keelywolfe (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
keelywolfe) wrote2005-11-28 12:48 pm
keelywolfe) wrote2005-11-28 12:48 pm
Entry tags:
FIC: A Lacking of Foresight: Chapter Twenty-Three
...I know. I know, I know, GOD, I know. Man, I hate this story as much as I love it. I hate that it won't be DONE, I hate that I refuse to hide from it forever and I really hate that I haven't even read the past two books because I'm terrified that this is so far from canon now that if I read them before I finish I will lose all my will to finish it. HATE!
But dammit, here's a chapter. I'm going to finish this damned thing, damn, damn, damn! I give permission to harrass me if I stop, I swear, I will not be angry only filled with guilt.
Anyway....
A Lacking of Foresight: Chapter Twenty-Three
by Keelywolfe
Fandom: Harry Potter
Harry/Ron
NC-17
Need to refresh your memory? (And who wouldn't) It's all here.
*
In which things get worse.
*
When he thought back on it, after everything was done, Harry was never sure what had woken him. He'd seen the light behind his eyelids, certainly, soft and blue, but he was sure he'd been awake before that, drifting between dreams in that little mental space of waiting for something.
It seemed more like he'd been waiting for the light.
Harry blinked slowly, trying to gather his wits as much as one could in the wee hours of the morning. The blur of the room seemed strange to him and it took him a moment to recall he was sleeping in Ron's bedroom. He wondered if he could just call it their room for the time being; it wasn't as though he had any plans to return to his own for whatever length of time he could manage. Now that they were sleeping together – having sex, he corrected mentally and it felt good just to think it. They were having sex, the good, filthy kind that had him squirming so uncomfortably in his seat the day before that he'd had to slip off between classes for a quick shower.
At least having a leather-clad boyfriend would help diminish the detestable 'staid Professor Potter' image. Days before he wouldn't have believed how pleasing he found the thought of tarnishing the façade he'd tried so hard to create. Now he was simply tired of playing a role, any role. Being Harry Potter might never have brought him much happiness but it was who he was and that would have to be enough.
The faint glow at the side of his vision grew, catching his attention. He squinted at it, fumbling with one hand for his glasses as he slipped out of the bed. With his glasses in place, the blur slipped into focus and he saw it was coming from the desk on the far side of the room.
Off of the rug the stone floor was icy and Harry stifled a wince as he minced his way over, carefully picking up the small oval emitting the bluish glow. It was a mirror, he realized, the one he'd seen before in Ron's backpack. The surface was like looking into the roiling storm clouds of another planet, glowing blue and churning themselves over and into each other. At his touch, they seemed to clear somewhat and Harry nearly dropped it, recalling Ron's admonishment that his little toys didn't like strangers playing with them.
Just as he was setting it back down, the surface cleared and he saw…Ron? It was Ron, his face so swollen as to be barely recognizable. So much blood, it seemed to be seeping from his very pores, crimson rivulets sliding from his eyes, up towards his hairline…up? Like he was lying down, maybe. Another wash of red slipped over the surface, dribbling over the edge and Harry realized he was gripping the mirror so tightly that he'd cut his hand on the edge. He relaxed his hold, laying the mirror back on the desk and immediately the image started to fade, sliding back into clouds.
Quickly, Harry picked it back up and the Ron-face sharpened back into focus. His eyes were closed tightly, his lips pressed into a sharp line like…like he was in pain. A great deal of pain. Harry stared at the image, willing it to change, to show him a different Ron, a safe one.
The image remained stubbornly the same, Ron's face tightening in a flinch before relaxing back into, God, just the blood and the pain.
Magic mirrors came in infinite combinations, Harry knew. He'd spent some time researching them a few years back; after everything that had happened with the Mirror of Erised, he'd found them interesting. This one was only a flat piece of silvered glass with a few crooked symbols etched into the glass. He didn't recognize them as any common magical alphabet or even a few of the obscure ones, which meant this mirror could be showing him any number of things. It could be the future or the past; it could be showing Harry his worst nightmares, his greatest fear. It could be all or none of those things, one of a dozen possible combinations.
One thing was clear to him. He needed to find Ron, now.
He started towards the door, still holding the mirror, and then he hesitated. No, he was wrong, he realized. Finding Ron was the emotional choice and once perhaps he'd have rushed off to do it without considering the consequences. But he wasn't a child any longer; rushing after Ron would probably only get them both killed and he had friends who might be able to help and if they couldn't, then surely Ron had a few who could. He would talk to Dumbledore first, then the two of them could contact Hermione.
