Severus Snape is tired of the lies. (fortiscadere) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-08-15 01:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-08] august, demetrius mulciber, severus snape |
RP Log: Severus Snape & Demetrius Mulciber
Who: Severus Snape & Demetrius Mulciber
When: Evening of 14 August 1979.
Where: Spinner's End, Snape Residence
What: Drinks and politics
Rating: PG-ish
Status: COMPLETE.
Severus had cleared away the parchments that had cluttered the table earlier. He honestly wasn't certain where he'd even take Demetrius when he got there. But he supposed the library/sitting room was the best option, and he'd had funeral information laying out everywhere. Spinner's End without either of his parents felt empty. He'd been out most of the day, but in Muggle Manchester, dealing with the ends and outs of figuring out what to do and how to do it on his rather limited budget, so he wasn't certain what was happening in the wizarding world, and more importantly to Sev, he had not been alone in the house. And when it had all come down to it at the end of the day - conversations with Aquila, and finally telling everyone what had happened - he really didn't like the empty feeling of the house. He looked around the room and decided it would do. It was not as if Demetrius had never been to his home before, and he could hardly be expected to have it clean now. In all honesty, it would probably look nicer than it had the last time Mulciber had been there. He sat down, waiting for the knock on the door and trying not to think about the fact that he was the only person in the house. Demetrius stood outside the door of the house on Spinner's End. He looked over his shoulder, just as some extra precaution, to make sure he hadn't been followed. Paranoia was common in the current atmosphere, and with half the country in an uproar, it wasn't really safe to be out. Luckily, Spinner's End was a Muggle and there wasn't likely to be any real danger. While Demetrius had never lost a family member in living memory, and would probably fall apart in the event of it happening, he knew that Severus needed some kind of company. He had been to Spinner's End a time or two in previous years, and it wasn't his favorite place in the country by any stretch, but he could tolerate it for a few hours. He and Severus were friends, a bit of smog wouldn't scare him off. Finally, he raised a hand and knocked on the door. He didn't quite know what to expect from Severus, he knew that he wasn't one to show a lot of emotion in front of other people, but grief did strange things to everyone. Demetrius sighed, resigning himself to hoping for the best. If they could avoid talks of Mrs. Snape, and possibly the subject of Aquila, the possibility of a decent time was obtainable. Though the fact that Aquila had known about the death before Demetrius (while Aquila was in France and not even speaking to Severus) was a bit disconcerting, he wouldn't ask. Severus heard the knock and quickly moved towards the door. With a deep breath, he opened the door to see Demetrius standing there. He gave him a quick, tight smile and opened the door wider so he could come in to the hall way. "Thanks for coming," Severus said, glancing back at him. "Honestly... you'd think I'd be all right with it, it's not like Mum's been good company of recent, but the house just feels so bloody empty." He shrugged. He didn't actually want to talk a lot about his Mum, but something had to be said. And where Agnes might not let him get away with not talking about it, he was certain Demetrius would be fine with it. He pushed open the door to the sitting room and motioned to the sofa. "I pulled out some of the firewhiskey I had, it's not great stuff, but it will probably get us drunk enough to not worry about shit." It was as much as he was asking for tonight. Stepping inside, Demetrius looked around. The house seemed cleaner than he remembered, but emptier, and quieter. It was almost unnervingly quiet, though he expected that silence was normal in a house after someone had just died. "Not a problem," he replied, smiling slightly. "I would never think that." Demetrius shrugged. "She's been sick, and...I suppose it was unavoidable...but that doesn't mean it should affect you any less. She was your mother and you cared about her. It always gets to you when people you care about die." That seemed adequate, and finite. They wouldn't force themselves to talk of depressing things. "If I'm drunk, it doesn't really matter what I'm drinking," he replied carelessly, walking over and taking a seat on the sofa. "What have you been doing since...?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend. Severus made a nose of semi-disgust. "I don't- I don't even know what I've been doing. I don't know what I'm doing with it, but it'll get figured out." He poured them each a glass of the fire whiskey and handed one over to Demetrius. "Honestly, I think I just want it finished with." Sort of like this war, he couldn't help but add mentally. But it was more likely that this would be finished before the war would be. "It won't be back to normal, but I don't know how to tell people these things or how to talk to them when they send their well wishes. And considering how many of us- we should be used to it, I suppose, but I'm not good at it regardless." "What's going on then?" He asked Demetrius, hoping he wouldn't mind the change in subject. "I finally picked up the Prophet, and took a look. Have you actually been out, or have you heard anything?" Taking a measured swallow of the firewhiskey, Demetrius thought about the past couple of days carefully. "I've been at Borgin and Burke's for quite a bit of it, and haven't really been out in the thick of it. There were pretty heavy crowds when I passed through Diagon Alley," he said thoughtfully. "But I haven't been to Tinworth or Godric's Hollow, and apparently there's rioting there as well. All of it's the same though, 'Mudbloods go home' and such. This tactic was the right one," he continued. "People value their lives more than they do their neighbors." "I think the Ministry is sending out law enforcement to try and calm the riots, but it won't work. The solution is simple, but of course the Ministry is going to do everything to waste as much time as possible. It's not as if they're going to find an antidote or anything." He paused, taking another swig of firewhiskey. "But other than that, I don't know much more than anyone else. Like I said, I've been trapped in Knockturn Alley with those miserable old men all day." Severus nodded. Curiosity beginning to push the days events out of his mind. "It was a reasonable tactic for certain," Severus said calmly. After all he'd been a part of it hadn't he? Never mind that he'd hated looking at the small children when he'd gone to deliver the antidotes. He wondered if that girl with