Snape Revealed Shorts, Story TWO:
Pure Romance
Part 9: Hungry Like The Wolf
AN: JK Rowling created most of these characters and the universe from which they hail…
I can't leave the house these days without some stay-at-home Mom trying to sell me some Pure Romance. I assume this type of stuff is sold worldwide, but I live in the town that started Pure Romance. Yes, a family in Cincinnati, Ohio came up with the idea years ago and it's grown into a monster. If you are unaware, it's a company that sells sex toys. Yes. So I'm going to write a story about it for no good reason. No, I don't work for Pure Romance, no, I've never been to any of their parties, but I'm invited all the darn time!
It goes without saying this installment is rated M for mature language and some graphic…um…depictions. Okay, it's just plain raunchy.
(This story begins during the first week of October, 1985. Rhys is long gone, as is Lily, and after four years of mourning, Severus is still deeply affected, however, he's slowly beginning to emerge from his self-imposed mental-exile.)
This story is not yet beta'd…
The transformation went as smoothly as it had in the months prior. It still made Severus very nervous, and he never took his eyes off Lupin throughout the entire event. For the first hour, Severus took detailed notes. The old man just curled up in a ball. The woman licked herself and paced for a while before relaxing into the Sphinx position, and Lupin just sat up staring at Severus for most of the time, before licking his ass.
During hour number two, Severus introduced three raw steaks into the cages. The old man ate his slowly, but seemed to deeply enjoy it. The woman sniffed hers, and then licked it several times before devouring it methodically. Lupin on the other hand gobbled his up in one huge slurp and didn't even bother to chew. Pig.
At the beginning of the third hour, Severus joined Kathleen and Belby upstairs. He entered the living room to find Belby still flirting and Kathleen looking a bit bored.
"You should go downstairs now Belby to observe. So far nothing new has happened. They are calm, they ate their steaks, and two are snoozing while one is just sitting there," Severus stated plainly.
"Excellent, excellent!" Belby exclaimed as he nearly jumped from the sofa. Severus had never seen the man looking so thrilled. "This is the month! I can feel it! I can feel it in my bones!" he smiled and nearly sprinted down the stairs.
"I'm so bored I want to die," Kathleen stated from the sofa without moving or breaking her stare from the hideous wall art. "If he tells me one more time how my hair is the prettiest shade of auburn and my freckles on my right cheek look like an aerial view of the Caribbean, I may vomit."
"That's just fucked up," Severus stated from his station on the floor. His legs were outstretched as he used his lap as a desk to work on his notes. He was concentrating deeply on his findings and trying not to wonder why anyone would ever make such a remark regarding someone's freckles. He also detested the way Lupin just stared at him nearly the entire time. He knew Lupin was licking his ass and nasty bits on purpose just to annoy him. Severus hated Lupin, even if he did still have fond memories of him from their childhood, that was before he was so greatly deceived and nearly killed.
"Is that Def Leppard?" Kathleen asked. Severus raised his head to face her but had no clue what she was talking about. He raised a brow and looked very confused for a moment. "Rock of Ages?" she asked, as he suddenly realized she was talking about the song he was playing in his head. She was some kind of Legilimens it seemed. Severus still gazed at her, perplexed. "You were humming that tune."
"Huh?"
"Humming, just now, you were humming Rock of Ages."
"No I wasn't."
"Uh, yeah, you were. I like that song."
"I don't hum," Severus said in a soft voice and then turned back to his notes.
"Um, yeah you do, actually. I've noticed you do it when you're deep in concentration, concentrating on stuff you like that is."
"I do?" he asked, filled with horror that he may have hummed during one of his classes.
"Yes, you do. It's...sweet."
"Please tell me I don't hum during sex."
"Ha!" she spoke aloud and then chuckled. "No, no, see, that would be weird," she said as Severus began to laugh a little, and then burst into laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"Us. I mean, we live in a world where we are seated just above cages filled with terrifying werewolves, and to us, weird is humming during sex."
