Disclaimer: as you have probably guessed by now, I am not JK Rowling, and
the HarryPotter-verse does not belong to me (thank goodness!, I hear you
say); I am using the characters and settings for my pleasure, and hopefully
for yours, and I certainly don't deserve to be sued.
Summary: In Harry's seventh year, Voldemort issues a threat to the families of the Hogwarts staff, and they are forced to seek refuge in the school. This uncomfortable situation will allow us some insight into the family life of everybody's favourite Potions Master.
Rating: PG or PG-13, just to be on the safe side.
A/N: I know I promised this chapter would be out in Thursday, and I'm *sorry* that it wasn't, but I simply couldn't manage...luckily we'll be starting on our Easter break anytime now, and I promise regular updates from now on. ::smiles sheepishly::
Review this story as you would like yours to be reviewed! (I hope that will take all flames off my back; if it doesn't, I'll use them to save on the electricity bill)
FAMILY MATTERS
PART VI
After promising Mandy she would meet her for lunch, and leaving Siena with her as a voucher that she would keep her word, Svetlana wondered out of Gryffindor Tower and into the Library. She began to examine old books distractedly, reminding herself she had to find an occupation to fill her free time, now that she didn't have Serguei's education to look after. A batch of musty volumes caught her eye, and she began leafing through a Potions treatise which detailed variants of the most common potions for people who were in situations were rare ingredients were unavailable; most of the potions had weird side effects, but it was worth knowing how to make a PepperUp Potion with only pepper, water, coriander and nutmeg, even if you had to go with small ridges in your back for a few days. Taking that, and a few other books with her, mostly about magical arts and Potions, Svetlana returned to the dungeons.
Once she was at the door, she realised she didn't have the password, and it was highly improbable that someone would be inside to let her in; not feeling keen on going back to the Library, and knowing she couldn't just walk into Severus' classroom, asking for the password, she decided to try her luck with a few.
"Parsel-tongue" No, it was too easy; any student would have been able to guess it "Siena" The door was still locked, and Svetlana chastised herself for thinking Severus could behave caringly "Veritaserum" Still the door remained closed and Svetlana bit her lower lip, thinking that she *should* know this one, even if she had lived with the man for less than a year. "Nemo me impunit lacessit" The door swung open and Mrs Snape stepped in with a dry smile in her lips: the password to Severus' chambers was the Snape family motto.
Settling herself in an armchair in the sitting room, Svetlana took time to examine her surroundings. The room was austere, that was clear; there were few things that were not indispensable, but even those were as unobtrusive and sober as possible. Black rugs, dark green and silver tapestries, black velvet armchairs, rough stone for the fire-place, heavy mahogany for the tall shelves, filled with books, flasks of rare potions and manuscripts. A cluttered desk sat against the wall, and a smaller table made in rosewood, new and completely devoid of papers, sat underneath a mirror. Svetlana went towards it, to double-check what she already suspected: in the drawers of the second desk there was nothing but blank parchment of the finest kind, bottles of coloured inks, painting-brushes and swans' quills, soft pastels, bright water-colours and black pencils. He had thought of every little detail to make her feel at home, and Svetlana felt unsettled by it.
She had expected to find the same severe, unattainable man she had married; she had expected the same cutting remarks, the same disdainful attitude she had feared so much in her younger years, the ice-cold manners that left her nothing but far-away admiration. And yet something in him had changed. The first night he had behaved as expected, and she had been forced to take her role of timid wallflower, but after a while she had remember that she wasn't a terrified young girl anymore, but a self-confident woman, and he, much to her surprise, had treated her as such. And now she was back to stay... she didn't know what to expect anymore.
Looking around the place, and noting the small changes that hers and Siena's presence had brought, she wondered at Severus' life. He had always been relentless in his quest for solitude, peace and quiet, even if it meant driving everyone away from him. From the commentaries Mandy had made, Svetlana knew that Snape's sociability was a running joke in the school. How long had it been since anyone had visited him in his chambers? How long since someone had had a normal conversation with him, not about the war, not about his school duties? How long had it been since anyone had regarded him with something other than resentment or suspicion? How long had it been since someone had shown him some affection?
