In Search of Answers

In Search of Answers

Snape strode directly to the library after leaving Minerva’s office, prepared to spend the rest of the afternoon, or as much time as necessary, researching the curse in which he found himself ensnared. Several dozen books and a few hours later, he finally found a description of the obscure love curse.

How did that Creevey brat ever find this? For a few brief moments, Snape begrudgingly admired the young man’s tenacity in finding such a rare hex. The admiration faded immediately as he began to read.

According to this antiquated book, the only text he had been able to find that even mentioned the curse, the spell could lay dormant indefinitely. Once activated, however, the spell’s effects would last for five days time.

Five days? Sod it all to Hades! I cannot wait five more days to order all those ingredients!

‘The spell literally translates to secret love, longing reveal’, the text stated, ‘and as such may result in some unexpected symptoms for the spell’s victim. Firstly, the victim may, himself, be yet unaware of his concealed affections.’ Snape sneered at the text, muttering, “Indeed,” under his breath.

‘Secondly, while the sufferer will maintain complete control over his thoughts, while in the presence of his heart’s secret desire, the spell will govern his power of speech and force him to openly declare his love. A corollary manifestation of the spell is speech in the manner deemed by the sufferer to be most eloquent and/or romantic, though this effect is limited to the presence of the secret love. The spell will overrule the victim’s typical physical responses in the same manner. The effects will strengthen in direct relation to the amount of time spent within the presence of the victim’s desired, continuing to increase until the spell ultimately releases at the close of the fifth day.’

Snape was grinding his teeth together in frustration by the time he finished the short paragraph. The curse could strengthen? It would control not only his speech, but his actions? This blasted curse should be listed as the fourth Unforgivable! It’s little more than an Imperio mated with a love potion. Shite, shite, and shite! Snape quickly drew two conclusions: First, he needed to avoid any contact with Miss Granger over the next four days. Second, Creevey would pay for this damnation of a spell if it was the last thing Snape ever did! Yes, revenge may not be swift, as these things take proper planning; however, if Snape survived the horrendous ordeal, Creevey would pay dearly for his professor’s humiliation.

Deciding that the whole situation required a bit more thought, Snape approached the librarian’s desk to sign out the antiquated text. He glared at Madam Pince, who was trying desperately to hide her amusement at the book’s title, Powerful Love Charms for the Ages. Then, with one final glare, he spun on his heel and strode out of the library, robes billowing in his wake.

Once safely ensconced within the privacy of his quarters, Snape allowed his thoughts free reign. What of the Shakespeare? Surely that was not what he considered to be the most eloquent and romantic method of speech, was it? Hmm… Well, it was eloquent and love did play heavily in his works, although some of the more notable seemed to end in tragedy. Then again, tragedy certainly befit the situation.

His thoughts turned again to the object of his ‘concealed affections,’ Miss Hermione Granger. She had grown rather attractive since her early schoolgirl days and always seemed to be happy to see him, although he was uncertain as to whether or not he could trust her intentions. No one was ever happy to see Severus Snape; well, no one except Albus, rest his soul, and Minerva. And Granger had expressed her respect for him during their morning encounter, hadn’t she? Yet if she truly respected him, why hadn’t she asked him to apprentice her, rather than Anderson? Surely by then the girl had seen through his “fearsome bat of the dungeons” persona. She wasn’t exactly trembling in fear as she ordered me out of the shop this morning, he grumbled in remembrance.

This last thought prompted Albus’ voice to once again add it’s two Knuts worth. Perhaps it is not so much a fear of the man as it is fear of rejection. You never once praised either the girl or her abilities. She may have felt that you would not see her as worthy of your tutelage.

Snape mulled that possibly over in his mind. It was true. When she was a student, the war had required that he maintain a disdainful rejection. Praise for her would have been viewed as treachery within Voldemort’s ranks. She was Muggle-born, and he had had a role to play. Yet, he had never rectified that behavior after the war ended. Perhaps she really was unaware of his true opinion of her.

Furthermore, Snape was certain that Miss Granger could be a superb conversationalist, if he could learn to overlook her ability to chatter a bit too much. She was knowledgeable in many subjects, and given her propensity for continual learning, she probably followed all of the quality journals in each of her varied subjects of interest.

~ * ~ ~ * ~ ~ * ~

Snape spent the rest of the day in his quarters mulling over his situation from all possible angles. As the hours of internal debate passed, he became increasingly convinced that discovering he harbored a certain amount of affection for Granger wasn’t the absolute worst thing that could have come of the curse. Granted, he would have been completely content to continue his life in blissful ignorance of the fact, but he supposed it could have turned out worse. Yes, it could have been much worse.

He took dinner in his rooms, telling himself it was so that he could continue to concentrate on the task at hand, rather than to avoid the Headmistress. Minerva’s amusement over his enchantment was quite annoying. Her apparent joy at discovering that the object of his desire was none other than her most prized student was just as irritating as it was surprising. “Oh, Severus, how wonderful! You two really are quite well suited, you know. I’ve no doubt that with just a little equal effort, you could be very happy together,” Snape repeated in a shrill, sing-song voice that was as close an imitation as he could muster. With a snort, he rolled his eyes.

Snape had been sure Minerva would not approve. Instead she had encouraged him to “reflect upon the situation.” She even appeared to think Hermione would accept his attentions, despite the dismal history of their interactions. The whole affair was quite frustrating, and Snape simply had no desire to be confronted by the witch’s twinkling eyes and knowing smile just yet. Some days, she was just too much like Albus.

Finally at 10 o’clock, Snape decided that he had endured enough torture for one day. He prepared for bed while reviewing the conclusions he had reached. He would avoid Hogsmeade and Miss Granger for the next four days. In the morning, he would ask Minerva to order the most urgently required potions’ supplies on his behalf. Then, when the spell ended, he would go to Miss Granger, order the remaining ingredients, explain the situation, and hope the young woman would be forgiving. In the meantime, he would give some more thought to Hermione, the woman.

His hours of introspection had cast her in a new light. Perhaps, she wasn’t just showing off, so much as trying to impress him. Perhaps she actually wanted his approval. That possibility certainly wasn’t as bad as it had originally seemed. In any event, he hoped to be able to determine the young woman’s true intentions once he could talk with her without spewing centuries old poetic prose. Until then, he would just have to wait.

A/N: Thank you to all of you who has stuck with the story so far. I really appreciate it.