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Beautiful Soulless Marionette	By : AlphaTSigma7 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 1653 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
Alpha: Hey everyone, I�m back with another story; and uh yeah�I felt
kind of bad about the �The Lolita Complex� fic I did
which I gotta write the next chapter to. So to compensate for that one I�m writing
this one with a bit more light heartedness to it and making it a HG/SS fic�(if I didn�t feel bad�it would be a HG/DM or
HG/HP�*shrugs on that last one*) so yeah here�s something else for your
err�entertainment I suppose. Oh and I
already know it will be a while probably before you ever see the next chapter
to this�so umm..yeah! I�m
posting this on ff.net as well as aff.net and that�s it.

Disclaimer: No no no
no no no
I do not claim the story of HP they are �HERS�� and no one else�s. �so yeah�go
away!

Beautiful Soulless Marionette

Chapter I: Porcelain Doll Wrapped in Ribbons

Doll: What is the definition of a doll anyway? A toy
crafted for playful entertainment for a child, usually a girl? Maybe- we should use the word marionette for
it is far better than saying �doll� because while you can play with a doll you
can�t bend it to your will as freely as what you can do with a puppet.

Marionettes are puppets with string that you could
control freely just by the pull of your fingers. Their actions and behaviors are yours to
manipulate.

She was such a marionette� A lovely painted and
sculptured puppet; ready to do and say whatever someone wanted. A fragile object; always so
vulnerable to outer influences.
Never objecting to what was required of her. She grew up to be taught to
always please, always be respectful.
Even being everyone�s puppet, she always gave so much of herself, always
giving her love, care, hugs, kisses, and her smiles without a second thought.

She was a rare doll.
She was one of those specially crafted dolls. The ones made of sensitive fibers that could
easily break, like porcelain, their faces painted so lovely, long hair done in
a pretty style, and dressed in layers of expensive fabrics to top of its
aristocratic appearance. A princess doll
attached with strings, made to stand to show off her beauty to the world,
always smiling on display so she can please the customers to buy her, becoming
yet another�s dutiful toy.

Besides�marionettes are lifeless objects made for
everyone�s enjoyment except their own.
Even when the princess doll was forced to marry a man she knew wanted to
hurt her, she never complained. When the
ire of jealous women called her worthless or ugly and other spiteful things she
never said it bothered her or hurt her feelings, she simply commented their
beauty and gave a genuine smile and ribbons as gifts for their hair. When her friends started to ignore her and
call her a whore for hanging around men twice or more her age she hugged them
and smiled never saying anything about their anger or jealousies. When her lover was always caught in the arms
of another woman, she said she understood that she would never be enough to
satiate his desires, for she was an inexperience child. When her teacher and guardian, the one person
who never shied away to speak the truth or tell her she was a silly child or
berated her for being so excellent in her work; had molested her, she simply
smiled to him and offered a water lily�

When he ridiculed her to stand up for herself, she
smiled and gave him a chrysanthemum�

When he said her talents were worth nothing, she smiled
and offered him a magnolia�

When he cursed her good fortune, she smiled and offered
him a jasmine�

When he called her an unattractive woman with not an
inch of beauty at all, she smiled and gave him a rose�

And when he finally hugged her to his heart, and told
her he loved her. She simply kissed him,
smiling all the same; silently letting her blood tears fall upon her face to
the dead earth below their feet. She
breathed a small whispered �Thank You� than suddenly shattered into small
pieces of glass�

Saying he loved her had taken its toll on the doll that
now was broken and lifeless as she had been alive. Her guardian was in such a state of shock,
that he tried in vain to put her back piece by shattered piece. It was impossible he knew and for a long time
he stayed in one spot couched down on the dampened dead earth. Hugging the doll�s body to him in grief,
suddenly he did something he hadn�t done since perhaps being a small child; he
cried.

He truly cried for many reasons�He cried for himself,
for being a fool because he realized his proclamation of love was too
late. In fact it destroyed the little
strength she had left in her fragile body.
He realized that he could have been the one to save her broken soul, if
he had cared enough, but he didn�t because he was a selfish man. He had only
thought of himself; he wanted selfishly to be the only person she directed
smiles at, the only person to direct her love to. He didn�t want to share her with anyone,
hated how she always sacrificed her light of innocence and cheer to those
around her and not just for him and maybe for herself as well. He wanted everything about her to be just for
him; because she had been the only one to ever truly smile at him, showed she
cared for him, no one had really bothered to try, but for all his coldness she
somehow gotten through to him and made him see he wasn�t alone.

