II. Of Pink Bubbles and Parrots
The wizarding world may have changed in the last thirteen years, but praise Merlin, The Leaky Cauldron hadn't. Lupin breathed in the slightly smoky air and trotted cheerfully up the stairs, keys to his rented room in hand. He could hear Snape struggling with the trunks behind him.
Revenge, tame as it might have been, was sweet.
"You can leave my trunk at the top, Severus," Lupin called down. "I'm capable of taking it the rest of the way."
"Think nothing of it," came the bitter reply. "I have my own to carry up after yours."
Lupin froze and felt a familiar sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. "What?"
He could hear Snape pause in the middle of the stairs to catch his breath, cloaked shoulders heaving as he wiped at the invisible droplets of sweat dotting his brow. When he didn't reply, Lupin whirled around and skewered Snape with a glare.
"What do you mean you have to carry yours up after mine?" he demanded, hating the tremor in his voice.
"Albus was quite insistent," Snape replied, drawing himself up to his full height as a pair of house elves came scampering up to his assistance. With the greatest of ease, they lifted the trunks onto their backs and took the rest of the stairs at a leap, bounding up, up, up. They didn't seem the least phased by the boggart pounding from the inside of Lupin's belongings.
Lupin arched an eyebrow, forcing himself to keep a straight face with Snape mimicked the gesture. "Albus?"
Snape nodded. "When you told him of your, ah," he paused, as if mentally groping for the right words, "your, ah, intentions, he asked me to accompany you. Believe me when I say that I won't be enjoying this escapade any more than you will."
"I don't want your help, Severus."
"It's not a matter of wanting," Snape drawled as he ascended to meet Lupin. "It's a matter of needing. Albus wouldn't have requested this task of me unless he saw it to be absolutely necessary."
He reached the top step and peered down at Lupin from behind his long black bangs. Breath foul and rank forced the ex-Professor to take several steps back. Intimidation. He hated this game.
"I don't need your help either," Lupin snapped. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."
A knowing smile threatened to overturn Snape's permanent scowl. "That's not quite the way that I remember things," he said coolly. "My room is adjacent to yours. If you need anything, please don't feel compelled to come knocking."
Without another word, Snape produced another set of keys from his robes and glided around the corner. Several moments later a door slammed shut and the house elves were sent scurrying.
Lupin was angry. It wasn't often that he felt the rage bubbling up inside him. More frustrating than the emotion itself was his lack of control over it. Knuckles whitening, Lupin balled his hand into a fist so tight that his blood vessels looked as though they were about to pop.
Severus Snape, he decided, was the greatest bastard of them all.
"Have a nice night!" Lupin screamed down the hall. Naturally, there came no reply, not even when the "Snivellus!" tore out of his throat.
"Mister Lupin, sir?"
Lupin dropped his gaze to the cowering house elf dressed in a patchy potato that was presently latched onto his leg. "Yes?"
"Does Mister Lupin want Feenk to show him to his room, sir?" the house elf asked.
The blood drained from Lupin's face as he forced a smile. "That would make me very happy," he said with a slight nod. The house elf's eyes lit up and the last signs of Lupin's anger vanished completely. "Lead on."
Down the hall and around the corner they went, stopping only once they reached a door with a lopsided sign hanging off the knob which proudly proclaimed: "Room 15", big and bold. Lupin thanked the house elf, turned the key and stepped inside.
The room was simple, but comfortable in furnishings. A large canopied four- poster bed done in red velvet and satin sat along the back wall, while its heavy canopy and curtains hung from golden rods. That the colours were exactly the same as Gryffindor's did not escape him. Lupin imagined that Snape's room had been done up in silver and green as well.
Next to the bed was a small table with a water pitcher and a glowing lamp, the room's only source of light. Against one wall, an intricately carved armoire stood ready with a set of brand new robes. To its right was an antechamber (a bathroom of some sort, Lupin surmised).
It was classy. Too classy.
Lupin frowned. When Dumbledore had told him that the school had taken care of his living arrangements until he was back on his feet, he'd been expecting something more suited to his own budget.
He turned to tell the house elf so, but it had already gone.
Well, Lupin thought, if I can't afford it, I should at least enjoy it.
