A/N: Oh the lateness of it all! I haven't been online in ages…let alone near FanFiction. And I'm very behind in my writing, but NONE OF MY STORIES HAVE BEEN ABANDONED! Do not worry :)
Chapter 7 – Underneath It All
***
Marc was sitting at a table in the library staring into space absentmindedly whenever Snape entered. Engrossed in his thoughts, Marc began to mutter to himself under his breath.
"What was that you said?" Snape said sharply from behind Marc. Marc jumped in his chair and turned around to face the glaring man with a cold smile,
"Nothing important."
Snape raised an eyebrow at Marc's painfully familiar smile then stated,
"I seem to have misplaced several advanced textbooks from my private stores in my room. I need the use of one of them tonight, and would like to take one out of the library. Is it possible for you to stop daydreaming and get it for me?"
Marc scratched the back of his neck, ignoring Snape's comment, and asked,
"Are you Professor Snape, by any chance?"
"Yes."
Marc gave out a whistle through his teeth and shook his head,
"Sorry, but while you're suspended from teaching your library privileges have also revoked."
"What do you mean by that?" Snape asked angrily.
"It means I'm not to let you take any books out," Marc walked past Snape and over to stand behind the check-out desk and continued, "I also think you will find that your 'misplaced books' were probably confiscated from your store."
Snape let out a frustrated sigh and watched as Marc fumbled around in a box of index cards, before he smiled and pulled one out,
"Yes…all your books were taken by Professor Dumbledore. Apparently the Board of Governors believed that while the murder enquiry was in action you shouldn't be allowed access to the more dangerous books in your collection."
"But I have books at home with more 'dangerous' potions and spells in them!" Snape shouted angrily, shaking slightly as he did so. Marc gave him a patronising smile,
"From what I hear it's unlikely you'll be able to get into your house without being hexed, so I think it's a safe bet that you won't get your hands on those."
"Well then I think I shall just have to speak to Professor Dumbledore about this." Snape grabbed the card that Marc was holding and stormed out of the library, gripping the card so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
Marc stared after him with a grin on his face, happy to have enraged one of the most feared teachers in Hogwarts. He gave out a laugh as he muttered,
"So, that was the infamous Severus Snape. The rumours about him weren't true at all - he's much more ugly than an ogre."
***
On the stroke of eight, Snape set a curved bottle down roughly on the desk in front of Hermione and said,
"Dragon blood," He raised an eyebrow and looked to Hermione, "There are twelve known uses. You are expected to know of six of these uses, as is the class you are to take tomorrow. I suggest you start by testing them, on what little knowledge they have, by asking them to list the uses that they know of."
Hermione nodded. After a minute or two of silence, Snape sighed angrily,
"Well? List them for me. I'd like to think that the person they have…teaching…them knows what she is talking about."
Hermione stuttered slightly before she found her feet. Then, counting down with her fingers as she did so, she said confidently,
"One, dragon's blood can be used in potion-making to give the drinker short-term invisibility. Two, the blood can be used in potion-making to induce a state of coma in the drinker, but the use of it can bring on recurring nightmares years after the initial drinking of the potion. Therefore it is not recommended to use this potion," Hermione paused to look up at Snape, who was staring down at her impassively so as not to let on whether or not she was right. She continued, "Three, dragon's blood may also be used in certain love potions, as it is known to be a powerful aphrodisiac. It is possible to tell when a person has been drugged with such a potion, as the pupils of the subject's eyes take on a reddish tinge in the daylight. Four, it is believed that to bathe your body in the blood of a dragon will give temporary invincibility, the effect only wearing off once you shed the layers of skin that had absorbed the blood. This has been likened to that of how a dragon sheds its scales yearly or just like a snake would shed its skin. Five, it is also known that to dip a weapon of war in the blood of dragon, such as a sword, will give the weapon a magical power. The power is the ability to slice through any object with ease, and to even pierce the leathery skin of a dragon itself. It is rumoured that the sword of Godric Gryffindor was dipped in blood." Hermione faltered slightly in the rhyming off of the uses. Snape jumped at the chance to snap,
"Well? You have listed five, and you were asked to give six."
"Yes," Hermione's face fell serious as she muttered, "Six, dragon's blood is alleged to be the main ingredient required for the practice of Necromancy."
"Which is illegal throughout the world of magic and can earn you a kiss from a Dementor, if you are caught." Snape snatched the bottle of blood away from the desk and walked across the room to where a cauldron had been set up. He beckoned to Hermione to follow and said,
"Tomorrow you will be making your class temporarily invisible, or at least, they will try to make themselves invisible. Before you go in to show them how tomorrow I'd like to make sure you can brew the potion yourself, and you will not leave tonight until I am satisfied you are capable of doing so," Snape moved away from Hermione and retreated to behind his desk to mark the mound of work that had built up over the day.
