Snape's New Haircut

t h i r t e e n

—

(Y/N) was exhausted, she was leaning against his arm, head on his shoulder. Severus tried not to burst out in a fit of laughter — the looks the students sent him was comical, he pressed his lips together, probably looking like he'd sucked a sour lemon.

Curiously, Harry Potter was missing from the Gryffindor table, his friends — one was stuffing his face whilst the other had her nose buried in a book — seemed like they had no care in the world.

Severus frowned, leaning  forward, he'd briefly forgotten that his — he'd deemed the term girlfriend was too juvenile for his tastes — romantic partner was practically sleeping on his arm, (Y/N) was startled awake, "Shite, sorry darling." He straightened his body, leaning back into his chair.

"Is it time for bed?" She mumbled, blinking her eyes wearily, "Not yet," He murmured, "Close your eyes, hmm? I'll be right here." (Y/N) sighed contently, resting her head back on his shoulder.

"Poor dear," Minerva says, sympathy clear in her eyes, "You take care of her, Severus." He merely inclined his head, Pomona had sent (Y/N) to France to harvest a couple of magical plants, she'd returned late this afternoon when classes ended, quickly went to put the plants away in her office chatting about her day to Severus — who was grading essays on her desk.

He watched Granger pull Weasley from the table, it looked like the both of them were squabbling, "Hmm," He narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously, his free arm reaching for his goblet.

It didn't take long before dinner concluded, the students dispersing out of the Hall, unfortunately for (Y/N) and Severus — who both just wanted to get some sleep — Albus had told them there would be a staff meeting after dinner. Severus shook (Y/N) awake gently, "Time for the staff meeting, love." He whispered, (Y/N) stood, "I'm awake." She yawned behind her fist, eyes half-lidded.

Severus leads her away from the head table, his hand steady on the small of her back, they followed right behind Albus and Minerva. There were a crowd of noisy students ahead of them,(Y/N) blinked away the sleep from her eyes, "Are we almost there?" She asks, leaning against him slightly, "Almost," Severus replies, pulling on his robes so she wouldn't trip on it.

The noise was silenced suddenly, and he heard Draco's voice say something, and then Mr. Filtch spoke up, his voice ringing through the hallway clearly, "I'll kill you! I'll --" The caretaker growled, "Argus!" Albus marches forward, "Argus, I-" The headmaster's voice trailed, Severus looked up from his robes, horrifyingly, on the wall words were written — in what seemed like a child's handwriting — with blood.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR... BEWARE.

Severus' stomach lurched, he'd heard stories about this chamber, horrifying ones, indeed. The cat — Mrs. Norris — hangs stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, eyes open and blank. "Good Godric," He heard (Y/N) mutter, Severus stepped forward slightly putting enough space between him and Lockhart, he watched as Albus faced darkened at the sight of the wall, "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately."

The students begin to scramble off, "Everyone except you three." Albus added pointing to the Potter and his friends, some of the staff went to usher the students away, leaving only the Headmaster, the Head of Houses — with the exception of Filius who was ill — (Y/N), Argus Filtch, and bloody fucking Lockhart.

     As the corridor empties, Lockhart approaches the clearly petrified cat, Severus felt (Y/N) shudder behind him, he threw a concerned glance her way, she smiled up at him, weakly, and gave him a thumbs-up, telling him silently she was fine. She averted her eyes, staring determinedly at his back, his eyebrows rose.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's in my autobiography..." Severus sent a disgusted sneer at the blond's direction, Dear Merlin, was this prat's head filled with sawdust?

He almost chuckled when Albus and Minerva gave Lockhart a slightly judging look, "She's not dead, Argus. She's been Petrified." Albus soothed, "Precisely! So unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very countercurse that could have spared her..." Lockhart backpedalled quickly, Severus shut his eyes, as if in pain, and shook his head slightly, he heard (Y/N) giggled silently from behind him.

"But how she's been Petrified... I cannot say." Albus continued, and steps to the wall, with extreme gentleness, removes Mrs. Norris from the torch basket.

Filtch immediately pointed an accusing finger at Potter, " Ask him! It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall! Besides, he knows I'm — I'm a Squib."

"It's not true, sir! I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris — And I don't even know what a Squib is." Potter protested, "Rubbish!" Argus roared, "He saw my Kwikspell letter!"

Severus frowns, "If I might, Headmaster..." He started, in a quiet voice, the others turn to look at him, curiously, he steps forward, "Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time..." Snape inwardly smirks at their predictable reaction, he watched as they share a look, "However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."

"Ah, I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail..." Lockhart interjects, Severus rolled his eyes, lips curling in disgust, "That's why Ron and I went looking for him, Professor. We'd just found him when Harry said..." Granger starts, and Severus turns to her, raising an expectant eyebrow, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"When I said I wasn't hungry." Potter continues, sharing another look with his friends, "We were heading back to the Common Room and... found Mrs. Norris." Weasley quickly nods in agreement. Severus narrows his eyes, eying them. Potter was clearly lying, he turns to Albus with a flourish, eyebrow raised even higher, "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus."

"My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!" Argus cried, "We will be able to cure her, Argus." Albus soothes, "As I understand it, Madam Sprout and Miss (L/N) has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris." Argus slightly calms at the mention of a cure, "In the meantime, I advise caution. To all."

"Headmaster?" (Y/N) steps forward slightly, seeing Argus still angry, "If I may, maybe we could check their wands for any untoward spells?" She suggests, "Terrific idea, (Y/N), I thought of it myself but, you beat me to it," Lockhart grins.

"Sure you did," She says, oozing with sarcasm, and casts a glance toward the wall with the bloody letters, turning positively green, Severus is immediately by her side in a blur, surprising the three students, looking concerned, "I'm just a little queasy at the sight of blood that's all," She waved dismissively.

"Perhaps you should take (Y/N) back to her chambers, Professor Snape." Pomona suggests, looking concerned, "Please do, we can handle this." Minerva assures him, Severus nodded curtly and leads (Y/N) back to their chambers.

—

whoopsie daisy, it has been a month since my last update, sorry to keep you waiting! i read through my previous chapters, they're in need of a whole load of editing, don't they? ugh, they're so badly written, I'll do some proofreading soon. But anyway, hope you guys like this chapter, maybe vote or comment? that would be highly appreciated :> updates soon — hopefully!