Chapter 124 (Meet the competition)

I had just finished meeting with Narcissa and it was a long way from our next meeting but I needed to at least get her attention. Thus the note. Narcissa might be busy as she had a life of her own but that did not mean I could not ask for a meeting now. The boiling anger in my gut wanted me to act right now but I could wait if the satisfaction was better. So even if she could not drop everything and help this instant I was fine with waiting.

I looked over at my murder-happy girlfriend and let out a dry chuckle. She was raring to go and she was in the mood for violence and murder so she might not be happy with waiting. I would have to deal with that but this was a hypothetical situation. I did send Narcissa my note yet so everything was up in the air.

“Hey Mimpsy I need you again,” I called out as I finished penning the note. The small elf popped up as quickly. The little guy had far too much free time. Which is usually good for an average servant but House Elves lived for serving and they hated having free time. Sure, he did a fantastic job taking care of my mother but he wanted more work constantly so he was always listening for me to call him.

“Mr. Snapey needs something from Mimpsy?” The elf asked and I winced for a moment. I had honestly forgotten that these guys called me Mr. Snapey. I never notified them of the change in my last name and I kind of ignored what they called me. They were still effectively using the Snape name for me but it just came off so endearing that I just ingored it. Now that I noticed it I was trying to decide if I need to get them to change things up.

“Awww is this one Bubbles little beau,” Ashley spoke out with a grin on her face as she teased the elf. Despite the tan leathery skin you could see the blush blooming on Mimpsy face as he sputtered. I knew the guy was using me to put some moves on Bubbles but aparently he was further along then I expected.

“Mimpsy don’t know what missus means.” The elf announced shyly as he looked away from Ashley. The sight of him fidgeting around and refusing to make eye contact said everything we needed to know.

“Yeah that’s the one, he is a devious one.” I let out lightly as I teased the little elf as well.

“So what does Mr. Snapey need from Mimpsy?!” Mimpsy let out with a loud squawk as he tried to get things moving along. Again I felt the need to correct him but it could be left for later. 

“I need you to take this to Narcissa again,” I spoke out seriously as I handed him another note. Mimpsy looked over at the note with some disappointment. He then took it and teleported out quickly. I guess he really wanted something more taxing but this is what I needed in the moment. Maybe I should have him cultivate some land for ingredients. Then again it was not house work so I was unsure if he would enjoy that.

“Narcissa?” Ashley questioned with a twitching smile on her face. I looked over at her and winced. I had kind of snitched on myself during that dinner party. I just did not know how I felt about Narcissa at the time so I did not plan it out.

She had taken that announcement fairly well at the time but she also had other things on her mind. Now that Narcissa was being brought up she was going to react. The possessive hum in her voice told me how she was starting this conversation up.

“Yeah, she knows far more about magical society and she will be able to tell me how to hit the Prince family where it hurts.” I let out with a wince on my face. I may have been planning on helping Narcissa with her life but involving myself with her romantically was the furthest thing from my mind. A girl like that would never think about me anyway so we were all good.

Well, she was being forced into a marriage she did not want and I was promising to help her in that regard. That was the move that had Rias falling for me so maybe I should not dismiss that notion so quickly… No, that’s ridiculous. Rias was someone who wore her heart on her sleeve and was waiting for a prince to sweep her off of her feet.

Narcissa was someone who took advantage of any kink she could discover. She may be in a similar position but her mindset was completely different. So similar actions should not lead to similar results. Narcissa had known me for years and she had seen me at my worst. There was no way she could be attracted to me after seeing that love sick puppy that I was.

“Is that so,” Ashley muttered out with a sour expression on her face. I let out a sigh and closed the distance between us and held her for a moment. Even if she was feeling a certain way it did not stop her from melting in my arms.

“I know what I said about her Ashley but I also said I would never pursue her. So there is no need to worry about it.” I let out lightly to her as she laid her head on my chest listening to my steady heartbeat.

