FIC: Without Drug or Herb (2/2)
Title: Without Drug or Herb
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Severus Snape/Remus Lupin
Warnings: Unbeta'd
Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling/her publishers. No infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Prompt: Long fic prompt #11 - Remus has a rare side-effect of long term lyncanthropy that isn't well documented and Snape finds out, and wants to use Remus has a lab rat. Remus uses it as his opportunity to get closer to his crush, oblivious!Snape a plus, happy end, 18+
Summary: “I will show you a love potion without drug or herb, or any witch's spell. If you wish to be loved, love.”
--
“Dammit!”
Severus watched helplessly as the liquid in his cauldron turn into a black, frothy mess. Again. Barely restraining himself from throwing the whole apparatus across the room, he banished the dregs and slumped at his workbench.
Try as he might, he could not isolate the love potion. If he could not isolate it, he could not brew an antidote. If he had no antidote, there was no way of escaping…
“Severus? Are you down here?” Lupin’s scuffed shoes came into view on the basement steps, along with the cuffs of his patched trousers.
Severus leapt to his feet, flapping his arms to dispel the lingering potions fumes. “What do you want?”
“Oh, any number of things.” Lupin descended until the last stair, so that they were eye-to-eye. “World peace, a cure for lycanthropy … you, dipped in chocolate.”
“Do not say such obscene things.”
“My apologies,” Lupin replied, not sounding sorry at all. “What are you working on?”
“Nothing of consequence.” Severus tried to sound flippant. He shifted so that his body blocked Lupin’s view of the still-smoking cauldron.
“Then you won’t mind the interruption.” Lupin took hold of Severus’ wrist and tugged him up the stairs.
Lupin had thrown open the curtains, flooding the sitting room with sunlight. Severus blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. When he could see again, Lupin was standing directly in front of him, holding a small box wrapped in dark blue paper.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing of consequence,” Lupin pressed the box into his hands. “Open it.”
Seeing little alternative, Severus complied. Inside the box lay a metal disk, about the size of his palm. When Severus picked it up, a circular hand mirror swiveled out.
“Two-way mirror. I’ve got the other one,” Lupin explained. “In case you ever need to contact me.”
“I am capable of placing a fire call, or sending a patronus in an emergency - why would I ever need a thing like this?”
“I don’t know,” Lupin plucked the mirror from his hands and began to fiddle with it, swinging it in and out of its metal case. “Maybe, late at night, when you’re in bed and you want me to -”
“Lupin!”
“- tuck you in.” Lupin smiled innocently.
Severus snatched the mirror back and shoved it into his pocket. He turned to go back downstairs, but Lupin seized him from behind. Trapped by Lupin’s superior strength, he grudgingly permitted himself to be manhandled.
“Or,” Lupin continued in a low growl. “If you’re laying there, briefs around your ankles, you can call me to come over and...” At his whispered suggestion, Severus began struggling to get free.
“Get a hold of yourself,” Severus said, wincing at the unintentional innuendo. “I mean, get off! No, I - blood well let go.”
Lupin’s arms around his waist went slack, but did not release him entirely. “Severus, it’s been months - months of this cat-and-mouse, of late-night conversations and those maddening physical exams. Are you saying you … don’t want this?”
“Of course I -” don’t. I don’t want this. The words caught in his throat. He turned slowly in the loose circle of Lupin’s arms.
“What do you want?” Lupin’s face was earnest and handsome in the sunlight.
He wanted out of this ludicrous situation. He wanted the Wolfsbane variant to work as it should. He wanted a time-turner, so he could undo all the damage he had done. He wanted the cautious friendship he had built with Lupin to be salvaged from the wreckage of this thrice-damned experiment. He wanted Lupin to come to him, to say all these things without a love potion addling his mind.
He wanted.
Lunging forward, he caught Lupin’s mouth in a bruising kiss. Lupin allowed this for a moment, before pressing his weight advantage and driving Severus backward. In the span of one gasping breath, Lupin had him pressed against the bookcase, his hands roaming everywhere.
“Been waiting…too long!” Lupin mumbled against Severus’ collarbone.
“Careful, idiot.” Severus fisted a hand in Lupin’s shaggy hair. “Some of these books are cursed.”
