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Severus Snape ([info]delicate_power) wrote in [info]indarkness_logs,
@ 2010-08-25 20:56:00

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Entry tags:!complete, 2032 08, dana scully, severus snape

RP: One ginger or two?
Characters: Scully and Snape
Time/Date: August 25, after this
Location: The Library area
Warnings/Rating: TBD
Summary: His search for reading material is interrupted.
Status: Complete


As soon as he heard Potter's, and then Black's, voices being broadcast over the speakers, Severus looked up from the spines of books he'd been browsing, his jaw clenching automatically. Where the hell had they come up with that? Had they been watching him his entire life?

He had to admire the thoroughness, no doubt. Their captors had apparently left no stone unturned, however small and insignificant it might seem. Because that little snippet of his life wouldn't mean much to anybody but him, Lily, and probably Lupin. In fact, he didn't imagine anyone but the three of them would even know it was him. Not that he'd met many people here yet, of course, but no one had even called him by name. And his voice was much deeper now, though Lily's had hardly changed at all.

Despite having played that scene over and over in his mind hundreds of time, and wondering what might have happened if he hadn't said that word (and he winced at hearing himself say it), Severus had more or less made peace with the memory itself. He could only hope that it hadn't upset Lily. Then again, why would it? She had burned that bridge long ago, hadn't she? Or he had, to be more precise, but he didn't think she harbored any regrets. Even if it had been nice to brew together the other day, just like old times, he didn't think she would be devastated to hear a replay of something that had happened when they were sixteen.

Though he had to wonder, on this side of his teen years, what had ever made Potter think humiliating her best friend in public would make her want to go out with him. Of course, she'd ended up marrying him, and obviously she knew Lupin was a werewolf. Though had she known then? Would she have willingly agreed to marry someone she knew wanted him dead? Maybe she would have, if she thought he was a Death Eater. Oh, it didn't matter, he thought with a sigh, running his fingertip over the spines of some books, though he wasn't really noting any of the titles. Even if she was still going by Evans here, he was old enough to be her bloody father, now.


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[info]rationalization
2010-08-26 04:12 am UTC (link)
Scully didn't like this place. It was oppressive and unpleasant, beyond just the necessary distaste at being drugged and kidnapped. The people she'd spoken to, however briefly, seemed all right, but it looked like even those who had been there for some time were no closer to finding a way out than she was. No one seemed inclined to reach out and offer any help beyond the fairly cursory introductions she'd been given - although that Spike person had been fairly kind - and she imagined that this was a fairly tight-knit community. Those that had been brought here earlier formed a close group, and were inherently distrustful of outsiders. The impression Scully had gotten of their kidnappers was that they were treacherous and fairly underhanded; in that vein, how could the victims know that the newcomers weren't in league with their kidnappers?

It all seemed very circular to her. Distrust the newcomers, make them feel unwelcome and distrust the current residents in turn. But that was the way people were, and Scully had known that for a very long time before she came to this place. But the important question now was not only where was she, but when? She could tell from the PDA she'd been given and her surroundings that it was a good long time before 2117. But she needed more information, and she would be loathe to call on that Lily girl for anything that she could figure out for herself. That was why she was heading for the library.

She'd always been a reader, and while she certainly did want something to do in her spare time, she was also looking for something to give her an idea of the year. Certain books would be immediately recognizable as from a certain decade, especially if they were bestsellers, and if nothing else she could get the gist of what year it was from what was available. She was in the library when she heard the voices come on over the speaker, and she paused in between shelves, grimacing slightly. It sounded like something personal was being broadcast. Was it happening indiscriminately? Would they take something from her past and broadcast it to the whole group, too? She didn't like that thought at all.

It was what distracted her, foolishly, from her surroundings, and what made her bump into someone she hadn't even realized was there. "Oh," she said (and heard Mulder say in the back of her head, lingering like fog, Articulate as ever, Scully). "I - excuse me. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She tried for a politely apologetic smile. It wouldn't hurt to be courteous, after all.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-26 04:41 am UTC (link)
Lost in his own thoughts, as he was, Severus didn't notice the woman's approach. He wasn't normally so unaware of his surroundings -- except when he was drugged, it seemed -- because that could be a fatal error for a spy. Something about that lovely little blast from the past, however, overrode his normal wary instincts. At least temporarily. Being bumped into quite effectively jarred him out of his thoughts, and he wheeled about with a sharp intake of breath.

