alisanne: Mutual Needs (severus, PG)
Title: Mutual Needs
Author: alisanne
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: (50.2)
Prompt: # 002: Need.
Word Count: 4575
Summary: Two war veterans find that they are still needed. Written in honor of gloredhel04's birthday, and for my 100quills Severus table, prompt: Need.
Warnings: Slash.
Notes: Many thanks to sevfan, my beta and friend. Happy Birthday, gloredhel04!
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
See my entire Severus prompt table HERE.
~
Mutual Needs
~
Bill sighed as he gazed at the headstone. It never made him feel better to come here, but he somehow felt guilty if he didn’t come at least once a week.
Placing the bouquet that he carried onto the flat grass, he sat back on his haunches and re read the inscription for the umpteenth time.
Fleur Delacour-Weasley, 1977 to 2006. Beloved and sorely missed.
Standing up, Bill squared his shoulders and turned to walk back to the Apparition point, only to pause when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
Someone else was in the graveyard, a thin figure, head bent as he stood silently at a plain grave. The greasy hair was a clue as to the other’s identity, as was the unrelieved black he was wearing.
Surely, I can’t be this lucky? Bill wondered silently. Here I am, looking for Snape for months, and he’s here at the graveyard?
Not much had been heard from the former double agent after the war. Bill was surprised to see him out in public, in fact. The Ministry had investigated him quite carefully after Harry’d defeated Voldemort of course, but nothing had come of the investigation, and all charges had been dropped.
Still, he had remained an unpopular figure, always associated with Dumbledore’s death and the Death Eaters in the public’s mind.
Bill suspected he’d fallen on hard times. He looked thin, almost starved, as if he hadn’t been eating very well, and his robes were threadbare.
“Snape?” he called softly, hardly believing his luck.
The greasy head snapped up, and Bill sucked in a shocked breath to see how truly emaciated his former professor’s face was.
“Weasley,” Snape replied, his voice the one thing that hadn’t changed over the years. It was still whisky smooth and deep, and it wrapped around Bill like a blanket. “What do you want?”
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you, Professor...” he began.
“Really? Whatever for?” Snape sneered as he turned away, making it clear he didn’t really care about the answer.
“Well, Professor...”
Snape whirled so suddenly that Bill took a step back.
“I am no longer anyone’s professor, Mr. Weasley,” Snape said, his voice low and silky. “You do not owe the courtesy of that title.”
With a glare, Snape began to turn away again.
“Snape, please! Before you go, I... I need your help.”
The older man froze and for a moment, Bill thought he would be hexed, then Snape replied.
“What do you want?”
“I’d rather not say here,” Bill said, looking around nervously. “Would you do me the courtesy of discussing it with me in a more private setting? Perhaps over dinner this evening? It won’t be anything fancy but...” He trailed off, wondering if he was coming across as too desperate.
Snape looked at him for a long moment. “Dinner might be acceptable, Mr. Weasley,” he said after a long pause.
“Call me Bill,” Bill said. “Especially if you’re coming for dinner.”
Snape glared, and Bill wisely kept his mouth shut. Snape smiled thinly.
“Far be it from me to refuse such an intriguing offer, Bill,” he said. “You, however, may continue to call me Snape.”
Bill nodded and released the breath he’d been holding. He hadn’t believed he’d actually get Snape to agree come with him. He just wished there was a way to assure Snape would show up. Bill really needed his help...
“Perhaps we could go now,” Bill said. “It’s almost dinner time anyway.”
Snape pursed his lips and nodded. “As you wish. I hardly have a full social calendar, as you have no doubt intuited. Lead on.”
Bill led the way to the Apparition point, Snape close behind. Stepping up to the archway, Bill offered the other man his arm.
“Shall we go together?” he offered.
Snape held Bill’s look for a moment, and then, with a nod stepped up, clasping his arm.
Bill closed his eyes and Apparated.
~
“Have a seat,” Bill said. He’d led Snape from the alleyway outside of his apartment building and up the stairs, and now they were inside his flat.
Snape looked around curiously as he sat and Bill, removing his robes and throwing them onto a chair, went into the kitchen.
“What would you like to drink?” he called.
“Whatever you have will be fine, Mr... Bill,” Snape’s voice floated back to him.
Preparing enough tea to tide them over until the stew was ready, Bill floated the tray behind him as he walked back into the living room.
He set a mug down before Snape, averting his eyes as the man all but snatched it up and took a deep swallow. He slid the sugar and milk over towards him, but Snape shook his head.
“Just unadulterated tea for the moment,” he said. “Although I would not say no to one of those biscuits.”
Bill took the hint and pushed the tray of biscuits over, watching, bemused as Snape devoured several. He refilled the starving man’s tea a couple of times, watching as Snape wrapped bony hands around the warm ceramic, in what appeared to be his attempt to keep warm.
“What happened to you?” Bill finally asked, when Snape had slowed down a bit. “Where have you been?”
Snape shook his hair out of his eyes and looked at Bill squarely.
“The war happened,” he said. “The war and its aftermath. No one wishes to employ a Death Eater, after all, even one who has been cleared of all charges.”
“But you have estates...”
Snape’s cynical laughter interrupted Bill. “My ‘estates’ were taken when the Ministry looked into Albus’ death,” he said bitterly. “Not that I really had very much, except for my home at Spinner’s End.”
“Have they taken that, then?” Bill asked.
Snape nodded. “Confiscated the day they issued my pardon,” he said, his eyes faraway. “Not that I had many good memories from that place, but it was all I had.”
“Where have you been living?” Bill asked softly.
Snape looked away. “Here and there,” he muttered, and Bill knew not to push that topic.
“Dinner will be ready in a second,” he said, changing the subject, “and then I have something to discuss with you when we’re done eating.”
