Saturday, it was a sunny day.
Catlyn woke up feeling both relieved that the weekend had arrived and sad at the thought of missing Hogsmeade. She absolutely loved the picturesque, little village near Hogwarts. After all, she had grown up between those streets and little shops.
On numerous occasions she had laughed in Zonko's, where Matty and Xav had planned their many pranks, and she had bought sweets upon sweets in Honeydukes, in particular chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans. She couldn't even recall how many times she had drunk lots of Butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks, listening to Madam Rosmerta's stories about her peculiar clients.
In her third year, she had also given her first kiss, to Reece Turner, an older Ravenclaw, at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.
Hogsmeade was full of happy memories, and the idea of not visiting the village for an entire semester, during her last year at Hogwarts, depressed her deeply.
After lunch, all her friends greeted her goodbye; Matty and Xav walked away from the Castle with sad expressions on their faces. Even Charlie winked at her, wearing an apologetic smile, while passing by her with his Gryffindor mates.
Meanwhile, she prepared psychologically for the detention with the Potions Professor.
In the afternoon, Catlyn showered, wore her uniform, and directed towards the so dreaded Dungeons. There, she knocked on the Potions classroom door.
She took a deep breath, preparing for what she was about to do.
She knew she had to give him her apologies.
He had indeed behaved cruelly towards her, but he was Snape, after all. He had always been moody, and obnoxious, and unfriendly. But thinking it through, Catlyn had realised she didn't hate him.
After some seconds, the wooden door opened in front of her eyes, and the Ravenclaw girl cautiously stepped inside the well-known classroom.
Snape was sitting at his desk, and Catlyn assumed he had opened the door with a flick of his wand, which was currently laying in his left hand.
"Good afternoon, sir" she politely said, and he just grunted, not looking up from the sheets on his desk.
"You can start scrubbing those" he simply said, motioning to the piles of cauldrons at the back of the room.
Catlyn nodded, but lingered at the entrance, before stepping in front of his desk.
It took Snape some moments to realise she wanted to say something, and when he raised his onyx eyes to look into her grey ones, his eyebrows shot up. "What now, Miss Allen?" he asked, sounding annoyed.
Catlyn took a deep breath, "I-I just wanted to-", she started saying, uncertain, but she stopped when she saw him squeezing his eyes, if only for a second, with a pained expression. She could see that something was troubling him. "Sir? Are you feeling well?"
Snape's eyes shot open, and he glanced at her, appearing bothered. "Are you a Healer, perhaps, Miss Allen?"
She swallowed. Why do I always talk before thinking when I'm with him?
"I'm not", she admitted in a low voice.
"Then I suggest you close your mouth and start attending to your task." he spat out, before bringing his attention back to his work.
"But Professor, I just wanted to-"
"Quickly, Miss Allen. I don't have all day." He hissed.
She closed her mouth, pressing her full lips tightly against each other.
"Yes, sir", she replied, and turned around, walking towards the back of the classroom.
Catlyn rolled up her sleeves, looking at the many cauldrons in front of her; it was obvious that they hadn't been changed in years, despite having been used by hundreds of students. She knew full well that potion encrustations were difficult to get rid of, especially without magic.
Snape had always loved giving that punishment to students, who would find themselves scratching those iron and copper monsters for hours.
Or, at least, so she had been told. After all, he had never punished her in the previous six years.
They spent the next hour in silence.
Catlyn was a hard-worker, and she didn't want to give the Professor any reason to insult her. So, she scrubbed those old cauldrons as if her life depended on it. All the while, Snape kept correcting essays.
Every now and then, he sighed deeply, appearing distressed.
Catlyn found that the work calmed her immensely, and that it helped her collect her thoughts; that's why she decided to step back to his desk, and try to apologise again.
Snape observed her approaching, looking like a snake who was ready to bite a defenceless little bird, and that scared her a bit. She knew he was tired of that situation, as well as she knew that she would have to speak carefully, if she didn't want him to get mad.
She cleared her throat before talking. "I didn't mean to appear nosy, before." She just said, and when he opened his mouth to give her a nasty remark, she added: "And I'm sorry for the things I said to you in class. I was just… Stressed, and I poured out my frustrations on you." She confessed.
His onyx eyes didn't look convinced at all. But then again, they were very hard to read.
Catlyn sighed, "I know that's not an excuse… But I want you to know that I don't actually think you're a bad person. Nor a bad Professor, for the matter."
He raised his eyebrows at that, as if he did not believe her.
