A/N: I apologise wholeheartedly for the delay in posting this chapter. I
don't know what I've been doing! Thank you to all those who have read and
reviewed, please, keep them coming! I estimate there will only be two or
three chapters left to come. This one is slightly shorter than most because
it was convenient to break it off where I did. I promise, the next chapter
will be coming out soon! And another apology, as you'll probably notice,
parts of this were oh so slightly rushed.
Warnings: Foul language all the way through this chapter. All pure Brit. If you think it gets a bit weird, don't worry, that really is how posh people talk in British boarding schools!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter, for further disclaimers see previous chapters where I could be bothered to do it properly.
Chapter Eleven
Severus Snape felt very peculiar. He'd already been to the nurse because he couldn't stop shaking, and as he didn't trust himself with a scalpel, was unable to brew a potion to remedy it.. He felt cold and achy and he knew it was because somehow Lucius had run out of the potion. He seemed to remember brewing far more of it than they'd used so far. He needed some more. He couldn't focus. Unable to tell Madam Pomfrey what exactly had caused the shakes he couldn't get what he really needed. Two things confused him. Why Lucius wasn't affected. And why the hell he had suddenly starting avoiding him.
Another migraine started, and Severus groaned. Not another one, surely..... Severus desperately started massaging his temples as he groped in his chest for some pain relief. It was further towards the back that he expected, and a sudden knock at the door startled him so his head jerked hitting the wood. Not bothering to keep his curse quiet, he tried to work out who it would be. Lucius never knocked. Nobody else ever sought him out. The knock sounded again, quicker this time, and he shouted, wincing at the pain, 'come!'.
The sight that met his eyes made him think he was going insane. At first the door opened and closed yet nobody came in. And then the person who indeed had actually entered became visible by the removal of an invisibility cloak.
It was Remus Lupin.
Severus stared, momentarily forgetting his aches and pains. He looked dumfounded, utterly at a loss as to why the Gryffindor had sought him out and was standing in his room. Shaking his head, finding the other boy still there, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"What are you doing here?"
Little did he know that Remus' pulse was racing nineteen to the dozen, and at that moment, Remus couldn't have answered that question if his life had depended on it. He simply stared back at the dark haired boy, hardly daring to believe that he was in his bedroom. Stealing James' cloak had been worth it.
"Silencio," he whispered. Immediately a silencing charm covered the room. Severus' face twisted angrily.
"I asked you a question! What the hell are you doing in Slytherin territory, let alone my chamber? Explain yourself!"
"I... I...needed to see you."
Severus once more became aware of the increasing throbbing in his temples. "And why is that?" he enquired silkily, warning Remus he was on dangerous ground.
Remus moved forward and blushed slightly. "Before I tell you, may I ask you a question?"
Severus looked into the amber eyes which were wide with fear. He softened slightly, though couldn't have told himself why. He nodded slowly, momentarily forgetting his pain.
"Have you and...Lucius Malfoy... broken up?" Remus said meekly. He waited anxiously, anticipating Severus' blast of fury. He was somewhat surprised when all Severus did was quirk an eyebrow. It make Remus rush to explain further. "I mean, for the past two days he's been in a foul mood, been cursing and arguing with Gryffindors all over the shop, and even putting a few jinxes and hexes on some Ravenclaws too. The rest of the Slytherins all seem to be stepping about a bit more quietly than usual, as if they were afraid of him," Remus said in a slightly more confident voice, but when he saw Severus' face changing, he hastily moved on. "And I haven't seen you at all, not in lessons or in the Great Hall for meal times."
Severus crossed his arms, and drew himself up to his full height. "Well I think you just said more in one breath than I've heard you say in seven years. Yet still you haven't actually told me what you're doing in my chambers, alone, putting a silencing charm on it and wanking off with some bollocks about Lucius being in a bad mood!"
Remus stepped closer to Severus, and whispered quietly, "what I mean to say is, I'm very interested in whether you and he are still together, because I want to be with you myself."
Nicely put, Remus!
Severus stared at him, a look of incredulity plain on his face, then it gave way and Severus started laughing. Remus stood there, his feelings hurt. Severus laughed until his head hurt too much to laugh any more and when he had finished he was surprised to find the Gryffindor still standing in front of him looking as if he were about to cry.
"Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for," Remus said stiffly.
Severus looked at him and it finally dawned on him he was serious. "Well what did you expect me to say?" he blustered. "Expect me to throw myself into your arms and declare my undying love for you as well?"
