Path of the serpent

Title: Path of the serpent
Author: ejab
Pairing: SS/LM with a little SS/RL and SS/DM on the side
Rating: story is slash and NC-17
Feedback: highly appreciated
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling still owns then. Sigh.
Warnings: nope, none here
Category: all over the place
Summary: Severus shocks Dumbledore
A/N: betas was underlucius. All remaining mistakes are also still mine…

28/?

Severus looked around his quarters as if it was the first time he was actually seeing them, slowly walking through the bedroom and then the actual living room, feeling oddly disconnected. Two more months before the end of term and then he would be leaving, this haven of refuge on so many evenings and weekends. For good. To finally live the life he'd always wanted and, even more importantly, with the ONE he'd always. It was such an overwhelming and thrilling prospect that it almost scared the hell out of him. He snorted. Surely something would happen. Surely somewhere down the line something would happen and mess up his plans for the future. After all, he was Severus Snape. Good things hardly ever happened to him - it was just too good to be true! Maybe-

"Severus? Can I come in?" A knock on the door pulled him out of his gloomy reflections. Lupin.

"What do you want, Lupin?" The dark haired wizard master greeted his visitor with a bored look.

"The Headmaster has given you the privacy Draco said you wanted, but he, um… INSISTS that you join us for dinner in the Great Hall this evening," Remus said, closing the door behind him. "He wants to ma-"

"..sure I'll eat. Gods, is he still going on about that? He's even worse than my mother was," Snape grunted with a loud sigh. "Yes, Lupin, I'll be a good boy and eat with you all, despicable as it is. Tell me, does it pay well to be his errand-boy?"

"One lemon drop a day," the DADA teacher chuckled. "Although I must confess that there's also self-interest involved. How is my potion going? Was it usefull to see me transform? I never got the change to ask you about that yet."

Business. Ah, yes… so much better. "It was indeed," the potions master nodded, his tone slightly less forbidden now. "I expect to be able to make your next transformation considerably less painful and maybe even stop the metamorphosis, to a certain degree."

Remus stared at him in complete awe. "Oh dear Merlin, that would be so… so… " He swallowed, clearly overwhelmed by strong emotions.

"Let us first see what the next transformation brings before you wag your tail, shall we?"

"Will you be there?" That prospect seemed to enlighten Remus' spirit even more.

"Of course, wouldn't want to miss out on a Gryffindor in pain, now would I?" Snape snarled, but his tone missed his usual sharpness. "Now go collect your lemon drop and leave me to my work. If I am not mistaken, I have only four days left and I need all the time I can get. Out."

The DADA teacher happily obeyed. The potions master sighed again, forcing himself to focus on the work ahead of him . Within minutes it was the only thing in the world that excisted to Severus Snape.

Except for the obligatory breaks during meal times, Severus worked almost non-stop. His goal was nothing short of perfection for the new Wolfsbane Potion. He was determined, and slowly becoming more and more confident that he got it right this time. On Sunday evening he was finally finished. Now it just had to simmer for two days, then cool off ahen hen it would be done. And not a moment too soon - he felt completely drained and exhausted! But also extremely pleased with himself. If the potion succeeded, he had made a revolutionary breakthrough and he would be a new important figure in the history of Potions. Which would only be fair, considering his talents.

His good mood improved even more when a house-elf brought him the promised letter from Lucius. Draco seemed to have taken the news surprisingly well.

"The little whelp even tried to blackmail me! He said he was aware of 'certain documents' Narcissa had to sign lately and hinted there were copies in existence, safely stored away. They would seize to excist the moment I signed a contract he'd already written up last week. After reading it carefully, over and over, I felt pride. My son is a real Malfoy after all. The contract states that he will destroy all evidence of my forcing Narcissa into a divorce, etc., if he is granted to visit his mother whenever and for how long he wants (holidays and such, I imagine) and if he is granted the job of becoming your apprentice after school (you won't mind, of course). He also insisted on being allowed to marry a future wife of his choice, but since that is already been arranged at his birth, he'll have to be satisfied with a concubine of his choice. I did, however, grant him the privilege of not having to marry the year he leaves school but two years later - a small matter which I'm sure I will be able to straighten out with his future father-in-law."

The letter ended with some small talk. The potions master threw it in a drawer and sighed, feeling relieved. Undoubtedly Draco could have 'asked' for much more, he was sure, but he had done a remarkable job nevertheless. A true Slytherin. There was hope for the boy yet. For Lucius' sake, he'd better witness the destruction of those copies! He chuckled and went for his bedroom, pleased with the thought of getting a dedicated apprentice.

Monday morning started with an extremely violent thunderstorm which caused many of the first year students to become nervous and restless. Every time the thunder roared, the Slytherin Head of House saw several students flinch or look around rather jumpy. He forsaw many cock-upped potions. Normally that thought alone would have made him frustrated and snap at the little monsters, even more than usual, but this morning he remained quite relaxed. It was only when he heard a young Huffelpuff try to console a trembling classmate after another loud crack of thunder, by assuring her that lightning hardly ever managed to kill people, that he just couldn't resist the tempation.

