Chapter Fourteen
The following Monday, Rose expected Severus to disappear, as per usual when dynamics shifted in their relationship.
Instead, Severus was stationed at a stone worktable when she arrived in the potions classroom, preparing to heat up a cauldron and gathering various ingredient bottles from the cupboards.
Rose paused in the doorway.
"Come here," Severus commanded without looking up.
Rose didn't budge, flummoxed by his tone.
Severus turned to her brusquely. "We're going to practice a few of the lessons together." He said impatiently.
This is the game we're playing? Rose thought. She felt as if she was losing control completely of anything passing between them, forced to be at the mercy of the ebb and flow of Severus' emotions and moods.
I suppose I don't have much choice. If he wants to return to being solely coworkers, I have to pretend nothing ever happened between us … or quit. Rose couldn't bear to think of leaving Hogwarts again. She loved being here, and she had worked hard to earn a semblance of Severus' trust. She wasn't willing to give her progress up just yet.
Rose obeyed, rifling through her bag for the appropriate lesson plan. "What year are we starting at?"
Severus snorted. "Did you want to go over the lower years? We'll only go through seventh-year lessons."
Rose nodded, ignoring Severus' condescending tone, and retrieved the seventh-year lesson plan.
He finally appraised her, arching an eyebrow. "You haven't finished them yet, have you?"
He can't even bother to be civil with me? Rose was trying to feign detachment, but it was growing more difficult.
"I've been studying them at my own pace." She replied calmly. Then she added, "Maybe you'd prefer I skim them and be no help at all this school year?" She blinked innocently at him.
He ignored her, waved his hand, and motioned towards one of the classroom cupboards mounted to the wall. "Get the rest of the ingredients. I'll have you brew as if you're teaching me." He smirked. "A bit of acting."
Rose laughed hollowly while searching the cabinets. "So, no different than what we're doing now?"
Severus didn't respond. Rose placed the assortment of ingredient jars onto the table. Severus was gazing at her grimly.
"Well?" Rose asked.
"I thought you could handle this, Rose. I thought you were a … professional." He scoffed.
He was right, to a certain extent. She had to play the game. She couldn't give up all her work this summer. She wanted to at least stay as a teaching assistant for a year. Then, she could leave and move onto a new position. But what did she have to go back to now? Working at an apothecary? This was certainly better than that.
It was easy when Severus was snide to her when she had had no emotions attached to him. But now? It was more complicated than that. But she wasn't sure how to vocalize this to Severus in a way he'd understand. After all, it seemed to be his nature to be pompous and condescending, at least to most people.
She was now one of those people again.
Rose shuffled a few of the bottles around on the worktable, trying to blink what tears were forming away. "Of course, Severus. Apologies." She swallowed thickly. "Shall we start?"
-o-o-o-
The week passed like this. Rose would concoct some of the more difficult seventh-year potions, Severus critiquing both her brewing and her teaching. It was exhausting: they didn't break for lunch, and often covered at least four potion recipes a day.
Severus was strict, correcting even the smallest of errors or missteps. This schedule felt grueling compared to any other training Rose had experienced that summer. Rose hadn't realized Severus could ever be this invested in her performance or learning as a teaching assistant.
Rose was so exhausted at the end of the day that she would often skip dinner in the Great Hall, opting to cook something quick and easy in the comfort of her own flat.
When Friday finally approached, she realized she hadn't seen any of her friends all week. She was reveling in the idea of getting very intoxicated with her friends that weekend in Hogsmeade as she arrived early to the classroom, around seven forty-five.
Severus was already there, the ingredients for their lesson laid out on a worktable, the cauldron heating slowly.
"Good morning," she said.
Severus ignored her. Then, "What plans do you have for the weekend?"
For a moment, Rose's stomach flipped, a bubbly feeling forming in her chest. She pushed it away, cringing at her foolishness. He probably needed something from her.
"Why?"
He tested the heat of the cauldron with the back of his hand. "We'll continue our work both Saturday and Sunday. I want to finish the most pertinent lessons. Next week we'll collect ingredients for solstice-brewed potions."
A full weekend working like this with Severus?
Rose felt herself growing more in danger of bursting into tears or yelling at Severus with each additional stressful workday, locked in the dungeons with her ex (and could she even call him that?).
She had to try to talk him down. Why was he so pressed to get all this work done suddenly? He hadn't cared at all about her accomplishing anything for most of the summer. Did he have a report to give to Dumbledore about her or something?
"Severus, we could finish these lessons the week after the solstice. What's the sudden rush?"
He turned to her angrily. "And what do you have that's more important than work?"
When she didn't respond, his expression shifted. He smirked. "Or should I ask, who?"
She sighed, defeated. She didn't have the spirit or energy to take the bait. "Okay. Let's get started, then."
-o-o-o-
Monday arrived too quickly. Rose had spent Sunday night catching up on chores around her flat. She had fallen asleep with her bedroom lights on, her copy of Magical Fungi and How to Use Them, Volume II sprawled across her bed.
Light seeped from her bedroom windows across her face, though she didn't notice. Her alarm clock beeped once before being snoozed. Finally, after pressing snooze thrice, she turned off her alarm.
She shuffled out of bed, dreading the day ahead. Severus was going to be a bear to work with this week, if he hadn't already been so last week. She knew of at least three experiments he wanted to get done on the solstice. This was going to take not only extensive ingredient collection (most of them were obscure ingredients, and would need to be found outside of Hogwarts' grounds or purchased), but a large amount of planning and preparation.
Rose took her time preparing eggs and toast for herself, knowing full well she was going to be late.
He can deal with it. The wanker, she thought.
