Yuletide Potions XIII
Title: Yuletide Potions XIII
Team: The Order
Word Count: 8 x 100, though only six will count
Rating: G
Challenges: Broken Memory Charm, Comfort and Joy
Characters: Severus, Hermione, Wendell/Monica
From the beginning
Part XII
Wendell held his wife in his arms. Her tears had ceased, but her trembling had not. It was rare for Monica to be so emotional; this was tearing her apart. Tightening his embrace, he brushed his lips against her temple before whispering, “What happened?”
She laughed bitterly. “What hasn’t happened? Over the course of one day I’ve discovered I’m a mother, magic exists, my daughter is a witch, and she’s the one responsible for our lost memories!”
With a sigh, Wendell placed his hand under his wife’s chin, raising her watery gaze to his.
“Everything will be fine. I promise.”
~o0o~
Monica wrenched free of his grasp. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Wend….” Her eyes widened, and she began to back away. “No! That’s not even your name! Who are we? Who am I?”
Alarmed, Wendell reached for her, but she turned on her heel and ran from the house. He quickly chased after her.
“Monica! Wait!”
She continued running, racing past Hermione and Mr Snape and heading for the beach.
Wendell stopped, relieved that she appeared to be going to her favourite place to think. She was overwhelmed, but she’d come around; she just needed some time alone.
“Daddy?”
~o0o~
He turned to face his daughter. His daughter! For the first time, he took a long look at the young woman. Her hair, her nose, her facial expressions…. They were all familiar, not because he remembered her, but because he’d seen them before-on himself and on his wife. Meeting Hermione’s gaze, Wendell felt his heart clench at the raw pain he saw reflected in her eyes-his eyes.
His vision blurred as his own tears began to fall. Blindly, he reached for her, pulling her close and whispering over and over into her hair, “My daughter. My little girl.”
~o0o~
Hermione clung to her father, her face buried against his neck as she breathed in his comforting scent. After several long minutes, he released her and then excused himself before disappearing into the house. She stared after him, her heart conflicted. Her father seemed to be handling the situation as well as could be expected, but her mum…
“We’ll do our best to make them whole again, Hermione,” Severus said from behind her, his hands coming to rest upon her shoulders.
She smiled and wiped the dampness from her cheeks with her palms. She wasn’t alone anymore. She had Severus.
~o0o~
Severus and Hermione sat side-by-side at the kitchen table, surrounded by books and parchment. Their heads were bowed together as they pored over potential potions, charms, and spells that might be helpful in recovering her parents’ memories.
“Ahem.”
Hermione looked up and saw her mother standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Mum?”
“Miss… Hermione. I want you to know that regardless of whether or not you and Mr Snape are able to fix this, I think you are an exceptional young woman. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to get to know you; I’d like to be your mum.”
~o0o~
After a tearful reconciliation with her mother, Hermione returned to the research with renewed vigour. Severus smirked as he caught the sparkle in her eyes; it had been missing for so long, he had almost forgotten that it ever existed.
It was very late when they decided to call it a night. Severus organised all of the materials so that they could easily return to their work in the morning.
He bade Hermione good night and was about to retire to the room her parents had prepared for him, when he felt the warmth of her hand on his arm.
~o0o~
Shyly, she smiled up at him. “I just wanted to say thank you. I haven’t felt this hopeful in a very long time. So… well, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Hermione. We may not be able to find a solution,” he replied, not wanting her to have unrealistic expectations. Repairing a botched memory charm was a daunting task, no matter how one looked at it.
“I know that, Severus. I’m not thanking you for that. I’m thanking you for giving me hope.”
And with that, Hermione rose up on her toes and lightly pressed a kiss to his cheek.
~o0o~
Severus could not help but notice her flushed face and the way she was biting her lower lip. Was it possible that she might feel something more than friendship for him? But what about Weasley?
In a flash, Wendell’s words from earlier in the day came rushing back to him.
“What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter? … Hermione wrote more about you in those letters than she did about that Weasley boy that she was supposedly engaged to marry."
Unbelievably, his jaded heart filled with hope, and he was unable to keep from slowly lowering his head toward hers….
