Savior Complex || Sirius Black

(nine.)

Dalia woke up late the next morning. She panicked a little, feeling sick and light headed as she sprinted down the spiral staircase towards the staff room, where she was supposed to be about thirty minutes ago.

    She very nearly barreled into Severus Snape, who had been coming up the stairs at the same time.

    "Oh fucking- fuck, I'm so sorry." She exclaimed, flushed and disoriented and bouncing from step to step, unsure if she had time to pause. Snape blinked down at her, obviously just as sleepy as Dalia felt.

    "I was coming to find you." He said in an even tone. Dalia felt her face flush.

    "Fuck, the morning meeting isn't over already, is it?"

    "It is."

    "Fuck."

    Snape's mouth quirked minutely. "Shouldn't you have known that already, though?"

    "That's not-" Dalia said, breathless and exasperated. She waved her hands a little. "-that's not how it works. But you know that already, because I've told you already, and oh fuck- fuck, I missed the first meeting of my first real day, fuck."
    "That mouth is going to get you in trouble, Raycroft."

    "Oh, fuck my mouth and fuck all this shit. Fuck, this is so embarrassing. That Umbridge chick is never going to let me live this down. She didn't happen to also miss the meeting, did she?"

    "She did not."

    Dalia threw her hands up in the air, and then slumped against the stone wall. "That's it then. I'm already a failure, and I haven't even had my first class yet." Then she dropped her head into her hands, and took a long, deep breath in.

    "Raycroft." Snape said. Dalia peeked between her fingers at him.

    "Yes?"

    "The morning meetings aren't mandatory."

    "They're not?"

    "No. I can tell you everything that was covered. McGonagall hasn't shown up to a morning meeting since I began here."

    Dalia felt her shoulders relax a little. "She hasn't?"

    Snape shook his head. Dalia let out a relieved sigh.

    "Oh Merlin. I really thought that was it."

    "If it had been more important, someone would have sent for you. But it wasn't. I figured you might need help, though." He sounded haughty, but his cheeks tinted pink slightly. Dalia couldn't help notice it, amusement battling her own embarrassment . "The first day was confusing for me as well, you know." Snape continued, "But, obviously, that was a long time ago."

    "Obviously." Dalia drawled, and then dropped her arms, and surveyed up and down the tower staircase. "So- well, what do we do, then? On the first day."

    Snape tilted his head. "Most clean. I don't need to, but most do. Especially that-" His face contorted with disgust. "-Rubeus Hagrid. But he's out on some- mission, I suppose. For Dumbledore."

    Dalia's ears perked with interest at this. "Mission? Does- um, does Dumbledore often send his professors out on missions?"

    Snape peered down his nose at her, and Dalia felt small under his gaze. Maybe prying had been a bad idea. He said nothing, and she elected not to push it any further.

    The rest of the day went rather smoothly, with the aid of Snape. Dalia rearranged the tables in her classroom for the third time, and refreshed all the dried flowers. She'd enchanted them to rebloom if someone touched them, and Snape stood for a good few moments just playing around with the charm. He didn't say anything about it, but Dalia knew he was impressed with her work.