Snape's Unpopular Opinion

Severus and the family had only just Floo'd back to the house after seeing "Mission: Impossible" in theatre with the Blacks and Pettigrews. He was told that it would be some sort of spy movie, which might have fit right up his alley... but it didn't. He knew why, but he didn't know if he had it in him to admit it to his family.

Harry and Neville were humming the theme song, while Marley was gushing over Tom Cruise with Lily and Alice.

Marley was practically out of breath when she said, "And when the guy almost dropped him because of the rat, and he caught him an inch off the floor-"

"And he caught the drop of sweat!" Lily continued.

"And the knife drop!" Alice said with an intensity that rivaled Severus's own.

"What did you think of it?" Lily asked Severus.

Severus froze. This was the moment he had wanted to avoid.

"Dad?" Neville asked.

Severus sighed quietly. "I wasn't too keen on it."

"Really?" Harry asked. "Why not?"

"... I don't like Tom Cruise."

The room went deathly quiet as all eyes were on him. "You what?" Harry asked, as though Severus had betrayed him.

"We saw 'Top Gun' together!" Lily said, equally betrayed.

"What's wrong with Tom Cruise?" Marley asked heatedly.

"I just don't like him," Severus said. "He's unsettling to me."

"How?!"

"It's instinctual."

"'It's instinctual'?!" Lily exclaimed. "He's one of the top actors in Hollywood!"

"I don't like Hollywood that much, either," Severus admitted. "I'm not too keen on movies in general. They're overrated."

"... but 'Star Wars'," Alice said with a hurt look.

"'Star Wars' is one exception," Severus said quickly. "The mechanics of the Force are interesting to study."

"...'the mechanics of the Force'..." Harry echoed blankly.

"How was the movie, Master Harry?" Snarky asked as he suddenly appeared. The house-elf seemed to have been busy scrubbing something.

"Dad doesn't like movies," Harry replied.

"Says he only likes 'the mechanics of the Force'," Marley added.

Snarky blinked a few times, looking up at Severus. "Snarky dresses as the green one every Hallowe'en Party because he thinks Severus Snape enjoys the 'Star Wars'."

"Snarky-"

"Snarky is betrayed!" Snarky pointed accusingly at Severus before marching away and back up the steps.

Severus groaned inwardly. He wasn't going to hear the end of this.