~Interlude~
"Severus?" He didn't really want to be there but what choice did he have? "It's Remus Lupin." His instincts screamed 'flight'. Unconsciously he squashed Harry's hand. The boy, who till then had been staring down the dark and dank corridor turned his eyes towards his guardian. He didn't say anything, though, and Remus didn't notice Harry's discomfort, his own gaze resting - transfixed - on the wooden door before him. The seconds ticked by but they seemed like hours to him and each passing moment made him question this quest even more. It was bound to fail from the beginning, anyway.
"What?" He hadn't even noticed the door moving but, since Apparating was impossible inside Hogwarts and since Snape was standing right before him, it must have. He cleared his throat.
"Severus, pleased to see y-"
"Well, I'm not. What do you want?" The Potions Master glared at him and he swallowed. That hadn't really gone too well, yet. Well, he would try, though. "I-"
But it seemed as though Snape was bent on interrupting him in mid-speak every time. It was actually a rather excellent intimidation technique.
"No, let me guess," he sneered eyeing the werewolf disdainfully. "'Oh, Severus, I know we never really were on speaking terms but would you do me a favour? There's this new potion for werewolves, you see and I thought, maybe could you brew it for me?' Isn't that correct?" Remus didn't know what to say to that. It was right, come to think of it, and Snape interpreted his silence correctly. "That's what I thought."
He sighed as though whatever he was going to say next cost him loads. "Come in."
He hadn't anticipated //that//. The man was an enigma, Remus decided as Harry and he entered Snape's private lab. Not unexpectedly, it held an assortment of various potion vials, ingredients, cauldrons and such. It also held a single chair on which the Potion Master sat down. //Like a king, and he knows I won't comment. I'm the one begging a favour, after all.//
Remus started to feel like a client that comes to his patron. "I'm willing to pay-" And again he was cut off in mid-speech!
"With what? Money," Snape barked. "You can hardly feed and clothe yourself and the boy, judging from the state of both of you." Remus bristled. He had not let Harry starve!
Severus smirked, he knew he had hit a nerve, as he watched the werewolf while keeping an eye on the Potter boy. //As nosy as his father, he is,// he thought as Harry reached for a bright green vial. Well, if the boy really wanted to try this potion, Severus wouldn't keep him from it. It wasn't //his// job to look after the brat.
"Make a suggestion then." That was breaking rule number one of the Marauder Codex: never put yourself in a Slytherin's hands, especially not Snape's. //No forget this immediately! You don't want to remember them, remember?// Remus realised, though, that it actually was some rather intelligent advice when Snape started to smirk. //Doesn't he have any other facial expression!?//
"Hmm, well, I'm currently working on a new potion. One that requires a rather large amount of blood from certain //dark creatures//. Werewolves, to be exact." Severus glanced at Potter Jr. He hadn't reacted to this statement, at all. Either he was to engrossed with the orange vial he was currently holding in his hands, or the werewolf had deemed the - how old was he now? Five? Six? Didn't matter. - deemed the boy too young to be informed of the danger he was in. //Also, not my responsibility.//
It was a deal with the devil but what choice did he have? "Agreed."
//Plop// "Harry, no!" But it was already too late. The vial was open an the orange-red potion spilled over the boy's hand. Remus jerked Harry away. "What was in that vial, Severus? Is there an antidote? Do you have it?"
"Which question do you want me to answer, Lupin?" //That infuriating git!// Remus began cleaning Harry's hand with a spotted hanky. Even though he was abysmal at potions Remus had learned that much: some potions react violently against spells. And as he had no idea what potion it was - //he could just have answered!// - he didn't want to take that risk. All the while Harry didn't make a sound till -
"Uncle Moony (Snape raised an eyebrow), my - my hands!" Remus gasped, as he saw what was happening. The fingers on his ward's right hand were turning into glass and the ones on the left acquired red dots.
"Oh, do calm down. It's neither hurtful nor does it last particularly long." Lupin was beginning to relax, couldn't have that. "Just a good few days." //Long enough to teach them both a lesson!//, Severus mentally added. He loved the look of shock on the werewolf's face.
"Of course, I should have expected that you wouldn't know a simple Inanimorphus Potion," he continued, "it simply turns the body parts that were treated with it into whatever you touch with them first. In this case, the vial and your hankerchief."
