Disclaimer:
It's JKR's world, I just play in it.
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"You know, you two could have told me you were leaving," Allosia said, walking into the rooms she shared with Snape, a sleepy Gabriel clinging her to her body.
Hooch rose to excuse herself feeling guilty.
"Oh sit back down, Hana. Severus and I can quarrel later, can't we dear?" she said, disappearing into Gabriel's room to put him to bed.
Snape spluttered briefly, wishing Allosia wouldn't make comments like that when he had tea in his mouth.
"Should I go?" Hooch whispered.
"No, it's fine. That's her idea of flirting."
Hooch laughed sharply. Even as Allosia often spoke to her about their relationship, Snape's views on it were quite different. While Allosia saw herself as somewhat subject his whims and moods, he saw himself, admittedly at his own choice, as completely subject to her mere existence, which was why he was such a right bastard to her so often. His affection for her scared the hell out of him.
Hooch found it educational. It made her realize, with some sadness, that he had not, in fact, been in love with her, all those years ago, when she used that particular supposition to push him away. He had loved her, he was grateful to her, but she had misinterpreted it and prematurely ended their rather pleasurable arrangement because of it. The right decision, the easier decision, in the long run, but he had deserved more credit in his understanding of their kind commerce. She couldn't imagine what it would be to be loved the way he loved Allosia, and quite frankly, as impressive as she found it, she wouldn't want to. The woman paid a price and a half for it, and everyone knew it was likely to get harder, not easier, most especially her husband, who felt damn guilty for it. He had told Hooch more than once that he almost wished he had some sort of terminal disease, it was certainly more predictable than his life in the war.
Hooch hadn't known what to say to that for some time, and when she replied with "you lay awake at night picturing every eventuality, don't you," she wasn't sure where it had come from, other than knowledge her body must have gleaned from his insomnia during their affair.
"I have killed everyone I know, myself included of course, a thousand times in my mind. Everyone."
Hana Hooch didn't know how Snape had managed to make his world seem normal, at least to himself, but he did.
"Did we miss anything good?" Hooch asked as Allosia returned and dropped into the vacant loveseat throwing her legs over one of the arms.
"Good? No. Interesting? Not even. Opportunities to rescue me from Miriam? Many. Was she that lost, as a student?"
"You don't recall?" Snape purred, eyebrow cocked.
"She didn't really make an impression."
"I guess things blow up with less frequency in your classes as a rule."
"Won't fly more than fifteen feet off the ground either," Hooch said.
"Afraid of heights?" Allosia asked.
"No, just not sure if it's a good idea, for some inexplicable reason."
Snape made a low hissing sound under his breath. And both Allosia and Hooch looked at him with a nervous bemusement.
"Alright, so what did I miss here?" she said, shifting the topic.
"Actually what you missed there was Aaron Benedict misbehaving himself when he found our dear flying instructor here was not, actually, contrary to previous conclusions, interested in bedding him."
Hooch had the grace to try to hide her face in a hand.
Allosia giggled. "Oooops," she said.
"Quite," Hooch responded.
"So we came up here and figured you'd get fed up shortly and help us figure out why the bastard married the twit."
"Your current conclusions?"
"Good womb, poor mind, the perfect combination," Snape said dryly.
"Good head," Hooch said quietly and authoritatively.
"Excuse me?" Allosia queried, starting to laugh already.
"The girl," Hooch said, with a pause for emphasis, "has to give great head. I can't see any other possible excuse for her."
Allosia laughed in earnest then, and Snape smirked in a way that implied he completely agreed even if he wasn't about to comment on that particular line of discussion.
As he raised his cup of tea to take a he felt the familiar pain course through his arm and absently damned himself for still being inclined towards his left hand as he managed to spill tea all over the carpet.
"Dammit," he hissed, shaking his arm out before reaching for his want to clean up the mess.
Allosia had sat bolt upright then, and Hooch had stiffened. Snape saw them do it, but refused to acknowledge it. He hated the drama of these moments, and was always grateful when they came without an audience. Even in the Great Hall, it was somehow easier than this, having to keep his face in a mask.
"I need to go," he said, his voice caught in his throat, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.
Hooch nodded and looked between the couple. Allosia stood, physically unsure of what to do, even after all this time. Snape walked to the chessboard, sitting on the small corner table, and played the move he had had in mind for days. He always tried to do that, have a move ready, so that in the rush of the moment, and their odd superstition he would not also cost himself the game.
His wife smiled at him, mouth closed, the obviously brave face.
He smirked then, and was out the door. "Don't wait up," he said as he went, a parody of normalcy.
And do the closed door, both Hooch and Allosia whispered, "Be careful."
