Another Kind Of Magic - A Severus Snape Fanfiction

Table Talk

For the next few days, Remus Lupin had made it his duty to observe his student more closely. Not that this was part of the plan, but he still found it hard to believe that grouchy Snivellus had an admirer amongst his students. A very pretty one, at that. His doubts, however, were soon cleared up, since weirdly enough, Ms. Flowers' dreamy eyes were glued to the dark professor during meals in the Great Hall, and whenever Severus noticed her staring, her cheeks turned an embarrassed shade of tomato-red. In some way, Remus found her love-struck behavior rather adorable, but more than anything, he was utterly entertained by it, given that the dungeon bat apparently had no clue as to what was going on and only became irritated at being her sole center of attention. At any rate, it was undeniable. The girl had an enormous crush on his former classmate.

Dumbledore's plan, however, was incredibly ridiculous. It would never work, not even with a good amount of magic. Severus was just too ... well, he was Severus Snape. Cold-hearted, cynical, and blind to any sort of emotions, right? So Remus didn't really see why Dumbledore even bothered. But it was his wish, and as such, he had to play along, although he would have rather stayed out of it all. It was just bound to cause trouble.

Nonetheless, if he already was supposed to participate in that silly scheme, then he could at least have some fun along the way, couldn't he?

The teacher smirked to himself as an idea began to take shape in his mind. He leaned over to the Potions Master who was seated next to him at the breakfast table, mumbling with an undertone of sheer amusement.

"That girl keeps staring at you, doesn't she?"

He didn't receive a response, only a grouchy low grumble left Severus' throat as he briefly glanced up from his plate, meeting Ms. Flowers' eyes for the third time this morning.

That was just too much to take! Remus stifled a laugh as he watched. "Have you ever considered that she might be a spy?" he mused with mock wariness.

Again, Professor Snape didn't answer, he just snorted dismissively and angrily shoved a fork full of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Oh yes, Snivellus was not in the mood to chat. Even better! It was so hard for Lupin to keep up his sincere and thoughtful façade, but he enjoyed this far too much to stop now.

"Think about it," he whispered meaningfully into his ear. "She might be a Death-Eater whose job it is to keep an eye on you."

Severus immediately choked on his eggs, resulting in a coughing fit.

"Oh no," Remus feigned concern. "Are you okay?" He patted his colleague's back thoroughly until the man's airway was free again. "You shouldn't eat so much at once. It's not good for you to gulp your food down like that."

With an aggressive shoulder shrug, the Potions Master removed Lupin's hand from his back.

Merlin, this was too good! Remus pressed his lips tightly together to suppress the grin he felt forming on his face. "In all seriousness, Severus," he went on. "Have you checked her arm? Maybe you should. They might have just picked a beautiful girl because they know she can easily charm you. I mean, just look at her."

To his surprise, Professor Snape indeed did look. And this time, Lupin couldn't help it; a crooked smirk played around his mouth. This was going so well! Time to fuel the fire while it was burning.

"Isn't she gorgeous? That long, dark red hair. Those big bright eyes with incredibly long lashes. And her petite figure, which is nevertheless quite ... "

Severus averted his gaze quickly, stabbing his food harshly with the silverware. "Enough," he growled.

Aha! Was that a slight pink tinge to the Potions Master's otherwise pale face? He did like her, didn't he?

"What?" Remus asked innocently. "You don't agree?"

"No," Professor Snape hissed, clearly irritated.

"Hm," Lupin thought out loud. "Well, then I guess you won't mind if I ask her for a dance at the ball."

At at, Severus' head shot up, two deep black eyes glaring at him. "What ball? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, just the Yule ball." Remus shrugged his shoulders as if that were old news.

"Yule ball? Since when is there a Yule ball?"

Lupin could tell his colleague was about to lose it, so he decided it was best to stop teasing him.

"You aren't up to date, I see. Dumbledore is planning a little dance before the students go home over the holidays. You know, just him being all festive, I guess."

A displeased grunt was all he got in response, so he attempted again. "Anyway, I believe I will ask her to dance with me."

If looks could kill, Severus' furious eyes would have caused Remus' instant demise. "You're being inappropriate. That girl is a student."

Lupin raised one eyebrow, smiling. "So? She is also an adult. Albus himself gave permission."

The fork slipped out of Professor Snape's fingers and fell noisily onto the plate. "Excuse me?" His voice was low, but his rage was just all too discernable. "You talked to the Headmaster about this?"

Remus only gave him a suggestive wink.

That was apparently the last straw. Fuming, Severus stood, almost tipping over his chair, and rushed out of the Great Hall, the black robe billowing with his swift steps.

Lupin patted himself mentally on the shoulder. What a successful breakfast.