Chapter
Six
~ In which there is much detention ~
Professor
Dumbledore glanced up at the bustling students entering the classroom. Catching
his eye, Severus stiffened and strode quickly to a seat that was furthest away
from everyone else.
Rising to
his feet, Dumbledore smiled at the sea of expectant faces before him. “Good
morning, fifth years,” he said with a twinkle.
There was an
eager chorus of ‘Good morning, Professor’ that Snape joined in with a grunt.
“Now I’m
afraid I’ll only be continuing to teach Potions for a short while,” Dumbledore
continued. “I am needed elsewhere, so you will be getting another temporary
Potions teacher during Professor Snape’s absence.”
There was a
murmur of disappointment, with an especially dismal sound coming from Neville.
Severus sneered to himself. Just wait
until he got back…
Dumbledore
stood up and collected his notes. “Now, what were we studying last week?”
“Excuse me,
Professor,” said Hermione, as Harry and Ron rolled their eyes, “ –but where
exactly is Professor Snape, and when will he get back?”
Dumbledore
looked surprised at the interruption and Hermione flushed. “As I mentioned
earlier, Miss Granger, Professor Snape is sorting out some very tricky business
that may take time. However, rest assured Gryffindors–” Dumbledore twinkled
around to the rest of the class “–our Potions Master will be returning as soon
as he can.”
The rest of
the class gave him a feeble smile, followed afterwards by a slight shudder when
he turned around. Snape smirked from behind his cauldron and started copying
down notes.
It was nice
to still have those snivellers in place, almost felt…back to normal.
***
“But the
question is, what play are we to do?”
The class groaned
silently and Ginny Weasley fell back into her usual daydream. They were still discussing which
Muggle play to do for their assessment (well rather, Professor Mimble was
chattering away and the rest of the class was ‘listening’).
Professor
Mimble stopped suddenly and frowned. “What’s that noise?” he said sharply.
There was a
strange rhythmic thumping noise coming from the back of the room. The drowsy
class jerked awake and looked around blankly. Ginny giggled and pointed to her
far left.
A singular
Ravenclaw was banging his head slowly against his wooden desk.
The class
gave a roar of laughter but the Professor looked alarmed. “Are you all right
there, Boot?”
The
Ravenclaw looked up and stared at him hysterically. “All right?” he said
bitterly. “I think I’m going mad! If I don’t do something soon, I’m going to—”
“All right!
All right!” cut in Mimble hastily. “But you try getting up here and
teaching a whole lot of—no, no, just a figure of speech—sit down, I say!”
There was a
slight struggle as William Boot tried to stand up on his desk with Mimble
attached to his collar, while the rest of the class watched on in interest.
“GARN,
BOOT!” came a cry, and soon the whole class was yelling and cheering and
generally getting out of hand.
“SIT DOWN!”
bellowed Mimble, slightly dishevelled.
But Boot had
sat down for a restless two hours, and he wasn’t giving up that easily. “I SAY,
WE WRITE THE PLAY OURSELVES!” he roared above the rabble, jumping up and down
and accidentally kicking the Professor in the nose.
It was as if
he’d just proposed rebellion to goblins, from the roar of enthusiasm he
received in response.
“But…but
that just defeats the purpose of Muggle Studies!” Mimble spluttered, purple in
the face from trying to hold Boot’s ankles.
But Mimble’s
voice was drowned out by another yell of joy; it was time for lunch.
***
“Severus!”
Snape
recognised the caller’s voice and nodded amicably. “Hullo,” he said. “What’re
you in such a rush for?”
Ginny
grinned at him and looked over her shoulder conspiringly. “We just had Muggle
Studies and—” Ginny went off into peals of laughter.
“Don’t tell
me,” Severus smiled slyly. “You revolted on Mimble?”
Ginny paused
laughing and looked surprised. “How did you know?”
Severus
snorted inwardly. He didn’t know why Dumbledore kept the pathetic man; this
seemed to happen every year. In Snape’s opinion, he was even worse than Binns, because he actually noticed if
you were sleeping or not.
Not waiting
for a reply, Ginny tugged on his arm. “We’re going to be late!”
“We’ve got
lunch,” he said with a frown, trying to wriggle his way out of her grip.
Ginny gave
him a disbelieving look. “We’ve got try-outs for the Duelling Club!
Lunch goes for an entire hour!”
Severus
frowned and said, “Look, I don’t think Draco…”
Ginny glared
at him. “Does everything have to revolve around Draco Malfoy?”
“I don’t
know why you’re so angry at him,” said Severus. “They do both have blonde
hair—”
“Oh! Take his
side now! You always–”
“You
wouldn’t happen to be talking about me, would you?” cut in a familiar drawl
coming from behind them.
Ginny
whirled on the young Slytherin. “What are you doing, sneaking up on—”
“I wasn’t
sneaking!” Draco snapped, then under his breath, “–for a change…But it’s not my
fault you’re now deaf as well as blind,” he added louder.
“Well, Severus and I are going to try out for the Duelling Club,” Ginny
said. “So don’t try and stop us.”
Draco raised
an eyebrow. “As if I care,” he scoffed. “Besides, I think I might try out too.”
Ginny turned
an angry red and Severus clapped him on the back. “Good, good, knew you would,”
he said quickly. “Why don’t we all start heading over there now?”
With a
disdainful sniff, Ginny turned her heel and started marching off without them.
Draco grinned at her retreating figure and followed lazily.
“I don’t
know how you stand her,” he called over his shoulder to the other boy. “She
gets denser and denser everyday.”
Severus
smirked. “As opposed to the retarded Slytherin?”
“Shut up,
Severus.”
***
Not
surprisingly, lots of students turned up on the Quidditch pitch to try out for
a chance to be in the new Hogwarts Duelling Club. Rumour had spread that the
new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor was actually an Auror, and that
things could really heat up into an interesting match.
Hermione was
first there, followed quite eagerly by Harry and Ron, and then by nearly a
third of the school. A slouching mob of Slytherins made up the majority, more
numerous than the other houses put together.
