Chapter 62. The Date. Part 2. Conversation and Truce
"Shut up." Bella hissed through clenched teeth, staring at Severus's smirking face. "How dare you insult and slander him?! You are dirt under his fingernails, nothing more!"
"Slander? I just stated facts about the half-blood, Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"Do not dare."
"Apparently you already knew," Severus said, watching her face twist. He did not see even a trace of surprise or bewilderment in her eyes, and he understood he had hit the mark.
Instead of answering, she tried to knee him in his most precious place, but he easily caught her leg and looked challengingly into her eyes.
"I will kill you! Do you hear me?!"
How could he not hear her when she was screaming it in his face? Still, he kept his voice calm. "But I did not lie to you. I swear on my magic. Do you think I took that interesting little thing off your neck for no reason?" At his words, she froze for a moment, and he did not waste it. "Why do you think you stopped feeling those bright emotions, that veil of obsession when you were near him? Admit it. It has become much easier for you to think, and you no longer feel that madness. You do not want to throw Crucio left and right." The woman swallowed. "You understand it yourself, but you do not want to admit it. Do you think I do not see this struggle in your eyes?"
"Stop."
"Admit it, Bella. all those feelings were imposed on you."
"Enough."
"What do you mean, enough? Telling the truth? Do you really want to keep following it blindly?" He released her leg and gently brushed his palm over her cheek. "All right, I will stop talking about this lover of ladies of age." I still cannot do anything more for now. The artifact affected her for too long, and it will take much longer and far more delicate work. The main thing is that I managed to get the truth across to her. eh. I feel like some kind of psychologist: first Regulus, now Bella. Soon I will probably have to counsel the entire Black family. Putting a cheerful smile back on, he picked up the dagger from the ground and offered it to Bella, clearly dejected, whose mind was now a battlefield. "Take it, and let us go. We still have a whole day ahead." He pulled out a written A4 sheet. "You know, I prepared for our date for a long time and even wrote out a plan."
When she finally lifted her gaze to the smiling Severus, she simply did not know how to react. Too many thoughts were spinning in her head, but, biting her lip, she still took the dagger.
"Let us go. You will think about the rest later, and right now we have a date," he said, poking her forehead. He took her hand and led her toward the nearest restaurant. "By the way, it is your turn to ask questions."
"Did you plan this from the very beginning?"
"That is right. And now me: what is your favorite dish?"
"Lasagna. Why are you doing this?"
"Because I like you," Severus answered calmly, looking at the Bella who had recovered a little.
"What do you.?"
"My turn. What animals do you like?"
"I do not have any particular preferences. What did you like about me?"
"Your character, your dedication to the cause, your appearance. You are not like those fools who think the magical world is a fairy tale. You understand its darkness far better than others." To Bella's horror, that speech actually touched her. "Do you like strawberry cake?"
"Yes, I love i." She cut herself off, genuinely embarrassed now, and glared at the brazenly smiling Severus.
"I will remember that. And do not worry, your lord will not hear our earlier conversation. I temporarily isolated us from the outside world, but if you want, when you return, you can tell him everything. He will put your favorite collar back on you, and you will become the same as before. Or maybe he will kill you, because you know too much."
They reached the restaurant at that moment, and after paying a little extra, they took a veranda table on the second floor, with a beautiful view of the bridge they had just crossed and the city beyond it.
They placed their order, the waitress left, and Bella immediately pounced on Severus with more questions.
"How strong is your teacher?"
"Very strong. If he faced someone like the Dark Lord, he would not last even a second before being cut in half or turned to ash," he answered calmly. When he saw no surprise on her face, he understood she did not believe him. "What do you think about your marriage?"
"I am doing it only for the family and for preserving blood purity, so I do not care who they marry me off to," she replied indifferently. "How many people do you have?"
"And that I cannot say. You will not reveal your organization's secrets to me, either."
"What is your relationship with the Malfoys?"
"Friendly. We have been friends since first year."
At that moment, the smiling waitress returned, bringing a bottle of wine and two salads.
"Thank you," Severus said, and as soon as she left, he looked back at Bella, who was thoughtfully stirring the food on her plate. "My turn. What do you think of me?"
"You are brash, audacious, and a self-absorbed egoist who ruins my mood just by showing up."
"I am flattered. I will try to be more gallant in the future," Severus drawled with a mocking smile, filling two glasses and handing one to her. "I propose we drink to the rest of the day being as fun as the beginning."
"Before we met," she added, taking a sip and looking at him with a twinkle in her eyes. He did not react at all and took a few sips as well.
"That is much better already."
"Hm?"
"You started answering with barbs again. Still, I am surprised you accepted so easily that, without your knowledge, they want to marry you off. I thought you were quite the rebel."
"Then you are bad at understanding people."
"That is not so. If only your aunt was forcing you, you could refuse. I doubt she would try, knowing your temper better than anyone. Which means someone else influenced you, someone whose authority over you is on the same level as your aunt's, or perhaps even higher." He tossed a crouton into his mouth and watched her displeased face. "Who could it be?"
