libby mcmouthpiece quirke (ex_quirkless555) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-12-22 18:56:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | ! [1979-12] december, libitina quirke, severus snape |
Who: Libitina Quirke & Severus Snape
When: 22 December 1979; Evening
Where: Spinner's End, Manchester
What: Libby's Birthday!
Rating: NC-17 OBVIOUSLY! ....JK, it's very PG
Status: COMPLETE.
There was almost no evidence in the small living room of any type of celebration. Despite being only three days before Christmas, the only sign of such was a candle sitting in the front window frame. This particular object was in fact more to let the person that would be arriving any moment know which of the exact same stretch of two-up two-down's she was meant to be visiting than for any reason having to do with the celebration of Yuletide. In fact the only thing that gave away any indication of such a celebration was a small chocolate cake that was just visible through the empty doorway on the kitchen table, and, if you knew the man in question, the fact that Severus was wearing his nicer set of robes. The house at Spinner's End was clean, if not particularly inviting otherwise, and it did smell good. The takeaway he'd picked up earlier in the city was filling the entirety of the small house with odors that smelled almost as good as if he had made something himself - even though he had decidedly not done so. It had hardly occurred to him that it might have been nice to make the area look more festive. Severus Snape simply did not throw parties, and with the exception of Agnes, he had never entertained. And even with Agnes, it had not been so much entertaining as her coming over at random times when he'd desperately wanted someone around. And he probably would have thought the same of tonight, although it was less because he desperately wanted someone around and more because he had actually found someone more lonely (probably) than he was, and wanted to do something nice for her. Typically doing nice things for girls meant nervousness and anxiousness - every time he'd done something nice for Lily he'd been nervous doing so - a deeply rooted fear that she wouldn't like it, or he'd mess it up somehow - but tonight Severus wasn't plagued by that. Perhaps it was simply that in his emotional state he no longer cared, or perhaps he assumed that it was unlikely an overture like this to someone more alone than he was was unlikely to be turned down, or perhaps something else entirely. Whatever it was, he was generally at ease when he made his way to the living room, sat down on the sofa, and picked up Defensively Speaking: Charms and their benefits in Duelling to wait. Apparating into a small, dingy alley, Libitina began walking. It was freezing cold, and already pitch black outside despite not even being six in the evening. Her hair was down, and her customary knitted hat was on, which was mostly a lame attempt to keep her ears from freezing right off of her head. Adjusting her scarf as she walked, she looked around carefully. The neighborhood was dingy, a bit unclean, but she had lived in worse. She didn't mind it at all. It seemed like a generally unpleasant place to be, but truthfully she was excited to be there. Having never really had a proper birthday celebration of any sort, she wasn't expecting much, but it still made her happy. Someone wanted to celebrate her birthday with her, for some unfathomable reason. Even if their conversations made her head spin, and he constantly (annoying) deflected anything resembling a personal question, and even if she did that, it was still a bit annoying. But she found his company enjoyable and the fact that ever since she had started working at the Quibbler, she had felt genuinely lonely. It was unusual to have someone to talk to that was probably as lonely as she was, so she had to capatilize. Stopping in front of one of the houses (they were all identical, which was rather vexing), she tried to decide which one was Severus's. On a whim, she decided that the one with the candle in the window frame may be her. He was such a person that would signal to someone in that way, wasn't he? So, taking a deep breath and freeing a hand from the tangles of her coat pocket, she approached the door and knocked, unsure of what to expect (what if she was in the wrong area? What if she was at the wrong house? What if this was some sort of trap and she was walking willingly into her death?) as she waited awkwardly. Severus marked the book, put it aside and moved to the door to open it. It was cold outside, and it had snowed earlier in the day, and he didn't want to leave Libitina standing in the outside cold for too long. The door swung open and he let her in to the small sitting room with a quick smile. "Hi Libitina," he shut the door quickly behind her. There was a fire in the fireplace, which mostly warmed the small room, although much of the house outside of the living room was rather cool. "Happy birthday," he added quietly. He hovered for a moment uncertainly, and then realised that he should probably take her coat and maybe offer her something warm to drink. "So, if you want I can take your coat," he said quickly. "And do you want tea or something to warm up a bit? And, I've got games - I know you said you didn't really care for Wizard's Chess, but I've got that, and some cards, or we could take a walk around later," although