New in 2008 part 2
1. The Gilded Cage by apollinav
2. Second Life by lariopefic
3. Secret Recipe by ClayPotter
4. In Dreams by machshefa
5. The Properties of Silver by mad-queen-mab (WIP)
6. Open Arms by mrs-helenesnape
7. One of Our Elves is Missing by persevero (WIP)
8. Dating a Heroine by elise-wanderer
9. Walking Club by m-mcgonagall-65
10. Leaf in a Book by Belle4life a/k/a tamatersweet
1. “It’s about time, Witch,” Severus growled as the door opened. “You thought you could just leave me here to rot.”
“Please,” she rolled her eyes, “It’s prison, you’re here to rot.”
Hermione couldn’t believe his gall. She was there to bring him his Christmas goodies, nasty pickled walnuts and all that, and the man had the audacity to grumble about his lot in life. Did he not know he was surrounded by lifeless bodies who’d never have another Christmas? Clearly he lacked perspective.
Hermione pinched her forehead between her eyebrows, and threw his boxes to the bed. As Severus sorted through them like an eager child Hermione dropped into the armchair completely exhausted.
Severus eyed his bride over his shoulder. He was certain she’d say something stupid like, ‘Oh my dear sweet Severus, you won’t rot here in prison much longer. My wonderful brave Gryffindor buddies and I have taken it upon ourselves to prove your innocence. You’ll finally be touted as the War Hero you really are,’ or some other such claptrap. By the indifference she’d shown him that was plainly not in the cards. Thank the gods.
“Well,” he encouraged, “Where've you been? Don’t think I won’t let this indiscretion go unpunished.” The Gilded Cage by apollinav
2. “You will be a fine Occlumens,” he began. “I apologize for pushing you so hard. Your determination proved much more than I anticipated.”
“You’ve been underestimating me for years, Professor Snape. I’m used to it. I just hope I’m able to perform under more… malevolent scrutiny.”
He nodded and poured more pumpkin juice into her glass. She drank it greedily.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she said. “Thank you.”
He huffed. “You should hardly be thanking me.”
“No, I suppose not. Why on earth were you so determined to get to those memories?” She would have the answer; he could not evade her forever. There was a strange flicker of hope in her chest that she could not explain.
“Because the Dark Lord already suspects our relationship. It is what he will look for if he is able to lay his hands on you.”
She felt the world beginning to spin again, and he thrust a phial of potion into her hand. “Pepperup,” he said shortly. She drank.
When she was able to speak without fear of losing the sandwich and juice, she asked, “How do you know?”
“Because my own shields failed when I was last before him. He saw very little--but he saw you.”
No, God. No. The night that he had returned to Hogwarts….
“Was that the reason for--?”
“In short.”
“Professor Snape, I--Oh, God, I think I’m going to be sick.” She stood, looking frantically around her and remembered that the loo was through the bedroom. She stumbled as she took off through the door but managed to get there in time.
As she heaved up her meager lunch, she prayed, Please God, how can I undo it? He bears enough already. He must not be tortured because of me. His secrets… She collapsed against the wall. Second Life by lariopefic
3. “Ah, yes, Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches,” Draco drawled with a blissful gleam in his eye. “I don’t think I could have ever convinced Wilhelmina to marry me without the spell on page 147.”
“Ah, the ‘Say Yes to Anything’ spell?”
“That’s the one.”
“Worked on your mother like the Charm that it is.”
The two Malfoys laughed as Snape looked on in quiet disbelief. So they had both used spells to woo their brides into submission. With good looks, great wealth, and power, why on earth would they have needed to resort to spells and charms?
“So you lost your copy, eh?” asked Draco. “Don’t worry. I’ll send you another by owl tomorrow. I bought the publishing rights when they came up for renewal five years ago. It’s one of my best sellers.”
“Don’t bother,” Snape shook his head. “I think I’m past the point of needing-”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Severus. It’s no bother at all. Only I have a word of advice,” Draco put a friendly hand on Snape’s shoulder. “As soon as it arrives, be sure to charm it so only males can see it. If a woman ever got a hold of a copy we would all be in mighty hot water.” Secret Recipe by ClayPotter
4. While Hermione’s days were filled with work, her nights were another story entirely. Following the instructions of the Adfinitas Animarum had been stimulating and frustrating in turns. By unspoken agreement, neither Hermione nor Snape speculated aloud about the goals of the small book’s directives. Each of them passionate and intense by nature, they attacked the chapters with vigour befitting bibliophiles and scholars. That the instructions often took them outside their comfort zones went unremarked, though complaints about the mess made while digging in moist earth to plant seeds, or the hazards of creating a delicate mosaic rang through the small cottage. Laughter usually followed the sniping and to her surprise, Hermione gradually became comfortable giving as well as she got in these exchanges. I can be honest with Severus, playful, even. Hermione mused, I never would have expected that, I would have thought he’d tease me, too. He seems willing to let me just be… however I am. In Dreams by machshefa
5. Hermione's ring finger had swollen to roughly the size of a garden slug. Roughly the shape, too. But whereas garden slugs were mottled puce, Hermione's skin was as red as her fiancé’s hair and covered all over in rough, sweaty, white bumps. It looked like some pickled thing that belonged on the shelf of Snape's old classroom. She did what any thinking woman would do in such a situation. She thwacked Ron's seeping head, hard (with her right hand, obviously. The left was in no shape to touch anything). He woke with a confused yelp, which woke Harry in turn. They stared. They Summoned: Ron for dittany (which ever since the War he'd come to believe was some kind of panacea) and Harry for his glasses.
