The next few days progressed without anything interesting happening, except that Snape refused to speak to Jess, and that Jess walked out of Care of Magical creatures when she realised that she had to spend this lesson with the Gryffindors as well. Jess had also developed a mutual friendship with Draco, which involved discovering how creative they could be with their hallway greetings.
"Hey bitch!" Draco would yell at her, on the way to Potions.
"Good morning, Fucknut!" Jess would reply impulsively. Apart from that, Jess generally kept away from the student body, occasionally harassing Ron's toe, or ramming a student who happened to insult Snape when she was passing. Although Jess still considered her potions master to be an inheritance, not family.
A few members of the Gryffindor party gathered enough courage to question her about her relations to the evil Potions Master. Well 2 Gryffindors actually, flanked by a whining Hermione.
"This is NOT funny just leave her alone, why can't you leave her alone?! Leave me alone!.."
"Leave you alone?!" The pair cried incredulously.
"Well someone has to watch you two babies, honestly I feel like your mother sometimes." Hermione rattled off at them. Harry and Ron merely rolled their eyes as they approached Jess in the Great Hall.
"Hey you!." Jess heard them. That didn't mean she was going to recognise their presence.
"You black eyes!" Ron yelled. "You brown hair!" Harry added thoughtfully. Jess gritted her teeth and made her way to her usual seat at the Slytherin table, away from everyone else, resisting the urge to hurl something at them.Ron struggled against Hermiones grip on the handful of robes she'd captured.
"Gildroy Lockhart." Ron said snidely. Hermione squeaked and let go to have a good chance of hitting him in the head. Poking Jess in the ribs he continued speaking. "Hey I was talking to you."
Draco looked over warily, "Bloody prats.."
Jess sighed, "Butt out, wanker."
Draco looked bemused, "Whatever you say wench." With that he turned back around. Jess turned and glared pointedly at Ron.
"Is there something I can help you with? Your toe need any more swelling?"
"Jeez, thanks for reminding me. What the hell is your problem?"
Foot steps stopped behind Ron.
".. Hell will seem like paradise compared with the problem I'll be giving you Mr Weasley." The voice could only belong to one man.
Ron squeaked in quite an un-masculine way whirling around to face the notorious Slytherin head.
"I want you to return to your table momentarily or you'll be in detention for the rest of the semester."
Draco muttered happily.. "Skiddadle!"
And that Ron did. After the annoying little Gryffindors had departed, and Draco had gone back to minding his own business, Jess spoke coldly and quietly to Snape.
"You didn't have to do that, you know."
"I'll do what I like." He snapped irritably.
Jess flushed, "That is sadly apparent! But if you make such appraised decisions, then why the hell did you go and do something that stupid? Might I add that this is going to mean shit for the both of us later?"
"What makes you think that anything to do with you? Did you think I was defending you? Well you were sadly mistaken child."
"Well," Jess sniffed, "Whether or not you were defending me doesn't matter. Either way, that's how everyone's going to see it. Just because you didn't say that with any intentions of me in mind, doesn't mean people aren't going to make assumptions."
"I have been teaching here a lot longer than you have been here as a student." He told her, sick of this banter. "That means absolutely nothing to anyone, apart from Ronald Weasly deserves some sort of punishment for his stupidity. The world does not revolve around you, though despite the persona you present I'm sure you already know that. So, by talking to me now you have in fact put the 'shit' on yourself. A term familiar with this situation is hypocrisy. Keep your mouth out of trouble, as it obvious you lack respect for your elders. I will not argue with you any further, nor will I converse with you."
Jess was livid. She couldn't remember the last time she had despised anyone this badly. Jess rose from her seat, breathing like a dragon. "You," She said coldly, "You insensitive prick! A thousand years would not make me hold any respect for you! As of yet I have not discovered one person who holds any form of respect for you! It would be of uttermost pleasure to me if I never saw you again!" Upon the stress on the last word Jess turned heel and stalked out of the hall, looking as if she might just breathe fire, and hating Professor Snape for all she was worth.
Professor Snape however didn't appear to even care, he continued in the direction he was going before encountering Weasley, quite calmly. The wonderful part of his front was he didn't specialize in facial expressions, and could be nearing murdering someone or snapping without making sign of it. He was close to both.
It crept up on them like an axe murderer. One minute it was hot, the next Jess awoke to snow. Her heart sank right into the earth's core. It was soon going to be Christmas. Jess sighed forlornly as she realised the inevitable.
She was going to have to get him a present.
And one for Draco. He called her cheese brain yesterday. That's got to be worth a medal. Anyway, whatever the reasons, one freezing cold, windy, and generally unpleasant weekend Jess found herself standing at the front door, wrapped up in her cloak, and waiting irritably for everyone else to arrive so as she could get to Hogsmeade, buy her presents and get back again.
Glaring at nothing particular from his office window Snape thought to himself about the insolent child. Ignorant naïve girl. Running a finger through gathering dust he wondered just how long his brother and sister in law had been dead, looking for somewhere to blame her attitude on, being a spoilt conceited only child.. or a neglected orphan.
He shuddered at the thought of his niece, a Snape, having to live in an orphanage. A Snape was above that. But then, being the closest living relative to her, it would have been with him or an orphanage. How the hell would he raise a girl like that?!
So alike they'd end up killing each other, not that he'd admit to that.
Still trying to fathom why he hadn't been contacted he sighed as only really one time he had been out of reach.. And that time… had been a long time. Of course, the choices he'd made once were always bound to come back in a mistake of this scale.
