Anti-lawyer spell: Only borrowing, not making any money with it, promise to
return (although condition should have improved no guarantee is given).
Please review in abundance, it's the only thing that keeps me going.
Summary: Sometimes dreams can become reality, the problem is deciding which ones and when that line has been crossed.
Many thanks due to my wonderful beta- Kellye you are a star!
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss
In the last week Severus felt he had finally been to hell. Totally rejected, he had felt his heart shatter at the look in her eyes. Nursing his grief, he had retreated into his shell, presenting a cold and unfeeling exterior to all who encountered him in the course of his repetitive days. Inside he seethed, rage, cold yet burning, ran through his veins, erupting at the slightest provocation. He wallowed in his feelings whilst showing nothing to his encapsulated audience but a vindictive bad temper.
Time was passing, and yet his anger had not mellowed. Evenings were spent broodingly alone, ignoring her demands to talk. He couldn't trust himself to talk to her; he had no idea of the course of his actions if he were to set eyes on her tear-stained face. Would he retaliate or could he forgive her, bring her into his arms and end this charade? He could not be sure; could not rule out the possibility that he wouldn't simply cast a curse he might later regret. His rage had a life of its own, feeding on his brooding despair until he could no longer be sure that it wouldn't control his actions.
Moments of pained introspection had lead him to think about his first heart ache, in his younger years. It had never seemed so painful, he mused. He had been prepared for the break up, knowing that they were not going to last, waiting for the final words to bring the relationship to an end. That, he had decided, was the difference. He had not, this time, been prepared.
Before she knew his identity, when the all-encompassing darkness had hidden their features from each other, when their simple joy in each other had been enough, then he had been prepared. He had waited, knowing that one day she would know him, through chance, by deduction, by accident. She would learn his identity and run from him, just as everyone he had ever cared for had. He had been as open as he dared, and yet some part of him still waited for the parting, sheltering his inner self from the hurt he expected to come.
But then, she had returned, knowingly sought his company and grown to care for him, to care for Severus the man, not the teacher she once knew and despised. And he had dared to hope; he had let his defences grow weak in the delicious knowledge that she cared for him. He had allowed himself to imagine the future, never thinking about the possibility of hurt and pain. He had been totally defenceless against the dawning horror in her eyes. He had been unprepared.
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssss
Fawkes was preening his new glossy plumage when the barn owl swooped in without a by your leave and landed next to him on his perch. Squawking indignantly he shoved it off, disclaiming loudly until his master came to investigate the noise.
"There, there now. Whatever is the matter? " he soothed quietly, stooping to gather the slightly stunned owl from the floor and ruffling its feathers gently. The bird held a white envelope in it's beak, and seemed to be very eager to deliver it and be on its way.
"Well, I wonder who you belong to my dear?" he muttered, taking the envelope and tearing it open. Absent-mindedly he offered it a piece of bacon from his late morning snack which was still sitting untouched on a plate on his immaculate desk. It eyed him nervously, whilst trying to simultaneously watch the huge bad-tempered red creature in the corner.
"Ah, Miss Granger has finally written to me it seems. Are you waiting for a reply?" he queried to the owl, raising an eyebrow over a twinkling blue eye. The bird bobbed it's head up and down, clearly indicating the affirmative, so the old man settled into his chair and read the request he had been expecting ever since he had decided to put some leverage into the situation.
"Ah, I see. Yes, I suppose it does create a bit of a problem if he won't even talk to you. Ah Fawkes," he said turning to his companion, " You were right you know. With a little luck, and a great deal of deception, this might just work out satisfactorily." The headmaster smiled, and taking his quill from it's rest, he penned his reply for the nervous owl to carry back to it's mistress.
Hermione dug through her bag, pulling the cream envelope from her bag and hurriedly pulling the letter from inside. "See, it says he is willing to do as we asked,." she read a paragraph out loud to Cassandra, "for the sake of my continued hopes for your relationship and most particularly, school harmony." Hermione grinned at her friend. "It seems Severus has been a bit grouchy lately."
"Yes, well." Cassandra said, her mouth pursed, but amusement glinting in her eyes. "At least Dumbledore is willing to help. What exactly was it we asked him to agree to? " she asked, not having seen the letter that Hermione had sent the previous evening after her dinner with the boys had descended into an evening of wallowing in self-recrimination, followed by ice-cream and a raging desire to put things right once and for all.
"Well, I told him that I felt my only viable course of action was to confront Severus where he couldn't just ignore me. Although the headmaster agrees, he is advising caution. He says that confronting a wizard as powerful and, more particularly, as cranky as Severus, is never the easy option." Hermione grimaced slightly. "I am sure that Severus won't hurt me intentionally, but, well." she paused slightly.
