Angelica's Sorrow

A/N - this is a short chapter, sorry. Hope to do better on twenty-five.

jonelin - Yeah, he can (snort!)

CAH - Hmmm, you found two at once? Must be slipping.

Deb - Poor Severus, by the time Angelica & Hermione get through with him, he won\'t know what hit him!!

Lindsay - you been hanging out with CAH?

Thena - hope you got my e-mail!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Grasping Hermione\'s hand, Severus turned and spoke, \"Angelica, I have brought someone you wanted to meet.\"

\"I can\'t believe it took you so long.\"

\"If this is inconvenient, we can return tomorrow,\" he replied, eyebrow raising.

\"No, since you\'ve decided to finally fulfill your promise, now will be fine.\"

\"To think I told her you had been patiently waiting.\"

\"You are sorely lacking in manners, sir.\"

\"I beg your pardon. Angelica, allow me to introduce you to Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Angelica Woodmont.\"

\"Thank you. Please, leave us now.\"

\"I don\'t believe that was part of the promise.\"

\"It would be the best. Don\'t worry, I promise not to harm a hair. Although why you\'d worry about hair like that I don\'t know.\"

\"Angelica!\"

\"Oh, don\'t be silly. The reason I ask you to leave is simple. My ability to communicate only extends to one person. I can\'t project to both of you at the same time. Your Hermione doesn\'t hear me and she is beginning to think you\'ve lost what little sense you have.\"

Severus turned to Hermione, eyebrow up. \"She says you\'re beginning to doubt my sanity.\"

\"Well, I - why can\'t I hear her?\"

\"She says,\" doubt in his voice, \"that she can\'t communicate with two at once and she wants me to leave.\"

\"Why do you have to leave?\"

\"I haven\'t gotten that far yet.\" He again put a finger to her lips as they moved. \"Let me find out.\"

\"Angelica, why is it necessary for me to actually leave?\"

\"Because, silly man. I want more honest answers from her than she will give with you standing there glaring at her.\"

\"I do not glare at her.\"

\"If you don\'t wish to leave, I could fill her in on \'everything\' I know.\"

\"Blackmail again?\"

\"No, you only have to chose and I will comply.\"

\"Wench!\"

\"Dolt!\"

\"You promise not to use the sharp edge of your tongue?\"

\"I will be the lady my parents raised.\"

His only reply was a snort and he again turned to Hermione.

\"It appears I must leave in order to keep the peace. With your permission, I will wait for you in your quarters.\" Hermione nodded. \"She said she will be a lady. I\'m not sure what her definition of that is, but she will not harm you.\"

\"OK,\" she said as he leaned down to kiss her.

Prior to stepping into the flames he cautioned, \"Angelica, you behave!\"

He received a ladylike snort as he left.

\"Hermione. Am I saying that right?\" Eyes widened at the disembodied voice in her mind.

\"Yes, you said it perfectly,\" she replied, while peering around the room.

Severus said he would be able to explain things better here, but the sight of the enormous pensieve answered many questions.

\"Forgive me for chasing him out, but I wanted to speak to you without his influence.\"

\"Severus doesn\'t try to speak for me.\"

\"That\'s not what I meant. He is a very unusual man. Cunning, resourceful and yet honorable.\"

\"He is that and much more.\"

\"Not that the subject isn\'t interesting, but that\'s not why I wanted to meet you. He tells me you\'re Mugge-born?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"My youngest child, Margaret, also attended Hogwarts. I loved her as I did all my children, but there was always something a little different about her.\"

\"Her magic?\"

\"I know now that\'s what it was, but it wasn\'t until her eleventh year that we finally knew. Would you be willing to share your experiences?\"

\"You mean my school years?\"

\"Yes, I - missed the rest of hers and I always wondered how they were.\"

Hermione laughed, \"I think it would probably be pretty dull story telling for the most part. Classes and tests aren\'t that interesting to those who don\'t have to take them. Or even to those that do,\" she added, thinking of Ron and Harry.

\"You\'re sad, why?\"

\"I reminded myself of a friend. He died a few months ago, but to me it\'s only been a few weeks and it\'s difficult sometimes,\" she whispered.

\"To lose someone you love is never easy. Someday, and I know it sounds trite, you will think of him only with joy. Tell me about him.\"

\"Severus warned me you can sense emotion, but the accuracy surprises me.\"

\"The friend you lost, what is his name?\"

\"Ron. Ron Weasley.\"

\"Ah, the one who saved Severus.\"

\"He told you?\"

\"Yes, he feels extremely guilty over Ron\'s death. I know things are new between the two of you, so I hesitate, has he talked to you about this at all?\"

\"Only that he was sorry.\"

\"He worries a great deal about your reaction, don\'t let it fester inside him. Draw it out before it poisons your relationship.\"

\"What about my reaction worries him?\"

\"I have given you enough to start. Anything more should come from him, not through me, but don\'t be too obvious about it. He\'s too perceptive and will see it as meddling on my part. Now, you were going to tell me about your school years, start with the teachers.\"

Hermione again laughed, \"Promise you won\'t tell him what I say? He was the most difficult one I had.\"

\"I give you my word. Continue.\"

\"OK, but remember I was only eleven when I formed my first opinions. It took awhile before I saw his better qualities,\" Hermione admitted. Laughter floated through her mind and she wondered why that was funny as she sat down.



