Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and characters. NO, I don't own Green Day's song.
A/N: Beware slight OOC
Chapter 22: Frozen
"I cannot fathom the reality of your snowball hitting me." Severus Snape, tall and intimidating, stood near the school's exit. He brushed the snow from his shoulder.
I was still alive...A very bad sign. Gwen, Mione, Draco, and Ron stepped out from there hiding spots, or got up from there sitting areas...Wherever they had been. They were now behind me, not close enough to hear my jackhammer heart pounding my insides, but enough to see my breath freeze in the air at a quicker pace than usual.
Would I get away with a mere appology? No...Not in this situation. The mother of all nightmares had come true. I hit Snape with no escape button nearby. I gulped again.
Snape took the silence as an invitation for trouble, "You are all quiet. No support for Miss Maguire this time, hmm? All her fault? What if I had hit you? Would it be funny? oh," He shook his head with warning, "I know laughter is not heard on the outside, but I can sense it burning away at the layers of respect you have for authority, waiting to explode without grace."
No one moved. No one blinked. We were practically dead.
"...Sir..." No, not my voice, but Hermione's.
"Stop." The simple statement from Snape caused the earth to stand still.
In such an unlikely fashion, Snape picked up some of the deceitful snow and formed a ball. "I cannot hand out detentions to those who are not my students. Instead..." He whipped the snowball, which painfully knocked on my head.
"Ow." I wiped it from my face and felt like having a heart attack. Snape just threw a snowball!
Fast, faster, fastest.. My heart pumped blood to my blushing face. Running was heard, even playful screaming. The sun blinded me as I was knocked to my back by another snowball. He was fighting. He was throwing them at everyone; Playing a game with us. Impossible. Just...Impossible. I got to my feet and ran behind a snow bank. Snape followed, taking his anger out on all of us by engaging in a snowball fight. The end of the world must've started, for no one on earth guessed this would have happened. Maybe he would kill us or harm us, but never begin a snowball fight. I swore on my life Snape would never show a fun side publicly, let alone with his former students.
The air yet again attacked my lungs, for I had been running quicker than my body was used to. Snape was an awesome player. He ran more than I had ever imagined. His arms threw snowballs like a damned catapult, almost always landing perfectly on one of my friends. The time was a speeding bullet, yet I felt frozen in it's seconds. Slow, sluggish, but swift and hastened.
"Who thought he would do this?" I asked Draco dumbfoundedly when I came across his hiding spot.
He replied out of breath, "I don't think anyone would have, but I'm not complaining. It's about time the old git showed us he was a human being and not some masochistic robot freak."
Draco ran to another hiding spot, leaving me alone. I pondered hard, trying to tell myself over and over again that this was all very real. I was almost convinced when another snowball hit me. Snape was closing in one me, so I darted to another pile of snow.
"Miss Maguire," Shit, I was caught.
Trying to stand up, I was knocked again to my back by a chilling ball.
"Ok, Sir.." I looked up at the intimidating man, "Why? Just why? Why are you playing?"
He took a second to smirk with an evil glint in his eyes, "I'm punishing all of you. I am not playing, but merely ... getting even."
Sharply, Snape arched his back. He had been hit. He turned around and pelted Gwen in the leg with a snowball. She ran from the scene, yelling to everyone that he was going to kill them all. I stayed helplessly in the snow, unsure of why I was there. Yes, the snow was obviously chilly, but at this point I had no concerns about my health. The oddest of odd was taking place, and I was in too much of an awe to care about anything else.
"Are you going to stay there all day?" Snape shot a threatening glare at me.
My only reply was, "Uhnn.." My mouth was either numb or dumb. I'd bet on the second choice.
Lying in the snow, I became silent as a snowball hit Snape in the head, then one in the back, and then one in his arm. He fell forwards, landing with one arm supporting himself as he hovered over me. He placed his other arm on one side of me to surely support himself so he could not fall...on me..
His eyes were dark pools of mystery dripping into mine. As I inhaled I could smell his masculine scent. We stared at one another with no emotions portraying themselves, but I knew my trembling lips and shaking hands gave something away. Time completely froze like the ice dangling from the school's roof. Everyone seemed to slow around me; All laughter and shouts ceased, The wind surrounded us and blew through our hair in an intangled mess, and -without a doubt- I felt my breathing come to an end. I was lost in his beauty..Lost in his entrapment. So lost and not a single glimpse of an exit. Snape had finally won me over without attempting to. I sunk into the snow, leaving the world behind, taking the Snake with me. His gaze deepened. He lowered his body, but only to help himself off of the ground...
I took his outreached hand and he aided me to stand. My shaky legs made me wobble a bit, but I stood with upmost...klutziness.
"I think I've had enough fun for one day." Snape mumbled.
I was a melting statue, weak and motionless in my own emberassment. "Yeah," I forced out of my mouth.
The Snake slithered in the snow towards Hogwart's entrance. My eyes directed themselves to seeing Hermione, Gwen, Ron, and Draco in awe. They clearly had seen what they did to Snape.
"You ok?" Asked Draco as he pat me on the shoulder.
"I..." My trance-like state appeared in my speech, "..I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when December ends."
My feet dragged in the snow, creating shoe marks. I knew they were sorry- I wasn't mad at my friends. They hadn't done a single thing wrong. Snape...No, mustn't think of him.
0o0o0o0o
Cannot eat. Cannot sleep. Nap time isn't even available for me. I lay in my bed for minutes, close my eyes, but nothing happens. Peeking at the clock, it reads barely after three p.m. Close my eyes again, and eventually becom very irritated with no relaxation.
