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izukillme-moved · 5 years

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Double Dates

For the FTLGBTales 300 Followers raffle, first prize winner @fading-away-today! I’m so sorry it took so long :( I hope you enjoy it!

Word Count: 3943

Pairing: Fraxus, Gratsu

“Why are we even here?” Laxus grumbled quietly to Freed, who elbowed him painfully in the gut. The Lightning Dragon Slayer screeched loudly, jumping about a mile high. “Ouch! That hurt!”

“It was supposed to,” replied Freed, cool as a cucumber, and continued his conversation with Natsu about why scarves were such an essential part of fashion.

Laxus raised his gaze from his plate to look at Gray, who seemed as interested in Freed and Natsu’s discussion as he would be in a cement brick. Which is to say, not at all.

I feel you, man, Gray mouthed at him when he caught him staring. Laxus nodded slightly, not wanting Freed to notice.

What are we even doing here? he mouthed back discreetly.

Gray lifted his shoulders a fraction of an inch. No idea.

“Cut it out, you two!” Freed shouted threateningly, slamming his hands down on the table. Laxus shivered a little, blood draining from his cheeks (and rushing promptly to another place which he prefers not be mentioned here, thank you very much).

Gray, however, wasn’t prudent enough to keep his mouth shut. “Yes, Mom,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.

Freed leaned down so his face was level with the Ice Wizard’s. “Care to repeat that?” he asked dangerously.

Gray gulped and paled. “N – no, sir,” he said with a salute.

Freed grinned like a shark. “It must have just been the wind.”

“Y – yes sir,” Gray stuttered.

Freed finally sat down and continued to sip at his no-sugar latte, whereas Gray just stared into his black coffee, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

That boyfriend of yours is something else, he mouthed at Laxus.

Laxus smiled a little. He really is.

Freed turned a death glare on both of them.

Cut to about an hour later and even the discussion between Freed and Natsu, which had seemed like it was never going to end, had finally fizzled out. All of them sat staring at their respective beverages, which had gone cold a long time ago (except for Natsu, who was staring into an empty cup because he’d swallowed down his mocha nearly the minute it arrived).

“So,” Laxus started lamely, attempting to spark some kind of conversation and break the uncomfortable silence. Gray and Freed were both history geeks, and Igneel had taught Natsu a lot of dragon history – maybe he could bring up some random war to start a debate.

“The Battle of Fairy Tail was a brutal war, wasn’t it?” he blurted, and they all stared at him in complete disbelief.

Laxus wanted to hide. He wished the ground would open up and swallow him, just like it had the Queen Sita in the legends Makarov used to tell him.

Why, oh why did he have to say ‘Fairy Tail’? WHY?!

Then Natsu burst into laughter, and Gray followed suit.

“Laxus-” wheezed the Fire Dragon Slayer, “You caused that war, and you’re asking if it was brutal?”

Laxus felt a little stung. They still blamed him for it – well, it was natural, seeing as he’d pretty much wrecked Magnolia – but it hurt a little. His brows creased slightly.

“It wasn’t that bad,” added Gray quickly, apparently sensing something. “It’s just over-exaggerated because you were – are – a member of Fairy Tail, and that sudden betrayal made things go out of proportion. You’ve atoned enough, and you’re back with us. That’s the best result we could have gotten out of that war.”

Freed put a comforting hand on his boyfriend’s large back, rubbing small circles on it. “I was a part of all that destruction, too,” he whispered so only Laxus could hear. “It was my runes that forced guild members to fight one another. My runes that hurt everyone so badly. It wasn’t just you – I share that guilt, that burden. You’re not alone. But, we’re a part of the guild, we always will be. That’s the important thing. Not the mistakes you made, but the lessons you learned from them.”

Laxus smiled and kissed the top of Freed’s head. “Thank you,” he murmured softly.

Meanwhile, Natsu was staring at them with a mix of confusion and joy. “I didn’t know Freed was so sappy,” he declared.

Freed went a million shades of red and screeched, “Sappy?!” He lunged for Natsu. “Why you little-”

Natsu’s face turned blank. “I’m over eighty, your runes said so,” he retorted.

Freed turned purple and went for Natsu’s neck, hands making to strangle him.

Gray laughed. “All right, let’s all calm down here,” he said, flapping his hands in a placatory gesture. “Freed, relax. It was just a joke, you know he didn’t mean it. Natsu has a horrible case of foot-in-the-mouth disease,” he added, throwing a pointed glare at his boyfriend, who paled a little.

Somewhere in the middle of the sea, a certain straw-hat-wearing pirate sneezed.

“We’re not having much fun here, and it’s really obvious,” Gray continued, a spark in his eyes. “So why don’t we do this? Each one of us takes a turn suggesting a place or a thing we can do, and we decide on one, then do it. Afterwards, we split paths and go home after a fulfilling night, to more fulfilling things.”

“Not in the mood,” Natsu droned.

“I’m asexual,” Freed said.

Gray’s face flattened into a betrayed glare, which he directed at Natsu. “You were the one who couldn’t wait to get some this morning! You woke me up at five because you were horny!”

Natsu pouted. “Well, now I’m not,”

Gray rolled his eyes. “And anyway, there are other fulfilling things you can do. It’s not just sex. Like, I don’t know, watch something on the TV, or just cuddle on the couch or something,” His voice had dropped when he reached the last bit, and he was blushing furiously.

“Aww,” Freed teased, reaching forward to pinch the younger’s red cheek. “Gray is so cute. You lucked out, Natsu, unlike me.” he said jokingly.

Natsu kissed Gray’s temple and smiled. “I really did,” he said, sounding faraway.

Laxus shot up, indignantly asking, “What do you mean you didn’t luck out?”

Freed laughed. “Well, if we’re spending quality time together, we always go out on a date. We never just sit at home and watch trashy soap operas and comment on them, or cuddle, or things like that. There are some days I’d prefer to stay home and relax, you know?”

“Oh,” Laxus said in a strangled voice. “Sorry.”

A slightly awkward silence fell over the table, broken by Natsu clapping his hands loudly and saying, “All right, let’s all think of something. After five minutes, we say ours out loud.”

“Okay,” Gray shrugged.

“It’s your idea,” Laxus pointed out, putting Freed’s words to the back of his mind. Surely, he hadn’t meant it. Laxus could think on that later. “You could be a little more excited.”

“I could, but I don’t want to.” Gray said flatly.

Natsu smacked his arm. “Don’t be mean,” he chided.

Gray rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay. I suggest we go to a bar and get drunk.”

“No,” Laxus shouted immediately, aghast. Getting drunk was the worst idea when you were around a certain Rune Mage, because there were two kinds of Freed. Normal Freed, and Drunk Freed.

Now, Normal Freed was the regular sweet, gentle, intelligent but also dangerous man Laxus loved. Drunk Freed… well, that was another story entirely.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like it either,” Natsu added, and Freed nodded in agreement.

“A’right,” Gray shrugged and went back to staring out of the window.

A few minutes later, Natsu shot up, chirping, “Ooh! Ooh! I got one!”

They all turned towards him, Freed asking, “What is it?”

“We could go watch How to Train Your Dragon!” he said excitedly. “It’s really good.”

“Seen it,” droned Gray, Laxus and Freed in unison.

Natsu stared at his boyfriend in betrayal. “Gray…” he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. “How could you watch it without me?”

“We went together, you dumbass!” Gray shouted, throwing his hands up. “You went thrice, for God’s sake.”

Natsu frowned for a minute, then scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “Ah, you’re right. I forgot.”

Gray face-palmed. “You idiot.”

“We could all go home,” Laxus suggested out of sheer boredom. “And call an end to this bullshit.”

Freed elbowed him again. “Laxus, no.”

“Why not? It’s not working anyway,” he whined.

“That’s why Gray came up with this plan. So that we could make it work,” Freed emphasised the last three words and shot one of his deadly glares at Laxus, who gulped and nodded.

“Yes, sir,”

“Freed, you’re the only one who hasn’t said something yet. Do you have an idea or what? Should we just go with Laxus’ plan?” Gray asked.

Natsu stamped on his foot.

“Quit abusing me!” Gray cried, and smacked Natsu’s head. The two began to brawl in their seats, and Laxus sighed. Was it possible for them to stop fighting for even a minute?

Meanwhile, Freed had adopted a thoughtful expression, tilting his head to one side, one brow dipping.

Laxus could only think, This is why I love him.

That thought was dashed within a second when Freed proposed, “Karaoke?”

What the hell?!

“That’s… not bad, actually,” Natsu piped up. “I know where the nearest one is, I went with Macao and Wakaba once. It might be fun, and Gray has the best singing voice,” he added, nudging his boyfriend, who’d miraculously kept his clothes on so far.

“I can carry a tune well enough, but I’m not as good as Natsu says I am.” Gray muttered shyly.

“Shut up, you are,” Natsu retorted. “Have you heard yourself sing? It’s one of the few things I can’t find something to tease you about.”

Gray looked away, cheeks red. “You shut up,” he retorted weakly.

“Everyone’s on board, then?” Freed asked, clapping his hands together.

Gray nodded slightly. Natsu hummed in response. Laxus sat quietly, still not believing what was going on.

Karaoke?! Are you serious?! Freed, you’ve had some crazy ideas before, but karaoke with Gray and Natsu can be explained by nothing but you having gone off your damned rocker!

“Laxus?” Freed almost shouted, waving a hand in his boyfriend’s face. “We’re doing karaoke.”

“No way in hell!” Laxus recoiled. “It’s a shitty idea.” He nodded at Gray and Natsu, who were arguing quietly – or as quiet as they could get – about something or the other. “Karaoke. With those two. How can that be anything but trouble?”

Freed sighed through his nose. “Just… come with us. It might be fun. Plus, I’ll get to hear you sing! You always say no when I ask you to. Lighten up a little.”

“I like singing.” Laxus argued back. “I just don’t want to do it in front of… people.”

Freed pressed his lips together and glared at Laxus. “You’re making a scene,” he spat quietly.

And indeed, both Gray and Natsu had stopped fighting and were staring at Laxus and Freed, eyes flicking from one to the other as if they were spectators in a match of tennis.

“Okay. But I’m not singing,” Laxus warned finally.

“Aw,” whined Natsu. “I was so looking forward to seeing him! Laxus never loosens up.” Gray nodded in agreement.

Freed grinned. “Laxus is just being grumpy,” he said lightly. “Let’s go, come on!”

“I am not,” Laxus hissed under his breath, “being grumpy. I just… don’t like singing karaoke, okay?!”

