Harry Potter: Arithmancy and Flowers - Sex, Religion and Politcs (5/?)

[martianhouse]

Title: Arithmancy and Flowers - Sex, Religion and Politics
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Snape, Sirius, Lucius, Dumbledore, various fake Slytherins
Summary: Sex, spells, wicked music and wickeder house elves - this is Slytherin in the 70's.
Warning: Semi-explicit sex, violence and bad language
Notes: This was my first fanfic. And it's as bad as all first fics are, but there are enough fun parts IMHO to make it worth reading. I'm extremely embarrassed by a lot of it, but I figure, hey the rest of my fic isn't much better. ;-)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8


Even having immobilized every employee of the school, their findings regarding the Hallowe'en incident, were just as Severus had predicted - house elf negligence. For perhaps the first time in Dumbledore's tenure as Headmaster, they behaved as despondently as if they worked at some impossibly pure and snooty manor and had to be forcibly restrained from overwork and self-injury. The situation was somehow ridiculously hilarious and Severus' laundry had never been better.

There was still heavy suspicion of student involvement but happily it was directed at some of the more infamous groups, like Potter and his gang and Shelby and Peters of Ravenclaw. For all their previously asinine pranks, McGonagall insisted that her students would never do anything quite so serious. Goodlaw insisted that hers would have done something more subtle and creative; Severus agreed.

Not one for pranks of that sort usually, on this occasion he'd agreed with Nappy - an unsubtle revenge was needed for an unsubtle problem. Of course less obvious means were to be employed in the long run. Nappy was determined to rid Hogwarts of bad taste, a cause Severus thought lost but was willing to support.

It was damn fun.

And more practically, house elf magic was powerful, like the charm that prevented determination of the origin and nature of magic. Not even Der Derian had realised that his charms had actually been charms. Some of things he'd learned from Nappy gave him dead nasty thoughts, most related to Sirius Goddamn Black. And he had the strangest urge to glare at him from under lowered eyebrows and laugh manically.

Of course there was the wondrous advantage that few even knew of house elf magic, most thought they were nothing more than mindless servants. After an incident involving a sausage and a chair in their second year, Severus and Evan had discovered it's existence and of course he'd shared that insight with his best friend. Eventually.

Livia poked his side sharply. He opened his eyes and glared down at her. She motioned for him to move his arms from where they were crossed over his chest and he curled one around her and folded the other behind his head. She shifted closer to him and draped an arm over his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. "Are you done this page yet?"

"Not yet," she replied absently. He sighed. They were trying to share the only copy of The Yellow Wallpaper, to be found in Hogwarts. They'd looked. To be fair, it was a Muggle book and rather odd and therefore unpopular with most students. Who wouldn't know literature if it was charmed to chase them.

"Done." She flicked her wand, vaguely in the direction of the book suspended above them and the page turned. After a moment of comfortable silence she said, "Now what is she going on about? People in the wallpaper?" He rolled his eyes.

"It's metaphorical," he said in a lazy whisper.

"I fail to see how delusions are metaphorical."

"That's because you're utterly lacking in imagination." Will smirked at her from his bed, next to Severus'. Livia narrowed her eyes and threw a fast hex that he just managed to duck. De Rossi's draperies weren't so lucky and they fell to the floor, covered in purple flames. Will leaned over and put out the flames, but left them on the floor. Severus hissed at him before he tried to retaliate and he laid down, still smirking.

Livia wanted to be a dancer.

"Perhaps she should join me in that anger management seminar you suggested. I really must owl your sister about it." Severus didn't bother to check his friend's reaction and turned back to the floating book. "Are you done yet?"

"No." He sighed again - loudly.

"Why not?" Will muttered something about a short attention span.

"I'm reading it twice. Oh. It's starting to make sense now."

"And here I thought all dancers really were twits." Severus couldn't stop himself from snickering at Will's comment. This earned him another poke in the side. "Just wait till Sev introduces you to Woolf." Livia just flicked her wand again, ignoring him.

"Oh." She was done.

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Severus glared at her but she stared into space blinking. Perhaps her reaction was not quite so bad.

"That was. The woman in the paper was her, right? Her unconscious?" Severus nodded at her. "Or maybe her doppelganger, like Frankenstein and the monster." She continued musing and he shared an evil smile with Will. Livia was fatally attached to Austen and the Bronte sisters, which was doubly bizarre considering that she was a devout radical feminist.

One day she'd spent hours explaining why society should be segregated into male and female parts to stop the "misogynistic trend in the magical community." That was why he was using this particular text to break her free of that drivel - Gilman was a feminist and a modern one.

Livia's eyes were blank and staring; she was lost in thought. Mwa. Ha. Ha. "It's about trying to break out of the identity the world has given you," she said almost dreamily. Livia sat up and glared at him through narrowed eyes. "But I'm not giving up my Jane Eyre." She got off the bed and stalked out of the dorm.

