Heredity vs. Solidarity (S. Snape)

Chapter Thirty-Two

A marching throng of students dressed in green and silver attire were chanting and applauding as they strode throughout the halls. Within the Slytherin Seeker’s hands was the tiny Golden Snitch, still fluttering its elliptical wings as if about to escape. The Seeker was being pushed onto the shoulders of his fellow teammates, and cheered for like an iconic idol.

“Looks like we won,” Severus stated glumly. Both him and Selena were sitting hidden at the very back of the library, though they could hear the procession even from their rather far distance.

“You’re not pleased?” Selena asked, shooting her companion a faint smirk.

“Why would I be?” he huffed. “I’ll just hear about each and every save for the next week or so. Worse than losing, if you ask me.”

“You’d think for house spirit you’d be a little more uplifting,” Selena said, dryly. “Your team just won!”

“Yay,” he said sarcastically, with an added roll of his eyes. Despite the mood, Selena giggled, causing Severus’s mouth to twitch into the smallest smile before dropping as the sound of the library door opening caught their attention. Selena leaned back in her chair to peer around a bookshelf, and just spotting a couple of Ravenclaw students, a sigh of relief escaped her and she relaxed.

“Just some Ravenclaws,” she announced, smiling.

“I think I should get going,” Severus said softly, and as Selena opened her mouth to protest, he continued. “No, Selena. This would be the perfect opportunity for Avery to find us – and we don’t want that, do we?”

“No,” Selena sighed, frowning. “But we only spent about –“

“An hour and a half together?” Severus cut in, smirking briefly. “I know. But, I promise, before Christmas Break, we’ll do something together.”

Selena’s eyes lit up.

“Really?!” she demanded, and then her face fell as something donned on her. “But, how? There’s no way that we –“

“I have my ways,” Severus whispered, conspiratorially. “Just leave it to me. However, for now –“ he leaned in, and pressed his lips against hers, pulling away far too soon for her liking. “– I have to get going.”

“Have a good celebratory week, then,” Selena grinned, kissing him once more before allowing him to take his leave. He did so with whatever dignity he had remaining, and sighing sadly, Selena returned to her own work, which was unfortunately only halfway done due to their very talkative time spent together.

Selena sighed heavily as she returned to her textbook, wishing that Severus could’ve stayed a while longer. She doubted Avery would show up. But, then again, this was Avery she was talking about…

Dabbling her quill in the ink, Selena pressed it hard into the parchment as she continued her assignment, ignoring the sounds of the gathering students. With the games over, everything was returning back to normal as several glum Gryffindors entered the library with sour frowns on their faces.

“I figured I would find you here,” Selena jumped upon hearing the voice, and sighed in relief when she realized it was only Marcy. “Alone? I thought Severus was supposed to be with you…”

“Well, hello to you, too,” Selena grumbled, rolling her eyes as she returned to her work. “He just left a couple minutes ago. He didn’t want Avery catching us together.”

“And you two stayed in here the entire time?”

“No, we were first up in a classroom –“