Triumph Out of the Bitter Taste of Ashes
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
34
Views:
6,798
Reviews:
244
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
34
Views:
6,798
Reviews:
244
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
chapter Seventeen
Andrian -- Thanks!
Deb -- Time will tell. (EG) And I promise, it will become clear shortly. Next Chapter Hermione goes home for break . . . at her insistence.
farfie -- lol, yup, he\'s not the coolest cucumber in the box. : )~ And good guess.
Barrie -- Thank you! I, in no way feel confident writing from Hermione\'s pov for most of this, so have pretty much stuck to how others see her reacting, that\'s easier. What has *always* struck me about anyone who has suffered big time trauma be it similar to the Hermione of this story, or say a death in the family, or the like, no one ever knows what to say, how to act, and everybody just ends up acting weird, making everything worse -- or so it seems to me. I would think that it would be a very big draw to be treated -- at least until the person is ready to vent/grieve/rant -- that being treated exactly like before would be a tiny slice of heaven in a patch of hell.
Shemham -- LOL He was so quick to realize what Malfoy might want from him, and so slow with Hermione. A Gryffindor couldn\'t *possibly* want the same thing as a Slytherin. (said *extremely* tongue in cheek : )~ ) He\'ll figure it out soon though. ::grins::
Jen -- I aim to please. : )
Terri -- Thanks! : ) And \"decide\" might become a moot point soon, but only time will tell. (Yes, I know, LOL, I\ean.ean.)
**********
Chapter Seventeen
**********
Severus ate quickly, not wanting to remain in the Great Hall one moment longer than necessary. His attention kept straying to three students in particular and he\'d had enough of that for one day. All three had managed to surprise him rather consistently lately, not something he particularly enjoyed at the best of times. This was not the best of times.
Granger, in particular, was preying on his mind. He\'d expected to see her at dinner . . . not that he\'d actively looked for her, but her absence had been noticed. He had wanted the opportunity to study the girl, see if he could figure out what she wanted. It was quite rude of her not to show up. He did wonder if perhaps she had ventured out a little too soon, and was even now back under Poppy\'s ever-so *efficient* care. Poppy was here, however, so Granger might have simply decided to skip. Shaking his head at the rather obsessive turn his thoughts had taken, he resolutely changed their course.
The other professors, for a rather pleasant change, left him pretty much alone. It didn\'t happen often, most of them having one bone or another to pick with him by dinner time. Even Albus wasn\'t nagging at him tonight. All in all, despite the contrary nature of his thoughts, it was turning out to be one of the nicer times he\'d spent in the Great Hall as an adult. It didn\'t make him inclined to remain past finishing his repast, however. That would only invite inane conversation. He had just pushed his plate away when his respite ended.
\"Professor Snape?\"
\"What is it, Mr. Malfoy?\" he asked a touch more impatiently than he usually addressed the boy. **When it rains it pours,** he thought sourly. First Miss Granger and now Mr. Malfoy. Something clicked then. **I\'m such an idiot!** Finally, someone who wanted something from him that he was able to give. What Severus had originally thought Malfoy would want, *she* had wanted. To be treated normally, as if nothing had happened, as if nothing was different.
He almost snorted. He\'d be willing to bet Poppy and Minerva were treating her with kid gloves, trying to do things for her, trying to \'cheer her up\'. He shuddered, *very* glad it was someone else and not him.
\"Weasley and I have the beginnings of that project you assigned us. I\'d like to hand it over to you at your convenience,\" Malfoy replied evenly.
Well, that was a surprise. And yet again, he\'d misjudged. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the boy relentlessly. He must *really* be off his game lately. \"Very well, Mr. Malfoy,\" he replied, now even more grateful the term had ended. Despite the fall of the Dark Lord, and hence his respite from a double life, Severus had never needed the break more. \"You and Mr. Weasley may come to my office directly after dinner and I will have a look at it then.\"
Severus almost snapped when, before nodding, Malfoy gave him the oddest look, like the boy was wondering if *he* was okay. Severus glared.
\"We\'ll be there, Professor,\" Malfoy said, quickly heading back to the Slytherin table.
**Well,** he thought with a mental smirk, **at least the glare still works.**
With that thought, he nodded to his remaining colleagues -- **and when did they leave precisely?** -- and headed out the staff door.
