A/N – Sorry about the delay in getting another part out. While a fair amount of the story was already written, unfortunately the second part was not, and I've been a little busy lately.
If any of you are wondering about Severus' relationship with Emmeline – well, I don't like to give too much away, but she isn't one of my favorite characters – and for those of you who have read The Stone House Cats, Catherine isn't always right.
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Severus returned to the school in the early hours of the morning. Despite his exhaustion, he preferred this time of day – nearly everyone was asleep in bed, with one important exception. When he was safely warded in his dungeon apartments, he sent the signal on his talisman and waited. A few minutes later, the Headmaster stepped out of the fireplace, still fully dressed and as alert as usual.
"Good evening, Severus – or should I say good morning? I trust that everything went well?"
"I assume that 'well' is a relative term," Severus said sarcastically. "The Dark Lord is annoyed about the capture of Lucius and Georgeson, but he was positively furious that Emmeline got away. We've all been ordered to kill her on sight if we can't capture her, strongly enough that anyone who lets her escape a second time might just as well commit suicide and be done with it."
"That bad?"
"He was definitely not pleased. He's forbidden his followers to try to free Lucius and Georgeson without explicit permission. I think it's intended as a reminder of the risks of forgetting your place or failing – maybe both. I do have one piece of news though."
"Oh?"
"I think the other two might have been the LeStranges. Their expressions were a little too carefully blank tonight. Bellatrix is generally a little more obvious in her support. If she wasn't, it's because she's under orders to keep quiet."
"Really?" The Headmaster looked thoughtful. "Voldemort has always thought very highly of them, Bellatrix in particular. Any chance her position is precarious enough to –" But Severus was shaking his head.
"Not a chance," he said flatly. "After what they went through in Azkaban, they'll have to screw up a lot worse than this to be in any real danger."
There was a short silence, which Dumbledore broke. "Any news about –"
"No."
The silence this time was longer.
"Well, let us hope that the absence of news is, in this case, a good sign. Perhaps Miss Celarevos was able to complete her mission and return to her time of origin."
Severus decided a change of subject was in order. "The other major topic tonight was recruiting. The Dark Lord seeks allies among the Dark Creatures, particularly those with no reason to support the Ministry. Vampires and werewolves were mentioned particularly."
"Oh?"
"It would be wise to start our own evaluation of these matters."
"People, Severus," Dumbledore reminded him very gently. "They are still people."
I am really not in the mood for this, Severus thought.
"So," he pointed out, "is Peter Pettigrew."
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More time had passed than he expected before Severus was able to visit Grimmauld Place again. He had rather hoped that Emmeline would look forward to seeing him, so he couldn't help being a little disappointed when she caught sight of him and muttered, "Oh, it's you," rather blankly.
"Yes, I thought you might enjoy some additional reading material," he told her. He had very little idea what she would like to read, but he brought a selection of fairly current periodicals – some current enough that Dumbledore had directed him to excise certain articles before allowing Emmeline to see them – as well as a few works of fiction and a couple academic journals, so he was hopeful that there would be something to interest her.
Her reaction was initially unenthusiastic, but then she perked up. "Is that Witch Weekly?" she asked, reaching for it immediately. "There's supposed to be a feature this week on the latest styles for long hair," she added blithely, leafing through the magazine until she found it. She settled down to read in utter absorption. He set the remainder of the reading material down on a convenient side table.
"I should be happy to make some tea, if you wish," he suggested awkwardly.
"Do that," she agreed absently.
Emmeline did set the magazine down when Severus returned with the tea tray.
"You're enjoying the magazine?" he ventured as she started to pour. Emmeline made a face.
"There's a big piece cut out just where the photographs are," she complained.
"I'm sorry about that."
"It's not your fault. At least it's something to read," she stirred her tea disconsolately.
"If you let me know what your preferences are, perhaps I could bring you some more fiction." Emmeline brightened.
"Marian Melody is coming out with a new novel soon, but any of her old ones would be nice too."
"I'll see if I can pick one up for you."
Emmeline nodded, apparently satisfied. Then she lowered her head slightly so that she was looking up through her lashes at him.
"How are things at the Ministry?" she asked with a very innocent air. Severus tensed inwardly.
