Disclaimer - see part 1.
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Wizards Honour
Part 20
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Professor Sinistra had been tired and grumpy when she'd gone to the emergency staff meeting. Then Dumbledore's lecture about teacher behaviour had made her recall every cruel word Severus Snape had said to her weeks ago in that very meeting room. After the meeting, Sinistra had felt so tired, grumpy, angry and depressed that she decided to skip breakfast and go back to the Astronomy Tower.
Aurora glared mutinously at the large pile of parchments that teetered precariously on her desk. Usually Sinistra enjoyed marking her students' work, especially when she found an assignment that showed the student had obviously not paid attention in class. The scathing comments and dire tortures she invented in her mind were a fun stress release, even though she wrote down calmer, milder rebukes. But coming up with punishments like leapfrogging Blast-ended Skrewts or washing Dementors' robes just wouldn't be fun today.
She considered walking into her bedroom and transfiguring the parchment bin into a Snape-faced punching bag but decided it would take too much effort. So, instead she sat heavily on her chair and pulled a sheet of parchment out of her desk draw.
The pile of students' parchments wobbled as Sinistra reached for her quill. When she began to write her letter, the pile of parchment scrolls tumbled off the desk and onto the floor. Sinistra muttered a few rude words and stared at the scrolls for a moment, then she shrugged and continued to write.
A few minutes later, she summoned a Hogwarts owl, gave it the finished letter and threw the owl out the Tower window. She threw the owl so hard that it screeched and turned in the air to glower at her before it flew away.
"Stupid bird!" Sinistra stomped across the fallen scrolls, making sure to step on as many as possible, and sat in the chair again. She scrawled a note on scrap of parchment, a mischievous grin plastered across her face as she wrote. This time she summoned a House Elf to deliver the note.
"Is you sure you wants Winky to deliver this, Professor?" Winky looked at the folded and sealed piece of parchment and the name messily scrawled across it. "It's all blotty."
"Yes," Sinistra sighed tiredly. "Just deliver it and don't argue, please."
While Sinistra had been talking, Winky had levitated all the students' parchments off the floor and piled them tidily on the desk. Winky nodded at the clean floor, smiled at Sinistra and disappeared.
"Clean freak," Aurora muttered. She glared, yet again, at the battered scrolls and stumbled off to grab a few hours sleep before the first Astronomy class of the day began.
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The breakfast plates had just disappeared from the tables in the Great Hall when Winky entered it. She ignored the sounds of chairs scraping the floor and teachers reprimanding student for running in across the Hall, and made a beeline for her destination.
Professor Snape was sitting at the Teacher's Table. He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed the little figure as it walked up to him. He took the letter Winky waved under his nose and watched the House Elf run from the room as quickly as she could.
"Strange creature." Snape murmured. He opened the note and read it.
~~ Professor Snape,
You must be glad that this nightmare engagement will soon be over. I've owled the Ministry of Magic for another Revocation form. I will sign the form and bring it to you as soon as it arrives.
So you won't have to worry about being seen with someone 'coarse, immature and visually unappealing', which I'm sure must be ruining your reputation.
Sincerely,
Professor Sinistra ~~
Severus read the note a second time.
"What," he wondered silently, "is she going on about now?" Something or someone had obviously upset her; insulted her badly by the tone of the letter. Severus tapped his fingers on the table. If he found out who had done it he'd kick them into next week.
He was pondering a list of suspects, starting with the paranoid Mad-Eye Moody and ending with Colin Creevey, when the Knut finally dropped. He, Professor Severus Snape, was the one who had insulted her.
Snape covered his face with his hands as his own words echoed through his memory, "Your manner is coarse, you have an immature attitude I cannot stand and, frankly, if I had to be forced to marry someone I would choose someone more visually appealing."
"Sometimes," Snape whispered coldly to the empty room, "I am an absolute prat!"
