Lara smiled sweetly. Snape didn't know what to do. He wanted to shout, to scold her, to throw her some food too. He stood there stunned. How did she dare to throw him a piece of cake.

He felt another piece of cake colliding with his chest. That snapped out of his musings. While Lara was busy laughing at his prior face, Snape took out his wand and enchanted a cake to float over her head and made it five times bigger and with a silent satisfaction let the gravity take care of the matter. The caked fell on Lara getting her all covered of it. She wasn't laughing anymore; she was with her mouth open and taking off the cake from her eyes. He had to make an effort to hide the smirk that was forming in his lips.

-Don't worry your reputation won't be hurt, I won't tell anyone and the Great Hall is empty.

Severus said sarcastically. Lara could not believe what had just happened. But she couldn't help herself before she said

-A hug?

Lara started running towards him with her arms wide open trying to hug him. Snape started to throw spells at her to stop her but unknown to him she had conjured shell that protected her of any spell. Snape realized a second to late and when he tried to make his escape, he was caught in a hug.

There stood Lara giving Snape a great hug covered of cake dirtying all his clothes. Snape's face was priceless. Lara had crashed into him with such force that involuntary trying to not fall out of impulse he grabbed her so it seemed he was hugging her.

Her head was buried in the crook of his neck. She smelt his personal fragrance. It smelt really good, it was addicting even.

There they stood in the Great Hall hugging. Snape still totally shocked wondered how long had been since he had been hugged for the last time. How good it felt to have someone wrapped in his arms, the warmth it proportioned. He smelt her essence it smelt like the forest mixed with lavender.

It hadn't been as long as Snape the last time she had been hugged but it had been a while, when you are the directress of Azkaban not many people hug you.

They got out of each other arms and looked into each other's eyes trying to see through the respective shields. Severus suspected that the smile she always wore was hiding something behind but he didn't know what, a secret plan, sorrow, a threat, a worry.

Lara began to identificate one emotion hidden behind his shield but when she was about to discover the veiled emotion, Snape turned around and marched to the door.

This time his robes didn't billow behind him as always because they were stuck together with the remains of the cake. Snape started walking to his chambers with Lara followed behind slipping and almost falling sometimes because the cake she was covered with. She muttered curses each time she slipped and damned Severus because he could walk with such elegance even he was covered with cake like her.

When they made it to their respective chambers, they looked into the mirror. Lara had cake everywhere. You could not see one hair because her head was covered with cake. Snape on the other hand, wasn't as dirty as Lara. His robes soiled as a result of the thrown cake and posterior hug. He had little pieces of cake in his hair that had got there when they were hugging.

They thought they were safe of the outside world inside of their chambers, that they were totally alone, but they forgot a little fact.

Lara stripped off her clothes except her underwear, picked up her brush, her toothbrush, a towel and the soap.

Both bathroom doors opened at the same time. They stood in front of each other again luckily for them neither of them was showering although both of them were in their undergarments. Lara could appreciate Snape's body unlike in the morning when it was hidden under the soap bubbles. He had a lean fit body that wasn't unattractive at all.

They both cursed themselves for forgetting the fact they shared bathroom. Even the morning situation was more embarrassing now they were more embarrassed after their hug. Now they both stood in front of each other even the initial shock had passed because they wanted to shower.

-I should go first because I'm the one who is dirtier

-So? It was MY bathroom before it was yours

-We can also shower together – Seeing the horrified face of Severus she quickly added – not naked in our undergarments as we have already seen each other the bath is big enough for both.

-No way. I'll go first and that's final.

He gave her the same glare he used with his worst students that made all the students shaking on their knees and took a step towards the shower. Lara wasn't scared of him like his students and wouldn't step down without a fight. She also took a step forward

-No I disagree. Don't try to get into the shower before we settle this or I'll get in with you and you don't seem to like the idea very much.

-There is nothing to settle

-Don't continue this way.

-Then what do you propose.

-Rock-paper-scissors to decide who showers first?

-Agreed.

Their faces stood a few inches away from each other. Their eyes fixed in their rival's ones, studying them trying to know which one will their rival choose.

One

Two

Three

Snape hand had formed the rock shape.

Lara's hand had formed the paper shape.

-I've won darling, you know I think it's a good way to decide who goes first.

Snape just grunted and left the bathroom.

In fact Lara found it to be a very good idea. The game gave her the perfect excuse to look into his eyes and try to figure him out. If she was sincere, she hadn't been looking into his eyes to guess if he would choose scissors, rock or paper. Her aim had been to try to decipher the emotion she had seen shining in the Great Hall. Maybe because of that she had chosen randomly and she had won.

Snape had cleaned his arms with a little bit of water he had conjured up and started grading the assignments. He heard the shower running and an image started forming in his head, first it was a little bit foggy but then it started to get clearer and clearer.

Lara in the shower with the water falling all over her, the droplets of water going down her body. Snape shook out the image from his head but it put him in such bad mood he automatically failed the assignment he had been correcting, that it was any other assignment than Miss Granger's one. He wasn't in mood for correcting more parchments.

He closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He hear a knock coming from the bathroom door and saw Lara's head poking out of the door

-Done.

She winked and went to her room. She laid in her bed but the sleep wouldn't come to her. She decided to draw and she finally decided to draw the enigmatic and stubborn potions' teacher but not in his normal attire, in his underwear.

She took out her drawing block and looked for a blank page but as she saw the drawings in the block the memories they contained started flowing in her mind. She wasn't in mood for drawing anything anymore. She put away the block. She put her head in the pillow and started to cry soflty praying she wouldn't be heard from the bathroom.