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Tweak says, "the light brings darkness..."

Severus Snape (severelyseverus) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-03-16 20:39:00

Entry tags:

complete, day three, nymphadora tonks, severus snape

WHO: Snape & Tonks
WHAT: A surprising visit
WHEN: Day 3
WHERE: Snape's residence
RATING: PG? G?
STATUS: Complete

Snape, needing to recuperate from an atypically social day, had decided to spend this day at home. Alone. His previous day had featured time on the town with a drunken pirate and surprisingly congenial conversation with a young woman to whom there was more than there first appeared to be. After all the time he had spent alone on Mirage, he was not used to so much social contact. On the Planet, he had had a suite of rooms furnished exactly as he had liked, with the ability to summon whatever other things he might require. After a while, he had even stopped going to the dining hall for meals. He had been spoiled, he supposed.

Today, however, despite the need to leave the apartments to eat, he would, he had decided, spend the day alone if at all possible. Already, he had begun collecting ingredients for potions. Looking through the market for various common reagents, he had brought some back to his rooms, along with some jars he had acquired. He had decided to spend the day testing them and assessing them, measuring them and weighing them, and carefully filling jars with them. It would be relaxing.

He was not, therefore, expecting the knock that came on his apartment door.

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severelyseverus
2009-03-25 11:22 pm UTC (link)

"Sit."

Snape continued to point to the chair until Tonks sat in it. As soon as she mentioned that she was ill, his critical gaze changed from one of disdain to one of analysis. Bags under the eyes, pallid skin. It was clear something was wrong with her. Ill? He would see about that.

"Yes. The rooms are quite disappointing. Did you say 'a couple of months'? And you are only now seeking medical attention? You can't possibly believe the Ministry would tolerate that sort of negligence. You should be ashamed of yourself."

He sat down in the other chair, and faced the unwell witch. Staring deep into her eyes, he considered the illnesses he knew that did not resolve themselves in less than a month.

"I'm not giving you anything until I know what is wrong with you. What are your symptoms?"

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tonks_please
2009-03-26 09:44 pm UTC (link)

It took her back, and not in a good way, to be ordered to seat herself by the overbearing Potions Master. But what could she do, really? There was no really good reason to deny his request, and she did still need his help.

Predictably, she tripped a couple of times before finally making it over to the chair and, after almost missing it entirely, seating herself. Nerves never did anything for her natural lack of grace. She felt better when she was sitting, and turned to him expectantly.

"Oh, Merlin, Severus. If I was home, I would have gone to a Healer ages ago, you know that." She looked back at him, striving for a calm demeanor, and not doing it really very well at all. It was hard not to fidget under that relentless dark-eyed gaze.

"Um, well..." She coughed, and then told herself to get over it. What was wrong with her? She was an Auror, for crying out loud. She wouldn't let Snape bully her. Her shoulders squared and she eyed him more confidently. "I feel sick, really sick, you know, throwing up and stuff... and I'm tired all the time, sometimes all I want to do is sleep."

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severelyseverus
2009-03-26 11:57 pm UTC (link)

Snape scrutinized Tonks appearance, taking in all of her features as she described her condition. If she wanted to sleep so much... surely her body was fighting off something major. Either that or she was growing a new limb.

"Coughing? Fever? Hold out your hand."

Snape touched the witch's forehead. Dry, not too warm. Examining her hand, he did not find the palm clammy; however, he did spot something interesting in its lines. After pausing a moment in absorption of this new theory, he went to his new supply shelf and grabbed a beaker.

"Urinate in this. I will turn around. Place it on the table and tell me when you are done."

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tonks_please
2009-03-27 01:44 am UTC (link)

Tonks shook her head. "No, no coughing, no fever, nothing like that. But I did have sort of achey joints. It's gotten mostly better, though." Obediantly, the witch extended her hand for his scrutiny. She really didn't see what her hand had to do with it, but she might as well trust him on this.

However, her obediance failed when he told her to... "Pee in a cup?" Her voice was incredulous. "No bloody way!" She was just not going to do that. It was really all there was to it. Especially not in the same room as Severus Snape, of all people.

"I didn't know you were so bloody weird... pee into a cup. No."

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severelyseverus
2009-03-30 02:54 am UTC (link)

Snape set his jaw automatically when Tonks refused to perform the function he required of her. What did she think he was, some sort of pervert? What did she think he was going to do with her piss, save it for later? He had always known she could be the most exasperating witch he had ever dealt with. Well, he didn't have to help her.

