Chapter Seven
Rose saw Oisin at dinner that evening, looking a bit crestfallen. He perked up when she joined his table.
He explained that no one was mad about Saturday night, really they had all been trying to recover from the night. And, he admitted, Finn had always been a jerk and he deserved a slap for his comment. Oisin chided himself for not doing it first.
This made Rose feel better slightly, but still didn't heal the guilt that was left behind by a rash, uncharacteristic action.
The next morning, Rose awoke earlier than usual to try to catch Ella watering plants at the greenhouse. She tossed on a chunky knit sweater for the unusually cool summer morning.
When she arrived at the greenhouse, Ella was crouched and trying to avoid the snapping jaws of a particularly large and active Venus Fly Trap.
"Oh, come on, you bastard, just let me give you your meds and your water," Ella muttered to it.
Rose knocked on the door to the greenhouse. "You know, I could brew a potion to make that easier."
Ella smiled upon seeing Rose, pushing to her feet. "Well, well. I thought Saturday night did you in. Heard you got into quite a scuffle." She sat on the edge of one of the slatted tables, pushing aside potted plants to clear space for a seat.
Rose leaned against the table opposite Ella. "Don't remind me. I'm so embarrassed. What a silly thing to get so worked up over."
Ella shrugged. "You stood up for yourself. Good for you. Maybe next time use less force." She laughed.
"So, how have you and Ximena been?" Rose asked, waggling her eyebrows. Ella and Ximena had been slowly inching towards a relationship since they arrived at Hogwarts.
Ella's face lit up. "Bloody fantastic. She's one of the most brilliant people I've ever met. And so funny and witty. And beautiful." She sighed. "By the way, I haven't seen much of you and Oisin together for a bit. Everything okay there?"
Now Rose shrugged. "I think we're better as just friends. Not sure if there's a spark there after all." She paused. "Do you think that will ruin our friend group?"
Ella laughed. "No! And if it does, who cares? I'll still be your friend. And Ximena will, too. Who else do you need except for me?"
Rose laughed, but actually agreed; Ella had been a great friend to her this first month of her assistantship. Really, the only people she could depend on here were Ella and maybe Severus, who would most likely help her if she really needed it.
It had been a week or so since Rose and Ella had had the chance to catch up alone. Ella was learning how to mend broken leaves and branches, a task more complex than it seemed. And Professor Sprout continued to teach her the small specifics about each plant in the greenhouse: they had worked their way from the back of the greenhouse to the front and were nearly halfway there.
Rose explained that Severus had been friendlier towards her, and they worked together most days. And, she had been invited to an event with him this Friday, the details of which he was being cagey about.
"Really?" Ella exclaimed. "I only see Professor Sprout twice a week. That's insane. He must really like you. Or be really lonely."
Rose agreed. "Maybe it's because I saved him from becoming permanently paralyzed. I had to shove a bezoar down his throat after he stepped on a Red Death Mushroom."
Ella shook her head. "Damn. I would hate to have to do that to anyone. Cheers to you not letting your grudge win on that one."
-o-o-o-
Finally, after several prodding questions, Severus told her what they were attending on Friday.
Rose was inspecting the mushrooms they had collected for any signs of dampness; they had been left drying over the weekend. Severus was at his desk, flipping through a large stack of notebooks that Rose had never seen before.
"Fine. Since you've been relatively less annoying about it. It's the monthly Potions Masters' Guild meeting. We meet in Hogsmeade to discuss current projects and ongoings."
Rose squinted at him. "Why are you taking me to that? Won't I embarrass you or something?"
"I don't have time for your melodrama today. The group encourages new members that are Potion Master apprentices."
Rose knew it was mostly paperwork that went into being declared a Potions Master, a process that most practitioners didn't bother with. Additionally, the most difficult part was finding a Potions Master to take you on as an apprentice. Rose had always liked the title and the benefits that came with it; any shop you opened immediately held much more prestige, and it was a requirement to become a professor.
