The Girl Who Vanished

Chapter 25: Learning to Lose

"Professor?" Ana started as she sat by and watched the potions master work on her Dreamless Sleep Potion. She had been sitting in on his potion making, trying to understand the method and skill needed to brew the mixture.

Of course that meant spending more time in the cold dungeons which caused her to shake, regretting how terrible her clothes were at keeping her warm. If she was surrounded by her friends that would take the edge out of her boredom, but Professor Snape was not going to allow a whole swarm of students to spend even more time with him.

Without paying her much attention, the man grumbled in response. His eyes were sunken in and tinted a deep violet. With all the chaos that happened during Halloween, Ana could only imagine how tired the man was. It was also probably incredibly exhausting making fun of Harry Potter and all the boy's friends on the daily. She never understood why he did it and found it strange just how involved the grown man was with the house rivalries.

"Could I possibly start brewing my own potion?" She asked as he crushed a few beans and drained the liquid into his deep charcoal cauldron. He was incredibly focused when doing anything regarding potions, almost to the point of refusing to blink or breath.

"There is no need for that, Ms. Malfoy. The shelf life for this potion can last months," he groaned with furrowed brows as he pointed to the bubbling liquid in front of him. "Your batch from the summer lasted you up until now and it would be foolish of you to waste ingredients just to brew beside me."

"I didn't mean right at this moment, Professor Snape," she corrected as he turned to collect more ingredients. "I was talking about the next batch of Dreamless Sleep Potion. Or perhaps my medicine so Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have to do that for me anymore."

At the mention of her medicine, he stopped in his tracks to redirect all of his attention onto the young girl, "And why would you want to tamper with that by brewing it yourself?"

Snape's eyes squinted in disapproval, the act making Ana uneasy. The man hadn't ever displayed this much annoyance at the young girl, the shift made her suspicious of his sudden defensiveness. She wasn't scared of it, just curious as to why the grown man looked at her like she was a monster.

"The only reason I ask is because with all the unpredictable things that seem to be happening all the time, I'd like to have my potion ready when I need it, instead of having to wait for it. I fear missing my potion if I don't get to it on time," she explained firmly.

"You've never missed a dosage have you?" He quickly sputtered as he swung around to face hear head on. A small ball formed in her throat at the confrontational man before her.

Ana shook her head; even if she had to run to her potion from the common room, she wouldn't ever miss taking it. That was the one thing she had always been told to remember. At the sound of her answer, Snape relaxed his tensed face and went back to collecting ingredients.

"If you think I would allow you to brew your own medicine, than you are not the bright witch that I had assumed you to be."

"Well is there a chance I could eventually brew it myself?"

"No, Ana you cannot."

"Well why n-"

"Because I said so!"

The man was full out yelling at her, his nose was flared like the troll from Halloween night and it made her feel cold and infuriated. Unlike the troll, she wasn't scared of Snape. His little charade of being mean and intimidating was poorly acted out, like Draco when the boy tried lying to her. Despite his shouting, Ana sat up straight, nodded once at the man's snarl and offered him an icy glare in return.