InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "you can't see my hands..."

Severus Snape (severus_or) wrote in hogwarts_or,
@ 2008-02-26 20:39:00

Current mood:

aggravated

In the Owlery [open]
"Will you -- hold -- still?" Severus snapped at the infernal owl. Unfortunately, that had been a mistake. He grunted through clenched teeth, recoiling, after the bloody bird sheared a strip of flesh off his knuckle. As his order form fluttered away, landing near the threshold, he nearly slipped and fell on the slick stone, but he managed to regain his balance just in time. Pity he'd dropped the bit of twine he'd been holding, and it was lost amongst the droppings, bones, and owl pellets. Not that he would have wanted to retrieve it now, even if he knew where it had landed.

If this hadn't been the only owl left, Severus might have tried his hand at the Killing Curse. As it was, he would simply have to make a point not to try and send post at dusk, when most of the birds had gone off to hunt. Once he'd sucked on his injured finger long enough to remove the blood as well as heal the wound to his pride, he retrieved his order form, cut another length of twine with his wand, and prepared to try again. Before he had the chance, however, he turned at the noise of the Owlery's door creaking open.

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	luna_or 2008-02-27 02:42 am UTC (link)
	"Do you need help?" Luna asked from the doorway. She had just entered the Owlery to find Snape struggling with a Great Horned Owl that was being rather uncooperative. "I can try to distract him for you." She held up the letter she'd brought to send to Neville and waved it back and forth in front of the bird's eyes. (Reply to this) (Thread)

severus_or
2008-02-27 02:49 am UTC (link)

"Ah ... thank you," Severus answered, frowning slightly at the blonde girl who was apparently attempting to hypnotise the bird with her letter. "I'm normally quite good with birds, but this one seems to have developed a taste for human flesh -- and mine in particular." He was sure this was the same owl Sappho had used to send her first anonymous letter to him back on his birthday. The one that kept pecking him so hard he had trouble writing a reply. Though the distraction seemed to be working for the moment, so he stepped toward the bird once more, brandishing his order form and length of twine.

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luna_or
2008-02-27 02:51 am UTC (link)

Luna stopped once Snape had managed to finish his task. "He's probably been abused by people before. They turn mean if they get hit by humans." She stepped aside to let the owl fly out the window. "You're Severus Snape, aren't you? My friend Neville is afraid of you." She remembered how, in her second year, the entire school was telling stories about Snape being Neville's boggart. "I don't think you're so bad, though. Neville would probably like you, if he got to know you better."

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severus_or
2008-02-27 02:53 am UTC (link)

Severus had started to apologise for having let the owl get away without taking the girl's letter, too, but he was too busy being dumbstruck by what she said next. "Neville?" he asked, with raised eyebrows. His penfriend was named Neville, and he was fairly certain Neville Linton was one of the new students (despite his reluctance to say). Unless he'd been subjected to some rather unsavoury rumours already, he couldn't imagine why Neville would be afraid of him.

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luna_or
2008-02-27 03:03 am UTC (link)

"Yes, Neville Linton. He's my Valentine," she said, staring blankly at the perches. "That's who my letter is for." Luna turned to face him, smiling. "I'm Luna Lamb. Luna, like the moon." She pointed up at the ceiling, as if they were outside and the moon were visible. "Looks like I'll have to wait for another owl to come back before I can send this." This fact didn't seem to bother her, for she merely stood there, blinking and smiling.

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severus_or
2008-02-27 03:11 am UTC (link)

He had started to wrack his brain for something he might have said in his letter that might have frightened Linton, but Severus soon found himself distracted by Miss Lamb, especially when she gestured toward the ceiling. Her hair fell backward just then to reveal her wand where it was tucked behind her ear. If that hadn't been such a dangerous thing to do, and he weren't more than a little distressed that he'd frightened his penfriend, he might have been tempted to laugh. Under the circumstances, however, he only managed to frown less intensely. "Aren't you concerned about keeping your wand behind your ear like that?" he asked. "It isn't safe."

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luna_or
2008-02-27 03:23 am UTC (link)

She tilted her head slightly and darted her eyes to the corner, attempting to see her wand whilst it was still behind her ear. "I never had a problem with it before. It helps me keep track of it, too. I can feel it better when someone tries to steal it," she said. "Do wands go off on their own?" Luna's tone remained very gentle and serene, even though his words made her think of her mother's accident.

