Howling Lesson

Howling Lesson

Severus couldn't do anything to stop himself - he gasped.

"Now that is some improvement!" his mirror commented briskly. "Well?"

Severus ignored it. He wasn't flattered in the slightest. On the contrary. This blasted mirror had been insulting him for years - and now that he looked like some cliché female fantasy ... like some ... extremely good looking ... Well, if he ever cared he would say that he looked absolutely dashing! But he didn't. Much.

Long eyelashes framed brown eyes which glanced amicably through streaks of blindingly blond hair. It was a tiny bit curly and also shorter than his real hair. Severus couldn't resist to run a hand through it - which his mirror on the other hand couldn't leave uncommented.

"Now look! Finally all your experiments with hair care potions are paying up, aren't they?"

Severus dropped his hand immediately. He didn't like the fluffyness. He also wished his mirror would go back to insulting him. The tone of its voice was really getting on his nerves.

"Keep quiet and change to full view," he tried to snap - but his deep warm voice only made the glass vibrate gently.

"Uhhh," the mirror almost moaned and obeyed promptly and without the usual complaints.

Severus narrowed his eyes. Then he slowly took off his robe followed by his shirt. He paused. Couldn't hurt to take a look at the rest too, could it?

"If I hear another word from you," he addressed the mirror casually while unlacing his shoes, "I'll hang you up in my office and you can look at me the whole day. Without - this."

The threat worked - either this, or the mirror was just lost for words anyway - and when all his clothes lay neatly folded on his bed, Severus breathed in real deep. That was even better than the face he decided. Not that it was a good face. Oh well ...

He quickly changed into black evening robes and when he adjusted the unavoidable ornamental handkerchief to the breast pocket of his suit he could feel quite a lot of muscles flex. He snorted. Some part of him insisted on wondering if Remus had arranged this disguise for any other reasons than to protect Severus' identity. Perhaps this had been Remus' idea of having a hot date. Perhaps Remus loved his intellect more than his ... stop that! He wasn't cheesily handsome but he sure wasn't ugly as some people never got tired to state. He had an interresting face. And his body was muscular too. He was a spy after all. He had to be in shape.

He sighed and stopped himself from being an idiot. Remus sure didn't have a crush on this Eagletown. He tried to smirk ... and was instead rewarded with the most charming smile he'd ever seen. The mirror gave a soft moan, shrank to pocket size and hovered expactantly in front of him.

"You don't think I'll take you with me, do you?" He snatched the mirror and shoved it into an empty potions jar, almost breaking the glass while shutting the lid.

He would kill Remus Lupin. He so would get him back for that.

He packed all his things - travel coat, Polyjuice emergency supply, five litres of Wolfsbane Potion in a shrinkable chalice, with the addition of a newly invented substance to keep it fresh - and left his quarters. He walked along the dungeon floors towards the Great Hall, but then decided to make a little detour. He emerged from the kitchens two minutes later. Had he taken his mirror with him, he would have been pleased to see that Eagletown was capable of a decent smirk after all.

He then passed the front hall. It was Saturday and he had thought it safe enough to take the potion while he was still at Hogwarts. He had wanted to see the result before he'd leave for London in case he would look like a troll or something worse. In that case he could have taken another potion he'd always had in store. He even had thought about attending the convention as McGonagall - just to see Remus spill out his coffee. Anyway he'd thought that walking out of Hogwarts as someone else wouldn't draw too much attention to him. A worried father visiting the school to have a talk with his child's Head of House wasn't so unusual.

But he obviously hadn't thought about what would happen if Eagletown looked like some muscle-packed supermodel Quidditch God. Because the moment he came by a crowd of students, all heads turned, mouths fell open and one girl actually let out a squeaky scream.

Severus stopped to glare at the girl, or to smirk or to sneer or ... but the girl wasn't intimidated at all. On the contrary. She flushed red, giggled and hid behind another squeaking girl - a Slytherin fifth-year he noticed digustedly - who shot him such a drooling look that he blushed in return.

He turned on his heels so fast he almost ran over Flitwick, who had come to see what the commotion was all about. Severus mumbled an apology to the stunned professor and hurried out of the castle - but not before he had caught another admiring look from Ron Weasley.

