Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, and things, (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings. Desiree Snape and Eleanora Snape are mine.
Chapter 11: Whiskey waltz.
It was not until midday that both Severus and Minerva developed pounding headaches. By the time they met at Desiree's rooms after she had asked them to come, both were closing their eyes slightly and rubbing their temples.
"It would seem that we both have dragon-sized headaches. After this little meeting I'll make a few potions to clear this up," Severus remarked.
"Perhaps it was something we ate or drank last night," Minerva suggested, wincing.
They both sat on the couch and Desiree took one of the chairs, having made her guests tea. The two seemed to look at her almost like two parents, waiting to hear an announcement from their daughter. Desiree decided to delay what she had to say for a moment.
"Before I tell you about my evening, I would love to hear about yours. I heard the most interesting story: apparently somebody spiked the staff's spice cider with some new stuff that doesn't alter the flavor. They also added something that delayed the usual hangover," she told them with a wry grin.
The two on the couch exchanged glances. "That would explain a few things," he whispered.
Desiree had not heard his comment and spoke again. "Did you two use the record player?"
"Yes," Minerva said simply.
"You two probably played chess the whole time. I suppose it was too much for me to hope that you two would spend the evening making out on the couch," she told them with a smirk.
The room was unusually silent. Severus and Minerva both seemed to blush and Desiree raised an eyebrow. "I think you two left out something, but I'll let that slide for now. I wanted you both here because, Minerva, when I tell him the news, if you're here too he's not as likely to be upset with me." She showed them the ring on her left hand. "I'm engaged. We haven't set a date yet, but last night Remus proposed."
Minerva walked over to give Desiree a hug. "Congratulations. Have you told Nora yet?"
Desiree shook her head. "I wanted to tell the two of you first. Cousin, are you planning on saying anything?"
Severus stood and sighed. Then he slowly walked over to Desiree and she worried that he might be upset because she could not read his face. He surprised her by leaning down and hugging her. "I don't particularly like the idea of him being an in-law, but I understand that you love him and I give you my blessing. After the wedding you will be Nora's guardian again."
"Thank you. I suppose I'll go and tell her now," Desiree remarked. The other two stood to leave and before all three were out in the hall, she noticed Minerva rubbing her neck and Severus readjusting his back. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two spent the night on the couch."
"It would be best if you stopped there," Severus warned. Desiree shrugged and walked off in search of Nora. He turned to Minerva. "I don't see why she insists on meddling in my life."
Minerva smiled. "Perhaps she's trying to make you less cranky."
He glared at her indignantly. "I resent that. I'll have you know that though I may have a somber attitude, I am not necessarily cranky. One is cranky when one gets out of bed on the wrong side."
"Or if that person gets off the couch on the wrong side," she added with a smirk. As they walked off in different directions to do their marking, Minerva wondered about Nora's reaction to the news.
Nora was surprised to find her mother waiting for her in the Common Room that morning. "Sweetie, I'd like to tell you something important," Desiree relayed.
The girl joined her on the couch. "I'm listening."
Her mother blushed, not knowing where to begin. As she folded her hands in her lap, Nora noticed the ring on her mother's finger. "Nora, you remember Remus Lupin?"
She nodded. "Of course I remember him! He was one of the best teachers I had last year. I wish he was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again. He was nice, and I remember he dropped by over the summer and we all watched fireworks."
Desiree smiled warmly. "While you went to the Yule Ball, Remus and I went out to dinner. And…" she glanced down at the ring "he proposed."
Nora was dying from the suspense. "Tell me that you're wearing that ring because you accepted and not just to think about it."
"I said yes!" Desiree paused as Nora gave her a big hug. "We didn't set a date yet, but eventually you'll have yourself a father. What do you think?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Nora replied. "I'm so happy for you two, and I'm glad I'm getting a father. Can I please tell my friends?"
Desiree nodded. "Yes, and it's 'may I.'"
February came and along with it came the second challenge to the Triwizard Tournament. Nora sat on the ground near the lake where she knew no one would see her, watching as Harry swam down to free Ron from the Merpeople. When Harry also returned with Fleur Delacour's sister, Nora wondered why Harry had been given the opportunity to appear twice the champion. She walked over to him when it had ended and Gryffindor's cheering had toned down.
