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The Essence of Susan Jones	By : EllieK Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 1484 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Two: Half Truths

Dumbledore and Susan continued to speak, neither finishing a statement. Dumbledore would begin to ask a question only to have Susan answer before the question was complete. This strange form of communication continued for some time.

Through the jumble of words, Severus Snape became aware of three uncomfortable facts. For one, Susan alluded to more than one form. She reeked of Muggle but, if she had another form, she was magical in some way. For another, her American accent had disappeared. She sounded authentically British, though there was a faint trace of some exotic accent. The third thing Snape realised was that he had been hoodwinked, and he didn�t like that fact one bit.

Dumbledore interrupted Snape�s deductions. �Severus, I do not want anyone to know Susan is here just yet. Might she stay with you in your office for a few hours?�

�If you think it is necessary,� Snape replied shortly. She�they, if you included Dumbledore�had made a fool of him. He wasn�t sure yet how he should react to this knowledge.

�Very, good. Now, my dear,� Dumbledore said warmly to Susan, �are you ready?�

�Ready for what?�

�I assumed you would like to--�

�No, I�m fine for now,� Susan assured him.

Dumbledore replied, �As you wish. I understand that it has been a tiring and unexpected journey.� Susan nodded, and Dumbledore continued, �I want you to feel welcome here at Hogwarts for the indefinite future.�

�Thank you. I am sure I will be quite comfortable.�

�The students will arrive tomorrow. Perhaps you could assist the staff?� suggested Dumbledore.

�What would I do? I�m afraid I wouldn�t be of much help to anyone. I wasn�t able to finish university, you know.� Susan removed her spectacles and wiped the lenses with the tail of her shirt. �I would prefer not to have direct contact with the students because children and I are like oil and water.�

Snape snorted at that last remark. �Headmaster, I hate to cut short this reunion,� he said, �but I have projects that require my attention.�

It was nearly noon in Scotland and Snape was reacting to the time change. He felt tense and overactive. It appeared that the trip had the opposite effect on Miss Jones, however. She looked exhausted.

�Of course, Severus. You must be anxious to resume your research. I shall leave you to it.� Dumbledore began to walk to the door, and then he turned and added, �Susan, by this evening, your quarters will be ready. I had hoped your room would be waiting for you, but there was a bit of a mishap with one of the house-elves.�

Susan did not answer, responding only with a thin smile while she replaced her spectacles. Snape opened the door for Dumbledore, staring at Susan in annoyance. When the heavy, wooden door closed behind the old wizard, Snape said flatly, �You deceived me.�

She shrugged. �It was necessary.�

�What are you concealing?� he pressed.

�I�m not willing to discuss it.� Susan glanced about the room. �Where would you have me sit?�

Snape scowled, frustrated by her cool rebuff. �There,� he informed her harshly, pointing to a couch. �I expect you to keep silent and to stay far away from my cauldrons!�

�Of course,� she answered without rancour.

Still bristling, Snape said, �Happy?�

�Ecstatic,� Susan mumbled. Happy? Happy is a relative term for me--a distant relation. She sat on the couch and watched Snape cross to the other side of the room. He lit a flame beneath a large cauldron. The liquid in the cauldron began to bubble as the professor added the ingredients. Susan closed her eyes.

Severus Snape�s mood did not improve as he resumed his regular duties, which included brewing a particularly nasty potion. The Wolfsbane potion had a rancid smell that was surpassed only by its putrid flavour. Worse still was its gelatinous consistency. Snape could not decide which reason for brewing the potion caused him more grief: the fact that the potion reeked, or the fact that he was brewing it for a man he despised.

Remus Lupin, former friend of dead James Potter and the criminal Sirius Black, was a haggard snip of a wizard for whom Dumbledore had a soft spot in his heart. Dumbledore was the deciding factor in the equation. Snape brewed the potion because Dumbledore asked him to do so. Snape did not particularly care if the werewolf snacked on the substandard members of the magical community daft enough to allow themselves to become wolf fodder. No, this task was not one of nobility, but of duty.

Susan had fallen asleep. She mumbled something, causing Snape to cast a glance in her direction, thinking that there was a creature in need of a potion. I doubt even my strongest lust tonic would bring any suitor her way--not without the supplement of a huge amount of Firewhisky. Snape shook his head and turned his attention back to the potion before him, adding the last ingredient, then extinguishing the flames beneath the cauldron. Luckily, I am blessed with the foresight to brew this monstrosity a month ahead of time.