~*~
Twenty minutes later, Remus Lupin was completely submerged in a pink- foaming bubble bath. The warmth of the water soaked into his soul and the potions in the bubbles left him feeling dizzy, light headed and vaguely smelling of strawberries.
For the moment, Remus Lupin didn't have a care in the world. The enchanted bathtub, with its plain brass fixtures and dragon claw feet, scrubbed at his neck and back.
"That's the spot," Lupin fairly purred. Though the bathtub could not reply in words, it scrubbed just a little bit harder.
Lupin was so engrossed in the tub's attention that he didn't hear the knocking until after the fifth rap. He looked toward the door, glaring as much as his blissful state would allow and called out, "Go away, Severus!"
The knocking started up again and Lupin realized that the sound was coming from his bathroom window, and not the door to the room itself. Ignoring all the alarms bells sounding in his head, Lupin rose from the bath, shivering as the water rolled off his gaunt body and rejoined its collective mass. His hand found the handle and he gave it a sharp tug. The window blew open and a parrot came fluttering in, squawking loudly as it circled and searched desperately for a place to land.
Bewildered, Lupin thrust his arm out in offering and watched with wide frightened eyes as the parrot eagerly accepted the makeshift perch. It was then that he noticed the piece of parchment tied to the bird's leg.
"Hush up," he grumbled at the noisy bird as he pulled the parchment free and unfolded it. He'd heard of the Owl Post, but Parrot Post?
Lupin drew in a sharp breath as the parrot dug its sharp little feet into his arm and began to read:
"Moony,
I have to keep this short as I'm on the move and can't spare a minute. If the Ministry catches up to me, this will all have been for nothing. I don't blame you for what happened that night. If anyone, it's that insufferable git Snape who should have been sacked and not yourself. Dumbledore informed me of your plans to find a cure for your condition. I have to say that Egypt isn't the first place I'd have looked, but you and I never really did think alike, did we? When are you leaving, and how do you plan to get there? Please respond, and keep an eye out for large black dogs.
As always, Padfoot"
Lupin's face burst into a broad smile.
Sirius.
With a hoot of joy, he sprung from the bathtub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around his lower body before skidding off into his bedroom to immediately pen his reply.
The wizarding world may have changed in the last thirteen years, but praise Merlin, The Leaky Cauldron hadn't. Lupin breathed in the slightly smoky air and trotted cheerfully up the stairs, keys to his rented room in hand. He could hear Snape struggling with the trunks behind him.
Revenge, tame as it might have been, was sweet.
"You can leave my trunk at the top, Severus," Lupin called down. "I'm capable of taking it the rest of the way."
"Think nothing of it," came the bitter reply. "I have my own to carry up after yours."
Lupin froze and felt a familiar sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. "What?"
He could hear Snape pause in the middle of the stairs to catch his breath, cloaked shoulders heaving as he wiped at the invisible droplets of sweat dotting his brow. When he didn't reply, Lupin whirled around and skewered Snape with a glare.
"What do you mean you have to carry yours up after mine?" he demanded, hating the tremor in his voice.
"Albus was quite insistent," Snape replied, drawing himself up to his full height as a pair of house elves came scampering up to his assistance. With the greatest of ease, they lifted the trunks onto their backs and took the rest of the stairs at a leap, bounding up, up, up. They didn't seem the least phased by the boggart pounding from the inside of Lupin's belongings.
Lupin arched an eyebrow, forcing himself to keep a straight face with Snape mimicked the gesture. "Albus?"
Snape nodded. "When you told him of your, ah," he paused, as if mentally groping for the right words, "your, ah, intentions, he asked me to accompany you. Believe me when I say that I won't be enjoying this escapade any more than you will."
"I don't want your help, Severus."
"It's not a matter of wanting," Snape drawled as he ascended to meet Lupin. "It's a matter of needing. Albus wouldn't have requested this task of me unless he saw it to be absolutely necessary."
He reached the top step and peered down at Lupin from behind his long black bangs. Breath foul and rank forced the ex-Professor to take several steps back. Intimidation. He hated this game.
"I don't need your help either," Lupin snapped. "I'm capable of taking care of myself."
A knowing smile threatened to overturn Snape's permanent scowl. "That's not quite the way that I remember things," he said coolly. "My room is adjacent to yours. If you need anything, please don't feel compelled to come knocking."
