Challenge: Snape's Happy New Year
Word Count: 100
It was a clear, moonless night, the sky so dark the Milky Way shimmered like the Northern Lights. Snape took a deep breath as he approached the castle gates and immediately regretted it as he began to cough hard enough to double him over.
The faint sound of bells from Hogsmeade tolled across the loch. Severus shifted the basket of bread and salt and liquor from one hand to another. Why had he let Minerva talk him into this? He wasn't Scottish, and -
The gates creaked open. Minerva, bundled against the cold, opened her arms.
"Welcome, First Foot! Welcome!"