Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery

Chapter 90 ~ Confrontation, and a Gift

The next day, Severus apparated to muggle London during his lunch break. He didn’t have another class until two that afternoon. That should be plenty of time to talk to his mother about this madness. He appeared in front of her flat and removed the silencing charm, then looked about before removing the disillusionment charm as well. Then he took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

Remus opened it.

Severus glared at him a moment. Damn, he was back.

“Hello, Severus,” the wizard said, opening the door wider so he could enter.

“I’m here to see my mother,” Severus nearly snarled at the wizard, not bothering to return Remus’ greeting as he stalked past him.

Isadora was seated at her main desk, glasses hanging off her nose, her long hair twisted into a bun, wearing a gray button-up blouse and black dress pants. She looked up as Severus entered. She smiled. Remus returned to the terminal he was working at and continued making the travel arrangements Isadora had given to him to complete. But his werewolf hearing was attuned to mother and son.

“Severus,” she said, rising from behind the desk, taking off her glasses, walking around it and up to the sour-faced wizard. She kissed him on both cheeks. “What are you doing here? It’s a weekday. Aren’t you supposed to be teaching?”

Severus looked at his mother. She seemed to be glowing…a soft inner glow. He scowled a bit.

“I’m on my lunch break, Mother. I’m here because I want to talk to you…” here he paused and looked back at Lupin, who appeared to be concentrating on the screen in front of him, “…in private.”

Isadora looked up at her son, then over at Remus.

“All right, Severus, you can come into the kitchen with me,” she said, leading the way.

Severus followed her, taking another look at the werewolf. He didn’t look near as peaked as he usually did.

Isadora went to the cooler.

“Sit down, Severus. I’ll bring us a drink,” she said, taking a pitcher of pumpkin juice out of the cooler, setting it on the kitchen counter and retrieving two glasses. Severus sat down at the kitchen table, his eyes on his mother.

He had to admit that she looked less than her age. Most people assumed she was his sister, rather than his mother. He almost wished she looked a bit wizened…then he wouldn’t find himself in awkward positions like this, trying to discourage her from fucking a werewolf.

Isadora walked over to the table and set a glass in front of Severus then walked to the opposite end of the table, set her glass down and took a seat, looking at him expectantly.

Severus looked down at his glass of pumpkin juice.

Isadora watched her son.

“You’re about to tell me something I’m not going to like,” she said softly. “I know that look, Severus. You might be a grown wizard now, but I still know your mannerisms. Just spit it out and let the games begin.”

Severus looked up at her.

“Mother, Hermione told me what is going on between you and Remus Lupin,” Severus said evenly, his eyes accusing.

Isadora didn’t even blink. She just looked at her son.

“And just what is that supposed to be?” she asked him. She was disturbed though. She had believed Hermione to be someone she could confide in.

Severus looked a bit taken aback. He had expected some kind of denial. He did see the flash of disappointment in her eyes when he said Hermione had told him. He didn’t want Isadora thinking she couldn’t trust his wife. He had practically dragged it out of her.

“Before you go thinking Hermione ran and blabbed to me, Mother, she didn’t. I wanted to know what you two talked about yesterday, and she was hesitating. I know my wife. I know when she is trying to hide something from me. I threatened her with legilimency, forced legilimency. She isn’t strong enough an Occulmens to keep me out if I want to know something. So it was either tell me, or be subjected to a mental onslaught. So she told me,” he said.

Isadora was relieved and not a bit shocked that Severus would threaten his wife with such a thing. He was a Slytherin just like she was. If she was as accomplished as he was at Legilimency, no doubt she would employ similar methods. Marcus was right. Where mother and son were concerned, the apple really didn’t fall that far from the tree. It landed right under it.

Isadora took a sip of her pumpkin juice.

“And what did she tell you?” Isadora asked him.

She wasn’t pleased her son wished to discuss her personal life, but he was her only son, and actually she understood his concern. Not that it had anything to do with the price of cauldrons in Bulgaria. This was her life.

“She told me Remus had expressed an…an interest in you, Mother. An interest that compelled him to leave your presence…which in my opinion was a wise choice considering his malady.”

“And did Hermione also tell you I have a vested interest in Remus too?” she asked him evenly.

“Yes,” he said, his voice heavy with disapproval.

“So why are you here then?” she asked him, scowling.

