Hidden Slytherin

Chapter 44 I Take The R Out Of Pretty

Jane had really wanted to see her bed.

Sadly her reunion was put off by Mondays classes. Jane stretched her arms as she made her way quickly to Transfiguration. She knew once she was there she would revive but in till the class was actually taking place to occupy her mind, all she could think about was sleeping.

It was funny, not long ago a night without sleep even a few would have been nothing. She sleepily wondered if it was the excess magic she was using that made her more tired. She was sure plenty of the things she had been doing before involved her magic but now she was more conscious of it. Like the difference between running for fun and running for exercise.

That brought her mind to something else. Other than learning to fly and Quidditch there wasn't any actual physical education class at Hogwarts. She wondered if using magic really was like flexing muscles and that's why they didn't bother or if the fact they could simply take a potion diminished the cultural focus.

Jane moaned and scrubbed her face, giving her hair a tug. Her mind always seemed to wonder needlessly when she was tired.

It was always interesting but ultimately pointless.

Jane walked into class and sat down beside Neryssa. Normally it would be her and Roman, while Neryssa would sit with Draven. It turned out that both Neryssa and Draven had problems with Transfiguration so they had switch to help out. Jane pulled her textbook from her bag and started flipping pages to the page number written on the board.

Professor Kraven walked and everyone quieted. He had curly hair and always had slight shadows under his eyes, like he had been staying up late. He also had a natural youth that made him look younger. Some students had taken to betting on his age with an agreement that someone would ask just before the end of term to see who was the closest.

"Alright class, today we will be working on changing matchstick into needles. Remember it's all about visualisation. The first person to perfect it will be excused from the homework for today but if they do complete it, they will earn extra credit," he said with a smile. "Alright begin." He waved his wand and a matchstick appeared in front of each student.

Jane quietly worked on her matchstick, occasionally trying to help Neryssa. Even if she had never had the best understanding of science, it seemed that just knowing something about the different materials helped. She was focusing on changing the wood into metal when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Jane resisted the urge to flinch and looked up to see the Professor standing beside her.

"You're doing a great job Jane. Could you please stay after class. I need a word."

"Yes Professor," Jane said.

He nodded, smiling as he moved on.

"What's that about," Neryssa whispered.

"Not a clue," Jane said. She tried not to worry about the ruddy owl she had kidnapped not even a full hour ago. Or breaking in to the Chamber of secrets. Or any of the other thousand or so things she had done in the past few months that were definitely against the rules.

Class quickly ended and the students were excused. Jane waited for the last of the students to file out before approaching the professor.

"What did you want to talk about Professor?"

Kraven leaned back on his desk, his arms crossed. "Jane, I've noticed in the last few classes that your hands are stained. I didn't think much of it but it only seems to be getting worse. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has noticed. Do you think you want to tell me what's going on?"

Jane fought the sudden urge to tuck her hands into her pockets.

"It started a while ago. I thought it was ink but it doesn't seem to be coming off. It's not like it hurts and I can still feel everything. I just figured it was a prank and would go away on its own," Jane trailed off. She really hadn't been overly concerned about it. She still had feeling, could use her fingers and her magic just fine. It didn't even hurt.

"Jane, I'm going to write you a note to get it checked by Madame Pomfrey. Go get your hands checked now. She can give you a note for next class. And Jane," he called as she was turning to go, "I will check to make sure you actually went."

"Yes Professor," Jane said. She resisted the impulse to tsk at him. She knew her friends were a bit worried about it. Mainly cause they kept pointing it out, but she really didn't want to discover just how much Pomfrey could discover about her. So far no one had mentioned anything about her scars but she was not going to push her luck on this.

She quickly made her way through the halls. She entered the infirmary and the mediwitch made her way over to her.

"What's the matter Miss Blackwell?"

Jane silently handed the Professors note over and the mediwitch read over it.

"This way now," she said as she escorted Jane to a cot. With a flick of her wand, Madame Pomfrey had closed the curtain and put up a silencing charm. "Let me take a look at those hands." The witch muttered under her breath as she turned Jane's hands this way and that. Jane caught something about 'should have been brought here immediately' and turned the women out.

Jane was brought out of her thoughts when the mediwitch started casting diagnostic spells upon her. After a few minutes there was a slight glow and then nothing. Jane looked at the mediwitch and raised her eyebrows.

"um, Madame Pomfrey do you know why my fingers are black?" Jane tried to remember that although she was missing Charms for this, it wasn't actually the mediwitche's fault. In fact, Jane was starting to wonder why she wasn't more freaked out. Her fingers were literally black and she found she was more irritated that people were concerned for her then anything. Which was weird. Fucking hell. Suddenly she really hoped this witch had some answers.

"Well, it doesn't look like anything is actually wrong with you. But we do need to have a talk."

Jane felt like ice water had just started to flow through her veins and she tried to remain relaxed. Not to give anything away.

"Jane dear, what do you know about creature inheritances?"

"Nothing. What are they and what does this have to do with me?"

"Well a creature inheritance is when someone has creature blood in their family line and on occasion it can crop up. This normally happens when a child comes into their full magic, normally when they come of age at seventeen but sometimes it can happen earlier. Normally when the witch or wizard is either has incredibly strong magical power or when they are in danger or under tremendous stress."

"Okay?"

"Jane, I believe this blackening of your fingers is the beginning of your inheritance. Now, we can do a test here right now or you could pay for a test at Gringotts. If we do it now, the information will be placed in your student file so your teachers will have access. Now there are laws against discrimination of people with creature blood and I don't believe for a second that any teacher in this castle would treat you differently, I must warn you. Not everyone takes kindly to people with creature blood and many still hide the fact that they do. The legislation that was passed is still relatively new, so not everyone has accepted it. Idiots the lot of them, but that doesn't change the fact that t is important to protect yourself. That is why I personally suggest going to Gringotts if you can afford it. There they will give you an ancestry test. Even if you choose to do it there later, I'm sure they will be sending you a letter any day now saying you need to come in your inheritance. Now would you like the test now or later?"

"I'll get it done at Gringotts," Jane said.

"Okay. For now there is a spell to keep those fingers hidden."