Post MMS Cast Gathering

Fits in after final chapter of Master Mine: A Lesson in Submission

"So, we've gathered you all together so that we can discuss the ending of book one and address any concerns or questions you may have before we begin working on the second installment," Lissa glanced around the room, taking everyone in.

Lucius shifted somewhat petulantly but didn't say anything while Draco was concentrating on a muggle toy in his hand. He was turning the little, clear plastic box, trying to move the tiny sliver ball through the maze to the center. Hermione was twirling a strand of hair with a far-away gaze.

"Wait a second. Where is Snape?" Snow realized at the same time Lissa did that one of their leading men was missing. She turned to Lissa. "You did let him know this was mandatory, didn't you?"

Lissa snorted. "I sent the missive, whether or not he chooses to ordain us with his presence is entirely on him."

Snow looked around he room, wondering if she missed him. Rose and M were reading through their production notes and Etan and Jonathan were whispering amongst themselves. "People. Please. Pay attention. Does anyone have any idea where Snape is?"

Lucius rolled his eyes. "He mentioned something about taking a break somewhere tropical with a bottle of tequila and a loose woman."

"What?!" Lissa growled. "When did he leave?"

"The night the first book wrapped up. Said he needed to get away for a bit," Lucius shrugged.

"Get away!? He knew we are going to need him for After Happily Ever After! Why would he leave?" Snow exclaimed, knowing the murderous look on her co-author's face all too well. Lissa was way too close to losing her shit.

Lucius looked at Snow like she was dumber than a pygmy puff. "Please! You had at least two chapters you had to get through of The Affair. We both knew it would be weeks if not months before he would be needed again." He let out a heavy sigh of irritation. "While I, on the other hand, have been stuck here waiting for you pokey wenches to get on with it."

"Hey!" Lissa pouted. "It's only been about six weeks since we finished MMS and we posted the final chapter of The Affair a few days ago! And you know what I've been going through!"

Lucius offered Lissa a slightly chagrined frown. "I know, my dear. We understand."

Draco was still turning the toy in his hand while he muttered, "Doesn't mean it wasn't predictable, though." Looking up at Lucius he added. "At least now you get several months off. I, on the other hand, have not had a break. The minute MMS wrapped, they were revising old chapters of The Affair and working on chapter thirty-two and thirty-three. Now, they are starting AHEA – which does mean I get to see Lizzie again, whew that girl is hot! Anyway - I never get a break!"

Lucius was about to speak when Hermione interrupted him hotly, "Excuse me? Hellooooooo! Talk about NEVER getting a break!?

"Just because Snow and Lissa are completely Hermione-cenric writers doesn't mean the rest of us canon characters don't work our asses off, as well," Draco snipped at her coolly. "I'm in almost everything they write as well, you know!"

"Of course I know that – "

"Stop acting like your fifteen-year-old selves," Lucius interjected. "At least for the most part your characters stay on a similar track. You don't have to dig too deep. I'm always having to jump from good guy to bad guy. Bloody hell – do you realize that I die in AHEA? DIE!"

"No offense, Luc, you know how much I love you," Hermione said quietly. "But you deserve to die in that story. You're a right sick bastard!"

"I know – it's great isn't it?" The room erupted in a tangle of titters and groans.

Snow sighed heavily while Lissa raised two fingers like the good little Cub Scout Mama she was, trying to bring order back to the group. "We're getting off topic," Snow said. "We are meant to be discussing the MM series."

Suddenly, everyone's attention was pulled to the entrance of the meeting room. Their eyes grew wide as one Severus Snape sauntered in…with a tan…, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses. The eyes of the room dipped down his form, beckoned by legs clad in cargo shorts. The front of both legs were red with sunburn, while the backs were as white as the day he was born.

Draco chuckled.

Lissa's jaw dropped. "Holy Fuck!" she spewed, her clip board clattering to the floor.

"Wha'd I miss?" Snape asked, pulling sunglasses off his head before settling in the chair next to Lucius'.

There was stunned silence as everyone stared at the abomination that used to be Severus Snape.

"What?" Snape questioned, bringing a hand up to brush his jaw. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Yeah…a tan," Hermione said, eyes wide. "I thought you'd go up in flames if you went in the sun."

"Ha…ha," Snape rolled his eyes at the jibe.

"You do realize you are supposed to roll over occasionally when sunning yourself?" Britt snickered.

Snape shot her a glare before his attention was snagged by Lucius' incredulous tone of voice.

"What in Salazar's hairy gonads are you wearing?"

Snape looked down at himself. "I've been on vacation! What? Do you think I stalk around the palm trees in my black robes?" Snape deadpanned.

"Uh…yes?" Snow answered seriously. "Yes, we did. You look…wrong."

There was silence for a split second, and then everyone was laughing. Snape scowled menacingly before pulling his wand out of his pocket and muttering an incantation. Suddenly, his clothing went from light and colorful, to black and severe. "Better?" he snapped, looking irritated when the laughing only got louder.

"Gods, yes," Lissa breathed, giving him a slow once-over. When her eyes returned to his, he was smirking at her knowingly. Lissa blushed brightly before Snow took pity on her and called the room to order again.

