A Rosier and Her Thorns - Severus Snape x OC

Chapter 24 - The Second Task (Part I)

It was late morning, Emilia had only one class that day as the second Triwizard Tournament would take place later in the afternoon and classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. Dumbledore requested that Emilia teach the fourth year classes once more before handing them back to Professor Moody the following week.

The students were more boisterous in class as Professor Snape was away to run some errands for the preparation of the second task. Emilia had some difficulties controlling the class who were squirming in their seats, excited to leave for the tournament.

Emilia took a deep breath and stayed quiet as the loud chatterings of students began to overtake the classroom. She waited patiently and scanned the classroom. Most were chatting animatedly amongst themselves, the girls were giggling about something and the boys were using their wands to fight among themselves.

Emilia spotted a quiet Harry who was fiddling with his quill, looking distractedly past Hermione, who seemed to be explaining to him about something Emilia could not catch.

She made a note to talk to Harry after class, just to check on how he was doing and how his preparation for the tournament was going.

Ron was laughing out loud at a joke Seamus made before his gaze shifted to the front of the class. He made eye contact with Emilia whilst laughing, seeing her stern expression made him clamp his mouth shut immediately.

He smiled sheepishly and scratched his head. He looked around and realised that the entire class was noisy. He decided to speak up,

"Silence!"

Everyone turned to look at Ron whose face was now beet red, making his freckles pronounced. "Lis- listen to Professor Rosier!" He spluttered.

Emilia pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing at Ron's attempt to silence the class. "Thank you, Mr Weasley. Now, can I proceed or will I be interrupted further?"

"Sorry, Professor." The students muttered in cohesion.

"Good." Emilia stepped to the centre of the classroom. "As I was saying. Today we will be learning the twitchy-ears hex. It's very simple, nothing like the Reductor curse you learnt on Tuesday."

By the end of the class, many had successfully cast the twitchy ears hex. Neville earned the brunt of it, causing his ears to be extensively reddened by the multitude of Slytherins hexing him. Emilia had taken so many points off the Slytherin students, she knew Severus would come after her for it.

"Alright, the class is dismissed. Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom, stay back for a while, please."

The students packed their bags and left the classroom.

Both Neville and Harry walked towards Emilia. Harry was distracted, his bookbag slung haphazardly over his shoulder. Neville was nervous, his hands clammy in the pocket of his robes.

Emilia beckoned Neville forward. She bent down slightly to reach his eye level. "Mr Longbottom, I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"It's alright, Professor. I'm used to it," Neville said in a small voice, rubbing the tips of his ears.

Emilia felt for the boy, surely someone would care enough to stand up for him. "Listen to me, Neville. You're a powerful wizard. Didn't the dummies exploded when you cast the Reductor curse?" Emilia asked with a proud smile.

"Yo–you saw that, Professor?" Neville asked as he scratched his head with a shy smile.

"Of course. Now, come to me if anyone tries to do something untoward?" Emilia said, giving his shoulder an encouraging squeeze.