"Yeah," she smirked, and then began to laugh more heartedly. "So, the werewolves aren't weird, no, that's perfectly normal, but humming! Now that's weird!"
"Exactly."
"So, you are fond of the Leppard?"
"They are alright...from my neck of the woods," he said, and then began to scribble more notes.
"What neck is that?"
"They hail from Sheffield, which is northern Britain. But I'm not from Sheffield...still though, the North is the North. See here, you either live in the North, or everywhere else."
"I see...um, doesn't the North kind of...suck?"
"It's like your South. The North is considered somewhat lower-class, less cultured, less proper, when in fact most people from the North could kick the crap out of someone from London both physically and mentally, and most definitely, magically."
"So let me get this straight, in England, you're either from London...or...not?"
"A Londoner would say that, so yeah, pretty much."
"Is Sheffield close to Liverpool?"
"You Americans, the only cities in Britain you've heard of are London and Liverpool. Not really, but Liverpool is considered northern. I mean by vast American standards, yeah, Liverpool is near Sheffield I guess. The northern part of Britain is very, very large, much larger than the greater London metro-area. Also very lush and pretty. Filled with Muggle factories and mines though."
"No wizarding villages?"
"Ironically not many. There is a decent sized one in Yorkshire, which is in the extreme north of England, and a smaller community in Birmingham, where Ozzy Osbourne is from."
"I loved Black Sabbath back in the day!"
"Yeah, well...yeah, they were good. Def Leppard are...okay. You can take Duran Duran and shove them though."
"What? Hungry Like The Wolf? Come on! Rather appropriate at the moment."
"Just because Nick Rhodes is a wizard does not mean they are a good band. They sound too...too..."
"Gay?"
"I was going to say magical but yeah, their music is a tad gay. Kind of like New Order."
"I love them! Oh wait, wait, you know who I just love?" Kathleen asked with pure excitement in her face.
"I'm not a mind reader," Severus fibbed and went back to his notes.
"Culture Club!"
"Who?" Severus asked, having no clue who she was talking about.
"Culture Club! You know! Boy George?"
"Who the fuck is Boy George?"
"Oh my God, Sev, they are British and their music is great! And Boy George is this totally awesome dude with long hair and tons of makeup..."
"And he finds it necessary to state his gender in his name? Is it not obvious that he's male?" Severus asked in all seriousness.
"Well actually, no, it's not. I mean, he's a dude, but he looks like a chick."
"That's fucked up. Why is that his gimmick? Can't he sing?"
"He can! He has a great voice and they make awesome music, but yeah, he's um...what do you call them here? Uh...uh...don't tell me...uh, a cream puff!"
Severus couldn't help but chuckle at her poor reference. He then burst into laughter and had to put his quill down.
"You mean a puff? Just a puff...unless of course, his cream is often involved."
"I'm sure his cream is involved and often. Yeah, a puff, or you know, gay."
"Yes, I understand the euphemism. So let me get this straight, no pun intended, he dresses like a woman, wears make up, and has to put the word Boy in front of his name, and you like this sort of thing?"
"Well I mean, I like their music, he's kind of weird."
"Kind of weird?"
"Not like, humming during sex weird, but weird, yeah."
"What are you two laughing about?" Belby asked, entering the room.
"Music," Severus said and then picked up his quill again.
"Well, they are doing great! My wolves are doing great! My potion is working! I am a genius! I've cured the horrible disease that is werewolf!" he stated with utter glee.
"Yes you have," Severus scorned.
"Yes, yes, you helped, but you are my behind-the-scenes man, and I did generate all of the funding myself! Ahh...it's a glorious night!"
"The night isn't over yet."
"Yes, Severus, I know. Leave it to Mr. Woe-Is-Me here to insist on bringing everybody down," Belby said to Kathleen, whose face was still pink from the earlier laughter. "I think I see the Dry Tortugas right there beneath your right eye!"
"Yee-ah," she said back and then curled her lip.
"Ever been?"
"Beneath my right eye?"
"The Tortugas!"
"Oh, no."
"Gorgeous! I'm going to move there after this potion makes me rich and famous! Wanna come with?"
