^*^*^*^*^*Won't be much for a while*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
The Gryffindor lunch table was even louder than usual that day.
"That's prettier than Professor Snape," Seamus snerked, pointing with a fork at Harry's drawing of the old, helmeted Dream King. "But I wouldn't be too shocked if it turned out that the mean old header wasn't human anyhow."
Hermione absently twirled her hair around her finger. "Well, it doesn't exactly give him an excuse for being so nasty, but it explains a bit. If you were the reincarnation of something that wasn't human, you'd be a bit confused and that'd probably make you right crabby."
Harry said, "And it would also explain why Snape doesn't dream.he wasn't kidding about that bit, either. Snape hasn't enough sense of humour to kid, really."
"Well, not with us," Ron said.
"But he can sure make some wicked cracks about us," Harry snickered.
"Don't think you're so special," drawled a familiar voice. "He makes cracks about everyone."
Harry eyed Draco Malfoy, who was looming over his shoulder like a platinum- blonde vulture of some kind.
"Ah, so even you're not spared Snape's mad sense of humour?"
"Are you kidding? Sure, he acts all favouring and nurturing and all that bollocks when you're about, Potter, but the second you and the rest of the Gryfs are out of sight, whammo." Draco gestured madly. "Says it's to keep us from going soft."
Ron made a sort of sceptical noise that elicited a grin from Draco.
"Yeah, I second that 'erngh', Weasley. Maybe half of it's making us tough. The other half's just because he's evil."
"Not so much evil, Mr. Malfoy, as impatient with stupidity."
Draco turned around, regarded Professor Snape, and waved.
"Er. Hello, Professor. Are you a ninja?"
"What?" Seamus asked.
"No, Mr. Malfoy, I am not a ninja - incidentally, Mr. Finnegan, a ninja was an assassin in feudal Japan - but I do take care not to make a noise like a herd of elephants whenever I travel by foot.a lesson every student in this school could benefit from, I assure you."
Hermione blinked. "Professor," she said, "have you.you haven't put your glamour back."
"Are you leaving it off for good?" Neville inquired, then realised what he'd said and attempted to hide behind a milk pitcher.
"Oh, have I forgotten to raise it again?" Snape said absently. "Oh, well, it was trying to keep it up. Focusing on a glamour spell and on the chemical disasters that pass for potions in this institution is extremely trying."
He looked around the room. The students who had been eyeing Snape incredulously looked away very quickly.
"Thank you," Snape said, and strode off.
"So he just stopped by to scare the pants off us, then," Seamus commented.
"It's Snape," Draco said, in a tone that indicated this ought to explain everything.
There was a soft 'whump' as someone flung themselves down in the space between Harry and Ron. Harry moved over out of habit, then did a double- take and grinned. The speeding visitor was none other than Cho-hui Chang.
"Any of you here have 'Hogwarts - a History'?" she inquired.
Hermione rummaged in her backpack, removed the book, and passed it to Cho.
Cho beamed. "I ought to have known you'd have it. You have everything, invariably."
She leafed through the book (Draco moved to loom over her shoulder) and stopped in the middle. "HA!" she exclaimed. "I thought so." She pointed at a photo full of young men and women with brooms, waving at the camera and jostling each other about.
"Hey, Quidditch!" Harry said.
"It's the Ravenclaw team from Professor Snape's sixth year," Cho said. "See the one on the left looking as if he's plotting something hideous?"
Everyone crowded around Cho.
"Arghg," Harry said, getting a bit squashed. Draco made a sort of warbly sound - he was being shoved against Cho's elbow.
"Severus Oneiros Yumejirou Snape," Hermione read, eyes wide. "But he doesn't look any older now than."
"Yes he does," Ron said. "Not much, but he does. Mostly in his face." He tried to imitate Snape's usual exasperated expression.
"Why wasn't Professor Snape on the Slytherin team?" Parvati asked.
"Maybe he was a Ravenclaw," guessed Neville.
"Then why would they make him the head of Slyhterin house?"
Draco moved about so he wasn't being flattened or pushing Cho off the bench. "My mum's old friends with Professor Snape.he was on the Ravenclaw team simply because he didn't approve of the 'modified rules' the Slytherin team liked to play by. Plus my mum was on the Ravenclaw team, and she lobbied for him to join. They were short players that year. He took up as a Chaser.mum and Aunt Echo were the Beaters.and I have no idea who the rest of these people are, but that one has a stupid haircut."
