Chapter Two: An Unusual Invitation

Chapter Two: An Unusual Invitation

Tuesday, 25 August 1998

Severus was just finishing the inventory of his classroom potions cabinet after having restocked it with the most recent shipment of ingredients. He still hadn't spoken with Pomona about the ingredients he needed from the greenhouses, and he would have to do that soon since he would have to order any that she wasn't able to provide...and he didn't want to have to change plans for the first week's classes just because he was lacking the correct herb or root. Students provided many of their own basic ingredients, ones that were used frequently and were easily stored safely, but the others they got from the student stores. At this point, he would have to go to the apothecary in Hogsmeade or the herbarium in Diagon Alley and purchase any missing plant-derived ingredients for the first week himself if he couldn't get them from Sprout.

Severus sighed and sat down in the chair behind his classroom desk. He really didn't want to have to go into the village, and he certainly didn't want to go to London. He didn't really want to leave the grounds at all. Or the castle. Or the dungeons. The trip into the village to have lunch with Hermione and McGonagall the previous day had taken all his energy, and he'd been positively motivated to do that. The only way to keep going, though, was to keep going. He didn't understand why this was so difficult, this living, when the Dark Lord was gone, he was no longer spying, no longer being tortured or in danger of imminent death, no longer hiding and pretending. It was just living.

He took a deep breath, preparing to push out of his chair and go find Sprout, who was likely in the greenhouses, when Twiskett popped into the classroom, an owl perched on his head.

The owl hopped off of Twiskett's head onto the desk, the little elf seeming unperturbed by the talon marks left in his scalp, but Severus winced in sympathy. Some Post Owls had difficulty finding him when he was in the dungeons and would fly about the castle in confusion, and so Twiskett had taken it as part of his job to find the addlepated birds and bring them to his professor.

"Thank you, Twiskett," Severus said as he took the letter from the owl. "I will bring the owl to the doors." He had to go out to the greenhouses, after all. It would save the house-elf's head from serving as an owl perch for a second time that morning.

Twiskett bobbed his head and Disapparated.

Opening the drawer in which he had a few somewhat stale owl treats, though the tired Post Owl didn't seem to mind them, Severus looked at the front of the envelope. His name was in block print. He drew his wand and checked the letter for curses and traps. He had received a few jinxed letters whilst he was staying at Spinner's End, poorly cast, easily detected jinxes, and none particularly harmful, but it might be only a matter of time before someone sent something with a serious curse on it. He had received one Howler, a nasty, vituperative, shrieking letter, early in the summer before he had left for Spinner's End. It had arrived during lunch, and a half dozen other staff members had listened in horror and embarrassment as it spewed its bile before exploding, leaving insufficient traces to analyse and discover who the anonymous sender had been. Minerva had cast a charm, tying it into the Hogwarts wards, that would keep out any further Howlers, but Severus knew she would have to lift the charm when the school year started because parents sometimes sent Howlers to their children. Oddly, he hadn't received any Howlers when he was at Spinner's End.

Having assured himself that the letter was completely uncharmed...even the envelope was sealed with some ordinary gummy sealant and not a Sticking Charm...and that it contained nothing more than a single sheet of paper, Severus decided it was safe to open. Relatively speaking. It had the feel of something sent by a Muggle-born or a Squib. It might not be charmed, but it could still contain some nastiness. He stared at the envelope, trying not to think of all of the activities he had participated in, willingly or not, that had injured or killed Muggles, Muggle-borns, and supposed Muggle-lovers.

The owl hooted impatiently. It needed to get back to a post office. Severus slipped the letter into his pocket and held out his arm for the owl. He would wait and read it after he had taken care of his business with Sprout. He didn't want to have to meet with her at all, let alone after having read something nasty. He might be able to maintain a cool exterior with her, but internally, he would be distracted and his stomach in knots if he had just read a nasty anonymous letter. He had never been able to let insults just roll off him, and any about his activities as a Death Eater or a spy would likely be deserved...though the truth behind any insults had never done much to diminish his sense of injury, outrage, and shamed embarrassment at having been singled out.

Pomona looked down at the list. "Don't worry about these others that I don't have, Severus. There aren't many, and I'll get them for you. I think I can get most of them from Johannes, and I'll be seeing him tomorrow. You'll have a fully stocked cupboard before the first!"

Severus thought that he should decline her offer, or at least make a gesture in that direction, but he was relieved by the thought that he wouldn't have to go anywhere to find them himself.

"Thank you. I appreciate that," he said sincerely.

