Series - Runes of the Serpent
Chapter III - The Benefits of Lemongrass
Remus Lupin was suffering. It was something bordering on despair.
Severus had been unable to ignore his repeatedly botched Confounding Serum for the past three classes. He was regularly subjected to the weekly torture of observing the pathetic scene of Lupin at his lowest point, namely: Advanced Potions. As it stood now, Severus had the biting urge to inform him that he was again omitting the critical Augury liver, but restrained himself, realising that a gesture such as that came close to charity. And he was not a philanthropist.
Rather, while deftly carving up a strip of grey-green Graphorn brains, Severus looked sidelong at his strewn over table and scrabbled out, stained notes. "Mr. Lupin," a hoarse voice issued from the opposite end of the room. Remus looked up, startled.
Professor Von Lochstein slid down the aisle between the Slytherin and Gryffindor factions. He was a prodigiously tall wizard, aged, bony shouldered, and furtive, with thin, sharp eyes, chopped grizzled beard and hair, and pale, spidery hands. He was forever draped in a permanent, wraithlike shade of grey. Severus respected him as far as teachers were concerned, although, according to records, he had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts some ninety years ago. "Mr. Lupin," he repeated. "The potion is a delicate process. Your stirring fervour is uncalled for." There were slight snickers behind Severus. "I notice that you have not even prepared the liver for addition in..." he produced a tarnished silvery pocket watch, seemingly ancient in make, "... two minutes." Lupin frankly looked frantic.
"Mr. Snape, give Lupin your left over ingredients, please."
The teacher was greeted with a cold stare. "Take it as a compliment on your proficiency," the aged wizard said with a slight tone of impatience. "Go ahead..."
"Yes, sir..." Severus scraped some remaining liver (perfectly diced, he noticed) off a sheet of waxy paper with a knife and unceremoniously deposited it on Lupin's desk. For his part, Lupin looked just as offended. Well, he thought, at least he wouldn't have to watch that inept ass fumble through another potion. It was just painful. He silently thanked someone-- anyone-- that Pettigrew had not made it into Advanced Potions. Severus made sure to give Lupin a patronising glance before returning to his seat.
"Thank you, Snape," Von Lochstein said. "Now... can anyone tell me why the organs of Augury are so essential to this potion? And why if you do not add them, the mixture is likely to erupt upon heating as Mr. Lupin has demonstrated more than once."
The answer was one which Severus had known practically since First Year, but he was not in the mood to participate. He returned to the slow simmering of the lemongrass broth that must be piping hot before the addition of anything else. He stoked the tiny fire under the cauldron and twisted a bit more of the grass into the steaming water.
"You know, Snape--" a whisper issued from the Gryffindor side of the room, "-- I've heard that lemongrass works absolute wonders on greasy skin and hair. The girls insist that Witch Weekly knows all the best remedies. Have you read it?"
Don't turn. Don't turn. Just ignore it. Don't turn. You'll regret it. Severus turned. He met two pairs of eyes, both of them full of laughter... and could not think of a comeback for Potter and Black. He wracked his brain for one and couldn't come up with anything that didn't sound like a ten-year-old-girl response. Who needed words? His gaze flicked toward a half-full bottle of ink lying among Black's supplies and he twitched his wand under his desk. The bottle shivered under the spell and promptly shot quick as an arrow at the side of Potter's head. Not that it hurt him badly, per se... only shattered apart and splattered the whole left side of his face and most of his hair with the oily black dye.
He smirked. "Ah. Why don't you try that out at the next makeover party and tell me about it? As it seems you've read Witch Weekly." A dozen Slytherins grinned wickedly and the Gryffindors looked murderous.
Potter appeared stunned, and removed his now opaque glasses, rubbing the back of his hand over his face. He probed gently at the site of impact on his skull.
Severus barely had time to think before Black started from his chair in a very threatening manner.
"GENTLEMEN. Is there something I should be informed of back here?" Von Lochstein swept down the aisle in a second. He surveyed Potter and advised him pertly to make a visit to the lavatory and wash up. "Who started this?" Neither Black nor Snape answered. "You two as well as Potter will each receive ten points from your Houses." Black flinched, but silently sat down and returned to his potion making... grinding a handful of mugwort somewhat violently with a pestle.
"I'm especially disappointed in you, Mr. Snape," the professor observed quietly as he walked past, carrying on with his lecture seamlessly after the interruption. Severus was irritated that the immaturity of Black and Potter had resulted in his losing favour with Von Lochstein. He figured it wouldn't last, but it did arouse a little guilt within Snape... not many people complimented him on anything, but the Potions teacher seemed to be impressed with Severus' unique ability. Severus brushed his limp hair out of his eyes as he returned to his work and thought to himself that perhaps a shower was in order...
The meditative quality that Potions class usually held over Severus had been effectively ruined that day. It was unfortunate, for he felt especially strained lately-- it was mid-May and he did not have much time before summer arrived and he was essentially homeless. He regretfully gathered his things and shoved his scrubbed cauldron onto an assigned shelf. He'd rather spend the rest of the day down there opposed to going to Defence Against the Dark Arts and later Care of Magical Creatures. The former was simply an annoying obstruction to his real pursuits and the latter was nothing short of ridiculous.
Walking up the inclined corridors of the dungeons, Lupin happened to accidentally bump into Severus. "Er... sorry," he muttered, hurrying away up the tunnel before Severus resorted to cursing him into oblivion. He couldn't help but get a twinge of that unnerving, impalpable feeling that he sometimes sensed about Lupin. There was something not right with him.
Part of it was connected to the fact that Remus Lupin tended to go mysteriously absent every once in a while and no one seemed to take any note of it, as though it didn't happen. Come to think of it, it had been a good few weeks since Lupin last "fell ill", or "went home to visit his ailing mother", or was "called away due to 'emergency'". Severus made a note to himself to keep a close guard over Lupin and watch for any signs of one of these periodical oddities... if he caught him in some forbidden act he may even have the privilege of seeing him expelled...