"I am an honourable and reasonable man, as you know, Severus. You have my word. As a Warlock, and a gentleman."
Lord Voldemort
Severus Snape.
Lord Voldemort.
A Warlock, and a gentleman.
But which is which?
Two men, whose lives are so closely intertwined.
Both muggle reared.
So different.
Yet so alike.
The men behind the masks...
Ginny Weasley.
Her best friend. Her only friend, in First Year.
A boy in a book.
Into which she poured her heart and soul…
She internalised the trauma for years.
But now.
He's back.
7th Year AU: the Harry Potter books are true up to end of Harry's 6th year, but Voldemort is publicly leading wizarding Britain. Look at favourite canon characters beyond the books, further into their private lives, their personalities.
Voldemort at wishes to seduce, and recruit, Ginny. To the Death Eaters.
Flirting. Fighting. Bitching. Biting.
Strategy. Espionage. Intrigue.
Politics and High Society.
In the wizarding world. And its murky overlap with that of the muggles...
Featuring OC 'Sarah', Severus Snape's MI5 handler, and sundry student OCs in Ginny's and other year groups at Hogwarts (along with our favourite canon characters).
Chapter One
Dinner with the Devil
"Weasley! Stay behind."
Ginny was in no hurry to pack up.
She slammed her defence book shut.
One of the few things she could do, in these times.
Rebel.
Well. Little acts of rebellion. Here and there.
She continued to take her time, rather than approach his desk promptly. She made to scribble in her homework diary. As if she'd just remembered to add the deadline, or some other point of significance.
He couldn't have a go at her for being the model, diligent student, could he?
Snape.
SNAPE!
"MERLIN'S BUTTOCKS!"
The man towered over her.
"Read it."
She clasped the letter that he thrust at her.
And promptly dropped it. Unopened.
"Read it."
"Dear God-"
"In... silence," he hissed.
Ginny's hands shook.
She recognised the handwriting, then?
Here come the waterworks!
Severus raised an eyebrow.
Teenage tantrums and theatrics are so tedious.
"What does he want?" she whispered.
"Well if you were to follow my instructions, Weasley," his impatience and sarcasm were plain to hear, from his sudden, higher pitched tone of voice, "perhaps you might enlighten us both!"
"You mean… you don't know?"
"I haven't read it," he replied, quietly.
Not the same thing.
Severus pulled up a bench opposite her, and sat, mastering his emotions. Suppressing them.
Behind the mask that had nearly cracked seconds ago...
"Dinner?!"
What on earth could that mean?
"What should I wear?"
Having hidden her emotions thus far (more successfully, he resentfully noted, than he had), Ginny Weasley's tone was now pathetically pleading. Childish.
Severus observed that she realised, mortified, how ridiculous the question had sounded.
"I should advise that you wear your usual dress robes. The more drab and faded your outer garments, the more he shall enjoy giving you a dressing down, as it were. Insulting your appearance. And poverty. That can only be a good thing. It will distract him from… other things."
For how long, however, was another matter entirely-
"I don't have any dress robes."
"I have seen you in the same sorry set no less than seven times."
The number of parties there had been since he came back. Him-With-A-Capital-H.
Severus remembered the number.
Remembered noting them. Observing them. Counting them. Thinking.
How can people swan about enjoying themselves?
Flirting. Fighting. Dancing.
When he's back?
And there had Ginevra Weasley been. Always in the same patched, moth-eaten set of velvet robes, with its lacey ruff-like collar, once, presumably, white. Now washed out. Grey. Originally fuchsia, now faded. The same dress robes he had seen her mother wear at school, to every occasion requiring formal dress. The large pink bow which tied together at the neck these days had, at least, been replaced, evident from its lack of frayed edging, and bright colour (the last one had been in a sorry state indeed). The clear contrast however between the new, the fresh. The bright, the pristine. That large, loud bow. And the rest. It was laughable.
So he had overheard: you can't polish a turd... Since, on top of the rest, there were so many visible repairs. To the shoulders. Under the arms. Not all of the stitched-in pearls had fallen off, however, becoming lost. Those that remained were simply visibly cracked...
Poor girl. In her faded finery. Bullied, in all likelihood, Severus assumed.
He could predict more than most, on that score. How one's peers might react. To unfashionable frocks, and the like...
Might have been nice, once. Her only set of borrowed formal wear. Well. If you liked that sort of thing. Opulent. Extravagant. When new.
In about 1880...
