Author's Notes: This story is a little diddy that's been floating through my mind for a while. I'm writing this for my enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others. I have no aspirations to become a professional writer and view scathing, sarcastic commentary as a sign of mental illness. (In other words, criticism is welcome if it is constructive. If you don't know how to do this, then learn the art as it is perhaps the most lucrative job and social skill one can hone.)
I hope you enjoy.
Thank you all for the wonderful comments—I do appreciate them. I'm glad that so many are enjoying the story. Just to be fair, I can't comment on some of the inquiries, as an answer one way or another would give away the plot. For those of you wondering 'desanguined' means 'drained of blood.'
Chapter 8 – Let's Make a Deal"Ohh... this is quite a pretty bauble, isn't it?" Ruedella quipped, slipping the emerald on her left ring finger and holding it up, inspecting how it glittered in the few rays of sunlight that penetrated through a nearby window. "What else do you have?" She held up her right hand, quickly motioning her fingers forward.
"I could provide you with a reasonable expense account for clothes and whatnot," Severus noted while reading off of a prepared list. "However, I do stress that my main goal is to rebuild the Snape name, so I do not intend on squandering Galleons on gowns, robes, and various shiny objects. Of course you would share in the prestige and status this rebuilding would bring, as would exercising my privileges under the Black crest." He pushed a paper her way across the large dining room table.
The house was empty save them and the house elves that were busy working on the Master Bedroom. The Hippogriff who once occupied the room made quite a mess of the bed when he was informed of the relocation. The large beast shred the bed and urinated on the floors; a squalor that was in addition to the usual menagerie of partially eaten carcasses, feathers, and other debris that housing such a large creature in a small location would accumulate.
"Why me?" Ruedella inquired. "Before two days ago you have not heard from me in eighteen years. Even that night, we parted under rather unpleasant circumstances."
"The comment I made to Evan Rosier regarding your flat-chestedness and that had it not been so cold in the rose bushes I would have swore you were a wizard was made under the influence of..." Severus tried to explain.
"There is no need to apologize, that was what the slap was for when you rescued me from the jail. Apparently my assumption that you did knew was incorrect," Ruedella said with a shrug of her shoulders. Seeing a letter with the Malfoy crest, she curiously snatched it up, holding it away from Severus who tried to grab it back. After taking a few moments to read her Grandfather's letter, she looked up at Severus and said, "So you were trying to pull this off behind my back? I knew when you, Rodolphus, and Rabastan went slinking off it wasn't to smoke cannabis behind the greenhouse!" She then set aside the letter and read dowry list. When through, she peered over the parchment at Severus with a raised eyebrow and proclaimed, "Then again, maybe you were..."
"You have filled out quite nicely over the years," Severus said, sliding in the comment in an attempt to detract her.
"You are no longer such a skinny, pathetic runt yourself," Ruedella said tersely, "Oh, and you are considerably less greasy too." Setting down the list, she then folded her hands on the table and leaned forward. Looking at the letters, then the contract, and then lastly over to him, she added, "Now, the vampire-attack thing... is this why you were always so good at hiding in the shadows and scaring the crap out of everyone?"
"Yes," Severus said folding his arms, "If you insist on putting it that way."
"And why you were not exactly spectacular at charms and transfiguration… as you used to say 'foolish wand waving.'" Ruedella probed.
"Are you suggesting that I am less than an adequate wizard?" Severus roared, slamming his fist down.
"I am only asking questions," Ruedella said. "If I were not at all interested in your…proposal…I would not be making such interrogatives. I could not help but notice that when we were in the common room as students, you were quite brilliant at magic, but I recall that your scores were…well…" She paused, "You did quite well in written portions…err…"
"I perform basic magic quite well during the day," Severus said evenly, struggling to keep his tongue in check, "I can perform complex magic quite well out of direct sunlight. That is why I prefer the dungeons. Had Flitwick and McGonagall chose to hold their classes in less well lit rooms, I suppose that my practicum exams would have been better. I assure you," he said with a wisp of a smile, "I am better in transfiguration that you believe." He then added, "In addition, I must take a potion on a regular basis to help stem certain side effects and allow me prolonged exposure to light. There are no potions available to allow a full vampire out in the sunlight, nor are they wizards…"
"Nothing hereditary then?" Ruedella asked.
"Did you not ever pay attention during Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Severus rolled his eyes. "You are becoming as dense as your eldest brother…"
"You should practice your flattery," Ruedella said in a snit, "besides I do not recall a lesson on dhampirs as they are not considered to be dangerous. They are almost as rare as seeing a Metamorphanagus."
