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Dianthus Stories	By : icewomin Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3127 -:- 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
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Anything you
recognize belongs to someone else, namely, JK Rowling. Specifically, elements of
the HP universe, characters from same.
Sadly, I have no hope of publishing this story outside the fan fiction base, although I hope you enjoy the plot and the original
characters I�ve created. Feel free to
give me critical feedback, including flames and harsh criticism. I may delete it afterward, so as to reduce my
personal embarrassment, but I do promise to read it and incorporate it if I
feel it improves the story.

*****

This is Chapter
Thirteen. Smut begins in Chapter Twenty
Six, so if you�re only looking for that, feel free to skip ahead. Be warned that you may be confused about some
of the stuff in those later chapters if you don�t stick it out.

*****

Chapter Thirteen �
Truce

Her roommates
broke into fits of hysterical laughter as she recounted her conversation with
Snape to them, on their way to dinner that evening. �Oh, Dianthus,� said Erin,
wiping tears from her eyes, �that�s why they let you in to Hogwarts so
young! You are too good at thinking on your feet.
I bet he shit himself after you left.�

�I certainly hope
so,� said Dianthus dryly. �I don�t think
he�ll be holding me back after class anymore, at any rate.� They all howled with laughter again as they
entered the great hall. Dianthus noticed
that Snape wasn�t in his usual seat, and she allowed herself another flash of
satisfaction � when intensified greatly when she saw that he was having a tense
conversation with the Headmaster, near the center of the staff table. She nudged Erin and
inclined her head briefly toward the pair, and Erin
immediately passed the information silently on to Martine and Melanie.

�Serves him
right,� whispered Martine harshly as they sat down at the Ravenclaw table. �Let him worry a little about those damned
stories!�

�Hey, listen, you
guys,� said Dianthus seriously. �I
appreciate you shielding me from the bullshit going around, but knock it off,
okay? The more you guys keep people away
from me, the longer this is going to go on.
It died down quickly enough last time, and now that I�ve enlightened the professor,� her
roommates broke into smothered giggles again, �I�m sure it�ll do the same this
time.�

So when a fourth
year Gryffindor approached with a sly look her face, Dianthus faced the girl
brightly. �Well then, Dianthus,� the
girl tittered, �What�s the story with you and the new Potions teacher?�

Dianthus looked at
the girl dismissively and said, �Do you really think I�d have done anything
with that?� And she gestured toward the staff table,
where Snape was just shaking his head jerkily at something Dumbledore had said. His skinny body was rigid with tension, so
that his bony elbows seemed to hang at odd angles to his body, and his hair
hung lank around his pallid face. �He
was even worse when he went to school here, you know.�

The girl looked
appraisingly at Snape, and then back at Dianthus. �What about the other story then?�

�I couldn�t tell
you what Snape knows about the Dark Arts,� said Dianthus, honestly. �I don�t have one fucking clue about it. I
never saw him hex anybody, but who knows?
Why don�t you mouth off to him in class, and we�ll all find out what he
does?� Erin had
to stuff her entire fist into her mouth and duck under the table to stifle her
shrieks of mirth, as the disappointed Gryffindor slunk back to her own table.

By Thursday,
Dianthus knew she had been right to confront the rumors head-on. A couple of students still gawked at her as
she walked to Defense against the Dark Arts in the morning, but in general, the
situation was much improved. A
first-year Ravenclaw had even approached her at breakfast to shyly say that she
hadn�t believed the rumors at all. Dianthus
thanked her kindly, and the little girl rushed away, blushing furiously.

She was looking
forward to Potions with a sort of vicious glee.
The thought that she had thrown Snape for a loop gave her a feeling of
immense power � even if a small voice of remembrance told her it would be
short-lived.

She was trying to
look as if she was paying attention to Professor Quirrell,
but was actually mentally reliving the look on Snape�s face as she�d left the
Potions classroom, when Professor McGonagall entered the Defense against the
Dark Arts classroom and approached Professor Quirrell�s
desk. After a quiet exchange of words
between the two instructors, Quirrell called, �Miss
Brandywine, will you accompany Professor McGonagall to the hallway, please?�

Dianthus felt as
if she had just swallowed several Snitches as she followed the Transfiguration
Professor out of the room. Once they were
in the hallway, Professor McGonagall said, �The Headmaster wishes to see you,
Miss Brandywine.� And she turned and
walked swiftly up the hall, Dianthus miserably trailing behind her after two
seconds of immobilizing shock.