"I know you think I'm being paranoid, but something was wrong with that competition. Someone wants you to win," Nora expressed.
"I appreciate your concern, but it isn't necessary. It was just a competition," Harry reassured her. Realizing that she was not going to convince him of any foul play for the moment, she too brushed her concerns aside for the moment.
March brought rain and restless students that could not seem to concentrate on their potions. "Mr. Longbottom, what colour is that concoction supposed to be?" Severus questioned harshly.
"I- I think it w-was supposed to b-be red," the boy stuttered.
"And why isn't it red?" Severus interrogated.
"I think I forgot a few ingredients," Neville admitted.
"Then fix it, Mr. Longbottom," the Potions Master sneered.
Severus watched, bending over the cauldron as Neville attempted to remedy the mess with a few new ingredients. Suddenly the potion turned a grey colour and shot steam directly into the Potions Master's face. The whole class was as silent as a cemetery. Severus waved a hand in front of his face and it appeared to him as if the room was full of black smoke.
"Class dismissed," he growled. "Longbottom, when the smoke goes away, you have detention tomorrow."
Those that had heard him wondered what he meant by smoke. Nora watched him for a moment and saw him wave his had in front of his face. Knowing how upset her cousin was, she elected to find Professor McGonagall instead of talking with him herself. Minerva arrived as soon as Nora had spoken with her.
Severus looked up from his desk and squinted. "Minerva, you shouldn't be here. There's smoke everywhere. I need to call Filch and have him clean it up. It doesn't have any scent though."
Walking up to him, she stopped and tried to meet his gaze. To him, the room looked quite dark and he was only able to make out the lightest things and outlines of other things. Minerva noticed the clouded appearance of his eyes. "Severus, you need to come with me to the infirmary. There is no smoke," she told him quietly.
Genuine shock registered on his face when she told him that there was no smoke. His pride would not permit him to take the hand she offered, so he followed her and they walked slowly to the infirmary. Poppy raised a concerned eyebrow when they entered.
"Longbottom's potion blew up in my face and I'm having difficulty seeing," he stated flatly, trying to downplay the severity of the problem.
Poppy examined his eyes with a few spells and instruments. Then she sat back and sighed heavily. "You're lucky that you aren't completely blind. As it is, you'll have to wear glasses for the next two weeks until the damage heals. I'll order you a pair and they should be here by tomorrow. They're a particular type of glasses that magically heals the eyes when they are damaged by anything other than natural causes, so you shouldn't be wearing glasses permanently."
"Don't they make contact lenses?" he inquired.
The medwitch shook her head. "Not for what you need. I'll have them sent directly to you before breakfast," she assured him.
He and Minerva left quietly and they walked to his office. When he had closed the door and stepped over to his desk, he pounded it with is fist. "I want Longbottom expelled! He bloody messes up everything he touches!"
Minerva gently touched his arm before he could resume his assault against the desk. "Severus, accidents happen. The boy just seems to have a great many accidents. Surely he's not the only student who fouls up potions."
He pulled away and would have begun pacing the room, but he tripped over a pile of books next to his desk. "Woman, you do not seem to understand. I can barely bloody see anything! I can't very well grade papers like this and I've got three stacks to go through tonight!"
She offered him her hand again. "Then accept help when people offer it. I will help you with your marking tonight and I'm certain Desiree would not refuse either. Please," her voice had dropped to a whisper. "Let me help you."
After what felt like an eternity, he grasped her hand and she helped him to his feet. Then his other hand found its way to her face. "I ought to thank you more often. It's just…"
"I know," she said, picking up where he had trailed off, "you hate feeling helpless. Let me tell you something: so do I."
He was not ready to let her go yet. Instead he pulled her closer and she leaned toward him. Their lips met in a tender kiss. When they parted, Minerva took a stack and a half to Desiree. As she had predicted, Desiree did not mind the extra work at all. Minerva returned to Severus' office and occasionally asked him questions as she marked papers. Instead of having dinner in the Great Hall, they brought the papers that were left to his rooms and shared a quiet dinner there.
