Author's Note: Apologies for the lack of an update yesterday - i was incredibly busy, as I was celebrating my nineteenth birthday! As usual, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter; it's always much appreciated. Here is the next chapter - please read and review! :)


How to Make a Snow Angel

Severus had always loathed Boxing Day, simply because he wasn't exactly sure what its purpose was. When he had been younger, it had been an excuse for his father to vegetate in front of the television, growing progressively drunk as the old favourites played on repeat. And ever since he had been at Hogwarts, he had been forced to endure the horrific 'Boxing Day feast', which was like a particularly cruel form of torture. In a bid to shorten that day as much as possible, he had slept in remarkably late, and so had no idea what to do or where his young apprentice had got to.

He was walking through the Entrance Hall, having given up his search for Miss Granger and surrendered to lunch in the Great Hall, when he spotted something peculiar through one of the windows. The beautiful expanse of thick, white snow was marred by a small group of figures all cloaked in black. He watched in confusion as the tallest of the group flung themselves onto the floor, much to the amusement of their companions. It was only until the figure clambered to their feet again that he realised it was Hermione. With a small 'humph', he pushed open the door and stepped outside, where the snow was lightly falling once more. He approached the group slowly and carefully, watching as the three first years with whom she was stood also fell to the ground.

"Professor Snape!" Hermione had spotted him, and was waving vigorously with a wide grin on her face. The students leapt to their feet, sharing identical glances of fear and horror at the idea of being caught by their most frightening professor.

"I have been searching for you for some time, Miss Granger. What precisely have you been encouraging Messrs Quigley, Wainwright and Thompson to do on the freezing cold ground?" Hermione smiled at the boys, who seemed to be clutching onto one another as though they were about to be murdered.

"We've been making snow angels! I found some instructions in this book." She waved the pink monstrosity in the direction of the floor, where Snape saw that they had indeed made angels in the snow. "Show Professor Snape how it's done, boys!"

The three children, obviously reassured that they would not be expelled for frolicking in the snow, fell to the ground and led on their backs. They began sweeping their arms and legs, up and down, to create the wings and the gown of the angel. Once they had done, they leapt to their feet and turned to admire their handiwork.

"Very creative." Snape said, but his face did not show the sentiment that his words had expressed.

"Perhaps you would like to try it, sir?" His instant reaction was to glare at Hermione in outrage but, when he turned to look at her, he found her wide-eyed smile so engaging, that he found himself acquiescing to her request.

"Mayhap I could try it this once."

Hermione beamed at him as he fell to the ground, feeling like an absolute imbecile as he led on his back. The feelings of stupidity only increased as he swept his arms as the boys had done, and he quickly jumped up when he had finished, checking in every direction to see if anyone had witnessed it.

"Excellent Professor Snape! What grade would you give him for his work, boys?"

"Exceeds expectations!" Mr Quigley said laughingly.

"I would definitely only give him Acceptable." Mr Thompson added. It seemed that Mr Wainwright was still too terrified to look at him, let alone to mark his efforts.

"I assure you that no work of mine achieves less than Outstanding, boys. See to it that yours is the same." Hermione smiled.

"I suggest you go inside and warm up, boys! Lunch is being served in the Great Hall now, in fact."

The three first year boys began to trail off towards the castle, thumping one another and throwing snow balls as they went. Snape suddenly called them to stop, however.

"A word before you leave, gentlemen! I promise that if you breathe a word of what you have just witnessed, you will be cleaning out my cauldrons with your toothbrushes every evening until you finish your seventh year. Is that understood?" The boys stared at him in horror, before nodding vigorously and sprinting back up to the castle, whilst Hermione laughed.

"Thank you for being such a good sport, Severus! I'm sure those boys won't even think about what they've just seen; they'll be absolutely terrified!"

"Good." Snape replied with a sigh. "I've noticed these past few days, Miss Granger, that you seem to care little for your own health; you must be freezing."

"Well, I have one more instruction to complete and then I'm all finished with today's task."

"And what might that be?"

"The book recommends that I go inside for a mug of mulled wine and a biscuit. Care to join me?"

"Indeed – that is certainly a task that I can support."