It's JKR's world, I just play in it.
----------
"You know, you two could have told me you were leaving," Allosia said, walking into the rooms she shared with Snape, a sleepy Gabriel clinging her to her body.
Hooch rose to excuse herself feeling guilty.
"Oh sit back down, Hana. Severus and I can quarrel later, can't we dear?" she said, disappearing into Gabriel's room to put him to bed.
Snape spluttered briefly, wishing Allosia wouldn't make comments like that when he had tea in his mouth.
"Should I go?" Hooch whispered.
"No, it's fine. That's her idea of flirting."
Hooch laughed sharply. Even as Allosia often spoke to her about their relationship, Snape's views on it were quite different. While Allosia saw herself as somewhat subject his whims and moods, he saw himself, admittedly at his own choice, as completely subject to her mere existence, which was why he was such a right bastard to her so often. His affection for her scared the hell out of him.
Hooch found it educational. It made her realize, with some sadness, that he had not, in fact, been in love with her, all those years ago, when she used that particular supposition to push him away. He had loved her, he was grateful to her, but she had misinterpreted it and prematurely ended their rather pleasurable arrangement because of it. The right decision, the easier decision, in the long run, but he had deserved more credit in his understanding of their kind commerce. She couldn't imagine what it would be to be loved the way he loved Allosia, and quite frankly, as impressive as she found it, she wouldn't want to. The woman paid a price and a half for it, and everyone knew it was likely to get harder, not easier, most especially her husband, who felt damn guilty for it. He had told Hooch more than once that he almost wished he had some sort of terminal disease, it was certainly more predictable than his life in the war.
Hooch hadn't known what to say to that for some time, and when she replied with "you lay awake at night picturing every eventuality, don't you," she wasn't sure where it had come from, other than knowledge her body must have gleaned from his insomnia during their affair.
"I have killed everyone I know, myself included of course, a thousand times in my mind. Everyone."
Hana Hooch didn't know how Snape had managed to make his world seem normal, at least to himself, but he did.
"Did we miss anything good?" Hooch asked as Allosia returned and dropped into the vacant loveseat throwing her legs over one of the arms.
"Good? No. Interesting? Not even. Opportunities to rescue me from Miriam? Many. Was she that lost, as a student?"
"You don't recall?" Snape purred, eyebrow cocked.
"She didn't really make an impression."
"I guess things blow up with less frequency in your classes as a rule."
"Won't fly more than fifteen feet off the ground either," Hooch said.
"Afraid of heights?" Allosia asked.
"No, just not sure if it's a good idea, for some inexplicable reason."
Snape made a low hissing sound under his breath. And both Allosia and Hooch looked at him with a nervous bemusement.
"Alright, so what did I miss here?" she said, shifting the topic.
"Actually what you missed there was Aaron Benedict misbehaving himself when he found our dear flying instructor here was not, actually, contrary to previous conclusions, interested in bedding him."
Hooch had the grace to try to hide her face in a hand.
Allosia giggled. "Oooops," she said.
"Quite," Hooch responded.
"So we came up here and figured you'd get fed up shortly and help us figure out why the bastard married the twit."
"Your current conclusions?"
"Good womb, poor mind, the perfect combination," Snape said dryly.
"Good head," Hooch said quietly and authoritatively.
"Excuse me?" Allosia queried, starting to laugh already.
"The girl," Hooch said, with a pause for emphasis, "has to give great head. I can't see any other possible excuse for her."
Allosia laughed in earnest then, and Snape smirked in a way that implied he completely agreed even if he wasn't about to comment on that particular line of discussion.
As he raised his cup of tea to take a he felt the familiar pain course through his arm and absently damned himself for still being inclined towards his left hand as he managed to spill tea all over the carpet.
"Dammit," he hissed, shaking his arm out before reaching for his want to clean up the mess.
Allosia had sat bolt upright then, and Hooch had stiffened. Snape saw them do it, but refused to acknowledge it. He hated the drama of these moments, and was always grateful when they came without an audience. Even in the Great Hall, it was somehow easier than this, having to keep his face in a mask.
"I need to go," he said, his voice caught in his throat, feeling stupid for stating the obvious.
Hooch nodded and looked between the couple. Allosia stood, physically unsure of what to do, even after all this time. Snape walked to the chessboard, sitting on the small corner table, and played the move he had had in mind for days. He always tried to do that, have a move ready, so that in the rush of the moment, and their odd superstition he would not also cost himself the game.
His wife smiled at him, mouth closed, the obviously brave face.
He smirked then, and was out the door. "Don't wait up," he said as he went, a parody of normalcy.
And do the closed door, both Hooch and Allosia whispered, "Be careful."