Enchanted Parchment
I know, I know, I'm sorry! I've been away again. But today was a good day. Eighteen minutes. Eighteen.
~ SS19
Severus!
...Headmaster.
Do you know what today is, my boy?
The last time I looked, it was 28th December. It has been for nearly six hours.
It was a rhetorical question, my dear boy. Another, no longer rhetorical, question. Are you excited?
Excited is not a word in my vocabulary, Headmaster.
Liar.
Meddler.
Touche. No, no, my point is – you must be excited! Are you nervous?
No.
Is there sweat on your palms yet?
Headmaster.
Is your stomach churning because some wonderful pixie-like creatures are doing a powerful sweeping waltz?
Stop.
Does your chest feel a little tight?
I'm nervous – now leave me alone – before I -
Yes?
Never mind.
How long is it until the Owl Post arrives, Severus?
Two hours, thirty two minutes and forty-six seconds...
...Precise until the very end. Have you slept at all?
On and off.
I thought you had been rather quiet the past few days – I apologise, of course, for forgetting.
I do not see why you have remembered.
...I still feel a little guilty for the slight mishap at the beginning of term. I have done my best to repair the damage though.
You mean when you ruined my potion?
Yes. A slip of the hand. However, you have proved that you are very resourceful, my absolutely most favourite Slytherin, by still entering the potion in the competition.
It is not a competition. It is a highly prestigious...
Competition?
If I win...
Eternal glory, Severus?
More the rare black diamond I have desired for...nearly sixteen years.
And the eternal glory?
The what?
Eternal glory? Your name, up in lights?
Fairy lights?
I knew you liked them! I also know they are still up in your rooms. It's a Muggle phrase, name in lights – it means – recognition. Can you imagine the students? Their teacher will be the finest and greatest potioneer the world has ever seen...
Which is why, should they choose my liquid Bezoar, it is not to be mentioned. To anyone. I have entered it under a false name, after all.
Why?
Because I do not want eternal glory, or recognition, or my name up in lights, Headmaster.
The black diamond will suffice, yes?
Indeed.
Whatever happens, I shall be proud of you, my dear boy. You remind me of a black diamond. Sharp and many-faceted and slighty dark, yet pure and incredibly valuable.
Do you know the properties of a black diamond, Headmaster?
At the moment? It...escapes...me...
It's a poison. A deadly poison. So deadly only the smallest amount can kill within minutes. Painfully.
Oh. Perhaps not, then?
I hope – maybe – I can work with one.
How long now?
Two hours, thirty one minutes and five seconds.
I shall leave you to wait. Good luck, my boy, not that you need it. I look forward to seeing the results at the table.
I shall be opening them in private.
Oh. Very well, I look forward to hearing what the result is, should you choose or indeed wish to tell me.
Headmaster?
Hello, Severus. I am not busy at the moment. How may I help?
That eternal glory you spoke of?
Oh, of course, yes? Tell me, tell me!
It is mine...
Although it was not the position I so desperately coveted, I did receive a job offer today. The panel took eighteen minutes between seeing me, interviewing me, and making their decision - which is apparently a record in my place of work. I'm thrilled as it puts me back in touch with computers, which is what I did for A-Level, and guarantees me a job until March next year, thus guaranteeing my money for the next seven months. I'm sad to leave my current team - but they're over the moon for me. I'm in a good mood, so Severus is too! Yay! ~ SS19