The Coldest Summer, VI
Title: The Coldest Summer
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 10x100
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Coldest Winter
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Well, hopefully this isn't quite as frustrating as the previous set!
Previous sets: part I, part II , part III, part IV, part V.
Snape gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher.
‘I assume I don’t need to warn you that anything I might choose to tell you will have to remain confidential. I’m warning you anyway. Not because I don’t trust you but … let’s just say that if you do feel a desire to share any of this with your friends, you won’t like the consequences.’
Hermione nodded.
‘And let’s make it clear - I’d rather not tell you about anything. But I suspect you might find it easier not to share your discovery of me if your curiosity has been sated.’
* * *
He turned his back to her with a swish of his elegant black coat and started walking again. Hermione had to take a few quicker steps to catch up.
‘I was - prepared - on the day of the final battle,’ he said at last. ‘I had always known that my master - the one still alive - might wish to depose of me at some point. I didn’t know when or how, and obviously, I had no way to prepare for all of the possibilities. Had he decided to use the Killing Curse, for example, we would not be having this conversation now.’
* * *
‘I knew he liked to use Nagini,’ he continued. ‘So this was one of the possibilities I could - and did - prepare for.’
Hermione decided it was best not to interrupt him, although she already had questions lined up.
‘I have some talent with Potions,’ he continued, apparently happy to state the obvious. ‘So I put it to good use, designing a highly concentrated mixture of antivenin, the Draught of Living Death and some improvements of my own, mostly having to do with timing the release and duration of the potion’s effect, and transfiguring it into the form of a pill.’
* * *
‘So when you were attacked by Nagini in the Shrieking Shack, you had already taken the pill?’ Hermione asked.
‘Almost correct, Miss Granger,’ he answered. ‘I had it in my mouth. All I had to do when the snake attacked was to bite into it. And to hope that it would work as I had planned - after all, it was quite untested.’
He paused for a moment.
‘The plan was for the Draught of Living Death to shut down my body nearly completely, for anything but the antivenin to do its work. I set it to last for four hours.’
* * *
‘Why not longer?’ asked Hermione.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I did not want to risk being found - by either side - and, taken for dead, to be burned or buried. I thought that should have been obvious!’
She looked down, feeling suitably chagrined.
‘When I woke up, I found myself still in the Shrieking Shack, quite alone. I was alive, but not strong enough to join the battle - I don’t even know if it was over by that time or not. So I found my wand and Apparated away to my home - no, not Hogwarts, Miss Granger, but my Muggle home.’
* * *
‘I’d rather not go into details,’ he continued, ‘but in brief, I had decided long ago that if the opportunity presented itself - once I could do this without forgoing fulfilling my duties - I would like to be … free. To be frank, I’d had enough of being told what to do. And I … I assume Potter told you about - about his mother?’
Hermione nodded.
‘When I thought I might be dying - when I asked Potter to look at me - I don’t know how, but it finally made it possible for me to let go. To consider the debt paid.’
* * *
Hermione shivered. It had been quiet when they left the research station, but with the way the wind was gusting now, gathering strength, she could sense there was a storm coming.
She decided not to complain. It wasn’t that cold yet, and she didn’t want to ruin the moment, or her chance to hear more. So she just looked at the sharp dark silhouette of Severus Snape against the sky.
‘I had put most of my savings in a Muggle bank well before my last year at Hogwarts,’ he continued after a while. ‘I was ready for my new life.’
* * *
He strolled on briskly; apparently he was not bothered by the cold or the way the wind was blowing sharp icy snow right into their face now.
‘Wait!’ Hermione called out, although her teeth were chattering so loudly now that speaking was becoming a problem. ‘It’s - uh - getting a bit cold. Do you know any good warming charms?’
He stopped and looked at her.
‘Warming charms only work temporarily, as you should know. They only create a deceptive feeling of warmth, leaving the skin to freeze. They’re never used in a cold climate, other than as a temporary emergency measure.’
* * *
From the way he looked at her, her icy lips in particular, he seemed to be considering something.
Still, when he swooped her close and pressed his lips on hers, it came as a bit of a shock. As did the way he gently prodded her lips with his tongue, only to pull away and breathe on them - a heavenly, warm breath.
Before she could react, he had taken off his gloves, fished a jar of ointment out of his pocket and was smearing it on her lips with great care, using only the tip of his long index finger.
* * *
‘You kissed me!’ she sputtered, still in shock, once he had finished.
He looked at her down his long hooked nose.
‘I most certainly did not. Your lips were nearly frozen. I needed to warm them up before applying the ointment.’
Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, not knowing how to respond.
‘It’s my own recipe,’ he continued. ‘I really should have thought of it before we left. I apologise, Miss Granger.’
He was about to turn, but stopped and looked at her again. ‘Are you feeling warmer now? I’d rather not return to the station yet.’
--
On to part VII.