Pomona smiled up at him. "I'm actually looking for things to do now. Filius and I spent most of the summer at Hogwarts so that Minerva, Albus, and everyone else could have time to themselves, so the greenhouses are in better shape than ever and I'm well-prepared for classes. Did you enjoy your summer? Find time to relax?"

Severus shrugged. He hated it when people asked questions like that. He always had. But he knew that Pomona meant well, and he not only had decided to try to think before he reacted and not be as . . . as abrasive as was his wont, but he also lacked the energy at that moment to strike out at anyone.

"It gave me an opportunity to recover fully," Severus replied, trying not to sound off-putting.

"That's good. Perhaps next summer, you will be able to take the opportunity to take a holiday somewhere. I don't know what kinds of things you might enjoy outside of work, but a holiday doesn't need to be an entirely mindless excursion. I've never been much of one for just lying about on a beach, myself." She grinned. "Unless there were some especially lovely young men to watch, although even that can grow dull after a while. Window-shopping can be fun, but after a while, you want to taste the sweets, not just look at them! And that can be fun, too," she added with a wink.

Severus successfully fought a blush. "I tend to sunburn," he said awkwardly. Never mind the fact that he was nothing to look at himself and wouldn't be caught in anything approaching beachwear.

"Ah, well, I was only speaking metaphorically, anyway," Pomona said. "And the most fun on holiday is when you go with others...with a group of friends or with one special friend. You can always go off on your own if you want to, but then you have someone to talk with at the end of the day. Filius and I once took a trip to the Asian subcontinent. We did some things together and others apart...he was not as fascinated by the lecture tours of some of the magical botanical gardens as I was, and some of the things he found entrancing, I found dull, but we still had a wonderful time together."

Severus didn't know why the witch was telling him this unless to provoke his envy, although that seemed unlike her. She sometimes made jibes about Slytherins or about others' peculiar behaviour, but she wasn't sneakily mean or cutting, and he doubted very much she would care, or even imagine, that he might be envious. He thought he had expended his envy quotient for the week during his lunch with Hermione and Gareth, in any case. At that moment, he simply felt weary.

"Anyway, Severus, perhaps you could do something like that. Go somewhere you've never been, accompanied by a special friend, and just refresh yourself by seeing and doing things that are different from your usual routine. Some friends and I used to have a traditional trip we would take together almost every year, though we haven't been able to in recent years, and that was fun. Usually just a witches' holiday, although sometimes we'd have our wizards join us at some point, those of us who were attached." She grinned. "Now that things have calmed down, we might begin taking those holidays again. I'll have to ask the girls."

Severus just managed to keep himself from sneering at the use of the word "girls." He doubted there was a witch under fifty in her group of friends.

"Thank you for attending to the list, Madam Sprout," Severus said with a nod, avoiding any further discussion of holidays, relaxation, and trips with friends, of which he had few, and none who would want to go on holiday with him. Well, that wasn't entirely true; several years ago, Minerva had invited him to the McGonagall Cliffs for the weekend. Not him alone, of course. The McGonagalls were apparently having some large party on that Saturday evening, and she had invited him to come in the morning and stay through Sunday. She had called it a little holiday for him. He hadn't even attended the party on Saturday. He didn't remember why now; he probably hadn't had very much of a reason other than his usual contrariness. That was almost ten years ago now. She hadn't invited him the following year, and then Potter started at Hogwarts, the Dark Lord returned, and all their lives changed again.

Pomona smiled cheerfully. "Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help, Severus!"

Rather than walk straight back to the castle, Severus stopped and sat on a bench not far from the lake. It felt as though the letter were burning a hole in his pocket.

He looked at it again, and at his name in anonymous block letters, then he flicked a finger to slit the top of the envelope open. He drew out the letter and unfolded it. He recognised the handwriting immediately. It was dated the previous day.

Monday, 24 August 1998

Lucius A. Malfoy

Severus stared at the letter. It was peculiar. Apparently Lucius was no longer at the Malfoy manor, and neither had he been remanded to one of the Ministry's new prisons...though that was hardly surprising, given the influence he had once held. He wondered who in the new Ministry had been open to bribery or other subversion. There was still something odd about the letter, though...the visiting hours, for one, and if Lucius had really wanted to see him, he could have named a time and then, if Severus declined, visited him at Hogwarts.

The most peculiar aspect of the letter, however, were the directions to the house. He had never known the Malfoys to be without a Floo connection, even if they usually kept it closed or otherwise protected. The wizard expected him to walk ten streets to get there. Severus didn't know Leeds well, though he'd been in wizarding Furculum Way two or three times, but he had the sense that the neighbourhood surrounding Furculum was far from upscale and primarily Muggle.