Will caught Severus eye. "She'll be back. Oh yes, she'll be back." They smirked. "We'll have her completely converted by end of term - then we can work on Portia." That would be much harder; Livia at least had already accepted Muggle writing as literature. Since Portia had captured Lestrange, she'd allowed his attitudes to affect her. Censorship based on purity was ridiculous - he thought he'd start on her with J.S. Mill.

The prejudicial atmosphere of the House, currently extreme because of Malfoy and Lestrange, was not conducive to the type of life Will and Severus desired. But their own personal power was enough to keep them free of censure. For now. They were not unaware of the rumors about a new Dark power.

From across the room they heard a muffled voice and fabric shifting. "What was that Charlie?" The lump under the covers of Charlie's bed pushed toward the edge and a head popped out.

"Doesn't Stuart have divination now?" Severus replied with an 'mmm' and shifted down his bed to look in his trunk. "I didn't realise she skived class quite so much." So naïve, Charlie.

He opened his trunk and started pushing through the stacks of shrunken books. "Welcome to the dark underbelly of House Slytherin - drugs, sex, missed classes and demon summoning," he said, his voice a dry murmur. He shrunk the book and dropped it in with the others and took out his unfinished crime novel from last week.

Will raised his eyebrows with a slight smirk. "Demon summoning? I don't remember any demon summoning, I think I've been cheated."

"Yes, last week. We waited until you were out on the pitch, trying out for the team."

"Right bastards, the lot of you."

"The price you pay for leading a full and productive life. So Charlie," he sat up and looked over to the other boy, still half tangled in his sheets. "How are the shakes?" He was just finishing the last stages of withdrawal, sped up and eased by Severus' potions and Will's charms.

"Well I've stopped stuttering," he said with a shiver and had the good sense to look embarrassed. He was far more coherent than last week.

"Aren't you lucky that someone dosed your drink then."

Charlie looked at them in amazement, still a little nervous. "Um, why?"

"Because now you are privy to our tender mercies. How rare an occurrence." Charlie didn't seem overly pleased with this - it was not necessarily good to be special in Slytherin, especially when it incurred the interest of the more powerful. Severus imagined that he would never be truly comfortable with him.

The knowledge that he could crush him with either a flick of his wand, a motion of his quill or a few sharp words must not be reassuring. The Avery's were not without power but they could not compete with the Snape's for sheer wealth and magical resources. At Hogwarts, Charlie learned too late how to play.

Better to be a puppet under Severus, than a plaything under Malfoy.

Will sat up, so that the three faced each other and tapped his fingers against his chin. "About that, Charlie, have you any idea who added the alleged "sneezing potion" to your juice?" Charlie shrugged.

"In this case Livia was actually right - Crosswell confirmed that much," Severus began. Apparently in a small percentage of the population it causes choking and violent coughing and was removed from the market, though not banned. There are many other similar potions that do not have the same risk."

"Is there an obvious characteristic shared by those who're vulnerable to this potion?"

"Like hair colour?" Charlie asked. Will nodded.

"No, just an existing breathing problem of some kind and not necessarily a serious one. I was not aware that you'd had bronchitis, Charlie, until Crosswell herself told me." Unlike the previous mediwitch, Crosswell was quite willing to share information regarding her patients. If given incentive. Where was professional integrity these days?

"Somebody did their research, yet for what? He was hardly in danger of dying at breakfast - a simple prank?"

"Perhaps." The incident had given Charlie renewed credibility with the staff and made him far more useful to Severus than his previous role as occasional lackey and stress reliever. He was now in a better position to gain Severus' trust.

"Oh, Sev, I finished the research on the ring." Charlie yawned and swayed. Will got up from his bed and secured his dorm mate in his bed, tucking several pillows behind his back. He pulled out his wand and did a quick scan, running it along Charlie's body. Satisfied, he tucked it into his sleeve and padded back to his own bed.

"Do tell."

"Um, mother's books mention Elvish rings several times but not in detail. There wasn't anything on the properties you specified. I gather that it's generally not a good idea to use human magic on them, um." he paused and wiped away the sweat that had been beading on his forehead. Potions and charms couldn't do everything. "So it was a good idea you didn't try to conceal it or remove it, I guess."

"I used a human charm to put it through my ear. Logically, a similar charm should work to remove it - unless it has inbuilt traps for thieves."

"Not worth the risk then. And you haven't used it since?" Severus shook his head slightly. "Well we'll just have to wait for Nappy to make contact with you again."

"Not necessarily." Will raised a skeptical eyebrow at this but couldn't hide a smirk. "Charlie did your books mention anything on reactions with human physiology and energy fields?"

"Well, the stories vary. I think as long as it's a gift, then it's alright." Severus and Will shared a relieved glance. Though they'd been fairly sure of Nappy's trustworthiness, they'd not been totally sure. "Mother's birthday gifts are finally useful."

"Nonsense," said Will. I seem to remember you using those books to break DeRossi's nose." Charlie's annoyed scowl, turned into dreamy remembrance and he fell back onto his pillows happily. After a moment he closed his eyes and was soon snoring softly.

"Now to other business." Severus put his book aside a leaned over the edge of his bed to look in his trunk again. He pulled out a fresh parchment, his To Do List, some quills and three bottles of ink. He dipped a quill into the red ink and absently crossed out several items. The parchment flared and those items burned from the top of the list.