"They're Mum's... She was handed them down when she was in Third Year, at Hogwarts. She lent them to me but, well, given the war, you know? Didn't think there'd be any occasion to wear them this year. There's nothing to celebrate. No parties and that-"
"So she asked you to leave them at home with her?"
Not that something so old and worn and ugly needed to be kept safe specially, in Severus's humble opinion.
"Can you send for them?"
"They won't arrive before tonight! Can't I just go as I am?"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Ginny was shocked.
Severus Snape hardly ever raised his voice. Always spoke in a voice barely above the volume of a whisper.
"I do not wish to burden you more than necessary. But neither am I inclined to sugarcoat the truth. He's a man."
"I'm afraid I don't quite follow-"
"You're a young woman... not complete devoid of all attributes and merits."
Is Snape saying I'm fit?!
"He's got a thing for girls in uniforms. Don't wear yours."
A/N:
Daily updates for now. Will switch to twice weekly after a bit (don't want you to run out of chapters!)
Brief British Cultural Notes:
'fit' is British slang for attractive, good looking. Equivalent to 'hot' (which we don't really say, that's more American).
Thank you for reading. Really appreciate any feedback, by comments or messages going forward. NB: dunno why but messages don't reach me on the app, so feel free to write by phone or PC on the website messenger. I also take plot requests :) I'll be sure to thank you for any and all reviews, comments etc. :)
Feel free to read/ skim/ skip the below:
My regular readers: I was writing lots of background material to understand Severus, Lucius and Voldemort more and their relationships and past background together, before carrying on publishing Love and War are Far From Fair, something of a pet project (the Harry sections are fine but I'm still working on tying up all the Death Eaters sections...) I ended up writing a huge chunk of a new novel in the process of just trying to gather a few thoughts! So bear with me while waiting for updates of that, and I hope you enjoy this in the meantime!
I don't assume anyone reading this has prior knowledge of my writing: with all my stories I jump straight into the action and dialogue and the character relationships etc. quickly become apparent. So if you're new to my writing, I hope you enjoy it, and you don't need to read my other stuff to "get" this (but you're very welcome to!) I try to write characters who speak normally and don't lengthily explain what they are talking about to those they're talking to, who know. So I occasionally write 'cultural notes' to explain a more obscure reference at the start of a chapter, or very British vocab, to my international readership, if a character quotes a popular culture reference, talks about something that's maybe famous in Britain but maybe not further afield, etc. (Where the dialogue needs to be fast paced, I'd rather not interrupt with lengthy narration).
But if you're familiar with my work, I hope you'll like a few references and bits where this overlaps with my other stuff. The plot of this is mostly 'canon' and ties in with the rest of my 'universe', or interpretation of how the Harry Potter world would work if it was real. As in, I assume no one reading this has read my other stuff. But if you have, and would like to reference that across with my other work, and to know what happens when, this takes place in 'the past', whereas the other is set in 2014, which is 'the present' (in the AU so far!). Same characters, same history and lives. Difference is whether you're new to my interpretations of them or familiar. Whichever camp you're in: there's lots to look forward to!
Elsewhere, I've written about a time post Harry Potter books, where Severus is the known traitor and being punished for it. I started to write this as background notes at first, set during the books, before carrying on with the characters' 'futures', so to speak. I've ended up nearly with a whole novel so decided to start to publish! I've set out with this to understand the hurt and pain caused by Severus's betrayal of Voldemort and the Death Eaters and why Severus himself has such mixed feelings for his 'master', as it must have been so hard for him to remain detached while spying and not feel that the nicer elements of his fake Death Eater colleagues were his friends on some level. That even perhaps applies to Voldemort. I mean, he was in the field for literally years under cover with the enemy: that is so unhealthy! And unusual! 'Going native' was a very real risk, and all that.
And if you have a moment for a review, I'd love to know at some point what you like, would like to see more of, don't like so much, what works well, plus constructive crit. I enjoy writing but if that was that I'd just write for myself and never publish: I want to share my work, with my own spin on fanfic, but writing what you like, too!
As ever, thanks so much everyone for being so keen and supportive.
Bit of background on the author, for anyone interested, and how it will influence my writing: I draw on real life experience to characterise war and politics in my writing. I set out with the question "If the world of Harry Potter were real, if their war were actually on: how would all that work?" So there is a lot in my writing, and to come here, on statecraft, speechwriting, military tactics, spy craft, political thinkers and dictators (that inspire Voldemort). As well as bitching, moaning, institutional incompetence, flirting, bickering and all the stuff that happens behind the scenes in private life among those who partake in politics and warfare, away from the public mantra of 'Magic is Might'.
