Severus made no move to stop her - it was clear she was uncomfortable, and accustomed as he was to seeing her cheerful and confidant, it took him aback enough that he didn't care to take chances. "Of course," was all he said, regaining some of his composure. The sense that he should have done or said something else - infuriatingly familiar - persisted after she left. He hadn't felt at a loss like this in a long time, and to push back the decidedly unwelcome confusion, he set himself to taking up the chess board. It didn't help very much.