He put the used quill aside and picked up a fresh one, dipping it in the pale blue ink. He added an item and blew softly across the page. The ink would become invisible minutes after being exposed to air - no charm could make it reappear unless he touched it.

Will got up from his bed and sat beside Severus, looking over his shoulder. "Interesting list. I wonder how some would react to reading it."

"The ink is imprinted to my blood."

"Nice trick." Severus grunted and tossed the list aside for the fresh parchment.

"If you were a thirteen year old Gryff girl, how would you invite Sirius Goddamn Black to the astronomy tower?"

"Well I should think we need to base it heavily on the original letter." He went to his own trunk - a sleek black affair - and undid locking charms as complicated as Severus'. The inside was freakishly organized. He labeled everything. He returned to Severus' bed, his copy of the letter in hand. "Black did seem excited at the prospect of spending some special time with Miss. Timbre."

"Yes quite - the gods know why." They settled down to writing the note, to be used the next week, with occasional snickers. Will did a wonderful impersonation of Potter. After about half an hour Charlie began to stir again.

"Mmmm." They looked up at him, rubbing his eyes. He was distinctly green. Will got up from the bed, which was scattered with parchment and scanned Charlie again. He frowned and padded over to his trunk, leaving the letter in its original place and taking a potion over to the shaky boy. Severus cleared up the parchments, ink and quill and locked them into his trunk. "Is it time for dinner?"

"Actually it is." Will helped him from the bed and steered him to the door. "You need to clean up and then we'll be off. Sev, you coming, or did you eat yesterday?" Severus waved them off - he had indeed eaten yesterday and was not hungry.

"Let me know how the vampire rumor is playing out among the masses." Will snorted and dragged a groggy Charlie to the loo. Severus could still hear him muttering about Charlie's clumsiness as they headed down the stairs. He sighed and flicked his wand at the door and with a whispered charm the heavy, carved oak swung shut with a thump. They never remembered to close the damn door.

He pushed himself along his covers and settled against the pillows on his side. He opened his novel to finally finish it but stared at it absently. The artificial puzzles of the story weren't able to hold his attention as before. Living in Slytherin was like being in a mystery novel with no dénouement in sight; or perhaps one of Hammett's novels with seemingly random murders that were really only a natural part of the situation.

Someone had poisoned Charlie Avery deliberately and precisely. Malfoy was being almost friendly. Sirius Goddamn Black had an invisibility cloak. A House Elf was rebelling and giving out magic rings. And Der Derian was their new Head of House. Der Derian, about whom very little was known.

Slytherin was experiencing a time of change, bordering on outright revolution. One that had been building long enough for his parents to have mentioned it before his first year. His family, along with the Rosiers and Blackfalls were of the old guard - part of a society that was pre-Slytherin and possessed of many closely guarded secrets.

The vitality of the House though, lay with the Lestranges and Malfoys, newer families and roughly contemporary with Hogwarts itself. Since his first year, Severus had seen the power of the House shift from Mira Chevalier, who'd graduated in his second year, to Lestrange and now to Malfoy. Lestrange had been neatly contained by Severus, who had insinuated himself as the older boy's advisor and later by Portia, who had designs on a wedding ring.

But Lestrange's influence was failing - his devotion to Portia eventually had shown him as weak and Malfoy was rising. Malfoy who was becoming friendly. Who at least was not a reformist like Kennedy, trying to eliminate all traces of the Dark Arts that were essential to the old guard. Whose father, if the rumors were true was involved with this new Dark Power. The Avery's were quite close to the Malfoy's.

He threw down his novel in frustration and decided that he would perhaps finish it by the end of term. He crawled down his bed to resume his former position, at its end and stared into Wilkes' Muggle mirror. The ugly thing managed to clash with every other object in the room. Will had a plan for its destruction and only waited for the perfect moment.

Sure that the rest of the House would be at dinner, Severus proceeded to do what any normal fifteen-year-old male would, when presented with such an opportunity. He indulged himself with thoughts of Bellshire.

The night before he had introduced Severus to his main project - working on a new addition to Hogwarts' security that created a spontaneous, aggressive probability field when tripped. Severus wasn't privy to everything relating to the venture but he was learning the basic theory and worked with Bellshire on some of the side issues. They'd already mapped the grounds and history of the school, a job the professor and his antecedents had worked on for years. Bellshire's extensive work in social mapping would be integrated as well.

The arithmancic field was to be linked with existing trip-charms in order to create an active automatic defense system - one that could respond differently to varying stimuli. Bellshire said that their goal was to create something similar to a Muggle computer system and estimated that he would be working on it for the next ten years at the least. Then he'd snorted and remarked that Dumbledore expected it in three.

Privately Severus had decided that ten years was horseshit - in this rare instance Dumbledore was dead right. Working with Bellshire had been a revelation of divine quality; he understood even the most esoteric concepts that Severus cited and not even Portia could do that. He could mention things casually that he would otherwise have needed ten minutes to explain.