Natsu got up and led Gray out of the café, Freed and Laxus following, the latter being dragged unwillingly by the former.

“Do we have to?” grumbled Laxus to his boyfriend.

Freed gave him a look. “Just do it. It won’t be that bad.”

“Yes, it will.”

Freed let out an exasperated sigh and yanked Laxus along with him. “Honestly,” he muttered, half to himself. “Couldn’t you just be cooperative for once? Drama queen.”

Laxus raised an eyebrow. “Oh, look who’s talking.”

Freed stopped abruptly. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, nothing,” the blonde said nonchalantly, starting to walk at a steady pace. He stopped about a few feet from the still-frozen Freed and added over his shoulder with a sly smile, “We’ll be late if you keep standing there, you know. You might just melt like a candle, who knows?”

Freed turned red, lunging for the taller. “I’m going to kill you!”

But Laxus, surprisingly nimble for his large size, danced out of the way of Freed’s wrath just in time.

“Come on, slowpoke!” he called, continuing to follow Natsu and Gray. “Are you coming or not?”

Freed’s hands shook in barely controlled rage, but he stormed after his boyfriend anyway, not wanting to cause a bigger scene than he had already.

Damn Laxus. Knows just how to push all my buttons. he thought darkly as he stalked down the cobbled street, too busy stewing in his irritation to pay any attention to his surroundings.

And as a result, he promptly walked into six half-naked feet of Gray Fullbuster.

“Whoa!” Gray yelped, wheeling around to face him. “Freed, man, are you all right? You’ve got to watch where you’re going,”

“I’m fine,” growled Freed. “Just fine.”

Gray eyed him suspiciously. “…If you say so,” he eventually gave in, and trotted off behind Natsu.

Freed’s foul mood had mostly evaporated by the time they got to the karaoke bar, nearly an hour later. Of course, Laxus’ smug smirk did nothing to help, but Freed decided to be the bigger person and let it go.

It was proving to be harder than he’d thought. All Freed wanted to do was punch that little smile off Laxus’ face (and it wouldn’t hurt to knock in a few teeth too.)

“Uh… who’s paying?” Gray suddenly asked. “I’m… kind of broke.” Understandable. That engagement ring that was hiding in his and Natsu’s rarely-opened book cupboard had probably cost a fortune.

“Me too,” Natsu said with a shrug.

“Me as well,” Freed chimed in, grinning wickedly. Of course he wasn’t, but it would be nice to see the miserly Laxus shell out some Jewel for once.

They all looked at Laxus pleadingly. Natsu’s puppy eyes were dialled up to max power, and the Lightning Dragon Slayer found himself melting under that gaze.

“All right,” he relented. “I’ll pay. How many hours?”

“Three?” suggested Freed. “That should be enough. It’s already six, we can be done by nine and home by ten.”

Laxus sighed through his nose and paid, grumbling to himself all the while. A key was shoved into his hand, and he stared at the number before lumbering along the corridors, the other three following.

“One zero six,” he murmured to himself and unlocked the door. Natsu danced in, Freed smiling in amusement at the younger’s antics.

“All right,” Gray clapped his hands. “Natsu’s going first.”

“I am not! Why don’t you?” Natsu shouted indignantly, good mood disappearing in an instant.

“Why don’t you two do a duet?” suggested Freed, ever the mediator.

The couple exchanged dubious glances. Gray looked like he was about to puke; his face had taken on a greenish tint, and his eyes were wide and fearful as he shook his head at Natsu, who just shrugged and lifted his palms up in a ‘what can you do’ gesture.

“We’re doing it,” announced Natsu finally, grabbing Gray’s hand.

“Then it’s settled!” Freed smiled. “Pick a song and let’s go!”

Natsu flicked the TV on and scrolled through the list, stopping on ‘Close to Me’.

Gray recoiled. “No. No way. I hate that song!”

“Come on, it’s just… two minutes long,” Natsu whined. “Please?”

“No!”

“I’m sure Freed and I would be better at karaoke than you,” Laxus called in a brief moment of insanity. “You don’t need to be so worried. We’d out-sing you any day!”

The greenish tint vanished completely, and Gray’s eyes shone with a dark gleam. “That sounded a lot like a challenge. And I don’t turn down a challenge.”

That was when Laxus knew for sure that this night was going to hell.

Gray and Natsu both grabbed a microphone each. Natsu clicked on the ‘play’ button, and music began to blare from the speakers.

Natsu had been right; Gray really did sing well. His strong voice flowed over each and every note, gracefully dipping low in the deeper parts and soaring in the higher ones. Each syllable was sung confidently, and his breaths were barely heard. Natsu was equally good, swooping in just when Gray stopped, timing his singing perfectly with that of his boyfriend’s. His lighter, higher voice made for an excellent combination with Gray’s baritone.

When they finished the song, both Laxus and Freed couldn’t help but clap till their hands were sore.

“That was amazing!” Freed complimented, walking over to high-five both Gray and Natsu. “Gray, you’re a dark horse! Why do you never sing at guild events? Your voice would go so well with Mira’s,”

Gray shook his head, a small smile on his face.

“Ah, I don’t like singing much.”

“Points: 9/10,” said the robotic voice of the karaoke machine.

Gray and Natsu high-fived each other. “Yes!”

“Guess it’s our turn,” said Laxus noncommittally, getting up and slinking over to the playlist.

Freed made a face when he saw the song Laxus had chosen. “Seriously?”

Laxus nodded, grinning evilly. “It’s called ‘payback’, Freed.”

“No. No. We are not doing this!”

Gray craned his neck over Laxus’ shoulder and promptly burst into raucous laughter.

“Oh my God, this is going to be priceless,” he cackled.

Laxus smirked and pressed ‘play’.

The lyrics flashed on the large TV screen, and Natsu took one look at it before joining his boyfriend in hysterics on the floor.

“I have a pen,” Laxus began, holding one hand up with a wicked grin on his face. “I have an apple!”

“Laxus, no!” Freed shoved an elbow into Laxus’ gut.

Laxus brought his hands together. “Apple pen! Come on, Freed, do you really want to lose?”

The look Freed gave him stated clearly that he was so going to pay for this later. Ah, well. Might as well go crazy when he could. This night was going to hell anyway; whatever he did now couldn’t possibly make it worse.

And if he had to do this, he was going to make it as embarrassing as possible.

“I have a pen, I have a pineapple,” Laxus sang, completely out of tune.

Freed gave him a miserable look, but joined in. “Pineapple pen.”

“Apple pen,” Laxus continued.

“Pineapple pen,”

“Boom! Pen pineapple apple pen!”

With a start, Laxus realised he was actually enjoying this. A grin had made its way onto his face at some point.

The fact that he could not actually sing, however, was a bit of a drawback. But Laxus had never been one to worry about drawbacks.

And so, he continued to sing (or rather, bray the lyrics of PPAP).

Well, at least Freed had started trying somewhere along the second repetition of ‘Pen pineapple apple pen!’

When they finally finished, three whole minutes later, Gray and Natsu just stared dumbly at the older two.

“What?” Laxus demanded.

Natsu shook his head and burst into laughter.

“That was hilarious, man!” Gray added, giggling as well. “I didn’t know you sang that well, Laxus,”

“Shut up,” Laxus grumbled.

“Points: 5/10,” said the machine.

“You shut up too!” Laxus shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the thing.

Freed glared at his boyfriend. “I can’t believe you picked that song. Seriously?”

Laxus shrugged. “Like I said. Payback.”

“Is anyone hungry?” Natsu asked excitedly. “We could get food.”

Gray grunted. “Hn.”

Somewhere in heaven, about five hundred people with dark hair and red eyes all sneezed at the same time.

Freed nodded. “That seems like a good idea.”

They all looked at Laxus, who was out cold on the floor at the thought of having to spend more money.

Then Freed shrugged and pulled Laxus’ credit card out of his pocket. “Eh, it’s on him anyways.”

“Great,” Natsu grinned and picked up the menu card, an evil glint in his eye.

When Laxus finally came to, he would regret ever agreeing to pay for anything that involved food and one Natsu Dragneel.

The first thing Laxus saw when he opened his eyes were piles and piles of empty plates.

The smell of shrimp tempura hung in the air, and Laxus’ stomach grumbled. Natsu lay comatose on the couch, one hand on his belly. A half-empty bottle of wine was clenched in the other hand. Gray had his hands behind his head, eyes trained on Laxus, and Freed… Freed was passed out next to Natsu. An empty bottle lay near his head.

It didn’t take long for Laxus to connect the dots.

“What. Is. This.” he ground out.

Natsu’s eyes fluttered open at the sound, and he looked up hazily. “Oh, we o’dered food ‘cause we got ‘ungry,” he slurred.

“And are you drunk?!” Laxus bellowed in outrage, getting up and snatching the bottle out of his hand. “How do you get drunk off half a bottle of wine?!”

But Natsu’s eyes had slid shut again; he was unconscious.

“One and a half,” Gray corrected. “He downed it like water. Freed had two.”

“Freed’s a lightweight!” Laxus threw his hands up in the air. “How did you not know this? Why didn’t you stop him?!”

Gray smirked. “Of course I knew. I just like watching people make fools out of themselves. It was really hilarious, you know; they were lurching and swaying, they couldn’t even stand up straight, and then they put on party music and tried to dance, but Natsu bonked his head on the handle of the couch, and Freed just kind of… fainted.”

Laxus pinched his nose and sighed. “We should get them home.”

Gray gave the two drunk, unconscious men a once-over. “I wish I could just leave them here, but you’re right.” He rose and stretched, then walked over to Natsu, pulling the Fire Dragon Slayer’s entire weight onto his back. “Come on, Flame Brain. Time to go home.”

Laxus kneeled down in front of the couch, his back to Freed, and slid Freed’s legs under his arms. He laced Freed’s hands around his neck, making sure the smaller boy was secure, and stood up.

“La-zus?” Freed slurred. “I – wh-”

“Shh,” Laxus said gruffly. “Hold on tight. We’re going home.”

He felt Freed’s head settle comfortably in the crook of his neck, like always. The soft, steady breathing told him Freed was asleep. Laxus looked over at Gray, who’d given up on dragging Natsu home and was holding him princess-style.

He wore the same smile as Laxus.

Gray turned his head, catching Laxus’ eye, and they both smiled.

“They’re idiots,” Gray said.

Laxus nodded. “But they’re our idiots.”

Gray hummed in agreement. “I actually ended up having some fun. Not that I ever want to do this again,” he added, shuddering.

Laxus shivered. “Hell no. If either Freed or Natsu comes up with the idea of a double date again, we do all we can to stop them.”

