If Anezka had been expecting a large reaction to her leaving of a gift, she would have been disappointed. As was, after returning from her two week holiday being holed up at the Leaky Cauldron, she could hardly tell if Snape had eve sussed out who had left the cauldron for him. She knew he was clever enough, but he made no sign one way or the other. Instead, he seemed to be trying his best to ignore her. All of January past and she seemed incapable of angering him – not by being late to class, or being barefoot, or talking endlessly. Not that those were the only reasons she did such things, but his reactions were always priceless to her.
February dawned and sped by as quickly as January had and term was in full swing. The first major tests were coming up and the entire 6th year Slytherin dorm was cramming.
"What an absolutely wretched way to waste Valentines day!" Jade whined as she sat cross-legged on her bed in the dormitory, notes and textbooks spread out before her. "I mean, just because Professor Snape is a miserable, unloved git doesn't mean he should go around pissing on other people's happiness."
"It's just an exam, J," Onyx interceded, as equally occupied with studying. "It's not like it's going to be the whole day."
"But potions is our last class, so I will be worried about it ALL day, and then I am going to be so tired from studying tonight, that tomorrow evening is going to be completely dull." Jade's look darkened when she heard Anezka chuckle quietly from where she sat on the floor, next to the fireplace. "What's so funny?"
"You mean other than how shallow you sound?" Jade started to become offended, but Anezka waved her off. "Maybe it's the fact that you are killing yourselves over a test that's an easy A."
With a scoff, Jade dropped her notes into her lap. "Just because you are some kind of idiot savant when it comes to potions, doesn't make you some kind of authority on the difficulty of all exams." She gave her room mate a critical once-over. "Besides which, you might have a different opinion if you actually had a date for Valentines day. As is, I don't think even Filch would find you attractive. Tell me, do you even know how to tie your shoes? Or brush your hair?" Her twin gasped in shock, not because she hadn't thought such mean thoughts to herself, or in private with her sister, but because she would never dare say them aloud to someone.
"Oh, I didn't realize you did – don't you just pay people to do it for you?" Neither Argent girl thought that their family's money would ever be able to used as an insult, but both smarted at Anezka's casual retort. Standing, Anezka headed towards the exit.
"Anezka, it's almost curfew . . ." Onyx tried calling after her, but was roundly ignored.
Over the weeks and months, Anezka had formed a path she wandered late at night when she couldn't sleep. It started in the dungeon levels, wound up through the classroom levels and ended at the roof. She had even left an empty bottle next to the window so she had a place to collect the butts of her smokes. But today was different. It had snowed earlier in the day and the roof was going to be cold and covered in sludgy snow. She deviated from the normal path and ended up finding herself in the Astronomy Tower. There were no classes that night, so she had the whole observatory to herself. Grateful for the warming charms that kept the open air ramparts from being completely exposed to the elements she lit up, taking a long, first drag on the cigarette.
She wanted to be introspective, to sit and ponder why she never seemed to be able to get along with people, but she couldn't even be bothered to care that much. She could filter through all the clichés, about how she wasn't here to be liked, or they don't understand her or that sticks and stones may break your bones, and occasionally, she even pretended some of them consoled her. Usually, she just distracted herself with new ideas for potions, or singing old Celestina Warbeck songs in her head.
She was halfway though a verse in her head when she felt a strong hand enclose her shoulder in a vice like grip.
The last four days had worn Severus down to the core. He ached all over and the weekend had passed far too quickly with little rest. In just the last week, Black had broken in yet again, and tore up the Gryffindor dorms, but yet Potter had snuck out of the castle over the weekend, fool that he was, and as if this wasn't all enough, the full moon was due in a week. He had spent so many hours in with the headmaster, trying to get him to see reason – in regards to having a known werewolf and possible traitor on staff, in regards to Dementors, in regards to Black, in regards to Dumbledore pretending Potter's actions weren't headstrong and reckless.
He wandered the castle, too weary to even sleep. After years of pacing, He had every corridor, path and floor measured out in footsteps and silently counted as he walked. Never taking the same path twice, for fear that a student would discern it, and use it to sneak around without him finding them, he chose to head across the main entry hall and towards the Astronomy Tower. Perchance the chilled bite in the late winter air would clear his mind.
