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Title: Dinner and a Death Wish

Contributors: seviesnape, lacy_pembrooke

Edited by: Carla Lute

Posted: 2006-01-11 to 18

Game Date: September 4^th

Disclaimer: No one at Levicorpus owns Harry Potter, the world or its characters. We just like to play in J.K. Rowling’s world.

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How was I to know the boy wouldn't accept her invitation... they seem to be around each other often... Severus fought with himself during the short journey to Lacy's house. After Draco had pointed out Severus never said no, he had to proove to the boy that she was worth something.

He needed information.

Going home empty handed would give Draco mocking rights for at least a day.

He was dressed in the same clothing she'd seen him wearing during her last visit. He couldn't very well show up in muggle clothing when the nosey girl had known this was his regular wardrobe.

He hadn't worried much about concealment on the way to her home for he was able to take side streets and avoid much attention. Maybe I am getting reckless... he thought when he spotted a muggle double take while putting his garbage on the curb.

Finally he approached the small conservative home and wrapped his fingers on the soft wood of the door. After he recieved no answer he considered letting himself in, but the last thing he needed was a scared witless Lacy phoning the authorities. He waited patiently and noticed a small button next to the door. Curious about its purpose he pushed it and noticed no difference. He scowled and pressed it again... and again.... and then began to rapidly push it out of frustration.

Lacy had made a non-traditional pan of Lasagna, since she hadn't really expected anyone to show. After Drake's dismissal of her, she hadn't seen him for a few days. What else should she have expected? For all she knew, his girlfriend had ordered a complete cut off of all ties between them. Still, she was sorry she wouldn't see Drake's eccentric uncle anymore. He had been interesting.

Lacy had just pulled the pan out of the oven when she heard a knock at the door. Instantly she sat the pan on top of the stove, threw her oven mitt off and stood straight up, glancing at the table. There was a solitary plate and fork, hardly welcoming for any guests. At this point she began to scramble around the kitchen, grabbing out cloth napkins, extra plates, utensils, teacups and glasses. When she was finished, there was a nice setting for four at the table, just in case Drake's grandfather had decided to show. By the time she was done, whoever was at the door was ringing madly at the bell.

"OKAY OKAY!!! I'm coming" Lacy managed to call out, throwing her apron off and running towards the door. "I knew you'd change your mi...." Lacy had a huge grin on her face when she opened the door, but stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that no one else was accompanying Uncle Severus. Her smile didn't entirely disappear though. He'd certainly hit the doorbell enough times.

"Oh! It's you!" Lacy peered about, her expression paling slightly. She kept her smile however, and it grew as she looked up into Severus' eyes. "I guess Drake's girlfriend really is psycho,” she said aloud. "No matter. I'm glad you came! You're way more interesting than him anyway... not to mention WORLDS more polite. Please come in!" And with that she stepped aside and thanked her lucky stars her uncle wasn't going to be home ‘til late.

Lacy seemed shocked that anyone had shown up at all... let alone himself, Snape thought, while agitation coursed through him. What is all this nonsense she's sputtering about Draco's girlfriend?

He noted that her eyes hadn't left his own since she answered the door, and again thought how unusual it was. She obviously had quite a bit of confidence...and no fear of him. He spotted the table made for four and looked back at Lacy. He felt pity for the girl since she must have been disappointed at the lack of guests.

Not bothering to take off his boots, or cloak, he walked into the dinning room.

"Well I guess we won't be needing these..." Lacy said as she picked the two extra plates, utensils and cups, placing them back in the cabinets. At first she had half a mind to leave the two plates at either ends of the table, but before she knew it she had gotten rid of the extra end and edge plates, so that they'd be closer. Secretly she was mentally kicking herself.

"I guess I really wasn’t expecting anyone after Drake's antics the other day at the pub, so I hope you like Lasagna. It's not exactly the dinner I had planned originally..." As she spoke, she pulled out a chair for him at the end of the table and went to the stove to get the teakettle.

The kitchen was quaint, small and not particularly tidy. Obviously, she really hadn't been expecting anyone.

"Of course." Pasta always had been one of his favorites. When she pulled out the chair for him, Snape didn't think she wanted him wandering.

In a swish of robes he was politely seated at the table. It creaked when he placed his arms on it, but seemed sturdy enough. Noticing the lack of any liquid substance, he quickly summoned a bottle of Columbia Crest Chardonnay while her back was turned. "When you return, bring some wine glasses."

Lacy's eyes widened when she turned around with the teakettle in hand and saw him instead sitting there with a bottle of wine before him. She hadn't even noticed it in his hand when he'd come inside.

