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Tweak says, "Get with the program!"

snarrymod (snarrymod) wrote in snarry_games,
@ 2008-04-20 10:56:00

Entry tags:

cruisedirector, entry, team phoenix

TEAM PHOENIX ENTRY: CruiseDirector "A Pastoral Interlude"
Title: A Pastoral Interlude
Author: cruisedirector
Team: Phoenix
Genre(s): Romance
Prompt(s): Career Change, Time Capsule
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: R; Mild adult language, fairly discreet offscreen sex. Drag mouse over space if you wish to know more: *Past-tense minor character death.*
Word Count: ~12,000
Summary: On an unhappy Christmas Eve in Somerset, Harry finds the last person he expects to see cooking in the kitchen of an inn.
A/N: Betas: The wonderful dementordelta and the amazing celandineb.
Disclaimer: Some ideas for recipes came from Maxime de la Falaise's Seven Centuries of English Cooking, though I borrowed mostly lists of ingredients. The King's Arms Inn is a real place in Shepton Mallet, but to the best of my knowledge, wizards must make reservations there the same way as everyone else.

"A Pastoral Interlude by Cruise Director"

Don't forget to review!

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Mod note: If you rec this story, please link to this POST, not the story itself, or the author/team will not get their proper vote tally or feedback. Thank you.

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(Post a new comment)

	florida_minxie 2008-04-20 11:14 pm UTC (link)
	What a wonderful story!! is suddenly glad I cannot vote This was such an emotional roller coaster with Teddy and James and sigh And I loved the unique way of keeping canon but having a very alive Snape. g (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:03 pm UTC

	themostepotente 2008-04-20 11:29 pm UTC (link)
	I haven't loved Snape as a chef/cook this much since Pirate's 'Home Fries Nazi.' This is fabulous, dear! Loved the snark and the next gen kids and everything in-between. This should definitely be part of a series. G GO TEAM PHOENIX!!! (Reply to this) (Thread)

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2008-04-21 01:17 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:05 pm UTC

foliageink, 2008-04-21 01:30 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:05 pm UTC

	iulia_linnea 2008-04-20 11:49 pm UTC (link)
	This is such a refreshing take on Snape's survival and Harry's post-DH life! I especially enjoy the calm, slightly surreal feeling it evokes. Lovely! (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:08 pm UTC

iulia_linnea, 2008-04-21 05:20 pm UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 08:29 pm UTC

iulia_linnea, 2008-04-21 08:30 pm UTC

(Anonymous)
2008-04-20 11:58 pm UTC (link)

I loved this! I liked your use of language, and the premise (with Teddy and James) was so unexpected and tragic. I'm so glad that Harry visits James in Azkaban and is making plans for his re-entry into society. The world you set up, with a disgraced Harry, appalled society, newly discovered Snape, and James getting out soon with lots of Issues to deal with, is really inviting of further exploration. I didn't want the story to end, because Harry's solutions seemed feasible but still fraught with difficulties and I was so curious to see how James's exit and relations with the Weasleys/wizarding world would become complicated and resolve themselves. In fact, I would love to read a novella that starts with this depiction of Harry and Snape meeting...

You had a few turns of phrase that made me smile or that just felt right. One was "I could call the Prophet and tell them you've returned as the Cerne Abbas giant..." Ha!

Thanks for the story!

~featherofeeling on LJ

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:10 pm UTC

(no subject) - (Anonymous), 2008-04-22 05:56 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 04:50 pm UTC

	ex_lilyseyes671 2008-04-21 12:12 am UTC (link)
	Excellent - I enjoyed it immensely! (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:11 pm UTC

painless_j
2008-04-21 12:28 am UTC (link)

That was one of the most unusual takes on the next generation! I liked it a lot. I can't say I understood it all though but that might be my reading at 4 o'clock in the morning. What was the connection between Teddy wanting to learn more about Werewolve side of his father and bidding for immortality? And where did he lead those children? And what did James do to deserve Azkaban sentence?

But anyway, despite the dark feel of the premise, it was a lovely story. Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:18 pm UTC

joanwilder, 2008-04-21 11:48 pm UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 12:44 am UTC

igtow, 2008-05-05 04:36 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-05-05 11:34 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-05-05 10:42 pm UTC

	(Anonymous) 2008-04-21 12:56 am UTC (link)
	I really, really enjoyed this, and would love to see where it ends up! I feel like it was the beginning of an amazing story. I found the children's stories very intriguing and in many ways, plausible as well. Great job! (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:21 pm UTC

	zephyr_macabee 2008-04-21 01:49 am UTC (link)
	Lovely read, the story was interesting (actual plot!) and the sex discrete. Both Harry and Severus show flashes of their old characters but both have clearly matured. Poor Teddy. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:24 pm UTC

miriravan
2008-04-21 01:56 am UTC (link)

Very nicely done. I really like the clever way you closed the age gap, and I always like to see older Harry in stories; it makes it easier for me to believe in a relationship between him and Severus when he's got a few years under his belt.

