SILENT MIND - YEAR 1

6. Halloween

As the time passed by, I noticed quite strange thing in Snape's attitude towards me. Whenever he got a chance, he stared deeply in my eyes and after a moment he looked confused, yet he said nothing, simply turned and stalked away. And everytime he did that, I felt the same strange pressure in my head.

When I mentioned it to Harry, he confessed that the way how Snape sometimes stare at him gives an impression as if Snape could read his mind. I wondered what if Harry was right and Snape could actually pry into people's minds. What if he could read my thoughts whenever he liked? Maybe that was where the weird pressure came from as he stared at me?

At any normal circumstances it would have piqued my curiousity and I would've undoubtedly questioned him if he actually can read my thoughts if not for one thing.

It was totally impossible to speak with Snape outside of Potions class. Even when I caught him staring at me and advanced at him, Potions Master vanished so quickly I failed to notice in which direction he went. But, when we were in Potions, Snape simply pretended I do not exist. Not that I mind it much. It was kind of easier to work on potions when he was not peering over my shoulder. His attitude toward Harry had no improvements, but as long as he kept himself in line, I said nothing.

Maybe I was slowly losing my mind because of living in this place for too long and that what I felt towards Professor Snape was nothing but first sign of insanity, but in spite of what the senior students constantly told me, in spite of what the first years were thinking about him, I could not force myself to fear Snape. His presence caused in me mostly irritation which mixed with some other, unknown feeling. It made me feel uneasy in his presence, and I often wondered if he had noticed it.

Since my arrival, I wrote only one letter to Charlie, elusively telling about studies (never before had I write such lies – he thought I was studying biology, after all) and life in Scotland as such. Amy took the letter to the nearest wizarding town, Hogsmeade, where wizards, working in the post office, made sure the letter is sent to Forks in Muggle way.

My thoughts about magic had not changed, though. It only got worse with each passing day. I feared to get used too much to this place and to what we learned here, because I knew that if I will let it grow on me it will only be harder to let go later. Even before the school year begin, I promised myself that as soon as those seven years will be over, I will not ever take the wand in hand again and forget everything about this place like a bad dream.

However one thing I did not expected at all – I did not even dreamed that very soon I will be forced to change my mind.

It happened in final day of October, in Halloween. The feast had just started, when suddenly Professor Quirrell, the teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, bursted in, yelling something about the troll in dungeons. Everyone went to panic, but Headmaster was able to regain control and give orders to Prefects to lead the students away to their common rooms.

I slowly moved out of Great Hall along with other Slytherins, when the first year Gryffindors passed by our group. Suddenly I overheard Harry telling Ron that Hermione does not know about the troll, because she sort of locked herself up in girl lavatory.

Only then I realized that I really did not recalled seeing Hermione's bushy hair at Gryffindor table this evening. When both boys sneaked away from the others, I waited for an opportunity when sixth year Hufflepuffs were passing by to slip away. I turned around the corner and runned along the corridor where I last spotted Harry and Ron.

They were nowhere to seen. There was one girl lavatory close which I decided to check first. I was halfway down the corridor when suddenly I heard a furtive steps. I squeezed against the wall and into the shadows to hide from the unknown person – the last thing I needed was to be caught after the Headmaster gave a strict order for everyone to return to their dormitories.