My Father's Best Friend

Thinking Out Loud

I woke up bright and early the next day, ready to start my first day as Snape's assistant. I put on a skirt and sweater like the day before, pinned back my hair in attempt to look more professional, and headed out the door. As I stepped out, I suddenly realized I had no idea where I was supposed to go next.

I decided to knock on Snape's door and ask, since his room was right next to mine. I rapped my knuckles on the solid oak door before I had time to get nervous and back out. Only a moment passed before he swung the door open, looking quite intimidating in his flowing, black robes. I couldn't help but notice how irritated he looked.

"Is there a reason why you're bothering me in my private quarters, Malfoy?" he asked coldly.

I cleared my throat. "It's just that - you didn't tell me anything about where to go, or what to do as your assistant."

Snape took a moment, trailing his gaze down my body before returning to meet my eyes. I flushed. "Well, you're certainly not going into my classroom dressed like that," he returned stiffly.

"Excuse me?" Did he just...? "I'm wearing a perfectly appropriate outfit, Professor, and for you to imply otherwise is honestly offensive."

"Tell me, do you consider a skirt that practically shows half of your ass appropriate for work?" Snape's gaze flickered back down to my thighs before he spoke again. "Oh, that's right - you haven't had a job before, have you? Well, believe me when I say that if you walked into class wearing that, my students would have a very difficult time focusing on their Potions work." The corners of his mouth began to curl up slightly.

I swallowed, trying to calm down before I said something that I would regret. "Fine, I'll change," I said bitterly.

"Good. Meet my in my classroom in an hour." He shut the door in my face. I felt a rush of humiliation wash over me; I guess I had forgotten how harsh Snape's tongue can be.

I rushed back to my room, and swapped out the skirt for a pair of pants. I hated being told what to do, especially by him, but I couldn't risk getting kicked out on my first day. My parents would have a fit.

I took the next hour to get some breakfast and catch up with a few old friends, who didn't expect to see me back. Before I knew it, it was time to go to Snape's classroom. I arrived at the door, not sure if I should knock or not - I decided to just walk in. After this morning's events, I wasn't feeling particularly amiable.

Snape was sitting at the front of the classroom, in a chair behind his desk, flipping through some papers. "How kind of you to knock before entering, Malfoy," he said without even raising his head, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Sorry, Professor," I said, although my tone made it clear that I definitely wasn't sorry at all. "What can I help you with?"

He glanced up, and lifted up the papers that he was holding. "These are the students' essays on Flobberworm Mucus and its uses in potions," he said. "Read them carefully and grade them. Do not go easy."

Snape stood up, and set the papers at the other end of the table, gesturing toward an empty chair that sat there. I walked over and sat down. He returned to his chair, and began to read a book.

"What are you reading?" I asked, genuinely curious to know what kind of literature Snape enjoyed reading.

He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Do you always have to be so nosy? Concentrate on your work."

For what felt like the 100th time since I arrived at Hogwarts, my face burned red and I was filled with annoyance. I hated not being able to talk back to him more than anything.

I was about halfway through the papers when I started to get tired. Holding back a yawn, I gently stretched my neck and my wrists, deciding to glance at Snape, who looked very occupied with his book. I found it quite strange that he was simply sitting in the room with me, reading a book while I graded his students' papers... didn't he have anything better to do?

As I slowly stretched out my wrists, I looked at Snape's hands - they were so big that they made the book he was holding look miniature. He had lines of concentration etched on his face, half-hidden by the black hair that surrounded his head like curtains. His hooked nose looked especially strong in the dim lighting of his classroom.

If it wasn't Severus Snape that I was staring at right now, I might even say that he looked... well, attractive. There was something about him that was so intriguing; perhaps it was his dominating, controlling behavior, or his mysterious demeanor. I hated the man, yet I desperately wanted to know more about him.

From his chair, Snape clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"What?" I said, suddenly feeling ashamed for my unwanted thoughts about him.

Snape glanced up, and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you might as well just say those things out loud."

"Say wh-"

Oh.

Oh.

"Perhaps it has slipped your mind that I am a master at Legilimency, hm?" Snape asked quietly, returning to his work. "Please focus on your work."

My face flushed yet again, and I suddenly looked down, busying myself with the stack of papers I still had to get through. I couldn't concentrate on them, though, all I could focus on was my humiliation that Snape had just read my mind.

I hoped with everything that he didn't think that I had a crush on him. Yet, the faint smirk that lingered on his face as he read his book suggested to me that he thought just that.

After a long day of grading papers, organizing Snape's things, and watching over his students, I finally began to head back to my sleeping quarters. I couldn't be more ready to go to fall into my bed for an early night of sleep.

On my way to my room, I bumped into Fred and George, the Weasley twins. They were two of my favorite students at Hogwarts, we always had so much fun together even though we're a year apart.

"Hey, Fred! Hi George!" I said, hugging both of the boys. During the six years I'd spent at Hogwarts with them, I had learned to tell them apart with ease.

"Hiya, Lyra!" they said in unison.

"What on earth are you doing back at Hogwarts?" inquired Fred.

"She probably just couldn't handle being away from us," said George teasingly. I punched him in the shoulder lightly and laughed.

"Believe it or not, I'm actually back to work for Snape," I said. "I'm his new assistant."

"You're joking," said Fred, his mouth agape. "You're working for Snape?"

I nodded and a twinkle of mischief appeared in George's eyes. "If you ever want to prank him..." he began, but I cut him off.

"As much as I would love to do something to piss him off, I can't get fired from my first job," I said. "But you two are free to do anything you want."

George smirked. "Where do you sleep, as a staff member?"

"Downstairs, there are a bunch of bedrooms for staff, and I've got one. It's right next to Snape's room, actually," I said.

"Next to Snape's room, you say?" asked Fred, giving George a knowing glance.

I laughed. "I don't know what you two are planning, but leave me out of it."

"No promises," said George. "But we've got to get back to our commonroom now, it's getting pretty late."

I glanced at my watch. "It's only seven-"

"See ya, Lyra," they chorused, as they started running towards the stairs.

What are they planning... I wondered, as I watched them disappear up the floating stairs.