Gumby

Chapter 10: Everyone's Favorite

"Good evening Severus," Severus looked up and wondered what the hell Aurora Sinistra was doing standing outside of Slytherin. She was a tall and very thin Professor who was perhaps only a few years younger than him. Severus hardly remembered Aurora from school, but he knew that she'd been in his house, though a year or two beneath him.

"Aurora," he said nodding curtly in her direction. He was making his rounds and was about to step into Slytherin to make sure that no one was out as it was just curfew.

"I was supposed to meet Samara here, but I think that perhaps she has forgotten," she said as she looked at him. Her eyes were as dark as his, but seemed much enhanced with the dark makeup she wore around her eyes. Her raven hair, as always, was tied up in a very tight bun and hidden beneath her green hat.

"What were you meeting her for?" he asked, not knowing a reason why the girl would be meeting the Astronomy Professor, it wasn't like she was taking her class.

"I came across her the other day and asked her why she didn't take my class and I thought that she really should've considered taking it, she said that she would get back to me," Aurora replied. Severus stared at the woman he'd been teaching alongside for the past several years. Aurora had started teaching at Hogwarts the year before he had and in all the years that she'd been there, he'd never known her to ask a student to take her class.

"You want her to continue to take your class?" he asked, raising a brow as he stared at her. Aurora seemed a little put off by the way that he asked the question and raised a brow as she looked at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What do you think that my subject is not important?" she asked, through her narrowed gaze. Severus gritted his teeth together, Professor Sinistra was known for her foul temper, at least amongst her colleagues. She was one of the few people he did not enjoy pissing off as she was capable of screeching like a banshee, certainly not something very pleasant.

McGonagall's anger, he could take; however, Aurora Sinistra was a completely different story. "I merely meant that I've never seen you insist to any student about taking your class," he responded, pacifying the star-gazer.

"Well, Samara is such a sweet girl. She did fairly well in my class and I've notice that she seems a bit down, lately," Aurora replied. Severus stared at Aurora, if someone as a oblivious and hardly-ever-present as Aurora could see that there was something wrong with Samara, then he guessed that this was much more serious then he'd thought. However, he wondered just how many teachers were so fond of Samara.

"Would you like me to see if she is awake?" Severus asked.

"If you'd be so kind," she said simply. Severus merely nodded curtly at her and walked past her and into the common room. He wasn't surprised that it was nearly empty. "Up to your dormitories now," he called out to the ones that were still hanging about. A couple of seventh years stood up and hurried to their dorms, wishing a quick good night to their Head.

He was pleased that the Slytherins had learned to respect him. But he guessed that was because the students, most of them he'd had since they were first and second and third years. Having had them since then, these were the first he was able to instill fear in. When he had just started teaching at Hogwarts all the older students were so defiant of him, even his own students.

However, most of the older students now were much younger when he'd first started to teach there and he'd been able to instill fear in them. But he guessed that wasn't the only reason that they respected him. Actually, he was sure some of them were fond of him as he was balancing out the score sheet and for the first time in at least a decade, Slytherin was actually in the running for the house cup. Last year they'd come in second.

Severus cast a brief look around and raised a brow when he spotted Samara Green, once more sleeping at a table as he'd found her that night on their birthday several years ago. He had a feeling of Déjà vu as he quickly strode across the room to where she was sitting. He shivered at the sight of her slumped figure over an open Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Wasn't that the same thing she'd fallen asleep on the last time? He wondered to himself as he was about to call out her name. However, to his surprised, she jumped up at the sound of his walking over to her. He furrowed his brow, since when had she become such a light sleeper? Last time he remembered that he had to shake her in order to wake her up, was his walking so loud now?

"Hello Professor Snape," she said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked so tired, he grimaced at the pity he felt for the poor girl. Was she getting thinner?

"Professor Sinistra would like a quick word with you," Severus stated as he looked down at her, slightly irked that the top of her head now reached his chin. She stopped rubbing her eyes and turned a wide eyed look at him.

"OH No! I must've kept her waiting!" she said, feeling horribly guilty. She was very fond of Professor Sinistra, who'd always been very easy to get along with. Samara guessed it was because the teacher was so young.

"Are all the teachers so fond of you?" Severus asked, a little irritated. Samara turned her hazel eyes up at him. In the Slytherin common room, they appeared to be brighter green than brown, and he guessed that was because of the lake. However, it was hard not to get caught in her eyes as they appeared so mesmerizing.

She smiled at him. "Well most of the ones I've had I suppose so," she replied. "Though, I think Madam Hooch was vexed about how weak I was and that I couldn't ride a broom even though I was nimble," Samara said a little sadly, shrugging. "She still scares me a little."

Severus looked away amused. "Yes, the piercing Hawk-gaze," he said, thinking of his first year at Hogwarts. He too had been intimidated by Rolanda Hooch. Even now he avoided the woman.

Samara giggled lightly, the pain dissapearing from her gaze. "Doesn't it feel like she's going to eat you, like you're just a desert mouse?" Samara asked. Severus couldn't help but smile at this; however, he turned away from her, not wanting her to see. "Fist year was great. I used to climb onto Hagrid's back, he used to call me a little spider, sometimes he had a hard time getting me off, he couldn't reach me," she said, laughing once more.

Severus slowly turned to look at Samara and smiled. This was the first time he'd seen her laugh in what felt like ages. He guessed that depression couldn't have a constant hold upon someone, especially not someone like Samara. However, he knew that just because she could laugh, didn't mean she was fine yet.

"Do you think that you'll actually continue to take Astronomy?" he asked. Samara looked up at him and bit down on her lip.

"Well I've missed a lot in the past two months and I'd have to make up a lot of work, but I can't sleep as it is, so might as well do something productive with my insomnia," she said, shrugging her thin shoulder and smiling crookedly. It was a smile he had never before seen, but found just as charming as any other she had. He wondered if it was because she was so tired. "I suppose I should go speak to her."

"Yes you should, but I want you straight in bed afterwards," he said, turning around and leading the way towards the door.

"Do you like me Professor Snape?" Samara asked as she walked along behind him. Severus turned and looked at Samara, looking a little horrified by her question. She seemed to take his horrification as something else. "Well, you're the only Professor I'm unsure of. But if you do, then I'm sure you'll know that all of my teachers like me," she said, smiling lightly as she walked past him and out of the common room.

Severus stood there for a moment, feeling his heart hammering in his chest. For a moment, he'd thought that perhaps she'd known that…

TBC…

A/N: All right, that's all for now! Thank you for everyone wonderful enough to review! I hope you liked the chapter.