The only response he received was a vague nod, as Lupin opened the long row of buttons down the front of Severus’ robe. When he was bared to the waist, Lupin bent to run his nose from Severus’ navel to his nape, inhaling deeply. He let out a low sound, animalistic and incredibly erotic. Severus felt his knees give, just a little.
“Mmm, Severus … I just can’t - can’t seem to control myself.” Lupin licked behind Severus’ ear and tucked the fingers of Severus’ right hand to his belt buckle.
He could do it. The new potion was completely undetectable. With regular doses every month, even Lupin would never know. They could - it would be -
“No. Not today, I’m afraid.”
“Huh?” Lupin blinked stupidly. Severus was sickened to realize that he found it endearing.
“I have an appointment.” Stepping out of Lupin’s grasp, he redid the buttons of his robe. The more distance he put between them, the safer he felt. Soon he was watching Lupin warily from halfway across the room.
“Wh- when will I see you?” Lupin took a tentative step towards him.
“I’ll be away for -” twenty five days, seven hours and approximately thirty minutes until the next full moon “- a few weeks.”
“Weeks?”
“I may have to Owl your next dose of Wolfsbane to you.” Draco would shelter him, no questions asked. The little twerp owed him that much.
“Severus, what is going on?”
“It may shock you to know, Lupin, that my world does not revolve around you and your libido.”
The words had their intended effect. Lupin looked stunned, and hurt. He opened his mouth as if to say something, only to close it again. With one last angry look, he disapparated.
As soon as he was gone, Severus reconfigured the wards to keep him out, and then collapsed against a nearby wall. It could be a matter of hours or mere minutes before the love potion reasserted itself and Lupin would be compelled to come again. Either way, he didn’t have much time to gather clothes and prepare the essential Wolfsbane ingredients for transport.
There would be plenty of time later to worry over Lupin, and what he must be feeling. He had the rest of his life for regrets. Severus hurried upstairs to start packing.
--
Lupin,
Allow me to explain. Unfortunately, you’ve ingested a love potion. Even knowing this, I allowed things between us to progress - I apologize. By now, this potion along with the related feelings will have all but left your system. I wish anticipate hope -
With a snarl Severus balled up the letter and tossed it in the vicinity of the dustbin, long since filled with similarly crumpled parchment. He leaned his elbows on the escritoire, closed his eyes and sighed. He had written Lupin daily since he arrived at Malfoy Manor. He had yet to post a single letter. It appeared that he was a coward, after all.
“Professor Snape!”
The cry of a house elf roused him from his reverie. He had expressly forbade the wretched creatures form invading his private quarters, but that did not stop them from banging on his door all hours of day and night. Striding over to the door, he flung it open just as the house elf said,
“Mister Harry Potter to see you, sir!”
Severus tried to shut the door, but Potter grabbed the outside knob and shoved. Gone was the sickly little brat who Severus had privately believed was no match for the Dark Lord. In his place stood a thick-necked young Auror with a stubborn, square jaw. Potter was not brandishing his wand, but he might as well have been - he was surrounded by an air of barely-restrained violence. Severus refused to be cowed, however, and stood his ground. The house elf, no doubt sensing the mounting tension, disappeared with a sharp crack.
“Potter. How did you get past the wards?”
“Same as you - I was invited. You have to talk to Remus.”
Surprised by the abrupt change of topic, Severus narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Potter ran his hands through his hair, a gesture both like and unlike his father. Potter Senior had used it as part of his usual preening. This Potter seemed to use it to express bone-deep frustration.
“Look,” he continued in what he clearly believed to be a reasonable tone. “I don’t know what’s gone on between the two of you. I don’t want to know. But whatever you did, Remus is upset. And you owe me.”
Severus let out an incredulous scoff. “You would be dead without me.”
“And without my help you would be in Azkaban, serving two dozen consecutive life sentences.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No,” Potter said, deflating slightly. “That’s not my point. Will you listen to me? Remus misses you. Don’t you care at all?”
Remus misses you. The words cut into him, but he would willing drink something brewed by Neville Longbottom before he admitted weakness in front of Potter. Folding his hands into the sleeves of his robe, Severus strove for icy disdain.