Rose looked up at Severus, who was already studying her from his desk. "You're going to help me attain Potions Master status? When did you decide this?"
Severus returned to flipping through the notebook, his hair obscuring his expression.
"Would you prefer I don't?"
"No!" Rose exclaimed, before remembering herself. "No. I mean, er, thank you."
Severus looked up again. "Don't thank me yet. You don't know what tasks I'll have you complete for it." He smirked.
Some silence passed then, before Rose asked another question. "So, are those notebooks for the project you're presenting on? What research is it?"
"Clever as always, Rose. They are, and I will. You will, too. They like to hear from apprentices about their current research. So don't make me look a fool."
"What? You couldn't have told me earlier in the week?"
His eyes flicked back to his notebook. "Like I said. Don't thank me yet."
-o-o-o-
Rose spent the rest of the week scrambling to put together a presentation for Friday, practicing religiously in her flat, and even coaxing Ella to listen to it a few times. Any other free time she had was spent studying Severus' lesson plans that he had thrust upon her.
She chose to speak about two different projects: her Liquid Memory developments, and another one that she had found interesting while working in Romania, the varied uses for shed dragon scales and dragon excrement in potion recipes.
This topic was somewhat controversial, since many practitioners considered it "unsafe" and "ill practice" to utilize ingredients from live animals that had been cast off or shed. They argued that you never knew what contamination may have altered the scales, and the results created by using dragon excrement varied depending on the diet of the individual. Rose had developed a cleansing potion for the dragon scales and a testing method to reduce the variability in dragon excrement use in potions. It would result in much safer practices for both dragons and humans, she would argue.
Rose hoped the presentation wouldn't be so controversial as to reflect poorly on Severus. But, really, what did he expect? She thought he was gambling a little in giving her a platform, anyway.
-o-o-o-
The morning of the meeting, Rose awoke early to try on her teaching assistant robes from Hogwarts. Severus had insisted she wear them to appear more professional.
In stark contrast to the Hogwarts professors' dark robes, these were a light ivory. Rose cast a few spells to sew a few differences in the robes, turning this way and that in the mirror, so that they were perfectly tailored to her. She cinched a silver and white rope belt that she already owned around her waist. He wouldn't notice the difference, anyway.
Gathering her leather bag, she quickly threw a few snacks, her notebook, and a few vials for her presentation into her bag. She frowned at the bag's scuffed appearance and deep brown color compared to her new robes. She rummaged around in a cabinet in the kitchen she had devoted to potions, finding her bottle of Match Powder after glossing over it a couple of times in haste.
After sprinkling a bit of the powder onto the bag with a sleeve of her robe touching it, the leather's color transformed to match the robes' ivory shade, lacking even the slightest of scratches now.
She was admiring her handiwork when she was startled by a rap on the door.
Severus didn't know where her flat was, did he?
She hurried to the door, her bag slung over her shoulder.
Apparently he did. She opened the door to find him looming in the doorway, dressed in completely black robes this time with no slight hint of white. His hair was neatly combed out of his face today, making his ever-present scowl more obvious.
"Well?" He asked, hands clasped behind his back.
"Oh!" Rose had been studying his appearance a little too closely it seemed. "Come in, please." She waved a hand inside. He strode quickly past her, standing stubbornly in the middle of the sitting room, ignoring Rose's invitation for him to take a seat.
"Why are you here so early?" Rose asked.
Severus ignored her again, eyeing her slowly up and down. "Those robes suit you," was all he said.
"Thank you, I was just using a Match Powder to fix up my bag. I think it looks pretty good, what do you think?" She pulled it from her side to show him.
Severus didn't respond. Instead, he eyed the Match Powder on the table, and strode to the open cabinet in the kitchen. He scratched at the painted word "Potions" with decorative designs surrounding it marking the cabinet.
"I hope this is removable," he said curtly before rummaging through her cabinet.
"Yes, please, make yourself at home," Rose muttered to herself.