Severus glanced up at him suspiciously, but Bill was already on his way to the kitchen.
The meal was simple, but hot and filling, and Snape ate every bite offered. They deliberately didn’t discuss anything of substance while eating, and Bill was surprised at how comfortable he was with the long periods of silence between them.
“I’ve a bit of spice cake Mum made, if you’re up for a sweet,” Bill eventually offered, once Snape had wiped up the last of his stew with the last bit of bread.
Snape sat back, sated. “I do not think that I could eat another thing at the moment.”
Bill smiled. “Great. Then perhaps we can retire to the other room, and I can tell you why I’ve been looking for you.”
Snape nodded, and they both got up and moved in to the small living room. The fire was lit, and Snape settled in a chair close to it, looking warm for the first time since arriving.
Bill stared into the fire and then spoke after a long silence.
“You might not remember this, but I was scratched by Greyback a few years ago, and while I’m not a full werewolf, I do have some rough nights every month,” he said softly.
Snape nodded. “I was aware of that, actually,” he said. “I was privy to all sorts of information before the end of the war.”
Bill nodded. “Well,” he continued, “not everyone knows. I’m an apprentice Healer at St. Mungo’s now, I left Gringotts, and that position might be in jeopardy if they knew... Anyway, I’ve been taking Wolfsbane every month to see if it will help me to curb my... temper. I’ve been getting it from Remus, but he’s starting to run out, and not many people know how to make it...”
Snape didn’t move a muscle, but Bill sensed him relaxing even more. I wonder what he thought I was going to ask him to do? Bill thought.
“You wish me to make you Wolfsbane?”
“If that would be all right,” Bill said in a rush. “You are one of the foremost experts on it. You managed to improve it, so who better? I don’t make much money, but I can offer some payment.”
He named a sum, and Snape looked at him silently for a long moment.
“You are aware that I am not in possession of a laboratory right now...” he began, and Bill nodded.
“I understand,” he said, “but, I was just thinking... perhaps you could stay here, since I do have a bit of a potions lab set up here. If you’ve no place else that is. I could even offer room and board as part of my payment... I could take more shifts at St. Mungo’s if I didn’t have to worry about the moon all the time, so I could even offer more money in a few months if that isn’t enough...”
“Cease your babbling,” Snape said, and Bill drew to a stop, biting his lip.
“Very well, Mr. Weas... Bill, that will be more than acceptable,” Snape said finally.
“Really?” Bill blurted. “I... that’s great!”
Snape snorted. “Indeed. Now that that’s settled, you said something about a spice cake?”
Bill smiled.
~
When Bill returned from his work the next day, having left Snape on a cot in the potions lab he’d set up, the older man handed him a list of potions ingredients that he claimed was a necessary part of any basic potions laboratory.
Bill blanched at the list, and Snape had taken one look at his face and scribbled an address down on the bottom of the parchment.
“Go to this address to obtain the supplies,” he instructed. “Tell them I sent you, but do not tell them where I am.”
Bill nodded and left a few minutes later.
When he returned, carrying all of the supplies, which had cost him less than half of what he’d expected, it was to find Snape hovering over the stove, a fragrant smell emanating from his kitchen.
“You’re cooking?” Bill said, a note of disbelief in his voice.
“So it would seem,” Snape observed. “Your powers of deduction are truly astounding.”
“I only meant that I didn’t expect you to cook,” Bill said, flushing.
Snape raised an eyebrow. “Cooking is akin to potions,” he said finally. “It only stands to reason that I should be adept at this activity.”
Bill nodded. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect you to do it,” he said. “Not that I’m objecting.”
Snape smirked. “Very well. It is almost ready. Take the potions supplies into the lab if you have not already done so, and then wash your hands thoroughly. We eat in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Bill muttered as he walked out.
~
That established their pattern. In the mornings, Bill would find a muffin or some other pastry on the table for him to eat as his breakfast, alongside it was a list of either food that they needed or potions ingredients, and in the evenings, he would return to find dinner almost ready.
Snape began gaining weight, and still looked thin, but healthy, rather than starved.
Bill was beginning to make advances in his career at St. Mungo’s as well. His more relaxed attitude had translated into more assignments, which in turn meant more money.
All in all, it was a good month, until the full moon arrived.
Bill always knew when it was approaching. He could feel it. It usually started out as a bone-deep aching, and his temper would grow a bit uncertain. He dreaded Snape being around for that, thinking that the snarky man would lose his own temper and be gone, but Snape seemed to take his ever-worsening moods in stride.
The other effect was the moon’s pull on his libido, however.
At the end of the day, they would often sit by the fire, reading. Severus had begun adding to the lists books he wished for Bill to purchase for him, which Bill did, and so their evenings were quiet, the silence only interrupted by the sound of the occasional page turning.
Bill found himself watching the older man, fascinated by his long fingers, sometimes even envisioning what those hands might feel like on him...
For the first time in his life, Bill began having sexual fantasies about men. Well, not men, just Snape, and it surprised him. At first he’d thought it was simply because Snape was there and available, but he discovered that felt it for no one else, not even some of his more attractive male colleagues at his work, who had made their interest clear.
He certainly wasn’t attracted to any of his female colleagues.
The first time he’d dreamt of Snape, causing him to come all over himself in the night, he’d tried to dismiss it as an infatuation. But the attraction was growing with a vengeance, and the fact that he saw all facets of his irascible roommate, and despite that, felt this sensual pull, made him suspect that this was not a fleeting thing.
But could it work? Snape was... difficult, to say the least. Would he even believe that Bill was interested, and for the right reasons? And was there anything to build on there, anyway? Did Snape even like men?
