ficlet: Give in to Temptation
I had this great idea, tried to make it into a drabble for this week's challenge over at hp100, but just couldn’t get it down to 100 words and still have it make sense or sound good. So I let everything loose here.
Title: Give in to Temptation
Characters: Harry/Snape (kind of), Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, OMC
Rating: R
Warning: UNBETA’D!! All concrit and/or offers to beta welcome.
Word Count: 1383
A/N 1 of 2: Those of you who saw the short version at hp100 will have already seen all the best parts, but maybe you’ll still enjoy it.
A/N 2 at the end.
“Expelliarmus!”
I must have been distracted by the previous night’s Death Eater meeting; that was the only possible explanation for my lack of vigilance. It was still no excuse for letting down my guard, even inside Hogwarts, and the price of my lapse would be humiliation.
Potter had gone too far this time. He slipped my wand into his robes and pushed away from the wall outside my office. His eyes had a strange gleam to them, making them seem greener than ever, and his face was flushed. Had his lips always been that red? I recalled myself to the matter at hand.
“You will return my wand at once, Mr. Potter!” My tone of voice would have had Dementors cringing, but Potter just smirked.
“I don’t think so, Severus.”
He must have completely lost his mind to think this behaviour would go unpunished. The points I would take for this, the detentions he would serve....maybe I could even get him expelled, just months before his NEWTs. My reverie was interrupted as I noticed his unsteady gait, and the way his eyes were glazed and fixed on my face.
“Potter, are you ill? Have you been hexed?” I stepped forward to help steady him. He grasped my shoulders, and then he was kissing me. The feel of his mouth was startling, and it took me a moment to gather my thoughts sufficiently to push him away. He grinned, his eyes glinting oddly.
“I knew it. You do want me.”
Before I could react, he had wrapped himself around my body, rubbing against my leg and licking my neck. I peeled him off of me, feeling the heat of his skin under my hands. “You’re out of your mind!”
“It’s all right, I want you, too.” He reached for me again; I dodged away from his grasp.
I stared at him, at his flushed face and parted lips, at the hands he ran through his hair and down his own throat and chest, at the boy who had been in my head and under my skin for such a long time. Now it was just the two of us, alone in a corridor. He licked his lips and moved toward me again.
Something inside of me broke. I knew that what I was about to do was very wrong, that to touch a student the way I was going to touch him could get me sacked, but the need had been building up in me for years. I felt compelled to act. When he lunged at me, I finally gave in to temptation.
I slammed my fist into his jaw and he folded like a collapsible cauldron.
It was bliss.
The pain singing in my hand was nothing compared to the joy flowing through my soul. I’d finally been able to punish Potter for his overwhelming arrogance and disrespect and no one could tell me I was wrong. I had acted in self-defence. They could give me Veritaserum, have me empty my thoughts into a Pensieve, it wouldn’t matter. I would be exonerated, and Potter would be expelled. It may very well have been the happiest day of my life.
I hummed a little tune as I bent to retrieve my wand and check Potter’s pulse and breathing. The brat seemed to be all right, but it was best to cover one’s bases. I floated him to the infirmary and sent a note to Dumbledore, asking him to come at once. Payback would be sweet.
* * * * *
[Now, that is where the original idea ended, so you could stop there. But then I got another idea that either helps, by explaining the first part, or hurts, by wrecking the first part. I thought about calling it the epilogue, but it's longer than the section above.]
“But, Albus-”
“Severus, I do understand that striking Harry was your only option at the time.” The poor man was still very upset, obviously angry at himself. I knew that he felt guilty about his response to Harry’s attack. It must have been horrible for him; Severus would never willingly raise his hand to a student. But he wasn’t the only one suffering right now.
“And Harry, you must understand that you were not responsible for your actions. The guilty party is that hippotwist who, intentionally or not, caused you to lose control of your faculties.”
Poppy had already healed Harry’s bruised jaw and was working on Severus’ swollen knuckles when the healer trained in Muggle psychiatry arrived. Harry had no memory of what had occurred that afternoon, and we had found no evidence of a spell or potion that would have caused him to behave so violently, but an offhand remark about the recent winter holidays put the thought into Poppy’s head that perhaps Harry’s bizarre outburst had its roots in the Muggle world. St. Mungo’s sent over their specialist, and he soon confirmed her theory. I asked him to explain his findings to Harry and Severus together, so that they would be able to put this horrible ordeal behind them and begin to heal.
“It’s called post-hypnotic suggestion. The subject is put into a relaxed state, in which his mind is open and-”
“You see, Potter? If you’d practiced Occlumency as you should have done, this never would have happened!”
“And if you’d taught me properly, I’d have been ABLE to PRACTICE IT!”
I stepped in quickly before the argument could escalate. “Harry, Severus, please, let’s save this discussion for another time.” They continued to glare at each other, but I heard mumbled apologies. I nodded to the healer. “I’m so sorry. Please continue.”
