Blame blame blame!!!
May. 18th, 2003 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vivienI am rather stunned I wrote this so quickly. It started out as just funny, and then became sweet. I blame ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
labellerose
Blackberries for a Potions Master
By Vivien
Severus Snape had a dark secret. It was one he guarded above all the other secrets crowding his life. Every fall he participated in hidden rituals of which he never spoke to anyone. On the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year, he would receive a large parcel from a nondescript owl. He would then hide away in his dungeon classroom and follow age old formulas to bring his secret to fruition. The product of the proceedings would delight him through the entire year. But one fateful day in his tenth year of teaching at Hogwarts, his secret was revealed to his horror and shame.
Severus had been working since dawn. He had mashed and poured, mixed and boiled till his wand hand was tired. The scent of the dungeon had turned from musty and sour to rich and earthy with his labor. Along the work tables, small glass jars were lined waiting to be filled with the purple-black, gooey mixture simmering in the cauldron. Severus was even humming, something he only did on this special day, when time rolled backwards and only pleasant memories filled his mind. He wasn't sure if he deserved a day of rest after all the terrible things he'd done in his life. He only knew that if he were denied it, he would go mad.
He was almost ready to pour the mixture into the jars when the unthinkable happened. Minerva McGonagall walked through the classroom door.
"Severus, did you happen to get the memo for the next staff meeting? I seem to have mislaid it... mmm, what's that smell?"
Severus set the cauldron down heavily and froze like a rabbit before a lion. His mind locked up, and he couldn't think of what to do or where to hide.
"Are you making preserves, Severus," Minerva said, astonished. "I had no idea you went in for that kind of thing."
"Don't... don't say a word about it. To anyone," Severus finally stammered out furiously. "And why didn't you knock?"
"I didn't think I had to," said Minerva, putting her hands on her hips. "Here now, why are you so upset? Are these illicit preserves made with some mind-altering prohibited substance?"
"No, they're blackberry," snarled Severus, "and I don't want to talk about it. Please don't tell anyone you caught me making... jam."
Minerva laughed. When Severus had first come to Hogwarts and been taken in by Albus, she'd immediately taken him under her wing as well. She knew he was a nasty curmudgeon most of the time, but she liked him and admired his bravery all the same. "Why should you be so upset if anyone were to know you made blackberry jam?"
Severus was silent for a few moments, lost in thought. He regarded the witch before him, who had once been his strictest teacher and who was now his favorite colleague aside from Dumbledore. She'd taken care of him back in the dark days, made him feel welcome when no one should have. He finally spoke.
"My great aunt Marguerite was half-Muggle. When I was a small boy, my parents would leave me with her for extended periods of time while they traveled. She taught me how to make all kinds of preserves; it was her specialty. She was the only adult in my childhood who showed true affection for me. I loved her dearly. She died when I was twelve. Every year, her old house elf sends me blackberries from her patch, and I make jam in her honor. And for my purely selfish reasons."
"What would those be," said Minerva kindly.
"It makes me happy," said Severus, guiltily looking down at the floor.
"Well, it looks like we'd best get the jam into the canning jars lest the mixture coagulates," said Minerva swishing her wand out. "And Severus, look at me." She waited till he did so. "No matter what you've done in the past, you are allowed to know happiness. You are judged by the man you are now, and you are a fine one, if a bit churlish. Now enough self pity - we have jam to make."
Severus ventured a slight smile and picked up the cauldron. He and Minerva finished the canning and then sat down for tea. It was a lovely fall day, and Severus felt a small weight lift from his burdened shoulders. The blackberry jam that year was especially sweet and tasteful, and he enjoyed it without guilt.
I am about ready to post the next, sex-o-rific chapter of Strange and Wondrous. Need a little more editing, and then it will be up. I am also getting the images needed for the next, action and angst-o-rific part after that, so hurray.
labelleroseBlackberries for a Potions Master
By Vivien
Severus Snape had a dark secret. It was one he guarded above all the other secrets crowding his life. Every fall he participated in hidden rituals of which he never spoke to anyone. On the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year, he would receive a large parcel from a nondescript owl. He would then hide away in his dungeon classroom and follow age old formulas to bring his secret to fruition. The product of the proceedings would delight him through the entire year. But one fateful day in his tenth year of teaching at Hogwarts, his secret was revealed to his horror and shame.
Severus had been working since dawn. He had mashed and poured, mixed and boiled till his wand hand was tired. The scent of the dungeon had turned from musty and sour to rich and earthy with his labor. Along the work tables, small glass jars were lined waiting to be filled with the purple-black, gooey mixture simmering in the cauldron. Severus was even humming, something he only did on this special day, when time rolled backwards and only pleasant memories filled his mind. He wasn't sure if he deserved a day of rest after all the terrible things he'd done in his life. He only knew that if he were denied it, he would go mad.
He was almost ready to pour the mixture into the jars when the unthinkable happened. Minerva McGonagall walked through the classroom door.
"Severus, did you happen to get the memo for the next staff meeting? I seem to have mislaid it... mmm, what's that smell?"
Severus set the cauldron down heavily and froze like a rabbit before a lion. His mind locked up, and he couldn't think of what to do or where to hide.
"Are you making preserves, Severus," Minerva said, astonished. "I had no idea you went in for that kind of thing."
"Don't... don't say a word about it. To anyone," Severus finally stammered out furiously. "And why didn't you knock?"
"I didn't think I had to," said Minerva, putting her hands on her hips. "Here now, why are you so upset? Are these illicit preserves made with some mind-altering prohibited substance?"
"No, they're blackberry," snarled Severus, "and I don't want to talk about it. Please don't tell anyone you caught me making... jam."
Minerva laughed. When Severus had first come to Hogwarts and been taken in by Albus, she'd immediately taken him under her wing as well. She knew he was a nasty curmudgeon most of the time, but she liked him and admired his bravery all the same. "Why should you be so upset if anyone were to know you made blackberry jam?"
Severus was silent for a few moments, lost in thought. He regarded the witch before him, who had once been his strictest teacher and who was now his favorite colleague aside from Dumbledore. She'd taken care of him back in the dark days, made him feel welcome when no one should have. He finally spoke.
"My great aunt Marguerite was half-Muggle. When I was a small boy, my parents would leave me with her for extended periods of time while they traveled. She taught me how to make all kinds of preserves; it was her specialty. She was the only adult in my childhood who showed true affection for me. I loved her dearly. She died when I was twelve. Every year, her old house elf sends me blackberries from her patch, and I make jam in her honor. And for my purely selfish reasons."
"What would those be," said Minerva kindly.
"It makes me happy," said Severus, guiltily looking down at the floor.
"Well, it looks like we'd best get the jam into the canning jars lest the mixture coagulates," said Minerva swishing her wand out. "And Severus, look at me." She waited till he did so. "No matter what you've done in the past, you are allowed to know happiness. You are judged by the man you are now, and you are a fine one, if a bit churlish. Now enough self pity - we have jam to make."
Severus ventured a slight smile and picked up the cauldron. He and Minerva finished the canning and then sat down for tea. It was a lovely fall day, and Severus felt a small weight lift from his burdened shoulders. The blackberry jam that year was especially sweet and tasteful, and he enjoyed it without guilt.
I am about ready to post the next, sex-o-rific chapter of Strange and Wondrous. Need a little more editing, and then it will be up. I am also getting the images needed for the next, action and angst-o-rific part after that, so hurray.
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