He had seen into her mask of happiness and carefree
persona. He had seen her for what she really was; a heart broken, a mind
shattered, and a body soulless just like a doll.

But most of all he cried for her, because now when she
was alive he wasn�t alone, but now he was and he had no one to blame but
himself. He cried for her because he
realized she wasn�t a doll, she was human.
A human being who had loved and one most of all, that had cared enough
to love him. A person whom he stolen all
her gifts until there was nothing left of herself to give any longer, causing
her to die when told someone else had cared, someone else loves her back.

He was a fool, because if he only noticed it before he
would have saw; that he didn�t need to be selfish at all. If he paid more attention to her than he had
done, he�d notice it didn�t matter she was being forced to marry against her
will, or had a lover who was unfaithful, or any of those other petty
things. Because she had already loved
him way in the beginning, as a father figure, as a friend, as a guardian, and
slowly as a man. She fell in love with
him when he took the initiative to hold her hand first and present to her a
gift to soothe her worries.

It was through him she blossomed�

It was through him she suffered�

It was through her he learned to love�

And because of her�he�ll never love again for the
greatest love he felt had already died in his arms�

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

With an audible sigh, the novel was closed still held by long firm
fingers. A glass of vintage wine held in
the other hand. The first Friday of the beginning of term and it was
quiet. Not one student out past curfew,
no Ravenclaws, no Hufflepuffs, none of his dear Slytherins, and surprisingly no
goody-goody Gryffindors. Severus was mildly saddened from the fact that he
didn�t have any more chances to take away house points from the
incomprehensible young minds filtrating about the school tonight. At least he
could look on the bright side; his nightly rounds of patrolling the dark
hallways ended short.

Frightening students would have been more entertaining than the old
worn novel presently clutched in his hand.
Just reading the first couple of pages told him all he needed to know
about the rest of the book. Nothing
worth his time just filled with ridiculous notions of romance and tragedy. It
definitely was not his thing.

�What a brunch of rubbish, such nonsense of proclamations of
sacrificing one�s self for love,� he mumbled, taking a sip of his wine.

The only reason he was reading the novel was because well- he had
thought it was resourceful to do at the time.
He was into researching a powerful and potent potion used eons ago; but
the name and procedures used for the particular potion was long destroyed. He
faintly remembered the potion having to do with some kind of powerful cleansing
and binding of the soul in some sense.

He had stumbled across some old tattered notes, in fact quite similar
to the ones he remembered Lucius Malfoy having in his possession when
�he-who-must-not-be-named� was still alive.
He wondered where Malfoy Sr. had acquired them, he on the other hand
acquired his from old items and artifacts he considered junk, stash in his old
family home.

He knew the former dark lord had one more plan to play out and it had
something to do with that particular potion.
But thanks to the famous Harry Potter, his two friends, the sidekick
Weasley and the know-it-all Granger; as well as everyone in the order and those
on the side of light- It is safe to say whatever Voldemort was planning will
never unfurl.

All though, Severus couldn�t feel that everything was all right and
just in the world; especially when it concerned one Lucius Malfoy. Sure, Malfoy Sr. most faithful and loyal
right hand-man to the late Lord Voldemort had in subtle Slytherin fashion
turned his back on him. Choosing the
side of light halfway through the final battle, albeit many reasons. Posing to be no threat and actually being
very sincere and even dare he think caring, well he put off having
nothing but good intentions in a way that only the aristocratic blond knew how
to pull off.

Maybe, he was just looking way too much into the notion of Lucius
actually scheming and achieving where the dark lord had failed concerning the
uses of the �cleansing� potion. It was just a gut feeling he had; when one was
a double agent for both a powerful mentally unstable sugar induced Headmaster and for a Dark sadist Lord
bent on world domination; one had to be cautious of the reality in which they
lived. Usually when Snape had a �gut feeling� he was always right about
something usually not good.

Severus having taken part in bringing down the sadistic Dark Lord, having
being given an Order of Merlin first class, having served his duties as spy for
Hogwarts� insane Headmaster, he was finally free. He had gained what he wanted most, his
freedom. Turning to Albus Dumbledore to work for the side of light was a means
to repent for the dishonorable sins he committed throughout his time as being a
Death Eater. Even though he had operated
among them, though when he went back to serve his �lord� again; he decidedly
chose not to pursue the �rewards� granted Death Eaters for various deeds
brought about. Not that it was
maddening, that he could only stand by and watch whatever poor soul was
tortured and killed; doing nothing to intervene. Intervention of any kind towards direct
orders from Voldemort was deadly. He was
not ignorant at all to the consequences present. He knew that sadly, people were bound to die
from the war-

�Well nothing is really accomplished by dwelling on the past,� he
thought. The wine glass near empty, he set it down on the smooth mahogany table
beside his velvety dark green arm chair.
The one he been dwelling in for the past hour and a half, brooding over
what comes to mind.

