An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED
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Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
68
Views:
57,121
Reviews:
343
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Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female › Snape/Hermione
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
68
Views:
57,121
Reviews:
343
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.
Hermione to the Rescue
Chapter 59 ~ Hermione to the Rescue
Hugo and Rose wanted to stay at the Burrow a bit longer, and Harry promised to drop them off later when he, Ginny and the children left. Ron accompanied Hermione back home. She looked distressed.
He let her in and followed closely, hanging up his coat and trailing her into the living room.
”How was your night with Eileen?” he asked her as she dropped heavily on the couch.
He sat down beside her, studying her profile intently.
”Oh, it was wonderful. We went to the Leaky Cauldron, then to Big Ben to count down the New Year. She said she had a wonderful time.”
”Why so glum then?” he asked her.
Hermione got up, walked into the kitchen and retrieved the Prophet. She sat down next to Ron again, and pointed at the photo of Snape and Odessa.
”That’s why,” she stated.
Ron looked at the picture, then quickly read Rita’s column, frowning.
”That Rita Skeeter is a real guttersnipe. She didn’t even leave Eileen out of it,” he said darkly.
”Odessa is a prostitute, Ron. Or—or she used to be. Now she works at Severus’ shop.”
Ron looked surprised, then shook his head.
”Rita’s going to have a field day with that when she finds out,” he said. “She’s going to make it seem a hundred times worse than it is. Nothing’s wrong with giving someone a job, especially if it helps their situation.”
”I know, Ron,” Hermione said, feeling a little guilty because she hadn’t immediately seen it that way. All she seemed to register was that Odessa was a woman who performed sexual acts for money, something decent women didn’t do. Not that she no longer did that.
”I know it isn’t really my concern who Severus hires or goes out with, but again it is, because Eileen is right in the middle of the scandal. I really want to do something to help shield her from this, but I don’t know what I can do,” Hermione said sadly, her eyes filling.
Ron sat there in thought. Once Rita got the information, she would be writing about it in her column tomorrow. If only there was some way to stop her from doing it, other than sneaking up on her and hitting her with a nasty hex to put her out of commission. It was a pleasing idea, but an illegal one.
He looked at Hermione, who looked absolutely miserable. She’d been through tough times with Rita before, even catching her in a glass jar in her Animagus form and—
Suddenly Ron’s face lit up in a broad smile as he looked down at Hermione
“Hey. Perk up. I have an idea, Hermione,” he said.
Half an hour later, Hermione walked into the Ministry and up to the information desk. A gray-haired witch with a pleasant face looked up at her.
”How can I help you?” the witch asked her.
”I’d like to know where I would go to report an unregistered Animagus,” Hermione replied with a nasty little smirk.
*****************************************
Snape appeared in Knockturn Alley with a crack of thunder. The lingering reporters saw him and hurried over.
”Professor Snape, how long have you been using Odessa Divine’s services?”
”Did you pay Miss Divine to accompany you to the ball?”
”Are there no decent witches you could consort with?”
Snape pressed through them without answering, heading for Odessa’s flat, the reporters and photographers following him, flashbulbs popping as his robes billowed behind him.
He pounded on Odessa’s door.
”Odessa! Odessa, it’s me!” Snape called.
There was no answer.
Snape pulled out his wand, the reporters pressing in on him. They weren’t allowed to force their way into Odessa’s flat, but Snape could do it.
”Professor Snape brazenly broke into the prostitute’s flat,” Rita wrote down on her pad, her eyes predatory as Snape unwarded Odessa’s door and entered, followed by the reporters, who looked around and wrote a description of the layout.
Snape’s black eyes rested on the open drawer and lack of clothing. He then opened the closet door and saw the gown hanging there forlornly.
She’d gone. She had packed up and left.
”Looks like she flew the coop,” Rita observed. “Ran away like a coward rather than face decent society.”
Snape whirled on her.
”Decent society?” he hissed. “There’s no such thing.”
Rita snorted.
”I assure you there is, professor Snape. A society where consorting with prostitutes is considered disgusting.”
Snape’s eyes narrowed at her.
”You want Odessa’s story? All right. I’ll give you the short version,” the wizard said.