this last idea struck him as odd considering how cold it was, and his neighbourhood. Still, the cold tended to keep most people indoors, and he somehow doubted that Libitina would be bothered by it. "Hi," she said, giving him a bright smile and she stepped inside. She studied the small house quietly, as she removed her coat, hat and scarf. Pausing for a second and considering this. "I think tea or something would be nice, it's rather cold outside," she said, still feeling rather awkward. And short too. Which was a normal feeling, Xeno was over a foot taller than she was... her mind was wandering. "Thanks for inviting me over," she said in a low voice, trying to keep her mind from wandering. "We can take a walk later, but for now I think I just want to sit down and warm up a bit," she continued taking another step inside. Libitina had no idea what to say or do. She didn't have a lot of practice in social skills or manners. Wringing her hands a bit, she continued to look around the house. It was bigger than anything she had ever lived in, that was certain. Not considerably bigger...but. Oh, her mind was wandering again. She looked up at Severus for a second, trying to focus. "All right," Severus said. Tea, he could do, and do well. "Um," he reached for her coat and hat and scarves and draped them neatly over a nearby chair before he nodded to her. "You can sit down if you want," he said, waving his hand at the chair nearest the fireplace. "I'll get us tea then, and we can figure things out from there." And with that he disappeared into the small kitchen, pulling out and preparing the tea for the two of them. they needed something to do with their hands, which the tea cups would provide, and then they hopefully would not sit their awkwardly as they had been standing awkwardly for a few moments. In fact, as he thought about it, probably the tea would be a good filler, and they could figure out precisely what to do. Birthday parties were not particularly Severus' forte - to put it mildly - but the thought of someone sitting at home on the evening of his or her birthday seemed absurd to him. And he didn't want that when he could do something about it. He took the two prepared cups and went back out to the living room area and he smiled at her. "All right one for each of us," he handed hers over and then set down on the small sofa. "How was your day then?" Taking a seat, and taking the tea, she relaxed slightly, crossing her ankles and staring into the fire. "It was fine. Just normal, I guess." Then she paused to take a sip of tea. "Well, Xeno gave me a hug and wished me happy birthday, and that was nice. He just sort of prattled on about the magic of birthdays and another year and told me I was his favourite a few times, and...well, you know. Acted like Xeno normally acts, which is...unusual. Though always interesting." She laughed a little nervously. She felt exceptionally awkward, and wished wholeheartedly that there was something to make this less...nervewrecking. Alcohol, something silly. Anything to break the ice. It seemed strange that she still felt oddly uncomfortable in person when she was nothing but at-ease when they spoke via the journals. It was easier to fake in writing...harder in person. But she could do it. Smiling again, she ran a hand through her hair, which was flat from the hat she had been wearing for the past week, it seemed. "So, did you have a good day?" Severus nodded and took a sip of his own tea. "I did, I think. I mean, it wasn't anything special. No one, as a for instance, gave me a birthday hug, which would have been decidedly odd seeing as how it is not my birthday," he said dryly. "The library was quiet it has been, and we're closed the 24th, and only a half day tomorrow, so I'll have some time to myself. I think I'll keep busy though. I'm so behind in my potions studies," and he realised he probably should not get too far into that topic or he would bore her to tears. "I actually like it when it snows," he said glancing out of the window. "It's one of the few times the street actually looks clean - at least for the two hours or so that it lasts before it gets dirtied up again. Not that I ever did much with it." Determined to at least pretend to be comfortable, and honestly, so long as she wasn't asking him his opinion on anything that might give him away as a Death Eater (or worse, a supporter of the Order), he was comfortable, he leaned back and took another sip of tea. "Well, I'm sure you'll get a birthday hug when it is actually your birthday," she said. "I expect you don't have an excess of time to yourself, so I'm going to take that as a good thing," she continued. Anothing sip of tea, and she began nervously tapping her foot too. Looking out the window, she sighed. "Snow is...I can understand why people think it's fun, I guess?" Libitina really didn't understand the appeal of freezing cold wet things, but perhaps she had been in the wrong kind of snow. "I only ever saw it so white at Hogwarts. Otherwise it was always dirty and just...it was always just slush. So I never understood why it excited people," she admitted, looking sheepish. "But...I guess I just don't understand fun things sometimes." Severus actually grinned. He wasn't certin that he would get a hug on his birthday, but it was nice of her to think he might. And the idea was nice enough anyway. "I do and I don't," he said thoughtfully. "Work at the library