Last year a Hufflepuff girl Harcourt, had decided she was in love with Bellshire. Severus remembered her babbling about how she worshipped his genius. The professor had hated her and had actually failed her, though she might not have deserved it.

He stared at his reflection in Wilkes' mirror - tall, skinny, pale, big nose, greasy hair falling in his face.

He reshrunk his book and added it to the stack in his trunk and took out his comb. Portia believed that Bellshire was attracted to him. He hadn't noticed but it might be his own involvement. He'd watched Bellshire for any typical sign of attraction but he hadn't been able to discern anything.

Either he was even better at hiding his emotions than Severus had previously thought, or he wasn't attracted to him. Regardless, he had noticed something. They seemed to be playing a game of Machiavellian hide and seek with each other. It was fun.

Finished combing out his too long hair, he tied back the top strands to keep it from his face and replaced the comb in his trunk, relocking it. He drew his knees up and curled his arms around them. He smiled at his reflection; somehow his smiles always managed to seem evil.

There was another matter - the potion. The night before, Severus had removed his robes and boots and sat himself on the floor, with his parchments arrayed around him on the floor and hovering in the air. He hadn't been showing off his levitation skills; it was a more efficient use of space. Bellshire might have been giving him interested looks. He was damnably hard to read.

Severus knew that the professor liked and respected him. But. On Portia's advice he'd decided to assess the physical attraction issue. He'd been in favour of running a probability series on the subject but she'd badgered him into a personal evaluation. On that note, he'd worn a black hooded shirt with a loose collar that tended to slide around and expose bits of skin and baggy drawstring trousers that hung low on his hips, also black.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor his trousers slid lower and his shirt higher and with his shoulders relaxed it fell off one shoulder or the other. He'd heard shuffling from behind him when his shirt shifted. Then he'd yawned and stretched, causing his shirt to bunch at his throat at the front and slide down his back. Hmm. A softer shuffling.

He decided to see how he reacted to Severus playing with his hair - many men, even those only interested in other men had a hair fixation. He'd pulled his hair back in a messy tail, high on his head. There was a cough. Portia was looking smarter by the second.

Then he'd noticed the potion. It had taken Severus a moment to discern the contents of the vial and his was miffed at not noticing it earlier. An antidepressant designed for people who had sustained severe physical and psychological trauma - like Cruciatus - but were otherwise chemically stable. His brother was prescribed the same one. So. Bellshire with his playful sarcasm, sure hands, pretty brown eyes and wide scars over and just below his left eye. Research was definitely in order.

Thinking about his pretty brown eyes was perhaps not the best idea for someone trying to map the current situation in his House. Severus had given up trying to deny his attraction but as Will said, there was too great a risk involved to act on it. Never mind the fact that even if Bellshire was attracted to him, and it looked like he might be, he probably wouldn't want to risk his job. Because he would have already done so. probably.

He had decided though that in the freedom of his own mind he could think about him safely - he would just have to be careful about his face as he was entirely to obvious about his thoughts.

Unfortunately as previously demonstrated, such thoughts led to other more interesting thoughts. Or not unfortunately. Severus felt his body start to flush - brown eyes staring at him from behind a messy blond fringe, the heat of his breath and strangely, the scent of green apples.

Research was definitely in order, he reflected, because there were so many unanswered questions. For instance, how did he look with his robes off, what was his bed like and did he taste like apples too? These were all valuable questions, essential even.

Severus flicked his eyes to the mirror and discovered that he was indeed flushed. He shot himself a smirk, threw a locking charm at the door and lay back into his bed. Staring up at the top of his black canopy, he slid one hand behind his head and let his other move to the top of trousers.

He drew it back and forth across his belly. He let one finger slip under the fabric and slowly rub his abdomen, wondering what Bellshire would look like if was in the room with him. He would stand beside the bed watching him. Severus let his hand slide further in. He would lick his lips, like he always did when hot and sit beside him.

Their eyes had locked and he'd brushed a strand of hair behind his ear with a finger, whispering that he needed a trim. And he'd paused, his lips still brushing against his hair, possibly innocuous until Severus had turned and he'd paused again staring. Severus had let him retreat but what if he hadn't; if he'd pursued.

He would be staring now, frozen like before and Severus would crawl over to him, resting above him on his knees. And he would reach out and tilt his head up and lean close as he pushed him back onto the bed. Then he could slide along him and find that enticing heat and that scent - he would kneel over him and unbutton his pale gold shirt, run his hands over his tanned chest.

Kiss his neck, bite him and draw blood and he would shiver beneath him and Severus would push him back down in place. He would let the blood dribble over his lips then draw them across his body, lapping up the trail he left, finding all the places that made him growl.

He took his hand from behind his head and hastily unbuttoned his trousers, while the other continued to rub himself through his drawers. He lifted his hips and pushed them down around his narrow hips then tugged his underwear, letting his hand trail along and slip beneath as he pulled them down.

He wanted to kiss him. Sometimes in class he would stare and just burn, wondering what he tasted like.