As he reached the last step on the spiral staircase and pulled open the heavy oaken door, his eyes fell upon one more thing that he was too weary to fight, and heard a quiet humming. With stern authority, he clamped onto the student's shoulder, feeling her tense in surprise for a moment, but she relaxed quickly, after looking up to see who stood behind her. "Out past curfew again, Miss Sova? You seem to enjoy having punishment dealt to you." He said, but the words did not have the acid edge his ripostes usually held.
Without even looking at him, she shrugged a little. "Well, you seem to like dealing out punishment, so I think we are a perfectly matched set of fucked up individuals."
He sighed heavily. "Must every sentence out of your mouth contain a profanity?"
"No." She paused heavily. "Some of them have two." She couldn't help but chuckle at herself, if ever so quietly. She reached to relight her cigarette, that had smouldered out in the wind. "Want a smoke?" She said offering a small, rolled up paper with a twisted end.
Snape shook his head to decline the offer. "Just what are in those abominable things anyway?"
She took a drag then held the small item up for inspection. "Little bit of this, little bit of that. It's mainly dried damiana root and water hyssop leaves, though."
"The damiana acts to ease anxiety and boost energy and the brahmi," he paused, calling the hyssop by it's more traditional name, "increases mental clarity but also acts as a tranquillizer. An interesting combination." Snape found himself intrigued by such an uncommon adaptation of ingredients as he verbalized the most common effects of the them.
"Calms me down but wakes me up and gets me thinking clearer. Not as toxic as tobacco and not as illegal as marijuana. Which, incidentally, while smoking I found completely ineffective and not all that exciting." She rolled her eyes, then silenced herself.
It was surprising that she didn't speak more. Severus had come to expect long and confusing rambles from her that covered five or six subjects of conversation or storytelling before weaving its way back to the original topic. He found himself oddly put out that she did not go on this way, as the tangent would give him something to berate her for. "Why are you out past curfew, and in the Astronomy Tower?" He changed the subject, mustering as much sternness as his fatigue would allow.
"Couldn't sleep, my room mates are bitches, and the roof I usually sit on is covered in snow. Will that do for explanation?" She continued to look out into the distance, her back to him.
"I'd say not." Was his terse reply.
"Why not? It answered all your questions, didn't it."
"One does not suddenly receive carte blanche to break rules just because one's classmates are difficult."
She smiled wickedly and turned to look at him. "So you admit they are the most aggravating slags this side of Hadrian's Wall, then?"
He chose not to answer directly. In all honesty, on slow days, when he had time to notice, he had to admit, the Argent girls grated on his nerves. "That still doesn't explain why you are out here. There are common rooms."
She didn't vocalize a response right away, but held up the tail end of her cigarette. "Believe it or not, I try not to be an inconsiderate bitch all the time. I am pretty sure the common rooms are supposed to be a smoke free environment." She took the final puff, then flicked the end over the ramparts.
"Most people would take that as incentive to NOT smoke." He stated the obvious, wondering quickly why he was actually engaging her in this repartee, but as soon as the thought struck him, conversation between them fell silent.
The still midnight air hung around them, and the only thing breaking the absolute silence was the distant hooting of an owl. Finally, the young girl spoke, only she didn't sound so young. "Sometimes, you just have to do things to stay sane. No matter how stupid, or dangerous or silly they are. Just that one thing that will drag you back from the point self-destruction. That one thing that gives you clarity." There was an odd sagacity to her words, but the spell was quickly broken as she stood up, and wiped the dust from the bottoms of her day-glow blue flannel pyjama pants that were adorned with skiing moose. "Smoking is mine, but I don't know what yours is – maybe being a hard-ass disciplinarian prick who assigns too much homework is your coping mechanism?" She smirked at him, once again, unsettling his peace of mind by her complete fearlessness in looking him directly in the eye. After staring at him for a minute, she brushed past him and made her way to the door.
"Why do you smoke it?" He didn't know why he asked, but then words were out of his mouth before he knew it, and Anezka turned to look at him again.
"Duh! It takes at least forty-five minutes to metabolize and feel the full effect of anything taken orally, but smoking gets whatever it is into your system in under two minutes." She turned back around and opened the door. "Sweet Dreams, Snapeykins."
And with that she was gone, and behind her she left Severus in a wake of befuddlement, amusement, exhaustion and ire, but no longer was he weary. .