Eustathius
Standard Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, worlds, and creatures belong to their owners. I make no monetary gain from anything related to what I write in relation to fandoms.
Author's Note: I know I still have Madness and Ashes of the Broken to work on. However, despite having plot outlines I have hit writer's block on both. For Madness, it's more of an issue with dialogue and it has been a struggle to make it flow seamlessly but I have hope that it will be finished by the end of the year. I can't make the same promise for AotB. Until then one-shots are the way for me to break my writer's block…I hope.
Severus Snape sneered at the morning edition of the Daily Prophet before throwing the offending parchment that called itself news into the fire.
"That was rude, I haven't read it yet." A voice came from behind.
"You don't need to."
She didn't.
The horrible writing would make anyone believe that Rita Skeeter was in charge of the paper and hired anyone that was willing to write mindless gossip. It wasn't even news anymore.
"What did they say about me this time?" Hermione bit back a smile. She never cared what the Prophet had to say about her. They were lies packed upon lies that had started her fourth year at Hogwarts and continued on and off over the years. It just so happened that since breaking up with one Ronald Bilius Weasley after a failed courtship - if one could call it that - she became the hot topic for destroying the Golden Trio.
The cracks had been there since the war and grew further when Harry Potter decided to flee to America with a silver-blond Slytherin following shortly after. Hermione was one of only a handful of people who knew where they were and she preferred to keep it that way. Of course, no one would ever place blame on Harry's shoulders, nor should they. He wanted away from the stifling limelight that was the Man-Who-Conquered. Away from Molly Weasley's incessant nagging that he and Ginny were meant. Away from the memories of war and loss. If anything Hermione would gladly take any blame if that meant giving Harry the peace he so desperately deserved. She would happily be the martyr even though Harry hated it. Even though…
Severus' silence caused her to close her eyes as a frown formed on her lips. It was that bad then. He generally had no problem with the trash that monopolized the news across Wizarding Britain. He even - at times - added commentary if it was amusing enough to him. No, his silence meant it was a direct attack on her character and there was truth behind it. Those are rare but always seemed to put him in a mood. It reminds her of the days when he was a spy and the foulness he carried upon his shoulders. She felt bad for the students when that mood passed over him.
Shaking off the negativity that would no doubt follow her through the day, she opens her eyes and leans forward to wrap her arms around him. "They can do their best to assassinate my character." She whispers. "But, I am protected by my belief in who I am, the people who know me the best, and the man I will always love." Her lips softly touch his cheek before she pulls away.
She can feel the cold of his ire retreat, not fully but enough to not scare the students into thinking they've all returned to a first-year state.
"We should start heading to the Great Hall." She reaches her hand out for him to take. "Minerva will be cross if we miss another breakfast."
He lets out a huff, perhaps in annoyance at Minerva injecting herself in the propriety of his relationship with the Arithmancy Mistress or humor that the older witch's dismay that her precious cub wasn't always pure when it came to the Potion Master.