I had a vague interest as a child in becoming an Army Officer, but many and varied interests have taken me this was and that way... (that door hasn't yet closed fully, although I'm of an age where I'd better get a bloody move on and join if I ever will or I'll be too old before too long!) I've kept up with people who have all been in all three of the services (i.e. Army, Navy and Air Force), including, but not limited to, teens in the Cadets: there are 14-year-olds who can strip and reassemble a military issue rifle in under two minutes! (But it's a while since I was last tested...) I also have a keen interest in military intelligence and history, as an amateur.
So this all this feeds into my writing here and elsewhere: I look at Voldemort's strategy, tactics and influences.
My characterisation of the Death Eaters', their operations and their politics is also influenced by my experience of Westminster politics, Westminster being the seat of the British government. As a teen, I tagged about with people interested in a certain party's politics, knocking on doors, putting leaflets through letter boxes etc. (bear with me: it really is relevant to the fic!) Even attending 'speech writing workshops' and 'television training'. Possibly why I feel I know so much about interrogation techniques?! (I write a lot about espionage, and try my best to research it well from what is in the public domain!) Someone having a go at you on camera for your opinion, and 'training' in 'being heckled while giving a speech', for the sake of the exercise is, um, an interesting (*terrifying*) experience (more scary than my old RSM, Regimental Sergeant Major, i.e. the shouty man who has a go when your boots aren't shiny enough! Well. I got shouted at for having blue boots. But it was their fault for not having enough standard issue kit, and not knowing that I'd not been issued kit, and I did what I was told by bringing my own clothes from home, and was still in trouble! That was just my first day, the stories I could tell... Do you get why I'm inclined to write a lot about institutional incompetence?!)
So, point being: my take on the Death Eaters and Voldemort's regime is very strongly influenced by my observation of politics by professionals, and amateurs taking it very seriously, more than just a hobby. On the 'how to be heckled while public speaking' course, enough people were reduced to tears that I don't recommend it if you ever get the chance... Like, I went first, and it got harder as it progressed, so I was fine, but it was terrifying seeing people who I thought were nice reducing my friends to floods of tears! People can be so nasty when a whole room is encouraged to shout anything and everything at the tops of their voices all at once ("Scum! Slag!")... So you can imagine: if the Death Eaters go round saying: "kill the muggles!", make out that that's ok. Talk turns into action. They start rounding them up in public. Torturing them. Other people turn a blind eye, or are tempted to join in, and that becomes acceptable suddenly, right? Same with "go out and buy slaves! For which there was clearly a 'market' in the Islamic State group that was... To continue this long, rambling anecdote (something of a specialty): I've seen a few interesting things about politicians' public vs. private behaviour that have helped me understand how the Death Eaters would work (*read*: not very well!) as an organisation, and how Voldemort would be: relaxed, bantering and flirting, in private, vs. his public image, if the Harry Potter world were real. As I pottered about Think Tank Land and Parliament and Party Office here and there. And I didn't like some of the stuff I saw. I should say: quite a number of politicians are very nice and decent people, and the worst of the bunch I came across at Westminster and beyond were mostly various vain, stupid and selfish, not monsters like Voldemort. In fact, staffers are probably worse, many being desperate to climb over others to the top. So I've seen there are enough bad eggs, at all levels of politics, that I've had a lot of inspiration for the Death Eaters from real life: the bitching, the pettiness, plus, unfortunately, the occasional sinister side... Still, it takes all sorts to make a world, and it all makes for brilliant writing inspiration!
(Bonus points to my regular readers, who may at last now spot why it's plausible Bobby (my OC elsewhere) would be so confident criticising Voldemort's speech writing (in)abilities: he hasn't been trained by former Speech Writers to US Presidents, don't you know! ;) She's heavily inspired by super keen people I knew in politics and the Cadets, a few years ago. One went knocking on doors with her parents from the age of 6! And could, of course, also strip and reassemble a rifle at 14! (Not the Navy, though, tried to make her an original character in her own right.)
Essay over: if you've stayed to the end, thanks! Hope new readers and regulars equally got something out of that.
Enjoy and ciao for now, see you tomorrow (some time from around 8:00pm BST/ UTC+1!)
MBSP