On top of him he would push back against Bellshire. And he would rock against him, feel sweat break out behind his knees, until he reached up and grabbed Severus' hips trying to still him. He would lean forward rubbing their chests together and kiss him - tease his lips open and swipe his tongue against the other man's, then trace his lips, touch the side of his mouth with a faint kiss.

Let him try to catch Severus' lips as they trailed over his jaw and stopped just below his ear, sucking gently, then moved to his bite and lapped, drawing more salty blood. Bellshire's body would jerk and those hands would slide up his back but Severus would slide down his body nipping as he went, enjoying the shudders he caused.

He shuddered and his spine arched as he came hard. He lay back, panting and boneless, just enjoying a rare relaxed moment. Then he noticed that his mess was leaking from his cupped hand onto his clothes.

"Ugh, godamn!"

He slid down his sheets, careful to remain in the same position to keep the now sticky mess from dripping into his bed. With his free hand he searched the bunched covers for his wand. Once in his hand he flicked it at himself and used a 'special' charm all male students were taught at the beginning of their third year.

He got off his bed and headed for the bathing room, grabbing a change of clothes and his comb on the way out. Though his clothes were now clean, he moved carefully so as not to let the recently soiled cloth touch his skin. Either he was more wound than he'd previously thought, or his recent lack of indulgence was showing.

He padded barefoot to the bathing room and passing the stair to the common room, noticed that it was still empty. Slytherin had four bathing rooms and within each multiple showers and baths, lined up closely together. At the first stall of the upper boys bath, he opened the heavy door and threw his things onto the couch inside.

The glory of living in a magical building was that the architects could play merry havoc with the laws of physics and create rooms that were much larger than was apparent from the outside. The door swung shut with a loud thump and Severus tapped his wand on the knob, enabling the magic lock that prevented other students (but not teachers) from entering unless there was an emergency within the room.

Like much of Slytherin, the bathing rooms were decorated predominantly in green. The floor was a highly impractical cherry and blond checker but protected by charms and the age of the users. Technically as a fifth year, Severus should have used the lower boys bathing room but the floor was covered in grimy gray tiles and unidentified creatures lurked in the corners, and sometimes scuttled over your toes. Last year he'd gotten the password from Lestrange and never looked back.

The walls were covered with pale green silk, embroidered with the Slytherin serpent in silver. Light filled the room from hundreds of candles, floating just above head level all over the room. Over the lowered bath they hung lower and illuminated each corner, revealing a snake themed mosaic.

Besides the bath itself, partially hidden by a rice paper screen, the room was furnished with a silk covered couch with clawed feet, a long table and a large chest with robes and towels. Beneath a large mirror, edged in white gold, was a shelf with various bath oils, soaps and colognes and beneath that the bin for soiled clothes.

The rooms had been redecorated by the Head of Slytherin about sixty years before, in a fit of disgust for the ever-present wet stone of the dungeons. He had it on excellent authority that the Gryffindor baths couldn't come close to matching it in comfort or taste.

He shrugged out of his clothes and happily tossed them into the bin. He took his usual accoutrements and went to the bath, which was already full and steaming. Magic was beautiful.

He'd stayed at the Stuart's flat in London many times and had never gotten used to waiting for the bath to fill. And having to manually change the water, rather than having it automatically recirculated when dirty. He added mint oil to the bath and sank in, his arms draped across the rim of the deep tub. He allowed himself another moment to just relax.

After washing his hair twice and scrubbing his belly, he stepped out of the bath regretfully and toweled off. He tossed the used towel in with his clothes and combed out his hair while it was still wet, then cast a drying charm on himself.

He stared at the reflection of his hair the mirror for several minutes, looking for any signs of impending greasiness and tied back the top strands again, satisfied.

Somewhere outside the room loud voices could be heard and a door slamming. Dinner was over. Severus walked over to the couch and pulled on his clothes, overlong black trousers and a black jumper over a t-shirt (black) with the word 'cock' printed on it in gothic script with an arrow pointing downwards.

Livia always had the most interesting t-shirts and this one he'd claimed for himself, saying he could better fill it out. He tucked his comb into his back pocket and left the room, heading for the common room.

Entering the inner corridor that connected the various stairs in Slytherin, Severus was stopped by Dio Wilkes calling his name. "Good news mate. Der Derian's been called away on personal business and you won't guess who they've tapped to watch us for the night." Severus raised an eyebrow in question. "Nurse Bimsly."

"You're not serious," he asked, for once utterly shocked.

"Dead serious - it's going to be a wonderful night. Christius tells me they've decided to run the full range of games and Malfoy's just gotten some new stock." Wilkes rubbed his hands together eagerly and grinned at Severus. He had a nice smile.

"This is absurd. Not even Dumbledore could be this. out of touch."

"Ah, but Heath could. Dumbledore's away on the same personal business."

"I see."

"Well, I'm for the bath, see you at the roulette table?" Severus nodded his assent and continued to the common room.

Nurse Bimsly was one of the mediwitch's assistants and unlike Pomfrey, the other, was absurdly incompetent. She had watched the Slytherin's for a weekend in his second year and been so scarred by the experience that she flinched when any member of the House passed her. It was quite likely that she wouldn't enter the common room even once. The night was definitely looking up.

