The company of a good book.
Severus Snape felt like a tightly wound shell containing a swirling mass of anger and frustration.
How could Dumbledore allow that imbecile Lockhart turn the Great Hall into this?
Heart shaped confetti, dwarfs dressed up as cupids, pink flowers on the walls.
And the nerve of that self-centred moron, telling the students to ask about love potions!
Well, any dunderhead stupid enough to do so, deserved the two weeks worth of detention with Filch, and the 150 House points that would be the result.
The hormone-driven teenagers at the castle hardly needed any encouragement. They were hard enough to deal with on a daily basis, without these Valentines hysterics.
Luckily, no students dared as much as look the wrong way during class that day, and the dwarfs-dressed-as-cupids was clever enough to keep out of the dungeons. Severus had made very clear what would happen if he met one there.
Still, at lunch time Gryffindor had already lost 50 points for improper behaviour in the corridors, and Hufflepuff weren't far behind with a loss of 37. Apparently the Rawenclaws was clever enough to keep the frolicking to their common room, and the Slytherins knew no to get caught, but Filch would none the less have detentions to supervise all week.
The afternoon seemed endless, and dinner was a nightmare. Lockhart had - with the Headmasters good memory – decided that confetti, flowers and cupids wasn't enough after all, and had now added self playing harps, chocolate hearts and filled the air with a heavy smell of roses and strawberries.
By then, Severus had a pounding headache, and his lips seemed to be permanently frozen in a sneer of distaste.
Oh, how he wished the day would end so he could escape to his own room, for a headache potion and some quiet reading.
But no such luck, he had patrolling duty, and it seemed every sixth and seventh year was out and about. He even had to take points from Slytherin, which did nothing to improve his day.
Finally, well past midnight, he were able to return to his room.
As he entered, it took his tired mind several moments to take in what he saw.
On the table in front of the roaring fire stood a small vial with head ache potion, a bottle of elf made wine, a crystal wine glass and the book he'd had his eyes on for several weeks. Most notably was the blessed lack of confetti, heart shaped chocolate and cupids.
Severus took a deep breath, feeling the stress leave his body. He picked up the vial, checked the contents and swallowed. As the head ache vanished he sat down in his favourite chair and poured himself a glass of wine.
He took a sip, marvelled at the complex flavours and opened the book.
A small but genuine smile graced Severus lips, and he made a mental note to find a way to properly thank the girls he knew responsible. Perhaps extra detentions...?