Two Natures of the Beast

Chapter 6, In Which A Black Dog Visits, and Snape Goes Shopping

A few nights after his conversation with Harry, Snape sat in his office drumming his fingers impatiently against his desk, wondering how long it would take Sirius Black to respond to his letter. God only knew where the man was hiding, although Snape had good reason to suspect he was somewhere nearby doing DumbledoreÕs bidding. BlackÕs status as an unregistered Animagus came in useful for spying, uncomfortable living conditions aside. He only hoped HarryÕs owl would be able to find Black if he was, indeed, in his canine form. He tried grading some essays on Wart-removing potions, but his mind kept wandering from the task. He wished he had someone to discuss the matter with, but Aurora was the closest thing he had to a friend, and she was still miffed at Slytherins in general because of the Quidditch match. He had begun pacing the room when he heard a light scratching noise on his office door. Wondering what it could be, he slowly opened the door.

A large black dog bounded into the room. Snape quickly shut the door behind it. As soon as it was firmly locked, the beast morphed into a haggard, dark-haired man. It was Sirius Black. Snape had to stop himself from gasping aloud. Black was bone-thin, his collar bone and shoulder blades practically poking through the ragged material of his dirty robes. His hair hung in lank, knotted strings over his shoulder and there were dark circles under his eyes. Quickly, Snape covered the pity and shock he knew Black would abhor.

ÒYou know, Black,Ó Snape said sardonically, Òyou could have simply owled me.Ó

ÒI was nearby,Ó Black answered curtly. ÒIÕve been keeping an eye on Malfoy since you bungled that operation.Ó He raised his eyebrows at Snape, silently challenging him.

Biting his tongue, his sympathy of only a few seconds ago nearly forgotten, Snape reminded himself that he hadnÕt asked the man to meet him so he could argue with him.

ÒHave a seat, Sirius,Ó he offered as politely as he knew how, indicating the uncomfortable high-backed chair he supplied for students who came to confer with him. ÒCare for something to eat or drink?Ó

ÒNo, Severus, this isnÕt a social call. Say what you have to say and be done with it,Ó Black growled, folding his arms across his chest.

ÒI was only concerned- ah, never mind.Ó Snape unleashed his new, practiced smile, purely to disconcert his former friend. ÒWhy, Siri, I only asked you here to beg your forgiveness.Ó

The grin coupled with the use of Black's childhood nickname had the desired effect. BlackÕs face lost its superior sneer as he looked at Snape. He nodded. ÒOkay, IÕll bite. What are you getting at, *Sev*?Ó

ÒLook,Ó Snape said, serious now, Òin the past, I did a lot of things I've come to regret." This seemed to capture Black's interest. Emboldened, Snape continued,"You may not be aware of this, but it was my testimony that marked you as a traitor. I jumped to conclusions, allowed myself to be led around by the nose by Lucius Malfoy, and went running to Dumbledore. ItÕs largely my fault that you went to Azkaban, though that pathetic Pettigrew didnÕt help matters by blowing himself up. Still, I am..." he drew a deep breath, and said the word he had very little practice saying, "...sorry for the part I played in it.Ó

Black's initial reaction was apparently to punch the man standing across from him, judging by the way he drew back his fist, but then he appeared to realize what Snape was actually saying, and lowered his arm from the offensive position.

ÒYou...you tried to protect Lily and James? Why? You were one of VoldemortÕs stars,Ó Black spat, but there was genuine wonder in his tone, too.