**
He was ready and waiting . . . and beginning to get impatient when a brief knock on the door alerted Severus to the arrival of Malfoy and Weasley. \"Come in,\" he called gruffly, not bothering to rise from his desk. He simply waited until they approached and preemptorily held out a hand.
Malfoy handed him a fairly long scroll, and Severus\' eyebrow shot up when the first thing on the page was a list of definitions. He shot a look at Malfoy. \"You divided \'non-purebloods\' into several categories. Why?\" he demanded.
\"Well, Sir,\" Malfoy began, taking a deep breath. \"It became apparent very quickly that it made a difference how many generations removed muggle influence in the ancestry was.\"
Weasley nodded. \"I didn\'t expect that.\"
Severus turned his attention to Weasley. \"So you agree with the divisions here?\" he asked.
\"For the purposes of this report, yes.\"
Snorting, Severus smirked. \"Distinction noted, Weasley,\" he sneered.
Weasley flushed, his eyes flashing, but surprisingly, remained silent.
Looking back at the scroll, Severus frowned suddenly. \"Are these numbers accurate?\" he demanded. At a quick glance there didn\'t seem to be any truly significant difference in *any* of the sub groups, through he did notice a most disturbing rise in what the two boys were documenting as non-surviving children in the pureblood and as close to pureblood as makes no difference families. He wondered how much of that was due to Voldemort\'s influence, and whether they had even thought to take that into account in their numbers.
Shifting uneasily, Malfoy nodded. It was Weasley however, that sorted through the papers he carried and handed him a small stack. \"These are our individual charts broken down by decades, and below that by type of parental pairing.\"
Rifling through the pages quickly, Severus found the relevant sections. Yes, they had a separate number tally for children who\'d been killed by outside influence -- accidents, diseases, murder. Right now it was just totals, numbers that alone meant nothing, but even at a quick glance, Severus was . . . disturbed by the data. Other than the one thing, he wasn\'t entirely sure why, but he\'d learned a very longe age ago to trust his instincts.
\"Good start, Mr. Malfoy,\" Severus said sternly. \"You have copies of all this I assume,\" he continued, his tone indicating he thought the exact opposite.
\"Of the totals sheet, Professor, not the charts,\" Malfoy replied.
He looked confused. **Good,** Severus thought, **might do him some good.**
\"Well,\" he urged impatiently, \" *make* copies.\" Eyes purposely narrowing, he curved his lips into his best sneer. \"Or did you expect to be able to turn in half work and still get full credit?\" And he certainly needed copies if he was going to take the time to verify their work. He couldn\'t very well grade their finished project if he didn\'t know what he was looking at.
A flash of hurt from Malfoy, one of anger from Weasley.
**Interesting,** Severus thought, pondering the different reactions, as both of them set to magically copying the original charts. Soon enough both they and he had a set. \"I expect to see the finished report, on time, gentlemen. Understood?\"
A mumbled set of, \'yes, Sirs,\' and the two boys were headed for the door; he stopped them.
\"Weasley,\" he called shortly, the perfect solution to the thought of losing his entire break to the project he\'d assigned them. He almost chuckled as the boy\'s shoulders drooped before he turned back around.
\"Yes, Professor?\"
\"Remind Miss Granger she has detention in one hour. We wouldn\'t want her to get in trouble for forgetting it, now would we,\" he went on with a silky sneer.\"
Severus *almost* laughed at the gobsmacked expression that suddenly came over Weasley\'s freckled face, but the brief, *surprising* one of anger on Malfoy, was sobering -- as well as confusing. Both boys left without further word, but Severus was left pondering when the two of them had traded personalities, and who he needed to blame for thrusting the unsettling round-about in his lap. Not that he had *ever* seen Malfoy look openly shocked, but the flash of anger -- apparently on Miss Granger\'s behalf -- should have firmly belonged to Weasley.
The boy\'s voices faded slowly as the door closed behind them.
\"Have you even *seen* Granger?\" Malfoy asked in a hissed whisper.
\"No,\" Weasley replied shortly. \"How the bloody hell could she have gotten detention stuck in the infirmary?\"
\"Good question.\"
\"Guess, I\'ll just let Madam Pomfrey know about. . . .\"
Severus frowned. He\'d assumed that Granger\'s trip to the dungeons had been made because she\'d been released. Just what he needed, yet *another* conundrum to figure out. Life not being fair was really taking a step into surreal when Severus began wishing he was still a spy, at least back then, he knew what to expect.
