Mistakes and Consequences
‘Ginny, what’s wrong?’ Hermione’s week had been trying to put things mildly.
The incident with the bell on Wednesday had left Slytherin House in a turmoil. Her husband’s temper had been horrible since then, although he had taken pains to be civil with her.
Alina in particular was completely rattled, not that anyone could blame her. But discovering just how terrifying it could be to have a jumpy and unfocused First Year in a Potions classroom had not been a good experience. Hermione simply didn’t understand. Of course it had been a shocking discovery for Alina, but normally Hermione would have expected the girl to react differently—to take the revelation of a special talent in stride, even if it was such a dangerous ability as Necromancy. Furthermore, Hermione knew that Severus had been quite lenient with Alina; he had not even detracted House points for that mishap and merely given her detentions so she could learn just how dangerous the situation had been.
And now Ginny was moping over her tea with an expression better suited for a funeral than for a comfortable Saturday evening spent with a good friend. Ginny grimaced and continued to stir her tea in morose silence.
‘Ginny. Please. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ve been having a hard week. I can’t take this silent sulking another second.’
‘What’s been going on?’ Ginny asked, fidgeting in obvious discomfort. ‘Uhh…you would tell me if you were uh…angry at me, wouldn’t you?’
Hermione stared at her friend. A headache was beginning to throb at her temples. She inhaled deeply and forced herself to remain patient.
‘Why,’ she asked carefully, ‘should I be angry at you?’
‘Well—’ Ginny stammered. ‘I—actually—the whole school, I guess, couldn’t help noticing—well…Professor Snape has been in a rare mood this week, and all of the Slytherins have been kind of tense and jumpy.’
‘Yes, I guess that’s true. But pardon my confusion,’ Hermione frowned,‘what has that to do with you?’
‘I’m afraid that I’ve made a horrible, horrible mistake. And I’ve promised not to tell anyone about it, but—’
‘If you have promised not to tell anyone about it, Ginny, then why are you talking to me now?’
Ginny took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on her mug. ‘Because I can’t stand seeing Alina so scared and—and—confused—and it’s all my fault.’
‘How is that your fault?’ Hermione wanted to groan. They had tried to keep the incident from getting out. But apparently there was no way to keep anything at Hogwarts a secret.
‘Well,’ the words rushed out of Ginny’s mouth, ‘because I knew about the punishment and I was there and I did nothing to stop it and I should have gone to Professor Snape right away or to Professor McGonagall, but I wanted so badly to show the Slytherins that we can respect them and…and…’ Ginny’s voice faded to a despairing whisper. ‘And all I did was let Alina down.’
Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it again.
‘Ginevra Weasley,’ she said, her tone threatening. ‘What are you talking about? I suggest you start at the beginning and leave nothing out.’
oooOooo
‘They did what?’
Hermione was almost grateful to see how shocked her husband appeared. After listening to Ginny, Hermione hadn’t been completely sure how Severus would react. From what Ginny had told her, the way Alina’s punishment had been doled out—with the miscreant being forced to actually ask for the punishment and the manner of the punishment both physical and painful—was true to the most ancient Slytherin traditions.
‘They charmed Alina’s wand to beat her up,’ Hermione repeated. ‘Apparently the Prefects came to the conclusion that Crookshanks’ escape and the disgrace of having to ask the other Houses for help was all Alina’s fault and that she deserved to be punished for her negligence.
‘Ginny guessed that they would do something to Alina and blackmailed Vaisey into including her in the proceedings, so she could keep things from getting out of hand.
‘They used an exercise that Professor Weasley introduced for his Third Years this term. An exercise to get the students to react quicker to Expelliarmus and other wand-affecting curses. I’m not sure why they used the shackles,’ Hermione shrugged uncomfortably, ‘maybe simply because they were there.’
‘Severus, I never told her not to let Crookshanks outside!’ she pleaded. ‘You were there, I only asked her to watch him!’
Severus stared at her wordlessly. A vein was beginning throb at his temple, betraying just how angry he was.
‘Bloody fucking hell,’ he ground out between clenched teeth. ‘The moment you turn your back on those little snakes, they bite where it hurts the most. Damn, and damn, and damn again.’ He balled his right hand into a fist and beat it soundly on the table, fury and frustration flashing in his eyes. Then he slumped down in his chair, clenching and unclenching his fists. At last Severus took a deep breath. To watch him regain some measure of control was like seeing him slip on a mask, a harsh and expressionless mask that hid his real feelings completely.
‘Hermione—’ His voice was very serious as he implored her. ‘You must believe me when I tell you that I do not approve of this.
‘In-House punishment—punishment administered by Prefects and older students—has a long tradition in Slytherin House.’
‘Everything for honour,’ he spat bitterly. ‘And everything that occurs inside Slytherin House stays inside Slytherin House. You have no idea how some Slytherin families treat their children. Their own children.’
He rose to his feet. ‘Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention. Now I must go and discuss this incident with the Headmistress.’ A pause. ‘Hermione, I hope you are aware of the fact that there will be disciplinary consequences for Miss Weasley as well.’
Only when Hermione nodded, Severus spun on his heel and exited the room.