But after all the tries, I had finally fallen asleep. Now it's near six, close to supper, but I am still not hungry. However, I know it won't be to my advantage if I skip. Worrying my best friends was not on my 'To Do List' tonight.
Entering the Great Hall, I saw Hermione shoot a glance at Snape and then at me. I approached the table and sat in my seat, acting as calm as I could. Things would not get worse tonight.
"I'm still chilly from the snowball fight. How about yourself?" Snape asked me while I took a sip of juice.
I put the drink down and stated, "Yeah, I'm a little frozen." Double-entendre in my words? Yes.
Hermione poked my arm to attract my attention and questioned whether I was alright or not.
"I'm fine," I smiled, "just shaken up a bit. You know...It was very unexpected."
"Well, at least he's acting like nothing happened right now." She was right. Snape was acting his unusually talkative self to me now.
Since I was not hungry, I cut my food in tiny pieces to look as though I had eaten some of it. I took another sip of my drink and gulped down hard. The night would be long, I could tell from the nausea bubbling in my stomach. But I took one bite of pot roast to humor myself. It tasted rather bland. I wouldn't be eating this ever again.
My curiosity finally grabbed my entirity. I turned to Snape and asked, "Why were you outside today?"
"Hmm? Oh," He swallowed some supper and replied, "I was outside for fresh air, but when your snowball hit me, I became side-tracked. When I saw you at first, I had it in the back of my mind to ask for your assistance in some potion work. However, you hit me and sparked my revenge side to show itself."
"You know it was an accident...My hitting you, that is."
Snape half-smiled, "I know. To tell you the truth, I didn't expect my reaction to be so...fun."
"You aren't the only one who's surprised, Sir." I tried not to, but couldn't help bite my knuckle.
"Alright.." He now sounded agitated, "I think it's about time you stop addressing me as sir. It shows great respect, but I am no longer your professor. We work together, so there is no need to fear using my first name."
Oh gods in outer space on the nebulous path to black holes and alien life form, he wanted me to say that forbidden first name. "But wait," I found a loophole, "I can't say your name. You never use my first name. So you just proved yourself a hypocrite."
He raised an eyebrow at me, "I use your name sometimes, Maranda. There's no harm in being on a first-name basis with me. I promise I won't murder you."
Severus..His name was engraved in my mind..Severus.. I couldn't say it..Severus.. "Sir..." I caught myself, "I mean... Severus, Why now? Why didn't you ask me to call you this before, at the beginning of the year?" His name accidentally rolled gently off of my tongue again, "Severus."
"I never really noticed until you began calling me sir. I truthfully hadn't found the chance to tell you. But now we're here, talking, and I reminded myself. That's all."
There had to be more than that...No? I replied, "Oh. Alright."
"Monday," Snape altered the subject, "would you be willing to help me out in my classes again? You sort of stopped helping altogether, which was partially my fault."
I quickly said, "Sure."
After that statement, Snape ceased talking. Supper had finished in no time, leaving me ready for a good night's sleep.
My room was freezing cold, so I bundled up in about three sweaters, a pair of gloves, two pairs of socks, and two pairs of pajama bottoms. If Snape were to come in now, he would probably laugh his arse off.
Not like I want him to come in this room or anything.
My journal was ready to be written in, so I let my words fly at the paper, not caring where or how they landed. As long as my words were there, I would be satisfied. Funny thing, words.. You can say what you mean and not mean what you say, or mean what you say but not say what you mean. If emphasis is on one wrong word, you can be in a lot of trouble. Or, if you say something like: 'I like you.' plain and simple with honesty, there is no misunderstanding and you are home free. However, if you say 'I like you,' it might be mistaken as sarcasm or exaggeration.
Words can be gifts or weapons. They can be torturous or heavenly. More powerful than thoughts, for they can start wars...End lives... Or, on a happier note, they can heal and protect. Also, they can express emotions such as faith, joy, and even (my least favorite) love. But if words were so powerful, why couldn't I use them sensibly out loud?
Oh I know why.. Because I am a sodding idiot.
My bed was quite comfortable, especially with the layers of clothing piled on my body. I wanted to be knocked unconcious and not awoken until spring time. That wouldn't be such a smart plan though, for I would miss Christmas with my best friends.
While I think of friends, I recall Hermione saying a couple of phrases telling me that Harry and Seamus had written letters to our group. A chance to read the letters for myself hadn't corssed yet, so I planned to give them a look later. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the day after. Hermione said the letters explained how Harry and Seamus were doing, and that they missed us terribly. They also said they would try to visit during Christmas vacation, which started in a little more than a week.
So my life wasn't exactly dull lately, but it wasn't fun and dandy either. Snape might stay in his almost friendly stage if I steer clear of my temper. Although he and I seemed fine, I felt a ping of weirdness between us. Most likely on my behalf because I am a strange girl and fancy my former professor. Dear french fries on toilet seats, how did I become so unbearably hypocritical to myself? I was my own oxymoron. Not like Snape, for he can change when he wants to. I'm just a mess. Manic-Mara the Oxymoron. More like Manic-Moronic-Mara.
Eh, enough thinking for one night. I will sleep in my twenty layers of clothing only to wake sweaty and gross. Why? Because my bedsheets will add unnecessary heat and make my brain think it is summer. Next thing I know, I will be wanting to swim in the ice and skate on the water.
Who's got the suntan lotion?
