Happy Birthday, Professor Snape

Disclaimer: I haven't mentioned it lately, but nothing has changed. I still don't own the Harry Potter world. What a pity.

Chapter 14: Happy Birthday, Professor Snape

Rowan found that, after things had been settled between them, she saw Snape at mealtimes fairly regularly for the rest of break. Without discussing it, they fell into the habit of sitting on the same side of the table, several seats apart, so they did not have to face each other. One morning, though, Snape was late to breakfast, and the only seat left was directly opposite Rowan and next to Dumbledore. He sat in it without comment and began picking at his breakfast. Rowan got the impression he was trying very hard to ignore the Headmaster, and that ignoring her was just a side effect.

Choosing his moment carefully, so that Snape had a mouthful of cinnamon bun, Dumbledore winked at Rowan and wished Snape a happy birthday. Rowan wasn't sure if she should say something, out of common politeness, or just act as if she hadn't heard. Judging by the way Snape was scowling at Dumbledore, she opted for the second plan and attacked her scrambled eggs with apparent single-mindedness while keeping her ears peeled for the ensuing conversation.

"Thank you," Snape replied sourly, after he had swallowed.

"Any plans for the day?" Dumbledore asked him cheerily.

"Yes. I plan to organize the classroom cupboards and recheck my lesson plans for the next term."

"Weren't you telling me the other day you needed to buy some supplies in Hogsmeade?"

"I did," Snape replied quellingly.

Dumbledore was not quelled. "It's going to be fine today. This time of year you shouldn't miss such an opportunity. I think it is supposed to storm tonight and over the weekend."

"Very. Well." Snape had a pretty good idea where the Headmaster was going with this, but short of jumping up from the table and stalking from the room, there was no way to avoid it. He stayed. He wouldn't make it away in time, and he hadn't finished his breakfast anyway.

"Fine. Fine. Excellent idea," Dumbledore commented as if Snape had made the suggestion. "You should bring Miss Bourne with you; I think she is the only N.E.W.T. potions student staying over break. It would be an opportunity for her if you allowed her to assist you."

Snape looked up to observe the young lady in question. He was just in time to see her eyes jump from his face back to her plate, and her ears turn pink.

"I will leave at one p.m. sharp. If you intend to accompany me, be at the front entrance at that time," Snape said to the top of Rowan's head.

Rowan nodded wordlessly and finished her breakfast as calmly as she could.

At one o'clock, Rowan was standing by the great door wearing her warmest cloak and robe and thickest socks under stout boots. She had a little money in her pocket in case she saw something she wanted to buy in the village. She hoped she'd have a chance to go into Honeydukes. She felt a craving for something sweet, but she was getting awfully tired of lemon drops; the taste had bad associations for her now.

Snape came up the stair from the dungeon at one promptly. He acknowledged her presence by holding the great door for her, after which he strode swiftly down the path to Hogsmeade on his long legs leaving Rowan scrambling to keep up. So much for having a chance to get to know her intended!

There was a thin, hard layer of snow on the ground that crunched underfoot but muffled other sounds. The air was crisp and clear, the sun bright, but it did not provide much warmth. The lake was frozen, except for a spot in the middle where the squid had been breaking it up, so it could keep an eye on things, Rowan guessed.

When they reached the town, Snape ushered her in to The Hog's Head, which rather surprised her. She'd never dared to go inside before, so she hung at the back wall and tried to see through the darkness while wrinkling her nose at the smell of goats. Snape spoke a few minutes with the proprietor. Some money and a box with several corked bottles exchanged hands. Snape carried the box under one arm and opened the door for Rowan with the other. She glanced into the box on the way past. So this is where he got the fermented nanny-goat's milk they had used in sixth year.

Their next stop was Dervish and Banges. Snape had a list of items he needed, some for the school and some for himself. There were several bits of alchemical glassware on the list. Snape explained to Rowan why he preferred one maker or another for each piece, then showed her the best way to wrap them for transport as his order was boxed up. There was also a magical timepiece Snape used for managing various phases of potion preparations. He had left it here for repair the other day (the arrow had been permanently stuck on 'boil till cauldron melts'), but it was not yet ready. Mrs Dervish said her husband was working on it right now, and would they mind waiting?

Snape looked inquiringly at Rowan, who said that she would like to do some shopping of her own.