It was hard for Snape to explain in so many words. After a moment struggling to organize his thought, he replied, ÒI realized that while I hated James, I was motivated only by jealousy. I hated him for the way he treated me in school. I hated the fact that the way you tried to impress him was to show your loathing of Slytherins, especially me. I hated the way everyone oohed and ahhed over every move he ever made. I hated him for so many reasons, but that wasnÕt a reason for him to die. I must admit, I was so completely surprised when I heard that their Secret Keeper had turned informant. Potter always seemed to inspire such loyalty from his groupies. I just regret that in my passion to redeem myself, I assumed that you were the Secret Keeper.Ó Snape brought a fisted hand down on the top of his desk. ÒI was just still so angry at you, Sirius! It was easy, gratifying even, to believe the worst of you. But you shouldnÕt have had to pay so dearly for my spite.Ó

ÒSev,Ó Black said, almost gently, Òeveryone was supposed to think I was the PottersÕ Secret Keeper; that was the plan. It just backfired, because Wormtail was such a, well, rat. What I canÕt believe is that you, of all people, tried to stop Lily and JamesÕ murder! Now I know why Dumbledore is so willing to trust you. That took real guts, Severus. If my being in prison played even a small part in your reformation, IÕm glad. It makes having been a little more bearable. Just a little more, mind you.Ó

He was looking at Snape with new eyes, reminded suddenly of the boy he had once known. It was now clear to him that beneath SnapeÕs hardened exterior he still carried some of the frightened, awkward eleven year old. It was as though he had decided that the best defense was a good offense. Black swallowed, realizing that he had played a large part in SnapeÕs needing a defense in the first place.

ÒSev, you donÕt need my forgiveness, all right? I wasn't exactly a prince myself. Remember the Shrieking Shack? I was lucky you didn't send me to Azkaban for that. Lets just call it water under the bridge, all right?Ó

Snape only nodded, momentarily unable to speak. This had been far easier than he had anticipated. It seemed Dumbledore had been right: he had been much harder on himself than anybody else had been. While he doubted that he and Black would ever become great friends again, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. It felt so wonderful to be relieved of the burden he had been carrying with him for fourteen years. Not sure how to handle the emotional charge that had suffused the room, after an awkward moment in which he fought to keep the naked gratitude from shining in his eyes, he steered the topic of conversation to more current events, asking Black what he had found out so far at the MalfoysÕ.

ÒIÕm not sure, exactly,Ó Black answered thoughtfully. ÒLots of comings and goings, ÔformerÕ Death eaters to a man. Lots of owls, too. That lot is definitely planning something.Ó

ÒAny idea what it is?Ó Snape asked, business-like once more.

ÒSomething big, something that will take out all the key players at once.Ó

ÒA school event?Ó

ÒRight in one. Anything big coming up?Ó Black questioned.

Snape felt a sense of dread filling him as he answered, ÒThe Yule Ball.Ó

ÒThe Yule Ball? But I thought that was only held in conjunction with the Tri-wizard Tournament?Ó

ÒNormally, yes, but,Ó Snape sighed, Òthe students liked the last one so much that they petitioned Dumbledore to make it an annual event. Being the soft-touch he is, he said naturally said yes. Said it would help bolster morale and restore a sense of normalcy for the students.Ó

ÒWell, Snape,Ó Sirius said, a smarmy grin on his gaunt face, Òyou had better start shopping for dress robes!Ó

Snape groaned.

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

Once the date of the Ball drew closer, Snape decided to ask Aurora to accompany him to Hogsmeade, which served the dual purpose of extending the olive branch to her and securing him a female opinion on the infernal dress robes he now needed to buy. He didn't think his usual method would suffice in this case; since Snape was red/green colorblind, he usually just found one well-made set of black robes and bought ten sets. That way he only had to go shopping every five years or so.

Aurora agreed against her better judgement, mainly because she missed their verbal sparring. Hanging out with Charity was fun, but not as mentally stimulating as ten minutes with the sarcastic Professor Snape. The only other person she had met that was equally intellectually intriguing was Hermione Granger, but she was a student and therefore not exactly a social peer. Grudgingly, Aurora admitted that Snape was not nearly as unpleasant as he made himself out to be. So it was that she found herself knocking on Snape's door early on Saturday afternoon.

"Well, it's about time!" He sneered as he opened the door.

"Humph. I'm ten minutes late, Severus," she replied, but smiled, glad that things were back to normal.

"I, for one, would like to get this chore over with before Hogsmeade is overrun with students," he shot back at her.