Oh, Chartres cathedral! What a perfect destination!
I visited there in high school when on the exchange program. It was the first cathedral I ever visited, and I shall never forget the feeling of amazement!
They are working on restoring the windows at the moment. I think they will be done in 2011/2012 … can’t wait to see it again then, all bright like at the time it was built.
I loved your story… so far. But Severus Snape in a church? Oh my, quite OOC, but OK, he needed someone to talk to, so I drop the topic.
BUt this punishment for Alina is rather brutal. And for what? That a half-Keazle cat disappeared for two days? C’mooooon…. And Ginny was standing there and watching? What happened to your characters? They were sooo perfect! Especially Snape, and now this chatedral, or church, or whatever…
Ok, I’ll read on, just wanted to tell my thoughts.
Thank you for spending time with my story. Thank you even more for taking the time to leave a comment! I’m glad you enjoy it so far.
Why shouldn’t Snape visit a church? And where in canon does it say he wouldn’t? 😉
Re: Alina’s punishment – I’d be shocked if you didn’t think it harsh!
However … even at “Muggle” boarding schools traditions of hazing and punishment among students are incredibly cruel and harsh in real life. JKR chose to ignore that part of public school tradition; I decided against that. The shock and revulsion you (hopefully) feel are quite intentional.
Please feel free to offer your thoughts any time, I’m always curious about what my readers think. Even if I don’t agree with them. 😉
Oh, don’t get me wrong! Of course it is not impossible for him to go a place like a church, I just feel like it’s wierd.
And as for Alina, yes, I felt shock. That was oh, ‘harsh’ is not the right word. But the most shocking thing was that Ginny was standing there and watching, without a word.
So I was relieved when she told the whole thing to Hermione.
And that part with McGonagoll, and keep your stupid cup, LOL 😀 Loved that.
That’s fine, really. 🙂 I am trying to portray Severus as a character with unexpected depths, after all.
I have read your story on fanfiction.net a while back but I really like this version better. it gives a lot more… structure? character? feeling? to the story.. I am unable to describe the exact thing.. but still.
Good work all around..
I am thrilled that you’re enjoying the way I present my story here! And what a wonderful compliment that you came back to read it again. w00t
I love Chartres Cathedral. I wrote a paper on it for Art History class and found that the Masons built many esoteric features into it. When I actually was fortunate enough to visit it in person, it had a spiritual effect on me. I visited many other cathedrals in France that trip, and none of them made me feel the way that one did.
I’m so glad Severus took Hermione there. Still not sure why he would, but your Severus seems full of surprises. I’m sure, given time, he will grow to love her as much as she does him. He is well on his way already.
Great story.
Chartres is amazing. 🙂
Re: Severus – in canon he always struck me as a man of many (surprising) secrets. So I enjoyed giving him a few more in my story!
I have never seen the Chatres Cathedral, but I have seen other cathedrals and can imagine the feeling this one can give you. Loved the pictures.
So, Alina is a Necromancer, whatever that is. I hope I don’t need more information than you give within this story. (I don’t know the books you refer there.)
That punishment was really harsh and unusual, but I can see this within the HP universe, even if it was never described. The HP universe has a lot of really cruel customs. I remember how shocked I was at the outcome of the Triwizard tournament. I think this fits with the feeling the House of Slytherin gave me as portrayed in the books.
What is a half kneazel? You just need to know cats to know they can vanish for days without anyone finding them. The castle is big and Crookshanks had years to explore the thing. It seems the students don’t know cats very well 😉 . But I can imagine how desperate poor Alina was when she noticed the cat was missing. From there on everything just spun out of control. I just hope that this incident plus the bell incident didn’t cost Alina her Slytherin friends. She needs friends in school and not just friends in other houses or among the staff.
Necromancers (the manifestation of Sauron in Dol Guldur was called a Necromancer, too) are wizards with a special affinity for the dead, to put it simply. They can talk to the dead or control zombies … depends on the interpretation, really. I was fascinated with the world-building in the “Abhorsen” books, and in conjunction with some HP death magic (like the Veil), it seemed to me an interesting AU angle to explore.
Re: the punishment, yes, yes, yes, exactly! This is one of the scenes that usually leaves readers totally shocked. But based on what I know about “normal” hazing in Muggle British public schools, I think Slytherin must have been ten times worse. And isn’t it how those things usually go? Good intentions all around and suddenly you’re sitting in a handbasket and it’s getting awfully hot and the air smells of sulphur …
Kneazles: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Kneazle
(I think they show that JKR doesn’t really know cats, because they are like that and do all that stuff without any magic, thank you very much. 😉 )
Beautiful. As is the rest of this novel, but this was so unexpected! Looking forward to the whole unchartered territory ahead of our newlyweds.
20 years? It’s high time I saw Chartres again, and took my son (it’s ridiculously near my usual place).
And I’ll go on minding my h’s 😉
Thank you for reading! And oh, Chartres … you’re lucky to live so close. I’ve been wanting to visit again for years … the windows are supposed to be better than ever after the restoration. But unfortunately I live really, really far away. *sigh*
I’m glad you’re enjoying the story! *hearts*