Entry for "Defense Against the Dark Arts" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

Task: I would like you to write about someone who is being protected in one way or another. Min. 400 words.

Entry for the "Halloween Collection Competition" - prompt: 35. Sweets/Candy

When being asked by people, or better, by Albus Dumbledore, if he had any persons at Hogwarts whose friendship or at least presence he valued, Severus Snape would answer "No".

But if he was honest with himself, he had to admit that this was an outright lie.

Actually, there was someone at Hogwarts whose company he secretly enjoyed, even though he would never concede this fact to anybody.

After all, he had a image to keep up, mostly to keep those type of people at bay that annoyed him. Well, but also because he liked scaring those little First Years.

Before Rolanda Hooch had started working as a flying instructor at Hogwarts, he had been sure that he would never have anything that came close to be called a friendship, and also that he did not need anything like that. He had thought that he was happy with his life.

But then, Rolanda had stormed into his life and without even noticing it, she had become important to him.

He did not wanted to miss their playful banter and he even liked that the young woman was entirely not impressed by his rough and repellent behaviour. Yes, he enjoyed her company and maybe she was, even though in an odd way, a friend to him.

However, as much as he liked the fact that he finally had someone who was important to him again after all this time, he was also painfully aware of what had happened to his last friendship.

How he had destroyed the relationship and how he had also failed to protect the person who meant so much to him.

Upon realising that he did not wanted the history to repeat itself, he swore to himself that he would do everything different this time.

From that day on, he slowly developed the habit of looking after Rolanda, watching over her like an invisible guardian.

It was his full intention to never let her notice what he was actually doing, and therefore, she never noticed it when he was protecting her.

When Rolanda was heading down to the The Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade to have a drink, he would always make sure that she got into her chambers in the castle safely – when she was on her own, not having any of her colleagues with her, he would sometimes even go down to the village under a thin pretext just to walk her back. She was too overwhelmed by her drunk happiness to see through it then.

Was Rolanda heading out to fly on her broomstick, he was always worrying, despite knowing that she was an excellent flier. During the Quidditch matches, when she was refereeing, he would keep a close eye on the bludgers.

Did he notice that she was in a bad mood or had had a stressfull day, he made sure that a bowl of her favourite candy was standing ready on a table in the staff room. From time to time, he would make a sarcastic comment to her, extracting a small smile from her. When she turned the corners of her mouth up thanks to him, he simply felt wonderful.

But his biggest effort had been invested in keeping her safe from any dangerous situations during the Second Wizarding War, when he had been the Headmaster of Hogwarts, forced to act under the specifications of the Death Eaters. During these months he had realised how hard it was to protect somebody with such a explosive temper and a foul mouth containing a exceptionally loose tongue.

He did not know how he had managed it, but he was never asked to punish Rolanda for her tantrums.

And when his spirit drifted around before leaving the world of the living, he saw her walking through the ruins of Hogwarts after the battle, unscathed, he knew that even the smallest things had been worth it.

This time, he did not fail.