Written for The Houses Competition
House Hufflepuff
Category: Short
Prompt: A very windy day
Word count: 1,444
Beta: Dark Angel of Sorrow Returns
The wind howled to be let in, demanding access and being rebuffed at every corner. The stalwart refusal aggravated the wind, and it grew stronger with each failure. The solid walls layered with charms remained steady and protected those sheltered within them.
Deep in the dungeons it was silent and still; no sound or angry wind reached the lower levels. It would, perhaps, be too silent for any person other than the one that was feverishly writing in a worn notebook with a cauldron simmering away nearby. The gentle simmer and harsh scratching of a quill were the only sounds in the small room. Potion fumes curled upward and dispersed when they hit the Cleansing Air ward, small globe lights embedded in the wall shone—intertwining with the green flames under the cauldron—and it was quiet.
The cauldron exploded. Potion went flying outwards only to strike a surrounding bubble and fall back down. This caused an immediate reaction from the scribbling boy, he jumped up and back—casting a shield charm in case the cauldron shield didn't work—watching the splattered potion intensely. As he watched, the potion started to fizz, it turned amber and then evaporated away leaving no trace that it had ever been there apart from the destroyed fragments of what had once been a copper cauldron.
Severus sighed and scratched snowbell petals off his list of possible ingredient alternatives. A small chime went off and he looked over at the static tempus charm—lunchtime was approaching; he couldn't miss it, or he would have to hear Lucius Malfoy berate him for missing yet another meal. A few wand waves later and the room was clean once more—the copper fragments would be hand-cleaned and experimented with at a later date.
There was no more stalling to be done and Severus braced himself to face the hordes of students that normally split off and onto the grounds all descending onto the Great Hall. He did not enjoy these days of extreme weather where the hundreds of Hogwarts residents stayed inside and cluttered up every room and corridor in the castle.
The sound buffeted him almost as much as being outside would. Constant chatter from students and moans from the wind outside echoed through the halls as he ascended the stairs towards the Great Hall. He missed his quiet room with all he needed to experiment and brew, filled with productive silence.
Severus wasn't given much time to acclimatise to the sudden increase of noise as Lucius was standing outside the Great Hall doors and evidently waiting for him to appear. As soon as the Malfoy caught sight of him, Severus was dragged into the Hall and sat at the Slytherin table with a plate that was rapidly filling up with various foods in front of him.
"Eat," Lucius said in a tone that clearly stated if Severus didn't eat of his own free will, Lucius would feed him himself.
With a sigh, Severus lifted the fork and started to eat the food Lucius had piled onto his plate. At times he regretted making friends with the Malfoy heir but that was mainly when Lucius was being a bossy, molly-coddling, mother. He was just glad Lucius hadn't managed to win Narcissa Black over to his cause of hovering over Severus yet, despite Narcissa being betrothed to Lucius.
After eating half of what was on the plate under Lucius' eagle eye, Lucius finally deemed it enough to begin eating his own lunch. That meant that Severus had eaten enough to satisfy Lucius for the meal and if he had something desperate to do he could leave. However, due to the weather outside and the exploded cauldron in his little potions room, Severus didn't have anything else to do. So he stayed and continued to eat; perhaps if he ate the whole plate today, Lucius wouldn't bother him so much at dinner or the next day.
"Figured out how to make a philosopher's stone yet, Snape?" Dolohov asked from his place a few seats away. Lucius sent him a small glare but said nothing, allowing Severus to speak for himself.
"In case you were not listening the last few times I have explained this to you, Dolohov. I am not experimenting with alchemy, I am experimenting with potions. The two are completely different fields of study and I am no closer to discovering the secret to a philosopher's stone than you are. Although, perhaps I do have an advantage over you given that you only barely passed your OWLs."
"Shut up, Snape! You think you're so high and mighty. Well—"
Dolohov stopped shouting and rising out of his seat as a pea hit him in the nose and stayed there. Severus glared at Lucius, who was rearranging his peas into a more pleasing shape innocently. A loud thump accompanied Dolohov sitting back down—trying to pull the pea away from his nose—and Severus shoved his plate away, only a quarter full this time. A swirl of black robes later and Severus was gone.
Lucius sighed and set his fork down. "That was not wise on your part, Dolohov."
"Oh shut up, Malfoy. Why do you keep protecting that little half-blood?"
"Who says I am protecting him? I believe what I am doing is protecting all of you as you are all too blind to see how easily he could destroy each and every one of you if he so pleased. He experiments with potions all day, do you not think he might have found a few poisons? Or perhaps volatile mixes to be used at a later date?
"I have no desire to be on the wrong side of Severus Snape. You would all be wise to avoid antagonising him any further. If he has managed to achieve revenge against the Marauders with whom he does not share a common room or dormitory with, just imagine what he could do to those he does."
With that said, Lucius went off to find his errant friend and ensure he wasn't plotting any extreme vengeance on Dolohov. He found him at the Astronomy Tower, gazing out at the blustery wind that skidded across the stone and attempted to enter via the warded open spaces that served as windows.
"There is no need for you to worry."
"Who said I was worried?"
Severus snorted and looked over his shoulder at his friend, "You're Lucius Malfoy, you're always worried."
"About you, perhaps," Lucius inclined his head in acceptance. He moved up to the window that Severus was standing at and looked out over the grounds of Hogwarts. "Considering leaving again?" he asked softly.
"Always," replied Severus just as softly.
"Malfoy Manor will always offer you a safe harbour, if you need it."
"I know."
"Good. I am sorry, my friend." Lucius patted Severus on the shoulder and walked away, leaving the young Snape staring unseeingly at the wind.
The furious wind was an echo of what was inside Severus, a constant battle raging inside him as he tried to fight his way out. He had lost his only friend to James Potter and now had to watch as he stole her heart. Severus had Lucius to help with the rage and helplessness that overwhelmed him at times. Lucius gave him a schedule to follow, a routine that he didn't have to think about.
He went to classes with the rest of his House; Lucius always managing to sit in the exact place that would block Severus' view of a certain red-haired Gryffindor. On the weekends, Severus studied, completed homework and brewed or experimented with potions. He was standing still, had managed to find a large rock to shelter behind as the turbulent wind inside him moved about.
Every now and again, he would poke his head out from around the rock and see if anything had changed. He would think about escaping, leaving everything behind but he never did. He stayed to learn, to experiment, to keep away from the shack in Spinner's End. A bitter smile twisted his face as he refocused on the outside wind.
"Perhaps another time," he told it and swiftly made his way back to his potions lab. He had belladonna petals to slice and soak. Behind him, the wind continued to howl and was slowly blocked out by the thick walls of Hogwarts. Severus sheltered behind stone and smiled as he went about the process of preparing belladonna petals. The static tempus charm would let him know when Lucius expected him to surface for dinner; but until then, he could focus on his potions and forget everything else.