At the very least, he and Dumbledore would be able to divine the purpose of the mirror and he wouldn't spoil what could possible be a perfectly innocent meeting of Ron with his contact by blundering into it, wand blazing.
Having a plan managed to dispel some of his panic. He couldn't quite bring himself to put the mirror down and managed to dress as well as possible with only one hand. He shoved his feet into his shoes without untying them and shrugged into a robe as he made his way to the door, already absently recalling the password to Dumbledore's rooms when he…stopped.
Harry stood at the edge of the doorway, his foot poised to step over the threshold and found that he couldn't. He could step back into the room, he could move about but when he tried to step into the hallway it was like invisible hands grabbed him and held him still until he moved backwards again.
"Well, it seems Mr. Weasley managed to be correct about at least one thing." The silky-soft voice came from behind the door where Harry couldn't move to see, but he didn't need a visual to know who it was.
"Snape, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Harry whispered furiously.
"It pains me to see it, although I suspected he might be," Snape continued, stepping into view. "You really can't just stay in your room and behave, can you."
"I don't have time for your games right now!"
"On the contrary, you have nothing but time." Snape nodded to the floor and Harry noticed a pencil-thin line of a silvery powder ran across the threshold. "Save yourself the trouble of checking the windows, I assure you, they are equally secure." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, a mocking pose of relaxation.
"It's a difficult spell, to be sure, binding the powder with the incantation, and an expensive one at that. A lesser wizard might have killed himself trying it." The smirk on Snape's thin lips made Harry's hand itch for his wand. "However, I consider it time and money well spent, just to see your face at this moment, Potter."
The pocket on Harry's robe turned up unexpectedly empty and he frowned inwardly, checking his left side to find it equally barren.
"Missing something?" He glanced up to see Snape twirling Harry's wand between his fingers. "Now, as much as I would enjoy watching you bluster all night, I'd really prefer to get some sleep of my own. Do toddle off to bed, won't you?"
"You can't do this!"
"I assure you, I can. Permission from an Auror holds a certain amount of weight, as I am sure you're well aware. And I was quite careful about breaking any of the school rules. You can't hex the stones or doorways in Hogwarts, of course, but you can put barriers around them. If you know how."
"Have you gone mad?" Harry burst out, close to exploding in frustration. "Permission for what?"
"Suffice to say that I gave my word that you would be kept safe and unharmed in your room tonight." Another thin smile grated across Harry's nerves. "Although unharmed is quite a general term."
"You gave your..." Harry's eyes narrowed. "That's what you and Ron were talking about this morning."
Snape's expression soured but he didn't deny it. But it didn't matter anymore, nothing matter but getting out of this blasted room and helping Ron.
"You don't understand," Harry said urgently, "There's blood. It's…there's blood, I had the dream! He needs help!"
"You're making less sense than usual, Potter."
"It's Ron!" Harry burst out. He could have screamed with frustration, if he'd thought it would do any good. But if he knew one thing about Snape, it was that he was entirely too thorough for that. Probably no one could hear him if he screamed his lungs out. "He needs my help, I know it! It's in the mirror!"
He held it out desperately, the cut on his hand leaving dried flecks of maroon on the edge. Snape barely glanced at it. "And yet, here you'll remain until morning. That is a promise I shall be delighted to keep."
Harry could only stand helplessly, the mirror dangling from his fingers and the tips of his shoes only centimetres from stepping out the door.
~*~
end chapter 23
But dammit, here's a chapter. I'm going to finish this damned thing, damn, damn, damn! I give permission to harrass me if I stop, I swear, I will not be angry only filled with guilt.
Anyway....
A Lacking of Foresight: Chapter Twenty-Three
by Keelywolfe
Fandom: Harry Potter
Harry/Ron
NC-17
Need to refresh your memory? (And who wouldn't) It's all here.
*
In which things get worse.
*
When he thought back on it, after everything was done, Harry was never sure what had woken him. He'd seen the light behind his eyelids, certainly, soft and blue, but he was sure he'd been awake before that, drifting between dreams in that little mental space of waiting for something.
It seemed more like he'd been waiting for the light.
