The Hypnotising Glare of a Cobra

Author's notes: Thanks so much to Dark Hamadryad from Perfect Imagination for her excellent editing.

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Chapter Two - How Severus Snape Got Himself Into a Mess

He never really noticed her until her sixth year, when she somehow managed to wheedle herself into his Advanced Potions class without him expecting it - he had never once given her an 'O'. However, once she started taking his class, he did not object too much to her being there. Aniara Hawthorne was a quiet girl, who made her potions well and without mistakes.

A typical Ravenclaw, Miss Hawthorne worked diligently by the book but had little of the flare that he demanded from an 'O'-student. However, and most importantly, she never caused him any trouble. Even her handwriting was very legible, almost as if she was determined not to bother him. Consequently, she glided through Advanced Potions as easily as she had glided through her first five years of Potions classes - a hardly noticeable speck at the edge of Severus Snape's mind - and he expected her final exam performance to be acceptable.

Naturally, he was rather surprised when she knocked on his office door at the end of her last term, explaining that she wished for a reference letter to follow an application for a job as an Apothecary's Assistant. The request was not only impudent, but highly out of character.

Severus was already not in the best of moods that day, as Professor Flitwick, his small eyes gleaming excitedly, had reminded him at lunch that they next year were to receive not one, but two Weasleys. Severus, however, had been disgusted by the news, and his brooding over the new arrivals would no doubt cloud his summer in grey. Any parents with any sense, he thought, would realise by the time that Percy Weasley turned three or so, that they had exhausted their spell of good breeding and should cease immediately.

Not the Weasleys, though, Severus thought dryly. No, they insisted on making the most out of free schooling, or maybe they hoped that at least one of their offspring might get lucky enough to be able to support them through old age? Whatever the reason, Severus Snape had to suffer through classes with each and every one of these obstinate Gryffindors, and he was not pleased at all. Hence, he was filing away scrolls with terse movements, brooding over his miserable bad luck when the knock sounded.

He stared at the brown-haired girl while she nervously stated her request, trying to recall her name. Unsuccessful, he gave her a stern glare.

"You expect me to write a personal reference for you, Miss, despite the fact that I right now cannot even recall your name? Perhaps you have failed to notice my utter disinterest in your schoolwork?"

"It's Miss Hawthorne," she said.

He glared at her again, incensed at the fact that he could not withdraw points from her. Then he snatched a bit of spare parchment from his desk and scribbled on it: "Miss Hawthorne has caused no accidents in Potions class. I see little reason for not hiring her for any menial job that consists of repetitive tasks, except for the fact that she is female (a fact that should stand as a deterrent on its own)." He signed it with a furious flourish and handed it to her.

"There," he said. "Now, get out!"

Thankfully, she did, with a radiant smile on her face that quickly died a quiet death when she saw his dark scowl. The door closed behind her, and he did not give her another thought for the next six years.

*

He noticed, of course, that she miraculously had got the job when she started undertaking the (appropriately) menial task of delivering delicate ingredients to his office a couple of times a year. But as his mind grew more and more occupied by the looming return of his former master and the abominable state of said master's adversary, Harry Potter, he did not reflect further on Miss Hawthorne. Students of his began to populate the wizarding world, obstructing his path wherever he went, and he never acknowledged their acquaintance.

It was when the Dark Lord returned, however, that everything went wrong. Severus could not deny that he had led a comfortable life at Hogwarts, protected as he was by the Headmaster, and that the dark stains on his mind and soul had receded into grey specks of faded memory. Meeting his old master, however, brought it all out anew. All summer, he spent trying to suppress his longing for the Dark Arts, longing to feel that absolute power, to revel in abilities so poorly substituted by punishing school misdemeanours. His new role as a double-agent did little to relieve his renewed urge, and when the new term started, his mood was blacker than ever.

*

Dear cousin Julia, however, determinedly continued the quarterly futile attempts to uphold family bliss and paid her post-holiday visit seemingly oblivious to his state of mind. Sitting in his school quarters (which she much preferred to his house at Spinner's End), she absentmindedly adjusted her light brown hair bun with one hand and drank her tea using the other, while Severus glared at her in ominous silence. There simply was no getting rid of this annoying relative, so oblivious to hints and forgetful of insults as she was. He had long ago stopped wasting his time on trying to invent ways to prevent her from seeing him, as she obviously saw it as a purpose in life. Spinsters were far more persistent than Death Eaters, in that respect. Sometimes all one could do was quietly hear them out while giving them the odd glare.