It was only Tuesday afternoon. He had time to think about it. From what Lucius implied, Severus presumed that he wanted to speak to him about Draco, though he didn't come right out and say that. It was remarkable, as well, that in his last sentence, Lucius had broken from the distant, formal tone of the first part of the letter to entreat him to visit. Malfoys demanded, they did not beg. Yet that final line . . .

Severus shook his head and pocketed the letter again. He would think about it. He knew he would likely accede to Malfoy's request, but he didn't want to think about it at that moment. But he was Draco's Head of House and the Deputy Headmaster, and it was his duty to meet with parents. Perhaps he could simply suggest that Malfoy come to him at Hogwarts. Friday morning before the other wizard was due at Mungo's...then he couldn't stay long.

Severus heard footsteps on the stairs behind him. With so few people in the castle, it had to be someone looking for him. He stopped and waited, listening as they came down the corridor he had just left. Young, male, tall. Could be Manning, though why an Astronomer would be in the dungeons was a curiosity. Likely needed him as the Deputy Headmaster. Severus turned and headed back, rounding the corner into the hallway leading from the stairs just as the other wizard approached it. His eyebrow rose.

"McGonagall?"

"Hey, I'm happy to see you, too, mate!" Gareth greeted him with a grin. "I thought I'd stop by as long as I was in the neighbourhood, see how you're faring back at the ranch."

"I am fine. And Hogwarts is hardly a 'ranch,'" Severus said icily. He didn't like it when people simply dropped in on him, even people who had every right to, such as colleagues. He hoped that McGonagall didn't plan on making this a habit.

Gareth laughed. "For a man with a such a sharp wit, your sense of humour is sometimes lacking."

"Perhaps it is your sense of humour that is lacking," Severus retorted.

"Could be." Gareth stood there looking at him. "So, is this your new sitting room? Or should I say, 'standing room'?"

"It is most definitely your humour that is lacking." Severus turned and began to walk back down the corridor toward his quarters, knowing that Gareth would follow. When he didn't immediately hear the younger man's footsteps behind him, he felt an astonishing sense of disappointment, a sinking sensation in his stomach. But then a few moments later, he heard the sound of boots on the flagstone, Gareth's long stride caught up with his own, and the two wizards walked side by side. Severus realised that he had come to expect Gareth's acceptance and his understanding of him even when he was not overtly welcoming. Was that something of what friendship was?

He shrugged off those thoughts as they reached his door.

"Want me to plug my ears, Snape?" Gareth asked.

"As if I would use only a password to ward my quarters," Severus replied disdainfully. He held his hand to the stone beside his doorway and cast a nonverbal spell. Although the Headmistress's and the matron's passwords would open the door, he himself had devised his own method of casting a nonverbal password charm...useful, too, as he had always declined a door portrait, which was the usual way of setting and holding the passwords at Hogwarts. If he were unable to cast the charm, he did have a back-up verbal password, but he had only used that on a few occasions when the Dark Lord's punishment had exhausted him, and he had reset it each time he had been required to vocalise it. Although security was not as great an issue as it had been, he still liked the elegance of his password charm. It had taken him several weeks to create it and get it right, and he was rather proud of it.

"Impressive," Gareth said as the door glowed and then opened to them.

The corner of Severus's mouth quirked up, but he said nothing. As they entered his quarters, he gestured toward the sofa, inviting Gareth to have a seat. He sat in his comfortably worn armchair.

Unaccustomed as he was to having a social caller, Severus was unsure what to do next, but he thought offering tea might be suitable. It was getting on toward four-thirty.

"Yes, thanks, that'd be good," Gareth replied. "Aunt Minerva invited me to stay for dinner, but that seems a long ways off at the moment."

Severus took the broad hint, and when he called Twiskett, he requested biscuits and sandwiches with the tea.

"So, how have you been faring, Severus?" Gareth asked when the elf had winked away.

Severus hesitated. He had briefly mentioned his sense of dislocation and estrangement when they had met before over the summer. But he was back at work, his injuries all apparently completely healed, and even the mild, lingering side-effects of the magical components of Nagini's venom had completely subsided weeks before. He should be fine now.

"I have begun preparing for classes, much as I do every year, though I am not as prepared as I usually am at this point."

"But how are you?" Gareth persisted.

Severus shrugged. "I am fully recovered from my injuries, I believe, although Melina still wishes to examine me monthly for a while to make sure there are no residual effects. My next appointment is Friday afternoon."

Gareth nodded. "I hope it goes well. Is she coming here? I haven't seen her in a few weeks."