“To try and talk some sense into you, Mother. Remus is a werewolf. True, he only transforms into a total beast at the full moon, but there are aspects of the wizard that are animalistic at all times. He isn’t safe, Mother. If you must be involved with someone, find someone more suitable. Someone who won’t…won’t lose control if you are…are intimate,” Severus said haltingly.

He felt out of place discussing his mother’s sex life.

“Severus, you need to get out of my bedroom and stay in your own,” Isadora said to him. The wizard looked shocked.

“Who I choose to be intimate with is none of your affair. I resent you even trying to pick and choose who I fuck,” Isadora seethed.

Severus’ eyes grew wide. His mother had said the word “fuck” and used it in a literal sense. Good gods. No son should ever hear his mother talk about fucking.

Isadora used the word purposely, so her son would see that she was a sexual being too.

“I’m…I’m not trying to pick who you…you are involved with, Mother. I’m just concerned about Remus harming you. You have no idea what he is capable of…” Severus said, trying to make her understand. “If you were interested in a normal wizard, then I would feel better.”

“Severus, you selfish prat,” Isadora seethed at him. Prat really wasn’t the word she wanted to use, but she kept from cursing at her son. “My life is not going to be dictated by how YOU feel. I assure you, I am very aware of what Remus is capable of,” Isadora said evenly.

Again, Severus’ eyes widened. If his mother knew…it meant the werewolf had gotten to her.

“Mother…no,” he said lamely.

Isadora looked at her son. He was so upset. Like any mother, her heart went out to him. She knew he thought he was doing what was best for her by having this conversation. She decided to lay it all out in the open.

“Severus, listen. And listen good because this is the last time I am going to justify anything I do to you. We are both adults now, and as adults we are responsible for our own actions only. We cannot control the lives of others. I am your mother, but I am a woman too. I’ve been lonely for a long, long time,” she said softly, “You know how your father treated me…treated us both. He was cruel, overbearing and vicious. I had no choice concerning him, Severus. None at all. And I know you used to hear what he would do to me behind closed doors.”

Severus winced slightly. Yes, he remembered his mother shrieking rhythmically. It wasn’t until he became sexually aware however, that he realized his father had been fucking his mother and not just beating her.

“Severus, I never knew tenderness or gentleness when I was with your father. He never had a kind word, or took any time with me after you were born. But this wasn’t your fault…it was just the kind of man he was. I didn’t see it. I wish I had. I was very much in love with him, and he betrayed me. That was what hurt the most.”

Isadora’s eyes were wet. Severus listened to her, his heart aching at the pain in her eyes. He was a cold, snarky bastard, but he truly loved his mother. Now she was reliving her pain and he felt it.

“Severus…Remus is a kind and gentle man. I believe he is a good man. He doesn’t swagger about trying to prove his masculinity, and instead of letting his urges control him, he controls them. He is ostracized but unlike many with his malady, he lives as good a life as he can, not turning to crime or living in bitterness. He doesn’t hate, Severus. There isn’t any violence in him. Can’t you see why I would find him attractive? After all I’ve been through? He’s lived a hard and lonely life too. He appreciates me, Severus and he is the kind of man that can make me happy. He’s quiet, and he listens. He’ll do anything I ask within reason without a word of complaint. He doesn’t want or need to dominate me. He has no desire to hurt me or control me. All he wants is to be there for me.”

Severus just looked at his mother, taking in her words.

“You have Hermione…and I am happy for you. Can’t you just be happy for me? Happy to know I’m with a man I can trust…who won’t do me any harm? And I have no doubt he’d protect me if I needed protection, he is a skilled wizard. If not for his malady, he’d be almost perfect. I can deal with his animal nature until you find the cure…I could deal with it if you never find the cure. He’s the one I want Severus. Don’t try to take him away from me or make what I find beautiful about him ugly. I’ve been alone a long time, son. Now I’m not. Just be happy for me, please, Severus?”

Severus stared at his mother. He didn’t want her with Remus Lupin, but obviously she wanted the wizard if she made this much effort to try and make him understand her feelings. And she had been alone a long time. But damn, why did she have to fall for a werewolf? Severus sighed.

He could do one of two things. Make an ugly scene and try to force his mother not to see Remus, which would only drive them apart, and she would still continue to see him, or he could accept her decision with as much grace as he could muster. Hermione was right. She had just returned to him. Why do anything to divide them? Severus loved his mother, and really did want to see her happy. He and Hermione were considered an odd match, but they were very happy together. He loved the witch, and the sons she had given him.