"Really, Severus," Julia said, while pointing her patterned lilac boots at the worn carpet underneath their feet as if she'd just discovered it, "you simply must do something about this carpet. Its condition is deplorable. You know I know all the traders and can get the school a good price. Anyone who comes into this room must think you're quite the slob. If your dear mother had lived-" He glared at her then, to no effect. "-- she would have objected strongly. She was so careful of everything's quality, mother always said. I shall have a word with Albus Dumbledore, I shall."

"You do that," he muttered. His brandy glass stood on the table, untouched. He was aching for it, but he knew that if he picked it up, it would prolong his cousin's visit and with it, his own personal hell.

"And what is this new development with the Potter boy? Gone off his rocker, I've heard. What a shame, with such talented parents."

"He always performs pitifully in my classes," Severus couldn't resist replying. "The boy is mediocre to the last degree."

"All the more sad." Julia shook her head in her disapproving, spinster-like way, and for a brief moment, Severus did not know who annoyed him the most, Julia Prince or Harry Potter. He watched his brandy broodingly while Julia finished her tea, her eyes darting over the room, looking for more ways to interfere in his life, but gratefully failing to find any. The moment she put down her cup, he pointed his wand at it and sent it down to the kitchens. She blinked at the empty spot on the table between them.

"Now, Severus," she said mildly, "that was quite badly mannered, you know. Well, I must be on my way anyhow, no matter. The shop doesn't run itself, you know. I'll see Albus on my way out." She rose and gathered her purple robes with efficient hands. "Until next time, then, Severus."

He gave her a sharp, disapproving nod and downed his brandy as soon as she closed the door behind her. The black stains on his soul were aching to explode into Dark rampage. He needed an outlet, desperately.

And then, on the Monday of the second week of the term, came his delivery of potions ingredients. It was the same girl as always, and he watched her silently as she opened her parcel carefully, letting him examine its contents. She was a plain girl, with delicate hands well suited for preparing potions, and not badly shaped. Very 'old English' style, he thought, with her pale skin and shy manner.

She retreated quietly as he bent over the parcel briefly. Satisfied, he then looked up at her, and was rather surprised to in her eyes see fear mixed with curiosity, and, unbelievably, a bit of lust. He was accustomed to putting fear into his students, a fear that would sometimes last beyond the school years, but a woman being interested in him, an old student, was implausible bordering on the ridiculous.

"That will be all, Miss Hawthorne," he said smoothly as he suddenly remembered her name. The expression in her eyes did not change, and suddenly, all the pent-up, frustrated emotion inside made him rash. He scribbled a money letter for Gringotts on a piece of parchment and handed it to her.

"Here. Unfortunately, I'm short on coins today. If there's any trouble with this letter, I'll be staying at The Augurey tonight, as I have some business in town. You may contact me there, if need be."

Her eyes widened as she regarded him mutely, fearfully. The darkness within him was rising, now, and he averted his gaze lest he should do something stupid.

"You may leave."

*

And so it all began. He did manage to hide his affair from most people for quite some time. With his irregular comings and goings, no one bothered about the odd night spent in town. If spending a night with an older student bothered him a little, that feeling was outweighed by the gratifying domination that came with it, and her fear of him was a trigger that worked as an outlet for his dark frustrations. It was a very good arrangement, but there were two things he hadn't counted on: pregnancy and the inevitable interference of his nosy cousin.

It was during her late spring visit that Julia suddenly put down her teacup with a sharp clack, her unflattering features closed in a disapproving scowl.

"So, you're intent on ruining this young girl, then?"

Severus blinked, surprised by her audacity, and by the unexpected attack. "I'm not sure I follow," he said smoothly, giving her his standard glare.

"Don't think your weekly visits to town escape me, young Severus. What are you, fifteen years her senior? It's simply indecent."

"You followed me?" His mind was racing, all thoughts denying the plausibility of the fact that his Aunt Julia had succeeded to trace him where the Dark Lord had not.

