Unexpected Truth

Unexpected Truth

AN: Hi there. This is my first one-shot and I hope you like it. I loved writing it and am quite pleased about how it turned out; a bit more dramatic than I originally thought but I like it all the same. I apologise for those who have read my other story, Hidden Friends and are disappointed that I haven’t updated in quite a while. I have been busy with life and such but I have good news. I have actually re-written most of it and am hoping to get it up fairly soon-ish (actual date or time not decided yet) and it’s looking well. I have (hopefully) improved my writing skills since I first started posting stories and so when it does come out I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

A wonderful thank you to my Beta, ApollinaV, who is currently writing a SS/HG story titled The Gilded Cage which I highly recommend. It is just beyond fantastic!

Now onto the one-shot! Enjoy!


Summary: Jane Ellem, assistant Professor to Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures, finds herself spouting off a bit more truth than she intended at dinner in the Great Hall. What will a certain snarky someone think of her secret?
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“So, tell me, Jane,” Mildred Waxom purred, leaning in close across the head table to her fellow colleague.

Jane Ellem, assistant professor to Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures, immediately felt herself become wary. Mildred Waxom, the new librarian to Hogwarts since Madam Pince retired, never purred at her.

Glancing over at the witch, Jane noted she was wearing one of her rather…unique garments, quite simular to Professor Tralawney’s attire; bangles and scarves in the colour of purple and pink and giant loop earrings that nearly reached her shoulders. Her outrageously styled hair was more the fashion of the Muggle sixties and looked a nightmare to keep, and Jane often found herself wondering if a bird could nest there in the high bun. It certainly looked big enough to house an aviary.

Mildred Waxom, Jane thought, had to be one of the most annoying people she’d ever met in her lifetime. The animosity the woman displayed to her was more reminiscent of a wolf going for the throat every time they encountered each other. Mildred seemed to hate her for some reason and had since they’d met the year before when Dumbledore had hired the new librarian. Jane still couldn’t figure out why. Maybe the woman just detested her and it was as simple as that.

“I was wondering. Your favourite colour is yellow, right?”

“Uh…” Jane answered, her face contorting in confusion. What kind of question was that? “No.”

Shaking her head thinking the witch finally lost it, Jane returned to her breakfast. The witch had finally talked to her with some semblance of civility and that was what she came up with?

Jane hummed, picking at her food. It just didn’t look appetising today though, but then again, she’d never had a good stomach for a heavy breakfast. Light was the way to go when you’d be running after injured animals in the forest. It was part of her duty after all, to help out with Hagrid’s jobs ever since he’d taken on extra Care of Magical Creatures classes the last year.

Before that she’d been helping Madam Pince in the library. Hagrid found it a bit hard to come up with a class schedule, teach it, research for it, catch creatures for it *and* take care of the forest in general. He was only one Half-giant after all.

Reaching forward, Jane took a long gulp of her orange juice, smacking her lips together at the slightly off taste. She completely missed the triumphant look Waxom shot her way.

“What’s your favourite colour?” Waxom asked, adopting a polite curious tone.

“Blue,” Jane answered immediately.

“Do you dance?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“In my room on my own,” Jane spouted off, a look of horror slowly growing on her face.

Waxom smiled slyly, “Do you sing?”

“Yes.”

“Are you a good singer?”

“Not really. Oh fuck.” Jane glared at her orange juice for a moment, as if it was its fault for her answers. Which, to some extent, it was. “How did you get your hands on Veritaserum?” she hissed at the librarian, keeping her tone low should the children hear them.

“My beloved Potions Master, of course,” Mildred said smugly. “It’s enough to have you telling the truth all day.”

Jane snorted. “He’s not yours. You just think he is. And he wouldn’t give you Veritaserum if you begged him.”

“He is mine,” she hissed, a bit of spittle flying out onto the table between them.