All in all he made it a promise to himself to carefully watch Lucius Malfoy�s actions. The thought of potions brought him back
to the book, which started his musings. The
book could be useful after all, even though it hinted as less than a silly
romance novel. Yet it eerily seems to
fit with the various old worn out notes he found as well as those of Malfoy
Senior�s. There were mentions of a potion in a few of those.

Severus� curious demeanor of the centuries� old worn out book; reopened
it to the very beginning. Rereading each
short passage, something in the back of Severus� mind told him that it felt
very disturbing that what he was reading also tied to similar experiences he
had when he was quite younger than he is now.

Maybe it was only mere coincidence, but he did remember the few times
someone had smiled at him. Not just any smile, but a true genuine smile that
could brighten any coarse potions master day.
A time when someone other than Albus Dumbledore; was not afraid of him.
A small someone who out of the goodness of their heart wanted to be his friend
for no reason at all, other than to make him happy. A small child that instead of cowering in
fear of him; had the audacity to care.
To sooth a complete strangers wound, to give him silly gifts for
flowers, to hug him when they thought he was sad.

Yes, he could remember those memories quite clearly�

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

A young man looking to be in his early twenties was currently running;
his pale face a stark contrast against the black robes he donned. The sky grew darker by the second, the
glowing half moon nearly high in the sky. Long black hair tied loosely in a
ponytail whipped silently in the young man�s face. He stopped to take a quick
breath from running.

�Damn Aurors,� he muttered to himself.
It was because of them, he was running god knows where and into the
damned Muggle world at that. Well the
positive side, is that he made a clean getaway.

He was among the Death eaters sent by Voldemort to raid the Ministry of
Magic�s various departments. Even to raid the celebration of the newly elected
Minister of Magic which lasted very short and he committed crime after crime in
name of the powerful Dark Lord he served. After that, he was at his home
searching for old parchments which held important notes on a dangerous potion
the Dark Lord wanted him to brew. But
all he manage to saved on his run from being captured by the Aurors, was a damn
stuffed toy cat that he grabbed in his haste and a few notes scribbled by his
mother on a piece of parchment.

He lost them on his run; and while apparating quite a few times to
throw off his pursuers; than going for a full out run. It was obvious he somehow transported himself
right into the Muggle world. Severus was thankful it was virtually pitch dark
out, saved for the illumination of light coming from the moon and stars in the
sky. It was apparent he was far from any
major overly populated Muggle city. It would be disastrous to have to try and
explain his unusual means of clothing to any Muggle.

Severus started walking in the tall grass, he wasn�t quite sure where
he was or where he was headed but whatever thoughts that began to wander inside
his head were shortly erupted. His
senses were heightened to a whole new level, his dark eyes scanning the dark
vast horizon spread out before him; and his ears, silently listening again for
the soft sound of movement he heard within that second. He held his wand
tightly within his grasp at the ready; within the confines of his robes. Ready to dispense of the impending threat on
his life; stunning any Aurors that had found him in his haste to escape
somehow.

The soft rustle of grass and the soft crunching of leaves that had
fallen to the ground went noticeable to Severus Snape. The all too soft sound was steady getting closer to him with every passing
second; actually if he didn�t know any better of which he did; he saw movement
coming towards him.

A soft mew and the emergence of a young kitten came into his view. A tiny ball of orange fluff; Severus was
obviously annoyed that a kitten gotten him so all worked up for nothing. He had enough, sneering at the thing for all
it was worth, turning on his heel he was just about to go someplace else to disparate;
when a still very soft, but more heavily than the footsteps of the kitten made
its presence known more suddenly than expected.

�Shanks! You naughty kitty!� was
heard loud and clearly from a furious young child, a little girl to be exact.
Its� voice was so obnoxiously reprimanding and horribly loud pitched, Snape
thought his ears would fall off. He
sneered, no wonder the kitten left.