"Okay – as you know we have about a million fans asking when the next installment is going to be," she started once the room quieted down. "One fan asked if we could do another cast interview if we weren't going to be able to post the first chapter of the next installment any time soon. She seemed to think fans would be appreciative of having your thoughts at the end of the first book and predictions as to what's to come."

"You guys have all had a chance to read the reviews we received?" Lissa asked while the group quietly contemplated what Snow was telling them.

"Yes," numerous cast members murmured.

"Anything anyone wants to directly comment on?" Snow prompted. "Let's focus on FFN reviewers as we've answered everyone who reviewed on WattPad or AO3.

"Me," Lissa said. "I want to thank Deemail. . She likened MM to The Bespoke Witch by glitterally, which is totally one of my favorite Luc-Draco-Hermione fics. THANK YOU! Super flattering."

"I found PheonixDragon111's comment about having a physical reaction to the ending really awesome," Rose said softly from the back corner of the room. "Her entire comment let us know that she took a lot away from the story. We appreciate that."

"DiagonAli had some really nice things to say about how you wrote me in this book," Draco grinned lazily, "I want to tell her that a Dramione ending is so not off the table."

"Enough," Hermione laughed. "You know you don't get the girl in this one, Drac."

"I know no such thing, Beeves," Draco stood before plopping down next to her and swinging an arm around her shoulders. "You know we're always good together, witch," he added suggestively, causing Hermione to blush and Lucius and Snape to glare conspiratorially at each other.

"So, obviously Draco still thinks it's going to be a Dramione," Lissa directed the topic flow. "What does everyone else think?"

"Well – Britt being pregnant most likely ruined my chance at this ending in a Snamione," Snape groused petulantly while he shot a second glare in the red-head's direction as though it were her fault.

"Stop," Snow retorted hotly. "No one knows who's baby she's carrying. Not even you guys. For all you know, she came to you because she trusts you and she needs help. You guys have a long history."

"I just seriously wish you would write her out, I absolutely cannot stand working with her," Snape snapped waspishly. He crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair. He glared at the floor, only Snow noticed the worried glances he kept shooting Hermione from under his eyelashes.

"You're no picnic to work with either there – sunshine," Britt said sharply from across the room.

With a dramatic rolling of his eyes and an exasperated tone, he responded, "Paaaleeease! At least I don't call for makeup and wardrobe every twenty seconds because a hair is out of place or Gods forbid, my tits aren't protruding enough out of my corset!"

Britt crossed her arms and gave him a knowing sneer as she snapped, "Well, you didn't seem to mind when your eyes were glued to them!"

"Only because those things are glamoured so firm and bouncy they could cause bodily harm. I feared one or both might pop out and punch me." He turned to Snow. "Honestly, I might have to demand hazard pay!"

"We're not writing Britt out," Snow replied calmly. She was already exhausted and the meeting had barely started. "You know she's here until the end. You two need to figure out your differences and suck it up."

Snape let out a small humph and crossed his arms. Britt could be heard muttering under her breath.

"I think it's going to be a triad," Jonathan spoke up from his spot next to Etan, abruptly changing the subject. "Lucius, Snape, and Hermione."

Lucius let out a laugh while Snape grumbled, "The story will be far superior if she ends up with me. I shouldn't have to share her!"

"Excuse me?" Hermione laughed. "You are all acting like this isn't just a story or something. Fighting over me like I'm some piece of tasty meat."

"They can fight over me," Lissa whispered loudly to Snow, who snorted appreciatively. The joke cut the tension and everyone was able to be brought back to focus.

"When are we going to be back on set?" Etan asked.

"I don't know," Snow said honestly. "We were able to get The Affair wrapped up here last week. Lissa has the outline done for the last eleven chapters of After Happily Ever After – she's having a hard time slipping back into writing that one, though. I'm certain that once we get the first chapter written, the rest will come easily."

Lissa added her reassurance to the room. "It will happen. It's almost been a bloody year since we've posted on that story – and it's so close to being done. After we get AHEA done, we want to get back to A World Not Fit to Live In," Lissa continued without missing a beat. "We have a good fan base over there that's been super patient while we focused on MM."

Draco let out a woosh of air. "Ya alright there, Draco?" Snow asked, concerned.

"Yeah – you guys have to give me at least a week's warning to slip back into that role, okay? That's a tough one for me." No one missed the way Hermione's eyes cast down as she scooted away from him a bit.

"We know that's a darker story, Draco, we'll make sure to give you time," Lissa promised. "We've also had lots of asks after Bless the Broken Road – and Runaway has turned into something MUCH larger than we anticipated, but right now we're using those stories as our 'we-need-something-else-to-do-for-a-little-bit' backups. Don't expect to be pulled into either of those any time soon."

"Damn," Lucius muttered with a smirk. "I'm eager to see where Runaway goes."

Snow laughed. "So are we…we haven't gotten too deep into the planning of that one, but the first two chapters called us hard, so that's why they're up. Just be patient."

