Disclaimer: All characters and settings were created by J.K. Rowling, and all rights to them remain with her and her publishers. I mean no harm, and make no money.

Also, it was Theowyn's discussion of Snape's attitude toward potions in her story, Harry Potter and the Chained Souls, that taught me to regard the subject as both an art and a science. Many thanks for her inspiration.

Academic Pursuits

Footnotes

Severus loved books, but did not trust them.

In the field of potions, particularly, the textbooks the Board of Governors saw fit to foist on the student body were, at best, outdated, and, at worst, inaccurate. Too many administrators regarded the subject as all science and no art – they expected standard results from standard rules, and in their eyes a potion was simply the mechanical product of immutable theory plus a list of ingredients. They had not revised the curriculum requirements for a quarter of a century, and Severus was willing to bet that the battered book he'd inherited from his mother would still be in service for the next two generations at least. He and Lily had long ago learned to explore other scholarly avenues for themselves, and Professor Slughorn delighted in selectively circulating new materials to his classes in the weeks leading up to major exams.

Six days before midterms, Severus settled across from Lily at their customary table in the library and dumped Antony Frensa's Variations on Flora in Organic Potions out of his bag with all the contempt it deserved. Lily looked up with startled eyes as he began messily unpacking his notes, then she picked up the offending volume and flicked through it curiously.

"What's your problem with Frensa? I liked him all right," she said. "Didn't you think the section on Mies' Conundrum sounded promising?"

Severus looked up and raised a critical eyebrow. "He's fine on theory, but you can tell that brewing bores him, and when he gets bored he gets sloppy. His editor clearly slept through the last three chapters, too; there's no other explanation for errors of that magnitude."

Lily blushed, not having finished those chapters herself, but shrugged and said simply, "I've got a lot to get through this week. You want to save me some time and point me toward the major problems?"

"Look at page five hundred twenty-three."

Lily frowned and flipped the book over, opening the back cover and flicking quickly through the closing pages. Finding her place, she traced her finger down the rows of ingredients; it was the second page of instructions for a very boring, overcomplicated soil repellent solution. Abstract, impractical, and shoehorned into the end of an advanced new work, it was perfect fodder for OWL and NEWT examiners who wished to separate the wheat from the chaff in upper-level Potions. Seeing no obvious mistakes, she bent low over the page, then flipped back to the beginning of the section and settled in for a serious read.

Eight minutes later, she gasped in absolute horror. "Sev! These measurements can't be right! Thirty grams of crushed panthera spine? That's enough to blow a cauldron sky high, and with aconite in the base solution it would turn acidic, too!"

"Mm-hm," Severus murmured, supremely unconcerned and already immersed in another essay. "I'm expecting quite a mess. I don't suppose I could interest you in a friendly wager as to which particular idiot is going to wind up in St. Mungo's after a late-night cramming session? It'll be a sleep-deprived Ravenclaw for sure, but can we bank on more than one? Word travels fast, there'll be only one explosion, but then again they do study in groups."

Lily gawked at him, then cried, "Sev, we've got to tell someone about this before someone gets hurt!"

Severus shrugged. "As you like," he said, waving a hand and continuing with his writing. "Though I think you might consider leaving it alone; it would be an object lesson for those who want to get results without mastering theory. Any fifth-year brewer who pours thirty grams of panthera spine into his cauldron deserves what he gets. Plus, it might knock out some competition over the next week."

"I can't believe you!"

Severus glanced up at her. "Always so earnest," he said softly. "Believe what you like. Do what you like. I'll back you up, if you need help."

"I'm writing to the publishers. And then I'm going straight to Slughorn to make sure he warns every single class about this!"

Severus shook his head, but made no further comment.

Lily came around behind his chair. "Any other errors I should know about?" she asked sharply, and he winced at the clipped tone of her voice. "If you can't muster up any concern for our classmates, you might at least enjoy scrupulously documenting scholastic incompetence, right?" She smiled, but he could see she was genuinely upset.

He set down his quill, twisting around and meeting her eyes to let her see his answer was sincere. "Nothing else dangerous, Lily. He's reversed the measurements of two minor ingredients in his Strengthening Solution, but they aren't vital enough to ruin the potion."

She nodded absently. "I noticed that. But I thought it was just a typo, I didn't bother reporting it, especially since Slughorn writes his own directions for the Strengthening Solution anyway."

Snape nodded, then continued in a lighter tone. "He apparently thinks kappas reside in Monrovia rather than Mongolia, and he occasionally misuses the term 'exothermic.' Other than that, it's the usual substandard fare." He eyed her hesitantly, unsure of how badly he had offended, and feeling desperately tired at the thought that yet more of their precious time was about to be wasted in reproaches and scrambling apologies.

He so longed to be quiet with her.

He made the only honest apology he could. "I'm sorry I upset you," he said.

She sighed, having heard that particular phrase, and its attendant silences, all too often. "I know that." She patted his shoulder awkwardly, then gathered up her things.

"Thanks for telling me, Sev," she said, and the corner of her mouth curled up. "Thank goodness you're such a meticulous overachiever. I can't wait to see Slughorn's face when I tell him you saved Ravenclaw Tower single-handed."

Snape's jaw dropped. "I did not!"

Lily's eyes sparked with unholy glee. "And I'll make sure you get credit for the revisions in the second edition, too! I know you've always wanted to see your name in print."

"Not like that! Lily, I'm serious, leave me out of this!"

She didn't, of course.

It was his first footnote.