Neville
Longbottom, who decided he’d just come to watch, looked slightly unnerved at
the surly sea of faces. Ron noticed his look and also grimaced. “They don’t
look very sporting, do they?” he said darkly, pulling a face at a sneering
sixth-year Slytherin.
Hermione
looked at him sharply. “Don’t be silly, Ron! Just because they’re in Slytherin,
doesn’t mean…”
But Hermione’s voice drained away when Millicent Bulstrode, an enormous
Slytherin girl, thumped her fists together and glared at her. She began to
stride forward when burly Slytherin boy stopped her. “We’ll get our chance
later,” he said, smiling nastily at the trio.
Harry
recognised him as Blaise Zabini, who was proving to be the dominant Slytherin
now that Draco was always off with Snape. Even Crabbe and Goyle had stationed
themselves around him, though Zabini didn’t need it. He was like an ancient
Greek wrestler, but with the facial expressions of an angry bear.
Harry shuddered and looked away, his eyes falling on Ginny running
towards them from the castle. He noted with concern her face was flushed.
“Ginny!”
Hermione exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”
Harry
could’ve sworn that Ginny had glanced slightly over her shoulder before
answering. “Nothing!” she said abruptly. “Am I late?”
Ron frowned
at her. “Are you going to try out too?”
“Well, why
shouldn’t I?” she said defensively. “Honestly, Ron! You sound like Percy!”
Ron looked
horrified at the accusation and looked at Harry and Hermione for support.
“Er…well, it
wouldn’t hurt for Ginny to try out…”
“Yes, I
think she’s proved that she can look after herself,” assured Harry, grinning at
the blushing Ginny.
Ron stared
at his two best friends in disbelief. “You…you don’t really think I
sound like Percy, do you?”
Harry and
Hermione laughed, giving him a light shove. Then Professor Garwood strode into
the centre of the throng and the chatter died down.
“Welcome
everyone,” she called. “I am quite surprised at the turn-out! Keep up this
enthusiasm and I’m sure we’ll make professional duellers out of you all yet!”
The crowd of
students gave a cheer, even the Slytherins.
“Now, we’ll
start by each lining up in pairs…”
There was
slight disorder as each chose their partners and shuffled into place. Harry and
Ron automatically moved together and Hermione looked inquiringly at Ginny.
Ginny grinned at her and they moved off to form the last pair.
Professor
Garwood glanced up and down the forty pairs in amusement. She hadn’t expected
this many students. It was interesting how the majority were Slytherins; she
would’ve expected Gryffindors…
“Sorry we’re
late,” came a voice behind her.
“Yeah, it’s
all Severus’s fault,” drawled another, making her smile.
The
Professor turned around and looked at them sharply. “You’re holding up the
group,” she said, though her eyes were twinkling. “Hurry and line up with your
partner.”
Draco
smirked at Severus, whose neck was turning a pale tinge of pink. They faced
each other in anticipation and lined up next to an annoyed-looking Ginny and
Hermione.
No
holding back,
Draco’s look seemed to say.
Prepare
to be knocked off your feet then, Snape’s laughing look replied.
“The first
objective is to get your partner’s wand,” came Garwood’s voice. “I will watch
your technique and method, and if I touch your shoulder then you are to move
away to my left.”
Draco’s eyebrows
waggled and he mouthed, “She wants you,” to the flushing boy opposite.
Snape bared
his teeth in reply and Hermione looked at him in alarm.
“NOW!”
Professor Garwood cried.
There was
instantly a roar of ‘Expelliarmus’, but some people had yelled different curses
as well, making about half of the students dance wildly or fall to the ground
or even make loud animal noises.
Ginny was
screaming with laughter (she had been hit with a tickle charm) and Hermione was
staring at her legs in horror (they seemed to have disappeared).
Harry and
Ron were each racing towards the other’s wand (they had used the Disarming
spell at exactly the same moment, and had caused each other’s wands to fly
backwards).
Half of the
students now had the other person’s wand, and Professor Garwood started to
divide the students accordingly. A certain pair happened to catch her eye, as
they seemed to be arguing more than duelling.
Severus
Snape leaped backwards and again missed Draco’s crackling curse.
“Not bad!”
Snape smirked. “You’re learning well.”
Draco
gritted his teeth. “You’re not trying!” he yelled, running at him and firing
another hex at the same time.
Severus
pointed his wand and performed a counter-curse. “Neither are you,” he retorted.
“Use your cunning, don’t just—” Snape jerked out of the way of another
crackling hex, “–rush into things,” he finished off.
Draco
narrowed his eyes, inching slowly towards his superior-looking partner. “Fine.”
Draco paused, a smirk creeping up his face. “But just wait ‘til I tell Professor Garwood that Sev Scrape has a crush on her–”
Severus’s
smirk faded and he leapt on him with a roar, but Draco was ready for him. He
quickly ducked around and grabbed the other boy’s wand like lightning.
“HA!” Draco
yelled triumphantly.
“HA!” Snape
yelled back.
The two boys
stared at each other, each holding the other’s wand.
“Good!” said
Garwood, as each boy felt a small pat on his shoulder. “Though why you two
insist on physically fighting all the time is beyond me.”
Draco and
Severus moved off silently, and joined eighteen other students to the left of
the main group. Ginny ran towards them beaming, while Harry, Ron and Hermione
watched dubiously.
“I knew
you’d make it!” Ginny grinned, looking as though she wanted to throw her arms
around them.
Severus and
Draco exchanged a look, eyebrows raised.
“I’m the
only fourth year here!” she whispered, trying to look modest but failing
miserably. “Oh, I can’t believe it! Me!”
Some of the students
who didn’t make it started to trudge off gloomily, while the majority stayed
back and cheered for their friends.
“Congratulations
all, for trying out! Don’t be discouraged if you weren’t chosen today, for
anyone may work themselves to the top, starting from next week!” Professor
Garwood surveyed the group of twenty in liking, before continuing. “These
twenty, in particular, showed strategy and skill both efficient and unique. So
it is with great pride that I introduce to you, the starting members of the new
Hogwart’s Duelling Club!”
