Summary: Severus and Albus come to a decision and Remus arrives at Hogwarts.
Disclaimer: (Sigh)…yet again, I am still a male.
A/N: This chapter is…well...pretty bad actually. The flashback is to short and pathetic. But oh well! Enjoy!
Chapter Four: A Potions Proposition.
Severus Snape hugged the black material of his cloak tight against his body, drawing as much warmth from it as he could. It may have been summer in the rest of the world, but the dark dungeons of Hogwarts' was a world of it's own. His teeth chattered as he looked longingly over at the empty grate resting forlornly in the hearth of his antique fireplace. The damp collected from the perspiration on the walls from hotter days was now like ice, and even more so pronounced. Every surface he touched was cold and wet. Despite the several layers of cotton teacher's robes, the cold air seeped through and seemed to not stop until it had festered inside his very bones. It was worse in the winter. For once in his miserable life, Severus admitted some things to himself.
A) He was really wanting to go outside into the heat of the last days of summer.
B) He would have to ask Albus for that special heating charm he concocted sometime.
C) He needed to get out of this. Stop his old, prolonged routine. Get some air, some fresh air. Stop muddling around Potions and students and just sitting tight, waiting for something to come along to make his life better. He had to do something….Just not right now.
No, not now. That's what he had always told himself. Later, I'll do it later….now…now I have Potions. Potions. A once comforting thought. A pastime…a hobby…an enjoyment…a life. It was once, he thought, enjoyable. Solitude while working was an added perk. Or it was until he had had seventeen years of it. It was lonely, really. He supposed that his 'solitary confinement', if you will, and his loneliness resulted in his downright bitterness and cruelty to the world that he possessed now. Potions-making was still somewhat enjoyable, but it would be even better if he had someone to do it with him…a companion.
He sighed. That brought him back to the situation at hand. The source of the cold.
START OF FLASHBACK.
A sharp, impatient knock sounded on Headmaster Dumbledore's door, reverberating around the circular room. He looked up at the oak over his half moon glasses and smiled.
"Come in, Severus."
Severus rushed in and didn't bother saying hello. "Headmaster! The meeting at Grimmauld place just adjourned, and I have some important news for you!"
Dumbledore held up a hand, looking at the dark haired man before him with curiosity. "Wait, Severus. Tell me, what happened in the meeting."
Severus looked annoyed but quickly replayed everything that had been said. As he finished, Dumbledore looked at him gravely.
"I see, now, what was it you had planned to tell me?"
"Don't you see Albus? 'You'd need a Werewolf whose a potions expert'!" He grinned excitably, "I'm a potions expert, and Lupin's a Werewolf! We could research together-" His face scrunched up, obviously the thought of working with Remus Lupin was not one he looked forward to. "-and test around with the Wolfsbane Potion. If we can find a cure for Lycanthropy, then every Werewolf is safe, and so is the rest of the world! Maybe I'd even win an Order of Merlin First Class…" A dreamy look overcame his sharp features.
Dumbledore looked thoughtful, his eyes sparkling.
"That's an interesting proposition, Severus. I'm sure you'll be able to come up with something along with the help of Remus." He paused, looking at Snape keenly. "Do you want to work with Remus?"
Snape opened his mouth, closed it again, opened it, only to close it back up. He tried once more, eyebrows twisted, "I…I'm not really looking forward to working with 'Remus Lupin'…however, I am looking forward to working with 'Remus Lupin's mind'." He finished lamely.
Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. "Very well, Severus. When Remus gets here, I will call him up, and you two may begin research together. Now, I suggest that you go back to your lab and make a potion to calm down. Perhaps, you should make a Coolant Potion? That would be nice for Madam Hooch; outside all day with the brooms takes a toll."
Severus grinned and nodded, then bounded away to work on the potion, which needed to be made and contained in freezing temperatures for best quality.
END OF FLASHBACK
Severus rubbed the palm of his hand over his face again. He looked over at the congealing potion sitting in his brass cauldron on his work table. It was giving off small puffs of frozen chemicals every know and then, lit by the cold blue fire beneath it.
