Chapter 10: The one with the two peas

Disclaimer: I am just a mere visitor in the sublime world constructed by J.K Rowling. Anything that rings a bell is hers.

Chapter 9

LINUS' POV

I ran my hand over the leather-bound book. This library was impressive. Ky will have fun reading half of these books. And by half, I mean literally half a book. That child really needs to work on her concentration skills. And her punctuality. She was half an hour late.

I closed Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century. It seemed the Old Man was the saviour of the Wizarding World. A hero, these books just waxed lyrical about him, and all his many accomplishments. His most notable accomplishment being the defeat of that Dark Wizard, but it seemed that he also had a hand to play in the defeat of others that delved into the dark arts, and also was the only wizard that this Voldemort ever feared.

He was like the Chuck Norris of the Wizarding world.

This didn't placate me though, if Ky was going to be under the care of this man, I wanted to know every minor detail. He can't possibly be flawless, nobody was. I stood up, making my decision. I always said, judge a man not by how he treats his equals, but how he treats his inferiors. Well, let the judgement begin.

I walked down the steps, knowing I'll find him here. I wouldn't go around speaking to all the Old Man's employees. Judging by breakfast, not a soul in this castle, dead or alive, held anything less but the utmost respect for the man. But it could all be a front. Very few men with power ran the show without a little bit of tyranny, and a walk-in closet fill of skeletons.

The stern woman may not be as exuberant about her adoration of the Old Man, but the way she observed me all through breakfast told me, just as I was trying to guard Ky's heart, she was trying to guard his. Flitwick, who Lenzo was with now, was easy to read. Along with Sprout, they seemed happy as long as the Old Man was happy. I imagine if I asked them, they would tell me all about how he pooped rainbows and pissed puppies. My only choice would be this man.

I knocked on the door, a deep voice said come in. I walked in, and his eyebrows raised a fraction in surprise, but it was infinitesimal.

"If you're looking for the bane of my existence, she just left." I smirked and dropped down in the seat opposite his desk.

"No, I am not here for Ky. I'm here so you can tell me who Albus Dumbledore is."

There would be no need for trying to reel the information out of him, or waltz around the topic. Men like us didn't like to beat around the bush.

He sighed and sat down. "So, I've been chosen as the least loyal to the Headmaster, have I?"

"No, my choice had nothing to do with loyalty. This place would probably be the last place I'd be if it were based on that."

He cocked an eyebrow at that.

It was the truth.

I could tell by the way he ate his breakfast. Eggs, sausage, bacon, and then drank his juice. He didn't mix his food. And he was Potions Master, from what I understood of that it was similar to chemistry. It was a science involving strict instructions and method. He liked order. His synapses worked faster than the average man when his temper was concerned. A need for order and a temper didn't make for a good combination, especially for a teacher. His reflexes were very fast, I didn't miss the fact that when I barged into the Old Man's office yesterday, that he already had his wand whipped out and pointed right at me, just like I didn't miss the quick glance the Old Man had given him, a silent order to put down his weapon. He did so, so fast that you would have thought he didn't react at all and was stunned at our arrival like the rest of them.

Honed reactions are only achieved with experience, experience in fighting achieved in wars. He didn't suck up to the Old Man, expressing himself openly whenever Ky did something disobedient at the table, whilst the other teachers, save McGonagall, kept their comments to themselves.

He had no patience for stupidity, and I gathered the only reason he tolerated Ky at all is for her intelligence. He obviously looked dark and foreboding, not making any effort to appear otherwise. He exuded intelligence and the fact that he taught here meant he was a brilliant potion master, surely someone like that would prefer to coin a profit in a business, rather than work for the pittance as a teacher. I knew he didn't teach for the love of forging young minds.

So here was a man that was well equipped with a wand, he was a fighter. That taught but despised the profession, a compromise to remain in this castle? He acted and carried himself like a dark wizard. This meant that he didn't care what others told the Old Man about him, his loyalty was unquestioned. Unquestioned loyalty is only ever achieved by acts of sacrifice, the highest being the act of self-sacrifice. He took instructions from the Old Man, no questions asked, something that men like him just didn't do. Obedience from a man like that is monumentally greater than any amount of bootlicking done by the other teachers.

If McGonagall is the Old Man's White Knight, he is the Old Man's Black Knight. Why ask the most loyal of the teachers to dish the dirt then? The White Knight protects his heart, cares for his health and well-being and happiness in life. The Black knight, he guarded the brain, he didn't value emotions, he valued results. He obviously was staying in this castle for protection, from what, I don't know. His self-sacrifice obviously had something to do with it. I'm sure he sees Ky as a distraction for the Old Man, distractions cause mistakes. Mistakes hinder results. It was in his interest to tell me the truth about the Old Man; it was in his interest, for his own protection, for the distraction to be removed. For Ky to come back home with us.

"I suppose you've done your research. Found out all about your grandfather's glittering reputation and I suppose you want me to tell you it's false. Just mindless propaganda, the truth lost in translation?"

"Nobody gets to his level of power without stepping on some bodies on the way up. Human flawlessness is impossibility."

