A.N. : I own nothing, HP belongs to J.K. Rowling. Thanks for reading. Reviews would be great. And thanks to Mrs. SRE Snape for reviewing :)

Everything was quiet as they walked down the halls together, which completely threw Snape. Charity Burbage was quiet. Was that even possible? Was she ill? Had he done something to make her so mute? He looked over at her, only to see her smiling down towards the plate she carried as if it had just told her a funny joke. Snape rolled his eyes, wondering, for the hundredth time, just how crazy the woman was.

They made the whole trip in silence, and Snape knocked three times on the door to Quirrell's room. After a few moments he knocked again, louder this time. But still, no one answered. Snape felt his patience waning, and decided that it didn't matter if Quirrell was so sick he had to crawl, the man was going to answer this door if it killed him. He was raising his hand to knock again, when his companion grabbed his arm.

"What if he's not in there Severus? He could be in the Hospital wing, or maybe he's in his office? When I'm sick I don't always stay in my room." Her eyes were closed, almost in a grimace, when he turned to her. And if that were not odd enough, the urge to ask what was wrong was so strong that he actually had to bite his tongue to stop himself. The look on his face must have given him away though, because she quickly smiled her blinding trademark and apologized, saying she was just remembering what it felt like to be sick and how she hoped Quirrell was okay.

"I'm sure he is just fine Miss. Burbage." He said frostily, still feeling off. He pulled his wand from his front pocket and aimed it at the door.

"Wait, Severus. What are you doing? And knock off the 'Miss. Burbage' garbage. It's not like you don't know that my name is Charity." She let go of his arm and placed her free hand on her hip, angry eyes fixed on his face, it was all rather funny.

"Well, Charity, I was about to check if Professor Quirrell is actually here or not. If that is alright with you. Or should I walk about the school calling out 'Quirenus!' until he answers?" He asked scathingly.

There was a pause, a soft thump, and the sound of a party plate hitting the floor behind him, the next thing he knew, he was wearing bean dip down his right arm. He turned slowly, looking from his dirty sleeve to the fuming Muggle Studies teacher, with raised eyebrows.

"You're lucky you're so tall Severus." The woman nearly growled, shooting daggers at him. "Otherwise that would have been running off the top of your head." And with that, she stomped off down the hall, threw open a door, and disappeared inside.

…...

She could not believe that he had been such a jerk. She had never been less than friendly toward him, she even went out of her way to greet him in the hallways, and tried to make pleasant conversation during meals. Sure, he had never seemed thrilled to talk with her, but he had never acted like that before.

Charity sat down on the chair by the window, picked up her hairbrush, and went to work on a snarl that had cropped up in her long, wavy, blonde hair. She flicked her wand and music began playing from the radio on her shelf. After ten minuets of listening, any hope of it calming her down was dashed by a knock on her door.

She stomped across her room and threw the door open, revealing a very stiff-backed Potion's Master. His perpetual frown was deeper than usual, and instead of making eye contact, he stared over her right shoulder, as if he were embarrassed. But instead of apologizing, or at least admitting to being in the wrong, he simply said; "He was not there, nor in his office, classroom, or the Hospital Wing. You had said, that when you are sick, you do not always stay in your room." At this his eyes flicked to hers and back to her shoulder.

"So," She asked, glaring at him. "you are wondering where I would be if I were sick tonight?" Jeeze he looks uncomfortable. She added to herself.

He seemed to draw in a heavy breath before answering. "Yes. I also believe I owe you an apology, as I was unquestionably rude to you."

Charity huffed, pretending to weigh the pro's and con's of forgiving him in her head. After a bit, she said; "Fine Severus, I forgive you. But only if you promise to call me Charity and not 'Miss. Burbage'. It reminds me too much of when I was still in school at Salem."

He raised an eyebrow. "You went to school at the Salem Witches Institute?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I had always thought you went to Beauxbatons, what with the slight French accent you sometimes have." He said, finally looking her directly in the eye.

"No, I went to school at Salem, but I grew up in Canada. I though I had gotten rid of it by now." She frowned. "I've lived in England for seven years since graduation. I just figured my accent was replaced with this one." Was it just her imagination, or did Snape actually look sad while he looked at her?

He stared at her for a few seconds, then seemed to come back to himself. "Well, back to the original topic. Where would you be if you were sick right now?"

"Ummm, if I were not here, in the Hospital Wing, my classroom, or office," She paused, deliberating, "I would either be in the Library getting a book, in the kitchens getting something healthy, or on the roof." She paused again, seeing the blank look that had spread across he features. "Probably in that order."

"The roof?" He finally asked, in a disbelieving tone.

"Oh, yes!" She smiled. "The roof is a wonderful place to be when you are sick. First off there is a always an abundance of fresh air, a great view, and it is actually very peaceful up there." Charity did not wait for him to stop looking so incredulous, but instead shut her door, grabbed his hand, and led him off toward the Library.