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Snapetober Day 18: Gaze
Being a spy isn't all fun and games...
every town has a ghost story. cokeworth was no exception.
there was an old bridge by the river, rundown and rotting in places, that no one dared to spend much time on. folk claimed to see sightings of two children in the area, running, playing, and talking, before disappearing altogether, their laughter still echoing among the trees.
the children who still lived in the town often dared each other to cross the bridge even though their parents had always warned them to stay away. oddly, some of the older folk encouraged their presence by the river, telling them that if they saw the ghosts, to tell them hello from them, and to remember to run along home before it got too dark.
the children themselves never saw the ghosts, however they did pass on the greetings as they were told to.
hello, severus. hello lily, they whispered into the rustling grass and the chilly breeze. my nan says hello.
they often got no response for their troubles, but sometimes when the afternoon was golden and the breeze fair, you could see the faint outline of two friends on the bridge, laughing and talking as the sun streamed through them, and fading before anyone could get a closer look.
—
snapetober 2023 - “home”
(June) Snapetober Day 31 - Costume
Listen. This might be 8 months late, but at least it's there. I have nothing else to say for my defence.
When his body exploded in pain again, he held down to the one thing that could keep him sane, or so he thought – patterns. It was interesting, really. Albus would certainly have much to say about this. He would say, pensively, ‘Ah, yes. A great flaw of his. Once proven effective, Tom holds on to strict modes of action, and one failure rules out even the most effective strategy’. He would then add something about mental plasticity, perhaps something about the boy Tom had been, as if to reassure himself that he had always been the adult.
In any case, it was true: the Dark Lord was a man of habit, especially when it came to torture. It would take one some time to realise that, of course. It would take many sessions and a rather thorough interest in dark spells to pinpoint each cycle, each pattern. It would take a little more time, then, to place within these patterns the fits of anger, themselves only but a regular variation. But it was doable.
Severus knew them all by heart. The surprise always lay in the intensity and duration of the torture sessions, not in the spells and methods employed. He secretly prided himself on the knowledge that he would have been a much more imaginative torturer had he wished to be; it was naturally not the kind of thing he liked to admit to himself on a good day, but it certainly made encounters such as this one more bearable.
And so he thought of this as his body convulsed; a broken stream of thought, of course, repeatedly interrupted then pursued after fits of spasms, vomiting, and blackouts. By this point he could also track, more or less, retrospectively, how many had occurred, if left alone for a few hours of respite that was. So he counted: one, two, three crucios; head under water; a broken nail, or finger; one choking spell, fire in his veins, a blinding spell, and invasion of his mind.
It was a good idea. Disorientation was the enemy of even the most skilled occlumens. And sudden sensations of cold, or direct burns on the skin, they all made focus within oneself, rather than outside, terribly hard to maintain: it worked, to an extent. Severus had long lost any sense of his surroundings. He maintained the barriers in his mind intact; he ignored the agony of his body, with growing difficulty. He counted the spells.
And repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Darkness again.
It was fine; it was. He knew it was coming. Natural body reflex; exhaustion. He could never evaluate how much time had passed when he awoke, though. That he should work on.
-
‘Severus – Severus. Dear boy, can you hear me?’
He came to, slowly. He heard himself moan pitifully, he tried to exhale to manage the pain, but his nose was stuffed with dry blood. It must have been a while, he thought confusedly. Since it had dried. And where…?
‘Severus.’
The well-known voice reached his ears, then his brain, and he turned his swollen face in its direction, keeping his eyes shut for just another moment as a wave of relief overcame him.
‘Albus…’
He felt a hand stroke his hair. He relaxed, instinctively.
‘I have called Poppy. Do not try to move just now.’
‘Albus…’ Severus repeated a bit louder, as if to convince himself he was not hallucinating. He opened his eyes: the headmaster, who was kneeling just beside him, gave him a joyless but comforting smile. Silver beard, starry robes and blue eyes shone in the moonlight. Still it was dark… the floor was cold. A sigh of relief escaped him when a warming spell slowly reached his freezing bones.
‘I have been so worried, Severus. I waited for you… 5 days, and still no sign of you - no, don’t tire yourself, you will tell me everything later. If you are here, I know all is well.’
Severus started coughing. Gently, softly, in a fatherly way, Albus helped him in a half-sitting position.
The younger man rested his head against the headmaster’s chest, exhausted by the effort.