Svetlana felt a pang of irrational jealousy at the thought of Severus in someone else's arms. She hadn't kept her celibacy while she had been separated from him, but hopefully that was an example he hadn't followed. He was still her husband, however both of them had tried to escape the fact, and she didn't intend to share him, even if she didn't claim him as her own either. So lost she was in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the fire crackling until a house-elf cleared its throat with a respectful cough.
"Mrs Snape" she announced in a high-pitched squeal, wringing her tea-towel "Headmaster Dumbledore asks Mrs Snape to have lunch in the Great Hall, in the special table she will find there. Professor Snape gives Tanny this potion and asks Tanny to bring it to Mrs Snape at midday, and to make sure Mrs Snape drinks it all" The small being gave Svetlana a glass with the same thick potion Severus had given her the night before, and although she was feeling much better, she drank it, pleased that he had remembered her. After dismissing the creature with a cold gesture, Svetlana turned to the clock, which said there were still forty minutes before she was due in the Great Hall. Taking a seat in front of *her* desk, she drew out blank parchment and quill, and set down to work.
Svetlana and Mandy, with Siena in the latter's arms, stepped uncertainly into a long corridor, whose many closed doors didn't augur the presence of any intelligent life.
"I don't think we're going the right way, Mandy" said Svetlana, hiding behind a smile her impatience.
"Maybe I misheard Minerva, and the stairway that lead to the Great Hall on Sundays was the third one" conceded the older witch, looking at her surroundings with a grimace. "And we can't go back, the staircase went to its place as soon as we stepped off it..."
A far-away door slammed shut in front of them, and a flash of silver and black shone to the light of a torch. Both women turned towards the fast- moving person, but only one of them recognised him.
"Mr Malfoy, what a surprise!" she called out, stopping Draco dead on his tracks. The Slytherin turned to them slowly, but as soon as he saw Mrs Snape he became much more enthusiastic.
"Mrs Snape, Svetlana, how nice to see you!" he replied, walking quickly towards her, and hiding something in his cloak pocket. "Mrs McGonagall" he acknowledged when the witch scowled at him.
"And pray, don't forget your most fervent admirer" smiled Svetlana, holding a squealing Siena and allowing her to present her cheek to Draco, who kissed it quickly. "Are you going to lunch now, Draco?"
"Yes, the Headmaster asked us all to be in at two o'clock, I believe he wants it be some kind of family meal..." said the seventh-year dismissively, walking down a small passage and into a wider corridor, which lead straight into the Great Hall.
"À propos of that, I hope your parents are well, Draco. Don't forget to send them my regards when you owl them." An awkward pause, and Svetlana spotted the badge on the boy's silver shirt "You are Head Boy, aren't you? My congratulations indeed... I'm hoping that you'll take good care of Serguei, Draco, you know he looks up to you." It was more than a recommendation that was implied in those words, and both of them knew it.
Further conversation was cut short by their arrival at the Great Hall; Draco opened the door for them, and they all stepped in with the last of the late-coming students. The witches walked towards the fifth table which had been arranged specially for them, with two empty places, one of them with a baby chair by its side, and conversation slowly resumed amongst the students.
After settling Siena, Svetlana turned to the table and examined it quickly, with the eyes of someone who had a lot of practice judging people with one look. Mrs Nuyengs, a middle-aged, dirty-blonde, bad-tempered woman, didn't receive more than a glance before being discarded as a desirable acquaintance. Mrs Vector was a shy young woman, with short auburn hair and a contagious smile; her pretty hazel eyes were perpetually trained on her twin offsprings, barely sixth-months each, but she seemed agreeable enough for Mrs Snape. Professor Flitwick's parents were too old, and too caught up in each other, to be deemed worth more than a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon, preferably with Mandy, the most lively of the group. Mr Hooch was a man in his thirties, conscious of the age difference with his wife, but anyway sporting his healthy tan and broad shoulders proudly; he was obviously making an effort to be sociable, but once the conversation drifted away from sports, his interest decayed. The other occupants of the table were the relatives of the staff who had arrived the year before, with the first tidings of the war: Mr Julius, the vivacious husband of the Muggle Studies teacher, Miss Valerie Sinistra, a thin and nervous young woman, and her brother-in-law, the proud owner of Professor Marceau's hand (yes, the Astronomy and Ancient Runes teacher had recently married a French wizard), and an assortment of Sprouts, of all ages, sizes and all equally boring.
