freeversefic challenge: Truth And Other Fictions
Here's my entry for the freeversefic Challenge, Round 2.
Title: Truth And Other Fictions
Author: shighola
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: SS/HP/DM
Rating: PG-13 (or whatever the new equivalent is)
Word Count: 1,009
AN: Written for the freeversefic Challenge, Round 2, beta by singla
All those lovers we talked about swing
on someone else’s tears now. We three
finally settled for the real thing and moved
to opposite ends of the earth.
Lies had brought them together.
Lies, manipulation, betrayal, deceit. Each causing them to seek an ally where there was none.
----------------------------------
“…would be best if you wish to remain at Hogwarts.”
“What? I - I don’t …”
Harry looked from Dumbledore to Remus to the Weasleys, for support - an explanation - but none of them would meet his eye.
“But for how long? What about my NEWTs?”
“Just for a little while, my boy. You’ll be back to finish your schooling before you know it.”
Without their usual twinkle, his eyes gave truth to the lie.
Cautiously, the Minister and an Auror approached, “Your wand, Mr. Potter.”
----------------------------------
“Mr. O’Malley, I do believe the instructions indicate that you are to add the chopped salamander spleen before the bubotuber puss, do they not?”
The student in question nervously looked up from his potion as the door to the dungeon classroom opened with a bang.
Severus whirled to face the intruder, “How dare-“
Five Aurors entered the room wands drawn.
“Professor Snape, please hand over your wand and come with us.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Professor Snape, this is your only warning. Surrender your wand and come with us.”
There was a tense pause as Severus and the Aurors faced off.
“I must first attend to my students.”
He faced his class, who had never seen their Professor so obviously seething with rage as he banished the just-begun potions and ingredients.
“Remain in your seats until a Professor comes to dismiss you.”
The students looked on in shock as their Potions Professor was escorted from the room. As Severus and the Aurors made the long trek up from the dungeons, they encountered no one. Just before they reached the gates of Hogwarts, and the apparition point, Severus spotted Hagrid standing watch.
“Hagrid, please tell the Headmaster what has happened. I believe I will be taken to the ministry, but …”
He trailed off as Hagrid made no move to fetch the Headmaster, and simply stood there, regarding him with a woeful expression. Realization hit the Potions Master like a curse.
“Ah. I see my usefulness has come to an end.”
----------------------------------
Draco stood in the midst of his ancestral home and surveyed the damage.
“Mipsy is so sorry, Master. We is trying to stop the wizards, but they is bad. They is locking us away while they trashing and burning and …”
Draco ignored the house elf as she pulled on her ears and detailed every violation the Aurors had inflicted on his family name and honor. Very little was salvageable save the library and cellars - areas with wards and curses so thick protecting them that even the Ministry’s best cursebreakers couldn’t penetrate them.
Lucius and Narcissa had been killed in the final battle, and the Ministry had done their best to revenge themselves upon the “enemy”. Nevermind, that Draco was a spy for Dumbledore’s Order. Who cared about the fate of a spy when even The-Boy-Who-Conquered was questioned and locked away for the “public good”. They were but tools to be stored until the next occasion arose.
How little they knew their own minions. The Minister and Headmaster failed to account for their pawns having their own ideas and plans for their lives. And thus, were caught completely by surprise, just when they thought themselves most secure.
----------------------------------
It had taken some time, but now they were free.
Once Draco had restored the Manor’s wards, he set about putting their plan in motion. It was but the work of a day to achieve everything they’d ever wanted. A few galleons here, a carefully-worded suggestion there, and the world would make truth of the fiction.
Readers of the Daily Prophet were shocked to learn that their savior had been taken from Hogwarts, prevented from completing his education, and held indefinitely at the Ministry. Witch Weekly’s subscribers were horrified to find that Britain’s pre-eminent Potions Master and acknowledged-spy and war hero was also a reluctant guest of the Aurors. Wizards and witches alike were disgusted by the information that each of the “war heroes” had somehow been systematically stripped of their rights and were “under supervision”, if not banished outright.
Mere speculation of physical and sexual abuse towards the Boy-Who-Lived, and Dumbledore and Fudge suddenly found themselves held at wandpoint, victim to the Auror’s tender mercies. This was a time for truth and revelation, who cared that this, too, was a lie?
----------------------------------
Severus sat reading the day’s Prophet, on one of the Manor’s many balconies.
“Perhaps we should prevent them from receiving the kiss?”
Draco and Harry looked up from their meal with twin expressions of disdain on their face. Pain momentarily marked Harry’s face as he obviously thought of his godfather.
“They deserve whatever they get.”
Draco quickly moved to soothe him, “I agree.”
Severus thoughtfully chewed on a scone, “No, I’d rather see them live many years with their guilt and clutching at the shreds of their innocence. A long spell with the Dementors should be good for that. If not … I’m sure there is a potion that will suffice,” he said as a slow, malicious smile spread across his face.
“Again, I agree,” Draco smirked.
“Hear, hear,” Harry concurred. He sighed, “Now why don’t we agree on something a little more, carnal, hm?”
He slid into the Potion Master’s lap and began to nibble on the long, pale throat.
“Was there a particular topic you had in mind, Mr. Potter?”
“Dunno.”
Draco effortlessly slid to his knees before his former Professor, as he began to divest both his partners of their robes.
“What I believe Harry is trying to say is that as our senior, we trust you to oversee our education in this, as in all matters relevant to young wizards such as ourselves.”
Severus carefully regarded his young lovers before replying with a flick of his wand, “Well then, remove your clothing and proceed to the bedroom. Instructions are on the board.”
