Angelica's Sorrow

A/N OK, does the word LEGILIMENS strike a cord out there? I\'m looking at you, Deb & you Lindsay. My beta and I were going through the following chapter when your reviews turned up and we had to laugh that you both were kinda sorta gonna get what you wanted.

I must say, the number of responses I have gotten from Narcissa taking a larger part in my story have pleased me greatly.

jonelin - thank you! (bows and kisses your feet)

CAH - I don\'t play with them! They threaten me day and night to do as they wish! I have no say in how they run their lives, honest! ;)

appy lady - I was so glad to hear from you again. I\'m glad you appreciate my twisted mind. Most people don\'t.


Naomi - I can\'t make Narcissa go away - see response to CAH! Besides I really like my version of her. She\'s a smart lady.


Enjoy this chapter. I took out 30 years of marriage on poor Severus in this one. ;)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN


\"You silly, silly man! I don\'t believe what you\'re telling me! How can anyone be that stupid? Have you learned nothing from my experiences? I don\'t even know if I want you to visit me anymore! I never tolerated idiots in my life before, why should I start now?\"

Severus felt inclined to cover his ears and skulk out of the room. He never imagined Angelica would react like this. He thought she would be pleased his life was taking a positive turn. Severus hadn\'t been able to bring her up to date until now. It had been over a week since he had last visited.

Narcissa and Draco had returned to their estate this morning. Draco was fully recovered and doing quite well, in spite of the news about his father and Mr. Weasley. The private funeral for Lucius had been yesterday, paid for by Severus, and they felt some time alone was needed.

He had brought a few books along to share with Angelica. So much for the thought it would be a pleasant visit. He hadn\'t received a tongue lashing like this since he was a child.

\"Angelica, please. You\'re making my head ring.\"

\"Believe me, if I could, I\'d do more to your head than just make it ring! I\'d love to box your ears for a start! Idiotic, stupid, silly, silly man!\"

\"I\'d like to point out, you\'re beginning to repeat yourself.\"

\"It appears the bone surrounding your brain is thick enough, it requires several tries before something penetrates.\"

\"Did you just call me thick headed?\"

\"If you have to ask, the effort was wasted.\"

At least the volume of her voice had lessened. The tone was still rather pissed off.

\"Why do you object to the thought I might marry Narcissa? She is a wonderful person and has been a part of my life for over twenty years.\"

\"Because she is not the one you love. You can\'t hide your feelings from me.\"

\"We would have a good life together. She deserves to have a small measure of happiness after what Lucius put her through. We are well suited, I think.\"

\"You can lie to yourself all you want. Not being alone is not the same as being happy. It\'s a poor substitute. I notice you don\'t include yourself as someone deserving happiness. Still knocking yourself about because of your past? When are you going to let it go and live for the future, or at least the now?\"

Severus didn\'t know how to respond, she cut to the crux of the matter quickly.

\"I thought I was looking to the future and no, I don\'t wish to be alone.\"

\"You\'re trying to hide in your past. It holds no secrets, no threats, you\'re safe there.\"

\"I am not a coward, Madam!\"

Insults were one thing, he was used to that. This was entirely different.

\"Then quit acting like one and face the fear you hold in your heart.\"

\"I - can\'t. She\'s a student and loves Potter.\"

His anger deflated as quickly as it had arisen, perhaps he was a coward.

\"You told me she had graduated, so she\'s no longer a student. Did she or this Potter person tell you that they are in love? No, you learned it secondhand, from a dream of a memory. The memory of a young man who was coming to a conclusion and didn\'t have any facts to back it up. What kind of logical thinking is that?\"

\"Since he was able to break the spell, I\'d think it was pretty obvious.\"

\"Sometimes you are simply a dolt.\"

\"Stop with the insults, I thought we were past that particular point in our conversation.\"

\"We will be, as soon as you quit saying stupid things that cry out for them.\"

\"Angelica, you\'re being childish.\"

\"Oh, now I\'m being childish. Who\'s the one who thinks there\'s only one kind of love? Didn\'t you consider having Narcissa break the spell on the young man? She is his mother, correct? I hope she doesn\'t have that type of love for him, it would make me ill.\"

\"Don\'t be ridiculous.\"

She had given him food for thought.

