Potters, a History

Chapter 6. Unlikely Partners

Lily smiled, quite pleased with herself. Her scroll, three inches longer than it had to be, was finished, and it hadn't taken her nearly as long as she had thought it might. She knew she had mostly Remus to thank for that, though. After she'd told him of her extra assignment, he'd offered to look for some books on the subject, and the one that he'd found had proven to be quite helpful. She looked over the neatly written lines, searching for flaws with a handy little charm she'd come up with two years ago. Although "Spellcheckulus" didn't save her a lot of time, as she was naturally quite good at that kind of thing, Sirius found it to be a lifesaver.

She pulled out the pocket watch that she always carried in her robes, a gift from her parents. Though they were Muggles themselves, they were fascinated by the magical world, and bought all her birthday presents in Diagon Alley. This one was particularly nice - it had no hands at all, but whenever you looked at it, a little message would flash on the face in fancy scrollwork. At present, it said, Five minutes since the last time you checked. It went black for a moment, then another message: He won't be here for at least another hour, you might as well find something else to do than work me to death. She decided to take its advice, and wondered if her parents would be amused to know that they had selected such a sarcastic gift.

Well, she thought, Remus helped me out a lot with that last scroll, perhaps I can help him, somehow. She set to work at some advanced potions texts, hoping that there might be some draught that could at least make his monthly changes less painful. One volume of "Magical Cures for Every Ailment" gave a recipe for decreasing libido, of which she made a note, but aside from that, there was very little.

She went at it for another hour, and had just stumbled across a pamphlet entitled "Treatments for victims of Transmogrification Torture" when she saw James approaching. She took a few deep breaths and then readied herself.

"Hi there, Evvie." He came down and sat next to her at the long table she usually used to study at (most students just used the little enclosed desks along the walls, but Lily found that it was more helpful to be able to spread out five books at once and look at things that way). "Did you finish your scroll? I've brought my notes from the seminar we went to last year on forgetfulness. I'm pretty sure there was a page or two on memory potions. Thought it might help."

She was touched, and more than a bit surprised that he had thought to bring her his notes. To be honest, she had quite forgotten about that particular seminar, but then, they had gone to so many. "Oh. Well, I've finished, but I'll look through them, maybe there's something I can add..."

He shrugged. "If you're already done, don't bother. You've probably covered all the main points and then some as it is, knowing you." That was the main difference between him and Lily, academically, he thought. Not that he didn't do a thorough job on his schoolwork, but there was always a point for him at which he though, Alright, I'm done. Lily, on the other hand, would work on even a simple assignment tirelessly for days, if you let her; she always seemed to feel that she could do more to improve it. In fact, on essay exams, teachers often had to pry her paper out of her hands when time was called, to keep her from writing more. He wasn't sure whether this was a good quality or a bad one, but it certainly had earned her top marks. "Besides, you wanted a break. So what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Lily thought he didn't seem quite like his usual cheery self tonight. After a few moments of pondering this, though, she decided that his face looked more tired than gloomy. Probably a long Quidditch practice. Though he had a reputation as being a tough captain, he had earned the respect of his teammates working himself as hard or harder as anyone else. Then again, maybe all those somersaults tired him out, she thought.

"Right, that." Now that the time had come to actually go through with this, she wanted to put it off as long as possible. Come on, get to it, Lily, she thought. "Well, the thing is..." What was it she had decided to say? "I'm just not sure we're being fair to Remus."

James heaved a huge sigh. "I know. I've been thinking about that too, and... I feel really badly about how this all happened. I should have waited until he'd talked to you, I know. I shouldn't have done that to him." He met her gaze and held it for a few moments, then continued. "I shouldn't have done it to you either. I put you in an unfair situation, I know..." He looked down at the ground. "Didn't really give you time to make up your mind, did I?"

She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the ceiling. "It's not really that, it's just that... I can't stand to see myself coming between you and Remus, and..." She decided she might as well be honest, since he seemed to have guessed what the larger trouble was. "As long as I'm still having some doubts... I just need some more time to think before I end up causing a real row between you two. Besides, I don't want to string you along..."

He nodded. "I understand. I mean, I can't be too upset, it's my fault we're in this situation now anyway, isn't it?" His large brown eyes were sad, now. He tried to joke. "So, I guess I'll have to find myself another bench partner for Potions, eh? I wonder if that Elisabeth girl would mind..."

She glared at him, even though she knew he was only trying to lighten the mood. "James Potter, don't you dare! We make too good a team..." She had only meant it academically, but as soon as the words came out of her mouth she wished she could take them back. An uncomfortable silence enveloped them. "Maybe I should go, now," she said, softly, a few minutes later.