"A true dhampir has a vampire father," Severus said, rolling his eyes.
"Right… and Kelpies are found in Mongolia," Ruedella said sarcastically. "So it is the potion that is wreaking havoc on your hair, or do you have 'running water' issues as well?"
Severus looked at her fuming, "I don't see how this has any bearing..."
"If you wish for me to share your bed and spread my legs, then it does have some bearing," Ruedella said. "I will assume that until this point you have not, shall we say, had a compelling need to pay attention to certain personal details?"
"The potion," Severus said quickly and then something under his breath about other details he would attend to. He pushed the contract, a quill, and ink well towards her, "If this is sufficient, then..."
"You never answered by question," Ruedella pushed the items back. "Why me?"
"Because I do not find you to be overly annoying and I can tolerate you for extended periods of time. I saved your life and you owe me a favor. I will, as your husband, continue to protect you and guard you from harm. Aside from that, you are the only witch near my age who has yet to be married, is childless, or otherwise what I consider to be suitable," Severus said as he tapped his long sallow finger on the contract.
"Plus when the Dark Lord or the Aurors eventually pop off my brothers, I will be the sole heir to the Lestrange estate," Ruedella noted. Seeing Severus' unwavering expression, she added, "The two green knights, remember?"
"I would be lying if that particular scenario did not cross my mind," Severus said, silently congratulating her on her astute observation and conclusion. He rose from his chair and walked around the table towards her. Taking a seat next to her, he said, "Ruedella, with our skills and positioning, we could find ourselves to be among the wealthiest-- if not the wealthiest outright-- wizarding family in Britain, certainly well established in the world. Right now I can give you a life without want. Dumbledore can assist in protecting you while we present this to your family and the Dark Lord as an opportunity for you to be a second set of eyes and ears at Hogwarts. All we need to do is bide out time, slowly building up our empire and when the others finish the dirty work, we can step out and take our fair share of the credit."
Ruedella sat back in her chair, thinking about the offer. "I do not find you repulsive and will admit that at one time I was quite attracted to you for some strange reason. Let's say that age has agreed with you..." Seeing Severus nod and motion his head at the papers, she sighed, "However, I cannot sign this."
"Why?" Severus said, clenching his teeth to keep his anger and his notoriously acerbic wit under reins.
"Your reasons are out of convenience," Ruedella said. "If my brothers survive or you find another witch more suitable... in other words from a wealthier family... I fear that I will find myself poisoned or worse. Although I find your plan compelling, I cannot see much beyond a short-term assurance of my safety. Once your children are bore, I have very little leverage remaining. Should the Dark Lord win and my brothers survive, even less. In addition," she took a sip of her tea, and looked deeply into her cup, choosing her words, "I saw what a marriage of alliance and convenience did to my mother. She was established, secure, but felt no love, no passion, for my father. They spent their time hiding affairs and fighting. Considering that I have the means to support myself, not lavishly, but comfortable, I do not see the value of being tied to something in which I am not going to be happy."
"So you would prefer to die an old maid surrounded by your cats than a Mistress of an expansive estate, multiple mansions, and a few adoring children?" Severus asked.
"You illustrate my point," she said with a nod, "you did not add yourself as 'loving husband'? In fact, this is hardly a marriage proposal. You did not get on your knee, you did not say, 'Ruedella do me the favor to be my wife' or some nonsense like that... you simply sat me down, had Kreacher fetch some tea and began to drone on about the 'arrangement.' The Head Goblin at Gringotts puts more emotion in his sales pitches; for a second I thought you were trying to sell me a time share in Shangri-La."
"What does love... emotion... have to do with this?" Severus said, astounded. "This is a purely straight forward and logical contract. We both have things to offer one another, we are not repulsed by one another and we can tolerate one another. I can add a clause regarding your 'assured health' or something that would convince you that I will not do away with you!" He shrugged, "I fail to see why some silly emotional attachments should get in the way..."
"What about affairs?" Ruedella asked, "My grandmother had a very good way to deal with that..."
"She hunted down the witches, kidnapped, and beheaded them. The heads are mounted in a hidden, private parlor," Severus said. "Lucius accidentally stumbled in on the room when he was a boy, or so he told me."
"I did not know Grandma Machellivellia did that!" Ruedella said, tapping her finger to her cheek as she absorbed the information. "I was referring to my Grandma Lestrange, Darcolvia. She snuck a potion into my Grandfather's drink on their wedding night making his seed sterile for any woman except for her."
"Let us just add a fidelity clause and try not to accidentally poison each other or behead the innocent," Severus said. "It is far less messy and fewer loose ends that one or the other would eventually have to cover up."