\'Who broke the spell on Trewlaney? She doesn\'t have anyone in her life that I am aware of, that leaves her sister. I assume Arthur had been there for Molly, or had he? He may have been in France with Narcissa. She did say something about having spoken with him while she had been there. It had been about her accounts, not something you would freely discuss over the floo. Merlin\'s robe, Angelica is right. There might still be a chance! Damn, I hate being proven wrong.\'

\"I tire of our conversation. Don\'t return until you bring her to me.\"

\"I was hoping you would release me from that particular promise.\"

\"Oh, you did, did you? If you don\'t bring her to me I will never speak to you again. I won\'t answer any of your questions and I will go crazy from the solitude. Then you can have something to feel guilty about. You were the one who woke me from my apathy, damn you! Don\'t you dare leave me to rot in hell!\"

Severus was stunned. He had no doubt she would keep her word, stubborn wasn\'t the word to describe her.

\"That\'s blackmail.\"

\"I used to do rather well at persuading people to do as I wished.\"

\"No matter what you call it, it\'s still blackmail.\"

\"Bring her to me when you return. I will say nothing further to you until then.\"

\"I don\'t know that she will agree.\" Silence, she\'d withdrawn.

Severus really hated it when she did that. He started to rise, but sat back down with a painful thump when a thought occurred,\' Narcissa!\'

\"Oh, bloody hell!\" Snape said as he buried his head in his hands.


Snape stepped through the floor in Dumbledore\'s office, hoping for once the old man was there. Naturally, the one time he wanted to see him, he was absent. Silly bird was wasn\'t here either, so he couldn\'t send Fawkes to find Albus. He needed to know who cast the counter spells for Molly and Sibyll. Severus decided to broach the subject at dinner, as he made his way down the circular stairway. His mood had gone from quiet anticipation of a pleasant afternoon with a friend, to foul, evil tempered Potions Master.

Severus couldn\'t believe the damage he had done to his own life. Finally free to start living a normal life, then talked himself into trying for a nice, easy relationship. Hermione might love Potter the way he loved Narcissa. Talk about being obtuse, should box his own ears and save Angelica the trouble. Almost dying had certainly addled a few brain cells. The way he had been thinking lately, he never would have gotten anything past Voldemort.

Severus paused by the guardian to the Headmaster\'s office, folding his arms and absently rubbing his chin with one hand.

\'Miss Weasley!\' His eyes narrowed, she had the answer. \'She would never tell awful, old Professor Snape who Hermione loved, but there has to be a way to get Draco to help. After all, they are in love.\'

A slightly evil grin found its way to his mouth.

\'Angelica has the right idea. Blackmail sounds pretty good.\'

His robes were almost horizontal as he flew to his dungeons. Snape had a list of memories to record. It would be a few days before he could break their solitude to contact Draco. It would give him time to organize, save the really good ones for last.



Hermione Granger was preparing to leave St Mungo\'s and was having a difficult time controlling her temper. Parents were impossible sometimes. Her not telling them every little thing had been brought up time and again. Well, Voldemort had been pretty major, but that was beside the point.

\"Mum, Dad, I love you but I\'m not going to let you run my life! I\'m eighteen years old, legal in both the muggle and wizarding world and I will live where I want. It\'s not like you have to support me. I\'ve got the money Aunt Julia left me. That will keep me for quite a long time, even if I don\'t find another job as an apprentice right away.\"

Her plans had been altered by the final battle, but they hadn\'t changed that much! The flat she rented prior to graduation had been turned over to someone else, not to mention her job, but there was no way she was going back home with her parents. The Weasley family offered to let her stay until she could a suitable place to live. Too bad Ginny still had another year of school to get through, it would have been fun to share.

\"We\'re not trying to tell you how to run your life. You\'re still not fully recovered from that awful coma. We\'re just worried about you. We want to take care of you until you\'re well.\"

\"Mum, it wasn\'t a coma, it was a spell. There\'s a big difference, my brain wasn\'t injured. How is moving back home, when both of you are gone most of the day, better than living with the Weasleys? Someone is always around there.\"

\"But we\'re your family!\" They always fell back on that, trying to make her feel guilty. Sorry folks, wasn\'t going to work this time.

