Wini and the Big Bad Potions Master
Date: October 3rd
Time: 6pm
Place: Hogwarts
Characters Involved: Snape and Wini, invitation only
Rating: Better be G, or Snape is a terrible man!
( Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next. ~Franklin P. Jones )
Time: 6pm
Place: Hogwarts
Characters Involved: Snape and Wini, invitation only
Rating: Better be G, or Snape is a terrible man!
( Children are unpredictable. You never know what inconsistency they're going to catch you in next. ~Franklin P. Jones )
She should have gone to find Oliver. It was clear that Wini had somehow gotten herself separated from him, and surely he'd be desperately worried. But she would have had to go through the lab to reach the rest of Hogwarts, and she couldn't bear the thought of interrupting. So instead she found herself standing as still as humanly possible in the office, one hand pressed over her delighted smile, not daring to move, not even daring to breathe for fear the scene might shatter.
Now she had an entirely different quandry. The worried father had arrived. Did she come out, admit to having been there all along, and risk both men's (perfectly justified) anger at her for not emerging sooner to help out? Or did she stay in here, and hope an opportunity would present itself for her to sneak away after all this was over and pretend she'd never been here?
If those two kept spitting fire at each other, they were going to undo all of Severus's work in getting Wini calmed down. With a purely internal sigh, she reached out to open the door. If Oliver was going to be angry, let him be angry at the right person.
"Hey," she interjected. "Calm down, both of you. You're going to scare Wini. She's fine, so ease off." Though she couldn't see them, she could well imagine the sort of looks she was getting from both of them for her sudden appearance. She made an apologetic face. "Sorry." But how could she have interrupted such a charming scene?
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Years of self-preservation in the midst of war left him relying heavily on his instincts. The room behind him ought to have been empty, and was not. He whirled on his heel, his wand already to-hand, before he recognised her voice and saw the open door to his office just behind her.
June. Had been in his office. The ENTIRE time!
Fury warred with abject humiliation as his jaw opened and closed soundlessly.
Why couldn't James Potter just come back from the dead and threaten to disrobe him in front of an audience again?
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But one of his best friends was already standing in the door to the lab to witness everything which had passed. If said best friend desired, there were numerous ways in which he could turn this into a humiliation ready to rival being suspended upside down in mid-air in front of throngs of students. James Potter certainly would have appreciated the effort.
Unfortunately for James' memory, the best friend present was Remus Lupin, who not only had never participated in such shameful antics before, but who was also seemingly frozen in place where he stood, unable to shift through the miriad of reactions assaulting him in any sort of rapid order.
Following closely on Wood's heels, he had arrived with just enough time to see the picture of contentment Severus and the child made before that peace was shattered with the force of Wood's furious relief. Something inside him had wrenched almost painfully at the sight before everything seemed to realign, as though pieces of a puzzle were falling into place and all he needed was one final center piece to recognize the image it created. The strength of that near-shock was enough to render him speechless for several moments while Wood and Severus railed at each other.
It was June's sudden appearance behind Severus which finally brought him out of his thoughts and spurred action at last.
"June's right. There's absolutely no need for argument here."
He shot a censoring look at Wood as he stepped fully into the room and placed himself in a position to be able to get between all parties involved if need be.
"Wood, Severus did the only thing he could have in the situation. We all know an untended potion can be dangerous, particularly in a school where any other student could have come by the lab looking for Severus or June, or a professor. Considering the time it took for her absence to be noticed and she was obviously safe, I don't think there's any need to vent your self-directed anger on Severus."
The look he now gave Severus was no less censoring, but overlaid with a warmth that spoke of future arguments as to the man's 'good nature'.
"But, Wood could probably use a little slack right now, severus. He's had quite a scare and I'm sure he'll be much more vigilant in his methods to keep her from wandering in the future. I've no doubt he will thank you as well, but allow me to say thank you for watching over Wini and keeping her safe."
He looked back and forth between all of them now, wanting to make certain the true priorities were instilled in their minds.