TBC
Kiristeen
Feedback: It does a muse good! : )
Kiristeen@kiristeen.com
.
Deb -- Time will tell. (EG) And I promise, it will become clear shortly. Next Chapter Hermione goes home for break . . . at her insistence.
farfie -- lol, yup, he\'s not the coolest cucumber in the box. : )~ And good guess.
Barrie -- Thank you! I, in no way feel confident writing from Hermione\'s pov for most of this, so have pretty much stuck to how others see her reacting, that\'s easier. What has *always* struck me about anyone who has suffered big time trauma be it similar to the Hermione of this story, or say a death in the family, or the like, no one ever knows what to say, how to act, and everybody just ends up acting weird, making everything worse -- or so it seems to me. I would think that it would be a very big draw to be treated -- at least until the person is ready to vent/grieve/rant -- that being treated exactly like before would be a tiny slice of heaven in a patch of hell.
Shemham -- LOL He was so quick to realize what Malfoy might want from him, and so slow with Hermione. A Gryffindor couldn\'t *possibly* want the same thing as a Slytherin. (said *extremely* tongue in cheek : )~ ) He\'ll figure it out soon though. ::grins::
Jen -- I aim to please. : )
Terri -- Thanks! : ) And \"decide\" might become a moot point soon, but only time will tell. (Yes, I know, LOL, I\ean.ean.)
**********
Chapter Seventeen
**********
Severus ate quickly, not wanting to remain in the Great Hall one moment longer than necessary. His attention kept straying to three students in particular and he\'d had enough of that for one day. All three had managed to surprise him rather consistently lately, not something he particularly enjoyed at the best of times. This was not the best of times.
Granger, in particular, was preying on his mind. He\'d expected to see her at dinner . . . not that he\'d actively looked for her, but her absence had been noticed. He had wanted the opportunity to study the girl, see if he could figure out what she wanted. It was quite rude of her not to show up. He did wonder if perhaps she had ventured out a little too soon, and was even now back under Poppy\'s ever-so *efficient* care. Poppy was here, however, so Granger might have simply decided to skip. Shaking his head at the rather obsessive turn his thoughts had taken, he resolutely changed their course.
The other professors, for a rather pleasant change, left him pretty much alone. It didn\'t happen often, most of them having one bone or another to pick with him by dinner time. Even Albus wasn\'t nagging at him tonight. All in all, despite the contrary nature of his thoughts, it was turning out to be one of the nicer times he\'d spent in the Great Hall as an adult. It didn\'t make him inclined to remain past finishing his repast, however. That would only invite inane conversation. He had just pushed his plate away when his respite ended.
\"Professor Snape?\"
\"What is it, Mr. Malfoy?\" he asked a touch more impatiently than he usually addressed the boy. **When it rains it pours,** he thought sourly. First Miss Granger and now Mr. Malfoy. Something clicked then. **I\'m such an idiot!** Finally, someone who wanted something from him that he was able to give. What Severus had originally thought Malfoy would want, *she* had wanted. To be treated normally, as if nothing had happened, as if nothing was different.
He almost snorted. He\'d be willing to bet Poppy and Minerva were treating her with kid gloves, trying to do things for her, trying to \'cheer her up\'. He shuddered, *very* glad it was someone else and not him.
\"Weasley and I have the beginnings of that project you assigned us. I\'d like to hand it over to you at your convenience,\" Malfoy replied evenly.
Well, that was a surprise. And yet again, he\'d misjudged. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the boy relentlessly. He must *really* be off his game lately. \"Very well, Mr. Malfoy,\" he replied, now even more grateful the term had ended. Despite the fall of the Dark Lord, and hence his respite from a double life, Severus had never needed the break more. \"You and Mr. Weasley may come to my office directly after dinner and I will have a look at it then.\"
Severus almost snapped when, before nodding, Malfoy gave him the oddest look, like the boy was wondering if *he* was okay. Severus glared.
\"We\'ll be there, Professor,\" Malfoy said, quickly heading back to the Slytherin table.
**Well,** he thought with a mental smirk, **at least the glare still works.**
With that thought, he nodded to his remaining colleagues -- **and when did they leave precisely?** -- and headed out the staff door.
**
He was ready and waiting . . . and beginning to get impatient when a brief knock on the door alerted Severus to the arrival of Malfoy and Weasley. \"Come in,\" he called gruffly, not bothering to rise from his desk. He simply waited until they approached and preemptorily held out a hand.