"C..certaintly," she chirped and started scrambling through the cabinets, only to realize that her uncle kept things like that in the crystal cabinet in the living room. "That's right... they never get used much. I'll be right back."

She was gone for only a moment, and when she came back, she had two wine glasses in her hands, which she promptly rinsed out in the sink just in case there was any dust in them. Drying them quickly, she sat one down for him and the other in front of her own plate, finally getting a chance to sit herself down as well.

Truthfully Lacy wasn't much of a drinker. She'd been to parties with her friends and tried it before, but her uncle had recently adopted strict views on alcohol consumption in his own home, so there really hadn't been wine in the house since her aunt had passed away.

She pulled the Lasagna pan toward the both of them and gingerly cut a square for Samuel first. Amazingly she did it rather well, so that he had a perfectly neat lasagna square on his plate when she was finished.

She looks nervous... good. Hopefully the wine would calm her nerves and get her talking. Not that she was shy anyways, as she had proven multiple times at the Riddle house.

"Thank you," he said gruffly and took a sip of the Chardonnay. It looked delicious, and steam poured from the top. He inwardly cursed for not being in the right company to cast a cooling charm. It was always awkward staring at your food waiting for it to cool.

Lacy served herself a square of lasagna and glanced up at him realizing just how quiet it was. Quickly she stood up again and walked over to the radio, turning the dial to the classical station, before turning the radio on completely, so that no ugly static or blaring pop music would break the calm. A nice violin concerto was in progress and Lacy left the volume low enough so that it wasn't overwhelming.

"You brought wine, so I'll take care of the music." Lacy wanted to laugh out loud at herself, but instead she just smiled and sat back down. What the bloody hell was she doing!? She was already a little nervous at the wine. She could just hear her uncle raving about why his wine glasses were out of the cabinet. Then she had to go and make it even MORE romantic by turning on music. At least he didn't bring candles, she thought wryly.

Lacy found herself peering at his eyes again, so dark and moody as they looked down at the lasagna. Before he could notice her, she averted her eyes quickly and began cutting up her own lasagna and separating it so that it would cool more quickly. That was when she noticed she hadn't even touched the wine. She took the glass, hesitated for a moment and then sipped it slowly. She tried not to make too much of a reaction to the taste. It was actually GOOD. Way better than beer from a keg.

Distracted by the music, which just so happened to be his favorite, Severus noted her cutting the lasagna and realized how silly he was being. He'd lost all resourcefulness without magic. He mentally kicked himself and began to copy the girl. Satisfied that the steam began to escape the center, he turned his attention to Lacy.

He looked up to see her draining her glass in a graceful ladylike sip and smiled. "Is it to your satisfaction?"

"Very!" she said a little too eagerly and stopped herself putting a hand to her mouth. Slowly she sat the glass down. "That is... I mean... I'm just not used to alcohol that actually tastes good." she smiled. "I mean I'm young, so you know I've been to a couple of keggers... N..not that you're old!" She squinted her eyes and shook her head quickly. Stupid stupid stupid.

Taking a breath she calmed herself and decided to change the subject completely, but not before taking another sip of wine. "I'm flattered you came." AGH! She had said what she was thinking, and not what she'd meant. "It's just that Drake's been acting plum paranoid. Says I shouldn't see him if I value my life? What's all that about? I guess I was just thinking maybe you brought him out here to the middle of nowhere to help him out with that..."

Severus inwardly laughed at the girl, she couldn't possibly be under the effects of the alcohol already. Obviously just severely nervous. Maybe she thinks it's a date... he thought with distaste. He smiled at her embarrassment, and took a forkful of his lasagna, assuming it to be cooled enough to eat.

"Yes, the boy does have quite a bit to... worry about lately," he said. "The food is delicious," he reminded her.

"Well I guess I just thought having a friend would help him out, you know? And he was new in town so of course, he didn't know anyone. I was only trying to help." Lacy took a bite of the lasagna and nodded at his compliment. The fact that he liked it put her more at ease.

"Thank you!" she said after swallowing the food, and was grinning once more. "At least I got to see you again..." she added and didn't in the least feel stupid. He was just a man after all.

Instinctively she took another sip of the wine.

"At least I got to see you again..." well that was an...interesting thing of the girl to say. He watched her for a moment, but continued with his food.

Uncomfortable, Severus changed the topic back to Draco, "Yes, the boy could use a good example."

"Hopefully I'll see him again. Apparently he thinks I'll die or something if I keep trying to see him." Lacy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least then I'd get to meet my parents again. Wouldn't be terrible. He better find a more convincing threat if he expects me to actually listen to him."

