Severus sat against the ground leaning his head against the metal railings which sat rusting in the shrieking shack. He kept himself as still as possible in an attempt to make very little noise as his ears listened carefully for the slightest movement. For a second he wondered if she was... no, the thought was pushed to the back of his mind before it could fully form. He closed his black eyes and listened to the howling wind outside as it battered and hissed at the decaying wood of the shack. After a moment his eyes flickered open again and he began to study the minimal items which decorated the room with dust lying thick on every lip or ledge which was free Briefly the cold pits of his eyes settled on his cloak which was draped over the small wooden table which sat in a corner near the old, heavy door. A rattling sounded just outside and he turned his eyes to the door as it swung open revealing the small girl who stood with her wand clutched hard into the palm of her hand. She was wearing a long black cloak and the edges of her robes could be seen sticking out of the corners of the cloak. Severus smiled at her and stood up gracefully as he stalked over to hug her and she returned the hug eagerly with a smile lighting her face.
'You're late' Severus growled walking back over to the place he was sitting with Mona following him like a trained dog would its master as he tugged her cloak of and dropped it on top of Severus's. His swagger was not as effective without his heavy cloak donning his body but he attempted none the less which cause a giggle from Mona who he glared at quickly.
'Sorry, Mrs. Norris would not leave me alone and Filch nearly caught me' She sighed annoyed at the cat which seemed to be fixed on her whenever she was out and about. They sat down close together and Severus thought for a moment his mind remembering how much of a nuisance that creature had been to him all his life.
'Bloody cat deserved a good kick' He sneered darkly and Mona laughed at the remark wondering about how much more trouble she would get into if she was caught kicking Filch's beloved pet.
'I think he would kill you' she giggled leaning her head up against his shoulder and twisting herself around so that she would be more comfortable. Their hands entwined as they sat in the small room together in silence for a while content to just sit for a while. 'Severus' Mona called out after a while and he turned his head to look at her. 'Talk' she requested and he puzzled over it for a second attempting to work out why she had requested such a thing.
'Why?' He asked after a brief pause and she smiled slightly closing her eyes.
'You have a nice voice' was her response and he smiled at the comment wrapping her arms around her body causing her to rest against his chest. Again Severus thought for a moment considering what he should say, he was never one to speak a lot and nobody had asked him anything like this before.
'What do you want me to say?' He queried allowing his fingers too gently trace along the pale skin of her arm.
'Anything, potion instructions if you must' she stated pulling her hands up so that she could rest her head on them and be more comfortable. Another short thoughtful silence filled the still air as Severus considered the options which he had open to him.
'You will be doing Mandrake Draught in your next lesson so I shall give you an advantage' he said and Mona sat listening to his soft, velvety voice as he began speaking, the sounds reverberated around the room and soon Mona had fallen asleep against the potions master as he continued to talk until he noticed that she was sleeping.
!
Jumping from the biting cold Mona looked around the dusty shack in shock. Her hands clutched around the black blanket which had been placed over her at some point and she smiled slightly at the thoughtfulness of it. After a moment she stood up and folded the blanket up before tucking it securely into a desk drawer. She wondered out of the shrieking shack and back onto Hogwarts ground careful to make sure that nobody could spot her. The sun was high and she gulped as she realised how long she had been sleeping, she was late to her lessons. A faint smile lit her lips as she remembered what lesson she was late for, Potions, and she started to make her way towards the dungeons glad that the corridors were empty so that she could wonder along without anybody distracting and disturbing her. It felt strange to be wondering about when everyone was already in lessons but part of her enjoyed the quiet and peace which surrounded her. She paused as she reached the doors into her lessons and striated her clothes being careful not to appear over do it. Pushing the door open she walked into the room and several people immediately looked up sniggering to each other between comments which passed between them at Mona's presence.
'Nice of you to join us' Severus sneered at her looking up from the grading that he was doing. She smiled weakly at him and made her way over to her desk feeling her confidence and happiness vanishing in an instant as the whispers began to swirl around her. Soon she had managed to catch up with the class and she focused on remembering the instructions which Severus had told her before.