Homework (open))

[severussnape]

It was a quiet summer afternoon. The Slytherin common room was nearly empty, save for one figure. Severus Snape sat at one of the small round tables, which was filled with open books, a roll of parchment, already half filled with essay for Professor Slughorn's potion class, and a bottle of basic black ink. He wrote in his usual hand, a small and cramped writing which meant he had to write more than most students, but Snape did not care. Most of the teachers seemed to appreciate the fact that he had put more work into this assignments and naturally it gave Severus a sense of pride then helped compensate for the lack of popularity. Yes, one day that would all be out in the big and unforgiving world. Snape would be ready. He was sure Potter and Black would not be able to say the same.

Finally finished to his satisfaction the ink well, quill and scroll was out away, along with most of the books. Only one remained out. Snape sent the book bag up to his room, then took the one book remaining to one of the more comfortable chairs. There Severus sat, reading by the fire. It was months beyond where Slughorn was teaching, but this was for his own personal gain. There was a potion in here that looked rather interesting.This potion was not good not in and of itself, but with slight alterations here and there, it could become something really interesting. If the theory worked, that is. There was only one way to find out. Behind him, the portrait hole opened, allowing someone in.

[`narcissa virga black]

Narcissa was going to skip Herbology. It seemed like a good class to skip and Narcissa couldn’t stand to walk all the way to the greenhouses in the sweltering hot sun. And then she’d have to standing them for hours! Ugh! She could only picture the ball of frizz that would be her hair if she ventured out into the humidity. Her beauty charms would have no affects on a raging mother nature. So she’d told a few key students (the type that would repeatedly mention that she was feeling ill to the professor and that they’d seen her looking paler than usual that day) before slipping off into the dungeons.

She knew the moment she began to walk beneath the surface because the air shifted. While it had been stiflingly hot, the stones and hair were cool and pleasant. Her body reveled in the difference, the very small layer of sweat that had formed on her skin finally disappearing.

Narcissa slipped into the common room, dropped her things to the ground, and then collapsed onto one of the leather couches. It was cool to the touch, providing the final bit of relief. Transfiguration had been torture; that classroom was always ten million degrees too hot. She’d almost held her breath and fainted to get out, but they’d been released a few moments early.

When she felt she finally regained her strength taken away by the heat, Narcissa sat up and eyed the rest of the common room squatters. There were a few first years (which was what Narcissa assumed all students who she did not know were) playing with gobstones in the corner, but that was it. Except…Narcissa didn’t know how she’d missed the raven-haired boy. Maybe it was because he was huddled near the fire in the worst weather ever while she stood as far away from it as she could.

She didn’t necessarily feel like doing homework (though she wouldn’t have minded if one of the first years did it for her at the moment), but there wasn’t much else. She wasn’t about to go back up where the sun was trying to kill her either. So Snape it was
.
At least he could be semi entertaining.

Narcissa waltzed over to him, her body forcibly swaying by the pumps she wore. She slid into one of the chairs near him (the one farthest from the fire) and sighed loudly. She took a deep breath, leaned her head back, and then gave another bored sigh- this one even louder.

WORDS: 422
MUSE: 'Cissa Playlist.
OUTFIT: Click!
TAGS: crashing Sev's thread, yo.

[severussnape]

The truth was, Snape had seen Narcissa when she first came in, but had said nothing, choosing instead to use the reflection of the Trophy on the mantle to watch the upside down version of the youngest Black sister take a seat on the couch, seeing attention from the firsties milling in the room with one of their silly games, gob-stones, was it? This was admittedly, mildly amusing.

After a few minutes, Narcissa seemed to have taken notice of the half blood prince on the room. She stood up, walked across the room to the chairs. This time the image grew bigger and the upside down Narcissa's head distorted and flattened out like a spoon. If Severus was five or ten years younger, he might have been tempted to laugh out loud at this image he had seen. Fortunately, he knew better now. For one thing, it would irritate the youngest Black daughter who would not understand what he had seen and only presume she was being mocked.

It would also ruin his cover and let the girl know that he was watching her instead of reading his book still as he tried to make it look to anyone looking in his direction. She gave a sigh, as if trying to get his attention then leaned back, making her reflections head, smaller once again and gave a larger sigh. That would be his cue.

