Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I love you."

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Essery Elizabeth Oakby ([info]oakbye) wrote in [info]wished,
@ 2010-10-03 21:21:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:!2003: 10, !complete, essery oakby, severus snape

Who: Essery and Snape
What: Chess & Kittens
Where: Snape's office
When: Tonight
Warning: TBA


Essery came back just a bit earlier than she thought she might, but it was still after curfew and, on seeing what she'd brought back, Sinistra had offered just to keep watch until the last few lights went out about Hufflepuff, too. Which left Essery with her hours free - and with one very new tenant in her rooms to contend with. Honestly, she hadn't been expecting to come back with one, her jokes last week aside. Still, how could she resist that smooshed up face and those blue eyes peering up at her from the box outside the M&S?

It did leave her with a problem, though. She'd wanted to spend the night in another hard fought chess game - Severus was quickly becoming someone who she looked forward to talking with, and after their last conversation... Well, she had been looking forward to playing. And she doubted he'd want the kitten running about his office. Still, she couldn't leave it in her rooms alone, and she couldn't stand him up. So she found herself at his office door in a pair of jeans and an old charity tee-shirt, knocking, with the kitten purring and trying to climb out of her arms.

As soon as he opened the door, she was already apologizing. "I know that you likely don't want him here, but I didn't want you to think that I wasn't interested in playing. I can't leave him alone in my rooms, though, so I was going to take a rain - " before she could finish excusing herself, the kitten had managed to jump out of her arms and past him, into his office, and she was cursing under her breath and nursing a new scratch to her forearm.


(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-23 02:31 am UTC (link)
"And the rest of it all given way to drudgery?" Essery smiled, but there was something duller in it thinking about her ex husband. "That's what I was hoping for, really, when I applied here. But I got myself out of the funk of wanting to hide, and decided I actually enjoyed teaching..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-23 02:40 am UTC (link)
"Drudgery indeed - essays, detentions, Potter, and the rest of it." He didn't knows why anyone would ever hope for that sort of unpleasantness. It wasn't just tedium; it was deadly boring and infuriating at once. "I'm glad to hear it, though. Not that there's nothing to be said for mind-numbing pursuits every now and then ... but they're rarely sustainable. And I don't like to lose faculty." That was a shameless generalization, of course. Everyone knew there were plenty of people he had been all to happy to lose, and probably still were. "And hiding never lasts, does it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-23 02:42 am UTC (link)
"I always thought you got a bit of a thrill out of losing faculty, actually..." She smiled at him again, and it was a bit brighter than it had been a moment ago. "But I suppose with ... well, some of those rumours about you must be true. So I suppose with a history like that, you're glad for the moments of quiet drudgery?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-23 02:50 am UTC (link)
He allowed himself a slightly twisted smile and a vague wave of his hand. "I suppose there have been a few I don't regret." Everyone he'd sacked in the past five years, for instance. "And - like most rumors - some of them are, certainly. I don't miss answering to the Dark Lord or his ranks of high-and-mighty sycophants, of course, but whether it makes the drudgery and more bearable ... I don't know." He expected that was the worst of the rumors, although he personally thought of it as something to be quite proud of. He had even enjoyed it a little. "But I find things have taken a turn for the tolerable, recently."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-23 02:54 am UTC (link)
Like most witches or wizards who had lived through both wars - even if she'd been a child during the first - Essery's shudder was visible at the thought of the Dark Lord and any of his followers. They were the stuff of nightmares - knowing they were real, that they were still around, was worse.

Knowing what he must have gone through to pretend to be one of them.... She tried to push that out of her mind and smile again, "Oh? Have I had something to do with that, then? I'm flattered."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-23 03:02 am UTC (link)
Severus had always been inclined to seek approval - and while he thought he had so far received less than his due for his role in the war, he wasn't so intent upon impressing her that he didn't notice that she was ... uncomfortable. He let the subject slide away without objection He wasn't sure he wanted her to know how close he'd come to being one of them.