"No? No? Well, then, we're through. I don't know what's wrong with you. I have an idea, but I can't test it unless I get your sample. But you listen here, Miss Nymphadora Tonks, you came to me with this. And you came to me because there is no one else here who can help you, not that you trust. Now, what I have asked you to do may sound 'weird', but it is a perfectly normal request for a healer, which is what you are asking me to be. If you don't want to do it, fine. If you don't want to know what's wrong with you, fine. But if you do--and if it's what I think it is, you very much do--then urinate in the vessel!"

Snape stood above her, arms crossed, face glowering, and willed her to do as he bid or walk out. He had no time for her petulant disobedience.

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tonks_please
2009-03-31 05:25 pm UTC (link)

Tonks set her jaw stubbornly, and then felt like crying for some reason. It was very odd, really. One moment, she was totally angry, and then the next, really sad. She turned away, sniffled softly to herself, and rubbed at her eyes. They seemed to want to tear up, no matter how hard she fought to keep herself from doing such a thing in front of him.

This was pretty much the most humiliating thing she'd ever done. But what choice did she have? So she sniffled once more and took the beaker. "I'm going to use your lavatory, you can't stop me." Her voice was small, but defiant, as she collected the vessel and disappeared into the bathroom. She would be damned if she would pee in the same room as Severus Snape.

Finally, after some deep breathing to calm herself, she came back in with the filled beaker. There was a moment of danger as she tripped and almost dropped it, but eventually she made her way back to the table, deposited it there, and then steadfastly refused to look at the Potions Master. "Okay, so... what's wrong with me?"

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severelyseverus
2009-04-03 01:53 am UTC (link)

Snape rolled his eyes at her insistence at using his water closet, but smirked as well, almost subconsciously enjoying the power he was able to exert over Tonks in this situation. As far as he had been concerned, he was going to be able to laugh at her whether she had given the sample or not. He was delighted that she choose to give it, however, because he was looking forward to seeing the look on her face when he told her the nature of her condition.

"Restrain your impatience, young lady. I can't be certain yet. Sit. Watch."

Placing the beaker of yellow liquid on the table, the wizard went to his shelf and selected a couple of jars of powder. Returning to the table, he started a fire in a small copper brazier and suspended the beaker above it. Adding a small amount of each powder in alternation with several deliberate turns of his stirring spoon, he appeared deep in concentration. Finally he put the spoon down and crossed his arms.

"Now we wait for it to turn pink or blue."

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tonks_please
2009-04-04 01:57 am UTC (link)

Despite herself, she had to watch as he performed his actions. Quite frankly, she'd never met anyone as gifted with Potions as he was. She wasn't bad herself, of course, she couldn't have been if she had been accepted as an Auror, but she wasn't even in his league. By the end, she was frankly staring at him.

When he spoke, however, she jumped and glanced up at him. "Oh. Pink or blue..." Having no idea what was going on, she didn't know if she should be prefering one result over another. So she just shrugged, tried to lean against a nearby wall, and fell to the floor in a heap.

However, the bright-haired witch was soon on her feet and observing the vial curiously. "Um... how long is this going to take...?" Just as she spoke, however, the liquid changed color.

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severelyseverus
2009-04-06 11:00 pm UTC (link)

Snape watched the simmering liquid intently as its yellow hue shimmered and shifted into one of a distinctly cerulean nature. Smirking to himself, he nodded. It was as he had expected. Extinguishing the flame that burned beneath the beaker, he used his wand to levitate the hot beaker out of his sitting room window, and to dump its contents into the gutter below. Turning back to the witch before him, his smirk only grew bigger.

"As I suspected. My dear Miss Tonks, you are pregnant. Not that it's any of my business, but I suppose it must be that space-man you've been living with. Can't say I'm surprised you ended up with a muggle. They must be so much easier to impress with your ... abilities."

Snape paused to observe the reaction on Tonks' face. Though her mere symptoms had made her condition as clear to him as the nose on her face, it had also been obvious that the thought of the truth had never crossed her mind.

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tonks_please
2009-04-07 01:51 pm UTC (link)

Tonks just stood there, blinking at him. For all her intelligence, for all her many talents, she hadn't expected this. Maybe she should have. Such a thing had never crossed her mind, however, and she shook her head. Not in disbelief, because what he said made too much sense. But just simply trying to adjust her way of thinking to include what he said, and have it make some sort of sense.

