Valentine Devilry

OMG OMG , over 3600 hits. hard to believe. *swoons*
I am so thankful to everyone whose read my fic. Thank you guys :D
here\'s the concluding part of the cliffie.
I solemnly swear this is absolutely the last part of that particular cliffie :D

For Disclaimer and ratings see chapter one.

Chapter 7


Back to the question, is he about to ask me out?

And if he does, what would I say. Of course, yes. NO. I’d not jump at the first guy that asks me out for that fucking ball. I’d say no at least thrice. No, thrice would be ‘two’ much. I’d reject once. Yeah, once would be just fine. With that resolved, I raise my head, determined to look at him in an entirely new light. Preferably one with self-correction for undesirable traits.

He silently looks at me as if sizing me up for something. He clears his throat loudly. Finally, I’d get to hear those revered words – “Would you like to go to the ball with me?” Or perhaps something more creative, him being Snape. Sarcastic or not, this man has a sharp wit and he’s so intelligent. Oh fuck, he just said something and I missed, so abstracted was I.

“Pardonnez-moi.”
“I said, I would appreciate your assistance in hatching a plot to get even with all the people who have been driving me up the wall with nauseating mawkishness all these years, students and teachers included.”

Did you just hear that loud noise? That was my big bubble bursting. Asking me out indeed. Asking me out of the ball. Still this idea is intriguing. Very intriguing all of a sudden, what with my annoyance with Snape for not asking me out. On an afterthought, I am glad he didn’t. But there is a thing I need to know before I accept his ‘proposition’.

“How long have you known it, Professor?”
“Known what, Miss Granger?”
“About the Polyjuice Potion.”
“Oh, that. A couple of years I’d say.”
“And you never said anything till now. May I ask why?”

“Surely. Of course I was angry at first. There were hundreds of ways in which that potion could have gone wrong. It didn’t. Then I was happy that one of my students was so much more competent than I gave her credit for. And my happiness outweighed the anger. The fact that you spent a month as a cat in the infirmary further suppressed my anger. I believe you have been sufficiently punished. So I never said anything. Even now, I wouldn’t have alluded to the incident if I was sure that you’d take me up on this proposition, without a doubt.”

“You didn’t think I’d agree to this?”
“I had a few reservations about your, erm , nobility.”
“Sorry to inform you, Professor” I pause for effect.
“Sorry to inform you but your trump card has been wasted. I’d have agreed in any case.”
“Are you sure, Miss Granger?”
“Absolutely, Professor.”
“So here’s the deal.”


.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.::.


I was in a daze all the way back to the castle. As I step into the Entrance Hall, I can’t help thinking what all had transpired since I was here last. A showdown with my best friends, an ‘intimate and confidential’ meeting with a certain Professor, and then a deal with the devil himself.

The deal. I had spent the last hour and half with Snape fine tuning the details of the agreement. I had asked for everything I could think of in lieu of my, ahem, assistance. I even tried to substitute help instead of ‘assistance’ as he willfully calls it. But then I relented coz if there is one thing I’ve learnt in life, it is to quit when I am ahead. In any case, I had procured much as it is. For instance, unlimited access to his private stores and the potion classroom for the more complex potion brewing I had in mind for my NEWTs. And a Wizard’s Promise that he wouldn’t bully the three of us with the threat of expulsion at the drop of a hat. For the remainder of term that is. I still wonder why he specifically added this clause “for the remainder of this term” since that’s all the time we have left in Hogwarts. I sigh with longing at this thought. I love this old castle more than any place in the world. I feel more at home here than at my parents’ home. I wish ... No time for getting maudlin when you have work to do, a plan of action to think of in my case.

Yeah, we still haven’t decided on what exactly we’d do to get even with all the smug couples who can’t let us be. One fact that I discovered, somewhat accidentally, is that the Professors are no less a pain in the arse when they try to play matchmaker. It came out when he was quizzing me about the scene in The Three Broomsticks this afternoon. I told him what happened almost verbatim. Of course I didn’t tell him about Harry’s remark on the available candidates for my date. And thankfully he didn’t ask about the last remark about Crabbe and Goyle being the only ones left. It was then that he remarked that it was to escape the vexing occupants of the staffroom that he’s come into Hogsmeade in the first place. When I inquired further, he told me, in fleeting terms, that his life was also being made a living hell by ‘that old meddlesome fool and his henchwoman’. His words not mine.

An extremely familiar sight tore me from my thoughts. I have come to the Gryffindor tower instead of my room, lost in my thoughts. And as usual Neville is stranded outside without the password. I decide to take pity on him and let him in. Being the Head Girl I know passwords to almost everywhere in the castle, barring the teachers’ offices and private chambers of course. I am not planning to stay or even go in through the portrait hole but as soon as I utter the password the door opens and eight hands pull me in. Darned Marauder\'s Map I\'d guess. Once inside I am torpedoed with apologies and excuses about the behavior of certain individuals this afternoon.

I am not in a particularly forgiving mood but with what I have in mind for these fools, I agree to efface what happened from my memory given they promise there won’t be a repeat performance in the future. As one voice they all say “Of course not.”

Then comes the unavoidable request to stay the night. “Please Hermione. You haven’t spent much time with us today.” And whose fault was that, I want to say, but I let it pass.
The question is, can I stay the night?

A/N :: Okay, finally the cat is out of the bag and you all know the proposition. But the fun is just starting han hang on to your seats :D


Fish :: ROFL -- fax paper. that was so damn funny :D. but u were right. he didnt ask her out. lets see if he ever will *grins evilly*
thanks for letting me knboutbout the mistakes. i\'ll try to point them out and correct them soon.

MoD :: hope your nerves didnt give up on you in the two day sabbatical :)

nesscafe :: hope you have \'some\' answers now : )

spaz141 :: i\'ll try not to have as many cliffies or let me rephrase that i\'ll try to to stretch cliffies like that ; )

alisha :: thats my favorite line too. as of now that is. i\'d try to not let SS/HG go OOC. thanks for reading.

GeekGoddess :: hehe you got me there. i didnt think of it . but now that you\'ve pointed it out i am getting really evil ideas ;)

Sonni :: hope the well of wit wont wither any time soon : )

cassie , droxy :: i hope this is soon enough for update. i had a paper to write :(


To all my readers, thanks for reading my fic. I\'d really appreciate if you review my story. your feedback is very highly prized by me.


Cheers!!
Sohara