"Narcissa." Severus said pleasantly as if just discovering her presence. "What seems to be the trouble?" After all, that had to be the sort of attention she was after. The research could wait. After all, one of the ingredients was only obtainable on the full moon night and that was still weeks away. Also, whatever Narcissa's drama was, it had to be more interesting than more potion making.

In a way Snape was grateful that it was Narcissa. She was a friendly face, being connected through her engagement with Malfoy and yet she was not so deeply intertwined with the death eater group that she would be less inclined to turn any off moment into an inquisition. She was admittedly lovely and ladylike, the very epitome of all that the pure blood lady was supposed to represent. Malfoy was a very lucky man to have her, and Severus doubted the man even knew how fortunate he was.

At any rate, Snape could not allow himself to think about the conversation he had had recently. He could not risk that a person in this room could read his thoughts. Somehow, just knowing the twin disciplines of Legilimancy and Occulemency were in the world of magic made the whole structure feel less secure. Even if it were not for that though, he could not risk these feelings betraying themselves in his face. Instead, he blocked them all away, focusing on her. It was after all the attention that Narcissa sought.

[`narcissa virga black]

“I’m just so terribly bored, Severus,” Narcissa sighed, her eyes half closing as she watched the older boy. “Almost everyone is in class, though that’s hardly a smart thing considering how hot it is. Since when is October this hot? I bet someone was attempting a heating charm and lost control of it. This is ridiculous]. I’m going to be cooked. Father will hear of this.”

Yes, Cygnus Black would hear of his youngest daughter’s plight. He was overly fond of his baby girl. She was the least likely to go against his edicts and the most likely to make a successful marriage. She could be rather happy sitting in her father’s study working on needlepoint or the like while he addressed business. She was quite her father’s little pet. All youngest daughters should be. He had every right to hate her, having been his final failed attempt at having a son, but he didn’t. It seemed to prove just how likeable Narcissa was- to the right people.

And today, it seemed, she wanted to the seventh year before her to be one of those right people. Though, her idea of likable varied at times.

“Aren’t you hot?” She inquired, her eyes shifting between him and the fireplace. “It’ll kill your eyes to use the fire as your source of light for reading. You don’t really want glasses do you? It won’t help your image at all, and you really should avoid anything that hinders it.”

Narcissa was, well. Blunt. But she did want to help. While she was rather a failure when it came to potions or divination, charms and specifically beauty charms were her talent.

“And the light does nothing for your complexion. If you spent more time outside you’d probably look less sickly. Have you tried any charms? I happen to look extremely pretty with pale skin, but your dark features well….you look rather like a corpse at times I think. You’re good at potions; surely you have access to ingredients for such easy little helpers. I buy them, but it might make it more enjoyable for you if you did them yourself.”

Narcissa’s eye had gone wide and her position had changed greatly. She was no longer sitting back, but leaning over the arm of her chair with excitement. Her own manicured nails reached up to make sure there wasn’t a single bump in her hair, which was held back by a headband made of a black satin ribbon.

“And if you smiled more, I think it’d do wonders for your facial structure.”

WORDS: 427
MUSE: Wicked Sountrack
OUTFIT: Click!
TAGS: crashing Sev's thread, yo.

[severussnape]

It was just as Snape had suspected, Narcissa was bored and wanted to be entertained. Apparently she distressed with the uncommon heat as well, though there was very little Severus could do about that. The only way she could beat that was if the little princess wanted to go swimming. Snape doubted that she would be willing to muss her hair and makeup, even if it meant relief from the heat. Besides, Severus was not the outdoor type, nor was he the sort to suggest anything unless he was actually willing to do this thing as well. Swimming was like bathing, too vulnerable.

The heat brought to his attention, Severus began to feel it, though earlier he had ignored his body's plea for cool air for quite a while until now. No wonder, Snape thought it was summer, it was certainly hot enough for a summer afternoon. Mind wandering lightly, The sixteen old caught himself wondering if this was what people meant by "Indian Summer", then thought better of it. What warm weather had to do with India, though, he had no idea. Muggle idioms were stupid.

Then Narcissa began proposing a cure for her boredom. Was she serious? Severus forced himself quiet as Narcissa made a veritable grocery list of faults that she wanted to fix in him? In most other people, that was a hex waiting to happen. "I do hope you have a point, Narcissa." Snape said, holding back the majority of the anger that he had felt in favor of of trying to understand why she had said this.

