Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the invention of Ms. J.K. Rowling. I do not own the characters in any way, shape, or form. I do, however, claim Armina Wilkins, her family, random students, and the plot.
A/N: So, loads of late night editing went into the revision of these chapters. I hope that the story will be to your liking. It took me a while to fix everything. All in all, not much changed, but the small changes add up and make my new ending make sense.Now, onto the fic!
Dismal Photographs of Yesterday
Chapter 5: What a Peculiar Girl...
Armina entered the defense room for the second time that day, the fourth time since the start of term nearly a week ago in order to serve a detention. Her body ached with the memory of her first two. She imagined having to scrub the walls or the fireplace this time as she entered the strode across the classroom.
Snape emerged from his office in a particularly bad mood. It only intensified when he caught sight of Armina. He scowled in vexation and dropped a rather large stack of folders that he had been carrying onto her desk.
"Good Evening, Professor," she greeted with a weak smile. "How are you on this lovely evening?"
"Annoyed," he simply stated. "Since you enjoy information so much, Wilkins, it seemed only proper to give you the task of filing my old records."
"I can hardly wait," she uttered under her breath.
"Everything is on that desk over there, plus this stack here." He indicated the stack before him and pointed to the table behind her. Several stacks of folders were arranged messily upon it. "File the papers according to year, class, and grade. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," she said automatically, surveying the work at hand.
Snape's eyebrow raised slightly, curious about her reaction. She almost seemed thrilled to be doing his job. It was almost disturbing how hard she was concentrating as she began on the first stack of folders. He watched nonchalantly with slight interest. He hadn't heard of anyone, let alone knew someone, who seemed to enjoy paperwork.
Armina's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as she separated the stacks of paper. Though she was consciously forcing herself to concentrate on sorting, her mind kept drifting over to Snape, whom she had noticed was keeping an unusually close eye on her. Maybe he thinks I'll paper cut myself to death if I'm not careful, she thought with slight amusement.
"Do you like this sort of thing," he asked finally, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Pardon?" she replied, not glancing up from her work.
"Do you like organizing things?"
"I'm slightly obsessive about it," she answered, laughing slightly. "I can't stand not being able to find anything. I take it you aren't a neat freak."
"Not exactly, no."
She smirked. "That's quite interesting. I'll have to make note of that."
Snape scowled. "Why are you so interested in me?"
Armina looked up, a broad smile now adorning her lips. "That's quite simple, Professor. I can relate to you and it fascinates me. Never in my life have I been able to relate to anyone. It's nice. That's all."
"I see." He was silent for a few moments, observing her progress. "Why is that?"
"My, my! Don't you seem interested now?" she joked, sliding the first completed stack into its correct folder. "You see, Professor Snape, I'm not exactly a very liked person. I am a social outcast because I enjoy knowledge. People think I am odd, and their ignorance can be irritating. However, instead of fighting back, I simply ignore my issues and move on. This is how I can relate to you, sir."
"I see," he muttered, actually taking in her little speech.
Armina just smiled and returned to her work, not expecting any further questioning. She moved onto her next folder and scattered the documents all around her. Snape continued to watch her, not even bothering to hide it now.
"What is it that you were looking for, Wilkins?"
She looked up in amazement. "Looking for, sir?"
"What information were you looking for during your research?"
"Anything I could find, sir," she answered timidly, anticipating further scolding. "I just wanted to get to know someone."
She worked in silence for the next two hours. Snape began to watch her as nonchalantly as he could, taking in the subtleties of her personality as she worked. He noticed that she habitually twirled loose strands of hair that had escaped her twin braids about her index finger. She chewed on her lip as a nervous habit. She even chewed on her nails as she worked. What a peculiar girl.
He was being to understand what she had been up to. He knew that they could relate to each other, as she had made very clear. However, common sense and the student-teacher factor scolded him for even thinking of getting to know this troublesome, nosy student.
"When can I go, Professor Snape?" Armina asked, now over half way through the stacks of paperwork she had been assigned.
"What?" he asked, looking up from the assignments of that day.
"When will I able to leave?" She curled her fingers, working the sore joints.
Snape surveyed her completed work than what was left to be done. "You may finish it tomorrow."
"Really, Professor?" she exclaimed happily, eyes lighting up at the thought of going to bed.
"Did I stutter?"
"No, sir."
"I didn't think so. Now get out of my sight."
"Thank you, sir!" She jumped up from her place on the cold stone floor. "Good night, Professor Snape!"
She disappeared from sight as she mounted the stairs. Snape glanced up again, and slight smile flicked across his lips, but it was gone in an instant. What a peculiar girl. He looked at the stacks of organized folders and scowled. How I despise her, and yet slightly intrigued.
A/N: Very peculiar indeed. Strange turn of events. Is Snape's frozen heart beginning to melt? Well, I suppose you will just have to keep reading now, won't you? Don't forget to review!