I'm glad you're all liking this story. This chapter is shite and it took me
damn ages to write (I know that rhymes, be quiet.) The next chapter is the
turning point. This one bored me. It will bore you too. Anyway, as this is
the 'decisive' chapter, to set the scene for the next one, I urge you to
really use your grey matter here... there are lots and lots of fragmented
memories, shots of pessimism and depression, everything. Every -, or * or @
or # etc is there for a reason. Please take note of them.
Sorry I sound so catty. I am just very tired and grrrrrrrrrrr.... never mind...
~ symbolises a change of time, not point of view. And there are no flashbacks here. Just switches from POV to POV
Chapter 11: Viewpoints
*
Remus:
One more day to go.
One more day and then the first Link would be settled. One more day until that decisive moment when the first Linkbearer will return to the comparitive saftey of Hogwarts.
Remus was sitting in the library with Harry, Ron, Sirius, Lira and Hermione. At the beginning of the year, Harry had been informed of the fact that Sirius was actually married, from before his twelve year span in Azkaban. Today was his first proper meeting with his Godfather's wife. Remus still souldn't tell what either of them thought of the other, but he noticed that both acted far more reserved around each other, and extraordinarily polite.
He wondered Harry's further reaction when he would discover that Lira was pregnant.
None of the others were in the right desposition to bother conversing. Each felt weighted as if by heavy lead. They were all feeling as though they were walking a tightrope.
What really cause Remus to feel slightly uneasy, though, was the feeling of cold expectance that filled the castle. It was as if everything and everyone within the grounds of Hogwarts knew how important the fateful day of tomorrow would be.
It wasn't helping in the slightest.
~
No one was eating along the staff table in the Great Hall. It was as if there was a sound barrier between them and the noisy students who laughed and gossiped as they ate
It was as if they were cut off from the normal line of existence.
Snape was sitting in his usual place two seats away from Dumbledore. McGonagall between him and the Headmaster: it seemed, in a last attempt to restrain their tempestial emotions, they had taken up their traditional seating.
Remus himself was toying with his fork. Many of the others remained staring and cold and empty.
#
Severus:
It's a pity that I've given up on the heroin, he grumbled inwardly. I could use some of it right now. I suspect so could a number of the others.
-Stop that, Severus- that would be Rat. -Leave them alone-
I am.
So long as Dubeldore wasn't merrily chortling along with the rest of the Hogwarts.Inc company, he thought inwardly, then he would be fine.
He continued to stare emptily at the pudding.
Looking across the table, he could see that out of Lira, Sirius and Remus, Remus looked by far the most morose. I wonder why, Snape mused coldly. He has barely anything to be morose about. Over-sensitive prick.
Not that it was unusual.
The werewolf had always seemed to be, well, maybe watching wasn't the word. Snape always felt as if he were being held in some kind of careful, empathetic appraisal whenever he was near Lupin. It was slightly disturbing at the best of times.
-I think he wants something of you-
Like what?
-I don't know. I don't understand two-leggers anyway. Pompous Bosses that they are. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad thing: why are you so concerned about it?-
Because, truth be told, I don't need anyone to be interested in my life.
#
Lira:
The only reason she was eating was because of the fact that she had a baby to look after and she couldn't just think of herself at a time like this. She also had a husband with mental scars so deep she was wondering if they'd ever heal; if she acted normal, she knew he wouldn't feel so tense.
Times like these, she thought grimly, I wonder how my mother coped.
Earlier on today, she and Sirius had gone down to the library to join his Godson and friends, but before then, she had taken a stroll around Hogwarts.
When she bumped into Snape in a corridor, he was staring out of a window, face relaxed and open. Of course, he was in the same year as her husband and Remus, younger than Sirius by a few months, but he always seemed to have the aura of a man aged beyond his years, reflecting the weariness and cynism of adult life.
"Hey," she had said softly. He had flinched and turned to face her with a sudden movement. "I'm sorry..." she tried.
He looked away, but she could tell he was guarding himself from her.
"Morning," he'd replied simply.
She remembered nodding and walked over to look out of the same window as Snape was. Something in her heart cried out for him at that moment. An overwhelming weight of pity dragged at her; he obviously had no one, she'd mused, mildly depressed.
"We--um... well, we don't know each other too well, do we now... maybe we could start?" God, she had sounded like such an idiot.
When he gave a light snort, she realised that he had a cigarette in his hand. She didn't smoke regularly anyway, and with the baby, she couldn't smoke at all.
A sigh had come from between her lips.
Snape was beginning to feel uncomfortable, she could tell. "Has Sirius told you anything of the Hogwarts grounds?" He dared to venture, fiddling with the cigarette.
