Composure
Challenge Seventeen: Messages From The Heart
Title: Composure
Author: closetravenclaw
Wizard/Witch: Severus Snape/Hermione Granger
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Genre: Romance/Drama
Word count: Exactly 750
Prompt: 29. I never want to see you again!
Summary: Hermione has a choice to make.
I never want to see you again!
I penned the words furiously on the parchment, the quill scratching loudly with the pressure from my hand. How dare he just turn up like that after twenty-five years and ask for-no, practically demand-my help, as if we still knew each other, as if I was still his student, as if no time had passed, as if he wasn’t supposed to be dead. I had a list of grievances and reasons in my head that I just needed to sort out and put to paper. I took a long, deep sip of elf-made wine to clear any disillusions I may have had about the man and began where it had begun again… at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
I fell into the post-war coupling and married my school sweat-heart. I also fell into the routine of everyday life as a Weasley and bided my time working in the family business-it was either that or never see my husband, as he practically lived at 93 Diagon Alley. The brightness and noise of the store soon began to wear thin, so I volunteered to do inventory in the back. It was a mindless job, but it allowed time for reading and the occasional daydream.
As the years passed, the Weasley pranks lessened-at least the ones on each other-and I wasn't always as alert as I should have been. For a few weeks, I had the odd feeling of being watched while receiving shipments in the early dawn hours when merchants and delivery men were the only two-legged creatures scurrying about. Continually, I dismissed it as I looked around at the smiling face of Madam Primpernelle as she waved from down the alley and watched Madam Malkin rush by in a flurry of magenta robes, always late.
Then, one morning, I missed one of the deliverymen leaving-I found him waiting for me as I closed the back door. He was standing in the shadows, his voice grainy with age as he said my name, “Hermione.” Hearing the familiar voice did not keep me from jumping at the unexpected noise and seeing an unexpected face. Snape stood before me. He was talking, but I did not hear; my mind had fixed itself in the past, trying to reconcile itself to the present. His hair was still as black as a raven, but his eyes were lighter, a reflection of their former selves. Lines had formed around his eyes and furrowed his brow. The thick condensation in his voice broke through my bewilderment. “… or are you now incapable of simple tasks.”
I contained my urge to scream-from shock-from anger-from disbelief. I did not need him accusing me of being hysterical on top of incompetent. I shook my head instead.
“No? You can’t do this for me… or won’t?”
“What?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Hermione,” he said my name again, “I need you to get some burdock root for me.” His tone was softer, but it was still a demand.
Burdock root? Thoughts ran though my head. It had been a main ingredient in Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes’ aphrodisiac, but it had been nearly impossible to come by locally with the new Ministry regulations instated almost four years ago.
“Burdock root?” I said aloud.
“I don’t need your questions. I just need to know if you can get it for me. If not, I have to make other plans. I’ll return tomorrow morning.”
He turned and slipped as silently out the door as he had come.
I’d been so used to using herbs for joke shop items that I’d almost forgotten their medicinal uses. I cursed myself for standing there in front of Snape puzzled over why he would want burdock root, when it was a known blood purifier. I tore up my letter, scanned the stack of foreign catalogs that I kept in case of further Ministry regulations, and found what I needed.
Snape was weaker than he let on. I helped him brew his tincture and watched him drink it-his color improved and his eyes darkened. I saw the man that I’d respected many years ago and thought I’d lost. I had many questions, but with my help, we would have plenty of time to explore them and us… and the aphrodisiac properties of burdock root.
Now, I penned the words again…
I never want to see you again!
…this time to my husband.
Proof-reader: seaislewitch