Author's Note: THanks for all the lovely comments, all of you! J Yes, I know it's been a bit Liv/Lupin-y, but it shall progress well, I promise. Just stick with it, all you Severus fans. Anyways, without further ado, here is the next installment of Rescue Me…and don't forget to keep reviewing! J
Snape's POV
An hour later I was still in the Shrieking Shack, looking for any trance of Black. I had just decided to go for a walk around the ground when I saw the tail of Lupin's cloak disappearing beneath the Whomping Willow, which was being completely still for once. I started after him immediately, convinced that I was finally about to find proof that Lupin was helping Black sneak into the castle.
I had followed Lupin through the tunnel, but he disappeared before I caught him. Annoyed, I had spent the next hour scouring the Shrieking Shack for some sort of clue. In the end I found nothing, but remembered a spell I had once seen the Dark Lord use- a spell that pulled traces of magic from the room and recreated whatever had happened.
I cast the spell, hoping I remembered it right, and waited. A minute later, two ghost-like figures appeared and I saw Lupin and not Black, but Olivia. The scene played backwards- they came back through a door, to the middle of the room, where they stood entwined for several minutes, Lupin pressing a kiss into her hair.
My stomach lurched and I turned my back to the figures. My immediate thought was to go to Dumbledore and show him what I had found. I glanced back at their entwined figures. Olivia was smiling, her eyes closed, her arm around him… but she looked happy. I closed my eyes and turned away again. I wouldn't tell Dumbledore, not if it would make her unhappy…and mad at me. If being with Lupin made her happy…then so be it.
"Finite…Incantatem," I said softly, cancelling the effects of the spell.
Olivia's POV
The Great Hall was nearly empty that night at dinner. Only a handful of students remained. Only one other Slytherin had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays, a surly-looking girl who was in my year. Her name was Alexandria Daae and she kept to herself, as I did.
Lupin was finished eating first. He winked at me as he walked past on his way out of the hall. I quickly devoured what was left on my plate, then hurried out of the hall so fast I almost ran into Lupin, who was waiting just outside the door.
"There's no rush, Olivia," he said amused, "We have all night… you might want to get another sweater, a scarf, a hat, maybe. It's going to be quite cold and we'll be out very late."
"What're you, my mother?" I said, but headed towards the dungeon all the same. Lupin followed me.
"I've never actually seen the Slytherin Common Room before," he said as we went down the stairs, "I'm a bit curious. When we were kids, the first-years always tried to find the location to the other Houses' Common Rooms."
"Did you ever find any?"
"Not me personally, but James and Sirius found Ravenclaw Tower…" he trailed off, a slight frown on his face, no doubt thinking about Sirius Black.
We passed the empty Potions classroom and I couldn't help but glance inside.
"Good thing Snape's still in the Great Hall," I remarked.
"He'd probably shit kittens if he found me down here."
I let out a snort of laughter and Lupin smiled.
We reached the slab of wall that hid the Slytherin Common Room.
"Black Adder," I said and the slab of stone slid aside.
"Brilliant," Lupin said, impressed, "No one would think to look there. It looks just like any other slab of wall."
"You're such a Gryffindor," I said to him, smirking.
Lupin followed me into the empty Common Room and looked around interestedly.
"The light here is green… we must be under the lake," he remarked, "…These chairs don't look near as comfortable as the ones in the Gryffindor Common Room."
"Hmph. Wait here while I get my sweater," I said, heading for the girl's dormitories.
"What if someone comes in?" he asked, following me, "Besides, you got to see my room."
"Whatever. I'm pretty sure there's a charm on the door to keep boys out."
"Ah, but I'm not a boy, am I? I'm a teacher," he said, walking through the door.
"That just makes it all the more inappropriate," I retorted with a grin, "Perhaps the founders of the school weren't as prudish as everyone thinks."
"Or perhaps they trusted the teachers to do the right thing," he suggested as we entered the dormitory. He sat on the edge of my bed as I began to rummage through my trunk.