Talk about a difficult seduction, Bill would think as he contemplated the enormity of pursuing Snape, yet, something in him yearned towards something in Snape, and Bill couldn’t deny it.
He never said anything, but he did find himself wishing for the first time, that he’d received a bit more of the werewolf’s gift, enough to perhaps tell if Snape was interested in him. From what he’d read of werewolves, they had very developed senses of smell, and were able to sense pheromones.
Snape, in turn, never openly indicated any attraction to Bill, and Merlin knew he was looking for a sign. The older man’s eyes did linger on him when he thought Bill wasn’t looking, though, so Bill allowed himself to feel hope.
A few days later, Snape began leaving potions vials along with Bill’s morning muffin, which Bill would down with a grimace and chase with sweet pumpkin juice. And, to his surprise, his moods seemed to even out after only a couple of days, although his sex drive didn’t budge, much to Bill’s relief. He hated to think he was responding so strongly to Severus only because of some werewolf factor that he might be manifesting.
His colleagues at St. Mungo’s, used to him being moody, began commenting on how even tempered he’d seemed lately, and he got even more assignments, netting him a hefty bonus that month.
“What are you going to spend it on?” Healer McTavert had asked him that evening, and Bill had shrugged.
“Buy your lover something nice, perhaps?” the elderly woman had said with a wink, and Bill’s thought immediately went to Snape, or Severus, as he’d been calling him in his mind for weeks. They weren’t lovers, but, Bill allowed himself to hope they might be soon.
Maybe tonight, he thought optimistically.
Stopping on his way home at a wine shop, he picked up two bottles of red wine. Perhaps tonight was the night he could see if anything of a romantic nature might be possible between himself and Severus.
He deposited his bonus earnings at Gringotts after his foray into the wine shop, and then went home to find chaos.
“Sever... Snape?” he called out as he Apparated into the front hallway.
The lack of an answer wasn’t necessarily surprising, although the lack of the smell of an almost completed dinner was unusual.
Bill walked into the living room and gasped. The place was mess, and after having gotten used to Severus’ penchant for keeping the place spotless, Bill was shocked.
“What the hell...?”
Bill walked into the potions lab, which doubled as Severus’ room, and stood stock-still when he saw the disarray. The cauldrons were all shattered, potions vials lay broken on the counter, and unidentifiable liquids were congealing on the floor.
And there, crumpled in a corner, was Severus. For an awful second, Bill panicked, then his training took over.
Is he... No, he’s still breathing, Bill thought, relieved as he hurried over.
He Summoned his Healer supplies from his discarded robes that he’d taken off and left in the hallway, rummaging through the pockets to try to find all that he needed, as he muttered to himself.
“Merlin, please... Severus,” he whispered urgently, gentle fingers probing to see what the man’s injuries were. “Can you speak to me?”
He received no answer and, using his wand, he examined Severus carefully, looking for signs of trauma.
It looked as if he’d suffered a few broken bones and had internal organ damage, and Bill cursed under his breath. Severus had obviously been attacked, and from the looks of the flat, whoever had done it had broken in here and vandalized the place as well.
Enervate! he muttered, and Severus groaned, immediately trying to move.
“Shhh! Remain still, Severus,” Bill said. “You’ve been injured, and I need to get you to a bed.”
Snape opened one eye, the other appeared to be swollen shut, and grimaced. “...masked, and they... attacked... no warning...”
“Shhh,” Bill said absently. “You can tell me later. Right now, I need to heal you, but I can’t do it on the floor in here. Don’t move.”
Bill stepped back and with a whispered Mobilicorpus, levitated Severus off the floor and carefully moved him out of the destroyed lab.
When he had him settled in his own bed, Bill pulled out a vial of Dreamless Sleep, Severus’ own home brew, in fact, which Bill had found more effective than what the St. Mungo’s potions brewers produced.
“Drink this,” he said.
Severus looked at it for a long moment, and then, with another look at Bill, nodded, opening his mouth to allow the liquid to slip down his throat. He sighed and closed his eyes.
“I suppose... I get to see... just how good of a... Healer you are...” Severus’ voice drifted into silence, and Bill smiled.
“Yes, I suppose you will,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Severus’ forehead.
Straightening up, he looked about his bedroom, which was by far the least damaged room in the flat. Well, that made sense if the attackers had run out of time, perhaps. Bill shuddered to think what might have happened had he stumbled in on them.
Hurrying over to the fireplace, Bill threw in some Floo powder and, sticking his head in, called for reinforcements before he started on reinforcing the wards.
~
Severus’ head was sore when he regained consciousness. For a moment he was panicked, until he realized that he was no longer on the hard floor but was on a bed, and, while his body was aching, it wasn’t in excruciating pain the way it had been just before he’d passed out.
Someone had found him... Bill. Bill had come home and found him.
Why did he have to see me like that? Severus thought. So weak and helpless. Bad enough he all but rescued me that day in the graveyard, but now this?
Severus took stock, checking himself over as he lay there, the memories of the past month drifting through his head.
Bill, the look of shock and then pleasure in his face that first night he’d come home to see Severus cooking for him. The way his eyes had sparkled the first time he’d found his muffin waiting for him in the morning, the way he watched Severus under his eyelashes when he thought Severus wasn’t aware.
Severus snorted to himself. He was always aware of Bill; the boy had been beautiful as a student, and had grown into a truly striking adult, with his shoulder length bronze hair and expressive brown eyes...
And if it hadn’t been for him, I would be dead, he thought, not for the first time. He’d been visiting Albus one last time before going to pursue his death, planning on taking a lethal poison of his own making and then going to Knockturn Alley. He’d figured the any one of the thugs there would have been happy enough to knock him unconscious, and the poison would do the rest. Yet now, he had someone to live for...