Rowan stepped out into the village street and went to Honeydukes. She stocked up on chocolate frogs, Fizzing Whizzbees and a few other things. Next she went in to Scrivenshaft's; she needed some fresh parchment. They carried 'Bracken's Best' – "that must be Edgar's family", she thought. She bought a few rolls and some spare quills. When she went to the register, she saw a beautiful display of black swan quills. She looked at them admiringly. They were sleek, elegant and black, black, black. They made her think of Snape. She wondered if she dared; it seemed presumptuous to give him a gift, since he hadn't seemed to want anyone to know that it was his birthday. Still, they were going to be married, and she felt bad about the way she had torn up at him the other day. She bought a set of three and had them gift-wrapped in green paper.

On her way back to Dervish and Banges, Rowan looked up at the sky; it was getting dark, although still well before sunset, and the wind was picking up. It looked like Dumbledore hadn't been kidding about a storm coming in, and it was arriving sooner than predicted. She hurried inside to warn Professor Snape.

"It looks like that storm is coming in very soon. Is the clock ready?"

"No, not yet. I really must pick it up today; I am going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, and I need the clock back for the weekend."

Snape walked to the door and looked out. "Miss Bourne, some of the items I have purchased will not stand a wetting, and there are too many to keep them all dry under my cloak. Would you be so good as to take them back to the castle for me now? I will remain and bring the clock. Unfortunately, the clock is too delicate to take by Floo."

"You'll get soaked."

"I assure you, I will not melt."

"All right, then." Rowan took the packages, and bidding Mrs Dervish a good day, she hurried down the road back to the castle. She made it into the great door just moments before the sleet started falling. Snape would have locked all the dungeon rooms, so there was no way to drop off the packages. She took them with her to her dorm room and changed into more suitable indoor clothes. She peeked out the window. Ugh. No point in handing Snape the packages the second he walked in the door; he'd want a chance to dry off before she came barging in. With that notion, she put away her candy and other things and studied till dinnertime.

There was once again no sign of Snape at the dinner table, which wasn't a huge surprise. Rowan found her appetite keen after the walk in the cold air. She stuffed herself with beef stew and potatoes, then went back up to her dorm.

"He must be back by now", Rowan thought. She stowed the package with the feathers in an inside pocket of her robe, picked up the professor's packages and headed down to the dungeon. She realized, suddenly, that if he'd gotten wet, he'd have gone to his own rooms to change and might still be there. If he didn't happen to be in his workroom or office, she'd have to go back to the owl plan, although she doubted she could get one to fly out on a night like this – even if it was only going to another part of the castle.

She reached the bottom of the steps and turned the corner to the hallway. There she saw a light coming from his office door. She knew he must be expecting her, since she had his packages, so she knocked and went in without waiting.

Rowan was quite startled to find him sitting before the fire, drinking firewhisky from a shot glass. For some reason she failed to comprehend, there was a pile of dried cockroaches on the desk next to the remains of a plate of dinner. He must have eaten here so he could warm before the fire, and he must have been waiting for her – why else wasn't he in his rooms, which would surely be more comfortable?

"I have your packages."

"You can put them down on the desk."

Rowan walked over and put down Snape's items. She hesitated, unsure what to do now. She still had the package with the quills, but didn't know if she could give them to him now that she was here.

Snape looked at her inquiringly, clearly wondering why she hadn't just left.

"May I stay a little?" Rowan asked quietly.

"Whatever for?" Snape sounded startled.

"I thought maybe we could talk. I mean, once school starts, we won't be able to be alone together. Then we'll be married. That seems so strange. I don't know anything about you outside of class."

Snape was not drunk, he'd only had a little of the firewhisky to chase the chill from his icy soaking on the way back from Hogsmeade. Still, he was feeling just a little less reserved than usual, and the girl had a point. He stood and brought the other chair around from behind the desk so they were both in front of the fireplace.

"Sit."

Rowan complied. Snape looked at her speculatively, then transfigured another glass from one the cockroaches on the table. He poured a small amount of firewhisky into it and handed it to Rowan. "You are if age, yes?" he asked her with, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes," Rowan said, taking the glass. Ick. Still, it looks like a perfectly good glass. I always wondered what this stuff is like. She took a small sip. "Oh my," she said appreciatively. It tasted like oak-wood, Madeira wine and smoke, and left a trail of fire down her throat that then curled around and warmed her stomach. She had another sip and smiled. "Thank you."

Snape sat down in the other chair with his glass and looked into the flames.

Gathering courage from the warm spot in her belly, Rowan reminded him she knew it was his birthday and asked his age.

Snape turned his eyes from the fire to the girl. He looked like he'd been expecting the question. "I will tell you, but only if you answer a question of mine in return."

Rowan had no clue what he might want to know, would he ask about Edgar? That was safe, there was nothing there. "All right."

"I'm 37. That is more than twice your age, in case you haven't figured that out." He grimaced and waited to see how she would react.

