And Ye Shall Find
Title: And Ye Shall Find, twenty-three - twenty-six of ??
Challenge: hide & seek
Team: Spying for Ebon-cloakèd Men
Words: 100x4
Rating: PG-13
Char: Snape, Hermione, Bubo, Crooks
AN: The earlier bits: 1-5, 6-10, 11-13, 14-17, 18-22. Or everything at once. I have more, but they leave off at a rather evil cliff, and my procrastination is reaching critical mass. ^_^;
~~~
You're lucky to be alive, everyone said.
You'll be lucky if there's no internal damage, the healer said.
Dry-eyed, Hermione watched her reflection, removing skirt and knickers to face the whole of the damage, the ripples and puckers and angry scarlet of healing skin. Cruciatus wasn't the only curse She had known.
It wasn't that bad, really. She was almost recovered. And she still had her mind, which had always been the most important thing, anyway. More than some were left with. And she'd never really considered her biological functions, anyway.
She needed to go into town for those supplies.
~~~
Snape was nowhere to be seen when she went downstairs and grabbed her keys. Nor did he answer her hail. She shrugged. She'd apologize for hitting him later. A good-bye hoot from Bubo and she was on her way.
The city's grey granite and the grey sky matched each other and pretty much matched her mood as she searched for parking. The anonymity of the crowded mall and Somerfield grocery was actually a relief. No expectations here.
She treated herself to a generic chocolate pastry and an excellent cup of coffee. And wondered idly if Snape preferred coffee to tea.
~~~
He used her absence to snoop as thoroughly as possible without magic. An annoying handicap, but he took her proscription seriously. The war was won- that was quite clear- but a few rats always escaped the trap. He'd no desire to set up a beacon for one with vengeance on its mind.
So he searched… and found nothing. A multitude of books, all Muggle. Some knick-knacks. A pair of highly incensed familiars. No hidden caches, only the one disguised cupboard from which she'd extracted the healing potions and robes.
No clues to the tripwire that he'd triggered in Hermione's mind.
~~~
"I apologize for hitting you earlier." Hermione was embarassed at seeing the bruising on Snape's face.
"It was my own fault," he replied courteously. "I was asking for it."
She added a few disclaimers, but there didn't seem to be much more to be said, for which Hermione was grateful. Instead, she handed Snape the clothes she had bought. She hoped they were the right size. "I stopped by the neighbours'," she told him, beginning to put groceries away, "the McGraths; they're the nearest- to let them know I'm here. I told them you're a colleague- a chemist."
"Very well."
Challenge: hide & seek
Team: Spying for Ebon-cloakèd Men
Words: 100x4
Rating: PG-13
Char: Snape, Hermione, Bubo, Crooks
AN: The earlier bits: 1-5, 6-10, 11-13, 14-17, 18-22. Or everything at once. I have more, but they leave off at a rather evil cliff, and my procrastination is reaching critical mass. ^_^;
~~~
You're lucky to be alive, everyone said.
You'll be lucky if there's no internal damage, the healer said.
Dry-eyed, Hermione watched her reflection, removing skirt and knickers to face the whole of the damage, the ripples and puckers and angry scarlet of healing skin. Cruciatus wasn't the only curse She had known.
It wasn't that bad, really. She was almost recovered. And she still had her mind, which had always been the most important thing, anyway. More than some were left with. And she'd never really considered her biological functions, anyway.
She needed to go into town for those supplies.
~~~
Snape was nowhere to be seen when she went downstairs and grabbed her keys. Nor did he answer her hail. She shrugged. She'd apologize for hitting him later. A good-bye hoot from Bubo and she was on her way.
The city's grey granite and the grey sky matched each other and pretty much matched her mood as she searched for parking. The anonymity of the crowded mall and Somerfield grocery was actually a relief. No expectations here.
She treated herself to a generic chocolate pastry and an excellent cup of coffee. And wondered idly if Snape preferred coffee to tea.
~~~
He used her absence to snoop as thoroughly as possible without magic. An annoying handicap, but he took her proscription seriously. The war was won- that was quite clear- but a few rats always escaped the trap. He'd no desire to set up a beacon for one with vengeance on its mind.
So he searched… and found nothing. A multitude of books, all Muggle. Some knick-knacks. A pair of highly incensed familiars. No hidden caches, only the one disguised cupboard from which she'd extracted the healing potions and robes.
No clues to the tripwire that he'd triggered in Hermione's mind.
~~~
"I apologize for hitting you earlier." Hermione was embarassed at seeing the bruising on Snape's face.
"It was my own fault," he replied courteously. "I was asking for it."
She added a few disclaimers, but there didn't seem to be much more to be said, for which Hermione was grateful. Instead, she handed Snape the clothes she had bought. She hoped they were the right size. "I stopped by the neighbours'," she told him, beginning to put groceries away, "the McGraths; they're the nearest- to let them know I'm here. I told them you're a colleague- a chemist."
"Very well."