Talon Black and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 9 Ice

     Weeks had passed after Talon and Professor Snape's first private lessons and Talon's lessons, as a whole, were going great. She had top marks in everything and was finding that she actually enjoyed helping Professor Snape teach his first years. She had begun to think of them as the younger siblings she had always wanted. A few Gryffindors in particular.

     Harry was eager to learn but seemed a bit hesitant to ask Snape questions; Talon couldn't really blame the poor boy, she had been utterly terrified of the black clothed man. Hermione, bless her know-it-all soul, was about to give Snape a brain aneurysm; she could spout off definitions straight out of the textbook at the drop of a hat but she couldn't think outside of the box for anything. Talon had tried to show her a better way to cut roots and she blatantly refused to listen or try it.
It seemed like Ron couldn't get passed the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry to hold any sort of conversation with her and Talon opted to just leave him be for a little while.

     Things with Snape had also improved dramatically. They had private lessons increasingly often but Talon wasn't complaining. He taught her how to improve her mental strength and they worked on potions mostly, but on more than one occasion they had simply talked, like they were doing now.

***

     Talon and Professor Snape were sitting at their desks but had turned slightly to face one another. The young woman drinking a rather large mug of strong black coffee and her reserved professor drinking tea from a small china cup. Both were enjoying the comfortable silence when Talon asked the question that had been gnawing at her mind since the first, and last, time they had discussed her parents.

     "Professor is it alright if I ask you something?"

   "I cannot stop you from asking, although that does not necessarily mean I will give you a response."

     "Very well," Talon murmered knowing full well he would demand that she ask her question.

     Snape set his teacup down rather forcefully, causing the liquid to slosh around. "Will you please just ask me whatever imbecilic question you've come up with now and stop playing those mind games with me?"

     After spending so much time with him, Talon had begun to pick up on, if not understand, most of the little quirks that went along with Severus Snape the Potions Master. She knew just which buttons to push to get the reaction she wanted.

     Talon took a drink of her coffee to hide the grin that stretched across her face. She held the cup in her lap with both of her small hands wrapped around it absorbing the heat it was putting off. Today was one of her cold days, in fact, she had been steadily cold for the past week with no flashes of heat.

     "I was only wondering if we could talk about my parents. You told me you would speak to Professor Dumbledore and that was almost a whole month ago. Surely you have seen him before now and had the chance to talk to him."

     "Child I do not appreciate the tone you have taken to speak to me in."

     "Sorry, sir. I'm just anxious. With my adoptive parents gone I'm even more eager to find out more about my real family."

     Talon had already told Snape the story of her adoptive parents' demise. She had come home for Christmas vacation in her third year and found them laying on the kitchen floor. The aurors who had investigated assured Talon that both of them had put up a good fight, explaining why the house was in utter ruin.

     "Understandable," Snape muttered, "but I must warn you. Some of the things you may find out, may not be, ideal."

     Talon's dark brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, professor? You mean about my parents?"