A Proper Proposition

Disclaimer: The following applies to this and all of the following chapters of this story: I do not own the characters, situations, locations or any other aspects of these stories and do not make any money from them.



Chapter 1:  Tonks Extends an Invitation



Severus Snape was not a man who stomped, stamped, tramped, clumped or
clomped when he moved.  No, even at such moments as now, when he
was absolutely enraged, he moved smoothly
and gracefully.  The words swooping and gliding came to mind as he
made his way down the dark, curtained hallway.  Although it was
also true that there was more
than a touch of ominous menace in his movements particularly since his
black robes were billowing out dramatically behind him..  One
might
be tempted to say he was storming down the hall.  But although
 the look upon his face, the rapidity of his motions and the angle
of his torso clearly indicated that he was incensed
and furiously impatient to remove himself
from this house,
he managed to propel himself down the
hallway
without without producing the slightest sound. color=\"#000000\">

He was also not one given to muttering under his breath.  If he
had been, the following thoughts which were coursing through his brain
would have been hissed out between his angrily clenched teeth:  

\"Damn Potter for existing in the first place!  Damn Albus for
forcing me to teach the brat Occlumency.  Damn Black for intruding
himself
into the matter under the pretence of \'looking after his godson\'.
 And,
finally, Damn the Weasleys for coming home and interfering when Black
and
I might have finally settled matters between us once and for all.\"

He was almost at the front door, and he stopped abruptly, the long
folds of fabric fluttering back to earth as he took in a deep breath
and began to button up his heavy outer cloak.  After a moment, he
turned to look behind him, his sharp black eyes falling upon the large,
heavy
curtains behind which lurked the slumbering picture ofcolor=\"#000000\"> Sirius Black\'s dear, unlamented mother.  His
lips twitched slightly as he debated whether or not he should stride
back to the portrait and cough, sneeze or clear his throat loudly.
 Any of those should be sufficient to wake the old hag up from her
nap, he supposed.  With an irritated shake of his head, he turned
back toward the door and completed the fastening of his cloak.  No
doubt Arthur or Molly would feel it necessary to send a report to
Dumbledore detailing how they had found him and Black facing each other
with their wands at the ready.  With difficulty, he managed to
keep himself from emitting a loud snort through his large nose
as he imagined the concern that would be in their voices as they
related the
story to the Headmaster. Never mind the fact that the Weasley woman and
Black
were at each other\'s throats more often than not these days.  Oh,
no,
it would still be \'Snape, the malcontent\' who had started the trouble.
 So
why add any more credence to their version of the events by causing an
uproar on his way out?

With a snarl upon his lips, he reached down to turn the doorknob to let
himself out.  He supposed he\'d better close the door softly behind
him, he thought.  But as the door swung inward, he was surprised
to see the figure of an elderly witch come dashing through the opening.
 Apparently she had been on her way in when he had opened the
door, and her forward momentum combined with the forceful jerk with
which he had pulled the knob was sending her hurtling toward the floor.
Without giving a conscious thought to the matter, he reached out and
grabbed her about the shoulders, barely managing to keep her her from
hitting the hard stone of the entryway.  They swayed for a moment,
but he was finally able to regain his balance and pull them both back
to an upright position.  With an impatient gesture, he shut the
door and turned back to make sure the old hag was all right.

\"Whoa, thanks Snape!\" said a strangely familiar voice as the
grey-haired crone set about straightening her clothes and readjusting
the large purse that was hanging from the crook of her elbow.

The dark-haired man stared at her a moment, and was just about to
inquire if they were acquainted when he noticed that the old lady\'s
face was screwed up in an expression of deep concentration.
 Within a few seconds,
her hair and face rearranged themselves into a much more familiar form.

\"Tonks,\" he muttered, infusing the single syllable with a great deal of
disdain.  \"I should have recognized that lack of coordination,\"
he added, throwing back his head and glaring at her.  There was
something decidedly incongruous about the fact that, although she was
still wearing the robes of an aged witch, her hair was now bright
orange with a few green highlights thrown in for good measure.  

\"Well, we can\'t all be born with your natural elegance can we?\" she
replied cheerily.

For a moment he narrowed his eyes and studied her suspiciously, for he
was never one to easily accept a compliment.  Perhaps she really
meant that as an insult-he supposed Black would have taken great
delight in telling her how gawky and awkward \"Snivellus\" had been as a
teenager.  