***

Severus Apparated in the middle of nowhere. He looked around, but there wasn't much to see. He stood in a clearing with a single building in front of him, surrounded by nothing but trees. The woods were so thick he couldn't see further than ten metres into the forest. Behind that there was darkness. Great! Another Forbidden Forest and another Shrieking Shack. Just the place where he wanted to be on a full moon night. As if wasn't on edge already. And as a bonus he was going to face not only one but 52,43 werewolves. At least that was the number you got when deviding five litres of Wolsbane Potion by standard issue tea cup.

He walked to the door of what really had disturbing similarities to the Shrieking Shack and listened. He couldn't hear a single voice. He checked his watch. It was a quarter past three and he was sure the convention had started at about two o'clock. Perhaps he could just leave and tell Remus that he had been in the wrong place. But this was childish. He might just as well see it through, now that he had taken all the not-exactly-pains. And he couldn't let 52,43 untamed werewolves run loose all across Hampstead Heath now could he? With a decisive movement, he pushed the door open.

While he hadn't heard anything from outside he now was about to hold his ears to shut out the noise. The room was crowded and people were laughing and chattering as if their lives depended on it to a background of what he vaguely recognised as ... Heavy Iron? Of course, there had to be muggle werewolves, but did they have to bring their music with them?

Many faces had turned when he'd opened the door and some people were now waving enthusiastically at him. He searched for the one familiar face, hoping against hope that no-one would speak to him until he'd found Remus.

"Ah, Tobias! How good it is to see you old friend. How's it going?"

It would have been too easy, Severus thought bitterly. An old man of about eighty approached him, patting him hard on the back and Severus was tempted to return this friendly gesture.

"Acceptable," he replied instead.

"Acceptable? Good Lord, I thought everything went so well for you now?" The old man's eyes twinkled humorously.

"Of course it did. What about ... you? How's your ... wife?"

The man's face lost all its colour and Severus cursed himself silently. Only because he wasn't here as a Death Eater didn't mean he could be sloppy with the improvising.

"She's gone." The man's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm really sorry for your loss -"

"She left me for another wolf," he wailed loudly.

Oh Dear. "Did she now? How could that have happened?" Oh Dear! But the man didn't seem to notice the sarcasm and before he could make another misplaced statement he saw Remus squeezing his way through the mass of people.

"Flahery. Don't give my friend such a hard time. He's uncomfortable enough with all us furballs around." Remus lay one hand on Severus' shoulder. The old man - Flahery - immediately stopped crying and started laughing instead.

"Remus! My, my ... you look healthy. Good!"

Remus turned to Severus with a hearty smile - which Severus didn't return. "He played a joke on me?"

"Only a little one, young man. Remus told me to look out for you," Flahery stated cheerfully.

Severus ignored him, his gaze still fixed on Remus. "He knows who I am?"

"Yes. I told a few -"

"Do you actually understand the practical meaning of 'in disguise'? If everybody knows already there isn't any bloody point to it."

Remus looked flustered.

"Now, now." Flahery took Remus' arm, not willing to give up on what he obviously thought was an interesting conversation. "So this is your professor, then. He sure does have temper, deary me." Remus smiled insecurely and Flahery glanced over at Severus. "I'm an old man, Mr. Professor, but I can still keep a little secret to myself." He twinkled and then something else caught his attention. "Ah, here comes my wife. I think I'll see you both later." And with another pat on Remus' back he left to join a woman who seemed twice his age and just as cheerful.

"So," Remus turned to Severus after a moment of supposed-to-be-silence. "When you're finished with snapping I could show you around."

"The room's half the size of the Great Hall. There's nothing I can't see from where I'm standing. Of course if you want to introduce me to more of your friends -"

"Don't. These people are important to me."

He waved a hand. "I know. I'm just not ..."

"And besides, if you speak low of my friends you're only discrediting yourself in the process."

Severus didn't reply. Remus made a sudden move and his teeth collided with Severus' jawbone when he tried to peck him on the cheek.

"Ouch. What did you do that for?" Severus yelped.

"Better now?"

"No."

"Oh come on. You've never seen me as a wolf and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get you slowly acquainted with it."

"I have seen you in wolf form. Which was traumatic enough. It still is! Do you expect me to forget all about it and scratch you behind the ears?"

"But you have to know the other side of me if you want to -"

"I already know more sides of you than I can handle," Severus grunted. "And I'm not keen on seeing you on four legs."

Remus grinned. "You didn't mind when we -"

"THAT - was different."