“It’s a deal,” Gray agreed quickly, face pale. “Let’s get out of here.”

And both Mages hightailed their way out of the karaoke bar to their respective homes, carrying their boyfriends all the way.

Little did they know that Freed and Natsu had heard everything they’d said, and were already planning more evil things to do to Gray and Laxus.

After all, as Freed said, tomorrow was a new day, and brought with it a whole new host of plans to torture their boyfriends.

@ftlgbtales

#fairy tail #gratsu #fraxus #natsu dragneel #freed justine #laxus dreyar #ftlgbtales raffle #ceru writes #gray fullbuster #FTLGBTales

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insidesanity · 5 years

Text

Wrote some more of a fanfic

Fanfiction

RJH

I do not own Harry Potter, it is the intellectual property of JKR and none of this belongs to me except for the plot.

I can and I will

Chapter 1 Flux Draught

A loud bang reverberated throughout the potions classroom. An acrid green smoke filled the air and popping noises could be heard.

“JOHNSON!” yelled Snape. Snape rarely lost his temper and yelled because he found the quieter he spoke the more scared and well behaved the pupils were, but on the rare occasion when he did yell even the bravest students shook in their seats. The only reason for some students being conscious was that no one could see the death glare Snape wore on his face. Snape quickly realized this and rectified the situation by banishing the acrid smoke. As the smoke cleared students took a look at each other, people had changed color; hair that was once blond was green, black became silver, skin colors changed from normal browns and tans to blues, purples, and even pure white. Some people had scales or fur, others pointy teeth or tails (and lots of ruined clothing). People started to laugh and cry and point at each other, the noise got louder as people showed off red eyes, gray fingernails, and furry faces, the noise got louder and louder until- “SILENCE!” The classroom became as quiet as a tomb, all eyes were on Snape, and the changes wrought on him were not in anyway funny.

Snape had bat wings, claws, and talons. He had paler skin that was palid instead of yellow, pointed ears, but that wasn’t what was scary, no; it was his face that was terrifying. Snape’s eyes were black usually; so dark you couldn’t tell that he had an iris. Now, the irises were very visible, as they were outlined with a bright fiery red. They glowed angrily, the only evidence of his inner fury. His usual sneer was gone, his mouth closed, waiting for silence, and when he opened it to speak it showed that his eyeteeth were rather sharp. The class looked on awestruck; many were shaking a little bit. One boy, Ivan V. Johnson, was frozen in place, eyes wide at Professor Snape’s new form.

“Johnson, that is the 4th time this month that you have purposely tampered with your potion,” said Snape quietly looking at a small 3rd year Hufflepuff gone Gryffindor...or perhaps Slytherin, “the 25th time this year.” Snape glared at the boy. He was big, not fat but built well, he had long messy brown hair, blue eyes, and a sneer on his face that vanished as soon as Snape addressed him and was quickly replaced with a look of innocence and confusion. “Mr. Johnson, you have broken so many rules I don’t think there are enough detentions to satisfy your punishment needs. While normally I would not punish you for things not done in my classroom, you are using potions, brewed in my class, to cause disruptions. Yes, I know about that.” Stated Snape in a matter of fact way.

“B-but Sir I didn’t do this on purpose, I just messed up, I was at the same stage as everyone else! I was adding the hemlock. I had-“ Stammered Ivan Johnson before Snape cut him off and spat venomously at him.

“You purposely added the hemlock after letting the potion simmer for 2 minutes 3 seconds instead 3 minutes 15 seconds.” Ivan looked wide-eyed at Snape. “Only someone who had looked up the potion they were trying to make would have known to add it then.” Snape hissed. “If you had added the hemlock at any other time the potion would explode and cover the brewer in a malodorous liquid that would cause continuous changes of the pigment.…the colors are not always pretty, Mr. Johnson.” said Snape annoyed that he had to stop his tongue lashing to explain what he was saying. “The liquid, how shall I put this so you understand… The liquid would also cause temporary loss of mind at random intervals of varying length…You would become very stupid for periods of time that could last anywhere between 1 minute and a day and this could happen at anytime, during a test, while flying, while doing homework, …flirting…” Snape smirked evilly as Ivan gulped, he knew that Ivan was a flirt, so the thought of losing his mental faculties while about to kiss a girl was sure to be a horrifying idea for him.

Snape’s smirk disappeared and his eyes turned cold, the hot fury of before gone, replaced by cold anger. Snape rarely lost control of his anger, but when he did, someone could get hurt, badly. When Snape’s usual cold fury set in Snape would hurt you in such ways that would remain with you forever. Humiliation, fear, pain; often due from doing some unspeakably horrible chore for him that could include anything from scrubbing 10-100 cauldrons or preparing some potions ingredient, alive or dead… His glare would send some students into a faint where Snape would sneer and maybe consider the embarrassment punishment enough, others would cry, beg, grovel, a few just ran. Ivan did none of these, but continued to look confused and innocent. Snape’s dark stare changed, somehow, something clicked in his head and the red in his eyes became so dark they looked like blood as he stared into space for a moment. He licked his dry lips. Coming back to the situation Snape stood to his full height and glared at Ivan.

“The potion you brewed is a little known potion simply called Flux Draught, as it randomly changes someone’s appearance; to make this potion you would have to do research and know the exact time to put the leaves in, and do it purposely, as I told the class that anyone putting the leaves in at the wrong time would lose 50 points for their House in hopes that that would discourage…accidents. I can honestly say that no accidents happened here today, am I right Mr. Johnson?” Snape raised an eyebrow in question to the boy who still looked confused. “Mr. Johnson, you can come quietly with dignity now, or undergo the humiliation you so rightfully deserve. There are other, legal, less known, and… painful ways of getting truthful answers than veritaserum.” Snape hissed and again raised an eyebrow at Ivan, who was still trying to look confused and innocent. Snape shook his head and smirked. “Mr. Johnson would you like to endure 10, or 20, or if you are feeling lucky, maybe 50, detentions? I believe that would be a record for the number of detentions given out together…” Johnson looked a little startled for a moment before going back to his innocent pose that said he didn’t know what Snape was talking about.

“I seriously do not know what went wrong Professor!” This time both Snape’s eyebrows went up and he curled a lip into a snarl.

“Mr. Johnson, I commend you for your bravery, but you will admit your doings. Would you like to lose…for the first time in the history of the school… all your House points?” Many students gasped at the unimaginable horror of the idea, not knowing if anyone could actually do that. The hate that would be dumped on Ivan would be horrible, Ivan had to relent, but the boy was not about to be defeated. He grinned, something no one should ever do in Snape’s class. Everyone looked at Snape for his reaction, but he just stood there waiting for what he knew was going to happen.

“You got me Snape. Yeah, I did it, and I am glad I did. You look a lot better this way.” Ivan said as he reclined in his seat and put his feet on the table. There was a general intake of breath and a hushed silence as everyone waited to see what Snape would do. Snape just summoned a mirror and looked at himself, he raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth, showing off the pointed teeth, he looked at his eyes and his hands. He finally looked at his wings, he moved them and he lifted a few feet off the ground and hovered in mid air. The students gasped. The class started to applaud, but Snape glared and the room was quiet except for the flapping of wings. Snape looked at his shoes, they were ruined; talons had broken through the black leather. Snape shook his head, what a waste. He landed and walked over to Ivan.

“Minus 15 points for disrespecting a teacher.” Snape said as he scared every student in the class by allowing the smallest smile to come to his features. Snape waved his wand and all of the strange features disappeared. “Ivan, you will have detention at 8:20 tonight, do not be late. You will also stay after class. Everyone else will leave now for the infirmary.” The students stared at him, frozen in place from all the information. “Now!” Barked Snape and all the students rushed to gather their things and put out the fires. “Since the potion was not completed everyone will write a report on it and what you believe would cause the timing of adding ingredients to matter.” Snape said as they rushed, and lowered his voice to a deadly whisper. “If I find that any of you have not gone to the hospital wing you will serve a full detention with me.” The class had stopped to listen as Snape whispered, not daring to make noise, but once he finished they ran as fast as they could out of the room, in too big of a rush to even grumble about the unfairness of the report they would have to do, and the oddity of assigning a detention only 40 minutes before curfew.

Ivan remained, feet propped on top of the desk arms behind his head and rocking in his chair.

“You remind me of a certain person, he was popular, a quidditch player, a very skilled wizard.” Ivan looked stunned at the compliment, but before he could thank him the professor continued. “An inconsiderate bully, a simpleton, and an astonishingly immature git.” Snape mused as Ivan’s thanks caught in his throat. Snape waved his wand again and the strange features returned. Ivan looked at him about to question why they were still there. Again, he was cut off. “Impudent child, why would I have sent everyone else up to the infirmary if I could have fixed it with a simple spell? Few potions can be cancelled by spells, most need another potion to help.” Snape summoned a vial that contained a pink fluid, he rubbed his sharpened teeth, and put his finger into the vial, the potion was now blue. He repeated the process with the wings and the potion was now purple, he did this for every other changed aspect twice and then told Ivan to wait in the class while he took the potion. Ivan raised an eyebrow.

“My changes are more severe than anyone else’s, if you wish to see bones and muscles reconfiguring to such a degree that you can hear the cracking and see protruding muscles, by all means, I will drink the potion here.” said Snape, Ivan quickly shook his head with a look of disgust and Snape disappeared into his private quarters.

Once in his quarters Snape recast the glamour spell to hide the attributes and placed the bottle on his desk. He went over to the fireplace. Throwing floo powder in he called; “Dumbledore, I would like to meet you, down here, in five minutes, it is important.”

“Of course.” said the head of Albus Dumbledore, which was sticking out through the flames. Snape nodded and they both left. Snape walked back into the classroom and addressed Ivan.

“If you weren’t a talented potion maker I would dispose of you now.” said Snape venomously. Ivan paled slightly before regaining his composure.

“You couldn’t. You wouldn’t get away with it.” Ivan said trying to sound more positive than he was.

“Believe me, I could and I would. Tread lightly Mister Johnson, or you might find yourself…adopted.” Snape said evilly. Ivan paled even more.

“I’ve-I’ve never told anyone I was an orphan…” He said quietly.

“I know anything and everything I want to about my students, as all good teachers should.” Snape said as he stood menacingly above Ivan. “You will come to your detention, and leave after it is done. You will walk around and make sure people see you, and you will then come back. Your detention will take long enough that you will not be able to return before curfew, you will stay here overnight. If you tell anyone about this you will have weekly 2 hour detentions for the remainder of the year as well a being banned from watching and playing quidditch.” Ivan paled, that was a huge deterrent from telling anyone. Ivan paled even more; staying with Snape…overnight. That was not something any student would ever even think possible, most would run away before even contemplating such a horrifying idea. Ivan gulped and nodded. Snape motioned for him to leave and Ivan rushed out the door. Snape sneered at the boy’s cowardice and left for his private lab where Dumbledore was waiting.

