BASED on the book the Princess Bride by William Goldman
Cast of Characters
Severus Snape
Hermione Granger
'arry Potter
Prince Voldemort
Count Lucius Malfoy
Ron Weasly
Hagrid the Giant
Minerva McGonagall
Draco Malfoy
Albus Dumbledore
Fudge as the Unimpressive Clergyman
JustJeanette: So you want to hear a story? Well I have a story for you, told to me by my grandfather too, of Fencing and fighting; of torture and duels; of revenge and giants and monsters, chases, escapes and most important of all: True love.
So sit and listen for a while to the tale of the Princess Witch.
The Princess Witch, by JustJeanette. Chapter One.
Hermione Granger was raised on a small farm in the county of Hogsmeade. Her favourite pastimes were reading, and writing and pestering potions man that worked in the local village. His name was Severus, but she never called him that.
Nothing gave Hermione as much pleasure as questioning Severus, she would poke her head into the Potionocopia on her way to and from school with questions bubbling like a never ending brook.
Severus, a dark, dower and forbidding man would look up from whatever he was working on to observe the girl; she wasn't beautiful in a conventional sense, her teeth were to large for her face, her hair an unbridled birds-nest, her clothes ill-fitting and her stance lazy. No she wasn't beautiful but there was promise there for the future. And so on this fateful day as we observe them we see Hermione running home from school questions bursting to be asked.
"Potions man, what is Mugwort used for?" She demanded as she poked her head into the Potionocopia. "Can you make a Unicorn dance? Has my hair grown?"
Severus was somewhat older that Hermione, and dark where she is light; he wasn't handsome in the classical sense but his dark brooding countenance always beckoned a second look. Today he was watching and waiting for Hermione as he always did. He looked up, as her questions washed over him and after quietly watching her for a few minutes answered, "I see no difference." As she walked away his gaze would follow her until she disappeared from sight.
"I see no difference." was all he ever said to her, but he would watch for her like a starving man.
Day after day Hermione would pop her head in and ask her questions, "Have I grown, am I pretty, why is the moon blue."
Severus would look up from whatever potion he was working on and say "I see no difference."
One dark day Hermione stops as she walks away and as she turns back to the Potionocopia she saw Severus' eyes still watching her. That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, "I see no difference," what he meant was, "I love you."
Severus, seeing her waiting there left his bench and walked towards her with a brightly coloured vial in hand. As he approached Hermione made the even more amazing discovery, she realized she truly loved him back.
Hermione asked in a slightly awed voice, "Potions Man is I like that vial?"
Severus, who has walked up to her and is standing so close he can see himself in her eyes simply said, "I see no difference." as he leant forward and brushed his lips against hers. As the sun begins to set they are seen still locked in a passionate kiss.
Now it is an unfortunate fact that running a Potionocopia in a small country town means that you are unlikely to have very much money, definitely not enough for marriage. Thus Severus packed his few belongings and left the farm to seek his fortune across the sea.
If we watch quietly we see Severus and Hermione standing locked together in one final embrace. Hermione's eyes glitter with tears, "I fear I'll never see you again." she says through the tears.
Severus replies, "Of course you will."
"But what if something happens to you?"
Severus lets a rare smile flit across his face, "Hear this now: I will come for you."
"But how can you be sure?"
Severus looks deeply into her tearful eyes, "Hermione, this is true love. You think this happens every day?" He smiles at her, she smiles too, throws her arms so tightly around him. They kiss. Then as Severus walks away, Hermione watches him go.
Severus didn't reach his destination. His ship was attacked by the Dread Potions Master Snape, who never left captives alive. When Hermione got the news that Severus was murdered --She went into her room and shut the door. And for days, she neither slept nor ate.
One the last day of her self imposed exile Hermione stands at the window looking down the path that Severus had taken to leave her life. On that day she vowed, "I will never love again."
To be continued if the readers wish.....
JustJeanette