Intolerable Man [SnapexOC]

3. You said Forever

The beginning of a new term was closing in on the Hogwarts Professors. They were all anxious to see how this year would pan out, since the Tri-Wizard Tournament had been reinstated and Hogwarts would host it this year. Lana had only ever read about the tournaments daring and dangerous tasks. She was surprised to hear that Dumbledore would allow such a thing to be hosted at his school.

Lana was still the only Professor at Hogwarts, besides Dumbledore, but he told her about how shocked the other Professor's were when he told them about hosting the tournament. He also told her that McGonagall would be arriving in a few days, and that he hadn't told Minerva about Lana's return yet. Lana was excited to surprise her former Professor, even though she knew McGonogall hated surprises.

There was a small kitchen in Lanas personal chambers, she took advantage of the fully stocked pantry and make a small breakfast. She pondered over what to do with her day as she picked at her toast. She cleaned up after herself and got dressed in something comfortable. As she was slipping into some trousers she tripped over her pile of school supplies on the ground. Lana slammed into her wardrobe, cursing the entire time. That's when it hit her, not the wardrobe but what she was going to do with her day.

Lana decided to take a trip to Hogsmeade, hopefully the shops there would have some more of the teaching materials she needed and another trip to Diagon alley wouldn't be necessary.

Just as Lana disapparated from the outside the Hogwarts grounds, another figure appeared in her place.

It was Severus who had just arrived at Hogwarts. He always got there early to avoid the other Professor's, then left until the beginning of the term. He made it a tradition to deep clean his classroom and office before the start of the year, to give the house elf's some slack. He was also a strong believer in, if you want something done right do it yourself.

Before Severus could make it to his room he was stopped by Dumbledore. He felt himself become irritated instantly, but acknowledged the headmaster kindly.

"Severus!" Albus exclaimed, with arms open, like he was actually going to hug Severus. Something in his old man brain clicked and he realised who he was talking to. His arms fell, and he instead went in for a handshake. Severus held out his hand, reluctantly, and accepted the handshake.

"Hello, Albus." his deep voice echoed through the halls.

After standing awkwardly in front of each other for a while, Severus was the first to continue to his destination. When he thought he was finally rid of the headmaster, he heard his boots clinking in the stone floor behind him. Severus thought about walking faster, his legs were certainly longer than Albus' and he could lose him somewhere in the castle. But Severus decided against choosing violence with his colleague and waited for the old wizard to catch up to him. And eventually he did, then the pair walked through the school together.

"What is it?" Severus asked after Dumbledore followed him for awhile.

"Nothing."

"Why are you following me?"

"Just wondering what you're doing here."

Severus stopped.

"Albus, I come early every year. I've done this at the start of almost every term." Severus was annoyed, and you could hear it in his voice.

"Oh, that's right! Blasted memory." Was all Albus said before finally leaving Severus.

Severus watched Albus walk away. The old man was finally losing it. He shook his head and continued to the dungeons.

When Lana got back to Hogwarts she was once again greeted by Dumbledore. He walked with her back to her room, but didn't offer to help with the bags she was carrying.

"Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" She asked jokingly.

"Nothing comes to mind." Was all he said back.

"Minerva arrives tomorrow." he said as they reached her chambers. He opened the door with a wave of his wand, since Lanas hands were full. Lana nodded, thanking him for the help, even if it was a little late.

"That's great! I can't wait to see her." Lana called from her bedroom, since Albus stopped at the doorway.

He smiled. "Well, I'll leave you be, dear. Goodnight!" He said as he closed Lanas door.

That entire interaction left Lana extremely confused, and a little suspicious. Albus Dumbledore always seemed to be up to something. Lana knew she would go mad if she tried to think about it too much, so she decided to haul some of her materials over to her classroom instead of thinking about all of the things Albus could possibly be hiding from her.

From the moment Severus got to his classroom, to that evening, he hadn't stopped cleaning. Dusting every shelf, checking every single ingredients expiration date, scraping gunk off of the dungeon floors and then mopping them. He was in the zone and there was no ending in sight.

But then, very unlike himself, Severus stopped his cleaning and sat at his desk. He wasn't one to take breaks, so this was very unusual behavior.

The evening slipped away into night, Severus didn't notice, he was captivated by something of the past. In his hand he held an old polaroid picture. It didn't move, and was in black and white but it was the most extraordinary picture he'd ever seen. He gave his office a deep cleaning every year, but he was just now finding this picture. It was hidden, tucked away on a shelf in his office.

It was him and Lana on the couch in his sitting room, he remembered the night perfectly. It was one of the many nights that she snuck out of her dorm to be with him. He examined the picture closely, while he remembered the night he didn't remember the picture. Severus couldn't remember the last time he was that happy, either.

Lana was in that nightgown, the black satin one that hugged her body in the perfect way. It didn't look constricting, it was snug. He was in his usual pajamas, but Severus wasn't focused on his attire. He was mesmerized by Lana. She was sprawled across his lap, laughing. She was happy.

This wasn't the tormented woman who left him three summers ago. He couldn't help but think that this was his fault, that he made her miserable.

Severus sat alone in his office the entire night, reliving the past and looking for where it went wrong.