The fifth shelf of Snape�s private storage cabinet was home to Lupin�s potion. There sat this month�s dose, right beside an odd collection of experimental concoctions the Potions master had had to abandon in order to track down Miss Jones in Nebraska. When the new batch had sufficiently cooled, he ladled it into three, medium-sized flasks, labelled them, and carried them to the shelf, all the while using caution not to disturb the slumbering Susan.

Behind the assortment of potions long forgotten was a bottle never forgotten: Snape�s favourite vintage of red wine. Nimble fingers encouraged the wine bottle from its resting place and, soon enough, the liquid within found its way to a glass and then to the lips of an overtaxed man. Severus sighed as he felt the welcome fluid warmth trickle down his throat. Will I ever be free to do as I wish, or shall I remain an indentured servant for the rest of my days?

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Later that afternoon, Susan awoke to find Snape leaning over her. �I must go out for a time�to Hogsmeade,� the Potions master told her. �Headmaster has asked that I take you with me.�

�I would prefer to stay here,� Susan replied. �I really have no reason to go into the village.�

�Be that as it may, Headmaster believes you should have some time away from the dungeons. I cannot fathom why. It would be more efficient for me to run this errand alone. And, I was of the impression that you were to be kept from the public�that you may be in some sort of peril and need to be hidden.�

�No one will know me,� Susan said absently. Snape frowned at her, but she was staring off to the right. �I will go with you.�

�Fine,� Snape muttered. �When we return, your own rooms will be prepared.�

Susan�s face remained expressionless.

***

For speed and convenience, Snape used a Portkey to reach their destination. The unlikely duo appeared in a back room at the Hog's Head. The seamy pub was where Severus had arranged to meet Remus Lupin so the potion could be delivered without arousing suspicions. Lupin was not easily spotted in the pub due to the fact that nearly all the patrons wore shabby robes. After surveying the crowd for a moment, Severus proceeded to a table where Lupin sat alone.

It happened in slow motion for Susan. Severus called out his name. Lupin turned to face them, and Susan stopped dead in mid-stride.

�Good afternoon, Professor Snape,� Lupin said quietly.

�Lupin,� Severus grumbled, by way of greeting.

Susan did not move.

Lupin noticed Susan standing behind Snape. �Hello, Madam, I do not believe I have had the pleasure.�

�No need for pleasantries. Take this,� Snape thrust the flask at Lupin, �and see that you drink it on time. The chickens in Mr. Alabaster�s coop disappeared mysteriously around this time last month.�

Remus chuckled and replied, �You know that isn�t how it works, Severus. But, thank you for the report on local livestock.� Remus looked again at Susan, who was now studying the wall above Lupin�s head.

Snape arched his eyebrow and turned his head to glance at Miss Jones. �We are ready to leave,� he told her. Silently, she turned and headed toward the door. Snape was about to follow when Lupin said, �Strange young lady. Your girlfriend?�

�That was Susan Jones and she is most certainly not my girlfriend.� The Potions master winced when he uttered the words �my girlfriend�. �Lest you insult me further, I shall take my leave.� Snape turned on his heel.

***

Susan was waiting for him just outside the door, seemingly lost in thought. That was gutting. It worked, just as always, but I thought for a moment�

�Was there a reason for your abrupt departure? Or, do you simply like to have men running after you?� Snape asked acidly.

She began to walk toward Hogwarts, making no reply.

Why does her silence irk me so? Snape wondered. �The man we just met with is a werewolf,� he mentioned aloud to shock her.

Nothing.

�He enjoys eating women, mostly. But his tastes, as of late, have expanded to children. Babies, in particular.�

Nothing.

�Jones!� bellowed Snape. �Are you deaf?�

Unruffled, Susan replied, �No, I am not deaf. I lost interest in fairy tales when I was about six, though I still find the one about the old lady who lived in a shoe somewhat amusing. That woman was a prime candidate for enforced sterilisation.�

Now Snape was the one who was silent.

�Then, there were nursery rhymes. Remember the one about Jack Sprat, who could eat no fat and his wife who could eat no lean? I always wondered why the fattest women seem to end up with the boniest men,� Susan went on. �Oh, and how could I forget Hansel and Gretel? The witch should have incinerated those little bastards in the oven. How dare they eat her house, even if it was made of gingerbread!�

�You are a bit touched, aren�t you?� Snape observed.

