Severus read the latest article highlighting Ministry ineptitude before deftly turning the offending page of the Daily Prophet over. As he prepared to skip the societal drivel masquerading as news, his fingers halted mid-turn. He contemplated the familiar, smarmy face leering at an elaborately gowned woman standing beside her escort. The caption underneath the photograph read: Minister of Magic expresses his gratitude to Marina and the Siren Corporation for their generous donation to St. Mungo's Hospital.
"Now, there's a true Aphrodite. I must owl Mum and let her know that I saw her looking fabulous in the paper. She lives for that sort of thing."
Severus watched a range of emotions play over Lorelei's face. He recollected their conversation in the Three Broomsticks. "Your mother looks as though she is an uncomplicated woman, although perhaps... needy."
Lorelei recognised the question in his deliberately offhand remark. "Until eight years ago, Mum's work was so transitory that she needed me to always be there to look after her. Now I'm glad she's finally found one man to make her happy." Her lips curved in a smile. "Her partner's quite happy too." She pointed to the distinguished bald man escorting her mother in the photograph. "Jean-Luc is the Siren Corporation's top chemist."
"Who looked after you?" Severus asked, ignoring her transparent effort to steer the conversation into shallower waters.
"House-elves. I send Christmas Cards and bottles of Butterbeer to elves across two continents. That's why my classroom looks so nice and I always get the best service."
She dropped into the chair beside him, her expression turning sultry. "Good morning."
Severus' lips twitched. The events of last night were apparently the reason for this alteration in their breakfast routine. Tacitly agreeing to the change, he conjured another cup of coffee. "It will be if you cease chattering and let me read in peace."
Lorelei spoke her order for the morning meal and pantomimed zipping her lips. Instantly, her food appeared, appealingly arranged and garnished with flowers.
Bollocks, he thought, reluctantly amused. She does get the best service.
.
.
Albus Dumbledore observed the byplay between Severus and Lorelei from the shadows of the staff entrance. Over the last month, he had slipped down every so often to watch the flirtation between the unusual couple unfold. The house-elf who brought his coffee each morning had first informed him of the odd interaction between the two professors. Lucky—an ironically named creature who injured himself at every turn—had thought it strange that the only two professors in the Great Hall at such an early hour always sat so far apart while peeking constantly at each other.
Albus chuckled silently. House-elves really did know everything worth knowing. Even Dobby had voiced a personal concern over his friend's possible relationship after watching the pair dine together in the kitchen.
Now, after weeks of publicly keeping their distance, Severus and Lorelei sat side by side.
Albus remembered the note Minerva had sent to his rooms at midnight. She and Poppy had been at the Three Broomsticks, where they observed Lorelei drink and act "in an unseemly manner" toward her colleague. As he walked back to his office, Albus wondered if this development had any connection to the socks Hagrid said he found by the lake that morning.
.
Lorelei repressed the urge to burst into song. It was bad enough that she felt as though she was floating down the corridor. Breaking into song, or even humming a merry tune, would be entirely inappropriate.
She sighed. If she didn't drag her head out of the clouds soon, she was going to dreamily allow a student to melt a cauldron and ruin her spotless record. Earlier, distracted by thoughts of Severus, she was almost forced to use a Deflating Draft on a second year student. Lorelei had been helping a Hufflepuff with her Swelling Solution when a Slytherin girl had asked if her potion looked right. Blithely asking questions without properly attending to the answers had almost led to disaster.
"Listen closely. Does it whistle loudly?" she had asked without even glancing at the girl's cauldron.
"Yes, Professor Lorelei."
"Is the liquid frothing madly?"
"Yes."
"Is the colour a vile green?"
"No."
"Perfect!" Lorelei had replied, before the girl's actual response registered. A hasty shout of 'Evanesco' had narrowly averted disaster.
Stories of the horrific swellings of noses and eyes and limbs from students who had studied with Professor Snape were school legend. If she had let the girl be splashed with the Swelling Solution, the consequences did not bear thinking about—even if his smirks were endearingly arrogant.
No one else seemed to share her opinion. Most of the students and staff reacted in fear or defiance to Severus' tall, dark and daunting persona. His use of coercion, hostility, and contemptuous remarks as teaching aids and conversational gambits didn't win him any popularity points, either.
The object of her thoughts stalked down the corridor toward her. He was en route to instruct a Potions class while she was on her way to teach a History of Magic lesson. She was not looking forward to trying to make the International Warlock Convention of 1289 come to life for her students. Perhaps she could let them practice the stinging hex invented at the convention by the Black Wizard Count Adhemar.
"What thought is so deep and interesting that it renders you incapable of paying attention to your surroundings?"
Ah, the dark chocolate voice of sarcasm. Lorelei had unconsciously adjusted her course to intersect with his. Now she was blocking Severus' path. Encouraged that he didn't shove her out of his way, she decided to try and rattle his cage. "I was thinking you're very amusing when you sneer."
Haughtily, he raised his brows and raked his gaze up and down her curves. She felt her face heat as he brushed his body against hers. He bent to murmur, "You're very amusing when you blush."
