Snape continued to gape in wide-eyed astonishment at Mercy and Faith's words. He was, he would admit only to himself, a little spooked by their knowledge of his most personal feelings. Perhaps, he mused, this was how any historical personnage feels once their story has been told by the biographer, violated but also honoured. Nevertheless, the two women before him were not precisely treating the details of his story with the respect he felt they deserved. Faith's comment insinuating that he had long harboured a secret love for James Potter in particular enflamed his wrath, as thoughts of his one-time rival generally did.
By the time Snape had swiftly drawn his wand, the women were preparing to depart on their foolish journey. Inclined as he was to launch a full and justified assault against their vulnerable, naked bodies, he decided rather to let them go. They would find enough torment, he suspected, in the labyrinth.