Wintersalad │ Disclaimer: I own neither "Harry Potter" nor "Inuyasha." │ Written: 6/13/11 │ Posted: 6/13/11 │ Last Edited: 10/30/12

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July 25, 1991

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SEVERUS SNAPE glared down his nose at the man who was leaning precariously close into his personal space. His stern expression, however, was entirely lost on the snoring man besides him. At the next tilt gravitating towards his shoulder, the potions master gave a particularly vicious snarl and jabbed his finger at the man's forehead, forcing the slob away from resting upon his person.

He hated muggle transportation. He hated it with a passion. It was all the unpleasantness of riding on the knight bus, drawn out and magnified many times over, that offered no magical remedies. But for all that he hated the uncomfortable and faulty contraptions, he hated the doddering old fool who ordered him on one all the more – even more so for insisting a ticket all the way to the opposite hemisphere in economy class.

He didn't understand the need for a Hogwarts professor to personally travel twelve long hours via muggle means, internationally, to retrieve a potential student. That is to say, in regards to a prospective muggleborn student, he did understand that subtlety and tact were required – that he understood. He couldn't just apparate to an unknown foreign destination so far away and the ministry was not about to waste the resources for a portkey for a child that may not even choose to join the magical world. What he didn't understand however was, while one of the finest magical institutions in the world, Hogwarts was hardly the only one capable of and expected to look after all the magical children out there.

So why was he on this horrid scrap of metal doing apparently just that?

Albus didn't explain. He never did – for anything.

Frowning, Severus waved a flight attendant over and ordered a glass of their strongest alcohol. He reckoned he'd need it. There were still two-and-a-half hours left to ruminate over what surprises Albus had prepared for him – because there must be a reason he sent him of all people to represent the magical community – he wasn't known for his endearing personality or spectacular Japanese after all.

And the fool to his left had just started to drool.

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NODOKA HIGURASHI was a woman of exceptional grace. She was a gentle, yet firm, single mother of two wonderful children. The neighbors never learned much about her, only that she suddenly moved in with her young daughter and newborn son to the old shrine about two years ago. When the bolder and more inquisitive of the bunch asked the old man keeper who had lived there alone for ages about their arrival, he cackled and replied that she was his long-lost daughter. But the older folks who had have lived there for a number of years knew there was never any such mention of any such family. It was anyone's guess as to the truth about the Higurashi family.

The lady of the shrine had an air of self-assurance. There was confidence in her stride. There was composure in her posture. There was understanding in her gaze. And there was acceptance in her smiles. She was a woman who took life as it came. She gave thanks to what she held and never cried in want for more.

And that was perhaps why, when the dark figure of one Severus Snape landed on her front steps in the earliest hours of that Friday morning, she merely smiled and welcomed him into her home.

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A/N: Queen of Spades is a crossover romance between "Harry Potter" and "Inuyasha." The official pairing is Severus x Kagome, but not until a long while from now, when Kagome is of legal age (UK). Still, the gradual progression and/or age-difference may disturb some people, so please be forewarned- I will not be repeating this.

This has been a project that I have been fleshing out for nearly three months- and still am. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

Thank you.