Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters.
Chapter 43
After giving Minerva her medicines and potions Severus Snape had diligently helped her back into the bedroom and left when she finally started snoozing. Instead of going into his bedroom where he believed Hermione was still sleeping, he walked into his private lab adjoining his study. As he watched the several potions bubbling in the cauldron, he grinned to himself.
Minerva McGonagall hated mystery. No wonder she was a cat and that to a very curious one. He had to bite the insides of his cheek, when he had nearly blurted out," Curiosity killed the cat." She couldn't even let a day go by and had finally succumbed to the urge to know how and why and when the guest quarters were built. He had scoffed," Just because you have lived in a tower for the entirety of your tenure in Hogwarts and seen the Slytherins bundled away in their dungeons does not mean we don't crave for sunlight!"
"Severus, don't get me wrong, but the fact that this wing never revealed itself even to me is a mystery. I am the deputy headmistress after all."
Pursing his lips, Snape supplied," If you so insist, I will tell you, these quarters are as old as the school is. And why it is so easy to forget that most of the students of my house came from affluent families, who have sprawling mansions and graves, orchards and gardens of their own. If the head of the house or the founder himself was expecting guests he would like to house them in a room with a magnificent view charmed or not!" The woman had huffed and glowered at him before fluffing her pillow and turning her back to him, pretending to look quite annoyed.
The feeling of lightheartedness evaporated the moment he remembered the cruel indication, Minerva had said there were several people who needed this new variation of wolfsbane, how many was she hinting at?
They had left the Caislean Crochta hours ago. He was aware he wouldn't be able to go there, but in case Mrs. Zabini needed medication, he would have to ensure the potions were ready for either Blaise or Kingsley to pick up. He realized he missed Lupin. Clucking his tongue he cursed over the fumes, in those early days when the newly DADA professor pestered him with mindless stories about how his classes were going on, how he enjoyed watching the kids learning new spells and coming to epiphanies on a daily basis, he wished him dead, like James Potter.
It had taken him a week after the full moon and a sudden chance to see the man sitting alone over the stump of the dead tree in the middle of the Forbidden forest crying and sniveling to himself to understand the acuteness of his lonely existence. Since then, he had begun tolerating Remus Lupin's presence. Even if he had his legacy in mind, Severus never, even for once, had tried to make the man, in second hand, stitched up clothes, discover it. Lupin was an anomaly in Albus Dumbledore's camp and had already drawn the Dark Lord's attention by simply existing.
Only he could have guided the potion master with those little details. Lavender was a young werewolf without a guide or a mentor. She had Blaise to lean on. But a direwolf could help her with her wolfish affectation, the area of training herself as a werewolf lay unattended. His eyes had drifted to the black almirah in the furthest corner of the long room. It had housed several of the important memories, and valuable documents and books. Among them lay Remus Lupin's journal, or what Snape would like to call it "the Lupin chronicles." It was meant for Ted Lupin. The dead father wanted the son to use it and document his own life. Harry could have had it, but Lupin wanted Snape to hold on to it. The man had shoved it in Snape's hand hours before they were to raid Staghorn Lair. He had literally pleaded," Keep it somewhere safe and then join us at Grimmauld Place. Just in case...you can use it to help the others and well, Harry can also hold on to it, since Ted is too young. It is for Ted ultimately. But Snape, Mate, don't let anyone else touch it."
He will have to wait for Shacklebolt to find a safe way to communicate with the Claysmiths. The door to his laboratory clicked open and her scent whiffed inside, dominating over those several fuming cauldrons and greeted him. Despite himself, he chuckled. Turning his face and resting it on his shoulder, he murmured," Can't keep you away, can I?"
Hermione was leaning on the door frame, undecided, biting her bottom lip ferociously. Her eyes were puffed up, her cheeks colored, but she was shivering with tension. Heaving a sigh, Snape waved his hand and said," You can come in."
He watched his wife studying his lab like a young girl visiting the fair for the first time. Watching the cauldrons attentively, she mumbled," You were gone for too long, your thoughts were dark and murky, it frightened me enough to come looking for you. Why did you think of dead bodies of men, women, and children piled up together and a group of aurors setting them on fire?"
Instead of answering her question, he studied her minutely and said," There is something in me that is constantly asking me to trust you with my secrets, tell you everything I ever saw, hear, felt, or even dreamt of…"
She whispered," It is the bond, that is making you do such things…I overheard, I don't remember reading about est vinculum animarum…"
When her husband had straightened up and winced, Hermione was by his side at once kneading his shoulders. He had hummed at the touch and when she allowed her fingers to massage his scalp, threading through the lightly greased long black hair, he purred again, making her smirk. It intrigued him, so he whispered," How did you know I needed it?"
Lifting her shoulders she replied, standing close to him," I didn't know, I felt it."
Snape opened his eyes and looked at her, thoughtful," We should document everything about this bond. It will be helpful for others afterward."
Hermione bit her lips again, drawing his eyes to them and blushed. But she agreed," Because we are a hundred percent match and we are the first case."
