Note: I do not own the characters, only the plot.
The chapters and bits of chapters that are italicized are from Snapes point of view. I hope you enjoy, and please review! Again, this is pre-HBP.
Chapter Two: In Which Lunar Advice is Required
Severus smiled to himself when he saw Sinistra the next morning. She looked sour and sleepy, with a large bruise across her forehead that was actually a rather nice shade of purple. It went well with the dark violet of her robes. "Sleep well?" he asked her sweetly.
She simply rolled her eyes and turned towards Gimple.
He took a seat next to McGonagall. "Good morning, Severus," she said briskly.
"Indeed," he replied, not looking away from Sinistra. He knew of a simple potion that would heal the bruise in seconds, but he wouldn't mention it, of course. She was a kind enough woman with all but him and Filch, though he enjoyed her company, if only because it afforded them a chance to argue. She glanced back at him, gave him the finger, and continued her discussion with Eleanor Gimple. He chuckled quietly. She was a pleasant-looking woman—not beautiful, not like Lily Potter, but pleasant, with the long, black-brown hair, pale complexion, and short, curvy figure common in witches of House Sinistra. When Severus finally looked away from her, McGonagall brought him back to his life. He took a bite of his cooling porridge as she continued a conversation they'd started the day before.
"Severus, have you finished the potion yet? Remus needs it as soon as possible. Full moon's tomorrow."
"I'll have it ready tonight, Minerva," he said shortly.
"Good," she replied. "And you'll take it to him?"
"Certainly." He supposed he really should have finished the potion already, done it last night, but he'd put it off, not looking forward to the necessary visit. Severus got to his feet and swept out of the nearly empty Great Hall. It was quiet during the summer with no students around. Several teachers chose to remain at Hogwarts during the summer, so it was not entirely deserted, but it was better than usual and he wouldn't have to see the horrible faces of any of his students for two more months.
Safely back in the dungeons where few would even know where to find him to disturb him, he opened one of many cabinets and drawers and extracted several vials of moonwater. Each labeled in his neat script with a date, a location, and a time. Carefully, so as not to break the delicate glass bottles, he chose two, wrote down the dates, and walked out of the room again.
Severus muttered the password to the statue of Diane and stepped through the door that appeared. It was amusing, really, that Sinistra thought her password was difficult to guess. He walked through the short hallway and pushed the door silently open. Sinistra was bent over her fireplace, talking to a head in the fire. He leaned against the doorway, waiting for her to notice him. It didn't take long.
"Snape, what are you doing in here?" she asked, looking up from her companion.
"Coming to talk to you. Which should be blindingly obvious even to you, Sinistra."
The head in the fire raised her eyebrows. "Celaene, who's this beautiful man?" She looked him over and he subconsciously drew back from the door a little.
"Shut up, Taygeta," she hissed. "Ignore my sister, Snape. So tell me what you're really here for."
He held out the piece of parchment. "Which of these dates fell on the full moon?" he asked grudgingly. He knew he could have easily found the answer himself, but it would have meant a trip to the library, and Madame Pince was already sick of him. Not that Sinistra wasn't.
"The first," she said, after a few seconds.
"Thank you." Severus turned to leave the room, but stopped when the woman in the fire spoke again.
"Can I have your Floo number?"
Severus sneered at her. "Certainly not."
"You wouldn't want it, Taygeta," Sinistra said, more to him than to her. "He's horrible. You wouldn't be able to stand it for more than a few minutes."
Severus bowed ironically and left the room, kicking the door shut as he left.