"Serpent Tears"
Prologue Professor Snape sat over his desk, leaning over a piece of parchment, lost in thought. His chic [A/N: Chic, Greasy, Same thing :-P] locks were draped about his shoulders, cloaking his gray, ghastly face from the eyes of his ebony snake. Achilles was currently studying his master intently from his book shelf perch. The serpent flicked its tongue and emitted a sharp hiss, drawing the attention of the seemingly catatonic potions professor below. Severus looked up from his studies and eyed the snake blankly until a look of realization washed across his face.
"That's right...the wolfsbane..." He thought to himself.
Snape strode into his dungeons and ambled almost cat like over to the cauldron, inhabited by a red, bubbling liquid, in the furthermost corner of the dark, dank dungeon. Snape placed his wand at the base of the pot and muttered an indistinct spell that quieted the flames burning underneath the cauldron. Snape drew some of the corrosive liquid from the pot with his index finger and sniffed, wiping the gel onto his robes.
"I believe this will suffice.And I know Lupin will greatly enjoy the flavor this month." Snape's lips curled into a smirk. "Vomit." [A/N: charming.]
He then washed his hands in an old muggle eyewash he kept in the dungeon, just in case some foolish student felt the urge to stick their eye in a caustic potion, or some clumsy idiot spilled something in his eye and was too stupid and panicky to just use a simple spell to remove the sludge. Snape chuckled, an unnatural sound to hear in the dungeons that had housed screams for so many years.
He brought a one-liter vial up to the cauldron and swept some of its smoking contents into the bottle and labeled it "wolfsbane". He gingerly placed the vial into a brown box, being careful not to break the bottle, which would cause disastrous results to the health of Lupin, or even worse, the well-being of his new mahogany work table. He ran his calloused fingers along said table affectionately, thinking of how much well earned Galleons he had spent in the acquisition of the desk.
He walked over to his fireplace, and set the parcel down just in front of the raging fire, and focused his obsidian eyes into the flame. Snape shivered uncontrollably. Even as the fire raged just inches from his whitish pink lips, the deep chill of the un insolated castle walls and the bitter cold of loneliness and anguish both gnawed at his skin and sank into the marrow of his bones. He grabbed a handful of floo powder from the pot to his left and chucked it into the roaring flames.
"Professor Remus J. Lupin, 4138 honeyrose wood, Hogsmeade." He said clearly.
Almost immediately after uttering the last syllable, Lupin's body and part of the cozy background of his cottage came into view.
"Why, hello Severus! What brings a fine man like yourself calling me on this...fine winter's night?" Remus said cheerily.
Snape gave a lopsided sneer as a clear sign of his disgust.
"Spare me, Lupin. Do you want the potion or not?" He drawled, dislike for the man opposite to him was clear in his tone.
Lupin's beaming smile faltered a tad, but he returned to his genial state at the sight of the parcel. Snape noticed how Lupin was staring at the package and took the liberty in educating Remus.
"As you can see, my dedication to my duties have remained steadfast, even over what is supposed to be a reprieve from every day life." Snape said loathingly.
Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Yes...yes, of course. Thank you, I am...to say the least, very grateful for your efforts. Tell me, do your parents have the same kind of fits as mine when trying to brew potions in the house? No matter, though, how much they worry and how bothersome they may be, it sure is nice to have family around this time of year. Christmas!" Remus went on jovially.
All the while Severus was giving Lupin a stare that, if looks could kill, would have stabbed, hung, poisoned, and suffocated the friendly lycanthrope.
"I don't have family, Lupin. Well, at least any that will claim me." He snapped.
Snape's bark awakened Achilles from his serpentine slumber from atop the mantle, and crawled over to Severus where it regally coiled itself onto Snape's lap. Remus looked sympathetic.
"Severus, we have both gone through our share of pain and loss, but that's why we need each other. Come on, bury the hatchet...Hasn't-?"
Snape barred his teeth "Don't you lecture me about pain and suffering! At least you actually had something in the first place, and you still have something even now! I have no one, and I need no one! Get out of my sight!" He spat, banishing Lupin's image in the flames with a vigorous wave of his hand.
Snape sat staring at the empty hearth, breathing heavily with his pearly white fangs still barred. He curtly placed the now on edge serpent into his cage, undressed, and got into his old four-poster bed. He rolled up into a ball and scoured his memory for images of a family that doesn't exist. His raspy breathing quickly turned to sobs as he wept into his milk-white knees.
