Hands up everyone who likes my version of the battle against Voldemort
better than Rowling's!
(empty air)
Oh, fine, so she's better. Gosh, I feel outdated, now that HP 5 is out. Oh well.
( ) indicate italics
*~*~*~
Two months passed by without a single stir, and Erin had bitten off all of her fingernails.
"Stop that," said Severus, yanking her hand out of her mouth and favoring her with his best scowl/glare. She gave him an equally impressive glare and settled irritably back onto the couch.
"I can't believe Voldemort hasn't made a move yet. Come one, what is he waiting for?"
Severus was silent, because he wasn't at all sure himself. "We just need to stay here," he said finally, "and wait until Dumbledore tells us."
Erin told him exactly what he could do with that advice. Severus didn't even bother to reciprocate. He felt exactly the way she did.
Their landlady, Harry, opened the front door and walked into the kitchen, which was next to the living room. Her corgi and two cats rushed up to her.
(Mom!) panted Tucker, the little corgi, jumping with glee. Mrs. Murphy twined contentedly about her mother's legs. Pewter sat on the countertop and looked bored.
(Stop drooling on Mom's shoes, Tucker,) Pewter commanded smugly. Tucker barked at her.
"Hey, Pewts," said Harry, shaking a small can. "Guess what I've got."
(Tuna!) shouted Pewter, leaping off the countertop and sliding across the floor.
"Hey, Harry," said Erin, wandering into the kitchen.
"Hey, Erica," said Harry, calling Erin by her disguised name. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"I saw a mongoose today."
A very odd look came into Erin's eyes. "A mongoose." It should have been a question, but there was a flat tone to the words that made it a statement.
Harry glanced at Erin. "Mmm-hmm. Probably someone brought it as a pet and it escaped."
"Neat," said Erin, but still with that flat tone. She took a bag of groceries from Harry and began to put things away, unaware of Harry's curious eyes on her back. Harry knew that her boarders had been feeling restless and touchy in the past week, but this behavior was completely out of character for the girl.
As a matter of fact, Erin was quietly panicking. When she had left the living room to talk to Harry, Severus had also left for the barn. And Severus went to the barn for only one thing - to change into his mongoose form and explore Crozet. Suddenly desperate to distract Harry, Erin turned around quickly, to find the kitchen empty except for Pewter.
(Bad luck, kiddo,) said Pewter, her mouth full of tuna. (You're father's about to be busted.) Erin, of course, didn't understand what sounded like a series of meows, but she ran for the barn anyway.
*~*~*~
When Harry had walked in and Erin had gone to meet her, Severus had snuck quietly out to the barn. It was a long, low building partitioned into various rooms, occupied by the three horses Harry owned, a blacksnake, a barn owl, and Simon the Possum. He slipped into a little corner he had made, a tiny area surrounded on three sides by bales of hay. Crouching down, he began to make the transformation. His hooked nose lengthened even further and became a muzzle; his short, greasy hair became sleek and chestnut and began to spread over his clothes. Joints cracked as knees reversed, hands became paws, and in a few seconds Severus Snape had become Snap.
Unfortunately for him, those few seconds were witnessed by Harry.
Harry stifled her scream as she watched her boarder, whom she knew as Sean, become the mongoose she had seen earlier. The mongoose looked up with glistening red eyes, saw her, and froze. Then it quickly darted to the left, but Harry dove and caught it. Writhing furiously the mongoose gave off a rattling war cry and slashed at Harry's hands with sharp teeth. Harry cried out in pain and threw the small animal at a bale of hay. Stunned, Snap slid down and lay, panting, on the straw. As he saw Harry approach him again, Snap quickly transformed back into a human and reached for his wand near his belt. He was dazed, however, and Harry was just a trifle quicker; in any case, she suddenly was holding his wand and was pointing it at him. Severus froze.
"I want to know," said Harry between gritted teeth, "who you are, what you are, and what you are doing in Crozet."
Snape eyed the wand calculatingly. Harry obviously couldn't use it properly, but even in the hands of a Muggle a wand could accidentally do something dangerous. Very, very slowly he sat up. Harry's hand followed his movement, her face grim and determined. Snape's gaze moved from his wand to her face.
"That could take a while," he said.
"Huh? What's going on? Oh - drat," said Erin, who was leaning against the barn door, panting. "My wand's in my bedroom."
