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Tweak says, "I'm sorry Timeless"

in_the_grass (in_the_grass) wrote in wished,
@ 2010-09-25 00:10:00

Entry tags:

!2003: 09, !complete, essery oakby, severus snape

Who: Severus Snape & Essery Oakby
What: Chatting, etc.
Where: Hogwarts, Headmaster's office
When: Tonight
Warnings/Rating: TBA

Severus had had a few years to adjust to being able to tell the truth on a regular basis. He didn't do it gratuitously, still - there were plenty of things he saw no reason to bring up even if they weren't strictly off-limits, and a few that he still kept as close as he ever had. But he had more or less grown accustomed to the fact that there was no longer any grand, over-arching reason to say as little as possible. What was new and unfamiliar was the fact that now there was actually someone to whom he might care to say anything. Dumbledore, Malfoy and the others he'd been (somewhat) open with during the war were a different phenomenon. He couldn't imagine wanting to chat with any of them. The urge to go beyond the barest bones of pleasantries with someone with whom he had no pressing business was peculiar enough that it couldn't help but be striking.

Which made him wonder, now, why it hadn't quite stricken him before, but. It was ridiculous to delve into all of that over this, surely. First of all, he wasn't going to tell her what he knew about Goyle, at least not the more sensitive parts; in that he considered himself to be doing her a bit of a favor. (Who would want to know? It would be better if he didn't spend too much time thinking about it himself, because the thought of it still threatened to make him livid.) And then, he did owe Goyle something, and he wasn't going to risk having all of those careful plans upset by something that could see him tossed out, however unlikely she was to spread rumors.

The uncomfortable truth was that whatever he had said or insinuated, he had done it almost entirely because he wanted to talk to her, and that really ought to have been unacceptable. But he found he didn't really care. He was almost certain that it was no great sin to want to talk to someone, not anymore. Especially when they were ... well. Pleasant. And so he waited in his office, as casual as he ever was, standing at one of the shelves and thumbing through one of his collections of treatises on hellebore. He could distract himself as he pleased.

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in_the_grass
2010-09-28 02:12 am UTC (link)

"Esmeralda, is it?" It was a little infuriating to think that he couldn't even keep the portraits in line - but then, how he was supposed to threaten someone who had already died, he didn't know. "We'll have to have a word. I thought I'd made myself more clear." He rolled his eyes, not really as annoyed as he might have been. Things were rarely secret here for long. "If you could exercise a little more discretion than she has, I would be very grateful." He didn't touch on anyone else who might have been in the bathroom. He drank his wine, wondering why he'd taken them on in the first place. Weakness, sheer weakness.

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	oakbye 2010-09-30 02:11 am UTC (link)
	"The polka dotted Spanish one," Essery clarified, she was almost sure there was more than one Esmerelda in the portraits, though she couldn't be sure. She sipped her wine again, trying not to laugh. "I really thought she was exaggerating. Students snogging in the doorway or something as they passed...." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-09-30 02:19 am UTC (link)

"Yes, thank you. I am still learning their names, believe it or not." After ... twenty-some years. It sounded as though Esmeralda was saying more than her piece, really, so he would have to go and have a word with her. Or call her up to have a chat, if he wanted to be particularly intimidating. "Does she often tell stories? She musn't, if she's lasted this long." He didn't want to think about Goyle snogging anything or anyone, least of all someone who probably wasn't mentally stable enough to consent, and ... no, it was more of a mess than he was willing to confront. "It probably was not an exaggeration. Sadly enough."

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oakbye
2010-09-30 02:31 am UTC (link)

"Oh, you can't really fault them for it..." Essery laughed, feeling warm from the wine and ... well, the story was a little funny, now that she knew it was true. Horrible, and definitely not for times when students could walk in, but still.. funny. "I mean, what else do the portraits have to do with their time but tell stories? And good god. No prefects interrupted, did they?"

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in_the_grass
2010-09-30 02:38 am UTC (link)

"They're marvelous informants, of course. But that's just a matter of ensuring that they tell stories to the right people." About halfway through his glass of wine, he was becoming quite aware of the effects - nothing too serious, but they were noticeable, and he was sure he shouldn't have another. "No, no one interrupted. I flatter myself I maintain order reasonably well, but even I couldn't have silenced that sort of scandal. I'll have to ask you to keep it close." He gave her a dry smile; it was clear he wasn't terribly concerned that she would do otherwise. That in itself was a little odd.

