No paper hearts, candy or fluffy endings here!
The stories found in today’s quiz are not soppy. There is not happily ever after with a big wedding and triplet baby girls arriving 9 months later. veradee wanted stories where Hermione and Severus are together but in a nonfluffy paper hearts, candy and flowers sort of way. We aim to please.
lorena-snape Thanks for choosing this quiz as your prize.
Match the quote to the story:
Garden of Eden by notsosaintly
Its Never That Simple by missile_envy
In Budapest by bloodcult
Rondo Veneziano by Abby
Advice to a New Husband by tonksinger
Damn! We Missed the Reception by snarkywench64
From What I have tasted of desire by lady_rhian
Good as Gold by camillo1978
A Good Day by a_bees_buzz
Collateral by arsenicjade
Tequilla Shots by femmquixotic
As Soon as I Belong by firefly-124
1. Gods, the curve of her neck as she craned up to kiss you could have made the best Greek sculptor throw down his chisel and give up his art, for never could he have captured it in marble. Of course, as she kissed you, I wanted nothing more than to take up that chisel and use it on your head; to make it red with something besides your hair. I have endured pain and torture that would make you scream in your sleep, but watching that kiss made all the Crucios seem mildly irritating by comparison.
But I consoled myself through the tacky, overdone reception and the saccharine cake with one thought, one question for you, Mr. Weasley:
Do you know what she likes?
I know what she likes.
2. “On the contrary. You have greatly exceeded any scenario I could possibly have imagined.”
Hermione smiled. “I quite enjoyed it, myself.” She slid off of him, curling up with her head pillowed on his shoulder.
“There may be repercussions. I had not truly considered the matter of your reputation before this.”
“I don’t mind. No one here will be judging anyone for anything that goes on tonight.”
“What if it was not just tonight?” What? How did those words come out of his mouth? Severus Snape had only managed to live to the age of forty by exercising caution at all times. He did not make unguarded suggestions. This was no hallucination, damn it, it was real and he’d better start acting like it before he found himself booted out of the improbably pleasant circumstances he had fallen into.
“Is that something you want?”
She hadn’t laughed in his face or recoiled in horror. The situation might still be salvageable.
“I hardly know who I am at the moment, much less what I want. For the first time in far too many years I have no idea what I’ll be doing on the morrow or for the foreseeable future. The one thing that I do know, the one thing that has been clear to me throughout this incomprehensible day, is that you have turned into a fascinating and admirable woman. Yes, I would very much like the opportunity to get to know you better, but I will have no regrets if you choose to take another path.” That was as well said as he was likely to manage. It seemed that he still retained a fragment of the bravado that his earlier disbelief had leant him.
“I won’t pretend that I’m madly in love with you, how could I be?
3. "I must apologise for the accommodation," Snape said ironically, behind her. "I'm afraid the family palazzo is closed for renovations."
For a moment she thought that he was serious, and then realised from the expression on his face that he was not.
"No," he confirmed, "I'm afraid there is no family palace, no Gringotts' vault stuffed full of gold and fabulous treasures. There's just an unremarkable house in middle England and a 'mutually convenient' arrangement with the Ministry of Magic. This," he gestured to the room, "is courtesy of the Institute. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but I did warn you."
For some reason that irritated her.
"You think I'm here because I think you're rich?" she queried, unable to keep the sharpness from her tone.
He looked at her measuringly and then closed the distance between them. He reached up to caress her jaw again, and she felt her breath catch.
"Why are you here, Hermione?" he asked softly. "I don't recall being a particular favourite of yours, either at school or during the War."
She was transfixed under the gentle, but insistent movement of his hand.
4. In the two years since New Orleans, Severus and Hermione had continued to meet at various conferences. He visited her whenever he was near one of her European apartments, and they corresponded frequently. His Potions work often overlapped with hers, and soon enough they had realized that they had a bona fide friendship.
Hermione, of course, knew that she had long since surpassed the stages of friendship. Her friendship with this man, coupled with her long-held desire for him, had ultimately combusted into a passionate love such as she had never known. Severus didn't feel the same way, she knew. Severus acted when he felt convicted of something. Love was certainly convicting, and he wasn't acting.
She poured the dark roast into a crimson mug. The pine-white counter stood in stark contrast to the richly-toned coffee mugs.
"So ..." his voice purred in her ear.
"Something on your mind?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
His voice is so ...
“Not particularly. I'm still trying to reason the benefits of Vienna over Lisbon."