Svetlana readjusted her satin robes, and turned slightly towards the Slytherin table; Serguei caught her eye, remained expressionless, and turned back to his friends, reassuring his mother that he was alright with the situation. Snape caught the brief interaction between them, and followed the sparkles of sapphire that signalled his wife's head-movements. There was something wrong there, and the Potions Master almost missed his mouth with his fork as he thought about it; scowling at Dumbledore's inquiring glance, Snape looked at his wife again, trying to behave like an impartial observer, and failing utterly. He thought she was the most beautiful woman of the table, by far surpassing Mrs Vector, or Miss Sinistra, her pale charms accentuated by her elegant attire and... that was it!!!
Everyone in the Great Hall, Serguei excluded, turned to the teacher's table when Snape slammed his goblet against his plate, got up suddenly and left towards his chambers looking agitated. Svetlana only had the time to raise an inquiring eyebrow before being distracted by Siena's petition of more food, and Valerie's uneasy comment about people who were too busy to eat peacefully.
Dumbledore, from his seat at the teachers' table, observed the scene unfolding before him with interest. Severus' interaction with his wife had kept him infinitely amused since Svetlana had made her entrance into the school, and he was already making some plans of his own to bring together Hogwarts most reluctant couple once again. The Potions Master's attitude didn't seem to leave much hope, but it was Svetlana's distant stance what promised to be more difficult to break. Following her eyes, Dumbledore found little Serguei Snape, the old-before-his-age Slytherin that had already managed to get on the good side of teachers and house-mates, and on the bad side of Gryffindors; the little boy promised, thought the Hogwarts Headmaster with a mental chuckle, turning his attention to the people assembled before him: it really looked like the family meal he expected.
While his wife tried to keep a normal semblance in the Great Hall, Severus Snape was tearing like a madman through Siena's wardrobe, throwing clothes and toys all over the place.
"I knew I had missed something!" he exclaimed as he sent flying a small woollen robe through the air "How could I have been so stupid? Look at this!" Having reached the bottom of the wardrobe, Snape stopped and indeed looked at the piles of clothing surrounding him. The house-elf that stood silently in the fireplace waiting for Snape to go to start putting everything into place again, looked at the clothes without seeing anything wrong with them. They were clean, and they had been well ironed before everything; the elf remembered having special care with the delicate embroiderings and the heavy fabrics, and he couldn't possibly think of what the Potions Master was so upset about.
Snape left the room, and started towards Svetlana's, but he stopped at the door: he didn't have the right, no matter what his suspicions were. Instead, he helped himself to a shot of Firewhiskey, and sat down to wait the return of his wife, and the serious conversation he hoped would ensue. He had to know whether all the ideas that had been surging through his mind since he stormed out of the Great Hall were true, or whether there was a perfectly logical explanation for everything. Little did he know the truth was even more unlikely that the displays of his fevered imagination.
Svetlana came in half an hour later, and Severus had the time to wonder how she had guessed the password while she strode into Siena's bedroom, to leave the sleeping girl in her cot. Once she was settled, Svetlana went into the living room again and gave a curious look to her husband. "I need to talk to you, Svetlana" he announced, his black eyes not leaving the amber tranquillity of his drink; she followed his look and grimaced. "Very well" she agreed "I see this is going to be the kind of conversation that requires liquor to flow, so I hope you won't mind if I help myself to some" Gracefully, she went to a side cabinet and poured a shot of cold vodka; clutching her drink, she sat in front of Severus and met his eyes. "Let's talk"
A/N: Oh, that sounds like a serious talk... don't worry, Sevvie hasn't lost his mind completely. Next chapter *will* by out on Thursday, I promise. Please review now!!!
