Thanks rhidragon! I do like to include a few cultural references! [And btb, I am working desultorily on a story for Sparhawk]
Chapter 8
The private quarters of the headmaster at Prince Peak were cosy, opening off the Head's study. Silvina sat on the floor by the fire with a mug of cocoa while Severus disposed his long body in an armchair that was better described as comfortable than elegant. This room, a combination sitting-room and library, was lined with books and the sofa showed signs of having had school leopard claws being sharpened on it, a habit that Severus had been at pains to break before Stripey got too big.
"I wondered – and I'm not hurrying you – if you had read enough to make any decisions" said Severus.
Silvina flushed.
"I know enough to know I want to be your daughter but I haven't got very far with the proof that I'm worthy" she said "Because I didn't think it was right to neglect my schoolwork on it."
"Well that at least shows a modicum of common sense" said Severus "But what is this nonsense about proof? All that is required is that you be prepared to put up with the negative aspects of being my daughter – the frequent danger, the fact that I have to give my attention fairly and equally around many. And that I should require you to be blood bonded so I can protect you – for as my daughter you would be a potential hostage. Just because Odessa is finished in GERMANY does not mean it is defeated fully; the Russian branch continues. And there are more evils in the world than Odessa; and though perhaps I might like a rest from fighting dark wizards I am aware that I have become sufficiently used to the danger to be unable to resist leaping in with both feet where others fear to tread. A fault my family has to cope with" he added.
"I should think people in danger that you rescue don't count it a fault" said Silvina. "And I accept the danger; after all, those of us who've been at school here have all seen danger close enough to realise what I'm talking myself into. It's a fair trade to have a dad I can be proud of – and special family who'll be there for me. I – I guess if you have other people to love, so will I, and other people who might learn to love me back."
"Ah! Then if you understand the peculiar Arithmancy of love, that the more you divide it, the more it multiplies, you are indeed ready" said Severus. "You started off very selfish; not surprising. And when you are trying to find yourself, you have, of necessity to be somewhat self centred. You have found yourself and are prepared to give what you have found; and is that not the greatest and most profound truth to be found in the world? I will see about the formalities of adoption; will you change your surname?"
"Of COURSE I will daddy!" said Silvina and flung herself on him.
Severus cuddled her.
"Now what's all this about proofs you daft article?" he asked.
Silvina told him about her plan to write a tune to counteract the cruciatus curse.
Severus nodded thoughtfully as she spoke.
"Music can be very powerful" he said "And if you've started work with Seagh you're certainly picking a good ally; he IS part fey after all. I would suggest for the best results that you put the idea before all the musical of the post NEWT students and fit in some classes with them to develop it; because many heads are better than one, even as many of us combined to counter the Killing Curse, especially after Draco came up with the brilliant avocado kadavra that has become a corridor curse but has the same arithmantic form as avada kedavra. It took us a year round to come up with full protection, though the mirroring charm was a quickly found stopgap. Actually it took almost ten years for the protection spell against the killing curse to be thoroughly perfected; based on research of some marauders in Hogwarts last year, headed by Lilith. And, my dear, you need to accept and not be jealous that Lilith is an exceptional little girl – to be cuffed as much as any when she's being a nuisance of course, but she is gifted beyond measure and that's just the way it is."
"I should think anyone would be PROUD to be her sister – because she has no side to her" said Silvina. "And I don't have to be jealous because I have my music and though she plays better than me, I make music."
"Yes; and everyone has their talents" said Severus "For some, the talent is to be lovable. Like Harry Potter. Harry was no great shakes in any class; he is still virtually innumerate and his theory is decidedly dodgy. He had to work like stink to get the five NEWTs required to be an auror. He has a degree of raw power – that took nearly six years of training to enable him to actually channel it properly – but his main talent is in making people like him. Not by so-called 'charm' which Tom Riddle had in abundance; but by being a nice kid who went out of his way to help people. He is the Chosen One partly because Voldemort chose him to be his nemesis; and partly because people want to go out of their way to help him. Sorry, paraphrasing part of what I wrote in the book."
"I guess it's important that everyone is an individual" said Silvina "Do you think those grown ups will want to work on a project a kid has started?"