"That's not so bad, I mean, you are younger than I thought."

"You mean I look much older, don't you?"

Rowan went pink.

"Your turn now," Snape reminded her.

Rowan looked up at him and waited nervously for his question.

"Why did you lie at the trial, when you said you were willing?"

Rowan felt the bottom drop out of her stomach, and all the pleasant warmth went with it. She took another sip of the firewhisky while she thought. She hadn't expected that question. Still, she'd agreed, so she had to answer.

"I wasn't lying."

Snape stared probingly into her eyes. She was telling the truth, which could only mean she had not lied then. That was a revelation. Perhaps the potion's failure was not Bella's fault after all. She'd been punished for it, but that didn't bother Snape. Besides, Bella liked it, he thought to himself with a twisted smile.

There had been a few students, mostly Slytherins, but also the occasional Ravenclaw, who had attempted to barter 'favors' for better grades. He had never gotten the impression from any of them that they felt any real attraction for him, so it hadn't been particularly difficult refusing them. He'd usually lowered their grades and docked points out of spite.

A number of other Slytherin girls (and more than a couple of boys) had made passes that weren't quid pro quo. Slytherins, in general, were attracted to power, and Snape was a very powerful wizard. He declined those offers too, but didn't dock points for them. You might as well punish a snake for slithering.

This, Snape could sense, was different. What would have happened between them, if events had gone differently? Really now, Severus, you're getting maudlin. He closed the bottle and put his glass on the desk. Just because a witch is willing doesn't mean she has anything more in mind than a spot of fun.

"Should I take it you had something of a crush on me?"

Rowan bridled at that characterization of her feelings, but didn't feel up to arguing about it. She looked down into her glass in embarrassment and left his assertion unchallenged.

"But you weren't planning on marrying me."

"Truthfully, no." Rowan blushed hotly. Had she really said that? Rowan stared into the amber liquid remaining in her half-empty glass. Who needed Veritaserum, when you had this stuff? She put the glass down on the desk next to Snape's.

Snape's face was inscrutable. She hoped she hadn't offended him. He stood and took her hand and pulled her to rise. "I think you'd better go back to your room now."

Oh dear, she had offended him. And she'd forgotten the quills.

"Oh, I forgot something." Rowan reached into her robe for the package. "This is for you."

"A birthday present?" Snape lost his unreadable expression, his face clearly showed his surprise. He didn't seem displeased.

"Yes." She handed him the package. Snape opened it and took out the swan quills slowly. He didn't look like he hated them.

"Thank you. They are quite pleasing."

Rowan smiled, gratified.

"Still, you really should go." Snape took Rowan's hand again to lead her to the door. There was an awkward moment. She looked down at her toes; Snape breathed in the scent from her hair. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and, before she could react, gave her a shove out the door.

The next day, Rowan didn't see Snape at either breakfast or lunch. She remembered then, he had said he would go to Diagon Alley today. She was sorry she couldn't have gone along on that trip, but she supposed it would have been harder to make it look good. She spent the afternoon in the library; she had an Herbology paper due in February, this would give her an even better excuse to hang out in the nice, warm greenhouse.

In the late afternoon, Snape returned to the castle. After disposing of some purchases, he wrote down some instructions on a sheet of parchment and Floo-called the Headmaster's office. "Headmaster, a word with you, please?"

Dumbledore's voice answered from the green flames. "Of course, come right up." Snape stepped into the green flames and into Dumbledore's office.

"You went to Diagon Alley today for more supplies, is that right? Did everything go well?"

"Yes, Headmaster, I was able to satisfactorily complete all my errands. This is what I wished to speak to you about."

"Very well, Severus, what do you wish to discuss?"

"I visited Gringotts and added Miss Bourne's name to my account. I also saw my attorney and had a will drawn up naming her my beneficiary."

"I thought the wedding wasn't for several months; I never knew you to be so trusting." Dumbledore commented with an especially bright twinkle.

"It is entirely possible I will not live to see my wedding day," Snape replied. "If anything should happen to me before the end of the year, Miss Bourne will be even more in need of whatever I can offer her. I have no other family living to be discomfited by the change of arrangements, so there is no reason not to make them now."

"I am gratified you feel this way, Severus. It is only part of why I know I can rely on you in any circumstances."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Snape replied. "There is one more matter I wished to discuss."

"What is it?" Dumbledore saw Snape was really concerned and so did not tweak him for his seriousness.

"If anything should happen to me, I want your word she will be protected."

"You have it, Severus. I guarantee, I will see that she is safe."

"Thank you."

Next chapter: return of the plot and the rest of the students, as the holiday break comes to a close.