There was an awkward pause in which both Severus and Remus tried to keep a straight face. The moment passed but Severus continued to look at Remus. He did seem healthy. Which was good. And the sun had bleached his hair light-brown which contrasted with his tanned skin. And he'd missed him. A lot. That thought hit him somewhat unprepared and his surprise must have shown on his face, because Remus gave a short laugh before he closed his eyes and bent over to give him another, much more convincing kiss.

When Remus could feel Severus relaxing - at least a bit - he drew back. "Come on. Let's go."

Severus stopped him and cleared his throat.

"You just kissed Eagletown in front of at least fifty people who are not exactly strangers to him. Doesn't that give him something of an unwanted reputation?"

"Maybe. But he's the kind of guy for it. You did look in the mirror, did you? Don't worry. No one will remember that for long and Tobias won't mind. We just give them something to talk about. They'll be happy. Wolves like to gossip."

"So they aren't different after all."

"Hah. Right. Now - let's -"

But Severus still held his arm tight.

"Don't you want to let go of me now? What is it?" Remus looked at him curiously.

"That howling event, what's that supposed to mean?"

Remus made a face. "Oh, that. The WWA has a new - promoter. Mr Bricky thinks we should put more effort into 'giving ourselves a stronger feeling of selfconfidence'. He wants us to look on the bright side of the whole wolf business. Tries to encourage us to," he paused for effect, "like the transformation. On the last convention we went home before the moon came up so we could change in private. This time he arranged for a safe meeting place, charms and everything, so that we all can be together and ... howl at the moon. Because that's what normal wolves do. And if they are happy with it ..."

Severus opened his mouth -

"I know. Don't say it. It's the stupidest thing you've ever heard."

"You don't really expect me to watch. Or to participate."

"No! Of course not. You would really look rather stupid among all the wolves. Er ... I mean it would seem rather strange if Tobias didn't transform. Well ... I have to attend, committee member ... "

"Look. I came. I'll stay and let you introduce me to your friends or whatever - but ... Just let me try to cope with one wolf at a time. It's not exactly my idea of a happy get-together."

"I didn't know you even had ideas of that kind."

"Funny."

"Anyway. I didn't expect you to participate."

"So, what do you want me to do then?"

"Nothing. Just be yourself. Or rather - don't. Just be. Um. Nice?"

***

"As I was saying ..."

Maliva Packler went on with her lengthy examination on how the Ministry of Magic should handle the latest attempts of You-Know-Who's followers to recruit werewolves. The subject just seemed to be popping up again and again on this convention and Remus tried to listen with polite interest.

"... should do more for the actual concerns of their members ..."

As if all this choosing-sides paranoia could be solved through discussions just like that.

"... perhaps we should consider more unpopular methods of ... last measure of course ..."

He was distracted by Severus' expression. He, too, looked like one part of him was trying hard to be interested, whereas the other couldn't care less.

"... it's our responsibility as a group. What do you think about this, Mr Eagletown?" she finally finished. Remus held his breath.

"What I think?" Severus said in a low but determined voice which somehow managed to penetrate through all the hubbub and reduce it to mere background. "I think that neither the Ministry nor any other group who wishes to display authority, such as there is, ought to or even could decide this for any member of its circle. Everyone has to make that kind of decision for themselves. That's where you choose sides. In your own ... soul. Nowhere else."

Remus caught his eyes and smiled. Severus could say the right words sometimes. Even if they came out without the usual polish.

"That's a rather romantic opinion you've got there. Very ... neat. But I don't think that people always know - in their souls - what's good for them," Packler replied curtly. "Remus," she changed the subject, "have you brought the Wolsbane Potion from Professor Snape?"

"Of course I have."

He gave it to her and explained the use of the freshkeeping substance, which for a second brought something like an approving grin to Severus' face, and then she left to prepare it.

"I liked what you said."

"I didn't like what she said."

"She's just oversensitive on the issue. She wants to do everything right and she, like everybody else, is a bit tense. We don't get much support from ... anyone. And she's done a great job over the last year. She has her heart in the right place."

"She didn't seem to know Eagletown very well."

"No, she doesn't. Tobias isn't actually a member of the WWA and he was ill during last year's convention. I would've loved to get you to meet him. But perhaps we can do this some other time."

"What do you owe him for anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Remus' expression had gone suspiciously blank and Severus sensed the change of mood immediately.

"When I taught you that spell," he went on carefully, "you said you owed him. For what?"

"He was the one who bit me," Remus said matter-of-factly and Severus felt like he'd been hit in the stomach.

***