Summary: In Harry's seventh year, Voldemort issues a threat to the families of the Hogwarts staff, and they are forced to seek refuge in the school. This uncomfortable situation will allow us some insight into the family life of everybody's favourite Potions Master.
Rating: PG or PG-13, just to be on the safe side.
A/N: I know I promised this chapter would be out in Thursday, and I'm *sorry* that it wasn't, but I simply couldn't manage...luckily we'll be starting on our Easter break anytime now, and I promise regular updates from now on. ::smiles sheepishly::
Review this story as you would like yours to be reviewed! (I hope that will take all flames off my back; if it doesn't, I'll use them to save on the electricity bill)
FAMILY MATTERS
PART VI
After promising Mandy she would meet her for lunch, and leaving Siena with her as a voucher that she would keep her word, Svetlana wondered out of Gryffindor Tower and into the Library. She began to examine old books distractedly, reminding herself she had to find an occupation to fill her free time, now that she didn't have Serguei's education to look after. A batch of musty volumes caught her eye, and she began leafing through a Potions treatise which detailed variants of the most common potions for people who were in situations were rare ingredients were unavailable; most of the potions had weird side effects, but it was worth knowing how to make a PepperUp Potion with only pepper, water, coriander and nutmeg, even if you had to go with small ridges in your back for a few days. Taking that, and a few other books with her, mostly about magical arts and Potions, Svetlana returned to the dungeons.
Once she was at the door, she realised she didn't have the password, and it was highly improbable that someone would be inside to let her in; not feeling keen on going back to the Library, and knowing she couldn't just walk into Severus' classroom, asking for the password, she decided to try her luck with a few.
"Parsel-tongue" No, it was too easy; any student would have been able to guess it "Siena" The door was still locked, and Svetlana chastised herself for thinking Severus could behave caringly "Veritaserum" Still the door remained closed and Svetlana bit her lower lip, thinking that she *should* know this one, even if she had lived with the man for less than a year. "Nemo me impunit lacessit" The door swung open and Mrs Snape stepped in with a dry smile in her lips: the password to Severus' chambers was the Snape family motto.
Settling herself in an armchair in the sitting room, Svetlana took time to examine her surroundings. The room was austere, that was clear; there were few things that were not indispensable, but even those were as unobtrusive and sober as possible. Black rugs, dark green and silver tapestries, black velvet armchairs, rough stone for the fire-place, heavy mahogany for the tall shelves, filled with books, flasks of rare potions and manuscripts. A cluttered desk sat against the wall, and a smaller table made in rosewood, new and completely devoid of papers, sat underneath a mirror. Svetlana went towards it, to double-check what she already suspected: in the drawers of the second desk there was nothing but blank parchment of the finest kind, bottles of coloured inks, painting-brushes and swans' quills, soft pastels, bright water-colours and black pencils. He had thought of every little detail to make her feel at home, and Svetlana felt unsettled by it.
She had expected to find the same severe, unattainable man she had married; she had expected the same cutting remarks, the same disdainful attitude she had feared so much in her younger years, the ice-cold manners that left her nothing but far-away admiration. And yet something in him had changed. The first night he had behaved as expected, and she had been forced to take her role of timid wallflower, but after a while she had remember that she wasn't a terrified young girl anymore, but a self-confident woman, and he, much to her surprise, had treated her as such. And now she was back to stay... she didn't know what to expect anymore.
Looking around the place, and noting the small changes that hers and Siena's presence had brought, she wondered at Severus' life. He had always been relentless in his quest for solitude, peace and quiet, even if it meant driving everyone away from him. From the commentaries Mandy had made, Svetlana knew that Snape's sociability was a running joke in the school. How long had it been since anyone had visited him in his chambers? How long since someone had had a normal conversation with him, not about the war, not about his school duties? How long had it been since anyone had regarded him with something other than resentment or suspicion? How long had it been since someone had shown him some affection?