does keep me quite busy, so obviously that's not time to myself. But it's more projects and other things I'm working on and my personal goals for potions have slipped more than I would like for them to have done," he considered her as he took another sip of tea. "You and me both," he said finally. "I think if I hear one more person send Christmas cheer to the world through their journals I'm going to have to take up smoking so I can burn holes in the pages. It of course will not effect the Christmas elf at all, but it will make me feel decidedly better," he shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know about you, but growing up in my family meant fun was something other families did, not mine & anyway, snow here, rarely lasts in a pretty sort of way as it does at Hogwarts. Even in the back alley behind the house, it gets gritty and full of soot within a few hours, usually." "Don't take up smoking, it's disgusting," she said jokingly. "There are better ways to release Yuletide related stress." Then she paused and tried to figure out a response. "I don't think I know a lot about fun, even now," she said finally, softly. "I never really saw other families either, until I was eleven at least. I didn't know they were so different from me and my mum." She had said too much, she thought. Looking at the window again, she took another sip of tea, wondering vaguely if it was poisoned. Though she had wondered the same thing every time Xeno had offered her something in the past five months, so it was likely unfounded. What if he was a Death Eater and now that she suspected him, he had to get rid of her? The thought seemed so utterly absurd with her sitting here drinking tea and having small talk, she actually laughed out loud. "Well, families around here weren't particularly that different," Severus nodded. He typically tended to agree. It was one of those habits that he simply hadn't undertaken. Certainly people around him smoked, and he didn't particularly care one way or another, but it had never stuck. The few times he had tried it, he'd found that he didn't particularly care for it, and he'd found no reason to make himself care for it. Alcohol was easier as a relaxant, even if he was well aware it was more dangerous for him. Mostly it had been Lily's family that had been different. It had been the Evans that had given him any idea of what a real family should look like, and in the end it seemed that had been as untouchable as Lily had been. And now Mr & Mrs Evans were dead. He shook his head to shake off the thought. And then he looked at her curious as she laughed. "What?" He asked, a bit of a smile on his face. "What's so funny?" "Sorry, I just. My mind paints up the most elaborate, ridiculous things. I was sitting here thinking...what if you were trying to poison me? Or if you were a Death Eater and you only invited me here to murder me, or something," she explained, laughing, but blushing slightly at how stupid it seemed out loud. "But really, what would you want to kill me for? I'm no interest to Death Eaters..." Still chuckling to herself, she took another sip of tea. "But I'm not dead yet...so." She stopped, but continued to smile a little. As she explained what she'd been thinking of Severus wasn't certain if he should be offended that she thought he might try to poison her, or amused that she thought he might try to poison her. Amusement seemed safer than annoyed, and to be honest he supposed the fact that he gave off enough of an aura that he might poison her was not to be completely unexpected. Probably it was why people kept thinking he was a Death Eater. "Believe me Libby," he said dryly. "If I was going to poison you, I'd hardly invite you to my house to do so. Besides, don't Death Eaters wear masks and things?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Not to mention, that you're hardly someone who is going to paint a target on you for Death Eaters. Have you married a blood traitor? Said something nasty to a society lady? Or otherwise made a nuisance of yourself? I don't think so, you're safe from me." It might have been more amusing to encourage this notion and then he could have watched her tremble and continue trembling, but there was the more interesting topic at hand, and he put the mostly empty cup of tea to the side now. "Are you really that worried you're going to be killed by a Death Eater, or are you just paranoid?" "Well obviously instead of throwing on your mask, you decided to invite me over, seemingly innocent, only to dispose of me. I'm not important enough to be murdered properly, like other people," Libitina explained, half-serious. "And I don't believe I have a target on myself, I'm not married and unless Dorcas Meadowes is a society lady, I'm quite polite to people. The Ministry may define me as a nuisance, but the Death Eaters don't control that-" yet. "I'm quite pleased that I'm safe from the ever-present threat." Running a hand through her hair again, if only to have something to do other than answer the question, she pondered. "I expect everyone's a bit paranoid." Severus nodded. "Or maybe I'm just waiting to bring out my mask until after dessert," he said, quite dryly. It seemed the best way to diffuse of this paranoia that he was a Death Eater was to make light of it - or at least, he hoped it would be the best way to deal with it. He did not particularly wish to have it outed in the