“Headmaster.” Snape nodded as he entered noticing that Dumbledore had summoned a light purple armchair that horribly threw off the dark mood of the room. Dumbledore nodded back.

“What is the problem Severus, other than the fact that a whole class is now in the infirmary with seemingly random afflictions?” Dumbledore asked eyes twinkling.

“I have two problems to discuss with you, the first one of a considerably lighter nature.” Dumbledore pressed his hands together and looked over his half moon spectacles waiting patiently. Snape removed the glamour and Dumbledore smiled.

“Why Severus, you look positively-”

“Old…these attributes are those of a thousand year old Vampire Albus!” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled in amusement; he seemed to know where the conversation was going.

“These new attributes would be wonderful for your spying career if you could keep them hidden from Voldemort.”

“Yes, I agree, to conceal this I will remove them temporarily with that potion I prepared,” Snape pointed to the now black vial that he had used earlier, “but this is where my original question comes to the fore.” Albus smiled and leaned back in his poofy chair and nodded. Snape took a deep breath. “I was wondering if I could keep the elongated teeth this time.”

“No.” said Albus calmly.

“I would glamour them.”

“Why do you want the teeth Severus?”

“I find that flashing them at a student who is misbehaving would cause them to reconsider their…habits.” Albus smiled.

“If it makes you that happy I will allow it. You cannot keep the wings most of the time though. No glamour would work, they are too big and if someone were to bump into them…”

“Albus, everyone, including most of the teachers try to stay at least 5 feet away from me when I walk past them.” said Snape with a smirk. Albus chuckled.

“Yes, but the other teachers know how to sense magic properly, and a glamour that big would draw attention to you.” Snape nodded. “Now what was the other matter?” Asked Albus a little more solemnly.

“Ivan Johnson made the potion that caused this,” Snape waved his hand at himself. Albus’s eyes turned dark.

“This is not good.”

“No, it is not. The boy is an excellent potion maker, he knew when to add the hemlock, but to know that he would have had to research, and if he had done his research properly…”

“He would know the effect of the potion couldn’t cause the changes you underwent…”

“He would also know the potions affect on other species…” said Snape quietly. Albus looked up quickly at Snape and his grave eyes unnerved Snape.

“Snape, you have been working for me for a long time, putting your life in danger trying to find any information on the whereabouts of Voldemort…” Dumbledore said gravely. “I think it’s time I thanked you again.” Snape raised an eyebrow knowing that this couldn’t be all. “The boy is an orphan right?’ Asked Albus quietly.

“Yes, he lives in a-” Snape’s eyes went wide at the hidden meaning in the question that only he would understand. “Surely, you don’t mean…” Snape said quietly. Albus nodded, sadly. “There has been another prophecy. I do not wish to go into it but it fits this young man exactly as the supposed “protege” or “successor” of a dark lord.” Snape walked over and kneeled beside Dumbledore and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure, are there other ways?” Snape asked quietly. Dumbledore shook his head slowly. Snape started rambling, this was too good to be true. “I mean, yes the boy is rowdy, he has tormented staff and students alike since he came to the school. But this recourse seems extreme. I understand the amount of terror he has caused is great,. It cost us 3,000 galleons to repair the damage to the wall he blew up! And the three students that got under one of his potions, they will never be the same! McGonagall was too embarrassed to let me look at her animagus form so that I could change her fur back to normal! He is young and impudent but perhaps there is time. Have we attempted therapy?

Albus nodded. “ he refused to attend. When forced to attend the school therapist disappeared. “

Snape nodded. “He has done some truly reprehensible things, currently they seem only for amusement or revenge, like the students whose eyes had to be regrown. Flitwick nearly fainted because he thought he was shrinking. Shrinking, I must admit that was rather amusing,” Snape chuckled, one thing he felt comfortable doing around only Albus, “but it was still wrong! And the nifflers he let loose in Trelwany’s room, they nearly wrecked 400 galleons worth of equipment, he uses small explosive potions to blow up random objects...but getting rid of him?... He did nearly blow up Mrs. Norris though.... And the Hufflepuffs seem to rally to him, he is a natural leader, I fear he may coerce other students into assisting him…but still” Snape didn’t notice what was happening as he was talking through a list of atrocities that got steadily worse. Dumbledore seemed to be getting quite angry, but he sat in his chair listening until Snape got to a part about making people need to punch anyone they saw.

“Enough!” Shouted Albus standing up and startling Snape, which said something about the amount of excitement he was feeling. “I should have had him expelled long ago! But it’s too late now. Severus, the things he does outside of school! He knows wandless magic! The boy is a bully outside of school, and a menace in. Severus S. Snape, you know what I said and you know what it means, it is not my thank you anymore, it is my order. If he stays he could jeopardize all we have worked toward to defeat Voldemort, there is no choice. If we some how succeed in our tasks and Voldemort is defeated, I am sure that boy, with his childish pranks, will become the next Dark Lord, or …. Grindlewald… I can see it in his eyes. Severus…we must stop this before it starts.” By this time Dumbledore, while still angry, was nearly back to his normal omniscient, calm, old self, no one could guess the thoughts in his head. Dumbledore made the chair disappear and nodded. “Snape, this is an order, that boy is a more than a menace, he is dangerous.” Dumbledore swiftly exited the room and left Snape to stand their slightly stunned. He had just started to regain his composure when.

“Oh and Snape, you can still enjoy this though it is my order.” Dumbledore disappeared from the doorway leaving one Severus Snape to let, for the second time that day, a small smile appear on his face. He shook his head and grumbled something about going soft.

Chapter 2 Detention

The rumors spread through the school like wildfire. Ivan, detention, Snape, demons, colors, monsters, lost tempers, pranks, and more. All the rumors agreed on one thing though, even though Ivan had only a 15-minute detention; they were bound to be 15 minutes that he would remember for the rest of his life, and not for any good reason. Ivan got to brag that he had gotten away with his pranks, and everyone was in awe of him, asking questions and asking for autographs (as if they were never going to see him again). As potions was Ivan’s second to last class of the day he didn’t have long to wait for dinner where he was surrounded by older students asking questions and patting him on the back. Most of the younger students stayed away from Ivan, as they didn’t know enough magic to protect themselves from his “so called” pranks.

Finally Dumbledore had to call the school to attention so dinner could start. Everyone sat down, and had started eating, when Snape threw open the doors to the great hall and stalked up to the staff table. The hall went silent and then a roar of conversation with fleeting glances at Snape and Ivan commenced. Eventually conversation returned to its normal volume. If anyone had paid attention to Snape a little longer they would have noticed that he was eating very little, despite the Headmasters encouragement to eat more than vegetables, and was smirking to the point of it almost being a smile. If they had looked at Dumbledore they would have noticed the slight twinkle in his eye at Snape’s behavior occasionally replaced by a sad Solemn expression. Ivan joked about how Snape was a greasy git, and he wasn’t afraid of him all through dinner.

Dinner ended and the Great Hall emptied, students going to their common rooms to relax, the excitement had died down. Until 7:40 in the Hufflepuff common room. The Hufflepuffs were proud that they had such a brave person in their House. They were also quite mad that he had almost lost them all their points and were even angrier at his mean pranks, but that would be forgiven if he came back alive from this detention.

Ivan left for the dungeon at 7:50 and got there at 8:01. “Minus 1 point for being late.” Snape said idly. Ivan just sat down and put his feet on the table. Snape continued to grade a paper. When he was finished he put it away and looked at Ivan who smiled up at him. Snape ignored it and started talking.

“Ivan, what are the properties of the Flux Draught?” Snape said as he got up. Ivan, startled for a second, regained his composure and answered.

“The potion causes random changes in a wizards appearance, things like tails, eyes, hair, color, texture, skin type, etc, nothing extremely harmful.”

“Correct, and on non-wizards?”

“Muggles simply turn a random color. Non-magical plants, like lettuce, while still have properties that make them useful in magic, don’t actually have magic in them, so they turn a random color as well.”

“Continue.”

“Umm…Magical plants vary on the size, large plants grow limbs andt change color, like red to blue to green, and the changes are very slow. Medium sized plants grow limbs that have the same changes as the large plants, though only that limb is affected, however any fruit or seeds from that limb will result in a plant that has the color changing properties, the change from one color to the next is slightly faster than the large plants. Small plants completely change color repeatedly, the whole plant is affected and the change from one color to the next is very fast. Any offspring of this plant will have the same properties. The effects fade eventually, at different-“

“Enough. Next organism.”

“Umm.”

“Non-humans, beasts.”

“Oh. They change colors continuously like the small plant, but slower, and the effect is permanent.”

“Continue.”

“What else is there?”

“You very well know Mr. Johnson. Humanoids, centaurs demons, giants, vampires, werewolves.”

“The more magic blood the creature has the less effect the potion has, werewolves for example have a lower amount of magic in their blood than lets say a demon. Werewolves are affected just like wizards, muggle werewolf or otherwise, they are not affected the week of the full moon. For some creatures the potion, if drunk, has the same effect as alcohol would have on a full human.”

“And?”

“Uh, that’s it?” Snape turned and looked like he was about to slam his hand onto the table Ivan was sitting at, but that wasn’t Snape. He walked up with his deadly stare and stood in front of Ivan.

“You know very well that’s not it. I will take away 50 points if you do not state the last fact. You are purposely being difficult, or maybe you truly do not know? Perhaps you are scared?” Snape sneered at him. Ivan raised an eyebrow at Snape.

“And here I thought I was just being polite. The last fact is that the potion forces any creature hiding its true form to show itself. The potion can sometimes cause an advance in power when the creature’s true form is forced into the open.” Ivan said lazily. Snape nodded.

“You answered every question correctly and with detail, 20 points.” Ivan’s eyes bugged out.

“Why are you taking points for answering questions correctly?!?” Ivan shouted. Snape raised an eyebrow.

“Did I say I was taking points?” Snape asked darkly. Ivan looked stunned, this was not fathomable, Snape had given points! “Fifteen minutes have passed, be back in an hour, tell people who ask that I had you answer potions questions, and for every one you got wrong I would take away 20 points, for every correct answer, I would give you 10. Tell them that I had you extract bubotuber pus without gloves while answering the questions. A good enough story yes?” Ivan nodded and asked if Snape had actually done that. Snape walked over to Ivan and preformed glamour on his hands that made them look as if they had been seriously burned by the pus, while he did this he answered Ivan’s question. “No, if someone did something to deserve that I would just take away the 50 points before hand, and let them remove the pus after removing the spikes from a bultak plant, without gloves as well.” Snape motioned for Ivan to leave.

