One Foot on the Platform (and the Other on the Train)
My entry for the Fall 2021 Sing-Me-A-Rare: the Remix
Rating: E
Warnings: Slurs, Infidelity, Explicit Sexual Content, Referenced Domestic Violence
Pairing: Eileen Prince/Rita Skeeter
Song Prompt: House of the Rising Sun - Sinéad O’Conner’s cover
Summary:
Ah romance, the ruin of many a poor boy
Jove Gambol held the small bottle up to the light, examining its contents through the fanciful pink glass. He tugged absently at a lock of his wispy, white hair, his thin mouth muttering half finished sentences as he studied Eileen’s work.
“Mummy, you’re squeezing me,” Severus whispered.
Eileen forced herself to relax her grip on Severus’s little hand, though she did not let him go. “I’m sorry,” she whispered back.
“This appears to be quite a volatile Daydream Potion,” Mr Gambol said. “I’m not certain it will suit.”
“I would call it potent, rather than volatile,” Eileen replied, her heart skipping a beat as she stood her ground. “It gives the drinker a vivid daydream, but it will not induce drooling, or vacant staring like other brews do.”
“Hmmm.” Mr Gambol continued to study the bottle.
“You can also put the daydream on hold for up to fifteen minutes if you are interrupted, and restart it with no ill effects,” she added.
“Stop teasing her, Jove,” said Eris Jape, glancing up from the account book she was scratching away in. “Are they romantic daydreams, Mrs Snape?”
“Yes, Miss Jape. Three dozen to start with, and more brewing at home, just waiting for the details to be added,” Eileen said.
“Ah, romance,” Mr Gambol said. “The ruin of many a poor boy.”
“But it sells,” Miss Jape said.