Quibbler. "Speaking of, are you hungry? I have food?" He stood at that point, and took his tea cup with him into the kitchen. "Last time I checked, Meadowes did not qualify as a society lady - I would say you are more likely to be one than she is," he stuck his head around the door and stood there watching her. "And it's probably true that most people are paranoid these days. Obituary details longer than the sports section tends to do that I expect. OR," he grinned. "Now that we've warmed up we could go walk around somewhere and get cold again if you don't want food just yet." "Ooh, sounds fun," she replied. Tapping her index finger to her chin, she made a face. "I expect I should probably eat, yes," she answered. Then she laughed. "I highly doubt they want a half-blood such as myself handling their delicate china and wearing their overly-expensive clothes," she said scathingly. "We can eat and then walk, so that I don't collapse from hunger pains along the way." Nodded in the affirmative. "It's good form to be paranoid in times like these, if you aren't then you just set yourself up for all sorts of terrible things. People need to watch what they say in public. It's unsafe to publicly disagree with powerful people like that. Particularly ones with connections to known Death Eaters." Shaking her head, she sighed a bit, as quietly as she could. This seemed a bit too...telling. "What do you have to eat?" she asked. Severus thought briefly that she should, perhaps watch what she said around him - after all, he worked in the Lestrange Library, and had connections to known Death Eaters - imprisoned ones even - but of course with him it didn't matter. It was more necessary for him to watch what he said around her. And with that thought, he tilted his head at her. "You'd probably look lovely in their overly-expensive clothes," he smirked. "Possibly better than some of them might, but that might be one of those things you do not want to say in public," he grinned. "They might take offence at you being prettier than them. And I've got curries, if you like Indian...?" He glanced at her. "I hope you like Indian," he said quickly, a touch of worry in his voice. She raised an eyebrow. "I doubt I'm prettier than all of them, or even a great number of them. If I recall, most of the girls in Slytherin who seemed to be that type were rather attractive," she said. "I don't know, I think I'd rather keep my inexpensive clothes to be honest. I hope I still look nice in those." Looking down at herself to emphasize the point, she bit her lip to restrain a grin. Then she looked up again. "I don't think I've actually had Indian. I'd quite like to try it though." "Oh, you do," Severus assured her quickly, but sincerely. He hadn't meant to imply otherwise, and he really hoped she hadn't taken it that way. Merlin, he ought to know better than to bring up things like looks around a woman. "It doesn't really make a lot of sense to me to spend hundreds or thousands of galleons on a set of robes anyway," he shrugged. "I don't think it would even if I had the money to throw around. I could see spending money on quality, if it were sincerely better quality, but you've yet to convince me that it's any more quality than something that's say thirty galleons, you know?" He glanced over at her. "And you are at least as pretty as some of them and prettier than others; don't sell yourself short." And with that he returned to the kitchen pulling out the takeaway and plates for both of them and forks. The plates and the serving dishes were hardly any more festive than the lack of decorations in the rest of the house, but Severus pulled out his wand to move all of the things into the living room together and placed them on a table. "VoilĂ , Indian," he said with a smile. "And the red curry is a bit spicy - if you don't like spicy you might want to go with the yellow one, and if you're not sure, start there and see what you think." He handed her a plate and a fork and motioned to the containers of rice, and vegetable and chicken curries. "It doesn't make sense to me either, I don't spend a lot on clothes," she said. While she wasn't sure if he was being totally sincere, the compliment still made her blush a little. She wasn't used to hearing nice things, but it was a pleasant sensation. "Uhm...thanks," she said under her breath, before using the presentation of the food to change subjects. "I like spicy," she said as she reached for one of the containers. This was going to be an experiment of tastes, so to speak, and she was never adverse to trying new things, particularly food. Dumping a bit onto her plate, she tried it carefully. "That is spicy," she said after a pause. "I like it." Severus put some food on his plate and waited until after she'd tried it, hoping he hadn't completely messed up by going this route. When she said she liked it, he grinned and relaxed visibly. "Good, I'm glad," he said, taking a bit of his own as well. "It's funny, I never had it as often as Pepper did. For us it was cabbage and beans and sometimes lentils, but honestly, it's easy enough," he shrugged. "And beans, cabbage, and the like are inexpensive, so I'm rather used to it." He took a bite of the food and was silent for a moment as he chewed, and then he looked over at her. The hardest thing about his friendship with Libitina was that he felt he couldn't tell her things, and beyond that, unlike some people whom he could often get information out of by merely asking questions, she was equally bad about telling him things, all of which sometimes added up to a little bit awkward. He couldn't get by pretending that he was telling her interesting things simply by asking her lots of questions about herself, and yet, he couldn't risk telling her that much about himself, and so complications. Still, it was worth a try... "What made you decide to work at the Quibbler?" The question was not just for the information, but also an attempt to maybe gain some insight into this girl he hoped would end up a friend in spite of the chronic inability to share personal information that both of them seemed to have. "Pepper? A friend of yours?