Another chapter within 24 hours! Speech to text is awesome. I'm determined to write what I have outlined seeing that life can easily take over. It's hard to pick up a story after walking away from it for a while. My husband's birthday is Monday, but I will try to keep up.
This chapter was meant to be shorter since it's more of a filler to build up what is to come.
I do rather enjoy comments.
~ djkyoto
The doors opened of their own accord as Agnes approached. She walked past the suits of armor standing at attention and into the headmaster's office. All of the other professors were already present. All of them except for the potions master.
"Agnes, come in!" Dumbledore motioned her toward them. "Do take a seat. We were just about to begin."
Agnes sat on the end of the chairs arranged in a crescent before the headmaster's desk. There was an empty seat between her and Professor Trelawney. Agnes skimmed the faces of the wizards and witches around her to confirm Severus wasn't among them. The potions master indeed was not here.
"I trust all of the students are on track as well as they could be?"
The professors nodded and mumbled their saying this statement to be true
"As far as we are aware," McGonigle reported.
Dumbledore nodded upon hearing this. "Excellent. The midterm exams are fast approaching, but they must work to be prepared for the O.W.L.S. It is our jobs as their professors to teach and mentor them as best we can.
"Now, on to the matter I had called all of you here. I had thought perhaps we could hold the Christmas celebrations a bit differently this year. You all have worked so hard and I felt we could take the opportunity to spend an evening at the Three Broomsticks. We'd need to send out permission slips for the students that are staying over the winter holidays, of course."
The professors chattered in excitement among themselves. That definitely would be different. McGonagall cleared her throat to have everyone's attention.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, what of the students whose permission slips say they are not allowed to attend?"
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his abdomen. "Then I could hold a celebration at Hogwarts."
"Who would supervise?" McGonagall asked.
"Why, I would," Dumbledore answered. "We would have a lovely time. Unless anyone objects?" Many of the professors shook their heads no. Others preferred to say the word.
"So we are all in agreement?" Dumbledore asked. The majority nodded. Agnes looked to the others. She honestly didn't care one way or another. "Very well," Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Unless there is any other matter that needs addressing, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Saturday."
Agnes didn't have to be told twice. She stood and left the headmaster's office. Saturday meant tutoring with Juno. Magical Theory wasn't completely what Agnes helped Juno with. She also assisted the student in Charms. Juno had expressed a great dislike of Professor Flitwick far before the Ravenclaw incident. No doubt that Juno would now find another reason to detest the charms master.
If you could call him a charms 'master.'
As with any Saturday, the halls were empty on the floor that held her classroom. Agnes was able to reach her destination rather quickly. Juno had beaten her today. The Slytherin seated herself on the far corner of the front row. She was busying herself by reading a textbook. Agnes walked to the radio on her desk and pressed the play button. The slow ballad continued where it had left off before the stop button had been used.
Juno jumped in her chair. She placed her hand over her heart in an effort to calm it. "You startled me, Professor."
"I have a tendency to do that to people." Agnes seated herself and reclined back into the chair. Black, four-inch heeled boots appeared on the desk's surface. Her hands rested on her thigh.
"Right," Juno said merely out of courtesy. It was rude to ignore a professor. "What's the fascination of this device? This radio...?" She pointed a finger at the Muggle electronic. "And how does it work?"
"Oh, well this one in particular is battery operated. Most radios plug into an electrical outlet. I play cassette tapes due to not having any radio station reception at Hogwarts. I hear that radios are making their way into the Wizarding World. When working, music makes it more enjoyable. When relaxing, you can focus on the words. There's a lot of power in a song. Depending on the song and the person, songs can be a lot like magic."
Juno exhaled a short laugh. "Music isn't Magic."
"To muggles they are," Agnes countered. "They have meanings. Imagine a man. A Muggle fits this example better. The man has packed up a suitcase and in the middle of the night he leaves. He hops in his car and drives off. His wife and children are asleep and have no idea."
"But he has a family!" Juno cups a hand over her mouth in her horror.
Agnes threw up a hand. "Just listen. He drove forty miles out of town and didn't look back. He turned on the radio and turn the car around to go home to his family. Now imagine this: a woman who has an abusive husband lives in pure misery. Her husband has told her that she isn't strong enough to leave and all sorts of awful things. In her heart the woman knows that love wasn't meant to be this way. It wasn't supposed to hurt this much. She had tried many, many times to leave this horrible man. For some reason she couldn't. One night she tried again. She made it forty miles out of town looking over her shoulder to what she was leaving. She turned on the radio and never turned that car around to what she was leaving."
"All from a song?" Juno asked in disbelief.
"That's the power of a song. It's going to find you when it wants to no matter where you are. It grabs you by the heart and moves you when you hear it. Love is the only thing that's as strong."
"I take it you're really into music, huh?"
"My mother had me try my hand with learning an instrument. I guess it grew on me. Now, we should get started."
"Oh, uh, Professor, I thought we could talk about astrology today."
"Astrology?" Agnes asked. "I'm afraid that's out of my comfort zone."
"I know." Juno walked to Agnes's desk and dropped her textbook on its surface. "I've been doing some research and I thought the aligning of the stars could help us."
Agnes stared at her student. She studied Juno's face for any sign that the student could be joking. Juno was as serious as the Killing Curse. The black boots fell to the floor with a heavy thump and Agnes straightened in her chair. She studied Juno's expression further for a few more moments. Shifting positions, Agnes slid her chair closer to her desk. She placed the corner of her jaw in her palm. Agnes's eyes never left Juno's. "Help us with what exactly?"