"Good idea," Ruedella agreed. "I wonder if she took the idea from Cassiopia Black..."
"What?" Severus said his patience strained.
"If Grandma Machellivellia used Cassiopia's idea to mount the House Elf heads on the mistresses?" Ruedella said, exasperated.
"Really, Ruedella, are you that interested in knowing?"
"I suppose not..." Ruedella trailed off, "well, on second hand, I do have a morbid curiosity..."
"Fine!" Severus grabbed a parchment and wrote down a few lines, "A mortality clause, a fidelity clause—mind you these clauses will be both ways..."
"That's fair," Ruedella agreed. "Yes, separation of assets..."
"You have the mortality clause…" Severus started to explain.
"A double protection," Ruedella said, "If something--and more than likely something will--happen to my brothers, I don't want the deeds and vault contents to be dumped into the Black and or Snape vaults. I will keep the deeds and keys to my name. Of course, if I decide to become your wife, I will provide funds... within reason... to assist you on your quest—I would, after all, be a Snape, wouldn't I?" Seeing Severus' mouth show the slightest of a smile, she added, "I will make a deal with you, Severus. I will take Dumbledore's offer and join you at Hogwarts for the next school year. In the meanwhile, I will assist you with the renovations as part of my repayment for your assistance; but I shall stay in the guest room, not the Master suite, despite your order to the elves that they put my clothes in there once they are through cleaning."
"An oversight on my end," Severus offered, frowning when Ruedella let off an incredulous snort.
"If you can show, without having to rely on some ulterior motive or gain to justify your actions, that you care about me, then I will sign the document," Ruedella offered.
"Ah!" Severus exclaimed, "What about me? How will I know that you care about me?"
"I thought such silly emotions did not matter to you?" Ruedella asked. "Very well, I will then add, 'if I can requite those feelings'—is that better Severus?"
"Fine," he said flatly until he realized that he just agreed to her provision that made deal more specific.
"Add those provisions we discussed, and if you can, by the end of the school year show that you truly care for me then I will marry you." Ruedella took off the ring and put it back into the box, pushing it back towards the wizard.
"And what does the Runes say?" Severus asked. "I am curious if you consulted them."
"I did consult them," Ruedella concurred, "but I simply asked for clarity for a current situation. I will not attempt to see the future on this…I only do Quidditch…remember?"
"What did you ask?" Severus inquired.
"That, Severus," Ruedella grinned, "is strictly confidential. Besides, it would ruin the surprise." She rose from the table, "You know what you need to do, Severus..."
"I assume this involves dates and being seen with you in public," Severus lamented with a resigned sigh. "Flowers, silly trinkets, romantic dinners…"
"Yes, like the Yule Ball, minus the attempts to magically silence me," Ruedella said.
"Say something interesting and there won't be a reason..." Severus said under his breath.
"Ah, ah," Ruedella admonished, waving her finger. Pushing an elaborate scroll over to Severus she added, "This came in during your discussion with Dumbledore. It appears to be an invitation to the St. Mungo's invitational formal..."
"Riffling through my mail already?" Severus said with a huff.
"It's always held the second to last Friday evening of August," Ruedella said. "Do you have the green Slytherin ceremonial dress robe like Professor Karkaroff used to wear?"
"I have one, shoved in the back of my armoire where the hideous thing belongs," Severus said. "I have a black one..."
"Nonsense, you are the youngest Slytherin Head of House in centuries," Ruedella said. "You should emphasize your achievements." She then asked, "How does Karkaroff like Durmstrang?"
"I don't know since he ran off last year after the Triwizard Tournament. I assume that the shifty, unctuous fool managed to get himself killed by now," Severus said. "However, the reason I have the Slytherin Head of House position is that no one else wanted it."
"A technicality," Ruedella said lightly with a wave of her hand.
~***~
More than a month passed since Harry left 12 Grimmauld Place, being unceremoniously evicted by the new heir, Severus Snape. Since then he spent his time divided between the Weasleys and a small, but cozy, home in Hogsmeade that Sirius Black had once inherited from his Uncle Algie. Harry was now the rightful owner and had immediately given Remus Lupin permission to live there. Mundungus Fletcher, he decided, could stay from time to time, but Harry never took to the man, as there was something about him that Harry did not like. The house, like 12 Grimmauld Place, was placed under a Fidelius charm for Harry's protection and to allow the Order of the Phoenix to use the house at its new headquarters.
Buckbeak had found the basement, which Dumbledore magically enlarged for the intelligent beast, much to the Hippogriff's liking. Harry and Remus made it a point to spend several hours a day with the Hippogriff, as the beast was still wanted and could not be seen outside. While visiting, Harry set up a table and chair and used the time to study when he and Remus were not practicing spells.