As he left Ivan remembered that there was no possible way to remove spikes from a bultak plant without getting cut, even with gloves…he’d have to remember that little idea in case he wanted to use it sometime.

Snape meanwhile prepared for Ivan’s return. Setting knives out on a workbench he set about sharpening them. Snape set down the knives and proceeded to put unbreakable charms and immobile (object cannot be knocked over on purpose or accident, the hand with either hit the object or pass through it. With Snape’s unbreakable charms the hand would most likely break if someone tried to knock it over.) spells on everything from bottles and ingredients to whole bookshelves. He then moved all the desks out of the way and sat down at his own to wait.

Ivan went to the common room and told everyone about his detention, everyone was of course astounded that he had gotten twenty points while being in immense pain from the pus. Everyone congratulated him for hours with pats on the back and food. The common room slowly emptied and it was time to go to bed. Ivan pretended to fall asleep on the couch and everyone left him there in peace. With 10 minutes to go till curfew Ivan slipped out of the common room and headed for the dungeons.

Chapter 3 Oregano and Ivanessence

Snape was waiting for Ivan and as soon as he opened the door Snape shot a spell.

“Infurnus!” Ivan moved out of the way and the spell hit the doorknob, which melted.

“What the hell! You almost hit me! Are you trying to kill me?”

“Even if you had not moved the spell would not have hit you, and no, I was not trying to kill you with that spell, but merely prevent you from leaving.” Ivan looked at Snape smugly, Snape looked at Ivan curiously, not even fearing the possibility that he could perform the correct spell. “I know the right spell to fix this, Meldus.” Ivan pointed his wand at the door and the melted blob of metal became a doorknob again. Snape didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“Yes, you know the right spell, good for you, but it would not have worked if I had kept the shields around the door up…and besides there are other spells that I can use. Hetia.” Snape once again pointed his wand at the doorknob, but nothing seemed to happen.

“Nice spell, it did absolutely nothing.”

“Not all spells have visible effects. By all means, try to leave.” Snape smirked. Ivan walked to the door and tried to open in, and jumped back in pain. His hand was covered in burns; the doorknob was as hot as melted iron. He muttered a spell and water sprouted from the wand cooling his hand.

“I don’t need to undo the spell to leave! Reducto!” Ivan shot a spell at the door, but it disappeared before it hit the door, a blue-green wall two inches thick shined for an instant before disappearing.

“Did I not tell you about the shields moments ago? Impudent boy.” Ivan turned and raised his wand to Snape who merely said “Accio Ivan’s Wand.” The wand flew into Snape’s hand.

“Hey that’s mine!” cried Ivan reaching for his wand. Snape raised an eyebrow and Ivan stopped to glare at Snape. “You know living in an orphanage, I learned to fight before I came to Hogwarts, I can fight you with out a wand.”

“Are you implying that you are fast enough to dodge spells?”

“I’ve dodged bullets.” Spewed Ivan before he could stop himself. Snape raised an eyebrow.

“Well then it is fortunate for me that I grew up in the muggle world as well, for one it means I actually know what bullets are. I am probably the only wizard here that knows how to fight without a wand. So in the interest of having some fun…” Snape opened a drawer in his desk and put both wands inside and locked it with a whispered password. “The desk cannot be destroyed without magic, it cannot be destroyed by any potion you could make as the ingredients for them are not available here. As you can see we are both trapped in here as I had the floo powder removed earlier, and there are no other exits that can access without a wand. We either fight, or talk.” Snape pulled out a chair and sat down at his desk to grade papers. He didn’t notice Ivan pulling something out of his pocket and rolling it toward the desk. It exploded and all the papers were blown away though nothing was damaged. Snape looked at Ivan who was grinning from ear to ear.

“Think of what I said I could get away with earlier today. Also, think about when you asked me if I was trying to kill you, repeat my response and think about what I said.” Snape said quietly.

“You said that you could get away with killing me, and your response to my ‘question’ was that you weren’t trying to kill me.” Snape raised an eyebrow.

“I believe my comment was longer than that.” Snape said. Ivan thought for a second before his eyes grew wide.

“With that spell.” Snape nodded.

“You can’t kill me without a wand, I’m younger than you and have more stamina for hand to hand!” Ivan yelled worriedly. Snape nodded again.

“That is true,” Ivan relaxed, “but do not forget the last fact about the potion from earlier. It forces creatures to reveal their true form.” Ivan froze as Snape pulled a potion out from his robe, opened the bottle and threw its contents into the air. The potion turned to mist and settled around Snape who began to change. His skin took on the same complexion he had from that morning’s fiasco, his ears grew pointed, fangs sprouted, claws appeared, and his eyes regained that slight reddish hue. Snape put his feet on his desk and pulled at his beard.

“I am rather famished, I had no time to eat anything at dinner except a salad.” Snape said contemplatively. Ivan grew extremely pale as Snape looked at him questioningly.

“You can’t. Dumbledore would…”

“I’m not only have Dumbledore's permission, but am acting on his orders.” Snape said quietly as he looked at a trembling Ivan. “Reprehensible child, you should not have crossed me.”

“Y-you can’t.”

“What did I say earlier? Ah yes, I could and I would, now in the present what do you think of that?” Ivan trembled and didn’t answer. “Since you are obviously incapable of thought I will answer. I can, and I will.” Snape relaxed in his chair and smirked at the trembling boy, the fear was so strong that he could practically smell it. Snape sniffed the air slowly, a mild gnawing in his stomach sent pleasure shooting up his spine with the knowledge he could satiate his craving, his need, tonight.

“Hmmm, I am rather hungry…but-” Before Snape could finish Ivan threw himself across the room and grabbed Snape by the neck, choking him. Snape looked at Ivan as if he were a minor annoyance. “I don’t have to breath you know.” Snape commented before Ivan could completely cut off his vocal capacity. Ivan immediately changed tactics and backed off to circle. “You’re going to fight me? Good, if foolish,” Ivan looked startled, wondering why this could be good for Snape, “Let‘s get your heart pumping shall we?” Severus said smoothly. Ivan ran toward Snape to right hook him. Snape grabbed the arm just after the inside of the elbow, and repeated the process with his left hand when Ivan tried for a left hook as well. Snape moved hip to hip and put his leg between Ivan’s and turned himself as if dancing. Ivan found himself on the ground, stunned, with Severeus standing above him.

Snape smirked and allowed Ivan to jump up, the boy rushed to the table where Snape had laid the large knives and picked one up. Snape raised an eyebrow and ducked as it was thrown at him. “You will have to do better than that.” He said straightening up. Ivan smiled and threw two more knives before picking up that last two, the biggest, and running at Snape. Snape dodged the other two knives and swayed from side to side like a snake to dodge the mad swipes of the remaining two. Ivan was beginning to sweat with his exaggerated movements while Snape barely moved from side to side to avoid the blades. Ivan made a final attempt and jabbed for Snape’s left making him dodge right, Ivan then kicked out with his foot and threw the knife in his right hand at Snape’s left side. To regain his balance and avoid the kick Snape instinctively moved left, into the knife. To minimize damage he made sure the knife hit his hand and not a major artery or vein. One and a half fingers fell to the floor.

“Pity, they had just grown back too…” Snape said as if this were a normal occurrence, he ignored the flabbergasted Ivan and picked up the digits and walked over to the shelf. He reached to the back of the shelf and pulled out a jar filled with fingers, and dropped the new additions in. While Snape’s back was turned Ivan rushed at him from behind, Severus Snape held up his right hand and caught the blade between two fingers.

“Why aren’t you in Slytherin, sneaking up on me like that you should be, don’t you agree?” Said Severus as he yanked the knife from Ivan’s grasp. Ivan did the last thing he could think of, he kneed Snape in the back and then kicked Snape in the nuts. Snape bent over in pain and fell heavily to the floor. Ivan grinned.

“The bigger they are the harder they fall.” He said.

“Is that a compliment on my prowess as a man, and insult about my height, or a remark on my rank as a Potions Master?” Snape managed to bite out the question thought he was still on the ground. Ivan frowned and kicked him in the gut, he brought back his leg to kick him harder but with a sudden breeze snape was gone. Suddenly all the torches in the room went out, as well as the fireplace. Ivan tried to look around but it was pitch black. A silky voice came out from the darkness. “I am sorry that our fight must be ended so soon, but I believe you have been scared enough…you smell strongly of sweat.” Ivan turned around in the darkness, pivoting in place hands balled into fists in front of his face. “I really don’t want my dinner tasting overly of salt and hormones…” Two red eyes appeared in the darkness before disappearing. A faint breathing could be heard, Then some a sniffing.

“You know, perhaps some oregano will cover some of your stench…”

The reverberations of an unheard scream shook the castle all the way to the Headmaster’s quarters. Albus merely rolled over and went back to sleep.

That morning the student were surprised to see Severus Snape at breakfast, he rarely came, and he even more rarely looked wide awake at this time. McGonagall was surprised too because Severus had told her that he would be up late all this week working on a new potion. She was more surprised to see that he was sipping wine.

“Wine with breakfast Severus?” McGonagall asked.

“No Minerva, I am drinking a new potion I made last night, not the one I told you about but one that I concocted for myself alone. It enhances my senses,, strengthens the body, and tastes like heaven.” Replied Snape taking another sip. McGonagall looked surprised, a personalized potion that did all that AND tasted good, that was impressive, extremely if you add that it was invented in 6 hours or less.

“What have you decided to name it Severus?” She asked curiously. Snape held up the glass and looked at the light that barely shone through the dark red liquid. He surprised McGonagall and smiled.

“I think I will call it… Ivanessence.”

Chapter 4 Replenish

The next day in class many of the students were nervous. The bizarre accident in one of the potions class’s had many students afraid, not just of Snape, but of potions as well. As the first class of the day filed into the potions room they noticed something quite odd about the potions instructions on the board, they were fixing a potion that required human bones, a substance that could rarely be obtained without breaking laws. Whispers echoed in the classroom as students nervously questioned each other about the potion. A caveat, a small click of the dungeon’s closed door, brought the class to a state of silence as the Potions Master entered the room in a brusque manner. There was a collective in take of breath as the students got a closer look at the professor, Professor Snape actually had a small smile on his face. This was a cause for alarm. Snape sat down at his desk and shuffled through some papers before looking at the class, the minute smile had disappeared.

