16-Aug-09
Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960
Chapter 17 of 42
JunoMagicHermione's diary for August 16, 2009.
ReviewedAugust 16, 2009
Last night Severus brought me soup for a late supper, left-overs from his job. His soup of the day was Mulligatawny soup—something most patrons of the pub had never heard of, much less tasted. Still, judging from Severus' smirk, it was a success. His reasoning seems sound: onions most finely chopped, not mutilated; carrots, parsnip, and potatoes perfectly diced, not butchered; evenly sliced, spoon-sized pieces of lamb, not meat randomly torn apart. I thought his soup tasted of paradise. Severus, however, had no appetite. Naturally; he spent the whole day keeping a full pot of it burbling steadily on the hearth of the pub.
I would like to think that he enjoyed his first day at work. But I am more than satisfied to hear that nothing went wrong.
This morning, I returned to the post office, trying not to get my hopes up.
Not surprisingly, what hopes I may have nourished in the 18 hours since I left the post office yesterday, were snuffed out as soon as I took one look at Madam Clif-Wyrt's face today. I must say, though, that the elderly witch in charge of Hogsmeade's mail seemed honestly sorry that she's not permitted to hire an ex-inmate of Azkaban for even the most menial of jobs.
Her pity, however, does not change the fact that I still have no job.
When I left the post office, I collided with Madam Agan. Without the warning from Padma and Parvati, I might have thought her kind: She caught me and stopped me from falling. When she realised that her touch was uncomfortable to me, she released me at once. Then she noticed the inflamed wound on the back of my left hand. She showed no disgust. Instead, she offered her help, in form of a rare potion. But she did not press the issue, just left it at an open invitation to drop by—I know where she lives, don't I?
But I must admit, the way her hard, black eyes focused on me, made my skin crawl. And when she gazed at the bloody, inflamed incisions on my hands, the tip of a pert pink tongue slid over her lips in quick, greedy movements that did not seem quite…normal. Or human, really.
Of course I'm not a good judge of what is and what is not normal or sane at the moment.
I should have kept going then, should have gone and knocked at every door of every shop in Hogsmeade, asking for a job.
…but I couldn't. Just couldn't.
I'll come back tomorrow.
At Hogsmeade station, I had the second unexpected encounter of the day: I met Millicent Bulstrode.
The last time I saw her was right after I shoved her cat out of the way of a stray killing curse. I never knew if either of them survived the battle, much less that she knew I had survived. If you can call imprisonment in Azkaban "surviving".
She was strangely cordial.
…I invited her for tea.
oooOooo
A/N: Many thanks to Mia Madwyn for looking this over.
Further notes:
# There are a million recipes for Mulligatawny soup. I looked at this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/jennysmulligatawnyso_71379.shtml
# "clif wyrt" is an Old English name for beggar's button or burdock/cocklebur.
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Latest 25 Reviews for Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960
146 Reviews | 6.27/10 Average
This has got to be among the very finest HP fanfics I have EVER come across. Thank you so much. I can only hope you continue writing both fan fiction and fiction that you and only you create from scratch. I would be most interested to read pretty much anything you come up with
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed the story! :)
It's not a style of writing that I'm used to, it's more analytic but the story is very good. Thank you.
Oooh! Who did he get? :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Someone who cannot be questioned. XD
Hannah is a true Hufflepuff. :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
That she is!
Who vouched? Who?
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Someone who cannot be questioned. *g*
Lovely chapter, Im pleased Severus found someone to vouch for him. I love how this journal entry was in the form of a letter :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Thank you for your kind words! :-)
Why am I starting to think that the name Aramita Agan is an anagram for something else - someone else? And how could Hermione's wand heal McGonagall? Not to mention, who will vouch for them both?
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
You're right. It's an Anagram. But the solution of the anagram is something you may or may not know about. Still, the sound of the solution should already be a big hint. Just like the descriptions of the woman in the story so far.
Response from Severus49 (Reviewer)
From all the clues it almost sounds like she's a form of Nagini. But the anagram only would give you part of 'her' formal name. The N A G I part. And since the Dark won, there's every reason to suspect that Nagini didn't die. Am I getting closer?
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Very close. :-)
...does Amrita Agan have the Elder wand? Is she the Dark Lord (Lady?)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Close, but not close enough.
The end????
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Well, they only had one month to fulfil all conditions of their probation. If they haven't managed that until then, it's back to Azkaban for them ...
The end... of what? Life, or their penance?
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Wait and see ...
So noble, so self-sacrificing, so Severus. :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
That's our Sev, that is. ;-)
Draco needs them as well. Nice to see they're continuing to let him in. :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
They are all three of them horribly adrift in this brave new world ...