***
Lucius was tapping his fingers thoughtfully on his desk when he heard a rough battering of a fist on the door. He looked up and said calmly,
"Enter."
Barley made his way into the room quietly and nodded at Lucius in a respectful greeting. His large and hairy hands were in tight fists as he cleared his throat before he spoke,
"Lucius, I have compared Severus' wand against the residue seen in Fudge's old office."
"And?" Lucius raised an eyebrow and brought himself forward to hear what Barely had to say.
"And… it was not a match. The shade of violet emitted from Severus' wand is darker than that found in the office."
Lucius gave Barley a smile that showed off the whiteness of his teeth, not unlike the toothy grin of a tiger speaking with its prey, and said slowly,
"Then make it a match. He does not expect his wand back for another 36 hours, at least."
Barley's forehead wrinkled in confusion,
"But you said to me yourself that you did not believe it was Severus…"
"I don't. But wouldn't it be much nicer to clean this mess up sooner than later? For me to start off as Minister having named and shamed our beloved Fudge's murderer?"
"With respect, Lucius, I would have happily lied about the residue, but…" Barley faded off. Lucius sighed,
"But what?"
"Someone else has been creeping around in that office. Someone…canine."
"But I have not authorised such a search!" Lucius spat out in an outrage. Barley nodded slowly,
"I know you haven't, but I never said that it was the ministry that had another checking the place out."
Realisation dawned across Lucius' face and he sunk back into his chair with an angry laugh,
"Dumbledore."
Barley shrugged,
"I don't know, but it is likely to have been anyone else?"
Lucius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose,
"So we cannot pin down Snape with the accusation of his wand residue being present?"
"Not if we aren't prepared for a backlash of evidence from whoever it was in that office, be it through Dumbledore or a third party."
"I see. We need to get Snape out of the way somehow, Barley. And I don't give a damn whether he committed the murder or not, for I fear his…friendship…is wavering." Lucius looked up at Barley, whose eyes flashed with understanding of what he was being told. Standing up, Lucius gave Barley a knowing smile and said,
"For trust is as important as gold in such a friendship, is it not?"
***
Snape looked up at Hermione, who was scattering in the dried ingredients. He snapped at her violently, causing her to take a step back in surprise,
"Don't just throw them in any old way like that."
Hermione stopped adding the powdered mixture, unsure how to put them in if not like that. Snape stood up and walked round the desk to stand beside Hermione.
"Give me the bowl." Snape demanded firmly.
Hermione handed it over. Snape rubbed the powder between his fingers for a few seconds,
"It could have been ground finer," he indicated to the bowl and Hermione imitated what Snape had done a second ago, "Do you feel the little bits of bark catching in your skin?" Hermione nodded and dropped the powder back in the bowl. Snape looked away from her and began to slowly sprinkle the powder into the cauldron,
"Now imagine how they must catch in your throat," he paused watching the flow of the powder as it fell, "One of the many problems with this potion, when not enough care is taken in the making of it you will find the drinker will develop a painful swelling in their throat a couple of days after it has been taken."
He then added disdainfully,
"You may notice all of the class will have complained of a sore throat by Thursday."
He handed the bowl back to Hermione, who started adding the rest of the powder slowly and carefully, and for the first time in her life appreciating how the powder did feel between her fingers – how rough it felt. She'd never really thought about the texture before, she had always just ground the ingredients until they looked reasonably powdered then threw them into whatever she was making. But now, as she watched the little grains falling, she realised how the feel of the powder added to the experience of making a potion, and how mesmerising they were to watch…how relaxing they were.
Snape watched Hermione with curiosity, as she stared at the cascade of granules and took the time to feel each little handful. Hermione broke the thoughtful silence between the two of them, in a voice that sounded like she was talking to herself,
"I'd never realised the difference it makes when you take your time…" she said without taking her eyes off what she was doing.
Once Hermione had finished stirring in the powder Snape said coldly,
"You sound as if you've learned something, and for once it's something that can't just be regurgitated from a book that you've read."
Hermione nodded, not really listening to what Snape had to say. She picked up the stone plate that held the powdered eagles beak and holding it over the cauldron, she slowly let the powder fall in, in the same captivating way as the other.