However this Saturday morning Harry was lying lazily on the couch, reading the Daily Prophet and munching on a piece of bread. Remus was still in his room, preparing for the upcoming full moon that he would spend down in the basement with Buckbeak. Snape still prepared and supplied Remus with his potion, allowing the wizard to keep his sanity during the monthly transformations. The last time Snape brought it was during an Order of the Phoenix meeting late last month. Harry attended the meetings now; part a concession from Dumbledore for putting Harry through so much the prior year without letting him know what was going on and the fact that it appeared that defeating Voldemort rested heavily on Harry's shoulders. Also, Harry told Dumbledore-- half jokingly, half serious-- that if the Order wanted to use his house then he had to be in on the conversations. The downside, however, was that Harry was told in no uncertain terms that he was not to discuss anything with Ron, Hermione, Ginny or any others who were not directly involved with the Order. Hermione and Ginny seemed to understand, however Ron was less than pleased with the news. Fortunately, Fred and George let enough slip that Ron did not feel he was completely left out.
He heard a knock at the door and before he could get up, Remus jogged out of his room and answered it. Molly and Ron, along with Fred and George walked in, carrying a few bags of groceries between them.
"Molly, we really appreciate this," Remus said, digging through the sacks and putting the various items away. "I really don't like to leave Harry alone, given that the Death Eaters are still at large. Fidelius charm or not, better safe than sorry." Pouring himself a large mug of milk, he sat at the kitchen table. "Hey, Harry, aren't you going to say hello?"
Harry simply grunted and then finally left the couch, shuffling into the kitchen. He greeted everyone with a quick nod and took a seat next to Remus, opening the paper he brought with him to the article he was just reading.
"What's eating you, Harry?" Remus asked. "You seemed to be in a good mood this morning. Don't tell me that Skeeter..."
Harry simply tossed the paper at Remus and put his arms and head on the table.
Molly put away the loaf of bread and walked behind Remus, reading over his shoulder. "I did not see the paper this morning, Harry. Did something terrible happen?"
Harry said nothing for a few moments and then croaked out, "Go ahead, read it... the git is dancing on his grave..."
"Let's see," Remus cleared his throat, "The eight hundredth and thirty-fifth St. Mungo's invitational Ball and fundraiser was held last night." Remus continued reading, finally reaching the area that gave Harry his grief. "Severus Snape, recent heir to the Black estate after the death of his half-brother, Sirius Black, made a very generous contribution to St. Mungo's for their new department, Potions Based Maladies and Antidotes. Snape, current Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was accompanied by Miss Ruedella Lestrange, who shall be the new Professor of Ancient Runes at Hogwarts starting September first. Miss Lestrange is currently assisting Professor Snape with restoring his ancestral home, the Black estate at 12 Grimmauld Place. However, word on the street is that it is not only the mansion who is benefiting from Miss Lestrange's witch's touch." Remus let out a low whistle and handed George the paper, "You guys have to see this, Snape is not dressed head to toe in black! I think he even might have washed his hair…"
"No way!" Fred exclaimed, leaping from his seat to look over his twin's shoulder. Ron joined him as well. "That thing looks like its straight out of the fourteenth century! Quite regal..." They pointed to Snape's robes, long, flowing, yet well tailored robes of green and silver with black accents. His date wore a robe kimono of strikingly similar colors; her hair fashioned elegantly on her head with two chopstick pins. They were far from handsome, but they did look elegant.
"Silk," Remus said, "Actually its the Slytherin ceremonial and formal robe. Professor Karkaroff used to wear his whenever he could. It is a Slytherin tradition that the Head of House gets a robe after ten years of service. I think Ravenclaw has something similar. This is probably the first time Severus has worn his, aside from the fitting."
"Lovely date," George snickered, crossing his eyes slightly and sticking out his front teeth, overemphasizing Ruedella's overbite. "Let me guess, she has a great personality..."
"She has the personality of a doorknob," Harry said. He saw Remus frown. "OK, Remus, what is she really like?"
"Err..." Remus rubbed his gray-speckled hair, "Honestly, I don't really recall…I never knew her that well."
"Karkaroff was a Professor at Hogwarts?" Harry asked, once Remus' earlier comment sunk in. "I do remember when he arrived for the Triwizard Tournament that he said something about how good it was to be back, but I was not sure what he meant."
