Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Twenty: A Walk
It was almost Christmas and Ellie was still at Hogwarts. With Mrs. Manning still being ill in hospital there was nowhere for her to go.
When Ellie and Dumbledore had gone to the muggle hospital to visit Mrs. Manning Ellie was shocked at how pale Mrs. Manning looked. She slept the whole time Ellie was with her. A kind nurse told her that Mrs. Manning needed as much rest as possible. When Dumbledore eventually told her it was time to go Ellie felt a sudden unexplainable sadness, as if this was the last time she would ever see Mrs. Manning. She kissed her forehead gently and whispered goodbye.
All of Ellie's friends had gone home for Christmas. Hardly anyone from Gryffindor or any other house had stayed at Hogwarts, so the castle felt virtually empty. There were no classes of course, so Ellie was at a loose end most of the time. The snow was thick on the ground outside and if Jamie had been there then they could have had snowball fights and built snowmen. He had gone to visit his gran all the way in California for Christmas though, and it was no fun to do those things alone.
Sitting alone in the common room hour after hour became boring. Ellie decided to go for a walk – at least it would be something to do. She wrapped herself up in a thick coat and scarf and ventured outside. The wind was blowing bitterly, and within minutes, Ellie's hands felt frozen. She rubbed them together to get some feeling back.
Ellie walked about the grounds near the lake. She didn't meet anyone else – she was obviously the only person mad enough to go out in such weather. Snow was now starting to fall lightly. Ellie liked it. She felt it suited her mood. She walked along the lake for a while, not paying much attention to scenery around her. She walked until she came to a bend in the lake, and then turned around and began to walk back. As she walked, she casually looked up and almost jumped. Just a few feet ahead, Snape was walking towards her. His eyes were on the ground and Ellie realised he had not seen her. She made to step away from the lake and out of Snape's path, but before she could, he had cast his own gaze up and their eyes locked immediately. Snape looked startled for a moment, but quickly recovered.
"Why are you out in this weather?" he snapped.
"Why are you?" she retorted before she could stop herself.
She expected Snape to tell her off or at least take some points off Gryffindor, but instead he looked embarrassed. Ellie looked away quickly, and when she dared to face him again his face had resumed his usual cold expression.
"I like snow," Ellie stated in answer to Snape's question. She gave him an inquisitive stare and then added, "Do you?"
"I neither like it nor dislike it," he told her, his expression relaxing as he looked about at the falling snow.
"You must have liked it as a kid though?" Ellie said. Snape merely scoffed at her. Ellie felt the sudden urge to ask a question that she knew would probably be deemed as silly or cheeky, but Snape didn't look as severe as he usually did, so she chanced it.
"Did you ever make snowmen or have snowball fights or anything when you were younger?"
Snape gave her a surprised look, but he didn't sneer or chastise her. Instead, he suddenly looked very wistful.
"Once," he muttered, almost in a half-whisper. He seemed lost in thought for a few moments. He snapped out of this trance however and quickly surveyed the scene around them.
"I think it would be best to head back to the castle Miss Winterbourne, before we find ourselves lost," he said. He was right. The snowfall was getting heavier. They walked to the castle together in silence. Before they reached the castle, a strong wind began to blow at them, and the snow was falling so heavily that Ellie could barely see anything but a white mist in front of her. A forceful gust of wind almost swept her off her feet, but Ellie felt Snape's arm suddenly reach out and pull her towards him. He held her close, shielding her from most of the stormy weather until they found themselves at the front of the castle. Once inside the Entrance Hall, Snape didn't say anything to her, or even acknowledge the last half hour they had spent together with more than a quick glance. He left immediately, walking in the direction of the dungeons. Ellie watched him go, feeling surprised, confused and a bit awkward about how Snape had come to her aid outside.
Later that night when she was alone in her dormitory, Ellie sat at the window, watching the snowfall. It had turned into a real winter storm outside, and at dinner Professor McGonagall had forbidden the students to venture outdoors. Ellie's thoughts turned to Snape and she mused over her encounter with him that afternoon. She was curious about the "once" when he had built snowmen and had a snowball fight – it made him seem more human to think about him goofing around as a kid. Ellie chuckled a bit to herself at the image.
She didn't like to admit it to herself, but when Snape had helped her get back to the castle, she felt protected and safe. It was strange – protected and safe were not two words she would have ever thought she could associate with Snape.
He was a complicated person, Ellie thought to herself. Some days she wanted to hit him, others she wanted to avoid him at all costs, and then their were days like these when she felt she wanted to open Snape up and see what made him tick. She could not help feeling that there was more to him than his sneers and smirks. Somewhere inside there must be a part of him that was decent, even if he did want to hide it.
"I'll bet he'll go back to taking points off me tomorrow though," Ellie thought wryly to herself.
That was the thing about Snape. Even when he had these unexpected moments of niceness, you could always count on him to be as nasty as ever the following day.
Ellie debated it to herself a moment longer, but feeling cold, she abandoned the window and got into bed, all thoughts of Snape disappearing as she drifted off to sleep.