On to the next set
Team: The Order
Word Count: 8 x 100, though only six will count
Rating: G
Challenges: Broken Memory Charm, Comfort and Joy
Characters: Severus, Hermione, Wendell/Monica
From the beginning
Part XII
Wendell held his wife in his arms. Her tears had ceased, but her trembling had not. It was rare for Monica to be so emotional; this was tearing her apart. Tightening his embrace, he brushed his lips against her temple before whispering, “What happened?”
She laughed bitterly. “What hasn’t happened? Over the course of one day I’ve discovered I’m a mother, magic exists, my daughter is a witch, and she’s the one responsible for our lost memories!”
With a sigh, Wendell placed his hand under his wife’s chin, raising her watery gaze to his.
“Everything will be fine. I promise.”
~o0o~
Monica wrenched free of his grasp. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Wend….” Her eyes widened, and she began to back away. “No! That’s not even your name! Who are we? Who am I?”
Alarmed, Wendell reached for her, but she turned on her heel and ran from the house. He quickly chased after her.
“Monica! Wait!”
She continued running, racing past Hermione and Mr Snape and heading for the beach.
Wendell stopped, relieved that she appeared to be going to her favourite place to think. She was overwhelmed, but she’d come around; she just needed some time alone.
“Daddy?”
~o0o~
He turned to face his daughter. His daughter! For the first time, he took a long look at the young woman. Her hair, her nose, her facial expressions…. They were all familiar, not because he remembered her, but because he’d seen them before-on himself and on his wife. Meeting Hermione’s gaze, Wendell felt his heart clench at the raw pain he saw reflected in her eyes-his eyes.
His vision blurred as his own tears began to fall. Blindly, he reached for her, pulling her close and whispering over and over into her hair, “My daughter. My little girl.”
~o0o~
Hermione clung to her father, her face buried against his neck as she breathed in his comforting scent. After several long minutes, he released her and then excused himself before disappearing into the house. She stared after him, her heart conflicted. Her father seemed to be handling the situation as well as could be expected, but her mum…
“We’ll do our best to make them whole again, Hermione,” Severus said from behind her, his hands coming to rest upon her shoulders.
She smiled and wiped the dampness from her cheeks with her palms. She wasn’t alone anymore. She had Severus.
~o0o~
Severus and Hermione sat side-by-side at the kitchen table, surrounded by books and parchment. Their heads were bowed together as they pored over potential potions, charms, and spells that might be helpful in recovering her parents’ memories.
“Ahem.”
Hermione looked up and saw her mother standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Mum?”
“Miss… Hermione. I want you to know that regardless of whether or not you and Mr Snape are able to fix this, I think you are an exceptional young woman. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to get to know you; I’d like to be your mum.”
~o0o~
After a tearful reconciliation with her mother, Hermione returned to the research with renewed vigour. Severus smirked as he caught the sparkle in her eyes; it had been missing for so long, he had almost forgotten that it ever existed.
It was very late when they decided to call it a night. Severus organised all of the materials so that they could easily return to their work in the morning.
He bade Hermione good night and was about to retire to the room her parents had prepared for him, when he felt the warmth of her hand on his arm.
~o0o~
Shyly, she smiled up at him. “I just wanted to say thank you. I haven’t felt this hopeful in a very long time. So… well, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Hermione. We may not be able to find a solution,” he replied, not wanting her to have unrealistic expectations. Repairing a botched memory charm was a daunting task, no matter how one looked at it.
“I know that, Severus. I’m not thanking you for that. I’m thanking you for giving me hope.”
And with that, Hermione rose up on her toes and lightly pressed a kiss to his cheek.
~o0o~
Severus could not help but notice her flushed face and the way she was biting her lower lip. Was it possible that she might feel something more than friendship for him? But what about Weasley?
In a flash, Wendell’s words from earlier in the day came rushing back to him.
“What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter? … Hermione wrote more about you in those letters than she did about that Weasley boy that she was supposedly engaged to marry."
Unbelievably, his jaded heart filled with hope, and he was unable to keep from slowly lowering his head toward hers….
On to the next set