Mrs Norris, Filch's Kneazle, used to meow at Snape all the time.
Snape grew fed up with it and cast a wandless Confundus Charm on it. After passing out several times, it now fled far away whenever it saw him.
"Build a fireplace before winter comes!" Pomona said to Snape. "Don't think that just because you're young..."
He put on a cold expression and walked away as though he had heard nothing.
Pomona angrily planted her hands on her hips.
"Just wait until you suffer when you're old!" she shouted at his retreating back.
"What do you mean, suffer when he's old?" Richard Carter asked.
"Oh, hello, Carter. What is it?" Pomona asked with a smile.
"This is for you." Carter handed Pomona a slip of paper.
"What is this?" Pomona asked, holding the card.
"The Ministry of Magic's Christmas party. I heard from the Headmaster that the students won't be spending Christmas break at school," Carter said. "Or do you have somewhere else to go?"
Pomona was speechless for a moment.
"Keep it. You might need it," Carter said, as if he had merely handed her an unremarkable postcard.
Pomona sighed and slipped the invitation into her pocket.
There was a rumor that Carter had left the Ministry of Magic because he had embezzled things that did not belong to him. Before becoming a genealogist, he had also been a "treasure hunter" for Gringotts, and he had likewise failed to turn over everything he found, getting dismissed during his probationary period. But hadn't the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor also been surrounded by all sorts of rumors?
The murderer had not been found, and that remained a constant hidden danger. Not to mention that the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk guarding it had yet to be