By Fair Means or Foul

Chapter 14

Snape awoke in a remarkably good mood, which of course was saying something as he normally awoke irritated at the world in general. But he was honest with himself this morning and realized that he was feeling rather great. Well, perhaps he wouldn’t over do it. Nevertheless, Snape found himself humming as he went about his morning routine. He felt muscles pull that hadn’t been used in awhile and smiled. The fact that it was Saturday and a Hogsmead weekend at that, also contributed to his fine mood. Only the younger years would be hanging about the school and they were still cowed by him enough not to attempt anything. Snape would have his day to putter about his lab and generally enjoy reliving last night’s exploits undisturbed.

Making his way back out into the main room he glimpsed the cleared dining table. He gave himself only a moment to be concerned about what the house elves may have heard last night before he remembered the wine glass. He grabbed it from its hidden spot and took it with him to the classroom.

All was as it was when Lucius and he had left. No evidence of a sexual encounter. Make that two sexual encounters. Snape grimaced at the thought of Mr. Georges and Ms. Kennedy. He made a mental note to discuss the situation with Albus. Walking to his worktable he couldn’t, nor desired to, repress the memories of the previous night. It had been incredible to say the least. It amazed him that he had forgotten how good Lucius could make it. Lucius still had all the energy and flexibility he had had as a young man but the stamina and patience of a man his age. Well, perhaps not as much patience as he would normally have had. But Severus wouldn’t hold it against him; he hadn’t shown much restraint himself. Most likely due to whatever Lucius had spiked his drink with.

Placing the wineglass and its contents on the table he set about finding out what exactly Lucius had decided to use. Snape had been aware of being drugged after only a few sips. He could taste and smell the subtle difference in the drink almost immediately. And when he had concentrated he had found the small band of gold with the notice-me-not charm. When he had started to feel fidgety and the thought to remove his clothes had leapt into his mind, Snape knew he had been given an aphrodisiac. Pure professional curiosity had made him save a small amount of the liquid to analyse later. He had not confronted Lucius about it because it never did well to tip your hand when the other thought you were unaware. And, he had to admit, it would be perfect blackmail material later.

Snape put drops of the Brandywine into vials filled with concoctions used to reveal potion ingredients. Not surprisingly, he had heard that chefs also used these particular mixes as a way of ferreting out each other’s secret ingredients. Poisons or puddings, they worked the same, revealing elements through colour and words that would appear in the cloudy liquid. The three vials began to bubble and smoke a bit as the drink was torn apart to its base level. Then they calmed and began to change colours one right after the other. First they all turned green as the components for the liquor itself were revealed, showing that these innocuous ingredients would produce no harmful effects. Then the vials became red, as Snape knew they would, as they revealed the aphrodisiacs. Unicorn Root and Red Clover were fairly common and did the job quite nicely with no side effects or impairment in judgment. Snape smirked to himself. Leave it to Lucius to use one’s own desires against them and not allow them to wiggle away by blaming it on the drink.

Snape’s smile did not last long though. Just as he was about to gather up the vials they all began to change colours again. This time the red melted into a purple colour, which was not a colour Snape saw often during these tests. In fact it was so rare it took a minute for his mind to retrieve the information he needed. Purple was not a colour that a potions master would have need to look for. It was a colour that midwives were always after. In fact many of their office signs and aprons were often in shades of purple. It was a colour that was associated with…

Snape’s mind refused to go on and instead he just stared transfixed as the name of the last ingredient floated to the top. Snape stared at that name for at least a full minute as his mind jumped back in place and wheeled through all its known uses and what it had to do with him and what he was going to do about it. Taking a deep breath through his nose Snape decided that the first thing needed was to either confirm or disprove his suspicion before he ran around like an empty-headed ninny. He counted back through the hours and knew that there had been enough time to determine the facts. He needed another potion but it wasn’t one he kept on hand and took at least three days to make. Three days was too long to wait. Snape knew where he could get his hands on some but the matter required some delicacy if he wanted to keep his pride in tact.

`~*~`

The hospital wing was blessedly quiet and free from patients this morning. Being the weekend no one was unsuccessfully trying to dodge tests or incomplete homework by claiming a tender belly or horrible invisible foot rot. Snape was able to come in unnoticed and quickly shut the door on his pursuers. The hounds were on his scent again; apparently some were not dissuaded for long by Lucius’s lie. He had run into three brothers all holding a ring and a marriage contract. Evidently, they had decided to pool their money together to offer Snape a large sum and promises of an expansive house and other such riches. He only had to promise to marry all three of them and they would all live happily ever after. Snape hadn’t even tried to explain to the idiots that polygamy was still illegal. He had just hexed them to do something that brothers should never do to each other and then quickly made it down a back hallway to take the long way round to the infirmary.

Snape strode to the hospital’s office. The door was open as always and inside was Madam Pomfrey’s apprentice. Thanking the deities that it happened to be Poppy’s day off he knocked on the doorframe startling the young man inside at the desk.

“Professor Snape, may I help you?” the man said as he recovered his composure. The yellow haired young man stood and had his helpful face in place. Snape really couldn’t be bothered with remembering the boy’s name.

“Yes. Tell me, how many headache relievers do you have in stock?” he asked in his most superior voice. The apprentice seemed startled at the question and Snape wondered what Pomfrey was thinking by taking this timid boy under her wing. Snape reminded himself not to ever have a medical emergency in the presence of this man.

“Well, um, I couldn’t tell you off hand, sir. Would you like me to check for you?”

“Do you think I just wander up here to aimlessly ask about the school’s medicine stores? I assure you I could find more useful things to do with my time then to make medicines that will lessen the pain of the students,” Snape nastily remarked. “Why, think of all the more important things I could achieve. I could rid the world of infected hangnails or cure old men of moles on their thumbs.”

“I’ll just go get those numbers for you, sir. I’ll be right back,” the boy said as he moved quickly towards the storeroom door. Smiling maliciously, Snape knew that the apprentice would take his time before coming back to face him.

There were two samples of each medicine that the infirmary had on hand on a shelf next to the door. Pomfrey liked having them there in case she needed them quickly. The one he needed was towards the end and in a small purple jar. He was really starting to hate that colour. Making a quick switch with an empty identical jar he had brought with him, he slid the one full of the potion in his pocket and made his way out. When the young man came out and saw that he was gone he would no doubt chalk it up to Snape’s impatience and nasty attitude. And people wondered why he revelled in his unpleasantness.

Stealthily making his way back down to the dungeons with an eye and ear out for more of his dunderheaded suitors, Snape tried not to think about what the contents of the horridly coloured jar in his pocket may soon reveal.