autumn | severus snape

three

"You want ice cream?" Ophelia asked, casually swinging her legs under the café table. "My treat."

"I don't like ice cream," Snape said flatly, eyes fixed on a crack in the table, as if it were more interesting than her.

"Come on," she grinned. "Everyone likes ice cream."

"I don't," he snapped.

She tilted her head. "I'm going to get you one anyway, so you might as well tell me your favorite flavor."

He let out an audible sigh. "I told you, I don't like it."

"Then I guess I'll just have to guess," she said, standing up with the smallest of smirks.

Ophelia's father had strongly encouraged her to accompany Snape on an errand into town. When she refused, the conversation turned sharp, then violent. So here she was, playing nice with the man her father trusted more than almost anyone.

They waited at a tiny Muggle café for the store to open. When she returned, she handed him a cone.

"Blueberry," she announced. "You strike me as a blueberry kind of guy."

"You are insufferable," Snape huffed, staring at the dripping cone like it had personally offended him.

"You're welcome," Ophelia replied sweetly.

He hesitated. Then, with the kind of grim resolve reserved for poison-tasters, he took a bite of the ice cream.

She watched him, amused. He swirled it around in his mouth like he was testing for toxins, then swallowed slowly. Another bite followed.

"Admit it, you don't hate it," she said, leaning in with a grin.

When he ignored her, she sighed. "You don't think I know why you're doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Letting me come with you, taking me to get ice cream."

"If I remember correctly, you dragged me to get ice cream." She caught a flicker of something on his face, almost a smile.

"Besides, it was your father that insisted you accompany me," Snape said. "This wasn't my idea."

"And yet, you didn't hex me when I showed up," she countered and scooped a spoonful of her own ice cream into her mouth. "So, what are we actually doing in this store?"

"We are not doing anything," Snape replied coolly. "You are staying outside and wait for my return."

She blinked. "You dragged me all the way here just to wait on the curb like a dog?"

Snape nodded. No shame. No hesitation.

"So really, you're just... babysitting me."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement," he said, finishing the ice cream with mechanical efficiency.

Ophelia stood, tossed her cup in the trash, and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm not going to sit on the sidewalk while you sneak off on some mysterious errand. Either I'm coming in with you, or I'm leaving. And you can explain to my father why you came back alone."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "That, Miss Delisle, is blackmail."

"No, Professor," she said as they left the café. "That's called an agreement. You let me come with you and I won't leave your ass out in the cold."

Snape cleared his throat. "Fine."

She put her hand through his arm as they walked down the street, catching more than a few glances. Snape's scowl deepened with every step.