Of all the things Snape could find himself facing this night; the last
thing he wanted was to face some child�a Muggle child at that! Could this night
get any worse? He didn�t dare dwell on the possibility. He could easily kill the child, she wasn�t
some prodigy magical child; the Wizarding World already had one. They certainly didn�t need another one; she
wouldn�t be missed at all, if her filthy muggle parents had cared at all; their
precious daughter would never be out here running after some dumb cat in the
dark where some lecherous child molester could be easily waiting in the shadows
to grab her. Luck had to be on the
child�s side, Severus mused because as much as he would like to get rid of her
annoying presence he had no desires of molesting children and she was only a
muggle, a child and totally harmless and fragile; he�ll probably fracture a
bone just by poking her with his wand. Besides he didn�t bother with killing
children; unless they were unfortunate to be in his line of fire when dueling
with opposing forces of any kind.

�Ohh!! Shanks! You ran
completely far away from the house and now I am going to get in trouble because
of it!� It said again, Severus could only think of her as an �It�, children and
Severus did not mix ever. It could be
said that Severus Snape�s presence no longer existed at that point and time,
because the young girl in general was so focus on her pet, she did not
acknowledge him at all.

The cat �Shanks� looked into the ever darkening night at it�s young mistress and mewed, wanting to get comfortable in
its spot in the grass.

Severus without fully turning around to face his, - adversary? Well she
clearly sounded bossy and not to mention her voice was annoying as hell;
sighed. Disapparating now would be useless; but he took a moment to reevaluate
his surroundings one last time. He noticed two things, not counting his unknown
young adversary and her cat. One being
that he was in fact near a fairly large house, the child�s of course and two he
or rather they seem to be out in the large space which is the backyard with a
small garden and large flower trees that grew and continued on past into some
unknown forest territory.

A large huff and a tantrum of a foot stomping the ground was
heard. Severus knew that high pitched
irritating voice was about to voice her little non important demands once again
to her cat. He wasn�t going to hear any
of it anymore, if she talked Wizarding world laws be damned he was going to
permanently glue her mouth shut or silence her with silencio for the rest of
her little Muggle life!

He spun around rapidly facing her and he had to really look down on her
pint sized frame. He seen she was about to start her one-sided argument by the
way her mouth parted to breath out its first single syllable. Not if he had anything to do with it.

In the most intimidating sourly voice he could manage he stated, �Be
quiet you insolent child!�

The shock from being frighten, could easily be seen in her large brown
eyes. Her hair was standing on its very
ends, her cat was completely forgotten and she straightened or rather stretched
her small body backwards by a slight notch to take in Snape�s tall frame. She
didn�t blink or utter a sound for a long moment and it was bothering Severus,
don�t get him wrong, he agreed with the saying �children should be seen and not
heard� even not seen at all if he could help it; but the way she just stared at
him unblinking was unnerving and down right infuriating!

�It�s quite rude to stare at a person with your mouth hanging open like
that, incompetent child! Don�t you have any mannerism at all?� he spited to
her, hoping he was doing a damn well good job of intimidating her. Maybe she�ll
go away while running from him too. A
child, especially one her age shouldn�t be outside chasing after some mindless
animal this late at night anyway.

She blinked her eyes, looking up at Severus looking apprehensive but
less scare now that the shock wore off.
Recalling his tone and what he said to her, it made her slightly
angry. She really hated adults when they
tried to reprimand her or won�t listen to her when she feels what she has to
say is important.

�Of course I have manners sir, but now I should really go back into my
house and shouldn�t really be talking to you anyhow you�re a stranger�� she
said more softly trailing off. She had a
look of contemplation on her face as if to think of something else to say.

�Even though�you are as strange as they come, come here Shanks we have
to go home now, I don�t want the baby-sitter catching me out here! She�s so rude
and mean to me,� she ignored him all together; weighing out that her kitten
needed her attention more than he.

He scowled at her harshly usually when a child encounters Severus Snape
and gets chastised by him too you don�t ever look at him and tell him something
like that. Behind his back- yes! To his
face- not unless you wan to seal your fate; but she was a muggle nothing
special, she didn�t know any better he told himself. Otherwise how could she know.

The dark haired Wizard was about to yell at her for saying something
like that to him but she said something else instead. In the sweetest voice he
heard come out of her mouth all night.

�As strange as you are, it�s the only way you know how to be, but it�s
a good type of strange for those like us�� she shrugged her shoulders, �I don�t
understand, but maybe one day I will, I would like to know everything; I wonder
if that�s possible? But- You�re still a stranger, but I�m not afraid as I
should be of you�It is- just a feeling I have about you�� than she smiled at
him. Not the smile of a mischievous brat, or a fake smile; but a real kind
smile. One that reached her eyes; and
she was just turning to head back home, when he heard the sounds of apparition
nearby.

