Truth and Beauty Unforeseen.

Truth and Beauty Unforeseen
By Lady Lupin Lycanthrope.
Eventual Snape/Lupin.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a broken laptop.
Summary: What if Severus Snape's unattractive physical appearance was the result of a spiteful curse? What if the curse was lifted suddenly and unexpectedly?
A/N: Takes place around the beginning of OotP. HBP does not exist. This story was inspired by a challange in a Live Journal. It was actually a Lord of the Rings challange about Legolas and Gimli, but someone else took my idea. So I revamped it in HP.


Chapter One.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was quiet this late at night. The halls were silent, and the students had long sense left for the summer holiday. Somewhere, a clock chimed the hour. One AM.

Down in his dark dungeons, Professor Severus Snape was just about to turn in for the night. He had spent most of the day working on his latest creation. Hopefully when his research and develupment was finished, he would have a potion which would raise the drinkers awareness of dark auras and better help the aurors.

The war was dragging on and on. The ministry was still refusing to admit that that the Dark Lord had returned. Albus had reformed the Order of The Phoenix, but Severus didn't think that one handful of people wasn't going to mach so much as a dent in Voldemort's proverbial wall of power. Fourteen years earlier the Order members had been picked off one by one. How was it any different now?

However, that didn't stop he, himself from rejoining the Order. Although right now, he really couldn't be of much use. At Dumbledore's request, he had returned to his life as a spy, only to quickly be discovered. He had been lucky to escape with his life. Dumbledore had forbidden him to leave the school grounds. It was the only reason he was still in here instead of at Snape Manor, were he usually spent his summers.

Severus gathered up his notes, and placed a preserving charm on his bubbling potion. His eyesight was starting to get a bit strained, and it was unsafe to continue without total wakefulness. After locking and warding his lab and storeroom-the students might be gone, but Peeves was still buzzing around- he made his way back down the short hallway that seperated them from the rest of his quarters. A sudden growl from his stomach reminded him of the fact that he hadn't eaten sense breakfast. Oh, well. He was too tired to worry about it now. He vagely wondered why Albus hadn't come down to annoye him like he usually did when he missed a meal. Then again, Albus hadn't been in the school that much this summer. He was busy fighting off the Ministry and setting up an intrigate spy network to keep an eye on Harry Potter. All without Potter's knowlage, of corse. Dumbledore didn't want to worry the boy.

Severus snorted loudly. All of that was going to come back to bite the old man in the ass on of these days. Potter was now 15 years old, and wasn't going to just blindly beleave what he was told like he had a few years earlier. “Little Harry” was getting sick of being lied to. And Severus really couldn't blame the boy. Harry had, after all, witnessed the Dark Lord's return. He had seen his friend murdered. Harry, dispite everyone's beliefs, was no longer a child. To treat him like one, like Dumbledore insisted on doing, was asinine. Not that his opinion ment anything to the old man. Albus Dumbledore would do what Albus Dumbledore wanted to do, and damn what everyone else thought.

But all of that could wait untill morning. Severus just wanted to sleep and forget all about Potter, Voldemort and Dumbledore for a while. Yawning, he made his way through his living room, and opened to door to his bedroom. Long, thin fingers were already working the silver buttons of his over-robe as he made his way to the bathroom. Heavy, potion-stained fabric landed on the floor, the rest of his clothing following in short order. Picking his nightshirt up from where he'd left it on the floor that morning, he sliped it on over his head.

“You need some meat on your bones, dearie. And a bit of sunlight wouldn't hurt, either. Of course, with your face.......”, the bathroom mirror trailed off, sniffing disdainfully.

Severus totally ignored the mirror. It was always poking fun at his looks. He had tried to have the mirror removed, but one of the previous owners of his quarters had put a permanent sticking charm on the back of it. He had learned to live with it, though at times, he was greatly tempted to smash it. Ugly he might be, but he didn't care. He had never been vain, and didn't care what he looked like. Why should he? It wasn't as if he had time or the oppertunity to meet people outside of his work. Hogwarts was highly secluded from the outside world. Plus, there was the little fact that he would always be married to his potions. Even if he ever did meet someone with who he would concider becoming romanticly involved, who in their right mind would put up with his crazy hours and potion obsession? And as for people in the school, there was nobody here that wasn't drasticly older then he was. He was the youngest person employed here, and all of his co-workers had been his teachers during his own Hogwarts years. Well, there was the exception of Remus Lupin, called back to teach DADA yet again, but that wasn't even worthy of thought.

Pushing all thoughts from his head except for that of his bed, Severus exited the bathroom, only to be greeted with the sight of a large, black owl sitting on his headboard. There was a letter in its beak, and a small package tied to its leg. Who on earth would be sending him mail at this time of the night? He untied the package, and took the letter from the owl.It gave a soft hoot and flew out the tiny window near the ceiling without waiting for a reply. Severus watched it go, then turned his attention to the letter. It was in a plain white envelope, and adressed in black ink. In the upper right corner, there was a picture of the Virgin Mary, hand drawn in the same black ink. Curious now, he opened the letter.

Mr Severus Snape,
My name is Josephine Rosethorn. I'm sure you are very familiar with my family name. Recently, upon the death of my grandfather, Edward Rosethorn, I came into possession of an object which I'm sure you are just as familiar with. I received said object along with instructions to put it in a safe place and to never, under any circumstances, allow anyone of the Snape family to obtain it. My Grandfather's Will was very clear on these instructions. It also stated in plain terms that my entire inheritance would be forfit if I failed to follow these terms. However, I am on the verge of taking my vows to God, and as all my worldly possessions will be given away, I am going to do the right thing. As you are the last of the Snapes, this rightfuly belongs to you.

God Bless you.


Severus blinked in confusion. Rosethorn? He'd never heard of them! What was this so-called object that he was supposed to be familiar with? Shaking his head, he set the letter down on the bedside table and picked up the little package. It was square, wrapped in plain paper, and tied with string. He opened it quickly, letting the paper drop onto the floor as he did so. Inside the little box, he found what appeared to be a woman's broach. It depicted a silver cobra with a crow perched on its hood, cradling a garnet in its coils.

Now this was very odd. Very few people were aware that the Snape family crest depicted a crow. Even fewer people knew that the official Snape family jewel was the garnet. He picked it up from the box to take a better look, and instantly a wave of intense heat surged through his entire body. He blinked in confusion at the warmth, then gasped at the pain that followed in its wake. The pain was intense but thankfully brief, leaving him slightly breathless but otherwise unharmed. But in the wake of the pain came a sudden wave of sleepiness. His vision darkened, and Severus fell forward, landing face-down on the floor next to his bed. He was asleep before he hit the cold stone floor, the little, mysterious piece of jewlery still grasped in his hand.