"Enough," Bella demanded coldly, clenching her fork.
"All right. Then let us not talk about work, or at least let us try to ask those questions in a veiled way. And by the way, how do you feel about movie theaters?"
She tilted her head, puzzled.
"Do you mean theaters?"
"Have you really never been to a movie theater?" Severus asked in surprise, even though he had only recently discovered the wonder himself.
The original Severus had never visited places like that, mostly because of his alcoholic father. In his past life, Alan, however, did not refuse such things, and only two weeks ago he had gone with Nagini to see "The Outlaw Josey Wales." Watching Muggle films on a big screen with popcorn was pure pleasure. The film itself was not bad, even if some moments were unclear, and the fact that the real Snape had lived among commoners until the age of eleven did not help much.
So the fact that Bella had never been to a movie theater, even though she had the means, genuinely surprised him.
"Then we will go today. Whether you want to or not, you will get away from this aristocratic stuffiness for a bit."
"Then you will answer several of my questions and swear on your magic that you will tell only the truth," she said, issuing an ultimatum. It made him laugh sincerely, because with every second she pleased him more and more.
After all, even after he had, in a sense, smashed her worldview with the truth about the Dark Lord's bright image, Bella still managed to pull herself together quickly and keep doing her task. Not everyone could force themselves to smile in that situation.
"I swear on my magic that I will not lie on the next three questions, unless I consider them beyond the pale," he said, pulling out his wand. He waved it with a smile, and when she saw a faint flash, she squinted slightly. "Ask."
"How strong is your organization compared to ours?"
"That is easy. If we wanted to, one evening would be enough to get rid of you all," Severus answered calmly. Deep down, Bella felt real shock, because she could tell he was not lying, even if she tried to keep her face composed.
"What are your plans?"
"To make money. It is no secret that we signed an agreement with the Ministry of Magic."
"Are you going to enter the war?" Her last question came out oddly, with notes of anxiety, because at that second the mark on her arm began to burn, and the Dark Lord's voice sounded in her head, forcing the words out.
"No, we are not interested in that. You can kill each other for all we care. Just do not interfere with our development, and we will not interfere in anything either," Severus replied with a smile, noticing the change in her and the mark. "But we are also not going to join you. I hope we understand each other. Mr. Voldemort. And I will not cancel the supply of potions that Lucius and Bella buy from me, of course, if I can continue to spend time with Miss Black and you do not interfere with us."
For a few seconds, silence hung over the table, until Bella finally nodded once, biting her lip.
"My Lord accepts your condition, but wants to speak with your teacher. Is that possible?"
"I doubt it. Quite recently, he left the country and is searching for some herbs. He ordered me to contact him only in an extreme case," Severus said, shaking his head regretfully. "Although there is one way to draw him back." A notebook appeared in his hand. He tore out three sheets and ran his palm over them, and drawings of three different plants appeared, with their properties written underneath. "If you can get these, I think I will be able to call him."
Bella took the pages and ran her eyes over them, but she could not remember anything, even though she had been an excellent potions student in her time.
"My Lord says he will order them found."
"You will have to try very hard. I scoured the entire Restricted Section at Hogwarts and found only a mention of one of them. And to get it, even twenty wizards will not be enough, because of the creatures that live there, so I recommend being very careful." But whether they can find anything at all is still a mystery. Feeling the mark on her arm fade, Severus looked up at Bella's displeased face. "What did he say?"
"To be more courteous with you."
"And that is all?" Severus asked, giving her a challenging smile as he looked at the nervous Bella, whose fists were clenched tight.
"To fulfill any of your requests, whatever they may be."
"I see, then." At the grin on his face, she swallowed, expecting the worst. "Every week I demand a date, and you should behave as before. Meekness does not suit you at all."
At his words, she stared at him in surprise.
"Did you think I was only interested in your body?" he asked with a challenging smile, tossing another crouton into his mouth. It was no longer crunchy because of the sauce, but it was still quite good.
"Is that not so?" Bella answered dryly, looking at him with undisguised unkindness.
"If I only needed your body, you would have lost your virginity long ago." His palm rested over hers, and, smiling warmly, he looked straight into her eyes. "I need you whole."
She snatched her hand away and sharply turned her gaze aside, embarrassed for perhaps the first time in her life because of another man besides the Dark Lord.
"You have no chance."
"And we will see about that. We still have plenty of time before your wedding." And if I do not make it in time, the Lestrange line will disappear. A steely glint flashed in Severus's eyes, and for a moment the playful smile turned into a grin.
As if sensing the change, Bella looked at him again, but, strangely enough, she noticed nothing.
Did I imagine it?
"Here is the second course," he said, looking at the waitress carrying their lasagna. "Let us finish quickly. By the way, what genre do you like: comedy, romance, adventure, fantasy, or something else?"
"What?"
"No one canceled the movie. Today you are mine until evening. I told you, I have everything planned."
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