Severus turned quickly, an eyebrow raised. He shut the cabinet loudly, spinning on his heel and standing before Rose.
"Can I get you some tea or anything? Have you already had breakfast?"
"Your potions cabinet is measly. I would have thought more of someone who speaks so much about experiments."
"The apothecary I worked at didn't give much of a discount for employees. And it was tough foraging in the city, so." Rose shrugged, shuffling her feet.
Severus stared at her. "Yes, but you can use my stores."
Rose took a step back from Severus to look at him better. "When did that take effect?"
Severus blew out an exasperated breath of air. "You merely could have asked."
Rose narrowed her eyes. "I think there was a period of time when you wouldn't have said yes to that request."
Severus, ever unfazed, straightened. "Perhaps. Not anymore."
It didn't seem that Severus was going to say anything else, so Rose put on a kettle for tea.
Severus sunk onto the couch, crossing one ankle over his other knee. Rose made to sit down on the couch beside him, but he stopped her, holding up his hand.
"I need to see your presentation before the meeting." He ordered.
Ah, that's why he's here, Rose thought.
"Alright, but if you don't like it … I'm not sure if I'll have time to rework it."
He gave her a wry smile. "I think you will, Rose."
Rose lined up her assortment of experimental vials and glassware for the demonstration. She first began by highlighting her progression in extending the effect time of her Liquid Memory recipe, showing two side-by-side vials and noting the lighter color in the second one. The lighter the color and the closer it looks to water, the longer the effects and the less murky the memories are.
Severus seemed unimpressed by this, surveying her with an unreadable expression, his hands clasped together and resting on his abdomen.
Then, Rose began to speak about the use of dragon excrement and shed scales. Severus still showed no sign of a response but began bobbing his foot crossed across his knee.
Rose performed a demonstration of the cleansing process for the scales, and the process to provide more consistency between excrement samples.
When she was finished, she removed her gloves cautiously, bottling the vials.
"Rose," Severus said, his voice holding a strange gravelly nature to it. She replaced the vials on the table, straightening.
A slight smile was creasing his mouth. "Well done."
-o-o-o-
After Rose had finished her practice presentation, Severus stayed for tea after all.
He scoffed at her tea offerings, but chose a lavender and bergamot tinted black tea, stirring far too much sugar in it, Rose thought.
He continued to ask her questions about the presentation, which at first Rose thought was because he was preparing her for the audience at the meeting, but in the end seemed to be because he was genuinely interested.
They were so immersed in conversation about wasted potential ingredients and the potion practitioner's general distaste for things they just didn't fully comprehend that they were almost late for the meeting.
On the walk to Hogsmeade, Rose was feeling bolder with Severus than she had the entire summer.
"So, what is your presentation about, anyway? Hopefully mine won't overshadow yours?"
Severus scoffed but didn't look at her. "I don't think dragon dung will overshadow any talks today."
"I don't know, I'd take dragon dung over a pile of rubbish any day."
"Rose. Need I remind you that I'm your supervisor?"
"No. You don't need to." Rose grinned at him. He looked as if he was attempting to hold a serious expression, though his mouth was slightly upturned. It gave more the effect of a playful grimace.
Severus cleared his throat, and Rose knew the moment was broken. "I need you to be on your best behavior here. I'm held in high esteem by these colleagues. I'd like to keep it that way."
"Yes, supervisor." Rose grumbled.
Severus cast a beseeching look at her, before halting.
"Since you seem to communicate in deals, I'll make an exchange with you. If you're exceedingly professional and compliant, I'll … buy you a drink afterwards." This last part he said in a sighed huff.
Rose put out her hand. "Of course, Professor. Anything for you."
Severus shook his head, but took her hand. "Don't call me that."
-o-o-o-
The Potions Master's Meeting was held in the basement of the Three Broomsticks Inn, a space that Rose had no idea was available to use. A stone hearth stood at the center of it, much like the upstairs dining room. One large oak table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by a handful of patchworked fabric wingback chairs of varying designs.