Cheered on
by their friends, the duellers grinned in embarrassment. Draco looked around at
the other members and was given a friendly punch by Blaise Zabini.
“Glad you
made it in, Malfoy,” he said gruffly, then rather surprisingly
he nodded to Severus.
“You too.”
“Right,”
Severus said with a shrug. He glanced at Harry and Co. and sniggered. Finally, he had a legitimate excuse to hex
Gryffindors.
Everyone
started heading back to the castle and Ginny waved happily goodbye to the boys,
before leaving with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
“Looks like
she’s forgotten your argument,” said Severus, waiting for Draco to buckle up
his shoe that had come loose during their scuffle.
“Yeah,” said
Draco, sounding surprised. “Weird.”
Remembering
the look on Ginny’s face as she’d skipped off with Potter, Severus didn’t think
her good mood was strange after all.
“Mr Snape,
Mr Malfoy!”
Draco raised
an eyebrow at the other boy and they both turned to face the speaker.
“Yes,
Professor?” said Draco, with exaggerated politeness.
Professor
Garwood crossed her arms and said, “Now, about your detention…”
Snape looked up with a frown. “But we were practicing duelling, Miss
Garwood,” he said, trying to ignore the way her auburn hair glinted in the
sunlight. “Surely you wouldn’t give us detention for that?”
“I don’t recall seeing any wands,” said Garwood with an amused smile
playing across her lips. “And that’s Professor
Garwood, Mr Snape.”
“Muggle duelling then,” said Draco. “For Mr Snape’s Muggle Studies homework.”
Draco caught Snape’s eye and just barely manage to contain a snigger.
Professor Garwood leaned forward and put a hand on Severus’s shoulder.
“Unfortunately for you two, someone else already has detention in the Trophy
Room tonight.” She shook her head. “That Woodley...”
Draco wasn’t
able to stifle this snigger and had to hastily straighten his face as Garwood
stared at him.
“But!” she
continued, her eyes twinkling. “Since both of you are so exceedingly good at
Defence Against the Dark Arts…you are to help me tonight in the
Draco and Snape shared a look. Garwood seemed to think this would scare
them, but a night in the
***
Philip
Woodley sighed and left the Gryffindor common room at nine o’clock. Ginny
looked at him strangely as he got up.
“Where are
you going?” she asked.
“Detention,”
he said with a shrug, giving her one last smile as he left.
Ginny made a
sympathetic noise and glanced back at her book, wondering where on earth
Severus was. It was getting late; maybe she should just go to bed…
But the
chatter of loud voices coming through the portrait hole changed her mind.
“Where were you?” she asked curiously, to an annoyed-looking Hermione.
“Hagrid’s,”
the other girl replied grumpily, settling down on the next chair.
Ginny
started to wonder why Hermione wasn’t in a good mood when she realised that
Harry and Ron were talking about Quidditch. Again.
“—Well it
shouldn’t be allowed!” Ron argued. “They can’t just replace their whole team
with—”
“Yeah, I
know!” cut in Harry. “But some of their Chasers are over at Beauxbatons so—”
“Well, one of
our Chasers is over there too! But you don’t see us filling up our team with
professionally trained players from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang…”
Ron’s voice
trailed away as he caught sight of Harry’s face.
“What?” said
Harry hoarsely. “What d’you mean, one of our Chasers?”
Ron stared
at him, his mouth dropping open. “What? Didn’t…didn’t you know…?”
“Know what?”
Harry demanded, staring at him apprehensively.
“It’s Alicia
Spinnet,” Ron said incredulously. “She’s exchanged this year to Beauxbatons…”
Harry sat
down hard on a thick rug. “And just when was the whole team going to tell me?”
he groaned, his dreams of winning the Quidditch Cup going down the drain with
one of their star Chasers.
It was
Hermione’s turn to look surprised. “But…but everyone knows, Harry, we were told
that day that Ginny disappeared…”
“And I don’t
suppose that anyone noticed that I wasn’t there,” he said irritated. “And that
I spent the first breakfast in the hospital wing with the ‘flu,
from being stuck out half the night in the cold, wet—”
“But what
were you doing out on the first night?” Ginny exclaimed, then reddening when
Ron glared at her.
Harry looked
at her uncomfortably and gave her an apologetic smile. “Er…sorry about all
that,” he said, looking up at them all. “It’s just that I don’t want to fail
the team as Captain…”
Ron gave a
snort of laughter. “Oh, come on, Harry! We’re talking about the famous
Harry Potter here! All we need is another Chaser, and if Snape’s as good as the
twins say he is, we’ll win it with both arms and legs tied behind our backs!”
“Now,
there’s an image,” Harry muttered, although the tension seemed to leave his
face as he smiled back at Ron.
Hermione
smiled at them both and gave them an encouraging squeeze. “Gryffindor couldn’t
possibly lose,” she declared.
Ginny sat
near the fire and watched them somewhat wistfully. They were all such good
friends…
“All right!”
said Harry briskly. “Well, how about you, Ron? You said you wanted to try out
for Chaser sometime!”
“What? Oh!
Oh, no…I don’t think…” Ron flustered, feeling suddenly embarrassed.
“Come on,
Ron!” encouraged Ginny immediately. “You’re not that bad, even Charlie
says so!”
“Yes! Come
on, Ron!”
“You’ve
always wanted to…”
And so the
conversation thus ensued until Ron finally yelled that only if they had proper
trials, then he would try out properly. And before anyone could reply,
he strode quickly up the stairs to his dormitory, his ears pink. Harry and
Hermione grinned at each other and laughed.
“Good night,
Harry,” Hermione said with a yawn, climbing another set of stairs. “‘Night,
Ginny.”
The two
remaining students chorused a reply and also got up. Harry looked at Ginny
uncomfortably.
“Thanks for
helping convince Ron,” he said, smiling awkwardly.
“That’s all
right,” Ginny said shyly. “Er…good night.”