All the reporters held their quills at the ready as Snape’s eyes washed across them. Bloody bloodsuckers.
“Odessa Divine came to Knockturn Alley at the tender age of sixteen, after being sexually abused, impregnated and having her uterus destroyed by her father, who then abandoned her, afraid of discovery and imprisonment. She had no resources, no place to go. Your decent society had nothing set up to help someone like her. Poverty-stricken and alone, she was little more than a child when she took on her first john.”
Slowly the quills stopped moving.
”Oh no, don’t stop. You wanted a story and you’re getting one. Odessa Divine is a victim of your so-called decent society. For thirty years she’s been out here, putting food on her table and a pitiful roof over her head by getting on her back. Thirty years! And this was because your decent society wouldn’t let her take on a decent job. She was ostracized because of her determination to survive. She was already experienced, already ruined, thanks to her father and it was a way for her to eat. As she grew older, she pulled in less money, and was going to meet the fate of other older women out here, in their eighties. What decent society lets their elderly suck cocks to survive? Tell me that?
“Then, when I take her in and give her a decent job, and take her out because not once in her life has she had a man show her any kindness or consideration, you turn it into something ugly and sordid, just to sell papers. Decent society my arse,” Snape said witheringly. “A decent society would care about these poor women, not turn their backs on them, pretending they didn’t exist. Have you taken a good look at what’s in Knockturn Alley? Children. Girls my daughter’s age who’ve been abandoned or had to run away from horrible situations. If this were truly a decent society, it would offer other avenues, give these women a chance to better their lives.”
Snape suddenly strode forward, pressing through the reporters and out the door. He walked up the alley and they followed. He stopped in Knockturn Alley proper, pointing at the prostitutes.
”You want a story? There’s your bloody story. Write about their lives and the lack of conscience displayed by your ‘decent’ society. Or won’t that sell papers? No, drumming up guilt never does, does it?”
The reporters were all silent now, including Rita Skeeter. Snape sneered at them all disdainfully.
”The free press. There’s nothing free about any of you, or anything decent concerning this society. I spent decades trying to save it from Voldemort’s evil. You know my reward, don’t you? I’m called murderer when I acted in good faith concerning Albus Dumbledore. My body is scarred from the tortures I suffered for this ‘decent’ society. I received a backdoor ‘thank you’ from the Ministry and a belated Order of Merlin delivered in secrecy. That was my reward for helping to save this mythological decent society you speak of. And now, I wish I had just let it go all to Hell. Be sure to include that in your articles.”
Then Snape Disapparated, leaving the reporters to their work.
”Well, we ask for a story, and we get a bloody lecture,” Rita said lightly. “Obviously, Snape doesn’t understand the workings of a decent society—“
”Miss Rita Skeeter?” a male voice said behind her. Rita whirled and saw two Aurors frowning at her.
”Yes. I’m Rita Skeeter,” she said.
”I’m afraid you have to come with us. You’re to be tested,” one Auror said, taking her arm.
”Tested? By whom and for what?” she asked.
”Someone has reported that you are an unregistered Animagus and your form is that of a beetle. So come along. If you aren’t an Animagus, you’ll have nothing to worry about,” he said, holding her firmly as she began to pull away.
”You can’t do this! I have my rights. I want council!” she cried as the other Auror caught hold of her.
”You have a right to council AFTER you are arrested, and charged, Miss Skeeter. Don’t be difficult,” the other Auror said to the struggling witch.
Flashbulbs started popping at Rita as the Aurors struggled with the witch.
”No! No! I won’t go! This isn’t remotely fair! I’ve done nothing wrong!” she screamed before they Disapparated away with her.
The reporters hurried back to their offices. Snape being out with a prostitute was mildly interesting but paled in comparison to a celebrity journalist being arrested for not registering with the Ministry. People often wondered how Rita managed to get information no one else did. As a beetle she could slip into places unnoticed and listen in. This was illegal, but everyone assumed she had private sources. Rita was going to be in even deeper trouble once that aspect of her abilities was considered. A good many lawsuits could be in her future, as well as in the Prophet’s future, since she had reported news as well. They weren’t responsible for her opinionated column, but the news was another story. It had to be acquired in a relatively legal manner. More than likely Rita would be sacked in order to appease the public.
