Author: Many wonderful writers from the HPRoundRobin@Livejournal, each chapter may be someone different from the one before
Rated: R for upcoming situations
Summary: stryfechild's challenge. All over Great Britain mysterious wedding invitations have been sent to staff and former students of Hogwarts, every person on the guest list has some connection to either Harry Potter or Severus Snape. The catch, no one knows who the wedding is for, not even the key participants.
Pairing: SS/HP
Spoilers: None that i know of
Disclaimer: Not mine. No money made. These characters belong to JK Rowling
Feedback: Always welcome
A Wedding Story
Chapter 1
By stryfechild
Severus Snape was taking a well-deserved rest now that school was over
for the year, and there were no more students to harass and annoy him.
He was free from their presence until next September, and joy of joys,
no more Harry Potter, ever! Not even Albus would be so cruel as to force
him to work with Potter on Order business, when it was perfectly obvious
they would never get anything done besides argue and glare at each other.
The last year had been pure torture, having been forced to work with the
brat on missions for the Order. He had decided to take a walk around the
lake; despite what the students believed, Severus enjoyed the sun light,
he was often just too busy making potions to go out. While he was walking,
a large barn owl dropped out of the sky and landed roughly on his shoulder.
Grumbling, Severus moved closer to a tree so the owl could hop over to
a branch. Once the owl had transferred itself to the tree it stuck out
its leg and hooted at him to relieve it of its burden. Snape untied the
parchment and grumped at the owl. "I don't have any treats, so sod off."
The owl gave a grumpy hoot and launched itself off the tree, battering
Snape with its wings in the process. Dreading what might be with contained
in the letter, he slowly opened it only to gape, very unSnape-like, at
the contents.
You are Cordially Invited to a Wedding.
Date: the Fifteenth of August 1999
Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Please arrive at twelve noon precisely, presents are unnecessary
What is this! It seemed very much like a prank to him and his dark eyes searched around for anyone who would be near enough to see his reaction, and he strained to hear any sound that didn't belong to nature. He was to be disappointed; there was no one within seeing or hearing distance. He examined the invitation, but he didn't recognize the handwriting. He whirled with a huff and headed toward the castle, grumbling all the way, until he stood before the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. "Cockroach Clusters." Suppressing a shudder at the thought of those particular candies, the Potions Master made his way up the staircase. A cheerful 'come in' answered his knock and he stepped into the office. Albus was seated behind his desk, those damned eyes twinkling with all their might.
"What can I do for you, dear boy?"
"You can start by explaining the meaning of this." He held up the offending invitation, pinning the Headmaster with his worst glare, which only caused his eyes to twinkle all the more.
"Ah, I see you received one as well." Albus held up an identical copy
to the invitation Severus had in his hand. "I'm afraid I know no more then
you do, Severus. I guess we shall just have to wait and see." With one
last glare and a snarled 'fine,' Hogwarts' resident greasy git stormed
out of the office. Albus could only smile and shake his head. "Yes, my
dear boy, we shall see much sooner then you would like, I suspect."
Harry Potter was lounging in the living room of his London flat, enjoying
the feeling of doing nothing. For now, the Order was in a holding pattern,
and he had just taken a week off from work and had decided to indulge in
laziness for a change. Just then a large owl flew in his open window, landed
on the back of his couch, and hooted loudly, demanding immediate attention.
"Alright, alright, just a moment." He heaved himself into a sitting position
and took the parchment from the owl. "Food and water are over there," he
said gesturing towards the dishes he kept out for when Hedwig needed them.
As the owl replenished itself, Harry opened the letter. "What the bloody
hell is this?"
You are Cordially Invited to a Wedding.
Date: the Fifteenth of August 1999
Location: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Please arrive at twelve noon precisely, presents are unnecessary
He pushed himself up from the couch and walked over to the fireplace. Grabbing a handful of powder, he threw it into the flames. "Albus Dumbledore."
"Harry my boy, what can I do for you?"
"Professor, do you know the meaning of this invitation?"
"So, you received one as well. No, I'm afraid I don't."
"As well? Who else has gotten one of these?"
"As far as I know, only myself, Severus, and now you."
"I see. Thank you for your time Professor."
"Anytime Harry, anytime. And Harry? I haven't been your professor for over a year now."
"Yes Pro-Albus."
"Goodbye, Harry," and with a pop, the fireplace held only flames once more.
Over much of Great Britain, nondescript barn owls were delivering similar invitations; and in a small room in the castle, a spelled quill ran down a list of names checking off each one as they received their invitation:
Albus Dumbledore - check
Severus Snape - check
Harry Potter - check
Minerva McGonagall - check
Rubeus Hagrid - check
Ronald Weasley - check
Hermione Granger - check
Draco Malfoy - check
Remus Lupin - check
The list continued, encompassing the rest of the professors, and the rest of the Weasley family, among others.
~tbc~