"Oh, all right, if you insist." He shakes his head. "I don't want him here. The answer is five; five accredited potions masters. Him, myself, two retirees older than us both put together, and one more antisocial than myself who could not be coaxed from the basement of St. Mungo's for three times what the school could afford to pay even if the job didn't involve children, even if he could be convinced that it was as righteous work as supplying the hospital. No, Sprout will keep him in line, but one of us needs to be there and I can't be."
"Because I know you?" he tries, cheerfully.
Severus is very quiet and very still for a long, long moment, seeming to fade into the woodwork even though Rus is looking right at him. Finally, he says, with an effort at carelessness, "Oh, well, as long as that's what you meant." It seems to trail off, though, and eventually he adds, very quietly, "One or two of the girls did. When I couldn't keep it from them."
"Right," he agrees, and then shakes his head. "Yes, but any funny business now will drastically increase the likelihood of having to field more accusations of cheating later, and those are annoying."
Uh... well, I wouldn't mind watching it again to check, but I've got some actual DVDs to go through before resorting to Instant Watch again. Go West Wing! ^,^ That was part of the problem, maybe; it was silly (although no, not inanely) without having a sense of humor. Curry's the only one you mentioned that I know, so it doesn't boggle mine. :DDD