late night homework. -open!-

[Severus Snape]

In the corner of the library, a skinny boy with long dark hair was sitting alone. It wasn't an unusual sight by far -- it was Severus' usual haunt -- however, seeing as it was past midnight after exams, it probably was a little odd. He had a paper on the Draught of Peace due for Potions in less than a week and he was determined to finish it tonight. He was known for being a bit odd and doing all of his homework extremely early (to make time for the rest of his homework), making him both at the top and bottom of the food chain. Bullies terrorized him for being such a bookworm but, on the flip side of the coin, wanted his meticulously organized notes for exams. It wasn't anything he wasn't used to though; after five years, the importance of some things fades.

He would alternate between the writing in the book and the parchment he was writing on, trying to make the best sentences he could with the rest of the energy he had. Another hour passed and with three feet of parchment out of four completed, he realized that he just couldn't write anymore. Rubbing his eyes with his hands, he leaned back in the wooden chair, breathing in deeply. This should have been finished... he thought bitterly, not able to accept the fact that he'd done really well for one night. Severus shut the book he was taking notes from and shoved his parchment, quill, and ink into his bag. It was simply impossible to write anything else.

Instead, he found his mind drifting to Lily. She was a well-worn topic in his mind; he daydreamed about her whenever possible. It was much easier to do so at quarter past one in the morning when he didn't feel as if he needed to watch everyone's movements. The Marauders had nearly ruined his life and he wasn't about to risk being embarrassed... again. James and Sirius would laugh themselves stupid if they knew just how important Lily was to Severus. It's probably in my best interests that they never find out. Lily had been getting far too serious with James for Severus' liking. He knew that Lily was nothing more to him than a(n estranged) friend but he was overprotective of her in that way only a lover can be. His Boggart was her snogging that Potter git, for the love! Severus wasn't sure if his heart could take the pain of knowing if they'd ever actually done so, although he preferred to think that they hadn't and that Lily really did hate James.

Sighing, he ran one hand through his dark hair, finding it to be greasy. Not like that was different from any other day, but he really had been intending on going to the washroom tonight. If I didn't get my arse beat or cursed to hell every time I went to clean myself, it would be a lot easier to take a bath! Maybe those gits wouldn't tear on me so much if they knew how bad my life is due to how they treat me. Then again, they'd probably enjoy it. Perhaps he'd try to take one once he left the library, but he was getting too tired to even think of trying tonight. In case he did run into someone, he'd have to have his wits about him in order to defend himself, and he wasn't sure his capabilities were decent enough at such an hour.

His eyes were getting heavy and without much thought as to where he was, he laid his head down on the book's leathery cover. Sleep took him soon after.

---------

Severus woke with a start. A loud noise somewhere by the front desk had woken him. Confused, he removed his wand from his bag and crept along the aisle created by the bookcases. The time had to be nearly four in the morning -- who else would be in the library at this hour? For a few seconds, he stood out of sight, contemplating his next move. Making up his mind, he leapt out from behind the bookcases, wand pointed toward where he expected the noise-maker to be. "Who's there?"

[dorcas]

Dorcas had been sleeping for about six hours. She fell asleep at nine thirty and was up again now at three thirty. She'd fallen asleep on top of her charms homework and really needed to get it done. She frequently studied at night rather than in the day because she used the day time to socialise, after all if she tried socialising during the night she wouldn't have much luck and wouldn't have very many friends left.

Deciding to head to the library and break in was something Dorcas had done a few times this year, she figured she'd be in a prime place to get a bit of extra information for her essay plus she might even be able to add a bit extra to her essay to boost up her score and anything she wrote down she was likely to remember for her exams which were due very, very soon.