"No. I go to St. Giles Clinic to see her. It was more convenient over the summer to do so, and it is still more convenient than St. Mungo's, not as far an Apparition. I would also prefer not to see a strange Healer, and Melina is only at Mungo's once a week unless she has a patient admitted there."

"Yeah, and I guess she's not taking on many new patients, anyway. I think there are plans underway for her to begin training Healers at St. Mungo's in her method of curse treatment using the Arrestocordis, but they move at a snail's pace down there, so who knows when she'll begin," Gareth said. "And otherwise? Feeling any more settled than you were?"

Severus was saved from answering by Twiskett's return with a large tray.

"How are you, Twiskett?" Gareth asked the house-elf as he set the tray down on the small, square table and the wizards got up to move over and sit at it.

Twiskett smiled and nodded.

"We were partners, Severus, Twiskett and I," Gareth said. "He helped me find Malfoy and then he Apparated him to the Hospital Wing. Kept me from being hexed six ways to Sunday."

Twiskett blushed, then reached beneath his tunic-like tea towel and pulled out a cord, holding it out for Gareth to see.

Gareth grinned. "One of Snape's Slytherins!" he said on seeing the charm that hung from the cord, two intertwined snakes, one gold, one silver, each with one tiny emerald eye.

"Mr Blaise gave it me," Twiskett whispered in explanation, tucking it back under his green tea-towel.

"And you well deserve it. Good lad!"

Twiskett looked up at Severus.

"That will be all at the moment, Twiskett," Snape said.

Twiskett nodded cheerfully and Disapparated.

"When I first was getting to know Twiskett, I thought he might be unable to speak," Gareth said as he reached for a sandwich on crusty bread.

"No, he is simply quiet by nature, and that is why he was chosen for me. His silence has been a virtue. He has suited me, although I have not made as much use of him as I might." Severus poured their tea and Gareth helped himself to a little milk for his. "I had not immediately recalled that you and he were the ones who rescued Malfoy."

Gareth nodded, a mouth full of sandwich preventing him from responding.

"What do you know of Malfoy?" Severus asked. He had wondered whether Gareth had known that the wizard he had saved had been one of those who had attacked his mother all those years ago, and an unrepentant Death Eater, even if he had personal regrets about the course his life had taken under the Dark Lord.

"If you are asking what I believe you are, I know he was with you that night," Gareth replied. "Mother said he lost his mask as he fell and she saw him."

Severus set down his cup and shifted. He disliked discussing Professor Gamp or the night on which he had permanently maimed her, but his curiosity won out, and he asked, "Did you know that when you and Twiskett found him?"

"Of course. But whether he had been there that night or not, he was a Death Eater and I'm sure that there were other nights when he committed such crimes and worse, and I know he was a true believer, he never turned away from Riddle or showed any remorse. None of that played any role in what I did. Aunt Minerva asked it of me, and I didn't have any hesitation about doing it."

"Why? Or why not?"

"You know the state he was in. He was a human being before he was a Death Eater, and becoming a Death Eater didn't change that. He simply didn't exercise the positive attributes of humanity. Riddle, on the other hand . . . I think he destroyed his own humanity long ago. I don't know if what was left of him here on earth was human any longer. His body certainly wasn't." Gareth shrugged. "Finding Malfoy, trying to save him, it was the right thing to do. I may not always find it easy to do the right thing, but in that instance, I could have made no other choice. I actually thought he was dead, even after we found him, and was surprised that he was still holding on to life."

"Have you seen him since?" Severus asked.

"No. He was in Mungo's when Mum and I were, but although I was interested to hear news of his condition, I had no desire to see him. Besides, he was in a secure ward. I probably would have had to go through some rigamarole to get in."

"He is apparently out of that secure ward. I had a letter from him today," Severus said.

"Really? Did he want something from you?"

"In a matter of speaking. He wishes to see me. It had almost the sound of a summons, but it was peculiar."

"Where do they have him?" Gareth asked as he Summoned the plate of biscuits.

"If you mean the Ministry, nowhere."

Gareth's brow furrowed. "Nowhere? A man must be somewhere, Snape."

"He is living in Leeds."

"The Ministry doesn't have a facility in Leeds...a prison, I mean. Must have him under some kind of parole, probably because of his health."

"Parole?"

"You really haven't been reading the papers, have you? Complete revamp of the justice system. Uncle Albus spent a lot of time on it this summer once he and Aunt Minerva returned from their holiday; but rather to Aunt Minerva's annoyance, he even Apparated to the Ministry a few times whilst they were on holiday. Restructured the punishments, created a greater variety...now there's no chasm between paying a fine and ending up in Azkaban, which I'm sure you must know they've closed permanently.

