A Regular Snowfall
It had been a harrowing afternoon in Potions, and Severus Snape wanted
nothing more than a quiet read, a comfortable chair, and a warm fire. But
thanks to shameful neglect by those uppity house elves (and that
interfering chit of a Miss Granger), the only place in which those
anemities were to be had was the faculty lounge. It carried the subtle
danger of unwelcome interruptions, but it would have to do.
When he entered the room, Severus was gratified to find it mercifully unoccupied. Having settled down before the fire and propped his feet on a handy ottoman, he had just opened his book to the third chapter of Oliver Coddledroop's Adventures in Abyssinia, when he was startled by a half- stifled sneeze from the general direction of the dormer window.
"Bloody hell," he grumbled to himself. "Never a moment's peace..."
A few swift movements took Severus across the room and he pulled the curtain back, fully expecting to find a pair of timid fifth-years who had mistakenly selected an empty faculty lounge over a broom closet as a handy retreat for a quick snog.
"Dear me," said Sibyll Trelawney breathlessly, "it is rather damp in here, isn't it?"
Snape recoiled. Snogging Gryffindors he could handle nicely. Inter-house snogging, though more disturbing, was still something well within his ken, but even catching Filch and Mrs. Norris during an intense petting session was less horrifying than finding that tinkling imbecile of a Divination Professor tucked away into a window seat. He cleared his throat. "Ah. Professor Trelawney." His fingers unconsciously fluttered toward his wand- pocket. "Whatever could have enticed you away from your tower?"
"Flakes." Sibyll's owlish eyes seemed to gaze at a spot somewhere beyond Severus' left shoulder.
"Pardon me?"
"Ah...flakes! Snowflakes." She raised one bony arm gestured toward the window. "My tower is so enshrouded by the weather that they are difficult to see from my windows. The view is much lovelier from here."
Severus' lips pinched and a corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "I see. You've graced us with your inimitable presence because you're in search of flakes."
"Yes! Yes exactly! There are really none to be had in my tower..."
Severus made a choking sound and cleared his throat. "One must find them where one can, to be sure."
"Indeed." Sibyll nodded sagely. "There are few such joys to be found in life."
Her response was met only with a raised eyebrow and an oblique comment as Severus turned back to his chair. "Oh, I daresay there are quite a few more flakes in the world than one expects."
Later, as she made her way through chilly corridors back to the North Tower, Sibyll mused, "I believe I'd rather like that Professor Snape if he only bothered with a dandruff potion once in a while."
When he entered the room, Severus was gratified to find it mercifully unoccupied. Having settled down before the fire and propped his feet on a handy ottoman, he had just opened his book to the third chapter of Oliver Coddledroop's Adventures in Abyssinia, when he was startled by a half- stifled sneeze from the general direction of the dormer window.
"Bloody hell," he grumbled to himself. "Never a moment's peace..."
A few swift movements took Severus across the room and he pulled the curtain back, fully expecting to find a pair of timid fifth-years who had mistakenly selected an empty faculty lounge over a broom closet as a handy retreat for a quick snog.
"Dear me," said Sibyll Trelawney breathlessly, "it is rather damp in here, isn't it?"
Snape recoiled. Snogging Gryffindors he could handle nicely. Inter-house snogging, though more disturbing, was still something well within his ken, but even catching Filch and Mrs. Norris during an intense petting session was less horrifying than finding that tinkling imbecile of a Divination Professor tucked away into a window seat. He cleared his throat. "Ah. Professor Trelawney." His fingers unconsciously fluttered toward his wand- pocket. "Whatever could have enticed you away from your tower?"
"Flakes." Sibyll's owlish eyes seemed to gaze at a spot somewhere beyond Severus' left shoulder.
"Pardon me?"
"Ah...flakes! Snowflakes." She raised one bony arm gestured toward the window. "My tower is so enshrouded by the weather that they are difficult to see from my windows. The view is much lovelier from here."
Severus' lips pinched and a corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "I see. You've graced us with your inimitable presence because you're in search of flakes."
"Yes! Yes exactly! There are really none to be had in my tower..."
Severus made a choking sound and cleared his throat. "One must find them where one can, to be sure."
"Indeed." Sibyll nodded sagely. "There are few such joys to be found in life."
Her response was met only with a raised eyebrow and an oblique comment as Severus turned back to his chair. "Oh, I daresay there are quite a few more flakes in the world than one expects."
Later, as she made her way through chilly corridors back to the North Tower, Sibyll mused, "I believe I'd rather like that Professor Snape if he only bothered with a dandruff potion once in a while."