InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I'm stuck on your heart"

Severus Snape (bittersnark) wrote in beyondthepages,
@ 2010-03-20 18:08:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2023 08, ariana silver, severus snape

RP: I Do Hope The Idiot Won
Characters: Severus Snape & Ariana Silver
Time/Date: Mid-morning, 20 August 2023
Location: The Shrieking Shack then the grounds of Hogwarts
Warnings/Rating: None yet
Summary: Severus does something he didn't expect... wakes up.
Status: Complete

There was pain and blood and the agony of Nagini’s venom racing through his veins. Despair and anger and frustration that after all his successes he was going to fail now. All because he’d relaxed too much, gotten too comfortable at Hogwarts and failed to ensure that morning that he had a vial of the antidote to Nagini’s venom in his robes. He’d never expected to live through the war, had never even been sure he wanted to but Potter needed to succeed and to do that he needed the information only Severus could give him.

But then Potter was there. How and why Severus didn’t know, didn’t care. He had one last chance, one last hope to atone. He grabbed hold of the boy’s robes and gave him his memories.

'Take... it... Take... it...'

Too many though, not just the ones Potter needed but others... memories of Lily, of Albus. Did he mean that? He didn’t know and didn’t have the strength to consider it. Just enough to make one last request. One last plea for someone to see more than what was on the surface. He didn’t expect anything to come of it. Potter was as Gryffindorish as his father, as Gryffindorish as Black, and they rarely looked below the surface when it came to searching for answers. Only the obvious for them. But then, if they were the type to search harder and deeper for answers, they’d have been placed in Ravenclaw or Slytherin.

'Look... at... me' he whispered.

Blackness swirled in front of his eyes, the pain receded and the poison sang through his veins. He knew death was coming. He had done what was needed though; it was all in Potter’s uncertain hands now as he slipped into blackness and then nothing.

So the last thing he was expecting was to suddenly be dragged gasping back into life. He was aware of peripherals - hard floor, the cool air of the room, the smell of dust and neglect - as he dragged in sharp breaths, one hand scrabbling at his neck only to find... nothing.

Well, not nothing but certainly not what should have been there. Not a wound, not blood but slick scars. His hand dropped to the floor and his eyes closed again. He was so tired and that weariness was warring with his need to know what was happening. Necessity won, of course. Necessity had always been the winner in everything he did. It was how he lived his life. He did what was necessary. His likes or dislikes rarely came into the matter.

He opened his eyes and forced himself to sit up. He blinked as he looked around. He was... right where he had been. In the Shrieking Shack. He looked down and it took a moment to realise what the large black stain on the floor underneath him actually was. His hand drifted up to his neck and the slick scars there as he stared at the bloodstain. The old bloodstain if he was any judge.

He pushed himself to his feet, swaying as his head reeled. He stumbled over to the window and peered through it, muttering a curse as the dirty glass hid more than it revealed. Hogwarts. That's where he needed to go. Surely there would be answers there. Presuming, of course, he wasn't arrested the moment he was seen. But then again, that would give him any number of answers in and of itself.

He staggered out of the room and down into the tunnel that led to Hogwarts. He had to stop several times to lean against the wall of the tunnel and catch his breath. He knew what was causing the weakness but unfortunately he didn't exactly have anything to deal with the after effects of blood loss. A tiny voice in his head wondered why, if the terrible wounds left by Nagini had been healed, the blood loss hadn't also been healed. He was too tired to consider it at the moment though as he staggered up into the shadows of the Whomping Willow then, after freezing it, out onto the grounds. The castle seemed unchanged as he slowly made his way towards it. Hopefully that meant Potter had actually managed to fight his way past his natural imbecility and win.

He'd find out soon enough.

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bittersnark
2010-03-21 08:17 pm UTC (link)

Severus closed his eyes as a shudder went through him. Potter had succeeded. That meant it had all been worth it. "Potter spawned," he said with a grimace. "Merlin help the world." But what did it really matter to him now? He wasn't a teacher anymore.

He opened his eyes when she spoke of his name being cleared and he snorted derisively. "That never mattered."

He swayed momentarily and he knew he was reaching the end of his strength. He needed to decide where to go and what to do but his thoughts were slowing. Why had he been brought back with the wounds healed but the blood loss still evident? It made no sense. He snorted again. Because being brought back in the first place made so much sense as well.

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teases_muggles
2010-03-21 08:23 pm UTC (link)

"He did. Three times." Ari nearly pointed out that one of them had even been named after Severus before deciding that was both awkward and nothing the wizard would appreciate hearing.

When he swayed, she shifted her bag so it was more securely on her shoulder. While she doubted oh so very much he was inclined to accept her help, she also didn't think he was exactly in a state to fight it too much. She offered her arm before nodding toward the castle. "C'mon. Whatever's wrong with you, Ashley can get you fixed up," she assured him.

Really, she had to wonder a little herself what exactly was wrong with him. Maybe it was just a side-effect of coming back? It wasn't like she had anything to compare it to at the moment. Though she did wonder if others would be coming back - it stood to reason, didn't it? If one came back, why not the others? Maybe she'd find all the deceased from the war hanging about the Great Hall or something.

Which ... not so surprisingly, was a very troubling thought. What if everyone was coming back? Death Eaters and Order members and fallen students alike?

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bittersnark
2010-03-21 09:26 pm UTC (link)

Severus stared at the arm being offered as his common sense warred with his pride and stubbornness. Poppy would never have let him get this far... but then Poppy had years of experience dealing with him. And she was a very effective bully.