Severus was currently picking himself off the floor, remembering why it seemed so important to make the carpet that blasted thick. After righting himself, the carpet was returned to its original state.

\'Can always use the cushioning charm,\' was his thought, while replacing his wand.

While walking around, he noticed small personal touches she had added. Pictures of her friends, a few muggle photos of her parents -

\'Parents! Merlin\'s robe, I\'d forgotten about them.\'

\"Bloody hell!\" he said aloud.

Wandering into her bedroom, he noted the bookcases were already half filled. There were several boxes of books nearby, waiting to be unpacked. Thinking she would be pleased, after all he needed something to keep his mind occupied, he started pulling them out and organizing the shelves.

A short time later he came across a pile of magazines on one of the bottom shelves. Kneeling on the floor he started looking through them. Most of them were muggle magazines dealing with bizarre subjects, but one had both eyebrows rising at the scantily clad witch on the front.

\'This must be the catalog where she purchases her underthings. Fredericks of the Wizarding World - never heard of him.\'

What better time to pick out something he would like to see her wear? Standing up, he crossed to one of the chairs Hermione placed by the window and made himself comfortable. Rather than go page by page he allowed the pages to flip by, scanning. Jaw dropping, he stopped and turned back a few pages, surely he hadn\'t seen what he thought he saw!

\"Merlin\'s robe,\" he whispered to himself. \"What sick, perverted mind would think of such things? No wonder they use a type of artificial model, what self-respecting witch would pose in that?\"

The mental image of her dressed in such a fashion quickly had his penis at full attention. Since he didn\'t want her to catch him panting over pictures of underthings, he decided to retire to his own quarters. Stopping only long enough to leave a note, he left with the catalog carefully concealed in a pocket, wondering how long it would take to receive an order by owl.


\"Angelica, I\'ve enjoyed our conversation, but I\'m getting a little tired. May I come back and visit you another day?\"

\"It would be my pleasure. I can\'t tell when days pass, but Severus seems to visit on a fairly regular basis. He would never say, how long have I been here?\"

Hermione paused before asking, \"Why won\'t he tell you?\"

\"I really have no idea. At times, trying to get a straight answer from him is more than the effort is worth.\"

\"Would you mind if I ask him the reason first? I really don\'t care to have another fight this soon.\"

\"You\'ve had a fight already?\"

\"Yes, but we reached a satisfactory solution,\" she said while grinning.

\"When you return I\'d like to hear more, if you don\'t mind?\"

\"I don\'t know, it might shock you.\"

\"After having four children with a husband such as mine, there\'s little left that will shock me. In case you\'ve gotten the wrong impression, I enjoyed every new discovery.\"

After laughing, Hermione rose from the chair. \"Good night, I\'ll visit again in a few days.\"

\"Good night.\"

After exiting the staircase from the Headmaster\'s office, she was rather glad he hadn\'t been there, her path took a detour out the front doors. Some of the subjects Angelica brought up disturbed her and she needed a bit of solitude to deal with them.

\'Why is he worried about my reactions to Ron\'s death?\'

She missed him, had cried quite a few tears and would probably cry again. What more could there be? He couldn\'t think - yes, he probably did. She closed her eyes and sighed. His opinion of himself would lead him to think the worst. It would have to wait until after the term started and Ginny returned for her seventh year. That seemed to be a plausible enough reason for the subject to come up, without risking Severus\' wrath falling on Angelica. Satisfied, she turned back to the castle, eager to join him.


While entering her rooms a floating parchment met her at the door. She was a trifle disappointed, but relieved. The only thing she wanted at the moment was a bath and sleep.

\'I suppose I\'d better floo him to let him know I\'m back,\' she thought walking towards the fireplace, deftly avoiding the carpet.

\"Snape\'s quarters,\" she said, while tossing in some powder. \"Severus?\"

\"You\'ve returned. I\'ll be right there.\"

\"Wait, I - \" She frowned and stomped her foot. How dare he - what would be the wizarding equivalent of hanging up on someone? A knock sounded on her door, what\'d he do run the whole way?

As soon as the door opened, he engulfed her. Her mouth had been open to do a little growling of her own and he took full advantage to thrust his tongue deep. Severus pushed her back enough to close the door with his foot, one arm wrapped around her while the other hand pinched and played with a nipple through her clothes.

Blouse, bra and skirt were soon tossed to the floor and one hand fondled her arse. The other delightfully talented hand was stroking, delving deep, spreading her wetness. His pelvis thrust into her stomach, leaving no doubt he was fully aroused. She found herself laying on the small sofa near the door, minus thong. He quickly unfastened his trousers, releasing his erection and thrusting deep as her hips rose to meet his. When his mouth moved to nibble below her left ear, she gasped, \"Severus, I -\" and lost any further coherent thought for the remainder of the evening.