Spiteful Beginnings // Severus Snape x OC

41 - Pyjama Party

Sat behind her workbench in one of the Greenhouses and inspecting a rare and very small herb with a monocle in her left eye, Kalina became startled when the Greenhouse door burst open followed by a red in the face Minerva.

Kalina looked up at once, wondering what on earth could have possessed the angry look on her wrinkled face but she spoke up instantly before she could even ask. "What in Merlin's name do you mean you're not attending the Yule Ball?"

Removing the monocle from her eye, Kalina sat back on her stool and with a flick of her wand closed the door of the Greenhouse behind Minerva and gave her a bewildered look. "I'm not going?" She said flatly as if it was obvious, pretty stunned at how angry Minerva had seemed.

"Yes I gathered that." She seethed, her already large eyes bulging more profoundly in horror. "But why? Me and Aurora had a-" she cut herself off before she could finish her sentence and cleared her throat.

"You and Aurora had a 'what'?" Kalina asked stiffly with narrowed eyes before standing to her feet and removing her large trench-like coat off her shoulders and onto a peg in the corner of her office in exchange for her long blue coat. Moving around her work-bench, she began quickly checking over the plants that were potted nicely and securely.

"Oh never mind that." Minerva flustered, using her hands as gesture to shrug whatever it was she was intending in saying away from the conversation. "Why are you not going?"

"I'm spending Christmas with my father... you know that my mother died and it'll be our first Christmas without her. And all my cousins are going away this year all across Europe so they won't be giving him any company." She muttered, slightly hurt at Minerva's complete inconsideration of her situation.

Minerva was taken aback and instantly looked guilty and pursed her lips into a straight line. "Ah, yes of course."

Kalina smiled timidly and stood back up straight after stroking a jittering Ferne plant and buttoned up her coat. The weather outside was abysmal and freezing hence why Kalina was not so pleased that Minerva had came in in a rage without shutting the door behind her. She opened the door back up and gestured Minerva to follow after her and she did.

Minerva stepped out, rubbing her hands together whilst Kalina locked up the Greenhouses and casted a jinx over the patches of plants to prevent wind or snow from damaging them.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness Kalina; I'm just so shocked you won't be attending is all." Minerva soon said as the two walked arm and arm up to the castle. It was the weekend so no classes were on which gave Kalina time to distract herself from her hectic afternoon by looking after the plants in the Greenhouses. A few hours ago, she was teaching the Hufflepuff students for the fifth time the main dance that the students will be participating in but to much of her displeasure, all the girls looked eager and the boys looked like they had all tasted vomit, earwax and bogey Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and had to be coaxed up and threatened with detentions if they didn't start dancing.

"Don't worry Minnie," Kalina told her once they managed to trudge through the heavy snowfall on the ground and up to castle doors, brushing off the snow on their clothes, "I wish I could go... trust me."

It was true, she had thought about going and going with a certain someone but obviously she put her father first. Although the dance is on Christmas Eve, her father is staying up with her for the week in Wiltshire as they had a week planned with just the two of them. She had offered Neville if he wanted to come with them but he said that he wanted to stay at Hogwarts as he was thoroughly enjoying his time for once since Snape was apparently being less hateful towards him but the whole Triwizard Tournament was the main reason why he wanted to stay. Kalina wasn't stupid, she saw how all the boys looked at the girls from Beauxbatons which is possibly why must of them were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas that year in comparison to other years too.