Chapter 6: The Rules Of The Game
{A/N: Here's Another Update...}
My Thanks To All My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy S.S.
The Garage, The Sinclair Residence, Unknown Location, Unknown World...
Severus Snape had been at a loss for words as he stared at the last place his young wife had been standing before rushing off to get as far away from him as possible. It had never occurred to the rather clueless former wizard that there had been reason this room was riddled with dust aside from when someone placed another box of little used things inside. Snape despite the feeling of guilt that seemed to rise in him following his wife's heartbreak followed by the flashes of Sidney Sinclair's memories pertaining to his promise.
Sidney had given her the keys as a means of proving to her that he was serious about not riding the bike ever again in a bid to keep his promise to her. The look on her face after she noticed he had gotten them from the hiding place where she had kept them after all these years made more sense to him with all the pieces in place.
"Shit." he muttered in annoyance.
It was all too clear that his actions were seen as all out betrayal by the young woman before she stormed out unable to look at him for going back on his word.
"She looked to be quite upset darling, was it something you said?" asked The newly reemerged enchantress.
Snape rolled his eyes.
"Did you enjoy that little scene or are you sticking around for an encore?" he replied not hiding his irritation in the least.
The Enchantress didn't seem the least phased by his demeanor.
"Oh I am having quite a time." she replied with an eerie smile.
"You wouldn't be the first to find enjoyment at my expense." replied Snape clearly not amused by whatever this was that was going on. "I doubt you'd be the last."
"Always so serious." said The Enchantress. "Lucky for you, you have me to help liven up this miserable excuse for an existence you call a life."
"Is that what you are doing?" asked Snape in a snide tone. "I though you were simply having a laugh turning my entire world on it's ear...I mean why else would any one believe it a good idea to have Miss Granger and I share a bed let alone children."
"My aren't we cranky this morning." said The Enchantress. "I take it you and the Mrs. haven't had a decent night in since you began this little adventure."
Snape rolled his eyes.
"Just tell me how to get back to my life." he said no longer interested in playing her little game.
"You're a clever man Severus...why don't you at least attempt to figure out the rules of the game." replied the Enchantress before she let out a cackle at his expense and disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.
"Bloody Gryffindors." growled Snape in annoyance.
Despite her lack of forthcoming, Snape had deduced that he had to actually play along this time if he hoped to have any means of returning to his former life.
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The Hall, The Sinclair Residence, Unknown World...
Severus Snape made his way out of the garage and put the stairs toward the master bedroom. It seemed instinct and his former dealings with hormonal teenage girls during his time as a Potions Professor at Hogwarts gave him keen insight as to where his crying apparent wife had rushed off to in her fit.
He had only gotten as far as the top of the stairs before he was greeted by the sight of his daughter Eileen. She had look of utter disappointment filed across her face for a few moments that sort of cut the former Potions Professor deeply before she took off without a word, evidently angry and upset with him just as much as her mother had been.
It didn't take him long to find the right bedroom, as he could hear Hermione's sobbing from just outside the door. It was no wonder their daughter had been angry and privy to her mother's pain.
He had no idea what he had done to get her so upset, he hadn't truly taken the keys the enchantress had summoned them. Sadly, the nature of his attempt to put as much distance between himself and these people had been more than enough to cause rippling effects in the world of this Sidney Sinclair.
Moving carefully, Snape entered the bedroom he shared with Hermione. She was still overcome with sadness and he could see that she was in a foul mood as she glared at him through tear stained eyes.
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The Master Bedroom, The Sinclair Residence, Unknown World...
Hermione continued to glare at him as he entered their shared bedroom. Her face still wet from tears and her hair just as unruly as it had been when he saw her last as bumbling girl moving about the vast corridors of Hogwarts Castle.
"How could you?" she asked still amid angry sobs. "Sidney you promised me you would never try and ride that bloody death trap you gave me the keys and took them back."
Snape wasn't in the least good at dealing with hormonal teenage girls nor was he any better at relationship woes. He had been fortunate to have avoided such weighted emotional battles ever since Lily Evans saw fit to choose Potter Senior over himself.
"I..." he began feeling every bit as out of his depth as he had as a boy attempting to win the affections of a girl that required more than he could give. "I apologize...I simply wished to hear the roar of the engine...it wasn't my intention to cause you distress."
"Well you've gone and caused it." said Hermione enraged by his apparently insensitive words.
Their little row had not gotten far into the emotional upheaval it threatened to cause before there was a knock at the door and the unwanted voice of Lupin broke through the sudden hush of silence.
"Hermione, Sidney are you alright?" he asked with a good deal of concern.
"We are having a private discussion Lupin." growled Snape in annoyance which seemed to puzzle his wife as she looked upon him for the first time as if he'd been a complete stranger.
"Why are you being so cold to Remus...he's your best friend?" she asked getting to her feet.
"What is happening between us at the moment is none of his business and I am quite frankly growing tired of his constant interjections." replied Snape rather bitterly.
"That's a hell of a thing to say." said Hermione still unable to believe the words coming from the man she vowed to spend the rest of her life with. "First you attack your own son, and now this business with the keys to a bike you swore you'd never again touch and here you are hostile to your own best friend for simply having concern for you...it's like I don't even know who you are anymore."
"You don't know the half of it." muttered Snape noting how her keen mind seemed to be at work even in this strange world.
She apparently had little to say to him after this as she took her leave of him allowing Lupin to witness the makings of a rift between the two of them before she headed back downstairs.
"Sidney...you have to tell her." said Lupin with a look of pure anguish filed across his face.
"Fuck off Lupin." growled Snape in annoyance. "Can't you see that I am not in the mood for your whining."
"She's right you know." said Lupin with a sorrowful expression. "You have changed and it isn't in the least for the better...you could at least give your family the courtesy of knowing why."
Snape had been puzzled himself as to what the sheepish doctor had been going on about before he too took his leave of the dour former wizard. With a heavy sigh and a brief reflection on how he seemed to muck things up in terms of the happiness those around him felt that morning, he made his way toward the edge of the bed where he pondered what Lupin had been alluding to.
There seemed to be something going on with Sidney Sinclair that neither his wife nor his immediate family had been privy to and to make matters worse there was possibly a chance that it would effect the Potions Master as well.
