chapter two
Billows and Fur
Snape was both angry and stunned as he stared down the hallway. He had just run into the new professor and, for once, was left speechless by another's sarcasm. It took a moment for him to regain his composure enough to continue heading for his office.
"Good evening Severus." said Remus in a warm gentle current.
Snape spun around at the greeting, furious of another intrusion, and then realized his guest was indeed expected and he had forgotten to pick up the Wolfbane on the way.
"We will need to go to my private lab Professor, I did not bring it with me" Snape grunted in a dangerous tone.
Snape did not give Remus Lupin time to respond as he turned on his heel and headed back out the door with black robes billowing. Remus quickly jumped up from the couch and swiftly moved to be walking with the irritable Master of potions. Trying to think of something pleasant to talk about, Remus mentioned the new Professor on campus.
"I was most impressed with our new Professor and her, grace." Remus mused.
Snape let an eyebrow head north while he thought of the complicated implications of that statement.
"Yes." he offered in a cool monotone. "She's a regular pussycat I suspect!" he continued.
Remus puzzled at that remark but decided to chalk it up to Snape's unsocial attitude towards most people. While they stood in the light of the great fireplace of Snape's lab Remus also noticed that Severus looked particularly pale and tired.
"Is there anything I can help you with Severus?" Remus offered.
"You can drink your wolfbane and then get out!" Snape snarled. Snape drifted into one of the leather chairs facing the fireplace and began pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt one of his famous headaches pounding behind his eyes.
~*~
Arriving at her new office shortly after dinner, and the run in with Snape, Cataria was looking forward to some quiet time alone in her office to gather her thoughts and feelings about her new job. Maybe it was the distraction of so many new people and places swirling in her brain, but somehow she missed all signs of the guest until she turned around and spotted him, standing above her leather travel duffle bag, sniffing the top which had been drawn shut tight by a slender leather cord.
In an instant, before she could even consciously process the image of the large dog who had somehow managed to get through her locked door and after her personal effects, she erupted into an involuntary and angry hiss,
"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
She realized a moment later as she stretched her a sudden ache in her right hand, cramping had begun where fingers were bent into a claw shape. Recovering quickly, she spoke quietly and gently,
"Well, well, what, or who, do we have here?" she asked.
The dog looked up at her in silence and just stared at her for several moments, his eyes carefully and unhurriedly look over every inch of her.
He walked towards the door, paused just in front of her and sniffed a sample of the air about her, and then just walked silently out of the room.
"I wonder if this is Hagrid's idea of a joke, putting a fierce beast into the office of the new kid," she wondered aloud,
"Maybe some of my students even helped put him up to it. I noticed that the famous Harry Potter spent some time around him this afternoon."
She glanced up to see the dog once again standing in her doorway, staring silently, waiting, it seemed, to hear what else she had to say.
She looked him right in his eyes and laughed quietly and with confidence,
"You can go home, now, boy; and you can tell Hagrid or Snape or whoever it was who let you in here that I can play and will play, too. No hard feelings, but go home now."
The dog tilted his head and, appearing to lose interest, strode silently down the hallway.
~*~
Snape exhaled in relief as the werewolf stood to leave his office and mind in peace. Lupin paused just inside the doorway to pose a question towards Snape.
"I need someone to take my classes in the middle of the week Severus," Remus started.
Snape waved an impatient hand and said, "Yes, yes I will take your classes during the full moon!" he grunted.
Remus clearly understood Severus not only did not expect a thank you, but would be even more irritated by such a gesture. Turning quietly, Remus walked down the hall, hearing the office door slam shut behind him.
It wasn't long before he spotted Snuffles padding down the other end. The large dog glanced towards Remus and paused. With a new sparkle dance across his brown eyes, he took off running to their shared quarters.
"Must have something to tell me about." wondered Remus allowed and was startled by one of the portrait paintings agreeing with him.
"Oh yes, saw him sniffing about the new Professor's office while I was visiting the Grey Lady for a spot of tea" stated the frumpy English woman of the painting. She settled into her overstated, overstuffed Louis the 14th mauve chair, bubbling to tell this remarkably handsome man all the gossip.
