"Is Harry still at Hogwarts or has he graduated already?," she asked as she reached into her box with her cd's.
Severus nodded. "Yes, he graduates this year."
Adrienne nodded and smiled as she flipped through the discs. "Gosh. I feel old now!" She looked at Severus and winked. "We're old fogies, Sevie." Severus chuckled, which got an even bigger smile from her. "But despite the fact that it will make me feel ancient, I'd like to see him. Maybe not meet him…wouldn't want to upset him with anyone who would remind him of his parents. But I would like to see how he turned out."
"He looks just like James," Severus responded, a bit more coldly. The Potters…well, really almost anyone from his time at Hogwarts, didn't fall much into his good graces, deceased or not. "Anyway," he said as he placed the final book on the shelves, anxious to change the conversation, "I'm done with these. What else do you need me to do?"
Adrienne looked at her boxes. Most were empty, piled haphazardly in the corner, and her poster box only had one lone poster of the Ramones left to hang. "Hold that thought" she said and quickly hung up that one, making the poster box empty now, too. As she tossed that box out of the way she said, "Well, the only thing now is the tv…I'm definitely going to need some help with that."
Severus refrained from asking. His mind was still trying to wrap around the "cd player". "Alright. Where is it and where do you want it?," he asked.
"In my room," she said. "It was too big to carry and open doors."
"Well, why didn't you just use magic?," he asked. Not that he was complaining. He would love to see her room…
Adrienne slapped her forehead. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I'm a ditz!," she laughed. "Ya know you've lived in the Muggle world too long when using magic to do things doesn't even occur to you!."
Snape chuckled. "Well, I'll help you get it anyway," he said. "Ease you back into the logical way of doing things gradually." He didn't smile, that wasn't his style, but Adrienne noted that the generally dead looking eyes looked alive and teasing.
"No need to be snotty," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "But come on, my rooms by the Gryffindor dorms. Since Minerva's retiring this year, Dumbledore is kind of training me to be house head." She puffed her chest out proudly and grinned. "And I can guarantee your serpents will never see another Quidditch victory."
Severus looked at her skeptically. "I do believe I could still out fly you," he replied.
"Doubtful, considering you never could," she teased. "And you would never have a chance on my new Nimbus 3000." She began walking out the door and down the hall.
Severus strode after her. "A Nimbus 3000? What do you need with a high performance Quidditch broom?"
She laughed as she walked. "Just because I don't play doesn't negate my need for speed."
Severus shook his head amusedly. "You might be 36-"
"35, sir!," she interrupted, mockingly scandalized.
"Sorry. For a 35 year-old, you still act like you're 17."
"No, you're just too old for your own good," she chided flirtatiously. "But anyway, this is my entrance. Yankee!" The large falcon structure turned to form a chamber. "Hop in!," she said.
Severus reluctantly stepped in. Quickly, the chamber spun and ended up facing into a bedroom. Smaller than his own, Severus noted the disarray that inevitably followed moving, but it suited any room belonging to Adrienne, who walked in to her room with no hesitation. "This is it," she said, pointing to a rather large box. She had been right. There was no way she could have lifted it herself. Severus couldn't help be see this as a chance to try and show off.
However, not wanting to seem over eager (God forbid he show anything other contempt and cynicism), he wandered over to her hearth, where a fire was magically blazing. At first, he gazed into the fire, but then his eyes traveled upwards to the pictures that sat haphazardly in frames on the mantle. He gingerly picked up a picture of Adrienne and all of her friends at what looked like a party.
In the picture, a very handsome man with brown hair, twinkling blue eyes, and a charming smile had his arms wrapped around Adrienne in a way that was, shall we say, more than friendly. Severus felt a pang of jealousy, but quickly stifled it. "Who are they?" he asked Adrienne, who had begun looking over his shoulder at the pictures with a wistful smile.
"Those are my friends from New York," she replied. Severus noticed a tenderness in her voice that didn't come through much. "This is Isabel, my room mate. She was a student at Oberon-"
"She was a witch as well?" Severus asked, rather surprised.
