sister of the wolf | s. snape

fourteen | slytherin

Once they both sat, he released it, but part of her wished he hadn't. Simply because he was her friend and it made her feel comforted, she reasoned.

After staring at her for only a second longer, the Slytherins easily slipped back into the conversation they must've been having before she arrived.

"Did you see the Pettigrew boy nearly wet himself during Care of Magical Creatures today?" Malfoy asked the group with a chuckle.

"Merlin, that was funny," Narcissa giggled, shaking her head. "Poor little thing, so scared of a Manticore!"

"Well, Manticores are a bit dangerous," Elise spoke up without even thinking. Their eyes turned to her and she flushed, looking down at her hands in her lap.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, but chucked at her response. "She's not wrong." He defended playfully.

The others nodded and laughed quietly. Elise forced a small smile at them and felt Severus' sleeved arm brush against hers comfortingly.

For a good while, the Slytherins simply conversed and haughtily joked with each other.
Severus didn't speak much, but would chuckle quietly at things they said quite a bit. Elise sat and listened, keeping her mouth shut now after the embarrassing Manticore comment.

She was in a sort of reverie, staring into the fire, when she heard her name.

Bellatrix had brought her back into conversation.

"So, Lupin," she began with a smirk, leaning forward in her seat. Oh shit. "How's mum? Muggle, isn't she?"

The others turned their gaze to her and she felt her face heat up. Narcissa shot her sister an unamused expression and Lucius' eyebrows raised curiously.

"Uh, yes, she is..." Elise began quietly, her tone uncertain as she avoided their eyes.

"Don't entertain her, Elise," Severus said lowly. Bellatrix's eyes shot to his and narrowed.

"The little Half-blood," she spat the word with disgust, her wicked grin still on her features. "Can speak for herself -"

Severus' hand tightened around his wand. When the Hell did he take that out?! His eyes narrowed at Bellatrix and he tilted his head slightly.

"A little reminder that I myself am a Half-blood, Bella," he said sharply. His voice was laced with such venom it made goosebumps raise on Elise's skin as he spoke. "So, if I were you, I would watch your tone with our guest."

Bellatrix's eyes darted from Severus' wand, to Elise, then back to him. She rolled her eyes and laughed, leaning back into her armchair, but saying no more.

The topic of conversation quickly switched, and soon the air wasn't nearly as thick with tension. Elise could occasionally feel Bellatrix's cold eyes on her, but tried to ignore it. It would only take a mere few seconds for Severus to notice and turn his gaze to the Slytherin girl, making her look away quickly.

After about an hour or so, the Slytherins headed off to their dorms for bed, leaving Severus and Elise alone in the common room.

It was Friday, so Elise wasn't too worried about getting to bed at a good time. With the uncomfortable air gone with the girls and Malfoy, she turned in her seat on the couch, bringing her legs up and crossing them. She faced Severus, a bashful smile on her lips.

"That went well, didn't it?" She said jokingly.

Severus chuckled and looked at her. "You did pretty well for being in a room filled with snakes."

Elise flushed a bit. "Thank you for... defending me..." She said softly.

He shook his head, waving it off. "You've done the same..." he muttered, almost as if only to himself.

After a moment, Elise thought of something she'd been meaning to ask him.

"Um, have you tried apologizing to Lily, by the way?"

Severus stiffened, looking at the fire. "Yes, I have tried," he said in a short, cold tone. It used to be the only voice he'd ever spoken to her with, but now he only reverted back to it when she'd hit a nerve.

Deciding to not push the subject, she nodded. A few silent moments passed before she spoke up again. Severus must have zoned out, because the sound of her voice made him jump.

"What do you want to do once you graduate?"

Severus looked at her, blinking a few times as he processed the question. "Not entirely sure," he said quietly, scratching the back of his neck. "I've considered teaching here, at the school..."

"Oh! What subject?" Elise beamed excitedly. "Potions or Defence Against the Dark Arts?"

He half-smiled, shaking his head at her. She knew him pretty well at this point, to know what subjects he'd be most interested and skilled at teaching.

"The latter," he said. "But Potions would do as well."

"You'd do well at that," she said, nodding. "But you'd need to work on your, uh... people skills."

Severus raised a brow at her. "What do you mean?"

Elise cocked her head at him. "Really, Severus?"

His lips broke into a full smile and he let out a chuckle. A proper smile suits him well, she thought.

"Yeah, I suppose I know what you mean," he said, still grinning a bit. He turned his gaze back to her. "And what do you want to be when you grow up, Miss Lupin?"

"Grow up?" She repeated with a pout and narrowed eyes. "You're only a year older than me!"

Severus chuckled again, then motioned for her to give him an answer.

"I think I'd really like to work with creatures," Elise said softly, playing with her own fingers. "I know quite a bit about them, I've been in love with learning about them since I was thirteen and took my first Care of Magical Creatures class."

"Thirteen? So, yesterday?" Severus joked, smirking at her with a glint in his eyes.

Elise gasped dramatically and smacked his arm with a couch pillow. "Prat!" She said between laughs.

"But that's interesting... And explains the Manticore remark," Severus said after they'd finished laughing over his joke. "I thought you'd be a Herbologist or something."

"Why, because I'm a Hufflepuff?" She tilted her head at him and crossed her arms.

Severus grinned. "Partially."

Elise couldn't hold back her smile and they both broke into a fit of laughter. It was the first time she'd ever heard him fully laugh.

-

I'd like to hear that much more often, she thought that night as she laid in her bed. Willow's soft snoring came from the bed beside hers, the only sound in the room. It was well past midnight when she finally crept back from the Slytherin common room.

Elise felt her face heat up all the way to her ears as she replayed the sound of Severus' laughter and the image of his full smile in her mind.