Catlyn didn't stop talking: "Well, I mean, sometimes your actions and words aren't exactly noble, but I've learnt a great deal from you in these years and… I just wanted to apologise. I wouldn't want to be perceived as disrespectful, because that's not who I am... I hold much respect for you, Sir." She said.
Snape leaned back in his chair, watching her. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Allen."
Catlyn blushed, "My apologies were sincere" she replied, but he raised a hand to stop her, and she shut her mouth.
"Please, shut up." he said and, when a hurt look crossed her face, he added: "I have a very bad migraine."
"Oh...", it surprised her that he had confessed her that. After all, only minutes earlier, he had attacked her for wanting to know what was bothering him.
She nodded with understanding at his explanation.
Snape's onyx eyes kept studying her for some time, before he spoke again: "I'm glad you still remember some manners." he said, with his low, silky voice. "As I already told you, you're a decent student. I... accept... your apology, Miss Allen. But I won't revoke your detentions."
Catlyn nodded, "Thank you, sir… And, to be clear, I always knew you wouldn't revoke them" she said, and gave him a tiny smile.
Snape remained unperturbable, yet the side of his mouth seemed to twitch slightly. "Now, back to your work. I'm tired of talking to you." he said.
Though annoyed by his lack of sensibility, Catlyn was about to obey him; right then, a thought struck her, and she spoke one more time: "Sir, I'm sorry for intruding again but… I've read that there's a potion to cure migraine… Or at least, to make it temporarily pass."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she had irritated him.
And yet she stood there, looking directly at him, waiting for an answer. She didn't know why, but she didn't like seeing him like that.
Snape sighed deeply, "Do you often apologise for being nosy and then start being nosy again?" he asked, rhetorically. "Yes, Miss Allen, there is indeed a potion to cure migraine, but you have surely also read that it has to brew for days, haven't you?"
The Ravenclaw girl squirmed under his stare. "I suppose I did… I can't remember."
"Well, let me refresh your memory: it does have to brew for days." He explained, with an obnoxious tone "And contrary to what your belief is, I don't have time to do that. I'm extremely busy." He hissed.
Catlyn gaped at him, "I didn't mean to… Don't assume I…" she rambled, before closing her mouth, and taking a deep breath. When she calmed, she said: "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has that potion, Sir."
Snape looked surprised at the fact she was talking again. "Of course she has it, Miss Allen".
It was Catlyn's turn to raise her eyebrows, "Really? How do you know, Sir? And why don't you ask her for some?"
The Professor knitted his brows, looking between her grey eyes and her Ravenclaw tie, as if not believing she was that stupid. "The Sorting really does happen too soon" he said, voice dripping with sarcasm, and he smirked when she reddened, feeling ashamed. Then, he clicked his tongue. "I know because I am the Potions Master and I gave her several vials some days ago... But they are for students, who very often need them. I can't ask her to give me one."
Catlyn blushed. It had been obvious, and yet she always seemed to forget how to reason under the Professor's scrutiny.
Am I losing my mind?, she thought.
Snape gave a low laugh, then, but it was so short and so subtle that she barely registered it.
"Of course, now I understand… I hadn't thought about it." she commented, slowly. She was about to offer him her help, when he spoke again.
"Of course you hadn't" he muttered, before shaking his head. "You should finish scrubbing those cauldrons, Miss Allen, or you will miss dinner, as you missed Hogsmeade."
Catlyn nodded, immediately catching his dig. "Yes, sir" she said, and finally obeyed, moving away from him.
Later in the afternoon, Severus Snape dismissed the annoying Ravenclaw girl, and finished correcting some essays. The day had been long, and exhausting.
Miss Allen was a good student, and she was well-mannered, but she had gotten into the habit of talking too much.
She reminded him of Lily, in a way. She too had been a great talker, always reprimanding him for everything he did.
He shook those thoughts way as he got up from his chair.
Migraine was killing him.
At 7pm, he went back to his chambers, and showered.
At dinner, he barely ate, while listening to Flitwick's ramblings about some ancient spell. As soon as the desserts were served, he excused himself from his colleagues.
When he arrived in front of his locked office, he found something in front of the door.
It was a small, velvet sachet.
Snape assumed it was for him.
He took it in his hands and, as soon as he opened it, he immediately understood.
There was no note attached, no signature, but the Professor knew perfectly well who had put it there.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he took the vial between his fingers, pulled the cap off, and drank the potion quickly.
When his body touched his bed, the migraine was already gone.