Harry Potter 50 Shades of Gray

A shrill whistle was later heard, followed by a blur hurtling through the air moments after.

"Regulus," said Daphne as the owl landed lightly on the perch that hung above her desk. It gazed steadily at her; its golden feathers flecked with black shimmered softly under the firelight. A fitting name for such a regal creature. Daphne took one last look at the letter she had written before signing her name at the bottom of the page.

The quiet rustling of paper accompanied by the crackling of the flames filled the room as Daphne quickly sealed the envelope. She waited a moment for the wax to cool down before stamping her family insignia on the envelope. "To tell father I've met someone interesting," Daphne murmured softly to her owl as she fastened the letter on its leg. Its charcoal-coloured beak opened as it trilled quietly in response before it spread its wings and soared away.

.....

"Prince, Prince!" called Cyrna having quickly lost sight of her cat.

But the white furball was gone, seduced away by food. With little time left before the end of lunch break, she hastily settled down at the Slytherin table for her meal, ignoring all the others who eyed her with curiosity or dissatisfaction.

Then halfway through her mash, she heard Prince's mew behind her.

"Oh so now you show up," Cyrna muttered. "Prince," she said half-way turned around—"Get—"

"Prince?"

A baritone voice, smooth as the darkest velvet, caressed the word upon its intonation. That was definitely not her cat. Her spine tingled as she turned completely, meeting eyes so dark that it seemed to suck out all the light from the room.

Her favourite character. And also, the very man she was trying to avoid.

Containing her excitement, she reminded herself that she had to appear uninteresting to Snape. Calculations ran swiftly through her mind; her eyes flickered to his then lowered. While she had dropped her act with the Slytherins and had acted more naturally with Harry, Cyrna supposed that it wouldn't be odd for a child to be fine with their peers, but shy to adults. The professors, sensing her discomfort with their presence, would likely give her a wider berth.

It seemed that she wouldn't be able to shed her timid act completely.

"Good-good afternoon, Professor Snape," she stammered out.

"This… thing is yours?"

Cyrna stared at her cat who seemed content to sidle up against the Potion Master's robes, leaving a trail of white hair in its wake. Oh God. She was dead. Killed by Snape on her first day for dirtying his robes. Genuinely reluctant, she dragged her gaze up to his. Professor Snape was now wearing a scowl.

"Sorry, professor," she said meekly. Then with hushed urgency—"Prince, get over here!"

Professor Snape did this odd little twitch, and Cyrna belatedly remembered that oh shit she had named the cat after him. Laughing nervously, she went to call her cat again, but before she could, Snape gave a sharp yank on his robes, sending the cat tumbling back towards her feet. He glared at the animal, looking like he might have kicked it before his eyes snapped back to hers. Cyrna felt a sudden spark of anger before she reigned in her expression.

"Miss Raine, you would do well to look after your cat, before it ends up with the dubious... fortune of becoming an ingredient in one of my potions."

Prince made a piteous sound towards the black-clad Professor who had snuck him food beneath the table. Reminding herself to keep her act, Cyrna forced out a soft apology. "I will, sir. Sorry."

His probing gaze roamed over her face. "And I do hope your class-skipping tendencies will not persist till Friday," he droned, voice dipped in sarcasm, before he swept out the Great Hall.

Once he was gone, she allowed a glare to settle on her features, appetite gone. Never meet your heroes. She always knew that Snape wasn't nice, but... some things felt different when you experienced it firsthand. Feeling sharply disappointed, she buried her face into Prince's fur and heaved a long sigh. "Why were you bothering him, Prince?" she muttered to her cat who returned her snuggle, "You're never friendly with strangers."

A contented purr rumbling through the cat was the only response.

....

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