❝ STEPPING, I'M STOMPING, I'M ALL GONE. ❞ ☓ 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭
this book has been fully re-edited and its original name being "his destructive little wildfire" but as it was created in 2021 and was hor...
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viii. babbling, bumbling band of baboons
DELEINE WAS HUMMING AS SHE WALKED INTO SNAPE'S OFFICE DURING THE NIGHT. Snape looked up from his papers, his gaze steady and unnervingly assessing, as though she were an oddity in his perfectly ordered world.
She came to a halt before his desk, her head tilted in a playful quirk, and a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "What's with the look?" she asked, her tone light and teasing.
"You're behaving unusually," Snape said in his characteristic monotone, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Deleine merely shrugged and dragged a chair over to his desk, positioning herself comfortably as she observed him. He attempted to continue grading, but his distraction obvious. With an exasperated sigh, he cast aside his quill and fixed her with a piercing stare. "Your smile is quite distracting."
"That's the strangest comment I've ever heard from you," Deleine remarked, her brows knitting together in mild confusion. "Considering how often you try to make me smile, it seems odd for you to complain now."
"Because you refuse to tell me why," Snape said, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized her. "You're keeping me in the dark once again."
"Not everything needs to be explained," Deleine replied, her tone breezy. "Maybe I'm just happy for the sake of being happy." His incredulous look made her roll her eyes, the playful glimmer in her expression fading slightly.
"Fine, Mr. Meany," she retorted with a mock pout. "Next time I see you smiling, I'll take it as a personal affront."
Snape shook his head with a hint of exasperation. "Deleine, I'm not taking your smile as an offense. I merely find it unusual." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "For as long as I've known you, you rarely smiled, and now, it's as if your smile is something you can barely contain."
"Because I am happy," she answered simply, her gaze steady.
"I'm not asking about your happiness," Snape replied, his tone sharpening slightly. "I'm asking who is making you happy. Your reluctance to share suggests there's something you're deliberately withholding." Deleine hesitated, her gaze faltering.
Deleine met his determined gaze and sighed, her resolve wavering. "Look, just don't be surprised..." She began, rising from her chair and edging toward the door. "Don't be surprised if I show up to the Yule Ball with a date." She finished with a smirk, barely pausing for his reaction before slipping swiftly through the door.
Snape was left staring at the empty space where she had stood, his mouth opening and closing as if searching for words that wouldn't come. The room fell silent, the only sound the faint rustle of papers on his desk as he tried to process her unexpected confession.
