Dark Magic

Snape

The rest of the first week at Hogwarts resumed as normal, without any further messages appearing on walls, thank goodness! Whatever I had heard, may have been a fluke. Harry and his friends, however, were not so willing to let the matter go.

By Friday, we had a further Potions lesson in the afternoon with Professor Snape. He had not spoken to me at all since our conversation in the hall about my mother. I think he was ignoring me deliberately...

The lesson was spent mostly writing a case study on the previous lesson, and what we had completed in order to successfully cure boils. I had practically memorized the textbook and wrote almost everything down from memory.

I had finished earlier than the rest of the class, and there was still 30 minutes of the lesson left before the end of the day. The Professor did not notice I had been sitting there twiddling my thumbs for the last part of school. The bell tolled, and I found myself waiting behind everybody else, still sat at my desk.

The professor did not even notice me in the room, until a further 45 minutes later once he finished his marking and got up from his desk to leave. He looked slightly stunned by my presence, "Miss Potter, class is over. You are free to leave." 

Sitting up in my chair, I thought of something, other than the voice I heard, that I knew could strike up an easy conversation. "Professor, what is a mudblood?"

He seemed shocked by my questioning, as though I had said a bad word and was about to get scolded from a parent. "It is an offensive word for a Muggle-born wizard; muggle meaning non-magic. Why? Where did you hear that?" He questioned.

I shrugged, not wanting to get Draco Malfoy into trouble, because it would mean potentially losing house points. "I read about it and just wanted to know."

Professor Snape nodded, collecting a pile of books from his table as if he was about to leave the classroom. I did not want him to leave. I wanted to fix our argument. He was one of my only 'friends'. I wasn't sure how he would feel about that label; he'd probably hate it and give me detention! But I saw him as something other than just my teacher - he cared about me to an extent, due to his obvious ties to my mother. How much, I was unsure of. But one thing was for certain, I did not want him to leave without us having made up.

I sighed, my eyes meeting his, "You was right." I spoke simply, to which he grew confused, placing the books he was about to leave with back onto his desk. He folded his arms, "I beg your pardon?"

I gulped, twirling my quill in my fingertips nonchalantly. "You said I was lying to you in the corridors on Monday. You was right." My eyes solemnly met his once more. He looked a little frustrated, to say the least, raising an eyebrow towards me, "Well, I know that you did not petrify that stupid cat. So what were you doing that evening?"

"I heard a voice, coming from inside the castle walls. It sounded far away at first...So I decided to follow it. And that was when I found Mrs Norris." He looked terrified by my statement, taking a seat in another pupil's chair, facing me across the table. "What did the voice say?"

I closed my eyes, as the voice appeared in my head "It said, 'I smell blood. Let me kill you."

The Professor took a deep breath, leaning close towards me until his face was a mere few inches away from mine. I caught the scent of pine, parchment and white musk emitting from him. It smelt extremely pleasant.

But the terror in his eyes made me feel a slight discomfort. "Miss Potter, I want you to promise me something; if you ever hear that voice again, I implore you not to follow it. Come to me and tell me right away." His voice plead with a certain sternness.

I nodded, frightened at how afraid for me he had become. "I promise."

He let out an almost sigh of relief, before retreating back to his previous position in the chair opposite and widening the gap between us. "Good. Now, dinner will be starting soon. You best head to The Great Hall at once." He instructed, causing me to nod and grab my backpack, making my way out of the room.

"Oh! And Miss Potter?" I turned as he called out my name, watching him grab his books from his desk once more, "No more detours." 

I nodded, saluting him like I was a soldier as a small chuckle escaped my lips, "Aye, aye, Sir." Seemingly unimpressed by my jest, I left the room and made my way towards The Great Hall for dinner. It was even lonelier than I had imagined. The entire hall was exchanging whispers and glares towards myself, and a certain other Potter sitting at the Gryffindor table. 

"Looking forward to practise tomorrow, Potter?" I looked up from my plate as my eyes met those of Marcus Flint's, and his two sidekicks. I bit my lip and nodded, "Oh...Yeah, I am. I've got to go and ask Madam Hooch for one of her brooms, though." I sighed, rubbing my head angrily that I had forgotten to ask her during the week.

Marcus Smirked and shook his head, "No, you don't." Handing me a package wrapped in paper. My eyes grew confused, as I opened the huge package on the table, gasping as I laid eyes on the brand new, Nimbus 2001. "Woah!" I exclaimed, looking at him in disbelief, "Where did you get this?"

He shrugged, "Draco's father gave one to everyone on the team. See you tomorrow, keeper." He patted me on the back, before resuming his place with the older year group. I glanced further down the table, and my eyes met those of a familiar, icy blue and platinum hair to match. He smiled and nodded, which I returned and mouthed, 'thank you.'

I would have to try the broom out, having only had one lesson and I only hovered a few feet above the ground. Yes, after dinner, when everyone was headed back to their dorms. I could go to the courtyard and try it out! I just had to get past Snape. I had promised him no more detours....But I think this would be necessary - as it was for educational purposes. I'm sure he will understand...