Necessary Ingredients: Necessary Ingredients
by potterverse
It was a sickeningly sweet day. The sun was shining brightly, but there was also a gentle breeze as Severus made his way from the castle and headed into the Forbidden Forest. He was on a mission. He had to gather some rather dubious elements to make an important potion for Dumbledore. As he crept into the forest the trees engulfed him in their cool, dark embrace. Snape inhaled deeply and his lungs filled with the loamy scent of the woods. It was a place of concealment, a place of danger, a place of useful materials, but mostly a place of solace. After walking for a little while he stooped down near a stream and began to dig.

“Hello, Professor Snape,” came a voice high and airy.

He about jumped out of his skin and looked up to see Luna Lovegood on the other side of the stream.

“Miss Lovegood, you are not allowed to be out here. That’s ten points from Ravenclaw,” he stated huffily.

“Oh, but I have permission,” she replied.

She began absent-mindedly rummaging through a large bag. She then gracefully crossed the stream and handed him a piece of parchment. He had on occasion wondered if she had veela blood in her, because of her iridescent hair and blithe ways. He found it all very eerie.

The parchment said:

I, Professor Sprout, give Luna Lovegood permission to be in the Forbidden Forest to gather some necessary ingredients and herbs.
If you don’t believe me hold the scroll up to light and you will see my personal seal.


Snape held up the paper up to a stream of light filtering through the treetops and sighed.
“Very well,” he grumbled.

“Are you still taking points from Ravenclaw?” Luna asked flightily.

“Obviously not,” he replied.

“Oh, good. I already lost points yesterday, for correcting Professor McGonagall.”

“What did you correct her on?” he inquired.

“She said there was no such thing as a Gribble wink and I told her that my father had found some in his travels in Wales,” she stated firmly.

“I see,” he said, trying not to sneer. “What are you collecting?” he asked.

“Just some Dragon weed, among other things. I’m almost finished. I just needed to do one more thing,” she said.

It always disturbed him how even when Luna looked at someone she appeared to be staring at something else far off. The vacancy of her stare reminded him of Trelawney and he suppressed a shudder.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“That really doesn’t concern you,” he snapped back.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. My mistake,” she said dreamily. “Good luck with your quest.”

“How did you know…” Severus gaped.

“Oh, it’s just a figure of speech,” Luna answered dismissively.

‘She knows something,’ Snape thought.

Luna began to walk off, and then twirled around. She began to rummage through her bag once again and pulled out a twisted black root.

“You might have some use for this in the near future,” she said with the same unnerving inane look.

He took it and examined it.

“This is Ebony root.” He stared in disbelief.

It was the very thing he had been digging for. He looked up to see Luna skipping her way out of the woods.


This story archived at: Occlumency
http://occlumency.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=5605