"They're hoping that one side effect will be to stop the slow leakage of the wizarding population in emigration. With all the losses in the war, we can't afford more folk deciding they're better off in Canada or Australia or wherever and moving off. Even without Dementors, Azkaban was a pretty dreadful place, no matter how horrific the crime. But throwing a common thief in there and treating him the same as murdering Death Eaters, well, it may have been something of a deterrent to crime, but it also created a lot of resentment, and in the families of the prisoners, too. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a wonderful recruiting tool for Riddle. And it caused a lot of people, people who might have otherwise been 'Muggle-lovers' and on the side of the Ministry, to leave the country and seek more enlightened pastures." Gareth took a sip of his tea. "So, yes, there's now parole. Not just a free walk like used to happen when someone had enough money to pay off the right people in the Ministry; there are all kinds of conditions, apparently, but sentences can be reduced or commuted now without it just being a matter of who can bribe the right people."

"He said he is residing in a street near Furculum Way...Coopers Lane, I think he said."

"I know Furculum Way, had a friend who lived there for a while, but I don't know the neighbourhood around it. Are you going to Apparate?"

"I've only been there a couple times about twenty years ago. I believe I will Floo to the Wand and Staff, as Malfoy suggested." Severus shifted in his chair. There, he had made the decision to go, though he still did not want to see the other wizard.

"Want company? We could go together, then when you're done meeting with Malfoy, we could have lunch. The Wand and Staff used to do a good lunch. I've been there more recently than you have, so I could even Apparate us, if you like...at least to Furculum Way. I don't know Coopers Lane."

The idea was completely unexpected. "Ah, well. I don't think so. It's Hogwarts business, I'm sure." He hoped it was Hogwarts business.

Gareth shrugged. "We could still meet after. You might want to talk. Or just have some company."

"I don't know . . ." The idea was beginning to gain in appeal. And if he wanted to leave, he could tell Malfoy that he had an appointment, someone waiting for him.

"I know you don't like to talk about it, but you're probably still adjusting to the new circumstances, and I can't imagine that you're looking forward to seeing Malfoy very much. I wouldn't suggest that you require moral support, but having a friend with you couldn't be a bad thing. I wouldn't go with you to Malfoy's, of course, but I'd be happy to give you a Side-Along to Leeds and then wait for you. We could have lunch or dinner after, depending. If you have time, of course. Aunt Minerva said you've been very busy."

He had an excuse now, if he didn't want McGonagall along. But although he could decline easily, he found himself saying, "It would provide some diversion. And if you know Furculum well, can you Apparate us to the west end of the street? According to Malfoy, Coopers Way is located at the west exit of the street."

"Top of the hill, then. Sure. The pub is all the way at the bottom of the hill; it'll save you a walk, too. Just tell me when. I'm pretty free this week, and as long as I have a little notice, any plans I might have are flexible and can be changed."

"Friday," Severus said promptly. "There's a staff meeting in the late morning, and we're all supposed to attend lunch, too...Minerva wants us to get to know the new staff...then my appointment at St. Giles is at two o'clock. I could meet you in Hogsmeade by three-thirty, I should think, then we could have dinner after I see Malfoy, if Minerva doesn't require me here for the evening meal."

"Why don't I meet you at St. Giles, then? That way if you're done early, we can leave as soon as you're done, and if it takes a little longer, you won't be thinking about having to leave and meet me in Hogsmeade. I can bring a book and read if I have to wait."

Severus shrugged. "As you prefer. I will owl Malfoy and tell him to expect me in the late afternoon. He was open-ended with his invitation; I see no reason to be any more precise."

Over an hour later, Severus was surprised to find that dinnertime had arrived and McGonagall was still there...and not an unwelcome presence. As he and Gareth left the dungeons for the Great Hall, Gareth telling him an outlandish story of some merpeople he had known in the Adriatic, Severus found himself remembering Gareth's words, having a friend with you couldn't be a bad thing, and he felt an unfamiliar warmth creep through him, and an easing of tension that he hadn't been aware of until it had begun to dissipate. He glanced at the wizard beside him, a friend. Too many unannounced visits might become irritating, but perhaps it wouldn't be too onerous if Gareth dropped by occasionally.

Next

Chapter Three: St. Giles Clinic for Magical Maladies

Friday, 28 August 1998

Severus goes for a follow-up examination at the Edinburgh wizarding clinic and receives disturbing news.

Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! I really enjoy hearing from readers. It's very encouraging!

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