InsaneJournal

RP: Foraging
Characters: Severus and OPEN Ariana
Time/Date: Sept. 5, early afternoon
Location: The kitchen
Warnings/Rating: TBD
Summary: Wizard needs food, badly.
Status: Complete


Lily most likely thought he was overreacting, and perhaps he was. It was difficult for him not to overreact when it came to werewolves, because nearly having been attacked by one tended to do that to a person. The year Lupin had come to teach at Hogwarts, Severus had taken the threat he posed quite seriously, even if no one else had. Everyone else seemed to think that 'mild' Professor Lupin couldn't possibly hurt anyone. They, however, hadn't ever seen him transformed. He even took the threat Lupin posed more seriously than Dumbledore seemed to, and not only because of Black's escape. Yes, he was only dangerous once a month, but he was exceedingly dangerous during that period.

The attempted attack in fifth year had traumatized him, when normally nothing ever fazed him. And what was worse was, he couldn't tell anybody what happened. Not even his best friend. Dumbledore had forbidden him to, with a veiled threat alluding to a loss of his scholarship if he happened to say anything. As poor as he had been, that would have meant he was out of school, permanently. The old bastard had known exactly what he'd been doing, and he guaranteed Severus's silence -- at least until Lupin had proved that playing the hero was more important to him than protecting the students. But by that time, Severus had been a fully qualified wizard, and furthermore, Dumbledore needed him. He wasn't about to sack him.

Potter and Black, of course, had been under no such restrictions, or if the Headmaster had insisted they not tell, they had simply ignored him. They were free to twist the story however they liked, and somehow they had managed to convince Lily that Potter had saved his life. Whilst that was technically true, he hadn't been surprised that they conveniently forgot to mention that he wouldn't have needed saving if they hadn't set him up to be attacked in the first place. But he was only a greasy, unpopular Slytherin. His life was unimportant, anyway.

He wondered, now, if Lily had ever given a second thought to his 'theory' that she had so quickly dismissed after she discovered Lupin was, in fact, a werewolf. Because now she obviously knew. But she still probably hadn't given any thought at all to the fact that her best friend was trying to tell her the only way he could that people in her House had tried to kill him. He imagined he never crossed her mind after fifth year, or if he had, she likely thought Potter and Black had been doing the world a great service by trying to get rid of him. He was only a worthless Death Eater, after all.

It hurt still, to this day, as much as he hated to admit it. Dumbledore had effectively cut him off from the only means of support he'd had, at the time. Or ever, to be honest. At least before coming here. Though such a thought was entirely fanciful, Severus suddenly found himself wishing he'd known Dr. Scully back then. Not that she would have been a doctor, of course, and he had no reason to think she would have even given him a second glance, but she might have. And she might have cared that he'd almost been served up as a hot meal for a werewolf, even if she didn't believe in the existence of werewolves. He could have simply said it was a rabid dog or something.

On the other hand, she was a Yank, so they likely never would have run into one another. Pity, that. At least they had here. A number of the other captives would likely tell him he was mad if he even contemplated being grateful for his existence here. But he suspected that they had all had something to lose. He ... didn't. No one back home cared whether he lived or died. Not after he'd killed Dumbledore, at least, when he'd lost the one person who might have cared, otherwise. Not Dumbledore, of course, who only 'cared' inasmuch as he had been useful. Rather, he thought Professor McGonagall might have cared. The last time he'd seen her, however, she had been trying to kill him. That swarm of daggers she'd sent flying at him had said so, quite clearly. In fact, he felt a bit faint at the very thought.

Or that could have been simply because he hadn't eaten anything in ... he wasn't sure how long, now.

He needed to eat. Severus knew that, logically; his body still required fuel. Yet his stomach had other ideas entirely. It had been in knots ever since his last conversation with Lily, which had quickly disintegrated into an argument. So much for attempting to be friends again. Yes, Lupin was her friend, but she seemed to have understood the importance of the Wolfsbane when they made that first batch. Now, when the possibility of not having any for the next full moon presented itself, all her previous caution appeared to have flown out the window, but why? He simply couldn't fathom it. Other than, perhaps, she simply thought he was overreacting.

Which led him right back to square one. And made his stomach bind itself up even further. But he still needed to eat, even if nothing he found in the refrigerator or any of the cupboards sounded the slightest bit appetizing. Perhaps he simply ought to swipe some biscuits to take back to his room, in case he managed to calm down enough later to eat one or two. Chocolate chip. That would work, he thought as he grabbed an open package and wrapped a few in a serviette for later. Even if he would have preferred shortbread. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all, and especially not if they might be prone to passing out from hunger before long.