Till Forever Falls Apart

Chapter Four: Severus Snape, Professor of Potions

September 2, 1991

Even as they walked down the cold and damp corridor, a dangerous and slimy feeling came over Val, as if she felt dirty just walking to the class.

"Harry, you know where we're going...right?"

"Dad said it was somewhere down here," Harry walked a few steps behind Val as if he was scared that something would pop out around the corner and he wanted her to be his shield against the dangers he felt the dungeon held. He took his glasses off and wiped them on his robes, looking behind his shoulder every few seconds just to see if someone was coming up behind him.

"Scared, Potter?" A voice sneered. Harry jumped, dropping his wand and startling Val in the process.

Draco puffed out his chest and guffawed, taking the lead as he walked to the classroom.

"One day," Harry mumbled. "He's going to get what's coming to him."

"Don't pay attention to him," Val stooped down to pick up his wand, handing it to him as a chill crept into their veins, finally setting their eyes upon the Potions room.

Multiple shelves stacked themselves upon each other, vials and tubes of various ingredients piled closely together and so different in color that Val could hardly concentrate on one liquid for more than a few moments before another caught her eye.

Tables of rotting wood and black cauldrons were lined up, where a few students had already taken their places. She noticed Ron and Hermione in the back corner, hurrying along the row of students and taking a seat in front of them. Harry sat next to her, both of them turning to greet their friends.

"How did you get a class with us?" Ron said, secretly relieved that Hermione now had someone else besides him to talk to.

"McGonagall said there were too many students in some of my classes, so I got moved to a few with you three."

Ron seemed to accept this idea, and the four of them delved into a conversation, whispering in excited tones when a tall man with dark robes swiftly crossed the entrance, waving his wand and slamming the door behind him with such force it shook the cauldrons on their table. A permanent frown was etched deep into his features. Val immediately resigned herself from the discussion, turning around to face him, swallowing a lump of fear in her throat.

Without looking up, the professor grabbed a piece of parchment containing their names.

"Silence."

His voice left an eerie feeling inside of her, chilling her blood as if she was watching a muggle horror movie like she used to do with Harry at home. Something about him rubbed Val the wrong way, and she knew that he was not a person to be messed around with or someone who would become warm to her and her fellow classmates.

No one seemed to breathe as he inhaled deeply, his dark eyes only settling upon the group of Slytherins to his left, seeming closed off to Val and the group of Gryffindors she sat with. He was impossible to read, seeming void of any sort of emotion besides utter displeasure. She nervously twiddled her fingers in her robes, wondering what he would say when they made their first encounter.

His voice was monatomic, leaving no room for people to ask questions or even dare to raise their small hands. The Slytherins seemed to regard him with respect, or some sort of allegiance to their head of house, as if they were unscathed by his cold disposition, while the students in red were close to being nervous wrecks.

"When I say your name," he drawled, "respond. I do not have all day to learn some of your names, nor do I want to. Brown."

"Here!" A young girl shook as she raised her hand and put it back down as quickly as she could.