A Potion

Previously in A Potion:

Voldemort smiled to himself. His servants had done well. They had found very steady information. It had been of great use to him. He snickered. It would be fun to break that traitorous Severus Snape

Chapter 6

Perhaps it was just the ominous chill in the air that morning, or maybe the harsh wind that seemed to shake the very foundation of the school, but it was most likely the fact that Remus Lupin had turned up missing that had the entire school in a state of nervous cogitation.

Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table quietly, his face now as stony as Hermoine’s had been the past few days. He grimaced at the eggs in front of him and even Ron seemed to have lost his appetite; with the exception of nibbling on a piece of toast.

Hermoine sighed, the loudest sound she had uttered that morning, and Harry and Ron jumped.

“I can’t believe it,” Harry muttered, laying his fork gloomily down onto his untouched plate.

Ron turned to him and frowned. His eyes were filled with sympathy, an emotion Harry detested when directed at him, but he let it pass, keeping his mind on the situation at hand. “I just… why? First my parents, then Sirius, and now Lupin? Why does everyone who’s ever come close to being a kind of parent to me have to die?”

“He’s not dead. We don’t know that for sure,” Hermoine stated, barely above a whisper. The comment seemed sincere but strained; although that was understandable considering she had not used her voice excessively in quite a while.

The two boys turned to her, shocked, but determined not to show it in case it would cause her to go on another tangent of silence. They waited in a state of quiescence, both silently praying she spoke again.

And she did. “Harry,” she turned towards him, “Do not think like that. Lupin is strong. He can take care of himself. Voldemort just wants our attention. He won’t kill him. Then Dumbledore would go after him, and he’s petrified of Dumbledore.” She took a deep breath, seemingly exhausted by the short articulation.

Harry smiled halfheartedly. “Thank you Hermoine. You’re right. He’s terrified of Dumbledore. He won’t do anything that stupid.” But he’s a lunatic… who knows what he would do, Harry thought silently. What if Hermoine was wrong?

“Yeah mate,” Ron spoke up suddenly, “Cheer up. Dumbledore will handle it.” He lowered his voice, “And we got Snape. He’ll do something. He may be a git, but he won’t let a member of the Order die.”

“He’s not a git!” Harry burst out suddenly, causing a few heads to turn curiously their way.

Ron blinked a few times, taken aback. “W-what?” he spluttered, “Since when do you defend him? He hates you, remember?”

“He does that for his cover. He can’t go around being nice to all the students. Especially Gryffindor. He is the Slytherin Head of House.”

“Well yeah, but…”

“And he has saved our lives like five hundred times, Ron. Come on. So what if he can be a little nasty. I don’t like him for that-“

“You like him?” Ron interrupted, looking horrified.

Harry stumbled in his thoughts for a second. He turned to Hermoine, who was looking on with a mute, yet suspicious interest. Shit. He had to think fast.

“I didn’t say I like him,” he spat out desperately. He only hoped they couldn’t see how much he was sweating or the slight blush crawling up from underneath his red turtleneck. “I just said I DIDN’T like him for doing that. I never said I liked him for anything. I just said I didn’t like him. For what he did, I mean. I don’t hate him. But I don’t like him. I mean… dammit Ron! Quit reading into things so deep! All I said was he’s not that bad. Give him a little credit for risking his neck everyday!” He cut himself short, turning back to his plate and crossing his arms defensively.

Ron seemed at a loss. He turned back to his toast and gawked at it as if it were an alien from Mars, then muttered a bit of incomprehensible gibberish followed by, “Gee. Sorry Harry. I didn’t mean he was evil or anything. He’s just a bit nasty most of the time.” That was a little bit more than an understatement.

“Yeah, I know,” Harry replied, “Sorry I bit out like that. I don’t know why I did that.”

“Could it possibly be because you do like him?” Hermoine inquired devilishly.

Harry grimaced. Had he missed something? Did she know something and just hadn’t told him? “No!” he answered hastily, “Merlin, quit badgering me!”

Hermoine smiled unnervingly, making Harry twitch. Even so, he couldn’t help but smile. Seeing even the slightest hint of a smile on Hermoine’s face was worth the torment the two were putting him through.

Suddenly, a deep, silky voice spoke behind them, causing all three to stiffen. “I’m deeply sorry you’re not fond of me Mr. Potter, but I’m afraid, even so, I need to speak with you immediately. I require your presence in my office.”

Ron’s face contorted uncomfortably at the surprise and gave Harry and “I’m bloody sorry, mate” look as Harry rose to leave, doing his best to look annoyed and put-down as he followed Snape out of the Great Hall.
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The two waited until they were safely within Snape’s office before they spoke casually.

“Gee, Sev, sorry about that,” Harry said, taking a seat down in front of the man’s desk.

Severus raised a forgiving hand and replied, “You should tell them eventually, Harry. You can’t hide it from them forever.”

Harry looked away and lazily surveyed the grotesque potions on the various shelves around the room. “I know…” he muttered quietly, “I just… I’m afraid of how they’ll take it.”