He must be close to me; I can smell that indescribable
5. He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah. I guess I realized some things today."
"That marriage to Lavender Brown isn't enough of a revenge on Terry Boot?"
"I wish them all the best," Hermione grinned. It was just a teensy bit malicious. Snape hummed, smirking. "But no, that's not it."
"I'm not nearly interested in what you have to say to drag it out of you. Speak your mind or let me agonize in peace, Granger."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I realized that it's far too easy to imagine things are more complicated than they really are. You just get into a rut, and it's comfortable, and every time you think about getting out of it, all you can do is list all the reasons it's too hard, instead of the ways you might be happier."
Snape made a disgusted sound and closed his eyes. "Make that sentiment less verbose and you can sew it onto a pillow."
"Merlin, you're aggravating," Hermione groused. "Just because it's cliché doesn't mean it isn't true."
"Actually, in my experience..."
"Oh, forget it," she interrupted him. "Are you in or not?"
6. He offered curt but silent nods to them both and walked past them as he left.
“Mr. Snape,” she heard herself call out to his retreating back.
“Hermione!” Ron whispered desperately.
Snape turned to look back at them.
“Well, what is it, Miss Granger?” he asked when she did not continue right away.
“If you aren’t busy tomorrow, perhaps we could have dinner and discuss whether to repeat that experiment under more favourable conditions.” There, that sounded self-assured and potentially innocuous. Well, potentially innocuous to Ron’s ears in any case.
He raised an eyebrow, and she wondered if she could get hold of that now uncursed Time-Turner and take the words back.
“Perhaps,” he said, his voice and expression completely inscrutable.
7. What is it? God, have you some poor witch waiting for you somewhere?" she said, looking suddenly heartbroken.
He shook his head. "That's not it."
"What then?" she said. "I didn't live up your expectations?"
Severus snorted. "I simply wonder what I am to do next?"
"What do you want to do?" she said. "I should be working tonight but I wanted to see you, so I postponed..."
"Postponed what?" he asked suspiciously.
"I am less retired from Vampire hunting than I let on downstairs. The bar is a good cover for what I do; it's also a good place to gather information, instead of searching gossip out, it comes to me. I did have a hunt in the woods tonight, but I left off so we could be together. Now tell me what's wrong." She sighed as she said it.
He saw no choice but to bare his soul. A lifetime's worth of habit made it difficult, but he no longer had anything lies would protect.
8. Hermione isn't surprised when the Hogwarts owls deliver half of her books to Harry's place and half to Severus'. Conscientiously, she does not snicker when all of Draco's are dropped neatly beside her half at Harry's.
She spends some time helping Severus and Lina out in their attempts to publish, mostly working on the editorial and fact-checking side of things, although she will occasionally join in on the floos where they argue about actual content. Severus leaves money in her Gringotts account--it took her a while to figure out where it was coming from when they first started sending her statements--which she mostly forwards on to Harry by way of rent.
Harry says, "It's not as if you actually sleep here anyway."
She doesn't, but she likes having her own space. She likes leaving Severus' to him.
9. “For now, we are…?”
“Friends?”
Snape chuckled. “I think we flew right past ‘friends.’”
“Lovers?”
He kissed the downward curve of her breast before answering. “Perhaps.”
“Companions?” she offered hopefully.
“Do you snore?”
“No. Do you?”
“Yes.”
“I can handle that.”
Snape nuzzled the valley between her breasts, the stubble on his cheeks rasping against her skin, before lifting himself up onto his elbows and looking her in the eye. “I can be a royal pain in the arse.”
Hermione smiled. “I know. I like that about you.”
“You are daft.”
10. She peered through her fingers at Snape and made an effort to pull herself together.
“Don’t worry about Mum and Dad. I’ll handle them. You liked doing the crossword with me?”
“Yes.”
“You gave me chocolate on Valentine’s Day.”
“Mmmm.”
“And raffle tickets.”
“Those, too.”
“But I didn’t win anything.”
“That’s a valid point. I thought you might disapprove if I fixed things to make sure that you won.”
“Oh! So you tried to be fair, too.”
“Indeed I did. It was a struggle, I can tell you.”
“And you apologised for scaring me half to death.”
“For behaving in an unintentionally insensitive manner, yes.”
“You cooked me sausages.”
“With onion gravy.”
“And ketchup,” Hermione purred reminiscently. “You’re wearing a nice suit, and I think your tie is lovely. Is there anything else I need to take into account?”