the ribbons in her hair was alive and he shook the mental picture from his head. "They also don't know what's causing it or where it's coming from, so they're not going to be able to treat it. Beyond that, it'll increase the fear from the populace." He shrugged rather coldly. "And the fear feeds the anger. Anything in Knockturn Alley, or are people there mostly oblivious, quiet or pleased?" "Knockturn is quiet, but you know what kind of crowd lurks around there," he replied. "Most of the people, other than shop owners, probably haven't even left that Alley in months. I doubt they even know what's happening. If they do, they're pleased." Knockturn Alley wasn't exactly known for it's warm friendly feelings, and he didn't think Muggleborns wandered there on a regular basis. "Mr. Burke and Mr. Borgin were discussing it earlier, I think, though I couldn't tell whether they were pleased or troubled. I was never very good at eavesdropping," he said with a bit of a laugh. "How many people have you given the antidote to?" he asked casually. It was as if talk of poisoning an entire village was as typical as tomorrow's weather, though that didn't seem to bother Demetrius at all. "Do you think supplies will last?" he added curiously. "Supplies of which?" Severus asked with the smallest frown as he took a drink. "The Antidote or the poison? The poison is going to be difficult to get rid of," it would require the entire water system to be treated, and it was an obscure poison to begin with. Severus and his Potion Master had made certain of that. "The Antidote, well, it can be brewed, and probably I will do another batch this next week, as I am certain the Dark Lord will wish us to assist those who have repented and shown they are reasonable." "You should improve that eavesdropping skill," Severus said shaking his head. Sometimes he did not understand Demetrius, but then Severus had always enjoyed eavesdropping and knowing things other people knew but did not know he knew. "It might come in handy some day." "I wouldn't see the need in having much more poison, really," he said. "It may take quite a while to get rid of without someone actually doing something. Somehow I don't think the Ministry is going to identify the exact poison and it's method of travel by tomorrow." Another drink, and Demetrius sighed. "Though, and I am by no stretch a genius at Potions, would giving the antidote to those who have proved they deserve it prevent them from being harmed by the poison in the future?" he asked. "If I want information, I can find a way to get it." Eavesdropping seemed so...rude. "I don't think skulking around corners to see if someone is talking about something I may need to know is all that useful. But to each his own, I expect." Severus smirked. "Yes, I suppose so," he was not about to mention that these days he did not need to resort to skulking around corners when he could skulk through the majority of the population's mind, if necessary. That was a hand he wasn't quite ready to tell anyone - if indeed he would ever be. "We'll have more of the antidote next week, and we've got enough of it, I think." Severus considered. "I think it would make them less likely to be harmed, but if it were taken away and then they were put into the vicinity again - it is not impossible they would be effected in some way." He raised his glass to Demetrius. "It is a reasonable question however. I should look into it a bit more." Demetrius raised his glass in response. "There's no point in curing them if another glass of water is going to put them back on the brink of death," he said. "You should look into it," he agreed. "But at the rate the population has reacted, I think it's safe to say we've gotten the message across." Other than the current state of things, he was a bit pressed for conversation topics, and he wanted to get away from the poison situation. "I saw you decided to exchange words with Black the other night," he said after a second. "Well, I exchanged words with him too. But regardless, I don't expect things have changed much since school. Not that he can react violently through journals or anything, but it wouldn't surprise me if he had wanted to. Do you have half as much fun antagonizing him as I think you do?" "No, it won't be that, I think I misunderstood your question," Severus said. "This antidote will work for several years - it would only be if, after a year or two, the person were exposed again that there would be any danger for them again - and certainly it would be much lessened, even then." "But, Black." He said with scorn. "Idiot." He had some other choice words for Black, but he would keep most of them to himself. "He can't react violently, and honestly," Severus took a drink. "Even if he could, I think there would be a very good chance he'd go down. The main problem at Hogwarts was always that it was not just him anyway - four against one, or even two against one, was rarely fair. If it were not so obviously unable to be done - I would invite him to one of our dueling practises," Severus smirked. "See how well he fares when the numbers are turned against him." "That makes much more sense," he conceded. "Years and weeks are very different beasts. I was thinking short term, yes." Demetrius scowled. "They never bothered you when you were with Aquila and I," he noted. "I think because Aquila was a prefect and I had the same disregard for the rules they did." Smirking, Demetrius nodded. "See how they fare in a proper duel as opposed to, as you said, blatantly outnumbered sneak attack. They wouldn't last fifteen minutes in our dueling practises." Drumming his fingers against the now empty glass, he looked towards the clock and then back to Severus. "It's rather late," he said, as if it weren't obvious. "They really wouldn't," Severus nodded, a bit reluctantly adding, "yes, it really is." He thought he might take some of the Dreamless Sleep potion tonight. "I suppose we should call it a night. I-" He finished off the drink and sat it down on the table. "Thanks for coming over," he said. "I appreciate it." Demetrius nodded in agreement. "I should get back home. Mother tends to worry," he said. He paused and considered Severus' last comment very carefully for responding. "You're my friend, Severus, it's the least I could do. If you feel...if at any point, you feel like you can't stay here, feel free to come to Canterbury and stay at our house," he told him seriously, standing up. "But otherwise, just try and take care of yourself." Severus nodded, appreciating Demetrius comment. He wondered if he might take him up on it one night. "Tell your mother and father hello," he added. "I suppose I will be seeing him soon." He stood so that he could see Demetrius out of the house. "And thanks, I'll keep that in mind, but it'll... if I get through this weekend, it'll be fine. Goodnight Demetrius." "Goodnight Severus." |