"Was he?" asked Remus in mock surprise. He knew Miss Pierce could and would fill him in on all the goings on of the castle if he just played along with her style of telling the story. "Saw him hanging out near the Ravenclaw common rooms. He was listening to the upper class boys talking about their new Professor, went off to her office and let himself in." she sniffed.
"Thank you Miss Pierce. You would make a wonderful lady detective." he mused. He was sure she blushed as she fussed with the lace on the cuff of her left sleeve. Remus entered the quarters to find a very smug looking Sirius lounged across the leather chair closest to the roaring fireplace.
"Guess what I found out tonight about our new Professor!" Sirius quipped.
~*~
Cataria prepared a cup of the special relaxation-inducing hot chocolate Dumbledore had presented her at a special faculty reception held in her honor earlier that day. She took her warm drink and sat back in the large padded chair behind her desk and took a long sip as she reflected on the events of her first day. She smiled mischievously as she thought of all the temporarily mush-brained male students whose eyes were glued on her during dinner, including that red-headed boy who was a special mate of the famous Harry Potter. She felt a little sorry for him, as her interest in getting a good look at the boy who lived had made Ron's infatuation stand out from the general hormone laden crowd. So great was the extent of his dreamy looks, she wondered if Ron would be able to respond verbally when she called roll the next day in class.
She smiled a little wider, knowing she would enjoy seeing the effect she had on the male population throughout the semester. Anticipating a pervasive male response, Dumbledore suggested she might even want to contact Gilderoy Lockhart to find out how he had handled the hordes of female admirers he had swept away during his tenure as charms Professor at the school a few years earlier. She would not do this, though, as she knew she had her ways.
She was still puzzled, though, by the presence of the dog. She had met Hagrid earlier, and he had seemed pleased with her. He had insisted on introducing her to every one of the creatures he tended to, and none of the dogs he showed her looked like the one that had been in her office. Then she thought again of Snape: could he have been so upset at her unsettling snipes that he had decided a bit of hazing was in order for the new girl? He did not seem the type, however, to do anything so juvenile. True, he did not appear to be accustomed to getting bested at either sarcasm or sneers; but she could only imagine that any response from him would go all the way. Nothing that would be a prank, but something that would really get noticed, perhaps appearing more drastic and damaging, on first glance, than it actually was. She had made the chocolate more powerful than she had intended, so she began drifting off to sleep in her comfortably padded chair. As she drifted into a sleep void of dogs, she imagined herself engaged in another round of sarcastic fire at Snape, her lips unconsciously forming a contented smile as she sank deeper into what promised to be a quite pleasing dream.
~*~
On the other side of the castle, two floors down, sat the very person of her sweet dreaming. He, on the other hand, was stubbornly trying not to think about her. Small movements under the covers of his bed caught his eye and it made him sigh out a large, well deserved breath.
"Spot" he drawled "Do you want tuna, or eye of Dobby? He continued, as the corners of his mouth twitched to suppress a smile.
Several times in the past couple of years, Severus had threatened the all too helpful elf that he would pickle him and take him jar and all to the potions classroom. Dobby was accustomed to be threatened in the past by the family Malfoy and therefore decided not venture into the dungeon quarters again. Severus of course, would not have really harmed the elf, but the threat's outcome had been his just reward.
Now, he needed to take care of the one being who never paid his mocking threats any attention. One Christmas holiday, Severus had found the half starved kitten in the lower dungeons. With Hagrid on Holiday he was left to take care of kitten and found that he really did like the little bugger. Spot grew into a large, orange, long haired cat who loved to lay on Snape's chest and purr himself to sleep. There was something funny about Spot as well because, every time Severus set up the chess board, he would smack the black Knight off the board and run off with it. Spot was also famous for sticking his bushy head in Severus's mugs and finishing off his tea or coffee.
Spot stuck a head out from under the blankets and mewed towards his companion. Stretching broke his cooing into several chopped versions of meows that caused a grin to force itself to the foreground within the twinkle of Snape's eyes.
"What am I going to do with you Spot" he said as he stroked the back of his cat. Spot answered by head butting his chest at heart level.
"You are a regular con artist, don't think I don't know it!" he said in that velvet chocolate voice. Spot chirped in response, circled around his lap a few times and laid down for a nap.