Ignoring this, Susan added, �My all-time favourite tale is Cinderella.�

�That one I find repulsive,� Snape noted.

�I like it because the prince doesn�t recognise her without her finery. He must have been terribly blind and materialistic not to notice. Plus, Cinderella must have been one tough little harpy to dance in shoes made of glass.�

�Ha,� Snape barked. Susan took that to be some sort of laugh.

�Did you ever read Muggle comics, Professor?�

�I have confiscated a few from Muggle-born students.�

�Superman?�

�What are you going on about? I find it difficult to follow random thoughts, Miss Jones.�

�Oh, right...sorry. Superman is similar to Cinderella.�

�How so?�

Susan smiled and replied, �You may recall that Cinderella�s prince didn�t recognise her when she was in rags.� Snape nodded. �Well, the only thing that kept Clark Kent from being recognised as Superman was his spectacles. How ridiculous! Superman and Kent looked exactly the same, yet a pair of spectacles fooled all of Metropolis.�

�Hmm�I suppose that was inane,� Snape allowed.

Susan stopped and removed her spectacles. �Do you recognise me?� she asked with a silly grin on her face.

Snape rolled his eyes. �You are unmistakable, Jones.�

�Don�t you mean �unremarkable�, Professor?�

�That, as well,� he admitted, dismissing the matter. Looking up the lane he remembered, �I need to visit this shop to gather some ingredients for a potion.� He pointed to an old building whose front window displayed jars of animal parts suspended in liquids of various colours. �Won�t be long. Wait here.�

Susan leaned on the side of the building and watched the witches and wizards strolling up and down the street. Hogsmeade was much as she had expected it to be, except for the meeting with Lupin. I wonder what other surprises await me?

A family with three small children passed. The youngest child started crying so his mother picked him up to comfort him. Susan shuddered, renewing her resolve never to be a mother.

She pushed away from the building and turned to face the opposite direction. In the distance, Hogwarts was silhouetted against the golden glow of the setting sun. Her mind drifted. Images of her leave my brain and thoughts astir, sleep and dreams and memories blur. One and one and one make three; singularity, duality, in triplicate is me. From carbon copy to fabricated flaw, I am the one whom Remus Lupin saw.

More than Susan�s mind had drifted. When Snape spoke to her, she realised she was standing in the lane. �It is time to return for supper,� Snape informed her.

�We should not be late,� Susan agreed meekly.

With the aid of the Portkey, the Potions master and the Susan returned to Hogwarts.

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Albus Dumbledore was a man who always kept his promises--and his secrets. As he had promised, Susan�s rooms were ready when she and Snape returned from Hogsmeade. The rooms were located in the dungeons, just down the hall from Snape�s. Dumbledore had chosen to place her in the dungeons for a specific a reason: only the Slytherins would be there regularly. Potions classes were held in a nearby classroom, but students rarely lingered after class. In this situation, Miss Jones would have the necessary amount of privacy.

Susan expected only a tiny bedroom but she had received much more than that. She had a living area with a large desk that faced several shelves of books, including many magical texts. She had used many of those books years ago when she was a student. The subtle hint was taken and Susan knew she could spend hours, days, and possibly years brushing up on all that she had forgotten while she was away, hiding from her past.

Tomorrow the students would arrive for the new school year, a fact that bothered Miss Jones. She and Albus had reached an agreement during supper: Susan would assist the faculty when they were overburdened or when they needed an assistant for a project. She would grade papers or scrub cauldrons, as necessary. Her duties would be light, allowing her ample time to reacquaint herself with the magical world.

After looking around her new accommodations, Susan decided to take advantage of the last student-free night in the castle. She made her way out of the dungeons to wander the halls.

***

The onslaught of dunderheads would begin tomorrow, Snape noted sourly, leaving him just one night to himself. He decided to read the newest edition of Moste Potente Potions, to see if some of the side notes had been amended.

As he read, he recalled his earlier conversation with Miss Jones.Hmm... Clark Kent should have used a Polyjuice Potion instead of the spectacles. Spectacles�doesn�t she know that there are far more attractive options these days?

He had reached the point where he was too tired to read, even too tired to sleep. Restless, Snape decided to go for a walk. As he passed by Susan�s door, he nearly considered asking her to join him. Why? Haven�t I had enough of her? He walked faster, up the stairs and into the main corridor.

