Another Kind Of Magic - A Severus Snape Fanfiction

On Time

Lena was at a loss. What was she supposed to write? She stared at the black ink on the parchment that neatly formed the words Why it is rude to stare at people, as if that would help her finish the assignment.

Professor Snape had been quite mean to her today, more so than usual, and she wondered why she still couldn't hate him, or at least dislike him. She had every reason to. He seemed to despise her. He wasn't fond of any student and treated each and every one of them in a very despicable way; but she felt like he especially picked on her. What had she ever done to deserve this? Well, apart from the fact that she was unable to take her eyes off him. Okay, and apart from the fact that she had a very serious crush on him.

No.

She shook her head, negating her last thought. This wasn't a crush anymore. She had had a few in her young life, and what she felt for the ever-grouchy, dark professor was different. She couldn't tell how it was different, but she knew her feelings went much deeper than that.

Why? She had no clue. He had never been nice to her, not even occasionally. Never. When he looked at her, it always seemed as though he was about to lose it and give her detention or some other form of punishment for no other reason than simply because she was there. Usually, she would accept his impositions without any complaints; not even a sigh of resignation would leave her lips. She didn't want to add to his unjustified and completely irrational anger towards her. In fact, she always saw to it that her assignments were done dutifully and with the utmost care, for she had that silly notion that her work might, some day, be to his satisfaction. That, however, had yet to happen. He never spoke of the quality of her essays, never mentioned the impeccable state the potions classroom was in after she had scrubbed it on her knees for hours, never acknowledged her tireless efforts of pleasing him. He didn't even seem to notice how hard she worked only to get his approval one time. Just the contrary; the more she tried, the angrier he seemed to become with her.

Her light eyes threatened to well up at those depressing musings and she quickly brushed her hands over them. There was no use in crying, even though her situation was so utterly hopeless. As hopeless as the prospect of ever finishing that paper, especially since her thoughts kept circling around her deep affection for the potions master.

She had to do something to clear her mind, if she ever wanted to get her homework done. So, without questioning herself if it was a good idea or not, she dipped the end of her quill into the inkwell and began to pour out her heart. Parchment does not blush; as a matter of fact, it is indeed quite patient.

After what felt like an eternity, Lena took a deep breath and placed the quill carefully next to her most intimate thoughts. Yes, she felt much better now that it was all out. Now she could turn her full attention to completing her tasks.

She rummaged through her bag, retrieving another roll of parchment, and started to pen down reasons why it was impolite to watch others.

It didn't take long until she had finally written down the concluding sentence. She was more than relieved to have that unpleasant essay done. As it was, she decided then to sneak down to the dungeon and leave her paper on Professor Snape's desk. At least this way he wouldn't have any reason to be mad at her, for her assignment would be ready for his scrutinizing eyes in the morning.

A soft smile laid across her lips as she carelessly grabbed the parchment, lost in daydreams and elated that she had managed to be so over-punctual. As she wandered through the deserted corridors, however, she had little doubt that he, as usual, would not care. Maybe he wouldn't even read it. He had probably just made her write that nonsense to embarrass her in front of everyone else. Well, if that had been his intention, then it had worked out quite well. The other students had mocked her for the rest of the day.

Lena let out a sad sigh as she rolled up her writing and put it neatly on her professor's desk.

"That is done," she whispered in an attempt to cheer herself up. It always felt good to be able to strike something off the to-do-list. Now it was time to return to her room and get some sleep, even if there were only a few hours left until breakfast.