“Good
night,” Harry replied, and climbed up the stairs to go to bed.
***
Professor
Garwood looked bemusedly at the two figures striding towards her.
“I’m
surprised you’re not late,” she said dryly, as Draco and Severus flung back their
hoods. “Let alone early. Not many students look forward to a nine p.m. stroll
through the
Draco gave
her a cocky smirk. “Severus and I aren’t like most students,” he
drawled.
Garwood
raised her eyebrows and gave Severus a hard look. “Indeed,” she stated, and
started walking towards the gloomy forest.
Severus
glared at Draco and the young Slytherin gave an innocent shrug.
“Now, I
trust you both know what a bogie looks like?” Garwood said shortly. “Pretty
harmless, little gnome-like creatures with scaly hands and feet. Usually
covered in mud and leaves.”
Severus
nodded and Draco smirked. “Sure it hasn’t got red hair and a whiny voice as
well?” he muttered under his breath.
“Now, I know
that you have both proved that you can look after yourselves in here,” she said
approvingly, not hearing Draco’s comment. “But we still must keep together, or
the Headmaster will have my head.”
The two boys
nodded once more, but looked at each other gloomily. Professor Garwood looked
at them both and suddenly smiled.
“Come,
then.”
***
The three,
cloaked figures padded quietly through the gloomy forest. They had been going
for quite a while now, only stopping now and then to check some freshly dug
burrows for the infamous bogies.
“I don’t
understand it.” The Professor frowned. “It’s exactly the right time for them to
be out, so where are they?”
Severus
rolled his eyes. She really was a bit of an idiot. “They are out,
but they can hear us coming from a mile away,” he scoffed.
“That’s a bit
rich,” replied Draco. “You’re making just as much noise as we are.”
“I am not,”
growled Severus. “I bet I can get one in five minutes if you two stay here.”
Garwood
shushed them. “This isn’t a field trip,” she reprimanded. “Lead if you like,
but I won’t have you two fighting again.”
“Fine,”
Severus muttered. “I still bet I’ll catch one first.”
Draco shook
his head sceptically. Severus may have been brilliant in duelling and
Quidditch, but he needed to take some serious lessons in charm.
They walked
on for a few minutes even more silent than before, when Severus darted suddenly
out of view. In an instant he reappeared again, something large and wriggly
hanging from his hand.
“Told you,”
he said smugly. “Stupefy.”
Draco
squinted at the limp creature hanging by its tail in the darkness. “All right,
Severus!” he exclaimed. “Now can we go? I’m bored…”
“Detention
is not meant to be fun,” Professor Garwood said severely. “And we need at least
five more.”
“No
problem,” bragged Severus, twirling the bogie around by its tail. “I could
catch these pitiful things in my sleep.”
“Give me
that!” Garwood exclaimed, snatching at the slowly getting airborne creature.
“You’ll take out someone’s eye!”
“I will
not,” replied Severus with dignity. “And it’s not my fault you’re standing so
close.”
“I was
talking about Mr Malfoy,” grated Garwood, “and—see! Look!”
Draco was
rubbing his shoulder; a spike from the bogie’s tail had gone right through his
cloak and robes. “What’d you do that for?” he shouted.
“Shut up!” Snape
muttered, glaring at him in the darkness.
“Well stop
bloody showing—Oof!”
Draco gasped
as Snape shoved him into a nearby tree.
“Quiet,
boys!” hissed Garwood. “There’s one! Stupefy!”
Professor
Garwood picked up the stunned bogie and waved it around triumphantly.
“Stop that!”
said Severus irritably. “You’ll take out someone’s eye.”
“Don’t be
cheeky,” said Garwood sternly, but then laughed. “Right, the person with the
most bogies in five minutes gets a free Butterbeer from the other two! Go!”
Draco smirked
at the other boy and dived into the shadows. Severus scowled back and pushed
him over, getting to the burrow first. After a lot of scuffling, Severus
managed to get the bogie first, with Draco glaring at him and leaping at
another hole instead.
“Five
minutes is up!” called Garwood. “And I think you two owe me a Butterbeer.”
Draco and
Severus got up scowling, their faces streaked with dirt.
“I’ve got
two,” protested Draco, holding up one of his own and grabbing one of Severus’s.
“So have I!”
frowned Severus, holding up one of them and looking around for the other.
“Well, I
have three,” said the Professor, with an unusual smirk. “I think this strategy
is a lot better than sneaking around, eh?”
Draco and
Severus smiled grudgingly at each other and started to follow as she strode
off.
“Well, at
least we have one good thing out of all this,” muttered Draco to his
companion, giving him a meaningful smirk.
“What’s
that?” Severus asked warningly, lowering his voice as Garwood turned around.
“You get
to buy her a drink,” leered Draco, elbowing him in the side.
Severus
rolled his eyes. A moment later, however, he caught himself smiling.
***
“Very
good, Severus, take five points for Gryffindor.”
“But I’m
not in Gryffindor,” he protested.
“Yes, you
are! Now be a good boy and—”
“I’M NOT
A BOY!”
“Don’t be
silly, of course you are, and I’ve already told you I don’t go out with
students twenty years younger than me so—”
“ARGH!”
Severus sat
up in bed with a jerk and wrenched a startled black kitten off his face. He got
up and glared into the mirror irritably. What a stupid dream, he scowled to
himself. These blasted hormones went on overdrive whenever he went to sleep.
He continued
giving his reflection his most ferocious scowl possible until he felt something
soft brush against his legs. Oreo started to purr and Snape’s scowl faded
slowly away. He looked at the kitten grumpily and aimed a half-hearted cuff at
its neck. The kitten gave a small mew and swiped at him with a tiny paw.
Severus sighed
and threw a light robe on over his drawers. “We’re going to Hagrid’s,” he
muttered to the cat. “Hopefully Fang will eat you this time.”
Oreo put her
nose in the air and leapt onto her usual spot on her master’s shoulders.