Lacy huffed and took another bite, chewing contemplatively.

Severus was shocked at how lightly Lacy took such a threat. "He's probably right you know," he said without looking up, he continued to cut his lasagna and prepared his fork with the next bite, "about your death that is."

Lacy's eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at him. "Oooookay....." she drew out the word as though she didn't exactly know what he meant.

"So... is this one of those cryptic 'I'm a mysterious writer' things?" Her eyebrows were now raised, and even if he wasn't looking directly at her, she was trying her hardest to look him in the eyes.

Severus felt him peering at her and looked up from his plate. He finished chewing, and dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "I'm not a nice man," he said darkly. After a moment of silence, and probable horror on Lacy's end, Severus smirked.

Lacy's eyebrows quirked, but she didn't appear particularly afraid. In fact, she blew a small laugh out of her nose. "I see." she stated and put her fork down. "So... is that supposed to scare me too? You and Drake have some sort of bet going on or something? See who can scare me away first?"

She picked up the wine glass and this time drained the last of its contents.

Severus watched her cheeks flush as the alcohol began to take affect. He refilled her glass as soon as the opportunity arose and smiled.

"I believe we do," he said with a sly smirk. "It's always been my... pleasure... to frighten beautiful women."

Lacy blinked rapidly, his comment caught her off guard and she was noticeably blushing, but she did her best to keep her cool.

Her smile turned devious. "You can tell him you won."

"I think we should... keep this to ourselves," he said sarcastically.

His plate was now clean, as was her own. He stood up and gently lifted his plate from the table. He walked around to the other side, and leaned in close, casually brushing her hand as he reached for her plate. "Where would you like them?"

"Oh!" Lacy almost jerked her hand back, but something held her steady. "In the sink..." she said offhandedly, but still kept her eyes locked with his own.

When he had moved to the counter she stood up and slowly pushed her chair in. Her heart was pounding.

Severus placed the dishes inside the sink. He noticed how clean the kitchen was, not a speck of dirt on the floor, food splatters on the wall, or even a dirty dish -aside from their plates- was occupying the sink.

He turned around as he heard her chair scrape against the floor. A few strides and they were standing a foot apart. "It was a very lovely dinner I assure you," he grazed a finger upon her cheek and turned to leave. He hesitated, and added, "Do stay away from our home, it could result in... deadly consequences."

Lacy kept her eyes locked with his, her expression serious and almost rapt with anticipation, but not so much so that she appeared daft in any way.

She frowned at his final warning and sighed. "I still don't see what all the fuss is about." She put a finger to the spot where he had touched and stood there a moment staring at his back. Quickly she snapped out of it and strode briskly forward.

"I'll show you out,” she offered, brushing past him, just enough to let her arm touch his as she passed. When she got to the door she smiled. "Thank you for coming. I thought I'd have to spend this evening entirely alone. You certainly made it... interesting enough."

She opened the door finally. "And I'll see what I can do about the visits. But no promises. I just might have a death wish." And with that she let a smirk spread over her features.

Severus smirked at her sarcastic remark. Almost sarcastic enough to pass from my own lips...

He stepped out of the door, giving her a nod that said anything he could have possibly wanted.

Lacy shut the front door slowly and turned the lock. She pressed her eye up against the peephole and watched as Severus' dark form retreated down the sidewalk. When he was out of sight, she slumped against the door somewhere between relief and fulfillment.

It would be a lie to say she hadn't been startled by his affections, even though they were small. "Writers!" Lacy threw up her hands and went back into the kitchen. Hastily she put away the rest of the dishes and stored the leftovers in the fridge. After the dishes were clean, Lacy returned the wine glasses back to the glass cabinet in her living room.

The kitchen was clean and quiet, just how her uncle liked it, save the wine bottle that was still sitting on the table exactly where he'd left it. Lacy snatched it up quickly, tucked it under her arm and bounded up the stairs to her room.

There was only a drop left inside, but Lacy resealed the bottle and after carefully examining the label and all it's calligraphic writing, kneeled down and slid it under her bed amidst some boxes of winter clothing.

Next she ran to her desk where Mortimer's aquarium sat. "You missed it," she teased the snake, picking him up and letting his smooth white form wind around her arm. "I think you would have liked him. He's strange like you. In a good way of course." The snake's red eyes we unmoving, and it kept on its merry way up her arm toward her shoulder.

Lacy plucked him from his spot on her upper arm and placed him back into the aquarium quickly. "Night, Morty," she chirped and nearly leapt into bed.

"It's a good thing I didn't promise anything. Those two beg for attention."

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