"Albus I can no longer do this."
"Are you telling me you're tired Severus, is that was this is?"
"Of course I am tired." Severus barked. "I have been going in circles. Endless circles. And we are hardly any closer to the solution."
"I don't believe we should be talking about this now." Dumbledore sipped his wine. "The children have all gone to bed. Enjoy the night." He smiled.
"Albus this is breaching insanity I-"
"I do not need other professors hearing this Severus. Now, if you would like to discuss this you are more than welcome in my office any time but now." Severus gritted his teeth. Frustrated, he turned his back to Albus as he swiftly made his way towards the drinks table for another glass of wine. He was exhausted. His trips had become almost constant, this was one of the rare weekends which he got to enjoy to himself, but his mind was still plagued by Dumbledore's orders.
"Alright!" Sofia announced as she walked into the lounge. "All of the Slytherins are finally in their dorm's I think it is safe to say that I can finally enjoy a well-deserved glass of wine!" She smiled picking up a glass, as some of the professors laughed. Remus made it over to her side.
"How was putting them down, did they resist more than usual?"
"Merlin! You make it sound like they're animals, Remus!"
"Well I'm not too far off am I?' He quirked an eyebrow. Sofia wrapped her fingers tightly around the stem of the glass.
"I have to be honest, this 2-hour curfew extension which Albus came up with has made it insanely more difficult tonight."
"Especially after such an eventful night..." Minerva joined in. "Pamona and I had to force some of the girls out of the common room. They simply refused to bid their goodbyes to some of their respective friends." Minerva pursed her lips.
"Ah, of course, young love..." Sofia pondered.
"Say, Sof, do have any fond memories of... refusing to leave the common room?" Remus nudged Sofia continuously as Minerva giggled resembling a schoolgirl. Sofia groaned.
"Come on Sof, give us old folks something to smile about." Remus spoke as he sipped his wine and Minerva shot him a stern look.
"You two are not old!! Besides I was too focused on studying to think about those sort of things..."
"If I remember correctly Sof, there was a time where they had to physically pull a Slytherin Seeker back to his room after the Christmas Ball during your...6th year I believe?" Remus smirked. She squinted her eyes at Remus. She tried to remember that evening. She couldn't quite figure out how he knew about this, she was sure that Remus wasn't patrolling the hallways that night.
"Do tell Sof, what was the guy like?"
"I don't like to kiss and tell Remus! And no one had to physically pull anyone!" Sofia jabbed his side. "Peter was a lovely boy, him and I were quite close during my first year at Hogwarts, he was extremely talented at Herbology."
"Of course! Peter Zain." Minerva added. Both Remus and Sofia were shocked at Minerva's memory. "Where is he now anyway? I remember he was an extraordinary Seeker. Gave the Gryffindors quite a tough time during the games."
"Unfortunately we fell out during the summer. I haven't heard from him since graduation."
"Well, he sounds like a sweet lad." Remus placed his glass on the side table. "Anyways, it was lovely speaking to you ladies but I'm afraid I must depart now. See you all in the morning." Remus left the room as Sofia continued to chat with Minerva.
Meanwhile, Severus quickly got sick of socializing with his colleagues as he made his way out. He grabbed the glass of wine and propped himself against the railing overlooking the black lake. He looked at the grass as he remembered the night he unhexed Sofia. He enjoyed the silence around him. Although he had nothing against his fellow coworkers he always preferred solitude. Unfortunately for him, Sofia had the same thought. He heard the door of the lounge squeak open before hearing the faint laughs of the professors from the inside, which was followed by the sharp sound of a woman heels hitting the stoned ground.
"Enjoying yourself?" Sofia's voice interrupted the silence as she joined him.
"I was." Although his rude response would usually be the queue for Sofia to leave she stayed. They stood silent for some time, both enjoying the wind and the moon reflecting over the black lake.
"I was surprised to see you dance today Severus" Sofia broke their comfortable silence. She knew that her comment was risky, but something urged her to make an attempt at a conversation.
"And why is that?" Severus muttered looking down at his empty glass.
"See, I thought you wouldn't have known how to dance at all." Sofia shrugged her shoulders, a slight smile playing at her lips.
"You assumed that after teaching here for over a decade I wouldn't be able to partake in a simple waltz?" Severus quirked an eyebrow as he turned to look at Sofia who was already staring at him. Sofia was in disbelief that Severus was capable of having a normal conversation with her.
"No, I had just figured you completely forgot, since the last time you did it was probably over 100 years ago..." She bit her lip. She knew she was pushing it way past the horizon at this point. But to her surprise, Severus simply let out a small laugh. It was a deep course laugh, which she had never heard before. She was sure that this was an absolute rare occurrence. They both fell silent again before Sofia decided she wanted to ask him another question.
"I have a very strange question which I would like to ask you, Professor." She hated having to refer to him like that as it always reminded her that she was still somehow beneath him. Severus gave a sly nod in return.
"Remus brought up some of my lesser memorable antics form the time I was a student at Hogwarts..." She began. "Do you remember Peter Zain by any chance?" Severus looked up his eyes showing an emotion which she couldn't quite place.
