Confusing Concoction

The next few weeks passed in a blur; April turned into May, the full moon passed relatively quietly, and both Lyall Lupin's birthday and Mother's day had gone much better than expected. Remus's mother had sent a box of her home baked chocolate brownies as a thank you for his present, which he shared with all his friends (not that he had much of a choice, considering who they were), and two long letters telling him how grateful they were for their gifts.

Lily, of course, got one of the largest shares of the brownies, along with a mention in his next letter home. That would be the fourth time her name had come up in his correspondence with his parents, and he hoped that they wouldn't read between the lines. However, knowing his mother, it would only be a matter of time before they knew about his feelings towards her; feelings which were becoming increasingly difficult to hide.

At first, it had been easy enough, if a little painful, to push them down, to keep a straight face, or smile, whenever James would talk about her, about how he would win her over and get her to be his girlfriend. However, with every moment spent with her, he grew to like her a little more, and his patience was starting to wear thin with his friend.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the end of year exams were just around the corner, so James's swooning had come to a near halt during the 'revision season'. Remus's nerves, though equally frayed by the prospect of exams as everyone else's, were saved the extra weight of the scruffy-haired boy's chatter. For now, at least.

However, James was never very good at revising, and constantly tried to distract the closest person when he got too bored. Remus could have dealt with that, but Sirius was much worse. Sirius would exclaim his boredom to everyone in the room and, if he was in the right mood, would start throwing paper planes and scrunched up pieces of parchment at any unsuspecting victim nearby. Where the both of them were bored, it was a good time to vacate the area before something exploded.

Hence the reason why Remus was sat in the library, surrounded by books on varying subjects, on his own.

He'd finished looking at Charms and Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts would be easy enough, but the book in front of him might as well have been in Gobbledegook it was so confusing! How could one subject cause him such grief?

Throwing his quill down, he leaned back in his chair, staring at the open book before him.

It was a copy of Magical Drafts and Potions, perhaps the most basic of Potions text books used by the school, and yet he couldn't seem to wrap his head around it. Had Lily been there, Remus would have asked for her help, but as it was, she was studying with Robin and Jayne in the Girl's Dormitory. He didn't want to disturb her, nor did he want to upset her friends, as he'd been taking up a fair bit of her time already, and so he remained in this unfortunate dilemma.

He stared at the page for a little longer, trying to figure out the exact point where he started to get lost, when a flash of green caught his eye.

To his great surprise, Severus Snape, dressed in a baggy green shirt, had sat at the end of his table, wielding a copy of Advanced Potions Making and a quill.

Remus couldn't recall a single time where he'd seen Snape in anything other than his school robes before. Even on weekends, if he was out of his Common Room, he would usually be wearing the customary trousers, shirt and tie. It was definitely an odd image. It made the greasy haired boy look almost… vulnerable.

Perhaps Snape could help him.

Sure, they didn't get along too well, and has next to certain the Slytherin hated him, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Would it?

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to tell me what you're obviously dying to say?"

Remus looked away immediately, ashamed that he had been staring. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rude."

Snape snorted without looking up from his book and scratched out something before making a note.

They said not a word for some minutes, simply sitting and reading and making notes, until Remus found he couldn't take his uselessness any longer.

"Actually, I was wondering something," he said, turning back the other boy.

"If you were wondering why I was sat here, all the other tables were taken." Snape replied, once more refusing to look up from his book.

Looking around, Remus found that the Library was, indeed, rather full. There had only been a few tables spare when he'd first come in, but now there were none, just as Snape had said. "Uhm, well, although I was wondering that, I was going to ask you something else."

This time, the book fell as Severus's dark eyes came to rest on him in a disbelieving frown.

"I was wondering if you could… help me with my Potions."

The greasy-haired boy stared at him for a moment before casting his eyes around the book shelves that surrounded them. "You won't give me a moment of peace, will you."

Remus blinked. "What?"

"Did you really think I was going to fall for that?" He slammed his book shut and stood. "The arrogance-"

"Snape, I have no idea what you're talking about."

The boy scoffed. "I'm sure you don't." And with that, he left, leaving Remus completely bewildered and confused.

Seconds later though, he'd gathered up his own books and notes, sent a quiet apology about the mess he'd left on the table to Madam Beak, and dashed out after him. Luckily, the Slytherin hadn't gone far.

"Snape!" he cried, readjusting his hold on everything as his notes attempted to fly away, "Wait! Please! I need some-"

"The only thing you need is to stop following me," the boy snapped, turning back to face his tail with his wand drawn. "I will not be the victim of another one of your pranks."

Several students in the hallway gasped at the sight of his wand, most of them moving quickly on, no doubt to inform a teacher, though one or two remained.

Glancing warily at the tool turned weapon, Remus swallowed. "I'm unarmed."

"That's never stopped your friends."

He winced. "Yes, but I'm not them. And they're not here."

Severus inspected him for a moment before letting his eyes slide over every nook and cranny in the hall. When his eyes failed to find any evidence of the other Marauders, they returned to Remus.

"I really did mean what I said last month."

