Ariadne's Thread ⭒ h. potter

Insolent

Ariadne did not speak as she walked out of the Defence classroom, and she could hardly prepare herself to have to sit through to Snape's Potions lesson for the remainder of the morning. She secluded herself in the corner of the classroom and did her best to shield her face her long sheet of hair, but nothing could truly be done to prevent the omnipresence of her classmates' stares. Astoria arrived soon after, placing her books down and seating herself on Ariadne's bench. She rested her elbows on the desk and her chin in her hands before sighing dreamily.

"Don't you think Draco looks so cute with his sling? I just want to nurse him back to health!"

Cute was the last thing that she'd call Draco right now, but Ariadne did not have the energy to disagree with Astoria as vehemently as she might have on a different day. She shrugged soundlessly instead.

"What's up with you?" Astoria pushed, reading the chalkboard notes before opening up her book to the Swelling Solution. The rest of the Slytherins followed suit, chatting with one another as they did. The Gryffindors, on the other hand, remained silent and motionless, uneasy still from whatever exactly had happened back in Defence.

"I'm certainly not surprised that only the Slytherins have deigned to pay attention to my instructions today." Professor Snape commented idly as he walked into the classroom, peering out at the students with a sneer firmly set on his sallow face. "But I can admit that this level of insolence is somewhat unprecedented. Care to explain...Mr. Creevey?" he called at random.

"Oh, um, I'm not really sure, Professor Snape." Colin squeaked out loyally. He shot a furtive glance at Ariadne, who did her best to pretend that she didn't notice. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Two points from Gryffindor. Miss Vane? Unless you're unsure as well," he said abruptly, causing Romilda to snap her head up guiltily from where she and Lola had been trading hushed whispers.

"We just had our lesson on Boggarts, Professor Snape," Romilda explained primly. "And Ariadne's Boggart spooked everyone a bit, I should say."

Ginny glared at the back of Romilda's head with such heat that Ariadne was surprised Romilda didn't feel it.

"And what, pray tell, is Princess Black afraid of?" Snape drawled. "Low quality sheets? Being told 'no'? Or what about–"

"My mother," snapped Ariadne, cutting him off. She could feel the classes eyes on her, but Astoria's most pressingly. She kept her own trained on a spot just behind Snape's head, staring hard at nothing.

Taken aback by her answer but even more irritated by her interruption, Snape moved closer towards her until his dark robes were brushing up against the table that she and Tori shared, staring down at her over his large nose.

"I do not tolerate interruptions in this class," he said sternly. Dropping his voice an octave so that only those closest to her could hear, he continued. "Even if your lovelorn simpleton of a mother gave you a fright."

Ariadne said nothing in return. She merely stood up from her seat and tucked it back into the desk before gathering her books and placing them carefully in her bag. Every movement felt forced, like her brain had to tell her arms and legs what to do next. Her face felt hot, but Ariadne willed her mouth shut. She was afraid, somewhere in the back of her mind, of what she might say if she opened it.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, Ariadne turned around and placed one foot in front of the other. She felt wholly detached from her surroundings, and although she could feel the class's eyes on her, she could only vaguely hear Professor Snape's loud commands to come back at once over the thudding ringing in her ears. That helped.