She gripped onto my shirt a little tighter and gave me a look filled with her dark affection. Seeing that look a thought flashed through my head.

Ashley's main dig about me being around girls was that one of those girls would take her place in my heart. That when something better and brighter came into my life I would abandon the bleak possessive girl in my arms. It was never about the girl, it was about the fear of losing the affection she carved out for her self.

“Ash, you should know by now that nothing will take me away from you. The world could come to an end and I would spend my last moments staring into your eyes.” I muttered lightly to her and I felt the grip she had on my shirt lessen as she looked over at me. Our gazes met and I tried to show her all the affection I held for her even if she was a pain in the ass some times.

Those teasing moments may be annoying but even at there worst I always felt a soft spot for them. Simply because the girl who threw out those teasing smiles and smug grins was the girl I loved.

“I promise you Ash, that you will always hold the largest biggest piece of my heart. I swear to you on all that I am. I swear on the very magic that courses through me.” I let out lightly as a pulse of Mana burst into the air signifying the oath I just swore. Ashley looked over at me with wide tender eyes as she took in what I just did.

Ashley may not know a lot about magic but I have been teaching her about some things. She knew what an oath of my Mana meant. I would find myself losing the very thing that made me special if I were to ever break it. It was a foolish promise that would only lead me to a horrible fate if I changed my mind. She knew all of that so she knew exactly how serious I had to be about this.

I disliked the notion of being bound in such a silly way as emotions tend to change in the blink of an eye. But this is not something I wanted to change. Ashley was there for me when my life felt like it was falling apart. She took a gamble on an emotionally stunted fool and she threw her all into loving me. So I should show her a more concrete proof of my declaration.

As I looked over at those soft eyes I knew I made the right call here. I pulled her close and buried my head in the nook of her neck. I fully meant that oath but there was a small part of me that said it was a pointless one. Even if I broke that oath I could slip out of those shackles with barely any effort as the Alpha Stigma would lead me away from it. Yet, it was not something I ever planned on breaking.

Even if that oath meant less than nothing in the grand scheme. I still intended to follow it as Ashley really did have the largest part of my heart. I would just have to do what any self-respecting fool does and follow in on my promises. 

Ashley looked like she wanted to say a lot of things but she did not know what to say. So instead she just held onto me with a soft smile on her face.

We stood like that for a long while but eventually, that mood was broken when Mimpsy popped back into the room. He took one look at us and blushed even more before coughing awkwardly. He clearly did not want to disturb us but he had his orders and he would never disobey one of those. I let out a small chuckle and let go of Ashley.

The girl in question had a pout on her face but she accepted the disengagement.

“So did Narcissa agree to meet us?” I questioned the elf who nodded vigorously and took out another note.

“Miss Black seemed surprised that Mr. Snapey wanted to meet so soon but she was more than happy to meet again.” Mimpsy babbled out as he went to hand me the note. I raised an eyebrow as I expected her to schedule a meeting for much later but it appeared Narcissa was still free. I should have expected things to work out for me as Fortuna always had my back.

Ashley took a deep breath instead of shooting me a sour look so things looked to be improving there. 

“That’s good I would rather deal with the Prince family quickly,” I muttered darkly as I gestured for Ashley to stand near me. If Narcissa agreed to meet again then she likely charmed the letter into a portkey again. So I needed to make sure Ashley had some contact with me. It was not like she would mind holding onto me as I opened up the note.

The familiar scrawl of elegant writing hit me again and it was the same old greetings and pleasantry. This time the note was not as aggressive as I did not break any promises. In fact she was rather happy that we would be meeting so quickly. However, she did question if all I saw her as was someone to ask favors of as this was becoming a habit. I winced as I really was taking advantage of her but I going to make up for it. I could give Narcissa the world if she wanted it as it was not something I really wanted either.

Ashley surprisingly did not read over the note but she appeared to be a slight bit more mellow. The wonders of magically binding oaths and heart-felt confessions. Beyond what the note said it was still a portkey so Ashley and I started to travel as the magic did its work.

