Dianthus Stories
Chapter Twenty Four - N.E.W.T and After N.E.W.T.
xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
Anything you
recognize belongs to someone else, namely, JK Rowling.
the HP universe, characters from same.
Sadly, I have no hope of publishing this story outside the fan fiction
characters I’ve created. Feel free to
give me critical feedback, including flames and harsh criticism.
personal embarrassment, but I do promise to read it and incorporate it if I
feel it improves the story.
*****
This is Chapter
Twenty Four. Smut begins in Chapter
Twenty Six, so if you’re only looking for that, feel free to skip ahead.
of the stuff in those later chapters if you don’t stick it out.
*****
Chapter
Twenty Four – N.E.W.T., and after N.E.W.T.
N.E.W.T week began
poorly and never got better. Dianthus
felt she had done very badly on the Defense Against
the Dark Arts exam.She could not get
her Patronus to take corporeal form, try as she might
to conjure happy thoughts. She’d even
resorted to thinking of Snape, but that had only flustered her.
time. Herbology had gone pretty well,
she thought, though.
Surprisingly,
she’d also done pretty well in Transfiguration, being able to conjure
everything the wizened old administrator had asked for – except a green tea
cozy. She’d shocked both of them by
producing a complete tea service for four – but it was blue, not green, and she
thought he’d taken points off for it. As
for Charms – well, she wouldn’t think about Charms.
Potions
was the only saving grace. She’d
submitted her essay and a samof hof her potion, and the ancient woman who was
administering the test looked quite impressed with both.
well, brewing each one in turn with ease.
She felt that at least she would get one Outstanding – she wasn’t at all
sure about the others, though she thought she might scrape Acceptable in most
of them.
Finally, the week
ended. Her roommates looked as
bedraggled as she felt as they lay in their usual spot by the lake.
Melanie quietly. “You can
“She can stay with
all of us in turn,” said
“We’ve already
talked about this. I’m going to
to see Aster, and then I’m going to get an apartment close by
regarded for its potions research, but they required at least three Outstanding
N.E.W.T.s.
“Oh, Di, don’t do
it,” begged Melanie. She’s the one with issues.”
“I can’t.
make the attempt. She could read in her
grandfather’s last letters that it broke his heart to see them separated.
continue trying to make it up. It would
be worth it, she was sure of it. Aster
could be hard-headed – and so could Dianthus, when it came to it – but
eventually she would get over her hurt and anger.
And then, suddenly
they were done. Final week
finished. Final day completed.
time, knowing she wouldn’t return to Hogwarts until perhaps her own children
were attending. “Come on,” urged
“the feast is about to start.”
done. You guys go get our seats.
In fact she was
already done packing, and had been idly rearranging her belongings for an
hour. She had a final errand to run
before she headed for the great hall, and she didn’t want any tagalongs with
her.
When she was
certain her roommates had left, she reached to the very bottom of her trunk and
pulled out a package wrapped in silver paper.
It had been one of her grandfather’s favorite books – she’d had the
lawyer retrieve it before they sent her stuff to storage in
– a moldy and frayed tome titled Darkness
Illuminated: Ancient Curses and
She didn’t think she’d ever use it, and she thought Snape might like it.
She made her way
down to the dungeon, intending to drop it in front of the Potions
classroom. She was surprised and
slightly alarmed to see the door ajar – were there students in the classroom,
letting off some end-of-year steam? She
withdrew her wand from her pocket and pushed the door open.
gazing down at his clasped hands, his hair shrouding his face.
into the room, and although he attempted an unconcerned air, she thought he
looked tense, or maybe he was just tired.
“Miss Brandywine,”
he said shortly.
She smiled
anxiously at him. “I – brought you
something, sir. I didn’t expect you to
be here,” she added, lamely. She walked
to the front of his desk and held out the book.
He took it from
her suspiciously. Then he raised an
eyebrow and said casually, “It happens that I have something for you as
well.” He walked behind the desk, opened
the top drawer and withdrew a small rectangular package, wrapped in gold
parchment. She looked at it
disbelievingly, and he snorted in amusement.
“I believe it is customary to give a gift at one’s graion?ion?” he
said. “I was going to owl it to you
tomorrow, but since you’re here, I might as well give it to you now.”
She took the
package and they stood in awkward silence for a moment.
“Open yours,” he
responded promptly. She smirked at
him. “Together, then?” he said
softly. Dianthus nodded.
the wrapping off her gift, and he did the same.
She gasped.
pink. There was a beautiful kingfisher
quill as well. “Severus,” she breathed.
He was goggling at
the book in his hands, and didn’t respond immediately.
he whispered.
She smiled
happily. “I thought you might like
it.” She looked down at the parchment
set again, and continued, “I forgot all about seeing this.
“I wanted to be
sure you had plenty of parchment,” he said, smiling deviously and fingering the
spine of the volume in his hand.
Copondpondence.
about correspondence. She wanted to
spend every second of her entire life with him, and he was talking like they
might never see each other again. She
felt like her heart would break on the spot.
She needed something else to talk about, and quick.
“I see you got
yourself a present as well,” she said, pointing to his ring finger.
the ring his mother had given him.