\"That\'s true, but I thought families were supposed to support each other, as well as provide love. I think that\'s the lesson you two drummed into my head. Especially when I used to pick up the slack around the house after school. If that\'s what you\'re looking for I know a good temp agency, or better yet, maybe I could find a recently freed house elf to hire.\"

\"Hermione! You know very well that\'s not why we want you to come home.\" Her mother looked very hurt.

\"I know, Mum. I didn\'t mean it, but I had to say something to break through the wall you\'re trying to build around me. The danger is over. Voldemort is gone, forever. He can\'t hurt anyone anymore. You need to accept my decision, I\'m not moving back home and that\'s final.\"

\"You\'ll let us know where you end up?\" Her father asked.

\"Of course, Dad. I\'ve grown up, not disowned you. It won\'t be that different. I haven\'t really lived at home for a long time. I\'ll still visit.\" She hugged both of them. Finally!

\"Ah, may I ask one final question?\" Her mother asked.

Maybe finally and maybe not. \"Ask.\"

\"What\'s a house elf?\"

\"Come with me while I go check out, I\'ll tell you all about my history with house elves,\" Hermione laughed as she led them out the door.



\"Hermione! You\'re finally here!\" Ginny Weasley grabbed her in a bear hug as soon as she opened the door. \"Oh, I\'m sorry. Did I hurt you? I know you just got out of St Mungo\'s.\"

\"I\'m not made of spun glass. There\'s nothing wrong with me that time spent in your company won\'t cure.\" Hermione noticed tears in Ginny\'s eyes. \"What\'s wrong, Ginny?\"

\"Nothing, everything is - almost right again. I think I\'m suffering from an overload of happiness. First Draco, then Mum and now you. We were all so worried for so long. Merlin\'s robe, good thing Mum\'s taking a nap. She\'d have my head for keeping you on the doorstep. Get in here before you get me in trouble!\" Ginny giggled as she pulled her inside. \"Give me your bag and I\'ll put it in my room. Make yourself at home, I\'ll be right back.\"

Ginny paused with her foot on the first step. \"Or - you could come upstairs with me and we could catch up on girl talk.\"

Hermione grinned, \"Sounds wonderful.\"

They went up the stairs together, giggling like the school girls they had been just a few short months before. It felt good to return to their silly days, if only for a little while.

After they stashed the few belongings Hermione had brought with her, they sat on Ginny\'s double bed. Hermione had turned serious. \"Ginny, I saw your parents while I was still in St. Mungo\'s, so I know about Charlie and Ron. I am so, so sorry. I remember seeing Ron fall, and I wondered, but I didn\'t know about Charlie.\"

\"I thought I would go insane for awhile. Ron, Charlie, Draco, Mum and you, all taken away from me at once. We were luckier than some families.\" Her voice was almost a whisper at this point, fingers playing with fringe on her spread. \"The whole Hilston family was killed. Clarice was in my year at school. If it hadn\'t been for Dad, Fred, George, Bill and Percy I don\'t know what I would have done.\"

Ginny smiled, \"But then a few weeks ago, Professor Dumbledore told Dad there was hope for a cure and here you are! Draco told me he couldn\'t really remember anything except bad dreams while he was under Voldemort\'s spell. Mostly about his father, when he wouldn\'t take the dark mark. Would it bother you to tell me what happened to you? I\'m really curious since Professor McGonagall explained what a Mobirus - Maburis - that strip thing.\"

\"Mobius Strip?\"

\"Yeah, you said it just like she did. I suppose you already knew what it was, didn\'t you?\"

\"Guilty. I don\'t know I would call what I experienced a nightmare. It was strange, and I knew something was wrong, but couldn\'t find my way out. I - kept searching for someone that could help me.\"

\"Wouldn\'t be the same someone we talked about before, would it?\"

\"Yes, unfortunately.\"

\"So, you still love him?\"

\"Nothing has changed.\"

\"He looks all right now, but he almost died. If Ron hadn\'t - Ron took most of the killing curse that Voldemort threw at him, but a bit of it did hit him. He went on to help Harry kill Voldemort, so Ron didn\'t die for nothing. In fact, he\'s the reason all four of you recovered. He did most of the work finding the cure since Professor Dumbledore was too weak.\"