Harry blinked slowly, trying to gather his wits as much as one could in the wee hours of the morning. The blur of the room seemed strange to him and it took him a moment to recall he was sleeping in Ron's bedroom. He wondered if he could just call it their room for the time being; it wasn't as though he had any plans to return to his own for whatever length of time he could manage. Now that they were sleeping together – having sex, he corrected mentally and it felt good just to think it. They were having sex, the good, filthy kind that had him squirming so uncomfortably in his seat the day before that he'd had to slip off between classes for a quick shower.
At least having a leather-clad boyfriend would help diminish the detestable 'staid Professor Potter' image. Days before he wouldn't have believed how pleasing he found the thought of tarnishing the façade he'd tried so hard to create. Now he was simply tired of playing a role, any role. Being Harry Potter might never have brought him much happiness but it was who he was and that would have to be enough.
The faint glow at the side of his vision grew, catching his attention. He squinted at it, fumbling with one hand for his glasses as he slipped out of the bed. With his glasses in place, the blur slipped into focus and he saw it was coming from the desk on the far side of the room.
Off of the rug the stone floor was icy and Harry stifled a wince as he minced his way over, carefully picking up the small oval emitting the bluish glow. It was a mirror, he realized, the one he'd seen before in Ron's backpack. The surface was like looking into the roiling storm clouds of another planet, glowing blue and churning themselves over and into each other. At his touch, they seemed to clear somewhat and Harry nearly dropped it, recalling Ron's admonishment that his little toys didn't like strangers playing with them.
Just as he was setting it back down, the surface cleared and he saw…Ron? It was Ron, his face so swollen as to be barely recognizable. So much blood, it seemed to be seeping from his very pores, crimson rivulets sliding from his eyes, up towards his hairline…up? Like he was lying down, maybe. Another wash of red slipped over the surface, dribbling over the edge and Harry realized he was gripping the mirror so tightly that he'd cut his hand on the edge. He relaxed his hold, laying the mirror back on the desk and immediately the image started to fade, sliding back into clouds.
Quickly, Harry picked it back up and the Ron-face sharpened back into focus. His eyes were closed tightly, his lips pressed into a sharp line like…like he was in pain. A great deal of pain. Harry stared at the image, willing it to change, to show him a different Ron, a safe one.
The image remained stubbornly the same, Ron's face tightening in a flinch before relaxing back into, God, just the blood and the pain.
Magic mirrors came in infinite combinations, Harry knew. He'd spent some time researching them a few years back; after everything that had happened with the Mirror of Erised, he'd found them interesting. This one was only a flat piece of silvered glass with a few crooked symbols etched into the glass. He didn't recognize them as any common magical alphabet or even a few of the obscure ones, which meant this mirror could be showing him any number of things. It could be the future or the past; it could be showing Harry his worst nightmares, his greatest fear. It could be all or none of those things, one of a dozen possible combinations.
One thing was clear to him. He needed to find Ron, now.
He started towards the door, still holding the mirror, and then he hesitated. No, he was wrong, he realized. Finding Ron was the emotional choice and once perhaps he'd have rushed off to do it without considering the consequences. But he wasn't a child any longer; rushing after Ron would probably only get them both killed and he had friends who might be able to help and if they couldn't, then surely Ron had a few who could. He would talk to Dumbledore first, then the two of them could contact Hermione.
At the very least, he and Dumbledore would be able to divine the purpose of the mirror and he wouldn't spoil what could possible be a perfectly innocent meeting of Ron with his contact by blundering into it, wand blazing.
Having a plan managed to dispel some of his panic. He couldn't quite bring himself to put the mirror down and managed to dress as well as possible with only one hand. He shoved his feet into his shoes without untying them and shrugged into a robe as he made his way to the door, already absently recalling the password to Dumbledore's rooms when he…stopped.
Harry stood at the edge of the doorway, his foot poised to step over the threshold and found that he couldn't. He could step back into the room, he could move about but when he tried to step into the hallway it was like invisible hands grabbed him and held him still until he moved backwards again.
"Well, it seems Mr. Weasley managed to be correct about at least one thing." The silky-soft voice came from behind the door where Harry couldn't move to see, but he didn't need a visual to know who it was.
"Snape, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Harry whispered furiously.
"It pains me to see it, although I suspected he might be," Snape continued, stepping into view. "You really can't just stay in your room and behave, can you."
"I don't have time for your games right now!"
"On the contrary, you have nothing but time." Snape nodded to the floor and Harry noticed a pencil-thin line of a silvery powder ran across the threshold. "Save yourself the trouble of checking the windows, I assure you, they are equally secure." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, a mocking pose of relaxation.