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and taking another bite. The name seemed familiar, he had been mentioned in Xeno's article a few weeks ago. Octavius Pepper. Well, she could see why he went by Pepper. Unfortunate name, Octavius. "It's odd, I don't really remember what I ate in childhood. I assume that I had food, as I'm alive. But I don't really recall the specifics. I was somewhat overwhelmed by the feasts at Hogwarts my first year, though. I remember that." Smiling, she absently twisted a loose strand of hair around her finger. "Honestly? I had no money, I was bored, I was miserable..." she trailed off for a moment and then shook her head. "Well, I needed a job, and I met Xeno. We had lunch and talked a bit and he decided to take me on at the Quibbler." That was the story. Taking another large bite of curry, she pondered asking the same question in return. "I assume you got the job at Lestrange Library as a result of Rodolphus going to Azkaban," she said, mostly to herself. "So I can't really ask you the same question in return...but do you plan on staying there long-term?" she asked. Severus shrugged, not wanting to make too much of the relationship. "An acquaintance really. One of those journal acquaintances that you talk things over through ink and parchment but never really spend much time together," and that was mostly truth. "Money is good," Severus said taking a bite of rice, and thinking for a moment. "And jobs are good. I was planning on putting the job off for a while long what with my training and all, but as it turned out this opportunity came up and so I now have a rather regular one," and he couldn't say that he hated it. Every week he was putting into his vault more money than he typically had been used to having in a week to live on, and that was with taking a bit extra out every week for frivolous things like books, and birthday presents for Slytherin girls he did not know very well. The next question had to be answered rather carefully and he thought for a moment. "I plan on staying as long as I am needed. I am assuming that it may be long term, as I believe Lestrange was going to be incarcerated for several years. Of course, if in the meantime the family finds someone better trained as a librarian, then I suppose I shall return to my studies. Those will be finished rather more quickly with me being able to devote full time to them again, and I shall seek out a job as a potionneer when I have completed those. It will be mildly disappointing if the latter happens," he gave her a small smirk. "The Library pays rather well." "Are you planning on staying at the Quibbler long term?" "Money is always nice. I don't have a lot, really, but Xeno's always willing to help someone out when they're in a tight spot," she said. She felt like she was talking about Xenophilius quite a bit, but there wasn't much else to say... What if he thought she was involved with Xeno? Now that would be difficult to explain. And awkward, really. "Really? I wouldn't take a Library to be a well-paid job, but I suppose one must infer such a thing given whose name is attached to it." Pondering what she should say next, she took another bite. She hadn't eaten this much in a while. "Well, I like the people I'm around. I'll just stay at the Quibbler for as long as I'm needed." Severus listened to her, continuing to eat as she spoke. He wondered if she and Xenophilius were just friends. It did not seem particularly as if Libitina had numerous friends, but he was certainly the person she was most likely to talk about, and outside of that she had come rather quickly to his defense when Severus has mentioned the craziness that was the Quibbler. Of course, he presumed that anyone might come to the defense of someone who had been kind and generous to them, as it seemed as if Xenophilius Lovegood had been to her. It did not particularly matter, really. Severus wasn't dating her - wasn't even interested in dating her - so such musings were rather useless in the long run and more likely to be the sort of thing old ladies pondered over tea and crumpets. Severus finished up his curry and reached for some more as he nodded. "You know, I wouldn't have particularly thought a library would be well-paid either - and I suppose to some people it might not be, but it pays well enough. Certainly it's more than an Apprenticeship like I had," he shrugged. "I can't complain." "There's really no reason to move then," he said. "If you're comfortable you should stay where you are. Oh," he grinned at her. "And I got you a present. When you're done eating I'll go grab it." Finishing her own curry, she looked over at him, a bit startled. "You got me a present?