Shooting each other looks of brimming hatred, Professor's Snape and Lupin stood awkwardly in front of the magnificent oak desk of their collective headmaster. As per his maddening custom, the elder of the three didn't utter a syllable as he sat silently and appraised them.
His blue eyes that usually danced with his intelligent humour, whilst not being cold, certainly weren't twinkling.
They both watched as he leant forwards in the high backed chair, and rested his chin upon his interlocked fingers. He examined them both closely, before turning his gaze to rest firmly on Lupin.
"Would you care to explain to me the cause of the… scene I just happened upon Remus?" he murmured, with an exasperated wave of his hand.
The voice was as flawlessly cordial as ever, no rising pitch or clipped words.
The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher merely stared back him as he struggled to find words that would properly convey his complete and utter lack of information on the matter.
Giving up, he threw a look in Snape's direction, who, staring impassively ahead did not catch it.
Or, didn't appear to catch it.
"I truthfully cannot say headmaster" Lupin began slowly, "perhaps… it would be best if you directed that question to Severus here, he seems to be the one with the…ahh, issue."
He accompanied his short answer with a loaded jerk of his head in his colleague's direction, who was still seemingly transfixed upon the wall over Dumbledore's eye line.
Sighing, and reminding himself that rolling one's eyes at his age was simply unbecoming, Albus shifted his gaze to the right.
"…Severus?"
His voice remained as even as it had when he had addressed Lupin, but a gentle note of softness seemed to creep into the quiet voice.
Snape snapped his gaze back down to level eye contact between himself and the seated man.
"It is…nothing" he gritted out through a clenched jaw, "the matter will resolve itself."
With that, he pursed his lips together into a tight line, and averted his eyes once more.
Nodding thoughtfully as if this non answer was simply fascinating, Dumbledore continued to run his keen gaze over one of his longest serving members of staff.
He took in the tenser than usual poise, the heavier than usual breathing and the flashing quality of the dark eyes and made an assessment.
Whatever this was, it was personal.
As myopic and downright difficult as Snape could be when it came to teaching matters and concerns, his eyes only sparked like that when he was truly upset.
Dumbledore could count on his hands the amount of times he'd seen the younger man break through his icy shell, his front, as a result of such upset.
The silver eyebrows contracted.
The root cause of each and every one of those sporadic upsets shared a common denominator.
Lily.
The wise brain whirred as he rapidly contemplated his next bout of speech. Taking in once more the completely bemused looking expression in Remus' face and the clinically neutral one adorning Severus', he came to a decision.
"Remus…could you excuse us please?" he requested quietly. "I assure you, should this conversation need to be taken any further between you and I, I shall let you know…"
There was a silence as his two professor's exchanged silent looks and as a head was nodded.
"As you wish" Lupin replied courteously, and shooting Snape one last look of confused anger, he turned and swept from the room.
The Potions aspect of the equation did not take the DADA professor's expulsion from the room as a sign that anything boded particularly well for him.
Clearing his throat, he dragged his cloak of suave indifference back over him.
"If that's all headmaster, I should also take my leave. I have a class to attend to…"
A small smile played on Dumbledore's lips as he shook his head in a bout of half hearted exasperation. Turning to Fawkes, he murmured to her in a low tone, that was almost conversational as Snape rolled his eyes.
That freaking bird.
Taking flight, and nuzzling against her owners shoulders, the amber bird disappeared from the room with a snap.
"Cover shall be arranged" came the airy reply, accompanied with an instructive hand gesture towards the chair in front of the stately desk.
"Sit, please."
Scowling fiercely, the frame of lank hair swung sharply as an irritated jerk of the head was given.
"Forgive me, headmaster, but I really-"
A commanding hand held upwards interrupted him.
"You really must sit down, as there shall be no question of forgiveness until you do so."
Biting his lip immediately to refrain from verbalising the scathing retort that sprung to his lips, the younger man swooped down into the chair with an irritated gate.
Steeling himself to appear affected by what he was sure would be a long winded lecture, he crossed his legs and sat back in the chair.
When the glass of water magically appeared in front of him, he suppressed a sigh.
