iv.
He felt both pain and relief at being so distanced from their impish laughter,
Watching them kept his judgmental thoughts from turning inward;
There was nothing but a bully's glee in criticizing their conversation matter
But such was the only ego-subsisting lift his drowning soul had in the world.
The voiceless Ravenclaw child was black in silence to her Hufflepuff mates,
Who were hoping with hushed giggles that no soul would disturb them there.
This girl seemed full of unease, and while the others arranged their game,
Her dark eyes seemed to whisper dread, roaming until they met Severus' stare.
At first her face became as white as the sighing glare of the moon.
Remorseful, desperate, her lips parted in a wordless appeal,
Then cancelled their venture as she flew to attend her friend's rule,
Only to return with decreasing fear as she saw he would stay concealed.
She seemed to regard him, as he looked out on their proceedings,
Like a benevolent witness, and indeed she subtly communicated gratitude
Without speaking. She did not recognize him, but seemed to be needing
One who might see her reluctance and shame, one with a perspective of latitude.
She seemed to say to his open eyes, with the grief of the accursed,
'Build me my tomb, within the dark yew tree, and in the autumn there,
The yewberries will be golden lamps to burn for me,' her soul's mortality first
On her mind that night, and Severus was the only one who wanted to hear.