‘If you are here, I know all is well… isn’t it?’
Severus closed his eyes again. He tried to focus, he fought off the urge to fall asleep in the warm embrace.
‘Headmaster… yes… my cover… it is intact.’
‘He knows nothing?’
‘He knows… what he must know.’
‘You are relaxing, Severus. It is good.’
His breathing slowed, like that of a sleeping man.
‘You are safe… Poppy is coming. Get comfortable. Sleep…’
How good it felt to let go, to be unbothered by what was happening inside, and outside… To no longer be so cold… He was to have tea with Minerva, at 4 pm. What day was it? She would reschedule, surely… Holidays too, soon… Albus sounded satisfied… Hogwarts... Hogwarts, finally…
He smiled slightly, through the pain and spasms. He felt Albus’ arms tighten their grip around him, and fell into a half-sleep.
‘Severus, dear boy.’
But those arms...
‘Dear, dear boy.’
Too tight…
‘You have become too comfortable… too attached.’
Suffocating.
‘You feel safe in his arms, Severus. Tell me... has the spy traded allegiance for safety?’
His eyes snapped open. They met with blue ones which, at first, he thought he recognised. Then he noticed the reddish hue, the pupils, too yellow, too long, too narrow… the smile, predatory.
The spell that had been warming him, started to burn him.
And he had not seen it coming, no; he had not expected the pain, the perversion, had not placed them within the anticipated cycle of cruelty. He had gotten too comfortable.
He was taken by surprise, and a broken-hearted cry escaped his lips.
Combining Unofficial Snapetober 2023 prompts "Power" and "Paradox" in a (slightly domestic Snirius) quick comic concerning Severus' place in the Death Eaters' hierarchy during OotP (but it is mostly an excuse to put Sev in a slightly ridiculous apron and put his hair up as well as a chance to dress Sirius in a nifty banyan).
Poor Harry, he was getting enough trouble from Umbridge, he didn't really need the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters gossiping about his hasty schoolwork (even if it could lead Voldy to underestimate him...)
I'll try to add in a follow up doodle at some point too
!SOS! HELP!
Which Snape do you prefer?!
I got seriously stuck with this one and I REALLY need some help 😨
I worked all the lights through at first but then suddenly decided that I like version with almost no lights more ( which you see here first)
Then I got back to working with lights, fully reworked them and was in fact satisfied (second)
But the morning after a decided I didn’t like lights on his face again but wanted to keep some on his hair and clothing (third)
Calling to Snape community for some help cause I’m desperate to decide here 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
The Things We'll Never Tell
For prompt 22, Power
Also for @sneverussape , because Draco is a godbrat who doesn't like to share.
“Cissa? Cissa, where are you?” Lucius raced through the family wing, leaving doors swinging on their hinges as he searched for his wife.
“Draco wanted to show me how well he’s doing with his toy broom, Lucius. Why are you thumping about in that manner?” Narcissa stepped out of the day nursery, shutting the door carefully behind herself. “You’re frightening Draco with all that noise.”
“Life in Azkaban, Cissa. They were sentenced to life.” Their own narrow escape preyed on his mind.
Narcissa froze. “Life?” she asked faintly.
“I know you hoped…” he trailed off at her shaky laugh.
“She wasn’t my Bella any longer. Something changed in her, Lucius, something shattered. Perhaps it makes me a terrible person, but we’re free of them.” Her voice shook.
“Do you think they’re still bound to Draco?” He took her hand in his, both of them trembling.
“I don’t know that they ever were. They said the oath, but I don’t know if it ever took. Draco…well, we know Draco’s opinion on that.” Forcing herself to smile for her child, she opened the day nursery door again and pulled Lucius in behind her.
Draco zoomed about the floor on a toy broom. He stopped so suddenly when he saw them that he tumbled off. Lucius smothered a snicker when Draco smacked the floor and grumbled ‘Rude!’ at it.
“Yes darling, what a very rude floor it is.” Narcissa scooped him up and nuzzled his face. “What an inconvenience to Draco.”
“Invenience, Mama,” Draco parroted.
“Papa came home early just to ask our Draco a question!” Perhaps if she sounded like it was exciting?
“Ask Draco?”
“A very important question, little man.” Lucius reached for his son and Draco went to him happily.
How very different from his own toddlerhood, kept away from the adults with nannies and nursemaids until he left school.
“Now, does Draco know who his godparents are?” Lucius asked.
