The knife
A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews. I am so grateful to you all, particularly those of you who review regularly. I love the excitement of posting new chapters and waiting for reviews to roll in. I hope I continue to amuse you. I would just like to mention that I am now beta-ing "Grave Illness and Despair" by Elena Snape, pop over and check it out. Thanks for your review Elena.
Special mention should be made of Moose and our ongoing communication about the effects child abuse would have on Jane, and ratings. I appreciate your input. It may actually mean the addition of an extra chapter or two. I will be considering our discussions as I post each chapter.
To Pen D Fox: I am very sorry if I shocked or offended you. After reading some rating info that Moose sent me, I have decided to sit at PG13. I don't believe that this needs to be R. Please forgive me if you were upset by what happened. There will be nothing further along those lines, although things won't be plain sailing. Please continue to read. I would be grateful if you did.
In answer to your doubts - normally, I wouldn't expect Snape to smile at Hermione either, but I think he is in that golden period of happiness that comes about when something changes for the better in your life. I would say when you fall in love, but as I am not aware of your age etc, I am not sure if you have experienced this. Trust me, the change may not be permanent, and his improved personality will falter. Second, while it is possible that Hermione doesn't know Snape is a spy by the end of Goblet of Fire, I can't imagine that Harry would keep that information from his two best friends for long. I just figured it would be natural for Harry to tell Hermione and Ron.
Anyway, that is enough blabbing from me. Here is the next chapter. Sorry it is short (shorter than this note almost) but it has to be written and it doesn't really connect with the next chapter. I will post another next Friday. We are entering the exam period at University and I MUST study.
Just in case you are wondering, I have spent 4 days trying to post this. If you can read this it was successful. If not, I don't know what I will do.
**********
Jane woke slowly. The first thing she noticed was that she could no longer smell hospital smells. Then she remembered that he had taken her back to his rooms. She opened her eyes and gasped. She couldn't believe how beautiful the room was. She was smiling joyously when he opened the door to look in on her.
"I see you are awake sleeping beauty."
"Sleeping beauty?" Jane looked at him quizzically, not understanding.
"Some other time." He smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, thank you. Sorry I didn't tell you." She apologised quickly.
"That's fine. Just don't do it again alright?"
"Yes Severus."
"Do you like your room?"
"MY room?!" Jane gaped at him incredulously.
Snape nodded. "What, did you think I would make you sleep on the floor?"
"I didn't expect this. It is wonderful, thank you."
Snape nodded. "I believe this is yours too." He passed her the knife, the only thing she had brought to Hogwarts. He had cleaned it of grime and it now shined brightly, the snake motif on the handle now clearly visible. He recognised the design, but doubted there was any real significance in that fact that some of his own knives carried a similar motif.
"It's so clean. Is it really mine?"
"Yes, it is really yours. Just do me a favour and try not to use it alright?"
Jane looked at the knife in wonderment. It hadn't been that clean since her mother had owned it, well at least not since she had run away from home. Sadness pierced her heart at the thought of her mother. "I will try not to."
Snape, watching her, noticed the sadness that sprang into her eyes as she turned the knife over in her hands. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned.
"My Mother gave it to me. I miss her. Sorry." Jane apologised again, quietly.
"What on earth are you sorry for?"
"For not just being grateful to have you."
Snape looked at her incredulously. "You're allowed to miss your mother Jane. I can't replace your real family."
"You're better than my father."
"That may well be the case, I certainly don't intend to treat you the way he did, but I am never going to be your real family, no matter how much either of us may come to desire it."
"I already desire it." Jane whispered.
He sighed and watched as she turned the knife over and over in her hands. It intrigued him, and he wondered if the design had any significance for the girl's mother. "Jane, do you remember very much about your mother?"
Jane looked at him. "Only little bits. She was a teacher like you - she taught ancient history and philosophy at university. I remember she was very beautiful."
"She takes after her daughter then." Jane blushed. "What did she use the knife for, do you know?"
Jane nodded. "She used it to prepare ingredients for her remedies."
Snape looked at her startled. "What remedies?"
"I don't really remember. I think it was some word starting with h." She looked away, struggling to dredge up the information from her childhood. "Homo something I think. Grandma taught her she said. She was going to teach me but -." Jane choked on her words and tears sprung to her eyes. She looked away from Snape.
"Homeopathy, was that the word?" Snape asked softly, squeezing the girl's shoulder in quiet support.
Jane nodded and turned back to him, eyes now filled with excitement. "Do you know about it? Can you teach me?"
"It is a small part of what I teach, at least the preparation of the ingredients is similar to what I teach. I can probably teach you a little about the art if you would like." Snape lost himself in thought. It was an interesting turn of events that this child had such a knife, and that it had been used in such a way. Homeopathy had its origins in witchcraft, although it had now become an almost mainstream Muggle science. He would have to discuss it with Dumbledore at some stage. Perhaps the design had some significance after all.
