Reincarnation Quiz
Way back in 2003 an obscure little writing challenge was issued at When I Kissed The Teacher (WIKTT). It was called the “Its all been done” challenge; in other words a story dealing with the reincarnation of Hermione or Severus. At the time there were no more than a handful of responses. However the belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form is intriguing. Many current sshg authors have used it as a theme as well, which made this quiz possible.
Thanks to itchyfoot for selecting this quiz.
Match the story to the quote:
Unfinished Business by Ramos
Never Too Late by scatteredlogic
Child Bride by campy capybara
Cuckoo in the Nest: The Baby Dialogues by Melusin-79
Soulmates Rejoined by RachelW
Pomegranate Seeds by death-ofme
Symbolon by pigwidgeon37
Finishing the Job by Missmelysee
Kairos by Canimal
Comme on voit sur la branche au mois de mai la rose by incapability87
Two Faced by luciannamalfoy
That Which Survives by Nymue
1. The Imperial edict came the next morning, and General Wei Zong Yi had to prepare to engage the enemy once more. The war with the barbarians had intensified, and he was needed once again to lead the Imperial army westward with the other Generals.
When he left his family that morning to report to the Palace, he knew in his heart that his short time of happiness was at an end. He had gazed at his tearful young wife, and in his eyes, expressed all the love he had for her. Maybe, in another lifetime, they’ll meet again. Maybe, if old heaven has eyes, they’ll continue their scholarly discussions amidst Pleasure Gardens and lakes. Charging his Niang Zi to take care of his Niang, he mounted his warhorse, and rode towards the Palace.
Towards his desolate loneliness.
He never returned to Wei Manor, to his mother, wife and son.
2. The basic health meter spell showed that a few bruises were all he had. Maybe it was because the guards couldn’t have too much freedom to abuse as the incarcerated Soul-less were closely monitored for health to give them a humane and dignified demise.
With care and precision she healed all the bruises, making sure that everything was done properly. Lastly, she healed the cut on his knee.
Yes, it had been a good decision to take this body to house Severus in. For one, it was humane to give the shell another chance at life. She was absolutely against the ancient practice of the Kiss. It was barbaric and far from being truly humane. Some of the wizarding world’s traditions still irked Hermione to no end. Maybe it was because Hermione always believed that everyone was worth a second chance.
Secondly, Lucius’ body was in very good shape. There was no indication of any known wizard or Muggle maladies, so Severus wouldn’t have to worry about that.
3. Susanna stared, shocked by what she was seeing and hearing.
"Had you agreed to Mary's terms," he continued, "I would have returned you to your father. As you hath refused, he hath requested that I leave you to the fate you have chosen -- and that I return your wand to him so that he may break it according to the tradition that allows him to repudiate your very existence. Nothing of you will remain.
"I hope, Susanna, that you are content with your choice."
"Yes, it will," she immediately contradicted, ignoring his last line to concentrate on the one before it. "Magic always survives and we who are born of it send a piece of ourselves with it when we die."
His green eyes flared for a moment before her wand disappeared along with her lover, both exiting through the heavy bolted door. When he was gone she turned to window and stared out, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek. "In our next lives, my love," she murmured. "Until then, fare thee well ... "
4. ‘Don’t be daft. You can’t come out now - there’s weeks to go yet.’
‘I know,’ he said sadly, ‘during which time, my memories will gradually fade. I can’t bear the thought of it. I want out now.’
‘No, no way, you can’t,’ Hermione protested. ‘You might die! Give it another couple of weeks, at least, please. Give yourself a chance.’
‘Oh, all right,’ Severus reluctantly agreed. ‘But don’t expect me to hang around in here any longer than that.’
5. “Severus … ” She licked her dry lips. “…remember what I’ve said about your wand?”
He had an amused smile on his face.
“That it will allow me to cross over into the living?”
Hermione nodded, hoping to impress the seriousness of the situation on him, though he looked amused and dismissive.
“I’m not going to stay here forever, Severus. I want you to come back with me.”
“My wand won’t let me cross over again-”
“Yes it will.”
“Even if it did, why would I want to do that?”
Lily laughed from beside him, tucking an auburn strand of hair behind her ear.
“What is she talking about, Severus?”
6. Luisa, her chambermaid, knew of course. Her silence was bought with a small part of the gold the patricians paid her mistress. Luisa knew many things, more than Monna Vittoria would have liked, had she suspected it. But the girl was cautious and silent like one of the many stray cats in this city. She spied at keyholes and listened at doors and through holes in the floor. Not that she had any intention of using that wealth of knowledge. She just liked to be a little ahead of others, that was her nature.