"Of course you have," he said, directing his smile down to the chess board instead of at her. It was a direct question and a direct answer, and that was all that he could think to do to mitigate it. "You're much better company than your predecessor." That wasn't high enough praise, though. "Or anyone else who's come through in the past couple of decades."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-23 03:12 am UTC (link)
Essery felt herself blushing at the compliment, it wasn't entirely unexpected but it was so... straightforward. She wasn't sure Severus knew how to beat around the bush at something. It also didn't feel like empty flirtation - or like flirtation at all - and that honest quality of it made it... well, it made it seem more important.

"Well..." she said, quietly suddenly and looking down to the board herself to hide the blush. "Thank you. "

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 12:57 am UTC (link)
Being too straightforward had never been his problem - quite the opposite, in fact. Subtlety and suggestion had been his trade for a very long time, but he was somewhat at a loss as to how to apply them here, speaking with someone whom he wasn't trying to trick or convince.

Whether that was the reason that flirtation was utterly beyond him, he didn't know, but he was sure he didn't have the first idea how to get on, and that ... had not become much less frustrating over time. He would have liked to know what to say now, for instance. "It's your turn, I believe." He thought it might have been a good thing that she was blushing. He didn't hide the fact that he was pleased, anyhow. "You could take my pawn. Your stray might like another toy." All of his suggestions carried ulterior motives, though.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 01:10 am UTC (link)
Essery tried to turn her attention back to the game - but there was something in his voice that made it hard not to look up, to try to read in his face what it was he wasn't saying but that it sounded as if he'd meant.

She couldn't, of course. "I could take your pawn, but then you'd have my bishop," She finally said,moving defensively instead and then draining a good deal of her newest glass of wine.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 01:34 am UTC (link)
"So I would. Only a suggestion." He didn't regret the loss, though. With her bishop he thought he might have been able to start working toward a reasonable closure, but given the wine he'd had he was probably overlooking a few key factors. He nudged the cat away with his foot again, although it seemed to take it as encouragement to wind around his ankle. He was strangely reluctant to complain about it openly, though.

He pushed his pawn forward, out of danger. "My suggestions probably aren't worth taking, at this point. It's been a while since I polished off a bottle." Even with company. ... Which he did not usually have.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 01:42 am UTC (link)
Her eyebrow cocked up just a little, and she looked for any tell-tale signs. "Are you telling me you're drunk, Severus?" That had... interesting possibilities, really. No wonder he'd been talking so much...

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 01:51 am UTC (link)
"That's a strong word." He had a touch more color than his usual pallor, was certainly more talkative than normal, and had just outright told her that he enjoyed her company, which he hadn't told anyone in earnest since he was about twelve years old. Drunk was probably approaching the right word. For him, at least. "I've had too much to play a respectable game of chess. I told you I'd been out of practice, did I not?" He met her eyes, more than fully prepared to stubbornly insist that he was not drunk.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 01:54 am UTC (link)
Essery had been around her brother and other drinkers long enough to know that insisting you weren't drunk was one of the surest signs that you were, but she kept that thought to herself as she smiled across at him, and then moved to finally take a different of his pawns, sending it to distract the kitten who was still enamoured with Severus' feet.

"Well, that's good. I thought I was the only one feeling it. I think I'm probably in better practice than you, though?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 02:05 am UTC (link)
"I'm sure you are." It wasn't that he disapproved; the arch to his eyebrow was more or less automatic. "It wouldn't take very much practice." He glanced down with relief, tucking his foot under his chair and simply hoping that the thing wouldn't decide to use his shin as a scratching post. The fact that she was 'feeling it,' as mild a term as that was, made him feel a little less deficient. "I would excuse myself by saying I'd been chained to Hogwarts, but no doubt you'd have found a way, had you been stuck here for twenty years."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 02:12 am UTC (link)
"My brother would disown me if I didn't," She said with a laugh that was almost a giggle. "He has a ... healthy thirst, when it comes to drinking. You might remember? I'm sure he snuck enough in when he was a student..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 02:20 am UTC (link)
"Gryffindor, wasn't he?" Severus' opinions on Gryffindors were not a secret, and were borne out in his tone of voice. But being related to Essery was worth a few points. "He would have been Minerva's problem, I'm happy to say. But I do remember him." Not particularly fondly. That, of course, prompted him to remember when he'd had her in his class, and that was not something he wanted to think about. These lines of conversation were quickly converging to make him feel old. "I did once intercept a case of Ogden's. It's appalling what some parents think they'll get away with."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 02:35 am UTC (link)
"Good lord," she rolled her eyes, leaning back in her seat again. The kitten had apparently done what it could at Severus' feet and was now trying to climb up her robes and into her lap.