Severus dutifully introduced Rose to everyone as his teaching assistant. He was acting more bureaucratic than she had ever seen. At Hogwarts, he put on an air of being too far removed from the academic system to care, affecting a purist attitude of only caring for the craft and art of potion brewing.
Here, he greeted every colleague with rapt respect, conversing readily with more people than Rose had ever seen him speak with. He even ventured to seem more agreeable in general, wholeheartedly complimenting Rose when a particular colleague mentioned that she "must be special if she's lasted this long working with Severus."
So, if his colleagues knew him to be a generally disagreeable person, why did he act like this with them? Attending social gatherings or meetings of any kind, especially with any inkling of enjoyment, seemed to completely contradict Severus' nature.
Rose was repeatedly shocked by his polite questions, not belittling to any capacity, in response to his colleagues' presentations.
When it was time for Severus and Rose to present, he gestured for her to stand beside him while he spoke.
Severus presented on something Rose had never heard of: Vanishing Serum. It held much debate in the potions community due to the risky nature of it and the lack of demand for it due to apparition. The serum provided the user the ability to vanish to places where apparition might be restricted or when the user had their wand lost or broken.
The subject was relatively easy for Severus to study, since he worked at Hogwarts (which had limited apparition permissions) and therefore had the perfect laboratory.
Severus' presentation was met with mostly positive comments, and only a few needling questions, which Severus answered aptly and quickly.
Rose's presentation was also met with a mostly positive response, with only one individual, a Potions Master based in Berlin, questioning the feasibility of commonplace practitioners seeking out and finding dragon dung, to which Rose merely offered: "It will help those who need it, then."
During the audience's applause for Rose's presentation, she caught Severus' eye. He, too, was clapping, and genuinely smiling.
After the meeting, the group ventured upstairs for dinner together, then dispersed to either drink at the bar or check into their Inn rooms.
Severus and Rose offered polite goodbyes to the group before finding themselves alone together at the dining table.
Severus spun the water glass he had been drinking from, letting it rattle against the wood.
Rose placed her palm on the rim of the glass to pause it. Severus finally looked up.
"Well? How did I do?"
Severus leaned back, eyeing her slowly. "What are you drinking?"
Rose found a quiet table in the corner away from the main hubbub of the bar while Severus bought their drinks. He returned with a bourbon neat for himself and a gin and tonic for Rose.
Rose held up her glass, fully expecting Severus to reject a cheers; surprisingly, he clinked his glass dutifully, taking a few long pulls from his drink before setting it down again.
She sipped primly from her drink, studying him. "You were nervous for that, weren't you?"
Severus snorted. "Very observant, Rose." Though he said it in his usual sarcasm, this time it didn't hold a tone of venom. He hunched over his drink, resting his elbows on the table. Rose reflexively scooted closer to the table, leaning forward.
"I've never seen you be so friendly with …. anyone, really, for that matter."
Severus shrugged. "Most people are disappointing. Some of the Potions Masters are, too." He paused. "However, I respect them."
"It seems like they respect you, too." Rose said, taking another sip from her drink. Severus didn't look up, but took another long pull from his drink, finishing it in a few gulps.
"Ooh, I didn't know it was that kind of night, Professor," she said playfully.
A dark expression passed across Severus' face. "I don't know what you think I am to you, but I am certainly not your friend. Let me just remind you of that."
Rose leaned back into her chair, flinching as if she'd been struck.
They sat in silence until Rose finished the rest of her drink, after which Severus promptly escorted them back to the cobblestone road. As the lights of Hogsmeade began to fade behind them on the path to Hogwarts, Rose stumbled on a rock on the dirt path, her eyes still adjusting to being led by the moonlight.
Severus righted her quickly, steadying her with one hand on her waist.
He mumbled a quick, "Sorry," while Rose simultaneously thanked him.
Rose hooked her arm into his, holding his arm gently. "Maybe you should keep me steady."
He paused for a moment to look at her arm in his before continuing up the path towards the castle.