Getting herself dressed Dorcas just threw her hair up in a ponytail. She grabbed her bag, threw her chars things into it and exited her dorm and common room as quietly as she could. Her dorm mates were sleeping and there was someone asleep on the common room sofa. She didn't want to wake them up and be discovered sneaking out of her dorm. Last thing she needed to do was lose Ravenclaw any house points. Not that there was any chance of them winning this year, Gryffindor had the trophy in the bag, but they could at least beat Slytherin and in order to do that they had to gain quite a few points.

Sneaking through the corridors quietly, Dorcas didn't even bother lighting her wand. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself, she doubted there'd be any professors out and about now but she didn't want to risk it. What she wanted to do was et to the library quickly, quietly and without any sort of fuss.

Using her wand, Dorcas opened the door of the library. Thankfully the journey had been quiet and without drama or troubles. She closed the door behind her and turned around, heading towards the front desk. She tripped over her own feet and books and pencils fell out of her bag. "Ah crap." She muttered to herself. She stood up and held onto her books, holding them in her arms. There were only three but a couple of them were quite big.

All of a sudden, just as she was about to put her books away someone jumped out at her. She screamed, jumped and dropped two of the three books. She managed to hold onto the little one but not for long. "Holy bloody heck Snape." she said angrily, throwing the little book at him. "What the bloody hell are you up to scaring people in the middle of the bloody night?" Dorcas did not have the best temper, especially at four in the morning.

[Severus Snape]

The person who had made all the noise was gathering up the items she'd dropped all over the floor. She looked up at the sound of his voice, obviously frightened, and began yelling at him. This amused Severus, the corner of his mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh. He stuck his wand back into his bag. It was that Dorcas girl from Ravenclaw, whom he hadn't spoken to more than twice, and she was already biting his head off. She was furious that he had scared her and understandably so. It probably wasn't helping her temper that Severus was turning red from suppressing the laughter that threatened to echo throughout the library. Dorcas chucked the little book at him and, being the scrawny little wimp he was, it slipped through his outstretched hands and hit him in the chest with a muffled thump. "Ow," he complained as the book dropped to the floor, his hand covering the abused area. Severus bent to pick up the little book, handing it to her as he stood back up. "No need to beat me."

"Well, it's not my fault you're so bloody easy to scare, Dorky," he said sarcastically, still fighting laughter. He wasn't usually in such good of a mood. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour and the ridiculousness of the situation. "Besides, what normal person comes to the library at four in the morning?" His words were sure to bring an angry reaction but he just couldn't help it. It wasn't that he particularly disliked the girl -- hell, he'd hardly ever met her -- it was just his sour personality seeping through into his words. Severus didn't bother trying to make friends anymore or try to be "buddy-buddy" with other people. Especially not people as pissed as Dorcas Meadowes. It would probably be in his best interest not to goad her but he wasn't sure if he could contain himself. At least, he thought, I'm not like that git, Potter. Severus was right, he was nothing like James Potter. He was bad in a different way, surely, but he wasn't an arrogant toerag.

"I'm sure I'll regret asking but what are you doing here at such an hour? Normal people sleep at night," Severus said, not really expecting an answer of substance. It was late and it was a rather provocative set of sentences, not to mention that it wasn't his business to ask in the first place. He didn't really care though, harsh words were something he could handle. There was such a slim possibility of her even liking him to begin with, it wasn't worth him even trying to be kind. It was too much work for something that didn't matter anyway. Besides, she was a Ravenclaw, and he was sure that she'd already heard everything about him. Ms Meadowes probably already had her mind set about him and from the sounds of it so far, the mindset wasn't a good one. Not like many people actually liked to speak with him, and it wasn't like Severus minded in the least. "I figure it's only kind to ask if you're all right. That was quite the fall." It was true, he could be polite. Just most times, he chose not to be.

[dorcas]

Dorcas watched as Severus tried catching the book she'd thrown. The fact that he'd missed and it had hit his chest amused Dorcas. Scrawny little wimp, she though to herself, he really needs to get himself some coordination and I guess some muscles wouldn't hurt. Dorcas stood up properly and watched Severus rubbing his chest, not that it was much of a chest really.