His bare feet curled against the cold stone of the steps down to the common room. Students had been petitioning to add carpeting for years but they were always denied. 'They could use a warming charm' but the real reason for the constant denial, he thought, was that bare stone had better acoustics.

Rounding the corner, he was reminded of the scene from last week - students rushed around the room frantically, carrying fascinating bundles to and fro. This time though, the atmosphere was charged with excitement and Severus leaned against the wall, in a convenient shadow, watching the well- oiled machine affect said transformation to den of iniquity.

Lestrange was talking with two other seventh years - actually placing alarms on the entrance and corridor leading to Slytherin and on the Head's door to the common room. Portia and Christius were setting up business discretely in one corner, spreading out their charts and taking bets for the evening.

Severus caught Christius' eye. They would be operating out of the fifth year girl's dorm. Christius mouthed 'r', 'p', and 'c': roulette, poker and craps. Near the fire, Malfoy sat with his cronies, a small bag tucked at his side. Students already approached him.

Groups staked out their territory quickly as the common room filled up with most of Slytherin. No one would be studying that night and sleep would be hard to find. First and second years, stared warily around the room, not sure what was happening, though they could at least read the current.

They hid their confusion behind arrogant sneers. It was a Slytherin truism that their were no secrets for those who knew how to look and certainly Severus could read the intentions of most of his House mates. She was looking for sex. He wanted to win some galleons. He wanted something of Malfoy's.

As the night wore on and they became increasingly uninhibited, many of them would slip up and become obvious. Severus would not and nor would his associates.

"Hey Sev," said Livia, as she joined him in his shadow. "We had pork chops and for dinner."

"How fascinating."

"Mmm. Malfoy's got something going." Severus turned his face to her and raised an eyebrow. "He was giving Parkinson the eye." That would need watching. "I also hear that you're a neutered vampire."

"How terrible. It seems that my darkest secret has been revealed." Severus was not sure that he'd ever achieved a drier tone. It was good though, to hear that Black had spread the ridiculous rumor - verification of his suspicions was soon to come.

Livia arched an eyebrow and twisted her mouth into her appealing smirk. "Whatever shall you do?"

He crossed his arms and rested his chin in his palm in an imitation of Bellshire's favourite pose. "The killing spree option is rather appealing." Livia's eyes danced at that.

He had once been voted most likely to become a serial killer after a Muggle born had initiated the odd practice. Will and Evan had been voted most likely to commit incest, though Severus had strongly disagreed.

"Yes but there's always the comedown after: the bloodstains, the screams, Azkaban." She ticked the items off with her fingers, nodding with each one. It was highly annoying and he decided to stop her.

"Ah yes, then I could use the line."

"Line?" She blinked, obviously thrown by the odd direction their banter had taken. Still king of the non-sequiter.

"Mmm. My imminent prison time line; I've been thinking about it for years."

"Well go ahead then." She assumed an impatient pose and tapped her foot on the stone but she was obviously amused by the concept.

Severus pouted and hunched deeper into the stone wall. He knew exactly how childish this position was - he'd learned it from watching Malfoy. "If I said it now it would ruin my special moment."

She leaned forward and said in a wheedling tone, "Oh come now, I won't tell anyone."

He looked up at her through the bits of hair that had somehow managed to find their way to his forehead, despite being tied back. This is what he got for washing it. "And how do I know you won't use it yourself after your inevitable crime of passion?"

"You an I both know that I'll be little more than a babbling wreck; I've never been coherent when angry." How true that was. The saying about scorned women and hell had merely been waiting for her birth.

He reflected that it was a rare person that wouldn't even bother to defend themselves - Livia did have some admirable qualities, though a temper that rivaled Will's was not one of them.

He pushed away form the wall and adopted a maniacal air, which was always easy for him. "You can take me to Azkaban but I would do it again a thousand times over and not once would it trouble my conscience." He spat the last word out and shook his fist, his body trembling with righteousness and rage.

"Spiffy."

"Thanks."

"But you know," she drew herself to her full height as though gathering herself. "That really would be better for a political crime." The corners of her mouth were twitching with repressed laughter.

"And my intended killing spree isn't political?" Severus allowed himself to affect Malfoy's pout again but decided that he would not use it again for the rest of the week. It wouldn't do to overuse it.

He resumed his post against the wall and drew Livia back beside him, to clear his view of the room. It seemed that Christius and Portia were wrapping up their business in the corner and readying to head upstairs.

"Well. mindless violence and politics do mix rather well but how would you justify killing children and teachers?" She drew a pack of cigarettes form her robe. "Fag?"

"Please." She placed two between her lips and lit them neatly with her wand. After a puff she handed one to Severus and he took a long drag. A nearby sixth year gave them a disgusted look and he made sure to blow a large cloud of smoke in his direction.

"I am an extremist fighting to end the oppression of dark creatures and this institution is contributing to the false consciousness of wizard society." Oh sweet nicotine.

"If you're not part of the solution."

"Exactly."

