Write a scene from https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839559 in another character’s POV. Either one of the series is fine xD
yep even though I myself have little inspiration lately… you practically demanded it xD
Thank you!! Inspiration is a flickery thing, but these things help. I'm so, so glad to say this is the first thing that I write with ease in almost two years.
From this ask game. You can also read it on AO3.
The Big Discovery
Set towards the end of chapter XIV: You Don't Care and That's Fine.
James was on his way downstairs when his eyes wandered into their former library. He had barely stepped foot inside since it had been turned into Snape’s bedroom. Oddly enough, the lad seemed to keep it in order of his own accord. He knew Snape used to be messy, but he was too grateful for not having to intervene to dwell on it.
At present, though, the bed was unmade. The twinge of annoyance died as soon as he remembered the skittish glances and sick pallor of the boy peeking inside the kitchen that morning. Someone should change the bedclothes anyway.
His nose scrunched in disgust at the thought. And to think no one was forcing him to do this…
As soon as he pushed the door fully open and stepped inside, the smell of sickness hit his nostrils. He almost recoiled and his legs bumped into the cat, who was quick to slip inside.
“Oi! Come back,” he hissed. As expected, Mrs Plump ignored him and dashed underneath the bed.
Huffing and trying hard not to think about his life’s choices, he went to open the window. The chilly morning breeze made him feel marginally better. From there, he took out his wand and stripped the bed bare. They could not really be dirty yet, but it always felt better to sleep in sheets untouched by sweat or sickness. He summoned clean linens and, while he waited, he heard the scratches and soft mews coming from the cat’s current spot.
“Bloody hell,” he grumbled, crouching down.
He was ready to give Mrs Plump a piece of his mind when he noticed she had got her claws on some sort of bundle pinned between the mattress and the wooden slats. It must be something the lad had taken care to hide.
Right away, his temper flared up. It was doubtful Snape had carried anything of value with himself when he arrived, judging from the rags he had been wearing. If he had hidden anything, it must have been something he had no right taking in the first place.
The little shit was a thief, which meant James was back on familiar ground.
Shooing the cat away —which did not work, of course, as that particular little shit was afraid of nothing but Harry—, he crawled further under the bed. A rancid smell assaulted him, different from the faint whiff that had surrounded the room moments earlier. Frowning, he reached out and, with a determined tug, freed the hidden treasure. He expected the contents to clunk or to be heavy, but whatever the boy had stolen, it was a light assortment.
Once back out in the open, he noticed the stench came from what he was holding. Disgusted, he let it on the floor, where the cloth opened and revealed a few chunks of bread, some half eaten biscuits and something that could have been chicken. There was even a muffin, covered in the same white and green spots as the bread. James reckoned he could become sick just from looking at it.
It was almost enough to make him forget this was what Snape had been stealing. His revulsion only grew.
The wanker had been hiding food away as if they had been starving him, when it was him who had done little else than peck at his food after the first night. Perhaps he had even got ill from eating that rubbish instead of catching it from Harry, as they had thought. And now he was miserable because of his own idiocy.
The memory of the night they had found him in the bathroom was enough to spark a feeling of pity within him once again. The lad might have been stupid, but he had already paid the price for it. No sense in dwelling on it.
He got up, not knowing what to do. Mrs Plump had also come out from under the bed and sat at a distance from the food, her sharp eyes fixed on it. It was clear he could not just ignore the issue. Going to her, he scooped her up and carried her out of the room, closing the door before letting her down.
He had hoped Lily would know what to do, as she usually did when dealing with Snape, but she looked just as lost looking at the sad bundle of mouldy food abandoned on the floor.
“D’you think he was getting ready to run away?” she whispered after staring down in silence for a long time.
“What?”
“He must’ve been gathering it up for days. Perhaps he was planning on running away and fell sick before he could.”
She looked devastated and James swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.
“No, no. He wouldn’t do that.” He tried to think up another option, something less gloomy. “It’s probably nothing. He likes being around the cat. He wanted to feed her, but you know she won’t eat anything like this. The food went bad before he could get rid of it.”
It sounded so simple. He allowed himself a moment of hope. Wanting to share it, he passed an arm across her shoulders and drew her closer. He could feel her sag against him.
