For those who wondered of Dumbledore's wand in the previous chapter, it was actually his wand before he took hold of the Elder Wand. Sorry for the confusion.

And this chapter is kind of a filler than anything else, but hopefully y'all can still enjoy it.

It was supposed to be spring, where the weather was both cold and sunny, yet the atmosphere in Hogwarts said otherwise.

The event of Severus Snape's latest humiliation remained being the news of the next two weeks, with students had noticed how the previously proud and strict honorary Prefect had reverted to his sheltered, almost timid self. They all could only watch in pity as he skittered out of sight as quick as possible, carefully shielded his face from view. Even his group of friends couldn't cheer him up, which told them Peeves' remark had hurt him much more than usual.

After knowing the truth from Regulus Black, the Prefects from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had berated James Potter and Sirius Black as soon as they returned to Hogwarts while the Slytherins had deducted so many points from the two boys that the students in red and gold protested for such act.

But it didn't change a thing; Severus Snape still hid himself away aside from attending his classes and they all missed the relatively peaceful times he had helped create in the school.

When Regulus and Snape's other friends tried to look for him, they were curious as to why the boy kept choosing Moaning Myrtle's bathroom of all places to hide, but ultimately decided it was not their place to question it. The second-floor girls' lavatory certainly was infamous among the students to have some time alone, and if Snape deemed the ghost girl was trustworthy enough, well… they could only respect his wishes.

Francesca Zabini considered herself to be independent.

Of course, she liked to get along with so many different boys from all Houses which of course had gained her infamy to other girls, but then she found herself was also concerned about the lone honorary Prefect. He was quite nice when they attended Professor Slughorn's party together, though she first thought it was merely an act to piss Lily Evans off.

Turned out it wasn't, and now she didn't know what to feel of it.

Oh, she had heard tales from the younger students and his act of exposing a werewolf was certainly admirable, but… it wasn't like he had any other talents.

Francesca sighed as she looked down at her Defense against the Dark Arts book. Would the topic she chose be enough to spark back his liveliness?

The Slytherin common room was quiet as ever when she entered, the few students there minutely glanced in concern at the farthest corner where tall stacks of books were placed on a table as if to hide something.

She took a deep breath and walked toward the table, furrowing her brows when she saw Severus Snape was slumping over the desk, parchments and books laid around haphazardly. His onyx eyes were faintly glazed as he stared into the far beyond.

"Snape?" she whispered.

There was no response.

Francesca gulped silently. From the corner of her eyes, she caught the students were looking at her with hope. But she was no angel to lift or undo the humiliation Snape had suffered and its aftereffects. If anything, the gloominess he had caused was choking the life out of everyone else and she wanted to put a stop of it.

"…Severus?" she tried.

His onyx eyes flickered slightly as he finally looked up to her. "Zabini," he spoke, his voice a bit hoarse. "What do you want?"

Francesca could only blink at his sudden response. "Um…" she started but then she pushed her book to him, hoping the gesture would be enough for him to understand.

"I guess I'm in need of a tutoring session," she grinned nervously and sat down on a chair next to him, "How does seven Galleons an hour sound?"

Snape- no, it's Severus – quirked his eyebrow in curiosity for a second. "You must be nuts," was all he said.

Francesca couldn't find a snarky retort for that.

She watched as he slowly sat up with a sigh, almost akin to a wounded animal. She supposed he did evoke such imagery with his defeated demeanor, sunken onyx eyes and gaunt face, and his spidery fingers twitched when he took the tome and read it. By the time he turned to her, she was ready to leave albeit dejectedly.

So imagine her surprise when he supported his head with his right arm and said, "Why do you choose this spell in particular?"

Francesca blinked before staring down to the page she had bookmarked.

It was about the Patronus Charm.

"I…" she began, mouth suddenly felt dry, "Well, uh… I guess it's kind of stupid to depend on happy memories to make it work?"

This time it was Severus' turn to blink.

"Um, what if… what if someone doesn't have enough powerful memories to fuel the Charm? Or the memories themselves have tainted feelings?" she rambled. Merlin, why did she get all flustered over that particular matter? This was exactly why she wished she was good in the Defense subject. But it wasn't like the issues she said were false. Many of her peers struggled in producing a corporeal Patronus, which was important for their Defense N.E.W.T grade.

However, much to her amazement, Severus' onyx eyes looked thoughtful and Francesca couldn't help but to be drawn by their fathomless depth. She merely observed as he took a clean piece of parchment and his quill, dipping the latter slightly into the ink bottle before writing, occasionally referring to her book.