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severus_or
2008-02-27 03:29 am UTC (link)

"They can," Severus answered, nodding and still frowning. "Though at this school, when they go off on their own, they usually have help." He frowned worse then, imagining that she might not follow him. Not that he thought she was necessarily slow -- she was a Ravenclaw, after all -- but something about her dreamy expression said she wasn't anywhere nearly as cynical as he. "Some people at this school think it amusing to hex a person's wand to make it act on its own, often with with dangerous results. They're lucky they haven't been expelled."

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luna_or
2008-02-27 03:42 am UTC (link)

Luna nodded, looking to the floor. "I know what you mean. That hasn't happened to me, but I'm familiar with how people often treat others," she said quietly. "I think Neville worries you'd do something like that to him. I don't think you would, though. I will tell him that. He's just a very nervous boy, despite being a Gryffindor. But he is sincere and very nice to people, even me."

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severus_or
2008-02-27 03:49 am UTC (link)

Once again, Severus started to say one thing, but what Miss Lamb said made him lose his train of thought entirely. He'd meant to say he'd never make Linton's wand turn on him, but he suddenly found himself scowling. "What do you mean, even you?" Well, he was pretty sure he knew what she meant, having felt that way more times than he could count, but the words spilt out of his mouth before he could stop them. People like him and her drew unwanted attention the way rubbish drew flies.

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luna_or
2008-02-27 04:07 am UTC (link)

She shrugged her shoulders, swaying from side to side a bit. "People think I'm insane and even the nicest ones call me, 'Loony,' behind my back. Except for Neville. He understands because even his friends will act embarrassed when he has trouble with things. That's why I decided I like him. That, and he's the only person who was ever happy to consider me a friend."

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severus_or
2008-02-27 04:29 am UTC (link)

"I understand," Severus said quietly, still frowning, if not outright scowling any longer. Miss Lamb was refreshingly honest, that was certain. She had probably already heard somebody call him Snivellus, so he didn't really feel the need to elaborate as to why he understood. "It's much the same with my girlfriend and me." He looked up at a flash of white feathers as a barn owl fluttered in through the window on nearly silent wings. "I suppose you can send your letter now, though I'm sorry you had to wait. Ah ... tell Neville that I said my offer to help him with Potions, at least, still stands, will you?"

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luna_or
2008-02-27 05:00 am UTC (link)

"I will," she said, smiling as she tied her letter to the Barn owl that had entered. Snape seemed to be very sympathetic. Of course, she'd never experienced his alleged cruelty. Perhaps he went easy on the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but it struck her as having more to do with Gryffindor-Slytherin relations. "And maybe we could have lunch with you and your girlfriend some time. Are you two staying for the Easter holiday?"

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	severus_or 2008-02-27 05:06 am UTC (link)
	"We are," Severus answered, nodding, and he was a bit surprised to find he was smiling, as well. "I'd like that, and I'm sure Sappho would, too. She's -- ah -- a bit shy, so she doesn't have many friends." Of course, neither did he, but that wasn't because he was shy, exactly. "It was nice meeting you, Miss Lamb. And do give Neville my regards." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	luna_or 2008-02-27 05:16 am UTC (link)
	Luna smiled a little wider then. "It was nice to meet you, too, Mr Snape. And I will give him your regards," she said as the owl flew over their heads and disappeared out of the window. "Hope to see you again soon." She turned swiftly, causing her hair to rustle, and left the Owlery. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

severus_or
2008-02-27 05:34 am UTC (link)

Severus ducked slightly as the owl soared toward the window, but the bird still grazed his hair. Before he could say anything else to Miss Lamb, however, she had already gone. He hoped Sappho wouldn't be upset with him for talking to another girl, but he imagined she wouldn't. Miss Lamb obviously had a boyfriend, herself, and this was hardly a clandestine meeting -- chance, more like. And after all, they had just made arrangements for a double date, so it wasn't as if they were trying to hide this from her or Neville. Still, if he'd wandered into the Owlery to find Sappho talking to another boy, he'd likely go mad. He'd just have to tell Sappho all about, and the sooner, the better.

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