Silence. Then from the look on Remus's face, it also dawned on Severus that, yes, that was pretty much the reaction he'd been hoping for. The incredulity returned and the bizarreness of the situation threatened to make him laugh again.
"Please, give me a chance, I know we've never seen eye to eye but my feelings are such that..." The venomous look that had abruptly appeared on Severus' face made him stop.
"Never seen eye to eye? Is that what you'd call it? For fuck's sake Lupin, we've more than never seen eye to eye! You nearly bloody killed me! You're a fucking werewolf! I could be dead because of you!"
"You were told to stay away from the Shack. It was your own nosiness that nearly killed you!" Remus said, his voice raised.
"And even if you weren't some vile half-breed that should have been put down years ago, you're still a Gryffindor! For God's sake, you've shagged Sirius Black, the foulest being in this school! You're a Gryffindor, a worthless piece of filth and you come barging into my room in territory entirely not your own and come out with this! And where the hell did you get that invisibility cloak? So you're a thief on top of everything else?"
Severus ran out of breath and stood puffing, taking in the angry red profile of the Gryffindor he'd just slandered.
Remus was furious. He was more than furious. How dare this greasy hook nosed git talk to him this way? He saw red. Severus was going to pay. He moved forward, and made ready to throw his fist at that overlarge nose when he found himself pulled backward against the bed and they fell, lips desperately locked and tongues hopelessly entangled. It was a violent kiss, full of rage and anger, but it was what both of them needed and only when the need for air became too great did they break apart.
"What the fuck is this?" said a cold voice from the doorway.
Both boys turned their heads to see a pale, quivering and clearly enraged Lucius Malfoy. Severus' eyes locked with his and he suddenly realised what the hell he was doing, lying on his bed on his back beneath a foul Gryffindor. With Lucius looking at him, seeing his shame. He pushed Remus off him violently, and Remus, clearly scared fell to the floor with a painful thud before he even realised he'd been moved.
Lucius however, stayed where he was, simply staring at Severus, lying on his bed, flushed and breathing heavily. Then he swiftly turned on his heel and walked outside without a backwards glance.
Severus stood up and made to go after him, but common sense prevailed. It was best to let Lucius cool down before approaching him after what he'd just seen. He turned round and looked at Remus, who by this time had managed to stand up and was watching him warily.
Severus hung his head and growled in frustration. The silence lengthened in the room. Then it seemed that Severus simply could not stand the sight of him. "Get out," he said softly. When Remus made no move, only stood staring, Severus finally lost his temper and shouted, "GET OUT!"
Remus couldn't move fast enough.
~~~~~
Sirius and James lay on James's bed playing their thirteenth game of Exploding Snap. When James won, for the fifth time in a row, even he couldn't be bothered feeling pleased at his victory and flopped back with his friend, bored. They were so bored they were exhausted. The kind of bored where you just cannot be bothered to do anything at all.
"Wonder where Remus is," James asked mildly.
Sirius shrugged. He didn't care.
"It's getting late. He should be back now."
"Maybe he's in the common room with Peter."
James frowned. "Possibly. Look, I wish you two would sort this out," he said abruptly.
"Sort what out?" Sirius said in a bored voice.
"Oh don't play the innocent. So he made a mistake. It isn't worth losing your friendship over and making everyone miserable."
Sirius leaned forward on his elbow and looked at James. "The way he acted made it obvious we never had a proper friendship in the first place. He doesn't deserve me to forgive him. Not now. Not ever." He made it clear that he was through this discussion. It was also clear that they'd had this argument before.
"Well I'm going to go and look for him."
Sirius looked surprised. "James, its after curfew. Besides, he's big enough and ugly enough to look after himself. Really think he'd go after you if he was in your position?"
"Yes, I do," James muttered, rummaging in his chest. "Damnit, where did I put it? I'm sure I left it here, I never leave it anywhere else..."
"What's that, Prongs? What've you lost?"
"My invisibility cloak. Someone must have taken it, it's not here," James said desperately. "Who would have done that? Hardly anyone knows I've got one!"
"Who indeed?" Sirius said snidely. "Remus, of course. He's gone off wondering and thoughtlessly forgot to ask."
James stopped and stared. "He wouldn't do that, not without asking me first," he said uncertainly.
He suddenly turned around and looked in his bedside drawer. He pulled out their Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said quickly. Sirius got up and moved to look at the map as well.
"He isn't anywhere in Gryffindor Tower," James muttered, "or the library or the great hall, or-"
"He's in the Slytherin dungeons," Sirius said sharply. "Look, there's his dot."
"He wouldn't be, why would he be down there.... Oh."
"To get down there unharmed he surely would have taken your cloak."