“The instructions are on the board, why haven’t you started?” A young Ravenclaw put up her hand, and Severus stared at it before answering. “Yes Miss Goodhawk?” He asked as his voice reverberated slightly in the dank dungeons. The Ravenclaw shook as if Snape had physically hit her before speaking.

“W-we don’t have the b-bones sir, you can’t buy t-them in most stores, t-they aren’t easy to come by.” She said quietly before lowering her head as if trying to disappear under the table. Snape looked calmly at her before speaking.

“Are you implying that I would procure this ingredient in a heinous way, Miss Goodhawk? If you are it is my job to disabuse this foolish inference… during a detention.” The Ravenclaw stiffened.

“N-no sir.” The young girl said quickly.

“Good, I will let it slip, this time. The ingredient you are lacking is in the cauldron to the left of the board, as the bone is not powdered you will have to crush it yourselves, you may use reducto spells. Begin.” Snape went back to grading papers and the scratching of his quill sounded very loud in the classroom; an aura of fear so thick that it was hard to breath settled in the air. Finally, with a glare from Snape the students went to the cauldron to retrieve the bones. A high-pitched scream sounded in the class as the first student looked into the cauldron. Snape stood up quickly and was over by the hyperventilating girl in seconds. “Why, pray tell, did you break the axiomatic precept of my class room, or is it not known that loud noises are looked upon with the utmost distaste?” The girl on the floor mumbled incoherently and pointed toward the cauldron. Snape leaned over and looked in the cauldron.

“Yes, that is a skeleton, now what seems to be the problem? We are not afraid of inanimate remains of a man, are we?” Snape asked the girl in his gossamer voice. The girl squeaked and let out a choked sob, Snape looked down his large nose with a look of disgust emblazoned on his face.

“You,” Snape pointed at a Slytherin boy, “Mr. Davidson, take your fellow Slytherin to Mrs. Pomfrey.” When the boy didn’t move Snape glared and, in fear for his life, he extricated the shaking girl from the classroom in a rush. The class looked back at their Professor, who was obviously in a foul mood now. “Continue with your work, I want no more fractious interruptions, or I will have the perpetrator ingest a potion of my choice.” With that Snape turned on the spot, cloak billowing, and returned to his desk. The students eyed the skeleton warily before each taking a bone back to their desks, starting their fires, and beginning their potions.

The class worked quietly and the sound of simmering potions filled the classroom, the tension dissipated slightly creating a soporific atmosphere.

“BOOM!” the sound echoed in the classroom followed by a loud curse. The owner of the resilient cauldron (for it was still intact, which is a rare occurrence in itself) cried in pain as his potion rained down upon him. Moments later a thin stream of blood welled up on his gashed hand. Snape stood up and motioned for the students to move away from the boy before walking up to him. The boy in question was hiccupping between curses as Snape waved his wand over the boy to diagnose the situation.

“Shut your scurrilous mouth and listen!” The boy stopped cursing but continued sobbing and hiccupping. “Apparently you have managed to create a new type of blood replenishing potion that is absorbed through the skin, but as you have not lost any blood you will most likely die if the pressure is not relieved… I will enact the procedure, there isn’t time to get Pomfrey, everyone else get back to work!” Snape picked up the boy after scourgifying the ground of the remaining potion. Bringing the boy to his desk he propped him up and flicked his wand over the boy. The nearest bottle filled up with blood and the boy stopped sobbing in pain. “Get up and go to Pomfrey, she’ll want to check you over.” Snape pushed the boy out the door and put the bottle on his shelf after making a note to send a sample to Poppy so she could notify Saint Mungo’s about the new potion, it could prove useful.

The class continued in a vapid way until it was time to leave. Severus immediately took the potion off the shelf and separated it into two bottles, putting one on the shelf and taking one with him. He flooed to the extremely straitlaced nurse and announced his presence by knocking on her private quarters, she immediately came out.

“Poppy, the inscrutable student I sent up is well I assume?” Snape asked and Pomfrey nodded. “Good, here is the potion that did the damage, or the blood of the boy after the potion entered his veins. The rest of the potion was on the floor and thus most likely contaminated. I believe Saint Mungo’s will want to see this. A patient unable to ingest a potion would profit from this discovery immensely. If they accept this I may change my mind about castigating the student.” Poppy looked at Severus a little overwhelmed by all the information the erudite wizard had just thrown at her, but she nodded as she took the bottle from Severus and promptly returned to her room. Severus did the same and flooed to his private quarters; he had half an hour before his next class and planned to look at his sample of blood more closely.

Severus was about to hold the bottle to the light when he doubled over in pain, not that he wasn’t used to pain, just that random pain is quite startling. Quickly composing himself he walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of purple liquid and downed the contents, he waited for a moment and deeming everything alright began to walk back to the bottle he had miraculously been able to not break. Halfway there found the man doubled over in pain again, Snape waited for it to pass and then went over to the fireplace and threw floo powder into it, his practiced face showing no signs of concern “Headmasters Office!” Snape spoke clearly and waited as the fire turned green. The headmaster’s head appeared in the fire and smiled.

“Ah, Severus, I was hoping to talk to you today, I didn’t get a chance to ask at breakfast but, did you enjoy your dinner last night?”

“Very, but that’s not why I called Headmaster, I-”

“Yes, but more importantly how do you wish to continue?”

“You may do whatever you want to explain the boys…disappearance, but I really must talk about something else!” Snapped the potions master. Dumbledore frowned, and motioned for Severus to continue. “The hunger pangs, they’ve started.” Dumbledore frowned.

“This is nothing new my boy why-”

“The potion did not alleviate the symptoms.” The wizened old man’s eyes widened in alarm at these words.

“This is indeed grave news my boy, we cannot have you around students if the hunger continues.”

“You don’t think I know that!” Snape hissed. “I’ve never had pangs after drinking the potions before! They are personalized and invented by me; specialized nutritional potions mixed with a drop of blood have sustained me for 35 or more years!”

“I think the powers you now control require energy, not just the nutrition.” Inferred Dumbledore knowingly as Snape blanched.

“And what am I supposed to do about this?” asked Snape venomously. The headmaster’s eyes twinkled.

“Go see Hagrid, after your current supply of emergency blood has run out of course.” Before Snape could respond to the idea in a negative way the fire had gone out and the sly old man had gone.

“I will not go to that man; Albus does not know how much I have in my supply and therefore cannot tell when I have run out… I refuse to go to that man.” Snape turned and went to prepare for his next class, ignoring another pang of hunger pain. Setting out new vials for bottling the finished potions he began to ponder what the students’ reaction would be to the announcement that Ivan was missing. Snape smirked evilly to himself as he wrote the instructions for the NEWT level potion on the board. He continued to smirk as he graded papers and for minutes after his class had filed in. He looked up at the noticeable silence and sighed.

“Why haven’t you started the potion?” He whispered in annoyance at his 7th years.

“We don’t have any of those ingredients sir, and half of them are illegal…” Snape looked up at the board and raised an eyebrow.

“Illegal to sell, not to buy, not to own, not to use, and not to procure… but you are correct for once Mr. Larkit, you do not have the necessary ingredients, and neither do I, your job is to make a potion with the same properties and purpose with the present ingredients, get to work” Snape sneered at his classes’ dismayed look and went back to grading papers as his students looked through their books to find the ingredients and potions attributes and purposes. Soon bubbling and soft simmering filled the classroom. Snape got up and stalked around the class, nodding occasionally and sneering at some more dismal potions. He stopped over a cauldron containing a pitch black liquid and a boy reading a muggle comic book.

“What, may I ask is this?” Snape whispered venomously, as the boy looked up.

“It's Superman sir, issue 1005.” said the boy as he handed over the comic book. Snape looked at it dubiously before stuffing it into a pocket in his robes.

“Minus 2 points from Hufflepuff Mr. Jilhain, for wasting time that should be used on your potion, which I must say, is dismal.” Snape made to walk away but the boy raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Jilhain?” Snape asked cocking an eyebrow.

“I was waiting for you sir, the potion’s on stasis, I wanted to make sure you were here when I added the final ingredient as I’m not quite sure if it will work as it is rather unconventional.” Snape nodded for the boy to continue, slightly impressed with his forethought. The boy took a deep breath and took the potion of stasis, it began to boil wildly. The boy pointed his wand at himself and muttered “lacrimere”. The boys eyes began to tear and he blinked three times making three tears fall into the cauldron. A quick ‘finite incantatum’ and the tears stopped. Snape watched as the potion turned a soft tan, then the exact light yellow described on the board. Snape raised an eyebrow. “Test it.” He stated and laid a feather and snake skin on the desk. The boy ladled four drops of potion onto the feather and waited with baited breath. Moments later the feather exploded into a pink bird, which hopped around the table and cooed, along with many of the girls in the classroom. Snape quieted them with a glare and nodded to Jilhain who ladled two drops of potion onto the snake skin. The skin smoked and hissed, and left a green snake behind, still hissing. The snake launched itself at the bird and bit around the neck. The bird squawked out and exploded leaving a baffled snake to hiss in anger before it was banished by the Potions Master.

“Why did the snake skin require less potion?” Snape asked noncommittally. The boy stuttered a moment before answering.

“There was more material to work with and less to create or recreate by magic.” Snape raised an eyebrow at the now shaking boy before turning away.

“Three points to Hufflepuff and you may stay after class to obtain your…comic book.” Snape said with disdain as he strode back to his desk with a flare of his robes. The dumbstruck boy tried very hard not to smile.

Chapter 5 Alternatives

Later that week a disgruntled and hungry figure reluctantly walked down the winding pathway to Hagrid’s house under the headmaster's insistence. Reaching the door he knocked smartly and waited. Moments later the door opened and light shown out briefly before being blocked by a large figure in the doorway.

“Proffessor! I’ve been waitin’ fer yeh, Dumbledore said yeh were ‘aven’ some troubles with yer potion and such. Come in.” Hagrid lumbered aside to let Snape in and a puppy nearly scampered out before Hagrid caught him. “Fang! Bad boy! Yeh know yer not big enough to go outside at night wi’out me yet! Ye’d get eaten! Sorry bout that Proffessor, have a seat, I’ll make some tea, or would yeh like something else?”

Snape sat in one of the rough wooden chairs ignoring the dog licking his legs. “Unless you have a hidden supply of fresh blood, no, I think I’ll pass.” Said Snape in a biting voice as Hagrid blushed.