“From Mr. Potter’s story and the tests I performed on him, it seems that he and his friends attended a performance by a hypnotist, and Mr. Potter was put into a suggestible state as part of the performance. I can’t determine the exact suggestion he was given, it could have been anything, but-”
Severus snorted. “So what you’re saying is that Potter is so weak-minded that anyone could plant the most ridiculous suggestion in his head, and he’d follow it to the letter?” He looked almost relieved.
“No, just the opposite, in fact. When I tested Mr. Potter just now, it was nearly impossible to plant any suggestion at all. You see, a subject won’t accept a suggestion that goes against his or her basic principles. And the only way a subject as strong as Mr. Potter could possibly accept a suggestion is if he already wanted to do it.”
Severus made a choking noise and began coughing. I slapped him on the back and Madame Pomfrey conjured a glass of water. Harry spoke up while Severus was still coughing.
“But why would a Muggle hypnotist tell me to attack Professor Snape?” He was frowning.
The healer looked thoughtful. “It may not have been a suggestion to attack, specifically, but perhaps simply to act on your feelings towards him.” He paused as Severus began to cough again. “You two obviously have issues.”
Harry rubbed his jaw. “I wish I could remember what happened. Not that I doubt Professor Snape’s word, but I don’t know why I’d want to hurt him. I mean, he’s a right ba-, erm, that is, he makes me angry sometimes, but I don’t hate him. Not like I used to.”
“Well, it’s possible that you have more unresolved anger towards Professor Snape than you realize. Hypnosis can tap into your subconscious, your innermost feelings that you might not even be aware of, and bring them to the surface."
Harry nodded, but he didn’t look satisfied with that answer. I was about to console him when I heard Severus make an odd noise, almost like a whimper. I turned and saw that he was pale and sweating.
“Severus? Are you ill?”
He moaned and slid off of his chair onto the floor. Poppy rushed to his side and bent over him.
“What is it, Poppy?”
She did a quick diagnostic spell and blew out a breath. “He’ll be alright, he’s just fainted. Probably from all this stress. But I’ll keep him here overnight for observation.”
I nodded and helped her levitate Severus to an empty bed. As we thanked the healer and watched him portkey back to St. Mungo’s, I felt saddened that Harry apparently still had so much buried anger directed at Severus. Ah, well. Maybe one day he would be able to let it go and be civil to the man, even if he never learned to like him.
~* end *~
A/N 2 of 2: I’m still not sure about clueless!Dumbledore. It seemed like a funny idea, then thought it was too ooc, then decided that he does miss stuff sometimes (LV-head!Quirrell, fake!Moody, lying!Gilderoy, etc.).
Title: Give in to Temptation
Characters: Harry/Snape (kind of), Dumbledore, Madame Pomfrey, OMC
Rating: R
Warning: UNBETA’D!! All concrit and/or offers to beta welcome.
Word Count: 1383
A/N 1 of 2: Those of you who saw the short version at hp100 will have already seen all the best parts, but maybe you’ll still enjoy it.
A/N 2 at the end.
“Expelliarmus!”
I must have been distracted by the previous night’s Death Eater meeting; that was the only possible explanation for my lack of vigilance. It was still no excuse for letting down my guard, even inside Hogwarts, and the price of my lapse would be humiliation.
Potter had gone too far this time. He slipped my wand into his robes and pushed away from the wall outside my office. His eyes had a strange gleam to them, making them seem greener than ever, and his face was flushed. Had his lips always been that red? I recalled myself to the matter at hand.
“You will return my wand at once, Mr. Potter!” My tone of voice would have had Dementors cringing, but Potter just smirked.
“I don’t think so, Severus.”
He must have completely lost his mind to think this behaviour would go unpunished. The points I would take for this, the detentions he would serve....maybe I could even get him expelled, just months before his NEWTs. My reverie was interrupted as I noticed his unsteady gait, and the way his eyes were glazed and fixed on my face.
“Potter, are you ill? Have you been hexed?” I stepped forward to help steady him. He grasped my shoulders, and then he was kissing me. The feel of his mouth was startling, and it took me a moment to gather my thoughts sufficiently to push him away. He grinned, his eyes glinting oddly.
“I knew it. You do want me.”
Before I could react, he had wrapped himself around my body, rubbing against my leg and licking my neck. I peeled him off of me, feeling the heat of his skin under my hands. “You’re out of your mind!”
“It’s all right, I want you, too.” He reached for me again; I dodged away from his grasp.
I stared at him, at his flushed face and parted lips, at the hands he ran through his hair and down his own throat and chest, at the boy who had been in my head and under my skin for such a long time. Now it was just the two of us, alone in a corridor. He licked his lips and moved toward me again.
Something inside of me broke. I knew that what I was about to do was very wrong, that to touch a student the way I was going to touch him could get me sacked, but the need had been building up in me for years. I felt compelled to act. When he lunged at me, I finally gave in to temptation.
I slammed my fist into his jaw and he folded like a collapsible cauldron.
It was bliss.
