MH   Interlude 8

Dizmius A.

~*~

current obsession has to be that new Disney film the Pirates of the Caribbean, love it love it love it! Love Johnny Depp and his fantastic hair in that film.. a younger Snapey model? Yes, I think so… Draezyc would be pleased ;)

song of the update: Moulin Rouge – Bolero (closing credits)

~*~

Severus Snape was not impressed.  Suspended indeed!  Contrary to popular belief, he knew very well where Draezyc could be found and that was the reason why Severus Snape was wading through what he would describe as near close to an avalanche of snow up to a dark stone house at the peak of a desolate hill.  The sledge tracks going down the hillside told Severus that Draezyc had managed to take Pytheus with her on her flight.  Severus had no qualms in admitting this particular house of the Snapes was his least favourite.  Anti – apparition wards made sure that Snape had no access closer than the bottom of the hill, which meant a long trek up to the top and in this weather, a long trek was not advisable.  Upon reaching the large black door, it opened before he had reached up a painfully cold hand to the door knob.

"Master is returned!" A small house elf bowed deeply, scampering out of the way as Severus shut the door behind him and threw the elf his travelling robe.  "My wife?"

"Is in the library, Sir." The elf squeaked quickly

"And my son?"

"In his room." The elf folded Severus' robes.  "Is Master wanting his dinner? Mistress has not eaten since arrival and young master is busying with his books."

"Have it ready by seven.  It is hardly past lunchtime yet…"

"SEVERUS!" 

Severus concealed any feelings of shock at the sudden outburst from the portrait of his father above the hallway.  "Greetings."

"What do you think you're playing at?!"  Snape Snr shared the same sallow and dark features as his son,  "Phineas Nigellus just told me!"

"Suspended from working as a teacher, I thought you'd be pleased."  Severus sneered. "Such a menial job, as you once told me."

"Your mother was a teacher for just under a year!" Snape Snr shouted, "And look where it got her!"

"You hit her to death, father.  You did.  Not her teaching skills." Severus's voice had turned to an icy hiss.  "You hit her, and I had to watch you.  She never did anything wrong."

"Smearing the reputation of all Snape women by taking a paid… profession.  And a teacher, at that!" Snape Snr puffed up in his portrait, "Pity there weren't more Draelianas around when I married your mother."

Severus had never seen his father so pleased as the day he married Draeliana Tealamon.  Draezyc had never done a day's worth of paid work in her life, living off her family's vast fortune for the most part.  Draezyc had always got on remarkably well with Severus' father's portrait.  No surprises there.

"Oh, shut up, you buffoon."  Severus snapped, stalking off towards his chambers so he could change into something slightly less wet.

~*~

In the library, Draezyc was laughing.  Severus entered, still fuming from his encounter with his father's portrait.

"The most excellent news!" Draezyc stood up wobbly, and kissed Severus on the nose, "Your darling daddy told me, courtesy of Phineas Nigellus, as per usual."

"What have you been drinking?"  Severus sniffed his wife's breath suspiciously, "You're absolutely drunk."

"Actually, I'm not drunk." Draezyc threw a crystal goblet to Severus, who quickly stooped to catch it.  "But you can join me on my road to the stated inebriated state."

Severus raised an eyebrow at the row of opened bottles on the silk carpet, and the small cluster of unopened ones, doomed to be drunk.  "Very well."  He sat down in the chair Draezyc had only recently vacated. 

"My chair."  Draezyc pouted, reaching down for a bottle of expensive Sauvignon.  "Get your own."

"This, I think you will find, is my favourite chair."

"Oh, I feel so guilty." Draezyc rolled her eyes, dipping into a clumsy curtsey, her bottle sloshing haphazardly in her hand.  "Whatever can I possibly do to alleviate all this pain?"

"Sit on the floor." Severus smirked.  "Before you fall onto the floor."

"Fine."  Draezyc adjusted her robes and sat down remarkably regally on the carpet next to the bottles.  "Feel better?"

"Not really, I was not expecting an extended holiday of this sort." Severus took the bottle from Draezyc and filled up both their goblets.  "And Our Lord will NOT be impressed."

"Why ever not?"

"No spy inside Hogwarts."

"Ah."  Draezyc nodded, "Yes I see your problem."  She smiled sweetly, "However, how you're away from the awful clutches of that blubbering wreck Dumbledore, you can put in some quality time where it matters."

"Draezyc." Severus laughed, "Pytheus will not be impressed if we do not surface from the bedroom for a month."

"Ah, no."  Draezyc giggled, "I wasn't talking about your sexual prowess."  She pointed at the pile of books on the table in the centre of the room,  "You can help me with this soul siphon thingy."

"Oh not that again."  Severus once again refilled his goblet, "Cant you delegate?"

"I have delegated."  Draezyc smirked over the rim of her glass, "I delegated it to you."

"Insubordination, my love.  Foul play."

"Only for the weak."

"I'm delegating."

"To whom?"

"Your son."

"Oh, he's just going to love that,"  Draezyc lay back on the carpet, "I can see the tantrum now, it's not going to be pretty.  He wants to play outside in the snow with the Dolohov boys.  Not read boring texts in some odd language."

