The Wolf's Howl

M.I.A.

I said I'd have the chapter up by the end of the week, so here it is. Enjoy it, I hope...

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Severus yawned widely and sat up, rubbing his eyes gently. He sat for a second, simply observing his bedroom, shaking off the foggy stupor of sleep. Suddenly, his brows furrowed. Severus distinctly remembered falling asleep on the couch...with a large wolf who was now missing. 

Shaking his head, he briefly considered writing yesterday off as a weird, stress-induced dream before noticing the folded parchment on his bedside table, a large green pawprint adorning it. Unfolding the parchment, he skimmed the note quickly.

Severus Tobias Snape,

I am sorry to have left so abruptly, and I hope you will not take too unkindly to waking up alone. I did take the liberty of moving you to your bedroom, as your couch is not the best place to sleep. I have gone to investigate the East entrance...Now that I am thinking about it, I could probably wait to do that, but I know I will not be able to get back to sleep at this point. Wish me luck. I will see you in class.

Ajax

Severus cast a quick Tempus charm, seeing that it was only 5:13 in the morning. Given that the ink was dry on the parchment and the lingering presence of Harry's calming magic had already dissipated, Severus estimated that the wolf had left at least three hours prior. The potions professor sighed. They had fallen asleep around eleven the previous night, which meant that Harry had slept a maximum of three hours. He would have to talk with the younger about his sleeping habits...again. Severus looked at the time again. It was too early to truly be productive, but too late to try to get some more sleep if he didn't want to miss breakfast. 

"Long shower then," he muttered to himself, heaving his body out of bed and shuffling to his bathroom.

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Severus walked into the Great Hall a few minutes early, feeling refreshed from his shower. He hoped the feeling would last throughout the day, but knew that he'd probably be grouchy by the end of first period since he had first years directly after breakfast. Throughout breakfast, he conversed lightly with Minerva while keeping an eye out for the familiar mess of black hair at the Gryffindor table, and internalizing his worry when the younger did not appear. 

"I'm sorry, Minerva, I must go set up for the first round of students," he said, abruptly cutting the Transfiguration professor off from her description of Trelawney's latest mishap. He stood without waiting for a response, sweeping down the side aisle and arriving at his classroom in record time. 

First and second period came and went with minimal mishaps, though one Hufflepuff girl had to be sent to the Hospital Wing after spilling an incomplete (and incorrect) potion on herself. Severus had managed to successfully avoid laughing at the way her skin changed colors every few seconds, but it had been a close call when she turned bright orange and a Ravenclaw had yelled "Oompa Loompa!" from across the room. He almost felt bad about docking points from the boy. 

At lunch, he asked Madame Pomfrey about the girl, relieved to hear that no lasting damage had been done. He didn't particularly care about the Hufflepuff, but his job required a certain amount of decorum. What he did care about, however, was Harry's continued absence. Halfway through lunch, Severus turned to Minerva. 

"You have Harry for second period, right?" he asked. The Transfiguration professor froze and fixed him with an unreadable look. Severus merely raised an eyebrow in response.