It was 9:00 when Minerva's stack was finished. She scooted her chair back from the table and was about to leave when she noticed Severus fumbling around in a cabinet for something. Eventually he emerged with a shot glass and a bottle of firewhiskey. "You've been enough help today, Minerva. Go on and leave me to drown out my frustrations for a while."
She surprised him by fetching the other shot glass from the cabinet and sitting down across from him. "I'm not going to let you sit here by yourself and hide in that bottle. The way it seems, we can either attempt to out-drink each other using shot glasses or play that game that I can't remember the name to. You know, the one where someone makes a statement and if the other person has experienced the opposite, he or she takes a drink," Minerva relayed.
Severus thought for a moment. "I know the game, but I cannot recall the name of it either. I haven't played that since I was fifteen."
She stared at him, wide-eyed. "You were drinking firewhiskey at fifteen?"
He chuckled for the first time that day and shook his head. "We were using butterbeer," he paused seemingly in thought. "Yes, I remember now. I think the game is called 'I've never' and it was rather ridiculous what some people came up with."
Lifting the bottle, she poured them each a glass. "I've never made a potion to spite someone."
He downed his glass and she raised an eyebrow. "You had to use that one, didn't you?" he grumbled. "Back when I was a student, one of Lucius Malfoy's lackeys got on my nerves. I switched his tea with a potion I had made that transformed him into a newt for a few hours. I believe it is my turn now. I've never transfigured anyone into a marine life form."
As he expected, she downed her glass. "It was an accident. I was teaching my cousin about frogs and she wanted to become one temporarily. I was only fourteen at the time and I had never transformed anyone into an amphibian before. Instead of a frog, she became a goldfish, but fortunately she was in the water to begin with."
After two more statements from each of them, both had tired of the game. "I now remember exactly why I swore I'd never play this game again: it's too slow and it takes too long. If you intend to stop me, you might as well leave," he commented, drinking a few shots.
"Severus, you know this is a bad idea and you'll only feel worse in the morning. I won't leave you to do this to yourself," she declared.
He filled her glass. "Then we'll see which one of us holds his or her liquor better than the other."
"Fine," she said, downing her glass.
The contest when on in silence for a while until he tried to pour himself a glass and missed it entirely. She was able to whisper a cleaning spell before he made another attempt. As she noticed how fuzzy her own vision had become, she realized that due to his intoxicated state, he probably could not see anything.
When she attempted to move the bottle away from him, he gripped the neck of it tightly. "Pour me another glass," he requested.
"Severus, we've managed to consume two thirds of that bottle. I think we have had enough," she informed him.
"Woman, pour me another glass!" he demanded through gritted teeth.
She was firm in her decision. Yanking the bottle away, she put it back in the cabinet. "No. It's obvious that we cannot out-drink each other and frankly I cannot believe I even wanted to attempt it. The point is that we ought to get ourselves to bed before we pass out."
Though she spoke soberly, her words were far from how she felt at that moment. Dizzy, she gripped the table to regain her balance. He stood, but reluctantly elected to let her lead him because the world had gone not only fuzzy, but quite dark. She led him to the bed where he sat.
"Will you be alright?" she inquired. When he did not answer she planned to leave. As she was about to walk away, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.
She ended up sitting on the bed next to him and by his grip she realized that he was not planning to let go any time soon. "Minerva, it's one thing to live a dark life, but quite another to see only the darkness. I have never asked much of you, nor do I intend to. It's so dark here. I suppose the firewhiskey didn't help, but would really prefer it if you stayed here for the moment. And there is the fact that you yourself are probably too dizzy to get back to your rooms."
She knew he was right and she stayed next to him as they lied down. They fell asleep on top of the bedspread holding each other. Minerva sat up quickly the following morning, only to realize how much her head hurt. She looked around and recalled the events of the previous day. Severus woke a moment later and she quickly returned to his side.
"How is your vision this morning?" she asked compassionately.