"Potions aren't something that should be just thrown together. Each ingredient you put in should be examined and treated like gold," Snape said with less of an edge to his voice than usual, "When making concoctions such as these your senses are your friends. Take time to feel each items texture, to watch the way it flows in your hand, or in its bottle. Don't treat making potions like it is a chore, when it's an experience. Your friends will find out that sometimes not bothering with attention to detail can have its side effects – even when recipes are followed to the word." Snape sighed, then when he realised he had let his guard down slightly, added harshly,
"Well? The dragon's blood isn't going to pour itself!"
Hermione picked up the glass bottle and looked at it for a minute or so, thinking.
"Sir?"
"Yes? What it is now? Surely you don't need help in pouring in a little liquid." Snape said sarcastically.
"No, it's not that. It's just…the way you poured the powder in… I mean, is there a technique for liquids?"
Snape looked taken aback for a moment when he saw the sincerity in her face. He wasn't expecting her to ask him something like that, for Hermione was known never to ask for directions and especially not help. She's showing an interest in what I have to say, thought Snape.
"Well…I…" Snape was momentarily lost for words, "Well I suppose there is," he thought for a moment, slightly unsure of himself, and watched as Hermione moved away from the cauldron so he could add the blood. Snape shook his head irritably,
"No, no, you'll have to stand in front of the cauldron too."
Hermione moved back into her position and Snape moved himself so that he was standing directly behind her. From there he was able to look over her left shoulder to the table. Hermione picked up the bottle in her right hand and turned to hand it to Snape. He declined it,
"You're going to pour it in."
Hermione looked slightly worried but began to pour it slowly.
From where Snape was standing he could feel Hermione's soft hair against his right cheek and the warmth radiating off her body. Letting out a quiet sigh, he let his eyes close slowly. Snape opened them suddenly and looked guiltily at the ground. Taking a deep cleansing breath he brushed his hair out of his eyes. Some thoughts are not meant to be thought, Severus…
He watched how she was pouring the blood for a moment, yet, if she's to see what I want to show her…. Snape thought, raising his hand slowly.
Snape's hand came from behind Hermione and grasped the bottle and her hand firmly. When his hand touched hers she jumped out of shock – not because he had taken hold of it, but in surprise at the warmth of his skin. She'd always imagined he would be as cold as his words. He then raised both her hand and the bottle, making them tilt slightly, so that when Hermione looked straight ahead she could see the candle on his desk gleaming through the blood.
Snape's voice came from beside her left ear and he was so close to her she could feel his breath on the side of her neck when he whispered,
"Watch where the candle light is bouncing off the blood while it flows… what do you see?"
Hermione tried to focus on the little specks of light playing on the surface of the falling blood.
"I can't…"
Snape cut in,
"Keep watching. Concentrate on nothing else."
Hermione looked again and watched as the light danced across the blood, trying to not think about Snape standing behind her. At the moment all she could concentrate on was his gentle breathing, each breath flowing past her neck and onto her cheek. She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second to try and snap out of the trance she was in. When she opened them again she stared intently at the flowing blood and the small dots of light hitting off it. And then suddenly she saw it; the droplets were no longer forming just another type of blood… the droplets were forming elegant red dragons, all flying downwards in one long stream of liquid. She blinked in complete shock, and they disappeared. Hermione let out the breath she was holding,
"There were hundreds of dragons!"
She turned round suddenly to face Snape with amazed and smiling eyes. This close to him she could almost see a smile forming on his lips also as he said,
"In looking closely, you will often find things are not entirely what they seem."
Hermione looked back to the bubbling potion with a look of wonderment. As her back was turned, Snape rebuilt the stonewall of his face, knowing that he'd revealed a little too much of a different personality. Moving swiftly out from behind her, he made his way to his desk and muttered,
"You should get back to your friends, it's getting late."
"But what about the cleaning up?"
"I think I can handle a couple of bottles, Miss Granger." Snape said disdainfully. Hermione stared at Snape, who was now shuffling papers on his desk, seemingly randomly, with his back to her. There was something cutting in the way he had accented the 'Miss' that made Hermione none too keen on spending any more time with him that evening. But in letting his guard down, he had not only revealed a different side of himself to Hermione – he had let her see a side of him that she liked. She had seen beyond the cold Potions Master, and had seen his passion, dedication, and most importantly, she had seen his love for what he did.
***
Thanks :
Footmonster, Sasery, Charlotte Black, Snakecharmer, Mandy Snape, Jinxx Alleycat, Kitsunelover, Pailay, Angel of the North, Sara, Ellemorpheus and Katie!
Thank you all so much, and I do apologise for the lateness.