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	oakbye 2010-09-30 02:40 am UTC (link)
	Essery cocked an eyebrow slightly, and after finishing her glass of wine and holding out her glass for a second, she was maybe a little more prone to teasing than she might have been otherwise. "Well, how on earth could I play it any other way when I don't really have any details. You've yet to practice those gossiping skills, Sir." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-09-30 02:48 am UTC (link)

"You've smoked my strategy, I'm afraid." He lifted the bottle to pour her another glass, happy enough to be behind in his drinking. She almost certainly had more practice than he did. "It's a very old habit - you can sit if you like, you know - and I haven't shed it quite yet." In setting the bottle down again on the table, he'd remembered that there were, in fact, chairs. "Anyhow, I have a legion of portraits to do my gossiping for me, it seems. Things I alone know are in short supply these days."

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	oakbye 2010-09-30 02:54 am UTC (link)
	"Oooh, see, now we're past gossiping and into secrets..." Essery giggled again, pulling back her glass and sipping automatically. She wasn't near tipsy, but she was starting to feel warm and she was still surprised, really, how much she had come to enjoy talking to him. Four years working for him - and who would have guessed? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

in_the_grass
2010-09-30 03:02 am UTC (link)

He was surprised - or a little startled, at least - that he had come to enjoy speaking to someone at all, length of the acquaintance quite aside. There were people he'd known far longer than four years with whom he still exchanged no more than frigid pleasantries in the corridors. "I'm doomed to disappoint where secrets are concerned, as badly as with gossip. You can't be any better, though. People who write books must not have many secrets they've not seen fit to use."

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oakbye
2010-09-30 03:08 am UTC (link)

"I suppose there are people lined up to try to make people believe they're telling your secrets," Essery had never really known what to believe about him, honestly, there were so many rumours and sides to things, she'd always found it was better to find out what someone was like for herself.

"Though, I wouldn't say you're disappointing," she countered, smiling at the rim of her glass and taking another seat. He'd offered that she could sit down, so she moved us enough that she was sitting at the edge of the windowseat. Was it a windowseat, or a windowsill? She wasn't all that worried about looking foolish, though, either way.

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in_the_grass
2010-09-30 03:17 am UTC (link)

"Very few." Which rankled a little, because despite the fact that he had needed to be more or less invisible for the greater part of his career, he wasn't one to shy away from acclaim or recognition. He had always craved it. "I don't have many that aren't on record in trial transcripts, by now, and they don't make for an account that many people are eager to read just yet, the Dark Lord only five years dead and buried." He smiled, and set the bottle beside her. "That's kind of you to say. I'm sure you were expecting something rather more sensational. I must apologize." He didn't regret it, though. Disappointed or not, she was good company.

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oakbye
2010-10-03 11:46 pm UTC (link)

The mention of trial transcripts made her look down into her glass for a moment. She knew that he was involved, of course she did, everyone knew that. But honestly, Essery liked to be reminded of the war as little as possible. It hadn't even affected her that personally, her squib relatives were, at least, from pureblood families, but it wasn't a part of their history she wanted to have to remember.

She pushed the thought away with another drink, then shook her head and looked up at him again. "For your first time, I'd say you've done very well. Just takes practice. We might add gossiping sessions to those chess games we'd planned on."

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in_the_grass
2010-10-03 11:56 pm UTC (link)

"Thank you." He leaned against the opposite side of the windowsill, taking another slow sip of his wine. "I could use the practice with chess just as much, I think, although it sounds as though the conversation might be distracting." He couldn't miss her reaction - it wasn't that uncommon, really, among most people he still dealt with - and made the rare decision not to press it, only raising his eyebrow a little. He didn't know exactly what she had done or what had been done to her doing the war. And he wasn't all that inclined to talk about things that made her look away. "Does it still come with wine, when it happens over a chess board? We'll certainly get to checkmate faster that way."

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oakbye
2010-10-04 12:03 am UTC (link)

"You got there quickly enough without the wine, thank you," She laughed though, even as she said it, and her usual easy smile came back as she gave a little shrug. "I don't think I've actually played much chess while drinking, so that might be an experience. It does make the gossiping go faster. Still, maybe you're a natural study. All those years of faculty meetings must have given you some chances." She couldn't help but notice how close he was standing, and she moved her legs, turning a bit, so that he could sit beside her in the windowsill if he wanted. The invitation, she thought, was pretty obvious.

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in_the_grass
2010-10-04 12:20 am UTC (link)

"Oh, yes. Chances to notice, anyhow. I try not to comment on my colleague's indiscretions." They were rarely interesting or pleasant, as far as he was concerned. "Sharing it will be new ground to cover. We'll both have our handicaps - I'll be distracted from the game, and hopefully you can slow to match my beginner's pace. Assuming we have anything to talk about. This place can be a little ... dusty."

It was obvious - so much so that even he could hardly miss it. With some effort his kept his eyebrow from rising any higher. But after only a split second he took it, sitting only a little precariously on the windowsill, balancing his glass beside him. It was no great crime to want to sit next to someone, either. "Occasionally something notable happens."

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