“What if he was hungry? If he was willing to eat that instead of coming to us? I’d rather he would’ve just taken it from the pantry.”
It shamed James to hear the clear disgust in Lily’s voice, because contrary to him, she was offended for the lad’s sake and not because of his actions.
Snape had not come to them when he had become sick in the dead of night, either. It was not difficult to recall his rigid body in his arms, shaking and feverish and scared out of his wits. The wariness that seemed to never leave him, not even when he was offered food and medicine.
He had promised Lily he would try harder and he was falling woefully short. He still saw Snivellus first and Severus too late.
He gave his wife another squeeze.
“We’ll tell him that he’s free to help himself to more if he’s ever hungry. We’ll ask him why he did it, too, and then you’ll reassure him and it’ll be okay.”
They really did not need the complication of having to stop Snape from running away, but between that and the knowledge that he might have been going hungry while in their care, there could be no harm in wishing for a third option, right?
Well you know I’m always ready to humor you there xD okay I am indulging in expressing my personal curiosity but ‘hush’ nobody needs to know xD hm… 💌, 💫, 🎀, 🍭 xD
I appreciate you humouring me, thanks. ^-^
💌 Share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!
All the interactions between James and Sev in the next chapter of House Potter! I'm really excited to see how people will react to them.
💫 What is your favourite kind of comment/feedback?
I love when readers share something that stood out to them about the story/chapter, be it the characterisation, a scene or a line. I also love long, rambling comments when you can tell the person enjoyed the writing so much they're barely coherent.
🎀 Give yourself a compliment about your own writing.
I pour my heart into my writing. Currently a bit mad at myself because I'm not pouring anything into anywhere.
🍭 Why did you start writing?
My grandpa and my father could come up with a fantastic story on the spot and I wanted to be able to do the same. I started by experimenting with the kind of stuff they were good at until, eventually, I found my own voice.
in an entirely none selfish way (😂😉)I’ll asl for Pippa Pentangle and Hecate Hardbroom tww 2017
although feel free to answer doe anyone you actually have an answer.
5, 6, 13, 16, 23, 25, 32, 35, 44, 50
feel free to just pick a few out of them I can’t choose xD
Thanks so much! Had a great time answering these —I'll put it under the cut to avoid cluttering everyone's dash. x)
5. Best personality trait.
Pippa: seeing the best in other people.
Hecate: loyalty.
6. Worst personality trait.
P: self-centred.
H: narrow-minded.
13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done.
P: Giving Millie part of her power —a well meaning albeit stupid decision.
H: She'll say it's giving magic to Indigo, but it's actually being nasty to Indigo when all the girl needed after "waking up" was her support.
16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves.
P: She found it hard to forgive Hecate, even though she would never have admitted to even holding a grudge during thirty years.
H: She found an odd sort of comfort in being confined to the academy.
23. If they were a scented candle, what would they smell like?
P: cherry.
H: apple and cinnamon.
25. 3 things they’d want to take with them if they were dropped off in the middle of nowhere.
P: her broom, a hair brush and Hecate.
H: a portable cauldron, a bag full of ingredients and a notebook to keep track of her experiments —sorry, Pippa.
32. Something guaranteed to make them smile/laugh.
P: Hecate's surprised face whenever she boops her nose.
H: Ada's laughter.
35. Their idea of a perfect day.
I can think of several scenarios, but for both of them I think it would count as a perfect day whenever they finally figure out how to make a potion or spell work after a long research.
44. Their happiest memory.
P & H: the day they met.
50. A memory they’ve blocked out.
P: She sent Hecate a lot of letters a few months after they finished school, when she'd cooled down, but they all went unanswered.
H: the pain and shame of all the times she tried to cross the academy's boundaries after her confinement was enforced.
Not that I want to stress you… buut I am completely burned out and still have 4 more exams to suffer thru…
So: is there any chance for sneak peak? 🫣🫠😂😅
Mrs Plump chose that instant to interrupt. Her low mew as she approached him sounded sad, so Severus took a moment to scratch her behind the ears. The weight on his chest eased a bit.
