(A/N: Hi all! So, I decided it would be only polite to thank all those who have reviewed this story so far. I know that it doesn't seem to be going anywhere as yet, but I'm slowly integrating other characters and getting some more info out. Let me know what you think - really do appreciate knowing what people have in mind. I don't really do humouristic stuff; I'm a heavy drama fan despite myself. So yeah, thanks so much to everyone who's said anything along the way! You guys are awesome! So...yeah...Enjoy the next chapter! WonderWhiteRabbit hopping off.)

In the Head of the Snake

Chapter 7: Peculiar Realisations

"Professor?"

"Huh? Say again, Draco?" said Snape distractedly.

"I asked, is the assignment due tomorrow or on Thursday?" Draco sneered at his favourite teacher. The man had been acting weird for the past week and he suspected it was related to the Dark Lord. His father had said something about Snape, about how the Dark Lord was pressuring him into something else and about how he didn't think Snape could do it. Apparently Snape's flaw was that he "wasn't nice enough."

"Make it tomorrow," said Snape after a moment's thought.

"But sir," frowned Draco, "I was sure you said Thursday. Everyone else in the class has Thursday as well."

"Then you will be the only one in the class who will get marks for the assignment."

Draco sniggered as he left the professor alone.

Snape was in the Slytherin common room, sitting in a comfortable chair by the fire. Outside, the air was slowly warming towards spring and dark rain clouds were forming, but the happy suicide raindrops getting caught in the womping willow only mocked Snape's emotions.

He was failing. Ginny Weasley had not contacted him for weeks. It was February and almost Valentine's Day. His hand reached for his pocket. His quill, forever hidden in his robes, stayed perfectly still. She had avoided him during class as well, sitting at the back of the class, leaving quickly afterwards. She had something on her mind… that was the only conclusion he could come to.

The fire jumped behind the grate like a caged animal. That's how Severus felt. Completely caged. He was failing with everyone, not just Ginny. His heart clenched for a moment as he remembered the look on Potter's face.

He did not care that it was a look of loathing and disgust, but seeing such anger out of Lily's eyes…he shivered.

Potter couldn't do Occlumens. Not in his current emotional position. He was angry and bitter and resentful. Not a very nice person to be around when all of that was aimed at him, but Snape would persevere. If he had to, he would get a time turner and do double sessions with the boy…hopefully it didn't come to that.

"Professor!"

"Yes Draco?" Snape didn't bother looking up from the fire.

"Professor, you've got to come quick!"

Snape sat bolt upright, his full attention on the blonde boy.

"What is it Draco?"

"Just come!" he attempted to pull Snape up from the chair. Snape brushed him off and strode to the dungeon door of the common room, waiting for Draco to lead him to the situation.

Draco ran down the corridor and up the stone steps towards the entrance hall, Snape hot on his heels. Just before the exit, Draco turned abruptly to a silver suit of armour. Snape stared at the armour carefully, holding his laughter back as much as possible.

It was clear that the armour had a child stuffed inside it – a large girl to be precise. But what was more was that the armour had no head or arms; they appeared to have disappeared!

"It was those Weasleys," spat Draco. "The freak twins!"

"Who is inside?" asked Snape coolly.

"Pansy," Draco said quickly, not really concerned for the girl. "What punishment are you gonna give to the Weasleys?" There was an uncanny look in the boy's eyes – one Snape had seen too many times in Lucius's.

"First, Draco, I am going to free your girlfriend," drawled Snape. "Then I will see to the Weasleys."

"Eh-hem" came a small cough behind Snape. He closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath before turning around and saying sarcastically, "How nice of you to join us, Dolores Umbridge."

"Well, yes, isn't it just lovely?" Dolores said too sweetly.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"Well, I couldn't help but overhear, Severus," she smiled toothily in anticipation, "that the Weasleys are behind this terrible situation," she waved airily in the direction of Pansy Parkinson whose moans of pain were becoming subtly louder.

"That is what Draco believes, yes," said Snape dryly.

"And that you were planning on giving them a punishment?" Dolores' smile grew wider; her cheeks puffed up like a giant toad in mid ribbit.