“Sorry, I should’a realized. Well, the best way ta fix this is to start with the facts, which I unfourtunately don’t have, as Dumbledore contacted me when I was surrounded by kids and that didn’t seem like a good time to discuss-” Hagrid was cut off by the sounds of a scraping chair, a snarl, and a whimper.

Snape was standing up with fangs bared and eyes glowing, snarling angrily at a cowering puppy. “Snape, ee’s only a puppy don’t be so harsh!” Hagrid said as he picked up the cowering pup. Snape responded by pulling up a leg of his trousers revealing a puncture wound that was bleeding profusely. Hagrid’s mouth opened in a silent “oh”.

“I believe I have just become enlightened as to why the dog’s name is Fang, now please tie him up before he does something else to incite my temper and he ends up as my dinner.” Hagrid nodded and tied up the pup while giving it a scolding as it wagged its tail. “I cannot afford this loss of blood Hagrid, it will mean I will be hungrier and my potion store will run dry more quickly! I do not have…pray tell, why do you feel the need to stare at me as if I was a display at a zoo?” Snape asked as Hagrid looked at his eyes.

“Cause I have the information I didna’ get form Dumbledore. Yeh got older by about 955 years, didn’ yeh?” Snape had to admit that Hagrid knew his monsters, though his idea of what a monster actually was, was in itself a bit skewed.

“Yes, I have the attribute of a 1000 year old vampire, I now require-”

“I know, yeh’ll need energy even more than nutrients, though they’ll still be important. Hmm. If yeh know wandless magic yeh could use the energy around yeh, cause when yeh do magic wi’out a wand yer basically focusin the energy yerself fer the spell, ye’d do the same except ye’d eat the energy, and the energy would be from other people….” Snape once again had to admit that the man knew his trade, he was smarter than he seemed… “That should come naturally fer yeh since that’s how middle aged vampires actually feed on energy when they aren’t directly drinkin the blood… As fer the blood part I can’t help yeh, yer gonna need blood, that nutritional potion ain’t gonna cut it anymore, though you could sell the recipe for about 10,000,000 galleons to a lair of vampires who want to fit in normal society…” Snape had already thought of this, but the potion was personalized for him and to make a potion that would work generically for all vampires would lower the results of the potion enough to render it useless. He thanked Hagrid for his help and said that, yes, with Dumbledore’s permission; Hagrid might one day see his new form, perhaps.

Back in his private lab Snape was reading a book in the dark when the hunger pains hit again. Reaching for a bottle of the potion he had dubbed Ivanessence, he stopped and sniffed the air, he could smell blood, and it was fairly fresh. He stood and prepared to investigate, partially from concern and partially from hunger. The smell led him to the bottle he had put on the shelf earlier. Still filled with blood it called softly to him in his mind. But he knew he could not drink it, with the contents filled with potion, but… If he were to add a drop of this to a drop of blood… would it make enough to sate his thirst for a while? From a cabinet nearby Snape took out a vial and poured a drop of the liquid inside into a bowl. He stoppered it and put it away before adding a drop of the potion infused blood to it. He waited and stared at it as if it were a student turning in a paper late, or rather, trying to. The drop bubbled, roiled, boiled, popped, sizzled, and fell flat. Snape breathed deep and turned away, but the potion wasn’t finished yet. With a sound like a man humming to what he knew would be his last song, the potion started to expand. As Snape watched the bowl filled with the red liquid until it was just below the rim. Snape dipped in a finger in the liquid and brought it to his lips. He sniffed it and shuddered with pleasure. So long, it had been so long since he had had two full meals in a row. He put his finger in his mouth and sucked off the liquid and nearly shuddered again. He had succeeded, he was safe. He took a moment to enjoy the fact before loosening his shirt going to find the largest goblet he owned. He came back and dipped the goblet in so it was full. Sipping the blood as if it were the most exquisite of wines he closed his eyes and sighed. He upended the goblet and poured it down his throat, tongue lapping at the liquid as it fell by.

Finding the goblet empty he refilled it again, and repeated the process. He did this 6 more times, each time his pallor becoming healthier, his hair less greasy, his eyes less bloodshot and sunken. By the 9th repetition it was obvious why he had loosened his clothes; he had gained about 5 pounds and was now at a healthy weight. Going back for more, the potions master licked his lips and frowned as he realized the bowl was empty. Putting down the goblet and taking out his wand he muttered a spell, and the thin layers of blood on the sides of the bowl and goblet floated up into the air to form an imperfect sphere. Directing the blood with his wand, Snape opened his mouth and moved the blood close to it and sucked the liquid in. Swallowing, Snape fell back into a nearby chair with a sigh, one hand over his ever so slightly distended stomach. It had been too long since he had been at full health, full power, and just full in general. Sighing once again, he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning many people were once again surprised to find Snape at breakfast again, and even more surprising, looking healthy, awake, and…happy?

Snape preferred to think of it as content. He had solved his food problem, the year was closer to an end, there were students to play with, the Dark Lord was temporarily out of commission, and he had had 2 good meals recently, and still had leftovers.

Severus sipped at his drink while going over that day’s lessons in his head. He moved the eggs around on his plate in an attempt to get more air to them so they would cool down. As he was about to lift some eggs on his fork Dumbledore stood up and motioned for silence.

“I am sad to be the bearer of bad news, but being the headmaster that job is often delegated to me. As I am sure many of you have noticed Ivan V. Johnson has been missing for a day. Though it may seem we are doing little in an attempt to find him, believe me we are doing our best… or were.” The silence that had fallen over when Dumbledore began talking deepened, no forks moved in an attempt to shovel food into mouths, no glasses clinked, no spoons stirred. “Last night remains of bloody clothes that we identified as Ivan’s were found in the Forbidden Forest; he had apparently gone out after curfew and went exploring. He was attacked by one of the numerous unfriendly residents that make their home within. I must say by this, that Ivan… is dead. Those who seek counseling be informed that your Heads of Houses will be available all day for counseling, and you have to but ask to be excused from class to see them. Prefects will also available for this reason. A list of the Heads of Houses’ and Prefects’ free periods is by the entrance. Let us spend the rest of the meal quietly in remembrance of Ivan. Thank you.” At this Dumbledore sat down and quiet conversations filled the Great Hall.

Severus scowled at the thought of students interrupting him during his free periods, luckily he was head of house for Slytherin, and he doubted anyone would need reconciliation, let alone come to him if they did. Taking a bite of eggs he looked over at his House’s table, and saw that none of the students seemed sad, let alone in the need of counseling. Taking another bite of eggs Snape had to fight down a bought of nausea as the food attempted to reintroduce itself to the environment. Putting his utensils and napkin down as if he were needed elsewhere, Snape got up and left the Great Hall.

He stalked through the halls quickly, heading toward the dungeons, trying to get there before the day started and the students were sent to their classes. The only thing stopping Snape from being sick was his time as a Death Eater, showing weakness was a sure way to get yourself killed, and throwing up in the presence of the Dark Lord would earn one a cruciatus at the least. Finally reaching his classroom, Snape went through the door in the back toward his private lab and study, where he quickly emptied the contents of his stomach into the nearest receptacle, a cauldron. Standing up as if nothing had happened Snape cast a freshening charm on himself, and a vanishing and scourgify on the cauldron. Pondering the reason for his upset stomach Snape went about preparing for his first class of the day, writing directions on the chalkboard, getting out the necessary ingredients, floating each child’s cauldron into its proper place, and getting out the papers he needed to grade.

The reasons for an upset stomach were few for a person staying at Hogwarts, as the food made by the House Elves was never anything less than perfect, and even less so for a vampire. The professor was still pondering this when the first class of the day came in. Snape sneered, second year students, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, not a good combination. The Slytherins would try to make life hard for the Hufflepuffs, sensing they were easy prey. It was amusing to watch, and though it sometimes got to a point that Severus Snape himself frowned upon, there was nothing he could do about it. While he was of course biased towards his own house, he could still treat the other houses slightly more fairly; but both he and Albus knew the Dark Lord would come back, and if the remaining Death Eaters doubted his loyalty there would be a smaller chance of him being able to continue his spying career. Still, it was always amusing to watch the stupid antics of the students, as long as no large scale damage was done.

Standing up the Potions Professor strode to the front of the room and pointed at the board.

“Desaturation Draught, ingredients are to your right, have a sample bottled and on my desk by the end of class, even you dunderheads should be able to manage that. Any disruptions will be rewarded with a detention. Begin.” As the students sighed looking at the complicated instructions on the board, Snape went back to his desk to grade fourth year papers on Metamorph Potions.

Soon the sound of simmering cauldrons permeated the very walls of the dungeon and left a calming effect on the professor.

Halfway through the period Snape finished grading the papers and started to walk around the class looking at the current states of the potions. He sneered at a particularly bad one with the consistency and color of sludge and vanished it from the dismayed girl’s cauldron.

“Start over.” He sneered at her. “If you hurry you might finish before the period is over.”

In the entire class five potions were vanished, sixteen were pronounced dismal, three were adequate, one was a good attempt, and one was worth an inclination of the head. Going back to his desk, Snape thought over the homework assignment for this class, and was ready to announce it when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. That girl’s potion, too much shrivlefig, which by itself was of little consequence, but with four other people rushing to redo the potion before class finished, it was just slightly more worrying. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing that caught the keen eye of the Potion’s Master. Across the isle a Slytherin boy was attempting poke a pile of unused ingredients into the girl’s cauldron. A Hufflepuff girl a couple of rows back was rolling a small burning object across the floor into a Slytherin girl’s fire. Snape didn’t even try to stop it, he just readied his wand and waited for the inevitable catastrophe. He did not have to wait long at all. Not three seconds later the boy succeeded in pushing a scarab’s wing, a dragon’s tooth, hemlock, and a writing quill into the girl’s cauldron, which began to bubble immediately. Back a few rows the Slytherin girl’s fire became blazing hot causing the potion to come to a roiling boil, which overflowed onto the ground. The fumes from the potions filled the air, the high flames evaporating what remained of the one girl’s potion, while the other spit bubbles into the air and began to spill over the sides.

“Get out NOW!” yelled Snape as he strode to the center of the room. In the haste to get out two cauldrons were tipped over and one hit a nearby shelf of potions. As the shelf began to fall toward the potion covered floor Snape’s eyes grew wide; surrounded by potions and cauldrons it was all he could do to throw a containment spell around the room.

The first thing Snape was aware of when he woke moments later was that it was totally dark. Touching his forehead with his left hand, he felt wetness. Blood.