Billows and Fur
Snape was both angry and stunned as he stared down the hallway. He had just run into the new professor and, for once, was left speechless by another's sarcasm. It took a moment for him to regain his composure enough to continue heading for his office.
"Good evening Severus." said Remus in a warm gentle current.
Snape spun around at the greeting, furious of another intrusion, and then realized his guest was indeed expected and he had forgotten to pick up the Wolfbane on the way.
"We will need to go to my private lab Professor, I did not bring it with me" Snape grunted in a dangerous tone.
Snape did not give Remus Lupin time to respond as he turned on his heel and headed back out the door with black robes billowing. Remus quickly jumped up from the couch and swiftly moved to be walking with the irritable Master of potions. Trying to think of something pleasant to talk about, Remus mentioned the new Professor on campus.
"I was most impressed with our new Professor and her, grace." Remus mused.
Snape let an eyebrow head north while he thought of the complicated implications of that statement.
"Yes." he offered in a cool monotone. "She's a regular pussycat I suspect!" he continued.
Remus puzzled at that remark but decided to chalk it up to Snape's unsocial attitude towards most people. While they stood in the light of the great fireplace of Snape's lab Remus also noticed that Severus looked particularly pale and tired.
"Is there anything I can help you with Severus?" Remus offered.
"You can drink your wolfbane and then get out!" Snape snarled. Snape drifted into one of the leather chairs facing the fireplace and began pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt one of his famous headaches pounding behind his eyes.
~*~
Arriving at her new office shortly after dinner, and the run in with Snape, Cataria was looking forward to some quiet time alone in her office to gather her thoughts and feelings about her new job. Maybe it was the distraction of so many new people and places swirling in her brain, but somehow she missed all signs of the guest until she turned around and spotted him, standing above her leather travel duffle bag, sniffing the top which had been drawn shut tight by a slender leather cord.
In an instant, before she could even consciously process the image of the large dog who had somehow managed to get through her locked door and after her personal effects, she erupted into an involuntary and angry hiss,
"Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
She realized a moment later as she stretched her a sudden ache in her right hand, cramping had begun where fingers were bent into a claw shape. Recovering quickly, she spoke quietly and gently,
"Well, well, what, or who, do we have here?" she asked.
The dog looked up at her in silence and just stared at her for several moments, his eyes carefully and unhurriedly look over every inch of her.
He walked towards the door, paused just in front of her and sniffed a sample of the air about her, and then just walked silently out of the room.
"I wonder if this is Hagrid's idea of a joke, putting a fierce beast into the office of the new kid," she wondered aloud,
"Maybe some of my students even helped put him up to it. I noticed that the famous Harry Potter spent some time around him this afternoon."
She glanced up to see the dog once again standing in her doorway, staring silently, waiting, it seemed, to hear what else she had to say.
She looked him right in his eyes and laughed quietly and with confidence,
"You can go home, now, boy; and you can tell Hagrid or Snape or whoever it was who let you in here that I can play and will play, too. No hard feelings, but go home now."
The dog tilted his head and, appearing to lose interest, strode silently down the hallway.
~*~
Snape exhaled in relief as the werewolf stood to leave his office and mind in peace. Lupin paused just inside the doorway to pose a question towards Snape.
"I need someone to take my classes in the middle of the week Severus," Remus started.
Snape waved an impatient hand and said, "Yes, yes I will take your classes during the full moon!" he grunted.
Remus clearly understood Severus not only did not expect a thank you, but would be even more irritated by such a gesture. Turning quietly, Remus walked down the hall, hearing the office door slam shut behind him.
It wasn't long before he spotted Snuffles padding down the other end. The large dog glanced towards Remus and paused. With a new sparkle dance across his brown eyes, he took off running to their shared quarters.
"Must have something to tell me about." wondered Remus allowed and was startled by one of the portrait paintings agreeing with him.
"Oh yes, saw him sniffing about the new Professor's office while I was visiting the Grey Lady for a spot of tea" stated the frumpy English woman of the painting. She settled into her overstated, overstuffed Louis the 14th mauve chair, bubbling to tell this remarkably handsome man all the gossip.
