Repaying The Life Debt - the story continues
Repaying The Life Debt
Her Fourth Week
After a rough day with Severus, Hermione meets up with her friends at the Leaky Cauldron and has an unfortunate encounter with Ron.
This is my response for the Dictionary Drabbles Fun Challenge for April 19.
I wish to give the accolades due to my beta, Southern_Witch_69, for all her time making this story presentable. Thank you, and I just want you to know I appreciate it very much.
April 19
“Miss Granger! Are you trying to suffocate us with these noxious fumes?”
Hermione could hardly wait until she was dismissed for the evening. She’d had to endure his tirade as he objurgated her actions nearly all morning for her error. However, even after cleaning away the first failed attempt at his potion, the second was even more disastrous. A thick, vaporous miasma of smoke from the cauldron enveloped the room.
“It is necessary to have a salubrious environment in order to work - let alone breathe!” he snarled. He tried eliminating the smoke unsuccessfully with his wand. He grabbed the parchment with his directions off her worktable, brandished it in her face. “What part of this was beyond your comprehension?”
“None, sir, I followed it precisely as you have it written,” she replied, choking. “But I’m really surprised by the substitution of potassium just before the blood brier…”
“Have you completely given leave of any rational thought? Are you suffering from a sudden abulia? What could possibly have possessed you to put the potassium in before the blood brier?” he ranted angrily.
“It was your annotation, sir,” she replied, trying a purging spell in combination with a dehumidification spell to condense the smoke. It worked. “You crossed off bread soda and put in potassium on the margin,” she replied, “and have the bread soda added in after the blending in of the ground pawpods. I thought that was an error and tried to question you, but you insisted I follow your directions precisely!”
He looked down at the parchment and strode to his desk. “Sir?”
“Go home, Miss Granger,” he said softly, his jaw clenched.
Hermione stood rigid, staring at him, but decided to refrain from aggravating him further. “Good night, sir. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Night,” he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose as he started marking the parchment before him.
She collected her things from the guest room upstairs and exited his house. She sent her Patronus to Ginny and Harry, accepting their invite for drinks, and stopped at Gringotts to pick up pin money before meeting up with her friends at the Leaky Cauldron. George, Ron and Ginny warmly greeted her as soon as she entered the pub. “Tom, two bottles of Ogden’s Old please,” she said to the bar keep and turned to see both guys raise their eyebrows at her. “What? I’m in the mood for some serious roistering tonight, I can tell you that!”
“If he’s that dreadful, why are you bothering?” Ron asked.
Hermione sighed. “Believe me, I don’t expect him to inveigle me or anything, and he’s just as cantankerous as ever, but I do wish he’d - I dunno - lighten up a little.” Tom set the liquor and six glasses down on their table.
“Neville,” Ron said, indicating the sixth glass. “He and Harry are in the Daily Prophet office.”
Ginny giggled at Hermione’s questioning look. “Taking out an ad regarding the selling of a few things we’re getting rid of at the house.”
Hermione nodded. “Finally got Mrs. Black off the wall?”
Ron shook his head. “Part of the wall is going with her. So how long are you going put up with the git?”
“I’m going to miss the ol’ bat,” George said jovially. “So you really are doing an apprenticeship with Snape?”
Hermione nodded.
“She’s tricked him into it,” Ginny stated, laughing.
“Although why you’d want to is beyond me,” Ron sneered.
“Ron, he’s the best,” Hermione said. “Besides, he’s actually quite brilliant.”
“He’s just taking advantage of you,” Ron spat. “There is no reason for you to be sleeping at his house unless…”
“The potion I’m brewing is volatile and needs constant watching, or takes a week to brew and there are steps to do at all hours. I explained this to you.” Hermione was sick of this discussion. “Besides, you’re always so busy with the shop and Auror training you’re hardly around yourself. I see more of George than I do of you!”
“I’m busy! At least I try and make time for you, but you’re always too busy anymore,” Ron spat.
George laid a hand on Ron’s shoulder. “Hey, let’s keep this…”
“Like you were last week? I told you, Ron, nothing is happening between Severus and me,” Hermione said, beginning to bristle. “I revise for my N.E.W.T.s weekends and my free nights, and I have my apprenticeship weekdays! I’m just busy!”
Ron glared at her. “So, now he’s Severus, is he? I am beginning to think you’d rather be with him than me.”
“Ron, don’t be a wanker,” George said as Ginny gasped, “Ron, it’s not like that.”
“But you never want spend time with me,” Ron said angrily.
“I tried to have dinner with you Tuesday,” she spat back, “and you were busy!”
Neville and Harry walked in, and Harry hugged Ginny from behind. “Hey, Hermione, you’re here. Snape let you leave the dungeons long enough to have dinner with us?”
“Apparently!” Ron slammed down his glass and stormed out the door.
Harry looked at Ginny, confused. “What did I say?”
~TBC~
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The word list (swiped from the past week's list):
objurgate
miasma
pin money
roister
abulia
salubrious
inveigle
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Words with definitions below:
objurgate \OB-juhr-gayt\ , transitive verb:
To express strong disapproval of; to criticize severely.
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miasma \my-AZ-muh; mee-\, noun:
1. A vaporous exhalation (as of marshes or putrid matter) formerly thought to cause disease; broadly, a thick vaporous atmosphere or emanation.
2. A harmful or corrupting atmosphere or influence; also, an atmosphere that obscures; a fog.
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pin money \pin money\, noun:
1. An allowance of money given by a husband to his wife for private and personal expenditures.
2. Money for incidental expenses.
3. A trivial sum.
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roister \ROY-stur\, intransitive verb:
1. To engage in boisterous merrymaking; to revel; to carouse.
2. To bluster; to swagger.
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abulia \uh-BOO-lee- uh; uh-BYOO-\, noun:
Loss or impairment of the ability to act or to make decisions; an abnormal lack of ability to act or to make decisions that is characteristic of certain psychotic and neurotic conditions.
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salubrious \suh-LOO-bree- us\, adjective:
Favorable to health; promoting health; healthful.
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inveigle \in-VAY-guhl; -VEE-\, transitive verb:
1. To persuade by ingenuity or flattery; to entice.
2. To obtain by ingenuity or flattery.
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Does this all scream something to do with Snape to anyone else????