Severus opened his mouth to tell her off, but a slight movement of his wand turned his attention back to Harry. He sighed.
"Let me up," said Severus, "and I'll tell you as much as I can."
*~*~*~
The dark, handsome man was sitting in the library, his feet on the table and his chair tipped casually back. He was dressed in rich green robes embroidered in silver, and his expression as he read the Daily Prophet was grim.
"Avery?" asked Felicity, walking up to him and swinging herself onto the table.
Jonathan Avery glanced around the newspaper, smiled brilliantly, and folded it up and set it on the table. "Well, hello, Felicity," he said pleasantly. "How nice to see you."
"Avery," said Felicity, looking him straight in the face, "I need to ask a question."
"Certainly," said Avery promptly, the easy smile still on his face.
"Why was Professor Snape afraid of Mr. Malfoy?"
Whatever Avery had been expecting, this had certainly not been it. His smile vanished. "What do you mean?"
"When I was looking at the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office," explained Felicity patiently, her child's voice solemn, "I saw Snape when he was in school. He was working in the library, and I saw that he was looking at little pieces of paper that said "Street Rat" and the B-word." She paused, obviously a little embarrassed at having mentioned a swear word.
"Go on," said Avery, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.
"Then he got up, and Malfoy called him, and I saw that Snape was afraid of him," finished Felicity simply. "Dumbledore told me Snape wasn't afraid anymore, but I want to know - why was he afraid then?"
Avery was silent for several moments. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I noticed it, of course - how couldn't I have? But I never knew exactly why." He sighed deeply, but Felicity did not look away - she sensed that there was more.
"You have to understand, Felicity," said Avery finally, "that Slytherin has a lot of politics, even more than most students. And the most powerful people are the ones with pure blood and lots of money."
"Like Malfoy?" asked Felicity, her golden head tipped to one side.
"Like Malfoy," agreed Avery. "And that meant, that unless we wanted to be shunned, we had to do as he told us. And Snape and I were part of his crew."
"His crew?"
"His group of friends," explained Avery hastily. "We didn't join until our second year, but - well, there wasn't a lot of choice. Actually, I think he wanted just Snape, but I was his only friend, I wasn't about to leave him to Malfoy's tender mercies." Avery scowled. "Snape's really kind of sensitive, in a way. Not the way most people are, you know, caring about friends and popularity and looks and stuff - " Avery waved his hand in the air to demonstrate, " - but he was always sort of closed up. He wasn't like he is now, not in that first year, anyway. He was a lot rougher around the edges, just kind of wild and reckless - and he liked to fight." Avery touched his nose in memory. "Duelling, too, not just Muggle fighting. Of course, he liked the Dark Arts even then, but he wasn't quite so obsessed with them. But suddenly, in second year, he just stopped. He was a lot more bitter, and hateful, and - "
"I know," said Felicity quietly. Avery nodded grimly.
"But that's all way off the point. The point is, Snape didn't like Malfoy, but he had to join Malfoy's crew because it was the only way he'd ever be accepted."
Felicity frowned. "But Snape's always so nice to Draco," she protested. "Why would he be nice if he doesn't like Malfoy?"
Avery shrugged. "Search me. Believe me, I've known Sev for most of his life, and most of the time I haven't the faintest idea why he does what he does."
"And another thing," said Felicity. "Why would Malfoy ask Snape to be his friend if Snape didn't like him? Didn't he know?"
"Oh, he knew all right," said Avery. "That's why he asked."
"What?" asked Felicity, looking completely bewildered.
"You see, Felicity, Malfoy was afraid of Snape."
*~*~*~
The dragon threw back its head and roared, hot flames licking around its tongue. It was gliding over the Forest, leathery wings flapping with ease. On its back were two passengers, both cloaked and hooded.
"I can't believe you consider this fun," muttered the man, his arms around the woman's waist. They were both leaning low over the dragon's neck, the woman in front, the man in the back.
Ashes laughed, the sound rising bright and clear into the stars. Dreamer smiled and hugged the woman's waist tighter, reveling in the sound. He bent his head and rested his cheek against hers, delighting in the touch of her smooth skin against his dark scars. She twisted her body towards him, her scarlet lips catching his in a long kiss. The dragon silently shook her huge head.
(Humans) she thought in disgust. Beneath her, in the Forest, a violet-eyed unicorn was watching.