"I understood that the Headmaster informed you that we will not be passing along any news items that might compromise your security."
"I don't see how just telling me how things are going could violate that," Emmeline coaxed. "It's not as though I'm asking you to carry messages to him, I just want to know if –"
"No, Emmeline. I'm not going to go against Dumbledore's orders. If you want to argue about it, argue with him."
"It isn't arguing just to ask –" She saw Severus' lips compress and stopped. "Oh, very well. But I think you're being rather silly about the whole thing. If I could just get a current newspaper, or even –"
Severus rose, setting his teacup down as he did. "I'm sorry, Emmeline, but I'm afraid I have to be going."
Emmeline rose as well, stepping closer and catching hold of his arm. Her perfume rose about them, a faint intoxicating fragrance that acted powerfully on his senses. "Please don't be mad at me," she pleaded. When she was looking up at him like that, he wanted to promise her anything she wanted.
"I'm not mad at you," he said with difficulty, stepping back as he spoke, "but I'm afraid I really do have to go."
He made his normal appearance at dinner, then had to take care of a detention – that idiot Flinch-Fletchley boy from Hufflepuff again – and grade a stack of third year essays before he was finally free to go to bed.
Once asleep, he was haunted by confusing dreams of a dark-haired woman in tears, and a pair of eyes that kept changing from frightened black to beguiling blue.
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The next time Severus was able to get away to Hogsmead, he spent some time in the local bookstore looking for anything by Marian Melody but was unable to find her work. He finally went in search of Magnus, the owner.
"Excuse me, but could you tell me where I might find the novels of Marian Melody?"
Magnus' jaw dropped.
"You want what?"
"A novel by Marian Melody," Snape elucidated impatiently. "Do you carry them, or know where I can find one?"
"Oh, we carry them, all right," the proprietor confirmed, recovering a little. "Can't afford not to, whatever I think of them myself. They sell too well. But I have to say, I never thought I'd hear you ask for one."
"Now that you have, would you be kind enough to point them out?"
Magnus looked at him very doubtfully, but shrugged and led him over to a corner of the store Severus had rarely visited before. Usually just walking by it was enough to make him slightly sick.
"There you are," Magnus was pointing to a circular display rack in deep crimson that shot fountains of hearts into the air every few minutes to drift down in front of the shelves.
Snape looked at it blankly. The first cover he saw showed an artistically disheveled blond witch sagging into the extremely muscular arms of a bare-chested wizard. She gasped out, "You saved me!" and the wizard caught her theatrically in his arms and began to kiss her passionately. She responded with enthusiasm, and things progressed in a way that made Severus wonder how the books were allowed to be publicly displayed. Then, at the last instant, purple mist concealed the cover art and showed only the title in an ornate scroll.
"This is what Marian Melody writes?" he asked weakly.
"Everything on the rack," Magnus confirmed. "Prolific, but then all the stories are the same, so I expect that makes it easier to churn them out," he said knowledgeably. "You didn't know what you were asking for?"
"No," Severus said shortly. A moment later, he felt compelled to add, "I offered to pick up something for a friend who wasn't able to make it in to town."
Magnus nodded his comprehension, casually watching a miniature witch in a nearly transparent nightgown fleeing from some unseen horror just outside the edge of the book. "I didn't think this was much to your taste, but I've been surprised before. You'd be amazed at how popular these are."
Severus caught sight of a cover displaying an interesting use of an Inflating Charm, and replied, "I'm surprised it's legal to keep these on open display."
"They don't classify them as pornography, despite the content. I can't decide if it's because the regulators haven't read them or because they have, and want to be able to continue doing so without admitting what they're reading," Magnus observed. "Were you looking for any particular title?"
"Which is the most recent?"
Magnus indicated one of the volumes, and Severus lifted it out of the display rack – just as he heard a voice behind him that he fervently wished he did not recognize.
"I just knew your soul was a sensitive one, despite the false front you present to the world! I am glad to see you acknowledging your spirit's need for nourishment, for the soul feeds on love, beauty, poetry – the finer things that so few of us truly appreciate. But of course, I knew all along that yours was a kindred spirit, a –"
"Unfortunately, I must disillusion you, Sybill," Severus said icily. Of all the people in the world, Sybill Trelawney had to be one of the ones he least wanted to encounter. Why the devil hadn't she stayed in her tower? "I am picking this up for someone else."