"No, not yet." She stood on tip-toe to get a proper look. The morning was a light periwinkle. Gorgeous, she thought, like something out of a Victorian water colour. The lake was an icy blue, almost white from the mist that hung over it. The Forbidden Forest looked no more than an ordinary Scandinavian forest than a terrifying refuge for all kinds of magical creatures. "Heavens above," she murmured. "It's beautiful."
"Hmmm..." he then had stubbed out the glowing embers on the masonary seemingly oblivious to the black scorch marks on the windowsill.
"Do you always come here?"
"No." Another cigarette was lit.
The slence that had followed wasn't quite cold and unwelcoming, but it wasn't exactly warm and amiable. Maybe detatched was the right word to describe it.
And now, she was at the dinner table. She looked up at Snape, wondering how to see through his harsh demeanour, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time she ever saw him.
Because she knew that he would be the one putting the first Link in it's location.
}~{
Remus:
When Snape excused himself from the dinner table, he felt the desire to go up after him, but realised it may not be such a good idea. When he looked up at Dumbledore, the man had given him a grimly gentle look and a small nod.
Christ, he suddenly realised, Snape's the first Linkbearer.
Turning round, he saw Lira give him a worried look.
So he wasn't the only one who knew.
And it wouldn't do much good for any of them at all.
}#{
Severus:
-They're in the know. I can smell it-
Ha. They've realised now. They've realised it's me. It's on me that everyone is depending upon now. It's on me that the fate of our future battles will be mainly decided. They wouldn't be able to hurt me if I didn't do any good. I could just run away, they'd have no Links, and because none of them bother, they won't do a thing.
-But you won't ever, will you Severus?-
Be quiet. You have no idea just how refreshing it is to have everyone depending on me like this.
-You two-leggers. You're all the same. And to think that you're the best out of the lots of them. It brings tears of shame to my eyes-
My heart weeps buttermilk.
-Lovely-
()
Sirius:
He's gone. He just went; just got up and left. Left us all.
Does he feel anything? Is he nervous or angry or even scared?
When we were younger, it annoyed me that he could remain so calm and passive and blank. His lips never moved in a smile, not even with his friends. Only a grimace, a wince or sneer. Whenever I was near him, it was like this eternal game just to see if he would crack.
And he never did.
At least, not in front of me.
But times like this I wonder. Did he ever break down alone? When you go through a place like Azkaban, I guess it does change the way you see some things when you've got the chance to contemplate. At least, that's my theory. No one else has managed to escape from Azkaban. So maybe it's just that I'm getting older.
A frightening thought isn't it?
%
TBC
Sorry I sound so catty. I am just very tired and grrrrrrrrrrr.... never mind...
~ symbolises a change of time, not point of view. And there are no flashbacks here. Just switches from POV to POV
Chapter 11: Viewpoints
*
Remus:
One more day to go.
One more day and then the first Link would be settled. One more day until that decisive moment when the first Linkbearer will return to the comparitive saftey of Hogwarts.
Remus was sitting in the library with Harry, Ron, Sirius, Lira and Hermione. At the beginning of the year, Harry had been informed of the fact that Sirius was actually married, from before his twelve year span in Azkaban. Today was his first proper meeting with his Godfather's wife. Remus still souldn't tell what either of them thought of the other, but he noticed that both acted far more reserved around each other, and extraordinarily polite.
He wondered Harry's further reaction when he would discover that Lira was pregnant.
None of the others were in the right desposition to bother conversing. Each felt weighted as if by heavy lead. They were all feeling as though they were walking a tightrope.
What really cause Remus to feel slightly uneasy, though, was the feeling of cold expectance that filled the castle. It was as if everything and everyone within the grounds of Hogwarts knew how important the fateful day of tomorrow would be.
It wasn't helping in the slightest.
~
No one was eating along the staff table in the Great Hall. It was as if there was a sound barrier between them and the noisy students who laughed and gossiped as they ate
It was as if they were cut off from the normal line of existence.
Snape was sitting in his usual place two seats away from Dumbledore. McGonagall between him and the Headmaster: it seemed, in a last attempt to restrain their tempestial emotions, they had taken up their traditional seating.
Remus himself was toying with his fork. Many of the others remained staring and cold and empty.
#
Severus:
It's a pity that I've given up on the heroin, he grumbled inwardly. I could use some of it right now. I suspect so could a number of the others.
-Stop that, Severus- that would be Rat. -Leave them alone-
I am.
So long as Dubeldore wasn't merrily chortling along with the rest of the Hogwarts.Inc company, he thought inwardly, then he would be fine.
He continued to stare emptily at the pudding.
Looking across the table, he could see that out of Lira, Sirius and Remus, Remus looked by far the most morose. I wonder why, Snape mused coldly. He has barely anything to be morose about. Over-sensitive prick.