Tonks, however, seemed not to have expected an answer to her question
and had already moved on to another topic.  \"So, what\'s going on?\"
she asked, curiously.

\"What do you mean?\" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

\"Well, you look as though you\'re in a rotten temper,\" she noted.
 \"And why are you here anyway-something going with You-Know-Who?\"

Snape stared at her contemptuously.  \"Oh, of course not.  The
Headmaster sent me here to discuss a certain matter with the
illustrious Mr. Potter.\"  He moved past her to open the door
again.  \"If you\'re anxious for any more details, I am certain that
the Weasleys or your dear cousin would be more than happy to supply you
with them.\"

\"Arthur\'s out of St. Mungo\'s then?\"

\"Oh, yes,\" he answered, sweeping out through the door.  \"He is
doing quite well, apparently.  Although-\"  He paused and
turned to regard her thoughtfully.  \"Perhaps it would be better if
you did not run down to the kitchen right away.\"

\"Ah, they\'re having their own little family gathering then, are they?\"
she murmured, nodding sympathetically as she leaned against the door.

\"Oh, no, not at all, it\'s just that the poor man has only this morning
been released from his sick bed, and I should hate for him to have a
relapse,\" he explained.  Raising his eyes to the crown of her head
he grimaced and continued:  \"One look at that appalling confluence
of color now adorning your head would be enough to make anyone
nauseated.\"

He turned on his heel and glided down the stairs before she had a
chance to reply.  To his delight, he heard her slam the door
behind him.
 Once he had reached the sidewalk, he turned back and smirked in
satisfaction.  Even though the building itself was slowly fading
from his sight,
the echoes of Mrs. Black\'s \"Scum! Traitors! Filth! Mudbloods!\"
were
still resounding through the air. Within seconds the whole household
would
be rushing to the hallway and berating the hapless Tonks for having
roused
the ill-tempered Mrs. Black.   

********************************************************************

A few hours later Snape was seated at a small table located at the
back of \"The Leaky Cauldron\", downing his third (or was it his fourth?)
snifter of cognac.  The amount of liquor he had consumed had not
succeeded in raising his sprits, if anything they were lower than ever.
 Although his anger had finally abated, it had been replaced by a
niggling but growing feeling of apprehension and guilt.  He had no
doubt that once he was back at Hogwarts, Albus would take the
opportunity to call him to his office and remind him once again how
important it was to have Potter trained in the areas of Legilimancy and
Occlumency. Snape had already given him his word
that he would put aside his personal feelings and proceed with the
training as soon as possible.  He was sure that there had already
been owls or floos sent to Hogwarts detailing this afternoon\'s
contretemps, and that the Headmaster would be saddened and concerned to
hear that he and Black had nearly come to a duel.  It would cast
even more doubt as to whether there was any likelihood that the venture
would be successful.  Although he had vociferously enumerated his
objections to the project when approached, he had known at once that
there was no other possible solution to the
problem.  And Merlin knows that Albus had more than enough on his
plate with the mere return of the Dark Lord, much less also having to
deal with the idiocy of the Ministry, a toad-like lackey of said
department prowling about the school and Potter sharing thoughts with
his worst enemy.  He had no right to add to those problems by
allowing Black to goad him into a fight.

But at the same time, he thought, gulping down the rest of his drink,
he had no desire to hurry back to the school only to be called upon the
carpet by the Headmaster-no matter how justified it might be.  He
had to be back to the school by tomorrow afternoon of course.  The
students would be returning and he must
ready the supplies for the coming week of classes.  But was there
really any reason for him to return tonight?  Why not take
a room here at The Cauldron, make a few prudent if not absolutely
essential purchases tomorrow and arrive back at the school virtually
unnoticed during the influx of arrivals.  After all, he sighed,
flexing the fingers of his left hand, both the Dark Lord
and Albus had the means to track him down and contact him should either
of
them wish to do so.

His mind made up, he set down the snifter and glanced around the crowd,
searching for the small, stooped form of Tom the bartender among the
crowd. During the hours that he had been sitting at this table, the
place had filled and emptied several times, although at the moment it
was quite crowded again.  There had been a few Hogwarts students
in the establishment earlier, though they and the Potions Master had
studiously avoided each other.  Once they began to leave, there
had been a steady stream of groups of people, apparently meeting to
have a late holiday celebration.  The rest of
the patrons were mostly couples, and he had noticed that he was one of
the
few lone males in the tavern tonight.

