Fate Set Right

Chapter 31

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October 29, 1977

There was still a hint of a smile on his face as Severus walked into the lab in his master's home. He could still feel Hermione on his lips, her scent still lingered in his nose, her voice still rung in his ears. It had been a very pleasant errand.

Nikola glanced at him as he came in, not pausing once in his grinding of a granite bean.

"You took longer than expected," he replied, his Bulgarian accent thick. "I had not thought Hogsmeade to be a busy village."

"It happened that today was a Hogsmeade weekend for the students," Severus replied as he set the box of Scottish thistle on the table beside Nikola. "I had a moment's distraction."

Nikola gave him a knowing smile, glancing at him once more from the corner of his eye. "You found your lady?"

"Happened upon her, really. She, like I, had been heading to the apothecary," he explained as he resumed his previous task of sorting through the previous night's harvest.

"Is she to master in potions?"

"No, her interest is strictly academic. I imagine she will choose Runes or Arithmancy."

"Pity. If your lady is as intelligent and quick as you, she'll be excellent apprentice," Nikola said slyly, and when Severus gave him a dark scowl, the master laughed. "I have seen your photo of your Hermonee. She is not what I consider beautiful, you would not fear that sort of apprenticeship here."

Igor chuckled behind them.

"I would not be so pleased, Karkaroff," Nikola said without turning to look at him. "Your Yvonne is not a pretty flower herself."

"At least she is my wife," Igor replied, and Severus rolled his eyes so hard it actually gave him a momentary headache. "And your lady, Severus? Did you find her in the arms of another?"

The image of Lupin walking closely beside her, grabbing her wrist as Hermione began to move toward him flashed in Severus' mind. He'd worried for a fleeting moment, when Lupin insisted Hermione not follow him into J. Pippin's, that perhaps his lack of communication and the long wait before them, had made her doubt him after all. He'd received word from Dumbledore shortly after Hermione's birthday that she seemed smitten with another. However, the old man's insinuation that it was Black, having described her new object of interest as having similar coloring to himself, left him more humored than worried. Seeing Lupin nipping at her heels, though, had him slightly more guarded.

"At least Severus' lady wasn't paid to marry him," Nikola replied.

Severus smirked in spite of himself.

He had expected Nikola to be cold and cruel, that he would insult his apprentices at every turn.

But Ivan Nikola was actually quite pleasant. He was strict, yes. If either he or Karkaroff ruined a potion or spoiled an ingredient, he yelled and had them scrubbing cauldrons or cleaning the lab more thoroughly than was necessary. By hand. Igor was appalled each time. Severus took his punishment without a word. The benefits of a half-blood upbringing, he imagined. If either of them had a truly stupid idea, something that happened rarely, Nikola was quite liberal with the insults, and in three different languages. Aside from those moments, though, the man had a dry wit he was quick to use at any moment, uniting them all in their passion for the craft and their unfortunate lack of good looks.

They frequently spent the evenings with port and potions journals, and while Nikola did not let either of them write home often so they would focus on their craft as much as possible, he did let both young men share stories of home. Igor was always willing to divulge, pleased to hear himself talk as much as he was pleased to talk about himself. Severus had limited his sharing to his mother, his time working with Bob in the gardens, and Hermione.