"if they don't want to work on a project as ambitious as any I've ever seen that could be a great force for good then they're morons and don't deserve my pearls of wisdom" growled Severus. "And isn't Seagh already enthusiastic? Volodya certainly will be too; HE has taken the cruciatus curse as part of discipline in Durmstrang where the most powerful of the older ones delighted in throwing it at youngsters to make them comply. And THAT is changing too. But do not be disappointed if the thing requires many years of work on it; because the best things in life need work. When we discovered that House Elves are tied to a form of Imperious Curse to make them self punish it took about three years research to come up with a ritual to break it – with many of us pursuing different lines of enquiry. I was studying the curse breaking aspect – I am an excellent curse breaker – and Lucius Malfoy looked into the fey aspect, suspecting that it was a fey ritual to begin with. He was right. It led to him being a willing sacrifice, offering twelve drops of his living heart's blood while the rest of us chanted for eight hours solid. And Silvina! We're planning to do it again next solstice – in a year from tomorrow – to do the same to the elves of Europe as far as the Urals. And if you are not one of the chanters, I'll expect you to be there to feed power to us through the blood link and then help re-hydrate us afterwards and mop up our sweat and urine soaked bodies. Heavy ritual may sound glamorous but for those who do it the aftermath is decidedly sordid."
Silvina stared.
"Not STOPPING chanting for eight hours? You must be even more amazing than I realised! And – and not stopping for anything?"
"Not stopping for anything" said Severus "Water squirted in our mouths between phrases was the best we could do; I'm going to look into a fluid replenishing potion fed in via the veins, like we inject werewolves in the veins. Muggles re-hydrate that way so I don't see why we shouldn't. Then we'll be less ill from it. It half killed us last time; but it was worth it to know that no elf that has been to England has to punish themselves for disloyal thoughts. That will start to give them the desire to be free and lead to them being less subservient. As the elves who go to school are not subservient."
Silvina nodded. She had come a long way and was now quite friendly with Vya, the elf in her class.
"I – I guess I'd not thought about it" she said soberly "But if the tune helps too with labour pains, well I've read a bit more about that and I suppose anyone playing to ease it would have to play for hours on end too. Because it seems to me that live music, produced through a thinking person, would be better than any enchantment; though an enchantment should help if the tune is inherently magical."
"You're thinking it through very clearly" said Severus. "And I will ask Jade to look in on you too; I believe Jade is close to surpassing me in the skill of chanting AND she uses music extensively instead of voice. In which case I'd like you to work with her and Seagh on another project in addition – to see if we can't add a layer of music to the chant for the elf freeing to make it easier."
"Oh, what a good idea!" said Silvina. "How wonderful it is to be part of a family and to DO things with a family!"
Severus laughed.
"You MAY feel a little different after playing for eight hours and oh blast!" he added "We have to actually figure in several time zones too; it may be a twelve hour chant requiring people changing in and out. The shortest day has eight hours sunlight – in England's latitude – but running down to Spain and Italy that comes close to the tropics; AND we cover different times for dawn and dusk from France in the west and the Urals in the east. I'm going to be busy cracking numbers all year."
"If I can help with the music I shall" said Silvina "I'm not much of an arithmancer."
"You're better than many my dear" said Severus "Certainly good enough for most purposes. And good enough to know when you might be beat; and THAT is a talent in itself. Fortunately I have at my disposal some of the best arithmancers available. Now run along and tell Sevnev he may come and explain to me exactly what he did to his sisters' underwear that left them ready to scrag him."
Silvina grinned.
"I AM glad I'm not a parent!" she said with feeling and went to fetch small Severus Neville who was waiting in awful anticipation of his father's wrath; which was probably to be the greater part of his punishment. And at that possibly preferable than having the fertile imaginations of his sisters let loose on him.
And she was to be Silvina Snape and even having her knickers treated with itching powder by small brothers was to be taken in her stride as not being done with the malice with which Celestina had played tricks on her!
oOoOo
Seven year old Severus had red hair and glittering black eyes.
"Is Daddy awfully waxy, Silvina?" he asked.
