Severus Snape nearly dropped the beaker he was holding at the sudden interruption, but managed to hold onto it without spilling a drop. He closed his eyes for a brief second of thankfulness. A trip to the hospital wing after having undiluted bubotuber pus spilled on any part of his body was not his idea of a day off. With the older students in Hogsmeade, and the younger ones working on the large amounts of homework he had made sure to give them, he had looked forward to an afternoon of peace.
�Miss McDougall. Come in.� Severus tried not to sound ungracious, but was quite sure he had failed. He did not want to antagonize Frankie. She was without a doubt the best N.E.W.T. level assistant he had ever had, even with her atrocious American accent and blinding neon hair. Normally he quite enjoyed her company, her dry wit more than a match for his own, but he had set aside today to work on one of the more dangerous Potions in his repertoire. And he distinctly remembered telling Frankie of his plans.
She, of course, simply smiled at his rudeness. One day, he promised her silently, I will...I will what? He asked himself. I will insult her? I will curse her? Having no wish to do either, he simply sighed and gestured her to a chair.
�No, I can�t stay, I know you�re busy, and I apologize for the interruption. Nice catch,� she said with a look at the beaker in his hand. �That could have been painful. Here. I brought you these.�
She handed him a small package, and Severus placed the beaker carefully on his worktable, admitting to a certain curiosity. He unwrapped the box and opened it.
�Biscuits?� His eyes flashed. �I have told you, Miss McDougall, I do not care for sweets.�
�I know. But these are not just biscuits. These are Grandma Firesun�s homemade molasses crinkles. They�re incredible. Cookies, Severus, real cookies. They came today by owl. I told Grandma Firesun about you and she said you needed some sweetening.�
Frankie giggled, and Severus frowned.
�I am perfectly content the way I am.� He turned back to his work table.
�I told her you�d say that,� Frankie smirked.
Severus narrowed his eyes. He picked up one of the brown blobs up and examined it with furrowed brows, then replaced it distastefully.
Jan smiled happily and slipped out the door. �Enjoy.�
Severus continued to work until the aroma of ginger and cinnamon grew too strong. He re-wrapped the package and shoved it deep into a pocket in his robes.
Cookies.
Indeed.
Frankie McDougall pushed the tin across to Severus, who was seated across from her, his long black hair hanging over his face as he concentrated on the parchment in front of him.
�Rubbish. Absolute rubbish. How did this child even get in this class?� Severus muttered to himself, ignoring his assistant.
�You put him there,� she reminded him, dipping her quill into the inkpot as she corrected another student�s essay. �No one gets into N.E.W.T. level Potions without your approval.�
Severus frowned, still not looking up, and shook his head in disapproval. Frankie pushed the tin closer.
�Have a cookie.�
Severus raised his face to her in exasperation. �Biscuit, Miss McDougall. You are in a civilized country now. We do not have cookies. We have biscuits.�
Frankie grinned and took a large bite out of a chocolate covered Hob Nob. �Okay. Have a biscuit, then.�
�No.�
Severus picked up a different quill and drew a large red X across the offending essay. �Abominable spelling,� he muttered, and Frankie grinned again.
�Have a cookie.�
Severus ignored her.
Frankie had her tin of sweets with her. Severus didn�t deign to answer her usual �Cookie?� simply continuing with his correcting when she shoved the biscuit next to his free hand.
She had never asked about the �cookies� she�d given him the week before, and so he hadn�t had to lie.
He�d taken the package back to his private quarters, forgetting about it for an entire day, until he�d found the package in his pocket once more. He�d stared at the innocuous brown box for several minutes, trying to forget the remembered scent of spices. Finally giving in with a curse that caused his flowering cactus to wither, he�d torn the package open and eaten one. It had been much more enjoyable than he�d expected.
In fact, Severus thought with a guilty flush, he�d never enjoyed anything quite so much as Grandma Firesun�s molasses crinkles.
But he�d be damned if he admit that to Frankie McDougall.
The cookie lay next to his hand until Frankie finished her portion of the essays. She gathered her things together, wished him a good evening, and patted him on the head as she went out.
Severus took several deep breaths to control himself. Patting him on the head indeed, as if he was a child, or a pet of some sort. He savagely gave failing marks to the last two essays in his pile, picked up his cookie, and left.
Severus Snape gave a long suffering sigh.
�Miss McDougall. For the thirty second time, and I have been keeping count, I do not like sweets. I do not enjoy them, I do not want them, and I would be most grateful if you would stop offering me those...those...cookies!�
He spit out the word as if it was a curse, and sure that the matter was finally closed, turned to his schedule. Dumbledore had requested that each Professor go over their intended final exams with him, and Severus tried to decide if he should cut Double Potions short on Friday, or give up his Saturday afternoon, which he had tentatively planned to spend in the greenhouse.
He turned back to find a cookie at his place once more. He drew his shoulders back and glared, but his assistant, her lips twitching, merely gazed at him mildly.
Severus controlled himself.
�Very well, Miss McDougall. I will have a �cookie.� I will eat this, and you will no longer bother me. Is that understood?�
Frankie grinned.
Severus bit into the biscuit with trepidation. It was, as he�d suspected, delicious. The sweet taste exploded in his mouth and his eyes closed in bliss, then snapped open again as he realized what he�d done.
Frankie hid what looked suspiciously like a smile and bent her head over her work. Severus finished the treat with one eye making sure she wasn�t watching, swallowing the last crumb with reluctance. He eyed the tin next to her for a moment only before turning resolutely back to his own work.
Silence fell, and then Frankie reached into the tin, took out two more cookies, and slid them across the table without looking at him.
Severus Snape sighed, reached out, and took them.
Cookies
�Professor? Severus?