\"Nobody told me anything about this at St. Mungo\'s.\"

\"I only know because Professor Dumbledore told me when I went to Hogwarts. Draco\'s mother was unavailable, so I had to try the counter curse.\"

\"Why you and not one of the professors?\"

\"They didn\'t tell you anything did they?\"

\"Only that it was a Mobius Strip spell and it took a long time to figure out.\"

\"They didn\'t mention the love part?\"

\"What love part?\"

\"I knew I should have written it down, the spell I mean. There was a - I don\'t know what you call it, condition I guess that Voldemort added. Only someone the victim loved could perform the counter spell.\"

\"So, that\'s why you could do it for Draco.\"

\"Yeah.\"

\"My parents are muggles, who did it for me? Ginny, you didn\'t - \" Hermione asked, panic flaring in her eyes.

\"No! I\'d never do that unless it was absolutely necessary. They had Harry try. It worked, so I guess you do love him.\"

\"Oh, thank goodness. You really had me scared for a moment. Yeah, I love Harry. I still love Ron and you, you silly, wonderful girl. I think I love your whole family.\"

\"When are you going to tell Professor Snape you\'re in love with him?\"

\"Ginny, he would look down his nose at me, snarl and try to give me detention, or fall over dead from laughing so hard.\"

\"Hey, at least I\'d get out of potions this year!\"

Hermione hit her with a pillow.

\"While you were under the spell, I regretted never asking you something. I don\'t care if you do get mad at me. If you\'re so afraid of him, how can you be in love with him?\"

\"I\'m not afraid of him, just unsure of myself, I guess. What could such an intelligent, brave man ever see in someone like me?\"

\"Sorry to break it to you, but you\'re not a school girl any longer! You\'re what, eighteen for Merlin\'s sake! No, you\'re not drop dead gorgeous, but you\'re very pretty! You\'d better tell him soon, though.\"

\"I know, but when he looks at me sometimes I feel like I\'m eleven again. What did you mean, tell him soon? I though you said he was all right?\"

\"From what Draco says, Professor Snape and his mother are getting very close, if you know what I mean. Draco says I\'m full of beans because they\'ve been friends their whole lives, but since Lucius is dead, who knows? My Mum told me a few years ago that Professor Snape and Narcissa Malfoy, only it wasn\'t Malfoy then. I can\'t remember what her maiden name was. I\'ll have to ask Mum later.\"

\"Who gives a fig what her maiden name was, tell me what your mum said!\"

\"Oh, sorry. She told me they used to be quite an item, totally wrapped up in each other, before Lucius made a move on Narcissa. So, if I were you I\'d make sure she didn\'t get her hooks in him. Tell him, Hermione. What have you got to lose?\"

\"If I get the opportunity, I might.\"

\"Make the opportunity. I did with Draco and I\'ve never regretted it.\"

\"How have your parents reacted?\"

\"It didn\'t really come up until lately. I never told any of my family until - well you know the spell. I think Dad\'s so relieved at having Mum back, he\'d accept it if I told him I loved a troll.\"

\"Eeeww! What about the rest of them?\"

\"Well, they\'re not exactly jumping up and down with joy, but I think the battle changed a lot in all of us. We\'re ready to appreciate love where it exists and the fact Draco fought on our side helps a lot.\"

Hermione chose that moment to stifle a yawn. \"I\'m sorry, Ginny. Would you think me terrible if I took a nap?\"

\"Nope, just means you\'ll be up for more girl talk later, right? I\'ll call you in time for dinner. Mum should be getting up soon, so I\'ll get out of here and let you rest.\" Ginny stood up and moved toward the door.

\"Thank you. I just get so tired, so quickly.\"

Hermione kicked off her shoes and stretched out.

\"Same thing happens to Mum and Draco.\"

Hermione heard the soft click of the door as her eyes closed. Narcissa and Professor Snape, not good news. What could she do about it? Send Narcissa a howler? Naw, too juvenile and it wouldn\'t work anyway. She grinned, imagining the things it would contain. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming once again of looking for a certain dark eyed Potions Master.