"Well now Severus Neville Snape, how would you feel if anyone else did anything to your sisters?" said Silvina. Sevnev's face fell.
"Oh REALLY waxy" he said.
"Yes and if I'D caught you at it I'd make you have itching powder in your pants for a whole morning and see how you like it" said Silvina severely.
"Cor, you're as bad as Jade!" said Sevnev "I say, you didn't make any recommendations to daddy did you?"
"Certainly not; it's not my business. You never touched me" said Silvina.
"Oh well with luck I'll get off with a spanking and having to apologise" said Sevnev brightly.
He was the delicate one; finally getting stronger but certainly surreptitiously protected; NOT that this made it likely that he was going to get away with his mischief! And the only ones he had targeted had been Ismenia, Iris and Draxana, ranging in age from a year and a half older than him – Iris – to nearly two years younger – Draxana – without touching the younger ones. And at that, being the only boy in that age range he might well have had some provocation. Iris was very nearly as bossy as her mother Sirri at times!
oOoOo
Severus, feeling that there was no time like the present, brought Silvina in on the group as soon as they were back in London for Christmas, with such of the quorum as were also there. And the formalities were swiftly attended to, and Silvina went Christmas shopping with her family as Silvina Snape, and likewise attended a show that was a pantomime loosely based on the story of Babbity Rabbit and her cackling stump, from the stories of Beadle the Bard; except that the script contained all kinds of references to modern politics and any scandals that there were. Characters NOT from the original story strode across the stage in outrageous interludes including Loosearse Madboy – a direct steal from Draco's name for Lucius in his Convolvumort sketches – fleeing from a new lover who he had planned to make his wife until he found out that SHE was a HE. The line 'Loosearse, oh Loosearse, come to my arms and widen the circle of your friends!' fortunately passed the children by, but made Severus splutter rather. That Loosearse was also fleeing from the season's beauty Morganatica Feykin was a little close to the knuckle too; Morgana Fairchild, who had left Prince Peak three summers previously had made a determined beeline for Lucius on more than one occasion. Jade had joined the family for this show and rocked with laughter when Loosearse demanded of Morganatica if she would sleep with a man for a fine apartment, emeralds and a flying carriage; to which she had cooed an affirmative; then asked if she would sleep with a man for five sickles. 'Loosearse WHAT sort of woman do you think I am?' demanded Morganatica outraged. 'Oh we already established that" said Loosearse 'We were just haggling over the price!'.
"Got HER number" said Jade in satisfaction. "I say just LOOK at Uncle Lucius – he's going to wet himself if he laughs much more!"
Apart from the adult asides there was plenty of slapstick for the children of the normal kind, with such gags as an attempt to summon water with the aguamenti spell that seemed to fail, until the wizard casting it peered at the end of his wand and got the stream of water in his eye – a nice piece of wordless casting that brought applause from the knowledgeable as well as laughter from the little ones. Button mushrooms around the cackling stump got turned into beetles with the comment that they needed to roam free because there's not mushroom around here; and Babbity Rabbit outwitted all those who meant her harm and dispensed pithy advice; and all was well that ended well.
They stopped off to eat at one of a new chain of wizarding restaurants, to check it out as much as for any other reason since Krait had invested in the chain of 'Very Little Chef' restaurants, run by a cartel of freed house elves, including those freed as a punishment from Belcher and Goodtime that had been discovered by the Malfoy twins when Mr Goodtime was in a foul mood after having to feed huge numbers of goblin children under the aegis of Lucius Malfoy and one of the elves had ventured that they seemed nice children. Being good cooks the next step had seemed almost inevitable and Wendy and Krait had proceeded to take it. The food was to be cheap-and-cheerful but good quality; and the family was pleased to find that this seemed indeed to be so for such a spot inspection. As the elves running it and cooking were all share holders they had incentives to do it well; but Krait knew well enough that elves found it hard sometimes to operate without supervision. Beloc also owned shares and, being well versed in the hotel trade, called in from time to time to do what he called judicious buttock-prodding, which was like, he explained, kicking ass only scaled appropriately down.
