Alex yawned and closed what seemed to be the hundredth musty tome she'd plowed through in the past week. She gathered her things and left the library. We need a second computer, she thought, also for the hundredth time. Severus Snape had mastered the tutorial. Alex grinned. It had taken the potions master several sleepless nights to become proficient in the use of the computer. He's better at it than me now, she thought ruefully. Sheesh, he's even learned how to touch-type. The problem was, now the two mages were having difficulty sharing the single laptop. Snape had been working with the database of magical ingredients this evening and had refused to give it up. Selfish git, Alex thought, unconsciously adopting British slang. Well, he has to be done with it by now. Shedescended the steps to the dungeons, fighting down the anxiety she inevitably felt when negotiating the Hogwarts stairs, especially at night. Damn it, I want my laptop, she reminded herself as she hesitated at the final step of the last flight of stairs. She wanted to return emails from John and Naomi. Caught up in her work, she'd let too many days go by without contacting her friends in New Mexico. I'm not going to lose touch with my life. She forced her feet to carry her down the corridor.
Now that's just too weird, she thought suspiciously. Her reluctance to enter the dungeons had increased with each step until now it was a feeling of dread. Alex rejected the sensation; even on the night she had wandered lost for hours, she hadn't felt this kind of fear. That's not me. That's a warding of some sort. She pulled out her wand and advanced. The fear had left as soon as it was identified, replaced by curiosity. Alex stopped and probed the air in front of her with her wand. She met with resistance, as though a sheet of rubber stretched across the corridor, blocking her way. Snape's up to something. Wonder what. Shefrowned in concentration as she made a complicated gesture with her wand. "Scrutari !"
Yeah, that's a ward all right. Cast by Professor Severus Snape, no doubt. She watched the pattern of colored sparks fade as her spell expired. Doesn't apply to me, though, Alex decided with a grin. "Nonentity," she murmured, waving her wand from head to toe. Not a student, not Filch, not Mrs. Norris, she thought, suppressing a shiver as she brushed the cold tingle of Snape's magic spell aside. Just little ol' me. Nobody. Certainly not an enemy. She eased her body through the ward, leaving it undisturbed. Dim torchlight flickered from the laboratory. An unpleasant, acrid odor reached her nose. Cautiously, Alex peeked around the door frame. The potions master stooped over a table, stirring something in a small cauldron with his wand. Alex recoiled silently, horrified; his head was grotesquely swollen, malformed. Snape must have sensed something. He stopped stirring and looked up sharply, his face briefly showing surprise, then rage. Alex felt a wave of relief bordering on hysteria; his bizarre appearance was nothing more sinister than a Bubble-Head Charm. Inside the bubble, his features looked normal, though livid with anger. In the back of her mind, she noted that he had been stirring the cauldron clockwise, and had stopped his wand precisely at twelve o'clock.
"Miss Rose, I swear to you, if you move so much as an inch I will wring your neck," he hissed furiously. His voice sounded hollow inside the bubble. It also sounded deadly serious, without a touch of his usual sarcasm. Alex felt her stomach clench. She stood perfectly still. It had taken him only a second to detect her intrusion and issue his threat. Apparently confident that she would obey, he immediately returned his attention to the cauldron in front of him. He stirred clockwise twice more. Alex watched with growing discomfort. Snape was wearing a dragon-hide smock in addition to the usual protective dragon-hide gloves. The acrid steam rising from the cauldron made his Bubble-Head Charm necessary. In fact, Alex was finding it more than a little bit painful to breathe herself while standing a good twenty feet away. She waited meekly while Snape stirred the lethal brew exactly fifteen times widdershins, then added a pinch of powdered nightshade root. His movements were precise, showing no hint of anger. He turned over a small timer on the table before turning his attention back to her. "How did you get past my ward ?" he snapped.
"Do you mind, I'm dying here," she said hoarsely. Snape nodded curtly, then watched tensely, eyes narrowed in suspicion, as she quickly performed her own Bubble-Head Charm. Alex sucked in a deep breath of untainted air gratefully, then returned Snape's glare. "So, you want to tell me why you're brewing that ?"