"Okay – now that we know what the plans are for your other stories – you know, the one's us originals won't be in?" Clarisse spoke with a bit of sardonic sarcasm. "Can we get back on topic?"

"Oh, uh, yes," Lissa stuttered, embarrassed to be pulled so far off track. "Where were we?"

"Reviews on FFN," Charlie said helpfully.

"Right," Snow said. "There have been soo many wonderful ones. I got a particular kick out of PainfulOpulence who wrote; 'For that ending I would like to say: fuck you very very much: cliff hanging She-devils!'" Snow broke into a belly laugh as the others in the room began to chuckle.

Lissa was relieved to see the corners of Snape's mouth twitch as he tried to suppress his own mirth. She knew he was truly bothered that MM might not end with him winning the girl. It was amazing how competitive these wizards were sometimes.

"I'm glad everyone feels good about the reviews. I, on the other hand, have not had even one sympathetic reviewer since the final chapter was posted." Britt said in a dejected tone of voice. I'm merely the wrecker of other people's happiness. I mean, I'm not a bad witch! I'm just written that way."

Hermione shot Britt a look of sympathy who offered a small smile in return. The others in the room, with the exception of Snape, whispered words of encouragement to the distraught witch.

"Okay – does anyone have any non-plot-revealing questions?" Lissa wrapped up.

"Not really," coursed a handful of the group.

"You gotta give the fans a timeline, though, guys," Jonathan said after a moment of silence. "Worst case scenario for the first chapter of book two?"

Lissa and Snow exchanged a long, silent look before Lissa sighed. "After the New Year?"

The was a chorus of groans and she ducked her head remorsefully.

"Why so long?" Snape drawled, obviously annoyed.

"Well, we have to finish up AHEA. That alone will take at least a couple months, and WNF is very involved," Snow answered in a professional tone. "It's written through chapter fourteen and outlined to chapter twenty-five, but chapter twenty-five is not the end of the story."

"There's a lot coming with that story. I would anticipate it being as long as the first MM book, maybe a bit longer," Lissa added.

"Not to mention your output has been extraordinarily lacking as a late," Snape drawled accusingly.

Here, Lissa's face dropped. Gods, she hated disappointing that man. "I know," she answered softly.

"Be nice, Severus," Lucius warned as a few others spoke up on their behalf as well.

He looked at the others and then back at Lissa. "Why? What did I miss?"

"Lissa and her husband acquired another child," Hermione spoke up gently. "They received legal placement of their niece right at the beginning of June. It's been a bit of a rough spot, hasn't it, love?" The question was obviously meant to help Lissa feel comfortable sharing.

"It's not a great situation," she agreed candidly. "But it's smoothing. Things are evening out now, though. I'm already starting to find more writing time. So just hang in there, our output will get better again. Hopefully we'll be able to start posting weekly again, soon."

Snow gave Lissa a reassuring pat on the knee as she addressed the room. "Ok, so. Now that you all have a better understanding of our plan, does anyone have anything else to add or ask?"

"Yes," piped up Lucius. "I would like to request a quick and expedited death in AHEA, preferably in the first chapter you write. I am in need of some R & R."

"You know, it gets really old hearing you leads complain about working too much. Some of us have no other gigs to look forward to. You might want to be a little sympathetic to that fact," Etan snapped impatiently to the nods of agreement from Rose, Clarisse, and Jonathan.

Snow and Lissa shot each other concerned glances, each wondering if they could bring the originals into their other stories. It would be a discussion for another day.

After a spell of awkward silence, Lissa spoke excitedly. "Oh! I just want to make sure you are each aware of our new beloved BETA – RaynePhoenix2. She has been exceedingly generous with her time and we are extremely lucky to have her support and friendship!"

Snape's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah. Is she that hot red head you ladies keep texting? I happened to see her picture on your phone while you were messaging her recently," he added.

Lissa shot him a look of shock. "How did you happen to see her picture unless you were on my phone?"

Comprehension dawned on Snow's face. "It was you! You were on my phone a few weeks ago! I distinctly remembered leaving it on the desk next to my bag and it disappeared for almost an hour before I found it in the loo. I knew I didn't leave it in there!"

Snape simply shrugged, not the least bit apologetic for his snooping. "You really need a better pass code for your phone. Honestly."

"It's fingerprinted!" Lissa shook her head. "You're unbelievable."

"Well, is she the red-head or not? And, more importantly, is she single? You know I have a thing for reds," he shot a cursory glance back at Britt, "well, most reds anyway."

Lissa's tone was incredulous, and perhaps driven by no small amount of jealousy. "NO! She isn't single! She is happily married with two beautiful children. Keep your snarky little wand off her!"

Snape quirked a brow at Lissa. "Little wand? I think everyone in this room knows my wand is anything but little."

"Enough!" bellowed Snow. "Honestly! Snape keep your hands off our phones."

"Well, how else are we supposed to get intel if we don't read your texts?!" Lucius asked with exasperation.

"You as well, Lucius?" Lissa crooned.

Lucius and Snape shot each other knowing glances. "Some of your texts proved quite interesting."

Lissa and Snow both blushed furiously. "Uhh, yeah. On that note – meeting adjourned!"