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averygoodun42Right. I'm supposed to be writing a novel right now, aren't I? Um... Yeah. Well, at least I'm getting the laundry done.
Here's an excerpt from chapter 13: 'The Last Supper'. This was a really difficult chapter to take an excerpt from, unless I chose to show you how it ends, which I didn't.
"Professor Snape, I'm so pleased you decided to join us for dinner. I've never known you to socialize with students and their parents before. Especially not Gryffindors. I'm honored." Snape quirked an eyebrow at her and she knew he had interpreted her correctly.
"It's not often I have the pleasure of being invited, but your parents graciously extended their invitation. How could a lonely man like me refuse?"
"Mum, dad, I wonder if you know what an honor it is to entertain such an esteemed guest. Professor Snape is a legend among Hogwarts staff, and even the wizarding world," she said while looking Snape in the eye. His polite smile never faded, though, in fact it seemed to broaden a bit.
"Oh I believe we do have an idea," her mum said, letting Hermione know she was aware of the undercurrents in the conversation, even if she didn’t know exactly what was being said. "I suspect though, that like all modest men, Severus is uncomfortable by this talk." Jane flashed Snape and Hermione a smile that was a clear warning: play nice, dears.
"I apologize if I've embarrassed you, Professor. I just wasn't expecting your company," Hermione said, not letting her guard down.
"Perfectly understandable, Miss Granger. I will respect your wishes if you prefer to dine alone with your parents tonight," he offered almost selflessly.
Hermione was caught and she knew it. It would be inexcusably rude to toss him out now, much as she would like to. She had not only walked into that one, she had helped set it up.
"Don't be silly, Professor. You are most welcome here," she said cheerfully, even though she knew she was out of her depth and surrounded by sharks. At least she could be relatively confident that her parents didn't want to eat her. Judging by the smile Snape gave her, she wasn't certain that held true for him.
"We wouldn't think of having you leave," Jane said, but seemed to take pity on her daughter, as she led Snape away to discuss the marriage bill and its ramifications for wizarding society as a whole. Hermione took the respite to seek out her father, who was sitting at the table, watching the proceedings with a detached interest.
"Dad," she said quietly, looking at him for an explanation. He looked at her and shrugged.
"I know you think we're being difficult, but we just want to protect you, darling. We want to see you survive this ordeal."
Hermione studied her dad, then looked over at her mother and Snape, who were conversing intently. She sighed and turned back to face her dad. "So do I, dad, but he's not the savior you think him to be."
Harold patted her on the hand and whispered conspiratorially, "Then prove that to us, dear." She looked at him quizzically, so he continued. "If you can show us why you think he's worse than a werewolf, then I promise we will stand by your decision. But play fair, darling. You don't want your mother crying foul again."
She smiled at him before sitting back to formulate a plan. This was not going to be an easy evening.
Before Hermione could get very far in her plotting, four plates appeared on the table, signaling dinner was about to be served. Snape politely escorted Jane to the table, then sat down across from Hermione, carefully avoiding catching her eye.
They awkwardly sat at the table, silently waiting for the food to arrive. Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, a dish of roast pork appeared in the middle of the table, followed shortly by a bowl of steaming pink applesauce, fresh green beans with coriander, and a platter of blanched vegetables, arranged to resemble a colorful wedding bouquet. Harold raised his eyebrows slightly at the platter, but otherwise seemed unaffected. When Jane caught sight of the vegetables she thought it a perfect invitation to talk about her daughter's upcoming nuptials.
"So, Sweetheart, tell us about the plans for tomorrow."
Hermione looked at her mum, then at Snape, who, oddly, didn't seem to be uncomfortable with the topic. He actually seemed interested. Hermione looked at her mum again and realized it was part of a plan. She didn't know who was behind it, but they were planning to manipulate her somehow.
"Well, I've left most of the details to the headmaster. He seemed to enjoy the planning. I wonder if he's been bored now that Voldemort is gone."