"No. You're going to explain to me why my ward failed to stop you," he replied, dark eyes gleaming. "You should not have even been able to enter the dungeons."
Arrogant bastard. She stared at him challengingly. His face was white with rage inside its bubble. His fingers flexed convulsively. Imagining wrapping them around my neck , aren't you ? "Ok, if you must know," she relented. "It's an Aversion Ward, right ? 'Just go away, go on about your business. You don't want to be here.' Subtle. No one even notices they've been manipulated. Usually. But me, I noticed."
He was watching her intently, still furious. "How ?"
Alex shrugged. It occurred to her that they would present a funny picture to anyone who might happen along to see them – the tall wizard looming over her, the bubbles that encased their heads nearly touching. But no one's going to come along. And this isn't funny. "Look, it was a fluke. I hate coming down those stairs anyway. Since I've had to overcome my own aversion so many times..." she trailed off, searching for the right words.
"Afraid of the dark, are you, Miss Rose ?" he sneered.
"No. I'm not afraid of you, either." Much.
"You ought to be." He jerked away from her, turned back to the work table. Alex realized the sand in the timer had almost run out. As the last few grains trickled through the glass, the potions master calmly placed his wand back into the cauldron. "Avada kedavra !" he intoned, adding the killing curse to complete the already deadly brew.
A chill ran down Alex's spine as Snape performed the Unforgivable Curse. She had suspected it was coming, but the way he did it shocked her to the core. Not casually - no one could cast an Unforgivable casually. But without hesitation or emotion. He's just...so matter-of-fact. Competent. She shuddered. "You've done that a few times before, haven't you," she challenged. All in a day's work.
He ignored her, taking up a tiny vial and transferring the single drop of poison into it with great care. He stoppered the vial and slipped it into a pocket of his robe as the residue in the cauldron dissipated in a hiss of foul steam. "Scourgify." Snape meticulously cleaned up after himself, returning everything to its proper place and casting a spell to clear the last fumes from the air before removing his Bubble-Head Charm. Alex dispelled her own bubble. He looked over at her, still angry, but calmer now that the poison was safely bottled. "I told you before, Miss Rose, I've done things I'm not proud of -"
"You seemed to imply that those were all in your past," she accused.
"You didn't let me finish. I have done such things, and I will continue to do them. I'm not proud of my deeds, true, but neither am I particularly ashamed."
He was so arrogant, standing relaxed - almost lounging - against the table, sneering at her. Alex felt a rush of anger that canceled out her newfound fear of him. I'm not helpless, for cryin' out loud. As soon as the thought occurred, she attacked. "Expelliarmus !" Snape was thrown back across the table. His look of shock as he hit the floor was almost comic. Snape's wand, whipped out of his hand by her spell,clattered to the flagstones ten feet away. Alex expected him to try and retrieve it. Her own wand was raised, her next spell on her lips, but to her surprise, Snape dove across the room toward her. She panicked and ran. He caught up to her just outside the door, catching her by the arm. Within moments he had captured her hands in his. She kicked at him, furious and desperate. He shoved her against the wall, pinning her with the weight of his body.
"You're very strong, Miss Rose," he taunted. He was breathing hard, his hair falling in his face. He shifted his grip, taking both her wrists in one hand. She struggled. Snape held her easily, brushing the oily locks out of his eyes with his free hand. "Your magic, that is." He smiled and caressed the side of her face, clearly enjoying her helplessness.
Alex jerked her head away. Damn. Damn ! I should have hit him with the Petrificus Totalus curse. Why did I run ? Stupid. "Bastard. Let go of me and I'll show you some magic you won't forget," she snarled as he stroked her hair. "Shithead !" His black eyes glittered.
"Charming," Snape commented sarcastically. He pushed her back against the rough stone wall of the corridor. He was aroused; she could feel it as his body pressed against her. His voice was smug. "Why did you run ? You had the better of me. All it would have taken was a quick curse."
