Severus and the Frozen North

Arctic Expedition

April 2000

The winter had turned into spring, the snow still laying thick on the ground, but the wind didn't sting. April brought people out into the world, faces turned to the sun, taking the long way to work.

But not him. He enjoyed the cold, the silence and weight it held. Five months had passed since beginning at the hospital, and he had begun to assimilate in ways he never expected. Offering small contributions to the conversation at lunch with the staff, able to walk to the market with minimal fear, and striking up a friendship with Margaret. He easily grew into the swing of potions making, keeping up with Kora, the hospital running on peak efficiency.

He sighed. Kora. They battled. Ferociously. Verbally fencing day by day. Trading barbs like oxygen. Daily trading secrets about how best to slice or crush an ingredient. Competing against the other to see who could make the most effective potions. Sometimes he won, and sometimes he lost. She was a mystery to him. He knew nothing about her. Perhaps that was for the better. You couldn't get close to someone if you knew nothing about them.

That afternoon, they were cleaning up, having fallen into a familiar routine, when Margaret ambled in, her long hair plaited across her shoulder.

"Kora, are you leaving tomorrow for your trip to the North?" she asked kindly, her clipboard out.

Trip?

"Yes. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll be back on Monday for a half day" she answered in her throaty muddled accent that he still hadn't figured out.

"Perhaps Severus should go with you" Margaret suggested, as if it had just popped into her mind

Kora's eyes widened as she shook her head vigorously

"No! I do this trip by myself. Every year. It's a lot of work and I don't want him dragging me down"

He rolled his eyes at her dismissal before interjecting placidly

"And why would I want to spend a weekend with you traipsing around in the cold?"

"Margaret, it's a long broom ride, hours worth of hiking, we sleep outside, and I can't just bring a stranger to the North lands" Kora explained in what he recognized as her trying to be patient voice, ignoring him completely

What was this trip even about?

"You wouldn't be bringing a stranger. You're colleagues. Every year Kora goes to the North lands and retrieves reindeer placenta, organs, and other useful parts for potions specific to our area. Severus has never seen these potions before, I'm certain of that. It would be a great learning opportunity" Margaret explained, purposely piquing his interest.

Kora bit her lip before continuing to argue

"I'm not his teacher. What if he doesn't want to go? Did you even ask?"

The two women turned to him and he suddenly felt very small. He was walking into a very dangerous situation. Like a slab of meat being tossed into a lions den. Tread lightly.

"I don't want to intrude upon your trip Kora, but I would find it...intriguing to harvest from the reindeer herd. Should you choose to gift me with permission" he responded tactfully, placing all the weight on her side of the scale.

"Why are you doing this to me Margaret? You know I do this alone" Kora demanded, arms crossed, a bit of a tremor to her voice, whether from anger or sadness he couldn't tell.

"You will be able to get twice the amount of ingredients with Severus there. This is a trip for the hospital, and he works here now too. I'm not doing this to punish you Kora" Margaret answered softly, imploring with her eyes some unspoken thing