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bonfoi (bonfoi) wrote in adventdrabbles,
@ 2010-12-10 20:20:00

Current mood:	excited
Entry tags:	contributor: bonfoi, dec10, fandom: harry potter, prompt01, prompt10, year: 2010

#10 ~ Hunting Mistletoe 10 of ? [PG] (RL/SS, etc.)
Title:

Hunting Mistletoe 10
Author:

bonfoi
Rating: PG
Pairing: Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Gideon Prewett
Summary: Given the chore of collecting mistletoe for Christmas decorations, Lupin and Snape come across something interesting.
Challenge:

adventdrabbles Prompt #1: Mistletoe & Prompt #10: Holly and Ivy
Word Count: 460 including song lyrics
Genre: Alternate Universe; EWE; Pre-slash; Adventure; Romance
Warnings: none
A/N: I hope my twist on the prompt works! *fingers crossed*

1 December 2010 | 2 December 2010 | 3 December 2010
4 December 2010 | 5 December 2010 | 6 December 2010
7 December 2010 | 8 December 2010 | 9 December 2010

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Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, its characters and settings are the copyrighted works of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., her publishing companies and affiliates. No profit was made from the writing of this story nor was any malice intended in any way, shape or form to the author or the actors/actresses who so brilliantly have brought them to life.

This author is not responsible for underage readers. Please observe the ratings, warnings, and age of legal consent for your country.

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“Lupin! Where’s that mistletoe?” Severus yelled from Gideon’s side.

Remus rushed in, the thirteen mistletoe berries in one hand and the fresh potion in a bowl in the other. “Sorry, sorry. Peeves seems to be full of piss and vinegar and taking it out on us.” He handed Severus the potion and counted out the mistletoe berries carefully. “How are you adding the berries?” he asked in a gasp.

Severus wiped his temple with the back of one hand and squashed the berries—one by one—between his thumb and index finger. “Watch me, Lupin. You may need to make this potion one day.” With his index finger, Severus swirled the crushed berries into the potion. Currycombe knelt behind Gideon’s back, watching with interest.

“Darkling feeds mash to Giddy?” Currycombe asked.

“A bit inside and a bit outside, but it’s over time,” Severus responded. He looked up into Remus’ eyes. “Lupin, I need a timing mechanism. A song works…Do you know the old Wizarding carol ‘Green Growith the Holly’?” When Remus nodded, the frown between his eyes eased a bit. “Start singing please.”

As the holly grouth grene
And never chaungeth hew,
So I am, ever hath bene
Unto my lady trew.
Grene growith the holly...

Chorus:
Green growith the holly,
So doth the ivy,
Thow wynter blastys blow never so hye
Green growith the holly...

As Remus sang, Severus scooped a dollop of mistletoe-and-potion onto his finger and offered to Currycombe for a sniff. “Smell this, Currycombe. It should smell like clean pines, sharp mistletoe, and warmth.” The porlock nodded, his eyes following Severus’ finger as he rubbed the mixture on Gideon’s gums and then another dollop was massaged into the stony limb.

As the holly grouth grene
With ive all alone
When flowerys cannot be sene,
and grenewode levys be gone,
Grene growith the holly...

Chorus:
Green growith the holly,
So doth the ivy,
Thow wynter blastys blow never so hye
Green growith the holly...

Remus sang clear and low, knowing that timing would make the difference. He watched Severus bend and flex, over and over. Gideon’s color slowly changed and the restless movements slowed. The stony limb seemed to relax under Severus’ ministrations, and Currycombe dozed off against the centaur's back.

On his third repetition of the song, Severus scooped out the last dollop of mistletoe mixture and massaged it into hard muscle instead of stone.

Remus stepped closer as he sang…

Now unto my lady
Promyse to her I make,
Frome all other only
To her I me betake,
Grene growith the holly...

…and cupped Severus’ shoulder. When Severus looked up, Remus let the last note of the stanza tremble in the air as he bent to press a soft kiss on his lips.

11 December 2010

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~~~ Comments, like rain in the desert, are greatly appreciated.
Thank you for reading. ~~~

Notes:

Yule Songs

No. 8 Green Growith the Holly
This song is from Henry VIII’s Book, BM Add. MS. 31922, dating to about 1515. This is a love song, but the tone is so soft that it is might be suitable for expressions of affection as well as romantic love. It has been published in Musica Britannica Vol. 8, edited by John Stevens, but I haven’t seen that. This song has been completely bowdlerized to try to turn it into a Christian hymn and that version is published in the Oxford Book of Carols as #63. The chorus for both versions is:

Green growith the holly,
So doth the ivy,
Though winter blasts blow ne’er so high
Green growith the holly.