"I don't understand," James started to say, and then he suddenly did understand. He understood all to well. "Oh, shit!"
"What? Looks like he'll be having a fun old time down there," Sirius said bitterly.
"No, you idiot! He'll have gone after Snape! He's had a thing about him! Oh shit, what if he runs into Malfoy?"
"Shit," Sirius agreed. "Let's go."
~~~~~
Halfway down the stairs to the Slytherin common room Remus realised he'd left the invisibility cloak. Oh fuck. This meant trouble. He raced back up the stairs but found Severus's door warded and he didn't want to attract attention by screaming for him to open the door.
What was he going to do? The only way out was to go through the common room. How many wretched Slytherin's would be down there? Nobody would miss him so he couldn't count on anyone else's help. And he didn't really fancy his chances against a houseful of mean snakes that would want to kill him if they could. Especially if one of them was Lucius Malfoy. His stomach clenched when he thought of that. He supposed he could just find a nook and wait until the morning until everyone else had gone. Or he could try and find the head of Slytherin House, but that would mean Detention and points taken from being out after curfew.
"Regretting your actions, are you?" said a soft voice, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He hadn't seen Malfoy creep out from under the shadows. Lucius' temper, on the surface, had appeared to cool, but Remus wasn't fooled. He could tell from the way his grey eyes were glittering that he was probably even more angry than he had been just before.
"Malfoy," Remus said, his heart hammering. "That wasn't what you thought."
An elegant eyebrow arched at him. "Really? Perhaps you'd like to explain to me then what it was I thought."
It took a while for the meaning of Lucius' words to fully penetrate Remus' mind. "We were arguing, that's all," he said quickly.
Lucius took a step forward, and sneered. "Usually Gryffindor's don't start arguments with Slytherins in their own house. Nor do they end up on top of them, forcing themselves onto them," he said coolly. Remus said nothing. "How did you get in here?" Lucius snarled. "And how did you get past everyone unnoticed? How dare you touch with your filthy little paws a member of my house!"
"I...I..." Remus shook, hoping this wasn't a reference to his lycanthropy.
"You what? Come on, you imbecile! Answer me! How the hell did you get up here? Are you used to seeing me lurking about your house? Do I go prowling the dormitories of Gryffindor tower? What were you doing outside your restrictions?"
"I...petrificus totalus!" Remus threw the hex at him, didn't stop to see if he had dodged the hex or not and set off for a sprint right in the direction of the common room, straight into the serpent's den.
~~~~~
Warnings: Foul language all the way through this chapter. All pure Brit. If you think it gets a bit weird, don't worry, that really is how posh people talk in British boarding schools!
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter, for further disclaimers see previous chapters where I could be bothered to do it properly.
Chapter Eleven
Severus Snape felt very peculiar. He'd already been to the nurse because he couldn't stop shaking, and as he didn't trust himself with a scalpel, was unable to brew a potion to remedy it.. He felt cold and achy and he knew it was because somehow Lucius had run out of the potion. He seemed to remember brewing far more of it than they'd used so far. He needed some more. He couldn't focus. Unable to tell Madam Pomfrey what exactly had caused the shakes he couldn't get what he really needed. Two things confused him. Why Lucius wasn't affected. And why the hell he had suddenly starting avoiding him.
Another migraine started, and Severus groaned. Not another one, surely..... Severus desperately started massaging his temples as he groped in his chest for some pain relief. It was further towards the back that he expected, and a sudden knock at the door startled him so his head jerked hitting the wood. Not bothering to keep his curse quiet, he tried to work out who it would be. Lucius never knocked. Nobody else ever sought him out. The knock sounded again, quicker this time, and he shouted, wincing at the pain, 'come!'.
The sight that met his eyes made him think he was going insane. At first the door opened and closed yet nobody came in. And then the person who indeed had actually entered became visible by the removal of an invisibility cloak.
It was Remus Lupin.
Severus stared, momentarily forgetting his aches and pains. He looked dumfounded, utterly at a loss as to why the Gryffindor had sought him out and was standing in his room. Shaking his head, finding the other boy still there, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"What are you doing here?"
Little did he know that Remus' pulse was racing nineteen to the dozen, and at that moment, Remus couldn't have answered that question if his life had depended on it. He simply stared back at the dark haired boy, hardly daring to believe that he was in his bedroom. Stealing James' cloak had been worth it.
"Silencio," he whispered. Immediately a silencing charm covered the room. Severus' face twisted angrily.
"I asked you a question! What the hell are you doing in Slytherin territory, let alone my chamber? Explain yourself!"