Amused by her choice of words, he arched his brow and licked his dried lips," Clinically speaking, yes, Madam Snape." Dragging a spare stool close to him, he patted over it and gestured to her to take a seat. When she sat down and tucked her fingers below her legs, slightly swinging her body, he grinned," Go ahead. Ask them. I have an hour before two of the left-hand side caldrons will need my attention."
Hermione shook her head and then schooled her features," Before the Battle of Hogwarts or even after it, how did you communicate with Shacklebolt?"
She saw the corner of his eyes cringe, but then he brought something out of his pocket. Grabbing her hand, he placed something over her open palm. A galleon. Hermione just had the time to gasp, but her husband was already speaking," Impressive Madam Snape. Very Impressive, I must say. But I am not the thief. It is Draco Lucius Malfoy who nicked a couple of these from the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors and brought them to me. I held on to them just in case. I knew I could communicate through Headmaster Black, but these could have served as a backup plan. In the case of Shacklebolt they did. Though I had to tweak a bit with the spell and adjust it to my liking. Now that I think of it, it should have occurred to me how easily your spell gave in and agreed to my adjustments. Draco has one on his person and I have another. And the minister has his. And now, only you are aware of this little secret. So tell me what are you going to do about it?"
Huffing and then smirking back at him, Hermione had innocently replied," Were you saying something all this while Professor, I watched your lips move, but I think something is wrong with my ears, I couldn't hear a word of what you said…" she couldn't carry on with the act and started giggling, rocking the stool hard enough. She would have toppled if Snape had not grabbed her arm and steadied her immediately.
She managed to look guilty and muttered a soft thank you. He must have thought the words, your parents...loud enough because Hermione's hand had flown up to his mouth covering it in response. He did not wait for her to say, "not now", instead, pulled her close into his arms and allowed her to ease within his embrace. He watched the burner below the nearest cauldron while his witch sniffed and rubbed her face over his robes and then whispered another thank you. He smiled into her bushy hair and murmured," I have been told quite often, I am a good listener." She thought back, I will remember that, as of now, I am filling up that information for future reference. Snape had thought back, in that misty maze of your mighty mind.
Hermione peered up at him interested," So it looks like a mist." her husband had just nodded and asked, "the next question?"
Resting her head on his shoulders she ventured, sounding a little hurt," Why did you not tell me that my assumption about 'the big bad wolf' being a werewolf was correct?" First, he just thought back, you are intuitive but naive, you will need to gather more experience, you will need to learn much more and that too in such a short time to become my equal. I would have wanted you to be just you, but this war wants you to be my equal and will settle for nothing less.
Making an effort to comfort her, he traced her knuckles with his long fingers and spoke aloud," I kept quiet and did not acknowledge it because I wanted you to react as expected. At least the others should be expecting you to be in the dark. I am known to be a private man and I should not be sharing every single insight with my wife of two days, should I? Though we were so comfortable around all of them, that even Longbottom sensed it. My silence didn't payout at the end."
She mumbled again," Why did you start reading about wolves?" sitting straighter, looking directly into his molten black eyes, she urged," The truth this time, please."
Her plea sounded more like a prayer to him. People have prayed to him through the years. But he had always succeeded in bringing them down to their knees before ripping their ego or life into shreds. But today the conqueror became the conquest himself. Threading his fingers in between her smaller ones, he squeezed once. He never left the desire to touch Lily with such urgency. Perhaps, she wasn't really meant for him.
Blinking away those long lost pangs of remorse, he replied," Because, from the very beginning, Remus Lupin was an odd one out. Everyone thought that the Marauders, those four Gryffindors had singled me out. But it was more like James Potter had singled me out. Sirius Black had singled me out. Peter Pettigrew was a brainless pawn. He was always like that. But Remus Lupin was absolutely different from all of them. I could feel his power championing over all of them. And I couldn't find any logical explanation as to why he chose to hide behind Potter and Black instead of leading them. Even when he joined those three to laugh at my expense, he did it unwillingly. I could always tell it because his eyes never lied."
When she asked, confused," His eyes?", Snape looked at her with all the tenderness he could muster,' Yes, his eyes. I don't remember seeing such poignantly sad but intelligent and innocent eyes before I saw Neville Longbottom sweating under the sorting Hat."
Smiling brightly, Hermione squeezed his hand and asked," Neville Longbottom, I remember you hating him all through my school years, and now you both talk about each other like those seven years of potion classes was just a nightmare, and I just woke up in a parallel universe!"
Snape's lips had curled up and said," I will tell you about what was what, now that there is no use hiding it from you of all the people, but I think I heard your stomach rumble, shall we continue this after dinner and of course after I have added the next ingredients to those bubbly purple concoctions over there?"
His wife had stood up, kissing the small patch of sweating skin in between his brows and quietly left him to himself. He sat there feeling dizzy and giddy. Her smell, her touch, and her words which rang even after she had closed the door of the lab softly made him grip his chest and blush. She had said, you never cease to wonder me.