Severus could now hear distant voices, one of them female, and they were moving closer.
“...and it’s just shocking that someone should attack him here, Bill.”
Severus winced. He knew that voice very well.
Molly walked into the bedroom just as Severus opened his eyes.
“Severus! Thank Merlin you’re awake!” she exclaimed, bustling over to the bed.
“He’s awake?” Bill pushed past her, leaning over to look deeply into his eyes.
Severus struggled to sit up, but was restrained by Bill’s strong hands, that pushed him back down.
“Whoa, none of that,” Bill scolded gently. “You’ve only had a few hours rest. I need to check you again.”
Severus nodded, beginning to close his eyes.
“Keep them open, please?” Bill asked. “I just need to check something...”
Severus did so reflexively, and stared up into Bill’s eyes.
“That’s it,” Bill whispered, and suddenly their minds were melded, and Severus saw, for the first time, the extent of Bill’s feelings for him. He gasped as he realized Bill was sensing his attraction, and then Bill was out, looking a bit shocked as well.
“Is everything all right, dear?” Molly asked, as she straightened the bed covers around Severus.
“I... I didn’t mean to go that deep, I’m sorry,” Bill whispered, and Severus nodded. He’d seen that in Bill’s mind, too, as the Healer had probed him.
“Indeed. Well, I am sure my mind was quite open,” he replied, looking away from the intensity of Bill’s eyes.
Bill brushed back a lock of hair from Severus’ face in a gesture so tender that Molly, her eyes widening, turned away to give them a bit of privacy.
“Are you angry that I saw what I did?” Bill asked.
Severus looked at him consideringly. “Surprisingly, I am not,” he finally said. “I am aware that you hold your oath as a Healer in great esteem, and you would not have done that had it not been necessary.”
Bill nodded, relieved. “You’re right, although I won’t say I regret it.”
At Severus’ startled look, he smiled faintly. “I learned some interesting things, Severus,” he whispered, for Severus’ ears alone. A bit louder, he said. “You are recovering well, and the Aurors are out looking for the perpetrators. You need to rest, so we’ll talk about... things later.”
Reaching for a vial that had been placed at the side of the bed, Bill offered it to Severus. “Drink this and sleep some more,” he said.
“Bill...” Severus glanced at Molly, who understood immediately.
“I’ll just go and make some tea,” she said diplomatically, backing out of the room.
When she was gone, Severus turned his attention back to Bill.
“Before this goes any further,” he said, “I want you to know that I am not an easy man to live with.”
Bill snorted. “And I am?” he said. “You’ve taken me from having no assignments because of my irritable attitude, to getting the best bonus of my life this month. And of the two of us, whose temper is the worse at the full moon is debatable.”
Severus lips quirked. “True enough,” he said. “Very well. You have seen into my mind, so you know my thoughts. When I have recovered, I shall have to show you just what else I have been contemplating doing for you this past month.”
Bill laughed softly. “I can’t wait,” he said, his eyes bright with promise. “Because I have a few things to show you, too. But for now, sleep, all right?”
“As long as you do not think that this means I am going to be following your instruction in all things,” Severus murmured after downing the potion.
As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled as he heard Bill say, “Of course, Severus. That is as I expected.”
~
They caught the attackers, a rogue group calling themselves the Neo Death Eaters, a few days later, and the public outcry against the attack and in support of Severus was overwhelming.
When it came out that all of Severus’ belongings had been confiscated, the public was so vociferous in their support of him, that the Ministry quickly restored Spinner’s End to him.
Bill, a bit nervous as he waited for Severus to decide what he wanted to do, continued to look after him and feed him healing potions. He deliberately did not ask what Severus intended to do now, and Severus never offered that information.
The full moon passed without incident, Severus supervising Bill in the brewing of his modified Wolfsbane. Severus was up and about quickly, and had moved out of Bill’s room within a day.
No more had been said about their mutual attraction, and Bill wondered if Severus was regretting knowing about how he felt. He’d seen nothing indicating that Severus wished to move on to a more intimate relationship, however.
For Bill’s part, his attraction towards Severus only grew, and he decided that the man was sexy, no matter what time of the month it was. And so, they skirted around each other for the next few days.
It all came to a head the day the Ministry representative arrived to hand over control of Spinner’s End.
Bill watched anxiously as Severus accepted the deed to the property, nodding absently at the Auror as he stroked the parchment thoughtfully.
Bill didn’t even notice the Auror as she left, he was so focused on Severus.
“So. I have my ancestral home back,” Severus said into the silence.
Bill sat down across from Severus. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “Now what?”
Severus looked up at him sharply. “What do you mean?”
Bill held his eyes. “I mean, are you moving...” he hesitated on the word, but finished his sentence, “...moving out?”
“Is that what you wish?” Severus asked, eyes shuttered.
Leaning forward, Bill said stared into his eyes. “Severus, if you don’t know that I want you to stay here with me, then you haven’t been paying attention,” he said emphatically.
Severus raised an eyebrow. “You might have had a chance to reconsider having such an irascible lover...” he began, but Bill was no longer listening.
Standing up, Bill walked to the other man’s chair, coming to a stop directly in front of Severus. Reaching down, Bill cupped Severus’ face in his large hand, leaning down.
“Stay with me. Please,” he whispered, before brushing his lips over Severus’.
Mouths opened and tongues dueled, and soon, Bill found himself straddling Severus’ leg, hands full of soft black hair.
“I don’t think... I can be... any clearer... than... this,” Bill panted in between kisses. “Stay.”
Severus, his hands busy roaming Bill’s back, shook his head.
“Well, when you put it that way...” His words were smothered by Bill, who decided it was time to show Severus exactly how and where he wanted to put it.