Snape paled
instantly. He looked quite ill, in fact,
and leaned suddenly on his desk as if for supporpan
pan
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> “Severus,” Dianthus squeaked, hurrying around
the desk to help him. But he
straightened hastily and backed up a step.
“What did you
say?” he asked, swallowing hard. His
posture was rigid, and his hands were clenched into fists at his side.
“mE>“Your
ring. You had a stone set in
it. A present for
making it through your first year of teaching?”
desperate to break the sudden tension between them.
“what t abt about that ring? You jump
like a cat every time I mention it.”
Snape stood,
silent and panting, scrutinizing her, and the air
seemed to vibrate with the agitation emanating from him.
the ring and closed the gap between them./spa/span>Remembering the incident in the store room, she tried to take a step
back, but Snape was too quick – he grabbed her wrist and held her fast.
“Do you – do you
want me to try it on again?” she whispered, her unease growing.
from him.
“No,”
he murmured, his black eyes still drilling into hers.
this time.” To her complete
bewilderment, he slowly shifted his grip to splay her fingers, and slid the
ring onto her hand. He held her gaze for
another moment, and then bent her wrist back, so that she could see the ring on
her finger. She stared uncomprehendingly
at it. The diamond had disappeared.
“I don’t
understand,” she stammered. “What
happened? Did you switch rings,
Severus? I can’t see the stone.”
if he had faced the stone toward her palm, but he caught her other hand and
drew her closer to him.
“You can’t see
it,” he whispered, his expression unfaableable, “but I can.”
eyes drifted to her mouth, and a thrill of excitement shivered up Dianthus’
spine as she understood his intention.
She tipped her face up slightly and nervously licked her lips.
A dark fire
flickered to life in his eyes, and he lowered his head to brush his lips
against hers. Electric currents ran
through her body as he deepened the kiss, pressing his lips gently to her
slightly open ones and skimming his tongue questioningly between them.
of how to respond, but he breathed, “Shh,” and probed
further, gliding his tongue along her lower teeth.
uncertainty, but she delicately grazed the tip of his tongue with her own.
at the unexpected heat that flared in her abdomen as he sealed his mouth over
hers.
Slowly and
deliberately, not pausing in his exploration of her teeth and tongue, Snape let
go of her hands, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into a tight
embrace. She slir har hands up his chest
and around his neck, grasping at his silken hair.
pressed closer to him. Her skin felt
incandescent where their bodies met. He
continued his gentle assault on her mouth, and her fingers clenched and
unclenched of their own accord against the collar of his robe.
Finally he
released her mouth and raised his head.
He studied her through hooded eyes and said, “You have never been
kissed.” It was a statement rather than
a question.
“Not like that,”
she breathed. Her lips felt bruised and
she was slightly dizzy.
“Not at all,” he
said, the edges of his mouth twitching upward.
She narrowed her eyes
at him. “Do you have something to say,
Severus?”
“Oh, no,” he
murmured, leaning in to trace a path of lingering kisses along her jaw line and
down her neck. “I have nothing to
say.” Her legs seemed to liquefy as his
inquisitive lips found a sensitive spot just below her ear, and she clutched
his neck for support. He dawdled there,
obviously pressing his advantage, his tongue flicking and stroking her skin,
until she thought she might pass out.
Suddenly Dianthus
remembered what had precipitated this delightful interlude, and she pulled
sharply away from him. His eyebrows
disappeared into his curtain of black hair.
“Something wrong?”
he said contemptuously. She noted with
small satisfaction that he seemed slightly winded.
“Yes,” she panted,
glaring at him. “You’re distracting me.”
“Why would I want
to distract you?” he drawled. She held
up her hand, wiggling the finger where his ring still lay.
“You were just
going to tell me about the diamond I can no longer see.
“Ah,” he said
softly, “the mysterious diamond.” He
took her hand and studied the silver circlet.
Without answering her, he made to remove the ring.
he gave her a threatening look, and she could only grunt in irritation as he
slipped it back on his own finger. The
diamond twinkled into existence again as he did so.
on his face, but said nothing.
Dianthus stomped
her foot. “Aren’t you going to tell me
what’s going on?”
“No,” he said,
smirking, and he stepped back out of her reach as she lunged angrily toward
him. “No, you don’t,” he laughed, easily
grabbing her wrists again and drawing her to him, despite her attempt to jerk
huffily away. “You have to go to the
feast, Dianthus,” he said firmly, ae kie kissed her again, effectively
silencing her prote
whispered into her ear, “I’ll meet you tomorrow, wherever you like.”
She considered
this offer as she struggled to return her breathing to normal.
him. “All right,” she grunted.
Cauldron. Meet me there at seven.
He nodded, then
put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around.
said. Sighing again in exasperation, she
allowed him to push her to the door.
The great hall was
teaming with rowdy students, and she had to shove her way through them to the
Ravenclaw table. Her roommates looked at
her with wide eyes, and she said, “What?” trying to sound casually innocent.
“Where have you
been?” hissed Martine.
“Just – just
packing,” said Dianthus, grabbing the plate of baked chicken in front of her.
“Packing?”
repeated Melanie, and she gave Dianthus a long, appraising look.
table, where Snape was just taking his seat.
“You were almost done when we left.
You were packing all this time?”
“Yes, packing,”
Dianthus said, not following her friend’s gaze.
“Now, when are we going to get together in