Mend Me

One

"Ah, Miss Black. Such a pleasure to see you, my friend."

Headmaster Dumbledore sits behind his large mahogany desk, littered with muggle magazines, all flipped to the knitting section. A large bowl of lemon drop candies sits in front of him. To his left, Fawkes the phoenix ruffles his feathers. To his right, two sharp knitting needles work frantically midair, weaving a mid-sized panel of multicolored fabric into something not yet recognizable.

"Might I interest you in a lemon drop?" He asks, gesturing to the bowl in front of him. "They truly are divine."

Danu politely declines Dumbledore's offer, taking the empty seat across from him. To her left sits Professor Sprout, to her right is Professor Snape, looking exceptionally irritated. Sandwiched between the two very different people, Danu feels the intensity of them both radiating forward and causing a mild whiplash of emotion. Professor Sprout, always chipper and bright, seems to fade in the wake of Professor Snape's hatred of...well...everything. In the six years she's known the man, she's not once seen him genuinely smile, unless of course, it's directly after torturing a student. Danu gulps as she shoves her hands between her knees to keep them from shaking, an angles her body closer to that of her favorite professor, Sprout.

Her time around Professor Snape has always been less than pleasant, the man seems to honestly hate her, despite the fact that she's always done exceptionally well in his class. So well, that she's one of the only seven students in sixth year to receive and O on his potions O.W.L, and one of the only four to continue potions on to his N.E.W.T program. Her first two years in his class were genuinely hell. Her Ravenclaw classmates managed to attend the same class time as Slytherin, which made pinning them against one another Snape's favorite hobby. It took nearly three years of her proving herself and losing so much sleep she was actually admitted to the hospital wing for four days to get him to stop accusing her of somehow cheating every single class. It took him catching her sobbing with Professor Sprout midway through her fourth year, after he'd set one of her essays on fire in front of the class and tossing mandrake root in to her cauldron of Calming Drought, causing it to quite literally explode in her face, to get him to ease up on her even slightly. Not that he's gone soft on her, not in the slightest. He still very much detests her and told her only three days ago in front of the entire class that she wasn't cut out for his N.E.W.T levels. That should have been enough to make her switch to Muggle Studies, or maybe even Advanced Transfiguration, but she will not let him stop her from reaching her dream of working at St. Mungos, and if she has any chance at all of achieving this dream, she needs this N.E.W.T class.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've asked you here today" begins Dumbledore cheerfully. Danu looks up from her lap and catches his blue eyes. Just then, a tingling sensation creeps in to her head, and her brow begins to pound. She swears she catches him raise an eyebrow towards Snape and grin, just before the strange sensation leaves her head. "It is my understanding, Miss Black, that you wish to work for St. Mungos. Is that correct?"

"Yes Sir, it is. I've held an apprenticeship with Professor Sprout since my second year. She's taught me so much, and I'm incredibly grateful to her."

Just then, the pain in her brow increases tenfold, almost knocking the breath from her lungs. Her face must be contorted in pain, because she can see Dumbledore leaning forward in his seat, as if expecting something. Just as quickly as it comes though, the pain creeps away, and she lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Dumbledore glances over and Snape and smiles out of the corner of his mouth.

"Excellent, excellent. I hear you are an exceptional student, Miss Black. Professor Snape here is rather hard on his potion's students, and you've managed to enter into his N.E.W.T class! That's something truly incredible, my dear." Danu glaces over at Professor Sprout, and sees her gleaming with pride, almost as if she's her own parent.

"I have taken the liberty to reach out to St. Mungos on your behalf," he continues. "They seem quite impressed with you already. They do recommend that you apprentice with Professor Snape for the next two years. Which is precisely why I called you all here today. Severus, my lad, say hello to your new prodigy."

"Headmaster, surely you do not expect me to babysit this child for the next two years?" Professor Snape audibly exhales and slowly rises from his seat.

"No, Severus," Dumbledore chuckles. "I expect you to teach this girl what she may not learn in your class. She has proved herself worthy of your expertise, Severus. Let her have this. It isn't often we have someone as bright as her, someone as eager to learn."

Snape and Dumbledore begin to argue, with Professor Sprout popping in occasionally to provide input. Danu is too stunned to listen, too stunned to do anything except stare down at her hands in her lap. She doesn't want to apprentice with Snape! Why couldn't they have had her do something like grow a Chinese Chomping Cabbage and show them she can pick the cabbages without being injured, or care for a venomous tentacle. Hell, she'd even go down to the Forbidden Forrest and tackle and acromantula!

"Miss Black," Dumbledore begins, "you may return to your common room. Make your way down to the potions room tomorrow evening at 6, Professor Snape will assist you from there."

Snape attempts to protest, but Dumbledore only puts one hand up to silence him, and he obeys. Professor Sprout gives her a sympathetic look as she squeezes her shoulder on the way out of the office.