Postal

Two

"Snape's doing what?" Harry's green eyes widened at his friend Hermione, who was nodding her confirmation. The passage outside the Potions Master's dungeon rooms was, as usual, cold and draughty as they approached, but that had all been forgotten when Hermione peered through the crack in the door and told them what she'd just seen.

"With... with who?" mouthed Harry.

Hermione shook her head and shrugged, resisting the urge to press her eye against the keyhole.

"And... she didn't seem to... mind?" whispered Ron incredulously. "Oh, Merlin, I don't think I want to see this." But as he spoke, he was already gently pushing Hermione out of the way, bending over to peer into the room.

"Ron!" hissed Hermione, pulling him back by his sleeve. Even in the dim torchlight of the passage, her face was pink.

"What?!"

"Ssshh!"

The three stood stock still. They could no longer hear voices from the inside of the room, but after a pause there came a curious series of sounds. A bump, followed by the scraping of oak against stone, which Hermione assumed could only have been the desk. Soft laughter. And then, curiously, loud tumbling and clattering, as if the scrolls and books had all been swept to the floor. Followed by a barely audible gasp.

The heat rising into Hermione's face was unbearable. She grasped both boys firmly by the arms (they were still staring at each other with puzzled expressions on their faces), steering them down the corridor and out of the dungeons. Only when they reached the warm glow of the entrance hall did they dare to speak. Not that they could think of anything coherent to say.

"Well," said Ron dumbly. "Well. Who'd have thought...Snape..."

Indeed, thought Hermione, flushing furiously once more.

Harry cleared his throat, glancing warily at the two of them. "Well, I guess we'll have to return this thing back to him later then. When he's less... preoccupied."

"Harry," said Hermione suddenly. "Do you think this has anything to do with the ring?"

Harry reached into his pocket and produced the ring they had found beside Snape's desk in the Potions classroom. It was pretty worn, as if it had traveled through a lot of space, if not time. It was silver or white gold with a darkish rectangular blue stone in the centre ("mmm...probably lapis lazuli," mused Hermione). There were few distinguishing features, save for on one side, barely visible, were the chipped remains of an inscription, "...lass of '93'".

"What do you think it means?" asked Hermione. Harry and Ron merely shrugged.

"We could always go back in a few and see if he's free?" suggested Ron weakly.

Harry glanced over his shoulder down the dungeon stairs. Draco Malfoy was distractedly walking up from the direction of Snape's office. He hadn't seen them, but Harry noted that the boy had a rather... bemused expression on his face and kept glancing back towards the Potions rooms.

"Um... maybe... not just yet," said Harry.