"No, it's okay... please, stay here, finish up whatever you were working on. I'll go." Before she could argue, he had disappeared into the stacks. She buried her face in her hands. Well, that went smashingly... she sat there feeling sorry for herself for a few minutes and then decided, as she had done so many times, to throw herself into her work to take her mind off of things. Right. Transmogrification torture...

But three hours later, she was frustrated to find that she was no closer to finding a potion to quell the symptoms of lycanthropy. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath. "Everything useful must be in the Restricted Section. I'll have to talk to Cinna." She put all her things away and trudged back up to Gryffindor Tower, dearly hoping she would be able to avoid James - and Remus - for the rest of the night.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"And, I was wondering if you might give me permission to search the Restricted Section for cures - any information would be helpful, really, even old wives' remedies. Sometimes they have some use, and I think it would be really interesting." She looked up at him eagerly. The excuse Sirius had suggested for this occasion was elegant, really. An extra credit assignment for Defense Against the Dark Arts - it involved nothing special, no cooperation from other teachers, no other excuses.

He smiled at her, but not cruelly. "That's a fabulous story, Miss Evans, but I am afraid it is wasted on me." She gulped. He saw the look on her face and continued, even more kindly. "No, no, you're not in trouble, don't worry. I was wondering when you'd come to me, actually - I suppose Remus has told you about his affliction, and now you want to help. I've always found that terribly admirable in you Gryffindors, to tell you the truth, that insatiable desire to assist your friends..." He sighed and adjusted his robes slightly. "Well, I've been working with one of my better students on a solution for a few months, but it seems we are at an impasse. If you think you would like to join him, I am sure he would welcome a fresh perspective." He gave her a thin, but genuine, smile. "I think you can be trusted, and you have shown some talent for potions, have you not?"

Lily nodded. She would have said more had she not been so thoroughly surprised, first that Cinna could be so kind, and second that someone was already working on it. It couldn't be another Gryffindor, even a seventh year, or she would have heard. James had the best potions mark in the house, aside from her, and surely, he would have told her if he was working on something to help Remus. Maybe Elisabeth Norris? No, no, Cinna had said it was a he. And Hufflepuffs - well, not to discriminate, but they were almost famous for their ineptitude at potions.

"He's in the dungeon right now, would you like to go down and give him your thoughts? As you seem to be lost in them..."

She snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, yes, that would be lovely." She followed him down a dark staircase, then through a corridor with a series of complicated, magical locks. I'll have to remember these charms, she thought a bit distractedly.

Cinna then came to a plain, unassuming door, which he unlocked with a very curious-looking skeleton key. "He's in there. I trust you'll need no introduction... he'll tell you what we've been working on so far. I, meanwhile, must get back to my lesson plans. Good luck, Miss Evans."

Lily walked into the cavernous room, amazed at the sight that surrounded her. The room was lined on three of its five walls with huge shelves, stacked to the ceiling, filled with every kind of herb and magical ingredient she had ever heard of (and some she had not - powdered vesiculosus, what on earth was that?). Everything was neatly labeled, in Cinna's crooked hand, and from what she could tell, it seemed to be in perfect alphabetical order. Alphabetical order was, for some reason that she could not explain, one of the few things that absolutely tickled Lily pink. The other two walls had been fitted with long benches, which boasted built in, self stirring, self-heating cauldrons, and more tall shelves above, filled with books of every kind, and even more unusual looking substances. A pungent, but rather pleasant aroma, something like cloves, hung in the air. She felt as though she had died and gone to Potions heaven.

Then she noticed the boy standing at one of the benches. Even though she could barely make out his profile from across the room, she recognized the hooked nose and greasy black hair. He had not turned around since she had entered, but he must have heard the tail end of her conversation with Cinna. "Lily Evans?" he said coldly, almost with a sneer. "I'm supposed to work on lycanthropy cures with Lily Evans?"

She didn't reply for a moment, closing her eyes and counting to ten in Latin. "Severus -" this marked the first time she had called him by his first name - "we're going to be working together for a while, I think, so we might as well try to be civil to one another. I know you have a certain... distaste for all things Gryffindor, but if you give me a chance you might find that I can help."

He sniffed at her. "If you say so," he said, in a voice almost as greasy as his hair.

Her temper flared. "Look, Snape, I know you think you're God's gift to potions, and I've heard you're good, but I'm damn good too. You would do well to learn to respect me early - now I've got all these ingredients at my disposal, I could concoct some rather unpleasant draughts to prove my worth, if you know what I mean."

"Are you threatening me?" his voice was even, but Lily could sense that she had made him nervous.