"Not very smart of them, was it?" I said, grinning.
"Hey, no fair! Our sheets are cotton- were cotton," Lupin said, fingering my silver satin bed sheets.
"What can I say? They spoil us. I, for one, now find it impossible to sleep on anything else."
"The cot I summoned for you that night had cotton sheets."
"I didn't do much sleeping that night, did I?"
"Why must you make it sound so much worse than it was?"
"Because I like to," I said with a grin, "Actually, I transfigured those sheets when you were getting ready for bed."
I pulled my thick black sweater out of my trunk, along with my silver and green Slytherin scarf.
"Have you no hat?" Lupin inquired as I pulled my sweater over my head.
"Uhm…"
I cast around the room and spotted a thick, furry hat on the bedside table of Julia Burry, who had gone home for the holidays. I walked over and took the hat.
"Thief."
"I'll give it back," I said bracingly.
"You're such a Slytherin."
"You know it," I replied, grinning.
We left the dormitory with me going first to make sure no one was in the Common Room, then the corridor. As we were making our way across the Entrance Hall, the door to the Great Hall opened and Snape came out. He stopped abruptly when he saw us. Lupin opened his mouth to greet him but before he could, Snape turned and went into the dungeon.
"He's always going to hate me," Lupin said with a sigh as we left the castle and went out onto the snow-covered grounds.
"Don't dwell on it. He's nothing but a grouch. Why would you want to be friends with him anyway?" I asked, "You have me."
"I just hate unresolved issues," he said heavily, then smiled, "Yes, I do have you for a friend, and I am glad. You're probably the best friend I've had in years, besides Dumbledore."
I said nothing but smiled as we made our way towards the forest. We would go and find a clearing like we had been doing and wait out the transformation.
We walked through the woods together, wands lit, as the sky darkened and the moon began to rise. We left the shelter and darkness of the forest suddenly and came out into a clearing. The first thing I noticed was all the Fluxweed in the clearing- it was the ideal time for harvesting it. Beside me, Lupin had gone rigid. The moon was right over the clearing. He began to transform. I sat fearlessly beside him as I always did. His cloak fell away and he dropped his cane. I retrieved both, laying the cane to the side and wrapping the cloak around my shoulders. It was somewhat warm, but it was shabby, like the rest of his clothes, and patched in a few places. I wondered how difficult it would be to get him one for Christmas. I wouldn't be able to give him one in time for the actual day, but I could always give a late gift.
When Lupin's transformation was complete, he flopped down beside me, his head in my lap.
I scratched his ears absently, like a dog, and he closed his eyes. After a few minutes, I stopped.
"I'm going to harvest the Fluxweed in this clearing, okay? It's an important ingredient in the Wolfsbane Potion," I said to him. He opened his green eyes and blinked at me. I stood and with a wave of my wand, created a bag to store the plant in. I began to walk around the clearing, harvesting the plan, glancing back every few minutes at Lupin, who was following me around the clearing on all fours. He stopped to sniff a Fluxweed plant curiously. He tried to pick it for me, first with his forepaws, then with his teeth. He dug in the dirt while tugging on the plant. He brought me the bedraggled plant with an air of pride. I laughed and let him drop the limp plant into the bag, though I knew it would be no good for use in potions because, in his efforts to help me, the plant was nearly destroyed.
A glint of something at the edge of the forest caught my eye and I looked towards it curiously. I started to go towards it, but Lupin stiffened suddenly. His ears laid back, the fur on his back stood on end, and he began to growl deep in his throat. I saw the gleam for what it was then- eyes, and not just one set. There were a few dozen eyes. They emerged from the darkness then- wolves. A whole pack of them. I dropped the bag as they approached. Lupin whined, looking between me and the hungry, snarling pack.
He crouched suddenly, his body low to the ground. He looked at me with pleading green eyes and jerked his head towards his back. He whined again. It took a moment for me to realize he wanted me to get on his back. I hesitated a moment- I didn't want to hurt him.