The youngest daughter, after all, was a delicate flower. She did not seem to be a fighter by nature and would not likely ever serve the dark lord in a warrior capacity. If anything, she would provide a pure blood son for Lucius and raise the boy to be strong and capable. It would be wrong to attack her, even if she did say the wrong thing. It would be like kicking a puppy. Chances were, she did not even know what she was saying.

[`narcissa virga black]

Narcissa cleared her throat, leaning even more forward on the chair. Narcissa bore little ill feeling for the boy in front of her. Indeed, there was a complete mixture of reactions towards him in Slytherin house. However he was known to run with the same sort of crowd Bella and Lucius ran in, which was enough for Narcissa to treat him decently. And she dearly liked to help her friends. To be her friend you had to be perfect. Therefore you already had to be perfect (which was a very rare find, Lucius being one of the few) or you had to let her make you perfect.
And she was ready to leap into fixing the lanky-haired by before her.

“Severus, I think I should introduce you to a few little things. I can..I suppose you could state it…make you my new project. You’d hardly have to do anything but learn, and I think you’re good at that. You’re not stupid at least. I abhor stupidity. I wouldn’t want to make you pretty if I thought you were stupid.”

Narcissa stood up then, moving to perch on the arm of his chair. “Do you use shampoo? You can borrow mine. Have you ever tried foundation? Don’t let anyone tell you it’s just for women. Men need to fix their face just as much as we do, they’re just too proud to admit it. Pride is terrible unless you deserve to be proud. Like Lucius. He can pull off being proud.”

A sort of dreamy smile spread across her face.

She was not a fighter like Bellatrix. She was not a rebel like Sirius or Andromeda. But Narcissa Black was a force to be reckoned with in her own playing field. “Don’t you want that little ginger girl? The one Potter is always harassing. Well now that she’s actually going on a date with him, you have to make her regret on choosing you. And then she’ll realize what she had once she can’t have it anymore because she’s with the dunderhead my cousin clings to!” She clasped her hands together.

“Oh. Oh this is going to be wonderful.”

WORDS: 358
MUSE: Wicked Sountrack
OUTFIT: Click!
TAGS: crashing Sev's thread, yo.

[severussnape]

Severus echoes for for a moment subconsciously, leaning forward as she leaned forward, then pushing himself back. What, did he think they were going to whisper secrets like innocent little children? She was an interesting creature. He was taught to protect the pure blood ladies as priceless jewels, but she was the only one that Snape knew who actually played the part he had been taught to expect as a youngling, on the few occasions his mother dared to pay attention to him. That, in and of itself drew the boy to Narcissa. The fact that she seemed to like Severus in turn only served to sweeten the deal.

“Severus, I think I should introduce you to a few little things. I can..I suppose you could state it…make you my new project....." That was really as far as Narcissa needed to go. Her assurances that all he had to do was learn was little comfort to the idea that he was about to lose all of his self control to her, even as wonderful as she was, It was nothing personal against Cissa. It was simply a matter of personal control. He had to think of a way to let her down gently.

Narcissa sat on the arm of his chair, and Severus moved to look her in the face, hoping the two did not look intimate to any not so innocent bystanders. She began to ask questions about shampoo and foundation. It was not as if he had never heard of shampoo. Granted, most of the time, water was added so often, that it barely had any suds in it by the time the bottle was tossed out sometimes. Sometimes there was nothing and sometimes there were little bottles from Merlin knows where, that one of them had managed to get free from wherever it was they went. At times, it felt dirtier than staying unwashed. Snape fell out of this thought to hear that pride was permissible when a person earned it.

"Lily?" Severus asked, finally saying something in the midst of this "What, she is going on a date with Potter?" Alright, this had gotten his attention, but in a terrible way. Narcissa and the other Slytherins were blissfully unaware of all that he had promised to her all for his love for her and she was going out with Potter. Really? She expected him to give up all his friends and his fight for her so she could go play the field. "No, that can't be right, she..." She said she loved Severus, but now he could not say it to the girl in front of him. There was so much wrong in all of this.

“Oh. Oh this is going to be wonderful.” A sort of dreamy smile spread across Narcissa's face and Severus discovered his own face was twisted in anger and worry. "So what then." He said in measured tones. "You think we can win her back if we try this beauty thing then?" He was very reluctant to give this a try, but the thought of Lily with Potter when she should be with him. That was even worse.

