you will make your mark among Pure Blood Society. This letter, a Portkey, will activate tomorrow evening promptly at ten o’clock. Proper attire of a black cloak is a requirement for this meeting. I look forward to our meeting.

Your Dark Lord”

“Needless to say that letter will be destroyed before the dawning of the sun.” Severus said as he held out a hand to Ashleigh.

Wordlessly, Ashleigh handed Snape the letter, glad to be rid of it.

“It would seem we have much to discuss before the day is out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hogwarts Express blew out its shrill whistle as Ashleigh waved a final goodbye to her friends that were aboard the steam train. It was a hard goodbye to give and take. She would miss them all greatly but she had to keep in mind that this was temporary. How temporary she didn’t care to think about. Besides, she had more important things to think about. Things such as the fact that today was the day that she would defy the Dark Lord by not showing up at his little gathering. Instead, she would be taken to Professor Snape’s house via floo.

Despite the doom she faced if she were ever revealed to the Dark Lord she couldn’t have been more excited to start her apprenticeship. She’d been looking forward to it for months. With that thought she turned and saw the Professor waiting for her by one of the carriages. Walking toward him, he greeted her with a nod of his head and held the door open for her. When she was safely inside the carriage, he followed her in before closing the door. Turning toward her he pulled his wand and cast a spell of invisibility.

Ashleigh felt a cold draft drift through her as the spell hit. She really didn’t like the feeling at all. Dumbledore and Snape thought it best if she traveled to Snape's home under cover just in case someone should see whom she was traveling with. It would not do for word to get back to the Dark Lord.

They would be travelling to Hogsmeade where they would apparate to Spinners End. There, she would stay in a hidden annex whenever he had company. She’s been told it’s quite a nice space with an undetectable wizard space spell placed upon it. If not for this spell she was sure it would be equivalent to an attic in a town home.

Once they arrived at the apparition point, just past The Three Broomsticks, Ashleigh did as practiced and stepped into Snape’s left side and grabbed hold around his waist as he pushed his cloak back with his left hand to place his parcel (that he just shrunk) into his pocket. Before bringing his left hand down completely they disappeared from sight with a pop.

They appeared outside of a row of town homes that seemed a little shady if Ashleigh was perfectly honest. It was certainly dark enough to host her Potions Master but hardly clean enough for what she imagined for him. The yard was certainly in disarray with its sparse grass and flutes of weeds sprouting out of the cracks in the cement of the walkway.

Before she could continue with her critique of the outside, Snape was leading her inside. Once through the door Snape firmly closed it behind them and started to re-ward the house. It took him only a moment before he turned to Ashleigh and removed the spell from her person.

Ashleigh then took a moment to take in the inside of the house. It was much more like what she had imagined for the Potions Master. Clean lines, dark colors, neatly kept and very orderly. A wall full of books that she imagined held nothing but information on potions held her attention more than anything else in the room. It was quite massive. The rest of the living room held leather furniture and dark wood tables. A fireplace was the centerpiece of the area.

“You may pursue any book on that shelf that you like. Any book in my study however, you must seek permission before attempting to read them as they are cursed and require numerous spells to be opened.” He said while walking toward the stairs at the back of the room.

“Dully noted.”

Motioning for her to follow him, he quickly ascended the staircase and stopped at the first door on the right.

“This will be your room for the duration of your stay. Feel free to decorate or change the colors of anything you see fit. There is a connecting bathroom on the left. My room is at the end of the hall on the left if you should have need of me. The small decorative tray in the center of the ceiling is the entrance to the annex. I’ll show you how to access it later. For now you may unpack and get settled in. When you are finished come down to the sitting room and we will continue our tour.” He told her before he promptly left the room.

Looking around the room, Ashleigh took in the queen sized bed with a tall black headboard, matching night stands on either side of the bed and dresser. A soft gray comforter lay across the bed; two of the pillow shams matched the comforter. The remaining two were black. The beige carpet looked as if it had never been stepped on. The only thing she’d decided on changing was the awful color of the walls. Beige is fine for a carpet but for the walls?

Lifting her wand she spelled the walls to take on a rose/purple hue that she had painted her bedroom in her parent’s house. It went really well with dark furniture and had a very calming effect. She felt that she’d need it in the coming months. Deciding that gray comforter didn’t exactly match, she transfigured the comforter and shams to match the walls.

Taking her trunk out of her pocket, she removed the spells she’d placed on it and put her things in their proper places. The only thing she realized she was missing was a bookshelf so she transfigured one out of a wooden step that was inside the closet.

Now finished her unpacking, Ashleigh headed back down the stairs to find Professor Snape sitting on a leather chair reading the Daily Profit. He looked up when she cleared her throat to announce her arrival.

Putting aside his paper, Snape stood and walked over to a door on the right.

“This is my office. As I’ve said before the books in this room are off limits unless you have my express permission. The door to the left is my personal laboratory. Once we have established a routine you will be able to utilize it without supervision.”

Following him as he left his study and continued to a door on the other side of the sitting room, he continued.

“This is the kitchen, I do have a house elf that you could consider on loan from Hogwarts during the summer because of the immense amount of work I do for Hogwarts and other…clients. You are free to use it as you wish. Now for the annex.”

