11/?/1989

I should have known I wouldn't get any peace even with Camilla not being in school. Her faithful sidekick Samara "accidentally" bumped into me at breakfast today while I tried talking to Aurelio. He was even smiling at me. Then she had to shove me and I spilled pumpkin juice all over my clothes and the table. Three people had their homework ruined and they glared at me for the rest of the day like it was my fault. I don't understand why she has to be so mean to me. I never did anything to her! I wish she'd just leave me alone!

12/3/1989

The man was incorrigible. Abigail watched Nikolai lazily from where she lounged on the bed. His blue eyes were heated as they gazed out from beneath the most luxurious eyebrows she'd ever seen on a man; thick and dark they suited his face with its long thin nose and pointed chin. He smiled cheekily from the chair he was seated in and slid down, spreading his knees to give her a view, and crooked his finger. She grinned and shook her head.

"I'm meeting with Snape in a little while. You'll just have to wait."

She tossed him his pants and trousers as he gave her a confused look.

"What for? Are you two checking Samara Stafford again before she's sent to St. Mungo's? I thought you did that yesterday."

Abigail frowned as she thought of the young girl. She had been fine in class on Thursday if not her usually bubbly self. Camilla's predicament was weighing on her, but she was doing her best to smile. There hadn't been any indication of something amiss later in the evening either when she had stopped by the classroom to pick up a book she'd forgotten. The next day however, her dorm mates couldn't rouse her for class. The three remaining girls were immediately relocated to a different dorm, and O'Connor, Snape, Dumbledore, and Farrow had thoroughly examined the room and their belongings.

It can't be a coincidence. Two girls in the same dorm fall into comas, their life draining away. There has to be a connection.

"No. Snape and I have a project we're working on and we've taken up dueling on the weekends again."

"Dueling? Again?"

"Yes. He made an offhand remark one day last year and I took it as a challenge. We're 8 and 7 I think."

She went to walk past him towards the bathroom and he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back to his chest and burying his face in her neck."

"You spend plenty of time with the grouchy Potions professor. He can go one weekend without."

"I've already forgotten him once. I'm not about to blow him off on purpose. Especially last minute." She twisted away and gave him a coy look as she backed into the bathroom. She wouldn't be side tracked. The desire to spend time with Snape was more alluring at the moment. When had that happened? Not that she was complaining. She enjoyed his company greatly. "You're just going to have to do without me for now."

He grinned.

"I'm patient. I can wait."

Snape was waiting for her in the large unused dungeon. It was on the opposite side of the castle from the Slytherin common room and gave them their privacy, especially with her wards thrown over it.

"You didn't forget me this time." Snape said casually. He was hanging his cloak and frock coat on hooks by the door leaving him in shirtsleeves and a vest. When he turned to her, loosening his cravat, his dark eyes raked over her own outfit. Tan and brown vertical striped leggings, brown leather boots almost to her knees, brown leather corset, white blouse.

"You say that every time we get together. I said I'm sorry and I even gave you your favorite foods? What more do you want?"

He just smirked at her and turned to walk the other way.

"I have succeeded in modifying Avenseguim, but I am afraid I cannot get it to trace the Steam or your family member. There is not enough of her or anyone else's signature there for the spell to register."

"Dammit. Oh well. Great job on the modification though and thank you for helping. Creating and modifying spells is definitely not my strong suit."

"You don't say."

"Oh feck off." She was smiling though.

They took up their positions on opposite sides of the ring they had drawn on the floor. The room had a thirty foot diameter and the circle had a twenty-five foot diameter. As they dueled the circle would gradually shrink, providing them with less and less space. The first to step out of the circle lost.

"How did you find out about them this summer? Can you not simply do that again?"

"It's not that simple. They can only be seen when they take or collect large amounts of Steam. Whoever they took this summer was incredibly gifted." O'Connor pocketed her wand. Snape glared. He was gifted in nonverbal spells and could perform some wandless magic but not enough for an entire duel yet. It irked him; even more so that he had grudgingly agree to let her instruct him after each battle.

"How do you "see" them?"

"Augur Aurelia. I'm sure that tells you enough."

"She is more skilled than Trelawney I hope."

"You have no idea." O'Connor took up a stance. "No more stalling."

"I wasn't-!"

He was forced to throw up a shield as the first spell was sent his way. It crashed against the dome and sparks washed over it like rain. His lip curled and he fired off a leg locker curse as she ran sideways. The difficult part of dueling O'Connor was that because she was able to cast spells without a wand, she was able to toss spells from both hands. Not only that but she could fire two spells simultaneously, often firing a spell with her right hand and casting a shield with her left.