~**~
//From now on,// Remus told himself as he led a slightly out-of-shape Harry (pun intended) away from Hogwarts and back to Hogsmeade train station, //I'm never gonna let that boy out of sight again!// In order to get Snape to give him the antidote, he literally had to kneel and beg. //I mean, I couldn't very well have sent Harry to Muggle primary school like this, could I?//. Justifying your deeds to yourself wasn't much fun. His inner voice, which at this point sounded remarkably like an old rather canine friend, always had to disagree with him, always. //You were pleading with SNAPE! How could you!?//
"Oh, shut up!"
~**~
//"Oh, Professor Phormalde!" Sirius was jumping up and down in his seat, right hand raised into the air. Remus was sniggering and Peter had long since given up and already was rolling on the floor. "What is it?!" That was James Potter who had as much trouble keeping a straight face as his friends did. "Oh, Professor!" Sirius gushed again, making puppy-eyes and swooning. The surrounding Gryffindors had tears of laughter in their eyes as they did every time when James Potter and Sirius Black acted out the roles of Professor Phormalde and Severus Snape. Even the first years who had till then never heard of the sour-faced Slytherin were watching this exchange with amused (and often confused) interest.
Remus grinned to himself. It was September 13th, the day on which the Marauders gave their first of two yearly performances of imitating and mocking the professor and the most famous pupils of the school. Three years after they started this tradition almost all of Gryffindor came to watch their antics in the common room. By now, they even accepted wishes. Among the favourites were "the argument between Flitwick and Hagrid" and "Minerva, the rock diva". But like every year, their rendition of "Oh, Snape!" was the highlight of the evening.
"Professor," Sirius screeched in a high-pitched falsetto voice, folding his hands in front of his heart. "I LOVE YOU!" He "lost" balance and tumbled to the floor, gazing up at James Potter in a love-struck fashion. A few first years started to clap but they were quickly shushed.
James spread his arms wide and rolled his eyes heavenwards. "Oh, Snape," he sighed.
The House wouldn't calm down, minutes later they were still clapping and laughing and wohooing. The Marauders enjoyed every minute of it. James and Sirius were grinning like mad. It wasn't until Minerva McGonagall came storming in, demanding that they be quiet, that silence once again reigned in Gryffindor tower. Or what constituted as silences there, anyway...//
~**~
Chapter added on 08/04/2003. Reviews will be answered in Chapter One entitled "Author Notes, Disclaimer, Answers to Reviews, etc." Constructive criticism welcome! Please, review!
"Severus?" He didn't really want to be there but what choice did he have? "It's Remus Lupin." His instincts screamed 'flight'. Unconsciously he squashed Harry's hand. The boy, who till then had been staring down the dark and dank corridor turned his eyes towards his guardian. He didn't say anything, though, and Remus didn't notice Harry's discomfort, his own gaze resting - transfixed - on the wooden door before him. The seconds ticked by but they seemed like hours to him and each passing moment made him question this quest even more. It was bound to fail from the beginning, anyway.
"What?" He hadn't even noticed the door moving but, since Apparating was impossible inside Hogwarts and since Snape was standing right before him, it must have. He cleared his throat.
"Severus, pleased to see y-"
"Well, I'm not. What do you want?" The Potions Master glared at him and he swallowed. That hadn't really gone too well, yet. Well, he would try, though. "I-"
But it seemed as though Snape was bent on interrupting him in mid-speak every time. It was actually a rather excellent intimidation technique.
"No, let me guess," he sneered eyeing the werewolf disdainfully. "'Oh, Severus, I know we never really were on speaking terms but would you do me a favour? There's this new potion for werewolves, you see and I thought, maybe could you brew it for me?' Isn't that correct?" Remus didn't know what to say to that. It was right, come to think of it, and Snape interpreted his silence correctly. "That's what I thought."
He sighed as though whatever he was going to say next cost him loads. "Come in."
He hadn't anticipated //that//. The man was an enigma, Remus decided as Harry and he entered Snape's private lab. Not unexpectedly, it held an assortment of various potion vials, ingredients, cauldrons and such. It also held a single chair on which the Potion Master sat down. //Like a king, and he knows I won't comment. I'm the one begging a favour, after all.//
Remus started to feel like a client that comes to his patron. "I'm willing to pay-" And again he was cut off in mid-speech!
"With what? Money," Snape barked. "You can hardly feed and clothe yourself and the boy, judging from the state of both of you." Remus bristled. He had not let Harry starve!
Severus smirked, he knew he had hit a nerve, as he watched the werewolf while keeping an eye on the Potter boy. //As nosy as his father, he is,// he thought as Harry reached for a bright green vial. Well, if the boy really wanted to try this potion, Severus wouldn't keep him from it. It wasn't //his// job to look after the brat.
