"This should tide us over for years!" exclaimed Leah, as she placed another box of harvested coveberries in the cellar storage room of Hogwarts, not far from the greenhouses. Coveberries had to be harvested delicately, and it was a hot August day, which made the work even more tedious. But it was their first crop, and Leah was proud of the yield after all the work that had gone into them. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and grabbed another empty box. She was grateful to be done with the hot, stuffy school robes for the summer - it was nice to be able to garden in just a pair of ripped jeans and a stained white camisol, with a large hat to keep the sun off.
She was glad for a break, and sat down to drink some water. She had also been helping to supervise the interns who were doing undergraduate work at St. Mungo's herbology department.
"Goodness, but it is warm today," panted Professor Sprout, and she carried another box down. "About five more and we'll be nearly to the end of this harvest," she said, in a relieved tone. Once they were back outside and within earshot of everyone, Professor Sprout announced that because it was Friday and they'd all worked so hard, she'd be letting them off for the day two hours earlier than usual. There was a great cheer, and a chatter from the students, who quickly went to work to finish their tasks.
Hogwarts was rather quiet in the summer. Most of the teachers were gone until the start of term, and Professor Sprout was usually the only one who stayed to supervise the outdoor garden work, since this was the time that most of it got done. Leah was looking forward to the start of term, but also greatly enjoyed the more subdued pace. The castle was almost deserted most of the time, and made the evenings and weekends feel much more relaxing. She felt tired but invigorated after a day of physical labor, but enjoyed brewing potions on rainy days, to replenish the infirmary's supply.
To make the day better, Tonks and Remus had dropped by briefly. They had been married earlier in the summer and that was the first time Leah had seen her since. Tonks also whispered something to her while they were hugging - that she was pregnant. She seemed very excited, and Leah was so happy for both of them. Remus had seemed a bit aloof though.
Once she was out for the day, Leah knew exactly how she wanted to spend the rest of the afternoon. It was such a peaceful, sunny day, and she was so hot and sticky after all the bending over and lugging, that she knew of only one place that would make it all better. She walked back up to her room, which was quite stuffy and hot, and quickly changed into her bikini. Grabbing a towel, she walked down to the lake and slipped into the water.
The cool ripples washed over her skin, cleansing and cooling her down immediately. After swimming a few laps, she was content to just float on her back and gaze at the sky. She remembered once swimming there as a student, and she and her friend Celeste were absolutely convinced they were going to see a merman - perhaps after experiencing a certain degree of disappointment with boys their own age. They imagined mermen would fall in love with them and transform them into mermaids to live in their underwater castle with them forever. It was a nice thought - sometimes she wasn't sure it was such a bad idea.
Feeling cool and refreshed, she climbed out and lay down on her towel, basking in the sun as it dried off her skin without making her overheated. Overall it was a lovely afternoon.
After dinner that evening, Leah was getting ready to go out with some of the staff. She hadn't planned on getting all dressed up, but she was feeling nice and wanted to look nice, so she found her favorite bra, a deep purple, and threw on a light, flowy ivory shirt over it. Then she put on a brown velvety skirt, and decided that was dressed up enough. Her motivation could only last so long. She put her long hair up in a ponytail, and quickly headed out the door.
Leah, Professor Sprout, and Madam Hooch met up with Professor McGonagall at The Three Broomsticks.
"Glad you could join us, Leah," said Minverva.
"Yeah," said Madam Hooch. "Wouldn't have thought a young one like you would want to be seen with us hags on a Friday night!"
"Oh goodness!" Leah laughed. "Why not?"
"Well, there are a fair amount of actual university students in town tonight."
"Eh... they all seem so young to me now. Not to sound like a snob."
"I know what you mean," said Minerva. "It changes quickly, doesn't it?"
"Yes. I honestly feel like I have more in common with adults twice my age than students a few years younger. Doesn't bother me!"
"So Mona," Minerva asked Professor Sprout after a pause, "I hear you're way ahead of the curve this year."
"Yes, we've almost entirely harvested the coveberries. The crop was early this year. The mandrakes are in and the new ones are planted. We're on track to have the Birds-of-Paradise in bloom come September, *and* the morifruit will be ready any day. I'm really pleased with the work we've done." They discussed herbology progress for a few more minutes, then Madam Hooch asked "Any news from the world these days? I get so sheltered when Poppy isn't here to pass me information."
"More troubles with You-Know-Who," Minerva said, somberly. "Suspicious deaths and disappearances. This time it was Janet Overbeck. Did you ever meet her?"
"I've heard the name, but no."
Minerva shook her head. "We can't think of any reason why she would have been targeted, but it was awfully suspicious."
Leah listened as they all began to recount stories from the previous war against Voldemort. That was a piece of Magical history that Leah had just missed. When it had been going on, she had not yet had any idea that there was such a place called Hogwarts. All the way through school, she had heard stories from classmates who'd lost parents, aunts, uncles, and friends in the conflict. To her it had seemed very sad, but also like distant history. Now to see these terrible acts repeating themselves, and to know that no one knew for sure how to put a stop to it... was terrifying.
It had been a good evening out, and Leah was glad she went. She enjoyed listening to her colleagues and getting to know them a bit better. She walked back up to Hogwarts with Professor Sprout, and also with Madam Hooch who had had a few drinks and was talking a blue streak all the way to the castle. It was mostly about her great-aunt Mabel, a witch with one eye and a newt that told dirty jokes.
Finally, Leah bid them goodnight and walked up to her chamber. The castle had cooled down a bit, but she was sure that her chamber, windowless as it was, would still be quite stuffy, and she was right. She walked in the door and felt the heat ooze out at her. Quickly dropping her bag, she turned on the light and then whipped off her sweaty shirt. She was reaching down to unzip her skirt when she thought she saw movement. She looked up.
Severus Snape was in her room.
She was so shocked she almost couldn't move, but then she got angry.
"You!" she said with derision. "I thought I smelled something."
Snape gave an amused laugh. "Did you?" Enraptured for a brief moment at hearing his voice again, Leah tried to reach for the wand in her bag, which was on the floor. But he was too quick for her. Suddenly, she was completely paralyzed from head to toe, and rising up into the air. He set her down gently on the bed and, still holding his wand out, walked over to the foot of the bed. Leah had a feeling she was showing a fair amount of cleavage, having been in the process of bending over.
"It's nice to see you again, Miss Hightower. As I'm anticipating a conversation rather than a monologue, I'm going to release you in just a moment. I'd just prefer that you leave your wand alone for right now. Please? Thank you."
Leah felt herself unparalyze, and quickly shifted to prop herself up on her elbows.
"You killed Dumbledore!" she shouted at him, then glanced warily at the door, wondering how far her voice had carried.
"It's true, I did. And don't worry about noise. I've already soundproofed the place."
"You always were a charm-ing one, weren't you?" she spat.
Snape rolled his eyes. "Oh Leah, that's one of the things I miss the most about living with you - having to hear all those terrible magic puns," he sneered.
"Why are you here?" she demanded. "If you want to kill me, go ahead. I'll give you a clean shot." She sat up on the bed and held her arms out to the side. Dying in my best bra at least, she thought half-seriously.
Snape smirked at her, but then looked serious. "No, Leah, I didn't come here to kill you. I came here to save your life."