Hermione had found a way to help Eileen and her father after all.
**************************************
A/N: Thanks for reading.
Hugo and Rose wanted to stay at the Burrow a bit longer, and Harry promised to drop them off later when he, Ginny and the children left. Ron accompanied Hermione back home. She looked distressed.
He let her in and followed closely, hanging up his coat and trailing her into the living room.
”How was your night with Eileen?” he asked her as she dropped heavily on the couch.
He sat down beside her, studying her profile intently.
”Oh, it was wonderful. We went to the Leaky Cauldron, then to Big Ben to count down the New Year. She said she had a wonderful time.”
”Why so glum then?” he asked her.
Hermione got up, walked into the kitchen and retrieved the Prophet. She sat down next to Ron again, and pointed at the photo of Snape and Odessa.
”That’s why,” she stated.
Ron looked at the picture, then quickly read Rita’s column, frowning.
”That Rita Skeeter is a real guttersnipe. She didn’t even leave Eileen out of it,” he said darkly.
”Odessa is a prostitute, Ron. Or—or she used to be. Now she works at Severus’ shop.”
Ron looked surprised, then shook his head.
”Rita’s going to have a field day with that when she finds out,” he said. “She’s going to make it seem a hundred times worse than it is. Nothing’s wrong with giving someone a job, especially if it helps their situation.”
”I know, Ron,” Hermione said, feeling a little guilty because she hadn’t immediately seen it that way. All she seemed to register was that Odessa was a woman who performed sexual acts for money, something decent women didn’t do. Not that she no longer did that.
”I know it isn’t really my concern who Severus hires or goes out with, but again it is, because Eileen is right in the middle of the scandal. I really want to do something to help shield her from this, but I don’t know what I can do,” Hermione said sadly, her eyes filling.
Ron sat there in thought. Once Rita got the information, she would be writing about it in her column tomorrow. If only there was some way to stop her from doing it, other than sneaking up on her and hitting her with a nasty hex to put her out of commission. It was a pleasing idea, but an illegal one.
He looked at Hermione, who looked absolutely miserable. She’d been through tough times with Rita before, even catching her in a glass jar in her Animagus form and—
Suddenly Ron’s face lit up in a broad smile as he looked down at Hermione
“Hey. Perk up. I have an idea, Hermione,” he said.
Half an hour later, Hermione walked into the Ministry and up to the information desk. A gray-haired witch with a pleasant face looked up at her.
”How can I help you?” the witch asked her.
”I’d like to know where I would go to report an unregistered Animagus,” Hermione replied with a nasty little smirk.
*****************************************
Snape appeared in Knockturn Alley with a crack of thunder. The lingering reporters saw him and hurried over.
”Professor Snape, how long have you been using Odessa Divine’s services?”
”Did you pay Miss Divine to accompany you to the ball?”
”Are there no decent witches you could consort with?”
Snape pressed through them without answering, heading for Odessa’s flat, the reporters and photographers following him, flashbulbs popping as his robes billowed behind him.
He pounded on Odessa’s door.
”Odessa! Odessa, it’s me!” Snape called.
There was no answer.
Snape pulled out his wand, the reporters pressing in on him. They weren’t allowed to force their way into Odessa’s flat, but Snape could do it.
”Professor Snape brazenly broke into the prostitute’s flat,” Rita wrote down on her pad, her eyes predatory as Snape unwarded Odessa’s door and entered, followed by the reporters, who looked around and wrote a description of the layout.
Snape’s black eyes rested on the open drawer and lack of clothing. He then opened the closet door and saw the gown hanging there forlornly.
She’d gone. She had packed up and left.
”Looks like she flew the coop,” Rita observed. “Ran away like a coward rather than face decent society.”
Snape whirled on her.
”Decent society?” he hissed. “There’s no such thing.”
Rita snorted.
”I assure you there is, professor Snape. A society where consorting with prostitutes is considered disgusting.”
Snape’s eyes narrowed at her.
”You want Odessa’s story? All right. I’ll give you the short version,” the wizard said.
All the reporters held their quills at the ready as Snape’s eyes washed across them. Bloody bloodsuckers.
