Sober Up

Allen had only just walked into his office and shut the door when he and his Phoenix, Anka, who had been resting with his eyes closed, stepped into a patch of shadow. Then they emerged from a shadow in the Potions classroom in the basement of Hogwarts Castle, cast by the lights and a wall display cabinet filled with glass jars of preserved animal specimens.

The Potions classroom had always been colder than the main castle above, and now, in winter, it was even worse. The sudden change in temperature made Anka open his eyes, and the breath he exhaled formed a cloud of white mist.

Looking at Anka squeezing farther into the Raven feathers on his cloak, Allen said aloud, "Professor Snape, couldn't you put a Temperature Control Charm on your classroom?"

"This classroom now belongs to Professor Horace Slughorn." In the gloomy room, Snape's icy voice came from beside the blackboard, where the ingredients and brewing method for the potion Professor Slughorn had left from the previous lesson still remained. "A colder environment can help those foolish students keep calm more easily while brewing potions, though it seems to have little effect on those excitable Gryffindors."

"That makes sense. But even Professor Slughorn can't stand staying in this classroom for long. He asked Dumbledore for Professor Merrythought's old office too... To be honest, I used to prefer taking your classes in the summer."

"Please sit, Professor Harris."

Somewhat impatient with this small talk, Snape walked straight to the lectern he had once used, silently cast the Gemino Curse on the teacher's chair with his wand, then wordlessly flicked up his batlike black cloak and casually chose one to sit down in.

After Allen sat as well, a brief silence fell. Snape placed both arms on the desk and