chapter 8

The awakening came reluctantly. At first there was a tiny dot in the darkness which grew in size and intensity as it turned into a dim light. Lin's awareness extended to scents and soft, rustling sounds until her mind nudged her to wake up. Lin only partially opened her eyes and tried to make sense of the unfamiliar surroundings through her eyelashes. She recalled falling, but she was no longer outside. This place did not seem like a hospital, and it was not how she imagined a gang hideout to be either. Yet, someone must have found her and moved her away from the warehouses. She did not get to wonder long because her cautious awakening was noticed.

"Congratulations, Miss Foreign Auror Snedjnaya, you have not broken any bones."

Lin registered the familiar voice, but her reaction was instinctive when she summoned her wand, which flew obediently into her hand. The sharp movement was not a good idea, and her body protested it. The room tilted alarmingly. A hand descended onto her shoulder to steady her.

"Try not to faint again," Snape told her.

Lin shot him a displeased look, but her mind was still too sluggish to come up with a respectable retort. Her hurt ego, perhaps, caused her to interpret him wrongly, and it was not exactly a mockery. She noticed that Snape was holding a glass filled with some brown substance, which was clearly meant for her. Lin accepted it, but sniffed it suspiciously.

"This potion will help you focus and clear your mind. I have drunk it many times before, so it has been very much tested," he assured her impatiently.

Lin tried it. She ignored the bitter taste and sipped slowly while stealing a few glances at her host. This man could become vindictive, she decided. He was clearly mocking her for a reason only known to himself; however, on the other hand, his remarks felt more like he was testing her limits, and if she snapped back at him, then he could say, 'I knew you were only pretending to be polite, but you are the same as all those dullards I have had the misfortune to meet throughout my life.'

Lin was more willing to generously deduct that he was not a people hater in general. There was no mockery in his gestures when he offered the potion to her, and he apparently cared enough to put her on a comfortable couch under a warm blanket. She had met her share of gossips, 'old Aunt Sally's,' as she liked to call them, who would go to their best friend, Tina, to put their other best friend, Shida, down, just to tell Shida the same thing about Tina. People like them had a lot more hidden disdain and hate for society than Snape ever could muster with his sharp remarks.

"Thank you." Lin returned the empty glass to him. The sharp taste snapped her awake as she felt the potion working through her system. "My name is Lin or Snow, but I prefer to be called by my name." She hoped he was paying attention.

"I presume, Miss Snow, you would like to learn what you are doing in my house."

Lin nodded. She respected his wish to maintain a certain formal distance. To be called Miss Snow was an improvement. The Potions master did not take well to being interrogated. He was going to tell her what he found appropriate, and most likely he would give away more information if she had the patience to listen without pressuring him.

Snape's tone was flat like he had prepared his speech in advance. "As I informed you earlier, I had an arrangement with Mr Wartsmith to provide me with high quality unicorn blood. I went to meet his personal assistant at the London Warehouses at six thirty in the evening. When I was returning home, a blue light, which I have long since identified as a duelling curse, had caught my attention. I recognised you when its light illumined your most distinguishable white hair. I therefore reasoned that no well-meaning civilians would be firing upon an Auror, thus following up on my utterly foolish instincts, I had to get involved. I ran around the next corner and down the narrow alley to where you had fallen. I cast a spell which triggered security alarms in the warehouses which would be tracked to your wand. Unfortunately, there was no guarantee that the alarm would scare away your ill wishers or even slow them down before security arrived. I was forced to get us both out of there since I was not planning to get caught by the Aurors or indeed anyone with your seemingly dead body on my hands."

"That's quite a feat getting us out of that maze filled with security and criminals coming after you. If I didn't believe that turning both of us invisible would have been impossible, I might have suspected that you had done so," Lin said, quite impressed. The competitive side of her wondered if she could have done the same in his place.

"Perhaps I flew away without turning invisible," Snape said. He did not take the praise bait, leaving her curious. "In any case, I would appreciate it if you could keep this matter private, without passing my imprudence for a great prowess."

"You're right. You were foolish. It was not your job to get involved. As a good civilian, you should have immediately left the scene of the crime and contacted the security station nearest to you. Then from the legal standpoint, you would have absolutely nothing to fault yourself for and I would be dead."

"You have the strangest way of thanking me for assistance."

"I haven't yet," Lin said. "Thank you for saving my life, Mr Snape. Now, if I heard your request correctly, you want me to keep your participation in this event a secret."

"Preferably, yes."

"Well, I do not write reports to anyone except for one person, so I do not have to share any information, although in this matter I was asked to cooperate with other stations," Lin said, pretending to think about it. "But this event is not directly linked to my investigation, so I suppose I don't have to tell anyone, providing you tell me how you got out of the warehouses' maze unnoticed."

"You are bargaining with me?" Snape seemed incredulous. "Your threat would be more convincing, however, if you weren't smiling."

Lin was not aware that she was. She just noticed that Snape's voice lost the flat drawl customary to him as he was drawn into their conversation. He was right, however, that Lin was not planning to give him away. "Either way, I have important information which I must pass to the Aurors immediately." She drew attention away from her temporary defeat.

"There is no need for you to hurry. Last night the security had already uncovered a secret explosives lab. It was in the news this morning."

"This morning!" Lin exclaimed. "What time is it now?"

"It is after four in the evening. You were out for nearly twenty hours."

Lin was astonished. She must have pushed her magic and body too far. She tried to levitate a pillow and was encouraged when she was successful. "At least my magic has had enough time to recover," she said, relieved. "I cannot say the same about my body. I feel weak like I'm floating in the air."

"The symptom will vanish after you eat and rest some place warm."

Lin thought about her cold house devoid of any cooked food. "I sure hope the line at Burger King isn't too long."

"That Muggle food is not what I had in mind. I don't know how anyone eats that rubbish."

"Hey, it is unhealthy, but it tastes all right. Sometimes I eat it when I don't have time to cook. There is no need to pretend that that stuff is lousy just to help myself become more disciplined in not eating it. Right now I sure don't want to cook, but I want to get back to earth fast, so I have to eat something. I don't like this weird feeling."

"You'll get down to earth and below it, right to the graveyard, should you continue eating that junk."

"Do you have a better idea where I can get a quick meal?"

"As a matter of fact, right before you woke up, I was about to eat my dinner. I would like you to consider accepting an invitation to join me."

"Oh, that's what smelled good when I woke up."

"I presume this means you are not opposed to the idea?"

"Yes, thank you. I accept your invitation," Lin said bluntly. Exactly what she thought at that moment was, I would like to have your dinner and to keep your company longer, especially since you were about to tell me how you escaped from the maze.

"You should consider adapting a motto, 'stubbornness is a necessary evil', Miss Foreign Auror."

He only pretended to be exasperated. However, Lin had a feeling that he was enjoying their banter. Perhaps another woman in her place might have considered the situation too awkward, but she learned long ago that surprises were not always set out to bring her down. She took advantage of any cards that life had dealt her. Thus, she followed Severus Snape to his table without hesitation.