The young wizards laughed as they raced each other to the bedroom.
Title: Truth And Other Fictions
Author: shighola
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: SS/HP/DM
Rating: PG-13 (or whatever the new equivalent is)
Word Count: 1,009
AN: Written for the freeversefic Challenge, Round 2, beta by singla
All those lovers we talked about swing
on someone else’s tears now. We three
finally settled for the real thing and moved
to opposite ends of the earth.
Lies had brought them together.
Lies, manipulation, betrayal, deceit. Each causing them to seek an ally where there was none.
----------------------------------
“…would be best if you wish to remain at Hogwarts.”
“What? I - I don’t …”
Harry looked from Dumbledore to Remus to the Weasleys, for support - an explanation - but none of them would meet his eye.
“But for how long? What about my NEWTs?”
“Just for a little while, my boy. You’ll be back to finish your schooling before you know it.”
Without their usual twinkle, his eyes gave truth to the lie.
Cautiously, the Minister and an Auror approached, “Your wand, Mr. Potter.”
----------------------------------
“Mr. O’Malley, I do believe the instructions indicate that you are to add the chopped salamander spleen before the bubotuber puss, do they not?”
The student in question nervously looked up from his potion as the door to the dungeon classroom opened with a bang.
Severus whirled to face the intruder, “How dare-“
Five Aurors entered the room wands drawn.
“Professor Snape, please hand over your wand and come with us.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Professor Snape, this is your only warning. Surrender your wand and come with us.”
There was a tense pause as Severus and the Aurors faced off.
“I must first attend to my students.”
He faced his class, who had never seen their Professor so obviously seething with rage as he banished the just-begun potions and ingredients.
“Remain in your seats until a Professor comes to dismiss you.”
The students looked on in shock as their Potions Professor was escorted from the room. As Severus and the Aurors made the long trek up from the dungeons, they encountered no one. Just before they reached the gates of Hogwarts, and the apparition point, Severus spotted Hagrid standing watch.
“Hagrid, please tell the Headmaster what has happened. I believe I will be taken to the ministry, but …”
He trailed off as Hagrid made no move to fetch the Headmaster, and simply stood there, regarding him with a woeful expression. Realization hit the Potions Master like a curse.
“Ah. I see my usefulness has come to an end.”
----------------------------------
Draco stood in the midst of his ancestral home and surveyed the damage.
“Mipsy is so sorry, Master. We is trying to stop the wizards, but they is bad. They is locking us away while they trashing and burning and …”
Draco ignored the house elf as she pulled on her ears and detailed every violation the Aurors had inflicted on his family name and honor. Very little was salvageable save the library and cellars - areas with wards and curses so thick protecting them that even the Ministry’s best cursebreakers couldn’t penetrate them.
Lucius and Narcissa had been killed in the final battle, and the Ministry had done their best to revenge themselves upon the “enemy”. Nevermind, that Draco was a spy for Dumbledore’s Order. Who cared about the fate of a spy when even The-Boy-Who-Conquered was questioned and locked away for the “public good”. They were but tools to be stored until the next occasion arose.
How little they knew their own minions. The Minister and Headmaster failed to account for their pawns having their own ideas and plans for their lives. And thus, were caught completely by surprise, just when they thought themselves most secure.
----------------------------------
It had taken some time, but now they were free.
Once Draco had restored the Manor’s wards, he set about putting their plan in motion. It was but the work of a day to achieve everything they’d ever wanted. A few galleons here, a carefully-worded suggestion there, and the world would make truth of the fiction.
Readers of the Daily Prophet were shocked to learn that their savior had been taken from Hogwarts, prevented from completing his education, and held indefinitely at the Ministry. Witch Weekly’s subscribers were horrified to find that Britain’s pre-eminent Potions Master and acknowledged-spy and war hero was also a reluctant guest of the Aurors. Wizards and witches alike were disgusted by the information that each of the “war heroes” had somehow been systematically stripped of their rights and were “under supervision”, if not banished outright.
Mere speculation of physical and sexual abuse towards the Boy-Who-Lived, and Dumbledore and Fudge suddenly found themselves held at wandpoint, victim to the Auror’s tender mercies. This was a time for truth and revelation, who cared that this, too, was a lie?
----------------------------------
Severus sat reading the day’s Prophet, on one of the Manor’s many balconies.
“Perhaps we should prevent them from receiving the kiss?”
Draco and Harry looked up from their meal with twin expressions of disdain on their face. Pain momentarily marked Harry’s face as he obviously thought of his godfather.
“They deserve whatever they get.”
Draco quickly moved to soothe him, “I agree.”
Severus thoughtfully chewed on a scone, “No, I’d rather see them live many years with their guilt and clutching at the shreds of their innocence. A long spell with the Dementors should be good for that. If not … I’m sure there is a potion that will suffice,” he said as a slow, malicious smile spread across his face.
“Again, I agree,” Draco smirked.
“Hear, hear,” Harry concurred. He sighed, “Now why don’t we agree on something a little more, carnal, hm?”
He slid into the Potion Master’s lap and began to nibble on the long, pale throat.
“Was there a particular topic you had in mind, Mr. Potter?”
“Dunno.”
Draco effortlessly slid to his knees before his former Professor, as he began to divest both his partners of their robes.
“What I believe Harry is trying to say is that as our senior, we trust you to oversee our education in this, as in all matters relevant to young wizards such as ourselves.”
Severus carefully regarded his young lovers before replying with a flick of his wand, “Well then, remove your clothing and proceed to the bedroom. Instructions are on the board.”
The young wizards laughed as they raced each other to the bedroom.