Blasted Aurors! It certainly
took his mind off the odd child; he noticed he still had that godforsaken toy
still clutched in his hands and his attempt to break free again he got the
girl�s attention.

�Listen child, as much as it pains me to leave in the middle of your
awkward speech, there is something I must do so I have to leave. You on the other hand should go back inside
your house and stay there!� He knelt down in front of her, roughly putting his
old worn out stuff cat toy in her arms.
�Keep it, it serves no use to me at all!�

She just nodded at him, watching him disappear into the darkness; she
and her pet walking in the opposite direction.
It was a few moments that she stopped and realized she never told him
thank you for the toy.

As Severus once again had the Aurors on his ass again; thought back
once more to the child he met just moments before. He didn�t know her name, how old she was; he
was betting anything she was only four, was befuddled by her odd speech; could
not fathom why she would ever smile to someone so mean; namely him. But when he
thought about how sweet her voice sounded when not yelling or trying to be all
bossy and grown up; and how cute her soft curly and somewhat wild brown mane;
styled in two ponytails surrounded her small baby face and the small piercing
in her ears looked; topped off with the light blue overall dress she wore with
a white t-shirt underneath and those black Mary-Jane�s on with white socks with
lace; she wasn�t so bad. Picturing the
cute child he met earlier didn�t make him picture her being so obnoxious.

Okay, she had been annoying and quite cute; thank Merlin he would never
see her and that stuff toy cat again�

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

But he had met her again; only for one last time or so he had thought
at the time; it was almost two years that passed. But this time, he didn�t find his way to the
same spot he stood to fend off Aurors from a raid or revel he took place in the
name of the Dark Lord. No he was here for another reason; redemption or rather
finding it in that place and once he does found it; to have the courage to hold
on to it and never let go.

The reasoning behind the whys of returning to this place, Snape would
take to his grave. In his mind, the young potions professor could admit that he
wanted to break free. Wanted to be free
from what he was now finally able to see was nothing much but being a mindless
servant. A barbaric servant that committed
crime after crime in the name of his evil lordship and he hated it, hated
himself even more for what he was doing by joining Voldemort. Snape secretly
felt that he will be able to find his repentance here. He had joined in a dark
revel way in the wee hours of the morning just after another death eater raid
the previous night. Not only that but he
fought against an Auror they captured, dueling him just for show. The bastard had dealt a most excruciating
blow to his hand and arm, it had a deep gash, that
just would not stop bleeding, he killed the fun by avada
kedavaring his ass.
Now he just stood here in the middle of some muggle�s
backyard bleeding to death; not bothering to heal his wound. Hoping against hope that if his only means of
breaking free were to come he�ll gladly except it
through death.

He had done nearly everything considered repulsive and sexually offensive
that night�But seeing how some of the more sexually oppressed death eaters
responded to sedating their needs- well he thought of the little muggle girl he
met almost two years prior to this day.
Actually no matter what he did throughout his days since leaving this
place, she entered his mind. It didn�t
matter how much he tried to rid her of his thoughts she remained; and she
stayed with him during his most dark moments in life. When he did some sort of crime, when he
questioned his pathetic existence, the times he thought again and again of how
to get himself out of Voldemort�s inner circle. He
felt that this would be the day he would find that solution.

It was way into the afternoon from the looks of it and there were puffs
of white cumulous clouds passing by. Being out here during the day in the light
of the sun helped Severus see more clearly.
He saw the vastness of the backyard he was standing in and the endless
tall trees that continued on in the forest to his right. The large pale blue house that the child
lives in.

He saw movement coming towards him through the small bushes,
he also notices that this little place was hidden in the large garden behind
the house by the berry bushes that grew here.
She suddenly emerged again; the black and white stuffed toy cat clutch
in her protective arms. Her kitten by her side and a small book he almost
didn�t see firmly held between herself and the toy.

He remembered it was tattered and very dirty, some of the seams were
loosely unattached and the tail nearly ripped off. But here it was some a year and a half later
and it looked like new and really well taken care of.

She just stared at him, a frown on her face; obviously trying to recollect
her thoughts. Severus mused. She
probably didn�t remember him at all; children did have short term memories
being so young and all. He noticed she looked a little older, but still held
her baby face and pudgy exterior. She
now came almost to his thigh, still a pint size annoying chit.

It was quiet among them for awhile and than her eyes went completely
wide and Snape heard her grasp softly. He stared hard at her wondering what
would cause such a startling reaction in her.

He didn�t have to wait long, for she immediately dropped the toy and
the book and ran right over to him; pulling his robe sleeve down and trying
unsuccessfully to make him sit down. He
glared at her, yanking his arm- the arm which the Auror had bruised badly.