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She had received presents before, but she had figured that this was her present. Mostly, she had assumed that from how enjoyable it really had been. Her own awkwardness aside, she was having more fun than she could have anticipated. The food was good, as well. "You didn't have to get me a present, you know," she said, snapping out of her thoughts. "This was really more than I could have anticipated," she added, waving her arm slightly to indicate the whole room, though she was unsure her meaning was actually clear. "What I mean to say," she started, deciding it'd be best to clarify. "Is that...well. I'm just a bit surprised," she finished lamely, finding it difficult to explain her thoughts. "It is a birthday," Severus said simply. "I'm fairly certain that for normal people - probably other than us - people tend to celebrate with parties and presents. Granted, the party may not be so much a party - I think I needed to invite more people for it to truly be a party - but there is food, and cake, and then there are presents because birthday." It had not even occurred to Severus to not get her a present. Since for the first time in his life he wasn't worrying about choosing between the new quill he desperately needed and Christmas presents for friends, it had been almost an automatic response. "And there is cake too," he gave her a shrug. "I'm assuming since you like Chocolate Frogs, you like chocolate cake?" "That's really nice of you," Libitina said. She hadn't really thought of him as someone capable of a simple gesture of niceness, and wondered if there was some sort of hidden motive. "This does feel like an increasingly normal birthday, I'm not sure I like it all that much!" she added jokingly. Then she smiled and nodded. "I do like chocolate, particularly in a cake form. I generally am a fan of cake, actually. No matter the flavour." Birthday cake was a new experience, she had eaten cake before, but never specifically for her birthday. This was odd. But nice. Severus smirked. "Well, if you don't want a normal birthday," he shrugged. "I suppose I could just return the present, and we could avoid the chocolate cake. I don't really know what I would do to it. I'm pretty certain that Aislin isn't supposed to have chocolate," he glanced at the kitchen, where he was certain Aislin was hiding. She had gotten quite a bit larger in the past few months. "So maybe I'll have to take it to the library then," he considered. "Or I guess I could just throw it out, but it would be such a waste," he added, his tone light and joking back with her. "So you better let me know now before I go into the kitchen and cut it up." he finished off his food and put the plate down on the table. "No, no, no. Can't let that present go to waste. Or the cake for that matter," she said seriously, waggling a finger at him. "Yes, I doubt chocolate would be any good for a kitten," she added, looking over at the cat in question and smiling slightly. "I'll accept these offers, however graciously and unwillingly," she concluded with a wink. Severus raised an eyebrow at her 'unwillingly', but he simply nodded, took his plate back to the kitchen, and retrieved the package for her. It was wrapped well enough, that it was quite obvious that Severus had not done the wrapping. He supposed he could have (although it would have meant a brown bag more than likely) but the clerk had asked if he'd like it wrapped, and he'd accepted the offer and he hoped that he'd picked out something that she'd actually like. He hadn't wanted anything cliche or over-used, or romantic, they were friends, and he didn't want her to think he wanted something she wasn't interested in giving. So, hopefully this would be well enough. He handed over the brightly wrapped package with an almost shy smile. "You can open it now, or I suppose after cake, whichever." Looking from the package back to Severus, Libitina pondered this. Then she groaned. "I expect I'm a masochist, I'll just have to draw out my suspense a bit longer. Cake first," she said diplomatically. "That's how normal birthday events go, right? Cake then present?" Straightening up in her chair, she smiled brightly. "And also, I'd like to meet your cat," she added thoughtfully. "Cake then, and I'll see if I can dig Aislin up - or Thea, sometimes I just call her Thea. She's got too many names for such a small creature," he said, with a bit of a smirk. It hadn't really been something he'd planned on - giving the kitten as many names as he might have given a child. It had just turned out that way. He supposed the danger of asking for input on names and then liking multiple ones. If it had been up to him, he probably would have just called her cat. He moved to the kitchen, pulled out plates and quickly sliced two pieces of the cake that he'd bought at the store earlier that day. Probably these things were supposed to be handmade, but not by Severus. Cake he baked was more likely to be as hard as a rock rather than something that would be considered edible by anyone human. Placing the slices on the plates, he used his wand to take them, and two glasses of butterbeer into the living room and he gave Libitina hers. "There you go. Cake and there are candies in it. When I told the baker it was for a birthday, they said they had one with candies made up and seemed surprised that I didn't care one way or another whether they were in there