"He was one of Dippet's cronies. Was Head of Slytherin from 1955 or so until fifteen or sixteen years ago when he was caught being a Death Eater. Because he gave testimony, his sentence was greatly reduced and he was later hired at Durmstrang. For about a year Professor Sinistra acted as the interim Head of House until Severus was hired. Aurora was far too interested in her star charts to make an effective Head of House, so despite the fact she was in Slytherin when she was a student, Dumbledore felt Severus was better suited." Remus took a drink from his mug of milk, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he continued, "Interesting that Ruedella is coming on board—I suppose she took Dumbledore up on the offer for protection, although it seems that Severus did smooth over a few things. Can't be too careful, I suppose. Quite a bit of a step-down in the pay scale from a curse-breaker to a Professor."
"Well, I see that Bill was holding out regarding Yule gifts," Molly said indigently, reacting to the tidbit of information about a curse breaker's salary. "Well, she was on sabbatical... simple thing to extend it I suppose."
"Or she could be taking the opportunity to get closer to me," Harry said.
"Well, Harry, if Dumbledore had the least bit of an inkling she was doing that, he would not open the doors to let her in. In my opinion she's gold digging," Molly said with assurance. "Oh, she looks aloof in the photo, but Snape is now worth a few boatloads of money. She's all over him like a dung beetle in Hippogriff poo."
"Now you would think that Snape would get a better date," Fred said. "I mean there's a service in Knockturn Alley and for a few Galleons you can get a real knock-out..." He trailed off as his mother looked at him, her jaw dropped. "I mean, George found out when he..."
"Oh, so you get a few Galleons in your pocket and instead of turning them over to your father and I, you and your brother instead invest in whores..." Molly began her rant.
"I found out from Percy who told us about it a couple of years ago," George said, mouthing 'I'll get you' to his twin. "Don't you worry, Angelina and Katie are keeping us busy..."
"So, what you're saying is that he must have some interest in her?" Remus clarified, hoping to steer this conversation. "They used to spend time together in school, but I cannot say if they were dating or not. It has been a long time. Maybe he is really trying to find out what she was doing so close to Harry?"
"That must be it," Molly said, apparently satisfied that it could be a plausible explanation.
"Snape can take his favors and shove them," Harry said. "The more that slimy git does, the more he holds it over my head. Like hell he was 'searching' for us in the forest, my bet is that the minute I told him about Sirius, he flew off to Voldemort! I know that he set me up with the pensieve... he purposefully did that as an excuse to discontinue my lessons once he softened me up!" Harry's fist roughly struck the table. "He set up Sirius to die and used me! Can't you all see... can't you see that he had this planned???"
"Harry," Remus looked at the boy with concern, "we know that Sirius' death hit you hard and that you are reeling because you feel responsible..."
"I'm not responsible," Harry snapped, "well, only to the degree that I should have kept a better eye on Snape. It's Snape that was responsible, I bet he was behind the whole thing..."
"Harry, dear," Molly Weasley said very softly, shooing her sons out of the kitchen—the lot of them, including Ron—looking at Harry as if he were quite mad, "Professor Snape is playing a very dangerous game and he often has to give the impression that he is playing for the other side. You are right, he does give information to 'You-Know-Who' but he and Dumbledore have this all planned out. As for the pensieve, Harry, you did make a conscious choice to look into it… as hard as this may be to hear, you did break his trust."
"Next time, I would like to break more than just his trust," Harry said with a scowl.
"Harry," Remus's voice was firm, "Dumbledore did a lot to convince Severus to let you in his Potions class this year. So, do yourself a favor and try to make these last two years go easier. There is no way that either of you will ever become friends, but at least settle for mutual tolerance? If he gets on your case about stupid stuff, which he will, just owl me. I'll help smooth it out. I know you believe what you do, but keep in mind that you need to keep working on your Occulemency to help keep Voldemort out. Strong emotions, such as your hatred of Snape, will give Voldemort an open gateway into your mind. It's really important, Harry, that you don't let such things happen again. I know it's hard, but try…"
Harry sat silently for a few moments, considering what Molly and Remus had said. Looking at the photo, he could see Snape sneering at him. The wizard was tall and proud, sporting an aristocratic visage as he held his arm out for his companion. His green robes flowed down his body, with black embroidered runes decorating the hems. Snape, Harry considered, looked good; his skin somewhat less sallow and his hair was pulled back, much like that of Lucius Malfoy, except shorter. Every once in awhile Snape's photo would flash the Black signet ring at Harry—a subtle, yet powerful taunt.
Harry clenched his teeth at the last and pushed the paper away. "I will consider what is best for the Order," Harry said in a slow, deliberate pace, as if he were forcing the words from his throat. "But there will be a limit to how much I take. If he acts reasonably, then so will I."
~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~
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