He continued to glare at her.
�What is the matter with you child? Yanking on my robes, are you not
completely all there in your head!� he yelled.

She looked ready to flee, but replied in a scared voice, �You�re
hurting very badly, I just want to help.�

�And what pray tell, can the likes of you do about it? I didn�t even
ask for your help! Do not tread in other�s business silly girl!� he sneered,
steeling her with his callous demeanor.

�B- but you need help, and I- I can s- show you how I can h- help,� she
stuttered a bit.

�How can a child like you help me?� He could tell she was afraid of
him, but he was curious as to what she could do; being a muggle in all. But
that was it�there was something odd about her and her aura radiated something
so strong like magic he felt unnerved.
Like she was showing to be more powerful than a normal witch or wizard
should be.

�You won�t call me weird�because�I�m strange like you,� she said;
feeling frustrated by trying to pull him down to sit.

Snape�s eyebrow rose at that statement, she said something like that
only a year ago to him; but now Severus was suspicious of the child. Maybe she was a young witch after all�a
muggle born? So caught up in his thoughts
he ignored the fact she was basically tearing at his robe sleeve with her tiny
hands. Something that
would have otherwise annoyed the hell out of him.

�Can you sit down please? I can�t reach your very tall sir,� she asked
politely.

Severus, being ever so reluctant, sat down in the grass, legs crossed
and revealing the gruesome gash to the child.
Waiting to see if she could do anything about it at
all or if she would try to heal him with weird muggle uses. He watched
her as she kissed the palm of her hand and placed it over and above the large
scar on his arm. He watched in amazement as a pink star like glowing light
sprung from her small hand. The pink light hummed over his skin, it felt
very�nice and warm. He saw how it healed
the wound so perfectly and made the dried up blood and blood still dripping
from the scar; disappear. All of it was
gone as if he never had a scar to begin with or that he felt mind numbing pain
from it either.

She confirmed his suspicions, she was a
unusual powerful and gifted Muggle-born Witch that was able to perform
concentrated amounts of wandless magic. Most magical
children her age�he was betting on five now, couldn�t even control their
magical powers. And even those a bit
older than her couldn�t even do a proper charm right with a wand!

She looked at him, he read her eyes.
She felt afraid that maybe he�ll yell or think she was weird; and also
hoping that he approved. Well he
approved, that fucking scar wasn�t hurting him anymore and it wasn�t even
there! He did the only thing he could think of and whether she got the clue or
not that he approved. He smirked; his
traditional Slytherin smirk at her.

He looked at her face and saw she smiled, smart child. Her smile
affected him in a way it disturbed him; and when she hugged him out of the
blue, it made him feel uncomfortable.
Just what type of child hugs a complete stranger?

�Thank you�for not calling me weird�I�m very happy I could help you,�
she let go of him, still smiling radiantly.

He didn�t know why, but the urge to start up a conversation with her
came to mind and so without really thinking upon it he did.

�Just how old are you child?� he asked her, his face suddenly looked
expressionless; and his eyes a bit darker.

�I�m five, I�ll be six in September and I start school, I am excited to
finally go there, papa says I�ll learn a whole lot and�� she continued on with
her chattered.

Severus just sat by her, saying nothing but just listening to her go on
and on about starting grade school. How
her parents loved her and were proud of her; how they didn�t ridicule her of
her �strangeness�. How most of the kids
either tease her or stay away from her because of how scary things happen when
she�s around. How she did have some
friends; but now they were mean to her when they found out about her being a
jinx. She told him how she just spends her time mostly to herself and read that
way she�ll know how to and to understand more clearly what is ask of her in
school.

Soon after that she was quiet for awhile, picking flowers and playing
with her kitten she affectionately called �Shanks� although she also told him
that�s his nickname but his full name is Crookshanks.

�Do you have any friends?� she suddenly asked him.

He stared at her, a raised eyebrow, not having it in himself to glare
at her. He was readying himself to tell
her in his meanest tone to mind her own damn business. But decided against it,
he just sourly told her no.

�I�ll be your friend than,� she stated as if a command to be followed
through and not objected.

He said nothing, just nodded quickly, not really believing her at all. He�ll never see the child again, unless of
course she happened to go to Hogwarts, now that he knew she was a Witch. But he
doubted she�ll even remember him at all.