“No.”
Potter turned red and reached for his wand.
“That’s enough!” Draco charged into the room and stepped between them. To Severus’ shock, he spoke to Potter first. “You said you were just going to talk.”
“Malfoy, you sneak, have you been listening this whole time?” Potter’s glare intensified, but his grip on the handle of his wand loosened.
“It’s a good thing I was. I really can’t have the two of you dueling in here - cleaning the bloodstains from the rug would be a nightmare.”
Severus noted the politic way Draco had chosen not to indicate whose blood would be ruining his expensive carpeting. He saw that Potter allowed himself to be herded out by a few murmured assurances. And he thought he detected the barest hint of a smile on Draco’s lips when the door finally closed behind a still-irate Potter.
“So,” he hissed. “All of a sudden, you’re screwing The Chosen One?”
“Eight months is hardly ‘sudden,’ Severus.” Draco’s reflexive smirk faded to serious look. “I was planning to tell you.”
“As if I need the details of your sordid love life,” Severus snapped.
“That’s not what I meant.” Draco snapped back, but then visibly calmed himself by taking a deep breath. “The thing with Harry and me - we had to move beyond our history. We each had to forgive.”
Severus swallowed convulsively and looked away. “Spare me. The situations are hardly comparable.”
“If you say so,” Draco's curious tone belied his blasé response. “You still haven’t told me what happened…?”
“Simple,” Severus’s looked back to Draco. “I did something unforgivable.”
--
It was an unremarkable door. The blue paint was faded, with spots that had been carefully retouched. The knob was tarnished, but the lock appeared to be in good working order. Next to the door was a window with tightly drawn curtains. Beneath his feet, a thick mat bade him “welcome.”
Severus got to know Lupin’s doorstep very well - he had been standing there for almost twenty minutes. But for the permanent cooling charm on the goblet in his hand, the steaming Wolfsbane would have scalded his fingers. He raised his hand (for the eighth time) to knock, when the door swung open.
“Come in.” Lupin looked up at him with tired eyes, before turning and walking back into his living room.
Without a word, Severus followed him inside. Lupin had answered the door in nothing but a tatty bathrobe. Severus realized that the full moon was less than an hour away.
“Lupin, I must apologize -”
“Save it, Severus.” Lupin grabbed the goblet and downed the potion. He handed it back with a grimace. “There, your duty is dispatched. Now I’d like some privacy.”
He certainly didn’t sound like a man besotted. The tincture of time had done its work - Lupin was cured of the effects of the love potion. Severus was glad. So, so glad.
“You may have noticed,” Severus spoke before he could stop himself. “I switched you back to the standard Wolfsbane.”
“No,” Lupin had one foot on the staircase going up to his bedroom. He didn’t turn around. “I didn’t notice.”
“While you were showing improvement on the variant Wolfsbane, there were some unexpected side effects.”
That got Lupin’s attention. “Side effects?”
“You may have noticed a few personality changes.” Severus had no idea why he was still talking. “New thoughts or urges…”
Turning fully around, Lupin frowned. “What do you mean, Severus?”
“You might have thought - for a short period of time - that you were in love.” Severus looked at the floor, the wall, the couch - anywhere but at Lupin. “With me.”
Lupin stared. Severus shifted uneasily and focused his gaze on on Lupin’s bare shins, poking out from beneath his bathrobe. They were muscular and covered in brown hair. He wondered if Lupin would have been this hirsute without the curse. Lupin was still staring.
“What?”
If Severus’ every sense hadn’t been straining towards the other man, he might have missed the whispered question. Even so, he found he could not quite form the words to explain himself. He merely shook his head and spat, “I’m sorry, Lupin.”
“Merlin,” Lupin muttered. “You are a piece of work, Snape.”
The use of his surname was like a slap to the face, but Severus could hardly complain. He nodded jerkily and strode towards the door.
Only to be yanked back by Lupin’s hand on his shoulder.
“What is the meaning of this?” Severus blustered, trying to get free of Lupin’s grasp.
“Weeks of worrying, of second-guessing myself, for what? You - I ought to -” Lupin shook him so hard his teeth clacked together. Then, before Severus could regain his equilibrium, Lupin folded his arms around the taller man and tugged him down into a kiss.