"Um...let's just see how tonight unfolds first," Kathleen smiled, a clearly forced smile.
"Severus, I think we should introduce Kathleen here to the test subjects below so I can finally write my final report to the Ministry..."
"Hold on there Belby," Severus warned. "I think we should wait for the witching-hour, don't you?"
"Um...well...why?" Belby asked with a raised brow.
"Magic is at its height, it's the best time to test our theory."
"Yee-es, um, I concur."
"Good, I'm so glad I thought of it," Severus spoke slowly. Belby took a deep breath and smiled at Severus before turning his attentions back to Kathleen.
"Kathleen, would you like something to eat or drink?" Belby asked.
"Oh, no, thank you, I'm fine," she smiled.
"Sure you don't want a hot-dog?" Severus asked, still staring down at his notes.
"Corny! I like it Sev! But no, no hot-dog for me, thanks," she replied. "Maybe just some water?"
"I'll get it!" Belby said as he sprinted off to the kitchen. "I did it! I did it! I finished the potion!"
"He's really cocky," she whispered to Severus who just sighed. "He's funny though."
"That's because he likes you, if he doesn't, I can assure you, he's not funny."
"He kind of reminds me of you, but arrogant."
"What the hell did I ever do to you?" Severus asked, offended by her comment.
"No, I mean, he's clearly brilliant and funny and charming when he wants to be, and he reeks of sarcasm which I personally love, but he's way to full of himself."
"Um...yeah, I guess I see that," Severus replied as Belby re-entered the room with a tall glass of water for Kathleen.
"So, what music do you like Kathleen?" Belby asked as Severus just rolled his eyes and tried to hold down his dinner.
"Oh all sorts, but there's this new woman, American, who's like, totally awesome!"
"Who?" Belby asked.
"Her name is Madonna and get a load of this...she's a Squib!"
"Ah...shame. I can think of no worse fate than being a Squib," Belby stated.
"I can...being a werewolf perhaps?" Severus asked, glaring at Belby.
"Well that goes without saying Severus!" Belby snapped. "So is this Madonna monstrosity as pretty as you?" he asked Kathleen as Severus began to reach for his wand.
"Um...she's really punky looking, and dresses like a total slut, but her music is pretty good."
"Punky looking? Hmm...and how would one describe that look?"
"Well Damocles, she wears a ton of fake jewelry and has wild hair and far too much makeup...and dresses like a slut."
"I see, she sounds very intriguing!"
"Yeah," Kathleen replied. She and Severus shared a glance and Kathleen began to chuckle as Severus put his wand back in his pocket.
"Someone needs to be monitoring them downstairs," Severus urged.
"Go, go, go then," Belby said with his back to Severus, waving his hand at him as if to shoo him away.
An hour later Severus was seated on the floor, eating a green apple. He noticed the old man and the woman were staring at him, pacing and salivating. The woman even cried and reached her arm out near the iron bars. Lupin on the other hand just sat there, staring at Severus for the longest time, before taking a deep breath and turning his head and closing his eyes. Severus felt as if they had most if not all of their human-brains intact. The man and woman were simply hungry, as the transformation required a lot of energy. He knew Lupin would never beg him for his own food, so turning his head away seemed like normal Lupin behavior to Severus.
Severus removed a red apple from his pocket and sliced it into three large chunks. He knew the seeds were poison to dogs and assumed they were to werewolves too, so he cored it before hand. The man and woman stood with their snouts just peeking out from in-between the iron bars. Their tails were wagging; both were drooling and making very clear, "I want that apple" noises. Lupin, looked at Severus, and then closed his eyes again. Severus made of note of all of their behavior.
"Okay you, you want this?" Severus asked the man, whose tail was wagging as fast as possible. Severus threw the apple piece into the cage as the man ran after it and gobbled it up from the floor. He then went back to the bars and begged for more. "I guess you want some too?" Severus asked, turning his attentions to the female. She too wagged her tail and howled, very, very loud. Severus was fearful for a moment but tossed the apple piece anyway. It landed in her opened mouth. She too was begging for more.
