It doesn't help that we're always between crises. [ Being here is like treading water in the middle of the ocean: no relief in sight and just as soon as your head is above water again, another wave comes and knocks you back down. ] Maybe if there were more people working to make that a reality...

[ She trails off, thinking of Kate and her similar position in being undecided but understanding the need to be somewhere. That, in turn, just makes her feel like more of a storm cloud, so Claire quickly discards the thought. Rather than dwelling, she leans her head to the side until it finds Severus's shoulder, and she drops it there, staring at her socks. ]

Good, because I really hate brown-nosing.

[ But for the record, vital function or not, she still does think it's an important department. ]