Snape's Valentine

He closed the heavy oak door to his office with a resounding and very satisfying bang, sank down in the creaking leather chair behind his desk and exhaled. The cool quiet and musty stillness of ancient parchment and bottled potions ingredients surrounded him. The day was almost over. Slowly and reluctantly his long, slender fingers traveled back to the pocket of his robes parting the fabric cautiously as if he was rummaging for a poisonous spider.

With a soft crinkle the scented pink paper pulled free of the heavy black wool and lay there on the scorched surface of his desk in all its rumpled, incongruous glory. Snape's arched nose wrinkled: that was the unmistakable scent of roses… With a sigh he lifted his wand and pointed at the crushed parchment. He had not recognized the carefully penned rounded script and he was grateful for it. It was enough that he remembered the words seared into his brain:

"Happy Valentine's Day, Professor Severus. Everyone hates you, but I think you are wonderful! Love and kisses…"

Some mentally deranged first-year perhaps, who didn't know any better yet? He compressed his lips. He had sworn to himself he would not speculate. The naïve artlessness of it all was almost touching. With a grimace of disgust at himself he touched wand-tip to paper.

"Evanesca!" he intoned louder than he had to, and with a soft puff of pink smoke and the scent of candy hearts the offending message dissolved into thin air.

It could have been worse. Snape barely suppressed a shudder when he thought of the year Gilderoy Lockhart had taken the Valentine's celebrations in hand.

As he sat, lost in unpleasant memories of past festivities he barely noticed that the scent of roses had not entirely vanished from the room. Hidden half-way up on his shelves subtle acids and volatile oils had finally worked their way through an old rotted cork and tendrils of a long-forgotten love-potion lapped at the surrounding air. Snape sneezed and suddenly remembered…

(2006) 9"x12" Pencil on Paper

Snape on Valentine's Day Eve. I really hadn't intended it for a Valentine, but then that pesky potions bottle started fuming at me when I did the background, and so I now dedicate him to all the Slytherins and Snape-fans out there, and to all of you who have reason to be at odds with this holiday. We can't all be Gilderoy Lockhart…

Have a wonderful day, all of you out there on DA!