"Okay you...do you want this?" Severus asked Lupin who remained curled up in a tight ball. There was a tear streaming down from one of his eyes, and he was clearly breathing heavier, Severus assumed, to smell the delight in Severus's hand. His tail was beginning to wag. He knew Lupin didn't like the idea of taking anything from Severus, let alone food, but he'd burned so much energy transforming, he must have desperately wanted that tiny piece of apple. "Do you want it or not?" he asked in a slightly angered tone. Lupin slowly raised his hind quarters, and kept his eyes on Severus. Severus threw the apple over Lupin's head and watched as it landed on the floor in the far corner of the cage.
Lupin got up and gobbled up the apple piece; he licked his chops and then curled back up in a ball. He sighed and then closed his eyes. Severus took a deep breath and continued to compose his notes. It was clear they were all starving, and he wondered how their hunger may affect their behavior. Using magic he had whole chickens, freshly beheaded at the butcher's earlier that evening, appear in the cells. The man and woman attacked their chickens, while Lupin eagerly bit into his chicken. It took about a minute for all three to finish their chickens.
The man and women slurped up the blood and juices off the floor while Lupin chewed on the large neck bone for a moment before tearing it in two. He then appeared to be sucking the marrow out before chewing the bone and swallowing it. He slowly walked over to his large bowl of water and drank nearly all of it. He then curled back into a ball and closed his eyes, clearly content to take a nap.
At three a.m., the Witching-Hour, Severus ascended the stairs to the living room, where Kathleen appeared very white faced and nervous. Belby looked almost giddy. Severus took a deep breath and shrunk his notes and his quill and placed them inside his pocket.
"I think we should just start with, if you'll pardon my crassness, placing her knickers downstairs outside of the cages to see how they respond," Severus said in as proper and clinical a tone as possible. Belby took a deep breath, raised his brows, and glanced at Kathleen for her approval.
"Um, yeah, sure, I did bring extra," she said, rising from the sofa. "Where's the uh, loo?" Belby pointed in the direction of the hallway behind the kitchen. She left the room and Severus became full of anxiety. He was fearful about the werewolve's volatile behavior. Kathleen came out a moment later with a black, velvet bag in her hand. "Okay, uh, they're in here. I put on fresh ones."
"How's your flow?" Belby asked as Severus rolled his eyes.
"For fuck sakes Belby, she's menstruating, that's all the information we need!" Severus snapped.
"Well, I mean, is there actual blood in those knickers?"
"Her scent is all over them, regardless of actual blood," Severus said, hoping Kathleen wasn't too embarrassed, and then he remembered, she sold dildos on the side, nothing embarrassed her.
"Damocles, I normally use Muggle tampons, which I assume witches here use, like witches in the states do," she said as Severus shook his head no. "Oh, no, really?"
"When I worked at St. Mungo's, I heard of some of the more...athletic witches using those, they had to get them at Muggle shops. Most witches use homemade pads here," Severus replied.
"Oh, well I brought a ton with me when I relocated here, anyway, as I was saying, that's what I normally use. However for this, I did use a pad, I brought some from the states, they are just Muggle ones...anyway I put the pad in the knickers, and don't worry about returning the uh...knickers...to me, I used old ones I don't care about for this," she said and then smiled. "And I'm wearing a clean pad now, and um, my flow Damocles, is...moderate."
"Okay, so...Severus, take the knickers to the room," Belby instructed. "She'll remain up here with me for now."
"Fine, Kathleen, have your wand at the ready. Go stand near the floo, go immediately to Spinner's End if you feel threatened and wait there for me. You'll be safe there."
"Where is that?"
"It's in Derby, it's my house, I opened the floo this evening. And I'm deadly serious, if you hear them howl and you get scared, just floo to Spinner's End, got it?"
"Got it," she replied as if she were speaking to a commanding officer. "And if everything is fine, I just wait here?"
