At long last another snippet and another chapter of Pet Project
You guys were getting worried? No need. Just a bout of writer's block. I find that if you hit your head against the wall enough times, eventually the bricks give away. Of course, you end up with one killer headache. :-) So, new snippet. No Rink. No Hermione but we have Albus POV and Severus. -C
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Albus felt the castle’s wards jump the minute Severus ordered the guardian gargoyle aside. He wasn’t quite sure how he always knew when Severus interacted with the school’s wards but he did, even if most of the other teachers and students were just the vague impression of someone being there. He had always marveled at how well those wards recognized the other man, even occasionally letting him know the emotional state of his Potions master. It was, he’d concluded after long contemplation, as if the castle liked Severus, an idea and occurrence that never failed to amuse Albus.
Tonight there was no amusement. The castle wards tied to his magic snapped and sizzled along Albus’ senses. Severus was agitated and that agitation was being conveyed quite strongly. He conjured a small teapot and two cups and waited.
Severus entered quickly, the door abruptly thrust open. Severus' teaching robes swirled around him as Severus fell into pacing in front of Albus’ long desk. But for that pacing and the wards insistence, Albus would not have known that Severus was troubled. The man’s expression was a smooth mask of indifference, his posture was erect, neither hunched nor belligerent, and his hands, the usual tell-tale markers of Severus’ mood, were clasped tightly behind his back rather than furled into fists at his side.
“Severus, is everything-“
“Everything is as expected, Headmaster.”
The words were curt, but no more or less than what Albus usually expected from the other man. The wards once again rolled across his nerves, causing him to stiffen in his chair. Giving a thought to pushy castles, he asked, “Expected?”
“Expected. The Dark Lord has his hands firmly around the throat of the wizarding world, the Order - what remains of it - is practically in hiding, Lupin is . . . dead.”
Albus noted the almost imperceptible hesitation before Severus pronounced Lupin’s demise. Unsure of Severus’ mood, he started cautiously, “Remus was-”
“I never thought that I would outlive the wolf.”
It was said dispassionately, like another would comment on the fact that it was raining. With those words, the jangling at his magical senses fell silent, leaving him reeling in the quiet. Without the added benefit of the castle’s magic, Albus was left with the impenetrable wall of Severus’ emotional defenses.
Albus indicated one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Severus, sit. You are making me dizzy.”
Only when he was situated in his usual chair did Albus float Severus a cup of tea. He was concerned when the other man sat rigid instead of sinking into his usual boneless slump. Something was very much wrong with his Potions master.
They sat quietly, each sipping from their cups, until the taunt line of Severus’ shoulders eased just a fraction. “Severus?”
The shoulders softened a fraction more. “I find myself . . . troubled.”
Albus felt a bolt of fear go through him at Severus’ words. All my plans . . . .
Severus kept speaking, unaware of his affect on the headmaster. “I have known the course of my life from the moment I took the Mark. I have not wanted anything beyond retribution and repentance.” He stared down into the bowl of his cup as if he saw his future laid out in the tea leaves. “I have not asked for . . .” He stopped and shook his head. “I have not wanted . . .” His voiced trailed off into silence.
“What is it that you want, Severus?” Albus asked softly, his own fingers tight around the handle of his cup.
Severus finally looked up and stared at him for a long measured moment, though Albus wasn’t sure the man really saw him or not. Then the uncharacteristically easily read confusion that had briefly reflected in Severus’ eyes was gone, to be replaced with nothing but mirrored black.
Standing abruptly he placed his tea cup on Albus’ desk. “Forgive me, Albus. I find that there are things I must attend to.”
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There was Hermione before this scene though. :-) -C