My Father's Best Friend

Into His Bedroom

Christmas break at our house consisted mainly of constant irritability, passive aggressiveness, and full blown arguments between my parents. Most of their fights seemed to come out of nowhere, seemingly about nothing - but I knew that there was something going on, and I had a suspicion that it had to do with something dark, something serious, like Voldemort.  Needless to say, I couldn't have been happier to arrive back at Hogsmeade station after two long weeks at home. I was more than ready for a distraction from my home life, and most importantly, to see Severus.

Along with a flood of students, I exited the Hogwarts Express and looked around for a carriage to get into to ride up to the school, but they all seemed to be full. As I looked around, I noticed Hagrid, towering over the students around him, and he caught my eye. His face broke out into a bright smile and he waved at me. I waved back, and pushed my way through the masses to reach him.

"Hello, Lyra!" he greeted me heartily, clapping a hand onto my shoulder and knocking the wind out of me.

I coughed and grinned. "Hey, Hagrid. Any empty carriages left, or will I have to wait for the second group?"

He glanced behind him. "There's an empty seat in that carriage - Professor Snape is riding in there with a group of firs'-years. I'm sure yeh know it's mandatory for at least one teacher to accompany each group of firs'-years to make sure they arrive safely an' all," Hagrid bent down and spoken the next sentence much softer "but between you an' me, I think they're safer without a grump like him in there."

I glanced behind Hagrid's shoulder and saw what he was talking about immediately - a large carriage was sitting behind him in the distance, and four or five first-years were crammed into the seats, looking absolutely petrified, and I knew exactly why. Sitting across from them in a position in which I could see only the back of his head, was Severus. I would recognize his signature black hair anywhere. There was an empty seat next to him, which none of the first-years had chosen to take, understandably so. I laughed.

"I can take the seat next to him, if that's what you're suggesting," I said to Hagrid.

"I doubt anyone else'll take it," he said, chuckling.

I said goodbye to Hagrid and walked briskly over to Snape's carriage, trying to maintain my composure as I slipped into the empty seat next to him. The first-years in the seats across from me were sitting completely still and silently, their wide eyes fixed onto the man sitting next to me. I turned to look at him, and he was staring idly out of the window next to him.

The carriage started on the bumpy road to Hogwarts, and I cleared my throat. He didn't move. I cleared it again, a little louder, and this time, he whipped his head towards me, annoyance all over his face and his lips parted as if he were about to tell me off. The annoyance quickly faded from his face the instant he recognized me.

His eyes lingered on my own for a moment, his brow raising slightly. "Miss Malfoy," he acknowledged me. "What a pleasant surprise."

Upon locking eyes with him, I tried to ignore the swarm of butterflies that entered my stomach and fought the blush that was threatening to creep into my cheeks, reminding myself that a group of children were staring at us. "Hello, sir," I said politely, smiling softly at him.

I let my eyes wander down the length of his body, taking him all in. He crossed his arms, pulling his cloak tightly against his chest. Like usual, he was intimidating, but incredibly attractive.

He must have noticed my wandering eyes because he suddenly cleared his throat, breaking me out of my thoughts. "How was your holiday?" he asked cordially.

"Oh, it was fine," I said, glancing to the side to see that the first-years were still staring at us. "Uh...how about you?"

He paused for a moment. "While I would love to speak to you about the mundane details of our holiday," he said coolly, "I'm afraid that I have many things to get in order for the first day of classes tomorrow." He paused. "Come find me later," he said in a softer voice.