“Un’le Severus,” Draco answered decidedly.
“Can you feel a bond with him, darling, or anyone else?” Narcissa joined Lucius in cuddling their boy.
Draco frowned. They knew he vaguely understood magical bonds, as much as a small child could. He felt them and could name them, but beyond that…they’d have to wait until he was more verbal.
“Un’le Severus mine,” Draco said after a moment. “Not there.” He turned sad gray eyes up to his parents, patting his chest with one little hand.
“We can call Uncle Severus over, I’m sure, and make it so he is there,” Lucius offered.
“Mine,” Draco grizzled. “Want mine.”
A soft, silvery glow enveloped him. Lucius nearly dropped the child. Only Narcissa’s hold on both of them kept the toddler from tumbling to the floor.
“Cissa?” Lucius hissed.
“Hush!” she hissed back. “Wait.”
Lucius didn’t think waiting an appropriate plan of action when one’s toddler began to glow. Was this the moment when he regretted marrying this member of House Black, as his father said he would? But he trusted her, so he waited.
After a moment, Draco opened his eyes and smiled sunnily at his parents. “Un’le Severus mine!”
The glow faded slowly. Lucius and Narcissa stared at each other over Draco’s head.
“He’s your godfather now?” Narcissa asked, far more calmly than Lucius thought she ought to be. “Well done, darling boy.”
“Yes. Mine.” Draco wiggled. “Down, papa, please.”
Lucius set him down, saying “Such lovely manners, Draco” automatically.
“I think we can expect Hurricane Severus to come whirling through in a moment.” Narcissa spoke archly.
“Our son just…you saw…what…” Lucius trailed off and stared at his wife.
“It was his first accidental magic.” She sounded smug.
“Accidental? Narcissa, our son just bound his own godfather. That was no accident.” He tried to sound pleasant so Draco wouldn’t know his father was in a froth.
“Well, instinctual, then, if you’re going to be pedantic, dear.”
From far below, they heard a door slam (the front one, judging by the depth of the boom) and the sounds of a rapid and possibly panicked ascent of the stairs. Narcissa turned to the door.
“We can never, never disclose Draco’s first magic.”
Narcissa glanced at him. “Of course we’ll tell everyone he summoned a teddy or some such thing. A triviality. People like those. They find them cute.” She wrinkled her nose at the word.
The door slamming open to admit a harried-looking Severus interrupted Lucous’ reply.
“What the bloody hell is going on?” Severus demanded.
“Bloody!” Draco chirped from his broomstick and zoomed gently around their legs.
“Nanny is going to be so cross with you, Severus.” Narcissa remarked mildly.
“What are you doing here?” Severus demanded again, yanking up his left sleeve. “Who did this?”
Lucius and Narcissa stared at the unblemished skin that once held a Dark Mark. Lucius grabbed for Narcissa’s hand.
“Well…” Lucius began, his voice choked.
“Mine.” Draco hovered on his broom ansD leaned into Severus’ legs. “My Un’le Severus.”
“Oh…oh dear.” Narcissa swallowed hard. “This may take some explaining.”
Snapetober 2023
It's been awhile, my fellow sniends and snovers! While I haven't been active in Snapedom for over a year now (Genshin Impact claimed another one, I fear), I have not lost my love of our problematic fave, Severus Snape yet.
It was an honor to curate Snapetober prompts for you the past three years and I loved seeing all the content it inspired, but it feels a little unfair to hold onto an event for a fandom I no longer engage in and therefore, no longer give it the attention it deserves.
If you are wanting to participate in Snapetober for this year, past years prompts are still available for you to use! Whether you want to try a new approach at a prompt you've already done, or joined Snapedom too late to participate, they are there for you to pick and choose at your leisure! Snapetober has never had rules about what and when to post! I have some old prompts I never finished/uploaded, so perhaps I'll take this opportunity to finally share them! I also noticed that @momo-t-daye has come up with a fun and earthy themed list if you'd like to check it out! And of course, anyone is welcome to come up with and share a list of their own!
As always much snove to you all and thank you for always being a memorable fandom to me/making Snapetober such a fond memory for me :)
Snapetober 2020 Prompts 2021 Prompts 2022 Prompts Momo's 2023 List! my ao3 if you're interested in past snapey fics
My Own Hands
Snapetober: Day 1: Foliage
This is what my mind went to, foiling plans