Oh how Jane hated the headmaster for seating her beside the bitch. The old codger thought they could work out their differences if forced to spend three meals a day with each other. So far it hadn’t worked, obviously.

“You keep your filthy, animal smelling hands off him! Merlin only knows what you’ve been rolling in.”

“Oh yes, because he likes you so much, he purposely avoids you in the halls. He’s repeatedly told me what he thinks of your,” Jane smirked, “advances. What’s wrong Waxom? Twiddling yourself not working quite well enough, so you have to throw yourself at the man? Are you that pathetic?”

“You little bitch!” Mildred hollered, startling the students near the front of the hall and staff, directing their attention to the head table. “He wouldn’t talk to you if you were dying! You’re sad enough to follow him around like a puppy until he gives you some sort of attention.”

Jane growled, briefly touching her butter knife with the thought of slamming it through the witch’s hand. The temptation was strong, but with a quick twitch, her hands moved away.

Jane briefly glanced around to see all of the staff and most of the students nearby were watching them curiously. Lowering her voice and leaning towards the witch, she hissed, “That’s a lie. You’re so obsessed with him you practically cling to his person. Half the time I see him shake you off like a misbehaved dog. He doesn’t give you an ounce of attention so you demean yourself in front of everyone by becoming a simpering fool. It’s sad to see you beg for his interest, and no matter what you do, you’re turned down. He’ll never like you; just accept it.”

“As opposed to you?” Mildred asked incredulously, scoffing, but turning red by how the witch was talking to her.

It was true enough to sting. No matter what she tried, Severus just wasn’t interested in her. He had said she resembled Trelawney too much for him to be able to stomach the sight of her. Mildred’s voice turned shrill, a complete contrast to Jane’s controlled growl.

Jane had to control her frustration and keep her temper low or she risked losing her life and her job. Animals react to energy, responding instinctively to a person by what type of feeling they were receiving. If Jane let her emotions control her, it could mean her life should she be faced with a dangerous animal. Humans were animals, and although they communicate through more intricate patterns of speech than any other living being, humans will react and respond to a primal energy as well.

If she lost her cool with Waxom she knew she’d be in trouble; with both the Headmaster and possibly the Ministry of Magic. She was licensed to use her skills with dangerous animals and no matter how Jane wished it; Mildred Waxom would not be considered a dangerous animal. Unfortunate, but Jane rather liked her job.

“You just sit and wallow, waiting for Severus to come to you!”

There was a collective gasp when Professor Snape’s name came up. Before, everyone just assumed it was a man outside the castle they were fighting over, or at least someone *else* in the staff. Certainly not Professor Snape.

Mildred continued, standing up. “He’ll never look at you twice you skinny bitch! Just look at you! You’re aptly named plain Jane. I don’t see anything on you that would attract any wizard, let alone Severus. You’re too skinny and sickly looking. You play with your animals and walk around smelling like one! You take care of beasts because you belong with them. It’s all you’re good at!”

Jane bristled at the insults, feeling her anger rise, the heat building in her gut. She stood, eye to eye with the librarian. Her hand twitched again, this time the skin of her wrist brushing off her wand stored in her sleeve.

“Tell me, are you lonely much?”

“Yes,” Jane answered automatically, the compulsion coming out with the truth serum. She hissed in displeasure at the response, realising that had been louder than she would have intended. Anger made one forget to lower the voice. A brief look around showed only the staff seemed to have heard her, the students leaning forward to try and hear the conversation.

Mildred looked pleased, curling her lips as she spoke, throwing her next words back at Jane. “Twiddling yourself not working well for you?”

“No. Damn it!” Jane scowled blackly, standing and heading towards the door to the staff entrance. Maybe if she got away quick enough she could hide in her quarters until the serum wore off.

“Fantasising about Severus, a man you’ll never have?” Waxom was almost brimming with laughter, the vicious glint in her eye growing sharper as she followed Jane.

“Yes.” Jane was almost thankful that only the staff could hear her as she continued.

