Hour or the Day
J. Lynn ([email protected])
Dedication & Inspiration: My little sister, who made me read my first yaoi story. R. J. Anderson (who may or may not appreciate being on the list) and excellent writer and the RUSS-L list mom, where I first heard of Schnoogle.com. The Double Cross RPG folks, whose excellent stories inspired me with tea and many slash relationships. Barb, who has had me hooked on her 'Psycic Serpent' series for so long it's not funny. And to Telanu and JayKae, whose excellent stories made me a Harry/Snape fan in the first place.
Harry Potter, boy who lived turned man who taught, glared at the window. Whether the fault lay with the cool autumn day outside or with the window itself, which was tempting him with said cool autumn day, was uncertain. What was certain, was that he did NOT want to spend the day grading papers.
Harry sighed and glanced at his calendar. Damn it. Not even one flying lesson to use as an excuse.
Rededicating himself to his work, he bent forward and began to mark the third year's essays on grindywillows.
* * * * * *
There were certain things Severus Snape did not enjoy. Working as a spy, teaching Weasley twins, Madame Minister's Mint Tea... And he most definitely did not enjoy spending his time in the teachers lounge fiddling with bits of machinery. All he wanted was one simple cup of coffee... Damn it!!
"Let me look."
Severus glared up at the person who dared to insinuate that he was unable to fix a simple coffee machine. "And what makes you think you'd have any better luck fixing it than I have?" He sneered.
Harry held his hands in an open gesture of peace. "Just the dubious advantage of living as a muggle nearly half my life."
Snape snorted, and turned back --- to the smug looking, half disassembled machine. Sighing he moved out of the way to let the cocky twerp look.
Damn Dumbeldore anyway. It was all his fault for buying a muggle coffee maker and attempting to make it run on a magical powersource. Couldn't the man do things the normal way just once?
Snape sat and closed his eyes while Harry fiddled with wires and gears. To everyone's, and occasionally his own, considerable consternation the two of them had declared an unofficial truce. True, they traded insults and semi-snide remarks when they were together, but the extreme irritation and occasional bouts of loathing that used to come into evidence whenever they were on the same floor disappeared by the time Harry had begun teaching.
While Voldemort had yet to be defeated, he had been seriously crippled during the last few years. Due largely to the work of Harry and Dumbeldore in heading up a massive resistance, most of Voldemort's inner circle had been captured and executed, and many of the lower ranking death eaters were now behind bars. There was relative peace, though all who had been involved remained on their guard.
And through the last several years he and Harry had fought together, bled together, and eventually come to respect one another. Snape entertained no illusions, he was still a snarky old bastard, and Harry was still the impudent brat with a tendency of rule-breaking. There was more to them than that of course, but the basics still remained the same. But they had come to be... nothing as trite as friends, but comrades. Two men who sat around and drank a cup of coffee or tea together every once in a while, trading the occasional insult, but overall enjoying each other's company.
Dear God... he didn't even want to think about what they sounded like...
He was roused from his contemplative thoughts by a small explosion in the general direction of the coffee maker.
Harry stood there, glaring at the now smoking coffee maker, while sucking on his thumb in a manner reminiscent of a two-year-old.
Severus did the first Snape-y thing that came to mind. He snorted. Loudly.
Harry glared at the amused man, then reluctantly grinned. Glancing out the window for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day he seemed to come to a decision. Giving Snape a faux sultry look, Harry purred, "Let's get out of here."
Snape restrained himself from snorting again, and, gathering his composure, said "And what do you propose we do?"
Harry, apparently rather wired despite his lack of having recently had coffee, tea, sugar, or other legal-addictive-stimulants, began bouncing on his toes. "Let's go down to Hogsmede. I've been dying to get out all day."
Severus raised his eyebrow. "And what about work? Dying or not, I'm sure that our vaulted DADA professor has some work left to do."
"I swear, all I have left are the first years essays on the development of hexes... Besides, you can get coffee..." Harry wheedled.
Severus sighed and allowed himself to be dragged out of the castle and in the direction of Hogsmede.
* * * * * * *
There are certain things that should always be savored, and a first cup of tea is definitely one of them. Harry mused as he sipped his cup of Earl Grey tea. He glanced over at Snape, who seemed to feel the same way about his coffee. Harry wrinkled his nose. Coffee was just fine as far as drinks went, but he would never understand how people could act like it was the be-all-and-end-all of drinks... Now tea on the other hand....
Harry smirked as he remembered their trip to the village. Severus had practically pushed him out of the castle once Harry had mentioned coffee. He nearly chuckled aloud at Snape's near rapturous expression as he sipped his coffee.
Eyes snapping open, Snape glared at his former student. "Like you're any better with that tea of yours."