His eyes finally discerned the bartender\'s figure, but before he could
raise his hand to signal to the man, he found his gaze being drawn in
the direction of the young witch who was just now accepting two flagons
of ale from him.  He had to admit that she had a stunning
profile-a
clasically sculpted face, long and wavy light blonde hair arranged in
an unswept hairdo and the hint of a decidedly curvy figure beneath the
elegant, indigo-colored robes she wore.  As she turned away from
the bar and started to make her way through the crowd, he found his
eyes
remained fixed upon her face, noticing that her eyes were a stunning
shade
of blue that matched her cloak perfectly.  For a moment he forget
about all about summoning Tom and contented himself with studying her,
wanting to see just who her lucky escort was this evening.

To his astonishment, she appeared to be making a beeline toward his
table.  As she continued to make her way to him, he belatedly
realized that his mouth was hanging open and he abruptly snapped it
shut.  His hand reached out to grab the stem of the snifter and
had the glass halfway to his lips before remembering that he had
finished the drink.  Setting the vessel back down, he folded his
hands on the table in front of him
and forced an expression of boredom onto his face.  No doubt the
young
lady was going to stop and beg, in a sweet little voice, that since the
establishment was so crowded this evening-would he mind terribly moving
to the bar so she and her boyfriend (or husband, or fiancee) could
share
the table?  If so, she was going to be disappointed, because he
was
in no mood to be accomodating at the moment.

She stopped at the side of the table and smiled down at him in a most
friendly fashion.  In response, Snape tilted his head a centimeter
to the side and pursed his lips, waiting for her to speak.  To his
surprise,
she simply pulled out the chair on the other side of the table, seated
herself and set one of the pewter flagons in front of him.  Then
she leaned
toward him and giggled softly.

\"See, Snape, I am actually capable of moving across a room with not one
but two drinks in my hand without spilling a single drop!\"  She
pulled her own glass in front of her and raised it to her lips, taking
a
deep swallow.  \"Next,\" she announced, setting the vessel down, \"I
am
going to try to walk and chew at the same time.\"

His look of bafflement was quickly replaced by one of annoyance.
 \"Tonks!\" he hissed, in the same tone of voice he had used
previously in the day.

\"Right in one, Snape!  And I didn\'t even color=\"#000000\">have to fall over anything this time!\" she crowed.
 Her boast was somewhat tempered by the fact that, as
she reached to pick up the flagon again, a substantial amount of liquid
spilled over the side and dripped onto the tabletop.

\"An amazing achievement,\" he drawled, reaching over to mop up the mess
with his own napkin.  He sighed and looked over her head, his eyes
searching once more for Tom.   But
the man was in the midst of serving a large tray of drinks to a
sizeable
party occupying one of the side tables.  

\"I assume,\" he said, throwing her a contemptuous look while moving
his own flagon off to the side, \"that you are working undercover this
evening?\"

\"Well, I certainly hope so,\" she answered, with a hint of mischief
in her tone.  \"Aren\'t you going to drink the ale?  I swear
it\'s not poisoned.\"

He snorted.  \"I think not,\" he
replied.  His eyes flew around the room, looking for anything to
distract him from the further contemplation of his companion.  The
juxtaposition of an elegantly beautiful face and body combined with
Tonks\' usual voice and boisterous personality was rather unsettling.

She leaned forward again and delicately sniffed the air.  \"Yes, it
does seem as though you have had quite enough brandy for the evening,\"
she teased.

He ignored her as he threw another glance in Tom\'s direction.  The
bartender still had a good dozen or so drinks to serve at the table.
 \"And what is your mission this evening?\" he asked, his tone
indicating that he really did not have the slightest interest in the
answer.  \"Are you following anyone in particular?\"

\"Oh, yes,\" she said, talking another sip.  \"You.\"

He laughed shortly and drummed his
fingers against the table.  \"How droll.\"

\"Oh, I\'m not joking at all, Snape.  I am on a mission, with
specific instructions from Dumbledore, to track you down tonight.\"

He look of suspicion deepened.  \"Nonsense, if the headmaster
required my presence at Hogwarts, he would have contacted me directly.\"

\"I didn\'t say anything about sending you back to the school, did I?\"
she challenged.  \"I was simply to check up on you and make sure
you were all right.\"

\"How considerate of you,\" he snapped.