Again the travel took longer than my own mode of transportation but just popping into Narcissa's house was bad taste. So I needed to put up with the discomfort. Ashley was experiencing the swirls of colors and loud overwhelming noises for the first time but she seemed like she had a handle on herself. She was made of some pretty stern stuff so the overwhelming nature of portkey travel did not take her out of the equation.

The familiar tea room greeted me and Narcissa was sitting around in the same seat she was in last time. When we entered the room Narcissa looked over at us with a small smile on her face. Then she got a look at the two of us. The small smile on her face was still there but there was something off about Narcissa as she looked over at us.

I wondered why that was for a moment but I never said I was bringing Ashley in my note. I just asked for a meeting and said I  needed some knowledge. So I brought a strange girl to her house without even asking. I let out a small wince at that but it happened so I was just going to deal with it.

“Sorry about the short notice Narcissa. I got some knowledge and it left me in a horrid mood so I need some information to deal with it. This is Ashley and she is my partner in crime and the girl I was telling you about earlier.” I explained and introduced Narcissa to Ashley. The two girls looked at each other for a moment.

They both had polite smiles on their face. Which was expected from Narcissa as she had been trained to handle situations in a certain manner. Ashley on the other hand was an improvement. She would usually be shooting dark looks at the girl that was close to me but she was in a good state.

“Nice to meet you miss. Prince over here says you are one of the few people he cares about so it’s great meeting you. I’m happy that he had someone by his side when I could not be there.” Ashley let out with a brighter more real smile but there was an edge there that I was familiar with. Narcissa took in her words and looked over at my girlfriend with that same bland smile on her face.

“It’s nice to meet you as well Ashley. Severus and I are good friends and I will say I’m glad he was able to get over Evans. He would give up the world for that girl so he being away from her is in his best interest.” Narcissa let out with a polite smile. I looked between the girls with an odd look on my face. The words they were speaking were perfectly normal but there was this strange tension in the air.

I guess Ashley was not as fine as I thought she was. Meh, it was a work in progress I could not expect all of her problems to be dealt with in one stroke.

“Yeah, she really was not good for him.” Ashley let out darkly as she looked over at Narcissa. The blonde in question returned the look and gave her a nod. I guess they can both agree that Lily was not good for me.

Which was right but Ashley could not exactly cast stones here. Her previous crush was her brother after all. Well, that's not fully true either but it was likely to end up that way.

“It’s true that Lily was not good for me but she was there for me for the longest time so can the both of you forgive her for now? You don’t need to like her or even accept her but for my sake can you drop the animosity?” I asked the two girls who looked over at me. I was going to regret this but it had to be taken care of. I was trying to build some sort of bridge for Lily as I owed her family and the past memories were worth it as well. I would never love her the same but I was planning on at least being on good terms with her. So degrading her constantly was not a good idea.

Even if I got where they were coming from.

Narcissa let out a sigh and gave me a dark look while Ashley narrowed her eyes at me. Narcissa knew some of what I meant but Ashley knew nothing. It was only her newfound trust in me that held back the tirade of questions boiling in her.

“I still say you have forgiven her far too easily Severus. I understand where you are coming from but she is a mess.” Narcissa muttered out with a dark look on her face. Ashley narrowed her eyes even further and it looked like the tide was about to break so I took the first step.

“I know. Really I do. Lily is complicated. She was there for me when I had nothing so those memories will always hold a soft spot for me. I also owe her family far too much so I could not leave her to fumble about by herself. I can’t bring myself to ever love her again but I can at least be friendly to her for the sake of that small boy that needed her.” I explained and gave Ashley an apologetic look. Narcissa was looking at Ashley and me with an interested look on her face. She had this glint in her eyes as if she saw something for the first time but it faded quickly.

Ashley took in my words with a complicated look on her face. She got what I was saying and she even understood that Lily would not have a place in my heart. Lily was far too different from me to get that place but Ashley still felt bitter about all of this. Lily was once an obsession that dominated my life after all.