�And I�ll love you too, like any other friend would,� she smiled at him
again, and than added, �You�re a very beautiful person.�

That just baffled him to no end; was she mocking him!? Or was it the
fact the child was too lonely that she would say almost anything to win someone
over to be her friend? He studied her again, and concluded that no, the
annoying child wasn�t one to make fun of others at all. She was really sincere too with everything
she said. He also noticed that she
looked very lonely, her only company being a stuffed toy, books, and an orange
ball of fluff that could only communicate with meows. She was a lonely child
and all because she was a Witch, even if she didn�t know this fact yet.

�I guess I should be going now before I worry my mommy, I hope I meet
you again and I�ll give you this in return to say thank you for the toy. I really love cats and I really like this toy
most of all, bye now and try not to hurt your self anymore,� she stood up
placing some flowers in his lap and strolled off with her belongings and
disappearing within the bushes.

Severus glared at her retreating back, frustrated and furious. But for all his years as a death eater and
even spent days as a student and now professor at Hogwarts; he did something so
unlike himself; he relaxed. He stretched
and laid on the grass, holding and staring at the pure
not yet ripened white rose in his hand.
It was still just a bud; and somehow being bless by the touch of that
child; it would blossom and grow to live forever. The same could be said for
the magnolia, the jasmine, the chrysanthemum, and the water lily she gave him.
He didn�t understand exactly where she got them or how he hadn�t noticed them
before.

Thanks to her, Snape made a decision that day; he would make sure to
take care of it as soon as he rested here for a little while. Severus would bet anything that these flowers
would grow and age as she would grow and age.

He wouldn�t dare believe he was right about that�

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

Hermione had a hard time trying to sleep, it
had to be well past 1 in the morning. She had hoped doing a bit more studying
would help her fall asleep; it wasn�t working. So she did the only thing she
could think of.

She held her black and white stuff toy cat. The only toy she really truly loved. It was
the one that odd stranger gave her; she had to be about four or five; she
couldn�t remember much less what he had even looked like. Usually if approached
by some stranger she would have ran away in an instant. Mostly scared and screaming her head off, as
most things kind of made her jump. She
wouldn�t admit it but she was an easily spooked child. It gave the other kids in the neighborhood a
reason to tease her even more.

She hugged the toy tighter to her, trying desperately to repress the
upsetting thoughts of her earlier childhood.
She wasn�t the most sociable person in the world; being teased and being
very shy didn�t boost one�s confidence at all.

Hermione couldn�t sleep because she kept thinking about the summer and
up until now since school started since Monday.
It seemed; for whatever unexplainable reason she was growing distant
with the only best friends she ever had.
Harry was resenting her; and she and Ron practically argued about almost
anything. Ginny still talked to her, but even she felt a little reluctant to
really want to speak to her too. And
what Hermione, the one who could usually figure things out quicker than anyone
else; could not fathom what exactly she had done.

And it didn�t help that she was really good friends with any other of
her classmates; other than being an walking talking
encyclopedia. There was at least Padma
and Neville and surprisingly Seamus who she stared to become closer friends
with since the end of fifth and during sixth year. Padma was more approachable than her somewhat
shallow twin Parvati; Hermione could at least talk to Padma and hold an
intellectual conversation with. Seamus had matured a bit, even though he still
couldn�t give up the fun of turning anything drinkable into some alcoholic
beverage. So had Neville, though she had
already considered him a friend anyway, matured but still did badly in potions,
though now he didn�t blow up a cauldron or fear Snape.

If she didn�t know any better she swore all of this started when they
had been at Order Headquarters. When
they were fighting the final battle against Voldemort; but it had to be right
after that. She, Harry, and Ron had all
stayed at 12 Grimmauld place with Sirius, even after the war had been
fought. Everything seem absolutely fine
a few weeks following; and than the cold distance began. Even now they still talk, but it never seems
friendly. She wasn�t an idiot she knew when she wasn�t wanted.

Hermione shook her head, believing she would find out what was
bothering Harry so much; maybe the problem wasn�t with her. After all, Lucius
had surprisingly join the side of light no matter how suspicious that was; and
he kept trying to spark up a conversation with her as if they were the best of
buddies. It had been unnerving, but she talked to him just for the fact that
she didn�t want to seem rude; though she was seething on the inside. He turned
out to be quite sincere after all; and he did help them win the war of
course. She was also a lot of times in
the company of Sirius Black; and she was spending more of her time with him
than with anyone else, he was very pleasant to talk to and he joked around a
lot. He showed her comfort when she was feeling a little down and when she
thought about not having her parents around anymore.

Hermione squeezed her toy to her bosom; not wanting to dwell anymore of
sad memories; letting sleep overtake her.