His seven victories had come from extensive knowledge and putting all of his cunning to use. There was no small amount of muggle fighting involved either. Given space they were too evenly matched. They needed to use their physical attributes as well. A spell had to be what knocked one of them out of the circle, but their rules didn't say they couldn't use other means to help them. He had won a duel when the circle was seven feet in diameter and he had blocked the swing of her arm, turned her, and sent her out of the circle with Everte Statum to the back.

The circle was bearing down on ten feet and what felt suspiciously like a Bat-Boogey Hex crashed into Snape's shield and he growled, sending back the Knee-Reversal Hex. O'Connor twirled to his left, deflecting the Hex and throwing her next spell. He rolled right to avoid it, bringing himself closer to her in the process. She was ready with her next spell as he stood and he barely got his hands around her wrists before she brought her hands down on him.

Impedimenta.

O'Connor gave a light gasp, her eyes widening as she felt the spell wash over her and the realization that he'd not used his wand. His sly cheeky grin told her he'd been waiting to do that. He'd been practicing his wandless magic just to use it in their next duel.

Homenum Exumai.

He released her as the spell drove her back the foot or so needed to take her out of the circle. She landed on her rump with a squeak of surprise. Snape grinned down at her as she looked at him in shock and appreciation.

"You've been really practicing!" She sounded so proud. A small balloon swelled in his chest.

"Of course. I had to even the score after all."

"Don't think you'll hold onto that for long! You have the lead in chess I'm not letting you have this too."

"I'm afraid I'm not going to give you much choice."

"Shall we see about that? Come on. We can go again right now."

Forty-five minutes and two matches later, O'Connor was victorious with a two out of three win. They were collapsed in chairs and breathing heavy. Coco was dancing around them excitedly with a jug of peach and ginger green tea and babbling breathlessly about the third match. She seemed especially happy just to see them spending time together.

"I'm impressed." O'Connor brushed her hair out of her eyes and turned her head to look at the dark haired man at her side. "You learn so quickly and you seem to have a natural aptitude for it. Is there anything you can't do?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere." He breathed. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm being serious though. You really are quite talented in practically everything. I'm a little jealous." He gave her a hard look, but she was smiling genuinely. She wasn't mocking him.

"What would you say to some lunch? Coco, would you like to help me make some mini Yorkshire puddings with steak and horseradish cream?"

"Yes miss! Coco would be happy to make lunch with you!"

O'Connor leaned down to feign whispering in the little elf's ear, her hand hiding her mouth from view.

"Perhaps we might even make some Mango, Lime, and Ginger Tarts."

She grinned at the light that seemed to dance in Snape's eyes. It had taken time but she was learning his tells. This was a lunch he would enjoy.

12/18/1989

The fourth floor corridor was breezy as Snape made his way towards the Muggle Studies classroom. Wind from the snow squall outside was whistling through the windows and a few flurries slipped inside here and there. He scowled at the whiteout and pulled his cloak a little tighter.

His reason for even being on the fourth floor was to distribute to all the teachers a list of students leaving on the Hogwarts Express for the holidays. Somehow Minerva had managed to rope him into it. Maybe it was because he was in a strangely good mood lately that he was so accommodating. He wasn't sure why though. His students weren't any less incompetent than usual; he hadn't done any experimenting lately in his lab; Dumbledore hadn't suddenly come to his senses and offered him Farrow's job.

Speaking of Farrow, he certainly seemed to be gathering a following. He was young, at least twenty-five, and many of the castles fourth year girls and up seemed to be quite taken with him. Tall, dark haired, and a permanent five o'clock shadow the man had a comely smile that often had the female populace in the school taking leave of their senses. At the last two staff meetings he'd ended up passing out some of the chocolates that seemed to keep finding their way to his desk every other class. Minerva of all people had even blushed when he'd handed her a box of Iced Mice with a cheeky smile.

Snape rolled his eyes. At least the man was modest and didn't feed into it. More than once he'd had to rebuff a sixth or seventh year in the hall when they'd tried to give him something personally; gently telling them it wasn't appropriate for a teacher to be accepting gifts from a student in such a way. That didn't stop the ridiculousness. The girls still followed him through the halls or stopped to stare. Their grades were starting to slip and Snape was sure he'd never seen so many done up faces in all his years.

At least someone has kept their head.

O'Connor seemed to appreciate the man's looks, he'd caught her staring after him once, but she partook in none of the girlish fanfare. She didn't stop in the halls to gawk at him; she wore no more make up than her occasional eye shadow and lipstick; and she didn't giggle and blush when he smiled and handed her papers in their meetings. For some reason every time Snape saw her lack of response it made him smirk.