~Fin
Author: alisanne
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: (50.2)
Prompt: # 002: Need.
Word Count: 4575
Summary: Two war veterans find that they are still needed. Written in honor of gloredhel04's birthday, and for my 100quills Severus table, prompt: Need.
Warnings: Slash.
Notes: Many thanks to sevfan, my beta and friend. Happy Birthday, gloredhel04!
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
See my entire Severus prompt table HERE.
~
Mutual Needs
~
Bill sighed as he gazed at the headstone. It never made him feel better to come here, but he somehow felt guilty if he didn’t come at least once a week.
Placing the bouquet that he carried onto the flat grass, he sat back on his haunches and re read the inscription for the umpteenth time.
Fleur Delacour-Weasley, 1977 to 2006. Beloved and sorely missed.
Standing up, Bill squared his shoulders and turned to walk back to the Apparition point, only to pause when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
Someone else was in the graveyard, a thin figure, head bent as he stood silently at a plain grave. The greasy hair was a clue as to the other’s identity, as was the unrelieved black he was wearing.
Surely, I can’t be this lucky? Bill wondered silently. Here I am, looking for Snape for months, and he’s here at the graveyard?
Not much had been heard from the former double agent after the war. Bill was surprised to see him out in public, in fact. The Ministry had investigated him quite carefully after Harry’d defeated Voldemort of course, but nothing had come of the investigation, and all charges had been dropped.
Still, he had remained an unpopular figure, always associated with Dumbledore’s death and the Death Eaters in the public’s mind.
Bill suspected he’d fallen on hard times. He looked thin, almost starved, as if he hadn’t been eating very well, and his robes were threadbare.
“Snape?” he called softly, hardly believing his luck.
The greasy head snapped up, and Bill sucked in a shocked breath to see how truly emaciated his former professor’s face was.
“Weasley,” Snape replied, his voice the one thing that hadn’t changed over the years. It was still whisky smooth and deep, and it wrapped around Bill like a blanket. “What do you want?”
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you, Professor...” he began.
“Really? Whatever for?” Snape sneered as he turned away, making it clear he didn’t really care about the answer.
“Well, Professor...”
Snape whirled so suddenly that Bill took a step back.
“I am no longer anyone’s professor, Mr. Weasley,” Snape said, his voice low and silky. “You do not owe the courtesy of that title.”
With a glare, Snape began to turn away again.
“Snape, please! Before you go, I... I need your help.”
The older man froze and for a moment, Bill thought he would be hexed, then Snape replied.
“What do you want?”
“I’d rather not say here,” Bill said, looking around nervously. “Would you do me the courtesy of discussing it with me in a more private setting? Perhaps over dinner this evening? It won’t be anything fancy but...” He trailed off, wondering if he was coming across as too desperate.
Snape looked at him for a long moment. “Dinner might be acceptable, Mr. Weasley,” he said after a long pause.
“Call me Bill,” Bill said. “Especially if you’re coming for dinner.”
Snape glared, and Bill wisely kept his mouth shut. Snape smiled thinly.
“Far be it from me to refuse such an intriguing offer, Bill,” he said. “You, however, may continue to call me Snape.”
Bill nodded and released the breath he’d been holding. He hadn’t believed he’d actually get Snape to agree come with him. He just wished there was a way to assure Snape would show up. Bill really needed his help...
“Perhaps we could go now,” Bill said. “It’s almost dinner time anyway.”
Snape pursed his lips and nodded. “As you wish. I hardly have a full social calendar, as you have no doubt intuited. Lead on.”
Bill led the way to the Apparition point, Snape close behind. Stepping up to the archway, Bill offered the other man his arm.
“Shall we go together?” he offered.
Snape held Bill’s look for a moment, and then, with a nod stepped up, clasping his arm.
Bill closed his eyes and Apparated.
~
“Have a seat,” Bill said. He’d led Snape from the alleyway outside of his apartment building and up the stairs, and now they were inside his flat.
Snape looked around curiously as he sat and Bill, removing his robes and throwing them onto a chair, went into the kitchen.
“What would you like to drink?” he called.
“Whatever you have will be fine, Mr... Bill,” Snape’s voice floated back to him.
Preparing enough tea to tide them over until the stew was ready, Bill floated the tray behind him as he walked back into the living room.
He set a mug down before Snape, averting his eyes as the man all but snatched it up and took a deep swallow. He slid the sugar and milk over towards him, but Snape shook his head.
“Just unadulterated tea for the moment,” he said. “Although I would not say no to one of those biscuits.”
Bill took the hint and pushed the tray of biscuits over, watching, bemused as Snape devoured several. He refilled the starving man’s tea a couple of times, watching as Snape wrapped bony hands around the warm ceramic, in what appeared to be his attempt to keep warm.
“What happened to you?” Bill finally asked, when Snape had slowed down a bit. “Where have you been?”
Snape shook his hair out of his eyes and looked at Bill squarely.
“The war happened,” he said. “The war and its aftermath. No one wishes to employ a Death Eater, after all, even one who has been cleared of all charges.”
“But you have estates...”
Snape’s cynical laughter interrupted Bill. “My ‘estates’ were taken when the Ministry looked into Albus’ death,” he said bitterly. “Not that I really had very much, except for my home at Spinner’s End.”
“Have they taken that, then?” Bill asked.
Snape nodded. “Confiscated the day they issued my pardon,” he said, his eyes faraway. “Not that I had many good memories from that place, but it was all I had.”
“Where have you been living?” Bill asked softly.
Snape looked away. “Here and there,” he muttered, and Bill knew not to push that topic.
“Dinner will be ready in a second,” he said, changing the subject, “and then I have something to discuss with you when we’re done eating.”