In all of her
years at Hogwarts, she had never said anything more than �hello� to the
Headmaster, and yet here she was, on her way to a private audience with
him. McGonagall said nothing more, but
led her silently to the entrance of the Head�s office and, after giving the
password (�Sugar Quill�, said with quiet revulsion), she gestured for Dianthus
to step alone onto the moving staircase.

When she reached
the top landing, Dianthus knocked timidly on the door, and Dumbledore called,
�Come in,� in a cheerful voice. Dianthus
drew a calming breath through her nose and entered the office. �Ah, yes, Miss Brandywine,�
the Headmaster said kindly. �Please sit
down.� He gestured toward a comfortable
armchair in front of his desk. She sat,
and he looked at her for a moment. Then
he said, �I am sorry we haven�t had a chance to get to know each other better
before now. I�m afraid I�ve been rather
distracted with one thing or another, and I do apologize.�

Dianthus smiled
nervously. �Um,� she said, �isn�t it a
good thing that we don�t know each other too well, sir? I mean, doesn�t that mean I�m doing okay?�

He laughed
gently. �Ah, well, if you say so. I would have preferred time to get to know
many more of my students, whether or not they are �doing okay�.� He paused to consider her again, and then
said, �You have had a difficult few weeks, Miss Brandywine.� His tone was light, but his blue eyes offered
a hint of compassion.

�I � I suppose so,
sir,� she said, lowering her gaze to stare at the carpet. She felt small suddenly, as if she were eight
years old and speaking with her grandfather.

�Professor Snape has
informed me of certain rumors being distributed in the castle,� he continued
delicately.

She glanced up at
him and quickly replied, �I think I�ve taken care of those, sir.�

�Ah,
good. Sometimes the direct
approach is the best.� She frowned at
him. How
does he know what I did? she wondered. �I was a tad bit concerned when Professor
Snape offered to tender his resignation at dinner.�

She was so
flabbergasted by this comment that she could only gape at him,
open-mouthed. Dumbledore smiled and said
quietly, �He was quite concerned that your reputation was suffering due to his
presence.�

Without thinking,
Dianthus scoffed. �I don�t think Professor
Snape is at all concerned with my reputation, sir,� she said, fighting a sneer.

�Oh, I think you
will find that you are quite mistaken,� the old man said evenly. �It took a bit of time to convince him to
remain in the castle. In fact, I practically
had to order him to do so,� he smiled faintly.
�I am most eager to keep Professor Snape on staff, you see, but I had to
bring all of my influence to bear to make him see the folly of his premature
departure.�

Dianthus sat
silently, staring at the Headmaster. She
didn�t believe for a second that Snape had offered to resign because of
her. She was debating an appropriate
response to his comments when there came a light knock
on the office door. �Please come in,�
called Professor Dumbledore brightly. The door opened, and Snape walked through
it. Upon catching sight of her, his lips
thinned and she saw him clench his fists.
He looked absolutely furious to see her sitting there � almost as livid
as she felt at seeing him. He walked to
the corner of the desk and bowed formally to the Head.

�You called for
me, Headmaster?� he said, stiffly.

�I did,� said
Dumbledore, rising from his chair. �I
believe that the two of you have some, ah, catching up to do. I expect you to have come to an understanding
prior to leaving my office.� He looked
pointedly at each of them in turn, and exited through the office door before
either of them could speak.

Dianthus was so shocked
and angry that for a moment she couldn�t even move. Snape�s jaw was working, but apparently he
was unable to find any appropriate words, because after a few seconds, he
simply strode around the desk and threw himself into the Headmaster�s
chair. They glared at each other for
what seemed like an eon. Finally
Dianthus said, �So. You quit last
night.�

�I made every
attempt to do so,� Snape muttered sullenly.
�The Headmaster refused to accept my resignation.� He shifted restlessly in his seat.

�Feeling a little
uncomfortable, sir?� she said, with
just a touch of malice.

His shoulders
sagged. He ran a hand over his face and
groaned, �Oh, goddamn it! Will you stop
with the �sir� bit, please?�

�Oh, but you are
my instructor and I am your student��

�Dianthus,
please.� He closed his eyes and
leaned back in the chair. �Just for
right now, in this office, can we drop the formalities?� He looked so beaten down that, despite her
valiant efforts to maintain it, her anger dissipated.

She studied his
face closely. It was pale and drawn, and
she noticed for the first time how translucent his skin appeared without the
blemishes. The purple shadows under his
eyes stood out like fresh bruises against his fair complexion. Without the burning intensity usually
telegraphed by his eyes, there was an air of vulnerability about him that was
unnerving. She�d always thought he was
untouchable, invincible. Why had she
never seen this side of him? Why did he
have to choose now to show it to her? She
needed to rage against him, but she couldn�t rage when he looked so frustrated,
so unhappy.