The woman has a brain in her head. I suppose that's why I can tolerate her so well.

As he approached her classroom, list in hand, he could hear what sounded like music issuing from behind the door. Standing outside he was sure it was the violin. He remembered then that she had brought up having music added to the after class activities. She had said they could bring someone in the first year to teach the students and her to play instruments, and then she would take over as instructor.

During one of her classes in which she explained to her students that Muggles played the instruments themselves she had told them that playing was a way to express one's emotions and was very freeing. Some of them had taken to the idea readily and so she had broached the subject in one of their staff meetings. He wondered if that's what she was doing in this class.

Moving carefully he pushed the door open quietly as he could. O'Connor was standing at the front in ridiculous stockings, tan and grown horizontal stripes this time, with short brown leather heeled boots, a brown dress, a khaki colored leather bolero jacket, and a brown leather top hat. He didn't understand her love for this strange muggle Steampunk trend.

She brought the bow to her violin as she started her next song. The class seemed to lean forward towards her, eager to listen. Snape watched mystified as she played, her emotion seeming to pour into the room through the music emanating from the small instrument; filling the room with some unnamed feeling. He only belated realized she was singing and swaying along to the music.

Shatter me!
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!

If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same
The world is spinning but only in gray
If I break the glass, then I'll have to fly
There's no one to catch me if I take a dive
I'm scared of changing, the days stay the same
The world is spinning but only in gray

Somebody shine a light
I'm frozen by the fear in me
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me
So cut me from the line
Dizzy, spinning endlessly
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!
Shatter me!
Somebody make me feel alive
And shatter me!

The class started to clap but silenced almost immediately as she went straight into another song. There were no words to this one, but it still held him rooted to the spot. He watched fascinated as she danced around the front of the room, rotated slowly on the spot, and even dipped to the ground in a backbend so low her knees and shoulder blades hovered mere inches above the ground. She did all this without missing a single note. As the song ended the raucous applause of her class seemed to snap him out of it.

O'Connor smiled as her group clapped and broke into excited chattering about how they wanted to learn to play, where did she learn to do that, how long before they could do that too? She smiled and looked to the door as she tried to restore order. It hadn't escaped her notice that Snape had entered the room between songs. He had been watching her with the most peculiar look on his face. She'd like to think it was enjoyment mixed with shock at enjoying it.

All three songs were by a Muggle artist and she was sure the wizarding world had never heard anything like it. Hell she was sure Snape probably didn't listen to music period. He probably thought it was a waste of time. To her though, music was everything. It evoked emotions some people never even knew they had. It even made you cry at movie scenes you might not have cried at otherwise. Sarah McLachlan and an SPCA commercial over in the states could have you ugly crying in three seconds and up to your eyeballs in puppies and kittens.

Music evoked passion and to her there was no better instrument than the violin. It could express anger, sadness, and happiness better than any other except perhaps the piano. She used it when she needed to feel motivated or needed an outlet for or to work out her emotions. Perhaps for Snape it would be a good way for him to work through his own, even if he wasn't the one playing.

I wonder if he'd let me teach him.

The Potions master seemed to shake off whatever it was he was feeling and strode towards the front of the room. Several students jumped at the dark figure suddenly walking by them and she smirked. Apparently she was the only one to have noticed his entrance.

"Professor Snape." She greeted cordially.

"O'Connor." He handed her the list McGonagall had given him. "The students that should be leaving on the train Wednesday."

"Ah! Thank you!" She stood awkwardly for a moment, bobbing on her toes. "Would you like to stay and listen to some more music?" She shook her sleeve back to look at her watch. "I can probably fit another two in."

The class murmured excitedly.

"I think not." He inclined his head politely and swept from the room. She put the bow to her violin to start "The Arena" and watched as he seemed to pause by the door. Her eyes bore into him intently as she put as much emotion into the song as she could. He half turned his head, then opened the door and departed.

Dammit. One of these days Snape. One of these days.

?

Professor McGonagall embarrassed me today. Jane and I were passing notes about Aurelio. We were trying to find the best way to get him to notice me. Tess says he likes Jelly Slugs so I was thinking of giving him a box for Christmas on the train home Wednesday. The Professor caught us and took five points. Then she made me read the note out loud. Now everyone keeps making kissy faces at me in the hallways and cooing about Aurelio. I can't believe she did that! I thought she at least liked me more than Flitwick! I do so well in her classes. I'm so glad I'm not going to be here for the next two weeks!