Not in the mood to find out if it was his or somebody else’s, Snape wiped his hand on his robe. Looking around was impossible, as the only thing he could see was his hand in front of his face and some type of wall 12 inches away. Trying to move, he realized that his right arm and hand were stuck in the wall, along with the wand that hand was holding. Trying to move his feet he found that his left leg was stuck under something. He couldn’t move his left arm far enough to get rid of whatever was crushing his leg, and his right leg couldn’t do much either.

Ready to melt whatever he was trapped in with his wand, or try punching his way out, Snape heard a pounding noise. He sighed and rapped his knuckles on the side of his prison and was rewarded with a gong like sound. The pounding stopped.

“Severus? Severus, are you in there? Are you hurt?” McGonagall’s muffled voice reached Snape’s ears, and he sighed.

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine Minerva, I’m having a wonderful time trapped in this metal prison.” Snape ground out. He heard an angry snort of disdain from Minerva and a chuckle a few seconds later.

“It’s good to see you are all right Severus, and that your current predicament has not affected your usual bouts of sarcasm.” Snape groaned as he heard Albus Dumbledore’s voice. “Now if you would be so kind as to send some kind of indication as to where you are we could-”

“Albus, I’m trapped in metal, your not going to see a single indicator spell I cast. It’s a damn good thing I don’t need to breathe!” This time he could hear McGonagall chuckle too. Snape rolled his eyes and cast a blasting charm. The loud bang caused the whole metal prison to vibrate, but despite the newly acquired headache, Snape had succeeded in getting his hand free.

“Ah yes, I see you now Severus. Beautiful sounds that this prison of yours makes, I’m afraid we have to destroy it to get you out.” Severus pinched the bridge of his nose at the headmaster’s comments, trying to force down the rude reply he wanted to say.

“Yes. Such a pity.” He sneered even though no one could see it.

“Yes, well now that we’ve located you we’re going to try to cut you out. Hold still and tell us if you feel any pain.” announced Dumbledore. Snape bit back another retort and waited to be let out.

Soon enough the metal prison fell open and Snape could blast his leg free. He stood up in the middle of what appeared to be a mass of at least 15 cauldrons melted together haphazardly. Snape cursed at the mess and banished the useless cauldrons to a corner.

“Severus! You’re bleeding!” McGonagall stated concernedly. Snape reached up to his forehead where he had felt the blood before and touched the spot where the liquid was. There would be no wound for him to check, as he would have already healed such a minor abrasion, but the blood would tell him what he needed to know.

Licking his fingers clean of the blood Snape froze in horror, this wasn’t his, it wasn’t even blood. Turning around to get a good look at his classroom he saw that a hole the size of a desk was featured on the back wall of the room; the back wall that held his store of potions on the other side, the store which held his blood replenishing potion and blood.

The bloody substance on his forehead was the last of his potion, the last of his sustenance; the rest was in pools on the floor.

Severus stood there in shock, not hearing the concerned remarks coming from his fellow colleagues.

“Severus, do you think you’ll be able to teach in another classroom for two days while this one is renovated? Of course you shall have as much time as you need to recover yourself, and…why not my dear boy?” Dumbledore asked confusedly as Snape shook his head. Severus merely lightly gestured at the hole in the wall and otherwise stood still. He was startled out of his state of mind by a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Severus, do you need to see Poppy? Are you well?” Minerva’s voice sounded close to his ears, but that wasn’t what the Potion’s Master was paying attention to. A nearby drumbeat sounded in his mind, growing louder till he could not concentrate on anything else. A heartbeat, so close Snape could almost taste it. He leaned his head on the nearby shoulder faking pain, so he could get closer to the sound. “Severus? Severus! What is wrong!?” Minerva’s surprised and concerned voice brought him out of his trance. With a brusk shake of his head and a dusting of his robes he stood to face his fellow employee.

“What’s wrong is that nearly my entire food supply, my salvation, is now mixing with the mess on the dungeon floor.” McGonagall put her hand up to her mouth in shock, and even Dumbledore looked a little concerned. “In one week, every living thing in this castle will become a very tempting food source to a very hungry, and guiltless, vampire.”

Chapter 6 Thirst

The students in the school began to notice changes in Snape, unpleasant changes, just Snape noticed the students more, their bad behavior, their after hours perambulations , their heartbeats. At meals Snape was more cranky than usual, eating barely anything besides a few bites of meat and drinking little, not that anyone dared to look his way long enough to notice besides the other professors, whom Snape ignored. The potions in classes became increasingly hard to brew, and the slightest mistake or misbehavior meant a detention with Filch. Over the next five days Snape went from touchy to tired and finally to the point where he seemed to be searching for people to put in detention outside his own class, oddly none of which were with him. His appearance also changed, while before he had looked slightly more healthy than usual, now he looked downright sick to a point where he seemed half dead, though his senses were anything but. At the slightest sound Snape would be off to find the source with speed like a hunted animal.

No one could guess why.

Dumbledore and some of the other professors knew of course, but most of them didn’t know how bad it was becoming. Dumbledore couldn’t find another food source for Snape in such a short time, and chicken blood just wasn’t cutting it, despite Hagrid’s continuous offerings. That Tuesday Snape was dismayed to find that Poppy had already sent the sample of blood from the replenishing potion accident to Saint Mungo’s. As he stood solemnly staring at the place the vial had been Poppy ran up behind him in a rush to get some ingredients for a badly hurt patient. Fraught with worry her body was going into overdrive, something Severus Snape could smell, and hear. Before Poppy knew what was happening her wrist had been grabbed by Snape, who was still staring at the cabinet.

“Severus, is something else wrong? I told you that…” Poppy’s words caught in her throat as she noticed the red tint in the professor’s eyes. “Severus… are you well, please let go of me… I need to help a patient.” The grip on her arm slowly loosened and Snape walked out the door, the only sound the swishing of his cloak. Poppy took a few breaths and went back to her patient.

That Friday night found Snape stalking through the halls with more fervor than usual. To anyone watching it would seem like he was angry, to someone looking closely it would seem like he was listening for something, and indeed he was. Every night Snape was listening for students out of bed, it was his normal duty yes, but now it was for other reasons too. The students however, seemed unwilling to sneak out at night more recently though. Snape had taken to listening outside the doors of student’s dorms and professors rooms for periods of time, blending in with the shadows, savoring the sound of human drums and rivers. Snape knew he would never get away with attacking a student outright, and the tempting thought still sickened him, thankfully, but he could dream. At least while he was hunting the hunger pangs were less due to concentration.

As Snape stalked the corridors that weekend his sharp nose picked up a smell that part of him yearned for, and another part did not wish to smell around here; blood. Following the scent was far too easy. Half starved he traversed the winding hallways with the ease of years and the fervor of the famished until he found the source. A young first year Ravenclaw with a badly cut arm was crying near a suit of armor, almost as if he was trying to hide. In the pitch black the student couldn’t see him, but Snape could see as if it were midday. The large cut on the shoulder seemed to have been inflicted by a fall, but a bruise on the face looked as if it had been inflicted by a person. The bloody sword nearby was evidence that the boy had been pushed, and probably lost his balance and fell on the sharp instrument.

The smell of blood was as intoxicating as the child’s heart beat, rapid from the effort of sobbing for what seemed like a good time. Instincts that lie in the heart of every hunter stirred, awakening, and Snape hissed slightly with delight as he inched closer. The child jumped up, holding his arm as he did so.

“Who-who’s there? I’m not scared of you, I-I’ll fight! You can’t hurt me more than you alrea-ady have you-you jerk!” The child let go of his arm to put up both fists, but the flow of blood made him cover up his arm again. Snape sniffed the air and inched forward. “I-I’m warning you! I-hiccup-I, sob…” The young boy fell to the floor and started sobbing again. The forlorn voice caught Snapes attention, as memories of another crying child beckoned through the need for survival. Sighing he took his wand from his sleeve and approached the boy.

“Lumos.” The light cast was so sudden the boy had to cover his eyes momentarily, letting the wound in his arm flow freely, Snape shuddered. As the boy uncovered his eyes he squeaked in alarm. No one wants to be caught out after dark by Professor Snape.

“I’m sorry Professor, I was reading for- and this bully, and-” In his frantic attempt to explain why he was out after curfew the boy was waving his arms wildly causing the gash to spill blood faster.

“Stop moving you fool, you are making your wound worse!” The child flinched as Snape's voice cut him off. “Ferula” Bandages slid from Snape's wand, stopping the light. “This might sting, I know you can’t see, but don’t worry, I’m just cleaning your wound. Snape knelt down beside the child and frowned at being so close to what he wanted. Holding the child’s arm tightly he begin to speak in a crooning voice most would think not possible for the Professor to produce. “Don’t worry… relax, everything will be okay… close your eyes, relax, I’m just going to clean and bandage your wound… relax.” The boy swayed under Snape’s mesmeric influence, tired and dazed. Keeping a tight grip on the boy’s arm Snape bent over the wound to inspect it; it was deep, not long, and fortunately hit no bone and few tendons. Leaning closer, the smell of blood in his nostrils, Snapes fangs unsheathed and the glamour spell broke. The black pupils of his eyes glimmered red and his tounge sneaked out to lick his lips and taste the air. Bending close to the child's arm he shuddered slowly as the smell hit his nose and tongue. Slowly the man hardened by years in the Dark Lord’s service bent his head, the prospect of breaking a week long fast slipping through his resolve, and his tongue reached toward the gaping hole. Slowly he began to lick the wound, the blood salty in his mouth and warm in his throat, the metallic taste subtlety mixed with hints of what the boy had eaten that day, as well as a basis of who he was. Slowly he began to suck, lightly at first, and then harder. He was hungry, so hungry. Soon he was holding the boy in his lap, sucking vehemently on the wound. A small moan brought him back from his meal, looking down he saw that the boy was pale, too pale. Cursing he used one piece of the summoned cloth to clean his spit from the wound and then sanitized it with his wand before bandaging it. Looking around he saw the ground covered in blood the boy had shed before he got there.

“Accio blood.” The blood raised from the ground and from the sword the boy had cut himself on to rush towards Snape, who opened his mouth to let the blood in. Swallowing he sighed contentedly, sated. Getting down on his knees again he picked up the boy and began marching to the infirmary. About halfway there the boy woke up.

“What happened, where are we going?” The boy mumbled weakly.

“You lost more blood as I tried to clean the wound, you fainted. We are going to see Madam Pomfrey, and I suggest you tell her not only about the sword, but the bully who punched you and pushed you so you fell on the sword. She will sort it out.” The boy blushed and snuggled closer to Snape, close to falling asleep from exhaustion, too tired and thankful to remember that he was scared of this Professor.

Snape heard a mumbled “thanks Professor” as he walked along.

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