Prologue Professor Snape sat over his desk, leaning over a piece of parchment, lost in thought. His chic [A/N: Chic, Greasy, Same thing :-P] locks were draped about his shoulders, cloaking his gray, ghastly face from the eyes of his ebony snake. Achilles was currently studying his master intently from his book shelf perch. The serpent flicked its tongue and emitted a sharp hiss, drawing the attention of the seemingly catatonic potions professor below. Severus looked up from his studies and eyed the snake blankly until a look of realization washed across his face.
"That's right...the wolfsbane..." He thought to himself.
Snape strode into his dungeons and ambled almost cat like over to the cauldron, inhabited by a red, bubbling liquid, in the furthermost corner of the dark, dank dungeon. Snape placed his wand at the base of the pot and muttered an indistinct spell that quieted the flames burning underneath the cauldron. Snape drew some of the corrosive liquid from the pot with his index finger and sniffed, wiping the gel onto his robes.
"I believe this will suffice.And I know Lupin will greatly enjoy the flavor this month." Snape's lips curled into a smirk. "Vomit." [A/N: charming.]
He then washed his hands in an old muggle eyewash he kept in the dungeon, just in case some foolish student felt the urge to stick their eye in a caustic potion, or some clumsy idiot spilled something in his eye and was too stupid and panicky to just use a simple spell to remove the sludge. Snape chuckled, an unnatural sound to hear in the dungeons that had housed screams for so many years.
He brought a one-liter vial up to the cauldron and swept some of its smoking contents into the bottle and labeled it "wolfsbane". He gingerly placed the vial into a brown box, being careful not to break the bottle, which would cause disastrous results to the health of Lupin, or even worse, the well-being of his new mahogany work table. He ran his calloused fingers along said table affectionately, thinking of how much well earned Galleons he had spent in the acquisition of the desk.
He walked over to his fireplace, and set the parcel down just in front of the raging fire, and focused his obsidian eyes into the flame. Snape shivered uncontrollably. Even as the fire raged just inches from his whitish pink lips, the deep chill of the un insolated castle walls and the bitter cold of loneliness and anguish both gnawed at his skin and sank into the marrow of his bones. He grabbed a handful of floo powder from the pot to his left and chucked it into the roaring flames.
"Professor Remus J. Lupin, 4138 honeyrose wood, Hogsmeade." He said clearly.
Almost immediately after uttering the last syllable, Lupin's body and part of the cozy background of his cottage came into view.
"Why, hello Severus! What brings a fine man like yourself calling me on this...fine winter's night?" Remus said cheerily.
Snape gave a lopsided sneer as a clear sign of his disgust.
"Spare me, Lupin. Do you want the potion or not?" He drawled, dislike for the man opposite to him was clear in his tone.
Lupin's beaming smile faltered a tad, but he returned to his genial state at the sight of the parcel. Snape noticed how Lupin was staring at the package and took the liberty in educating Remus.
"As you can see, my dedication to my duties have remained steadfast, even over what is supposed to be a reprieve from every day life." Snape said loathingly.
Remus raised an eyebrow.
"Yes...yes, of course. Thank you, I am...to say the least, very grateful for your efforts. Tell me, do your parents have the same kind of fits as mine when trying to brew potions in the house? No matter, though, how much they worry and how bothersome they may be, it sure is nice to have family around this time of year. Christmas!" Remus went on jovially.
All the while Severus was giving Lupin a stare that, if looks could kill, would have stabbed, hung, poisoned, and suffocated the friendly lycanthrope.
"I don't have family, Lupin. Well, at least any that will claim me." He snapped.
Snape's bark awakened Achilles from his serpentine slumber from atop the mantle, and crawled over to Severus where it regally coiled itself onto Snape's lap. Remus looked sympathetic.
"Severus, we have both gone through our share of pain and loss, but that's why we need each other. Come on, bury the hatchet...Hasn't-?"
Snape barred his teeth "Don't you lecture me about pain and suffering! At least you actually had something in the first place, and you still have something even now! I have no one, and I need no one! Get out of my sight!" He spat, banishing Lupin's image in the flames with a vigorous wave of his hand.
Snape sat staring at the empty hearth, breathing heavily with his pearly white fangs still barred. He curtly placed the now on edge serpent into his cage, undressed, and got into his old four-poster bed. He rolled up into a ball and scoured his memory for images of a family that doesn't exist. His raspy breathing quickly turned to sobs as he wept into his milk-white knees.