�Why did you
quit?� It was the first thing rational
thing that came into her head.

He opened his eyes
and frowned at her. �Why do you think?�

She shrugged. �How the fuck am I
supposed to know?�

He looked mildly
surprised. �Dianthus, do you think I
want people talking about you like that � again? I certainly despised it back then, but I
couldn�t do anything about it. Now, I
can. I can leave.� His frown intensified. �The Headmaster sees it differently. He told me last night that he thought my
abrupt departure would most likely only spur additional chatter among the
students.�

Dianthus
blinked. �He�s probably right. I just today got them thinking that maybe
those stories aren�t true after all. If
you left, the whole thing would just flare up again.�

He smiled
grimly. �What did you tell them?�

�Well, for the
Dark Arts stuff, I suggested that maybe they should be the one to test out your
skills.�

He favored her
with a real smile, and shook his head. �And for the other?�

She hesitated just a beat.
�I reminded them of the difference in our ages,� she lied.

He nodded
thoughtfully. �That would probably do it
for most of them.�

�It seemed to
work,� she shrugged. �That,
and I told them the truth, that I think you are a supreme asshole.�

His eyes widened
slightly. �What?�

She leaned forward
and onto her forearms, over Dumbledore�s desk. �Why didn�t you ever write me, Severus?�

She thought she
saw a shadow of something � sadness? � regret? behind
his eyes, before he shuttered the emotion and said lightly, �I told you I probably
wouldn�t.�

She leaned back
and nodded tightly, her lips pursed.
�You�re right, Severus. You did.� If he wanted to play it cool, she could play
it cool, too.

He ran one hand
through his hair and blew out a breath.
�I � do you remember my telling you that my reputation was not entirely
unearned?� She nodded. �Well, after I left school, I � continued
down that path for a bit longer.� He
shifted his gaze to the portraits on the wall behind her. �You were so young, Dianthus. You liked me as I had been, and eventually I
wanted to keep that memory. I didn�t
have anything to tell you that I wanted you to hear.�

She said hotly, �I
don�t care! You were like a big brother
to me, and you knew I looked up to
you. Even if you�d told me you�d joined
You-Know-Who, I�d have been glad to hear from you.�

He brought his
eyes back to hers, and said, very quietly, �No you wouldn�t have, Dianthus.�

�I was eleven!�
Dianthus shouted, furious that he was right.
�What did I know?�

�You knew you
hated the Dark Arts � you told me so, and I know you were telling the truth. You always were a terrible liar.�

�Did you join the
Death Eaters?� she gasped, horrified.

�I�m not going to
answer that,� he said calmly.

She relaxed into
her chair. �Okay then.� They sat in silence for a spell, studying
each other. She felt a small rekindling
of her previous affection for him, or at least, she felt her resentment and
disappointment fade slightly from her heart.
She wished they could sit in here all afternoon, and get reacquainted � and
then she remembered why they were in the Head�s office in the first place.

She said, �So what
do we do now, Severus?�

He shrugged. �Well, I�m still your teacher, and you�re
still my student. We continue on. You have to prepare for your N.E.W.T.s. I have to
assist you as best I can.�

�But we can�t � I
mean � we can�t talk � like we are now. Like we used to.�

He smiled ruefully
and shook his head. �No, we can�t. Perhaps, if things were different, we could
have a more amiable relationship. As it
stands, I won�t risk further rumors being spread about you.�

�I don�t really
give a fuck what they say,� she said, hopefully.

�You still have a
mouth like a sailor,� he replied, the old teasing smile flickering across his
face. �But your charms are lost on me.� He raised an eyebrow and pointed one thin
finger at her. �And I meant what I said
� I won�t let you slack off in Potions.�

Dianthus rolled
her eyes. �You never had to haul out
your wand, you know. I thought I told
you that Potions was my favorite subject,� she reminded him. �It still is.
In fact�� She
broke off.

�What?� he said,
eyebrows raised.

She narrowed her
eyes and flashed him a wicked smile.
�The thought just occurred to me, sir,
that maybe I�d better save it for class.
I don�t want you docking me points for telling you something you already
know.�

He sneered. �I am delighted to see that you have finally
begun to use a tiny amount of your brain capacity,� he said. �Good for you, Miss Brandywine. Better late than never.� Then he pointed to
the office door. �Go back to class. You don�t want to be late for lunch.�
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