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

Coming out of his reverie of the small child he soon came to know as
Hermione Granger. He got up from his chair and went over to the small vase made
of black obsidian. He held his gaze onto
the five flowers, white and pure starting to finish their blooming. They were also starting to take on a healthy
vibrant glowing look and shade with hues of the rainbow as if made out of clear
prism glass when the light touches them.

He had been right yet again; thinking back to Hermione and the rose bud
as a child and how he watched the flower slowly grow like aging as a human
would each year. And
when she came to Hogwarts and than on from there now in her seventh and final
year. He had no doubts in his mind these flowers had bloom beautifully
alongside her. They were all fully ripe
and glowing very bright. Sometimes a
petal would fall and another would just replace it. And the petals that fell remained and so he
kept them in a safe place; he saw they weren�t fully developed yet; it was
evident that they would fully bloom once the shades of colors finally replace
the inside of the white flowers. There was a connection with the falling petals
and the rainbow hues of the flowers; that he didn�t quite get yet; but in due
time maybe he would.

She had intrigued him as a child, and he was sort of glad she never
remembered him at all when she came to Hogwarts. He had no desire to explain anything to her;
his life wasn�t any of her business; and her �gift� to him puzzled him on a
daily basis. If he were honest, he had it in his mind to pretend that all the
nonsense she said would really be true.
But he wasn�t an optimist; so he ignored his thoughts about the subject
all together. She was just a lonely child that was looking for acceptance no
matter how she got it; and probably thought in her little mind that he accepted
her. Hell, she said she loved him; the child didn�t even know what love was;
hell he didn�t hardly understand what that felt like. Maybe if he visited her
frequently he would understand her way of loving a friend; she would know him
and probably still kept her childish promise.
But he didn�t need some child following him about like a lost puppy and
saying he was �nice�. It would ruin the snarky bastard persona he had going. So he never seen her
again after that day, never bothered to learn her name or tell her his, he was
a stranger for one thing; and it worked well for him; because he been mean to
her all her years at school; she would never remember him from her early
childhood to connect that toy he gave her to him.

And in turn even he could admit it was his fault in the first
place. He had after all, gave her a gift
first that stuffed cat; and she still had it even after all these years. He saw
her trying to quickly hide it from his sight when he caught her past curfew
heading to Gryffindor tower one evening. He watched her grow up, and admitted
to himself only that she was a lovely young lady now. A teenager that baffled, intrigued,
irritated, annoyed, piqued the curious, bewildered, anger, shocked; and made
him feel awkward whenever he got near to her. For all it was worth, he would
dare not think too much into that one.

The simplicity of the gift made him think back to the book he started
reading earlier. It mentioned the very
same flowers that Hermione had gave him when she was a five.

Turning his thoughts away from the small memories that weren�t at all
dark and ominous in his past, Severus began reading the unnamed book he started
from earlier that night. While he unaware, softly caressed the softness of
petals on the white rose in the other hand.

�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�*�

�But perhaps it is better to tell the story from the
beginning that way you�ll have a better understanding of the heavenly beauty
called many things but I�ll like to think of her as the �Princess Marionette�
or �Divine Heaven��

The first time she was curious and spoke her first
word�she was gifted with a magnolia.

The first time she showed talent and regal power�she
was gifted with a chrysanthemum.

The first time she was sincere and modest�she was
gifted with a water lily.

The first time she radiated good faith in her
surroundings�she was gifted with a jasmine.

The first time she smiled prettily�she was gifted with
a rose.

And when she first hugged you and said she loves you,
you stop and stare at her and you wonder for the millionth time�is it really
possible for someone like you to truly be loved and most of all by one so young?

Perhaps?

After all maybe there is hope� when �Heaven� loves
you�

*****************

Alpha: Hey Peeps! I�m just trying to set the beginning of this
story�I�ll probably have more for ya�well who ever
knows with me ne? well it is
certainly more light hearted for all the�.HG/SS lovers out there�(I�m still a
die hard HG/DM fan!!)�well tell me you think or not whatever? Love it hate
it�not sure�well�*shrugs* even if I hear no reviews for this I hope it has
captured your interests anyway. Oh yeah if I hadn�t mentioned already, I kind
of base this fic on an age old challenge called the
�But I saw her first� I found on WIKTT�(I wanted to do
a challenge fic�in an odd sort of way not to mention
trying to do more than one challenge in one fic�though
it feels like it has a little of some of the ones I wanted to do.) anyway
that�s all for now folks.
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Beautiful Soulless Marionette