Svetlana felt a pang of irrational jealousy at the thought of Severus in someone else's arms. She hadn't kept her celibacy while she had been separated from him, but hopefully that was an example he hadn't followed. He was still her husband, however both of them had tried to escape the fact, and she didn't intend to share him, even if she didn't claim him as her own either. So lost she was in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the fire crackling until a house-elf cleared its throat with a respectful cough.
"Mrs Snape" she announced in a high-pitched squeal, wringing her tea-towel "Headmaster Dumbledore asks Mrs Snape to have lunch in the Great Hall, in the special table she will find there. Professor Snape gives Tanny this potion and asks Tanny to bring it to Mrs Snape at midday, and to make sure Mrs Snape drinks it all" The small being gave Svetlana a glass with the same thick potion Severus had given her the night before, and although she was feeling much better, she drank it, pleased that he had remembered her. After dismissing the creature with a cold gesture, Svetlana turned to the clock, which said there were still forty minutes before she was due in the Great Hall. Taking a seat in front of *her* desk, she drew out blank parchment and quill, and set down to work.
Svetlana and Mandy, with Siena in the latter's arms, stepped uncertainly into a long corridor, whose many closed doors didn't augur the presence of any intelligent life.
"I don't think we're going the right way, Mandy" said Svetlana, hiding behind a smile her impatience.
"Maybe I misheard Minerva, and the stairway that lead to the Great Hall on Sundays was the third one" conceded the older witch, looking at her surroundings with a grimace. "And we can't go back, the staircase went to its place as soon as we stepped off it..."
A far-away door slammed shut in front of them, and a flash of silver and black shone to the light of a torch. Both women turned towards the fast- moving person, but only one of them recognised him.
"Mr Malfoy, what a surprise!" she called out, stopping Draco dead on his tracks. The Slytherin turned to them slowly, but as soon as he saw Mrs Snape he became much more enthusiastic.
"Mrs Snape, Svetlana, how nice to see you!" he replied, walking quickly towards her, and hiding something in his cloak pocket. "Mrs McGonagall" he acknowledged when the witch scowled at him.
"And pray, don't forget your most fervent admirer" smiled Svetlana, holding a squealing Siena and allowing her to present her cheek to Draco, who kissed it quickly. "Are you going to lunch now, Draco?"
"Yes, the Headmaster asked us all to be in at two o'clock, I believe he wants it be some kind of family meal..." said the seventh-year dismissively, walking down a small passage and into a wider corridor, which lead straight into the Great Hall.
"À propos of that, I hope your parents are well, Draco. Don't forget to send them my regards when you owl them." An awkward pause, and Svetlana spotted the badge on the boy's silver shirt "You are Head Boy, aren't you? My congratulations indeed... I'm hoping that you'll take good care of Serguei, Draco, you know he looks up to you." It was more than a recommendation that was implied in those words, and both of them knew it.
Further conversation was cut short by their arrival at the Great Hall; Draco opened the door for them, and they all stepped in with the last of the late-coming students. The witches walked towards the fifth table which had been arranged specially for them, with two empty places, one of them with a baby chair by its side, and conversation slowly resumed amongst the students.
After settling Siena, Svetlana turned to the table and examined it quickly, with the eyes of someone who had a lot of practice judging people with one look. Mrs Nuyengs, a middle-aged, dirty-blonde, bad-tempered woman, didn't receive more than a glance before being discarded as a desirable acquaintance. Mrs Vector was a shy young woman, with short auburn hair and a contagious smile; her pretty hazel eyes were perpetually trained on her twin offsprings, barely sixth-months each, but she seemed agreeable enough for Mrs Snape. Professor Flitwick's parents were too old, and too caught up in each other, to be deemed worth more than a cup of tea on a rainy afternoon, preferably with Mandy, the most lively of the group. Mr Hooch was a man in his thirties, conscious of the age difference with his wife, but anyway sporting his healthy tan and broad shoulders proudly; he was obviously making an effort to be sociable, but once the conversation drifted away from sports, his interest decayed. The other occupants of the table were the relatives of the staff who had arrived the year before, with the first tidings of the war: Mr Julius, the vivacious husband of the Muggle Studies teacher, Miss Valerie Sinistra, a thin and nervous young woman, and her brother-in-law, the proud owner of Professor Marceau's hand (yes, the Astronomy and Ancient Runes teacher had recently married a French wizard), and an assortment of Sprouts, of all ages, sizes and all equally boring.
