Selena noiselessly entered the 3rd floor corridor, trying her best not to itch or sneeze from all the cobwebs and dust that painted the abandoned part of the castle. She stifled a surprised squeak, however, when the flames on the pillars lit up just as she passed by them, and right after, she perceived soft steps coming from behind. Turning on her heels, the tip of her white wand found itself inches away from Severus' face.
"Merlin, you scared me, Professor." Selena withdrew her wand, lowering it slowly. "I'm starting to think it's becoming a habit for you." The potioneer, however, wasn't in the mood for frivolity at the moment.
"What are you doing here, Miss Stellifer?" Inquired Severus, sternly, much to Selena's shock. "I thought the staff were urged to follow the Headmaster to the dungeons?"
"Don't tell me you're an exception to the staff, Professor." She countered, surprised—and slightly offended—by his unexpected demeanor. He only seemed insistent on her answer to his question, however. She began to explain, "The stone. I think someone's trying to steal it tonight."
"Obviously." Severus huffed in clear strop. "As if I'd allow a mountain troll to enter the castle willingly."
"And I can tell a real faint from a fake one," Selena added. "Which means Quirrell isn't that good of an actor."
"It also means he's up to something." Said Severus. "How long have you been suspecting him?"
"For the past few days now. He's been acting stranger than usual..." They began to head to where the stone was hidden. "But then again," Selena spoke accusingly, glancing at the man as though she was studying him, "He wasn't the only one I found strange lately."
Selena recalled her conversation with Poppy the other day, out of concern for Severus' despondent, closed-off behaviour during the recent days; "Oh, he's always been like that—at least, for the ten years he's been here." Said the matron. "There's always something about the last few days of October that ruffles his feathers real bad."
Severus' stark eyes found hers, and this time, it was Selena who raised a brow at him. He sighed, "Miss Stellifer, if this is about me postponing our meeting in the library—"
"No, it's not." She intervened. "I already told you, it was alright. We were both busy, anyway..." Selena paused.
She was about to ask about his current state, why he's been in low spirits lately; why all he can respond to a dry joke is a scoff instead of matching her wit; why he's been acting so differently compared to the night they patrolled together; but Selena hesitated. And if Severus sensed her awkwardness in the sudden silence, he didn't say anything about it.
The conversation fell short the moment they arrived in front of the ajar door. Severus offered to step inside first, and Selena sauntered right behind him. The sight surprised them both; A massive three-headed dog slept soundly to the lulling music of an enchanted harp, while Quirrell tried to push away its black heavy paw to reveal the trap door below it.
"Sweet Rowena, Dumbledore said the first barrier was a guard dog!" Selena grumbled in hushed tones.
Severus spoke lowly, "I don't see where he's mistaken. It is a dog."
"With three heads!" She whisper-yelled at him.
"There's no time to be afraid now, Miss Stellifer. The protection of the stone is of dire importance at the moment, and I'd rather you help me from letting it get stolen than standing around here."
"Firstly, I'm not scared." She groused, clearly vexed at his attitude. Now, she truly grew more curious of what spurred it on in the first place. "Secondly, you weren't the only one who wasn't fooled. I rushed here with the same intention as you."
A few seconds passed before he spoke again. "Once I stop the harp, get Quirrell out as quickly as you can. I'll hold the dog if it stirs."
Selena exhaled, finding no time to argue, "Okay."
"Professor Quirrell," Severus called out in his own sneering manner. The DADA Professor visibly froze from his movements. Afterwards, he shakily turned to face them. Selena did her best not to glare at his quivering form.
"Professor... Professor Snape! Miss Stellifer! What... What a night it's been, yes?" Cried Quirrell, forcing a smile onto his timid face.
"Quite." Severus slurred as he agreed with him. "A mountain troll in the dungeons? Not your everyday occurrence."
Quirrell ducked his head slightly. "Yes...Yes, I suppose."
"However, it is rather impossible for it to enter on its own, don't you think?" The potioneer inquired, but gave no time for his timid colleague to answer. "If I ever discover a dismantlement in my security measures, the news will instantly reach the Headmaster and the person behind it will be banished from the grounds with immediate effect."
Selena absentmindedly admired Severus' malevolent tone, despite her slight irritation with his foreign behaviour. The cunningness—of which she first observed of him when they met—radiated off of him at that very moment, and it produced a smirk on the Mediwizard's face.