Lupin let out an impatient, bark-like noise which I interpreted as "this is no time to argue". I nodded and carefully climbed onto his back. He took off suddenly and I wrapped my arms around his neck and kept my body close to his so I wouldn't fall off. He turned suddenly and ran back into the clearing.
"What're you doing?" I asked, though of course he couldn't answer.
He didn't reply but snatched up the bag of Fluxweed I had dropped, then ran off.
I don't know whether or not the wolves gave chase. I was too scared to look back. I kept my eyes squeezed shut, my face buried in his soft fur. We were running for quite a while and when he finally slowed down we weren't far from Hogwarts grounds. He stopped to let me get down, which I did a little reluctantly. I had somewhat enjoyed riding on his back. He dropped the bag at my feet and walked a few feet away where he lay down with a miserable whine.
I went and sat beside him in the snow. He turned his head away dejectedly.
"It's not your fault, you know," I said, unsure if I was interpreting his feelings correctly, wishing desperately he could talk. He looked back at me, his green eyes sad.
"…Thank you for saving me," I said quietly after a minute, then I leaned down and kissed his furry nose. His ears twitched and his tail wagged a little. I chuckled quietly and leaned against him.
"You're quite warm," I murmured, wrapping his cloak around me as I leaned into him. He curled himself around me. I felt warm and comfortable, more so than I had ever been in my life. I closed my eyes with a content sigh and I was asleep within minutes.
I didn't wake up until Lupin started to morph back into a human. I sat up and watched, still feeling sleepy. When he was human again, he helped me to my feet. I removed his cloak from around my neck and draped it over his shoulders. I fastened it around his neck. His hands reached up and clasped mine. I stared up into his blue eyes, my heart pounding.
"Merry Christmas Lupin," I said softly, then I stood on my tiptoes- and kissed him.
He stood there a moment, too stunned to react, then slowly he began to kiss me back. He put his arms around me, pulling me to him. I could feel his heart beating just as rapidly as mine and I don't think either of us were breathing, but at that moment it didn't matter. At that moment, I was more happy than ever before.
And then it was over. He pulled away from me and took a few steps backwards, swearing.
"I'm sorry," he said, not looking at me.
"For what? I kissed you."
"Which was a very bad idea."
"Why? You like me. I know you do."
"But I shouldn't. I'm too old for you. I'm old enough to be your father."
"I don't care about that," I said softly.
"I'm your teacher. It's wrong."
"I don't care about that either. Rules are meant to be broken. Besides, it's not as if it's never been done before. Ooh a teacher-student relationship, that's a new one," I said sarcastically.
He still looked troubled. I stepped forward and touched his face gently. Finally he looked at me, his blue eyes nervous and fearful.
"Let me think on it," he said, gently pushing my hand away, "We need to get back to the castle."
I nodded my head in agreement, relieved that he hadn't flat-out rejected me and I still had a chance with him.
"You can't tell anyone what happened," Lupin said as we crossed the grounds.
"Duh," I said, but he didn't smile.
"Olivia, I'm serious."
"I don't have anyone to tell. Don't worry. …I'll make the Unbreakable Vow if you want me to," I said, completely serious.
"That won't be necessary," he said and I was secretly relieved- the Unbreakable Vow was a very serious thing.
Lupin didn't speak until we reached the Entrance Hall and had to part ways. He tapped me on the head with his wand and made me go invisible.
"Goodnight Olivia. Sweet dreams," he said softly.
"Goodnight…and Merry Christmas."
I made my way back to the Slytherin dormitories in a happy daze. There was a pile of presents at the foot of my bed, but I scarcely glanced at the,. They would be there when I woke up. I kicked off my shoes and collapsed on my bed, still smiling. I may have been completely exhausted, but I was happy.
Snape's POV
I awoke on Christmas morning, rather reluctantly, around eleven o'clock. I wasn't exactly filled with Christmas spirit, but I knew Albus would expect me at lunch, so I got up and got dressed. I figured I would at least get to see Olivia at lunch, so maybe the day wouldn't be a complete waste.
