A/N: I know there was a chapter in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
with the same name as this one, but, in my defence:
a) I didn't realise at first, it was pointed out to me.
b) It fits well
c) Everything else comes from Harry Potter books, so why worry? If you don't like Plagiarism then what the hell are you doing on a fan fiction site?
The Parting of the Ways
When I reached the hospital wing, I had managed to calm myself down. My eyes and skin were back to normal, and my teeth were fast retracting. Much against what I had thought, I had rather enjoyed my trip to the dungeons. I had been needing to let off steam for a very long time, and the three stooges down there helped me out, if truth be told.
As I came up the stairs and rounded the corner, much to my suprise Severus was outside the door. I looked quizzically at him, and he glared right back. I was reminded of some lines from the poem, "The Raven". Whether or not it was because the overall impression he gave was black, gothic, gloomy and foreboding, I shall never know.
"What are you waiting for? She wanted to speak to you."
"Precisely. Me. So what are you doing here? Come to throw your weight about some more?"
"I must say, Severus, though you have changed beyond all other recognition, one of your qualities remains. You, unlike that Malfoy, are brave without the brainless braun of Crabbe and Goyle to back you up. It takes a great deal to stand up to ones enemies, and even more to ones friends, does it not?"
I immediately knew what I had set myself up for in that last sentence, but after a few seconds to dwell on it, it turned out it had been a good thing to do. It served as a test to see just how irreparable the damage to our relationship was. I waited for conformation of what I thought was more or less definite, but it never came. The opposite did.
"Indeed, it does. It seems you have that great deal in certain circumstances, as you showed just now."
"And may I return the...compliment? You to have that "great deal", but do tell me what you meant by in "certain circumstances", I'm intrigued."
"You can stand up to me without question, but why can you not, then, stand up to Lily?"
This was not what I was expecting at all.
"What?"
"You can treat me as you did down in the dungeons today, but tell me why you cannot make Lily tell me anything? Why must I hear it from you in a fit of anger?"
"It was her decision to make, and there is not a lot of standing up I can do when such a situation arises and catches me as much off my guard as anyone else. Strength and a loving father will not stand up in such a case."
"Is this a confession that you are not, infact, infallible?"
"I never claimed to be anything like. I merely suggest to intimidate such fools as I demonstrated with your pit vipers today. And in my defence, I do not believe I was the only person to throw a fit of anger on Christmas day."
"No, you were not, but in MY defence, you were the only one who nearly got someone killed! I believe that was reason enough for my anger."
I just stared at him. I couldn't believe he had said something so sharp. I felt foolish that I had imagined he would forgive me, but I guess then the wounds were still fresh.
"You know that isn't true."
"Not a lot about you is."
I began to walk away. I felt a single silver tear fall from my eyes. The cruelty of children once again showed itself. I headed straight for the common room, not wanting to see his face ever again.
"Running away, Lady Bolovnik?"
I stopped, and was about to turn on my heals and go for him, but it was only what he would have wanted. I fought my heart with my head; it would only make things worse.
"Do tell Lily I will be in to see her later, Severus. That is, if you ever pluck up the courage to go in there yourself."
Typically, without missing a beat:
"Madam Pomfrey is just doing some tests. Blood Pressure and so on. Its a *human * thing, I doubt you'd understand."
I decided to let this one slide. Chides like that were going to become common from him, so the quicker I got used to it the better. I knew it would only make things a hundred times worse if I made any retorts, because he was afraid to go in. Madam Pomfrey had checked Lily's blood pressure before I left, and had told us there would be no more tests today, just plenty of rest. Anyway, I think that I can make a good guess at whom out of Severus and Lily had the higher blood pressure.
a) I didn't realise at first, it was pointed out to me.
b) It fits well
c) Everything else comes from Harry Potter books, so why worry? If you don't like Plagiarism then what the hell are you doing on a fan fiction site?
The Parting of the Ways
When I reached the hospital wing, I had managed to calm myself down. My eyes and skin were back to normal, and my teeth were fast retracting. Much against what I had thought, I had rather enjoyed my trip to the dungeons. I had been needing to let off steam for a very long time, and the three stooges down there helped me out, if truth be told.
As I came up the stairs and rounded the corner, much to my suprise Severus was outside the door. I looked quizzically at him, and he glared right back. I was reminded of some lines from the poem, "The Raven". Whether or not it was because the overall impression he gave was black, gothic, gloomy and foreboding, I shall never know.
"What are you waiting for? She wanted to speak to you."
"Precisely. Me. So what are you doing here? Come to throw your weight about some more?"
"I must say, Severus, though you have changed beyond all other recognition, one of your qualities remains. You, unlike that Malfoy, are brave without the brainless braun of Crabbe and Goyle to back you up. It takes a great deal to stand up to ones enemies, and even more to ones friends, does it not?"
I immediately knew what I had set myself up for in that last sentence, but after a few seconds to dwell on it, it turned out it had been a good thing to do. It served as a test to see just how irreparable the damage to our relationship was. I waited for conformation of what I thought was more or less definite, but it never came. The opposite did.
"Indeed, it does. It seems you have that great deal in certain circumstances, as you showed just now."
"And may I return the...compliment? You to have that "great deal", but do tell me what you meant by in "certain circumstances", I'm intrigued."
"You can stand up to me without question, but why can you not, then, stand up to Lily?"
This was not what I was expecting at all.
"What?"
"You can treat me as you did down in the dungeons today, but tell me why you cannot make Lily tell me anything? Why must I hear it from you in a fit of anger?"
"It was her decision to make, and there is not a lot of standing up I can do when such a situation arises and catches me as much off my guard as anyone else. Strength and a loving father will not stand up in such a case."
"Is this a confession that you are not, infact, infallible?"
"I never claimed to be anything like. I merely suggest to intimidate such fools as I demonstrated with your pit vipers today. And in my defence, I do not believe I was the only person to throw a fit of anger on Christmas day."
"No, you were not, but in MY defence, you were the only one who nearly got someone killed! I believe that was reason enough for my anger."
I just stared at him. I couldn't believe he had said something so sharp. I felt foolish that I had imagined he would forgive me, but I guess then the wounds were still fresh.
"You know that isn't true."
"Not a lot about you is."
I began to walk away. I felt a single silver tear fall from my eyes. The cruelty of children once again showed itself. I headed straight for the common room, not wanting to see his face ever again.
"Running away, Lady Bolovnik?"
I stopped, and was about to turn on my heals and go for him, but it was only what he would have wanted. I fought my heart with my head; it would only make things worse.
"Do tell Lily I will be in to see her later, Severus. That is, if you ever pluck up the courage to go in there yourself."
Typically, without missing a beat:
"Madam Pomfrey is just doing some tests. Blood Pressure and so on. Its a *human * thing, I doubt you'd understand."
I decided to let this one slide. Chides like that were going to become common from him, so the quicker I got used to it the better. I knew it would only make things a hundred times worse if I made any retorts, because he was afraid to go in. Madam Pomfrey had checked Lily's blood pressure before I left, and had told us there would be no more tests today, just plenty of rest. Anyway, I think that I can make a good guess at whom out of Severus and Lily had the higher blood pressure.
