Faithful or Faithless

Faithful or Faithless

Disclaimer: If I were as talented as Ms Rowling, I might own some cool characters.

Lily sat with him in the hospital wing for some time, but their conversation soon became stilted and strained as they searched for common ground. When Severus started to moan in pain, she called for Madam Pomfrey, made her excuses and left him in the matron's care. Dejection washed over him with the ebb and flow of his distress.

She returned to his bedside the next day after classes, bringing Remus with her. Lupin gave Severus a warm, lopsided smile, dropped a pile of books and scrolls on the bedside cabinet and flopped onto the edge of the bed. He grabbed Snape's hand, shoving the sleeve of the hospital gown up to look at the Unicorn's Blaze.

Pain lanced through Snape's arm with the rapid movement, and he tried to pull away. Remus pressed his large thumb-pad firmly over the silvered spot on Severus's forearm. The searing sensation subsided, soothed slowly by fuzzy warmth. It was not the same feeling of ecstasy he'd felt with Charmaine's touch, but calming and reassuring nonetheless. Severus wilted back against his pillows.

"Bloody hell, Lupin! How would you like extra jalapeños in the next batch of Wolfsbane, so you can experience my pain?"

"Sorry, mate," muttered Remus, pulling the sleeve back down. "She said it was bad, but I didn't realise it hurt you so much. Forgive me?"

Snape shook his head slightly.

"Aw, go on, Sevvy." Remus cracked a wide grin and held his arms wide in apology.

Severus frowned.

"You know I love you, buddy. I wouldn't hurt you intentionally. Please don't poison my potion."

The werewolf clasped his hands together over his heart in melodramatic supplication.

Severus rolled his eyes in response.

Smiling again, Remus mussed his friend's hair affectionately. "I heard the Blaze would have your love's initial on it, but all I can see is a wonky starburst. What do you think, Lily? Can you see your initials there?"

Lily shrugged her shoulders and looked away. "You can't believe everything that French tart tells you, Remus."

"Actually, Lily," replied Lupin, taking umbrage, "she's a bloody good teacher, and I trust her implicitly. She and Severus have changed my life this year."

Lily huffed and turned away. "Well, I don't like her. James says she's not a real Potions mistress; she's a Poisons expert. What kind of person is that to put your trust in?"

"The best, I reckon, as long as she's on our side."

"You and Severus can keep her. Something about her gives me the creeps." The young witch shuddered as she spoke. "She told the headmaster I had to come and sit with Severus, because she had seen how important I was for his future. What kind of twaddle is that?"

"What did she say about my future?" Severus inquired.

"Nothing much. She just said I was a major influence, but wouldn't explain any further. Dumbledore seems to agree with anything she suggests." She paused. "Y'know, when I went to the headmaster's office, she was talking to that scrawny bird of his as if it could understand her."

"Do you think she's a seer?" asked Snape.

Lily looked at him sharply. "No. I think she's just an interfering fruitcake. Inhaling too many poisonous vapours has made her a bit nutty, if you ask me."

"Well, I'm glad she suggested you spend some time with me, Lily. I've missed you."

The young witch pouted imperceptibly and rummaged in her schoolbag, avoiding eye contact. "I brought you some of my favourite chocolates, Sev. Sweet strawberry-banana creams. You like those, don't you?"

Remus pulled faces and made gagging motions when Lily wasn't looking, whilst Severus's lips thinned into a barely polite, thank-you smile.

"I'll leave them with you. I've got prefect's duties to attend to. Remus can stay and keep you company tonight." Lily handed Severus a tawdry box with lavish bows, kissed his forehead perfunctorily and left the two young men sitting side by side on the hospital bed. Neither spoke until they were sure she had gone.

Letting out a long, slow breath, Lupin slumped onto the pillow next to his friend. "Strawberry-banana creams! What planet is Lily on? These are hideous. Even in werewolf recovery phase, I can't eat these."