A/N: Thank you for your wonderful reviews. I am so grateful to you all, particularly those of you who review regularly. I love the excitement of posting new chapters and waiting for reviews to roll in. I hope I continue to amuse you. I would just like to mention that I am now beta-ing "Grave Illness and Despair" by Elena Snape, pop over and check it out. Thanks for your review Elena.
Special mention should be made of Moose and our ongoing communication about the effects child abuse would have on Jane, and ratings. I appreciate your input. It may actually mean the addition of an extra chapter or two. I will be considering our discussions as I post each chapter.
To Pen D Fox: I am very sorry if I shocked or offended you. After reading some rating info that Moose sent me, I have decided to sit at PG13. I don't believe that this needs to be R. Please forgive me if you were upset by what happened. There will be nothing further along those lines, although things won't be plain sailing. Please continue to read. I would be grateful if you did.
In answer to your doubts - normally, I wouldn't expect Snape to smile at Hermione either, but I think he is in that golden period of happiness that comes about when something changes for the better in your life. I would say when you fall in love, but as I am not aware of your age etc, I am not sure if you have experienced this. Trust me, the change may not be permanent, and his improved personality will falter. Second, while it is possible that Hermione doesn't know Snape is a spy by the end of Goblet of Fire, I can't imagine that Harry would keep that information from his two best friends for long. I just figured it would be natural for Harry to tell Hermione and Ron.
Anyway, that is enough blabbing from me. Here is the next chapter. Sorry it is short (shorter than this note almost) but it has to be written and it doesn't really connect with the next chapter. I will post another next Friday. We are entering the exam period at University and I MUST study.
Just in case you are wondering, I have spent 4 days trying to post this. If you can read this it was successful. If not, I don't know what I will do.
**********
Jane woke slowly. The first thing she noticed was that she could no longer smell hospital smells. Then she remembered that he had taken her back to his rooms. She opened her eyes and gasped. She couldn't believe how beautiful the room was. She was smiling joyously when he opened the door to look in on her.
"I see you are awake sleeping beauty."
"Sleeping beauty?" Jane looked at him quizzically, not understanding.
"Some other time." He smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, thank you. Sorry I didn't tell you." She apologised quickly.
"That's fine. Just don't do it again alright?"
"Yes Severus."
"Do you like your room?"
"MY room?!" Jane gaped at him incredulously.
Snape nodded. "What, did you think I would make you sleep on the floor?"
"I didn't expect this. It is wonderful, thank you."
Snape nodded. "I believe this is yours too." He passed her the knife, the only thing she had brought to Hogwarts. He had cleaned it of grime and it now shined brightly, the snake motif on the handle now clearly visible. He recognised the design, but doubted there was any real significance in that fact that some of his own knives carried a similar motif.
"It's so clean. Is it really mine?"
"Yes, it is really yours. Just do me a favour and try not to use it alright?"
Jane looked at the knife in wonderment. It hadn't been that clean since her mother had owned it, well at least not since she had run away from home. Sadness pierced her heart at the thought of her mother. "I will try not to."
Snape, watching her, noticed the sadness that sprang into her eyes as she turned the knife over in her hands. "What's wrong?" He asked concerned.
"My Mother gave it to me. I miss her. Sorry." Jane apologised again, quietly.
"What on earth are you sorry for?"
"For not just being grateful to have you."
Snape looked at her incredulously. "You're allowed to miss your mother Jane. I can't replace your real family."
"You're better than my father."
"That may well be the case, I certainly don't intend to treat you the way he did, but I am never going to be your real family, no matter how much either of us may come to desire it."
"I already desire it." Jane whispered.
He sighed and watched as she turned the knife over and over in her hands. It intrigued him, and he wondered if the design had any significance for the girl's mother. "Jane, do you remember very much about your mother?"
Jane looked at him. "Only little bits. She was a teacher like you - she taught ancient history and philosophy at university. I remember she was very beautiful."
"She takes after her daughter then." Jane blushed. "What did she use the knife for, do you know?"
Jane nodded. "She used it to prepare ingredients for her remedies."
Snape looked at her startled. "What remedies?"
"I don't really remember. I think it was some word starting with h." She looked away, struggling to dredge up the information from her childhood. "Homo something I think. Grandma taught her she said. She was going to teach me but -." Jane choked on her words and tears sprung to her eyes. She looked away from Snape.
"Homeopathy, was that the word?" Snape asked softly, squeezing the girl's shoulder in quiet support.
Jane nodded and turned back to him, eyes now filled with excitement. "Do you know about it? Can you teach me?"
"It is a small part of what I teach, at least the preparation of the ingredients is similar to what I teach. I can probably teach you a little about the art if you would like." Snape lost himself in thought. It was an interesting turn of events that this child had such a knife, and that it had been used in such a way. Homeopathy had its origins in witchcraft, although it had now become an almost mainstream Muggle science. He would have to discuss it with Dumbledore at some stage. Perhaps the design had some significance after all.