FIC for Severus's birthday: Ticked Off (Severus/allsorts, but PG13)
Title Ticked Off
Author Leni Jess (leni_jess)
Pairings Severus/quite a few people, at different times (go on, be brave, none of it's explicit)
Summary Severus keeps lists.
Rating PG13, perhaps
Warnings Probably not nearly as much smut as you would have liked; it's hinted at rather than depicted (see rating)
Word-count ~1000 words
Author's Notes It's still Severus's birthday somewhere in the world. I hadn't meant to do this. Isn't it extraordinary that almost any fic concerned with birthdays needs maths? Thank you to my beta readers slashpine and leela_cat, who turned to so obligingly, and provided encouragement and affirmation!
Ticked Off
by Leni Jess
Severus had a little list.
Some items had been on it for a long time (his father, for example), even though a line had long been drawn through them. Some had been on it nearly as long (Sirius Black, with two lines drawn through his name). Peter Pettigrew's has been added retrospectively. (As a Marauder he hadn't been worth the ink, like Remus Lupin; but once he was discovered to be Lily's betrayer, Severus had lettered his name with great care, casting curses as he went.)
Voldemort's name preceded Dumbledore's only by a few months.
He had added Nagini, though she was only a tool of her master (Pettigrew, unlike her, had had free will), after Charity's death. (Chatty had been dull, but kind, and despite her by-name not given to chattering; as a colleague she had deserved the aid he had been unable to give her.)
Over the years a few students' names had been lightly inked in (the Weasley twins, the younger Potter, Longbottom), but after both Voldemort and Nagini had been abolished on the same day (and Severus himself had not), in celebration and respect Severus had removed those names, even before he drew lines through the names of his former master and that master's familiar (one line for Nagini, but seven, delicately drawn, for Voldemort).
Severus had been too busy being seriously damaged, and slowly recovering, for a long time after that, to think about his list. Then one day, in his comfortable suite at Malfoy Manor, he had taken it from the triply-warded box he kept such mementoes in, and looked at it.
Every single name either had a line through it, or had been erased.
Perhaps it was time to start a new list.
A different kind of list, but still one where adding a name was a matter for careful consideration, not to be done on impulse.
It didn't take him long to decide to start with all three Malfoys.
Nor did it take long to put a tick beside Lucius's name (dangerous to attempt, but easily achieved, in the end). It was a coincidence that he was able to do so on his birthday, and possibly Lucius's consent had been as much a name day gift as it had been an unspoken acknowledgement of a debt. He had Draco for the first time on the young man's nineteenth birthday. (Severus didn't seduce children, but Draco was not only a legal adult by then, but also an officially qualified wizard.)
On his own next birthday he had been very surprised to find Narcissa in his bed after he returned from breakfast, but it took him only a second's contemplation, and a glimpse of the mischievous laughter in her eyes, to decide to accept her offer. It might be a birthday present, but it wasn't any kind of debt repayment. After the way he had saved her son, and she had saved him after Nagini's attack, there was no point in keeping score. Besides, he had always wondered, and it turned out to be so delightful that Severus decided he was clearly now free of debt to Lily, as well.
After that the thing developed a rhythm of its own, and Severus added names to the list on the basis of his own wishes, not just where he thought the odds were good. He didn't add names just to make sure there was one there for his next birthday, though. Draco taught him that there was a lot to be said for a continuing liaison (even if it was intermittent rather than continuous, permanent, or whatever the appropriate word might have been if Draco hadn't been flitting from wizard to witch to wizard).
On his forty-second birthday, not long after Draco married Asteria Greengrass, Lucius and Narcissa ambushed him together, and the three of them weren't seen for two days. That was a revelation too. Lucius's delicate indication, afterwards, that Asteria should be off limits was quite understandable. By the time Lucius gave him that message Severus knew in his bones that the interlude wasn't merely a way to ensure the purity of Malfoy bloodlines. When the rendezvous was repeated, on the night before Narcissa's next birthday, and then the day after Lucius's fiftieth, Severus realised that this relationship, like the one with their son, was undertaken not only for pleasure but in something like love. Some part of him that had been frozen since long before he started a list with his father's name eased into life and light, and he almost abandoned his list.
It was too much fun to give up, though, and not every witch or wizard he might attain would regard him as a suitable partner for more than a single encounter.
From the fun point of view, his forty-fifth birthday was remarkable. That was when he took Hermione - Granger once more - to bed. Each, it became evident, nourished a similar curiosity about the other, and found considerable enjoyment in sating it (at least temporarily). Severus, however, was delighted to discover in the former Mrs Ron Weasley a fount of vengeful malice akin to his own (mild and muted as his now was).
He was quite happy to be welcomed to her bed as the lover most likely to appal her ex-husband, but he was even happier to note her astonished pleasure there. He had always thought Weasley incompetent, taking advantage, in different ways, of both Potter and Granger. This confirmation of the man's bone-deep inability to learn led him to give Hermione Granger every joy he could offer, for her own sake, as one who deserved far better than she had so far had. It didn't surprise him at all that she was a fast learner in this as in almost everything else. Nor was he disconcerted to discover in her a need for permanence. It stood to reason that she needed the reassurance of one man's continuing interest.
His next two birthdays were spent in her bed, too, like many of the nights in between. By that time she was able to understand that his relationships with the Malfoys were no threat to her. Smiling, she accused him of sentimentality. He was relieved she didn't accuse him of love, though he supposed one day he would have to admit it to someone other than himself. (Lucius, Narcissa and Draco didn't need to be told.)
On his fiftieth birthday Severus took out his list and once more erased the names of Potter, Longbottom and George Weasley. He had all the love he needed (wife, friends, and children-by-consent), and trophy sex, by itself, couldn't compare.