"With your love life. Astrologers believe certain signs are more compatible with others. I've seen some truth in what they say. Now you as a Virgo are an analytical, hardworking, and practical person. Virgos are typically shy and avoid being the center of attention. With your birthday being September nineteenth, you're in the Virgo-Taurus decanate. People born in the Virgo-Taurus decanate are generally more patient and seek comfort and security. I think this describes you to a tee."
"Yes, yes," Agnes waved her hand. Uninterested, but wanting to get the silly conversation over with, Agnes asked, "What of it?"
"Well, we just need to know what sign Professor Snape is…"
"Capricorn." Agnes answered rather quickly. She hoped Juno didn't read too much into it. The answer slipped off her tongue before she could control it.
It was Juno's turn to stare at her professor. "How do you know that?"
Agnes shook her head in frustration. "We attended Hogwarts together and we were in the same house. Get on with it, will you?" Agnes gestured for Juno to continue.
"Right. Well…" Juno flipped through her textbook to a page titled 'The Capricorn Man.' "Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and this may influence him to be an authoritarian. He often adopts a mature, serious demeanor that goes hand-in-hand with his focus on achieving. What does a potions professor aim to achieve?"
Maybe have the love of his life notice his existence? Maybe try to stop her from dying even though she could never have anything to do with him? I don't know. What does a potions professor aim to achieve?
"Read on, please."
"He is a traditionalist," Juno read. "And reserved with new acquaintances. His attention-to-detail and patience stand him in good stead in the process of reaching his goals. A Capricorn man is known as the overachieving workaholic of the zodiac... Scary accurate."
"What does this say?" Agnes pointed to the heading 'Love and Relationships with the Capricorn Man.'
Juno dragged her finger to the passage her professor mentioned. "The Capricorn man treats love seriously," Juno read. "He has high standards and will admire from afar before making his move."
That is scary accurate, Agnes thought.
"He is a closet romantic deep down under that thick hide. He will be a source of strength and support to his partner, and the role of protector comes easily to him. He is generally compatible with Taurus, Virgo, Pisces and Scorpio. The Capricorn man may surprise you in the bed-" Juno's voice trailed off and her eyes scanned the page. She shifted uncomfortably as she flipped to the table of contents.
"Let's move on to compatibility. I don't want to think about Professor Snape without his robes…"
Juno memorized the page number and turned to 'Virgo Woman and Capricorn Man Compatibility.'
"This pairing is an easy-going and stable one," Juno read. "Criticism tends to come naturally to both of them. The decent and quiet nature of the Virgo woman makes her a great choice for the Capricorn man. On a good note he also shows more sympathy towards the Virgo woman than he would with other women of different zodiac signs. She constantly analyzes herself and searches for her own flaws. She is very critical of herself. She also loves to help her Capricorn man and support his actions with her sound advice. The Capricorn man is also very critical of himself when he feels he has done wrong. This trait is common in both and they appreciate and provide feedback when needed. Sometimes he may be a bit selfish but usually a Virgo woman, who is deeply in love with this man, forgives him and looks forward to have a secure and stable life with him."
Juno exhaled and leaned back to a standing position. Cracking her neck, Juno closed the astrology textbook. "I think you have a shot," she said with a smile.
"Great," Agnes said as she tried to appear uninterested. "Now let's discuss something more relevant to why we meet on Saturday afternoons."
Another Saturday ritual for Agnes was to sit on the bank of the Black Lake. At the beginning of the school term Agnes would travel to the lake to socialize with Hagrid. After numerous times of Hagrid being a no-show, the friends had agreed to meet at Hagrid's hut on Sundays.
The Lake's surface was as smooth as glass. The onset of winter and the fallen snow created a quiet calm over the school's grounds. Agnes coughed as the cold burned into her lungs. She had always hated winter, but an uninterrupted smoke break was nice. When Agnes was in her room Beatrice would hound her for complete attention. The cat had singed her fur numerous times. Unfortunately since she had such a thick coat, she was never deterred. Anytime that Agnes could break away to time for herself, she jumped at the opportunity. She pulled her pack of Marlboro Blacks from her robe pockets. Looking up, Agnes froze in her tracks. Someone was in her place.
It was Severus. He sat on the white puffs covering the ground and looked out to the water. He supported his weight with his arms behind him. One leg was extended as the other's foot was flat to the ground and bended at the knee. He was lost his own thoughts.
"Hey," Agnes said just above a whisper. "Can you leave? This is my spot." A smile creeped through her poker face facade.
Severus didn't look at her. "Funny, I don't see your name on it." The corner of his lips quirked only slightly.
Agnes exhaled from her nostrils as the smile she had been fighting broke through. "I'm not used to seeing you here."
"I needed something... different." Severus sat up and crossed his legs at the ankles. "Yesterday had awoken what I'd like to remain... dormant."
"You… saw everything. Didn't you?"
Agnes nodded. She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, so she focused on the dancing sparkles of the water. "I saw how much she meant to you. When I realized how I felt about you, she had hurt me just as much as she had hurt you."
"What made you develop an infatuation for me?"
"I'm not sure…" Agnes took a Marlboro out of the pack and lit it. "Maybe it was your dedication to any task you aspire to complete. Maybe it was your hair; you're gorgeous features; your mysterious eyes that no one can read. I'm not completely sure."
Severus breathed in a deep sigh. His eyes never left the spot on the lake he pretended to focus on. There was silence between them, but this silence was different. This silence wasn't awkward like all the others within the past four months.
They sat in a comfortable quiet as two professors just as they had when they were two young slytherins.
The conversation of the power of songs was inspired by 'The Power of a Song' by Randy Houser.
The astrology information was provided by and . Some bits were word for word while others were paraphrased.