"Mememehmemehmememehmeeeh." She said, mocking him in a childish fashion as she took back her book and a couple steps back. "Of course it's your fault! What do you expect to happen when you jump out at unsuspecting people?" Dorcas took a deep breath and calmed herself a little. She'd had quite the scare. Who would you expect to see about at this time in the morning? No one, and that must have been where Severus' mind had been going.

Dorcas narrowed her eyes on Severus. She didn't dislike the guy but she didn't like him either. She knew he had a hard time with idiots like Black and Potter but he seemed to be able to hold his own against them, not that she saw anything happen all that often but she sure heard about it all. Luckily for Severus Dorcas didn't stay angry all that long and she tended not to hold grudges unless they were over big things, luckily for Severus this was no big thing and she had already sort of got her revenge when she hit him in the chest.

"Yes, normal people do tend to sleep 'round a bouts now but you see Snapey, I ain't normal." Dorcas pulled her backpack up on her shoulder and stared at Severus in some kind of stand off. "And I'm guessing you're not either seeing as I'm not the only one out of bed right now." Dorcas closed the gap between herself and Severus so she was nearly chest to chest with him as she eyed him suspiciously. "Just what exactly are you doing up?" Dorcas smirked and patted him on the shoulder. "I kid Snapey!" She said, walking away, looking down the aisles. "I always study at night and I've already been to sleep, had plenty of it thanks very much." And she supposed it was kind of sweet of him to ask how she was.

"And I'm fine. No biggie. So really, what are you up to? And where are you set up. I think I'll join you for a bit." She said, looking back at Severus.

[Severus Snape]

"You didn't know for a fact that I wasn't normal when I leapt out at you like some deranged animal?" Severus said with a hint of sarcasm. Dorcas was calming down and slowly becoming more amicable. Outwardly, he showed nothing but inside, he became slightly nervous. She must really not have known much about him if she was being this nice to him. That or she was trying to be nice regardless of what she'd heard, which was abnormal in his eyes. Not that he treated people badly -- he was the one being treated badly in most cases. To cover up his confusion, he kept talking. "I don't exactly have a reputation for being normal." She'd asked a valid question, just what had he been doing so late at night, and he wasn't sure if it was the closeness of the situation or the constant paranoia he felt about other people but he froze out of fear. Usually, he'd have drawn his wand by now but perhaps it was the fact that someone (especially a girl) could stand to be that close that made him stand there and stare at her.

Dorcas patted him on the shoulder, making it obvious that she was kidding, and he relaxed, although surprised by the touch. It certainly was strange in Severus' mind that she could go so far as to touch him and not be revolted but he saw himself as something to always be unloved. "I must say your study habits are strange but I myself am rather strange and therefore have no room to talk. I was trying to finish the Draught of Peace essay before the end of the night but I must have fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of it." This was also strange; Snape hardly ever spoke to people and when he did, conversations didn't last for more than a few sentences.

Now she wanted to sit with him for a while? He wasn't sure how much more unexpected things he could handle, but he would have been lying if he'd told her he wanted her to leave. Company that didn't want to embarrass the living hell out of you was nice, he had to admit. "I've been sitting in this back corner all night," he said as he made his way to the table he'd been sitting at. "Not many people come back here so it's usually quiet and undisturbed." He'd conveniently left out why he'd rather be alone but he was sure she knew. Everyone knew. "I wouldn't mind company, especially since this essay has been driving me mad for hours." He wanted to ask where she got Snapey from but he kept quiet. It didn't mean anything but it was better that Snivellus or Snivelly, so he wouldn't complain.

[dorcas]

Dorcas was just like everyone else. She disliked people that judged others on reputation, she liked to get to know people before judging them and in her opinion, everyone judged everyone else. It was human nature, it was what kept you safe and alive and what made you friends, the fact that someone else didn't like another person shouldn't stop you from finding out about them, meeting them and letting you form your own opinion. Not a whole lot of people were like that.

