"Rock, paper, scissors," Hannah Abbott, the best friend of Susan Bones challenged. "If you lose, you have to give Professor Snape the shampoo."
"Why are we doing this in the first place?" Susan asked, skeptical of her friend's antics.
Hannah let out a small giggle. "We're trying to help Snape out with his hygiene." She tossed the shampoo over to Susan who caught it swiftly. Susan opened up the cap of the shampoo and took a quick whiff. It smelled somewhat like orange with hints of pineapple and lemon. ("It's the perfect shampoo for Snape!") She quickly closed the lid and set it aside.
"Rock, paper, scissors," Susan challenged with a smirk on her face. She held out a flat hand while Hannah stuck out two fingers.
"I win, you have to give it to him!" Hannah snickered, stifling a laugh.
Susan sighed. She did not want to get caught giving Professor Snape anything, let alone a bottle of shampoo. What would happen? She had heard numerous horror stories about the Professor's detentions, from being forced to scrub cauldrons with a toothbrush to having Professor Snape berate you about all your tiniest flaws. How was Susan going to make it through this?
The answer lay in anonymity. Susan had received a tawny coloured owl from her aunt as a birthday present that she had subsequently named Queen, (the name of her favourite muggle band). She was well exposed to muggle culture and found it peculiar. After all, many of the things that Wizards used came from the innovations of muggles. Unfortunately, Susan couldn't use Queen; she was too well known throughout the Hufflepuff house and someone would recognize her. They might tell the Professor what was up and the Hufflepuff would get in trouble.
Susan placed the shampoo bottle into her bag while checking to make sure there were a sufficient amount of owl treats in there. "Good luck," Hannah said, waving to her best friend. Susan waved back and left the fairly empty Hufflepuff common room.
Slowly, Susan made her way to the Owlery where she found a black school owl by the name of Ebony. She scratched Ebony behind the ears and offered him an owl treat which he devoured. She put the shampoo into a small bag and gave it to the owl. "Deliver this to Professor Snape at dinner," the young lady whispered despite the fact that she was the only one in there. There was a small note in the bag that said 'You should wash your hair once in a while'.
Thinking that Queen was missing her, the young Hufflepuff found her owl and stroked her back. She handed Queen an owl treat which she ate quickly and hooted happily. Susan smiled at Queen and left the Owlery quickly, ensuring that no one would find out that she was in there. There were two hours until dinner so she spent that time doing her homework with Hannah. The two of them were extremely close.
When it was time for supper, Hannah and Susan made their way to the Great Hall where Professor Snape was sitting at the head table. The two girls couldn't help but stare. They were careful not to look at him for too long, in case he suspected something. When the owls swooped in, Susan looked at Professor Snape and poked Hannah in the side.
"What was that for?" she asked, mouth full of mashed potatoes.
"Watch Professor Snape," Susan hissed quietly.
"Okay."
The two girls watched as the Professor grabbed the bag from Ebony and opened it up. His face turned a deep shade of pink as he read the note. A vein in his forehead throbbed out. He quietly left the table with the bag and didn't return to supper.
The next day, Snape's hair was considerably less greasy.
Thanks for reading. This was a really fun story to write.
House: Gryffindor
Year: Seventh Year Stand-in
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Object] Shampoo
Word Count: 640