Silvina enjoyed the meal, chuckling chicken balls with fries and bouncing peas. The chicken carried on chuckling until totally chewed and the peas bounced all the way down. It was an unashamedly children's meal; but she was eating with the other children, and Lilith cheerfully batting bouncing peas into everyone else's mouths with her knife as they jumped up off the plate. Lilith had grinned cheerfully at Silvina and welcomed her to the family; Lilith could be a complex little being in so many ways but in some respects she regarded life with remarkable simplicity. If mums and dad thought Silvina was a good sister, she was a good sister; and if she loved them they would love her.
Lilith was full of news from Hogwarts, how they had been invaded by a Jarvey that could almost outswear Peeves and how Robert Spikenard had caused the crap that had been written about Darryl in the 'Daily Prophet' because Gryffindors never knew when to keep their stupid mouths shut – here Lydia poked her – and that was why he wrote in to accuse them of fantasy mongering; How they had used Chrysogon Rufus' mother's poem to fill the great hall with teddy bears; and how Niobe Cooper had a dark wizard for an uncle and how she and sundry others were going to muggleify him.
"What on earth is that?" asked Silvina.
Lilith grinned.
"We get him onto various muggle organisations' lists of people to send advertising to; so he's knee deep in ads for breast implants and thermal vests and prosthetic devices and incontinence pants and things" she said. "It's a nuisance tactic. But I know how to manipulate the muggle world."
"DO be careful" said Severus mildly, knowing fine well it was no point actually banning Lilith from being involved.
oOoOo
It led to tears; Lilith and her Cooper friends had managed to bring Buckley Cooper to the notice of the muggle police – Silvina was not sure exactly how – and a policeman had been killed with the killing curse. Severus looked into the matter and was able to find out that he was a man who attacked first and worried about consequences after, and had suffered therefore from those consequences. But it was something Lilith had to cope with – that actions of hers had led to a death.
Silvina was among those dispensing reassuring hugs to Lilith as Mimi had gone to be with Darryl in Austria, still avoiding reporters and Lydia was spending time with her Viktor Krumm, skiing with him, his brother and sister, and Helga Von Strang who was gone on Stoyan Krumm. It was not Lilith's FAULT; but Severus pointed out to her gently that all actions had a knock-on effect and that she should perhaps be more judicious in muggleifying people in the future and stick to relatively harmless things like subscriptions to 'Gay News' rather than fitting them up for terrorist activities.
And before they knew where they were they were off back to school again; Lilith to help protect the young Coopers as all Marauders must in Hogwarts and Silvina back to Austria.
oOoOo
Victor stood outside the railway platform to check on anyone who was returning by rail; it was after all the job of the head boy. Various of his charges arrived without too much mishap – Rose Hubble's overstuffed trunk scarcely counting.
He was approached by a scholarly looking ghost in the academic robes of the sixteenth century.
"Prithee young sir, is it indeed true that the castle of the Horn is no longer the preserve of that woman and her female so-called students but returned to a place of proper learning?"
"If you mean Prince Peak, sir, it is now taking boys as well as girls and teaching to a reasonable academic level" said Victor, refraining from pointing out that the ghost was unlikely to have offspring hoping to enter.
"It still takes girls? What nonsense is this? Women should brew potions in the kitchen, not addle their incapable heads with learning!" said the ghost.
"Actually" said Victor sweetly "Some of the top arithmancers in the world are women; and while you're about to get outraged, we also, according to modern custom, take goblins and free elves, so either er, be dead with that or go bust a ghostly gut somewhere else."
"Preposterous! How DARE you boy! Do you have any idea who I am?" demanded the ghost.
"You're the chap I'm about to tickle with the ghost-tickling spell if you don't stop being unwontedly aggressive at me" said Victor "A spell invented by a little girl by the way" he added sweetly.
The ghost advanced menacingly.
"insubstantio titilandum" said Victor.
Watching a dignified and self-important ghost squealing, wriggling and giggling was most rewarding.
Victor held the spell long enough to make his point.
"And NOW sirrah" he said "Let us start over where you accord due respect to ALL the pupils of Prince Peak and I ask you politely what your business is there."
The ghost scowled.