"Best to be safe," Cassandra commented, "just in case he is really pissed at you."
Hermione nodded, "Professor Dumbledore has said he is willing to enter into a slight deception in order to convince Severus to attend his office; some house meeting, majorly important stuff. Then when he has entered the room, the door will shut behind him, allowing me to talk to him whilst preventing escape. I will have one hour to convince him of how I feel," she finished, feeling more upbeat about the situation now that a major obstacle to her plans was removed.
"Uhm, Hermione? What happens if he decides to curse you into next week, waits an hour and then leaves? You will be able to escape yourself, won't you?" Cass questioned.
Hermione looked up, slightly stunned by the question, "I hadn't thought of that," she replied, pulling another quill from her bag as she set to, drawing up a more detailed list of requirements for her golden hour meeting. She just hoped that Dumbledore would be happy about the adjustments she suddenly knew would have to be put into action.
Dumbledore busied himself around the room, putting the finishing touches to the wards and protections that would contain the potions master and Hermione for the next hour. His refinements allowed Hermione to control the door and break the wards, but no amount of force from Severus would be able to weaken them; or at least the headmaster hoped that Severus would have to stay put. He was wary of the younger man's powers, knowing that although he rarely used his wand, he was, once driven to it, very proficient in its use, and was easily the second most powerful wizard on the staff of Hogwarts, after himself of course.
"Fawkes old boy, I do hope you are up to taking care of her for me," the headmaster queried, peering through his half-moon spectacles at the dozing bird. Fawkes simply nodded once, settling himself down for a light snooze.
Hermione had arrived quietly, sneaking though the passageway from the shrieking shack back into Hogwarts. Carefully, making sure that she timed her arrival for the middle of a class, she crept through the familiar corridors and up to the headmaster's study. The password duly given, she made her way up the revolving staircase and along the short corridor which lead to the cozy room.
"Come in, come in Miss Granger, " his voice called, the door creaking open by itself to reveal the elderly wizard beaming madly, his hands still busy spinning the complex web of wards around the door as she entered. "There, all sorted for your little meeting. Fawkes has generously decided to stay. If anything untoward happens you can rely on his help. I'll leave you in peace now. Severus should be here in a few minutes. Good luck Miss Granger. I do wish you both the best my child," he said, gently squeezing the silent Hermione's shoulder as he passed by her.
Turning to catch him before he left the room she called out, "Thank you sir. Thank you for this chance; you have no idea how much it means to me."
"Not to worry my dear. I was young once you know; hard to believe I'm sure, but I do sympathise with you. Let me know how you get on." Cheerily smiling, he left, leaving Hermione and his phoenix to wait for the potions master to arrive. . Hermione paced, glancing warily at the clock which ticked loudly from above the mantle place. He should be here for the meeting at four o'clock. That gave her ten minutes, the longest ten minutes of her life, in order to worry, panic, fret and generally decide that this was possibly not the smartest move she had ever made. Sinking wearily into one of the upholstered chairs that faced the fire, she faced down her inner demons.
"This is the right move Hermione. You need to do this, for him, for you, for the two of you." The mantra continued in her head, reminding her of the man she was setting out to convince; reminding her of what she stood to gain and lose should this gambit not work. Fawkes sat and cocked his head, listening to the girl and thanking the god of phoenixes that he didn't have the same problems.
The clock had only moved three minutes, although it felt like hours. Hermione sat and stared at the flames, running through her arguments in her head. She knew that however logical it all seemed when she had discussed it over the canteen table, it would not be quite so clear-cut when she tried to make him understand. She knew that this would be her last effort. If this did not work, she could not see how any other action would make him change his mind. This knowledge, more than any other, was what was scaring Hermione. She was staking her whole hand on being able to make him listen to her today, and she was aware that it was not as simple as just getting him in the same room.
She jumped when the door creaked open. She had not seen the clock's hands as they seemed to race through the final seven minutes. Severus was exceptionally punctual, as expected, and had arrived in his usual superior way, flourishing his teaching robes slightly as he swept into the room, searching for the headmaster's figure. He had not expected the sudden surge of magic as the door closed behind him; the wards activating had set off his inner alarm bells so that he turned and quickly inspected the handiwork of their maker. Seeing Dumbledore's hand in the setting of the wards, he relaxed somewhat, and was certainly not expecting the shock on turning back into the room of finding himself face-to-face across a ten foot carpet with a shaking Hermione Granger.