"Yes, lucky, wasn't it?," Adrienne replied. "But anyway, this is Tyrone…he's…"
Severus let her babble on about her friends for a while. He couldn't care less about any of them, but the look in Adrienne's eyes was worth it. Only she could speak so passionately about such a deceptively simple topic as friends. Finally, he cut to the chase. "And him?," he asked, indicating the blonde.
Adrienne gently removed the picture from his hands and gazed at the face with a mix of longing and happiness. "Oh that's Gabe, my boyfriend," she said with a for once quiet smile. "He was so-" She cut herself short and quickly replaced the picture on the mantle. "That's is to say, ex-boyfriend. We broke up when I moved back," she briefly explained in an abrupt manner most unlike her. "So! Are we gonna move this tv or aren't we?" She forced a grin to her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Severus restrained himself from calling her on it, however. If she wanted to be behind a mask, it was in no way his duty to draw her from behind it. "Yes. Just get the doors for me, since you want to do this the muggle way," he said as he bent down and picked up the box in a swift swoop, but then stumble under the weight. He quickly regained his composure and jerked his head towards her door. "I can't hold this forever you know." He quickly wanted to hit his head against a brick wall. Leave it to him to be sarcastic and snippy with the one person he didn't want to be like that around.
Luckily, however, Adrienne smiled. "You really haven't changed a bit. Is there a preservative in the air here?" she joked as she opened the door, which Severus noted seemed like a regular door from the inside.
The two walked side by side down the hall, passing a few students along the way. "Ya know," Adrienne began, "I really should thank you for helping me out so much today."
Severus shrugged as much as he could without dropping the box. "It's nothing."
"No, but it is. It's nice having a friend here so quickly. Let me thank you for it."
"How?"
"Let me take you out to dinner."
"Sounds good."
"In New York."
Severus almost dropped the box. "What?"
"We'll apparate," she explained. "How about Friday night. Meet me in my room at 10. It'll be about 5 in New York, so we can wander around, eat, have some fun, apperate back."
"We can't apperate on school property," Severus reminded her.
"We'll stroll off of it," she said, never one to let circumstances get in the way of anything she wanted to do.
Severus sighed, trying to disguise his felicity, but a tiny smirk snuck through anyway. "Fine. No one could ever say no to you anyway."
Severus nodded. "Yes, he graduates this year."
Adrienne nodded and smiled as she flipped through the discs. "Gosh. I feel old now!" She looked at Severus and winked. "We're old fogies, Sevie." Severus chuckled, which got an even bigger smile from her. "But despite the fact that it will make me feel ancient, I'd like to see him. Maybe not meet him…wouldn't want to upset him with anyone who would remind him of his parents. But I would like to see how he turned out."
"He looks just like James," Severus responded, a bit more coldly. The Potters…well, really almost anyone from his time at Hogwarts, didn't fall much into his good graces, deceased or not. "Anyway," he said as he placed the final book on the shelves, anxious to change the conversation, "I'm done with these. What else do you need me to do?"
Adrienne looked at her boxes. Most were empty, piled haphazardly in the corner, and her poster box only had one lone poster of the Ramones left to hang. "Hold that thought" she said and quickly hung up that one, making the poster box empty now, too. As she tossed that box out of the way she said, "Well, the only thing now is the tv…I'm definitely going to need some help with that."
Severus refrained from asking. His mind was still trying to wrap around the "cd player". "Alright. Where is it and where do you want it?," he asked.
"In my room," she said. "It was too big to carry and open doors."
"Well, why didn't you just use magic?," he asked. Not that he was complaining. He would love to see her room…
Adrienne slapped her forehead. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I'm a ditz!," she laughed. "Ya know you've lived in the Muggle world too long when using magic to do things doesn't even occur to you!."
Snape chuckled. "Well, I'll help you get it anyway," he said. "Ease you back into the logical way of doing things gradually." He didn't smile, that wasn't his style, but Adrienne noted that the generally dead looking eyes looked alive and teasing.
"No need to be snotty," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "But come on, my rooms by the Gryffindor dorms. Since Minerva's retiring this year, Dumbledore is kind of training me to be house head." She puffed her chest out proudly and grinned. "And I can guarantee your serpents will never see another Quidditch victory."
Severus looked at her skeptically. "I do believe I could still out fly you," he replied.