After drinking a cup of Earl Gray tea, she tossed on a quick, simple outfit, good for ingredient collection: brown trousers, leather boots, and a loose white blouse. She cocked her head at herself in the mirror, deciding to unbutton just a few more buttons on her blouse, because, why not?
Once done, she grabbed her leather bag, locked her flat door, and walked towards the Dungeons briskly. She ran into Severus in the hallway before the stairwell to the Dungeons.
He appraised her, appearing disappointed. "I was coming to look for you."
Rose laughed nervously. "Look for me! That's ridiculous. I'm not that late, it's only …" She checked her watch, but immediately wished she hadn't. "Nine … o'clock." She finished.
Rose expected Severus to chide her, but an indecipherable expression passed over face, before returning to its usual serious state.
He sighed exasperatedly. "Let's go. I have a meeting arranged."
They made their way out of the castle, then walked to Hogsmeade, all at a much faster pace than usual, Rose thought.
Rose had resigned to keeping quiet for most of this trip; she was tired of having to singlehandedly maintain any semblance of friendliness between them. It felt like they had reverted to their old pattern at the very beginning of the summer.
When they arrived in Hogsmeade, Severus stopped and handed her a folded piece of parchment and a small pull-string pouch of galleons.
"Purchase these ingredients. I'll be done in twenty minutes."
Before Rose could respond, Severus had whisked off, headed towards the Three Broomsticks Inn. She pondered for a moment how strange it was that the Inn had seen so many different sides to both Severus and Rose in just under two months.
This town needs another good restaurant or bar. And I don't count the Hog's Head.
She set off for J. Pippin's Potions, a small bell tinkling as she entered the shop. The shop was deserted: it had only opened an hour ago. There was no sign of the shopkeeper, either. She unfolded the list that Severus had given her. It was somewhat lengthy, and she knew she'd have to get the ingredients packaged carefully into a box for her to walk with them back to Hogwarts.
She grabbed a woven basket beside the door for carrying around items to purchase, and quickly got to work.
Most of the ingredients she recognized from sixth-year or seventh-year potions. A few of the ingredients seemed strange, however: hermit crab shell, Lethe River water, and syrup of hellebore.
Once she was finished shopping, she placed her heavy basket onto the clerk's counter. Still, the shopkeeper was nowhere to be found. She peered around the shop quickly, before noticing a brass cow bell sitting on the counter. It had a note on it that read: "Ring when ready."
She shook the cowbell, feeling exceedingly silly. A disheveled Pippin emerged from behind a gold velvet curtain in the back of the shop. Rose smelled traces of a variety of ingredients as he pushed past the curtain, a small bit of steam following him.
His blonde hair was curly and disheveled as if he hadn't bothered to glance at it that morning. His bulbous nose was ruddy, perhaps from the steam.
He raised his eyebrows at her he situated himself behind the cashbox.
"Well! Here you are. Where's your dark shadow?"
Rose had just begun to become blissfully forgetful of Severus.
She smiled, nodding at the velvet curtain. "Extracting some syrup of arnica and syrup of hellebore?"
He exhaled, appearing stressed. "Yes. You'd be surprised at the large orders for ingredients I get for the solstice." He glanced at her large basket, full of ingredients. "Or, perhaps you wouldn't be. Either way, they're always the ingredients that require the most processing."
"Sounds like you could use some help." Rose said sympathetically.
"Yes, yes …" His voice trailed off and he gazed out of the window, before remembering Rose.
"I could! If you ever get sick of working with the grouch in the castle dungeons, let me know. I could always use assistance here." He scribbled his name and phone number on a scrap piece of parchment, handing it quickly to Rose.
Rose didn't know exactly how to respond, so just thanked him.
He grinned, gesturing to the shop windows. "Hogsmeade is a lovely place to live and work. Great weather, interesting customers, affordable housing…" He trailed off.
"You're really selling it," she laughed.
He smoothed his hair self-consciously. "Anyhow, I'll get you rung up."
-o-o-o-
Pippin had put all the ingredients into a wooden crate that would make it easier to carry back to Hogwarts. Still, Rose tottered slightly under the weight of it.
She set the box down onto a metal café table outside the Three Broomsticks Inn. There was no sign of Severus yet, though she had taken thirty minutes to select and purchase all the ingredients. She sat down, enjoying the feeling of the warm sun. The weather was forecasted to be near perfect for the entire week: great fortune for anyone doing last-minute preparations for the solstice.
She could see Hogwarts from her seat, perched on its large hill. Various colors splashed out around it, the rolling hills alive with multitudes of color and movement in the light breeze. She sighed. How could she be so upset when she was in such a beautiful place, and one that held so many wonderful memories for her?
The door to the Three Broomsticks Inn creaked open, Severus exiting in a swirl of black fabric.
That would be why, Rose thought, her rhetorical question now answered.
Severus held the door for his guest, a slight woman with a sharp, pointed nose and shoulder-length blonde hair. He closed the door behind her, nodding and murmuring a goodbye to her that Rose couldn't hear. She clacked off in dark emerald heels, her matching emerald dress swishing.
Severus startled when he saw Rose, though affected as if it hadn't happened.
"Did you purchase everything?" He asked, not meeting her eyes.
"Who was that?" Rose asked, pointing with her chin in the direction the blonde woman had walked.
"An acquaintance." Severus responded curtly.
Rose leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs, and bobbed her foot. She smiled peevishly. "Didn't look like it to me."
Severus had walked to her side of the table. He placed both hands onto the metal table and leaned forward. "Green doesn't suit you." His eyes surveyed her slowly, lingering on her chest for a moment. He pushed away from the table forcefully.
"Enough of this foolishness. Let's go."
He lifted the ingredients into his arms, then started off for the path to Hogwarts.
Begrudgingly, Rose stood, and followed at a slower pace.