"Yes, if they are the true culprits," Snape said slowly.

"Well I do believe that their reputations speak for them," she gave a fake little laugh, as if this was obvious. Draco laughed nervously, shifting his gaze quickly from Snape to Umbridge.

"Let the evidence speak for us, rather. We don't want to jump to any...wrong conclusions," Snape drawled

Dolores giggled girlishly.

"You are so right, Severus," she continued to giggle but a groan of pain from Pansy cut her off.

"Exarmo tegumeni," Snape uttered and the armour dismantled itself, falling to the floor with a loud clang. Along with the armour, however, fell three hats that had suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Umbridge bent down to pick them up, but Snape muttered "Accio hats," before her stumpy fingers could close around the one. Snape stared hard at the hat in his hand. It was pink with a long feather sticking out of it.

"Classic," his lip curved.

"What?" Umbridge snapped, not at all pleased that the hats had been taken from her.

"These hats. Here," with an evident sneer, he passed the hat to Umbridge who, unquestioning, put it on. For a moment she blinked up at Snape, and then the next second her head had disappeared.

"Well? What's the hat doing?" asked Umbridge from an unseen head.

"Take a look for yourself," Snape flicked his wand and the chest of armour drifted up, showing Umbridge's clearly head-lacking reflection.

She gave an ear-splitting scream and grabbed at her own head, pulling the hat off viciously and throwing it on the ground.

"That horrible thing!" she yelled in her high pitched voice while stomping angrily on it.

"Oh, I don't know about that," drawled Snape. "I think it suits you."

Umbridge froze for a second, staring hard at Snape, before smoothing down her robe and hair.

There was a feeble cough from the floor and only now did the two teachers turn to Pansy who was lying on the floor.

"Who did it to you, dear?" said Umbridge too sweetly.

"Weasley," whispered Pansy softly.

"I knew it!" Umbridge stood up straight, her chest puffed out as if she were receiving an award.

"G-Ginny Weasley," Pansy said softly, followed by a few more coughs.

Umbridge seemed to deflate a little but she said, "Well, bad blood gives bad blood. It's no surprise the girl is like that if you look at her brothers."

Snape gripped his wand tighter. His knuckles were turning white. His jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed to slits. Umbridge, still rambling on about bad blood, hadn't noticed this sudden change in the potion's master.

"I'll deal with this, Dolores," Snape said forcefully.

"Excuse me?" Dolores halted in her soliloquy.

"I said," Snape was speaking through grit teeth, "that I will deal with this."

"Professor Snape," Dolores drew herself up to full height and spoke loudly, "according to educational decree number – "

"Yes, yes," interrupted Snape, "I know all that. You have full right to supervise my punishment. But this is a clear attempt at malevolent violence, against one of my own students. Therefore, as head of Slytherin, I am going to do my job and oversee this student's punishment myself!" Snape finished louder than Umbridge had been speaking.

By now, they had drawn a few straying students' eyes and ears, and whispers were hurrying through the school; Snape was going to punish Ginny Weasley – and badly.

He was sitting in his office, waiting. Snape hated to wait, but patience was something he had learned early on in his spy-days. He didn't have to like it, but he'd learnt to live with it. But now...he wiped away some perspiration from his upper lip. His hand lingered over them; his lips were shaking. Did Ginny Weasley feel that? When she had gently investigated his face with her fingers, had she felt the fear seeping through his lips? And now? What was he going to do now? The story had spread quickly through the castle and Snape had no other option but to act on his words. He had sent Draco to fetch her, but she had sent Draco back with a message: she was busy. Snape had then sent Draco again, and he had returned, once again Ginny absent, with another message: she'll come at lunch.

Snape didn't know how to react. He was angry more at himself for getting into this situation in the first place. He hadn't spoken to Ginny in days. She hadn't left her common room at night ever since he gave her that quill. She hadn't spoken to him once in class, merely answering questions in as few words as possible. A few times he thought he saw her staring at him in his classes or in the great hall, but when he looked up he was always wrong.