“So what if they reckon I’m a whole lotta work. I don’t care. Don’t need ‘em,” he replied in an equally quiet albeit far more furious whisper.
At this rate, I feel like I'm gonna share the whole chapter before it's ready, but it seems we could both use some Mrs Plump comfort right now, so here you go. Take care, treat yourself to some nice food and good luck with your exams!
and as always feel free to share anything you want xD
You can rest easy, only good things to say about you. ;) Thanks for sending this ask!
✏️ One sentence that describes you.
You're so passionate and aren't afraid to share your enthusiasm or opinions with others, thus giving off self-confident vibes.
🕵️ Something I learned about you.
Off the top of my head, I remember you're Swiss (from the German-speaking part, though you also speak French), your name comes from the Greek god Dionysus and Harry Potter was the first book you read voluntarily.
I'm going to add 🕺🏼 (any time you made me really happy), because honestly, every time I see your username in my notifications —be it a comment on AO3, a question or a like on Tumblr—, it makes me smile and I really appreciate that.
Okay… I know someone who should study but is freaking procrastinating and lacking material to successfully procrastinate…
sooo here my question: how much does one have to bribe you with to get material to successfully procrastinate? xD
Feel free to ignore the question, I just couldn’t resist xD
It'll be enough to get me either a decent job or a house, I'm not picky. xD
Nah, what I really need now to keep writing is energy. And messages like this? They give me a boost, so thank you. As soon as I have some news, I'll let you all know.
Well I am certain you know where I am always curious xD.
but I have to ask about something else too: “an other one that wont get written” that listing just makes me damn curious…
xD
I'm always blabbering about House Potter, though. I've had to think very hard to come up with something I could share —but I found it! The next chapter is called "Threats & Promises."
Another One That Won't Get Written is basically a conversation with @mariagvogel that got way out of hand. The premise is what would happen if Severus got-deaged during the fifth book and was sent to Grimmauld Place with Sirius. So it's basically House Potter on hard mode. xD
We wrote some loose scenes on our WA chat and then I gathered them together on a doc only to discover we'd actually written 8k words! The scenes we've got are Sirius losing his temper with Severus —it couldn't be any other way— and Harry overcoming his wariness and acting as a buffer.
It's technically a WIP but, as the title says, it's going to stay that way.
This is one of my favourite fragments:
Fuck Snape for being Snape, fuck Dumbledore for saddling him with this, fuck You-Know-Who for coming back to life and stopping him from clearing his name.
Fuck his luck. And fuck Mother. That's never unnecessary.
but as this is quite a list feel free to just pick 2 or three of those that you are willing to share with us…
No worries, I wouldn't have reblogged that post if I hadn't wanted people to ask stuff. Thanks so much for dropping by!
4. What are some of examples of storytelling that inspires you outside of books?
Art, songs, little scenes my friends tell me on WA, news. In the case of fanfiction, fanvids and gifs are also an important source of inspiration for me.
5. What is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying the longest? Optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?
A sci-fi original story that's been living rent-free in my head for almost a decade. It used to make me experience deep existential dread because I'm not sure I'll ever be able to write it —it's a very complex concept that needs lots of time, research and skill—, but not anymore. I'd still like to write it but it's no great loss if I don't, since I'm the only person invested in it and I can always daydream about it.
18. Tell us about a character who’s very different from you who you love a whole lot.
Most of the characters I love are very different from me, hahaha. Peggy Carter comes to mind right now.
19. What’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? Also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?
I admit it's been a long while since I've done serious research. I don't always bother when I'm writing fanfiction, though I do remember learning microwaves were common in the UK in the late 70s/early 80s.
22. Talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you. Or talk about several. Seriously, writing is cool. You’re making up whole stories out of your brain, revel in that shit.
Writing is the coolest! My favourite experience is when the story seems to write itself, when the characters act on their own (but without getting themselves into trouble I can't get them out of) and the whole thing just flows. You never know where you're going to end up and I find it impossible to actually explain the way I feel at moments like this because people tend to think it's an exaggeration. But no, on those occasions I'm just the person holding the pen, writing down someone else's story.
25. Hey - what are you working on right now?
The next chapter of House Potter. ^-^ I've written a little over 1000 words so far.