Severus padded quietly down the stairs and looked around for Ginny. Seeing no
one, he shrugged and left the common room. He was soon out on the grounds,
hurrying towards Hagrid’s hut. The sun was just coming up but no one seemed to
be out yet.
Draco must
have slept in as well, he thought. He supposed it didn’t matter, he felt
like a bit of physical exertion anyway.
He reached
the hut and was greeted at the door by Hagrid. “Ah, Sev! Thought yeh might be
comin’ round t’day!” he boomed heartily.
Severus
ignored the nickname as usual and nodded cordially at the shaggy groundskeeper.
“Now, abou’
that special project…”
Snape
groaned, despite himself. Surely they weren’t going to shift rocks around
again?
Hagrid
chuckled at Snape’s expression. “No, no, Sev,” he continued. “Here, I’ll show yeh
what I mean.”
Hagrid
motioned for Severus to follow and starting walking off in the direction of the
shimmering lake. Severus followed curiously, throwing Oreo off onto a joyful
Fang as he left. Instead of going to the lake’s edge, Hagrid walked around to
where the forest met the lake, disappearing into a tangle of weeds and vines.
Severus
frowned and went forward cautiously, pulling back a branch and peering through.
“Hagrid?” he called uncertainly.
“Over ‘ere!”
came a muffled shout.
Severus
pushed his way forward, vines and brambles scratching him in the face. It
brought back memories of being lost in the forest and instead of feeling
irritated, he eventually emerged from the enormous weeds with his eyes gleaming
and a slight smile on his face.
“Come
on!” came the muffled shout again.
Snape
stopped and faced an impenetrable bush that seemed to stretch far into the
forest. He looked the other way and it seemed to go right round to the edge of
the lake.
“This
way!” came a sudden cheery roar.
Severus
jumped, startled. Hagrid’s gigantic head was sticking out of the seemingly
solid bush a few yards away.
“This
way!” he repeated, reminding Severus of a five hundred pound niffler on the
scent of a leprechaun.
Severus
walked towards where Hagrid’s head had disappeared and stared at the bush
dubiously. It seemed solid enough. He pushed his arm against it and was
surprised to find it went straight through. Feeling rather idiotic, he went leg
first through the ‘hole’ and straightened out on the other side.
He
was not prepared for what he saw. It was like a hugely overgrown garden. There
were small cobbled paths running around the small area, but they were so worn
and covered with weeds that it was nearly impossible to see that they were
there. A swampy, over-grown pond littered with a couple of mouldy-looking
statues was before him, but what immediately caught his eye was the enormous
tree, even larger than the Whomping Willow and much, much older, growing
majestically in the centre. Hagrid motioned silently to Severus and both walked
slowly towards it. The
unusually silent Groundskeeper sat on an ancient stone bench beneath the leafy
boughs and patted the seat for Snape to join him. Severus sat
stiffly, but then drew in a sharp breath. He was not the type to get sentimental
about views, but this one… it was magnificent.
The early
morning sun glittered off the silver lake, making the colours dance and the
rising castle walls seem even taller and more majestic than before. All his
time at Hogwarts, both school years and teaching, he had never witnessed this
grand a view.
In fact, he
frowned suddenly, why hadn’t anyone found this place yet? Surely Dumbledore
must know about it, and why didn’t he inform the staff? How did Hagrid know
about it?
Seeing
Severus’s puzzled look, Hagrid nodded in response. “Quite a while back I
stumbled across this place by accident.” Hagrid looked somewhat troubled by the
memory, but his brow lightened as he continued. “But when I came back… it
seemed so… it’s a great place jus’ to sit and think… There’s somethin’ abou’
this place that jus’ calms yeh.”
A warm
breeze wafted across Severus, and he felt his body agree.
“So when
Dumbledore suggested I show you this place, and I’ve noticed yeh don’t mind the
odd spot of gardenin’— I thought that maybe…”
Severus ran
his fingers through his hair uncomfortably. “It’s really incredible.”
Hagrid
looked around him wistfully and grunted. “Maybe yeh can clean this place up a
bit,” he said. “It must’ve been glorious in its time.”
Severus
glanced up at the magnificent tree, silently agreeing. Hagrid followed his gaze
and motioned a giant hand towards an area of the trunk where the outer bark
didn’t grow. Faintly scribed into the tree were the letters, G.G, H.H, R.R, and
S.S.
“The
Founders,” Snape breathed. No wonder the whole area felt ancient…
“Yeh know
the story, about how the four of ‘em gathered together an’ decided to build a
school?”
Snape
nodded.
“Dumbledore
reckons they were standing on this spot when they decided, lookin’ out over the
lake to where Hogwarts now stands.”
Severus
stared out at the view once more, feeling awed that he might be standing in the
Founders footprints. Eventually tearing his eyes away, he got to his feet and
started to wander around the garden with renewed interest. He noticed that the
thick bush he had seen on the outside surrounded the whole perimeter, even
overhanging the bank onto the lake. After a closer inspection, the four
dilapidated statues around the swamp were actually the Hogwarts animals, the
water now stagnant in each of their basins. He was just beginning to wonder
what the statue in the middle originally was, when Hagrid called out to
him.
“Breakfast’s
in ‘alf an hour,” Hagrid said, looking at the sun. “Better head back.”
Severus pulled
himself away from the pond reluctantly. “Coming,” he replied, and followed
Hagrid out of the invisible gap into the tangled thicket outside.
Pushing his
way through the brambles, Severus was soon crossing the short grass of the
grounds once more. He was greeted uproariously by a frolicking Fang and Oreo,
and couldn’t keep a straight face when thinking of where he had just went. It
was amazing! Just wait until he showed Draco!
Severus
paused and shot Hagrid a guilty look. Would he care if Snape showed his secret
place to someone who tried to get him sacked?
“Er…Hagrid…?”
The
Groundskeeper looked at him questioningly. “What is it?” he answered.
Severus
looked at him uncomfortably and flushed slightly. “Doesn’t matter,” he
muttered, trying to convince himself that Draco wouldn’t be interested in a
stupid garden anyway.