If the Potions Master really wanted to ease his misgivings, he would find a cure for Remus. Then he would be a relatively suitable consort for his mother, if not the Potions Master’s first, second, third or fourth choice. He thought about Hermione’s choice. How everyone, including himself (maybe with the exception of Albus) thought he was wrong for her. But the stubborn little witch ended up correct about him. He was what she wanted, and she was what he needed. Maybe his mother knew best, despite appearances.

Although Severus really didn’t want to think about it, he suspected his mother’s sexual nature was much like his wife’s. He didn’t know if she were like that by nature, or if his father’s treatment of her made her that way. He knew he himself was like his father when it came to sex. He liked to control and totally dominate his wife between the sheets, and she loved it. His mother didn’t want to be dominated, but she probably craved a powerful lover. Remus’ dichotomy of innate gentleness and animalistic lust most likely met her needs. Severus shuddered a little at the thought. Gods, she was his mother. But she was a woman too. He would just have to deal with this situation as best he could.

Isadora watched her son consider everything she said. He looked thoughtful, worried then resigned. She let out a tiny sigh of relief. She could tell he was going to back off.

Severus leveled his eyes at his mother, then stood up.

“Well Mother, it seems you have made your choice. I don’t believe anything I can say or do will change your mind. Rather than have this come between us, I’ve decided to be the bigger wizard and allow you to live your life as you wish. I won’t come between you and the werewolf…unless he mistreats you. And if he mistreats you…I won’t have to worry about finding him a cure. You can’t cure a dead wizard,” he said darkly.

Isadora had to sit on her hands a bit. Her son was a chauvinistic twit. Be the bigger wizard? Allow her to live her life? Grrr.

Severus walked around the table and kissed his mother softly on the cheek.

“Are you leaving?” she asked him.

Severus looked at her.

“First I’m going to talk to your werewolf, then yes, I am leaving,” he said.

He turned and walked through the kitchen door and back into the living room where Remus was. Isadora didn’t follow him. Let the wizards talk.

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Remus had heard every word of the pair’s conversation. He pretended to be working when Severus stalked out of the kitchen and approached him, scowling. He looked up just as the Potions Master reached him. The two wizards looked each other in the eyes.

“Apparently Remus, you have managed to wrangle yourself into my mother’s affections. She seems determined to pursue this madness until whatever conclusion is arrived at. I expect you to treat her well, very well. Don’t make her unhappy. Don’t break her heart. You do either of these things to my mother, Remus, and transformation will be the least of your worries. Do you understand me?” Severus said to the wizard in a low, controlled voice.

Remus shook his head.

“I’ll be good to her, Severus,” he said softly. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“But I will worry,” Severus replied, “She’s my mother. You be careful with her when you…you…shit, Remus…just don’t hurt her too much. I don’t care what she says.”

Severus turned quickly to hide his reddening face and disillusioned himself. Remus watched as the door to the flat opened and closed. He didn’t hear anything else. Severus must have cast a silencing charm before he disapparated.

Isadora walked out of the kitchen and up to the werewolf.

“So did my son promise you torture and pain if you hurt me?” she asked him, smiling.

Remus looked at her.

“Actually no. At least not directly. He gave me the basic warnings on what not to do, and seemed a bit concerned about our private relations,” he said quietly.

Isadora looked up at him rather sloe-eyed as she remembered those “relations.”

They had continued their tryst last night, and the witch discovered Remus was as good a human lover as he was an animal. Even more so, because he was quite uninhibited and sexually creative, gently bending and twisting her body into positions he knew would give her the most pleasure when he penetrated her, and asking what she wanted, how she wanted it, then giving it to her good and hard. Remus knew how to use his tool.

The wizard seemed to need her vocal reassurance he was pleasing her, although he was a magnificent lover. She still couldn’t understand how he managed to maintain the illusion of gentleness while driving her across the bed linens. Maybe because he kissed and caressed her so tenderly as he did so. She didn’t know. All Isadora knew was she was stuck on him.

“Our private relations?” she purred at him.

She still felt the ache of the wizard between her thighs, but that still didn’t quell the feelings of desire starting to well up in her as his eyes met hers. Remus could sense it.

“Yes, Isadora our private relations,” he confirmed.

“What did he say exactly?” she asked the wizard curiously.

Remus looked at her, his lips quirking slightly. Isadora felt the urge to kiss them.

“He said to be careful when I…then he couldn’t bring himself to say what it is I do to you, but he did tell me not to hurt you too much no matter what you say,” the werewolf replied.