“They love you Harry, and although they might be a bit shocked at first, I have no doubt they will stay by your side till the end of eternity.”

Harry smiled, his green eyes glowing. “Gods, I love you,” he replied.

Severus’s eyebrow’s raised and then relaxed. The shadows on his face seemed to lessen and he chuckled lightly. “I know,” he said, “And you know it is reciprocated, but there are more important things to discuss at that moment.” His expression returned grave, “As I’m sure you know more than well by now, Lupin has gone missing.” Harry nodded solemnly. “And I’m also sure you know why. The Dark Lord had been planning for quite a time to capture a member of the Order. It was only a matter of time, I just didn’t think he would do it this soon…” He trailed off.

Harry perked up slightly. So Severus knew a bit about it! “Did he say anything about what he would do? He won’t kill Remus will he?” His expression was pained and dire.

Severus averted his eyes.

Harry sunk back down into his chair. “I see…”

“That’s not one hundred percent set in stone,” Severus said hastily, “There is a great possibility that he could still be alive, and that’s why I’m going.”

Harry’s head shot up and Severus was slightly worried that he might have suffered whiplash. “You’re going? Where? Oh please not to Voldemort! You’ll be killed!”

“I’ve gone to many meetings with him before, and I have managed to survive. I’ve been doing it for years. There is no difference now. They have no idea I am a spy. As far as they know, I am just coming to enjoy the… er… festivities.”

Harry winced. That didn’t sound pretty. “I don’t want you to go,” he said softly, a single tear running a trail down his cheek.

He didn’t look up when he heard Severus’s chair scrape back across the stone floor, now did he move when the man was kneeling before him and cupping his face gently in his hands.

“Harry,” he whispered slowly, stroking the Gryffindor’s velvety cheeks, “I WILL come back alive. Do you hear me? I will come back to you. This time, and every other time after that; and that’s a promise.” He pulled their faces together and they kissed passionately, neither wanting to let go.

When they finally pulled apart, their faces were flushed and their breathing sloppy. Their foreheads rest lightly against each other’s and they sat that way for several minutes in a trance of tender acquiescence.

It was Severus who broke the silence.

“Harry,” he said, a little more loudly this time, “I will do everything I can to bring Lupin back, I promise.”

Harry stared deeply into Severus’s eyes for a moment before replying. “Thank you,” he said.

Severus smiled and stood. “I leave tonight,” he said, “The Dark Lord will do nothing until then.”

Harry nodded.

“Come to my chamber tonight,” Severus continued, “But now you need to go to your classes.”

“Of course,” Harry grinned, “Sometimes I almost forget you’re a professor.”

“Well I guess I’ll just have to be a little more strict,” Snape grinned evilly, “With you tonight.”

Harry laughed and pulled Severus into a soft kiss before standing to go. “We’ll discuss that later,” he purred seductively, winking at his partner.

Severus smiled as his lover left, watching as the boy cleverly maneuvered his rump in a fashion that was most delectable. He did love him. Oh, Merlin, did he love Harry Potter. He was sure that the Dark Lord did not know of his allegiance to Dumbledore, but he was not so sure of Lupin’s kismet. The werewolf’s fate was hanging by a thread, and Severus knew all too well how easily that thread could break when in the hands of Tom Riddle.

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Severus sighed, watching silently as Harry drifted peacefully off to sleep in his arms. As soon as the young wizard’s breathing had evened out and his eyelashes fluttered with content dormancy, Severus pried himself softly from the boy’s grasp and got dressed quietly, leaving in a flurry of swishing robes as he rounded the corner out of sight, headed towards the anti-apparation point of Hogwarts.

With one last look at the majestic castle, he disappeared with a loud crack.

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It was dark, cold, and gloomy; the usual setting for such an occasion; with the occasion being a torture session.

It was frequent that they held such gatherings, but the main target was usually a muggle or a low-class witch or wizard, never a wizard of this magnitude; one of Albus Dumbledore’s precious pets. The man was huddled in a ball on the ground, but not cowering by any means. Although bowed down to the dirt, he was bowing to no one, and between shuddering convulsions and gasps of spluttering blood, he grit his teeth defiantly and did not utter a sound through his torment.

Some of the Death Eaters chuckled at his obstinance, casually throwing curses and hexes his way.

Tom Riddle stood nearby, watching the scene with half-amused interest; but his mind was not fully on the scene before him. This was not what he wanted. This occasion had a purpose: to expose a traitor. Yet this traitor was not among the cackling Death Eaters as the caused the werewolf on the ground to writhe in pain. He was not here, and that made Lord Voldemort quite displeased. His mouth turned slowly into a seemingly painful grimace, intended as a smile, as a reverberating crack sounded nearby. The Death Eaters stopped at their game to look upon the intruder, smiles twisting onto their faces as they recognized him.

“Well, well,” Voldemort hissed coolly, “Hello, my dear Severus.”

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OMFG. Cliffhanger!!!! XD