"I... I...needed to see you."
Severus once more became aware of the increasing throbbing in his temples. "And why is that?" he enquired silkily, warning Remus he was on dangerous ground.
Remus moved forward and blushed slightly. "Before I tell you, may I ask you a question?"
Severus looked into the amber eyes which were wide with fear. He softened slightly, though couldn't have told himself why. He nodded slowly, momentarily forgetting his pain.
"Have you and...Lucius Malfoy... broken up?" Remus said meekly. He waited anxiously, anticipating Severus' blast of fury. He was somewhat surprised when all Severus did was quirk an eyebrow. It make Remus rush to explain further. "I mean, for the past two days he's been in a foul mood, been cursing and arguing with Gryffindors all over the shop, and even putting a few jinxes and hexes on some Ravenclaws too. The rest of the Slytherins all seem to be stepping about a bit more quietly than usual, as if they were afraid of him," Remus said in a slightly more confident voice, but when he saw Severus' face changing, he hastily moved on. "And I haven't seen you at all, not in lessons or in the Great Hall for meal times."
Severus crossed his arms, and drew himself up to his full height. "Well I think you just said more in one breath than I've heard you say in seven years. Yet still you haven't actually told me what you're doing in my chambers, alone, putting a silencing charm on it and wanking off with some bollocks about Lucius being in a bad mood!"
Remus stepped closer to Severus, and whispered quietly, "what I mean to say is, I'm very interested in whether you and he are still together, because I want to be with you myself."
Nicely put, Remus!
Severus stared at him, a look of incredulity plain on his face, then it gave way and Severus started laughing. Remus stood there, his feelings hurt. Severus laughed until his head hurt too much to laugh any more and when he had finished he was surprised to find the Gryffindor still standing in front of him looking as if he were about to cry.
"Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for," Remus said stiffly.
Severus looked at him and it finally dawned on him he was serious. "Well what did you expect me to say?" he blustered. "Expect me to throw myself into your arms and declare my undying love for you as well?"
Silence. Then from the look on Remus's face, it also dawned on Severus that, yes, that was pretty much the reaction he'd been hoping for. The incredulity returned and the bizarreness of the situation threatened to make him laugh again.
"Please, give me a chance, I know we've never seen eye to eye but my feelings are such that..." The venomous look that had abruptly appeared on Severus' face made him stop.
"Never seen eye to eye? Is that what you'd call it? For fuck's sake Lupin, we've more than never seen eye to eye! You nearly bloody killed me! You're a fucking werewolf! I could be dead because of you!"
"You were told to stay away from the Shack. It was your own nosiness that nearly killed you!" Remus said, his voice raised.
"And even if you weren't some vile half-breed that should have been put down years ago, you're still a Gryffindor! For God's sake, you've shagged Sirius Black, the foulest being in this school! You're a Gryffindor, a worthless piece of filth and you come barging into my room in territory entirely not your own and come out with this! And where the hell did you get that invisibility cloak? So you're a thief on top of everything else?"
Severus ran out of breath and stood puffing, taking in the angry red profile of the Gryffindor he'd just slandered.
Remus was furious. He was more than furious. How dare this greasy hook nosed git talk to him this way? He saw red. Severus was going to pay. He moved forward, and made ready to throw his fist at that overlarge nose when he found himself pulled backward against the bed and they fell, lips desperately locked and tongues hopelessly entangled. It was a violent kiss, full of rage and anger, but it was what both of them needed and only when the need for air became too great did they break apart.
"What the fuck is this?" said a cold voice from the doorway.
Both boys turned their heads to see a pale, quivering and clearly enraged Lucius Malfoy. Severus' eyes locked with his and he suddenly realised what the hell he was doing, lying on his bed on his back beneath a foul Gryffindor. With Lucius looking at him, seeing his shame. He pushed Remus off him violently, and Remus, clearly scared fell to the floor with a painful thud before he even realised he'd been moved.
Lucius however, stayed where he was, simply staring at Severus, lying on his bed, flushed and breathing heavily. Then he swiftly turned on his heel and walked outside without a backwards glance.
Severus stood up and made to go after him, but common sense prevailed. It was best to let Lucius cool down before approaching him after what he'd just seen. He turned round and looked at Remus, who by this time had managed to stand up and was watching him warily.
Severus hung his head and growled in frustration. The silence lengthened in the room. Then it seemed that Severus simply could not stand the sight of him. "Get out," he said softly. When Remus made no move, only stood staring, Severus finally lost his temper and shouted, "GET OUT!"
Remus couldn't move fast enough.