or not. I guess this is what comes of having not celebrated birthdays as a child - I don't know these things." He shrugged. "Perhaps I should have done some research..." "How many names is too many names?" she asked curiously. "And how did she come across such names?" This seemed impersonal, innocent. Naming a pet wasn't a big secret. Though she knew that this was a man that was nearly as secretive as she was, though more subtle in ways. She envied the subtlety. "Thank you," she added as she took her piece of cake. "Well, you work in a library. I'm sure they have books about these sorts of things," she joked. "Though I am guilty of such birthday-related ignorance as well, so don't feel too terribly alone." She took a bite of cake and smiled thoughtfully. It was good, probably better than any other cake she had eaten recently, which wasn't saying much, but the point was still the same to her. "Two," Severus said shaking his head and sitting down with his cake. "Aislin Amalthea, which seems like a lot for how small she is. And she's usually much friendlier - well, I say usually as if I have a lot of company, which I typically don't. So I guess I really shouldn't say that as if it's fact," He took a bite of the cake, trying to decide if he should answer her question. He supposed there was nothing particularly secretive about it. "I honestly had no clue what to call a cat, if it had been up to me, she would have probably simply been called 'Cat', which would have seemed a bit too little for her. I just asked in the journals and I ended up with two I was rather fond of and couldn't decide between, so she got both of them. At any rate, she's not down here, so we might have to go looking for her when we finish the cake." Libitina frowned. "Maybe I'm terrifying to small cats," she said. Though she couldn't see why that would be the case. "She may not like me very much." Another bite of cake. Maybe she really did repel animals and other such things. "I expect names are a difficult thing to come up with sometimes," she said. "That's likely how people come across less fortunate names..." Like hers, for instant. The epitome of an unfortunate names. "But yes, we should find her." A sip of butterbeer, and she tapped her fingers on the table, silently thinking. "I doubt that seriously," Severus said with a shrug. Libitina might be somewhat secretive, but he didn't think that Aislin was going to not like her. There really wasn't any reason for it. On the other hand, he really didn't know how Aislin reacted to most visitors, only to Demetrius and Agnes, really. He supposed she could be a secretly introverted cat and he just didn't know it because she'd taken to Demetrius and Agnes. "She's probably hiding under my bed upstairs, or possibly in my workroom," not that he was going to take her into that room. She wasn't a potion expert but there were too many things in there that were related to something he was doing for the Dark Lord, and he wasn't going to risk her figuring something out. "I suspect if I ever had a kid," Severus shrugged again. "I think I'd get a book and figure something out that was less fortunate. It's one thing for a cat, but it's quite another for a human being." "Cats are supposed to sleep quite a bit, yeah? Maybe she's just having a nap." Libitina shrugged and returned to eating her cake. It wasn't quite as if her self-esteem depended on whether a cat liked her or not, but she'd rather not get scratched either. "I think I'd go with something nice-sounding," she said vaguely. "Like Mona or Drake. Or Orla," she continued. "But I definitely don't have plans to get pregnant...ever. I don't really like children much." Raising children would be the worst thing that could ever possibly happen to her, really. Or, at least that's what she thought. Severus honestly wasn't certain about some of the names Libitina was talking about, but he supposed it didn't matter. She didn't plan to get pregnant, and he didn't plan on getting her pregnant, so it was a moot point really and not something that he was going to spend a lot of time even discussing. Thus he merely nodded. "Children would be difficult, I think," he said simply. He took another bite of the cake and gave her a bit of a smile. He'd almost finished his slice off, and he suddenly wanted to see if he could find Aislin. "Shall I go look for her now? Or if you're done you could come with me. That way if she's hiding you'd still have a reasonably good opportunity to get a chance to see her. Or we could open your present," he nodded at the box, or we could go for a walk and come back and find Aislin later. Really it's up to you," he smiled and thought she really was rather pretty, however agravating her inability to share anything about herself might be. "It's your birthday after all." Thinking about her options, Libitina took one more bite of her slice and was silent for a moment. "It looks rather nice outside, despite the temperature, perhaps a walk to let our food settle and then we can hunt down the elusive Aislin- or Thea- or whatever she prefers to go by," she said, laughing slightly. "It is my birthday, but don't remind me so often, I feel terribly ancient." Which wasn't necessarily true, but a joke was a joke for a reason. "My bones creak, my hair is graying...it's utterly unsightly." Severus couldn't help but grin. "Your bones creak, your hair is greying, but you're still pretty enough it'll be nice