"Yes. He was bloody horrible at potions." He groaned.
"And do you by any chance remember the Christmas ball night, during my first year?"
"Ms Greene, are you referring to the time when I caught you and Mr Zain in the common room after hours?" Sofia was once more impressed by one of her Professors memories.
"How on earth do you remember that? "
"I remember that because it was one of the rare occasions in which I had to deduct a relentless amount of points from my own house." He looked at her clenching his jaw tightly at the memory. Severus was always very cautious with Slytherins, as many of the Professors knew he was secretly extremely competitive, and Slytherins rarely won the House Cup.
"I do remember thinking that punishment was extremely harsh." Severus scoffed at her , "-and why is Remus aware of any of this?"
"I am sure you are now aware of the fact that the professors sometimes enjoy discussing their students behind closed doors. It was simply brought up during a night similar to this one, as we were quite surprised to see such a- " he paused "-hardworking, student partake in such activities."
"Was that a compliment Professor?" She smiled.
"Don't test your luck, Greene." He twisted a large ring around his index finger with his thumb as he continued. The ring resembled a thick silver band with dark stone.
"Besides, your work ethic was the main reason why Albus decided to hire you after Minerva suggested it." Severus leaned further onto the railing. "If I may ask, what made you go back to the muggle world?" Sofia was shocked to hear him ask that question. Severus rarely showed any interest in her personal life.
"To be quite frank with you, I failed to find my place in the wizarding world when I left school, so I thought it might be simpler to rejoin what I knew best." Sofia sighed. He rolled his eyes.
"I am assuming you found a decent job then?" He looked up at her, watching her grey eyes dart from place to place.
"Well...there were bars, restaurants and of course anything else that I could get my hands on. London is quite tough for someone who is missing a bachelor's degree." Sofia remembered the days where she functioned on 3 hours of sleep just so she could cover her rent. "I quite enjoyed the bar I worked at. I always loved talking to people, it seemed like the perfect fit for me then." She wasn't lying. Every night at the bar, there met a new person who was in desperate need of having someone to talk to, and Sofia was always happy to listen, no matter the scope of the problem.
"Hm." Was all she heard in return. She finisher her last drop of wine, as she felt that Severus was up to his capacity with talking. She abruptly pushed herself up from the railing.
"I'll go check on the students one last time before heading to bed. I hope you enjoyed the dance, Severus." Severus nodded. He heard the sound of her shoes disappear down the hallway. He pondered for a moment, wondering if she had referred to the evening or the few minutes they danced together. He glanced at her one last time as she disappeared onto the staircase, her hips swaying with every step. He felt a warm familiar feeling in the pit of his stomach. Meanwhile, Sofia made her way down to the Slytherin common room. She was happy to not find any of the students still up, she was just about to head back to her quarters before she heard a faint sound. A laugh perhaps? She slowly made her way towards the back of the room. Suddenly the noise died down. She pulled back the curtain to reveal two students snogging in front of her. The first thought Sofia had was panic as she had absolutely no idea how to deal with this. Does she take house points? Take them straight to Severus? Or Albus? Her mind was racing as the two students quickly separated from each other.
"Professor Greene, I'm so sorry! Please...don't...I'm-" The girl stammered.
"We were just about to head back to our dormitories!" The boy interrupted.
"Both of you. Out, now. Follow me." She heard the two students curse as she led them through the dungeons. She was relieved to see the light shining from underneath Severus' office door. She softly knocked on the door making sure to look back at the two students who were absolutely petrified with fear. "Yes?" She heard an annoyed menacing growl. She pushed the door open to reveal Severus behind his desk writing something aggressively with his quill. Slowly looking up, Severus had already gathered what happened. He exhaled a loud breath as he waited for one of them to speak. Deafening silence filled his office.
"I don't remember you being mute Professor Greene?" He leaned back in his chair, resting his left palm on his face, index finger lightly tapping on his cheek.
"I found these two in the common room." Sofia paused.
"Doing what...?"
"Snogging." Sofia firmly replied. She watched as Severus momentarily shut his eyes taking in another deep breath.
"Leave them with me." He gently gestured for Sofia to leave. Severus looked exhausted. Sofia quickly walked out of the room. Although she knew there was no point for her to stick around, she was curious to see what Severus would do with the poor children. She almost felt guilty for bringing them to him. After hearing Severus raise his voice a number of times, she heard the office door open, the two love birds rushed back to their rooms. She watched as Severus stepped out of his office. He felt Sofia next to him, turning he locked eyes with her.
"Did you find more students for me to deal with?"
"No." Without breaking eye contact she paused. "I was just curious to see what punishment you gave them."
"I simply explained the implications of what they were doing and warned them of what would happen if there would be any more future occurrences." Sofia's lips gently parted.
"That's it?" Not that she was disappointed, she was just shocked to see Severus be so forgiving.
"Don't look so surprised. I am feeling very lenient tonight Ms Greene." Either because of her or the wine, he thought to himself. As Sofia was already beginning to head towards the small elf door she felt his gaze pierce her back.
"Greene." He softly breathed as she turned her head to face him.
"Goodnight."