"I am Zalmoxes Von Finsternacht" said the ghost "Noted wizard, sage and alchemist. I was seized treacherously and stoned to death by a mob. I returned to my family's castle and dwelled there until such time as that wretched female and her silly girls had me banished and kept out! You have no right to keep me from my family home!"
"Actually" said Victor "The headmaster, if he felt like it, would have every right; as the place is his by right of conquest from the supremacists who held the children in subjection, briefly, having killed the unfortunate Miss Cackle, who may have been a silly old moo but who did not deserve to be murdered. If you want to haunt the place, I suggest you apply to the headmaster, Professor Severus Snape, who will negotiate with you your rights and responsibilities; because one thing he'll want to ban is you haunting girls' dormitories. He had regretted that the Cackle had got rid of all the ghosts. I should think if she put up any exclusion zones they disappeared with her death; she wasn't very good. Don't try to irritate Severus Snape; he eats Dark Wizards for breakfast and his line of chanting is beyond what most people can even comprehend. He has devised ritual to return ghostly children to their own bones and he is probably the greatest potioneer that has ever lived. Don't say I haven't warned you."
oOoOo
Severus regarded Zalmoxes Von Finsternacht levelly.
"I will NOT punish my head boy for doing his duty" he said flatly "His duty of care to the others extends to protecting them from insult and from being frightened. If you want to haunt this castle you will do so on MY terms; because otherwise I shall stuff you through the veil."
"You – that is a ritual beyond any but a group of powerful wizards!" said Von Finsternacht.
Severus gave a thin smile.
"But then, I am blood-bonded to a group of powerful witches and wizards" said he. "Having revived blood magic. Though I fancy with a good chant I could do it alone even so; it merely requires an understanding of the profound nature of the process of death and the way to rip the veil. It is what the muggle ritual of bell, book and candle attempts to do – which is why it so painful for the ghost involved since it is not successful – and that ritual I also know and understand. You are arrogant; and you have little cause for you have but a thin half-life of ghosthood having been afraid to embrace death."
"What do YOU know of embracing death?" spat the ghost.
Severus gave another thin smile.
"More than you can possibly imagine" he said. "There are reasons for failing to accept the veil; but none for setting yourself up as any kind of uberbeing. You are a ghost; your duty is to haunt. And to protect your old home. You will be, if you haunt here, bound by the needs of the rightful headmaster and the pupils and you will do your utmost in that cause. You will haunt but not actively harm; and you will NOT go into those places that females sleep. Do I make myself pellucidly clear?"
"I'm not sure I want to be around females that call themselves scholars!" grumbled the ghost.
"Call themselves? Most of them are. Yes, I have a few totty headed idiots; but I also have a pupil who has asked to take the cruciatus curse to understand its nature while she develops a counter to it; an exciting counter that I believe has every chance of working. And though the shield charm is best to prevent it causing the pain in the first place a counter could help those who cannot hold a shield charm. You will learn by observation to lose your prejudices, Freiherr, or you can decide you do not like it here and leave forthwith; and as you are a scholar yourself, if you stay I suggest we refer to you as a ghost name as the Grey Scholar. I also suggest that you do NOT upset our other resident ghost Merope; she is my wife's grandmother and my wife is quite likely to get….harsh…. if her little grandmamma is upset. It was she who developed the transfigurational ability to be able to touch ghosts directly when she was still a schoolgirl herself; she also owns the resurrection stone of the Peverells by right of birth and could use it to send you the other way through the veil far more easily than I could. Oh, and incidentally, when I taught at Hogwarts school, I discovered that ghosts are NOT immune to the glare of a basilisk; and as Salazar Slytherin's heir, Krait – my wife – can transfigure into a basilisk. Now, are you ready to meet me half way?"
"I suppose so" said the Grey Scholar ungraciously.
"Unbreakable vow?" suggested Severus brightly "Or will your honour suffice?"
"I will give my word of honour" said the Grey Scholar, unwilling to risk saying that making an unbreakable vow with a ghost was impossible. If they could TOUCH ghosts….. certainly they had a spell to – how horrible it had been – TICKLE ghosts so one had to believe that they could touch too….. and if he truly DID understand the ritual to send one beyond the veil… still it was worth restrictions to be home again. "You don't object to my presence in the library?"
