Dark Magic

Twelve Years

My twelfth birthday fell on a Sunday in 1993. I had been struggling for the entire month to conjure a Patronus,  to Professor Snape's complete amusement. So, we had began to focus on other defensive spells, hoping to come back to it later in the year.

I found myself woken up, the morning of my birthday, by none other than Pansy Parkinson; too early for comfort. The excitement radiated from her as she and a few other girls in Slytherin dragged me down and into the common room. 

To my surprise, there were far more presents sent to me, that year; many were from other Slytherin students. Pansy had bought me some makeup, insisting I let her put some on for my special day. Draco decided to gift me some books, so that I could start getting ahead for fourth year.

The Quidditch team bought me a broom maintenance kit, so that I didn't have to go all the way down to the pitch to replenish my broom each time it received a little scuff or dent. I even received a present from Ron; a jumper his mum had knitted. It was black, with the letter 'E' knitted with green wool to match my house colours. The other Slytherin's did not approve, with the Weasley family being 'blood traitors' in their eyes.

Harry had bought me the silver bracelet with my birthday engraved, identical to the one I had given him for his own birthday. As the rest of the class began to disperse, however, there was one gift remaining. Nobody owned up to it; wrapped in black with a familiar, silky bow to match. I recognised the handwriting immediately. 

'You are only limited by your emotions, not your abilities. Try this.'

I pouted, opening the small box and taking a potion bottle from inside, filled with a clear liquid. I hadn't seen a potion like this before; it wasn't in any of the third or fourth year potion books; it must be pretty advanced.

Dressing for the day in one of McGonagall's choices, I allowed Pansy to style my hair and makeup for the day. She got a little excited with the green, but I thought it looked pretty. It was strange, I hadn't seen myself as a pretty girl before. My face was slightly less full than the year before; my features becoming a little more defining. And I had started to wear a bra. With great unease, I had to admit to myself that I was starting to grow up; I would be a teenager the next year, after all.

We then made our way down for breakfast; I opted for a full English for a change, helping myself to eggs, toast, bacon, sausage, beans and hash browns. And for one day only, Slytherin allowed the Gryffindor's to join our table; I sat in between Harry and Ron as Draco remained opposite us, holding back a glare the entire time. It was funny, I found myself taking pleasure in their distaste towards one another.

Once breakfast had finished I decided, rather spontaneously, that I wanted to go down to Professor Snape's classroom. Taking the vial from my pocket, I knew he had bought/made for me for my birthday, I took a long swig and downed the clear liquid. A warmth sparked in my chest, as I found myself feeling unequivocally positive. I knocked on the door thrice.

"Enter."

The door opened with a light push, as I stepped inside and made my way to his desk in the front. At the sound of my footsteps, his eyes grew distracted from the papers on his table. It had been too long since my last visit to his classroom outside of lessons. 

"Miss Potter? Is there something you want?" His voice was hoarse and abrupt. Nodding, I took a seat opposite him, meeting his eye level. "I wanted to apologise-...For reading your mind; it was rude and I shouldn't have done it."

He scoffed at my remark, nodding and averting his attention back to marking his papers. "Hm. It was extremely rude and invasive of you." His sternness faltered, a look of sympathy emitting from him as he continued to speak. "But, there is no need for you to apologise, my dear. I already forgave you...I just needed to process it all."