Cheeks burning, Lorelei watched the smug professor strut out of sight.
.
Inside Rubeus Hagrid's one-room hut, the half-giant Care of Magical Creatures teacher gazed proudly at the table laden with his culinary efforts. It looked such a treat. A knock on the door signalled that his company had arrived. "Jus' a minute!" Hagrid called, hiding a huge green spotted egg underneath his bed. Just a precaution. Wouldn't want ter have ter do any awkward explainin'! He opened the appropriately tall door and beamed at the three young people waiting on the step.
"Hello, Hagrid," Harry, Hermione and Ron said with smiles as they entered the ordered clutter of his home.
"Don't be sayin' I shouldn't o' gone ter the trouble," he told the trio, noticing how their gazes were immediately fixed upon the plates of cakes on the table.
Once everyone was sitting in tall chairs around the high table, the boys thoughtfully scooted outward to avoid disturbing the baked goods. After another moment of what seemed like awed contemplation of the delights before them, Harry said, "Really, Hagrid, you shouldn't have. We all ate huge lunches."
"Yeah, right," Ron said. "Massive. I couldn't eat another bite. Besides, we wouldn't want to spoil our dinners."
Hagrid looked at Hermione. She was gazing around the room with curiosity. He expected she noticed it was a bit cleaner than usual, and appreciated his efforts.
"Who's the fifth chair for?" she asked.
"I've asked Professor Lorelei round ter tea," Hagrid said. He heard a soft tapping sound and hurried to the back door. "Hello! We've bin waitin' for yeh."
Lorelei gestured to the enormous pumpkins growing in the patch beside his cottage. "They're fantastic, Rubeus. Quite the most gorgeously giant gourds I've ever seen!" She grinned. "Try saying that three times fast."
"Gorly gian' gors... Cripes! I don' have the tongue fer twistin'." He laughed heartily. "Come in, Come in!" He escorted her to sit in front of a plate loaded high with stoat sandwiches and treacle rock cakes.
Lorelei said, "I didn't expect to see you three. What a nice surprise."
"Yeah, nice," said Harry.
Hagrid poured Lorelei a cup of his special tea. Father always said a brew was no good unless a spoon could stick straight up in it. He watched the others sip hesitantly. Maybe it was too hot.
Lorelei took a gold spoon with a handle carved in the shape of a dragon out of her pocket. Hagrid thought the dragon looked a bit like Norbert. She stirred her tea with the unique spoon and passed it to Hermione. "Try it. Three times anti-clockwise."
Hermione did as she was instructed. The spoon passed to Ron and then Harry before resting in Hagrid's large hand. Noticing the pleased expressions on his friends' faces as they sipped their tea, Hagrid quickly stirred his tea three times anti-clockwise and took a drink. "It's amazin'"
"It's enchanted to make whatever drink or dish a user stirs exactly to their taste. You have a gift for hospitality, Rubeus. I know it will be put to good use."
The young people vigorously nodded their heads in affirmation of the spoon's abilities and his hospitality.
"Thank yeh. I'm right pleased ter have it." A little embarrassed, Hagrid gestured to the treacle rock cakes currently testing the table's stability under their impressive weight. "Go on, eat up." In a loud aside, he told Lorelei, "I'm well known for my rare light hand with the bakin'."
Ron made a strangled noise. Hagrid figured the boy regretted eating such a big lunch that he had no room for tea. He noticed Lorelei's empty mug. "I'll put the kettle on fer another cuppa. Won' take a minute."
When he turned his back to put the kettle on the fire, he heard the woman say something in a singsong tone. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed her trying one of his cakes.
"They're good?"
"Excellent." Lorelei took another bite.
Hermione took a bite of her cake. "Delicious." she said.
"That'll teach yeh, boys, ter save room fer tea." Hagrid chuckled.
Harry said, "Hey, Hagrid, we heard you found someone's socks on the lakeshore this morning. Have you any idea whose they are?"
Ron snickered. "We can guess how they got there."
Hagrid covered a laugh by pretending to cough. He'd seen the alarmed look on Lorelei's face and he figured he knew why it was there. The socks he'd found were silk and had a certain letter embroidered around the tops. He couldn't resist teasing her a little. "Y'know, I haven' spoken about this before, but I did spy unusual embroidery around the tops o' them socks," he said, trying to keep his face perfectly straight.
Hagrid's 'little tease' caused Lorelei to drink her tea the wrong way and cough fiercely. He felt guilty when the children watched him thump the professor's back. He'd only bin havin' a bit o' fun.
Lorelei caught her breath and glanced pointedly at her watch. "Merlin, look at the time!" She jumped to her feet. "Thank you for tea, Rubeus. Don't get up. I'll see myself out. I hate to eat and run, but I've loads of compositions on The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards to mark." With a smile to everyone and a swirl of her cloak, Lorelei was gone.
Hagrid tried to seem as bewildered as possible. "S'ppose it were somethin' I said?"