to have you on my arm when we take a walk." He kept his voice light but there was enough truth to the statement, that he felt as if his cheeks warmed slightly. To hide this fact, Severus stood up and reached for her scarf & robes so that she could put them back on. "Here you go, let's do the walk thing, and then we can come back and find Thea, and maybe some hot cocoa too if you'd like?" Libitina looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow, trying to gauge if he was being genuine, though she couldn't help but flush a little, and that made the intense look a bit...less intense. "Thanks," she said, standing and taking her things. She put them on quickly, and prepared herself for the cold. "That sounds rather like a good plan," she said, nodding in agreement. Severus reached for his own robe while she was putting hers on, and pulled on gloves, a scarf, and after a moment's thought, pulled on a hat as well. They'd have to think of things to talk about, but he supposed he could do that. Even if it was the typical small talk that they usually talked about, it would be fun - nice to walk about with someone else and have company for the evening. He just hoped that her birthday would be enjoyable for her. He walked across the room and opened the door for her. "Are you ready?" He asked her quietly. "As ready as I'll ever be," she responded with a shrug, walking to the door, pausing just outside of it to wait for him. "Ah, winter," she muttered ironically when the cold air hit her face. "Why couldn't I have been born the summer, eh?" she said with a bit of a smile. "Then taking a walk wouldn't require layers of clothes. Though I have to admit there's something really invigorating about the cold, at times," she rambled awkwardly, staring out into the evening thoughtfully. "It's true," he closed the door behind them, and he waved his wand to lock it. "I think there's something about the cold - so long as it is not too cold - that definitely makes you want to move faster, stay warmer." His cheeks were still warm as he realised that she was, with the exception of Lily, one of the prettiest girls he'd left his house with. Unfortunately, he was pretty certain there wouldn't be any neighbours around to notice. He offered her his arm, if she wanted it, and headed away from the town towards the empty area down towards the river. "I suppose that's why so many babies are made in winter," he couldn't help a slightly naughty grin at her. Taking his arm and sticking her nose in the air, trying to seem as pretentious as she could manage, she walked. Though she tried to keep her composure, she laughed at his comment and returned the grin. "I expect it's easier to stay warm with that, yes!" she said. "But I think there are ways to stay warm that are less likely to result in such inconvenient things," she continued with a dismissively wave her hand as they walked. Severus ducked his head and hid a small smile. He really was pleased with how the day was progressing. It felt like a birthday should feel, only possible minus alcohol and large party gatherings, but he wasn't a large party person, and he was fairly certain - however little he might feel like he knew Libitina - that she was not a large party person either. "So what are these other ways to stay warm?" He queried her, smirking slightly. "I don't know if I know what you're talking about!" Laughing softly, Libitina pulled a face and mocked a bit of deep thought. She hadn't felt so involved or actually happy for her birthday in a long time, if ever. It seemed right. "Well, I expect they knit themselves clothes or put warming charms on their blankets," she suggested. "Perhaps cuddle with furry, warm animals, or wear lots of extra clothes..." she trailed off as if this suggestion were a bit ludicrous, then continued. "Or they build a fire and drink hot chocolate or coffee. But those are the only things I can think of!" She laughed again, looking at him with a somewhat sly smirk. Severus smirked back at her and felt more comfortable with her than he had for a while. He knew that there was a lot of what they did that was shallow. He was certain he didn't know her and he knew that she didn't know him, and he also knew that it almost needed to stay that way, because if she found out things about him, it could be rather dangerous for both of them. Still, it was light, and while it was light, it was easy to imagine they were close friends - good friends, and why shouldn't they be at least for this evening? He pretended about so many other less pleasant things these days, why not pretend this one. "Well, I'm guessing Aislin wouldn't mind cuddling when we get back although we'll probably have to take off all our wet things," he felt his cheeks flush as he realised that could be taken the wrong way. But he ignored the implication and added. "And I've got hot chocolate, or coffee, so all you have to say is which you want and we'll have it when we get back, or perhaps if you want both, we'll do that. It's your birthday!" "Aislin, I don't believe, is quite big enough to keep us both warm, unless you have a pet lion. Somehow, you don't seem the type for lions," she said. "But dry clothes, hot chocolate, and something warm to cuddle with would likely be the warmest option I can imagine." Libitina was quite content now, and while the contentedness would likely fade back to apathy within the hour, right now she was enjoying |