Harry had the good grace to flush. It was true, one morning during a particularly stressful period in his seventh year he had woken up *needing* tea. He'd begun carrying round tea bags in his robe pockets. Earl Grey, chamomile, raspberry, all kinds of mint, iced or hot they all had their own use, whether it was to wake him up, put him to sleep, help him concentrate, or just get wired. During the height of the war he had taken to chewing the contents of the tea bag dry if no hot water was at hand. Hermione, in consideration had charmed and shrunk vast amounts of water in small bags she called astro-wizard cups. It had become standard procedure for Harry or whoever was going with him on a mission to carry at least a dozen of the self-heating packets. When the smell of tea had woken Harry after three days of unconsciousness, Dumbeldore had begun to worry about the situation. He, Hermionie, McGonogal, Professor Sprout, and even Snape had tried to find a reason for his reactions, but none had been forthcoming. Though it had been decided that it wasn't a real problem, everyone had been instructed not to mention this quirk to others. After all, it wouldn't do to have it get out that The Boy Who Lived would go to extreme measures all for the love of tea.
"So" Snape drawled, "How are your friends doing? I trust that Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Eustace Weasley are still in the throes of marital bliss?"
Ron and Hermionie had been married a few months before, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
"You know she'd kill you for not allowing her a name of her own," Harry chided, hiding a smirk. "And Ron'd kill you for mentioning his middle name."
"Your point being?"
Firmly repressing the urge to snicker and encourage Severus's ... well Severus-ness, Harry continued with a rather malicious grin. "Well, this should thrill you. Let's put it this way, in about eleven years you should be teaching more Weasleys."
Severus groaned and buried his head in his hands, "Not more W-" He raised his head abruptly. "No. No. No. Please tell me you did not say Weasleys as in plural."
Harry did his best to keep his face straight as he delivered the news to a stricken looking Snape. Not quite being able to manage it, he settled for a rather amused looking smug. "That's right, Weasleys. As in three."
A look of pure dread flashed across his face and stayed there for nearly a full minute, before he crumpled into near hysterical laughter.
Harry, thrown by the fact that the news of Weasley triplets seemed to have sent his companion over the edge, gave Snape an alarmed look.
When the laughter had slowed to mere spurts, Severus managed to gasp out a reason. "You know, I don't know who to feel more sorry for, me, or the mother to be in -ha, ha- six -ha, ha- months." The explanation finished Severus began chuckling anew.
Harry remained puzzled for a moment, before a vision of Hermionie Granger-Weasley, eight months pregnant, looking ready to burst because of three small children inside her, scolding Ron about Hogwarts apparation or any other subject, dawned on him. Chuckling a bit himself he held up his hand and gestured to the waitress for more tea.
* * * * * * * *
To Be Continued...
J. Lynn ([email protected])
Dedication & Inspiration: My little sister, who made me read my first yaoi story. R. J. Anderson (who may or may not appreciate being on the list) and excellent writer and the RUSS-L list mom, where I first heard of Schnoogle.com. The Double Cross RPG folks, whose excellent stories inspired me with tea and many slash relationships. Barb, who has had me hooked on her 'Psycic Serpent' series for so long it's not funny. And to Telanu and JayKae, whose excellent stories made me a Harry/Snape fan in the first place.
Harry Potter, boy who lived turned man who taught, glared at the window. Whether the fault lay with the cool autumn day outside or with the window itself, which was tempting him with said cool autumn day, was uncertain. What was certain, was that he did NOT want to spend the day grading papers.
Harry sighed and glanced at his calendar. Damn it. Not even one flying lesson to use as an excuse.
Rededicating himself to his work, he bent forward and began to mark the third year's essays on grindywillows.
* * * * * *
There were certain things Severus Snape did not enjoy. Working as a spy, teaching Weasley twins, Madame Minister's Mint Tea... And he most definitely did not enjoy spending his time in the teachers lounge fiddling with bits of machinery. All he wanted was one simple cup of coffee... Damn it!!
"Let me look."
Severus glared up at the person who dared to insinuate that he was unable to fix a simple coffee machine. "And what makes you think you'd have any better luck fixing it than I have?" He sneered.
Harry held his hands in an open gesture of peace. "Just the dubious advantage of living as a muggle nearly half my life."
Snape snorted, and turned back --- to the smug looking, half disassembled machine. Sighing he moved out of the way to let the cocky twerp look.
Damn Dumbeldore anyway. It was all his fault for buying a muggle coffee maker and attempting to make it run on a magical powersource. Couldn't the man do things the normal way just once?
Snape sat and closed his eyes while Harry fiddled with wires and gears. To everyone's, and occasionally his own, considerable consternation the two of them had declared an unofficial truce. True, they traded insults and semi-snide remarks when they were together, but the extreme irritation and occasional bouts of loathing that used to come into evidence whenever they were on the same floor disappeared by the time Harry had begun teaching.
While Voldemort had yet to be defeated, he had been seriously crippled during the last few years. Due largely to the work of Harry and Dumbeldore in heading up a massive resistance, most of Voldemort's inner circle had been captured and executed, and many of the lower ranking death eaters were now behind bars. There was relative peace, though all who had been involved remained on their guard.