(empty air)
Oh, fine, so she's better. Gosh, I feel outdated, now that HP 5 is out. Oh well.
( ) indicate italics
*~*~*~
Two months passed by without a single stir, and Erin had bitten off all of her fingernails.
"Stop that," said Severus, yanking her hand out of her mouth and favoring her with his best scowl/glare. She gave him an equally impressive glare and settled irritably back onto the couch.
"I can't believe Voldemort hasn't made a move yet. Come one, what is he waiting for?"
Severus was silent, because he wasn't at all sure himself. "We just need to stay here," he said finally, "and wait until Dumbledore tells us."
Erin told him exactly what he could do with that advice. Severus didn't even bother to reciprocate. He felt exactly the way she did.
Their landlady, Harry, opened the front door and walked into the kitchen, which was next to the living room. Her corgi and two cats rushed up to her.
(Mom!) panted Tucker, the little corgi, jumping with glee. Mrs. Murphy twined contentedly about her mother's legs. Pewter sat on the countertop and looked bored.
(Stop drooling on Mom's shoes, Tucker,) Pewter commanded smugly. Tucker barked at her.
"Hey, Pewts," said Harry, shaking a small can. "Guess what I've got."
(Tuna!) shouted Pewter, leaping off the countertop and sliding across the floor.
"Hey, Harry," said Erin, wandering into the kitchen.
"Hey, Erica," said Harry, calling Erin by her disguised name. "Guess what?"
"What?"
"I saw a mongoose today."
A very odd look came into Erin's eyes. "A mongoose." It should have been a question, but there was a flat tone to the words that made it a statement.
Harry glanced at Erin. "Mmm-hmm. Probably someone brought it as a pet and it escaped."
"Neat," said Erin, but still with that flat tone. She took a bag of groceries from Harry and began to put things away, unaware of Harry's curious eyes on her back. Harry knew that her boarders had been feeling restless and touchy in the past week, but this behavior was completely out of character for the girl.
As a matter of fact, Erin was quietly panicking. When she had left the living room to talk to Harry, Severus had also left for the barn. And Severus went to the barn for only one thing - to change into his mongoose form and explore Crozet. Suddenly desperate to distract Harry, Erin turned around quickly, to find the kitchen empty except for Pewter.
(Bad luck, kiddo,) said Pewter, her mouth full of tuna. (You're father's about to be busted.) Erin, of course, didn't understand what sounded like a series of meows, but she ran for the barn anyway.
*~*~*~
When Harry had walked in and Erin had gone to meet her, Severus had snuck quietly out to the barn. It was a long, low building partitioned into various rooms, occupied by the three horses Harry owned, a blacksnake, a barn owl, and Simon the Possum. He slipped into a little corner he had made, a tiny area surrounded on three sides by bales of hay. Crouching down, he began to make the transformation. His hooked nose lengthened even further and became a muzzle; his short, greasy hair became sleek and chestnut and began to spread over his clothes. Joints cracked as knees reversed, hands became paws, and in a few seconds Severus Snape had become Snap.
Unfortunately for him, those few seconds were witnessed by Harry.
Harry stifled her scream as she watched her boarder, whom she knew as Sean, become the mongoose she had seen earlier. The mongoose looked up with glistening red eyes, saw her, and froze. Then it quickly darted to the left, but Harry dove and caught it. Writhing furiously the mongoose gave off a rattling war cry and slashed at Harry's hands with sharp teeth. Harry cried out in pain and threw the small animal at a bale of hay. Stunned, Snap slid down and lay, panting, on the straw. As he saw Harry approach him again, Snap quickly transformed back into a human and reached for his wand near his belt. He was dazed, however, and Harry was just a trifle quicker; in any case, she suddenly was holding his wand and was pointing it at him. Severus froze.
"I want to know," said Harry between gritted teeth, "who you are, what you are, and what you are doing in Crozet."
Snape eyed the wand calculatingly. Harry obviously couldn't use it properly, but even in the hands of a Muggle a wand could accidentally do something dangerous. Very, very slowly he sat up. Harry's hand followed his movement, her face grim and determined. Snape's gaze moved from his wand to her face.
"That could take a while," he said.
"Huh? What's going on? Oh - drat," said Erin, who was leaning against the barn door, panting. "My wand's in my bedroom."