"Blood loss," he said irritably as his common sense finally won out and he let himself take the woman's arm. The dizzy spell had helped with that. Besides it wouldn't take for him to be alright enough to get out of here. Probably night's sleep and whatever potions this 'Ashley' chose to shove down his throat and he'd be well enough to cope on his own.

Of course what he was going to do then was anyone's guess.

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teases_muggles
2010-03-21 09:39 pm UTC (link)

She was honestly a little surprised he'd let her help, which meant he was probably about as bad off as he looked. Nodding to the explanation, she started along toward the castle. She couldn't even begin to wonder how she was going to explain this one, and she thought until he'd been set to rights, she wouldn't even mention anything about it.

Ashley had been raised in France, after all, and if she happened to recognize Severus in the flesh from the portrait in the Headmaster's office, Ari could brush it off as a coincidence for now.

"So can I introduce you as John Doe?" she asked with a grin. She doubted Ashley would get the reference, but Ari would find it amusing as hell. "I ... am not exactly in a rush to flout the fact I found a guy who's possibly a dead man wandering the road," she explained. "Unless you'd rather us cut right to the point with her? Get the Ministry all involved and everything." She was fairly certain this would have to go to the Ministry, right? She couldn't exactly meet a dead (formerly dead?) person and pretend there was nothing weird about it.

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bittersnark
2010-03-21 10:26 pm UTC (link)

Severus sneered at the reference. He knew enough about the Muggle world to know what it was. He considered the matter for a moment, cursing his slow thoughts, then he nodded.

"One name is as good as any other." Besides his name was rather too well known and he wasn't inclined to do more than take her mention of Potter clearing his name with anything more than a grain of salt. He'd seen people mouth words they didn't believe many times in the past and he'd bet that's what most people had done.

"I would rather avoid the Ministry entirely," he grumbled. "I cannot imagine they would do anything other than ask asinine question that I cannot or will not answer." And he knew what people at the Ministry did when people like him refused to answer questions.

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teases_muggles
2010-03-21 10:40 pm UTC (link)

Ari grinned, more pleased than she should be by the allowance. But to her, if you couldn't laugh about something you just weren't looking hard enough for the humor. Even if it was twisted, dark, or ironic humor.

"That bit's not going to be in my hands," she admitted. She understood, completely - he'd likely be subjected to the same series of questions by an entire line of people, and Ari doubted very much he'd have answers they were after. "But I can't see anyone rushing this matter any, either. I mean, you're injured, right? They have to make allowances at healer's requests for that."

But what did she know? Maybe there was some ancient buried precedent labeled 'What to Do if Someone Comes Back To Life' that involved all sorts of insanity and bending of rules. She did start to wonder at the technicalities and what magic was going to be called into question. Like, wills. Houses, possessions. Relationships. If he'd been married and died, would he still be married?

Realizing she had her own set of inane questions all lined up to be fired off, she bit down on her lower lip to keep them trapped inside. The last thing she wanted to do was annoy him; she'd speculate with Ashley and whoever else they could find until the cows came home.

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bittersnark
2010-03-21 11:06 pm UTC (link)

That was a thought. A tiny smirk wafted over Severus' face. He knew he wasn't badly injured, more exhausted than anything else, but he also knew how to simulate deeper exhaustion and worse. He also knew precisely how to alienate people. He'd been doing it for years after all. Between the two he could probably stop the Healer from looking too deeply after the initial examination and that would give him opportunity to leave during the night.

Of course where he would go once he left was another matter entirely. He'd left Spinner's End and the rest of his belongings to Minerva. He ahdn't had anyone else to leave it to. Merlin only knows what she'd done with it all, presuming she'd survived the battle.

"One would presume so but I have learned to never doubt the idiocy of the Ministry," he said acidly. He saw no reason to play the good boy until his opportunity to leave arose. No one would believe it of him anyway.

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teases_muggles
2010-03-21 11:17 pm UTC (link)

"In fairness to them, they've been taking smart classes in the past decade to help boost their intelligence," she teased lightly.

While she believed the Ministry had improved markedly from the days of the war, she was not harboring any illusions regarding the intelligence of politics. At its heart, it was still the same ol' Ministry for Magic.

Slipping out her wand once they arrived at gate, she opened it for them to wander on through. She very sincerely hoped they didn't happen across anyone in the meantime, unless it was Filius, but she wasn't about to hold her breath. The professors were all kicking around, after all. Getting ready for classes and the tournament.

So that was why she veered toward a side entrance that was closer to the infirmary and skipped the entrance hall and the Great hall entirely. That was where most of them were likely to be, and why take the long route if you didn't have to?

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bittersnark
2010-03-22 12:24 am UTC (link)

Severus snorted derisively. "I somehow doubt that will help," he said snidely. He'd always ahd a low impression of the Ministry and it had not been improved under the administration of either Fudge or Scrimgeour. Though at least Scrimgeour had been an improvement.

He noted the change in direction and approved of it. The fewer people who knew that he was here, the fewer he had to worry about coming to gawk or getting in the way when he attempted to leave.

He let the woman guide him along. He could feel his strength starting to fade and he decided he'd very much like to be horizontal sooner rather than later. Of course, he'd much prefer to be horizontal somewhere he considered safe but right now he'd take what he could get.

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teases_muggles
2010-03-22 12:37 am UTC (link)

"Well, you have to give them points for trying," she said as she led him through the halls of the castle. While she tried to move quickly to get him to the infirmary sooner, she didn't want to rush him. So she moved as fast as he seemed capable until they arrived at the infirmary.

Reasoning that she was more useful out of Ashley's hair than in it, Ari decided she'd do nothing more than drop him off and head out to go hit up Filius and get his opinion on how to handle this while Ash tended to the man.

After that, she'd find the other professors and get started on the speculating.

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