"That is very true, mister Finn," Snape said casually. "It may also be true that lightning never strikes twice in the same place. But it's also true that you're usually in a place where it still hasn't struck the first time so I wouldn't pay too much attention to all those so-called things worth knowing."

His words caused an immediate increase in fear. The smile refused to leave his face for the rest of the class period. And if he thought the day couldn't get much better after this, he almost bumped into Potter and Longbottom on his way to the Headmaster later that day. The two were standing almost near to the entrance to the Headmaster's office, and by the looks of it Longbottom seemed to have trouble getting his shirt straightened. Judging by the moving lump around his belly, he had that stupid toad undes shs shirt again. For the potions master, the scene merely screamed 'temptation!'

"What's that, Longbottom? Please tell me you haven't gained weight. The human brain weighs only three pounds - I shudder to think how much more of you that leaves without enough sense to know what it's doing. You're already a walking catastrophy as it is."

"Come on, Neville… just come on," Harry quickly pushed the deeply embarrassed Neville in the direction of their tower, sending a burning look of hate to the back of his potions master, who had already walked passed them.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for that look of disrespect, Potter." Snape didn't even bother to turn his head and kept walking. Harry stared at him in complete disbelief. Did the man have eyes in his back? Or was he simply too predictable?

Severus chuckled inwardly, arriving at the Headmaster's office. He knocked. Almost.

"Ah, Severus… you wish to speak to me?" That bloody door already opened of its own again.

"If you can spare me some of your time, Headmaster?" Severus entered the office, closed the door and followed the nodding Dumbledore towards the seats by the fire.

"Why do I have the feeling that you do not bring good news?" After a first round of tea Dumbledore looked at his visitor and leaned back in his chair, slowly folding his hands.

"That all depends on one's point of view," Snape smiled faintly, briefly wondering where the old man had gotten that ridiculous weird flat purple hat from. "I came to inform you that as of next term, you will be needing to hire a new Potions Professor."

"A new… Severus? Are you implying that you are leaving Hogwarts?" The Headmaster came forward rapidly, looking completely confused.

"Oh, I'm definitely not implying. I AM leaving. That gives you two months to find a new Potions Professor. You should be perfectly able to find a replacement by then." Oh, how good it felt to say that!

"But - why?" Dumbledore looked…upset?

"Because I decided that it's time to finally live the life I always wanted and that means having an Apothecary of my own and spending many, many blissful hours into research and the improvement of potions as well as developing new ones."

"I… I'm sure that, with your skills and reputation, you will soon be extremely successful but… I must say that you managed to take me by surprise here, Severus… " The Headmaster was clearly lost for words at the moment, but Snape wasn't fooled; he could almost see the little radars in the old man's head at work, trying to find a way out of this most unwelcome development.

"Is the term of notice giving you worries? My contract with the school clearly stated a two months notice and that is exactly what-"

"No no, Severus, that's alright. It's just that… how are you going to afford all of this? You would have to buy a property, equipment, storage, ingredients… please don't tell me you're taking on one of those expensive loans that Gringott's offer? They will let you pay back twice the amount you loan with their outrageously high interests!"

Time for the ultimate shock. "My husband-to-be is kindly advancing the required amount of money," the Slytherin Head of House smiled calmly.

"Your husband-to-be? You are getting married, Severus?" Dumbledore's eyes had a hard time staying in their sockets. "Forgive me my impudence but whom are you marrying? I thought you and Lucius…?"

"I AM marrying Lucius. The official announcement will appear in The Daily Prohpet on Tuesday, but rest assured, you will of course get a personal invitation, Headmaster."

"So he discretely divorced Narcissa? Are you sure about all of this, Severus? Do you realise-"

"We decided that it's more fulfilling to perhaps live somewhat shorter, but during that time being with who we want, while doing what we want… than to live long the way others prefer us to live." Snape raised his hand, silencing the Headmaster who was about to comment. Dumbledore was so stunned and overwhelmed that he even obeyed. "I will remain working for The Order, Headmaster - just think how much closer to the source this brings me and how more it can benefit The Order. If that is your main concern, I can assure you that me marrying Lucius will not change my loyalty towards The Order and what it represents. And since The Dark Lord seems to have full confidence in me again, that can only work out for the best."

"Are you sure Lucius isn't using y-"

"My leaving Hogwarts and marrying Lucius is NOT negotiable, Headmaster. And please do not start THAT argument again. I've said it before and I'll say it again - of course he is using and manipulating me! He's a Slytherin, for Merlin's sake! It just so happens that I am a Slytherin too and he knows I also use and manipulate him. In fact, he would be rather disappointed if I didn't. It gives our relationship a certain… shall we say 'vivacity'?" Snape smiled.

"This marriage will shake the foundation of the wizarding world, you do realise that, don't you?" Dumbledore tried, suddenly looking quite tired and somewhat sad.

"We do know… and honestly, we don't care. Not anymore. I would appreciate your blessing but my choiche is not depending on it, Headmaster. It's time to start living my life for ME." Severus rose, looked at the Headmaster for a moment and then left, leaving a very worried and confused Dumbledore staring into nothing.