Without another word, Snape produced another set of keys from his robes and glided around the corner. Several moments later a door slammed shut and the house elves were sent scurrying.
Lupin was angry. It wasn't often that he felt the rage bubbling up inside him. More frustrating than the emotion itself was his lack of control over it. Knuckles whitening, Lupin balled his hand into a fist so tight that his blood vessels looked as though they were about to pop.
Severus Snape, he decided, was the greatest bastard of them all.
"Have a nice night!" Lupin screamed down the hall. Naturally, there came no reply, not even when the "Snivellus!" tore out of his throat.
"Mister Lupin, sir?"
Lupin dropped his gaze to the cowering house elf dressed in a patchy potato that was presently latched onto his leg. "Yes?"
"Does Mister Lupin want Feenk to show him to his room, sir?" the house elf asked.
The blood drained from Lupin's face as he forced a smile. "That would make me very happy," he said with a slight nod. The house elf's eyes lit up and the last signs of Lupin's anger vanished completely. "Lead on."
Down the hall and around the corner they went, stopping only once they reached a door with a lopsided sign hanging off the knob which proudly proclaimed: "Room 15", big and bold. Lupin thanked the house elf, turned the key and stepped inside.
The room was simple, but comfortable in furnishings. A large canopied four- poster bed done in red velvet and satin sat along the back wall, while its heavy canopy and curtains hung from golden rods. That the colours were exactly the same as Gryffindor's did not escape him. Lupin imagined that Snape's room had been done up in silver and green as well.
Next to the bed was a small table with a water pitcher and a glowing lamp, the room's only source of light. Against one wall, an intricately carved armoire stood ready with a set of brand new robes. To its right was an antechamber (a bathroom of some sort, Lupin surmised).
It was classy. Too classy.
Lupin frowned. When Dumbledore had told him that the school had taken care of his living arrangements until he was back on his feet, he'd been expecting something more suited to his own budget.
He turned to tell the house elf so, but it had already gone.
Well, Lupin thought, if I can't afford it, I should at least enjoy it.
~*~
Twenty minutes later, Remus Lupin was completely submerged in a pink- foaming bubble bath. The warmth of the water soaked into his soul and the potions in the bubbles left him feeling dizzy, light headed and vaguely smelling of strawberries.
For the moment, Remus Lupin didn't have a care in the world. The enchanted bathtub, with its plain brass fixtures and dragon claw feet, scrubbed at his neck and back.
"That's the spot," Lupin fairly purred. Though the bathtub could not reply in words, it scrubbed just a little bit harder.
Lupin was so engrossed in the tub's attention that he didn't hear the knocking until after the fifth rap. He looked toward the door, glaring as much as his blissful state would allow and called out, "Go away, Severus!"
The knocking started up again and Lupin realized that the sound was coming from his bathroom window, and not the door to the room itself. Ignoring all the alarms bells sounding in his head, Lupin rose from the bath, shivering as the water rolled off his gaunt body and rejoined its collective mass. His hand found the handle and he gave it a sharp tug. The window blew open and a parrot came fluttering in, squawking loudly as it circled and searched desperately for a place to land.
Bewildered, Lupin thrust his arm out in offering and watched with wide frightened eyes as the parrot eagerly accepted the makeshift perch. It was then that he noticed the piece of parchment tied to the bird's leg.
"Hush up," he grumbled at the noisy bird as he pulled the parchment free and unfolded it. He'd heard of the Owl Post, but Parrot Post?
Lupin drew in a sharp breath as the parrot dug its sharp little feet into his arm and began to read:
"Moony,
I have to keep this short as I'm on the move and can't spare a minute. If the Ministry catches up to me, this will all have been for nothing. I don't blame you for what happened that night. If anyone, it's that insufferable git Snape who should have been sacked and not yourself. Dumbledore informed me of your plans to find a cure for your condition. I have to say that Egypt isn't the first place I'd have looked, but you and I never really did think alike, did we? When are you leaving, and how do you plan to get there? Please respond, and keep an eye out for large black dogs.
As always, Padfoot"
Lupin's face burst into a broad smile.
Sirius.
With a hoot of joy, he sprung from the bathtub and wrapped a fluffy white towel around his lower body before skidding off into his bedroom to immediately pen his reply.