"It's a difficult spell, to be sure, binding the powder with the incantation, and an expensive one at that. A lesser wizard might have killed himself trying it." The smirk on Snape's thin lips made Harry's hand itch for his wand. "However, I consider it time and money well spent, just to see your face at this moment, Potter."
The pocket on Harry's robe turned up unexpectedly empty and he frowned inwardly, checking his left side to find it equally barren.
"Missing something?" He glanced up to see Snape twirling Harry's wand between his fingers. "Now, as much as I would enjoy watching you bluster all night, I'd really prefer to get some sleep of my own. Do toddle off to bed, won't you?"
"You can't do this!"
"I assure you, I can. Permission from an Auror holds a certain amount of weight, as I am sure you're well aware. And I was quite careful about breaking any of the school rules. You can't hex the stones or doorways in Hogwarts, of course, but you can put barriers around them. If you know how."
"Have you gone mad?" Harry burst out, close to exploding in frustration. "Permission for what?"
"Suffice to say that I gave my word that you would be kept safe and unharmed in your room tonight." Another thin smile grated across Harry's nerves. "Although unharmed is quite a general term."
"You gave your..." Harry's eyes narrowed. "That's what you and Ron were talking about this morning."
Snape's expression soured but he didn't deny it. But it didn't matter anymore, nothing matter but getting out of this blasted room and helping Ron.
"You don't understand," Harry said urgently, "There's blood. It's…there's blood, I had the dream! He needs help!"
"You're making less sense than usual, Potter."
"It's Ron!" Harry burst out. He could have screamed with frustration, if he'd thought it would do any good. But if he knew one thing about Snape, it was that he was entirely too thorough for that. Probably no one could hear him if he screamed his lungs out. "He needs my help, I know it! It's in the mirror!"
He held it out desperately, the cut on his hand leaving dried flecks of maroon on the edge. Snape barely glanced at it. "And yet, here you'll remain until morning. That is a promise I shall be delighted to keep."
Harry could only stand helplessly, the mirror dangling from his fingers and the tips of his shoes only centimetres from stepping out the door.
~*~
end chapter 23
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That said...
Eeeeeeee! Cliffhanger!!!! OMG!!!!
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I so adore your right now.
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Omg I'm so rereading this whole thing tonight! *bookmarks like a fiend*
yaye!
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You updated it! *bounces like a manic, hugging and kissing* OMG!!
You totally made my day! TOTALLY made my day!
.......now i have to go read it.
OMG, you updated!!! *so happy so happy so HAPPY!!*
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*whimper*
More, please?!
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::reads chapter::
...no FAIR!!!!
God, you know how to tease a reader. I would pout if I wasn't afraid it would put you off the next chapter.
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No, no, no, no, no!
Don't hurt this Ron.
This is one of my favourite Rons, and I have been so worried about him and now look!
No!
*whimper*
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And now this!
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LOL
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...I'm on my knees, worshipping you. Many eons ago you told me that you would finish this fic, and I had faith and you're working on it! *sobs unrestrainedly* Thank you!
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Man, it does feel like eons since I started this story. Eons and eons. Here's hoping it's not another eon before I finish the darn thing!
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(Anonymous) 2005-11-29 11:49 am (UTC)(link)Glad you updated.
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I plead the fifth! ;)
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I'm so happy you've decided to update this story, it's bordering on ridiculous.
I don't particularly mind ridiculous though, as long as it brings me stories like this. I've been lurking around your regular webpage, granted less and less frequently, in hopes of some kind of life. And then, I just randomly check out Mad_martha's LJ and find a The Link to The Story. (yes, capital letters are essential here.)
Hopefully, I'll get the chance to post proper review sometime soon, when I'm a bit more coherent. For some reason, I can't seem to structure proper sentences at the moment, (uhm, yes. well-written stories do things to me. I still don't mind.) but I'd really like to at least give it a shot.
thanks again, and good luck on your writing.
/de-lurker Terry
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To be honest, I'm more than a little relieved that people are still wanting to read it, as long as it's taken me to finish this story. A new part will be out later today. :)
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(Anonymous) 2005-12-04 02:44 am (UTC)(link)SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This is like an early Christmas present!
TBOBT
PS.- thank you, thank you, thank you, love the story, hell... LOVE U! Am now going to re-read entire thing all over again (trust me I've done so quite a number of times :))
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