Severus is well-drawn, with his matter-of-fact snarkiness, and it's good to see that his healing has included a little mellowing of said snark--he's acerbic, but not nasty. And having him be a cook is a fun twist on a fanon standard.

I'd love to see what happens next; you leave things so open for future possibilities. It'd be great to see a post-Azkaban James and how he interacts with Severus, and how the relationship between Severus and Harry develops, and if the Weasleys get over themselves, and . . . Um, more would be nice that's all. Greedy, I reckon, but there it is. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:27 pm UTC

dragonmhs
2008-04-21 02:28 am UTC (link)

This was lovely and quiet and tragic and hopeful all at the same time. Part of me could really see where Teddy and James came from, how the world as it is could shape them.

Your Snape in this is wonderful. I love how he is still the Snape we know from cannon but time away has helped him grow a bit more, filled off a few of his rough bits :-).

And Harry . . . grown up but still so confused by the world around him. Not to mention the way he has of seeing his loved ones always for the best, even when they have really messed up.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:30 pm UTC

	snarry_fan7 2008-04-21 02:44 am UTC (link)
	Most excellent and intriguing work! The back-story with Teddy and James was most interesting and I love the interaction between Harry and Severus. Well done.~Sophia (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:31 pm UTC

	hambares 2008-04-21 02:46 am UTC (link)
	I really enjoyed your story! Severus as a cook - and liking the job - was a great idea. I think he and Harry will be happy. I wish James well too (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:32 pm UTC

wichie
2008-04-21 03:05 am UTC (link)

This story should be boring. I don't mean, that it is, only that it should be: "Harry finds Snape, Snape helps Harry find himself, SMUT, the end ...". Only there is such a lovely tension, not really between Harry and Severus, but between the stories of the older and younger generations. Harry and Severus are coming together as men who have faced the devil and lived, but in the back-story of Teddy, James and the rest of the "peaceful" generation, we see men who have fashioned their own hells. It has an odd sort of balance, that Harry and Severus are finding peaceable life together, while the children of peace sit among the wreck and ruin of their lives. [Sorry for the references, but I have been listening to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".] I umpteenth the motion for this to become a series, because you have such a rich vein of detail to mine.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:34 pm UTC

	akuma_river 2008-04-21 03:13 am UTC (link)
	Wow. What a brilliant story. I love the story, fallen hero and his family, abandonment, redemption. Such a shame about Teddy. Loved it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:36 pm UTC

akuma_river, 2008-04-22 04:34 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 04:55 pm UTC

akuma_river, 2008-04-22 05:07 pm UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 11:29 pm UTC

akuma_river, 2008-04-23 02:37 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-23 05:24 pm UTC

akuma_river, 2008-04-24 02:22 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-24 04:04 am UTC

akuma_river, 2008-04-24 04:09 am UTC

nonajf
2008-04-21 03:18 am UTC (link)

This is a fascinating story and beautifully told. Snape and Harry both felt real and in character. Your take on how Snape survived, and in bringing their ages into synch, was very original.

Even though this is a romance and the current focus is on the two men discovering each other and coming together, the mystery of what happened to Harry's family had me hooked. I was desperate for each hint and each detail as you doled them out.

Very interesting psychological effects of the war on the next generation. Harry ponders the eternal question of nature versus nurture: how much were the defects of Teddy's and James' personalities a reflection of them and their 'blood', and how much were upbringing and feeling inadequate next to the 'heroes' of the past.

Lots for me to think about, and so very well told!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:39 pm UTC

	shadowess 2008-04-21 03:22 am UTC (link)
	wonderful job on this fic. I really enjoyed that you had Teddy and James being evil, and Scorpius being the good guy. The interaction btw Severus and Harry was very well portrayed. Your Severus was very, Snapeish. Go Phoenix!! (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:42 pm UTC

	lalaith_niniel 2008-04-21 03:34 am UTC (link)
	My heart broke for Harry in this, for the position that his family, and his own faults, put him in. It's good to know that he would have Snape there to help him put the pieces back together. I love your use of the time capsule prompt and cooking Snape will always hold a special place in my heart. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:45 pm UTC

	simons_flower 2008-04-21 04:03 am UTC (link)
	The most fascinating part about the entire fic was unraveling exactly what it was that had happened to James and Teddy. Poor Harry -- I could see him as a step from being that Squib at the bar, only to find redemption in Snape. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:46 pm UTC

Like a posset, some comfort in the dark

slashpine
2008-04-21 04:57 am UTC (link)

This was interesting and different. Snape and Harry's story seemed very immediate, with all the rich sensory details of food, the place, its history, the single other character present (poor fellow!) and the many other characters referred to.

Harry's so surprised by Snape, but it's all the other people in his life who have turned out to be the bigger, and less welcome, surprise. Some are still friendly but only at a distance, some unexpectedly hostile, and some are dead. James is imprisoned like Sirius had been, a kind of death in life, and Harry's clearly been in mourning. Some were so close, yet not seen clearly, like Teddy and James, or Fred. Others long dead, like Harry's mother and Dumbledore, or whom he thought dead, like Snape, are almost closer than those in his own family.