He'd started to go for his wand, as well, on instinct, but at the 'excuse me', he managed to stand down from the mental red alert. He simply wasn't used to being touched at all, even accidentally. Especially not by strangers. And most especially not by pretty ones. "No, it's quite all right," he lied with a shake of his head and a semblance of a smile. She could no doubt tell from his reaction that it hadn't been quite all right, but that was hardly her fault. No harm done anyway, apart from getting his heart rate up a bit.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-26 04:57 am UTC (link)
Scully saw his hand move towards a pocket, and instinct kicked in for her as well - she started to go for where she usually kept her gun on her belt, but caught herself at the beginning of the movement and lifted her hands slightly instead, palms out, a small gesture of surrender. He didn't follow his movement through so she felt safe enough to drop her hands, offering him a smile in return for his - although his fell short of a real smile. It seemed more like a grimace.

There was something sort of brooding about him - dark, aquiline, a little foreboding, if Scully were inclined to draw conclusions based solely on appearance. Seeing how on edge he appeared to be, though, that instinct to help - the one that had made her a doctor, and then an FBI agent - pulled through, and she said, "You're sure you're all right?" She didn't reach out to touch him, although that instinct was there too. Instead, she slipped her hands into her pockets. She would probably do better to keep her hands to herself and keep her nose out of other people's business here, but she'd already asked.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-26 05:38 am UTC (link)
When the lady smiled, Severus found himself becoming somewhat more successful in returning one of his own. Especially when he realized that her aborted action -- before holding up her hands in a non-threatening pose -- seemed to indicate she was in the habit of reaching for a weapon herself. Interesting.

"I'm fine," he answered with a nod. "I am, ah, simply not accustomed to finding myself with company in a library." Because he'd normally used the Hogwarts library after hours, if he possibly could. Best to avoid unpleasant encounters with students. "But I do thank you for your concern."

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-26 04:49 pm UTC (link)
Scully gave a nod of her own in response. Understandable, then. And who wouldn't be a little jumpy in this place, after all? She widened her smile a little, trying to project an image of being as non-threatening as possible. "I'm sorry I intruded on your privacy, then," she said. She'd probably have to make her way over to the far side of the room to make sure she didn't bother him again.

But, before she did. "Did you have a private library?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. If he did - well, it certainly wasn't the kind of thing everybody had. It would probably give her an idea of who he was, if not necessarily where or when he was from.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-26 08:56 pm UTC (link)
"No, that's quite all right, as well," Severus answered, shaking his head, and this time, he actually meant it. This was hardly his library, after all, and far be it from him to discourage anyone from reading. Besides, her impulse to reach for her non-existent weapon made him feel a certain kinship. He wondered, suddenly, if perhaps she hadn't been a spy, herself.

His eyebrows rose at her question, both because of the question itself, and also because ... well, in spite of apologizing for the intrusion, she didn't seem all that anxious to give him his privacy. And, to be honest, he wasn't all that certain he wanted privacy just now, anyway. "Ah ... no, actually," he answered, shaking his head once more, and then he turned, leaning back against the nearest shelf and folding his arms loosely over his chest. "I taught at a boarding school, and I simply used the library when the students were in bed." Or supposed to be, at any rate.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-26 09:16 pm UTC (link)
Scully nodded a little, smiled. That was understandable. Teaching had always been a little difficult - at any age, students were hard to handle, and she didn't know what years he taught. It was probably even worse if he taught particularly young kids. "I probably would have done the same thing, if I'd taught at a boarding school," she said. "As it was, I was always fairly desperate to get away from my students." Quantico students were all overeager, fairly desperate to please. They wanted to outdo each other in as many competitive ways as possible, and she hadn't liked having to put up with it.

After a moment, she realized what she was doing, and said, "I'm sorry. I'll go." She gave him another smile and nod, starting to turn away. He hadn't seemed all bad, but she was sure she'd been bothering him, and however nosy she was out of habit, she didn't want to keep inflicting that on him when he clearly wanted some privacy.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-27 01:53 am UTC (link)
Now that was ... bothersome. Severus had just been about to ask her about her teaching, when she said she would go. And here he thought they'd been a nice little chat, but now she wanted to leave. He must have said or done something to put her off him, though for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what. Normally, when he didn't wish to talk to someone, he let them know in no uncertain terms.

"No, it's all right, really," he said, shaking his head once more at her apology, and he had the sudden urge to reach out a hand in her direction, but he stopped himself. If she really did want to get away from him, such a thing would only make him look foolish. "I'm Severus Snape, by the way," he added with a slight shrug, fairly certain that she didn't care by this point. On the other hand, he wanted to know who she was, and it only seemed polite to introduce himself first.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-27 02:49 am UTC (link)
That gave her pause, but she turned back to face him again, making a slight shrugging motion - careful not to do her impression of a sulky teenager, of course. "I didn't want to keep bothering you," she said apologetically. She knew that need for privacy. But if he was willing to keep talking, so was she. He seemed interesting in that brooding way, and what's more, he was around her age. Everyone else she'd seen in this place was fairly young.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-27 03:00 am UTC (link)
Severus exhaled with a quiet noise that might have been mistaken for a laugh, if it had gone on a bit longer. Though he smiled again, much more naturally this time, as well. "You aren't bothering me at all, Ms....?" He raised his eyebrows expectantly, hoping -- for the second time -- that she might give him her name.