“Barring helping you to do your job, shielding you from the wrath of the goblins for the second time in your adult life, trusting you with the biggest secret in the wizarding world, setting you onto an interesting career path and listening to you not apologise for the entire evening, I think that’s about it.”
lorena-snape Thanks for choosing this quiz as your prize.
Match the quote to the story:
Garden of Eden by notsosaintly
Its Never That Simple by missile_envy
In Budapest by bloodcult
Rondo Veneziano by Abby
Advice to a New Husband by tonksinger
Damn! We Missed the Reception by snarkywench64
From What I have tasted of desire by lady_rhian
Good as Gold by camillo1978
A Good Day by a_bees_buzz
Collateral by arsenicjade
Tequilla Shots by femmquixotic
As Soon as I Belong by firefly-124
1. Gods, the curve of her neck as she craned up to kiss you could have made the best Greek sculptor throw down his chisel and give up his art, for never could he have captured it in marble. Of course, as she kissed you, I wanted nothing more than to take up that chisel and use it on your head; to make it red with something besides your hair. I have endured pain and torture that would make you scream in your sleep, but watching that kiss made all the Crucios seem mildly irritating by comparison.
But I consoled myself through the tacky, overdone reception and the saccharine cake with one thought, one question for you, Mr. Weasley:
Do you know what she likes?
I know what she likes.
2. “On the contrary. You have greatly exceeded any scenario I could possibly have imagined.”
Hermione smiled. “I quite enjoyed it, myself.” She slid off of him, curling up with her head pillowed on his shoulder.
“There may be repercussions. I had not truly considered the matter of your reputation before this.”
“I don’t mind. No one here will be judging anyone for anything that goes on tonight.”
“What if it was not just tonight?” What? How did those words come out of his mouth? Severus Snape had only managed to live to the age of forty by exercising caution at all times. He did not make unguarded suggestions. This was no hallucination, damn it, it was real and he’d better start acting like it before he found himself booted out of the improbably pleasant circumstances he had fallen into.
“Is that something you want?”
She hadn’t laughed in his face or recoiled in horror. The situation might still be salvageable.
“I hardly know who I am at the moment, much less what I want. For the first time in far too many years I have no idea what I’ll be doing on the morrow or for the foreseeable future. The one thing that I do know, the one thing that has been clear to me throughout this incomprehensible day, is that you have turned into a fascinating and admirable woman. Yes, I would very much like the opportunity to get to know you better, but I will have no regrets if you choose to take another path.” That was as well said as he was likely to manage. It seemed that he still retained a fragment of the bravado that his earlier disbelief had leant him.
“I won’t pretend that I’m madly in love with you, how could I be?
3. "I must apologise for the accommodation," Snape said ironically, behind her. "I'm afraid the family palazzo is closed for renovations."
For a moment she thought that he was serious, and then realised from the expression on his face that he was not.
"No," he confirmed, "I'm afraid there is no family palace, no Gringotts' vault stuffed full of gold and fabulous treasures. There's just an unremarkable house in middle England and a 'mutually convenient' arrangement with the Ministry of Magic. This," he gestured to the room, "is courtesy of the Institute. I'm sorry if you're disappointed, but I did warn you."
For some reason that irritated her.
"You think I'm here because I think you're rich?" she queried, unable to keep the sharpness from her tone.
He looked at her measuringly and then closed the distance between them. He reached up to caress her jaw again, and she felt her breath catch.
"Why are you here, Hermione?" he asked softly. "I don't recall being a particular favourite of yours, either at school or during the War."
She was transfixed under the gentle, but insistent movement of his hand.
4. In the two years since New Orleans, Severus and Hermione had continued to meet at various conferences. He visited her whenever he was near one of her European apartments, and they corresponded frequently. His Potions work often overlapped with hers, and soon enough they had realized that they had a bona fide friendship.
Hermione, of course, knew that she had long since surpassed the stages of friendship. Her friendship with this man, coupled with her long-held desire for him, had ultimately combusted into a passionate love such as she had never known. Severus didn't feel the same way, she knew. Severus acted when he felt convicted of something. Love was certainly convicting, and he wasn't acting.
She poured the dark roast into a crimson mug. The pine-white counter stood in stark contrast to the richly-toned coffee mugs.
"So ..." his voice purred in her ear.
"Something on your mind?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
His voice is so ...
“Not particularly. I'm still trying to reason the benefits of Vienna over Lisbon."
He must be close to me; I can smell that indescribable
5. He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah. I guess I realized some things today."
"That marriage to Lavender Brown isn't enough of a revenge on Terry Boot?"
