Chapter Eight
Rose felt unsettled the next day, like she had drunk too much coffee, making her jittery with a mild stomachache.
She decided the best way to remedy this was to forage around the grounds for potion ingredients. She pulled on her wellies, then grabbed her cotton satchel and stuffed it with vials and plant field guides.
The summer was finally beginning to heat up, both the temperature and humidity rising day by day. Rose tossed on her straw witch's hat, tying the ribbon quickly below her chin before locking the door to her flat and heading towards Loch Lake.
The summer solstice was only in three weeks, and she thought she might prepare ingredients to attempt to enhance her Liquid Memory potion. Not only did a solstice make magic stronger; it also made any potions brewed on it far more potent. She thought she might begin to formulate a new recipe for a potion she had been thinking on, as well: one for mending torn muscles and ligaments quickly.
There were a few wetland plants that she might be able to find in the areas surrounding the lake that she hadn't experimented with yet.
She trudged through the mucky wetlands, her boots sucking and sloshing in the mud. She pushed apart the reeds and cattails to navigate her way around the water's edge. Water beetles dodged around the rippling water and invertebrates wiggled about on the lake's edge. A gull circled overhead, crying loudly, on the lookout for an easy meal of a dead fish or mollusk.
The morning passed pleasantly, giving Rose ample time to think over the strange week she'd had with Severus. The closer she got to him, the more he pushed her away. She wasn't sure if she could handle the ebb and flow of his favor for the next few years as his assistant.
Around lunch, she began her trek back to the castle. She hadn't had much luck foraging: all she had to show was a small bag of sedge seeds that needed to be dried and a jar of mussels that needed to be boiled and dried. She popped by the Great Hall to take a sandwich to go, chatting with Ella and Ximena quickly and greeting Oisin briefly. Things had been somewhat awkward between them after she had broken things off with him earlier that week, but they both were attempting to maintain a semblance of normalcy.
Before she exited the Hall, she wrapped an extra slice of raspberry tart in a napkin in the odd chance she might run into Severus while she was working in the Dungeons.
She was glad for her foresight: Severus was seated at his desk in the classroom, head bent studiously over a notebook, both of his hands stuck in his hair in exasperation.
She startled him when she entered. He let go of his hair, pushing back from his desk with eyes wide.
"Rose," he breathed in surprise.
She gestured at her bag. "I've got some samples to process. I hope I won't be disturbing you?"
His gaze didn't break. "No. No, of course." He mumbled, distracted.
She approached his desk while he gazed at her intently.
"I was just … thinking of you." He said, still seemingly distracted.
Rose leaned against his desk in a casual manner. "I guess I was too. I brought you a raspberry tart from the Great Hall. They're pretty good."
She held it out to him. When he didn't take it, she placed it gingerly on his desk.
"Why were you thinking of me?" She asked, bracing for him to snap back rudely, breaking the spell of his good mood.
He maintained a faraway expression. "I … was going to show you my ingredient storeroom. And my library. For your use." He stood up suddenly, his chair lurching backwards with a loud scrape on the stone floor.
Rose set her bag down, untying her hat and setting it on the table. "Shall we go now?"
Unexpectedly, Severus took her hand, leading her into the corridor then sharply to the left. She had known his private office and storeroom were somewhere in the Dungeons, but had never seen them. He had spent a lot of time in his office for the first few weeks in her assistantship, but lately he preferred to be at his classroom desk.
They reached a rounded wooden door, with a heavy iron keyhole. He unlocked it with a key he retrieved from his robes, letting go of Rose's hand quickly as if he didn't remember taking it.
"My office," he mumbled, idly waving his wand and tidying the loose papers and spilled ingredients. It held a heavy wood desk in the center, with a plush emerald velvet chair behind it. It was roomy for a personal office, allowing for shelves lining all walls of the room stuffed with books, reaching almost to the ceiling. A sliding ladder helped to reach books that were higher on the shelf.
Severus waved his wand again, and an iron chandelier of candles lit up, as well as a collection of candles in various corners of the bookshelves. Surprisingly, it made the dank Dungeons seem almost cozy to Rose. She noticed a soft emerald rug lining most of office, the shade matching the desk chair.
Severus studied her while she gazed around. "So, I can borrow any of these?"
He nodded, striding to a smaller shelf of notebooks. "These you may want to look at. They're notes from all the past Potions professors at Hogwarts. Some of mine are here, too, but the majority I lent to you." He inclined his head, eyebrows raised. "Which I assume you've finished studying?"
Rose blew out an exasperated breath. "I've started. I'm sorry."
She expected a sharp response, but he just nodded, looking back at the shelves. He strode to a connecting door to the office, unlocking it with the same key. "The storeroom," he explained, ushering her inside.
This room was round and smaller than the office, made entirely of shelves cut into the stone of the Dungeons. A rolling ladder rested next to the door.
"Wow," Rose exhaled. "This is incredible."
She had never seen such an extensive collection. All bottles were marked with the noted location found and date collected. "So, this is what you do with most of your time," she teased, grinning.
Severus nodded. "Evidently."
"Do these rooms always stay locked? Do I need to find you to gain entry?"
Severus rummaged in his pockets for a moment, producing an almost identical key to the one he used earlier.
"Why is it pink?" Rose laughed.
His face contorted into an exasperated look, studying it himself as if he had just noticed that small detail. "It's for you. You like pink, don't you?"
Rose laughed again. "Yes, of course I do. I didn't expect … that was thoughtful of you, Severus."
Severus tutted, taking Rose's hand, and placing the key into her palm. "Don't lose it. And don't bring visitors in here. Not even Oisin."
Rose colored, taking a lock of her hair and twirling it nervously. "We're not together anymore."
Severus studied her face. "Hm. And you're upset?"
Rose shook her head. "No, I'm the heartless one who did it. I suppose working with you is poisoning me." She looked at him with a teasing smile.
Severus frowned. "I don't think anyone could poison your character."
Rose stepped closer to him. "And how do you know that? I thought we weren't friends?" She asked softly.
Rose thought this might break the spell, but Severus maintained eye contact, unmoving.
"We're not," he muttered huskily. Severus took a step closer to Rose, his eyes scanning her face, resting on her lips for a moment.
Then the spell shattered, as Rose expected.
Severus' face contorted. "I don't have time for your childish games today. I have work to do. Lock up when you're finished." He spat out quickly, striding into the corridor, and slamming the office door behind him.
-o-o-o-
Rose was flummoxed. She nibbled on her unwrapped sandwich while taking an excessive amount of time to process the ingredients she had collected. Severus had chosen to remain in his office while she worked in the potions classroom.
It was clear Severus had feelings for her that he hadn't quite sorted out, and probably never would at this rate, she thought. And so did she, she supposed. This was novel to her.
Oisin, she realized, had just been a fun distraction, similar to her other flings while living in London. This was the first time after Olivia that she truly felt a connection with someone. But, this time, any instance there was a connection it was immediately cancelled out by Severus' rash reactions.
She could hear Olivia now: Him? Really? Olivia had taken the required potions courses with Severus. She knew about his sour personality. But she didn't know, did she? And many people didn't.
What would Olivia say if she showed her the pink key to his office and storeroom? About how Severus would bring up minute details of things she told him about when she incorrectly assumed him not to be listening?
But how to handle this? She couldn't make the first move, that would be inappropriate. Nor could he, right? So, it was always doomed. She sighed.
Maybe I'll meet a very cute (and less surly) Potions Master at the next Potions Masters' Guild meeting, Rose thought hopelessly.