"Severus... I can't be pregnant. I'm in a strange world away from my home with a man that I have to try and leave if both of us are to get home." The snarky comments, she mostly ignored. What Snape thought about her living situation didn't interest her, and she didn't much care about his opinion of Marcus, either. While she respected Snape in many ways, anything of a social nature was, as far as she could tell, beyond him. So what if he made fun of her?

She turned away for a moment, her hand resting on her stomach, before turning back. Her face was a odd jumble of emotions. In the end, she sort of felt like she might cry, just simply from too much going on inside her. Finally, she spoke again, very softly. "Bloody hell, Severus... are you sure? Completely?"

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severelyseverus
2009-04-08 11:42 pm UTC (link)

Snape nodded, satisfied with the reaction he had observed. Clearly Tonks was shocked by the news. He wasn't sure she was as appalled as he had expected, but definitely knocked for a loop. What had she expected? She and her fellow obviously hadn't been using protection. If she hadn't wanted this, Snape was not sure he could measure his disdain for her recklessness. He felt badly for the child, however, when the witch elaborated her quandry.

"My dear witch, I am very certain. The potion I made is very accurate. Life, as you know, has a very potent and distinct magical quality. The new life growing inside you could not but be detected in your fluids. I take it you are upset by this news? If you are worried about breaking up your little family, why don't you just stay here?"

Other than the fact that he could not imagine any kind of joy in raising a child, he couldn't really understand what Tonks' problem was. In his experience, most pregnancies ended without any death or disfigurement on the part of the mother or child. Perhaps it was her man, Marcus, that she was afraid of? Would he welcome this news?

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tonks_please
2009-04-09 01:36 am UTC (link)

Tonks did start crying then, not much, just a couple of tears trailing down her pale cheeks. But she also smiled slightly, and kept her hand protectively on her stomach. It still felt flat, but in some undetermined amount of time, she would have a baby. "I'm pregnant..." She whispered the words softly, trying to internalize them, figure out how she felt about them in the end.

But the suggestion that she stay here made her glare at the wizard disdainfully. "You may be happy sitting around here doing nothing while people die at home, but I'm not." She gasped softly and put her free hand over her mouth. "Bloody hell, I'm sorry, Severus. That was really rude of me. But I won't give up on going home." But the words were not said with the force that she would have before she knew of her growing family, that was certain.

She stood still for a moment, and then nodded. She needed some time to think this over, to decide how to tell Marcus. She would have to, she knew that much, but realized that she really had no idea how he would react. "I'll talk to you later... oh, um... do you think you could just sort of not mention this to anyone?"

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severelyseverus
2009-04-09 11:33 pm UTC (link)

Snape watched Tonks impatiently as she absorbed the news further. He was jolted out of his unpleasant complacency by her words, however. It was not so much the feeble defiance to his perfectly reasonable suggestion that surprised him, but the tender apology that followed.

"My dear witch, I understand your desire to help your friends, but there are two things that your should consider. First, if this place is anything like the last place--which it strongly appears to be--people here are from various times. You don't even know when now is. How do you know you won't return at exactly the same moment you departed, free to save whichever lives you choose? You don't; so until you do, you might as well not worry about it. Second, chances are you are not leaving; in which case your child will be born here. At that point, you will find yourself in the same situation as many emigrants to foreign lands. Their children feel at home in the land they were born in, and the parents feel it is less cruel to the child to stay. So, feel whatever outrage you wish to now at my happiness, rude or not. I do not believe you will feel so outraged for long."

Pleased to have got the last word, Snape crossed his arms, waiting for his "guest" to leave.

"Fine. I shall leave it to you to tell the space-man."

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tonks_please
2009-04-10 01:21 am UTC (link)

Tonks waved off all the things he said impatiently, and then wiped the tears from her cheeks. She sort of hated herself, really, for allowing herself to cry in front of him, of all people. She sighed and shook her head, but what could she do about it now? The speech he made, however, didn't fall on totally deaf ears. She was far too intelligent to discount anything said by someone as smart as Professor Snape.

"Alright. Thank you." The last two words were whispered, and she smiled slightly at him. He had, after all, helped her. After the smile, she turned, walked to the door, and left. She had a lot to think about, a lot to decide, and Severus Snape wasn't going to be able to help her with any of it.

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