I don't think I've ever seen a Snarry that unsettles the assumptions about personalities so much, showing that their importance to Harry isn't simply whether they're alive, or the "right sort," or in his family. It's as though his gaze into the Mirror of Erised has finally come into focus, and he's realized those images are not only just wishes, they're the kind of mass fantasy the whole Wizarding World consists of, given their habit of denial.

Against all this, Snape's food and blunt tongue are immediate, strong-scented, solid and trustworthy. I love how Harry comes to relocate himself through this Christmas Eve encounter, and what it says about Snape's qualities. He's never been pretty or flashy or sweet-tongued like other Wizards, but his pragmatism is what helped Harry survive the war, and re-grounds him now in hope. I'm not saying this very well, but I see in this story a deeper, thoughtful look at what the essence is of Harry, of Snape, and of the WW. Harry is finally able to see both the pretty fantasies he chose in the Epilogue, and the danger this hides, and makes the right choice for James. With his new honesty and Snape's help, the younger generation may finally escape both the bad choices and the denials.

All philosophizing aside, it was a fun read. I was frustratingly confused by the backstory most of the way through, and had to go back and forth to try to sort it out, but that didn't keep me from liking every Snarry-licious second of the present-day scene and dialogue. A second read, I'm sure, will find the confusion gone, and all the Snarry details even more enjoyable. Like this:

Snape as a lover was a sublime revelation. He was as slow and careful in preparation as he had been with potion ingredients and food, but once he concluded that the chemistry was working, he became creative and slightly wicked. And assertive and demanding and a bit of a show-off.

Arguably the best description ever of Snape as a lover!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Like a posset, some comfort in the dark -

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 05:51 pm UTC

Re: Like a posset, some comfort in the dark -

slashpine, 2008-04-21 07:23 pm UTC

Re: Like a posset, some comfort in the dark -

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 10:03 pm UTC

leni_jess
2008-04-21 05:40 am UTC (link)

This is interesting and unusual. I like the way you've thought about the way things might have gone wrong with the children, and the ways in which they'd go wrong between Harry and Ginny. You acknowledge that really Harry is pretty thick, even though he tries, with love and goodwill – in public as well as private life (and that the Weasleys are not an entirely successful or healthy family, too – you have me being very sorry for Hermione! peripheral though she is to Harry's story).

You've found a neat new way of saving Snape: congratulations! I'm not sure I believe in a Snape content to be a cook (however good), but I can see the lure of a quiet and retired life, where he is not known and therefore will be evaluated for what he is, rather than on preconceptions – provided that he can give up ambition and the desire for recognition. Turn into almost a different person entirely, with greater capacity for contentment, even if until now he's been denied real happiness – not that he'd be expecting that. He has respect, and a place, and productive activity in which he can excel. Maybe he grew up in that curative stasis. He certainly is far more adult, now.

The solstice had passed; the light would be returning - Yes!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:31 pm UTC

allika
2008-04-21 05:45 am UTC (link)

I adored this!!! This was so unique; I have never seen or considered the possibility that Teddy or Harry's children would be anything less than golden and happy, to be perfectly honest. The worst I've ever seen is a James that is mean to Albus Severus, so this was a really wonderful and interesting take...oh, and the "magical hibernation" was new, too. Great job, great creativity, very inspiring to me...I'm imagining future interactions among Harry and Snape and James...you could sooo sequel this without overdoing it. I'm just being all random all over the place; you've reduced me to incoherancy. Good job!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:34 pm UTC

allika, 2008-04-23 02:26 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-23 05:29 pm UTC

	gaycrow 2008-04-21 11:01 am UTC (link)
	Mmm, I liked this very much. I found the back-story about James and Teddy quite fascinating, and not a little sad. Very well thought up. I liked your Snape and Harry here. Making Snape appearing closer to Harry's age was a nice touch, and I thought you captured their voices particularly well. It's so nice to see some lovely Snarry stories. ♥ (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:37 pm UTC

	hpstrangelove 2008-04-21 11:41 am UTC (link)
	I liked this very much; came across sweet and romantic, sensual and hopeful for their future. Exactly the way I like my Snarry. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:38 pm UTC

hpstrangelove, 2008-04-22 12:19 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 12:47 am UTC

hpstrangelove, 2008-04-22 01:26 am UTC

cruisedirector, 2008-04-22 01:35 am UTC

lovesseamstress
2008-04-21 01:55 pm UTC (link)

So well done....I love stories that respect the readers' intelligence--you didn't overstuff the story with needless exposition, but let us fill in the blanks from the dialog, etc. One of the most original "Snapes lives" ideas to date, as well original take on the post-epilogue future. Like other reviewers, I find the entire situation, current and backstory, too fascinating to end here. Bring on the series!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:41 pm UTC

	torino10154 2008-04-21 02:43 pm UTC (link)
	Stunning piece. I loved the contrast of the calm, quiet near domesticity at the inn with the backdrop of the chaos that is Harry's family life. I was surprised at the road Teddy and James took. But there is a lesson there about complacency, secrets, family bonds, and probably much more. Well done. (Reply to this) (Thread)

cruisedirector, 2008-04-21 06:44 pm UTC

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