\"Now, don\'t be that way, Snape.  I have been worried about you for
some time and that little scene with Sirius today only confirmed the
fact that you have been under way too much pressure lately.  And
that my cousin can be a royal pain in the arse, of course.\"

He blinked in surprise.  \"Do you seriously expect me to believe
that you would support me in an altercation against your relative?\"

She shrugged.  \"Well, normally no.  I mean, I love Sirius and
can\'t even begin to imagine what it was like to be imprisoned in
Azkaban all those years-much less for a crime he didn\'t commit.
 But I was hoping that he would have been happy to have Harry and
the Weasleys keeping him company this Christmas, but instead he\'s using
their leaving tomorrow as another reason
to mope around.\"  She
took another deep swallow of her drink, managing to do so without
spilling
a drop this time.  \"Anyway, Dumbledore and I were talking about
the
fact that, in order to avoid another row, perhaps it was about time
that we did something nice for you.  Give you a little holiday of
your
own, maybe?\"

\"Really? he scoffed.   \"Professor
Umbridge, our dear High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, currently has me under
probation.  Care to venture a guess as to how kindly she would
react
to the news I had decided not to return to the school tomorrow?\"

\"Oh, not that kind of holiday, Snape.  Just a little something to
take your mind off of your troubles, even if it is only for a night or
so.\"

\"And what exactly do you have in mind?\" he asked sharply,
raising his right eyebrow.

To his surprise, she suddenly moved her chair closer to his, managing
at the same time to jar the table with enough force to send his own ale
over the side of the vessel.  As Snape glowered and attempted to
mop up the mess with the remnants of the napkin, she sighed and shook
her head.

\"Well, Dumbledore didn\'t exactly put forth a suggestion, but we did
rather come to an agreement that since you are in a great deal of
danger, it was only natural that you-\"  She stopped and glanced
around her.

\"Yes?\" he prompted, throwing the sopping napkin to the side in disgust.

\"That you deserved a little fun,\" she finished, quietly.

To his shock, Severus realized that her hand was now firmly planted
upon the inside of his thigh, and moving rapidly toward his groin.
In a moment, his own hand had shot underneath the
table, his fingers clamping firmly down upon her wrist and preventing
her from progressing any farther.

\"This is absurd,\" he hissed.   To
his distress, he found that, though he had stilled
her hand, she showed no sign of withdrawing it.

\"Oh,\" she said, her voice filled with deep disappointment.
 \"You\'re gay aren\'t you?\"

\"Certainly not!\" he exclaimed, his voice raised just enough to attract
the attention of several customers from the nearby tables.  They
stared at the couple curiously for a moment until Tonks smiled at them
and raised her left hand to wave at them in a friendly fashion, keeping
her other hand clamped upon Snape\'s leg.

\"Then what\'s the problem?\" she asked, noting with pleasure that there
was a faint blush upon Snape\'s usually pallid complexion.

\"Perhaps you are not my \'type\', Tonks,\" he murmured, finally managing
to dislodge her fingers and move his own chair a good six inches away
from hers.

\"Well, that\'s just the point, isn\'t it?\" she said.  \"Since I\'m a
Metamorphmagus, I can be any type you want.\"  She started to tap
off her fingers as she expounded:   \"Blonde, redhead,
brunette, busty, flat-chested, big bum-\"

\"Hush!\" he said, reaching toward his flagon and taking a large gulp of
ale.

\"You know, I\'ve never tried it for an extended period of time-just
enough to check it out-but I can even be a bloke if you\'re curious
about
trying it.\"

\"I have already indicated that I have no interest in being buggered,\"
he hissed, keeping the glass in front of lips.

Tonks\' eyes were sparkling with amusement.  \"Who says you have to
be the bottom?\"

Snape took in a deep breath between his clenched teeth.  \"I assure
you that intercourse with a member of my own sex, in any shape or form,
holds no fascination for me whatsoever,\" he color=\"#000000\">elaborated angrily as he set the
flagon down.

\"Fine, we agree to keep it to strictly boy and girl stuff,\" she said,
shrugging her shoulders.

\"I have not agreed to anything!\" he protested.

\"What is your problem?\" she asked.  \"C\'mon Snape, I\'m not
askin\' you to marry me, for Merlin\'s sake.  I\'m just offering to
give you a nice little toss, a tiny bit of shagging that will do us
both a world of good.\"

\"Both of us?\" he asked, turning to glare at her.