"Not at all" said Severus "I'll see if I can find some dog eared copies of books to ritually burn for your perusal; I think that's the easiest way to make them available to you."
"Thank you" said Finsternacht not too ungraciously. It would be nice to have something to read!
oOoOo
The Grey Scholar was duly presented to the body of the school when they returned; to be greeted with reactions from the little shriek of terror from Amy Tugwood – which earned her a scathing look of contempt from more than the Grey Scholar – to the exclamation 'COOL!' from BaHH.
"Huh, he looks too much like those nasty old men on the statue in whichever Swiss town it was that we saw them in, the Calvinist ones" said Batty. "Or like Professor Snape when you've skimped homework with toothache AND having sat on his wand."
"Professor Snape would NEVER sit on his wand" giggled Yrdl "He has far too much respect for wand protocol as well as not wanting to sever anything vital!"
"Well you know what I mean" said Batty.
"You mean he looks like he disapproves of everything all the time" said Yrdl "Perhaps that's why he's a ghost; he died of apoplexy because someone had a new idea in his hearing and never realised he was dead because it would mean doing something he couldn't control."
Finsternacht glared at her. Stupid comments by females were bad enough, when the female in question was nothing but a goblin, who behaved as an equal towards humans it was almost too much! But he had promised himself he would not even SPEAK to these wretched females!
oOoOo
The Grey Scholar was much taken aback when drifting around eavesdropping to hear Irmi Luytens explaining to Sebastian Cantripp with much Arithmancy how to become an animagus. The idea of female animagi was not something he approved of; and he almost had a fit when Irmi mentioned casually to Sebastian that wolf had seemed so right after Severus had cured her of being a werewolf.
A CURE!
And calling the head by his first name?
And he let WEREWOLVES in?
The bookish baron was not sure which of those things shocked him the most. He barged deliberately through the next female he saw, a petite blonde female who looked the size of a twelve year old though developed well enough.
Krait cuffed him across the back of the head with two insubstantial fingers.
"Manners to a professor, Freiherr" she said crisply.
The Grey Scholar took himself off to sulk in the library.
oOoOo
Severus prepared to teach Amortentia.
He had eight in his potions class; a reasonable number. He would return from the next year to his usual high standard of only permitting those with 'O' grade OWL take the exam unless they could talk very fast. In the lower sixth of those taking potions only those who had an 'O' grade WERE taking it, except Emily Grant who only had four subjects at 'E' or above so he had not been too unhappy to let her take potions as a third NEWT. Emily was no scholar; most of her ten OWLs were 'A' grade, and she had taken them purely to be with her friend Elsie. At least she had not the idiocy to copy Elsie's academic ambitions of eight NEWTs.
The upper sixth were still infected with Cackleness however and that would have to be addressed when dealing with love potions. Especially with the Tugwood twins.
He sighed and began.
"You stand on the verge of being potioneers. If you have listened to me and studied assiduously, when you finish with school in a few short months you should be capable of brewing any potion with some competency. The question I need you to ponder, however, is, should you? Just because you CAN brew a potion, is it always valid and moral to do so? Some potions carry with them moral and ethical questions to their use; such as Felix Felicis, which is a banned substance in competition, exam or political election. We considered its use fighting Voldemort on the other hand nearer to being vital. We won; and we did not lose anyone. But some people learn to rely on Felix; until they cannot cope without it, and at that point they are taking so much that they are killing themselves with slow poison. We shall look at Felix in more detail another day however; and you may consider this an intimation that reading up about it will not displease me. Today we look at a potion that is so insidious that I should like to see it made a controlled substance; though it too has its uses. Can anyone tell me what this potion is?"
Victor raised his hand and so did Amy Tugwood and Lily Smethley.
"Miss Smethley; good to see your hand up" said Severus "Can you tell me what this is?"
Lily blushed violently.
"It is Amortentia; the most powerful love potion in the world" she said.
"I guess you'd need it" murmured Ellen Tugwood snidely.