For a few more moments, Snape continued to stare at him, but then, with a great sigh, he tucked his wand away again. "Potions, did you say?"

Remus smiled. "Yes. I can't seem to wrap my head around them."

Snape nodded. "Well then, you'd best follow me then. I have no doubt that your table has been taken by now."

Shifting his books once again, Remus made his way over to the green-clad boy, passing the disappointed spectators along the way. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," he said, "I have a feeling I won't be able to stand your incompetence for too long, so this will probably be short."

Ignoring the quip, Remus shrugged. "Any help would be greatly appreciated."

Snape snorted. "Are you always so formal?"

"Am I…? I… I guess I am. I never really thought about it."

Severus hummed, but didn't reply, turning the corner at the next junction.

Several minutes later, along with a lot of turns, stairs and corridors, they eventually reached the dungeons; Professor Slughorn's class room, to be precise, who was currently sat behind his desk, marking some homework or writing a letter.

"This class room is closed on weekends," he said, not even looking up from his quill. "Any studying can be done in the library or in another class room."

Remus sighed, disappointed, but as he made to exit, Snape grabbed his arm.

"Sorry Professor, we didn't mean to interrupt you," he said in an apologetic tone and turned away, though he didn't move from the door.

In an instant, the Potions teacher's head flew up, a smile sliding into place. "Oh! Severus! Come in, come in, my lad. You could never interrupt."

Turning back, Severus… smiled?

Remus could barely believe it. In all the years he'd known the boy, not once had he seen the black haired boy smile, not even when he was praised in his lessons. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would have doubted that it had even happened.

It seemed that today was a day of firsts when it came to Severus Snape.

"Thank you, Professor," Snape said, his hand falling away from the Gryffindor's wrist, "Do you mind if I help my friend with some Potions revision in here? I thought having practical demonstrations would help."

Slughorn looked at Remus for the first time and one of his eyebrows rose. "Mr Lupin?"

"Yes sir." Snape affirmed.

The Potions Master hummed. "I do hope you're not falling in with the wrong crowd, Severus."

"No sir. Just Potions."

He hummed again and gave Remus a meaningful glare that made him squirm. "If you say so. Perhaps some of your genius will rub off on him."

"Perhaps, sir."

Looking them both over once more, he sighed. "Just make sure he doesn't make anything explode. I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to see Professor McGonagall about something. I shan't be long."

The two of the stepped out of the doorway and let him pass, watching for a few moments as he walked down the corridor. It was only when he was out of ear shot that they made their way into the classroom.

Placing his books on one of the tables, Remus turned to his new tutor. "So… friend, huh?"

Severus scoffed. "Don't get used to it. Slughorn would never have let you in if you weren't someone I trusted, and that was the fastest way to get him to think that."

"And do you?"

Snape frowned. "Trust you? The boy I was asked to keep from making things explode?"

Remus groaned. "It was one time! And it wasn't even me! Sirius thought it would be a good idea to see what would happen if you put a dung bomb in a brewing Swelling Solution."

"If you say so."

"It's true!"

Severus didn't answer, but made his way to the store cupboard. "What potion has been giving you problems?"

"Oh, uh…" Remus flicked through his text book until he reached the page he'd bookmarked earlier. "The Confusion Concoction."

The Slytherin entered the store room and, a few minutes later, emerged with a cauldron, several jars of ingredients, a pestle and mortar, and the basic cutting utensils. Setting them out on a separate table, he folded his arms.

"Alright then, what is it that your feeble brain can't seem to grasp?"

Refusing to rise to the challenge, Remus set his book down and studied the pages. "I missed the lesson the day they you did the practical for this one. I tend to understand them better after the practical, but I was… away."

One of Snape's eyebrows rose, but he remained silent.

"I can remember the process, and after enough practice, I can remember the ingredients and the timings, but I don't understand it." He frowned down at the text. "Knowing the timings and steps is never enough though, is it."

The other boy considered this for a moment before nodding. "No, it's not."

Remus sighed. "What is it that I'm missing?"

He continued to scan the ages, trying to understand the words that were somehow hidden from his eyes, even though he knew it was an impossible task.

Suddenly, the book was pulled from under him and closed, forcing him to look up.

Severus was giving him an unreadable look, somewhere between sympathy and understanding. "Respect."

Remus frowned. "I don't understand."

In an instant, the look was gone, and once again his face was set in a near disgusted manor. "Of course you don't. You're a Marauder. Marauders don't respect anything."

Remus made to retort, but thought better of it. He didn't want to end the lesson before it had even begun. "There are some things we do respect."

"Oh? Do enlighten me."

"We respect each other-"

"Strange kind of respect that is. Do you not 'prank' each other?"

Remus glared, but he would not be dissuaded. "Yes, it might be a strange kind of respect, but it is respect none-the-less. We do not do anything we wouldn't mind happening to ourselves."

"It's too bad it doesn't extend to others."

Oh, how he wished that were true. "We also respect a number of the teachers – don't! I know it doesn't look like it, but we do. And secrets."

Snape scoffed. "Secrets? You spy on me, you encroach on other people's privacy… how is that respect for secrets?"