He looked directly at her and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. "My vision is still quite dim, but I can see you and I can see the outlines of enough things."
They slowly left the bed and he wandered over to his medicine cabinet. "If my head hurts, yours likely does too. I can't read the vials, but there is one here for these sorts of things."
She located the vial and they were soon feeling slightly better. He handed the pocket watch on his nightstand to her and she understood without being asked. "It's 6:00. I should probably return to my rooms."
Before she could reach the door, he gently grabbed her upper arm and stopped her. "Minerva I- I'm not very good at showing gratitude, but know that I do appreciate your staying last night."
"You are welcome," she conveyed. She kissed him softly, not knowing if he would respond or not. He caught her off guard by wrapping one arm around her waist and the other around her neck, kissing her ardently. When they broke away, she whispered "I really do need to be going."
He nodded. "Of course you do, and I believe Poppy owes me some atrocious pair of glasses."
They continued conversing as they walked into the sitting room from the bedroom. "I wear glasses! Honestly, they aren't the end of the world. Mr. Potter wears glasses, Albus wears glasses."
"If you're trying to make me feel better, it really isn't helping," he told her wryly.
"You only have to wear them for two weeks, and aside from…" she trailed off when they heard a person clear her throat.
Severus and Minerva had failed to realize when they entered the sitting room that they were not alone. Desiree stood in front of them by the coffee table, having set down a large stack of papers. She walked over to Severus and handed him a small black case. "I was coming here to drop off the papers I graded last night and give you your glasses. I ran into Poppy in the hall and she asked if I was visiting you this morning. Cousin, I have a question for you both."
He put up his hands in defense. "This is not what it looks like. As you can see, we slept in our clothes."
Desiree giggled. "That wasn't what I was going to ask you about. I was planning a few things before I fell asleep last night and I was wondering if you both would participate in the wedding. Minerva, I'd love it if you'd be my maid of honour and Severus, since you're the only family I've got, if you would give me away. You don't have to tell me now though, we've all got other things to do this morning. Bye," she said, leaving quickly.
Minerva smiled and sighed. "I am glad she came here. She makes life much more interesting."
Severus chuckled. "Indeed. At least she did not dwell on us."
"I do have one thing to say about this, the bed is definitely better than the couch," she said with a smirk.
"You do have a point there," he told her with a nod. Then he opened the black case. "I suppose I should put these on before I go to breakfast."
Minerva raised an eyebrow at the small round spectacles he put on. Their rims were black and she did not think that they looked too terribly out of place. "I think they look fine. No one would dare bother you about them for fear of their lives," she remarked.
For the next two weeks, but Minerva and Desiree helped Severus as much as he would allow them to regarding the papers that required marking. Desiree was also occasionally watching over some of Hagrid's younger creatures because she was assisting his class. On one particular evening she had a dragon to contend with.
She tried to pry the calendar out of the young dragon's mouth, but gave up the effort when she continued to receive scratches. "That does it! I'm not keeping calendars anymore if I have to baby-sit you guys. Besides covering me in scratches, you've managed to eat nine calendars in a single day! I don't know how you could find something like that so appetizing!"
Finally it was time to take the creature back to its pen and out of her rooms. When she had done so and returned to her own quarters she made herself a delicious cup of coffee. As she sat to enjoy it, someone knocked on her door frantically. Worried, she dashed over to the door and opened it to find Harry.
"Can I help you, Mr. Potter?" she questioned.
"Nora's gone," he said plainly.
The colour drained out of her face. "What do you mean 'gone?'"
He swallowed hard. "She transformed into a falcon and could not return to human form. Wherever she went, she's flying."
"Thank you for telling me. Let me just sent out a letter and I'll help you look for her," she replied. He nodded and left shortly.
Desiree raced over to her desk and scribbled out a message to her cousin:
"Severus,
Nora's missing. Apparently she transformed into her animagus form and flew off somewhere. Would you please talk with Minerva and help us look for her?
Desiree"
She sent out the note with her owl and dashed off to join Harry in the search.
(my thanks to Quill of Minerva, Leta McGotor, for reviewing :D)