Hagrid
looked at him perceptively. “I don’ mind if yeh tell anyone abou’ the garden,”
he said gruffly. “It’s not my place to boss over.”
Severus sent
him a keen look and Hagrid nodded slowly. “P’raps it’ll do that Malfoy some
good,” the half-giant said shortly over his shoulder, as he closed his hut door
behind him.
Turning
around slowly, Severus started to make his way back to the entrance doors,
thinking, perhaps, that Hagrid was more deserving of people’s respect than he’d
thought.
“Why, hello,
Mr Snape!” exclaimed a feminine voice to the right of him.
Severus
paused mid-step, groaning as he recognised the voice but turning to face her
anyway. “Good morning, Miss- er- Professor,” he said, in a kind of strangled
voice.
If only
those memories of that horrible dream he’d had earlier would go away…
“I see our
midnight stroll didn’t seem to phase you into sleeping in this morning,”
Garwood smiled. “I’ve just come back from feeding and watering our crafty
bogies.”
Severus
Snape ran his fingers through his short hair. “Oh…er…they didn’t give you any
trouble, did they?”
Garwood
laughed. “No fear!” she said. “And I’m not surprised either, with the way you
and Draco were spinning them around…”
Severus
stared at a point directly in front of him, trying to forget those warm grey
eyes boring into him. They walked through the huge oak doors and soon reached
the entrance of the Great Hall. Snape breathed a sigh of relief and Garwood
sent him a concerned look.
“Are you
feeling ill?” she asked kindly.
Severus
coloured deeply and muttered a short reply before going down to sit at the
Gryffindor table. Glaring at his food, he once again cursed his teenage
hormones. Why, if he were in his full-grown, normal body, she would
be the one getting all hot and bothered.
Yes, Snape
smirked to himself as he swished his porridge, just wait until he changed back…
“Where were
you this morning?” snapped an angry voice beside his shoulder.
Snape’s
smirk vanished in an instant as glared upward at the speaker. “What’s it to
you, Potter?” he sneered.
Harry
narrowed his eyes and looked Severus full in the face. “I’m Gryffindor’s
Quidditch Captain and we all agreed that we would practise this morning before
breakfast, so where were you?”
Severus
crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the famous boy wizard. “Ha! I
don’t need to practise,” he said. “And besides, who died and made you Captain?”
A flicker of
emotion crossed Harry’s face at these last few words and Severus saw him give
the Hufflepuff table a haunted look.
“We voted
Harry in as Captain!” came a chorus of voices on either side of Harry’s
shoulders.
“And so did
we!” said Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, joining the Weasley twins.
Harry smiled
faintly at them and shot Severus a steely look. “We practise every Wednesday
morning before breakfast, and every Sunday afternoon after lunch, like it or
lump it.”
Severus
looked darkly at the whole Quidditch team standing before him. He knew that
Potter was longing to kick him out of the team, which was more than enough
reason to stay on and annoy the hell out of him. “I’ll be there,” he snickered.
“But only because you asked so nicely.”
The Weasley
twins laughed but Harry just gave him a cold look. He looked as if he was about
to say something further but Ron and Hermione suddenly appeared and grasped his
shoulders.
“Don’t
worry, Harry,” Hermione murmured. “You’ll do fine.”
Ron threw
him a quick scowl before marching Harry away. Severus glared around the table
once more until he saw a certain slick-haired Slytherin enter the room. Severus
felt a sudden gladness come over him as Draco Malfoy waved him down and
beckoned him over to the Slytherin table.
“Hullo,
Draco,” Severus said quite pleasantly, forgetting his small fight with Potter.
Draco nodded
amicably to him and slid him a new plate of food. “Sorry, slept in,” he said
through a mouthful of food. “I can’t believe we got back at one a.m., weird,
eh?”
Severus
looked at him, startled. “Did we really?” he asked, taken aback. “But I didn’t
feel at all tired when we got back.”
“That’s
because you’re strange,” Draco said knowingly. “Or was it because you were up
all night thinking about…”
Severus
rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes, how on earth could I sleep when all I could think
about was her.”
“Talking
about me, Severus?” Ginny laughed, coming up behind him and sitting next to
Draco (much to the horror of the rest of the Slytherins).
Draco sent
her a scathing look. “As if,” he scoffed, poking her with a banana he
had in his hand. “You think too much of yourself, Weasley.”
“Oh, so it’s
Weasley now?” she exclaimed, clutching her heart in mock distress. “And
apparently I’m the one who’s always acting all ‘Oh!
Everyone-kiss-my-erotic-mauve-pyjamas-because-I-have-blonde-hair-and-resemble-a-ferret’—”
“There’s
nothing wrong with erotic mauve,” replied Draco defensively. “And how d’you
know what colour pyjamas I have?”
“Oh, Draco!”
sobbed a voice suddenly. “How could you?”
Draco turned
around just in time to see a tearful Pansy Parkinson storming off. Without
meaning to, Severus emitted a loud guffaw and Ginny went off into
uncontrollable laughter. Draco frowned at them in exasperation.
“Pansy!” he
called.
But Pansy
simply made a rude gesture at the shocked Slytherin and turned her eyes
adoringly upon an alarmed Blaise Zabini.
“Idiots,”
Draco muttered to his two companions. “This is all your fault.”
“I knew it
was coming!” declared Ginny. “It will always be ‘all our fault’.”
Draco looked
at her in annoyance. “I thought you weren’t talking to us,” he said grumpily,
finishing off the remainder of his breakfast.
“I wasn’t
talking to you,” Ginny replied haughtily. “But since you’re losing sleep
because you can’t stop thinking about me…”
Draco
snorted.
“I’m willing
to let ‘the matter’ go. In fact, it’s officially closed,” Ginny finished off
firmly.
Severus, who
had been shovelling in food blinked at the two of them. “What’s the matter?”
Ginny and
Draco rolled their eyes at him. “Nothing,” said Draco. “But I know what’s the
matter with you…”
“What?”
asked Severus.