Severus glanced up at him suspiciously, but Bill was already on his way to the kitchen.
The meal was simple, but hot and filling, and Snape ate every bite offered. They deliberately didn’t discuss anything of substance while eating, and Bill was surprised at how comfortable he was with the long periods of silence between them.
“I’ve a bit of spice cake Mum made, if you’re up for a sweet,” Bill eventually offered, once Snape had wiped up the last of his stew with the last bit of bread.
Snape sat back, sated. “I do not think that I could eat another thing at the moment.”
Bill smiled. “Great. Then perhaps we can retire to the other room, and I can tell you why I’ve been looking for you.”
Snape nodded, and they both got up and moved in to the small living room. The fire was lit, and Snape settled in a chair close to it, looking warm for the first time since arriving.
Bill stared into the fire and then spoke after a long silence.
“You might not remember this, but I was scratched by Greyback a few years ago, and while I’m not a full werewolf, I do have some rough nights every month,” he said softly.
Snape nodded. “I was aware of that, actually,” he said. “I was privy to all sorts of information before the end of the war.”
Bill nodded. “Well,” he continued, “not everyone knows. I’m an apprentice Healer at St. Mungo’s now, I left Gringotts, and that position might be in jeopardy if they knew... Anyway, I’ve been taking Wolfsbane every month to see if it will help me to curb my... temper. I’ve been getting it from Remus, but he’s starting to run out, and not many people know how to make it...”
Snape didn’t move a muscle, but Bill sensed him relaxing even more. I wonder what he thought I was going to ask him to do? Bill thought.
“You wish me to make you Wolfsbane?”
“If that would be all right,” Bill said in a rush. “You are one of the foremost experts on it. You managed to improve it, so who better? I don’t make much money, but I can offer some payment.”
He named a sum, and Snape looked at him silently for a long moment.
“You are aware that I am not in possession of a laboratory right now...” he began, and Bill nodded.
“I understand,” he said, “but, I was just thinking... perhaps you could stay here, since I do have a bit of a potions lab set up here. If you’ve no place else that is. I could even offer room and board as part of my payment... I could take more shifts at St. Mungo’s if I didn’t have to worry about the moon all the time, so I could even offer more money in a few months if that isn’t enough...”
“Cease your babbling,” Snape said, and Bill drew to a stop, biting his lip.
“Very well, Mr. Weas... Bill, that will be more than acceptable,” Snape said finally.
“Really?” Bill blurted. “I... that’s great!”
Snape snorted. “Indeed. Now that that’s settled, you said something about a spice cake?”
Bill smiled.
~
When Bill returned from his work the next day, having left Snape on a cot in the potions lab he’d set up, the older man handed him a list of potions ingredients that he claimed was a necessary part of any basic potions laboratory.
Bill blanched at the list, and Snape had taken one look at his face and scribbled an address down on the bottom of the parchment.
“Go to this address to obtain the supplies,” he instructed. “Tell them I sent you, but do not tell them where I am.”
Bill nodded and left a few minutes later.
When he returned, carrying all of the supplies, which had cost him less than half of what he’d expected, it was to find Snape hovering over the stove, a fragrant smell emanating from his kitchen.
“You’re cooking?” Bill said, a note of disbelief in his voice.
“So it would seem,” Snape observed. “Your powers of deduction are truly astounding.”
“I only meant that I didn’t expect you to cook,” Bill said, flushing.
Snape raised an eyebrow. “Cooking is akin to potions,” he said finally. “It only stands to reason that I should be adept at this activity.”
Bill nodded. “Yeah, I just didn’t expect you to do it,” he said. “Not that I’m objecting.”
Snape smirked. “Very well. It is almost ready. Take the potions supplies into the lab if you have not already done so, and then wash your hands thoroughly. We eat in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Bill muttered as he walked out.
~
That established their pattern. In the mornings, Bill would find a muffin or some other pastry on the table for him to eat as his breakfast, alongside it was a list of either food that they needed or potions ingredients, and in the evenings, he would return to find dinner almost ready.
Snape began gaining weight, and still looked thin, but healthy, rather than starved.
Bill was beginning to make advances in his career at St. Mungo’s as well. His more relaxed attitude had translated into more assignments, which in turn meant more money.
All in all, it was a good month, until the full moon arrived.
Bill always knew when it was approaching. He could feel it. It usually started out as a bone-deep aching, and his temper would grow a bit uncertain. He dreaded Snape being around for that, thinking that the snarky man would lose his own temper and be gone, but Snape seemed to take his ever-worsening moods in stride.
The other effect was the moon’s pull on his libido, however.
At the end of the day, they would often sit by the fire, reading. Severus had begun adding to the lists books he wished for Bill to purchase for him, which Bill did, and so their evenings were quiet, the silence only interrupted by the sound of the occasional page turning.
Bill found himself watching the older man, fascinated by his long fingers, sometimes even envisioning what those hands might feel like on him...
For the first time in his life, Bill began having sexual fantasies about men. Well, not men, just Snape, and it surprised him. At first he’d thought it was simply because Snape was there and available, but he discovered that felt it for no one else, not even some of his more attractive male colleagues at his work, who had made their interest clear.
He certainly wasn’t attracted to any of his female colleagues.
The first time he’d dreamt of Snape, causing him to come all over himself in the night, he’d tried to dismiss it as an infatuation. But the attraction was growing with a vengeance, and the fact that he saw all facets of his irascible roommate, and despite that, felt this sensual pull, made him suspect that this was not a fleeting thing.
But could it work? Snape was... difficult, to say the least. Would he even believe that Bill was interested, and for the right reasons? And was there anything to build on there, anyway? Did Snape even like men?