"Oh... Oh, yes... Be it on his head!... Whoever's devious... devious plot this was." Quirrell stuttered, and Selena thought it was rather bold of him to say such.
"Be it on his whole life, I'd say." She quipped, though she wasn't unserious about it.
Suddenly, the harp ceased its playing—and by the alarmed look on Severus' face, Selena knew it wasn't him who stopped it. Naturally, the dog began to stir from its ruined nap. The turban-wearing professor was about to make a run for the exit when the creature's paws wrapped around him sleepily. He screamed in fright, and Severus immediately urged him to stop. Despite this, however, the dogs inevitably awoke with a start from the noise, and growled glaringly at the first stranger they perceived.
"Stand absolutely still, Miss Stellifer." Drawled Severus from across the room. Selena's eyes darted towards him in terror, but she did as he said. The potioneer approached her slowly, all while raising his hand towards the dog. "Fluffy—Here, Fluffy, look at me—Yes, stand down."
"Fluffy?" Selena inquired in complete incredulity, though she remained stiff as a stick. "That's its name? Fluffy?"
"Be quiet." Severus all but sneered at her, snapping his fingers to get the dog's attention. "Fluffy, don't attack her. She's our friend, Miss Stellifer. Understood?" Though her heart frantically pulsed in her chest, The Mediwizard stood amused at Severus' attempts in cooing.
One of the dog heads neared Selena curiously, causing her to recoil slightly, but relaxed when she noticed that the previous rage in its big yellow eyes vanished. Its black nose twitched while sniffing her rigid form, most likely memorizing her scent.
"Pet it." Severus said.
Selena's eyes widened at him. "Are you crazy? I'll lose my arm!"
"It's your arm or your life, Miss Stellifer."
"You're kidding." Severus just stared at her provocatively, and in that fleeting moment, Selena despised him.
With a fearful exhale, the Mediwizard raised her hand and leaned it in slowly. She flinched when the tips of her fingers came into contact with the black fur of the creature's snout, and it was up to the dog to do the rest. It nuzzled into the small of her palm and Selena found it rather cute. She broke into a smile, rubbing the creature with a newfound merriment.
"Fluffy," She tested the name, and the two other heads surrounded her with the playfulness of what a normal dog owned. "Fluffy... Huh...I suppose you are quite fluffy."
Her euphoria-like moment didn't last long, however, as the dog abruptly shot up and cried in agony after being struck by a hex of vivid green light, shocking both Selena and Severus, and later maddening them upon discovering it was their turban-wearing colleague's doing.
Quirrell, who has been stuck between its paws—and was admittedly almost forgotten by the other two—found means of escape, and the dogs' eyes darkened, growling with the desire to capture its tormentor amidst its pain-filled whimpers. The DADA Professor ran with all his might towards the, unfortunately, jammed door.
"Miss Stellifer," Severus spoke so quickly Selena almost misunderstood him. "Assist Quirrell and see him out. I'll watch the dog. I'm afraid if it recovers, our colleague won't make it out alive."
The events that followed were a blur; One second, she was running after Quirrell to help him budge the door open, the next second, she was shoved forcibly unto the ground by Severus, who landed on top of her, and took her place before Quirrell, receiving an angry bite from Fluffy.
"SEVERUS!" Shrieked Selena. Whether it was of irritation, gratitude or worry, Selena really couldn't tell what she felt. At the same time, the door finally unlatched itself, and Quirrell made his way out. Fluffy, initially enraged from his tormentor's escape, shied away in fear and guilt upon attacking Severus instead.
As soon as the potioneer rolled off of Selena weakly, the Mediwizard sat up in a rush, examining his injured leg. "Oh, Merlin, that looks monstrous!"
"Miss Stellifer," Severus called out in between heavy exhales. "In the case that I've forgotten, remind me… When did we start being on first-name terms?" He inquired in both droll and anguish, much to her surprise.
Selena ignored his question mostly because it wasn't important, also because she honestly surprised herself in spluttering his first name. "I need to take you to the Hospital Wing now." She said instead.
Severus persisted his own topic, however, unmoving except in clutching his own wound to prevent the worsening of his ache. "You really should've told me we've already advanced to that level of acquaintanceship."
The Mediwizard rolled her eyes, though the light hue in her cheeks betrayed her. "Just help me get yourself up, Professor." Before she could grasp his shoulders, Severus stopped her, attempting to swat if her hands came any nearer.
"I am perfectly capable of standing on my own, Miss Stellifer." The potioneer proved his words by slowly rising to his feet, but Selena was not blind nor deaf to the creasing of his eyebrows and low grunts of pain in the process.