When he finished, he put the parchment aside to dry up and turned back to her. "What do you know about the Dementors?" he asked.

That certainly had caught her off guard.

"Well, they're afraid of a Patronus, of course," she started cautiously. Upon seeing his uninterested look however, she continued, "They suck out positive emotions out of people… and, uh… caused them to remember their worst fears?"

Francesca found her heart slightly soar when Severus hummed in approval of her answer. "And what do people usually do when they come across something scary, especially children?" he asked again.

"They would call for help, or… get their parents." She blinked.

"And what do the parents do?"

"They comfort the kids, to calm them down."

"What does the action evoke?"

Francesca went silent for a while before carefully asking in gradual awe, "…Could it work?"

Severus only gave her a weak smile. "Oh, I don't know; why else would the incantation be that?" he said with a reckless wave of his hand.

When she thought of it, it really made much more sense than to send happy thoughts to the soul sucking creatures. She found herself return the kindhearted gesture and took out her wand.

"…I want you to test it first," she said as she twiddled her fingers around her ebony wand. "It's… your theory, after all." To be perfectly honest, she didn't know if she could even do the corporeal Patronus Charm, always producing a smoky shield in all her previous attempts.

"I do believe this is your lesson, Zabini; not mine," Severus frowned, though Francesca noted he didn't sound quite annoyed. "And besides, just what do I get from this?"

"You'll be ahead of others, of course," she purred, now feeling comfortable in her territory: sweet-talking to people. "The Patronus is supposed to be the hardest Charm to cast. And you of all people had known we Slytherins weren't exactly the bunch of the Light side." She sneered at the final part.

Francesca watched as Severus rolled his eyes playfully before taking out his wand and closed his eyes; perhaps to imagine his comfort zone. She took note on how serene he looked and almost missed his whisper of, "Expecto Patronum."

Immediately, a huge form of light emerged from the tip of Severus' wand and her eyes glittered in pure joy upon seeing the silvery figure of a bird flew across the Slytherin common room for a few laps and finally landed on his shoulder. She softly tapped his arm to alert him and he looked aside in total surprise. "Hello," he greeted the Patronus excitedly and patted its translucent head.

"Have you casted a Patronus before?" she asked in astonishment, still admiring the silver bird. Just how easy he had made it happen! Could she do it too?

Severus blinked. "No. This was my first."

"Must be some powerful kind of safe feeling you got there," Francesca continued, to which he simply shrugged.

She really wanted to try using the technique soon.

They both watched as the avian Patronus slowly faded away and the boy sighed, his fingers caressing the hazel wand.

"…Thanks, Zabini. I guess I do need it," he spoke, onyx eyes twinkling in gratitude.

"Francesca, love," she said with a kind wink. Was it time for a new partner? She certainly wasn't lying when she told him there weren't enough good men in the school. And if she were to choose any, she won't even mind being with the boy next to her.

Severus raised his eyebrows before smirking smugly, "Now let's see yours."

She groaned.

Severus didn't know what to make of Francesca Zabini.

Why would she come over to him of all people, to discuss about the Patronus Charm? The look she gave him when he tried to get a bearing after testing his memory-storybook idea, as he had told Professor Slughorn before was… strange to say the least. Was she concerned of him?

What a load of rubbish. The difference between him and the most beautiful girl in the school was simply astronomical.

But he still appreciated her kind gesture, and was thankful of her for giving him the idea that the Patronus Charm could also be casted simply by the feeling or imagery of comfort and safety. He smiled as he remembered his mother's kind smile when he was young. How he wished he could send a letter but he didn't dare to evoke Tobias' wrath, especially an unnecessary one.

Severus sighed as he looked at a medium-sized jar full of a clear fluid on his desk. He had taken some venom from the lurking basilisk for his next project, and he couldn't wait for summer to test it out.

He took out his hazel wand, if only to see if the Patronus Charm theory was not just a stroke of luck. "Expecto Patronum," he muttered while imagining Eileen's presence in his mind and smiled when the silver bird reappeared, perching on his left arm. He then created two more using his beech and elm wand each, happy enough to see the three figures flew around, lightening up his room.

He went to sleep, still with the smile in his face as the birds slowly disappeared into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Francesca Zabini was having the same thoughts about what had transpired earlier that day, smiling wistfully at her spider Patronus which skittered gracefully around her bed and on her arm.

If her imagery of safety was the raven-haired, hook-nosed boy, well she knew for sure he was to-be the ultimate one. And she would fiercely support him even until the end.