Talk about a difficult seduction, Bill would think as he contemplated the enormity of pursuing Snape, yet, something in him yearned towards something in Snape, and Bill couldn’t deny it.
He never said anything, but he did find himself wishing for the first time, that he’d received a bit more of the werewolf’s gift, enough to perhaps tell if Snape was interested in him. From what he’d read of werewolves, they had very developed senses of smell, and were able to sense pheromones.
Snape, in turn, never openly indicated any attraction to Bill, and Merlin knew he was looking for a sign. The older man’s eyes did linger on him when he thought Bill wasn’t looking, though, so Bill allowed himself to feel hope.
A few days later, Snape began leaving potions vials along with Bill’s morning muffin, which Bill would down with a grimace and chase with sweet pumpkin juice. And, to his surprise, his moods seemed to even out after only a couple of days, although his sex drive didn’t budge, much to Bill’s relief. He hated to think he was responding so strongly to Severus only because of some werewolf factor that he might be manifesting.
His colleagues at St. Mungo’s, used to him being moody, began commenting on how even tempered he’d seemed lately, and he got even more assignments, netting him a hefty bonus that month.
“What are you going to spend it on?” Healer McTavert had asked him that evening, and Bill had shrugged.
“Buy your lover something nice, perhaps?” the elderly woman had said with a wink, and Bill’s thought immediately went to Snape, or Severus, as he’d been calling him in his mind for weeks. They weren’t lovers, but, Bill allowed himself to hope they might be soon.
Maybe tonight, he thought optimistically.
Stopping on his way home at a wine shop, he picked up two bottles of red wine. Perhaps tonight was the night he could see if anything of a romantic nature might be possible between himself and Severus.
He deposited his bonus earnings at Gringotts after his foray into the wine shop, and then went home to find chaos.
“Sever... Snape?” he called out as he Apparated into the front hallway.
The lack of an answer wasn’t necessarily surprising, although the lack of the smell of an almost completed dinner was unusual.
Bill walked into the living room and gasped. The place was mess, and after having gotten used to Severus’ penchant for keeping the place spotless, Bill was shocked.
“What the hell...?”
Bill walked into the potions lab, which doubled as Severus’ room, and stood stock-still when he saw the disarray. The cauldrons were all shattered, potions vials lay broken on the counter, and unidentifiable liquids were congealing on the floor.
And there, crumpled in a corner, was Severus. For an awful second, Bill panicked, then his training took over.
Is he... No, he’s still breathing, Bill thought, relieved as he hurried over.
He Summoned his Healer supplies from his discarded robes that he’d taken off and left in the hallway, rummaging through the pockets to try to find all that he needed, as he muttered to himself.
“Merlin, please... Severus,” he whispered urgently, gentle fingers probing to see what the man’s injuries were. “Can you speak to me?”
He received no answer and, using his wand, he examined Severus carefully, looking for signs of trauma.
It looked as if he’d suffered a few broken bones and had internal organ damage, and Bill cursed under his breath. Severus had obviously been attacked, and from the looks of the flat, whoever had done it had broken in here and vandalized the place as well.
Enervate! he muttered, and Severus groaned, immediately trying to move.
“Shhh! Remain still, Severus,” Bill said. “You’ve been injured, and I need to get you to a bed.”
Snape opened one eye, the other appeared to be swollen shut, and grimaced. “...masked, and they... attacked... no warning...”
“Shhh,” Bill said absently. “You can tell me later. Right now, I need to heal you, but I can’t do it on the floor in here. Don’t move.”
Bill stepped back and with a whispered Mobilicorpus, levitated Severus off the floor and carefully moved him out of the destroyed lab.
When he had him settled in his own bed, Bill pulled out a vial of Dreamless Sleep, Severus’ own home brew, in fact, which Bill had found more effective than what the St. Mungo’s potions brewers produced.
“Drink this,” he said.
Severus looked at it for a long moment, and then, with another look at Bill, nodded, opening his mouth to allow the liquid to slip down his throat. He sighed and closed his eyes.
“I suppose... I get to see... just how good of a... Healer you are...” Severus’ voice drifted into silence, and Bill smiled.
“Yes, I suppose you will,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to Severus’ forehead.
Straightening up, he looked about his bedroom, which was by far the least damaged room in the flat. Well, that made sense if the attackers had run out of time, perhaps. Bill shuddered to think what might have happened had he stumbled in on them.
Hurrying over to the fireplace, Bill threw in some Floo powder and, sticking his head in, called for reinforcements before he started on reinforcing the wards.
~
Severus’ head was sore when he regained consciousness. For a moment he was panicked, until he realized that he was no longer on the hard floor but was on a bed, and, while his body was aching, it wasn’t in excruciating pain the way it had been just before he’d passed out.
Someone had found him... Bill. Bill had come home and found him.
Why did he have to see me like that? Severus thought. So weak and helpless. Bad enough he all but rescued me that day in the graveyard, but now this?
Severus took stock, checking himself over as he lay there, the memories of the past month drifting through his head.
Bill, the look of shock and then pleasure in his face that first night he’d come home to see Severus cooking for him. The way his eyes had sparkled the first time he’d found his muffin waiting for him in the morning, the way he watched Severus under his eyelashes when he thought Severus wasn’t aware.
Severus snorted to himself. He was always aware of Bill; the boy had been beautiful as a student, and had grown into a truly striking adult, with his shoulder length bronze hair and expressive brown eyes...
And if it hadn’t been for him, I would be dead, he thought, not for the first time. He’d been visiting Albus one last time before going to pursue his death, planning on taking a lethal poison of his own making and then going to Knockturn Alley. He’d figured the any one of the thugs there would have been happy enough to knock him unconscious, and the poison would do the rest. Yet now, he had someone to live for...