If I understand correctly, Hermione feels that her death (suicide) would precipitate better change for Severus and Draco. But she didn't realize how badly that thought would have destroyed them both. She thinks she'd be doing them a favor, but she's the only one to fufill the conditions for release. But when I think on it, what they're all doing COULD NOT be considered living - by any means. Surviving yes, but not living.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Hmm, I think you've mixed up characters in your comment. The chapter is written by Severus, and it details his plan of sending Hermione and Draco away and himself going back to Azkaban to die there. And his realization that his plan is doomed -- because Hermione literally cannot exist without him, even though she understands and accepts his plan.
Sorry about my last comment. It just struck me wrong. I thought they would just be too tight and no one else would be abel to enter the relationship.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Every chapter of this story is labelled with the warning "Menage-a-trois". That means it is a story about three partners, also known as "threesome" in fandom. Hermione and Severus had sex with Draco already at the beginning of this story, and that is not going to change.
enjoying the updates.. and esp trying to figure out what the heck the drops of blood mean!
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Everything will be explained eventually. :-)
Oh my goodness such a sad and lovely chapter. Im definetly going to have to get a box of tissues. Fabulous job!
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Thank you for your kind words!
So beautiful but so sad.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Thank you! :-)
It's the contrasts that make this so fascinating. There is the despair and degredation of Azkaban - and then their release, all of which mirrors (seemingly) the acceptance that love can be found in unsusal places, but that life and the terror of starting again is another sort of prison and degradation.Here's hoping it doesn't prove so for any of them.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
It's a crazy balancing act what they are doing ... madness and prison, insanity and freedom ... But there's hope. Always.
Draco's bed/room sounds fabulously decadent, though I daresay Severus is a little miffed that he decided to join in his release with Hermione. ;)Hermione's repitition of names, now that I think of it, seems like a benediction and mantra. A plea and a remembrance not to forget. ~just thinking out loud again~ :D
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Yes, I think so, too. Benediction, mantra, maybe a bit of a curse, too.
The plot thickens, and I wonder if Voldemort is dead (and was for two months before Severus and Hermione were released), why Lucius Malfoy would release them with such strictures on their movements?There's a pattern to splodges of ink/blood, isn't there? It makes me wonder if they aren't a visual representation of the calamity of (in order down the page) Hermione, Draco and Severus. Their minds either insular (Draco), fighting to maintain control despite leakages (Severus) and disordered and jumbled compulsions leaving Hermione never knowing just where she is centred at any given point in time. ~Just guessing and probably wrong~ :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Excellent questions.Why would Lucius BFF of Voldemort release them at all?And yes, there is a pattern to the splodges. But it's a bit simpler than you think ... Everything they write is being observed. They have no choice but to write the truth. But maybe sometimes that's not a good idea? ;-)
The tragedy of Hermione always looking at which squares are filled with memories and which are empty, is an awful indictment on a system designed to (successfully) break its inhabitants. I am curious as to how both Severus and Hermione ended up in Azkaban, but the idea of Voldemort winning heralds a tragedy of epic proportions.Draco as a lighthouse keeper with a long flowing beard - and a mean fish stew is the counterpoint to the prisoners locked in by more than bars, quills and letters.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
I think if Voldemort won, apart from his Death Eaters all would end up as victims ... merely of varying degrees.
Evocative, harrowing and such an intriguing start, that I just have to continue on the journey. :)
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Definitely one of the darkest stories I have written. I hope you'll enjoy it nevertheless!
Dang! Draco needs some lovin' too? Hmm....So THAT's where the Menage-a-trois warning comes from! But what I don't understand is how he fits in with them? I thought he was with Harry, which made him gay, but if he's shagging Hermione too, he's bi, which doesn't concern me per se. The only fact of it that confuses me is why him with them? Since when did he become so close? And why?
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Hmm, they had already made love in the lighthouse -- that was not a dream. ;-) And then Draco helped them get wands and gave them the money for their house. I think that already says a lot. Also, think about it: who's left of their world, their former loves? Hermione is all that is left of Harry for Draco. Draco is all that is left of whom Severus tried to protect. That's definitely not a sane or healthy way to form an attachment or start a polygamous relationship, but in the skewed and broken world that is the setting of the story, I believe it makes sense emotionally.
Response from Severus49 (Reviewer)
Okay. I had to go back and reread it to pick up on it. It was a little cryptic because it doesn't actually say they had sex in the bed. I understand a little more about it. You said it when you stated that it wasn't healthy. But how much of what they went through/are going through really is?
Glad Draco came to see them. Im jealous of Hermione I would love to be in the middle of a Slytherin Sandwhich.
I hope Severus finds someone to vouch for him soon.
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
*grins* A very delectable sandwhich, huh?
EWWW
Response from JunoMagic (Author of Prisoners of Azkaban, Probationary Diaries August 2009, Prisoners #19-09-1979 and #09-01-1960)
Do you really believe that "EWWW" is an acceptable comment? Admin's Response: Reviewer: This is not a review, it is a rude expression of opinion!
Response from gersknightlady (Reviewer)
Sorry I apologise it struck me wrong at the time. I didn't pick up on earlier chpaters that they had that kind of relationship.