“Nothing,”
Draco repeated. “But I know what’s the matter with you…”
“I heard
what you said!” snapped Snape. “But what’s the matter with you? I mean Ginny. I
mean…oh, take that!”
Draco ducked
under the table to avoid a gigantic grapefruit fly across the table.
“Sorry about
that,” said Severus hastily, as the grapefruit hit the wall and covered a
couple of Slytherins with juice.
“Oh, doesn’t
matter,” smirked Draco, popping his head back up and flicking his wand at
Severus’s porridge.
Luckily they
were stopped before the whole table joined in.
***
“But,
Professor!”
“No buts!”
“We’ve
already—”
“I know!”
“So why are
we—”
“Because!”
Fifteen
students sat in gloomy silence, one student flicked his wand disinterestedly,
and one irritated Muggle Studies teacher paced the classroom.
“I know
you’ve already studied Muggle literature last year, but this is a chance to
gain some extra credit where some of you failed.”
Most of the
students shuddered, a few looked indignant, and one continued to flick his wand
disinterestedly.
“I have
decided that the fourth years aren’t to do a Muggle ballet like last year…”
The class
snorted.
“You mean my
brother and his class revolted on you and you let them write the play
themselves–” muttered a sturdy-looking Ravenclaw.
“What was
that, Boot?” said Mimble sharply.
Terry Boot
grunted.
“And I know
we have already started Social Interactions of Muggles, or SIMs if you rather,”
continued Mimble, ignoring the usual lack of enthusiasm. “But I do urge you to
take a part in the play, because, as I said before, many of you failed last
year’s unit…”
“Maybe
‘cause I had to wear bloody tights,” growled another Ravenclaw.
“I am
strongly recommending that you take a part…”
“You know the
only reason he doesn’t want us to fail is because our parents will complain
that he’s a stupid—”
“ARE YOU
WHISPERING, FINCH-FLETCHLEY?!”
“Yes! No! I
mean, no, Sir.”
“Hmm…now,
since you have all agreed to take part in—Mr Snape!”
The single
student who had been waving his wand disinterestedly the whole time had
accidentally caused a string of sparks to appear, incidentally igniting the hem
of Mimble’s robes.
“Sorry,”
said Snape unembarrassed. “Did you say something, Mim—er – Professor?”
As with all the
other times that Mimble found himself in trouble, the rest of the class watched
on in interest as the flustered man tried to yell at a student and undo the
mess that they had caused at the same time. The flames finally went out and
Mimble rounded on Snape with his robes still smoking.
“You…you…”
Mimble stuttered with rage, nearly purple at the sight of the smirking student.
“DETENTION!”
Severus’s
smirk faded and he stared at the wall with a sigh.
“And five
points from Gryffindor!” Mimble finished with one last glare.
Severus
cheered up. Well, that was one thing, at least.
***
Draco Malfoy
walked at his usual leisurely pace to the next class, staring at the mass of
his fellow Slytherins in front of him. They still treated him with the usual
respect that he naturally got for being the richest and of purest blood, but
they behaved differently around him now. It was as if they weren’t quite sure
what to make of him, as if both of his parents had just died or he had some
kind of mental disorder. Crabbe and Goyle were
starting to hover around Zabini now, and Pansy kept fawning over him like they
were arranged to be married.
Still gazing
at the group before him, Draco waited for the trickle of jealousy to follow
through.
“Weird,” he
muttered to himself. Zabini had taken his position as leader of the fifth year
Slytherins, and he didn’t even care.
“Sickle for
your thoughts!” said the voice of Ginny Weasley in his ear.
Draco
drifted back to reality and turned his head towards the passer-by. “You’ve got
Severus’s cat,” he stated.
Ginny held
up Oreo for Draco to carry. “She wants him, can’t you take her? And hullo t’you
too!”
Draco
frowned as the purring kitten extended a slender paw and swiped the air in his
direction. “I don’t do cats,” he scowled, returning Oreo’s malevolent glare.
“Please?”
pleaded Ginny jokingly, looking back at the rest of her departing classmates.
“Pretty please?”
“Get away
from me,” said Draco, disgusted, noticing a few Slytherins looking back at them
and grinning.
Ginny’s
playful mood changed and she scowled back. Draco felt relieved; he liked her
better when she was frowning.
“Take her, Malfoy!”
she snapped, and thrust the alarmed kitten into his arms before marching off.
“Get over
yourself, Weasley!” Draco yelled after her, and smirked to himself. She
was so easy to annoy now… “Ouch!” he exclaimed, as Oreo sank her teeth into his
arm and bounded off. “If you were anyone else’s cat…” he gritted to himself.
“What the…?”
Draco stared
down the completely empty passageway and started off on a run.
“Where the
hell’d they all go?” he muttered to himself.
He looked
into their usual classroom but it seemed to be empty. He stood still for a
while and tried to think of where they would have gone. A sudden creak of an
opening door caught his attention.
Might as
well follow it, he shrugged, and ran up the stairs, searching for the source of
the noise.
He paused
outside of a half-open door and listened for any noise that might be going on
inside. He looked at the engraved letters on the door and immediately felt
foolish. He was standing outside of the Trophy Room, and it wasn’t bloody
likely that his class was in there. Draco started to leave when an awful hollow
groan froze him in his tracks. He looked around but no one was in sight. He
backed away from the half-open door and heard the same hollow groan again,
coming from inside.
If this had
happened last year, he wouldn’t have stayed around to hear another sound, he
would’ve left straight away.
But this
year was different.
This year,
he had spent almost a week in the
Draco
mentally counted to three and rushed through the door. “AHA–ouugh!”
Draco’s triumphant
yell was cut short as he collided head on with someone roughly the same size as
him, and fell onto the floor.
“Groooough,”
he gurgled, glaring at the other boy. “What the…what the hell are you
doing here?!”
Philip
Woodley smiled faintly at him. “Sorry,” he said cheerily. “I got separated from
our class… accidentally wound up here. Well, should be going then, bye!” And
with that abrupt speech, the younger boy got up and hastily left the room.