"Pity he's not like his father, then."

"You…" Draezyc pointed vaguely in his direction, "Were such a little bookworm you were taunted for it for your entire childhood, excuse me for sparing my child the same indignity, and be thankful Black never had the chance to produce offspring."

"Yes, I suppose."  Severus conceded.  "But you never were involved with any of that, as I remember."

"Except for the occasion mudblood cursing." Draezyc mumbled vacantly.  "I got Lily Miss Prissy Evans really well once… Balding Hex.  I hated her red hair."

"I remember.  I got the blame for it, and Potter chased me round the herbology greenhouse for an hour."

"Until you charmed a venus fly trap to grow and chase after Black and Pettigrew, that was funny."  Draezyc slurped at her goblet.  "Early in the day and we're drinking… How very… uncivilised."

"Uncouth."

"Ruffian."

"Harlot."

Draezyc laughed at that,  "Not any more.   She's all gone now."

"Do you even care?"

"Honestly? Not really.  Pleased I wasn't the one who killed her, that was fortunate."

"Thought you might think that."  Severus nodded.  "You know they all blame me."

"Who gives a rat's arse what they think?"  Draezyc sat up indignantly  "You're so much above them anyway," she put down her goblet and slunk over to Severus' chair where she rested her head on his leg, "And perhaps now you can see who believes in you for yourself, rather than who simply uses you for your information."

"If you're talking about the Dark Lord…" Severus tipped up Draezyc's chin with his index finger, "You know what my reply will be."

"Well, you know where MY loyalties lay anyway."  Draezyc licked his finger,  "You taste of cork."

"What do you know," Severus picked up the cork from the bottle of wine he'd just opened and bounced it off Draezyc's head.  "I wonder why that is, my lovely."

"That wasn't a very nice husbandly thing to do."  Draezyc picked up the cork and threw it back at Severus, hitting him squarely between the eyes.  She shrieked with her success and fell back to the floor laughing as Severus picked up his wand and charmed all available corks to float menacingly above Draezyc's face.  "I submit! Mercy!"

"From a dozen wine bottle corks?"  Severus smirked.  "Weakling."

"Ooh a challenge!" Draezyc picked up her own wand and charmed the empty bottles to float above Severus' head.  "I think that's more threatening."

"Mother?!" Pytheus stormed into the room, covered in snow.

Draezyc lost all concentration at the intrusion and the bottles fell crashing onto Severus, and the floor.

Pytheus stared at his father and hastily covered his smirk with his hand.

"Yes, my little python?"  Draezyc turned to her son, looking as responsible as possible.

"Alex and Pietro Dolohov invited me round their manor, can I go?"

"As long as you go by Floo and remind their father that he owes me fifty galleons over my bet about DuCruet, then yes."  Draezyc glanced at Severus, who was picking bits of broken glass off his clothes and hair.

"Excellent, see you at dinner mother, father!" Pytheus streaked out of the door, eagerly running towards the main fireplace in the entrance hall.

"My apologies."  Draezyc smiled, affectionately picking a stray bit of glass off the top of Severus' head, she looked down at the burning mark on her arm.  "Show time."

~*~

"My, my."  Lord Voldemort placed a long white finger to his chin, "I believe my congratulations are in order.  But to what price?"

"What price!" Wormtail echoed gleefully, peering out from behind his master's chair beside the fireplace.

"True enough we are rid of DuCruet."  Voldemort surveyed the bowed heads of his surrounding Death Eaters.  "And that gives me a great pleasure indeed, but I fear we are being worked into a corner."

Draezyc gave a sidelong look at Lucius Malfoy, if anybody knew what was coming, it was Lucius.

"Severus, my own ace of spades."  Voldemort slid up from his chair and turned to Snape.  "It would seem that your dark endeavours have not been concealed as well as you would like."

"Master…" Severus took a deep breath, willing himself to look Voldemort eye to eye, Occlumency was a fine art, but it required a degree of willpower enough to shatter any man's inner strength.

"I do not wish to hear it."  Voldemort turned away, "I already know."

"Always knows!" Bellatrix Lestrange hissed manically from within the circle. 

"Indeed, Bellatrix." Voldemort indulged his favourite female death eater, "And it would seem that we have lost our most valuable spy within the ranks of Dumbledore and his insipid bunch of muggle lovers."

"By no fault of ours."  Draezyc spoke up, well aware of the usual consequences.

"Really?" Voldemort turned on her, looking incredulous.  "Ah, Draeliana, you always had a strong word that got ahead of your power of thought."  He smiled cruelly, "And what makes you think this?"

"Look at the situation for yourself, Severus is still within the trust of Dumbledore, that he is not within Hogwarts should pose no difference.  It was the teaching post he was suspended from until the New Year, not the Order of the Phoenix."  Draezyc stepped out of the circle into Voldemort's presence. "We are still able to extract the information you need, at your desire."  She swept down into a regally low curtsey, with the most challenging of smiles.  "A little patience, is all that is required on our behalf to secure you your knowledge."

"For your sake I hope it is thus."  Voldemort snarled, "I would not like to see you go the same way as Regulus Black, you are worth more than that."

TBC