“Aww,” she pouted mockingly, “how pitiable. Poor thing.” Mildred narrowed her eyes. “And you have the audacity to say I’m pathetic?”

“At least I know I can’t have him,” Jane said firmly, stopping at Minerva’s chair and spinning to face the librarian. “I don’t go chasing him like some harpy waiting to tear out his heart for her own. His friendship is enough.”

Mildred let out a sharp, barking laugh. “*Friends?* Oh how lovely, you think you’re his friend.”

Albus cleared his throat from beside Minerva, thinking this had gone on far enough. He’d been caught up in the dramatics like everyone else, too stunned to realise this was actually happening in the Great Hall. Two of his staff could not argue over another professor, no matter how entertaining it seemed to be.

“Now, ladies – ” he began, only to be cut across by Waxom.

“Oh my god,” she said disbelievingly. “You sound like you actually – no, you couldn’t because that would be too precious.” At seeing the seething look on Jane’s face she outright laughed, raising her voice for all to hear. “Are you in *love* with Severus Snape?”

Jane screwed her eyes shut and willed her mouth to clamp shut for all eternity, but alas, the answer slipped out no matter how Jane bit her tongue. “Yes.”

Mildred laughed again, clutching her sides and bending double, wiping tears from her eyes.

“And I thought I was bad!” she howled mirthfully.

The cackling of the witch infuriated Jane. The humiliation of having been duped into drinking Veritaserum and confessing love for the man only a few seats away down the table was too much. A brief glance in his direction showed him watching with such stunned disbelief that she immediately jerked her arm, letting her wand slide down into her hand before she blasted the cackling witch off her feet with a Stupefy. She crashed backwards and on to the floor.

“Um…” Albus said weakly, blinking at his unconscious librarian on the floor.

Jane turned and walked stiffly out the teacher’s entrance, and continued walking until she reached the paddock beside Hagrid’s hut. There she finally stopped and let out a frustrated scream.

The black stallion that was resting in the paddock due to an injury, spooked and shot off to the other side, whinnying in fright. Jane instantly regretted coming out here. There was no way she’d inflict her bad mood on the poor animal, but it was too late now. Quickly pocketing her wand, she slipped inside the gate, and made her way over to the frightened creature.

The horse backed away, his head lifted, and ears folded back.

“Easy,” Jane murmured soothingly, slowly approaching at an angle, her shoulder to his shoulder. The horse was large enough to hurt her, if he attempted to charge her. “I’m not going hurt you, big guy.”

The stallion jerked his head a bit, looking ready to bolt but she growled at him. She was the boss, and if he bolted, she might get hurt. Her hand stretched out in the air, and after a few moments his nose moved forward, nostrils flaring.

“That’s right, I smell alright. I’m not going to do anything.”

When his nose touched her outstretched fingers, she relaxed, watching him inhale her scent and calm. She could touch him now, and she did. Stroking along his neck, Jane glanced further down his body, assessing the small wound on his flank. It was looking better today thanks to the salve Severus had made.

“Good boy,” she whispered, enjoying the quiet soul of the horse. He was such a gentle thing despite his size.

“Is this some sort of joke?” Severus Snape bellowed on his way down to the paddock.

Jane winced, letting her hand fall from the horse. “No,” she called back.

“What was that all about?” he snapped, stopping so abruptly his robes arched around his legs like a pair of wings.

“It was an argument about how Waxom thinks I’m – ”

“I know what it was about, you stupid woman! I was there.” Well thank god for that, Jane thought. She was a little relieved that he’d interrupted her reply. She hadn’t really wanted to finish that sentence. “Is it a joke?”

“No!” Jane growled and looked up to the greying sky, absently noting it was going to rain soon.

“Then explain yourself!”

“What?”

“Tell me, what is this about?”

