'Jezebel'
--by Egon Starcollector
Chapter 2: The OneTruth Potion
Disclaimer: Moi? Own HP? Hah!
PG for a forthcoming catfight.
The first day Snape returned to teaching after his cold, the Gryffindors looked gloomy. They liked Lupin far better; Snape knew that. He sighed inwardly and began. "Today, we will study the OneTruth potion. It is a form of truth potion which is seldom used because it has a limited effect; however, it is in many ways more powerful than truth potion."
He wrote the ingredients on the chalkboard. "The OneTruth potion will prompt you to ask your partner the one question you most wish him or her to answer. It will then compell him or her to give you a completely honest answer. You will probably be surprised by the questions and answers you are speaking; the potion causes you to expose your deepest subconscious, which even the most introspective person seldom knows explicitly. Now then, your pairings: Weasley, Brown...Potter, Granger...Malfoy, Parkinson...."
Snape supressed a smile as the class paired off. He was doing this to bring Harry Potter and Hermione Granger together...but perhaps there would be other pairings, as well. That could only be a good thing in Severus Snape's mind.
He demonstrated the procedure--nearly dropping the flask in the process--then let the students get to work. He sat back and watched them, pretending to be engrossed in a study of magical extracts. If Snape knew human nature at all--and he knew he did--either Potter or Miss Granger would ask a question that could only be romantically leading. And the answer...? Well, he was pretty sure he knew what that would be, too.
He really hoped Mr. Longbottom didn't cause another explosion. Some of those potions were deadly when they combusted, and Snape lived in fear of the day that toxic fumes might erupt in his classroom. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get all the students out in time.... *Lord, I have so much on my conscience already...I could never live with that.* Though Snape would never admit it aloud, children were his weakness. Dumbledore had seen that; that was the main reason he'd hired Snape to teach. Although Snape knew he was not a popular teacher, he also believed the students needed discipline--especially in such a tricky art as potion mixing. So, he had to play the strict father figure. It was, after all, as close as he would ever come.
Severus Snape would have loved a family of his own...but his earliest memories were of his father's beatings. The Snape men were known for their tempers, and Eldred Snape had been one of the worst. Severus had sworn at an early age that he would never bring a child into the world so that no child would have to endure the things he'd known. He felt he himself would have been a good father--but he wasn't sure he could trust his Snape blood. And besides, one of his sons might have had Eldred's temper....
It had been difficult for the young boy to be so cold. Snape's mother had died giving birth to him, but his older sister Augusta had raised him--almost as if he were hers--to be a kind, respectful young man. She had been six years his senior, but he'd adored her. He still recalled the first words he'd said when he got his letter from Hogwarts: "Now I can go to the same school as Augusta!" There was nothing incestuous in his love; he merely idolized his brilliant, gentle sister.
Ironically, the year he'd thought would be one of the happiest of his life had been--easily--the worst. It had started out well enough: though he and Augusta were in different houses--he in Slytherin, she in Gryffindor--and different years, she always made time for him. He made one or two friends, and he had a crush on the pretty young Transfiguration teacher, Miss McGonagall. But all was not well: the Muggle Studies teacher was a handsome, watery-eyed young man named Harvey Bender. Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, Bender knew a thing or two about the Dark Arts--and used them.
A Seduction Spell--one of the most heartless enchantments, Snape thought. Many of the girls in sixth and seventh year had fallen victim, including...including Augusta. Snape's eyes burned with tears to remember it. She, like some of the other girls, soon learned she was carrying Bender's child. But whereas the other girls either gave the children up or slipped off to Muggle hospitals to get rid of them (since no honorable witch or wizard would perform the "operation"), Augusta--gentle, fragile Augusta--chose a different option. Knowing Eldred would never understand, and knowing she couldn't face her shame...she had ended her life by drinking nightshade extract. She had died with her brother clinging to her hand, begging her not to leave him.
That precise moment was when Severus Snape had learned to close the doors of his heart.
Snapping himself out of his reverie, Snape noticed that most of the students were almost done with their potions. So far, even Mr. Longbottom's potion showed no signs of spontaneous combustion. Snape watched the proceedings now with interest.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were the first to finish and sample their potion. They sat silent for a moment, then at the same moment turned to each other and asked, "Would you go to the Harvest Festival ball with me?" They were visibly shocked...then they both blurted, "Yes!"
Snape let out his breath (*How long have I been holding it?*) and sat back in his seat. Ronald Weasley and Lavender Brown seemed to be having an exchange similar to Miss Granger and Mr. Potter's, while Pansy Parkinson asked Draco Malfoy to marry her and he responded by asking why she didn't simply die. Hm, Snape hadn't expected that harsh a response.
At the end of class, the students filed out. Some were laughing, some were making plans, some (like Pansy Parkinson) were in tears, while others (like Draco Malfoy) were visibly disgusted. As Hermione Granger stepped out the door, Harry Potter surprised her by grasping her hand shyly.
Snape folded his hands behind his head, a broad grin spreading over his face. "Another job well done, Sev ol' boy."
Author's note: Ah, but all is not well...not yet. This story's called 'Jezebel' for a reason. And please don't attack me for my pro-life stance, thankyouverymuch. Just relax and wait for the catfight...oh yeah, and even a little fluffiness later on!