There was only one present sitting on my desk when I walked into my office. I sat down morosely and picked it up. It was from Albus and was wrapped in bright gold paper. With a wave of my wand, the present unwrapped itself to reveal a bottle of Firewhiskey.
I'll probably need this later, I thought to myself, setting the bottle aside.
I went down to the Great Hall a short while later to find that Albus had all of the tables moved against the wall, but for one long table, which sat in the center of the room. It was set for 12. I raised an eyebrow at Albus, who was just sitting down.
"Most of the students went home for the holidays- in fact, I believe there are only seven students who remained. It seemed extremely foolish to use the House tables. Besides, Christmas is about togetherness."
"Right," I mumbled, "…And if that's the case, you missed two seats."
"Professor Lupin isn't feeling well."
"That's only one."
"He suggested Miss Cain may not attend."
"Oh. Lovely," I said bitterly.
"…He could be wrong you know," Albus suggested.
I said nothing but stared sulkily at the plate in front of me as more students and staff trickled into the Great Hall.
Minerva sat on one side of me and Sprout sat on the other. Potter and his friends came in last and sat at the end of the table.
"Merry Christmas!" Albus said brightly as they approached the table, "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables…. Sit down, sit down!"
They sat.
"Crackers!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically, offering me the end of a large silver noisemaker. I tugged reluctantly. There was a bang like a gunshot and the cracker flew apart, leaving a large, pointed which's hat topped with a stuffed vulture. I was reminded of Neville Longbottom's boggart, which Lupin had told me turned into me. Longbottom had used his grandmother's clothing to make the boggart-me less frightening. I noticed Potter and Weasley grinning. Not at all amused, I pushed the hat to Albus, who immediately put it on his head.
"Dig in!" he said, beaming around the table.
All around the table people began to eat. I loaded my plate but took my time, pushing around my food around the plate, not really hungry. We were soon joined by Sibyll Trelawney, the Divination teacher, who was one of my least favorite co-workers. Oblivious, Albus summoned a chair for her and put it between myself and Minerva. Minerva and I exchanged glances- she liked Sibyll about as much as I did.
"Tripe, Sibyll?" Minerva offered.
Sibyll ignored her. She opened her eyes and looked around the table.
"But where is dear Professor Lupin?" she said. I clenched my spoon in my fist. I couldn't even get through a meal without hearing his name.
"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again," said Albus, making a motioned for everyone to start serving themselves, "Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day."
"But surely you already knew that, Sibyll?" Minerva asked, eyebrows raised.
Sibyll shot her a very cold look.
"Certainly I knew, Minerva," she said quietly, "But one does not parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous."
"That explains a great deal," said Minerva bitingly.
"If you must know, Minerva," Sibyll retorted, her voice suddenly less mystical, "I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him-"
"Imagine that," said Minerva dryly.
"I doubt that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger," Albus said in a cheerful but loud voice that put an end to their conversation, "Severus, you've made the potion for him again?"
"Yes, Headmaster," I said with a slightly annoyed look that was lost on everyone but him.
Overall, lunch wasn't too bad, but Olivia never showed up and I felt mopey the whole time. After lunch I went to the Potions classroom, thinking I could at least get some work done. When I got there, I found that someone had been in my classroom. There was a bag on the desk and with it was a note. I looked at the note first.
Merry Christmas Snape. Sorry.
I recognized the handwriting immediately and, wondering why she was apologizing, I tore open the bag. It was a bunch of freshly harvested Fluxweed.
I sighed as I got up to put it in the supply cupboard. It was a useful gift…but it meant she had been out with Lupin last night while he was transformed. I shuddered slightly. I hated that she continued to put herself in danger every full moon…but it did cause me to become even more careful when brewing the Wolfsbane Potion. If I screwed it up, Olivia was sure to be killed.
After working for a while, I decided to go home. I didn't feel like being at Hogwarts right then. I picked up the bottle of Firewhiskey and stepped over to the fireplace. I grabbed a fistful of Floo powder from a pot on the shelf and tossed it in. Emerald flames roared to life and I stepped into them.
