Dark Magic

Day 1 - Part 2

I knocked on the door in the dungeons thrice, before a voice finally responded, "Enter." And as I stepped inside, I found the professor sitting at his desk, writing. "What do you want?" He spat, not even glancing up from his papers. 

I shrugged away-how short he had been with me, taking a few steps further into the room. "Um-missed you at lunch. I figured you would be here..." I trailed away, watching his eyes meet my own as they remained stern and irritated. "Well, that is because I like to spend my lunches alone." 

I felt my chest tighten a little at his attitude, trying not to let it bother me as I reached into my backpack, taking out the sandwiches and placing them onto his desk. "Well...I will leave you to it, then." I spoke simply, turning and walking back towards the door...

"Miss Potter?" I turned quickly to the sound of his voice. His eyes looked sincere and sorrowful as he glanced at the sandwiches on his desk. His hand outstretched, motioning to the empty spot opposite his desk, "Would you like to join me?" He sighed, to which I found myself taken back by.

Finally I nodded, "Thank you, Sir." And walked back to his desk, taking the chair opposite him. We both took a sandwich, and began to eat quietly. The silence was comfortable. Easy.

"Have you made any friends in your first day?" He questioned casually, to which I shook my head. "I never had any friends at Wool's - I can't see that changing anytime soon." 

He looked a little saddened by my remark, trying to shed some light on the matter, "What about your brother? You seem to be getting to know one another from what I noticed at breakfast..." He suggested, to which I nodded in agreement. "Hm! He actually gave me something-" I reached into my pocket and took out the photograph, handing it over to him. 

He took it in his hands, smiling sincerely. "-Harry said I look just like mum." I spoke, to which the professor nodded. "When I first saw you, I thought you was her double." He chuckled, and I could almost see the tears beginning to appear in his eyes. "What was her name?" I questioned, causing him to sniffle lightly, forcing the tears away as soon as they began. "Lily." He sighed..."Her name was Lily."

My middle name. 

Reaching out across the table, I placed my hand over his, comfortingly. He looked a little taken back by my actions, but did not refuse or push my hand away. Surprisingly, he accepted it, his eyes meeting mine as I sent him a small and reassuring smile.

He returned with a nod in thanks, before handing the photo back to me, his serious and stern expression returning once more. "You better keep that photograph safe, Miss Potter." He instructed, watching as I placed it back into my cloak. "Don't worry...I Will."

"There will be no foolishness or tomfoolery in this class." Professor Snape spoke, as he stood in front of the class filled with pupils. I found myself sitting next to Ginny Weasley, much to the rest of Slytherin's dismay.

She looked at Professor Snape, along with the other pupils, as though he was some sort of monster. He did put a front on, for everyone else. But with me, he was different. I was managing to break through some sort of wall; or, at least, I hoped I was.

"In your Potions classes, I will teach you how to merge science with magic, cure every illness in the world and even put a stopper in death. You will need to bring your Potions book to every lesson and I expect one hundred percent effort and attendance. Your first assignment for the term will be to successfully create a Cure for Boils. The ingredients for this solution will be found on Page 12 in your books."

We all began to shuffle through, and retrieve the ingredients from around the classroom; dried Nettles, snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, porcupine quills and Flobberworm Mucus. 

Ginny and I shared ingredients and tips as we had both been reading a little ahead of the rest of the class, and started chopping the dried nettles. Professor Snape spent most of the afternoon silently observing everybody, but I could practically feel his eyes burning into my back every few minutes. 

A few of the other Slytherin students were playing about, which the Professor had not noticed. I tried to ignore them as best as I could, as I felt they were making fun of me.

But it was only as I was focusing on getting my cauldron to the correct temperature, that I felt Ginny gasp from beside me. I turned quickly in the direction she was facing, and at the last millisecond managed to stop the horned slugs that were being thrown at my head.

My reflexes were faster than I had realized, and as I caught them in my hand I glared at the group of Slytherin girls that had thrown them towards me. The three of them appeared shocked that their prank had not worked, and I decided to stand up from my table and make my way over to the back of the classroom.

They looked frightened, as though I was about to hex them or perhaps worse. "I think you might want these back." I spoke simply, merely placing the slugs into the cauldron they had each been working on, causing them to boil over and ruin any chance of brewing a successful potion.

Making my way back over to my seat, I began writing notes in my potions book. "That was wicked, Emmy." Ginny spoke barely above a whisper, causing me to chuckle. Looking back up towards my teacher, I found him sitting at his desk, marking papers. He had ignored what had happened, and continued with his writing as a small smirk appeared through his lips.

"Class dismissed." Professor Snape spoke simply as the bell for the end of the day tolled. The rest of the class did not hesitate to leave, but I found myself disappointed at how quickly the lesson had gone. I found myself being the last to leave, but not before a voice sounded from the front of the classroom, "Not so fast, Miss Potter."

Oh god! Was Professor Snape really going to scold me for my retaliation towards those bullies? I turned, my stomach in knots at the thought of getting a detention on my first day.

He held a piece of parchment out towards me, "Could you deliver this to Marcus Flint for me? You should find him in the Slytherin common room." He queried. Oh no. Oh No! What sort of trouble was I in now!?

Nodding, I bit my lip, "Yes, Professor Snape." And with that, I took the parchment and made my way to the dorms quickly, to get the worst of everything over with. After asking another Slytherin student, I soon found Marcus sitting by the fireplace in the common room, and he was scarier than I thought.

"What's this then?" He spat, and I found myself trying to come across as confident, standing up a little straighter than before. If I was going to get in trouble, I may as well do it with some dignity.

Clearing my throat, I began to speak, "Professor Snape asked me to give you this." I hadn't peeked, for I was too scared to find out what it said. He took a few moments to read through the note, before letting out a slight chuckle. The two boys he was sitting with joined his side as he handed them the note and they looked me up and down inquisitively. Oh god! What had I done?

Finally he nodded, and handed the note back to me, "Looks like we've got a new Keeper for the team, boys."