Isadora moved into Remus, pressing her body against him. The werewolf drew in a breath and did not outwardly react. He could still maintain his façade of calm to a point.

“But you will listen to me, won’t you, Remus? You’ll do everything I tell you to do,” she breathed, sliding against him a bit.

“Yes,” he answered.

Isadora pulled out her wand and warded the door to her flat, adding a strong silencing charm. Remus went on point immediately, a low whine in his throat. Did she want more? She must.

Isadora gave him a wicked grin.

“You can start with kissing me, werewolf,” she said, pursing her lips.

Remus began to lower his lips to hers then paused.

“You realize, Isadora, we are back to square one if this…this escalates,” he said softly.

“Remus, I can guarantee this will escalate,” Isadora purred.

She was like a child with a new toy. Sex toy that is.

“That means the wolf…” he said, his gentle eyes flashing just a bit

Isadora let out a very good imitation of a deep, feral growl. Remus looked surprised.

“Are you sure you don’t have a little wolf in you too, Isadora?” he asked her.

Isadora grinned at him sexily.

“Not yet,” she replied, drawing his head down and kissing the wizard passionately.

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Severus returned home after school and immediately found Hermione.

“I want you to help me make a gift basket for my mother,” he said to her, transforming a magazine into a woven basket.

“Severus, how sweet!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Sweetness has nothing to do with this, Hermione,” he said, catching her by the arm and pulling her along as he left the house and strode across the yard to his lab. He opened the door, turned up the torches and guided her over to his potions stores. He opened the door. It was very well stocked.

“You’re giving your mother potions?” Hermione asked.

“Yes,” he hissed. “Now I’ll hand you the potions and you arrange them attractively in the basket.”

Hermione looked around, then plucked a hair from her head. Taking out her wand, she placed the hair in the basket and transformed it into lavender colored fake grass.

“All right, Severus, I’m ready,” she said.

Severus handed her four king-sized bottles of purple potion, some bruising salve, some joint pain elixir, and a bottle of “Heads Down” impotency potion. Hermione’s eyebrows went up.

“Peel the label off that, and write “For Remus” on there,” Severus said as he continued looking over his stores.

Hermione frowned at him.

“Severus, this is not a gift basket…it’s a first aid kit,” she said looking at the items. Then she held up the bottle of impotence potion. “And I’m NOT putting this in here. You are horrible.”

Severus turned and scowled at her. Hermione put the basket on the floor and folded her arms, scowling back at him. They stood there for a couple of minutes.

Finally Severus said, “All right. It was just a thought. In case she needed a break.”

Hermione handed him the bottle of “Heads Down” back.

“If your mother wants a break from Remus, I’m sure all she’ll have to do is tell him. She needs no help from you. This basket is embarrassing enough as it is,” she said.

Severus ignored her remarks and handed her some pepper-up and replenishing potions. She added them to the basket.

“How about some soaps at least?” she suggested, looking at his supply of scented soaps.

Severus shook his head dismissively.

“No. That might inspire them to shower together,” he replied, taking the basket from her and bringing it to the counter. Shaking her head, Hermione followed him.

He tore a bit of parchment off a pad, set the basket on it, and took out his wand. With a flick, he transformed it into see-through plastic, which wrapped itself tightly around the basket, a big lavender bow appearing on top. He stepped back to admire his handiwork.

“So, what do you think?” he asked his wife, who was frowning at the basket.

“I think it’s perfectly ghastly, Severus. Surely you don’t really intend on sending that to you mother?” Hermione asked him as he picked up the basket and headed for the door.

“I most certainly do intend to. If my mother insists on sleeping with a werewolf, I at least want her hale and healthy afterwards,” he said exiting the lab and heading for the house, his robes billowing.

He was going to have Eli take the basket to his mother’s flat. The elf would be overjoyed to visit with her.

Hermione sighed after her husband. He was such an idiot sometimes.

The witch turned down the torches and exited the lab, locking it securely.

As she walked toward the house, Hermione hoped her sons would have more sense than their father when it came to dealing with her.

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A/N: Isadora handled Severus well I think. I believe she and Remus will be quite happy together. Lol about Severus’ “gift basket”. Especially the “Heads Down” impotence potion he tried to slip in there. I believe though, Isadora will get a laugh out of it. And probably some use too. Please review.

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The Burning Pen

Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery
by Ruth Solomon

 

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence. Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately. You are not welcome here. The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 91

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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