"If they are okay you will remain upstairs until I say otherwise. I may have you come down to the room for them to get a better sniff if and only if I feel they are perfectly safe, and I highly doubt I'll feel that way."
"Stop being so negative Sev!" Belby exclaimed.
"Only my friends call me that!" Severus snapped. Using magic he walked down the stairs and had the knickers, still in the velvet pouch, behind him. He could hear the werewolves beginning to pant and howl as he descended the stairs with the bloody cloth in-tow. He could tell they were growing hyper and circling inside their cages. The howls grew louder as he used magic to toss the bag into the center of the room, about three feet from the iron bars of the cages. All three werewolves stuck their snouts through the bars as far as they could. The old man and Lupin both reached their front legs out as if they were trying to reach for it. They sniffed as loud and as strong as possible and Lupin howled, but not too loudly. The woman seemed the most calm. After she sniffed it sufficiently, she went back to the far corner of her cage and curled up into a ball. Lupin lifted his leg and pissed all over the bars of his cage, in a clear attempt to get his scent as close to the bag as possible.
It was clear they were not using their human mind, and at least part of the werewolf in them was coming out. They were not behaving violently however, or out of control. Once Lupin marked his spot he sat and continued to sniff toward the bag, as did the old man, but neither howled too loud, growled, or violently tried to escape their confinement to get to the bag.
"Severus, everything sounds good to me!" Belby shouted from upstairs. Severus didn't really want to shout back, so he remained facing the werewolves, with his wand at the ready and took one step back up the stairs. He noticed the werewolves, all three of them, jumped up to their feet and began to sniff even harder and more aggressively. Severus raised a brow and became confused. Lupin opened his mouth and let out the loudest screech Severus had ever heard. Then Severus felt something touch his back, without thinking he turned around and aimed his wand only to find it was Kathleen, with Belby right behind her.
"What the fuck? Get her out of here!" Severus shouted to Belby.
"But they were fine!" Belby shouted back. The instant the three werewolves saw Kathleen and smelled her better, they all began to howl and screech so loud Severus dropped his wand as he covered both of his ears. He took a step back and in doing so, caused Kathleen to fall back on Belby, who fell into the stairs beneath him.
Lupin, being the youngest male, howled and growled and screeched while he outstretched his front legs from the bars in a clear attempt to maul Kathleen, who was now beneath Severus. Severus grabbed his wand and turned to help Kathleen up. She appeared to be paralyzed with fear, and Belby was still crouched on the steps, covering his ears. The screams and howls of the three werewolves were so loud and terrorizing, there was nothing Severus could do to communicate verbally to Kathleen or Belby. Belby got his footing and ran back upstairs, while Kathleen remained behind Severus, with both of her hands covering her ears.
The three werewolves were now in full blown madness, all of them using all of their might to break through the iron bars to get to Kathleen. Lupin and the old man would howl, growl and then scream so loud Severus was convinced his eardrum had burst. Severus had never felt such pain inside his head or ears before. He was as frightened as he was the night he was surrounded by Inferi.
He stared down at Kathleen and could tell she was screaming, but all he heard was the horrifying howls of the trio of werewolves, clearly the potion had stopped working. The allure of a menstruating woman overpowered the potion and turned them back into savage, uncontrollable, unpredictable, hungry werewolves. Severus heard the clinging of the iron bars and thought perhaps they were going to snap from the sheer power of the violent werewolves.
Severus grabbed Kathleen by the arm and ran up the stairs, in his panic, he ran with her out the front door and into Diagon Ally. Even in the ally, he still heard the ferocious howls and the clinking of iron and the cracking of stone...he feared they'd all break free and come for Kathleen, who was curled up in a ball on the street at his feet, with her hands still over her ears. He had to get her out of there. There was no place to floo, they had to Disapparate, and they had to do it that second...
(To be continued)
Due to the holiday weekend here in the US, I may not be continuing this chapter until next week or so, and I really wanted to get this part at least published for you guys. Plus it's a nice little cliff-hanger for you! ENJOY! Also, please like my Severus Snape Revealed and Shorts facebook page for polls and updates and pictures :-)