"I...panicked," Alex gritted, hating herself for being so helpless against him; hating Snape for exploiting her weakness. Shit. Oh, shit. She shut her eyes, repulsed by what she knew was going to happen. He ground his hips against hers, his hand tangled in her hair, breath hot against her neck.
Snape pressed his lips against the hollow under her jaw. Alex jerked her head away again, wincing. "The next time you decide to take on an opponent more than twice your size, Miss Rose, I trust you will remember this...humiliation," he murmured against her throat. Abruptly, he stepped back. "-and not make the same mistake again." He released her.
Alex sagged against the wall as his footsteps retreated into the potions lab. Relief mingled with shame. Humiliation is right. Then anger flared again. Sick bastard. Why should I be ashamed, I'm not the one skulking in the classroom at night, brewing illegal poisons. She strode into the lab. "I want answers, Professor Snape," she demanded, placing sarcastic emphasis on his title. She took a duelist's stance, held her wand ready. Damn right I won't make the same mistake again.
He had retrieved his wand. Now he sneered at her, poised to fight, his wand held like a sword. "You had the chance to end this twice, Miss Rose. Somehow I doubt that you have what it takes to defeat me."
Alex shook her head. "I'm not your enemy," she said softly. "I want to know what's going on." She took a step forward. Her voice rose. "Damn, it, Snape, this is a school," she cried. "You're a teacher, not a murderer, for cryin' out loud !"
He closed his eyes briefly, then lowered his wand. "Calm down. Put up your wand." He paused, a pained expression on his face. "I'll explain. But you must tell no one. No one, do you understand ?"
She stayed where she was, wand poised. "The poison -"
"Is not for me to use," he insisted.
"So ? Someone else paid you to make it ? Do you think that makes it all right ? You're just as guilty as they will be. Do you even know who the intended victim is ?"
He sighed theatrically, rolling his eyes. "The victim, as you so naively put it, is a Dark wizard. One responsible for the deaths of dozens of Muggles." He sat down on one of the tables. "I can explain. Will you give me your word that you will tell no one ?"
"No," she said stubbornly. "I think Albus Dumbledore would be really interested to know what you use your classroom for in your spare time."
His dark eyes gleamed. "By all means, tell Dumbledore," he purred. "I work for him in both capacities."
She shook her head, confused. "I don't believe you."
"Believe me, Miss Rose. I was a Death Eater. I still am. But now I spy for Dumbledore."
Alex's eyes widened. "Damn," she breathed.
He flashed a quick, rueful smile, then grew serious again. "I assure you, it is true. You can ask the headmaster."
"So, the poison," she mused. "The Dark wizard you mentioned, that would be, um, You-Know-Who ?"
Snape let out a snort of laughter. "The Dark Lord has several rather serious character flaws, but rank stupidity isn't one of them. He wouldn't take poison from my hand. More's the pity."
Alex shuddered involuntarily at his name for Voldemort. 'The Dark Lord'. It implied a connection forged, a relationship. Unconsciously, she relaxed her stance and lowered her wand while listening to the potion master's explanation.
His gaze turned thoughtful, almost confused. He stared at her for a long moment before continuing. "The Dark Lord demanded a service. A poison to kill one of his less-than-faithful followers. McHugh. A madman. Serial killer." Snape's eyes glinted. "It is a service I could easily give, one that will assure me his favor and allay any suspicions he might have about my loyalty. And given McHugh's...hobby, one I could perform without a single qualm of conscience." His eyes locked on hers. "I expect the Dark Lord to call me to his side soon. I will give him the poison and further gain his trust, so that I can continue to provide Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix with whatever information I can gather." His sneer returned. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Miss Rose ?"
She sighed. "Yes...no. One more thing ?" Snape nodded. "You weren't going to tell me. There wasn't much chance I could force you to. Why did you change your mind ?"
Confusion showed again in those dark eyes. "I'm not certain. Perhaps because I want to be able to trust you ?" Snape said softly. His eyes glinted again, reflecting the torchlight. "Or possibly...because it really doesn't matter." He brought his wand back up before she could react. "Obliviate."