"You're one to talk of silly hair," Cho teased.
The Gryffindor lunch table was even louder than usual that day.
"That's prettier than Professor Snape," Seamus snerked, pointing with a fork at Harry's drawing of the old, helmeted Dream King. "But I wouldn't be too shocked if it turned out that the mean old header wasn't human anyhow."
Hermione absently twirled her hair around her finger. "Well, it doesn't exactly give him an excuse for being so nasty, but it explains a bit. If you were the reincarnation of something that wasn't human, you'd be a bit confused and that'd probably make you right crabby."
Harry said, "And it would also explain why Snape doesn't dream.he wasn't kidding about that bit, either. Snape hasn't enough sense of humour to kid, really."
"Well, not with us," Ron said.
"But he can sure make some wicked cracks about us," Harry snickered.
"Don't think you're so special," drawled a familiar voice. "He makes cracks about everyone."
Harry eyed Draco Malfoy, who was looming over his shoulder like a platinum- blonde vulture of some kind.
"Ah, so even you're not spared Snape's mad sense of humour?"
"Are you kidding? Sure, he acts all favouring and nurturing and all that bollocks when you're about, Potter, but the second you and the rest of the Gryfs are out of sight, whammo." Draco gestured madly. "Says it's to keep us from going soft."
Ron made a sort of sceptical noise that elicited a grin from Draco.
"Yeah, I second that 'erngh', Weasley. Maybe half of it's making us tough. The other half's just because he's evil."
"Not so much evil, Mr. Malfoy, as impatient with stupidity."
Draco turned around, regarded Professor Snape, and waved.
"Er. Hello, Professor. Are you a ninja?"
"What?" Seamus asked.
"No, Mr. Malfoy, I am not a ninja - incidentally, Mr. Finnegan, a ninja was an assassin in feudal Japan - but I do take care not to make a noise like a herd of elephants whenever I travel by foot.a lesson every student in this school could benefit from, I assure you."
Hermione blinked. "Professor," she said, "have you.you haven't put your glamour back."
"Are you leaving it off for good?" Neville inquired, then realised what he'd said and attempted to hide behind a milk pitcher.
"Oh, have I forgotten to raise it again?" Snape said absently. "Oh, well, it was trying to keep it up. Focusing on a glamour spell and on the chemical disasters that pass for potions in this institution is extremely trying."
He looked around the room. The students who had been eyeing Snape incredulously looked away very quickly.
"Thank you," Snape said, and strode off.
"So he just stopped by to scare the pants off us, then," Seamus commented.
"It's Snape," Draco said, in a tone that indicated this ought to explain everything.
There was a soft 'whump' as someone flung themselves down in the space between Harry and Ron. Harry moved over out of habit, then did a double- take and grinned. The speeding visitor was none other than Cho-hui Chang.
"Any of you here have 'Hogwarts - a History'?" she inquired.
Hermione rummaged in her backpack, removed the book, and passed it to Cho.
Cho beamed. "I ought to have known you'd have it. You have everything, invariably."
She leafed through the book (Draco moved to loom over her shoulder) and stopped in the middle. "HA!" she exclaimed. "I thought so." She pointed at a photo full of young men and women with brooms, waving at the camera and jostling each other about.
"Hey, Quidditch!" Harry said.
"It's the Ravenclaw team from Professor Snape's sixth year," Cho said. "See the one on the left looking as if he's plotting something hideous?"
Everyone crowded around Cho.
"Arghg," Harry said, getting a bit squashed. Draco made a sort of warbly sound - he was being shoved against Cho's elbow.
"Severus Oneiros Yumejirou Snape," Hermione read, eyes wide. "But he doesn't look any older now than."
"Yes he does," Ron said. "Not much, but he does. Mostly in his face." He tried to imitate Snape's usual exasperated expression.
"Why wasn't Professor Snape on the Slytherin team?" Parvati asked.
"Maybe he was a Ravenclaw," guessed Neville.
"Then why would they make him the head of Slyhterin house?"
Draco moved about so he wasn't being flattened or pushing Cho off the bench. "My mum's old friends with Professor Snape.he was on the Ravenclaw team simply because he didn't approve of the 'modified rules' the Slytherin team liked to play by. Plus my mum was on the Ravenclaw team, and she lobbied for him to join. They were short players that year. He took up as a Chaser.mum and Aunt Echo were the Beaters.and I have no idea who the rest of these people are, but that one has a stupid haircut."
"You're one to talk of silly hair," Cho teased.