Czjornaja Mjetka

Late Friday evening, the Potions Master's private chambers.

Snape and Karkaroff busied themselves with their usual Friday evening activity: they were drinking. This time Severus's own distilled invention had been on the table. It seemed to have some side-effects of unknown origins and started to affect the clarity of their thinking. It was clearly revealed somewhere around midnight.

Snape had serious problems with keeping himself straight and couldn't put his words into order. Karkaroff didn't have such problems and looked quite well but seemed to have gaps in English vocabulary.

Igor wouldn't be himself if he didn't use the situation to talk about one topic which was always up to date.

'On wozwraszczajet.'

Snape was just staring into the distance with glossy eyes.

'What?' he asked meekly, with lack of interest.

'This... Kak eto po waszemu? Czjornaja Mjetka.'

Snape looked at him suspiciously.

'Who is Mietek and why is he black?*' he asked distrustfully.

'What Mietek?' Karkaroff was suprised. 'Ja nieznaju Mietek.'

'What are you gawarisz?' Snape was clearly affronted. 'Wait, what am I talking about?' he asked and looked at the clock. 'It's late. Du must gehen. Raus!'

Karkaroff thought briefly about distance between the Hogwarts' castle and the ship, students who might have not been sleeping yet despite of the hour and about the steep staircase at the exit from the dungeons.

'Wouldn't you mind if I stayed here tonight?'

'I would. Have you gone mad?' growled Snape, completely sober for a moment.'Leave!' He pointed to a random point on the wall somewhere between the bookstand and the window.

Karkaroff guessed that his intention was to point the door, but being drunk he wasn't able to aim properly.

Insulted, he got up.

'I'm not going to drink with you any more,' he declared. 'Until next Friday.' He added and turned to leave. He decided to take the bottle along. He'd need some compensation afterwards.

Severus was left alone.

'You should also take that Mietek!' he shouted after Karkaroff, a bit too late. 'I wouldn't like any strangers to wander at my chambers,' Snape murmured to himself. Then he stood up, not without difficulties, and went to sleep.

The question if Karkaroff was able to reach the ship that night is a matter of another story**…

Notes:
* Who is Mietek and why is he black? – a play on words, difficult to translate. The joke in based on the similarity between Russian and Polish words. Czjornaja means black, and is very similar to Polish czarny. Mjetka means a mark, and this Russian word is very similar to Polish name Mietek (a diminution of the name Mieczysław, no English equivalent).
** And of course that event is also described ;)

Translations:

Russian to English
Czjornaja Mjetka – a Dark Mark.
On wozwraszczajet – It's coming back. It's growing stronger.
Kak eto po waszemu? Czjornaja Mjetka. - How it would be in your language? The Dark Mark.
Ja nieznaju - I haven't known.
Gawarisz – saying, gawarić – say.

German to English
Du must gehen. Raus! - You have to go. Out!