Not that it was unusual.
The werewolf had always seemed to be, well, maybe watching wasn't the word. Snape always felt as if he were being held in some kind of careful, empathetic appraisal whenever he was near Lupin. It was slightly disturbing at the best of times.
-I think he wants something of you-
Like what?
-I don't know. I don't understand two-leggers anyway. Pompous Bosses that they are. Besides, it wouldn't be a bad thing: why are you so concerned about it?-
Because, truth be told, I don't need anyone to be interested in my life.
#
Lira:
The only reason she was eating was because of the fact that she had a baby to look after and she couldn't just think of herself at a time like this. She also had a husband with mental scars so deep she was wondering if they'd ever heal; if she acted normal, she knew he wouldn't feel so tense.
Times like these, she thought grimly, I wonder how my mother coped.
Earlier on today, she and Sirius had gone down to the library to join his Godson and friends, but before then, she had taken a stroll around Hogwarts.
When she bumped into Snape in a corridor, he was staring out of a window, face relaxed and open. Of course, he was in the same year as her husband and Remus, younger than Sirius by a few months, but he always seemed to have the aura of a man aged beyond his years, reflecting the weariness and cynism of adult life.
"Hey," she had said softly. He had flinched and turned to face her with a sudden movement. "I'm sorry..." she tried.
He looked away, but she could tell he was guarding himself from her.
"Morning," he'd replied simply.
She remembered nodding and walked over to look out of the same window as Snape was. Something in her heart cried out for him at that moment. An overwhelming weight of pity dragged at her; he obviously had no one, she'd mused, mildly depressed.
"We--um... well, we don't know each other too well, do we now... maybe we could start?" God, she had sounded like such an idiot.
When he gave a light snort, she realised that he had a cigarette in his hand. She didn't smoke regularly anyway, and with the baby, she couldn't smoke at all.
A sigh had come from between her lips.
Snape was beginning to feel uncomfortable, she could tell. "Has Sirius told you anything of the Hogwarts grounds?" He dared to venture, fiddling with the cigarette.
"No, not yet." She stood on tip-toe to get a proper look. The morning was a light periwinkle. Gorgeous, she thought, like something out of a Victorian water colour. The lake was an icy blue, almost white from the mist that hung over it. The Forbidden Forest looked no more than an ordinary Scandinavian forest than a terrifying refuge for all kinds of magical creatures. "Heavens above," she murmured. "It's beautiful."
"Hmmm..." he then had stubbed out the glowing embers on the masonary seemingly oblivious to the black scorch marks on the windowsill.
"Do you always come here?"
"No." Another cigarette was lit.
The slence that had followed wasn't quite cold and unwelcoming, but it wasn't exactly warm and amiable. Maybe detatched was the right word to describe it.
And now, she was at the dinner table. She looked up at Snape, wondering how to see through his harsh demeanour, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time she ever saw him.
Because she knew that he would be the one putting the first Link in it's location.
}~{
Remus:
When Snape excused himself from the dinner table, he felt the desire to go up after him, but realised it may not be such a good idea. When he looked up at Dumbledore, the man had given him a grimly gentle look and a small nod.
Christ, he suddenly realised, Snape's the first Linkbearer.
Turning round, he saw Lira give him a worried look.
So he wasn't the only one who knew.
And it wouldn't do much good for any of them at all.
}#{
Severus:
-They're in the know. I can smell it-
Ha. They've realised now. They've realised it's me. It's on me that everyone is depending upon now. It's on me that the fate of our future battles will be mainly decided. They wouldn't be able to hurt me if I didn't do any good. I could just run away, they'd have no Links, and because none of them bother, they won't do a thing.
-But you won't ever, will you Severus?-
Be quiet. You have no idea just how refreshing it is to have everyone depending on me like this.
-You two-leggers. You're all the same. And to think that you're the best out of the lots of them. It brings tears of shame to my eyes-
My heart weeps buttermilk.
-Lovely-
()
Sirius:
He's gone. He just went; just got up and left. Left us all.
Does he feel anything? Is he nervous or angry or even scared?
When we were younger, it annoyed me that he could remain so calm and passive and blank. His lips never moved in a smile, not even with his friends. Only a grimace, a wince or sneer. Whenever I was near him, it was like this eternal game just to see if he would crack.
And he never did.
At least, not in front of me.
But times like this I wonder. Did he ever break down alone? When you go through a place like Azkaban, I guess it does change the way you see some things when you've got the chance to contemplate. At least, that's my theory. No one else has managed to escape from Azkaban. So maybe it's just that I'm getting older.
A frightening thought isn't it?
%
TBC