"No, but I will if I need to." She took a breath. "Look, I didn't want to start on the wrong foot. If you don't want to work with me, that's fine, I won't get in your way. But would you at least point me in the right direction in terms of books?" He waved his hand lazily at the pile of thick, leather-bound volumes on his bench. "Thank you." She took one of the tomes from the middle of the stack and sat down at the other bench, scanning the pages quickly. Soon she had her quills out, and was chewing on the end of one, deep in thought. She had just reached into her satchel for a scroll of parchment, to begin taking some preliminary notes, when Snape finally spoke again.

"Why'd you want to work on this, anyway?"

She looked up. "So now you're talking to me again?" He said nothing. "I just find it interesting, that's all. Besides, I've heard the symptoms can be dreadful... I really feel sorry for them."

"Oh. Nothing to do with Lupin then?" She coughed. "Or didn't you think I knew? Cinna tried to keep it from me, of course, but when he came in for us to test the medicines on, I caught on. Needless to say, he made me promise not to tell anyone."

"You haven't, have you?" Lily asked, suddenly terrified.

"Of course not, I'd be expelled as well if I told. He's been here five years and hasn't attacked anyone, why should I care if he is allowed to stay? Besides," he continued, "they've been bribing me with a teaching position here in a few years. Cinna's retiring soon, everyone knows that, so they've been recruiting." He saw a look of mild jealousy flicker across her face. "Oh don't worry, they're looking at you for Charms. Something in the Ministry, I've heard."

She smiled, much against her will. "Must be nice to be in on all this faculty chatter," she observed.

He shrugged. "It can be useful." He turned and resumed his work, and she quickly picked up with her reading. After about ten minutes, she spoke again.

"Do you know if we've got werewolves' blood in here?"

He looked at her suspiciously. "Why?"

"Well," she said, "There's a few accounts in this book of werewolves who were bitten twice, by two different creatures, and it says their symptoms became weaker. Not a full cure, of course, but it's a start. I almost wonder if it hasn't got something to do with antibodies..." She stared down at the bench, biting her lip, her brow furrowed. Anyone who knew Lily well - or even anyone who had just seen her studying once or twice - knew that this was a sign of the gears turning double quick in her head.

He glared at her condescendingly. "Antibodies?"

"Oh, right. It's something the Muggles discovered a couple decades ago, they've been really useful for vaccinations against diseases. It's rather brilliant, how it works, actually..." she was about to launch into a full-fledged lecture on immunology when Snape cut her off.

"You're going to try to use Muggle medicine to cure a disease that is magical in its very nature?" He spat out the word "Muggle" as though the word itself was a disease. Lily's nostrils flared, but she held her tongue in check. "Oh, that's right," he continued absentmindedly. "I almost forgot. You're a Mudblood."

This was the last straw. Okay, she thought, you asked for it. "Petrificus Totalus!" she bellowed, before he even realised she had her wand out. He fell, like a stone, to the ground. The distasteful look which had been on his face remained, and Lily laughed softly. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to pull faces, as someday they might freeze that way?" She paused, then added wickedly, "But how silly of me to have forgotten. You always go about looking as though you've just smelled troll poo on your shoes."

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she suspected he would have made other gestures had his eyes not been the only bits of him that could still move. "Now. I know the countercurse for this, and I'm not cruel - or stupid - enough to leave you frozen there. BUT, before I let you go, I want you to promise me you will never, ever use that word in my presence again. Blink twice if you agree." He only stared.

"Ah, very well." She pulled out her wand, and made as though to cast the countercurse. Then she stopped. "Oh, drat. I keep mixing these up... is it 'Tarantellegra?' It's a shame I can't remember exactly, since I've heard it's quite painful to have your legs try to two-step while you can't move them..." His eyes widened. "Perhaps I would remember the right one if you apologised... and promised me what I want?" He began to blink furiously. "Ah, that's what I thought." She waved her wand lazily, muttering the proper countercurse.

He jumped to his feet, brandishing his wand, but she still had hers pointed at him. "I wouldn't try it, Snape. I'm better than you at charms as it is, and I'd wager I'm a bit quicker with the wand too." As he pondered this for a moment, she shouted, "Expelliarmus!" His wand went flying across the dungeon, and she smiled, triumphant. "You see what I mean?"

He looked disgusted with himself for allowing her to disarm him. "Oh, go back to what you were working on. The endibuddies or whatever."

She didn't bother to correct him, but she did take his advice. She began to write on her scroll: Mix blood of another werewolf with wolfsbane? Must be first step. Then something with healing properties (unicorn tail hair or horn powder?) Look up ingredients from anti-fur, anti-Transmogrification and calming potions. She smiled to herself. She would have to experiment before this would do any good, she knew, but she felt she was on the right track. It was a good start.