Mothers, Witches, and Bargains Made

AN 1: Review Responses at the end of this part.
AN 2: Shelly was kind enough to point out a couple of things about the prologue. One, that I didn\'t know anything about making tea. LOL (No, she was very kind, and didn\'t phrase it that way. : )~ ) Of course, it wasn\'t anything I didn\'t already know. I\'m not a tea or coffee person and have to rely on the advice of others in regards to such things. (Except for the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I dearly wish it tasted like it smelled, for that would be one heavenly drink.) Two, that the imagery I used invoked a more formal atmosphere. Our conversation put me in mind of the Japanese tea ritual and its related ceremonies from other such cultures. For those reasons, I\'ve altered the prologue a bit, in regards to Sybil\'s tea prepration. Hopefully, it\'s a bit more accurate now.
AN 3: My profound apologies for the long delay in this chapter. My stories are usually quite long, and I was hoping to get away with a relatively short story for this challenge response. It doesn\'t seem to be working. LOL My brother keeps coming up with ideas as I read sections and get his opinion. Because if this, I\'ve got like e soe solidly different ways to take this and it\'s creating merry havoc with my muses. Hopefully, the next chapter won\'t be so long coming.



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Chapter Three
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\"You wanted to see me, Albus?\" Severus asked abruptly as he swept into the Headmaster\'s office. The curt, for Albus, summond bed been the topper on what had already promised to be a particularly foul day, and Severus wished only to get it over with. First thing upon waking he\'d received an owl from his thrice damned mother -- the third one she\'d sent since the last he\ he\'d been home. It contained the same information the other two had -- a list of possible wives. He\'d burned it, just like he had the others, beyond irritated that she\'d bothered to send in the first place considering she was planning today to badger him in person.

\"Yes, Severus, I did,\" Albus said easily. \"Please, take a seat.\"

Severus did so warily, every instinct suddenly on alert. While Albus always played the part of an overly congenial grandfather figure unless highly provoked, the maddening twinkle his eyes usually sported, as well as his nearly ever-present grin was absent from his expression and that did not bode well for the topic of conversation. For one of the first times since the day he\'d returned to Hogwarts Severus Snape had to fight to sit still and not fidget like a schoolboy sent to the Headmaster for some unnamed misbehavior.

\"Something tells me,\" he drawled, locking gazes with the Headmaster, \"that I\'m really not going to \'enjoy\' our little . . . chat.\"

For just a split second the mischievous twinkle was back, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. \"No, Severus, I don\'t imagine you will.\"

**Bloody hell!** Severus thought sourly. If the situation was bad enough that even Albus was being \'reassuring\', it wasn\'t good at all.

\"Before we begin, I just want to make sure you realize that I have not trusted many people as much as I *continue* to trust you.\"

**Okay,** Severus thought with a brief flutter of fear. **That didn\'t sound ominous at all!** \"Understood,\" was all he said. His thoughts flew in circles, how. W. What could Albus possible be so very concerned with? Was the Headmaster being pressured about his continued presence on staff? Not many people knew his true history; though, he supposed it was quite possible angry parents might have taken complaints to the Board of Governors.

\"I also want you to know that I\'m not going to be asking probing or personal questions.\"

Severus snorted. \"You\'d be one of the few lately,\" he muttered. **So, not the board, then. Something else.** He frowned. Was Albus possibly not as . . . content as he\'d let on abohis his unexpected familial visit?

Albus cocked his head, his expression turning curious.

\"Nothing important, Albus,\" he hurriedly assured. The last bloody thing he needed was to have the Headmaster figuring out why, exactly his mother was *really* coming to Hogwarts. He would *never* hear the end of it. That and he wasn\'t quite certain that Albus wouldn\'t *encourage* her.

The Headmaster nodded, sighing deeply before leaning forward intently. \"I know you\'re quite aware of all the rules and regulations governing appropriate and inappropriate staff behavior.\"

Severus almost wilted in relief. It *was* about his mother\'s impromptu visit. He wasn\'t happy about it himself, and he gleefully latched onto such a wonderfully convenient -- and mother convincing -- excuse to use against her. \"I assure you, Sir. I will make sure my mother realizes she cannot simply--\"

\"No, no. You mistake my meaning completely. Your mother is more than welcome to visit.\" Albus grinned briefly. \"Provided, of course, she doesn\'t make *too* much a habit of it.\"