Severus opened his mouth to tell her off, but a slight movement of his wand turned his attention back to Harry. He sighed.
"Let me up," said Severus, "and I'll tell you as much as I can."
*~*~*~
The dark, handsome man was sitting in the library, his feet on the table and his chair tipped casually back. He was dressed in rich green robes embroidered in silver, and his expression as he read the Daily Prophet was grim.
"Avery?" asked Felicity, walking up to him and swinging herself onto the table.
Jonathan Avery glanced around the newspaper, smiled brilliantly, and folded it up and set it on the table. "Well, hello, Felicity," he said pleasantly. "How nice to see you."
"Avery," said Felicity, looking him straight in the face, "I need to ask a question."
"Certainly," said Avery promptly, the easy smile still on his face.
"Why was Professor Snape afraid of Mr. Malfoy?"
Whatever Avery had been expecting, this had certainly not been it. His smile vanished. "What do you mean?"
"When I was looking at the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office," explained Felicity patiently, her child's voice solemn, "I saw Snape when he was in school. He was working in the library, and I saw that he was looking at little pieces of paper that said "Street Rat" and the B-word." She paused, obviously a little embarrassed at having mentioned a swear word.
"Go on," said Avery, his voice uncharacteristically sharp.
"Then he got up, and Malfoy called him, and I saw that Snape was afraid of him," finished Felicity simply. "Dumbledore told me Snape wasn't afraid anymore, but I want to know - why was he afraid then?"
Avery was silent for several moments. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I noticed it, of course - how couldn't I have? But I never knew exactly why." He sighed deeply, but Felicity did not look away - she sensed that there was more.
"You have to understand, Felicity," said Avery finally, "that Slytherin has a lot of politics, even more than most students. And the most powerful people are the ones with pure blood and lots of money."
"Like Malfoy?" asked Felicity, her golden head tipped to one side.
"Like Malfoy," agreed Avery. "And that meant, that unless we wanted to be shunned, we had to do as he told us. And Snape and I were part of his crew."
"His crew?"
"His group of friends," explained Avery hastily. "We didn't join until our second year, but - well, there wasn't a lot of choice. Actually, I think he wanted just Snape, but I was his only friend, I wasn't about to leave him to Malfoy's tender mercies." Avery scowled. "Snape's really kind of sensitive, in a way. Not the way most people are, you know, caring about friends and popularity and looks and stuff - " Avery waved his hand in the air to demonstrate, " - but he was always sort of closed up. He wasn't like he is now, not in that first year, anyway. He was a lot rougher around the edges, just kind of wild and reckless - and he liked to fight." Avery touched his nose in memory. "Duelling, too, not just Muggle fighting. Of course, he liked the Dark Arts even then, but he wasn't quite so obsessed with them. But suddenly, in second year, he just stopped. He was a lot more bitter, and hateful, and - "
"I know," said Felicity quietly. Avery nodded grimly.
"But that's all way off the point. The point is, Snape didn't like Malfoy, but he had to join Malfoy's crew because it was the only way he'd ever be accepted."
Felicity frowned. "But Snape's always so nice to Draco," she protested. "Why would he be nice if he doesn't like Malfoy?"
Avery shrugged. "Search me. Believe me, I've known Sev for most of his life, and most of the time I haven't the faintest idea why he does what he does."
"And another thing," said Felicity. "Why would Malfoy ask Snape to be his friend if Snape didn't like him? Didn't he know?"
"Oh, he knew all right," said Avery. "That's why he asked."
"What?" asked Felicity, looking completely bewildered.
"You see, Felicity, Malfoy was afraid of Snape."
*~*~*~
The dragon threw back its head and roared, hot flames licking around its tongue. It was gliding over the Forest, leathery wings flapping with ease. On its back were two passengers, both cloaked and hooded.
"I can't believe you consider this fun," muttered the man, his arms around the woman's waist. They were both leaning low over the dragon's neck, the woman in front, the man in the back.
Ashes laughed, the sound rising bright and clear into the stars. Dreamer smiled and hugged the woman's waist tighter, reveling in the sound. He bent his head and rested his cheek against hers, delighting in the touch of her smooth skin against his dark scars. She twisted her body towards him, her scarlet lips catching his in a long kiss. The dragon silently shook her huge head.
(Humans) she thought in disgust. Beneath her, in the Forest, a violet-eyed unicorn was watching.