"Doubtful, considering you never could," she teased. "And you would never have a chance on my new Nimbus 3000." She began walking out the door and down the hall.
Severus strode after her. "A Nimbus 3000? What do you need with a high performance Quidditch broom?"
She laughed as she walked. "Just because I don't play doesn't negate my need for speed."
Severus shook his head amusedly. "You might be 36-"
"35, sir!," she interrupted, mockingly scandalized.
"Sorry. For a 35 year-old, you still act like you're 17."
"No, you're just too old for your own good," she chided flirtatiously. "But anyway, this is my entrance. Yankee!" The large falcon structure turned to form a chamber. "Hop in!," she said.
Severus reluctantly stepped in. Quickly, the chamber spun and ended up facing into a bedroom. Smaller than his own, Severus noted the disarray that inevitably followed moving, but it suited any room belonging to Adrienne, who walked in to her room with no hesitation. "This is it," she said, pointing to a rather large box. She had been right. There was no way she could have lifted it herself. Severus couldn't help be see this as a chance to try and show off.
However, not wanting to seem over eager (God forbid he show anything other contempt and cynicism), he wandered over to her hearth, where a fire was magically blazing. At first, he gazed into the fire, but then his eyes traveled upwards to the pictures that sat haphazardly in frames on the mantle. He gingerly picked up a picture of Adrienne and all of her friends at what looked like a party.
In the picture, a very handsome man with brown hair, twinkling blue eyes, and a charming smile had his arms wrapped around Adrienne in a way that was, shall we say, more than friendly. Severus felt a pang of jealousy, but quickly stifled it. "Who are they?" he asked Adrienne, who had begun looking over his shoulder at the pictures with a wistful smile.
"Those are my friends from New York," she replied. Severus noticed a tenderness in her voice that didn't come through much. "This is Isabel, my room mate. She was a student at Oberon-"
"She was a witch as well?" Severus asked, rather surprised.
"Yes, lucky, wasn't it?," Adrienne replied. "But anyway, this is Tyrone…he's…"
Severus let her babble on about her friends for a while. He couldn't care less about any of them, but the look in Adrienne's eyes was worth it. Only she could speak so passionately about such a deceptively simple topic as friends. Finally, he cut to the chase. "And him?," he asked, indicating the blonde.
Adrienne gently removed the picture from his hands and gazed at the face with a mix of longing and happiness. "Oh that's Gabe, my boyfriend," she said with a for once quiet smile. "He was so-" She cut herself short and quickly replaced the picture on the mantle. "That's is to say, ex-boyfriend. We broke up when I moved back," she briefly explained in an abrupt manner most unlike her. "So! Are we gonna move this tv or aren't we?" She forced a grin to her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.
Severus restrained himself from calling her on it, however. If she wanted to be behind a mask, it was in no way his duty to draw her from behind it. "Yes. Just get the doors for me, since you want to do this the muggle way," he said as he bent down and picked up the box in a swift swoop, but then stumble under the weight. He quickly regained his composure and jerked his head towards her door. "I can't hold this forever you know." He quickly wanted to hit his head against a brick wall. Leave it to him to be sarcastic and snippy with the one person he didn't want to be like that around.
Luckily, however, Adrienne smiled. "You really haven't changed a bit. Is there a preservative in the air here?" she joked as she opened the door, which Severus noted seemed like a regular door from the inside.
The two walked side by side down the hall, passing a few students along the way. "Ya know," Adrienne began, "I really should thank you for helping me out so much today."
Severus shrugged as much as he could without dropping the box. "It's nothing."
"No, but it is. It's nice having a friend here so quickly. Let me thank you for it."
"How?"
"Let me take you out to dinner."
"Sounds good."
"In New York."
Severus almost dropped the box. "What?"
"We'll apparate," she explained. "How about Friday night. Meet me in my room at 10. It'll be about 5 in New York, so we can wander around, eat, have some fun, apperate back."
"We can't apperate on school property," Severus reminded her.
"We'll stroll off of it," she said, never one to let circumstances get in the way of anything she wanted to do.
Severus sighed, trying to disguise his felicity, but a tiny smirk snuck through anyway. "Fine. No one could ever say no to you anyway."