The Prince's Secret

Quidditch

Leilla tried very hard to forget about the conversation she and Daphne had overheard in the common room, but Daphne didn't seem to have anything else on her mind.

'What if Snape is trying to let some dark creatures loose?' she said excitedly on their way to History of Magic. 'What if there really are more trolls in that forbidden corridor?'

Leilla nodded automatically. She had heard Daphne produce exciting theories like that for the past two weeks, and frankly, she'd had enough. No, Snape didn't want to tell her why he was limping, and no, she didn't know why Amy and her friends insisted that he was fond of the Dark Arts. But there was one thing Leilla knew for certain: Snape was a good man, and he would never let anything bad happen to students. Of course, Leilla couldn't blame Daphne for thinking otherwise; Snape was exactly the kind of person one would accuse of dabbling in Dark Magic. His long black cloak alone was enough to grant him the position of the most suspicious person in the whole school.

'What do you think, Blaise?' asked Daphne, as they walked up the stairs toward Professor Binns's classroom.

Blaise shrugged, 'I don't know. I guess Dumbledore would have a good enough reason to keep us away from that place.'

'Yes, but do you think Snape has something to do with it?' Daphne insisted. She had already told Blaise about the conversation they had overheard last night.

Blaise wondered for a second. 'I don't think so,' he said, and Leilla felt relieved. 'Snape's scary and stuff, but I don't think he's a bad guy or anything.'

Daphne scoffed.

'You're only saying that because you and Leilla are so good at Potions,' she said gloomily.

That was partly true. Leilla and Blaise were in fact two of the best students in Snape's class. Leilla decided a long time ago that she wouldn't hide her talent for Potions anymore. Blaise was doing increasingly well too. Snape didn't seem to object to Leilla's constant progress, and he confined himself to awarding her top grades without any comment. Leilla could swear, though, that there was a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes when he watched her brew one successful potion after another.

Finally, they reached the first floor, where the History of Magic classroom was located. The class was taught by Professor Binns – a ghost. It was an extremely boring subject, and Slytherins shared it with Hufflepuffs.

Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones, whom they befriended over the past weeks, grinned at them as they approached the classroom.

'Ready for the most exciting class of the week?' asked Ernie, winking at them.

Susan yawned. 'I wish we would learn some more about the modern times, I'm tired of all those Goblin rebellions...'

Leilla nodded. 'Me too,' she said. 'Our textbook doesn't even mention our century.'

They all sat on the floor by the classroom door.

'If you want to know more about the modern days, Leilla,' said Ernie in his usual pompous manner, 'you should look into Modern Magical History. I have it here, look.'

He pulled an elegant-looking volume out of his bag, and Blaise took it from him curiously. Daphne leaned in closer to have a better look.

'You know who's in this book?' said Susan conspiratorially. 'Harry Potter.'

'Harry's in this book?' asked Leilla in surprise, and looked at the pages Blaise was flicking through.

'Oh yeah, toward the end,' said Ernie, 'in the chapter about You-Know-Who.'