"I expect that rounding up the remaining Death Eaters, and outmaneuvering the Ministry on this bill is proving to be a sufficient challenge, Miss Granger. He probably accepted the task of planning only because he wished to relieve you of that burden," Snape said smoothly.
"I see. Everyone is trying so hard to make life easy for me, aren't they?" Hermione responded, trying to keep the bite out of her voice.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone wants the best for you. No one wants to see you miserable, or in pain, or downtrodden."
Hermione huffed slightly, galled at Snape's hypocrisy.
"Is that so, Professor? Then why is everyone forcing me into marriage? We could just wait and see. The bill may never pass and wouldn't that be ironic if that occurred after all of this panic."
"The headmaster has it on good authority that it will pass, and that Lucius Malfoy, among other respected members of the community, is interested in you. Specifically you. Magical contracts are difficult to break, even if the law was immediately repealed. If he applied for you, you would still be bound to accept him unless another offer came in."
"Yes, but if the law was repealed, I might be forced to marry someone against my will, but at least I'd have my powers, and no obligations."
"But only if the law was repealed. Do you want to take that chance, Miss Granger? If the law passes and you are still unwed, the were- Remus would no longer be an option for you. Neither would Kingsley Shacklebolt, for that matter."
Hermione looked away in frustration, trying to keep her temper and her wits.
"Would you still be an option, Severus?" Jane asked.
He hesitantly shook his head no, and pierced Hermione with a longing glare.
"No, I wouldn't be, although even if I were, I expect your daughter would feel even more strongly against me if I were to rescue her at the last moment."
Hermione drew in a breath as if she had been slapped. She didn't trust herself to speak in a calm or reasonable manner, so instead she concentrated on her food, violently sawing at a piece of pork to exorcise her anger.
------------------------------------------
And here's the next (V. OOC, but within reason) installment of
Snape's Journal
Dec. 31, 1997
Hermione lives! Thank the powers that be for phoenix fire, eh? God I forgot how good it feels to be pissed- how liborting. Gotta go pee.
/entry
Here's an excerpt from chapter 13: 'The Last Supper'. This was a really difficult chapter to take an excerpt from, unless I chose to show you how it ends, which I didn't.
"Professor Snape, I'm so pleased you decided to join us for dinner. I've never known you to socialize with students and their parents before. Especially not Gryffindors. I'm honored." Snape quirked an eyebrow at her and she knew he had interpreted her correctly.
"It's not often I have the pleasure of being invited, but your parents graciously extended their invitation. How could a lonely man like me refuse?"
"Mum, dad, I wonder if you know what an honor it is to entertain such an esteemed guest. Professor Snape is a legend among Hogwarts staff, and even the wizarding world," she said while looking Snape in the eye. His polite smile never faded, though, in fact it seemed to broaden a bit.
"Oh I believe we do have an idea," her mum said, letting Hermione know she was aware of the undercurrents in the conversation, even if she didn’t know exactly what was being said. "I suspect though, that like all modest men, Severus is uncomfortable by this talk." Jane flashed Snape and Hermione a smile that was a clear warning: play nice, dears.
"I apologize if I've embarrassed you, Professor. I just wasn't expecting your company," Hermione said, not letting her guard down.
"Perfectly understandable, Miss Granger. I will respect your wishes if you prefer to dine alone with your parents tonight," he offered almost selflessly.
Hermione was caught and she knew it. It would be inexcusably rude to toss him out now, much as she would like to. She had not only walked into that one, she had helped set it up.
"Don't be silly, Professor. You are most welcome here," she said cheerfully, even though she knew she was out of her depth and surrounded by sharks. At least she could be relatively confident that her parents didn't want to eat her. Judging by the smile Snape gave her, she wasn't certain that held true for him.
"We wouldn't think of having you leave," Jane said, but seemed to take pity on her daughter, as she led Snape away to discuss the marriage bill and its ramifications for wizarding society as a whole. Hermione took the respite to seek out her father, who was sitting at the table, watching the proceedings with a detached interest.