Even as Severus’ blood boiled, his heart sank. Pulling himself away, he gasped, “Lupin! Look at what you’re doing!”
“I am doing,” Lupin pressed his nose to the dip in Severus’ collarbone, “what I’ve dreamt of doing since I was sixteen years old.”
Severus froze. Lupin took the opportunity to haul him bodily towards the couch and sit him down on its rounded arm. He kept one arm around Severus as he loomed over him.
“Why do you think I agreed to this bloody experiment in the first place?”
“… explain yourself.”
Lupin sighed and rested his forehead against Severus’. “I tried to be good, I really did. But you started to loosen up, little by little. You didn’t hex me for flirting. And then, the last time … well, you left your wards down for me.”
“I most certainly did not,” Severus retorted. When had he closed his eyes? He opened them to glare.
“How else would I have gotten in? From you, it was as good as an engraved invitation.”
Left without a defense for once in his life, Severus looked away. Another humiliating flush rose to his cheeks.
“And now,” Lupin growled into his ear, “You’re back again, acting coy. Blushing like a virgin.”
“I am not having this conversation with you.”
“You’re right. I’m done talking.” Tightening his grip around Severus, Lupin dropped to a crouch and swung the taller man over his shoulder. “We have half an hour before moonrise. I’m not wasting another minute.”
“Put me down,” Severus hissed, scrabbling ineffectually at Lupin’s back as he was carried up the stairs. “You’ll regret this.”
“I’m sure I will,” Lupin replied mildly. “After all, I’ll need much more than half an hour. Looks like you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”
Behind Lupin’s head, Severus allowed himself a wide, triumphant smirk.
--
Dear Professor Snape,
What a fascinating proposition! Hypothetically, the herbs you described could have novel reactions when coupled with the components of Wolfsbane. But these particular compounds have been used in conjunction for thousands of years without ill effect. It is my opinion that no love potion could be brewed by the process you described.
Better luck next time!
Marjorie Lightfoot
Potions Master
Nevada Institute of Witchcraft
End
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Severus Snape/Remus Lupin
Warnings: Unbeta'd
Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling/her publishers. No infringement is intended and no money is being made.
Prompt: Long fic prompt #11 - Remus has a rare side-effect of long term lyncanthropy that isn't well documented and Snape finds out, and wants to use Remus has a lab rat. Remus uses it as his opportunity to get closer to his crush, oblivious!Snape a plus, happy end, 18+
Summary: “I will show you a love potion without drug or herb, or any witch's spell. If you wish to be loved, love.”
--
“Dammit!”
Severus watched helplessly as the liquid in his cauldron turn into a black, frothy mess. Again. Barely restraining himself from throwing the whole apparatus across the room, he banished the dregs and slumped at his workbench.
Try as he might, he could not isolate the love potion. If he could not isolate it, he could not brew an antidote. If he had no antidote, there was no way of escaping…
“Severus? Are you down here?” Lupin’s scuffed shoes came into view on the basement steps, along with the cuffs of his patched trousers.
Severus leapt to his feet, flapping his arms to dispel the lingering potions fumes. “What do you want?”
“Oh, any number of things.” Lupin descended until the last stair, so that they were eye-to-eye. “World peace, a cure for lycanthropy … you, dipped in chocolate.”
“Do not say such obscene things.”
“My apologies,” Lupin replied, not sounding sorry at all. “What are you working on?”
“Nothing of consequence.” Severus tried to sound flippant. He shifted so that his body blocked Lupin’s view of the still-smoking cauldron.
“Then you won’t mind the interruption.” Lupin took hold of Severus’ wrist and tugged him up the stairs.
Lupin had thrown open the curtains, flooding the sitting room with sunlight. Severus blinked rapidly, trying to adjust. When he could see again, Lupin was standing directly in front of him, holding a small box wrapped in dark blue paper.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing of consequence,” Lupin pressed the box into his hands. “Open it.”
Seeing little alternative, Severus complied. Inside the box lay a metal disk, about the size of his palm. When Severus picked it up, a circular hand mirror swiveled out.