"I'm fine" he declined doggedly, as he pushed it away "thank you…"
Leaning forwards once more, the silver beard swayed gently as the man ran his maddeningly omniscient gaze over his entire being.
"No Severus" came the quiet voice, "I don't think you are…now, why don't you explain to me what possessed you to place your hands on a member of my staff in anger?"
Seeing the dark look passing over Snape's face, he raised a brow.
"Now, if you please. I appreciate it you might not want to talk about it, but you'll simply have to forgive me, for I have to insist."
Glaring across the desk at an entirely unperturbed Dumbledore, the younger of the two barely repressed a snarl.
"As I said, it is a matter that will work itself out in due course" he repeated icily, "now, if you'll excuse me…"
He began to rise, only to be firmly seated once more by a much sharper voice.
"No, I do not excuse you Severus, nor will I, until I get to the bottom of this matter. I hardly need to tell you that staff members brawling where anyone could have come across you, is hardly ideal?"
For the first time, Snape felt a pang of shame.
He had behaved like a mindless fool, operating with his fists rather than his mouth or his intellect.
"Do I need to remind you of that?"
Snapping out of his brief reverie, the curtain of lifeless hair swung once more.
Albeit much slower, and with much less gusto.
"No headmaster…that isn't necessary" he muttered, feeling a heat rise in his sallow cheeks.
Noting the change in demeanour, Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"Good. Now, for the final time please, could you explain to me the cause of the problem between yourself and Remus?"
Ashamed to find himself squirming in his seat slightly, Snape cleared his throat awkwardly.
He knew there would be no question of leaving this room without divulging the truth.
He could lie… and he could probably get away with it. His years of experience with occlumency coupled with his natural aptitude provided for a stellar poker face.
However, as he looked into the deeply wrinkled yet strangely youthful face he knew he couldn't lie.
He respected the man too much.
Not that he'd ever admit it out loud.
But…as that insufferable kid's face popped up in his mind's eye, he knew he could…mitigate.
Telling the man in front of him that his favourite pupil had risked life and limb for a jaunt into the village…jarred him.
He blinked.
He ought to hang that boy out to dry.
But…having been on the receiving end of Dumbledore's gut wrenching disappointment in various stages throughout his life, he found himself possessed of the strange desire to…protect Ha…Potter, from that.
He blinked again.
What on earth was the matter with him?
This was the perfect opportunity to have both Potter and Lupin thrown into the hot seat, and here he was, thinking rapidly to avoid it.
Maybe he was ill?
He blinked once more.
"…Lupin and I" he began slowly, "had a disagreement about…a disciplinary issue regarding…a common student. I'm afraid the matter escalated, and I lost my temper. I apologise."
A tentative silence settled over the room, as Dumbledore chewed over this half truth.
He knew what he was being told amounted to a portion of the story, and he also knew he was being denied the other.
"A common student?" he mused eventually, "…does this student have a name?"
Balking inwardly, Snape schooled his features with a pro's speed.
"Of course" he acquiesced smoothly, "but…I'm sure you understand that the matter in question was not brought to your attention as it was deemed dealt with, and that it would be unfair to name the student as an afterthought."
The tentative silence was back, as Dumbledore was now the one struggling to keep his expression impassive.
His mind flew to Harry. It was the obvious choice. The emotion he was still reading off of his young professor was Lily related, he was sure of it.
And where there was Lily…there was Harry.
The brows contracted in confusion once more.
He'd had had to listen to Severus' ranting and raving, protesting and pouting about Harry's behaviour from the moment he had set foot in the castle. He'd sat through endless pacing where that young man and where the man in front of him were concerned.
So why was he suddenly protecting him?
And protecting him he was, no matter what platitudes were thrown his way about student anonymity.
He was sure of it.
"Very well, you need not name the student" he conceded, playing along, "but…I'm at a loss to understand why a disagreement pertaining a student would lead you to resort to violence?"
The faint blushing adorning the sallow skin was now becoming less faint.
"Like I say…I lost my temper" Snape muttered before swallowing and saying words that he positively despised saying.
"I'm…sorry."