He groaned loudly. He supposed the research for the potion would be worth it, but he wasn't so sure that he could deal working with Lupin. He snarled, hugging himself tighter to lock in the warmth. Remus Lupin, Werewolf, Marauder, Original Know-It-All Bookworm, Inspiration of Hermione Granger, Moony, and one of his school-boy torturers. Okay, so he didn't torture him, but he had never stopped James or Sirius when they did. He just sat there politely refusing to acknowledge the situation at hand. Remus Lupin: Almost his cause of death. He sighed and trudged over to the fire to tell the house elves to bring him a cup of coffee.
A very strong cup.
Remus Lupin was scrawled in peeling gold letters on the side of a suitcase, ratty, and held together with twine. It looked about to burst, even though it was magically enlarged on the inside to fit all the owner needed for his new quarters. Or old quarters. His baggage and their state (including the state of his gray robes) were the same as four years before. A golden skinned hand grasped the handle and was labouring itself and it's arm to pull it along up the dirt path towards the castle.
A lone, single crow flew by over head casting a small shadow across his footpath. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor looked up forlornly at the black animal as it flew out over the Forbidden Forest. He watched as a nearby Thestral above the tree-tops flew over and snapped it's jaws around it's small form before ducking back under the canopy.
"Well, that's a good omen." Remus mumbled sarcastically to himself as he wrinkled up his nose.
He turned to face the large castle against the cliff and sighed. It had been a while since he was here last, and while he was looking forward to teaching and wandering through Hogwarts many hallways, he was not looking forward to having to be around certain people. Namely, one Severus Snape. He promised himself to try his best to stay as far away from him as possible.
As soon as Remus entered the Entrance Hall, Professor McGonnagal came rushing at him from across the hall near a suit of armor.
"Remus! Finally!" She cried, grabbing him by the elbow as he dropped his suitcase and cage for Diego he was carrying. Ackley flew, and should already be there. "We were beginning to wonder if you would ever get here!"
"Minerva, what-" He started, extremely confused as McGonnagal dragged him up staircases and passed classrooms and corridors. She cut him off.
"Headmaster Dumbledore wishes your presence in his office. He seemed quite anxious to have you there." She said in brisk, clipped tones. Remus winced and followed grudgingly behind her until the reached the statue of the gargoyle.
"Blood Lollies." She said with a small shudder. Obviously, she did not approve of the Headmaster's choice of password.
He watched as the large, clawed paws unfurled and lifted up, spinning the statue around, causing the magnificent head to disappear and the spiral staircase revealed. They stepped up and spun upwards until they reached the short corridor at the head. She turned to him, straightening her glasses and re-aligning her slightly mussed bun.
"I trust you can manage from here?" She quipped.
He nodded mutely, and swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he watched her disappear back behind the gargoyle as the staircase stopped moving. What would the Headmaster possibly be so anxious about? Did it have to do with Voldemort? Harry, maybe? He pushed away his thoughts and knocked lightly on the oak door at the end of the corridor scrawled with large spindly letters spelling; Headmaster A. Dumbledore.
"Come in." Came the calm voice from inside.
Remus cautiously opened the door and entered the circular room. His gaze passed over Dumbledore to the front of his desk where someone else was sitting in a black leather armchair, watching him scornfully. His eyes narrowed as he looked upon the one person he was bound and determined to avoid. Professor Severus Snape.
Snape sneered at him, causing Dumbledore to frown in his direction. The Headmaster turned to look at the newest arrival.
"Remus, please come and sit down." He waved his wand and a large, scarlet armchair appeared adjacent to Snape's. He reluctantly sat down and politely refused when Dumbledore offered him tea. He didn't exactly feel like drinking down cupfuls of Calming Potion today.
"How has your day treated you, Remus?" Dumbledore smiled warmly at him.
"Oh for pity's sake, Headmaster, could we just get to the point? I have other matters to attend to and do not wish to sit here prolonged while you skip around the matter with impertinent small talk." Snape snapped.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, but relented. "Remus, Severus and I have a sort of Potions Proposition for you…"
A/N: Hmm…What will Remus say? Actually, you should all know that from the first summary. Meh. Review and no Flames, please!