--by Egon Starcollector
Chapter 2: The OneTruth Potion
Disclaimer: Moi? Own HP? Hah!
PG for a forthcoming catfight.
The first day Snape returned to teaching after his cold, the Gryffindors looked gloomy. They liked Lupin far better; Snape knew that. He sighed inwardly and began. "Today, we will study the OneTruth potion. It is a form of truth potion which is seldom used because it has a limited effect; however, it is in many ways more powerful than truth potion."
He wrote the ingredients on the chalkboard. "The OneTruth potion will prompt you to ask your partner the one question you most wish him or her to answer. It will then compell him or her to give you a completely honest answer. You will probably be surprised by the questions and answers you are speaking; the potion causes you to expose your deepest subconscious, which even the most introspective person seldom knows explicitly. Now then, your pairings: Weasley, Brown...Potter, Granger...Malfoy, Parkinson...."
Snape supressed a smile as the class paired off. He was doing this to bring Harry Potter and Hermione Granger together...but perhaps there would be other pairings, as well. That could only be a good thing in Severus Snape's mind.
He demonstrated the procedure--nearly dropping the flask in the process--then let the students get to work. He sat back and watched them, pretending to be engrossed in a study of magical extracts. If Snape knew human nature at all--and he knew he did--either Potter or Miss Granger would ask a question that could only be romantically leading. And the answer...? Well, he was pretty sure he knew what that would be, too.
He really hoped Mr. Longbottom didn't cause another explosion. Some of those potions were deadly when they combusted, and Snape lived in fear of the day that toxic fumes might erupt in his classroom. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get all the students out in time.... *Lord, I have so much on my conscience already...I could never live with that.* Though Snape would never admit it aloud, children were his weakness. Dumbledore had seen that; that was the main reason he'd hired Snape to teach. Although Snape knew he was not a popular teacher, he also believed the students needed discipline--especially in such a tricky art as potion mixing. So, he had to play the strict father figure. It was, after all, as close as he would ever come.
Severus Snape would have loved a family of his own...but his earliest memories were of his father's beatings. The Snape men were known for their tempers, and Eldred Snape had been one of the worst. Severus had sworn at an early age that he would never bring a child into the world so that no child would have to endure the things he'd known. He felt he himself would have been a good father--but he wasn't sure he could trust his Snape blood. And besides, one of his sons might have had Eldred's temper....
It had been difficult for the young boy to be so cold. Snape's mother had died giving birth to him, but his older sister Augusta had raised him--almost as if he were hers--to be a kind, respectful young man. She had been six years his senior, but he'd adored her. He still recalled the first words he'd said when he got his letter from Hogwarts: "Now I can go to the same school as Augusta!" There was nothing incestuous in his love; he merely idolized his brilliant, gentle sister.
Ironically, the year he'd thought would be one of the happiest of his life had been--easily--the worst. It had started out well enough: though he and Augusta were in different houses--he in Slytherin, she in Gryffindor--and different years, she always made time for him. He made one or two friends, and he had a crush on the pretty young Transfiguration teacher, Miss McGonagall. But all was not well: the Muggle Studies teacher was a handsome, watery-eyed young man named Harvey Bender. Unbeknownst to Dumbledore, Bender knew a thing or two about the Dark Arts--and used them.
A Seduction Spell--one of the most heartless enchantments, Snape thought. Many of the girls in sixth and seventh year had fallen victim, including...including Augusta. Snape's eyes burned with tears to remember it. She, like some of the other girls, soon learned she was carrying Bender's child. But whereas the other girls either gave the children up or slipped off to Muggle hospitals to get rid of them (since no honorable witch or wizard would perform the "operation"), Augusta--gentle, fragile Augusta--chose a different option. Knowing Eldred would never understand, and knowing she couldn't face her shame...she had ended her life by drinking nightshade extract. She had died with her brother clinging to her hand, begging her not to leave him.
That precise moment was when Severus Snape had learned to close the doors of his heart.
Snapping himself out of his reverie, Snape noticed that most of the students were almost done with their potions. So far, even Mr. Longbottom's potion showed no signs of spontaneous combustion. Snape watched the proceedings now with interest.
Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were the first to finish and sample their potion. They sat silent for a moment, then at the same moment turned to each other and asked, "Would you go to the Harvest Festival ball with me?" They were visibly shocked...then they both blurted, "Yes!"
Snape let out his breath (*How long have I been holding it?*) and sat back in his seat. Ronald Weasley and Lavender Brown seemed to be having an exchange similar to Miss Granger and Mr. Potter's, while Pansy Parkinson asked Draco Malfoy to marry her and he responded by asking why she didn't simply die. Hm, Snape hadn't expected that harsh a response.
At the end of class, the students filed out. Some were laughing, some were making plans, some (like Pansy Parkinson) were in tears, while others (like Draco Malfoy) were visibly disgusted. As Hermione Granger stepped out the door, Harry Potter surprised her by grasping her hand shyly.
Snape folded his hands behind his head, a broad grin spreading over his face. "Another job well done, Sev ol' boy."
Author's note: Ah, but all is not well...not yet. This story's called 'Jezebel' for a reason. And please don't attack me for my pro-life stance, thankyouverymuch. Just relax and wait for the catfight...oh yeah, and even a little fluffiness later on!