He leaned against Severus's shoulder and murmured quietly, "Charmaine told me, in confidence, what happened to you, mate. I read the ancient scrolls. They say you have to consummate your relationship with your life's love to activate the full potential of the Blaze. She thinks Lily is the right person, but I'm not so sure. How could it be a ginger harridan with such appalling taste in sweeties?"

With a rueful shrug, Severus tucked the confectionery into his bedside cabinet. "She only has to care for me whilst I recuperate."

"Caring? You take better care of your cauldron than she's taking of you."

"I don't understand either, Lupin. I'll ask Miss Bien-Aimée when I'm discharged from hospital."

"Will you be out of here in time for the Hogsmeade weekend, Severus?"

"Why? What are you planning, Dog-breath?"

"Death Eaters! How does that sound, my friend?"

"Intriguing."

*

By the time Snape was discharged from the hospital wing, he was thoroughly fed up with Lily's disregard for him. Lupin spent more time in the ward with him than she did. The two friends studied, ate dark, spicy chocolates and made plans to attend their first meeting with Voldemort and his Death Eaters the following weekend.

Snape wanted to talk to Mademoiselle before then. As soon as Madam Pomfrey said he could leave, he walked straight from the hospital wing to the dungeons. Missing his scheduled Potions lesson, he arrived outside the classroom just as his classmates were leaving. Hanging back in the shadows, he overheard Sirius and James's conversation. A smirk flitted across his lips as he recalled the encounter he had seen between Hagrid and the Potions professor. It had hardly been the romantic encounter Black implied.

When the classroom emptied, he pushed through the milling crowd of younger students who were arriving for their lesson. Knocking first, he stuck his head round the door. Mademoiselle Bien-Aimée sat with one elbow on the desk top, resting her forehead on the heel of her hand. She appeared to be reading something in her other hand below the desk.

Severus cleared his throat. Startled,

Mademoiselle Bien-Aimée looked up. Hurriedly, she pushed the scrap of paper she had been reading underneath her textbooks.

"Monsieur Snape!"

"Can I have a word with you, please?" Severus asked. He shut the door and strode to the front of the room.

"I haven't time just now, Mr Snape."

"I need some answers."

"This is neither the time nor the place."

Severus planted his palms flat on the front of the teacher's desk, leaning down across the desk to bring himself to her eye level. "I want to know about the Blaze."

"Not now, Severus," she replied firmly. "I have a junior class waiting."

Severus's hands curled into fists where they rested on the desk top. His head drooped between his arms, and his lank hair fell forward over his face. "You know all about it, and I need to understand."

Gently, the witch touched the back of his hand with a finger. "I don't know it all. I can't tell you any more just now."

"Please, Charmaine." Severus's voice dropped to a pleading whisper. "Just tell my why you chose Lily. I don't love her, I lo..."

"No!" She rose to her feet.

Severus slammed a fist onto the wood, causing a small avalanche of scrolls. "You are not being fair," he shouted. "You left me in the hospital."

Lifting his head, he came nose to nose, across the desk, with the Potions mistress. The air between them resonated with angry vibrations.

Furious and frustrated, he leaned towards her. Breathing harsh and fast, he felt her heated breath flutter across the gap, echoing his own. Licking his dry lips, he tasted her and felt his heart rate lifting. Eyes locked with her sparking, amber glare. His own dark gaze glittered as he lifted a hand to her flushed cheek, cupping it roughly in his palm.

"I could just take what I want," he murmured menacingly, holding her gaze.

"Do not threaten me, young Snape. You promised you would never enter my mind without asking."

"Never trust a Slytherin, miss."

Charmaine felt the first stealthy slither of his intrusion into her mind. "No!" She drew back abruptly and slapped him hard. "Get out."

Severus whirled on his heel and stormed from the room in a ferocious swirl of robes, leaving the witch slumped at her desk.

"You promised me you wouldn't do that, Severus. You promised..." she sobbed.

A/N: I fluffed it, and uploaded the wrong chapter. No wonder no one could understand what was happening. My apologies. I hope it all makes more sense now.