"I don't know Sev, it's seems a bit thin." She looked at him sidelong, her mouth once again twitching. His mouth twitched in response. They looked each other in the eyes and he choked with the effort to suppress his laugh.

Which of course only set her off, in turn setting off him. The disgusted sixth year scurried to the other side of the room, obviously disturbed by their near-hysterical but still muted and evil laughter. This only made them laugh more.

Once their quiet hilarity ended in soft hiccoughs she sighed and said, "Remind me never to get on the wrong side of a political issue with you." He gave her an arch grin.

"You're just lucky that my mother raised me feminist." And there was no one who could refute that. If he didn't treat women well it was only because he treated no one well and he was truly a supporter of substantive equality.

She raised an eyebrow and rubbed her hands together. It was a surprisingly suspicious gesture. "You've just given me the nastiest ideas."

"New ways to torture your future children?" Livia was not terribly fond of the idea of breeding but her parents often lectured her on her duty to the family. Privately Severus was surprised that her father had yet to tell her to lie back and think of England. She was set on psychologically traumatizing anyone unlucky enough to be her offspring and had even gone so far to as to secure his promise of being his or her godfather.

"Experimentation is not torture," she said firmly.

"It is when it's motivated by sadism." It was not that he had anything against her playing with her future children's lives, he only wanted her to be gleefully honest about it. Like he was.

"Ah, now that's something you should ask Professor Bellshire about. I understand that his Ravenclaw third years were privileged to be his lab kneazles today. Something about a trap field? They're looking quite frazzled and he was looking quite like the cat after his cream. He also assigned the Hufflepuff seventh years a twenty foot paper, due Tuesday."

"He's a jolly man." Livia's face screwed up again and it seemed that laughter was threatening again. And like Portia had said, it was good to joke about him because he was not that enamored of the man. Not at all.

"Especially when he can torture his students." Certainly that was true, as he seemed to take inordinate pleasure in assigning homework. Unlike the other professors he seemed always to be suppressing sudden mirth when handing out assignments. And the comments that graced their essays were not those of a man stuck in the morass of academic tedium - they were the politely vicious remarks of a practiced socialite. He seemed to actually enjoy teaching. Severus wondered if the man enjoyed gossip.

"Teaching is not torture," he said in a confident and even voice.

Livia's eyebrows shot up her forehead in panic. "By all the hells, he's gotten to you. Next you'll be defending McGonagall. A student approving of a homework assignment? It's all so unnatural." She trailed off with the tone of one who's been struck by a speeding bludger.

He suppressed the mischievous smirk and adopted his best serious expression, letting a touch of wonder to shine in his eyes. "Perhaps I'll become a teacher."

"Oh don't say that!" She pushed away from the wall, seeming to hop a little with the force.

He ignored her and tapped his fingers against his chin again. "Yes. Potions I think." She smacked his arm and frowned. It was hard to tell whether she was serious or still playing along.

"You've disturbed my psyche on a level so deep I don't believe I'll ever recover." Playing then. She never spoke so evenly when emotional. Her words would be chewed, swallowed and regurgitated with enough bile to burn through the floor.

He smirked sneered through his hair. "Ah, not to worry my dear. After tonight I'm sure you won't remember we ever had this conversation." She would be far too drunk to worry about his 'ambition' to become a teacher.

Near Malfoy, a mousy fourth year tried to get Livia's attention with a lazily flopping hand. "Happily you're probably right. Lucy's waving, I'll see you later."

"Roulette?" he asked, taking another drag from his cigarette.

"Of course." She winked and then started over to her latest conquest. She greeted Lucy with a passionate kiss that Malfoy stared at with mild disgust. He was as bad as Sirius Goddamn Black sometimes.

The aforementioned Lucy responded with equal ardor. Apparently she didn't know that in week she would be dropped for some more interesting girl, never to speak with Livia again. She had, he decided the shortest romantic attention span he'd yet seen. It was not that she didn't sincerely feel passion for her partners, just that no one seemed to able to generate a sustained spark.

He took another drag from his cigarette and let his gaze move from his friend. Malfoy stared at him with an amused smirk and Severus raised an eyebrow in response. There were no tells and Malfoy maintained his contented look. Livia had been right - he had something. Seeing the confidence that Malfoy exuded, Severus wondered if he'd underestimated him. No.

Michael Parkinson, the House seekers settled beside him on the couch and drew his attention away. Malfoy turned to him but not before sending Severus a wink, all the way across the room. He quickly decided that he would not allow winks to take over the role of twinkles.

He looked around the room, somewhat troubled. And became more troubled when he saw that Lestrange was frowning at him. Lestrange's frowns, unlike most people's actually resembled a cold blank stare. All his expressions looked this way to the inexperienced.

Lestrange had long ago finished setting up his wards and had been cuddling with Portia when Severus and Malfoy had had their exchange. It seemed that for once he'd not been too caught up with his lover to notice the state of his House.

He made his way across the room slowly, pausing to speak with other Slytherin's, showing his command of this house. Occasionally he would catch Severus' eye. He felt the cold of the stone seeping into his back and through the soles of his bare feet. His thin frame, always quick to chill, lost the warmth he'd had moments ago.