~~~~~
Sirius and James lay on James's bed playing their thirteenth game of Exploding Snap. When James won, for the fifth time in a row, even he couldn't be bothered feeling pleased at his victory and flopped back with his friend, bored. They were so bored they were exhausted. The kind of bored where you just cannot be bothered to do anything at all.
"Wonder where Remus is," James asked mildly.
Sirius shrugged. He didn't care.
"It's getting late. He should be back now."
"Maybe he's in the common room with Peter."
James frowned. "Possibly. Look, I wish you two would sort this out," he said abruptly.
"Sort what out?" Sirius said in a bored voice.
"Oh don't play the innocent. So he made a mistake. It isn't worth losing your friendship over and making everyone miserable."
Sirius leaned forward on his elbow and looked at James. "The way he acted made it obvious we never had a proper friendship in the first place. He doesn't deserve me to forgive him. Not now. Not ever." He made it clear that he was through this discussion. It was also clear that they'd had this argument before.
"Well I'm going to go and look for him."
Sirius looked surprised. "James, its after curfew. Besides, he's big enough and ugly enough to look after himself. Really think he'd go after you if he was in your position?"
"Yes, I do," James muttered, rummaging in his chest. "Damnit, where did I put it? I'm sure I left it here, I never leave it anywhere else..."
"What's that, Prongs? What've you lost?"
"My invisibility cloak. Someone must have taken it, it's not here," James said desperately. "Who would have done that? Hardly anyone knows I've got one!"
"Who indeed?" Sirius said snidely. "Remus, of course. He's gone off wondering and thoughtlessly forgot to ask."
James stopped and stared. "He wouldn't do that, not without asking me first," he said uncertainly.
He suddenly turned around and looked in his bedside drawer. He pulled out their Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said quickly. Sirius got up and moved to look at the map as well.
"He isn't anywhere in Gryffindor Tower," James muttered, "or the library or the great hall, or-"
"He's in the Slytherin dungeons," Sirius said sharply. "Look, there's his dot."
"He wouldn't be, why would he be down there.... Oh."
"To get down there unharmed he surely would have taken your cloak."
"I don't understand," James started to say, and then he suddenly did understand. He understood all to well. "Oh, shit!"
"What? Looks like he'll be having a fun old time down there," Sirius said bitterly.
"No, you idiot! He'll have gone after Snape! He's had a thing about him! Oh shit, what if he runs into Malfoy?"
"Shit," Sirius agreed. "Let's go."
~~~~~
Halfway down the stairs to the Slytherin common room Remus realised he'd left the invisibility cloak. Oh fuck. This meant trouble. He raced back up the stairs but found Severus's door warded and he didn't want to attract attention by screaming for him to open the door.
What was he going to do? The only way out was to go through the common room. How many wretched Slytherin's would be down there? Nobody would miss him so he couldn't count on anyone else's help. And he didn't really fancy his chances against a houseful of mean snakes that would want to kill him if they could. Especially if one of them was Lucius Malfoy. His stomach clenched when he thought of that. He supposed he could just find a nook and wait until the morning until everyone else had gone. Or he could try and find the head of Slytherin House, but that would mean Detention and points taken from being out after curfew.
"Regretting your actions, are you?" said a soft voice, which made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He hadn't seen Malfoy creep out from under the shadows. Lucius' temper, on the surface, had appeared to cool, but Remus wasn't fooled. He could tell from the way his grey eyes were glittering that he was probably even more angry than he had been just before.
"Malfoy," Remus said, his heart hammering. "That wasn't what you thought."
An elegant eyebrow arched at him. "Really? Perhaps you'd like to explain to me then what it was I thought."
It took a while for the meaning of Lucius' words to fully penetrate Remus' mind. "We were arguing, that's all," he said quickly.
Lucius took a step forward, and sneered. "Usually Gryffindor's don't start arguments with Slytherins in their own house. Nor do they end up on top of them, forcing themselves onto them," he said coolly. Remus said nothing. "How did you get in here?" Lucius snarled. "And how did you get past everyone unnoticed? How dare you touch with your filthy little paws a member of my house!"
"I...I..." Remus shook, hoping this wasn't a reference to his lycanthropy.
"You what? Come on, you imbecile! Answer me! How the hell did you get up here? Are you used to seeing me lurking about your house? Do I go prowling the dormitories of Gryffindor tower? What were you doing outside your restrictions?"
"I...petrificus totalus!" Remus threw the hex at him, didn't stop to see if he had dodged the hex or not and set off for a sprint right in the direction of the common room, straight into the serpent's den.
~~~~~