And through the last several years he and Harry had fought together, bled together, and eventually come to respect one another. Snape entertained no illusions, he was still a snarky old bastard, and Harry was still the impudent brat with a tendency of rule-breaking. There was more to them than that of course, but the basics still remained the same. But they had come to be... nothing as trite as friends, but comrades. Two men who sat around and drank a cup of coffee or tea together every once in a while, trading the occasional insult, but overall enjoying each other's company.
Dear God... he didn't even want to think about what they sounded like...
He was roused from his contemplative thoughts by a small explosion in the general direction of the coffee maker.
Harry stood there, glaring at the now smoking coffee maker, while sucking on his thumb in a manner reminiscent of a two-year-old.
Severus did the first Snape-y thing that came to mind. He snorted. Loudly.
Harry glared at the amused man, then reluctantly grinned. Glancing out the window for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day he seemed to come to a decision. Giving Snape a faux sultry look, Harry purred, "Let's get out of here."
Snape restrained himself from snorting again, and, gathering his composure, said "And what do you propose we do?"
Harry, apparently rather wired despite his lack of having recently had coffee, tea, sugar, or other legal-addictive-stimulants, began bouncing on his toes. "Let's go down to Hogsmede. I've been dying to get out all day."
Severus raised his eyebrow. "And what about work? Dying or not, I'm sure that our vaulted DADA professor has some work left to do."
"I swear, all I have left are the first years essays on the development of hexes... Besides, you can get coffee..." Harry wheedled.
Severus sighed and allowed himself to be dragged out of the castle and in the direction of Hogsmede.
* * * * * * *
There are certain things that should always be savored, and a first cup of tea is definitely one of them. Harry mused as he sipped his cup of Earl Grey tea. He glanced over at Snape, who seemed to feel the same way about his coffee. Harry wrinkled his nose. Coffee was just fine as far as drinks went, but he would never understand how people could act like it was the be-all-and-end-all of drinks... Now tea on the other hand....
Harry smirked as he remembered their trip to the village. Severus had practically pushed him out of the castle once Harry had mentioned coffee. He nearly chuckled aloud at Snape's near rapturous expression as he sipped his coffee.
Eyes snapping open, Snape glared at his former student. "Like you're any better with that tea of yours."
Harry had the good grace to flush. It was true, one morning during a particularly stressful period in his seventh year he had woken up *needing* tea. He'd begun carrying round tea bags in his robe pockets. Earl Grey, chamomile, raspberry, all kinds of mint, iced or hot they all had their own use, whether it was to wake him up, put him to sleep, help him concentrate, or just get wired. During the height of the war he had taken to chewing the contents of the tea bag dry if no hot water was at hand. Hermione, in consideration had charmed and shrunk vast amounts of water in small bags she called astro-wizard cups. It had become standard procedure for Harry or whoever was going with him on a mission to carry at least a dozen of the self-heating packets. When the smell of tea had woken Harry after three days of unconsciousness, Dumbeldore had begun to worry about the situation. He, Hermionie, McGonogal, Professor Sprout, and even Snape had tried to find a reason for his reactions, but none had been forthcoming. Though it had been decided that it wasn't a real problem, everyone had been instructed not to mention this quirk to others. After all, it wouldn't do to have it get out that The Boy Who Lived would go to extreme measures all for the love of tea.
"So" Snape drawled, "How are your friends doing? I trust that Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Eustace Weasley are still in the throes of marital bliss?"
Ron and Hermionie had been married a few months before, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
"You know she'd kill you for not allowing her a name of her own," Harry chided, hiding a smirk. "And Ron'd kill you for mentioning his middle name."
"Your point being?"
Firmly repressing the urge to snicker and encourage Severus's ... well Severus-ness, Harry continued with a rather malicious grin. "Well, this should thrill you. Let's put it this way, in about eleven years you should be teaching more Weasleys."
Severus groaned and buried his head in his hands, "Not more W-" He raised his head abruptly. "No. No. No. Please tell me you did not say Weasleys as in plural."
Harry did his best to keep his face straight as he delivered the news to a stricken looking Snape. Not quite being able to manage it, he settled for a rather amused looking smug. "That's right, Weasleys. As in three."
A look of pure dread flashed across his face and stayed there for nearly a full minute, before he crumpled into near hysterical laughter.
Harry, thrown by the fact that the news of Weasley triplets seemed to have sent his companion over the edge, gave Snape an alarmed look.
When the laughter had slowed to mere spurts, Severus managed to gasp out a reason. "You know, I don't know who to feel more sorry for, me, or the mother to be in -ha, ha- six -ha, ha- months." The explanation finished Severus began chuckling anew.
Harry remained puzzled for a moment, before a vision of Hermionie Granger-Weasley, eight months pregnant, looking ready to burst because of three small children inside her, scolding Ron about Hogwarts apparation or any other subject, dawned on him. Chuckling a bit himself he held up his hand and gestured to the waitress for more tea.
* * * * * * * *
To Be Continued...