He made his way to the Great Hall, which was deserted. Severus paced around the perimeter of the room, wondering how many new students would be sorted into Slytherin, and how many of those Slytherins would be children of his former schoolmates or Death Eaters.

He knew of one. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, would be arriving this year. He already knew the boy from dining at the Malfoys� home over the years and had little doubt that Draco would become an archetypal Slytherin.

Then there was Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. Destined to be a Gryffindor from conception, to Severus Harry Potter would forever be The-Twit-Who-Was-Damned-Lucky-Not-To-Have-Been-Vaporised. Snape was not looking forward to meeting James Potter�s offspring.

He was all too familiar with the school and its grounds, having spent most of his life here, as a student, a refugee and, currently, as a teacher. The castle had not yet revealed all of its secrets, though. Every so often Snape would come upon a door or hallway that he had not noticed previously.

A shuffling noise was coming from one of those unfamiliar corridors. Snape drew his wand. He waited in the shadows to see what would emerge.

�You were told not to wander about the castle, Miss Jones!� Snape bellowed. He clenched his teeth and, before he jinxed her just for the hell of it, he placed his wand back in his robe.

�If Dumbledore allowed me to go to Hogsmeade, what harm could there possibly be in my roaming the castle?� Susan reasoned.

�There might be any number of dangers.�

She sighed. �I shall return to my rooms, then. Goodnight, Professor Snape.�

�You should not be alone. I was just on my way to the library and you will accompany me.�

�Great minds think alike. That is where I was heading,� Susan told him.

Snape detected no sarcasm in her words, but refused to believe the woman had complimented him, even in that round-about way. He turned and marched stiffly in the direction of the library, not looking to see if she would follow, for he knew she would.

At this time of night, the library had an eerie emptiness. Undeterred, Susan walked over to a shelf and pulled out a dusty, grey book entitled, Muggle Theories on the Existence of Magic. She shook her head as she flipped through the pages.

Snape observed the woman. She would pick that one. He began to read over her shoulder. �Have you an interest in this?� she asked, still reading.

�I highly doubt it. Perhaps I should make a better suggestion,� he offered.

She snorted out a staccato laugh. I could tell you what would be a better suggestion--a bloody great shag! I haven�t had one of those in half a decade�more than half a decade. And from the looks of you, you haven�t, either. Pity that my taste in men eliminates you, Snape. I would love to be serviced by a well-endowed, stallion of a man. �I was just thinking that this book is rubbish.� Susan explained.

�I concur,� Snape admitted.

�What have you there?� She turned to looking down at the small, purple book in his hands.

�It is a book on Glamours,� he informed her. �Some of the incantations in this volume are quite complicated and not easily spotted, when properly used.�

�Interesting. May I see it for a moment?�

He handed it to her, watching her closely as she read the contents page. She kept her face perfectly placid. I can almost hear your thoughts, Professor Snape. You think you have me all figured out, don�t you?

�Miss Jones, if I could kindly have that back,� he requested, removing the book from her grip. Susan handed him the volume, shelving the grey book she had taken. �There is nothing here that interests me right now, Professor Snape.�

�I take it we�ve finished with the library, then. After I escort you back to your rooms, I shall bid you good night.� He turned to leave the library. He could hear her lighter footfalls behind him.

�Professor Snape,� Susan called, �do you have anything in your rooms for a headache?�

Without thinking, he snapped, �I am not a chemist or a nursemaid, Miss Jones. We have a fully stocked infirmary for minor ailments.� Severus, you know very well that you have something. Why are you acting the fool? He stopped, telling her, �I shall make an exception this time--but only this once."

"Thank you."

***

After an uncomfortably silent walk back to his office, Snape gave Susan the potion. Susan stared at the vial containing the medication for a full minute before raising it to her lips. When he tried to hurry her along, encouraging her to drink the damned potion, she replied sharply, "Spare me the theatrics, Professor!"

Snape was taken aback. While they�d been travelling, in Hogsmeade, in the library and now, in his rooms, he�d watched an odd change come over her. It is as if she has two persons living inside her: one aloof and clever, the other bold and dodgy. Tomorrow, when he was rested, Severus Snape resolved to plumb the depths of the mystery surrounding Susan Jones.

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A/N: Praise to my lovely beta, S. Cheers to those who read and review.
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The Essence of Susan Jones