“It’s about me falling –”

“Are you serious? You expect me to believe you *love*,” he sneered the word, “me? You must be out of your mind if you think I’d even look – ”

Jane spun on her heel to face the man, looking him directly in the eye. “Don’t you dare!” she shouted, spooking the poor stallion again.

He trotted to the other side of the paddock, a bit miffed at the unpredictability of the human.

“Don’t you dare say anything to me! That you don’t care for me, that you couldn’t – wouldn’t – ever look at me that way! I *know* that!”

His scowl turned to a frown and he blinked stupidly at her. “What?”

“I know you’d never look at me that way, that you’d never feel the same way. Why do think I haven’t said anything all these years?”

Shit, she hadn’t meant to say that. Jane was breathing harshly now, angry that her mouth had run away without her brain’s permission. Flustered, she walked out of the paddock and swiftly strode left along the lake towards the forest.

“Leave me alone, Severus Snape!” she hollered behind her.

“Come back here! I’m not finished with you yet!” He marched after her, his cloak flying in all directions at the growing wind. Suddenly, the rain started to fall, spitting down gently before coming down in sheets. Both were soaked within minutes.

“Witch, if you don’t slow down, Merlin help me – ”

Jane stopped and spun around. “You’ll what?”

Not prepared for her to stop so suddenly, Severus just managed to catch himself short of colliding with the woman. Now close enough to nearly touch at the chest, Jane could only look up from the vicinity of the infuriating wizard’s chin. He was at least a head taller than her, which she’d always liked. Now, it was slightly annoying, because she couldn’t look him square in the eye.

He scowled down at her and Jane had to blink when the droplets of rain fell from his hair on to her face. “You’re lying,” he intoned lowly, his eyes narrowing shrewdly. “You’re playing a practical joke and Waxom is in on it. Humiliating me in front of the students and staff in the Great Hall was ingenious, I must say,” he said sarcastically.

Jane was dimly aware that she must be giving him a black look for his expression faltered just a bit. “I. Can’t. Lie.”

He snorted, clearly not believing her. “Oh? And why is that, Miss Ellem? One of your animals has got your tongue?”

“No!” she snapped. “That bitch in there dosed me with enough Veritaserum to last me an entire day, so *I can’t lie*. Thank god she didn’t give me anything else. She’d probably kill me if she did if her dosage this morning was any indication,” she added, rolling her eyes.

“You can’t lie?” he reiterated.

“No,” Jane huffed, only noticing the trickles of water running underneath her clothes. She was thoroughly soaked, and squirmed to that effect.

“You can’t lie?”

“No. Could you stop asking that question? I’m going to answer it every time.”

“Then you were telling the truth when you –”

“Blurted that I love you in front of everyone in the castle? Yes.”

He grunted, frowning down at her. He looked sceptical. “You could be lying now.”

“Oh, for the love of – I’m not lying!” Jane insisted, bringing her hands up to slick back her hair. Her neck was starting to pain her from looking up at him and the rain was making it hard to see. “You think I wanted to say that in front of everyone? Really? You honestly think I would?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, keeping his expression blank.

She growled in frustration. “This is why I never wanted to tell you,” she sighed.

“How long have you wanted to tell me?”

“Since I fell in love with you.” Jane was quite pleased with how that came out. It wasn’t a specific answer but it was an answer that seemed to agree with the serum. It was truth after all.

“How long?” he repeated with a growl, quite sick of having this conversation already. He really couldn’t quite grasp that it was actually happening. He hadn’t expected a morning like this when he woke up.

“Since I started working here.”

He did a quick calculation. “That’s four years,” he said incredulously. “You’ve been in love with me for four years?”

“Not all four years, no,” she admitted.

She avoided his gaze by staring at his buttons; he had quite a lot of them. God, the fantasies she’d had on getting him out of those robes. Jane slapped a hand over her face to knock her out of her thoughts. This really wasn’t the appropriate time.