He suppressed a shiver and maintained his position, still but for the motion of his lips and his hands as he smoked. He allowed his hand to curl around his cigarette for the warmth it offered. He followed Lestrange's migration religiously, unwilling to look away.

Lestrange paused near the fire and he and Malfoy greeted each other warmly. The two had never liked each other but found that tolerance lay in false amity. Showing even the slightest bit of real feeling, they would clash and so quickly the eye had trouble tracking it.

Lestrange leaned over Livia, his hands on her shoulders and whispered something in her ear. She laughed. Malfoy looked to Severus again with a pointed stare but he forbore to show any reaction. After patting her on the shoulder and cordially parting with Malfoy, Lestrange turned and walked to Severus.

He noticed again, the other's fluid confidence, recently dulled. There was no cessation of noise or motion in the room but they watched as only Slytherin's can, from the edge of their vision, still wittily bantering, still remaining coolly uninterested. Lestrange was rivaled only by Malfoy in sheer magnetism. He had been a great leader in a House that generally didn't appreciate great leaders.

His relationship with Portia, now eight months old, had been a weakness that Malfoy cheerfully exploited. Lestrange had been slipping with Severus taking up his exponentially expanding slack. And now he was mad.

Really it was ridiculous for him to get upset now, after the fact. Severus took another long drag. Ant then another and flicked away the butt. It flared in midair and ashed before falling to the floor.

"Sev." Lestrange always spoke in a perfectly measured tone as if reluctant to waste emotion. Usually when speaking with Severus he injected considerable warmth but just then it seemed that he was already associated him with Malfoy. He needed to disabuse him of that notion.

"Al." His eyes flicked to the common room door behind Lestrange's back. Will entered, followed by Charlie. Though Severus had a sudden and vague feeling of lightening, he was not at all relieved by their appearance. He heard Crosswell lecturing him about denial and avoidance issues somewhere in his head and tuned her out.

"We should discuss some things tonight." Will and Charlie came up behind Lestrange silently.

"What sorts of things, Al?" Will asked. "I ask only because if these things involve either Quidditch or Malfoy, I would appreciate being included." He smiled broadly at Lestrange, like a hungry shark. Beside him, Charlie looked strangely like a demented squirrel, with his hands curled in front of him.

Lestrange's eyes narrowed at their impertinence - he was unused to the lower forms showing independence and initiative around him. Severus stared blankly, refusing to give visual comment on the tense atmosphere. He wanted Lestrange's inevitable anger to fall on another unfortunate soul. Perhaps DeRossi if at all possible.

"Certainly Rosier, I will include you if I deem you necessary to the discussion. Sev, I will speak with you after the second round." He turned away and stalked off with his usual flare. The effect was somewhat spoiled by his beeline for the fifth year dorm where Portia and Lau had set up for the night. His ability to generate fear was really being muted by the sickly aura of true love.

Severus sneered after him, disgusted by his puppyish behavior.

Watching Lestrange, Will snorted and shook his head. He turned back to Severus. "It seems that your unfortunate vampirism has become common knowledge. I understand that the information was spread from several different sources in Gryffindor - all female. And all 'associates' of a certain unquiet fifth year."

"It's sad really, how easy he makes it for me. Potter was a much more worthy target."

"It's unfortunate that his turn does not come for another three terms. Is Lupin or Pettigrew next?"

"Lupin. Pettigrew was before Potter, though I don't blame you for forgetting that singularly unmemorable period. Lupin might even be a challenge." They shared a smirk. "I may even be sad to see the end of this term - Black really is entertaining." Charlie stared at them, only vaguely aware of the meaning. "Charlie, go get us some fags from Livia." He mumbled an 'ok' and left them.

"Lestrange seems to have woken up a bit - I was almost intimidated when I came in. Almost, mind you, the realisation that he would soon be leaning into the leash again severely mitigated the affect."

"Just so. He noticed Malfoy giving me a wink."

"He winked at you? You should be honoured, or perhaps worried for your dubious virtue." Severus glared. "And what do you think, will he do?"

"Malfoy will soon move on Parkinson. Then Lestrange will be forced to do something." It was ridiculous that a boy who'd skillfully dominated his house for three years was being forced into a reactionary position. Severus would never allow himself to fall into such a situation.

"And you are sure?" His eyebrows rose in question. Those who knew, realised that Malfoy would need to take out Parkinson before he attempted to challenge Lestrange. She was loyal to a fault - as only those acting their best interests are. She was also the sixth year lead and the bane of Malfoy's existence, being both female and more intelligent than him. He was only mollified by her brother's pathetic adoration of him.

"I know."

"It will be an interesting evening."

"Of that I am also sure." Severus spoke in a voice low even for him.

"Oh shut up, you smug bastard." Will smacked his friend on the shoulder, causing him to stumble inelegantly. "Let's go play some poker, I'm feeling manipulative and lucky tonight." He waved to Charlie, who was heading back across the room and dragging Severus from his comfortable shadow.