"Spinner's End," I said clearly, holding onto the bottle of Firewhiskey tightly.
A short while later, I stepped out into my very own sitting room, just in time to see a mouse scampering out of sigh, frightened by my sudden appearance. I sat down in my armchair and summoned a glass from the kitchen. I poured myself some Firewhiskey and began to sip it. It occurred to me that the last time I had been home, Olivia had been with me. I had spent the whole Summer pushing her away and now I'd give anything to have her here with me rather than with Lupin.
"I'm such an idiot," I muttered and downed my glass of Firewhiskey, then poured another.
I found myself wondering why the morose feeling had not left me. It wasn't until after my second glass that I recognized it for what it was- loneliness. It wasn't a feeling that I had very often. Luckily, I knew what to do when the feeling struck. I got up from my chair, re-corking the bottle of Firewhiskey and leaving it on the coffee table before heading for the door.
I returned to my house at Spinner's end less than an hour later, accompanied by a Muggle prostitute. Girls who had sex for money- how unbecoming. Still, it was my only option. I didn't want a relationship- I wanted sex. The woman who accompanied me was in her early twenties. Her hair was red, but was both brighter and significantly shorter than Lily's…or Olivia's, for that matter. Her eyes were blue, not green, but I supposed it was the best I could hope for on Christmas Day.
She wore an impossibly short black skirt, fishnet stockings, stiletto heels, and a top that showed off way too much cleavage. I exhaled heavily as I led the girl to the sitting room.
"Nice house," she murmured, looking around. Her gaze fell on the bottle on the coffee table and she glanced at me. I retrieved to cups from the kitchen and returned. I sat on the couch to pour the Firewhiskey and the girl sat beside me, as close to me as she could get. I handed her a drink and she sipped it.
"Good," she said, surprised, "I've never even heard of this before. Is it foreign?"
I nodded and the girl continued to drink. She finished one glass and I poured another.
She studied me curiously while she drank.
"You don't talk much, do you? What's your name anyway?" she inquired.
"You do not need to know my name. Nor do I require yours."
She chuckled quietly.
"Alrighty then," she said, taking another sip.
"What's so funny?"
"You talk funny."
I slid her a look and she quickly looked the other way, draining her glass.
A few glasses later, the girl was completely drunk. She had surprisingly good tolerance for a Muggle. I was leaning back on the sofa, watching her consume drink after drink. Finally, she put down the cup and moved in a drunken sort of way so that she was straddling me. She kissed me and I could taste the Firewhiskey on her breath as well as her cherry lip-gloss and the faint taste of cigarettes. As she kissed me, her hands wandered down to my pants. With skilled hands, she quickly freed my hard cock.
I exhaled slowly as she ran her fingers down it. She smiled suddenly and moved off my lap so that she was on her knees between my legs.
"I know what you want," she said, slurring her words slightly. She flicked her tongue over the head of my penis, making me shudder slightly with pleasure. She ran her tongue down, then back up repeatedly, coating my cock with her saliva. Then she took all of me in her mouth. The heat of her mouth and the continued movement of her tongue was enough to make me cum, but I refrained from doing so until she began to bob her head up and down, her teeth lightly touching me in a sort of masochistic tickle. I was unable to stop my seed from spilling forth into her mouth, though she seemed more than happy to swallow it all. She licked all trace of cum from my cock, then licked her lips. She looked up at me, her blue eyes glazed from alcohol.
"Are you going to show me to the bedroom or fuck me here on the couch?" she asked, slurred.
She stumbled on the stairs and nearly fell several times. When we reached the landing I found that she couldn't even walk straight. I felt a mixture of revulsion and pity for the poor girl. I led her into Olivia's room- the room that had been hers over the Summer- which was still exactly as she had left it. The sheets on the bed were still satin. The walls were gray and the carpet black. I started to flip the switch to turn on the overhead light, but turned on the lamp on the bedside table instead.
"Room's nice," slurred the girl. She started to walk towards the bed but stumbled and fell to the floor.