Severus Snape was a happy and fulfilled man; what was vengeance, after that?
That's all!
Author Leni Jess (leni_jess)
Pairings Severus/quite a few people, at different times (go on, be brave, none of it's explicit)
Summary Severus keeps lists.
Rating PG13, perhaps
Warnings Probably not nearly as much smut as you would have liked; it's hinted at rather than depicted (see rating)
Word-count ~1000 words
Author's Notes It's still Severus's birthday somewhere in the world. I hadn't meant to do this. Isn't it extraordinary that almost any fic concerned with birthdays needs maths? Thank you to my beta readers slashpine and leela_cat, who turned to so obligingly, and provided encouragement and affirmation!
Ticked Off
by Leni Jess
Severus had a little list.
Some items had been on it for a long time (his father, for example), even though a line had long been drawn through them. Some had been on it nearly as long (Sirius Black, with two lines drawn through his name). Peter Pettigrew's has been added retrospectively. (As a Marauder he hadn't been worth the ink, like Remus Lupin; but once he was discovered to be Lily's betrayer, Severus had lettered his name with great care, casting curses as he went.)
Voldemort's name preceded Dumbledore's only by a few months.
He had added Nagini, though she was only a tool of her master (Pettigrew, unlike her, had had free will), after Charity's death. (Chatty had been dull, but kind, and despite her by-name not given to chattering; as a colleague she had deserved the aid he had been unable to give her.)
Over the years a few students' names had been lightly inked in (the Weasley twins, the younger Potter, Longbottom), but after both Voldemort and Nagini had been abolished on the same day (and Severus himself had not), in celebration and respect Severus had removed those names, even before he drew lines through the names of his former master and that master's familiar (one line for Nagini, but seven, delicately drawn, for Voldemort).
Severus had been too busy being seriously damaged, and slowly recovering, for a long time after that, to think about his list. Then one day, in his comfortable suite at Malfoy Manor, he had taken it from the triply-warded box he kept such mementoes in, and looked at it.
Every single name either had a line through it, or had been erased.
Perhaps it was time to start a new list.
A different kind of list, but still one where adding a name was a matter for careful consideration, not to be done on impulse.
It didn't take him long to decide to start with all three Malfoys.
Nor did it take long to put a tick beside Lucius's name (dangerous to attempt, but easily achieved, in the end). It was a coincidence that he was able to do so on his birthday, and possibly Lucius's consent had been as much a name day gift as it had been an unspoken acknowledgement of a debt. He had Draco for the first time on the young man's nineteenth birthday. (Severus didn't seduce children, but Draco was not only a legal adult by then, but also an officially qualified wizard.)
On his own next birthday he had been very surprised to find Narcissa in his bed after he returned from breakfast, but it took him only a second's contemplation, and a glimpse of the mischievous laughter in her eyes, to decide to accept her offer. It might be a birthday present, but it wasn't any kind of debt repayment. After the way he had saved her son, and she had saved him after Nagini's attack, there was no point in keeping score. Besides, he had always wondered, and it turned out to be so delightful that Severus decided he was clearly now free of debt to Lily, as well.
After that the thing developed a rhythm of its own, and Severus added names to the list on the basis of his own wishes, not just where he thought the odds were good. He didn't add names just to make sure there was one there for his next birthday, though. Draco taught him that there was a lot to be said for a continuing liaison (even if it was intermittent rather than continuous, permanent, or whatever the appropriate word might have been if Draco hadn't been flitting from wizard to witch to wizard).
On his forty-second birthday, not long after Draco married Asteria Greengrass, Lucius and Narcissa ambushed him together, and the three of them weren't seen for two days. That was a revelation too. Lucius's delicate indication, afterwards, that Asteria should be off limits was quite understandable. By the time Lucius gave him that message Severus knew in his bones that the interlude wasn't merely a way to ensure the purity of Malfoy bloodlines. When the rendezvous was repeated, on the night before Narcissa's next birthday, and then the day after Lucius's fiftieth, Severus realised that this relationship, like the one with their son, was undertaken not only for pleasure but in something like love. Some part of him that had been frozen since long before he started a list with his father's name eased into life and light, and he almost abandoned his list.
It was too much fun to give up, though, and not every witch or wizard he might attain would regard him as a suitable partner for more than a single encounter.
From the fun point of view, his forty-fifth birthday was remarkable. That was when he took Hermione - Granger once more - to bed. Each, it became evident, nourished a similar curiosity about the other, and found considerable enjoyment in sating it (at least temporarily). Severus, however, was delighted to discover in the former Mrs Ron Weasley a fount of vengeful malice akin to his own (mild and muted as his now was).
He was quite happy to be welcomed to her bed as the lover most likely to appal her ex-husband, but he was even happier to note her astonished pleasure there. He had always thought Weasley incompetent, taking advantage, in different ways, of both Potter and Granger. This confirmation of the man's bone-deep inability to learn led him to give Hermione Granger every joy he could offer, for her own sake, as one who deserved far better than she had so far had. It didn't surprise him at all that she was a fast learner in this as in almost everything else. Nor was he disconcerted to discover in her a need for permanence. It stood to reason that she needed the reassurance of one man's continuing interest.
His next two birthdays were spent in her bed, too, like many of the nights in between. By that time she was able to understand that his relationships with the Malfoys were no threat to her. Smiling, she accused him of sentimentality. He was relieved she didn't accuse him of love, though he supposed one day he would have to admit it to someone other than himself. (Lucius, Narcissa and Draco didn't need to be told.)
On his fiftieth birthday Severus took out his list and once more erased the names of Potter, Longbottom and George Weasley. He had all the love he needed (wife, friends, and children-by-consent), and trophy sex, by itself, couldn't compare.
Severus Snape was a happy and fulfilled man; what was vengeance, after that?
That's all!