"Ick! See students outside of class? Heaven forbid!" she answered, giving him a dose of his own sarcasm. Yep, things were definitely back to normal.

Snape repressed a grin as he led her out of the castle. "I think we'll take a more...conventional route to town this time."

Once they were on the path to the small wizarding village, Aurora decided to bring up what might prove to be a delicate subject. "Um, Severus?"

"Yes?" he drawled.

"Harry Potter came to see me yesterday." She bit her lip.

"What trouble is he plotting now?" Snape rolled his eyes.

"Oh, he, um, he wanted to, well, warn me about you," she said reluctantly.

Snape arched his dark brows, the pointed expression on his face demanding elaboration. In a rush, Aurora blurted out, "He warned me not to trust you, on account of your being a former Death eater. I pointed out that you were firmly on our side, but he said he thought you might be 'up to something' because you'd been behaving oddly lately."

She dared a glance at the man walking- no, stalking- beside her. The look on his face put her in mind of a cartoon character when steam would come out of their ears and their hair would shoot off their head. Snape's tangled mass remained attached to his head, but he did explode verbally.

"Oh, honestly! The number of times I've gone out of my way to try and save that boy's life! You'd think he'd reevaluate his initial impression of me! But no! He must always suspect me! To his mind, I'm always trying to feed him to Voldemort, or poison his favorite professor, or otherwise plotting some nefarious scheme! I'm sick of his suspicions! Just because I don't shower him with adoration like every body else, is a little trust too much to ask for?" His pale face had gone red, his brows were drawn together, and his eyes blazed with self-righteous indignation.

Aurora looked at him askance. "That was quite a lot of exclamation points, Severus. I didn't say I believed him. I just thought you should be made aware of the impression you're giving the students. They think you're behaving out of character."

"How so?" he asked icily.

Aurora suppressed a smile, feeling he might not take it well at this point. "Oh, you're smiling, not subtracting enough points from Gryffindor, giving out good marks on assignments, that sort of thing. Harry seems to think you're overcompensating for something." Now she did grin, unable to resist teasing the uptight professor.

"Can't win with these children," he grumbled. "What do you suggest I do? Go back to being autocratic and nasty?" His upper lip curled as he suggested it.

"Gods, no. But maybe, how shall I say this, tone it down a bit. It is unnerving, you acting nice all of a sudden. A touch of sarcasm wouldn't be amiss."

"Oh, and I suppose you are the arbiter of tasteful sarcasm, Miss Ick-Heaven-Forbid?" he scoffed.

"Now there's the Severus I know and love!" she cried, laughing as she earned an eye-rolling from Snape.

They had reached the Hogsmeade business district, such as it were. Deciding to get it over with, Snape steered Aurora in the direction of Gladrags Wizardwear. Once inside, he immediately gravitated to some plain black robes, but Aurora shook her head and dragged him away to the other side of the bustling clothier's.

"You always wear black, Severus! It's time to liven up your wardrobe," she said firmly.

"You're a fine one to talk," he retorted, looking pointedly at her shapeless but serviceable navy woolen robes.

"Do as I say, not as I do," she said pertly, searching through a rack of velvet. "Besides, these are my every day robes. You need dress robes. Here!" she announce triumphantly, holding up deep silvery grey velvet robes with a mandarin collar and black trim. "Go try these on."

Snape looked at her doubtfully but did as he was bid. Once in the dressing room, he had to admit she was right. The robes accentuated his broad shoulders and masked his thinness. The high collar worked on his long neck, and the black trim mirrored his dark eyes and hair.

"They're all right," he called over the door.

"Let me see!" she demanded, her voice floating over to him.

"Not on your life! Not until the Yule Ball," he answered as he emerged from the changing room in is original plain black robes. Aurora jutted out her lower lip in a mock pout. "What about you?" he asked.

"What about me?"

"Well," he said slowly as if he had to spell it out for her, "you need to get some dress robes, too."

"Why? I'm not going to the Ball. I don't have to chaperone," she pointed out.