She gave me a searching look that lasted a long moment before she let out a long sigh. She then looked over at me with a determined look.

“I get it. I don’t like it but I love you and I know you love me so I won’t shit on little miss goody two shoes.” She let out firmly and I felt my stance relax. It was probably not the best time to have this conversation but it needed to happen. Maybe Ashley did not need that therapy as desperately as I thought she did.

No, she was still going to accept a harem because she did not want to hurt the feelings of one of her friends. She was still troubled but her fear of me being taken away from her was lessening.

“Well, did not expect that.” Narcissa let out lowly. It was so low that I was sure Ashley and I were meant to not hear it but we were filthy cheaters. I guess Narcissa was able to get a good read on Ashley and she was shocked that the girl was being so accepting.

“Right well as entertaining as this has been we came here for a reason so we should get on that.” I cut in duly. Ashley looked over at me and rolled her eyes while Narcissa gave me a wry smile.

“Well if we must skip the pleasantries. We can. What would you like to know?” Narcissa asked as she gestured to two seats for us. Mine was right across from her while Ashley’s was right next to me. Ashley gave Narcissa an odd look before sitting down and leaning on me as soon as I seated. She was all but on me instead of her own seat but that was the usual from her so I did not think about it much.

Narcissa looked like she was twitching but I must have been seeing things. Narcissa was far too controlled for signs like that to show up.

“Again sorry for the short notice but the Prince family has crossed a line with me. So I need to know some things. What sort of thing would hurt them the most and where would I find my grandparents?” I asked simply as there was no use hiding things. Narcissa paused for a moment as she gave me a measured look before letting out a light hum.

She looked like she was debating if I could handle what I was going to do. She understood that I was going to act on this information and she was wondering if I had what it took to follow through. 

“Well, that is an interesting question.” She let out lightly before looking over at the two of us. Seeing the determined look on my face she relented as she could see I was going to do something even if I did not get her information.

“Like most magical families the Prince family runs off of interest. So if you really want to hurt them you have to hurt them financially. Someone managed to rob the Prince family some time ago and that did hurt them but their funds are grown from patents. As long as their potions are in circulation they will recover.” Narcissa let out lightly and then gave me a pointed look. I was not sure if she knew I was the robber or if she was hinting that I should develop potions that would over take their patents. Maybe it was both? She was capable of piecing together that I was the robber and she knew about my capabilities in potions.

“Fucking lame. I thought we were going to burn some places down but now this big lump is going to be sealed in his work shop making potions.” Ashley spoke out with a disappointed look on her face. I let out a light chuckle at that as she wanted more destruction but this would really hurt the Prince family long term. It would also spit in their faces as the descendants they refused to acknowledge tore down their family wealth.

Ashley was overestimating how long it would take for me to overcome all the patents the Prince family dealt with. 

“There will be plenty of blood shed later Ash but I want them to regret everything and this will really hit them where it hurts,” I muttered out darkly and Ashley just rolled her eyes but accepted it.

Narcissa was looking at the interaction with an odd look on her face. She seemed surprised at the way Ashley was talking and she was also shocked about how I handled it but there was something else there. A hint of longing? It made a certain amount of sense as a girl who never had the opportunity to love someone would want the sort of relationship Ashley and I were displaying.

“Bloodshed really? This is polite company there is no need to bring up such…actions. The Prince family tends to live in their manor on the Bellrouse islands this time of year. I’m sure that information will lead to a ….civilized discussion.” Narcissa let out with a dark glint of her own. She was dancing around the subject but she fully expected bad things to happen to my grandparents now that I had this information.

“ You come off a bit snooty but you're an interesting girl Narcissa.” Ashley let out as she looked over at Narcissa. That dark glint in her eyes caught Ashley’s interest. I should have figured she would bond over violence.

This time I caught Narcissa twitching from Ashley’s comment but it faded quickly. She looked over at my girlfriend with that same odd look.