"Hello Severus."
Please review in abundance, it's the only thing that keeps me going.
Summary: Sometimes dreams can become reality, the problem is deciding which ones and when that line has been crossed.
Many thanks due to my wonderful beta- Kellye you are a star!
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssss
In the last week Severus felt he had finally been to hell. Totally rejected, he had felt his heart shatter at the look in her eyes. Nursing his grief, he had retreated into his shell, presenting a cold and unfeeling exterior to all who encountered him in the course of his repetitive days. Inside he seethed, rage, cold yet burning, ran through his veins, erupting at the slightest provocation. He wallowed in his feelings whilst showing nothing to his encapsulated audience but a vindictive bad temper.
Time was passing, and yet his anger had not mellowed. Evenings were spent broodingly alone, ignoring her demands to talk. He couldn't trust himself to talk to her; he had no idea of the course of his actions if he were to set eyes on her tear-stained face. Would he retaliate or could he forgive her, bring her into his arms and end this charade? He could not be sure; could not rule out the possibility that he wouldn't simply cast a curse he might later regret. His rage had a life of its own, feeding on his brooding despair until he could no longer be sure that it wouldn't control his actions.
Moments of pained introspection had lead him to think about his first heart ache, in his younger years. It had never seemed so painful, he mused. He had been prepared for the break up, knowing that they were not going to last, waiting for the final words to bring the relationship to an end. That, he had decided, was the difference. He had not, this time, been prepared.
Before she knew his identity, when the all-encompassing darkness had hidden their features from each other, when their simple joy in each other had been enough, then he had been prepared. He had waited, knowing that one day she would know him, through chance, by deduction, by accident. She would learn his identity and run from him, just as everyone he had ever cared for had. He had been as open as he dared, and yet some part of him still waited for the parting, sheltering his inner self from the hurt he expected to come.
But then, she had returned, knowingly sought his company and grown to care for him, to care for Severus the man, not the teacher she once knew and despised. And he had dared to hope; he had let his defences grow weak in the delicious knowledge that she cared for him. He had allowed himself to imagine the future, never thinking about the possibility of hurt and pain. He had been totally defenceless against the dawning horror in her eyes. He had been unprepared.
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss ssssssssssssss
Fawkes was preening his new glossy plumage when the barn owl swooped in without a by your leave and landed next to him on his perch. Squawking indignantly he shoved it off, disclaiming loudly until his master came to investigate the noise.
"There, there now. Whatever is the matter? " he soothed quietly, stooping to gather the slightly stunned owl from the floor and ruffling its feathers gently. The bird held a white envelope in it's beak, and seemed to be very eager to deliver it and be on its way.
"Well, I wonder who you belong to my dear?" he muttered, taking the envelope and tearing it open. Absent-mindedly he offered it a piece of bacon from his late morning snack which was still sitting untouched on a plate on his immaculate desk. It eyed him nervously, whilst trying to simultaneously watch the huge bad-tempered red creature in the corner.
"Ah, Miss Granger has finally written to me it seems. Are you waiting for a reply?" he queried to the owl, raising an eyebrow over a twinkling blue eye. The bird bobbed it's head up and down, clearly indicating the affirmative, so the old man settled into his chair and read the request he had been expecting ever since he had decided to put some leverage into the situation.
"Ah, I see. Yes, I suppose it does create a bit of a problem if he won't even talk to you. Ah Fawkes," he said turning to his companion, " You were right you know. With a little luck, and a great deal of deception, this might just work out satisfactorily." The headmaster smiled, and taking his quill from it's rest, he penned his reply for the nervous owl to carry back to it's mistress.
Hermione dug through her bag, pulling the cream envelope from her bag and hurriedly pulling the letter from inside. "See, it says he is willing to do as we asked,." she read a paragraph out loud to Cassandra, "for the sake of my continued hopes for your relationship and most particularly, school harmony." Hermione grinned at her friend. "It seems Severus has been a bit grouchy lately."
"Yes, well." Cassandra said, her mouth pursed, but amusement glinting in her eyes. "At least Dumbledore is willing to help. What exactly was it we asked him to agree to? " she asked, not having seen the letter that Hermione had sent the previous evening after her dinner with the boys had descended into an evening of wallowing in self-recrimination, followed by ice-cream and a raging desire to put things right once and for all.
"Well, I told him that I felt my only viable course of action was to confront Severus where he couldn't just ignore me. Although the headmaster agrees, he is advising caution. He says that confronting a wizard as powerful and, more particularly, as cranky as Severus, is never the easy option." Hermione grimaced slightly. "I am sure that Severus won't hurt me intentionally, but, well." she paused slightly.