"Make a suggestion then." That was breaking rule number one of the Marauder Codex: never put yourself in a Slytherin's hands, especially not Snape's. //No forget this immediately! You don't want to remember them, remember?// Remus realised, though, that it actually was some rather intelligent advice when Snape started to smirk. //Doesn't he have any other facial expression!?//
"Hmm, well, I'm currently working on a new potion. One that requires a rather large amount of blood from certain //dark creatures//. Werewolves, to be exact." Severus glanced at Potter Jr. He hadn't reacted to this statement, at all. Either he was to engrossed with the orange vial he was currently holding in his hands, or the werewolf had deemed the - how old was he now? Five? Six? Didn't matter. - deemed the boy too young to be informed of the danger he was in. //Also, not my responsibility.//
It was a deal with the devil but what choice did he have? "Agreed."
//Plop// "Harry, no!" But it was already too late. The vial was open an the orange-red potion spilled over the boy's hand. Remus jerked Harry away. "What was in that vial, Severus? Is there an antidote? Do you have it?"
"Which question do you want me to answer, Lupin?" //That infuriating git!// Remus began cleaning Harry's hand with a spotted hanky. Even though he was abysmal at potions Remus had learned that much: some potions react violently against spells. And as he had no idea what potion it was - //he could just have answered!// - he didn't want to take that risk. All the while Harry didn't make a sound till -
"Uncle Moony (Snape raised an eyebrow), my - my hands!" Remus gasped, as he saw what was happening. The fingers on his ward's right hand were turning into glass and the ones on the left acquired red dots.
"Oh, do calm down. It's neither hurtful nor does it last particularly long." Lupin was beginning to relax, couldn't have that. "Just a good few days." //Long enough to teach them both a lesson!//, Severus mentally added. He loved the look of shock on the werewolf's face.
"Of course, I should have expected that you wouldn't know a simple Inanimorphus Potion," he continued, "it simply turns the body parts that were treated with it into whatever you touch with them first. In this case, the vial and your hankerchief."
~**~
//From now on,// Remus told himself as he led a slightly out-of-shape Harry (pun intended) away from Hogwarts and back to Hogsmeade train station, //I'm never gonna let that boy out of sight again!// In order to get Snape to give him the antidote, he literally had to kneel and beg. //I mean, I couldn't very well have sent Harry to Muggle primary school like this, could I?//. Justifying your deeds to yourself wasn't much fun. His inner voice, which at this point sounded remarkably like an old rather canine friend, always had to disagree with him, always. //You were pleading with SNAPE! How could you!?//
"Oh, shut up!"
~**~
//"Oh, Professor Phormalde!" Sirius was jumping up and down in his seat, right hand raised into the air. Remus was sniggering and Peter had long since given up and already was rolling on the floor. "What is it?!" That was James Potter who had as much trouble keeping a straight face as his friends did. "Oh, Professor!" Sirius gushed again, making puppy-eyes and swooning. The surrounding Gryffindors had tears of laughter in their eyes as they did every time when James Potter and Sirius Black acted out the roles of Professor Phormalde and Severus Snape. Even the first years who had till then never heard of the sour-faced Slytherin were watching this exchange with amused (and often confused) interest.
Remus grinned to himself. It was September 13th, the day on which the Marauders gave their first of two yearly performances of imitating and mocking the professor and the most famous pupils of the school. Three years after they started this tradition almost all of Gryffindor came to watch their antics in the common room. By now, they even accepted wishes. Among the favourites were "the argument between Flitwick and Hagrid" and "Minerva, the rock diva". But like every year, their rendition of "Oh, Snape!" was the highlight of the evening.
"Professor," Sirius screeched in a high-pitched falsetto voice, folding his hands in front of his heart. "I LOVE YOU!" He "lost" balance and tumbled to the floor, gazing up at James Potter in a love-struck fashion. A few first years started to clap but they were quickly shushed.
James spread his arms wide and rolled his eyes heavenwards. "Oh, Snape," he sighed.
The House wouldn't calm down, minutes later they were still clapping and laughing and wohooing. The Marauders enjoyed every minute of it. James and Sirius were grinning like mad. It wasn't until Minerva McGonagall came storming in, demanding that they be quiet, that silence once again reigned in Gryffindor tower. Or what constituted as silences there, anyway...//
~**~
Chapter added on 08/04/2003. Reviews will be answered in Chapter One entitled "Author Notes, Disclaimer, Answers to Reviews, etc." Constructive criticism welcome! Please, review!