If that automatic weapon drawing instinct of hers meant what he thought it did, he could hardly fault her for being cautious. Still, she seemed interesting. If she rebuffed the subtle request a second time, however, he would know better than to press.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-27 03:04 am UTC (link)
Scully eyed him carefully, studying his expression to see if his response was positive or negative. But she put on another smile for him and said, "Scully. Dana Scully. It's Doctor, actually." She at least still had that to her credit, even if she couldn't say that she was 'Agent Scully', as she would occasionally start to do. She missed her badge.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Snape," she said. She did have to wish that it was under better circumstances, although she didn't say that aloud.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-27 03:12 am UTC (link)
A doctor. His eyebrows rose at that, though it did not immediately seem to tally with the weapon-drawing response, so he filed that tidbit away to ruminate over later. "A pleasure to meet you, as well, Dr. Scully," Severus answered with a nod. "And it's Professor, by they way."

A second later, however, his eyebrows contracted as he remembered something. "You were one of the ones who responded to my request for a scalpel the other day, were you not?"

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-27 03:34 am UTC (link)
"Professor Snape," she amended, nodding to him. That explained the students, although she had to wonder what kind of boarding school he taught at. This place seemed fairly diverse, and she wasn't sure what kind of assumption she should make about his work. She clasped her hands behind her back, trying to keep herself relaxed. She'd been told that she always seemed tense, or as though she was just waiting for the conversation to end when she was speaking to someone.

"Yes, I was," she said, and offered him another, slight, self-deprecating smile. "I'm afraid I didn't have much to offer you, but I'd just arrived and I... Well, I wanted to feel like I was doing something useful."

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-27 03:45 am UTC (link)
"I can certainly understand that," Severus answered, progressing to a small chuckle this time. "Indeed, it was my own wish to be useful that had me making such a request in the first place. I'm not normally one to, ah, socialize."

That was an understatement, actually. It would have been much more accurate to say that he was a misanthropic bastard, as a rule. Which didn't explain why he was standing there, talking to her, when he'd planned on nothing more than finding something new to read. That was something else to ponder, but again -- later. Because at this precise moment, he was rather enjoying himself.

"You'll be happy to know that I did finally manage to locate a Von Graefe knife," he added then, with a small smile. Well, she might not be happy at all to know that, actually, but if she had tried to help, perhaps she might. And it was something to say, after all.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-28 01:32 am UTC (link)
At the chuckle, Scully's smile widened. "I'm the same way," she said. Perhaps for different reasons. She'd stopped socializing after Mulder's death. He'd been the only one beyond their small circle of allies to know about her agelessness, and the others - Skinner, Reyes, Doggett - had passed away before him. After Mulder died, what was the point? The years afterward had only served to isolate her further and further from other people.

Hearing the news, she gave a soft huff of relieved laughter and said, "I'm glad." At least whoever had brought them here had supplied them with tools. "Can I ask what you needed it for?" Keeping in mind what seemed to be his preference for privacy, she was quite willing to overcome her instinct to pry and let him keep that to himself.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-28 01:40 am UTC (link)
"Obviously, you can," Severus answered with a smirk, raising an eyebrow. Hopefully she wouldn't take that gentle ribbing too badly, but he tended to be precise in everything he did, and the use of language was no exception. The difference between 'can' and 'may' might seem unimportant to some, but it mattered to him.

"I needed to make a potion for a werewolf who was about to transform," he told her quietly, with another small smile. Normally, he would not have been so candid, but as they were all in the same boat, he didn't see any harm in revealing a few details. Especially when she had been kind enough to try to help him, without knowing anything about him. Of course, if she had known more about him, she likely wouldn't have offered, but he shook that thought off, determined not to frown, just now.

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-28 01:49 am UTC (link)
Scully had to chuckle softly at her own error. Of course. How like a professor to correct her. Her smile did freeze a little, though, when he said 'werewolf' - but then she thought, quickly. There had been the manitou. There was the matter of her own immortality. And the people here didn't seem - well - to be from quite the same places. She couldn't judge. Even if the lycanthropy of the individual he'd mentioned was some sort of naturally occurring condition, clearly, wherever he was from, a suppressant or treatment had been made. To try and question him would be a matter of semantics, at best.

So she shelved her skepticism for another day and said, "A werewolf. I hope you were successful?" She probably would have heard something about it if he hadn't been. From her, however brief, experiences with creatures of that type, they were dangerous if left unchecked.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-28 02:02 am UTC (link)
His eyebrow arched a bit further when he noticed that her smile became a touch forced when he mentioned a werewolf, but he decided to pay it no undue mind. At least she wasn't calling him mad, which to be perfectly frank, he would have expected.