This time no ghosts wafted through the walls to agree with him. Snape was disgusted that his own behaviour had ruined the plan he was about to put into effect. He prowled across the room and stormed towards the dungeons to unleash his anger on the sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.
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Later that day, Thadeus Assentor sipped his afternoon cup of tea and examined the contents of the letters that lay on the desk before him.
Generally, Thadeus' job in the Wizarding Contract and Leases section of the Ministry of Magic's Law and Lore Division was very dull. Some days he didn't receive any correspondence, other days he received correspondence like the two before him that made up for every dull day of the week.
Thadeus re-read his favourite paragraph of the first letter, which was written in sprawling, angry handwriting.
~ I did have one of the revocation forms but it was burned at Christmas. Please don't ask; it's a long story involving an annoying potion maker and a budgie cage. ~
Thadeus chuckled and wondered exactly what had happened with the budgie cage. He had a strong notion that the 'annoying potion maker' had something to do with the second letter. It wasn't so much the smell of cauldron fumes that emanated from the parchment as the Hogwarts owl that had obviously been fed a 'fly fast' potion that had delivered it.
The second letter was written in a formal, rather old-fashioned style and in proper and spotless handwriting. The letter itself was dull and simply requested a copy of both the acceptance and revocation forms. It was the 'P.S.' that amused the middle-aged clerk.
~ Post Script. Professor Aurora B Sinistra may have corresponded with the Ministry regarding this matter. If she had done so, I would appreciate it if you could delay your reply to her until I have received your correspondence and the forms. I believe that Professor Sinistra was overtired when she composed her request. ~
Thadeus chuckled, "So, Professor Snape, you need help to fight your battles."
Two Hogwarts owls were soon winging their way back to Hogwarts Castle, Ministry document tubes clutched in their talons. Included with the papers for Snape was a brief note explaining that the Ministry could not be seen to favour one party in a contract.
Thadeus watched the owls fly away. He muttered, dryly, as one owl disappeared from sight, "Oops. I forgot to wait until the potion wore off."
To be continued
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Wizards Honour
Part 20
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Professor Sinistra had been tired and grumpy when she'd gone to the emergency staff meeting. Then Dumbledore's lecture about teacher behaviour had made her recall every cruel word Severus Snape had said to her weeks ago in that very meeting room. After the meeting, Sinistra had felt so tired, grumpy, angry and depressed that she decided to skip breakfast and go back to the Astronomy Tower.
Aurora glared mutinously at the large pile of parchments that teetered precariously on her desk. Usually Sinistra enjoyed marking her students' work, especially when she found an assignment that showed the student had obviously not paid attention in class. The scathing comments and dire tortures she invented in her mind were a fun stress release, even though she wrote down calmer, milder rebukes. But coming up with punishments like leapfrogging Blast-ended Skrewts or washing Dementors' robes just wouldn't be fun today.
She considered walking into her bedroom and transfiguring the parchment bin into a Snape-faced punching bag but decided it would take too much effort. So, instead she sat heavily on her chair and pulled a sheet of parchment out of her desk draw.
The pile of students' parchments wobbled as Sinistra reached for her quill. When she began to write her letter, the pile of parchment scrolls tumbled off the desk and onto the floor. Sinistra muttered a few rude words and stared at the scrolls for a moment, then she shrugged and continued to write.
A few minutes later, she summoned a Hogwarts owl, gave it the finished letter and threw the owl out the Tower window. She threw the owl so hard that it screeched and turned in the air to glower at her before it flew away.
"Stupid bird!" Sinistra stomped across the fallen scrolls, making sure to step on as many as possible, and sat in the chair again. She scrawled a note on scrap of parchment, a mischievous grin plastered across her face as she wrote. This time she summoned a House Elf to deliver the note.
"Is you sure you wants Winky to deliver this, Professor?" Winky looked at the folded and sealed piece of parchment and the name messily scrawled across it. "It's all blotty."
"Yes," Sinistra sighed tiredly. "Just deliver it and don't argue, please."
