Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine.

Beta: Nah... I gave ShadowFax99 a break...

Dedication: Zazzle she asked for this so it's all her fault! lol

Authours Note: A prequel to 'The Ties That Bind'-- when Severus takes the Potion and sees who his mate is. His reaction, and what led up to it.

Title: Severus' Reaction

Severus stared down at the potion in consideration, wondering if this was such a good idea. After all, he had lived his life this far without a mate, surely he didn't need one. But the thought of knowing who his mate is was very tempting.

Who would it be? Would they even be in the school? Would it be Sinistra? She was fairly acceptable as a candidate, seeing as she was both pretty and mirrored his thoughts of the children they taught. Trelawney? Severus shivered in disgust, and swiftly changed the thought. Hopefully not Minerva or Pomona, as both were much older than he was and had taught him in school.

That would be… disturbing, on oh so many levels.

And the beauty of it was that the person didn't even need to know! Severus could take the potion, find out who he was supposed to be with, and then ignore it if he did not like the outcome.

And in the end, that was what decided the question for him.

The dose was fully strong enough to last for the rest of the day, and as Severus swallowed it he smiled. Not letting his class sweeten the potion might be mean of him, but some of them were about to have their lives radically altered. In his mind, they deserved it. But as the potion's effects set in, Severus' eyes opened wide in disbelief.

He was blue! An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he watched the brilliant sapphire glow began to pulse with his heartbeat. What had the book said? he asked himself, forcing himself to calm down and remember. 'The Submissive partner will begin to see themselves with a blue glow about their skin- an indicator of their position in the relationship. When the Submissive partner sees another person (be it male or female) glow the same shade of blue, then that person is their Dominant.'

Severus paled, wondering what he should do. But he realised a few minutes later that short of blinding himself for the day there was nothing he could do. It had been his idea to make and take the potion, and now he would live with it. Besides the fact that the antidote took three days to brew. With that in mind, Severus began going about his normal morning routine.

Since it was a Tuesday he had more time than normal to prepare himself for a day amongst rowdy, foolish children, and he took advantage of that fact. The mere thought of a Gryffindor free day was enough to put a smile on his face, and he chuckled to himself as his mood lifted.

Severus glanced at the time and frowned, wondering how so much time had passed him by while he was thinking. Surely he hadn't been that deep in thought? But he was ready to go and teach his first group of numbskulls- Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw Fourth Years- and he would be a little early.

Good. That way they would be quiet and respectful as they entered his classroom.

Lunch couldn't roll around quickly enough for the Potions Master, eager as he was to seek out his potential mate. As Severus walked to the Great Hall he chuckled to himself at his own eagerness, wondering where it had sprung from. Not out of a need to attach another Master to himself, no. Dumbledore and Voldemort were enough. So why had he taken the potion in the first place?

Severus contemplated this thought as he sat in his usual chair, early as normal. It was always good to be one of the first to lunch. That way the children saw you and acted in a matter befitting their age. Quiet and respectful.

But as Severus waited for the Hall to fill, he realised why he had taken the potion. To have the means to know who it was and yet not allow himself to would be worse than just taking the potion and finding out. He could always deny the charge later, if he had to.

The one thing he was better at than Potions was lying.

So as the other Professors began to file into the Hall, most here before the majority of the students, Severus kept a careful eye on the Staff and went over the effects in his head. If he saw someone glowing the same blue he emitted (and he huffed again in disbelief) then they were his Dom. And the only way to undo this was to hide in his rooms for the rest of the day, and that would only get Dumbledore on his case.

He'd rather just find out and then ignore the person.

Sinistra? No. Minerva? No, thank Merlin. The same for Trelawney and Pomona, as well as Poppy. Vector and Flitwick were negative as well, and Dumbledore wasn't either. Severus heaved a sigh of relief at that, as he had just remembered the potion could link him to anyone. But it wasn't any of the teachers already here, and none of the others were any different as they entered.

Severus turned his attention to the students for a moment, letting his eyes sweep over the quietly murmuring crowds as he nodded to his Slytherins. Such well-behaved children. Having to deal with an insane Dark Lord tended to make them quiet and respectful- though, not to any other teacher. Severus smirked as he turned his attention back to the Staff, finding it a huge relief that none of his peers were his Dominant.

Lunch passed swiftly, and as Severus stood to leave a commotion at the back of the Hall caught his attention. Craning his neck to see beyond the students, he saw a flash of blue from the corner of his eye. Glancing at the Staff in some astonishment, Severus saw that only two teachers were absent- Binns and Hagrid.

Severus shuddered slightly at the thought of that giant oaf being his Dominant, and wondered briefly how the potion expected him to survive that. But then the thought crossed his mind that perhaps Binns was his mate- was it possible for a ghost to have a mate? Severus scowled as he grossed himself out.

But the blue wasn't tall enough to be the oaf, and for as long as Severus could recall Binns had never come to any meal, meeting or gathering of the teachers. So who could it be? Severus' eyes widened as he realised something he should have considered much earlier in the morning, and he hastily looked away from the crowd of students. It could be a student!

For a while Severus was able to keep his eyes off the gathering as he made his way out of the Hall-leaving the mess for the others to deal with- but right before he left he glanced up, almost instinctively. The blue was near blinding this close, and as he passed through the doors Severus inhaled in shock.

The blue surrounded the unmistakable form of Harry Potter.

He hurried to his quarters in a haze of denial and anger, but there was nothing he could do about it. Harry Potter! No, no, no, no, no! Severus couldn't wrap his mind around this, and he stopped in front of the portrait guarding his rooms, drawing a blank to the password. The cobra stared at him, only serving to remind him of the boy.

"Cormorant." The portrait swung open at the mention of the sea raven, and he stepped inside hastily. The last thing he wanted was to see someone before his next class. Severus fell onto his couch, and stared blankly at the far wall.

No, this could not be right. He could not be the Submissive Partner in a relationship that didn't even exist with a 14 year old boy! This was more than insulting- this was the universe laughing it's collective ass off at him! The son of his enemy? The supposed Saviour of the Wizarding World? A Gryffindor? A fourteen year old Gryffindor!?

Severus groaned and conjured a glass of scotch, taking a sip and welcoming the burn as it fled down his esophagus. He stared blankly into the dead fireplace, wishing he could go back to the morning and undo the day. He would even sacrifice his perfect classes in order to undo this folly! But no- stealing a Time Turner is a capital offense, and stealing it to use could be punishable by death, in most cases.

Especially if it was only going to be used for personal gain.

Severus drained his glass and stood, glaring at the blue glow that still surrounded him. How he wished he had never been curious about his mate! He should have prepared the antidote before this venture. But no. He'd foolishly assured himself that it wouldn't be that bad.

How stupid he was, and arrogant. Severus slammed his fist into the arm of the chair before leaning forward and placing his head in his hands as he rested his elbows on his knees. Running his hands through his hair Severus sighed, and shook his head.

Now what?

Obviously he goes about his day as normal, but this was only supposed to be drabble-length and look where it is. So this was the free one-shot for Zazzle, who was one of the first reviewers on ch22.

Read, review, and if you like it check out the fic it sprang from- 'The Ties That Bind'.

Ta!

Netrixie