The correct second verse (with the spelling modernized) is:
As the holly groweth green
And never changeth hue,
So I am, ever hath been
Unto my lady true.

The original text gives the music for three voices, but only for the burden (chorus), so people either use the same tune for the verses and the chorus, or some have written additional music to sing the verses to. There are beautiful performances of it, starting with this version of Green Growith the Holly on YouTube, which gives the words also. There is also a version by Anonymous 4 on the Wolcum Yule CD, in which they wrote some additional music for the verses. The christianized version out of the Oxford Book of Carols #63 is beautifully performed on the Revels Christmas CD.

■ Green Growith the Holly (lyrics)

Chorus:
Green growith the holly,
So doth the ivy,
Thow wynter blastys blow never so hye
Green growith the holly...

As the holly grouth grene
And never chaungeth hew,
So I am, ever hath bene
Unto my lady trew.
Grene growith the holly...

As the holly grouth grene
With ive all alone
When flowerys cannot be sene,
and grenewode levys be gone,
Grene growith the holly...

Now unto my lady
Promyse to her I make,
Frome all other only
To her I me betake,
Grene growith the holly...

Adew, myne one lady,
Adew, my specyall,
Who hath my hart trewely,
Be suere, and ever shall.
Grene growith the holly...

(Post a new comment)

	teas_me 2010-12-11 03:03 am UTC (link)
	Anything to get Remus singing, is that it? And that kiss. Long in the waiting, but worth it. :) (Reply to this) (Thread)

bonfoi
2010-12-11 04:20 am UTC (link)

Well, I like that verse...

Now unto my lady
Promyse to her I make,
Frome all other only
To her I me betake,
Grene growith the holly...

in reference to Severus and Remus and this one...

Adew, myne one lady,
Adew, my specyall,
Who hath my hart trewely,
Be suere, and ever shall.
Grene growith the holly..

That one should get used soon, I hope!

And Remus' singing voice is very warm and open, which Severus responds to very nicely. *grin*

p.s. That icon is making me grin wickedly in agreement!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	teas_me 2010-12-11 04:31 am UTC (link)
	I'm a sucker for Medieval poetry. Just the way the words were strung together, not to mention the actual sound of it being spoken. And I'm so glad you like the icon! Feel free to steal it if you like. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2010-12-11 05:47 am UTC (link)
	Oh, I'll steal it! lol I have dial-up so I couldn't see the video, but just saying it aloud was glorious. I love to do research into things like this and having it date to 1515 worked out wonderfully for a "Wizarding carol", didn't it? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	red_day_dawning 2010-12-11 10:50 am UTC (link)
	Mmm, they kissed. Lovely. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2010-12-12 12:50 am UTC (link)
	The song was the tipping point, really. Those last stanzas were saying what I wanted Remus to say, so it was serendipitous when I stumbled over Green Growith the Holly. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sweetmelodykiss 2010-12-11 02:55 pm UTC (link)
	Aw, so lovely! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2010-12-12 12:54 am UTC (link)
	Thank you! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	shadowycat 2010-12-12 01:18 am UTC (link)
	That was beautiful! Keeping time with music is a great idea. :D (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2010-12-12 01:36 am UTC (link)
	When we did some hand-steeling in the mine for a demonstration, we sang some old mining songs that were great timing devices. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	shadowycat 2010-12-12 01:37 am UTC (link)
	What's hand-steeling? Now you've got me curious. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

bonfoi
2010-12-12 01:50 am UTC (link)

Hand-steeling (or hand steel drilling) is the old-fashioned way of drilling a hole in the stone so you can set dynamite in place for blasting away the rock. The hammer is called a single jack, a small sledgehammer of 4 pounds. The steel is a long rock chisel that can have a star point or a regular chisel point on it, depending on the rock.

There's a video from the Western Australia School of Mines about handsteeling. You can see it in action.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	shadowycat 2010-12-12 01:52 am UTC (link)
	Thanks! :D (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2011-01-10 02:08 am UTC (link)
	Just letting you know I got every comment! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	shadowycat 2011-01-10 03:25 am UTC (link)
	I appreciate that. :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	torino10154 2011-01-09 09:58 pm UTC (link)
	Love the use of song as a timing mechanism. Nice job. (I'm trying to catch up now. Sorry!!) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	bonfoi 2011-01-10 02:07 am UTC (link)
	Songs are the great ways to keep time. Don't be sorry for catching up, it makes have Christmas all over again! (Reply to this) (Parent)