The pain singing in my hand was nothing compared to the joy flowing through my soul. I’d finally been able to punish Potter for his overwhelming arrogance and disrespect and no one could tell me I was wrong. I had acted in self-defence. They could give me Veritaserum, have me empty my thoughts into a Pensieve, it wouldn’t matter. I would be exonerated, and Potter would be expelled. It may very well have been the happiest day of my life.
I hummed a little tune as I bent to retrieve my wand and check Potter’s pulse and breathing. The brat seemed to be all right, but it was best to cover one’s bases. I floated him to the infirmary and sent a note to Dumbledore, asking him to come at once. Payback would be sweet.
* * * * *
[Now, that is where the original idea ended, so you could stop there. But then I got another idea that either helps, by explaining the first part, or hurts, by wrecking the first part. I thought about calling it the epilogue, but it's longer than the section above.]
“But, Albus-”
“Severus, I do understand that striking Harry was your only option at the time.” The poor man was still very upset, obviously angry at himself. I knew that he felt guilty about his response to Harry’s attack. It must have been horrible for him; Severus would never willingly raise his hand to a student. But he wasn’t the only one suffering right now.
“And Harry, you must understand that you were not responsible for your actions. The guilty party is that hippotwist who, intentionally or not, caused you to lose control of your faculties.”
Poppy had already healed Harry’s bruised jaw and was working on Severus’ swollen knuckles when the healer trained in Muggle psychiatry arrived. Harry had no memory of what had occurred that afternoon, and we had found no evidence of a spell or potion that would have caused him to behave so violently, but an offhand remark about the recent winter holidays put the thought into Poppy’s head that perhaps Harry’s bizarre outburst had its roots in the Muggle world. St. Mungo’s sent over their specialist, and he soon confirmed her theory. I asked him to explain his findings to Harry and Severus together, so that they would be able to put this horrible ordeal behind them and begin to heal.
“It’s called post-hypnotic suggestion. The subject is put into a relaxed state, in which his mind is open and-”
“You see, Potter? If you’d practiced Occlumency as you should have done, this never would have happened!”
“And if you’d taught me properly, I’d have been ABLE to PRACTICE IT!”
I stepped in quickly before the argument could escalate. “Harry, Severus, please, let’s save this discussion for another time.” They continued to glare at each other, but I heard mumbled apologies. I nodded to the healer. “I’m so sorry. Please continue.”
“From Mr. Potter’s story and the tests I performed on him, it seems that he and his friends attended a performance by a hypnotist, and Mr. Potter was put into a suggestible state as part of the performance. I can’t determine the exact suggestion he was given, it could have been anything, but-”
Severus snorted. “So what you’re saying is that Potter is so weak-minded that anyone could plant the most ridiculous suggestion in his head, and he’d follow it to the letter?” He looked almost relieved.
“No, just the opposite, in fact. When I tested Mr. Potter just now, it was nearly impossible to plant any suggestion at all. You see, a subject won’t accept a suggestion that goes against his or her basic principles. And the only way a subject as strong as Mr. Potter could possibly accept a suggestion is if he already wanted to do it.”
Severus made a choking noise and began coughing. I slapped him on the back and Madame Pomfrey conjured a glass of water. Harry spoke up while Severus was still coughing.
“But why would a Muggle hypnotist tell me to attack Professor Snape?” He was frowning.
The healer looked thoughtful. “It may not have been a suggestion to attack, specifically, but perhaps simply to act on your feelings towards him.” He paused as Severus began to cough again. “You two obviously have issues.”
Harry rubbed his jaw. “I wish I could remember what happened. Not that I doubt Professor Snape’s word, but I don’t know why I’d want to hurt him. I mean, he’s a right ba-, erm, that is, he makes me angry sometimes, but I don’t hate him. Not like I used to.”
“Well, it’s possible that you have more unresolved anger towards Professor Snape than you realize. Hypnosis can tap into your subconscious, your innermost feelings that you might not even be aware of, and bring them to the surface."
Harry nodded, but he didn’t look satisfied with that answer. I was about to console him when I heard Severus make an odd noise, almost like a whimper. I turned and saw that he was pale and sweating.
“Severus? Are you ill?”
He moaned and slid off of his chair onto the floor. Poppy rushed to his side and bent over him.
“What is it, Poppy?”
She did a quick diagnostic spell and blew out a breath. “He’ll be alright, he’s just fainted. Probably from all this stress. But I’ll keep him here overnight for observation.”
I nodded and helped her levitate Severus to an empty bed. As we thanked the healer and watched him portkey back to St. Mungo’s, I felt saddened that Harry apparently still had so much buried anger directed at Severus. Ah, well. Maybe one day he would be able to let it go and be civil to the man, even if he never learned to like him.
~* end *~
A/N 2 of 2: I’m still not sure about clueless!Dumbledore. It seemed like a funny idea, then thought it was too ooc, then decided that he does miss stuff sometimes (LV-head!Quirrell, fake!Moody, lying!Gilderoy, etc.).