Hermione awoke with a start. She was sure she had heard a strange sound. It had almost like a crash followed by a...sneeze? She furrowed her brow. No one had access to her chambers aside from herself and...

"Severus?" she called out, cautiously. She reached fro her wand that lay on her bedside table, just in case. He question was answered by another sneeze. She got out of her bed and threw on her dressing gown, rushing outside, with her wand pointed and at the ready.

She opened the door to the living room to find a very red nosed, and rather uncomfortable looking Severus Snape. At this feet, lay a shattered jar of glass, with it powdery contents spilling everywhere on her crimson carpet. She raised an eyebrow, and he sneezed in response.

She recognised at garlic powder that she had bought just the day before, but had been too tired to put away on to her shelf. What she did not understand, however, was the Potions Master's sneezing.

"You should be in bed with a terrible cold like that," she reprimanded him, wondering if she sounded like Molly. He glared at her indignantly.

"I...Achoo ...don't have a cold, Professor Granger" he hissed. She frowned, if he didn't have a cold...could that possibly mean...

She burst out laughing even at the thought of it. He walked towards her, stepping carefully to avoid the glass. Then, he turned and cast a quick Reparo on the bottle, which he then moved to the shelf. That still left the fine powder on the floor however.

"You're allergic to garlic, aren't you?" she asked, between chuckles.

He looked back at her, his voice deadpan despite her giggles. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and I am sure you...achoo...think it is absolutely hilarious," he sneered. She nodded her head yes before wiping away a tear of laughter.

"But how on earth did you brew the recipes that had garlic in them?" she asked, teasing, while looking at him with innocent eyes.

"I simply used...achoo...a spell to prevent this."

She nodded again, still laughing. A part of her was wondering what the students, especially the Gryffindors would think if they found out. It would probably affirm their beliefs about his being a vampire. She made a mental note to tell him about it, later.

"Anyway, why are you here so early?" she questioned after a while, when his allergies had died down a bit, and they were both slumped down on the chairs, exhausted despite the fact that it was just morning.

"Minerva wanted to hold a meeting of all the teachers before breakfast," he explained, trying to hold back another sneeze.

She looked at his mussed hair, red nose, and garlic covered black robed. Then, she thought about her own wrinkled dressing gown, puffy eyes, and frizzy hair. She sighed.

"I have a feeling we're both going to be a bit late..."

Notes: For TGS' 12 days of Christmas Challenge Day 8