My first post-OotP fic!

[rj_anderson]

Only one minor spoiler, since the incident actually takes place at the beginning of PS/SS, but...

FIRST IMPRESSION
by R.J. Anderson 2003

He had, of course, known for months that the Potter boy would be coming to Hogwarts this year. And, of course, that it would be his misfortune to have to teach the brat. What would he be like, this so-called hero (his lip curled automatically) who in mere squalling infancy had managed to defeat the greatest Dark wizard of the age?

No doubt, as befitting a Potter and a celebrity, the boy had been raised in comfort, indulged by his guardians, trained to that same nauseating self-assurance that James (even now, the mere thought of the name was a curse) had always possessed. Not even Lily's humbler blood could hope to dilute that Potter arrogance.

Sorted into Gryffindor -- of course. Eyes narrowed, he watched the boy slide off the stool to the sound of his housemates' cheering (it had begun already, then) and hurry, light and sure on his feet, to join the others at the Gryffindor table. Until this moment he had not got a good look at Potter: when he entered the Great Hall he had been indistinguishable among his fellow first-years, and then had stood facing away from the High Table until he was Sorted. Now, however, he could see the boy clearly, and the cruelty of the resemblance took Snape's breath away.

James's stamp on every bone of his face; James in the cold glitter of glass that masked, like some fresh insult, Lily's beautiful eyes; and worst of all, that damnable hair of James's, deliberately tousled for effect. Eleven years old, most likely hadn't even seen a broom yet, and the brat was already preening himself to look like he'd just won a hard Quidditch match.

Harry Potter was, clearly, even more like his father than Snape's most cynical imaginings had anticipated. And as he looked at the boy, already surrounded by a throng of chattering admirers, he felt the already fragile shell of civility crack within him, unleashing a hissing serpent of bitterness and hatred and rage.

THE END

Comments

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

My condolences. And I'd just read the first part of Canis Mutatem, too...

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

::licks ficlet with embarrassing enthusiasm::

You know, I really need new fic from familiar authors, to help me find my feet with Snape again. OotP was enormously discombobulating somehow.

You know him so well

[jessanndi.livejournal.com]

Do you have the power of Legilimens? You seem to see the inside of Snape's head so clearly.

Re: You know him so well

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I'm very glad you think so -- I'm having to adjust my Grand Unified Snape Theory a bit to accommodate OotP, and it'll be a while before I feel quite comfortable writing him again...

Re: You know him so well

[jessanndi.livejournal.com]

I didn't find that OOTP Snape was that different to the Snape I already imagined.

Re: You know him so well

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Well, he is a little more truly petty, and more ruled by emotion, than I had imagined in the original version of the theory...

Re: You know him so well

[(Anonymous)]

Ha ha G.U.S.T.! (Gleeful chuckling.)

A'hem. (Composes self.) Nice tie-in. I really think JKR does see Snape as a more petty character, but she misses out on so much drama that way.

[bluemoon02.livejournal.com]

*Sighs contentedly over post-OotP fic!*

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

Wow

[durayan.livejournal.com]

Excellent little snippet--oh, I am looking forward to the fanfic to help sort out this last book. What a look inside Snape we got this time!!

Re: My first post-OotP fic!

[demarazare.livejournal.com]

I think the best compliment I can pay this is that it was far too short - I could stand to see all of the Snape scenes in the novel redone in this light, if only for curiosity's sake... especially when he decides to help Harry's broom hex.

I think you have a dead-on characterization of Snape. I love how you've taken the information from OotP and applied it here.

The writing is also really beautiful. It flows, it has imagery that really paints a picture, and I really really love the character portrayal. Very good. I will be marking this and seeing if I can't find more fics by you. :)

Re: My first post-OotP fic!

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much indeed!

[josanpq.livejournal.com]

Read this after Undesirable Outcome. Like this.

You know, I sometimes think that Snape needs to be there to balance out AD's so-called 'concern'. AD, who is supposed to be the mentor is in fact the one who leads HP into the most danger, while Snape, in spite of his feelings for the child, is the one who ends up trying to keep him alive.

And getting no thanks for it at all.