Snape wanted to smack himself on the forehead for having left out a key factor in his need for the robes. Quickly, he explained to her the suspicions he and Black shared, finishing, "So you see, you really must go."

Aurora sighed heavily, clearly disgruntled at this turn of events. She had no interest whatsoever in getting girlied up and going to a dance. She had envisioned herself spending the night in comfy clothes curled up with a good book. She hated formals, because she was always the one left by herself when all the other girls had been asked to dance. The only saving grace in this circumstance was that, as a professor, she didn't have to worry about doing any actual dancing.

"Fine," she spat out, her playful mood evaporated. "I'll go." She grabbed the nearest set of robes in her size, overly frilly in a truly appalling shade of hot pink, and stomped up to the register. Snape, astounded by her reaction, followed her. He had thought she would enjoy a chance to dress up and show herself off. He wondered why she didn't relish the opportunity, as most women would, to literally let her hair down and show herself as the pretty witch he suspected she was under her no-nonsense exterior. After they paid the harried looking dwarf ("wonderful tailors," a woman remarked) manning the register, Snape made the mistake of voicing his thoughts aloud to Aurora as they exited the busy shop.

To his surprise, she laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right. I know better than that, thank you very much. It doesn't get better than this. I'd only look ridiculous for trying."

As she bit her lip and stared away from him, he scowled to cover up his incredulity. The realization hit him like a stray bludger. It appeared that he wasn't the only professor at Hogwarts with self-esteem issues. His ruminations were interrupted by the sounds of angry adolescent voices up ahead.

"Look, it's Miss Malfoy and his boyfriends!" That would be Ron Weasley. His insults were never terribly clever. Snape and Aurora hurried in the students' direction.

"Weasley! Shopping for dress robes, or are you going to borrow your sister's nightgown again?" Those were Draco Malfoy's clipped aristocratic tones. The subsequent sniggering must be Crabbe and Goyle.

Normally Snape would have just let them have at it, but Ron's temper, or lack thereof, was becoming notorious around the school. Sure enough, as the two professors rounded the corner by Honeydukes, Ron launched himself at Draco, fists flying. It took the combined efforts of Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville to hold the tall redhead back. Draco's arm swung up in the dueling position, holding his wand over his head.

"*Accio wand*!" Draco's wand flew into Aurora's hand. The blonde looked over to see who had intervened.

"Aw, cos, I wouldn't have hurt him," he said slyly, trying for an angelic look but falling far short.

"Cos?" Ron gasped. All the Gryffindors' mouths gaped, then set hard as they looked over at their DADA instructor. Snape decided to let her handle this one.

"Don't 'cos' me," she snapped at Draco. "Just because you are my cousin, doesn't mean you get special privileges as my student. You know there is to be no hexing outside of class! This means detention, Draco!"

Ron grinned cheekily. She whirled on him. "And you, Ron, know better than to attack someone with your fists! We heard you start it. Don't dish it out if you can't take it. Detention for you, too."

Ron's freckled face fell. "But...but..."

Snape interjected, "Any argument and I will start deducting points, Mr. Weasley." He tapped his foot, making it evident that he would be only too happy to do so. "Have anything to say? No? Good. Now separate!"

Snape and Aurora stood firm until the Gryffindors headed to Zonkos, the Slytherins to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Once he was sure there would be no more trouble, Snape turned to Aurora.

"Are you hungry?"

"Incredibly" came the grumpy reply.

"I know of a wonderful restaurant at the other end of the village, The Cauldron of Plenty. Dagda, the owner, has this miraculous ability to put just the right amount of food on your plate. You'll finish everything, but you will be completely full. Game to try it?" Snape's stomach rumbled thinking of Dagda's culinary efforts.

She nodded. Under the effects of Dagda's soothing Irish lilt and fabulous corned beef and cabbage, Aurora felt the anger caused by the scene at Gladrags and the impromptu duel melt away. She was in good spirits again by the time Snape delivered her back to her rooms. It was a good thing, too, because an unexpected visitor was awaiting her on her bed.