"Was he?" asked Remus in mock surprise. He knew Miss Pierce could and would fill him in on all the goings on of the castle if he just played along with her style of telling the story. "Saw him hanging out near the Ravenclaw common rooms. He was listening to the upper class boys talking about their new Professor, went off to her office and let himself in." she sniffed.
"Thank you Miss Pierce. You would make a wonderful lady detective." he mused. He was sure she blushed as she fussed with the lace on the cuff of her left sleeve. Remus entered the quarters to find a very smug looking Sirius lounged across the leather chair closest to the roaring fireplace.
"Guess what I found out tonight about our new Professor!" Sirius quipped.
~*~
Cataria prepared a cup of the special relaxation-inducing hot chocolate Dumbledore had presented her at a special faculty reception held in her honor earlier that day. She took her warm drink and sat back in the large padded chair behind her desk and took a long sip as she reflected on the events of her first day. She smiled mischievously as she thought of all the temporarily mush-brained male students whose eyes were glued on her during dinner, including that red-headed boy who was a special mate of the famous Harry Potter. She felt a little sorry for him, as her interest in getting a good look at the boy who lived had made Ron's infatuation stand out from the general hormone laden crowd. So great was the extent of his dreamy looks, she wondered if Ron would be able to respond verbally when she called roll the next day in class.
She smiled a little wider, knowing she would enjoy seeing the effect she had on the male population throughout the semester. Anticipating a pervasive male response, Dumbledore suggested she might even want to contact Gilderoy Lockhart to find out how he had handled the hordes of female admirers he had swept away during his tenure as charms Professor at the school a few years earlier. She would not do this, though, as she knew she had her ways.
She was still puzzled, though, by the presence of the dog. She had met Hagrid earlier, and he had seemed pleased with her. He had insisted on introducing her to every one of the creatures he tended to, and none of the dogs he showed her looked like the one that had been in her office. Then she thought again of Snape: could he have been so upset at her unsettling snipes that he had decided a bit of hazing was in order for the new girl? He did not seem the type, however, to do anything so juvenile. True, he did not appear to be accustomed to getting bested at either sarcasm or sneers; but she could only imagine that any response from him would go all the way. Nothing that would be a prank, but something that would really get noticed, perhaps appearing more drastic and damaging, on first glance, than it actually was. She had made the chocolate more powerful than she had intended, so she began drifting off to sleep in her comfortably padded chair. As she drifted into a sleep void of dogs, she imagined herself engaged in another round of sarcastic fire at Snape, her lips unconsciously forming a contented smile as she sank deeper into what promised to be a quite pleasing dream.
~*~
On the other side of the castle, two floors down, sat the very person of her sweet dreaming. He, on the other hand, was stubbornly trying not to think about her. Small movements under the covers of his bed caught his eye and it made him sigh out a large, well deserved breath.
"Spot" he drawled "Do you want tuna, or eye of Dobby? He continued, as the corners of his mouth twitched to suppress a smile.
Several times in the past couple of years, Severus had threatened the all too helpful elf that he would pickle him and take him jar and all to the potions classroom. Dobby was accustomed to be threatened in the past by the family Malfoy and therefore decided not venture into the dungeon quarters again. Severus of course, would not have really harmed the elf, but the threat's outcome had been his just reward.
Now, he needed to take care of the one being who never paid his mocking threats any attention. One Christmas holiday, Severus had found the half starved kitten in the lower dungeons. With Hagrid on Holiday he was left to take care of kitten and found that he really did like the little bugger. Spot grew into a large, orange, long haired cat who loved to lay on Snape's chest and purr himself to sleep. There was something funny about Spot as well because, every time Severus set up the chess board, he would smack the black Knight off the board and run off with it. Spot was also famous for sticking his bushy head in Severus's mugs and finishing off his tea or coffee.
Spot stuck a head out from under the blankets and mewed towards his companion. Stretching broke his cooing into several chopped versions of meows that caused a grin to force itself to the foreground within the twinkle of Snape's eyes.
"What am I going to do with you Spot" he said as he stroked the back of his cat. Spot answered by head butting his chest at heart level.
"You are a regular con artist, don't think I don't know it!" he said in that velvet chocolate voice. Spot chirped in response, circled around his lap a few times and laid down for a nap.