"I was delivering a gift-basket to an old lady who lives opposite The Augurey when I first saw the both of you meet outside. Accident was it? Well, I've noticed your weekly stalk down the high street, and I'm not an idiot. The question is, what do you intend to do about the situation?"

"I really don't see the relevance in discussing this with you, cousin," he said with narrowing eyes. Julia Prince shifted a little in her chair, her back very erect.

"Well, what if she gets pregnant?"

"I assure you, she is an adept potion maker."

His cousin's face blanched, as if she only just now realised the implications of that statement.

"Yes, but if ..."

"Because any progeny of mine would be abhorrent to the world?" he snarled. "Perhaps it would be about time that some decent wizarding stock was born."

"You don't mean that," Julia said quietly, her long, unbearable face very white. "You don't mean to say that ..."

"That's enough," Severus suddenly bellowed, rising to his full length so that he could loom over her. "This conversation has come to an end. Now get out, you insufferable old hag!"

She stared at him, her hands shaking slightly in her lap. He was rather pleased to finally have managed to elicit some response from her, but she still sat firm in her chair. He took a step forward.

"Do I need to throw you out?" he asked silkily, and then she quickly gathered her plainly cut maroon robes, put her bright blue witches hat on, and walked quickly out the door.

The next evening, Aniara sent a letter to him, asking for a potion to terminate her pregnancy. Asking him to murder his own child. He sent her a faulty one for the cheek.

*

It did not surprise him, a week later, when Dumbledore and cousin Julia ambushed him on his way to The Augurey. Dumbledore looked frightfully pleased at having run into him, and told him how Julia had invited him into her shop for some tasty titbits before the Founder's Ball. Professor McGonagall, he said, was unfortunately busy and could not make it. Julia's eyes, meanwhile, shone with a harsh gleam. All Severus could do was to go with them, cursing his cousin every step of the way.

*

It was inevitable, of course, that Aniara should eventually conceive again. However, it happened far too quickly for Severus' liking; nevertheless, he decided that a child was not necessarily a bad thing. He had been feeling very mortal lately, exposed as he was, and he realised that the Dark Lord was about to put him between the hammer and the anvil. Better, he thought, to have the girl stashed away and in one clever move make sure something of him was left in the world after his passing. The only place he could think of, unfortunately, was the house at Spinner's End, which was currently invaded by a large, spying rodent.

Getting rid of it before the Christmas period might not prove a problem, however, he decided. It was high time that he involved himself in some action anyway, and proved himself worthy of his master's trust. The headmaster understood this, understood that a sacrifice would be necessary for him to prove his worth to his master after a year of spying. The oldest would have to go first ...

*

It was with some curiosity that Severus, six months later, on one of his brief visits, stayed a while to watch his pregnant wife sleep in his bed in the house at Spinner's End. He still could not quite understand why she had wanted him in the first place. He had never imagined that he would get married, or that he would be enticed by the idea of an heir. It was simply too implausible. His marriage was a small satisfaction in his life that made him care less about the imminent murder he undoubtedly had to perform. He would be very lucky to survive the aftermath, if the fact became known.

*

It soon became obvious to him that Aniara was not happy in his house, and he reluctantly went to Julia to win back her favour. Although she had been in a huff since her summer visit, she had still pulled a few strings to make his marriage papers disappear from the Ministry in December. He decided she was loyal, and his best choice of aide. She very gracefully invited him for tea in her shop, as she was eager to resume their relationship. He sighed, pulled a hand through his hair, and asked her to look after his wife to the best of her abilities while he remained at Hogwarts. She told him he had done the right thing. The ways things were looking, he was not so sure.

Later, when he arrived at his house late one evening in March to see his newborn son, he realised that his wife had a problem that was more than disgust over a little mould in the kitchen sink. One look on her empty eyes told all, and he immediately arranged with Julia for constant surveillance. Somewhere along the line, something had gone very wrong, and the light of Aniara's soul had become a pale flicker, ready to be blown out.

Severus realised that Julia had been right all along. But it was all too late, now. He could do nothing for the former Miss Hawthorne. The wheels were in motion, and he was busy trying to make sure he did not get killed. Sometimes, that was all one could do.