Malfoy handed him a fairly long scroll, and Severus\' eyebrow shot up when the first thing on the page was a list of definitions. He shot a look at Malfoy. \"You divided \'non-purebloods\' into several categories. Why?\" he demanded.
\"Well, Sir,\" Malfoy began, taking a deep breath. \"It became apparent very quickly that it made a difference how many generations removed muggle influence in the ancestry was.\"
Weasley nodded. \"I didn\'t expect that.\"
Severus turned his attention to Weasley. \"So you agree with the divisions here?\" he asked.
\"For the purposes of this report, yes.\"
Snorting, Severus smirked. \"Distinction noted, Weasley,\" he sneered.
Weasley flushed, his eyes flashing, but surprisingly, remained silent.
Looking back at the scroll, Severus frowned suddenly. \"Are these numbers accurate?\" he demanded. At a quick glance there didn\'t seem to be any truly significant difference in *any* of the sub groups, through he did notice a most disturbing rise in what the two boys were documenting as non-surviving children in the pureblood and as close to pureblood as makes no difference families. He wondered how much of that was due to Voldemort\'s influence, and whether they had even thought to take that into account in their numbers.
Shifting uneasily, Malfoy nodded. It was Weasley however, that sorted through the papers he carried and handed him a small stack. \"These are our individual charts broken down by decades, and below that by type of parental pairing.\"
Rifling through the pages quickly, Severus found the relevant sections. Yes, they had a separate number tally for children who\'d been killed by outside influence -- accidents, diseases, murder. Right now it was just totals, numbers that alone meant nothing, but even at a quick glance, Severus was . . . disturbed by the data. Other than the one thing, he wasn\'t entirely sure why, but he\'d learned a very longe age ago to trust his instincts.
\"Good start, Mr. Malfoy,\" Severus said sternly. \"You have copies of all this I assume,\" he continued, his tone indicating he thought the exact opposite.
\"Of the totals sheet, Professor, not the charts,\" Malfoy replied.
He looked confused. **Good,** Severus thought, **might do him some good.**
\"Well,\" he urged impatiently, \" *make* copies.\" Eyes purposely narrowing, he curved his lips into his best sneer. \"Or did you expect to be able to turn in half work and still get full credit?\" And he certainly needed copies if he was going to take the time to verify their work. He couldn\'t very well grade their finished project if he didn\'t know what he was looking at.
A flash of hurt from Malfoy, one of anger from Weasley.
**Interesting,** Severus thought, pondering the different reactions, as both of them set to magically copying the original charts. Soon enough both they and he had a set. \"I expect to see the finished report, on time, gentlemen. Understood?\"
A mumbled set of, \'yes, Sirs,\' and the two boys were headed for the door; he stopped them.
\"Weasley,\" he called shortly, the perfect solution to the thought of losing his entire break to the project he\'d assigned them. He almost chuckled as the boy\'s shoulders drooped before he turned back around.
\"Yes, Professor?\"
\"Remind Miss Granger she has detention in one hour. We wouldn\'t want her to get in trouble for forgetting it, now would we,\" he went on with a silky sneer.\"
Severus *almost* laughed at the gobsmacked expression that suddenly came over Weasley\'s freckled face, but the brief, *surprising* one of anger on Malfoy, was sobering -- as well as confusing. Both boys left without further word, but Severus was left pondering when the two of them had traded personalities, and who he needed to blame for thrusting the unsettling round-about in his lap. Not that he had *ever* seen Malfoy look openly shocked, but the flash of anger -- apparently on Miss Granger\'s behalf -- should have firmly belonged to Weasley.
The boy\'s voices faded slowly as the door closed behind them.
\"Have you even *seen* Granger?\" Malfoy asked in a hissed whisper.
\"No,\" Weasley replied shortly. \"How the bloody hell could she have gotten detention stuck in the infirmary?\"
\"Good question.\"
\"Guess, I\'ll just let Madam Pomfrey know about. . . .\"
Severus frowned. He\'d assumed that Granger\'s trip to the dungeons had been made because she\'d been released. Just what he needed, yet *another* conundrum to figure out. Life not being fair was really taking a step into surreal when Severus began wishing he was still a spy, at least back then, he knew what to expect.
TBC
Kiristeen
Feedback: It does a muse good! : )
Kiristeen@kiristeen.com
.