Draco
scowled at his retreating figure, wondering what the hell Ginny saw in that
thick-headed chump. “Besides the good looks of course,” he sniggered out loud,
catching a glimpse of his face in the reflection of a trophy.
Then,
remembering where he was supposed to be, he hurriedly picked up his fallen wand
and leaped up for the door. A sudden impulse made him stop though.
What the
hell had made that groaning noise?
He looked
around cautiously but nothing seemed to be out of place. The only queer thing
about the room was that everything was spick and span, as if all the trophies
had been polished and cleaned every single day since the start of term.
That’s a lot
of detentions, he thought to himself as he stared around at the gleaming
figures of brass. But he’d better get going… perhaps the class was outside for
the day…
Dwelling on
that thought, Draco walked swiftly towards the windowsill.
“Aha!” he
exclaimed, looking out and seeing the unmistakable group of DADA fifth years
down below.
He squinted
down at them, wondering if he could summon his Nimbus from up here and make a
dramatic entrance. He reluctantly decided against it. It was something that
attention-seeking Potter and Weasley would do. He, Draco, didn’t need to fly in
to arrive in style.
***
“Zabini!
Seen Draco?”
Blaise
Zabini looked doubtfully at the speaker and gave a negative grunt. Severus
frowned and kept walking. He wondered if he should quickly cut back and look
for him, but the class and Professor had stopped walking and were now all
gathered around a large, black, rectangular object.
“Now, I’m
sure you’ve all guessed what I am about to show you,” Professor Garwood called.
“Yes, Miss Granger?”
“The
captured Hellhounds,” Hermione said promptly, staring at a surly-faced Snape,
much to his dislike.
“Yes,” said
Garwood, turning around to see whom Hermione was giving such a hard look and
smiling slightly at Snape’s expression. “A Ministry official is coming today to
collect them, but for the time being they are situated within this opaque
magical-prism.”
Snape looked
on in interest as a few of the Gryffindor girls shuddered and backed slightly
away. He strode to the front of the group and touched the black box with a
slight scowl on his face. Professor Garwood tapped the surface with her wand
and muttered a few words under her breath.
The whole class
gasped (even the Slytherins) and jerked involuntarily as the prism became
crystal clear. Lavender Brown screamed as an enormous black dog threw itself at
the glass, leaving specks of drool on the side. Severus narrowed his eyes and
resisted a ridiculous urge to hiss.
There was a
big bundle of fur in the corner, making it hard to tell which dog was which.
There was only one beast active, the one that had tried to pounce on Lavender.
Severus glared at it and wondered whether this was the one that had bit him. He
looked at the others and was surprised to see that they didn’t seem to be hurt
at all, not even scarred from where Ginny had repeatedly used the ‘Diffindo’
slashing curse.
“Their
healing powers are phenomenal,” Garwood said quietly. “They may be ruthless and
terrible, but even we can benefit from studying their magical properties.”
“But there’s
no way we’re going to do that… yeah, Professor?”
“No, not
likely at all,” she smiled at Dean Thomas. “I think we’ll leave that to the
experts.”
There was some
nervous laughter that died away when the dog’s eyes started to glow a deep red.
The terrible beast transfixed his gaze on Severus and started growling. Severus
gave it his best sneer in reply, tapping tauntingly on the glass as its hackles
rose.
“Show off,”
muttered Ron under his breath to Harry, who was looking very closely at Snape’s
sneer.
The class
gazed silently at the staring battle that Snape and the salivating creature
were taking part in.
“Maybe he
wants a biscuit,” came a sudden drawl by Snape’s elbow.
Both
Gryffindors and Slytherins jumped, along with the Professor. “Did you just join
us, Mr Malfoy?” said Garwood sternly.
Draco looked
up bemusedly and turned back to the clear prism. “Look, he likes me too,” he commented,
moving his hand around and laughing at the promptness at which the slavering
wolf followed it.
“‘Like’ is
rather a strong word, Mr Malfoy,” said Garwood. “Everyone get one last look at
the creatures and we’ll head back. Remember, I want a foot and a half on the
characteristics of a Hellhound next lesson.”
The class
groaned, but looked rather relieved to hear that they were going soon. Both
Gryffindors and Slytherins looked slightly grey as they moved closer for one
last glance. There was something just foul and terrible about the blood-redness
of the eyes and the ever so slightly twitching muscles, something that made you
want to gag and scream at the same time.
“Where were
you?” asked Severus, as he and Draco trailed behind the returning class.
Draco
shrugged. “Nowhere.” He motioned into the distance at the Professor’s
retreating back. “So what’s the deal with you and Garwood then? Any updates?”
But Severus
was only half-listening, and the glint of the lake had caught his eye instead.
“Oh! I’ve got something to tell you…”
Draco looked
taken aback. “Do you really?” he asked, sounding impressed.
“What?” said
Snape, looking confused. “No! Not… you dunderhead! No, there’s a place I have
to show you—”
But at that
moment a tiny ball of black fur flung itself directly at Snape’s face,
startling him into flinging his wand out and accidentally poking Draco in the
eye.
“Hey!”
yelled Draco, fending it off. “First it’s your bloody cat, and now you! Lay
off, will you?!”
Snape
glanced at the angry-faced Slytherin and laughed. “Oreo,” he smirked, stroking
the purring kitten’s soft fur. “Draco’s a bit miffed, have you been hunting
ferrets again?”
Draco glared
at him exasperatingly. “I’ve had it up to here with all the stupid ferret
references,” said Draco annoyed, but then adding with a slight gleam in his
eye. “Hey wait, don’t eagle-owls like to eat small, annoying kittens…?”
Snape looked
at him sharply.
“Don’t you
dare—”
Draco
grinned at him lazily. “Oh dear, old chap, you seem to be getting a bit
miffed…”
“I mean it,
Malfoy.”
Draco sighed
and shrugged. “Get over yourself, Severus,” he said, and they entered the doors
to prepare for their next class.
***
A/N: Bogies are mythological
creatures I’ve taken a few liberties with once more.