"I wish them all the best," Hermione grinned. It was just a teensy bit malicious. Snape hummed, smirking. "But no, that's not it."
"I'm not nearly interested in what you have to say to drag it out of you. Speak your mind or let me agonize in peace, Granger."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. I realized that it's far too easy to imagine things are more complicated than they really are. You just get into a rut, and it's comfortable, and every time you think about getting out of it, all you can do is list all the reasons it's too hard, instead of the ways you might be happier."
Snape made a disgusted sound and closed his eyes. "Make that sentiment less verbose and you can sew it onto a pillow."
"Merlin, you're aggravating," Hermione groused. "Just because it's cliché doesn't mean it isn't true."
"Actually, in my experience..."
"Oh, forget it," she interrupted him. "Are you in or not?"
6. He offered curt but silent nods to them both and walked past them as he left.
“Mr. Snape,” she heard herself call out to his retreating back.
“Hermione!” Ron whispered desperately.
Snape turned to look back at them.
“Well, what is it, Miss Granger?” he asked when she did not continue right away.
“If you aren’t busy tomorrow, perhaps we could have dinner and discuss whether to repeat that experiment under more favourable conditions.” There, that sounded self-assured and potentially innocuous. Well, potentially innocuous to Ron’s ears in any case.
He raised an eyebrow, and she wondered if she could get hold of that now uncursed Time-Turner and take the words back.
“Perhaps,” he said, his voice and expression completely inscrutable.
7. What is it? God, have you some poor witch waiting for you somewhere?" she said, looking suddenly heartbroken.
He shook his head. "That's not it."
"What then?" she said. "I didn't live up your expectations?"
Severus snorted. "I simply wonder what I am to do next?"
"What do you want to do?" she said. "I should be working tonight but I wanted to see you, so I postponed..."
"Postponed what?" he asked suspiciously.
"I am less retired from Vampire hunting than I let on downstairs. The bar is a good cover for what I do; it's also a good place to gather information, instead of searching gossip out, it comes to me. I did have a hunt in the woods tonight, but I left off so we could be together. Now tell me what's wrong." She sighed as she said it.
He saw no choice but to bare his soul. A lifetime's worth of habit made it difficult, but he no longer had anything lies would protect.
8. Hermione isn't surprised when the Hogwarts owls deliver half of her books to Harry's place and half to Severus'. Conscientiously, she does not snicker when all of Draco's are dropped neatly beside her half at Harry's.
She spends some time helping Severus and Lina out in their attempts to publish, mostly working on the editorial and fact-checking side of things, although she will occasionally join in on the floos where they argue about actual content. Severus leaves money in her Gringotts account--it took her a while to figure out where it was coming from when they first started sending her statements--which she mostly forwards on to Harry by way of rent.
Harry says, "It's not as if you actually sleep here anyway."
She doesn't, but she likes having her own space. She likes leaving Severus' to him.
9. “For now, we are…?”
“Friends?”
Snape chuckled. “I think we flew right past ‘friends.’”
“Lovers?”
He kissed the downward curve of her breast before answering. “Perhaps.”
“Companions?” she offered hopefully.
“Do you snore?”
“No. Do you?”
“Yes.”
“I can handle that.”
Snape nuzzled the valley between her breasts, the stubble on his cheeks rasping against her skin, before lifting himself up onto his elbows and looking her in the eye. “I can be a royal pain in the arse.”
Hermione smiled. “I know. I like that about you.”
“You are daft.”
10. She peered through her fingers at Snape and made an effort to pull herself together.
“Don’t worry about Mum and Dad. I’ll handle them. You liked doing the crossword with me?”
“Yes.”
“You gave me chocolate on Valentine’s Day.”
“Mmmm.”
“And raffle tickets.”
“Those, too.”
“But I didn’t win anything.”
“That’s a valid point. I thought you might disapprove if I fixed things to make sure that you won.”
“Oh! So you tried to be fair, too.”
“Indeed I did. It was a struggle, I can tell you.”
“And you apologised for scaring me half to death.”
“For behaving in an unintentionally insensitive manner, yes.”
“You cooked me sausages.”
“With onion gravy.”
“And ketchup,” Hermione purred reminiscently. “You’re wearing a nice suit, and I think your tie is lovely. Is there anything else I need to take into account?”
“Barring helping you to do your job, shielding you from the wrath of the goblins for the second time in your adult life, trusting you with the biggest secret in the wizarding world, setting you onto an interesting career path and listening to you not apologise for the entire evening, I think that’s about it.”