"Best to be safe," Cassandra commented, "just in case he is really pissed at you."
Hermione nodded, "Professor Dumbledore has said he is willing to enter into a slight deception in order to convince Severus to attend his office; some house meeting, majorly important stuff. Then when he has entered the room, the door will shut behind him, allowing me to talk to him whilst preventing escape. I will have one hour to convince him of how I feel," she finished, feeling more upbeat about the situation now that a major obstacle to her plans was removed.
"Uhm, Hermione? What happens if he decides to curse you into next week, waits an hour and then leaves? You will be able to escape yourself, won't you?" Cass questioned.
Hermione looked up, slightly stunned by the question, "I hadn't thought of that," she replied, pulling another quill from her bag as she set to, drawing up a more detailed list of requirements for her golden hour meeting. She just hoped that Dumbledore would be happy about the adjustments she suddenly knew would have to be put into action.
Dumbledore busied himself around the room, putting the finishing touches to the wards and protections that would contain the potions master and Hermione for the next hour. His refinements allowed Hermione to control the door and break the wards, but no amount of force from Severus would be able to weaken them; or at least the headmaster hoped that Severus would have to stay put. He was wary of the younger man's powers, knowing that although he rarely used his wand, he was, once driven to it, very proficient in its use, and was easily the second most powerful wizard on the staff of Hogwarts, after himself of course.
"Fawkes old boy, I do hope you are up to taking care of her for me," the headmaster queried, peering through his half-moon spectacles at the dozing bird. Fawkes simply nodded once, settling himself down for a light snooze.
Hermione had arrived quietly, sneaking though the passageway from the shrieking shack back into Hogwarts. Carefully, making sure that she timed her arrival for the middle of a class, she crept through the familiar corridors and up to the headmaster's study. The password duly given, she made her way up the revolving staircase and along the short corridor which lead to the cozy room.
"Come in, come in Miss Granger, " his voice called, the door creaking open by itself to reveal the elderly wizard beaming madly, his hands still busy spinning the complex web of wards around the door as she entered. "There, all sorted for your little meeting. Fawkes has generously decided to stay. If anything untoward happens you can rely on his help. I'll leave you in peace now. Severus should be here in a few minutes. Good luck Miss Granger. I do wish you both the best my child," he said, gently squeezing the silent Hermione's shoulder as he passed by her.
Turning to catch him before he left the room she called out, "Thank you sir. Thank you for this chance; you have no idea how much it means to me."
"Not to worry my dear. I was young once you know; hard to believe I'm sure, but I do sympathise with you. Let me know how you get on." Cheerily smiling, he left, leaving Hermione and his phoenix to wait for the potions master to arrive. . Hermione paced, glancing warily at the clock which ticked loudly from above the mantle place. He should be here for the meeting at four o'clock. That gave her ten minutes, the longest ten minutes of her life, in order to worry, panic, fret and generally decide that this was possibly not the smartest move she had ever made. Sinking wearily into one of the upholstered chairs that faced the fire, she faced down her inner demons.
"This is the right move Hermione. You need to do this, for him, for you, for the two of you." The mantra continued in her head, reminding her of the man she was setting out to convince; reminding her of what she stood to gain and lose should this gambit not work. Fawkes sat and cocked his head, listening to the girl and thanking the god of phoenixes that he didn't have the same problems.
The clock had only moved three minutes, although it felt like hours. Hermione sat and stared at the flames, running through her arguments in her head. She knew that however logical it all seemed when she had discussed it over the canteen table, it would not be quite so clear-cut when she tried to make him understand. She knew that this would be her last effort. If this did not work, she could not see how any other action would make him change his mind. This knowledge, more than any other, was what was scaring Hermione. She was staking her whole hand on being able to make him listen to her today, and she was aware that it was not as simple as just getting him in the same room.
She jumped when the door creaked open. She had not seen the clock's hands as they seemed to race through the final seven minutes. Severus was exceptionally punctual, as expected, and had arrived in his usual superior way, flourishing his teaching robes slightly as he swept into the room, searching for the headmaster's figure. He had not expected the sudden surge of magic as the door closed behind him; the wards activating had set off his inner alarm bells so that he turned and quickly inspected the handiwork of their maker. Seeing Dumbledore's hand in the setting of the wards, he relaxed somewhat, and was certainly not expecting the shock on turning back into the room of finding himself face-to-face across a ten foot carpet with a shaking Hermione Granger.
"Hello Severus."