"But surely you know you need not conceal your tender heart from me?" Sybill protested, fluttering closer. "Indeed, such pretenses are useless when one has been gifted as I have with the –"
"Wrap this up for me, please," Severus demanded of Magnus, cutting his co-worker short. Although his expression was professionally neutral, Magnus slipped the novel into a plain bag very quickly.
"I'll charge it to your account, shall I?" Magnus told him, handing over the package. Severus nodded and strode out, trying not to look as though he were fleeing the store.
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Severus stared down at the bag containing the Marian Melody novel in the safety of his chambers.
I'm being too critical. Magnus said lots of people read these. Of course Emmeline has her own tastes. It doesn't have to be the same as mine – that's not being fair to her. I haven't even read it, and I'm judging her because of something I haven't even read.
So just read it, and you'll know, another part of his mind suggested.
He pulled the novel out of the bag with some hesitation. This one was titled Which Witch? and the cover art immediately began to play before him. It showed a handsome blond wizard with a vague resemblance to Gilderoy Lockhart being approached by a dark-haired witch apparently bent on seducing him, while another witch who looked like her more demurely dressed twin looked on sadly. Without waiting for the vignette to play out, he flipped the novel over to read the summary on the back.
Despite the fact that they are twins, sweet-natured Dulce and vixenish Desiree have very little in common – until Lord Bryant enters the picture! Desiree is determined to marry the wealthy new pureblood lord sight unseen – but even her jaded appetite is aroused by his fair charm. Dulce would be content to let Desiree do as she pleases – until she realizes that the handsome Lord Bryant is none other than her childhood friend Aidan, now returned from the war that separated them for so many years.
Dulce sets out to save Aidan from Desiree, convincing herself that this is nothing more than an altruistic gesture of friendship – only to find her heart engaged! How will Lord Bryant choose between them? Can true love win out in the end? Or will Aidan's final choice bring only heartache when he is forced to decide –
Which Witch?
Severus stared at the copy, not at all reassured, but fortunately for him, there was a knock on the door before he had to decide whether he was really going to open the cover and start reading this pap.
"Headmaster," he greeted the white-haired wizard, stepping back to allow him to step into his chambers.
"Emmeline asked for some personal items," Dumbledore explained, handing Severus a neatly wrapped package as the door closed behind them. "I wondered if you would drop them off the next time you're there?"
"Yes, of course."
"How is Draco doing?"
Severus' mouth twisted slightly. "Blaise Zabini challenged him in the common room last night – I'm not supposed to know about it – but he backed down when Crabbe and Goyle made it clear they were still with Draco. Miss Parkinson isn't helping matters – with Lucius in jail, she's been advised that Draco is no longer a suitable escort."
Dumbledore grimaced slightly. "Priscilla?"
"Probably," Severus admitted, and the Headmaster sighed. "Pansy's picked up Nott instead, and Draco has taken up with Mandy Brocklehurst of Ravenclaw. He's more upset about Pansy than he lets on. He must have thought she cared enough for him personally to stand by him."
Dumbledore regarded him very seriously. "First loves are very precious to all of us – yes, even to Slytherins," he added when Severus gave a brief snort. There was something about the way the Headmaster was looking at Snape that made him slightly uncomfortable. "Draco and Pansy have known each other for a long time. She's a part of his childhood memories. Letting go of the image he held of her from childhood and seeing her as the woman she is becoming is a necessary part of growing up, but a very painful one."
"Why, exactly, is it necessary?" Severus grumbled. "If things had gone as they expected, the two of them could have grown up, gotten married, and lived happily ever after," he said sardonically.
"You prefer the illusion?" the Headmaster questioned gravely. "Pansy's feelings for him, the degree of loyalty she was willing to show him, would not be any different. The only difference would have been that Draco would never have known just how limited they really were. If he comes through this, he will be better prepared for a real, adult relationship." Snape shifted slightly under the Headmaster's gaze, not sure what to say.
"Well, thank you for agreeing to drop those off for me," Dumbledore continued briskly. "And Severus – do be careful."