Prohibition | Severus Snape

Midnight Conversations

Sofia had spent a few hours sitting on her bed by the window, reading. She would sometimes glance outside to enjoy the view of the field and forest in the distance. As her eyes begun to struggle to read the words on the pages, she had realized that the sun was almost completely down. A bright orange hue filled her room. Getting up she felt a shiver. Looking down she noticed that she had forgotten to light the fire. After lighting it, she decided to let the room warm-up whilst grabbing some dinner downstairs. To her surprise, she only saw one other customer eating. Sitting down at the bar she noticed the same woman who greeted her at the door when she arrived. 

"Hi there. Would you like anything?" 

"Yes, please-" Sofia asked for something small on the menu and a cider. 

"The food will be ready in a bit. Here's your cider for now." Sofia began to sip her cider. She stared at the bottles behind the bar, fondly remembering her days as a barmaid. Smiling to herself she continued to drink.

"Do you own this Inn?" She asked the woman, as she noticed she was beginning to look quite bored. 

"Yes! My father owned it before me. Got passed down to me quite a long time ago. It's a beautiful little place. The sad thing is not many people come, but I'm always happy to see a new face. Oh gosh, forgive me I'm rambling-"

"Don't apologize!" Sofia chuckled. "It's nice to have a normal conversation with someone..." The woman smiled warmly at her. 

"Mr Snape doesn't seem like much of a talker I'm assuming." 

"Not even a little bit." Sofia smiled sheepishly. 

"What do you do...Sofia, is it?" The woman spoke tilting her head to the side as she proceeded to wipe down the bar. 

"Yes. I never caught your name by the way?" 

"It's Blair, darling." The woman smiled warmly, as Sofia nodded at her. 

"Well Blair, I'm currently a teacher at a school. I love my job. Truly. But before, I was a barmaid in London for a very long time. And sometimes I miss it quite a bit." Sofie winked at her. 

"Really? That is so interesting. I'm assuming it was quite hard to be a barmaid as a young and beautiful woman." Sofia blushed. "Especially with all the men...god." Blair seemed to widen her eyes looking up. 

"It wasn't quite as bad as you'd expect. But there were a few instances-" Sofia proceeded to tell Blair all about her busy life in London. After Blair brought out her food, they continued to chat nonchalantly. Soon enough the two of them were sitting across from each other, both drinking and laughing, as they told each other different ridiculous stories. 

"What are you drinking?" Sofia asked Blair referring to the wine she poured herself. 

"House wine. We make it here. Would you like a bottle? We have tonnes in the back. It's not the best but it does the trick." Blair winked at her. Sofia nodded reaching for her coin purse. She handed over some money before examining the bottle as Blair continued to talk about her life at the Inn.  Sofia was happy. Genuinely happy. She was happy to talk to someone who wasn't a colleague at Hogwarts in one way or another. Even though Blair was maybe a decade older than her, she enjoyed her warm company. Sofia noticed as the only other customer walked upstairs. Sighing she figured she should also head to bed. Bidding Blair a goodnight she made her way upstairs. As she walked into her room she was welcomed by the warmth of the fire. Placing the bottle on her side table, she began to change into her pyjamas. The small fireplace was not enough to keep her warm through the night. She was glad to have an extra sweater and some lightweight silk trousers which were comfortable enough to sleep in. Deciding to read a little more she tried to lay down on her bed. Suddenly she felt the familiar dull pain in her ankle as she lifted her foot. Wincing in pain she huffed. She tried a few more spells but nothing seemed to work. Deciding that she should just go to bed and hope for it to get better in the morning she turned off the lights. As soon as she no longer had anything to distract her, her mind seemed to quickly remind her of Severus. She wondered about how he must currently be doing,  still unsure as to what was the reason for his foul attitude. Turning around in her bed and pulling the covers over her she shut her eyes. After a few moments of failed attempts at sleep, she turned around once more feeling uneasy. Groaning she stood up, rubbing her face. She had to know what he was doing. More importantly how his mind was doing.  Getting up she didn't bother to change or put shoes on as she walked over to her door. Grabbing the key to her room she stepped out into the hallway, her feet lightly padding on the wooden floor. As she walked across she hesitated for a second before knocking.