“Two-way mirror. I’ve got the other one,” Lupin explained. “In case you ever need to contact me.”
“I am capable of placing a fire call, or sending a patronus in an emergency - why would I ever need a thing like this?”
“I don’t know,” Lupin plucked the mirror from his hands and began to fiddle with it, swinging it in and out of its metal case. “Maybe, late at night, when you’re in bed and you want me to -”
“Lupin!”
“- tuck you in.” Lupin smiled innocently.
Severus snatched the mirror back and shoved it into his pocket. He turned to go back downstairs, but Lupin seized him from behind. Trapped by Lupin’s superior strength, he grudgingly permitted himself to be manhandled.
“Or,” Lupin continued in a low growl. “If you’re laying there, briefs around your ankles, you can call me to come over and...” At his whispered suggestion, Severus began struggling to get free.
“Get a hold of yourself,” Severus said, wincing at the unintentional innuendo. “I mean, get off! No, I - blood well let go.”
Lupin’s arms around his waist went slack, but did not release him entirely. “Severus, it’s been months - months of this cat-and-mouse, of late-night conversations and those maddening physical exams. Are you saying you … don’t want this?”
“Of course I -” don’t. I don’t want this. The words caught in his throat. He turned slowly in the loose circle of Lupin’s arms.
“What do you want?” Lupin’s face was earnest and handsome in the sunlight.
He wanted out of this ludicrous situation. He wanted the Wolfsbane variant to work as it should. He wanted a time-turner, so he could undo all the damage he had done. He wanted the cautious friendship he had built with Lupin to be salvaged from the wreckage of this thrice-damned experiment. He wanted Lupin to come to him, to say all these things without a love potion addling his mind.
He wanted.
Lunging forward, he caught Lupin’s mouth in a bruising kiss. Lupin allowed this for a moment, before pressing his weight advantage and driving Severus backward. In the span of one gasping breath, Lupin had him pressed against the bookcase, his hands roaming everywhere.
“Been waiting…too long!” Lupin mumbled against Severus’ collarbone.
“Careful, idiot.” Severus fisted a hand in Lupin’s shaggy hair. “Some of these books are cursed.”
The only response he received was a vague nod, as Lupin opened the long row of buttons down the front of Severus’ robe. When he was bared to the waist, Lupin bent to run his nose from Severus’ navel to his nape, inhaling deeply. He let out a low sound, animalistic and incredibly erotic. Severus felt his knees give, just a little.
“Mmm, Severus … I just can’t - can’t seem to control myself.” Lupin licked behind Severus’ ear and tucked the fingers of Severus’ right hand to his belt buckle.
He could do it. The new potion was completely undetectable. With regular doses every month, even Lupin would never know. They could - it would be -
“No. Not today, I’m afraid.”
“Huh?” Lupin blinked stupidly. Severus was sickened to realize that he found it endearing.
“I have an appointment.” Stepping out of Lupin’s grasp, he redid the buttons of his robe. The more distance he put between them, the safer he felt. Soon he was watching Lupin warily from halfway across the room.
“Wh- when will I see you?” Lupin took a tentative step towards him.
“I’ll be away for -” twenty five days, seven hours and approximately thirty minutes until the next full moon “- a few weeks.”
“Weeks?”
“I may have to Owl your next dose of Wolfsbane to you.” Draco would shelter him, no questions asked. The little twerp owed him that much.
“Severus, what is going on?”
“It may shock you to know, Lupin, that my world does not revolve around you and your libido.”
The words had their intended effect. Lupin looked stunned, and hurt. He opened his mouth as if to say something, only to close it again. With one last angry look, he disapparated.
As soon as he was gone, Severus reconfigured the wards to keep him out, and then collapsed against a nearby wall. It could be a matter of hours or mere minutes before the love potion reasserted itself and Lupin would be compelled to come again. Either way, he didn’t have much time to gather clothes and prepare the essential Wolfsbane ingredients for transport.
There would be plenty of time later to worry over Lupin, and what he must be feeling. He had the rest of his life for regrets. Severus hurried upstairs to start packing.