"Miss Tugwood that was an uncalled for comment and remarkably childish" said Severus "You may return me thirty reps of 'when I was a child I thought as a child I spoke as a child but now I am grown I have set aside childish things'. In the hopes that you actually might set aside childishness some time before you reach thirty." He added snidely.
Ellen flushed.
Lily looked grateful.
Severus went on,
"I do hope that none of you have ever broken the strict school rule not to use this sort of stuff; it is banned for several very good reasons. Mr Crabbe, perhaps you will expand upon my words."
"It's not a love potion" said Victor who had heard Severus on the subject more than once "It's an infatuation potion that alters the mental state of the unfortunate recipient to admire in some respects the one who administered it despite their permanently unfortunate mental state to be sad enough to use it. It does not make for true love. It is subject to some legal jurisdiction in that sexual intercourse undertaken under its influence is considered unlawful seduction and liable to at best a fine, at worst a custodial sentence – which please take note if any of you girls did NOT know that – and can blight the life of the poor sap fed it if they then make a fool of themselves over the object of their artificial desire – I beg your pardon sir?" as Severus murmured something.
"I merely commented that one of the Malfoy twins coined the phrase 'potion paramour'; I liked the phrase and but repeated it" said Severus "My apologies for the interruption Mr Crabbe; do please go on."
"Potion Paramour? That is rather good" said Victor "The potion paramour has herself no true love for the object of her desires because true love does not seek to control, and if using a potion to control thoughts and feelings is not control, then I don't know what is. She is a selfish piece who would do better to make herself likeable by getting a life and sharing hobbies rather than by trying to poison some poor git into submission and I do wish you ruddy twins wouldn't giggle like a pair of eleven year olds who've just discovered that boys are built differently to girls."
"A graphic if unflattering description of the actions of your classmates" said Severus. "That covers most of it. The potion is NOT a love potion as Mr Crabbe has said. It is however a NEWT level potion that contains techniques of a tricky nature suitable to test you with; and it may too be used medicinally in a case where a woman or indeed a man may have lost desire through post natal depression or menopause or other hormonal disturbance or internal problems. It might also be used mutually and consensually by a couple to enhance any experience; that is entirely their business and if you twins cannot manage to refrain from giggling I shall throw you out of my class; and you are neither of you taking so many NEWTs that you can really afford to lose one" he added wrathfully.
The twins subsided at THAT awful threat.
Severus set them to brew Liberamore Major as the counter to Amortentia and retired to behind his desk while they calmed down until it was time to prowl about to see how they were doing.
He wondered too if Lily Smethley had blushed so much just because she was shy or if she intended to try to use a love potion because she was too shy to make any other declaration. And how irritating it was not to have Jade around to find out!
He asked Lily to help him tidy up and motioned to Victor to stand at the doorway as a chaperone.
"Miss Smethley, I hope you have not used one of these potions?" he asked quietly but bluntly. Lily blushed again violently.
"No sir, and I shan't now I know more about them!" she said "I – well I did wonder….." she glanced at Victor "If I could make someone interested in me."
Severus smiled kindly.
"There's no better aphrodisiac than working together and sharing interests" he said "When you find a young man who can speak about such things that interest you enough that you forget to be shy to join in the conversation, then you will have found your true heart's desire. I too am shy, Lily; and it took me a while. But I can offer advice that will, I hope, mean that you find your true love before I managed it. But even if you have to wait many years, do not give up hope! And always be true to yourself – never give in to the temptation to use a false infatuation."
"No sir, I shan't; and thank you sir" said Lily. One forgot how KIND he could be when he was bawling out the likes of the Tugwood twins; who were daft enough that they ended up getting bawled out by Professor Snape most lessons!
Lily was a happier girl and Victor wandered back to the common room with her to field any questions of the ubiquitous and tactless twins, so they though that Lily had been dallying with him.
Lily sighed. Victor was so kind too! If only he might notice her…. But then Victor did not seem to notice seriously any of the girls; he was too serious about his schoolwork!
Victor was serious about his schoolwork; and also mindful that he was charismatic to the opposite sex and that this could cause a whole heap of trouble. He had no intention of playing around with anyone!