[`narcissa virga black]

“Yes, Lily Evans- if that’s her name. What at terrible flower name; it’s not at all as pretty as Narcissa. I had a cousin named Chrysanthemum, but that was so long it seemed gaudy. Lily! I’d rather be called Weed. Ivy would seem mysterious and sophisticated and Rose…well, that’d be romantic even if it’s a bid… common. Poor girl…anyways, yes. She’s going on a date with dreadful James Potter. All he had to do was steal her book and she relented. I left before they could decide on where to have their little rendezvous, but she’d definitely said yes.”

Narcissa had hardly taken a breath as she’d spoken. Her eyes hadn’t settled on the boy in front of her once since she’d begun her current speech. They’d drifted around the room, as if trying to think of other horrendous flower names (the only one she truly did like was her own; it was so sophisticated….and it wasn’t even a copy cat of the flower’s name. She had an ‘A’ on the end.

She’d then begun to nip at her nails, pulling off a few too-long nails with her teeth. Her mother would smack her hand away if she saw her. It was an atrocious habit, but it was one she’d never been able to shake. It was why she spent so much time doing her nails at night- at least they’d look perfect for a goodly portion of the morning tomorrow.

She finally returned her attention to the boy in front of her, already starting to calculate what shade of foundations he’d use upon him. And he’d certainly need heavy duty hair care. She’d introduce him to the fine world of oil blotter sheets.

“Of course I think that’ll work,” She huffed, crossing her legs in the other direction. “Girls don’t know what they want until they can’t have it. The moment she commits herself to Potter, she’ll want to dash right back to you. And she’ll want to do it even more if you’re attractive!”

She bit her tongue slightly, her eyes narrowing in thought. “Of course, you won’t take her. She’d not worth it. Have you ever considered working out? Maybe just a little muscle would help your cause… I’m certainly not suggesting you play Quidditch or anything….” ‘Cissa drifted off, comparing the boy-before-her’s size to her Lucius’.

“So, is that a yes?”

WORDS: >.>
MUSE: I Dream of Jeannie
OUTFIT: Click!
TAGS: wtf is this!? >.> Have Sevvie do his refusal thing and I'll get on that other thread.

[severussnape]

"You are beautiful, I do admit that," Severus conceded, allowing the insults about his Lily to slide by this once. "Malfoy is very lucky to have you and I must make due without." Narcissa could hardly argue with that, no matter how she felt about Lily. Arguing against the flower seemed futile, it was far better to simply disarm her. Like the character Narcissus, she seemed to be caught up in all that was her for at least part of that moment in which she had fallen quiet, and Snape found himself wondering how she had managed to work that into her internal monologue.

Narcissa began to worry at her nails, something very unlike her station. Ah yes, something had definitely occupied her mind now. At least the makeover was out of her mind. Perhaps Snape would be able to escape unwashed after all. If he was lucky, the beautiful Narcissa would forget her little idea to make him her project and move on to the next shiny object that enters her mind's eye.

Then her eyes shifted again and Snape guessed that she was back in the present moment, though thankfully she was not saying any more. She was not saying anything about wrinkles or whatever it was she was fussing on about earlier, though. There was a very clear possibility that she was thinking about it again, a very dangerous prospect. Severus found himself wondering what he would say or do for another moment of distraction. Sadly this thought came a half a moment too late.

“Of course I think that’ll work,” The girl had huffed, as she crossed her legs in the other direction. Drat, it was too late. She was already there. “Girls don’t know what they want until they can’t have it. The moment she commits herself to Potter, she’ll want to dash right back to you. And she’ll want to do it even more if you’re attractive!” Narcissa's eyes narrowed and Snape bit his lip, resisting the urge to tell her that she would give herself crow's feet like that, just to get her reaction. “Of course, you won’t take her. She’d not worth it. Have you ever considered working out? Maybe just a little muscle would help your cause… I’m certainly not suggesting you play Quidditch or anything….” ‘Cissa had drifted off and Snape found himself hoping that her mental shiny object had come at last.

But then the moment had returned. “So, is that a yes?” so, there was no way he could delay this moment for good, it would always come back to bite him, both proverbially and literally if Severus allowed this makeover to happen. "Yeah, I don;t think so." He said glumly. Potter had finally gotten his date, there was no way pretty hair could save Severus now. Lily had made her choice and after he was finally willing to give everything up for her. Was the whole thing just a ruse to pull the promise out of him? Was it really just her taking one for the team? Did Dumbledore put her up to this? Snape frowned as these unpleasant thought clouded an already darkened sky. This was not getting any better.