They vacated Fluffy's room after one last glare at the creature from Severus. Meanwhile, Selena anxiously watched his limping figure, ready to catch him if ever his leg failed him.
"You called me by my first name..." He brought it up again.
Selena groaned amidst her increasing concern, "I was worried, alright? And surprised. Don't make a big deal out of it."
"You screamed it."
"You pushed me to the ground."
He loured at her. "I saved your life."
"Like I would've died from it." She huffed and hurried past him to get to McGonagall and Quirrell who were talking below.
"Oh, thank goodness! Selena! Severus!" Minerva all but cried out. "The troll is still somewhere in the castle, but so is Potter, Weasley and Granger!"
Selena's worried eyes met Severus' shocked own, then, her gaze lowered onto his leg. She was about to protest to him accompanying them, but he beat her to it and said, "The children first."
She frowned, forgetting all about her current irritation towards him, hoping he would change his mind, but he stood his ground by making a move to start searching. The four of them wasted no time and set out in search of the three lost Gryffindors. The Mediwizard strode down the corridors with clenched fists, quietly hoping nothing bad happened to them, especially to Potter, who Dumbledore instructed her to protect; the reason for her being at Hogwarts in the first place.
In a women's lavatory nearby, they perceived a loud thud on the floor, and altogether, they briskly walked towards the ajar doors. The intruding troll laid unconscious on the ground, while the three Gryffindors stood in surprise at the four adults' sudden presence. Minerva was left to worry over them, scold them, and award them with House points, surprising everyone. While the aged professor did so, Selena felt her heavy shoulders sag, exhausted from the night's events.
She remembered Severus' harsh leg wound and turned to look at the man, who wore the strict mask that only students were meant to see. At the moment, it was only Selena who could perceive the affliction he was withstanding from his eyes alone, and the Mediwizard saddened a little by wondering if his injury was the only cause of his pain.
"Are you guys hurt?" Selena asked the three students after Minerva's exit. They shook their heads. "Oh, thank God." She huddled them together for a small, protective hug, and they all chuckled about it, afterwards. "I'm in for quite a story tomorrow, am I?"
"You bet." Ron smiled lopsidedly. "We'll call it: Ron and Harry Saves the Day." Hermione rolled her eyes.
Harry quipped after him, "More like; Three Idiots and the Troll That Almost Killed Them."
"I like to think one of the three isn't an idiot." Hermione raised a brow, unamused, and the two boys chuckled.
"Nope. They're all idiots in their own way, 'Mione." Harry said, steadfast.
"Now, now, idiots," Selena kidded, and the three children broke into wide grins. "Professor Quirrell's outside, waiting. He'll accompany you to your dormitory."
"Can't you, instead?" Ron frowned.
"Maybe another time, Ron. I still have a patient to attend to." Selena ruffled his bright orange hair.
"A patient?" He asked incredulously. "At this time?"
"I'm on duty 24/7, dear. Most Mediwizards are." Selena said, and before any more questions were uttered, she beckoned them to leave. "Go on, now. Get some rest, you three. Professor Snape wouldn't want you sleeping during the first period, would he?"
Once the Gryffindors have been taken care of, Selena jogged to catch up with the potioneer who fled down the other direction.
"Don't even think you've escaped from me, Professor. Whether you like it or not, I'm going to heal that bite wound of yours." The Mediwizard said once she was within his earshot. At first, he pretended to not hear her. Then, Selena added with a scoff, "And maybe that attitude too."
"Miss Stellifer," He sighed exasperatedly, stressing her name. Selena expected a rebuke or even an apology for his abrupt behaviour, but an afterthought hit her about how stupid she was to anticipate the latter from him. "There are still so many means of escape from you." Severus ended up saying, betraying something he seemed to have wanted to say. "I still have the upper hand."
"Not when I tell on you to Dumbledore and Minerva, you won't." She retorted, crossing her arms.
One speechless second passed. Two seconds. Three.
A sigh. "Let's get this over with." Selena chuckled.
"Wait til' they hear about this."
Severus scowled. "Hear about how you use them as leverage?"
"No." She huffed. "How you give in like a child."
"Says the child."
Selena pulled a face. "Just hurry up."
"Right away," He paused, and the Mediwizard swore she saw an upward twitch of his lips. "Selena."
It wasn't an apology, no. As far as Severus was concerned, it was a truce… of sorts.