Wandering around Hogsmeade on her own, Jess had found a suitable gift for Draco – A large, leather bound, empty book and a new quill. Something for him to write any whimsical insults he came up with, so as he'd never had to resort to 'cheese brain' ever again. However, she was yet to find anything for dearest Snape. As she passed a bookstore, a memory of her very, very distant past came floating back. Her uncle sitting alone in an armchair reading a derelict old book. Jess would have bet money that the book no longer existed. And that Snape hadn't bothered getting another. So into the bookshop she went, wandering directly up to the counter.
"Cieo Practicum, if you have it." Jess demanded tartly.
The bookstore owner raised an eyebrow, "That's an old book you're asking for, missy." He bustled out the back, and Jess could still hear his voice drifting out from the store rooms, "Don't stock many anymore. Hard to find. Plus no one wants it. All in Latin, it is." Jess didn't say anything, but took the book from the elderly, plump man and paid him, walking out in the same fashion in which she entered.
Christmas… cursed it was.
Now that the students were trumping back from Hogsmeade Severus had retreated to his own personal chambers. On a small desk in his chambers sat a photo, well there were a few, shock horror, but this one in particular held his sister in law and her 5 year old daughter. Who couldn't keep in the frame. Bouncing across she waved energetically. He raised an eyebrow and waved politely. He remembered a 10 minute argument he'd had with a dead person in a truly enchanted photo. Never underestimate inane old men in photos.. Jess bounced through the photo again, escaping the efforts of her mother. Eventually Hannah herself had left the photo after the little girl. He turned the now blank scene in the frame down to the desk and slipped into a chair fatigued.
Christmas morning dawned irritatingly bright, but still freezing. Jess moaned loudly and fell out of bed with a thunk, cursing the daylight. Then she realised it was Christmas. That didn't change her mood in the slightest. She still wanted to go back to sleep.
In fact, she had nearly done so when a foot connected forcefully with her posterior.
"Merry Christmas, bitch face!"
Jess moaned again, "Fuck off, daisy. Unless you're a transvestite you shouldn't be here!"
"Damnit, bitch face knows my secret!" Draco sneered, "Open your presents, then get your fat ass down to breakfast." Jess muttered something incoherent before sitting up.
"Presents?" Jess drawled, "Nice try Daisy Dipshit." Jess turned back to her bed and had to eat her words. Two parcels sat forlornly on the end of her bed. "Holy Jesus."
Draco sniggered smugly, before Jess shut him up by stuffing his own Christmas present into his face. Jess picked up the present which was obviously from Draco, which wasn't hard to pick because the wrapping job had been done very…roughly. Jess pulled out the black necklace with red stones hanging off it and eyed it suspiciously.
"What did you do to it, moron?"
Draco made a sound of fake offence. "You insult me, midget! I wouldn't waste the time and effort!"
Jess smirked, "True. A little shit like you wouldn't bother."
Draco glanced at his gift and smirked. "Trust you. What do you think I'm gonna use it for, cheese brain?"
Jess scowled, "So you never have to use such a shit house insult as 'cheese brain' again. Dipshit."
Draco yawned obviously and trundled off to breakfast, with a "See you, Slut," by way of goodbye. Jess sighed and turned to her single other gift, looking rather lonely and half buried underneath her sheets.
"If this is a joke, I'm going to strangle someone." She muttered, picking it up.
The gift was wrapped neatly, obviously magically done. The sender, Severus, would probably kill himself if he found out he couldn't do something magically. A small card read, Merry Christmas –Severus A man of many words, an educated articulate man came up with a 3 worded holiday greeting. How touching. How Ironic he had such an extended vocabulary when we was out of his tree at her. Encased in a fine silver film was a single white rose, thornless of course, he was entrusting anything sharp into her possession.. It was enchanted as so it had been for more than 16 years, picked once from their garden at their residence in Richmond. He remembered it had been picked for her shortly after her birth. Along with that was a silver bracelet, encrusted with diamonds, enchanted too to change colour.
There was a letter too. Yes he'd composed further than Merry Christmas- Severus.
Jessica
Merry Christmas, once more. I should probably explain the gifts. Following your birth and christening a white rose was picked from a rose garden you're grandmother was fond of when she was alive. When the family relocated, there was a pause where he was tempted to add and died off the rose was left behind. It was enchanted by your mother and father and has lasted this long. The bracelet however was expensive, so I don't want you picking the diamonds out and selling them to a pawnbroker.
-Uncle Severus.
As long as she didn't post this all over the school, he said what he wanted, what the last few sparks of goodness and kindness couldn't burn. Jess smiled, and wondered how her uncle liked his Christmas gift.
At that moment the Professor was running his hand over the book's cover pensively. His copy had gone to pieces, and was a rather large base for his knowledge. He might have smiled, if he remembered how.
It seems that everyone had decided Christmas at home was better than Christmas at school. Except, that is, Jess, Draco, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and about seven other students whom none of the above ever bothered with. Because it was a small crowd, once again a single table had been set. Severus and Jess were, naturally, late. They nearly literally ran into each other just outside the great hall.
"Um," Jess mumbled. Snape just raised an eyebrow, "Ah to hell with it! Thanks." Jess threw her arms around his middle. He looked around the entrance hall in a paranoid manner before raising a hand and patting her on the back awkwardly, pulling back discreetly.