Five Cooling Charms (which did jack-all for the stinging heat in her finger), four Expansion Charms (so the damn ring would be big enough to wriggle off), three hefty doses of Hangover Potion, two Apparitions (Hermione was in no state for anything other than Side-Along), and one inordinately confused Ginny later, they sat in the kitchen at Grimmauld place, the silver ring in the center of the table. The Properties of Silver by mad-queen-mab (WIP)
6. “I do believe you Hermione” he said. I was shocked and my gaping mouth conveyed my astonishment. “I've been agonizing over how to tell you that these past few weeks. I know you would never lie to me and it kills me to think that my hasty actions might have destroyed our relationship. Please tell me I'm not too late to save things between us.”
“No. You're not too late. What took you so long to figure out that I wouldn't lie to you about something as important as my love for you? I love you Severus Snape, you think-headed man and I will proclaim it to the world if it will reassure you of it. You mean more to me than I can adequately express and my life would be a shell of its former self if you weren't in it.”
“I realize that and I feel the same way. I love you Hermione Jane Granger, hopefully Snape.” He whispered the 'Snape' sentiment so softly I almost didn't catch it. Open Arms by mrs-helenesnape
7. Half an hour later, Hermione was ensconced at the table in the Headmistress’s office with her third cup of coffee, a stack of parchment for note-taking and the Elf Register.
‘You will see that we have one hundred and twenty-seven house-elves at Hogwarts as of this week, Miss Granger, of whom nine are elflings. The Register records their reference numbers, use-names and elf-names, gender, birthdates and birthplaces, the names of their parents, marital status and any changes of abode during their lifetimes. It also shows their specialities and any black marks they may have against them.’
Hermione found it fascinating. She followed one line across the ledger: 33,408; Matty; what was presumably a longer name in elf-script; female; 23/4/1961; Hogwarts; 32,987 Hobby & 33,006 Milly; gardener. From the blank columns, she appeared to be unmarried, never to have changed her abode and to have a blameless record. One of Our Elves is Missing by persevero (WIP)
8. She cocked an eyebrow at Snape. “You’ve been paying a great deal of attention to my love life.”
His eyes stayed resolutely on the pages of his book, but his snort was audible. “Calling that pathetic parade of misfits and losers a love life would dignify what the cat dragged in.”
“One of those losers was a cousin of yours,” she reminded him indignantly.
“My point exactly,” he said with a smirk.
She crossed her arms, looking contemplative. “Three or four of them weren’t really that bad,” she recalled. “Ginny actually has pretty good taste when it comes to blind dates.”
“Ha!” replied Snape, turning another page.
She regarded him haughtily. “And that musician was lovely.”
“Wasn’t he just,” Snape agreed placidly. Dating a Heroine by elise-wanderer
9. Hermione and Severus arrived. Hugs and greetings were exchanged among the women while Severus watched impatiently.
Septima said, “You look well, Hermione. What’s that you’re wearing?”
“A Muggle garment called a tracksuit. In my condition, it’s safer for me to wear on the stairs than robes.”
“Great idea!” enthused Pomona. “May I Transfigure my robes to match yours? At my age, I don’t need to take any chances with falling.” She grinned wickedly at Septima.
“I’ll Transfigure my robes too and join the walking club,” said Septima gleefully. “Won’t that be fun? Hermione? Severus?”
“Ye-e-e-s.” Hermione glanced at Severus.
“Indeed,” sighed Severus. Walking Club by m-mcgonagall-65
10. The tree I sit at pushes into my back after hours of leaning on it for support. Leaves surround me as they fall from the branches of the tree. My book is nestled in my knees as I stare off in the distance, daydreaming of something that could never happen, of someone who could never be mine. A man who barely tolerates me, who still treats me like a petulant child, not a fellow professor who beat all his N.E.W.T. scores or a woman with passion and desires. No, I get sneers and fully charged silences that I see as proof of an attraction between us and he sees as awkward moments he would rather not deal with. It doesn’t matter any more anyway; I sigh and close my book, marking it with a leaf from the ground. As I stand up I see a sweep of black out of the corner of my eye. I turn and it is gone. He obviously turned around when he saw me sitting here. Oh, well, I start to walk back to the castle, lost in my thoughts and ignorant to a shadow hiding behind a tree. Leaf in a Book by Belle4life a/k/a tamatersweet