Forget Me Not (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 8: Breakfast & Bitter Words

September 5, 1992

"Knock knock."

"Who is it?" Severus replied as he sat in his classroom busily grading papers.

"Just me." Theda said, gently pushing the door open. "I didn't see you at breakfast. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." He said, still looking down at his papers. "Just wanted to get a head start on grading these before my first class gets in."

"Good. I'm glad you're not sick because I brought you some food." She said, smiling as his eyes rose to meet hers. "Let's see... We've got a bacon sandwich, a cauldron cake, beans on toast, an apricot, and... some kind of loaf. It looks like it might be sweet. Does any of that sound appealing?"

"Umm..." He mumbled, thinking. Severus skipped breakfast fairly often and no one had ever seemed to notice or care before. "I'll have the beans on toast and the cauldron cake."

"Sure!" She said, setting them on his desk along with a cup of hot tea.

"You didn't have to do this." He said, unsure how else one would usually respond to this kind of gesture.

"I know." She said. "But I wanted to. Do you mind if I join you?" She asked, pulling up a chair.

"Oh, now I see." He said, smirking. "You just wanted to get away from Gilderoy, didn't you?"

"I mean... Maybe that was part of it." She laughed. "But I do have my own classroom, you know. I could have just eaten in there if that was my only concern."

"Well, in any case, thank you for thinking of me." He said, taking a sip of his tea.

"Don't worry about it. I'm relieved you aren't ill. Thanks for letting me eat in here." She said, taking a bite of the bacon sandwich. "I enjoy your company."

Severus was taken aback by this comment. He struggled to understand why Theda was always so friendly towards him.

"Do you not enjoy the company of the other staff?"

"I do enjoy their company. Well, most of them, anyway." She said. "Just not all at once."

He raised an eyebrow. "Because you find it draining? I remember you mentioning something of that nature after the feast your first night here."

"Yeah. It's kind of hard to explain."

"Try. I'm interested now." He said.

"Well... I guess you could say I'm very perceptive of what others are feeling."

"In what way?" He asked. "Can you... see into their minds?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. I've never been trained as a legilimens, but I have wondered if perhaps I have a predisposition for it, or something similar. I can't see what someone is thinking, but I can feel what they're feeling. It can be an insightful skill to have, but the physical toll can be quite overwhelming when I have to feel dozens of conflicting emotions all at once."

"Strange." He said. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"Yeah, I haven't met any other witches or wizards who could relate."

There was a long pause.

"What am I feeling right now?" He asked.

"Hunger." She answered teasingly. "Eat your breakfast!"