Duplicate {Severus Snape}

Chapter Four: The Heartless Gryffindor

Cassie's POV

~a week later~

I continued to stare at the map watching everybody's movement besides the one person who I wanted to see. I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath before laying my head against my desk. It had been long enough and if Sirius was anywhere near the castle I would have seen him by this point, even I was beginning to think that maybe I was wrong. I pointed my wand to the map, muttering the simple words of 'Mischief Managed' before tucking it into my bag.

I grabbed my things walking to leave my classroom, hoping to just go back to my chambers and fall into a deep sleep. The thought was a nice one to imagine, I opened my door feeling the rush of cold air hit my face. A small smile appeared on my face, quickly changing as a frame of a person interrupted my thoughts.

My bags dropped to the ground as Neville's sudden appearance frightened me, and he quickly caught on as he started apologizing to me, reaching down to grab my bags and hand them to me. I looked back up to him, thanking him, taking my stuff back into my arms before I turned back to him.

"Merlin, you almost gave me a heart attack," I said looking up at his startled face.

I lightly chuckled but his face did the opposite. I looked back to him, setting a hand on his shoulder, hoping it would help him calm down but I wasnt sure he got the message. He reached into his bags, pulling out a parchment before handing it to me. I looked back to him with questioning eyes, opening it to find the assignment that was due the other day.

"You know this is late, right?" I asked, giving the parchment back to him.

"Sor-ry Professor, I had finished it on schedule but I had an accident -- ,"

"Which was?" I said interrupting his trembling voice.

I motioned for Neville to take a seat on the bench outside my classroom, which he gladly accepted. I looked back to him with a smile, trying to calm his obvious anxiety that seemed to be taking over him and the way he was talking.

"Professor Snape tried using a potion on Trevor, my toad, and when I refused my potion fell on him and my bag, which led to the parchment being ruined," he explained, looking back to me with hopeful eyes.

I grabbed the parchment from his hands opening to confirm what he was telling me. It had colors that I could only assume was the potion for the reversal of poison, but I also knew the week that Neville had endured. Snape had been especially wrong with Neville, and bullying him far more than usual, and I was sure it was because of the argument we had, when I pointed out Neville's boggart. It was my fault, and now this poor boy was paying for it with the asshat of a professor.

"Dont worry about the essay, Neville. I understand," I said ripping the parchment in half, causing his eyes to enlargen as I did it, "However, you have to make me a promise," I said, putting my hand up to stop his thank you's.

"You have to stop letting people walk over you. Whether its the students, or even a mean professor, you dont deserve to be ridiculed. Stand up for yourself, dude," I said nudging his shoulder, causing both of us to chuckle.

"It's not that easy, Professor. Im not brave. Im not good at anything, besides herbology, and even my wand seems to loath me as well," he said, throwing it to the ground besides us.

I looked to him, frowning at the way he seemed to talk about himself. If he didnt learn to defend himself, I was sure he was going to turn out like me, and I refused that for someone so innocent. He had to have friends and I knew I had seen him with Ron, but I wasnt sure, I just knew from this moment on, I wasnt going to let him turn out like anything that was less than extraordinary. I bent down grabbing his wand from the ground, taking in its fragile appearance before handing it back to him.