While Sinistra had been talking, Winky had levitated all the students' parchments off the floor and piled them tidily on the desk. Winky nodded at the clean floor, smiled at Sinistra and disappeared.
"Clean freak," Aurora muttered. She glared, yet again, at the battered scrolls and stumbled off to grab a few hours sleep before the first Astronomy class of the day began.
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The breakfast plates had just disappeared from the tables in the Great Hall when Winky entered it. She ignored the sounds of chairs scraping the floor and teachers reprimanding student for running in across the Hall, and made a beeline for her destination.
Professor Snape was sitting at the Teacher's Table. He was so lost in thought that he barely noticed the little figure as it walked up to him. He took the letter Winky waved under his nose and watched the House Elf run from the room as quickly as she could.
"Strange creature." Snape murmured. He opened the note and read it.
~~ Professor Snape,
You must be glad that this nightmare engagement will soon be over. I've owled the Ministry of Magic for another Revocation form. I will sign the form and bring it to you as soon as it arrives.
So you won't have to worry about being seen with someone 'coarse, immature and visually unappealing', which I'm sure must be ruining your reputation.
Sincerely,
Professor Sinistra ~~
Severus read the note a second time.
"What," he wondered silently, "is she going on about now?" Something or someone had obviously upset her; insulted her badly by the tone of the letter. Severus tapped his fingers on the table. If he found out who had done it he'd kick them into next week.
He was pondering a list of suspects, starting with the paranoid Mad-Eye Moody and ending with Colin Creevey, when the Knut finally dropped. He, Professor Severus Snape, was the one who had insulted her.
Snape covered his face with his hands as his own words echoed through his memory, "Your manner is coarse, you have an immature attitude I cannot stand and, frankly, if I had to be forced to marry someone I would choose someone more visually appealing."
"Sometimes," Snape whispered coldly to the empty room, "I am an absolute prat!"
This time no ghosts wafted through the walls to agree with him. Snape was disgusted that his own behaviour had ruined the plan he was about to put into effect. He prowled across the room and stormed towards the dungeons to unleash his anger on the sixth year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.
---------------
Later that day, Thadeus Assentor sipped his afternoon cup of tea and examined the contents of the letters that lay on the desk before him.
Generally, Thadeus' job in the Wizarding Contract and Leases section of the Ministry of Magic's Law and Lore Division was very dull. Some days he didn't receive any correspondence, other days he received correspondence like the two before him that made up for every dull day of the week.
Thadeus re-read his favourite paragraph of the first letter, which was written in sprawling, angry handwriting.
~ I did have one of the revocation forms but it was burned at Christmas. Please don't ask; it's a long story involving an annoying potion maker and a budgie cage. ~
Thadeus chuckled and wondered exactly what had happened with the budgie cage. He had a strong notion that the 'annoying potion maker' had something to do with the second letter. It wasn't so much the smell of cauldron fumes that emanated from the parchment as the Hogwarts owl that had obviously been fed a 'fly fast' potion that had delivered it.
The second letter was written in a formal, rather old-fashioned style and in proper and spotless handwriting. The letter itself was dull and simply requested a copy of both the acceptance and revocation forms. It was the 'P.S.' that amused the middle-aged clerk.
~ Post Script. Professor Aurora B Sinistra may have corresponded with the Ministry regarding this matter. If she had done so, I would appreciate it if you could delay your reply to her until I have received your correspondence and the forms. I believe that Professor Sinistra was overtired when she composed her request. ~
Thadeus chuckled, "So, Professor Snape, you need help to fight your battles."
Two Hogwarts owls were soon winging their way back to Hogwarts Castle, Ministry document tubes clutched in their talons. Included with the papers for Snape was a brief note explaining that the Ministry could not be seen to favour one party in a contract.
Thadeus watched the owls fly away. He muttered, dryly, as one owl disappeared from sight, "Oops. I forgot to wait until the potion wore off."
To be continued