Who: Saffron, with comments from Belinda in the background
Where: Saffron's dorm-room
When: Tuesday, May 13th. Early Evening
What: But now there was this card. This card that had the patented Snape sneer that she had both come to dread and look forward to in a resigned, accepting manner, during past potions lessons. She couldn't help but grin back.
Complete
She'd been studying with Belinda when she'd received an owl early evening. It'd been a brightly, slightly garish colored, wrapped package with a small note attached to it.
Her friend's blonde head had perked up as soon as Saffron had let the owl inside of her dormitory and had walked over to grab the bag. Only two people liked to send presents in brightly wrapped packages. Her father and her uncle David. Only Uncle David's were garish.
"Save some for me, all right?" The question was teasing as Belinda had all ready opened the package and was biting into her first chocolate frog.
"First come, first serve." She said without remorse for not slowing one bit down. "And stave off the lecture on sharing, hypocrite." Belinda cut in. "And read the note."
Saffron shot her friend a look that was cross between a scowl and a pout but she did what she was told. Not because she'd been ordered to-like hell-but because she wondered what the note was about. It was rather short for Uncle David. His missives usually were long-winded narratives on his day, his latest girl friend, his job, different types of music, why the sky was blue, the possibility of Martians, and Stubby Boardman. In short, nothing from him was a small folded piece of paper. Usually large folded pieces, and at least three of them.
Unfolding the note, surprise passed by Saffron's features before she smiled. Surprise because it was five sentence fragments, one sentence, and one David-ism long. The smile for what it said:
Snape cards out. Today I think. Had someone get these jumping brown amphibians. Hope you find one. Love, Uncle David.
P.S. Heard Stubby was going shoe shopping. Going to check that out!
Saffron tucked the note safely away and turned attention on the chocolate. A thoughtful look on her features.
It may have seemed stupid but when he'd come back as Headmaster, as a Death Eater, a part of her had felt as if he'd disappointed her. When he'd been a professor and the other students had their whisperings, she'd never believed them. Ever. She'd always, always respected him. Yes, he was contrary. Yes, even she'd admit that he was a bit frightening. Yes, she couldn't stand the way he played favorites with his Slytherins. However, she'd always thought he was a wonderful teacher. He'd been her favorite professor, after McGonagall, and even before Professor Vector. Potions had been her favorite class, despite her. Belinda, Bet, and even Liam had thought her loose without screws but that was just the way it had been.
Then everything had changed at the school. And there it had been, at the time, irrefutable proof that everyone had been right and she'd been one of the ones wrong (she doubted that she'd been the only non-Slytherin who'd liked him as a professor). Yet even when the proof had been in front of her and she'd been so disappointed, and so disgusted, there had been the smallest section in her heart that had refused to believe it. She didn't know why. Even she Miss Queen of Keen Perception wouldn't have been able to see past that act. In all seriousness. If Potter and Voldemort hadn't been able to why would she? No, she hadn't realized anything but she'd still hoped.
Maybe it was because she hadn't wanted to be let down by someone else she highly respected. Maybe it was guilt for giving up on her own mother way too quickly, and far too early. She didn't know. However, when she'd discovered-when it had all come to light that-Snape had been on Dumbledore's side all along ... it'd been with quiet relief she'd thought, Thank, Merlin.
And then the man had died. Then there was talks of Skeeter's books Saffron really hadn't been surprised. No one was certain if she was writing was writing one but there was speculation. Speculation that would turn out to be truth, after all, nothing was sacred for that woman. No one got any peace from that hag. She knew that Skeeter's was her best friend's idol but it hadn't stopped Saffron from going into a long diatribe about what should be put in Skeeter's own so-called autobiography. It hadn't seemed fair to her that after all someone could go through (at least from what she knew of his life, which while little, was daunting enough) that they couldn't even receive a bit of peace after death. Have his portrait hung where it belong.
But now there was this card. This card that had the patented Snape sneer that she had both come to dread and look forward to in a resigned, accepting manner, during past potions lessons. She couldn't help but grin back.
Apologies were being made and things were attempting to rectify. It accord to her that despite all that was happening, for once the wizarding world wasn't drying to brush it all into a cupboard.
After all if she could now, finally, have a chocolate frog card with Snape's face permanently scowling at her, things had to be getting better. Soon.
"What's that?" Belinda asked as she looked over Saffron's shoulder.
She lifted the card so her friend could see. Grinning wider. She didn't have to look behind her to know that her best friend was rolling her green eyes at her.
"Freak Snape-lover." Belinda muttered. That didn't stop her from unwrapping more frogs in search of her own.