Remus pursed his lips. "Perhaps I said that wrong. It's not exactly respect for the secrets themselves, but the fact that they exist." At Snape's frown, he pulled himself onto one of the stools and splayed his fingers out on the table. "We're curious, James and Sirius more than myself. Our respect is more for the well-kept ones. We respect that they were a secret for a reason, and if we find out what they are, then we will make sure that no one else will find out what they are. Not unless it will put others at risk."

"So, what? You see yourselves as glorified secret keepers?"

Remus shook his head. "No. We're just a couple of boys who want to have fun, but know when something should be left alone."

Severus remained silent, his glare softening slightly. "You have a rather destructive way of having fun."

Remus chuckled. "No, my kind of fun is curling up in by a window with a good book and a heap of Honeydukes Finest. It's mostly Sirius who prefers the destructive side of things. I think it has something to do with trying to be the 'white sheep' of the Black family. Just don't ask me how breaking things answers that. Not even James could answer that question."

Snape nodded slowly, eyes falling to the closed Magical Drafts and Potions book that was lying under his hand. For a moment, it looked as though he would leave, but then he coughed and made his way back to the table with all the equipment on.

"Shall we get started then?" the greasy haired boy asked, setting the small cauldron on the stand over the burner.

With a quick smile, Remus jumped down from the stool and went to stand next to his tutor.

Over the next half an hour, Severus made him recite the instructions three times, the ingredients six times, and identify each of them correctly twice (after a bit of a faulty start) before allowing him to start the task at hand. Remus was a little wary of the way that Snape hovered over him, his eyes scrutinising his every move, and was more than a little put off at the way he would jump on him for any wrong movement or tiny flaw.

It was beginning to get ridiculous, the last comment mentioning that he had been stirring the potion too hard, when Slughorn returned with, to both students' surprise, Professor McGonagall in tow.

"Remus! Master Snape!" she exclaimed in surprise, "I did not expect to see you here."

"Oh, I do apologise Minerva," Slughorn said, "They asked if they could use my room for some studying and I could not turn them away. I must have forgotten to mention it."

"I see." She did not sound convinced.

"How are things coming, my boy?" the Potions Master asked, studying the contents of the cauldron and the ingredients scattered about on the table. "Ah, the Confusing Concoction!"

"Yes sir," Snape said as he urged Remus to continue on.

"And no incidents?"

The green clad boy glanced back at his student for a moment and tilted his head. "Add the Scurvy Grass in sprinkled pinches. It makes it blend with the other ingredients better."

Remus nodded and moved his hand away from the cauldron where he was about to dump the diced blades in all at once and began to collect them with his thumb and fore-finger instead.

Turning back to the Professor, Snape shrugged. "No sir, no incidents."

Slughorn nodded with a smile. "Good. I will be in my office if you need me. Minerva?"

The Transfiguration teacher nodded, sending Remus a questioning look before following her colleague to the door behind his desk, disappearing within.

The two boys continued to work on the potion for the next hour, and not once did the teachers emerge, nor did their voices penetrate the black oak door. By the time the potion had finished brewing, Remus had almost forgotten the Professors where in the other room.

"Do you think it's right?" he asked, looking at the thick, green contents of the cauldron with worry as Snape emptied it into a glass vial. "Is it supposed to look like that?"

Severus sighed. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure?"

Remus winced. "Sorry, stupid question."

Severus simply scooped the last of the potion into the vial and put the stopper in. "here's your potion."

He looked at it for a moment, but then shook his head. "I can't take that. If my friends find it…"

Snape frowned at him, keeping the bottle held out to him, but Remus shook his head again.

"You keep it." He pushed it towards the other and started to pack things away. "I don't want it."

Snape continued to stare at him for a bit, but then dropped his arm. "Thanks."

At that moment, the office door opened and Professor McGonagall stepped out.

"Thank you, Horace," she said, walking out to the classroom door, "I will get back to you about it within the week."

Slughorn soon followed, his usual smile a little dimmer than usual. "Thank you."

With one last nod, the Gryffindor Head left, and left the three of them alone.

The Professor sighed and his smile slipped a little further. "You boys head up to dinner, I'll clear up."

"Are you sure, Professor?" Snape asked.

"Yes, yes," he pushed them towards the door, "Off you go now."

The door shut behind them with a resounding bang.

They stood there for a moment, wondering what had just happened.

"What do you think they talked about that made him kick us out?" Remus asked.

"Dunno." Snape shrugged. "I'm going to get some food." He began to make his way down the corridor. "If you need any more help, get Lily to teach you. I' fed up of your incompetence."

Remus frowned at that, but then he felt a laugh build up in his chest.

They might not be friends just yet, but it was a start.

AN - Not too happy with this one. It didn't want to be written, but I got through it in the end. I hope I kept Sev in character enough here. It got a little difficult at times...

Hope you guys liked this one! I thought I'd use the Scurvy Grass from the Befuddlement Draught, as the Confusing Concoction didn't have any ingredients on the wiki page.

Anywho... Until next week!