Snape Rules

5. Uncanny Encounter

"100 potion vials on the desk

100 vials of potion

If one happens to break - Merlin, dear!

99 potion vials are left now to test ..."

Snape frowned slightly. Two hours and he couldn't even come up with a decent rhyme? Poor. Oh so poor.

Life was boring if one hadn't to fear for one's life anymore. Snape didn't have any more potions to test and he almost wished that those Weasley pranksters were still at Hogwarts to make life a bit more thrilling. The last potion the Potions Master had tested on the students and staff was a relation potion. He'd put the gaseous potion into the old air pipes were that basilisk had resided years ago. Snape discovered fairly quickly that it wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. Every person's hair which was in some kind related to another of the school changed into the same colour, darker if the relation was parent and child, lighter if the relation was of siblings and even lighter if they were cousins or farer related.

Definitely, there had to have been something wrong with the ingredients - as Severus Snape never muffed a potion. How could he have possibly fathered half of the Hogwarts students currently attending the school (his colour was black, of course)? No way! Even if he had been interested (which wasn't the case) in all those mothers, it would have been technically absolutely impossible. No amount of Pepper-Up could have helped him. Pepper-UP ... what an embarrassing pun.

Anyway, it was time for dinner. And after a last reassuring glance into his magical mirror - which confirmed that he looked absolutely smashing (the mirror wasn't drowned in Veritaserum, mind you) - he swooped out of the dungeons.

~+#+#+~

"Okay ... I'm positively lost," Tonks mumbled, almost tripping over her own feet. "I knew I had to take the left gangway ... Trust Lupin to allocate those chambers to me ... Oops!" Having lost her concentration as she'd trailed off, Tonks' levitation charm wore off and her trunk crashed to the ground. "Ugh!" Letting herself down to sit on her bum, Tonks started to re-collect her belongings that had fallen out of her opened trunk.

She never saw it coming.

"Whoa!" Severus cried as he tripped over Tonks' lazily outstretched leg, sending him hurling to the ground. "Ouch! What the hell was that? Damn! This is going to leave bruises ... Always so damn dark in the dungeons' hallways ..." he cursed and managed to get into a sitting position, facing away from Tonks, who was currently rubbing her leg.

"Oops ..." she murmured and shuffled to her feet. "Ehm, Mister? I'm terribly sorry. I'm such a klutz sometimes, you know ..." She pushed her trunk to the side and rounded the wizard still on the ground. "A bit shadowy, isn't it. Oh well. Lumos!"

Severus froze. Letting his black hair curtain his expression, his eyes moved slowly upwards, meeting two brightly coloured orbs. Spiky, intense purple hair made him wonder what kind of family tree she probably had. But considering her robes she hadn't participated in his little test, for she was neither student nor staff at Hogwarts.

"A 'klutz' as you so lovely put it, is most likely an understatement," Severus drawled and rose with as much dignity as possible to his feet.

Tonks' breath caught. 'Oh my,' she thought, watching with growing eyes as the wizard grew centimetre for centimetre. 'What a voice ... I-I ... have a vision.'

"And as for your inappropriate presence at MY dungeons, you are without a doubt capable of explaining your intrusion?" Severus spat venomously, glaring at the witch, who dared to look at him in what couldn't be described anything but innocent. Oh yes, innocent! Lurking around in the hallways and attacking oblivious, helpless Potion Masters! What did Hogwarts become if one couldn't walk around the hallways without taking extra time to ensure that there wasn't one klutz who could possibly be one's downfall? It was never heard of!

"I-I ... well, you know ... I was just ..." Tonks stuttered, flashing Snape a nervous smile.

"I do not have time for this silly nonsense," Severus growled, grabbing her arm. "If you aren't able to form one coherent sentence, I'm going to see you to the gates."

"Oh, hehe ... That won't be necessary." Tonks made no attempt to retrieve her arm. Actually, through the thick layers of cloth the wizard's hand send comfortable jolts of warmth towards her core. "My name is Tonks. I'm Auror and I'm going to assist Professor Lupin in DADA for the next weeks ..." she trailed off and almost shyly extended her other hand - which Severus pointedly chose to ignore.

"Lupin ... How dare he ...? I wasn't informed ..." he growled, looking somewhere behind Tonks. "For what reason am I interim headmaster, if I don't know what's going on ...?!"

"Huh?" Tonks gasped. "Interim headmaster? Where is Albus? I mean, sure, I haven't seen him yet, but I thought-"

"Obviously not. Otherwise you wouldn't be roaming the dungeons hallways!"

"Okay. Who are you?"

Severus frowned, letting finally go of Tonks' arm, and took half a step backwards. "Severus Snape. Hogwarts' Potions Master."

"Nice to meet you."

"The feeling is not mutual."