To shrink and Un-shrink

[Severus Snape]

Severus blushed in his blotchy way. It wasn't often that Natalie would laugh, she was serious, but hearing her laugh made him happy.
"It seems like we have to spend our time jumping through hoops." he kept his eyes looking forward, avoiding her gaze for a moment before letting the blush die down a little. "Like in that horrible transfiguration class, that professor is just looking for an impressive show, I'm glad I talked with my head of house." He wasn't sure if he had mentioned this chat with Natalie, he was certain she had noticed the lack of his appearance in class however.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie didn't say anything, but she knew that at least part of Severus's problem with the transfiguration class was the fact that he was not particularly skilled in the subject. She also didn't point out to him that she was actually not doing well in most of her classes, with the exceptions of Potions, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Dueling. She was only doing well in Potions because Severus was helping her. Divination was a special class geared to her abilities, and she was able to empath the animals in Care of Magical Creatures to know what they needed. She was pretty sure she was only doing well in dueling because she understood Voltaire so well. But in all of her other classes, the emotional noise from the people around her was simply too great.

But as she often did, Natalie kept all these thoughts to herself. All she said was, "I miss you in class."

[Severus Snape]

Severus felt guilt for leaving Natalie alone in that horrible class. "I'm sorry...I didn't really think it throughly enough when I left. I felt so.."he paused, recalled vividly the feeling of having to wade through hot sand and the blisters he had on his feet and face, "humiliated. I was so frustrated that I was...helpless, And I could almost feel that horrible sow of a professor laughing at me for my lack of skill in the class." He was filled with a horrible bitterness. "Even if it isn't so, I could feel the weight of her gaze on me and my attempts in class." He felt so suffocated by the feeling, He hadn't been so angry in so long, it felt foreign to him, when it had once been so familiar and almost comforting. He could only guess he knew of better now and squeezed Natalie's hand and felt so much lighter after doing so. She was a comfort to him, being there with him helped melt way the anger and feel it sink away from him.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie shook her head. "It's OK. Don't apologize. You weren't happy in that class, so you shouldn't have to be there, if you have a choice."

Although she wasn't doing especially well in Transfiguration, at least the professor was kind to her, probably because she knew she was teaching the class that her uncle had once taught. Every time she walked into the classroom, Natalie could still feel Uncle Alastor's essence. It made her miss him acutely. She hoped that, where ever he was, he was OK. She felt fairly certain that he was alive. Maybe he had remained in his Animagus form and was taken in by an adoring family.

"Lily Evans is in that class, and she's always been friendly to me. So I'm not alone."

[Severus Snape]

Severus remembered Lily Evans, She was in his same year. She was very pretty, 'not as pretty as Natalie!' trilled an obnoxious voice in his head and he blushed again.
"I'm glad you aren't alone in that class. I would go back if you were alone." Severus was caught between meaning what he said with his whole being and regretting it. He really didn't like that professor!
"Is Lily a friend of your's now?" unsure of how he felt about another friend in Natalie's life, but then he didn't think it would affect him any. It wasn't like he had to be friendly with every one. The came to a stretch of hallway that lead to the kitchens, further in the distance the portrait with the pear came into view.

[Natalie St. Clare]

"Lily's sort of a friend, I guess," Natalie said. "She's nice to everyone, though. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like her."

Natalie smiled as they approached the painting. She rather liked the mathod of getting into the kitchens. There was something cute and playful about it, and there was a general sense of happiness in the area. She sometimes wondered whether the spirit of a happy child haunted the pear in the painting, and that was why it laughed when you tickled it. She supposed it could have just been a magical enchantment, but there was a sense of pure joy that came from it.

[Severus Snape]

"Ah I see." and relaxed a little, he stopped in front of the painting and let go of her hand for the first time since she took hold of his. "Ladies first and all that tosh." he said smiling and inviting her to go into the kitchens before him. He wasn't especially gentlemanly to anyone, and he didn't know nearly as much as some of the Slytherins that had to grow up with stuffy old aunts or long wizarding families that still lived, but for Natalie, who was his only friend, He would try to be just a little.

[Natalie St. Clare]

She gave him a little curtsy as she passed the painting and its giggling pear and walked into the kitchens.

As always, they were greeted by the happy house elves, who were bustling about the room, preparing for the next meal. She smiled at them, then turned to wait for Severus.

"What can we do for the young miss and mister?" asked a tiny elf.

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled at the small creature. "Do you have some soft sweet bread? and a hot chocolate pot?" he asked bending his head toward the creature. It's large watery eyes smiling and nodding.
"Yes! of course young master!" and it turned on it's heel and shot across the kitchen. It was a flurry of movement in the kitchens. Elves were doing this and that, scrubbing here and stirring vast iron and copper pots, the black pots seemed to contain savory while there was the smell of browning sugar and such from the shining Copper ones. It was a good idea he though, maybe a cauldron of something other than pewter would have a different effect on a potion, the way it seemed to have on cooking.
He looked to Natalie and saw her expression. She seemed so peaceful and comfortable, he only hoped it was because she didn't find him disturbing like so many other students bothered her.

[Natalie St. Clare]

Natalie pulled herself up onto a stool, her small legs dangling nearly two feet away from the floor. She was small for her age, and yet, it was hard to tell what she'd look like when she got older. Maybe she would never be very tall, or maybe she'd have an unexpected growth spurt. Although her father was very tall, neither Sabrina nor her mother had been very tall.

She looked over at him with a shy smile and wondered what he was thinking about. Normally she would be able to tell what he was feeling, but for some reason, he was harder to read than other people seemed to be. She wondered why that would be.

"I like it in the kitchen," she said. "It feels warm and safe."

[Severus Snape]

Severus smiled, he relaxed further into the kitchen. He slouched less around Natalie, He was standing a full height which gave the impression of a seedling that had been growing in a cupboard.
"I like the feeling of safe, I like the way it smells in here, everything is safe." He meant it of course literally. There wasn't any ingredients in the kitchen that were lethal, or even gave off the smell of danger. Not a second later did he find his hands full of a basket that contained their impromptu snack.
"Let's go!" he smiled at the basket in his arms and turned back to Natalie to walk back out the painting.