--
Lupin,
Allow me to explain. Unfortunately, you’ve ingested a love potion. Even knowing this, I allowed things between us to progress - I apologize. By now, this potion along with the related feelings will have all but left your system. I wish anticipate hope -
With a snarl Severus balled up the letter and tossed it in the vicinity of the dustbin, long since filled with similarly crumpled parchment. He leaned his elbows on the escritoire, closed his eyes and sighed. He had written Lupin daily since he arrived at Malfoy Manor. He had yet to post a single letter. It appeared that he was a coward, after all.
“Professor Snape!”
The cry of a house elf roused him from his reverie. He had expressly forbade the wretched creatures form invading his private quarters, but that did not stop them from banging on his door all hours of day and night. Striding over to the door, he flung it open just as the house elf said,
“Mister Harry Potter to see you, sir!”
Severus tried to shut the door, but Potter grabbed the outside knob and shoved. Gone was the sickly little brat who Severus had privately believed was no match for the Dark Lord. In his place stood a thick-necked young Auror with a stubborn, square jaw. Potter was not brandishing his wand, but he might as well have been - he was surrounded by an air of barely-restrained violence. Severus refused to be cowed, however, and stood his ground. The house elf, no doubt sensing the mounting tension, disappeared with a sharp crack.
“Potter. How did you get past the wards?”
“Same as you - I was invited. You have to talk to Remus.”
Surprised by the abrupt change of topic, Severus narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
Potter ran his hands through his hair, a gesture both like and unlike his father. Potter Senior had used it as part of his usual preening. This Potter seemed to use it to express bone-deep frustration.
“Look,” he continued in what he clearly believed to be a reasonable tone. “I don’t know what’s gone on between the two of you. I don’t want to know. But whatever you did, Remus is upset. And you owe me.”
Severus let out an incredulous scoff. “You would be dead without me.”
“And without my help you would be in Azkaban, serving two dozen consecutive life sentences.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No,” Potter said, deflating slightly. “That’s not my point. Will you listen to me? Remus misses you. Don’t you care at all?”
Remus misses you. The words cut into him, but he would willing drink something brewed by Neville Longbottom before he admitted weakness in front of Potter. Folding his hands into the sleeves of his robe, Severus strove for icy disdain.
“No.”
Potter turned red and reached for his wand.
“That’s enough!” Draco charged into the room and stepped between them. To Severus’ shock, he spoke to Potter first. “You said you were just going to talk.”
“Malfoy, you sneak, have you been listening this whole time?” Potter’s glare intensified, but his grip on the handle of his wand loosened.
“It’s a good thing I was. I really can’t have the two of you dueling in here - cleaning the bloodstains from the rug would be a nightmare.”
Severus noted the politic way Draco had chosen not to indicate whose blood would be ruining his expensive carpeting. He saw that Potter allowed himself to be herded out by a few murmured assurances. And he thought he detected the barest hint of a smile on Draco’s lips when the door finally closed behind a still-irate Potter.
“So,” he hissed. “All of a sudden, you’re screwing The Chosen One?”
“Eight months is hardly ‘sudden,’ Severus.” Draco’s reflexive smirk faded to serious look. “I was planning to tell you.”
“As if I need the details of your sordid love life,” Severus snapped.
“That’s not what I meant.” Draco snapped back, but then visibly calmed himself by taking a deep breath. “The thing with Harry and me - we had to move beyond our history. We each had to forgive.”
Severus swallowed convulsively and looked away. “Spare me. The situations are hardly comparable.”
“If you say so,” Draco's curious tone belied his blasé response. “You still haven’t told me what happened…?”
“Simple,” Severus’s looked back to Draco. “I did something unforgivable.”
--
It was an unremarkable door. The blue paint was faded, with spots that had been carefully retouched. The knob was tarnished, but the lock appeared to be in good working order. Next to the door was a window with tightly drawn curtains. Beneath his feet, a thick mat bade him “welcome.”
Severus got to know Lupin’s doorstep very well - he had been standing there for almost twenty minutes. But for the permanent cooling charm on the goblet in his hand, the steaming Wolfsbane would have scalded his fingers. He raised his hand (for the eighth time) to knock, when the door swung open.
“Come in.” Lupin looked up at him with tired eyes, before turning and walking back into his living room.