There was one thought, however, one fixation that infested her mind, so that she felt as if her soul were gangrenous. It was a dangerous dream, reckless and perilous. And not at all likely to succeed.
She was in love with Lorenzo, who, as she well knew, was the Doge’s best spy and her mistress’s lover. Lucia fully understood why Monna Vittoria loved that man, although his exterior was anything but lovable: taller than most, he had long black hair, black eyes and a narrow-lipped but sensual mouth. He was pale, so pale… Not handsome, not even by the most lenient standards, because his nose was too big and his cheeks too hollow. But Luisa, herself a plain fourteen-year-old girl, could feel the fire burning inside him. It was a flame so intense that sometimes she almost saw him and her mistress devoured by it, while they were writhing on Monna Vittoria’s bed. Burning on a pyre of passion, briefly, leaving only a small pile of grey ashes.
7. Snape had been thirty-eight when he died, but he looked younger now. Thirty-five, her mind whispered, and she bit her lip against the inappropriate urge to laugh. The stark angles of his face and the hawkish nose remained the same, but the deep lines bracketing his mouth and on his forehead had been smoothed away. The dark circles under his eyes were gone, and his black hair was shiny with health rather than oil, flowing in a smooth cascade to his shoulders. His sallow skin had lost its ashen undertone, and whilst he was still lean, he was no longer the cadaverous figure she remembered. He wasn't a handsome man, by any means, but being freed from the burdens of his former life clearly agreed with him.
Her fingers ceased their restless movement. "What's it like, the next life?"
Snape shook his head slightly. "I can't describe it in a way you'd understand."
Instantly, her demeanour chilled. "As I said before, Professor, I'm no longer a schoolgirl. I'm one hundred and forty-six years old and perfectly capable of understanding anything you say."
"My name is Severus," he said quietly. "And your body still lives, even if only marginally so. As long as you remain alive, there are simply things you're incapable of understanding completely."
"Try, Severus," she insisted.
8. Hermione waited, watching his still chest. The hall was utterly silent, save for the barely audible creaking as the morning sun fell down on the space and warmed the waxed and polished tables. The entire space seemed to be holding its breath, waiting.
"It's no use," came a dark, sad voice from behind her, and Hermione turned to see the Bloody Baron staring at her with a look of compassion in his eyes. His broad hat was in his hands out of respect, and the smoky feather wafted in the early morning light as he gestured towards the dead man on the floor.
"I waited - for days, I think - when my wife died. I have no doubt her soul went to heaven, for she was an angel in my eyes. But for the likes of you and I, that way is closed to us forever. It is not given to our kind to see the path that we did not choose. That is why I warned you, years ago. Caring for a live one will only bring you pain.
"Come away, my dear. Stay with our kind, and forget the ways of the living."
Kneeling beside his body, Hermione waited for something to prove the Baron wrong. Every movie she'd ever seen, every story she'd ever read, ended with the worthy soul being taken to the afterlife in a wash of golden light. If she could not be with him, then it would have been enough to know he'd gone to a just beyond.
No light appeared, however, and while the Baron waited patiently, Hermione choked back her tears and fumbled for the handkerchief that appeared in her pocket when it was needed. When she'd dried her tears, she leaned over, kissed Severus Snape's cold forehead. Then she rose, taking the Baron's arm and let him lead her where he would.
9. And now everything was out of his hands: let Potter do what he would with the memories of green eyes and green lightning.
Dumbledore had trusted him. Granger had trusted him. Maybe it was time for Severus to start trusting him as well. What else was left? He had done his part.
*
In the grand scheme of things, Professor Snape couldn't have chosen a more beautiful night to die.
Hermione decided to tell him so at the first opportunity she got. It was, after all, time to go on, and who knew whether there would be another chance?
She was rather glad that it was no longer Professor Snape lying in that broken heap on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. This forlorn figure had nothing to do with the spirit now floating beside her. She caught him looking at his body with a cross between annoyance and fear.
"Don't worry, Professor. It will be all right."
"How can you tell?"
10. "Looking for something?" Professor Snape's voice sent shivers down my spine.
"Sneaking up on people is really rude, Pro - Severus," I said. "Even for a ghost. Especially for a ghost." I raised my hand to the back of my neck, and wondered what it would feel like if the living man spoke directly into my ear like that, what his breath would feel like on my skin. No. Must stop that line of thinking. "If you must know, I was just curious to see how Hogwarts now is different from our own castle."
"Walk with me," he suggested. "Hermione. You can satisfy your unceasing curiosity, and if I hover close we can lend credence to our story and make sure you don't get lost."