Team: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 10x100
Rating: PG-13
Challenge: Coldest Winter
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Well, hopefully this isn't quite as frustrating as the previous set!
Previous sets: part I, part II , part III, part IV, part V.
Snape gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher.
‘I assume I don’t need to warn you that anything I might choose to tell you will have to remain confidential. I’m warning you anyway. Not because I don’t trust you but … let’s just say that if you do feel a desire to share any of this with your friends, you won’t like the consequences.’
Hermione nodded.
‘And let’s make it clear - I’d rather not tell you about anything. But I suspect you might find it easier not to share your discovery of me if your curiosity has been sated.’
* * *
He turned his back to her with a swish of his elegant black coat and started walking again. Hermione had to take a few quicker steps to catch up.
‘I was - prepared - on the day of the final battle,’ he said at last. ‘I had always known that my master - the one still alive - might wish to depose of me at some point. I didn’t know when or how, and obviously, I had no way to prepare for all of the possibilities. Had he decided to use the Killing Curse, for example, we would not be having this conversation now.’
* * *
‘I knew he liked to use Nagini,’ he continued. ‘So this was one of the possibilities I could - and did - prepare for.’
Hermione decided it was best not to interrupt him, although she already had questions lined up.
‘I have some talent with Potions,’ he continued, apparently happy to state the obvious. ‘So I put it to good use, designing a highly concentrated mixture of antivenin, the Draught of Living Death and some improvements of my own, mostly having to do with timing the release and duration of the potion’s effect, and transfiguring it into the form of a pill.’
* * *
‘So when you were attacked by Nagini in the Shrieking Shack, you had already taken the pill?’ Hermione asked.
‘Almost correct, Miss Granger,’ he answered. ‘I had it in my mouth. All I had to do when the snake attacked was to bite into it. And to hope that it would work as I had planned - after all, it was quite untested.’
He paused for a moment.
‘The plan was for the Draught of Living Death to shut down my body nearly completely, for anything but the antivenin to do its work. I set it to last for four hours.’
* * *
‘Why not longer?’ asked Hermione.
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I did not want to risk being found - by either side - and, taken for dead, to be burned or buried. I thought that should have been obvious!’
She looked down, feeling suitably chagrined.
‘When I woke up, I found myself still in the Shrieking Shack, quite alone. I was alive, but not strong enough to join the battle - I don’t even know if it was over by that time or not. So I found my wand and Apparated away to my home - no, not Hogwarts, Miss Granger, but my Muggle home.’
* * *
‘I’d rather not go into details,’ he continued, ‘but in brief, I had decided long ago that if the opportunity presented itself - once I could do this without forgoing fulfilling my duties - I would like to be … free. To be frank, I’d had enough of being told what to do. And I … I assume Potter told you about - about his mother?’
Hermione nodded.
‘When I thought I might be dying - when I asked Potter to look at me - I don’t know how, but it finally made it possible for me to let go. To consider the debt paid.’
* * *
Hermione shivered. It had been quiet when they left the research station, but with the way the wind was gusting now, gathering strength, she could sense there was a storm coming.
She decided not to complain. It wasn’t that cold yet, and she didn’t want to ruin the moment, or her chance to hear more. So she just looked at the sharp dark silhouette of Severus Snape against the sky.
‘I had put most of my savings in a Muggle bank well before my last year at Hogwarts,’ he continued after a while. ‘I was ready for my new life.’
* * *
He strolled on briskly; apparently he was not bothered by the cold or the way the wind was blowing sharp icy snow right into their face now.
‘Wait!’ Hermione called out, although her teeth were chattering so loudly now that speaking was becoming a problem. ‘It’s - uh - getting a bit cold. Do you know any good warming charms?’
He stopped and looked at her.
‘Warming charms only work temporarily, as you should know. They only create a deceptive feeling of warmth, leaving the skin to freeze. They’re never used in a cold climate, other than as a temporary emergency measure.’
* * *
From the way he looked at her, her icy lips in particular, he seemed to be considering something.
Still, when he swooped her close and pressed his lips on hers, it came as a bit of a shock. As did the way he gently prodded her lips with his tongue, only to pull away and breathe on them - a heavenly, warm breath.
Before she could react, he had taken off his gloves, fished a jar of ointment out of his pocket and was smearing it on her lips with great care, using only the tip of his long index finger.
* * *
‘You kissed me!’ she sputtered, still in shock, once he had finished.
He looked at her down his long hooked nose.
‘I most certainly did not. Your lips were nearly frozen. I needed to warm them up before applying the ointment.’
Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, not knowing how to respond.
‘It’s my own recipe,’ he continued. ‘I really should have thought of it before we left. I apologise, Miss Granger.’
He was about to turn, but stopped and looked at her again. ‘Are you feeling warmer now? I’d rather not return to the station yet.’
--
On to part VII.