Without a word, Severus followed him inside. Lupin had answered the door in nothing but a tatty bathrobe. Severus realized that the full moon was less than an hour away.
“Lupin, I must apologize -”
“Save it, Severus.” Lupin grabbed the goblet and downed the potion. He handed it back with a grimace. “There, your duty is dispatched. Now I’d like some privacy.”
He certainly didn’t sound like a man besotted. The tincture of time had done its work - Lupin was cured of the effects of the love potion. Severus was glad. So, so glad.
“You may have noticed,” Severus spoke before he could stop himself. “I switched you back to the standard Wolfsbane.”
“No,” Lupin had one foot on the staircase going up to his bedroom. He didn’t turn around. “I didn’t notice.”
“While you were showing improvement on the variant Wolfsbane, there were some unexpected side effects.”
That got Lupin’s attention. “Side effects?”
“You may have noticed a few personality changes.” Severus had no idea why he was still talking. “New thoughts or urges…”
Turning fully around, Lupin frowned. “What do you mean, Severus?”
“You might have thought - for a short period of time - that you were in love.” Severus looked at the floor, the wall, the couch - anywhere but at Lupin. “With me.”
Lupin stared. Severus shifted uneasily and focused his gaze on on Lupin’s bare shins, poking out from beneath his bathrobe. They were muscular and covered in brown hair. He wondered if Lupin would have been this hirsute without the curse. Lupin was still staring.
“What?”
If Severus’ every sense hadn’t been straining towards the other man, he might have missed the whispered question. Even so, he found he could not quite form the words to explain himself. He merely shook his head and spat, “I’m sorry, Lupin.”
“Merlin,” Lupin muttered. “You are a piece of work, Snape.”
The use of his surname was like a slap to the face, but Severus could hardly complain. He nodded jerkily and strode towards the door.
Only to be yanked back by Lupin’s hand on his shoulder.
“What is the meaning of this?” Severus blustered, trying to get free of Lupin’s grasp.
“Weeks of worrying, of second-guessing myself, for what? You - I ought to -” Lupin shook him so hard his teeth clacked together. Then, before Severus could regain his equilibrium, Lupin folded his arms around the taller man and tugged him down into a kiss.
Even as Severus’ blood boiled, his heart sank. Pulling himself away, he gasped, “Lupin! Look at what you’re doing!”
“I am doing,” Lupin pressed his nose to the dip in Severus’ collarbone, “what I’ve dreamt of doing since I was sixteen years old.”
Severus froze. Lupin took the opportunity to haul him bodily towards the couch and sit him down on its rounded arm. He kept one arm around Severus as he loomed over him.
“Why do you think I agreed to this bloody experiment in the first place?”
“… explain yourself.”
Lupin sighed and rested his forehead against Severus’. “I tried to be good, I really did. But you started to loosen up, little by little. You didn’t hex me for flirting. And then, the last time … well, you left your wards down for me.”
“I most certainly did not,” Severus retorted. When had he closed his eyes? He opened them to glare.
“How else would I have gotten in? From you, it was as good as an engraved invitation.”
Left without a defense for once in his life, Severus looked away. Another humiliating flush rose to his cheeks.
“And now,” Lupin growled into his ear, “You’re back again, acting coy. Blushing like a virgin.”
“I am not having this conversation with you.”
“You’re right. I’m done talking.” Tightening his grip around Severus, Lupin dropped to a crouch and swung the taller man over his shoulder. “We have half an hour before moonrise. I’m not wasting another minute.”
“Put me down,” Severus hissed, scrabbling ineffectually at Lupin’s back as he was carried up the stairs. “You’ll regret this.”
“I’m sure I will,” Lupin replied mildly. “After all, I’ll need much more than half an hour. Looks like you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”
Behind Lupin’s head, Severus allowed himself a wide, triumphant smirk.
--
Dear Professor Snape,
What a fascinating proposition! Hypothetically, the herbs you described could have novel reactions when coupled with the components of Wolfsbane. But these particular compounds have been used in conjunction for thousands of years without ill effect. It is my opinion that no love potion could be brewed by the process you described.
Better luck next time!
Marjorie Lightfoot
Potions Master
Nevada Institute of Witchcraft
End