"For a man who nearly killed me by ordering me out of his life - death - whatever," I said, "you've certainly developed a fondness for my proximity."
"Have I?"
Thanks to itchyfoot for selecting this quiz.
Match the story to the quote:
Unfinished Business by Ramos
Never Too Late by scatteredlogic
Child Bride by campy capybara
Cuckoo in the Nest: The Baby Dialogues by Melusin-79
Soulmates Rejoined by RachelW
Pomegranate Seeds by death-ofme
Symbolon by pigwidgeon37
Finishing the Job by Missmelysee
Kairos by Canimal
Comme on voit sur la branche au mois de mai la rose by incapability87
Two Faced by luciannamalfoy
That Which Survives by Nymue
1. The Imperial edict came the next morning, and General Wei Zong Yi had to prepare to engage the enemy once more. The war with the barbarians had intensified, and he was needed once again to lead the Imperial army westward with the other Generals.
When he left his family that morning to report to the Palace, he knew in his heart that his short time of happiness was at an end. He had gazed at his tearful young wife, and in his eyes, expressed all the love he had for her. Maybe, in another lifetime, they’ll meet again. Maybe, if old heaven has eyes, they’ll continue their scholarly discussions amidst Pleasure Gardens and lakes. Charging his Niang Zi to take care of his Niang, he mounted his warhorse, and rode towards the Palace.
Towards his desolate loneliness.
He never returned to Wei Manor, to his mother, wife and son.
2. The basic health meter spell showed that a few bruises were all he had. Maybe it was because the guards couldn’t have too much freedom to abuse as the incarcerated Soul-less were closely monitored for health to give them a humane and dignified demise.
With care and precision she healed all the bruises, making sure that everything was done properly. Lastly, she healed the cut on his knee.
Yes, it had been a good decision to take this body to house Severus in. For one, it was humane to give the shell another chance at life. She was absolutely against the ancient practice of the Kiss. It was barbaric and far from being truly humane. Some of the wizarding world’s traditions still irked Hermione to no end. Maybe it was because Hermione always believed that everyone was worth a second chance.
Secondly, Lucius’ body was in very good shape. There was no indication of any known wizard or Muggle maladies, so Severus wouldn’t have to worry about that.
3. Susanna stared, shocked by what she was seeing and hearing.
"Had you agreed to Mary's terms," he continued, "I would have returned you to your father. As you hath refused, he hath requested that I leave you to the fate you have chosen -- and that I return your wand to him so that he may break it according to the tradition that allows him to repudiate your very existence. Nothing of you will remain.
"I hope, Susanna, that you are content with your choice."
"Yes, it will," she immediately contradicted, ignoring his last line to concentrate on the one before it. "Magic always survives and we who are born of it send a piece of ourselves with it when we die."
His green eyes flared for a moment before her wand disappeared along with her lover, both exiting through the heavy bolted door. When he was gone she turned to window and stared out, a single tear tracing its way down her cheek. "In our next lives, my love," she murmured. "Until then, fare thee well ... "
4. ‘Don’t be daft. You can’t come out now - there’s weeks to go yet.’
‘I know,’ he said sadly, ‘during which time, my memories will gradually fade. I can’t bear the thought of it. I want out now.’
‘No, no way, you can’t,’ Hermione protested. ‘You might die! Give it another couple of weeks, at least, please. Give yourself a chance.’
‘Oh, all right,’ Severus reluctantly agreed. ‘But don’t expect me to hang around in here any longer than that.’
5. “Severus … ” She licked her dry lips. “…remember what I’ve said about your wand?”
He had an amused smile on his face.
“That it will allow me to cross over into the living?”
Hermione nodded, hoping to impress the seriousness of the situation on him, though he looked amused and dismissive.
“I’m not going to stay here forever, Severus. I want you to come back with me.”
“My wand won’t let me cross over again-”
“Yes it will.”
“Even if it did, why would I want to do that?”
Lily laughed from beside him, tucking an auburn strand of hair behind her ear.
“What is she talking about, Severus?”
6. Luisa, her chambermaid, knew of course. Her silence was bought with a small part of the gold the patricians paid her mistress. Luisa knew many things, more than Monna Vittoria would have liked, had she suspected it. But the girl was cautious and silent like one of the many stray cats in this city. She spied at keyholes and listened at doors and through holes in the floor. Not that she had any intention of using that wealth of knowledge. She just liked to be a little ahead of others, that was her nature.
There was one thought, however, one fixation that infested her mind, so that she felt as if her soul were gangrenous. It was a dangerous dream, reckless and perilous. And not at all likely to succeed.