How to Write the Perfect Thank You Letter

Once again, Hermione found herself propped up in the corner surrounded by her writing implements, ready to perform yet another task. She had written thank you notes for the whole array of gifts that she had received from her friends and family – a beautiful pair of earrings from her parents, the traditional jumper from Mrs Weasley, a giant box of expensive truffles from Harry and a magic picture of the three of them in a frame from Ron. However, she had decided to save her day's task to write a particularly special letter to Snape. After all, he'd given her such a wonderful gift, and he was her employer. Plus, of course, she did sort of want to impress him. So, arranging her expensive paper and the fancy embossing-quill in front of her, she began to write and followed the tips in the book.

Dear Severus,

Thank you so very much for the wonderful perfume that you made and gave me for Christmas. I am extremely grateful for such a thoughtful gift, and I shall be sorely disappointed when I use it up – which I most certainly shall, for I intend to wear it very often. I was also incredibly grateful for the effort which you took to wrap the gift by hand; the paper was beautiful and, although you may not have noticed, I have kept the ribbon to tie back my hair – perhaps you may have less reason to complain when it is not as wild and unruly as usual? Once again, thank you.

Yours,

Hermione.

She smiled at the letter and folded it in half, sealing it with the matching gold wax that she had purchased. On the front, she used the quill to write his name and address and was exceedingly pleased with the finished product. A beautifully written and presented thank you letter, produced with the help of her constant companion, the bright pink book that seemed to be her indispensable guide to life. Hermione had decided that she would send the letter to Severus by owl, and so she reflected on the book as she climbed the stairs to the Owlery. It was strange, really, what that little self-help book had done for her. It was even more peculiar that it had brought her and Severus closer together in a matter of days than they had been throughout the rest of her apprenticeship. Perhaps it had provided the kick up the backside she had needed? 'Wipe out boredom and fall head-over-heels for a complex and deeply irritating man!' – That should have been the slogan on the front of the book.

As Hermione reached the top of the Owlery, she did a double-take when she saw that it was already occupied. By Severus. Hiding the letter behind her back, Hermione cleared her throat. He turned, and a small smile appeared on his face.

"It seems we both had the same idea." Snape said. "If you'd asked, I would've brought your letter up with my own." Hermione simply remained stood on the spot and smiled.

"Well, if you've finished sending yours, I shall see you back at the rooms!"

"I shall wait for you. We may as well return together..." Hermione gave a frustrated sigh and stepped forwards, choosing an owl and discretely tying her letter to its foot. She watched as it flew out of the window, before turning back to Severus. "May I ask who you were writing to?"

"Oh nobody. It was just a thank you letter."

When they arrived back at the rooms, Hermione could have died of embarrassment when she saw the owl she had used perched on the windowsill. What had, earlier, seemed such a sweet idea, now seemed just a little bit, well, pitiful. Snape frowned at the owl, before looking at Hermione with a quizzical expression.

"Forgive me if I am mistaken, but isn't that the owl that you dispatched just moments ago?"

"I do believe it is." Hermione replied through gritted teeth. Snape stepped forwards and removed the letter from the bird's foot, and his confusion only seemed to increase when he read his own name written on it.

"Did you send this letter to me?" He asked, frowning.

"Yes, yes I did!" Hermione flopped onto the sofa and folded her arms. "It was my task for today, but now I feel like an utter fool."

With a bemused smirk on his face, Snape opened the letter and quickly began to read it. Hermione sat in silence, cringing and mentally chastising herself for completely losing her sanity over one ridiculous man. Once Severus had finished reading, he stared at her steadily for a moment, before smiling.

"I thank you very much for this thank you letter, but you could have just handed it to me over breakfast." Hermione gave a disgruntled grunt, but she couldn't prevent the swooping feeling in her stomach as he laughed aloud. She hardly ever heard him laugh like that – in fact, the only other time she had was when they had been making the Christmas pudding. It thrilled her, she supposed, that she had the power to make this notoriously miserable man actually laugh.

"I feel like an idiot." She said, covering her burning red face with her hands. "You weren't supposed to be there when I sent it, nor was I supposed to be there when you received it!" Snape moved over to the fireplace, still chortling quietly to himself, and he propped the parchment on top of the mantelpiece.

"You needn't be so terribly embarrassed – it was a kind gesture." Snape turned to look at her though, wearing an incredibly mocking smirk. "But I intend to keep this here so I see it every day; a constant reminder of the vivid scarlet colour of your face."

Hermione let out another embarrassed yelp, and a cushion suddenly collided with Severus' head.