They walked back up to Ashleigh’s bedroom, each pulling out their wand. Snape showed her how to open the door to bring down the ladder with the incantation as well as silently. Once the ladder was down, Snape ascended first, the tip of his wand glowing. Ashleigh followed and was amazed by the space once the lanterns were lit. There was a full bed and a bath in the far corner. In the middle of the space was a work bench along with two chairs. Along the far wall was a bookshelf that was filled to the max and a cabinet filled with potions ingredients, different cauldrons, and a selection of utensils used in potion making. Ashleigh had to admit, she was impressed.

“In the event that you must stay here for more than a few hours there are more than enough ingredients for you to make many potions. The books are full of potions that are needed for the Hogwarts infirmary that I feel you will have no trouble in achieving on your own. For meals, or anything else you might require, you may call on Tawny and she will be more than happy to assist you.”

Extinguishing the lamps, they walked back down the ladder and Snape showed her how to close up the annex. Ashleigh thought it was pretty amazing but really hoped she would not have to spend an extended amount of time up there. She didn’t know if she could go without seeing sunlight for days on end.

“We will start your lessons tomorrow. Supper will be in two hours, you may use the remaining time to do as you wish.” Snape told her as he turned for the door.

“Thank you professor, for everything. I don’t know what I’d do if it weren’t for you. Well I’m sure I’d live with Harry but when it comes to training for a profession? Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me. Your ability got you this position nothing else. As for the rest, it is my pleasure. And you may call me Severus from now on as you are no longer my student, it would be awkward.”

“Alright Severus, first name basis it is.” Sighing, she continued. “Well, I think I’ll start reading up on some of these potions.”

“That would be prudent. Come, there is a specific book you should start with.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A tapping at the window brought Ashleigh and Severus’s attention out of their respective books. Supper had been served an hour ago and they had both decided to take up their previous reading.

Severus stood and went to the window to let the owl in. He recognized it immediately. It was Draco’s eagle owl. He took the parchment and gave the owl a treat that he had in a bowl near the window. Reading the note quickly, he penned a response and sent the owl on its way.

“It seems Draco could not last even one full day before contacting me for permission to come see you. He will be ever within the hour I am sure.”

Ashleigh smiled and snapped her book closed.

“How long can he stay?”

Severus sat back down in his seat and took in his eager apprentice.

“When Draco is visiting…”

Ashleigh was sure she was blushing. Was Severus seriously about to give her the ‘talk’ and set boundaries?

“…I expect you to use the proper spells. And he may stay as long as you like, given you are prepared for the next day and his visits don’t interfere with your work.”

That was perhaps more embarrassing than what she had been expecting.

She nodded in agreement just as the floo flared.

Draco stepped out of the floo looking as if he’d just stepped out of an issue of GQ. Wondering how much time he spent primping before he even sent his owl, she held back a chuckle and got up to greet her boyfriend.

“Hello Severus, thank you for allowing me to visit.” Draco greeted the older man as he reached for Ashleigh’s hand.

“It’s not a problem. However, do not expect to be allowed over more than a few times a week at the most. Ashleigh will have plenty of work to do until late in the evening on most nights.”

“Yes sir.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two. I’ll be in my room if you should need me. Ashleigh, remember what I told you.”

“Yes, sir.” She replied.

With that, Severus walked up the stairs and out of view.

“So what did Severus tell you?” Draco asked with a confused look on his face.

“Oh, that! He told me that when you come to visit I need to use the proper spells.” She told him with a blush tingeing her face.

Draco promptly burst out into laughter.

“It’s not funny Draco! It’s downright embarrassing! To even think he might know what we do in our free time!”

“You’re right about one thing love, it’s not funny. It’s HILARIOUS!” He said before breaking down into another round of gut bursting laughter.

Ashleigh stood there with her arms crossed, and a straight face waiting for his laughter to subside. When he finally calmed down she finally spoke.

“Are you finished?” She asked, annoyance lacing her tone.

Draco sobered up completely, grabbed her arms gently and pulled her into him.

“It’s really not a big deal. Did you honestly think Severus hasn’t known what we were up to since that time he interrupted us? He doesn’t care. He knows that we are of age and that we are smart enough to make good decisions.”

“It’s still embarrassing.” Ashleigh grumbled in return as she stepped out of his hold.

“Look, why don’t we just go upstairs and relax for a while.”

At Draco’s suggestion, Ashleigh turned and gave him a scathing look. Draco knew with that one look that he wouldn’t be getting anything from her tonight.

“I’m not suggesting sex. We could just sit and enjoy each other’s company; talk or read or something.”

“You’re such a liar.” Shaking her head she poked him in the chest.

“Yes I am…But I thought that would be a better answer given your mood. We don’t actually have to do anything tonight though. I want you to be comfortable and I can tell that you aren’t. So we can play a game, read or simply talk. Whatever you wish to do. Might I remind you though that you start your apprenticeship tomorrow morning so you’ll want to get to bed at a decent hour?” Draco said as he pulled her back into his arms and started to rub her back.

Ashleigh was just leaning in to kiss Draco for his thoughtful words when Severus came down the stairs at a high speed looking a bit disheveled.

“The Dark Lord is calling. I don’t know what time I’ll be home but do not wait up. Your lessons will begin tomorrow although the start may be delayed. I’ll have Tawny inform you of when we will be starting in the morning.” Severus said as he found his cloak and fanned it out and over his shoulders.

“Should the need arise for you to seek refuge in the annex, an alarm will sound through the house. It will be loud enough to wake you should you be asleep when it goes off. Draco, feel free to stay as long as you like tonight.”

With those last words, Severus swept through the front door and into the night.
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A Matter of Time