Maybe he just didn't know how to be...friends with someone? He berated himself silently. He had let his walls down. Ginny was by far the better spy than he was; she had kept herself to herself and played her part well. She had played him, Severus Snape, well. He had trusted her...

There was a knock on the door. Three polite taps.

In his nervous state, Snape flicked his wand too quickly and the door banged open. There, in the doorway, stood a slightly startled Ginny Weasley. Her hands were behind her back and Severus couldn't see her wand. Was she really going to try and take him on?

Snape stood up slowly, both his hands resting on his desk although his wand arm twitched towards his wand.

"Come in," Snape said in a determined hard voice, "and close the door behind you."

"Yes, sir," Ginny said just as baldly.

Moving with soft feet, Ginny closed the heavy door behind her and walked carefully towards Snape's desk.

"Was it you?" asked Snape, not wasting any time.

"Who stuffed Pansy Parkinson in the suit of armour and then put Headless Hats over her annoying face?" asked Ginny serenely.

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She was busy bullying a first year."

"It is already three quarters through the year. A first year should be able to adequately defend themselves, or otherwise call a teacher for assistance."

"Against a bitch like that?" demanded Ginny.

She was breathing heavily. Snape's eyes were open in alarm. The two stared hard at each other.

"Listen," said Ginny to the point, "if you want to give me detention for looking after my fellow learners, then go for it. But I'm not about to be a coward and leave a first year to fight for him or her self while a fifth year – "

"Why have you been avoiding me?"

Ginny stopped in her speech and stared, her mouth slightly open at the professor.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" repeated Snape.

"I haven't," Ginny said quickly. "I've been to all your classes and everything."

"You haven't been to a late night lesson in a while."

Ginny looked down at her feet. Snape tried to gauge what was going through her mind, when he realised; Ginny was blushing.

Her ears had turned a deep red and a flush had crept up around her neck.

"I have a boyfriend," she said carefully, still looking hard at her feet.

"And your point is?" asked Severus. He wasn't too sure if he liked where this conversation was headed.

"He, er, he thought that I was cheating on him. Because he found out that I was sneaking out at night, but I never came to see him," she blurted quickly.

"So you avoid me because of a boyfriend?" asked Snape incredulously.

"That's partly the reason," if it was possible, Ginny had turned an even darker shade of red.

"Then what else is the reason?"

"I HATE YOU!" shrieked Ginny suddenly. Snape didn't know what had happened, but abruptly Ginny Weasley had burst into a tumult of accusations. "YOU'RE A LYING CHEAT! A FILTHY, SNOTTY NOSED, GIT! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO COMPASSION, NO HEART, NO NOTHING! YOU'RE A CLUELESS LITTLE LONELY BOY!" she panted hard, tears forming slowly in her eyes, "And I feel sorry for you," she whispered as the tears spilled over and trickled in an easy stream down her cheeks.

Snape didn't know what to do. He stood there, awestruck by the emotions boiling inside this girl. She hated him and she hated herself for feeling sorry for him and the more she hated him the more she felt sorry for him and the more she hated herself.

"It's valentine's day in a few days' time."

Ginny looked up, startled by the professor's words.

"Have you got anything planned? You and your boyfriend?"

"I-I can't go out with him. With my brothers and Harry banned from the team, we have to practice extra hard."

"So you won't be going to Hogsmead for the day?"

"No. Probably going to soak in the rain while searching for the snitch."

"Well, when you have time, come and see me. Here. Tell everyone who asks that you have detention that day after your practice session. You may be dismissed."

With tears still streaming down her face, Ginny left the room.

The silence in the room after the door closed broke Snape down. He fell heavily onto his chair and gripped his head with his hands. His whole body was shaking. What was he doing?

All he could think about was that all he wanted was Ginny back in this room. With a startling realisation, Snape thought, "I miss her."

. . .

(A/N: So there you have it! Not too shabby of a chapter, I don't think. The next time I update, I'm going to put up two chapters at once - yes I've already written them - since the one chapter ends on an, er, awkward note and I need to clarify it quickly...or I could just be mean and leave people in suspence Haha! WonderWhiteRabbit hopping off.)