"I have to admit, I had an inkling." she said with a smirk. Severus didn't seem that bad really. Everything she'd heard about him was probably a load of dragon dung, most gossip was, though Dorcas didn't mind participating in it, it was fun and usually no one got hurt. Dorcas shrugged her shoulders when Severus mentioned he didn't have a reputation for being normal.

"You don't have a reputation of being normal and I don't have a reputation of being a whore but if I were to push you onto the floor and mount you then you might decide that 'Yeah, that Meadowes is pretty whorish'. Until you do something I consider abnormal, you're pretty normal to me." Dorcas shrugged her shoulders. Gossip was just hear say and if you based your opinion on the opinions of others then you were a bloody moron.

Dorcas smirked as Severus called her study habits strange. They were a bit and she knew but that didn't stop her carrying on. It was all working out for her so why stop a good thing? If it worked then there was no use in changing it, you could really mess things up. "Crap. Is that essay due today?" She asked. She hadn't done anything on it yet and was probably going to have to ask Slughorn for an extension. If it was due tomorrow then she was more than happy to do it tonight or early hours of tomorrow morning. It wouldn't be that difficult and if she could read Severus' first then she'd have a heads up on what to write. Severus was misjudged. A lot she reckoned, but he was smart, especially when it came to potions. She'd noticed the grades he got he should have been a Ravenclaw.

Dorcas followed Severus to the table he'd been sitting at. He told her why he liked it and she had to admit it was a good reason though he also admitted that he wouldn't mind company. She hadn't realised he was the social type or maybe she was just special for whatever reason. She supposed she was being nice to him. "I haven't even started on it so can check yours out? Or are you one of those people that don't like sharing?" Because a lot of students were like that, they didn't like sharing what they'd written, apart from the pompous know it alls that wanted everyone to know that they knew it all.

[Severus Snape]

"You've quite the way with words. Quite charming for a young lady," he said, smirking, at her 'whore' comment. He'd never thought of it like that before and Dorcas' bluntness both shocked him and amused him. "In return, until you do something 'whore-ish', I'll continue to think of you as fairly normal." He felt kind of at ease with her -- possibly a reason why he was so sarcastic with her, since he knew it was all in good fun -- but why? After tonight, odds were that she'd never speak to him again. The library's dark and empty. Perfect time to be nice to me now so that she can get help from me later. This is definitely a one-time thing, he thought darkly, biting the corner of his lip. However, you can't always be a miserable old codger. Enjoy the kindness while you can, even if it'll never happen again. Who knows, she might actually think you're a decent person. Don't ruin it because you're overly paranoid.

When Dorcas asked if the essay was due the next day, Severus shook his head. "Well, no, it's not. I wanted to get a head start on it... a week's head start..." His voice faded out and his cheeks flushed bright red, a sure sign of embarrassment. Quickly looking away from her, he continued, "I mean, you're welcome to look at my notes anyway. They might help you for when you write your essay. As I said... I'm not quite normal." Who did their homework a week before it was due? No one with any sort of social life, that was for sure. Severus wouldn't have been still sitting in the library at nearly four-thirty in the morning if he'd had a social life. Then again, he'd probably get about two-thirds of his homework done if he had other people to worry about, and low marks just didn't work for him. "I'm not keen about sharing my notes usually. People ask me for them after they've cornered me the day before and I'm not willing to give my hard work to some imbeciles who barely know how to hold a quill... anyway, feel free to take a look at them."

She was lucky he'd conversed thus far -- most times, he just retreated back into his shell until everyone left him alone. Perhaps it was the lateness of the hour that allowed him to let down his guard for a while. It was difficult to be suspicious of everyone's motives all the time. Dorcas Meadowes seemed trustworthy enough for that, even if he didn't know her all too well. For a moment, he considered asking her why she had even come to sit here with him but he did not. It was enough that she had, and he didn't want to cause her to reconsider her decisions.