"Well, I did at least wait until holidays. But I've developed better tastes in things since school. This wine, for example. The elves stock this?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 02:42 am UTC (link)
"They do. For whom, I don't know. Perhaps we're meant to break it out for very important parents." He had never met a parent important enough to drink with, at least since he'd been allowed to stop kowtowing to the Malfoys and their ilk. "There's no shortage, at any rate. Getting tired, is he?" he asked, stretching his legs out now that the space under the table had freed up again. "I wouldn't have thought it was possible. You can hope that someday he grown out of being a clothes-tearing hellion."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 02:46 am UTC (link)
"Did he rip your robes?" Essery looked concerned. "Because I'd offer, but I'm afraid I'm useless at mending charms." She'd worn tattered jeans long before it was cool, because she hadn't known how to fix them.

She did reach down and help the kitten up into her lap, where it promptly turned a few circles and then settled in to sleep, purring. She smiled fondly and petted between his ears.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 02:56 am UTC (link)
"No, but not for lack of trying. You might find you have need of them soon." Of course it would settle down and behave perfectly for her. Severus rolled his eyes. At least it knew where it was wanted, he supposed. He didn't quite understand how she could seem so fond of it, the stray thing she'd found in a box on the street, but it didn't strike him as silly as he thought it would. "It seems you've chosen well."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 03:02 am UTC (link)
"Oh, I generally choose well." She smiled down at the cat, then looked across the board again and sighed. "It's getting late, isn't it? We ought to consider this a draw before I end up saying something I'll regret tomorrow..."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 03:13 am UTC (link)
"A draw might be the best thing." The board could wait, but he was a bit afraid of what he'd think of it when he saw it in the sober light of morning. He didn't think he would have any regrets aside from sloppy play, but that might have been the wine's influence. No doubt when he woke up tomorrow he'd review it all, word by word, and find something worth worrying over. "I won't keep you. Or keep score, for that matter. You can come back with a clean slate."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 03:17 am UTC (link)
"But you could keep me..." Essery said it without thinking, and then she blinked and looked, for a moment, completely horrifying embarrassed. She turned a deep red, not able to meet his eyes as she gathered the cat up and stood up too quickly.

"Right. Too much wine. I should... sorry."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]in_the_grass
2010-10-24 03:31 am UTC (link)
It was probably best that she wasn't looking at him; his reaction to something that unexpected was his usual inscrutable expression. It wasn't as could be called inviting. The moment she stood he regretted it, though - he thought he should do something, though he had no idea what. Unless it was simply drunken chatter (he didn't have much business thinking she would say something like that to him and mean it, he ought to have known that), in which case he should have ...

Well, he still didn't know. For someone who had so recently prided himself on being extremely brave, taking risks was suddenly incredibly daunting. He should have felt ridiculous for hoping that she meant even a little of it. "No, you - it's all right," he said, cursing himself. He stood. If she wanted to leave, he ought to let her, but he wasn't moving to show her the door. "Nothing to be sorry for."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]oakbye
2010-10-24 03:37 am UTC (link)
She failed a hand in a way that was supposed to be apologetic and still didn't manage to look up to meet his eyes,making an awkward sort of movement toward the door without looking up. "No, I... my fault. I drink and then whatever I'm thinking just sort of pours out apparently," even if that wasn't a problem she usually had. "Even if it's entirely inappropriate and now I can't seem to stop talking. And then ... right, not your fault."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

(no subject) - [info]in_the_grass, 2010-10-24 03:50 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]oakbye, 2010-10-24 04:01 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]in_the_grass, 2010-10-24 10:39 pm UTC

(Read comments) -

Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs