To shrink and Un-shrink

[Severus Snape]

Severus was puzzled what could she of seen that she didn't understand. "It's brave of you to help them anyway, even if you didn't understand." Severus thought about it for a moment, his lips pushed together as he absently reached for his equipment, he motioned for her to follow him to a back sink, where he usually washed his cauldron out. and he set both of them into the deep basin as he filled them with icy water from the old tap.
" don't think divination is sort of subject for me at all." he made a face as he started to scrub at the cauldron. "I guess since you have that gift, it's better that you have a teacher isn't it?" he asked seriously as he grabbed a handful of coarse sand to help him scrub the bottom of his cauldron.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie's expression was very serious and not at all her usual dreamy, distant expression. "If I am to be stuck with this power, I may as well use it to do some good where I can," she said. "Catching a murderer... well, that's at least something that I can do. It made me think, though. Maybe I could be like my mother. An auror. I would always be able to know when someone was lying, you know? Maybe that's a way I can use this for good.... and I never even thought of it before."

She sighed and walked him calmly as he cleaned out his cauldron. Most people put no care in cleaning out their cauldrons after potions class. But Severus treated his cauldron like it was the most precious thing in the world to him. It made her smile.

"Divination as a class is useless. I am glad she's here to learn from, but if you're not already a seer, you can't learn it. Silly things like reading tea leaves and looking in crystal balls... that's nothing but parlor tricks. Muggles like them, but they don't really work unless you already have the power."

[Severus Snape]

Severus liked it when Natalie said things seriously. He could appreciate the way her lips rested together in determination of seriousness. He shook his head slightly to clear way stupider thoughts, she was willing to do what she could after all for justice.
He had finished clearing out the first cauldron, he poured out the sand into the other one and rinsed it in the cold tap. So many people accused him of being dirty because he didn't use soap in his cauldron, but the left over residue from soap tainted potions to a degree.
We Natalie mentioned tea leaf reading he scoffed, "Tea reading, crystal balls...muggles can fall for anything." he shook his head "You can't really read anything in a used tea leaf can you?" he asked since it sounded like if you had the gift it might work.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie giggled slightly at the tone of disdain in his voice. "No... no, I can't. But then, I am not exactly a Seer, either. I'm a feeler. It's more of a personal thing. While Seeing can be kind of arbitrary, I can only feel something if it is based on something specific... a person, an object, a place, or an event. But Professor Simple is a true Seer, so yes, she can see something when she looks at tea leaves or in a crystal ball. Only she says it doesn't happen every time. Just sometimes, they can spark a true vision in her mind. So again... it doesn't work for just anyone."

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled at hearing Natalie giggle, so tea leaves actually worked for someone with the gift, "I guess the best I could do with tea leaves is make a personal poison...if I could figure out how the tea leaves helped any." He actually paused to consider the effects of tea leaves for a second, but caught Natalie's eye and laughed. He'd never do that, well not to kill anyway. Severus had a nasty sense of humor, but he wasn't a killer!
"You're more reliable than a seer anyway. Knowing what's a lie from a truth is better than seeing something from someone you don't know and wouldn't know if you saw them again." Severus said logically as he got the last of the potion out of bottom of the couldron. As he rised it out he realized his fingers were getting a little stained, the skin seemed to be soaking in the color of his work, not that he cared any. As long as his fingers didn't come off he'd be fine with it.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie, however, knew a little better than even Severus did about his darker side. She had seen deeper into his heart and mind than she had with anyone else, but she never said a word about it. There were things, she knew, that he would never want anyone else to know about, so she pretended she had not seen them. Most people, Natalie had learned, had a light side and a dark side... a yin and a yang. She believed that she could keep Severus on the light side with her friendship, or whatever it was that was between them.

"But there are some things that I cannot see," Natalie said. "Things are not predetermined, not really. There is a choice. Everyone must choose their path. It is only when someone has truly made their choice that the path becomes clear."

[Severus Snape]

Severus paused as he watched the drops of water slow from falling off the surface he had just washed. A choice , he grunted in acknowledgment of that. It didn't mean the choice was always easy.
"Paths aren't always clear to the ones on them..." He shook his head, clearing out his darker thoughts. "Anyway, Fate and choice, one set in stone and the other can shift like sand. How troublesome either way." he hung his cauldron on an iron hook over the sink and turned on his heel, his robes doing an impressive swish as he gracefully strode back to his work space.
He didn't like thinking about the future very much, it always left him feeling cold, like maybe Fate had a horrible sense of humor.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie let out a quiet sigh. Based on some of the visions and dreams she'd had, as well as the events going on around them, she knew that soon everyone was going to have to try and choose sides. For some people, that choice would seal their fate. And yet, choose they must.

Natalie only wished she could clearly see which path Severus would choose.

"No, that is true. Most people cannot see where their path will lead them. They just have to choose based on what is right for them."

[Severus Snape]

Severus didn't like the idea of having a 'side', sides meant there had to be a loser and as long as he didn't play his cards just right, he was always a going to be a 'loser'. those thoughts made him feel bad for Natalie, he felt like a stone around her foot sometimes. He wasn't generally liked and even though Natalie said she wasn't really cared for, sometimes being ignored was better than scorn.
"I'll go for any path you're on. Then I know I won't be alone." he said simply.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie smiled softly. That was what she was hoping for. The only problem was, she wasn't sure what her path really was, not yet. How could she know what path she was on? She was so young. And she was infinitely more in tune with other people than with herself.

"I don't mind being alone," she replied. "But I'd rather be with you. And I wouldn't want you to be alone, either."

[Severus Snape]

Severus blushed and smiled awkwardly. Being alone wasn't bad, but with Natalie it was like being in a warm room on a cold day. As long as things were alright between them he would be always want to be with her. He finished packing up, but as he put his bag over his shoulder he thought maybe she liked being with him because he was just as lonely and strange, not nearly as estranged from the rest of the students as she sometimes was because of her gift, but as his parents and home weren't anything like most other students. It was strange to think something like his parents' relationship that was enough to drag him away from so many other people was enough to drag him toward someone else that was quickly becoming one of the most important people in his life.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Whatever it was that had brought them together, Natalie was glad for it. This was one thing that was all hers. Something she could hold close to her heart and give her warmth. Even though people didn't belong to other people, Natalie's friendship with Severus was something that allowed her to be more fully herself. When she was with him, she only felt her own feelings, only heard her own thoughts. She was free of visions and could see clearly what was in front of her. This was unique for her. And it was so precious that she wanted to keep it close... to keep him close. He made her feel light, like she was spinning really fast, and when she stopped, the world kept spinning without her. She liked the feeling.

"Where should we go now?" she asked.

[Severus Snape]

Severus thought about where they should go, They could start to look for the objects they wanted for their hideout, but that might be better accomplished when they split up. "Why don't we go to the library and get some spell books on conjuring then steal from the kitchens and head up for the tower. We can look through a few of the books and see what we can conjure to Hogwarts, or we could try Accico." he looked at Natalie and realized he was starting to babble. He was relieved he caught the sign of it early and smiled at her "Or what do you have in mind?" he asked not wanting to just dictate what and when they should do things.

[Natalie St. Clare]

One thing Natalie had noticed about Severus was that he always liked to be doing something. He liked to keep busy, and didn't ever seem to just shut off his mind and relax. This was one of the ways she was different from him. There was always so much going on in her mind most of the time that she needed to take a break from it all sometimes and just shut down. Her favorite days were warm summer days where she could hide up in the tree or lay out on the cool grass and look up at the cloud formations as they rolled lazily by.

But summer was a long time away, and the cold weather had her craving warmth. "How about if we go to the kitchens and get some hot cocoa in a pot, then bring it up to the tower and just stare out at the sky?" she said.

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled at Natalie. He almost always felt that he had to do something. Keep his mind occupied, because he didn't want to think his thoughts. He wanted to think brilliant things and do brilliant things. So he always read, always wrote, practiced this and that with what he had to work with. With Natalie however his thoughts almost went on autopilot. He wasn't contriving answers, he was simply giving them out. It was nice.
He always had to measure his words, wait for a good situation, he was so very Slytherin.
With Natalie the distinction seemed to fall away.
"That sounds nice, I'm sure they will be happy to give us a chocolate pot. Maybe they have some soft breads too." he said walking to the heavy door and pulling it open for Natalie.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie thought that would be perfect. She was and always had been a dreamer at heart, and if not for her strange gift that made her so hyperaware of other people, she might have been completely out of touch with the world. But as it was, she was maybe a little too in touch with it, and needed to have these times when she pulled away from others to find some kind of balance. Even as a young girl, before her mother and sister died, she had always done this alone. Sometimes she would sit up alone in the treehouse her father had built her for days at a time, and her mother would just send up food. They had never really understood her powers, but they understood her need to be alone.

But now it was different. When she wanted to be alone, she wanted to be with Severus. She felt at ease with him, like he understood her.

"That sounds perfect," she said. "Maybe they have some cheese, too. The house elves are so darling. They are at peace with themselves. I like to visit them."

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled at her as she walked out of the class with him. the door fell softly shut after they started down the hall toward the kitchens.
"I never really thought of them as 'at peace' with themselves, they always seemed happiest doing things I wouldn't normally consider doing." He wouldn't never want to cook or clean for anyone else other than himself...or maybe Natalie, that however was an embarrassing thought.
He was almost on the verge of asking what she felt around him, but stopped because he didn't want to know. It was an annoying curiosity of his to understand why they got on so well, what made her like him when so many others didn't. He shrugged the feeling away, but walked a little closer to her in the hallway, feeling a little giddy at doing so.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie smiled and gripped his hand, not even worrying about any possible visions she might have on doing so.

"What's it exactly," she said, continuing to talk about the house elves. "They are content doing simple tasks. Their lives are uncomplicated, and they know that here they are treated well. So they are at peace. There's much we could learn from them."

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled when Natalie took hold of his hand. It was like she knew that's what he wanted to do in the first place. She reached her hand out and took his, it felt enormous, the amount of emotion the simple action provoked in him. He did what he always did when his feelings ended up too much for him, he started to wad the feeling up like a vast sheet of paper, then cram it away from himself until it faded. Unlike most children, Severus knew full well that everything was temporary, especially emotions. Unfortunately he was having a difficult time trying to restrain his happiness. So he squashed it down as far as he could and settled for having an awkward smile on his face as he walked hand in hand with Natalie.
"We can't have uncomplicated lives...We have homework." in Severus' opinion it was a brainless thing to say, but his brain couldn't come up with so many witty things at once.
They climbed a small flight of stairs that would lead them to the main hall and the short trip across it would lead to the hall with the painting of the pear that led to the kitchens.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie, however, could have argued with him about emotions being temporary. Some were, like anger at a friend. But many of them, particularly the important ones, lingered within a person forever. They may dim in intensity, but they would always be there, a shadow of an emotion. Affection for another person never really died, it merely changed. For some who were hurt, love became hate. For those who lost the ones they loved to death, love became sadness that would never go away. For those who simply grew apart, that love remained, just a beautiful memory woven in the fabric of life. And there were others, whose love was so deep and so strong, that they were able to stay together, and although their emotions may not always have the passionate intensity of youth, they would grow into something much stronger and more enduring.

But Natalie could not have explained this to Severus, not now. It was too much, too deep, and she would not have known how to put it into words.

She let out a tiny laugh at his comment. It was a strange sound, not often heard, but strangely musical. "At our age, even the smallest thing seems immensely complicated," she said wisely.