\"Well, yes,\" she said.  \"I mean, I\'m glad I\'m doing the work I am,
but it keeps me too busy to meet any blokes, you know?  So I\'m
left with the gits at the ministry or the chums from the Order.
 And most of \'em are old geezers, and the few that aren\'t are
happily married.\"

\"What about Lupin?\" he asked, not quite believing his own ears as he
heard his voice speak the question.

\"Oh, he\'s a terrific chap, really,\" said Tonks, taking another sip
of her drink.  \"But definitely the type that doesn\'t take a girl
to
bed unless he\'s thinking of a serious relationship.  Hell, that\'s
not what I\'m interested in at all.\"

\"And Black?\"

At that, Tonks spit some of her drink back into the glass.
 \"Okay,\" she said wiping her mouth, \"I know there\'s been a lot of
cousins marrying cousins, so it\'s not out of line.  But, honestly,
he\'s been more
like an uncle to me.\"  She grimaced and shook her head.  \"I
don\'t think it would be right.  Although,\"  She frowned and
considered
something.  \"Maybe in his animagus form-\"

Snape gasped and immediately started to cough as some of his drink
went down the wrong pipe.  Tonks put down her drink and thumped
him
on the back.

\"C\'mon now, Snape, you\'re a bloody Death Eater.  You honestly
telling me you haven\'t done it just about any way there is to do it?\"
she said quietly, as he regained his composure.

\"That does not mean I have any intention of \'doing it\' with you,\" he
snarled.

\"All right then,\" she said, suddenly rising from her chair.  \"But
I\'ve taken a room here tonight, number twelve. And I\'ll be there if you
change your mind.\"  She shrugged again and turned to walk out of
the pub.

He watched her leave and then abruptly stood up.  He found, to his
astonishment, that he was swaying slightly.  Apparently, given the
number of drinks he had ordered, it had not been a good idea to forego
dinner this evening.  He threw a few sickles onto the table and
then directed his steps toward the bar.  In a moment, Tom had
appeared in front of him.

\"I would like a room, please,\" he barked.

Tom\'s smile disappeared.  \"S-sorry Professor,\" he stammered.
 \"Haven\'t got any vacancies left.\"

\"None?\"

\"No, that young lady who just left,\" said Tom, gesturing toward the
door, \"Took our last one just fifteen minutes ago.\"

\"How convenient,\" Snape murmured.  He considered the situation for
a moment.  \"I suppose,\" he said slowly, \"That I could always floo
to Hogsmeade.\"

\"Beggin\' your pardon, Professor,\" said Tom, apologetically, \"But you
know it\'s not a good idea to drink and floo.\"

\"I am perfectly fine,\" protested Snape, cursing the fact that he had
just caught himself swaying slightly again.

\"Of course,\" said the bartender, hesitantly.

\"I shall just go for a short walk in the fresh air,\" announced Snape,
wrapping his cloak about him.  

\"That\'s a good idea,\" agreed Tom instantly.  \"And I\'ll have a
nice cup of coffee waiting for you when you get back.\"

Snape snorted contemptuously and turned on his heel, striding
purposefully,  if not quite steadily, from the room.  As he
swept out of the room, his eyes fell upon the small brass plaque
attached to the wall.  

Rooms 1-6, first floor

Rooms 7-14, second floor

For a moment he stood and stared at the sign.  He hadn\'t even
noticed it at the time, but Tonks had been wearing a most delightful
perfume-a
much more subtle and refined scent than he would have expected.
 And
there was just a touch of it still floating in the air.  

He turned and regarded the door leading to the street.  There
was another couple entering the establishment, a young witch and wizard
with their arms unabashedly wound around each other.  They stopped
beside Snape and stared into the pub.  

\"Looks a little crowded tonight,\" the man observed.

The woman shrugged and smiled up at him.  \"Doesn\'t matter,\" she
answered, rising up on her toes to bestow a warm kiss upon his mouth.
 In a moment the man had his arms wrapped around her and was
returning
the embrace.  The woman\'s lips opened slightly wider and Snape was
sure that the man\'s tongue was now deep inside of her mouth.  

He turned and looked at the sign again.  The couple, absorbed
in their embrace, paid no attention to the creak of the wood or the
click of his heels as he ascended the staircase.