"Dad," she said quietly, looking at him for an explanation. He looked at her and shrugged.
"I know you think we're being difficult, but we just want to protect you, darling. We want to see you survive this ordeal."
Hermione studied her dad, then looked over at her mother and Snape, who were conversing intently. She sighed and turned back to face her dad. "So do I, dad, but he's not the savior you think him to be."
Harold patted her on the hand and whispered conspiratorially, "Then prove that to us, dear." She looked at him quizzically, so he continued. "If you can show us why you think he's worse than a werewolf, then I promise we will stand by your decision. But play fair, darling. You don't want your mother crying foul again."
She smiled at him before sitting back to formulate a plan. This was not going to be an easy evening.
Before Hermione could get very far in her plotting, four plates appeared on the table, signaling dinner was about to be served. Snape politely escorted Jane to the table, then sat down across from Hermione, carefully avoiding catching her eye.
They awkwardly sat at the table, silently waiting for the food to arrive. Just as the silence was becoming uncomfortable, a dish of roast pork appeared in the middle of the table, followed shortly by a bowl of steaming pink applesauce, fresh green beans with coriander, and a platter of blanched vegetables, arranged to resemble a colorful wedding bouquet. Harold raised his eyebrows slightly at the platter, but otherwise seemed unaffected. When Jane caught sight of the vegetables she thought it a perfect invitation to talk about her daughter's upcoming nuptials.
"So, Sweetheart, tell us about the plans for tomorrow."
Hermione looked at her mum, then at Snape, who, oddly, didn't seem to be uncomfortable with the topic. He actually seemed interested. Hermione looked at her mum again and realized it was part of a plan. She didn't know who was behind it, but they were planning to manipulate her somehow.
"Well, I've left most of the details to the headmaster. He seemed to enjoy the planning. I wonder if he's been bored now that Voldemort is gone."
"I expect that rounding up the remaining Death Eaters, and outmaneuvering the Ministry on this bill is proving to be a sufficient challenge, Miss Granger. He probably accepted the task of planning only because he wished to relieve you of that burden," Snape said smoothly.
"I see. Everyone is trying so hard to make life easy for me, aren't they?" Hermione responded, trying to keep the bite out of her voice.
"As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone wants the best for you. No one wants to see you miserable, or in pain, or downtrodden."
Hermione huffed slightly, galled at Snape's hypocrisy.
"Is that so, Professor? Then why is everyone forcing me into marriage? We could just wait and see. The bill may never pass and wouldn't that be ironic if that occurred after all of this panic."
"The headmaster has it on good authority that it will pass, and that Lucius Malfoy, among other respected members of the community, is interested in you. Specifically you. Magical contracts are difficult to break, even if the law was immediately repealed. If he applied for you, you would still be bound to accept him unless another offer came in."
"Yes, but if the law was repealed, I might be forced to marry someone against my will, but at least I'd have my powers, and no obligations."
"But only if the law was repealed. Do you want to take that chance, Miss Granger? If the law passes and you are still unwed, the were- Remus would no longer be an option for you. Neither would Kingsley Shacklebolt, for that matter."
Hermione looked away in frustration, trying to keep her temper and her wits.
"Would you still be an option, Severus?" Jane asked.
He hesitantly shook his head no, and pierced Hermione with a longing glare.
"No, I wouldn't be, although even if I were, I expect your daughter would feel even more strongly against me if I were to rescue her at the last moment."
Hermione drew in a breath as if she had been slapped. She didn't trust herself to speak in a calm or reasonable manner, so instead she concentrated on her food, violently sawing at a piece of pork to exorcise her anger.
------------------------------------------
And here's the next (V. OOC, but within reason) installment of
Snape's Journal
Dec. 31, 1997
Hermione lives! Thank the powers that be for phoenix fire, eh? God I forgot how good it feels to be pissed- how liborting. Gotta go pee.
/entry
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-05 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-05 02:34 am (UTC)Looking foward to the new chapter of MAC too.