She was in love with Lorenzo, who, as she well knew, was the Doge’s best spy and her mistress’s lover. Lucia fully understood why Monna Vittoria loved that man, although his exterior was anything but lovable: taller than most, he had long black hair, black eyes and a narrow-lipped but sensual mouth. He was pale, so pale… Not handsome, not even by the most lenient standards, because his nose was too big and his cheeks too hollow. But Luisa, herself a plain fourteen-year-old girl, could feel the fire burning inside him. It was a flame so intense that sometimes she almost saw him and her mistress devoured by it, while they were writhing on Monna Vittoria’s bed. Burning on a pyre of passion, briefly, leaving only a small pile of grey ashes.
7. Snape had been thirty-eight when he died, but he looked younger now. Thirty-five, her mind whispered, and she bit her lip against the inappropriate urge to laugh. The stark angles of his face and the hawkish nose remained the same, but the deep lines bracketing his mouth and on his forehead had been smoothed away. The dark circles under his eyes were gone, and his black hair was shiny with health rather than oil, flowing in a smooth cascade to his shoulders. His sallow skin had lost its ashen undertone, and whilst he was still lean, he was no longer the cadaverous figure she remembered. He wasn't a handsome man, by any means, but being freed from the burdens of his former life clearly agreed with him.
Her fingers ceased their restless movement. "What's it like, the next life?"
Snape shook his head slightly. "I can't describe it in a way you'd understand."
Instantly, her demeanour chilled. "As I said before, Professor, I'm no longer a schoolgirl. I'm one hundred and forty-six years old and perfectly capable of understanding anything you say."
"My name is Severus," he said quietly. "And your body still lives, even if only marginally so. As long as you remain alive, there are simply things you're incapable of understanding completely."
"Try, Severus," she insisted.
8. Hermione waited, watching his still chest. The hall was utterly silent, save for the barely audible creaking as the morning sun fell down on the space and warmed the waxed and polished tables. The entire space seemed to be holding its breath, waiting.
"It's no use," came a dark, sad voice from behind her, and Hermione turned to see the Bloody Baron staring at her with a look of compassion in his eyes. His broad hat was in his hands out of respect, and the smoky feather wafted in the early morning light as he gestured towards the dead man on the floor.
"I waited - for days, I think - when my wife died. I have no doubt her soul went to heaven, for she was an angel in my eyes. But for the likes of you and I, that way is closed to us forever. It is not given to our kind to see the path that we did not choose. That is why I warned you, years ago. Caring for a live one will only bring you pain.
"Come away, my dear. Stay with our kind, and forget the ways of the living."
Kneeling beside his body, Hermione waited for something to prove the Baron wrong. Every movie she'd ever seen, every story she'd ever read, ended with the worthy soul being taken to the afterlife in a wash of golden light. If she could not be with him, then it would have been enough to know he'd gone to a just beyond.
No light appeared, however, and while the Baron waited patiently, Hermione choked back her tears and fumbled for the handkerchief that appeared in her pocket when it was needed. When she'd dried her tears, she leaned over, kissed Severus Snape's cold forehead. Then she rose, taking the Baron's arm and let him lead her where he would.
9. And now everything was out of his hands: let Potter do what he would with the memories of green eyes and green lightning.
Dumbledore had trusted him. Granger had trusted him. Maybe it was time for Severus to start trusting him as well. What else was left? He had done his part.
*
In the grand scheme of things, Professor Snape couldn't have chosen a more beautiful night to die.
Hermione decided to tell him so at the first opportunity she got. It was, after all, time to go on, and who knew whether there would be another chance?
She was rather glad that it was no longer Professor Snape lying in that broken heap on the floor of the Shrieking Shack. This forlorn figure had nothing to do with the spirit now floating beside her. She caught him looking at his body with a cross between annoyance and fear.
"Don't worry, Professor. It will be all right."
"How can you tell?"
10. "Looking for something?" Professor Snape's voice sent shivers down my spine.
"Sneaking up on people is really rude, Pro - Severus," I said. "Even for a ghost. Especially for a ghost." I raised my hand to the back of my neck, and wondered what it would feel like if the living man spoke directly into my ear like that, what his breath would feel like on my skin. No. Must stop that line of thinking. "If you must know, I was just curious to see how Hogwarts now is different from our own castle."
"Walk with me," he suggested. "Hermione. You can satisfy your unceasing curiosity, and if I hover close we can lend credence to our story and make sure you don't get lost."
"For a man who nearly killed me by ordering me out of his life - death - whatever," I said, "you've certainly developed a fondness for my proximity."
"Have I?"