Begin Again (Severus Snape/OC Love Story)

Chapter Eighteen: The Warning

        It took everything in me to pull myself together and resemble something that looked composed in time for Defense Against the Dark Arts class three and a half hours later. Shoving everything Hermione had discovered into a compartment at the back of my mind to be dealt with later, I tried to figure out the best way to approach Snape, and ultimately decided that no plan was the best plan. If what I'd seen the other day had really meant that Snape cared about me leaving, then there was sure to be some sign of that in him today... right? And if there wasn't... well, then, I would carry on as normal.

Most of the seats were filled when I arrived to class. Ernie, to my chagrin, was not in his normal seat at our table, but two rows back next to Seamus Finnigan. I passed by him without a glance, taking my usual spot next to Harry. It wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest if Ernie had sat next to me, but since he was going to make a point of avoiding me, I was going to give him his space.

My heart thrummed with anticipation as I got my quill and parchment ready for note taking. Harry, who had been badgering Hermione about something to do with Ginny, tapped my elbow lightly.

"Has she said anything to you about it?" he said, expecting that I'd been fully tuned into their conversation.

"Huh? Who?" I was slightly distracted, peering back over my shoulder to assess the doorway.

"Ginny. Has she said anything to you about splitting up with Dean?" he asked probingly. I merely shrugged, and I must have look distracted because his tone turned puzzled. "You all right, Rowan?"

"Yeah, I'm all right," I said, snapping forward in my seat. "No, she hasn't really said much, just that they argued. She's been pretty annoyed by him for awhile though, in general."

"Oh?" he asked with an unmistakable hint of glee, but our conversation was cut off by the croak of old, rusty hinges groaning noisily as Snape sauntered through the doorway, staring straight ahead. He must have been told I'd be back in class today because when he spun to face the class his eyes landed not on me, but on the empty seat next to me, and then anchored on Ernie behind me. He briefly raised a brow, then flicked his wand so that a handful of homework scrolls drifted up into the air from nearly every student and over to his desk to form a neat pile.

'There's nothing there... I guess I was... wrong,' I thought, feeling the blow of disappointment.

"Miss Pierce," he said, eyes narrowed in my direction. "I see you have taken the liberty of excusing yourself from the assignment, or have you simply mastered the topic of the Imperius Curse so skillfully that you found it unnecessary to write an essay on resisting it?"

Goyle snickered under his breath from across the room, and I swallowed hard, feeling small. Well, I had wanted Snape to acknowledge me, though this wasn't quite what I'd had in mind. "I wasn't in class last week, Professor," I said through clenched teeth. "I didn't even know something was due today." Warmth flared in my cheeks. Even though he was being unreasonably harsh – he knew exactly why I missed classes last week, after all – I still didn't want to risk a low mark, so I forced myself to be cordial.

"Yes Miss Pierce, that is precisely my point. I'm well aware that you missed a week of classes, yet were you not at the Quidditch match on Saturday morning? Did you not visit your friends," he spat out the word with as much contempt as one could possibly fit into a single syllable, "in the hospital wing on Sunday? Perhaps this time frolicking would have been better spent inquiring about what you missed throughout the week prior and ensuring that you would not be showing up to classes empty-handed."

Goyle was now in a full nasally snigger. The heat in my face increased to sunburn temperatures. I compelled a placating smile onto my lips, hoping it masked the concoction of embarrassment and outrage I was actually experiencing. "I'll make it up and have it to you by Wednesday, if that's okay, sir," I said tightly.