“When I started working here, we became sort of friends and as the first year was going by, I realised I began to care for you. Within the year, I was hopelessly lost to the feeling. And no matter what I did, it wouldn’t go away. I chose not to tell you because…” she hesitated, not wanting to sound pathetic. She sighed. “I didn’t want to ruin what little connection we had being friends. I knew you’d react this way, and I didn’t want to lose you. Better friends than nothing.”

He stepped back a step and Jane’s head flew up to see his expression. He looked a little alarmed. Well, Jane thought a little derisively, you would if a colleague and friend had just admitted to loving you for several years.

“Severus,” Jane said, reaching out a hand.

“No,” he said hoarsely, stepping back again. “This is a little…I can’t…This is ridiculous. This can’t be real.” He turned abruptly and strode off back towards the castle, leaving a trembling Jane looking after him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, feeling the warmth of tears trailing down her cheeks.

She shivered violently, realising how cold she was standing out in the torrents of rain. ‘This can’t be real,’ her thoughts echoed. She’d lose him this way. If she let him walk away now, she’d lose him altogether, friendship and all. Her gaze quickly fixed on Severus’ receding black form as he continued on his way to the castle.

“Wait,” she whispered feebly. “Wait, don’t go,” she repeated, her voice sounding a bit firmer, louder. “I don’t want you to go!” she shouted.

Like a miracle, Severus stopped. Not wasting a second, Jane ran. He turned as she got closer and she slowed her gait. She didn’t stop until they were as close as before. Tilting her head, Jane showed no hesitation when she met the black of his eyes.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she said softly. “I still want to remain friends. That’s all I ask.”

He was silent, his expression showing nothing of what he was thinking. The longer he said nothing, the more anxious Jane grew. Would he not even want her as a friend? Without warning Severus stepped closer to her and took her face in his large hands. He smelled of rain and something she couldn’t place. Searching her eyes and face he finally spoke.

“You care for me.”

“Yes.”

“You love me.”

“Yes.”

“You’re not lying?”

“No.”

“You want a friendship?”

“No,” she answered honestly. She wanted more. His eyes narrowed slightly.

“You want more?”

“Yes.”

“And if I don’t want more?” he asked then, watching her carefully.

Jane held his gaze and smiled softly, a little sadly. “Then friendship is acceptable.”

“And if I don’t want friendship after this?” he said lowly.

Jane closed her eyes to try and block out the hurt. His words stung terribly. She exhaled softly, opening her eyes search his. She did not know if it would be the last time she’d be this close again to see the hint of hazel, the lines of his face where he frowned so much, or the large nose that made his face so interesting.

“Then I’ll have to accept that and leave you in peace,” she whispered.

After a long moment of silence he spoke again. “That is not acceptable.”

She inhaled sharply, feeling like something sharp had just been rammed into her gut. Her heart seemed to cry out as it began to break. God, what more could she do? She’d leave him in peace; she would even leave the castle if she had to. Work somewhere else where she wouldn’t bother him again.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “What more can I do?”

“Nothing,” he answered, still cradling her face in his hands, his thumbs wiping the hot tears from her cheeks, a futile action in the lashings of rain. His touch was far gentler than she expected after he had said such a thing. He continued, “It’s not acceptable that you’ll leave me in peace when I want you here.”

Jane’s breath caught in her throat and she blinked at him. “What?”

He smirked. “I want you here. I want your friendship, annoying as you may be.”

She let out a small sob, part in relief and part sorrow. She’d have to live with beings friends. It would have to do.

“After all,” he said softly, his smirk softening into a small smile. Jane was close enough to see how it wrinkled his eyes. “Friendship is a good foundation to a relationship. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes,” she answered compulsively, forcing a small huff of amusement out of her.

The relief she felt made her knees weak and she quickly took hold of his cloak, pressing in to him.

“Silly girl,” he murmured, bending to seal his mouth over hers.


~~~

AN 2: Well, there you have it. I hope you liked it and any reviews or criticism is welcome. Bye for now and thanks for reading.

Wolf