Svetlana readjusted her satin robes, and turned slightly towards the Slytherin table; Serguei caught her eye, remained expressionless, and turned back to his friends, reassuring his mother that he was alright with the situation. Snape caught the brief interaction between them, and followed the sparkles of sapphire that signalled his wife's head-movements. There was something wrong there, and the Potions Master almost missed his mouth with his fork as he thought about it; scowling at Dumbledore's inquiring glance, Snape looked at his wife again, trying to behave like an impartial observer, and failing utterly. He thought she was the most beautiful woman of the table, by far surpassing Mrs Vector, or Miss Sinistra, her pale charms accentuated by her elegant attire and... that was it!!!
Everyone in the Great Hall, Serguei excluded, turned to the teacher's table when Snape slammed his goblet against his plate, got up suddenly and left towards his chambers looking agitated. Svetlana only had the time to raise an inquiring eyebrow before being distracted by Siena's petition of more food, and Valerie's uneasy comment about people who were too busy to eat peacefully.
Dumbledore, from his seat at the teachers' table, observed the scene unfolding before him with interest. Severus' interaction with his wife had kept him infinitely amused since Svetlana had made her entrance into the school, and he was already making some plans of his own to bring together Hogwarts most reluctant couple once again. The Potions Master's attitude didn't seem to leave much hope, but it was Svetlana's distant stance what promised to be more difficult to break. Following her eyes, Dumbledore found little Serguei Snape, the old-before-his-age Slytherin that had already managed to get on the good side of teachers and house-mates, and on the bad side of Gryffindors; the little boy promised, thought the Hogwarts Headmaster with a mental chuckle, turning his attention to the people assembled before him: it really looked like the family meal he expected.
While his wife tried to keep a normal semblance in the Great Hall, Severus Snape was tearing like a madman through Siena's wardrobe, throwing clothes and toys all over the place.
"I knew I had missed something!" he exclaimed as he sent flying a small woollen robe through the air "How could I have been so stupid? Look at this!" Having reached the bottom of the wardrobe, Snape stopped and indeed looked at the piles of clothing surrounding him. The house-elf that stood silently in the fireplace waiting for Snape to go to start putting everything into place again, looked at the clothes without seeing anything wrong with them. They were clean, and they had been well ironed before everything; the elf remembered having special care with the delicate embroiderings and the heavy fabrics, and he couldn't possibly think of what the Potions Master was so upset about.
Snape left the room, and started towards Svetlana's, but he stopped at the door: he didn't have the right, no matter what his suspicions were. Instead, he helped himself to a shot of Firewhiskey, and sat down to wait the return of his wife, and the serious conversation he hoped would ensue. He had to know whether all the ideas that had been surging through his mind since he stormed out of the Great Hall were true, or whether there was a perfectly logical explanation for everything. Little did he know the truth was even more unlikely that the displays of his fevered imagination.
Svetlana came in half an hour later, and Severus had the time to wonder how she had guessed the password while she strode into Siena's bedroom, to leave the sleeping girl in her cot. Once she was settled, Svetlana went into the living room again and gave a curious look to her husband. "I need to talk to you, Svetlana" he announced, his black eyes not leaving the amber tranquillity of his drink; she followed his look and grimaced. "Very well" she agreed "I see this is going to be the kind of conversation that requires liquor to flow, so I hope you won't mind if I help myself to some" Gracefully, she went to a side cabinet and poured a shot of cold vodka; clutching her drink, she sat in front of Severus and met his eyes. "Let's talk"
A/N: Oh, that sounds like a serious talk... don't worry, Sevvie hasn't lost his mind completely. Next chapter *will* by out on Thursday, I promise. Please review now!!!