Severus could now hear distant voices, one of them female, and they were moving closer.
“...and it’s just shocking that someone should attack him here, Bill.”
Severus winced. He knew that voice very well.
Molly walked into the bedroom just as Severus opened his eyes.
“Severus! Thank Merlin you’re awake!” she exclaimed, bustling over to the bed.
“He’s awake?” Bill pushed past her, leaning over to look deeply into his eyes.
Severus struggled to sit up, but was restrained by Bill’s strong hands, that pushed him back down.
“Whoa, none of that,” Bill scolded gently. “You’ve only had a few hours rest. I need to check you again.”
Severus nodded, beginning to close his eyes.
“Keep them open, please?” Bill asked. “I just need to check something...”
Severus did so reflexively, and stared up into Bill’s eyes.
“That’s it,” Bill whispered, and suddenly their minds were melded, and Severus saw, for the first time, the extent of Bill’s feelings for him. He gasped as he realized Bill was sensing his attraction, and then Bill was out, looking a bit shocked as well.
“Is everything all right, dear?” Molly asked, as she straightened the bed covers around Severus.
“I... I didn’t mean to go that deep, I’m sorry,” Bill whispered, and Severus nodded. He’d seen that in Bill’s mind, too, as the Healer had probed him.
“Indeed. Well, I am sure my mind was quite open,” he replied, looking away from the intensity of Bill’s eyes.
Bill brushed back a lock of hair from Severus’ face in a gesture so tender that Molly, her eyes widening, turned away to give them a bit of privacy.
“Are you angry that I saw what I did?” Bill asked.
Severus looked at him consideringly. “Surprisingly, I am not,” he finally said. “I am aware that you hold your oath as a Healer in great esteem, and you would not have done that had it not been necessary.”
Bill nodded, relieved. “You’re right, although I won’t say I regret it.”
At Severus’ startled look, he smiled faintly. “I learned some interesting things, Severus,” he whispered, for Severus’ ears alone. A bit louder, he said. “You are recovering well, and the Aurors are out looking for the perpetrators. You need to rest, so we’ll talk about... things later.”
Reaching for a vial that had been placed at the side of the bed, Bill offered it to Severus. “Drink this and sleep some more,” he said.
“Bill...” Severus glanced at Molly, who understood immediately.
“I’ll just go and make some tea,” she said diplomatically, backing out of the room.
When she was gone, Severus turned his attention back to Bill.
“Before this goes any further,” he said, “I want you to know that I am not an easy man to live with.”
Bill snorted. “And I am?” he said. “You’ve taken me from having no assignments because of my irritable attitude, to getting the best bonus of my life this month. And of the two of us, whose temper is the worse at the full moon is debatable.”
Severus lips quirked. “True enough,” he said. “Very well. You have seen into my mind, so you know my thoughts. When I have recovered, I shall have to show you just what else I have been contemplating doing for you this past month.”
Bill laughed softly. “I can’t wait,” he said, his eyes bright with promise. “Because I have a few things to show you, too. But for now, sleep, all right?”
“As long as you do not think that this means I am going to be following your instruction in all things,” Severus murmured after downing the potion.
As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled as he heard Bill say, “Of course, Severus. That is as I expected.”
~
They caught the attackers, a rogue group calling themselves the Neo Death Eaters, a few days later, and the public outcry against the attack and in support of Severus was overwhelming.
When it came out that all of Severus’ belongings had been confiscated, the public was so vociferous in their support of him, that the Ministry quickly restored Spinner’s End to him.
Bill, a bit nervous as he waited for Severus to decide what he wanted to do, continued to look after him and feed him healing potions. He deliberately did not ask what Severus intended to do now, and Severus never offered that information.
The full moon passed without incident, Severus supervising Bill in the brewing of his modified Wolfsbane. Severus was up and about quickly, and had moved out of Bill’s room within a day.
No more had been said about their mutual attraction, and Bill wondered if Severus was regretting knowing about how he felt. He’d seen nothing indicating that Severus wished to move on to a more intimate relationship, however.
For Bill’s part, his attraction towards Severus only grew, and he decided that the man was sexy, no matter what time of the month it was. And so, they skirted around each other for the next few days.
It all came to a head the day the Ministry representative arrived to hand over control of Spinner’s End.
Bill watched anxiously as Severus accepted the deed to the property, nodding absently at the Auror as he stroked the parchment thoughtfully.
Bill didn’t even notice the Auror as she left, he was so focused on Severus.
“So. I have my ancestral home back,” Severus said into the silence.
Bill sat down across from Severus. “Congratulations,” he said softly. “Now what?”
Severus looked up at him sharply. “What do you mean?”
Bill held his eyes. “I mean, are you moving...” he hesitated on the word, but finished his sentence, “...moving out?”
“Is that what you wish?” Severus asked, eyes shuttered.
Leaning forward, Bill said stared into his eyes. “Severus, if you don’t know that I want you to stay here with me, then you haven’t been paying attention,” he said emphatically.
Severus raised an eyebrow. “You might have had a chance to reconsider having such an irascible lover...” he began, but Bill was no longer listening.
Standing up, Bill walked to the other man’s chair, coming to a stop directly in front of Severus. Reaching down, Bill cupped Severus’ face in his large hand, leaning down.
“Stay with me. Please,” he whispered, before brushing his lips over Severus’.
Mouths opened and tongues dueled, and soon, Bill found himself straddling Severus’ leg, hands full of soft black hair.
“I don’t think... I can be... any clearer... than... this,” Bill panted in between kisses. “Stay.”
Severus, his hands busy roaming Bill’s back, shook his head.
“Well, when you put it that way...” His words were smothered by Bill, who decided it was time to show Severus exactly how and where he wanted to put it.
~Fin