"Fuckin shoes," she muttered, ripping them off and tossing them. I helped her up and she tried to kiss me.
"No," I said.
"What do you mean no? Don't you want to fuck me?" she said, sitting on the bed, her legs spread so that I could see she wore no underwear.
"No," I said pityingly, though somewhat repulsed, "You're drunk. I want you to sleep it off and go home."
I moved her off the bed and pulled back the covers for her. She studied me silently through half-closed eyes.
"Whatever," she said and crawled into the bed. I turned off the lamp and walked to the door.
"Goodnight," I said quietly as I shut the door behind me.
I went to my own room and shut the door. I lay down on the bed with a heavy sigh. I felt nothing but pity for the Muggle girl. She was still young. What life could have led to such a pitiable existence? And here I was- just as alone as I had been, only now I felt disgusted with myself for letting her do what she had done downstairs. I sighed and buried my face in the pillow.
A few hours later I was awakened by the sound of screams. I leapt up and ran to Olivia's room, my wand in my hand. When I reached the room I found the young woman from earlier sitting up in bed, sobbing.
"I'm…sorry I…woke you," she said shakily between sobs, "…Nightmare…"
I quickly hid my wand, which I had grabbed in my panic. The hysterical girl did not notice. I nonverbally used Legilimency to see what had upset her so.
It was a dream- a very vivid one- that was actually a memory. In it, she was on her hands and knees on a dirty carpet. Her face was hurt- blood was dripping onto the carpet. She tried to stand and was hit by an overweight man with a beard and glasses who wielded a lead pipe.
"Stop it…please-" said the girl. She was struck across the back with the lead pipe. She fell forward.
"Shut up, fucking whore. How 'bout I fuck you with this pipe?"
I pulled out of her mind, staggering backwards slightly. I felt like puking. I walked over to the girl and put my arms around her. She sobbed openly into my shoulder and I soother and comforted her as best as I could. Eventually her crying ceased.
"I'll get you something to help you sleep. Something that will prevent you from having dreams. Would you like that?" I asked her. She nodded, sniffling. Her face was smeared with makeup and tears. I stood and went downstairs.
A few minutes later I returned with a cup of Sleeping Draught and a warm washcloth.
"What is this, some herbal shit?" she said when I handed her the cup.
"Just drink it," I said.
She obeyed and drained the glass. She fell back on the pillows almost immediately. I took the cup from her and placed it on the bedside table. Her eyes were half open. Gently I began to wash her face with the washcloth.
"What's your name?" I asked softly as I wiped her eyeliner-streaked face.
"…Wendy," she murmured sleepily. Then her eyes closed and she was asleep.
I set the washcloth aside on the bedside table and looked down at her peaceful face. Without her excessive whorish makeup, she looked younger than 25 and resembled Olivia even more.
I tucked her into bed tenderly and started towards the door. I stopped and turned back to her, pulling out my wand. I could at least rid her of the memory that haunted her dreams.
"Obliviate," I said softly.
I left all the Muggle money I had on the bedside table in the room where she slept. I made sure all of the door were locked magically, except the front door and the door to her room. Then I used the fireplace in the study to Floo back to my office at Hogwarts.
When I stepped out of the fireplace in my office a moment later, I found that the house elves had decorated my office with holly and mistletoe. Annoyed, I waved my wand and sent the lot of it into the trash bin. I glanced at my watch- 11:30. It was still Christmas. As I walked towards my quarters, I noticed a piece of parchment on my desk that had no been there when I left. I picked it up and found it was Olivia's handwriting.
Where are you? I thought we needed to start the Wolfsbane Potion today? Come find me whenever you get back.
I sighed and tossed it aside. Nice to know I had screwed that up. I went to my room and sat on the bed, thinking I could go to sleep and end this miserable Christmas. Then I had another thought- it might not be too late to brew the potion with Olivia. I could at least go to the Slytherin Common Room and see if she was still up. Maybe Christmas wouldn't be a complete waste after all.
