First Things First (Severus Snape x Original Female Character)

Her First Time Apparating To London

On the day the Express returned to Hogwarts to fetch the students for their Christmas breaks, the castle, as expected by those who remained, fell in calming silence except for the few echoes of chatter here and there. Selena initially expected it to feel uncanny again; similar to the silence that greeted her when she first arrived, but after deafening Quidditch matches, Fluffy's roar-like barks and Quirrell's admittedly irritating stuttering, a little peace and quiet might not actually be that bad.

Speaking of a certain turban-wearing professor, Quirrell never left Selena's eye when it came to her suspicions about him being associated with You-Know-Who. She never had the confidence to talk to Dumbledore about it, but she was glad to discover that Severus thought the very same. In fact, they spoke about him again over dinner the night before, when Selena told him about what occurred earlier that day;

"I was on my way to Minerva's classroom this morning when I heard voices coming from the Dark Arts Defences classroom. I couldn't quite comprehend the words, but I'm positive it wasn't Quirrell's." She said to her colleague while secretively squinting her eyes at Quirrell, who was seated on the other side of the humongous table.

"Well, don't stare," Severus sneered at her, then continued to slice the meat on his plate. "He's already aware that we're on to him, and if the Dark Lord truly is associated with him, he may or may not have something plotted against us, as well."

The witch turned to him weirdly, "Why do you call him that?"

"What?"

"The Dark Lord?" She arched her brow attentively.

"Habit, I suppose. Many Slytherins back in the day addressed him with that." He explained limitedly, and even if she still thought it was unusual, she chose not to question it further.

"Well, he better not have anything to do with the students," Selena subtly panned her gaze over to Harry, who laughed along with his friends at their table. "Anyways, with Dumbledore around, I believe we have the upper hand."

Severus hummed, though rather questionably, "For now." And thus, ended their discussion about that.

The Mediwizard was lounging in her office, Austen's Pride and Prejudice in her hands when there was a gentle rap on her door. After her permission, the visitor revealed himself to be the Headmaster, who lingered for a few moments under the archway of her door before he fully let himself in.

"Good day, my dear." The bearded-man smiled.

"Professor Dumbledore," Selena instinctively mirrored the look with her own elegance. "Can I help you with anything?"

He huffed a small laugh as he took a seat on the chair across her desk. "On the contrary, I've actually come to ask you if I can help you with anything. Perhaps a request before your departure?"

Selena gave it a little thought before responding, "Well, I don't really have anything in mind except advising you to enjoy yourself during the holidays." She said. "It's a shame, really, that I wouldn't be joining you all for Christmas, but I will be here before the New Year."

"Oh, that's good enough, my dear. There is no need to worry, we do the same thing for both celebrations, anyway."

The witch smiled to herself, "You know, I'm curious now. What do you all do for the holidays? I've been wondering about that since I began my first year."

There was a hearty chuckle from the old man. "Well, firstly, we enjoy each other's company with wine and a simple cheese board Pomona enjoys setting up, we chatter until the middle of the night, greet each other, then simply retreat back to our chambers."