Severus almost groaned. It wasn\'t the Ministry, because the Headmaster had alluded to it being \'personal\' in nature, and it wasn\'t about his mother\'s visit. What the bloody hell did that leave? Not much, in his opinion. \"I would appreciate it, Albus, if you would just get to the point then,\" he replied tightly, clenching his teeth in a growing sense of frustration -- something his private chats with the Headmaster often caused, \"as I seem to, as usual, be utterly lost.\"

\"Very well, to put it rather bluntly, I simply wanted to remind you, that while I cannot, and would not want to, control any possible . . . interactions the staff may have with students once they are no longer students here, any . . . interest should not be acted upon until such time that I would not be forced to also . . . take an interest.\"

Severus blinin sin shock, feeling his jaw drop, but completely unable to do anything about it. The Headmaster could *not* be implying. . . . He jumped to his feet, his jaw snapping shut with an audible click. \"Surely, you do not think-- You cannot possibly be accusing me of--\"

Albus held up a hand halting Severus\' stumbling, outraged words, which he held back by only thinnest margins of control. \"I\'m not *accusing* you of anything at all.\"

\"It bloody well sounded like it to me!\"

\"Which is why, as you should recall, I began this rather sensitive conversation stating my utmost trust.\"

Severus frowned. He had at that. Then why? Severus dropped back into his chair wearily. This conversation had already taken more out of him than his last evening spent with Voldemort and company. His mind was simply not keeping up with the turns.

\"It has come to my attention that while you may not have *acted* on any possible interest, that said interest might actually exist.\"

\"I can assure you, I have never once had any *interest*, as you so delicately phrased it, in *any* student attending Hogwarts -- not since I\'ve been here as staff, anyway.\" He wasn\'t entirely certain why he\'d tagged that last bit on, though it would certainly take one possible loop out of an already loopy word game.

\"And you\'re certain of that?\"

\"Of course I\'m bloody well certain, Albus!\"

Albus grinned suddenly, the twinkle back.

Severus\' eyes narrowed. Why did that suddenly seem worse than the lack had earlier?

\"Very good, then,\" Albus said cheerily, rising -- Severus following his example swiftly. \"Of course, after they\'re not students anymore, I wouldn\'t be concerned at all, you understand,\" he continued, heading towards the exit.

Severus nearly growled, when suddenly, something clicked. He whirled on the barmy Headmaster. \"This has something to do with that twit Trelawney, doesn\'t it!\" he accused.

Albus turned slowly. \"Now, Severus be nice.\"

\"I will not!\" Severus retorted. \"Not when she\'s spreading such vulgar lies!\"

\"What makes you think she has anything to do with this at all?\"

Severus rolled his eyes. \"Nothing much,\" he replied bitterly. \"I just find it amazing that on the heels of that ridiculous charade last evening, we are having this just as ridiculous conversation. Surely you don\'t take her sordid . . . meanderings seriously?\"

The headmaster\'s eyes hardened. \"You know as well as I do, Severus, that her . . . abilities are not what the public usually sees.\"

A shot of ice ran through Severus. He did indeed know that. The woman, useless on the whole, did occasionally have very serious visions of the future. He had discovered quite by accident that it was Sybil Trelawney that had prophesied Harry Potter\'s eventual destruction of Voldemort -- and had subsequently been sworn to secrecy.

In the day to day dealings with the crazy witch, he pretty much forgot about it. He supposed that was a testament to her acting abilities, since she did a *very* good impression of a nut case -- seemingly 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

He turned horror filled eyes toward the Headmaster. \"You are *not* telling me that you believe she\'s had a *real* vision about me . . . and a student?\"

In the silence that followed, the Headmaster\'s expression turned thoughtful and he studied Severus long and hard. Shifting uncomfortably as the silence wore on, Severus was tempted to demand an answer when Albus finally spoke.

\"Indeed she has, Severus.\"

\"Who?\" he demanded before he thought. \"No, never mind. I don\'t want to know. I will say this only once. She\'s wrong,\" he said firmly, finally sweeping past the Headmaster and down the stairs. He had to get out of there before he did something he would actually regret.



AN:
Rilla: Thanks! I\'d hoped I got his reaction at least close. : )~

Nesscafe & FaerieOfMischief: eeep! : )~ One of you wants her dead, the other wants her to live. LOL What to do, what to do? (WEG) I know! I\'ll keep it to myself to the bitter end . . . or maybe not so bitter. Thanks for the feedback! (BG)

Fervesco: LOL, oh, yeah. (WG) He\'ll get his reward, but he\'s got a few more trials to face first.

Niceven: Thanks! : ) Hopefully, I will continue to do so.


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