"I was, thankfully," he answered with a nod. "I have made this particular potion many times, but there was an inordinate time constraint on this occasion, and I had to enlist the help of a--" He balked then, at calling Lily a friend. She hadn't acted as if she hated him whilst they brewed, but he didn't want to read too much into that. "--an old acquaintance," he finally finished. "Between the both of us, we only just got it completed in time."

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-28 04:08 am UTC (link)
She noticed the slight hesitation, filing it away for later. She didn't want to read too much into it right when they were in the thick of the conversation. Carefully, she coached herself: don't look skeptical. Don't be condescending. He'd given her no reason to doubt his credentials, and this wasn't the time to let her natural skepticism get in the way of a good conversation with someone who seemed likable enough. Wherever he was from, whatever world he'd lived in, this was obviously a weighty issue, and she'd be remiss in treating it lightly.

"It was a difficult potion to make, then?" she said, letting only calm curiosity color her tone. She had no right to judge him, she told herself again. Aliens and werewolves were not too far from each other on the spectrum of unusual experiences.

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-29 02:49 am UTC (link)
"Indeed, it is," Severus answered with a nod, and at some point -- without realizing it -- he'd uncrossed his arms. Because now they were braced on either side of him, and he only noticed it when he heard his own fingernails tapping against the shelf. That was odd. He didn't quite recall having moved, but then again, he had been rather engrossed.

"Most potions have a tricky step or two, but this one is ... nothing but, actually," he said with another chuckle. Not that she would understand, of course, or even care, if she did. But, well, she had asked. "There aren't many people who can successfully produce it. In fact, I only know of half a dozen others." Soon to be seven, no doubt, but ... he didn't want to talk about Lily just now.

Thinking about Lily, however, even if briefly, reminded him of the magical gathering, and ... well, they might could use Dr. Scully's help. If worse came to worst, that was. "By the way," he added, after a moment. "If you still would like to do something useful, some of us are having a -- meeting, of sorts, Saturday morning, and we were hoping to have as many medical personnel standing by as possible, in case things get out of hand."

He paused there, certain she would ask for further details, if she were interested. Curiosity did not seem to be something she was lacking. "If you aren't busy, we could certainly use your help," he added finally, with a slight shrug. Though only after he'd finished did he realize it rather sounded as if ... well, as if he might have been asking her there because he wanted her there, and when he thought about how the demonstrations almost qualified as showing off, his cheeks started to warm. If only because he wasn't entirely certain he didn't want her there for that very reason -- so that he could show off. Good Lord! What had gotten into him?

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[info]rationalization
2010-08-29 07:59 pm UTC (link)
So he was very good at - whatever it was he did. Potion-making. Scully could appreciate that, since it seemed to have some part in medicine. You could train someone for difficult situations and pound all the terminology into their heads, but you couldn't really take the measure of a doctor - or, in this case, a potion-maker, she supposed - until you had them on a deadline, where every second counted. It was one of the reasons she was grateful - in a rather guilty way - that she'd never been an ER doctor. She could keep her head in a crisis, but a single mistake could end a life. Working at Our Lady of Sorrow had been rather different, although working with the children had been... Difficult, to say the least.

His offer gave her pause, though, and she couldn't help but notice the way his face seemed to gain a little color. In turn, she felt herself blush a little as she realized what reading into his offer could mean, and she looked away, clearing her throat a little. Well, since his reaction came after the fact, he couldn't have meant it the way it sounded, so she didn't have anything to be embarrassed about, and neither did he. It was easy to misconstrue things, and she shouldn't make him any more uncomfortable than he already seemed to be. Looking back up, she offered him a smile again and nodded.

"I'd be happy to attend," she said. "Although I have to wonder what kind of meeting it is. What could get out of hand?"

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[info]delicate_power
2010-08-29 08:16 pm UTC (link)
"It's ah..." Severus paused, licking his lips, and he couldn't help remembering the forced smile when he'd mentioned a werewolf. But he was telling the truth, and if she actually came to the meeting, the way she'd just said she would, she would see that. Still, his cheeks warmed a little more. "A meeting for the magic users on the island," he continued then, with a slight shrug that quite belied his nerves.

As odd as it sounded, even inside his own head, he wanted her to ... approve of him, and suddenly, he couldn't help wondering if this was perhaps a delayed effect of the drugs they'd used on him. He fought that notion down, however, with a shake of his head. "We, ah, haven't used our differing types of magic in concert before, and as with any forms of energy, there might be possible interference. We'd like to determine if so before confronted with a battle scenario."

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