With that, he snapped his mouth shut and willed the moment where he would dismissed from the office to come hurtling down the tracks.
Dumbledore for his part was doing some willing of his own.
Willing himself to understand the complex person that sat in front of him. He was protecting Harry from him. That alone was the most confusing aspect of Hogwarts life he had encountered that year. Why should Snape think that Harry needed to be shielded from him?
Snape of all people thinking that he would…upset the child?
He frowned as his mind kicked into overdrive.
He had known Severus long enough to know the young man didn't care much, or failed to be perturbed by his anger with him when it occurred. He would merely weather the storm out with his habitual indifference.
The only thing that bothered the man was…his disappointment in him.
A light flicked on inside the unusual brain.
Could it be that…Severus was protecting Harry from his disappointment?
He sighed slightly.
What had that boy done now?
His mind refocused, as he ran a gaze over the now resolutely silent Potions master.
His mind flew up into another gear as he pondered furiously.
If he pressed now…if he demanded answers now, he knew he would never get them.
The pressing anomaly of the subtle change in demeanour from Snape where Harry was concerned was filed firmly aware for further evaluation.
He had a distant inkling as to the direction the change was taking, but he didn't dare believe it.
He never would have believed it possible.
…and he would never have more dearly loved to be proven wrong.
The corners of his mouth tugged up in blissful appreciation of what could be.
If only Severus could see…
Snapping himself back to the present, his shoulders sagged with the weight of his position. Whatever the provocation, whatever the emotional turmoil the young man was going through, he couldn't excuse physical conflict between his staff.
"Alright Severus. I know there is more to this tale than you care to divulge, and for now, what you have told me shall suffice. I believe you when you say that there is no need for me to be informed of this student's issue…but I trust I shall be informed should that situation change?"
The head nodded slowly.
"Yes headmaster."
Returning the nod, Dumbledore pressed on.
"Whatever else is at play here, whatever elements that are not in my purview…are not elements that I will ever consider just cause for assaulting another member of staff. Is that clear?"
Snape shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he cleared his throat.
"It's clear" he murmured quietly, wondering if he was ever going to get out of this office.
Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, the elder man drew on his now less than ample supply of resolve to get through the next few moments.
"Severus…do you remember the…conversation you and I had, some months ago, after your altercation with Professor Trelawney?"
The air seemed to vanish from the room as the younger of the two digested the words spoken with a much slower gate than his usual comprehension.
His mind began to churn.
Surely not…not again.
His inner monologue was cut short.
"An answer, if you please Severus."
Groaning to himself and rueing the day he ever clapped eyes on Harry Potter, he jerked his head up and down stiffly.
"Yes headmaster" he added jerkily as an eyebrow was raised at his non verbalism.
Forcing himself to remain resolute, consisted, Albus raised his brows higher.
Standing gracefully, he wished he was about to do anything else, anywhere else than what he was about to do.
He knew further words were meaningless, sometimes…words failed a situation.
…and this was that such situation.
"On your feet then" he commanded, not unkindly, and was relieved when after a brief glare the younger educator obliged.
The two locked eyes for a moment, before Dumbledore swept out from behind the desk.
The relief soon turned to mild exasperation, that was tempered with a much stronger bout of sympathy based empathy.
He should have known the compliance was too good to be true.
Backing away in evident chagrin, Snape conjured up a mere ghost of his sneering front.
"This is hardly necessary" he barked, but with little bite, "I have already apologised."
Merely crossing over to the ornately carved couch in the corner of his office, Dumbledore sat himself down with an expression of serenity that he did not feel.
"Come here Severus" he instructed softly, closing his eyes briefly in a bout of weariness. The young man in front of him would never know how much it pained him to do the things he did to keep him safe…even from himself.
He watched quietly, as his professor battled internally.
Seeing that no decision was forthcoming, he cleared his throat.
"Severus…to me, please."
The paling of the already perilous pallor made his heart sink, but he remained firm. With an appreciable difficulty.
That difficulty was made all the more difficult with the one, quiet and loaded word that spilled forth from his wards mouth.
"No."
…
TBC
…