“Odessa Divine came to Knockturn Alley at the tender age of sixteen, after being sexually abused, impregnated and having her uterus destroyed by her father, who then abandoned her, afraid of discovery and imprisonment. She had no resources, no place to go. Your decent society had nothing set up to help someone like her. Poverty-stricken and alone, she was little more than a child when she took on her first john.”
Slowly the quills stopped moving.
”Oh no, don’t stop. You wanted a story and you’re getting one. Odessa Divine is a victim of your so-called decent society. For thirty years she’s been out here, putting food on her table and a pitiful roof over her head by getting on her back. Thirty years! And this was because your decent society wouldn’t let her take on a decent job. She was ostracized because of her determination to survive. She was already experienced, already ruined, thanks to her father and it was a way for her to eat. As she grew older, she pulled in less money, and was going to meet the fate of other older women out here, in their eighties. What decent society lets their elderly suck cocks to survive? Tell me that?
“Then, when I take her in and give her a decent job, and take her out because not once in her life has she had a man show her any kindness or consideration, you turn it into something ugly and sordid, just to sell papers. Decent society my arse,” Snape said witheringly. “A decent society would care about these poor women, not turn their backs on them, pretending they didn’t exist. Have you taken a good look at what’s in Knockturn Alley? Children. Girls my daughter’s age who’ve been abandoned or had to run away from horrible situations. If this were truly a decent society, it would offer other avenues, give these women a chance to better their lives.”
Snape suddenly strode forward, pressing through the reporters and out the door. He walked up the alley and they followed. He stopped in Knockturn Alley proper, pointing at the prostitutes.
”You want a story? There’s your bloody story. Write about their lives and the lack of conscience displayed by your ‘decent’ society. Or won’t that sell papers? No, drumming up guilt never does, does it?”
The reporters were all silent now, including Rita Skeeter. Snape sneered at them all disdainfully.
”The free press. There’s nothing free about any of you, or anything decent concerning this society. I spent decades trying to save it from Voldemort’s evil. You know my reward, don’t you? I’m called murderer when I acted in good faith concerning Albus Dumbledore. My body is scarred from the tortures I suffered for this ‘decent’ society. I received a backdoor ‘thank you’ from the Ministry and a belated Order of Merlin delivered in secrecy. That was my reward for helping to save this mythological decent society you speak of. And now, I wish I had just let it go all to Hell. Be sure to include that in your articles.”
Then Snape Disapparated, leaving the reporters to their work.
”Well, we ask for a story, and we get a bloody lecture,” Rita said lightly. “Obviously, Snape doesn’t understand the workings of a decent society—“
”Miss Rita Skeeter?” a male voice said behind her. Rita whirled and saw two Aurors frowning at her.
”Yes. I’m Rita Skeeter,” she said.
”I’m afraid you have to come with us. You’re to be tested,” one Auror said, taking her arm.
”Tested? By whom and for what?” she asked.
”Someone has reported that you are an unregistered Animagus and your form is that of a beetle. So come along. If you aren’t an Animagus, you’ll have nothing to worry about,” he said, holding her firmly as she began to pull away.
”You can’t do this! I have my rights. I want council!” she cried as the other Auror caught hold of her.
”You have a right to council AFTER you are arrested, and charged, Miss Skeeter. Don’t be difficult,” the other Auror said to the struggling witch.
Flashbulbs started popping at Rita as the Aurors struggled with the witch.
”No! No! I won’t go! This isn’t remotely fair! I’ve done nothing wrong!” she screamed before they Disapparated away with her.
The reporters hurried back to their offices. Snape being out with a prostitute was mildly interesting but paled in comparison to a celebrity journalist being arrested for not registering with the Ministry. People often wondered how Rita managed to get information no one else did. As a beetle she could slip into places unnoticed and listen in. This was illegal, but everyone assumed she had private sources. Rita was going to be in even deeper trouble once that aspect of her abilities was considered. A good many lawsuits could be in her future, as well as in the Prophet’s future, since she had reported news as well. They weren’t responsible for her opinionated column, but the news was another story. It had to be acquired in a relatively legal manner. More than likely Rita would be sacked in order to appease the public.
Hermione had found a way to help Eileen and her father after all.
**************************************
A/N: Thanks for reading.