"And that is the important thing here, yes? This little one," he said, reaching a gentle finger up to caress the sleepy child's cheek softly, "is safe and sound."
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The relief was instantaneous, to see her face, to see her move, she was okay, it was okay. Grasping the doorframe, she worked at getting her breath back as she watched the scene play out.
Oliver looked quite ready to smack Snape and that made Hermione nervous. They could do what they liked, but not in front of such a little girl.
Remus seemed to sense things as well and moved forward.
Wini was safe and had been… Playing with Snape? That thought almost made her smile, almost they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Oliver.” Her voice was stern as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “If you’re going to insist on arguing, can I hold Wini, please?” Hermione smiled down at the little girl, realizing just how concerned she’d been when Oliver had practically broken her door down.
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Lupin was right. The most important thing was that she was safe. And yet Oliver was sure that no one had any idea what he had just gone through. He clutched Wini tightly. She wanted to wiggle around but she accepted it, pressing her cheek against her dad's chest. He had already lost Ingrid, and for a few moments he had thought that he had lost Wini, too. He coudln't let that happen.
Oliver's eyes closed and he stopped shaking. "Thank you for helping me find her," he told Hermione and Lupin. He took the 'presents' that Snape had given Oliver and, not able to say anything else, he said, "Goodbye."
He needed to get out of there before he got angry again.
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"Go on then," he snarled at the lot of them. "Get out! I've got work to do."
Anger and embarrassment still heated his face, still warring with each other for supremacy. He was furious that June had spied on him that whole time!
No doubt she'd have hilarious stories to tell about him, behind his back.
He turned his back on all of them and went back to his potion to begin decanting it into vials. He wasn't about to let it be ruined because his peace had been invaded.
His boots crunched in the biscuit-crumbs all over the floor, as he firmly donned his intimidating, unapproachable glower.
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Hermione let out a breath she’d been holding, practically feeling the rage that was being expelled by Snape.
Oh dear. Maybe not…
Looking between the teachers in the room, she cleared her throat, pushing her hair back over her shoulders. “Back to work then.” Hermione gave a nod, shooting a brief smile at Remus, rather desperate to get out.
This alternate universe was an interesting place, or so she decided as she quickly exited the dungeon.
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Better to bow out gracefully now. She could apologize again to both of them later, when they'd had time to calm down.
And meanwhile, she needed to get home, where she could savor the adorable scene she'd overheard in peace. Who would ever have expected Severus to be so good with a child? After he'd told her in no uncertain terms how he disliked them, not even she would have imagined such a thing!
Quickly, before her smile could return and give her away, she ducked her head with a mumbled "good night" and took herself to the Floo, and from there to home.
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He didn't know what to make of June's unspoken presence all this time and resolve to leave that issue between her and the two angry men. It wasn't an argument he had any business getting involved in. In any case, in his heart of hearts, he wondered if he'd have been able to interrupt himself. Part of him already felt an odd sort of loss at the shattered image he'd first walked in on.
But, the girls were leaving and Severus was pulling back into himself. It would probably be a better use of his time to catch up with Wood and gather up the rest of the Gryffindors who were still out searching. Minerva would need to be informed the child was safe as well.
"Right." He returned Hermione's smile briefly before turning back to Severus as June made her quiet exit. "Well, we should let you get back to work then."
Once at the door to the lab, Remus paused, turning back to Severus with a hint of mischief in his eyes as amusement colored his voice.
"I suppose you'll insist there was a selfish angle to this as well?"
Smiling softly at the other man, he turned then and left Severus alone to his thoughts. They could have that particular argument again later.
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"Yes, you should," he agreed in tightly clipped tones. He didn't take his eyes off the other man, too familiar with Lupin's ways, by this point, not to suspect that mild facade.
He literally snarled aloud at Lupin's retreating back, but the werewolf was long-gone before he could think of an adequate retort. He satisfied his enraged embarrassment in violence, and threw the vial in his hand to shatter spectacularly against the frame of the door.
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