"Oh Thornton, believe me. The man is flawed. In fact, just as his accomplishments are much greater, so too are his flaws." He smirked at me. "But it's not the type of flaws you're thinking of. He's too trusting, too meddlesome, and too forgiving. He has an annoying habit of looking for the best in people even if said people know that it is not there. He is too selfless, and banks too much on the notion of love. You want me to tell you that your sister is not in good hands, that she is in danger of having her heart broken by getting too attached to a man of such importance, that he won't have time for her. That she is in physical danger from being the descendant of a man that has too many enemies." He leaned forward. "Hogwarts is the safest place in the world; people say it all the time. The headmaster is renowned for being a fearsome duellist that nobody dare cross. But that isn't why you will be leaving your sister in the best hands. She's in good hands because nobody in this world feels the absence of family, and appreciates the presence of family, more than that Old fool."

I stood and walked away. I was a man who valued results too. I accepted them even if I didn't like it. You can't argue with results. And the result was that Albus Dumbledore was Ky's grandfather.

And I had to let her go.

KY's POV

I walked in.

"Leave!"

"What? Nonno said that you were available to watch over my first try in potion making."

"I am aware. Still. Leave, knock on the door, and I might let you in."

"Oh, is that what this little tête-à-tête is about. Why? Old Rosmerta under the desk?"

"Just leave, don't bother about coming back and knocking."

"Ahhhh come on Sev. Knocking is so boring, so formal, so…" I scrunched my face in thought.

"Polite, disciplined, civilized."

"Yeah thanks! All those things" I sat at the bench in the front. "People like us need not bother about life's little nuances."

"People like us? You and me? And it's Professor Snape for the last time!"

"Of course, people like us! You and me! We're two peas in a puffapod. See what I did there? I've got this whole witch thing down. We're more alike than you think."

"As obvious as it is that I will regret this, enlighten me to what makes us so much alike."

"Our adoration for the colour black for starters. Our aversion to boiled carrots, don't think I didn't see you this morning. And the most potent of all, our natural talent for potions."

"Firstly, I do not adore black, I do not adore. Period. I have no feelings towards boiled carrots; I believe it was your spilling of the orange juice all over them that left them uneaten, and you've never made a potion in your life, so the last statement is as bogus as the former two."

"Would you like to put your galleons where your mouth is?"

"I have neither time, nor patience, to be placing bets with you. Plus, I don't think the headmaster would appreciate me hustling his granddaughter."

"Oooh Sev, hustling? Aren't we full of surprises! But I'm not talking about galleons. We both are above that. How about something more interesting?"

"And you assume anything you have to say will interest me."

"Yes, I do. If I win, I get to call you Sev Sensei, because even I admit Sev is slightly disrespectful for a teacher. But I can't stand the sound of Snape. Uurgh, it's like word vomit. No offence. And if you win, I won't bother you anymore. No Rosmerta jokes, no unannounced visits, no twenty questions at breakfast."

"And what are the terms of this bet?"

"I'll make all four potions that are necessary for first year…in an hour. I just of course need four cauldrons and four sets of scales."

"You do understand that three out of those four potions need ninety minutes to make."

"I'm aware of that."

"Well, if you're sure…here's your four cauldrons. A small price to pay for peace and quiet. Oh, and one adjustment to the stakes, on the odd chance that you do win, nobody calls me Sev. Nobody. It would be Severus…. Sensei"

"I'll take it. Now please move out of the way, I have a bet to win."

I read the instructions for the potions earlier on. Potions was a science, a magical science. The key was to look at what you needed from the ingredients to achieve the result. I grabbed what I needed from the storeroom and set to work.

"You're forgetting the mistletoe berries for your Forgetfulness Potion, and the snake fangs for your Cure for Boils. You're making this too easy."

"That's where you're wrong."

I pulled the pouch I had in my bag. I stopped at the apothecary in Diagon Alley and got some stuff. King Cobra fangs. Their coated with hanatoxins which contain the alpha neurotoxins and cytotoxins necessary for the cure for boils. Unlike the sea snake ones that are used in the school stores, which are harder and take longer to dissolve with less toxins coating it. This should knock off 15 minutes of the brewing time; it should be done in half an hour.

I stopped at the greenhouses and got some freshly cut mistletoe berries. The waxiness of the berries is what keeps the potion together and keeps it viable for longer. The older they are, the drier they are, hence less wax, and they melt faster when they are fresher, knocking off about thirty minutes. Plus, I crushed the valerian sprigs instead of putting it in whole. The spores of the sprigs are what is needed for the Forgetfulness Potion and crushing got to the spores quicker. This knocked a further twenty minutes.

With the Herbicide Potion I chose the four longest lionfish spines as they contained more of the natural herbicide within them. I heated the horklump juice before pouring it in, knowing the enzymes needed were most active at a higher temperature. I added some water to the flobberworm mucus, knowing it would become more soluble without hindering effectiveness. Next was the sleeping draught. I did the same thing I did to the valerian sprigs previously for the lavender sprigs. I added a little bit of poppyseed oil to the flobberworm mucus.

I was done with five minutes to spare. That was insane fun; I could spend a day just soaking up these fumes. No wonder his hair was so oily.

He was hovering near me the whole time. I looked at him when I was done.

"I guess it was too good to be true."

"Ahhhh Sensei. We both know you were rooting for me."

"And what on Earth would give you that false notion."

"Because you know it's true. And one day you'll admit it. You and me, we're two peas in a puffapod."

Feedback is appreciated,

Kalina