Sincerely yours I Severus Snape - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Half-Blood Prince

Two days had passed since Fred and George Wasley's bubbly prank. Mary was sitting in the Great Hall with Clary, enjoying a short respite from her diligent studies at the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the morning, she had had Study of Ancient Runes, Transfiguration and Charms. She was now mentally preparing herself for an entire Friday evening with Professor Snape.

"I still can't believe you are actually willing to spend half of every Friday in the dungeons. And with Professor Snape!" Clary ruminated as she poured pumpkin juice into a goblet.

Mary shrugged and quickly glanced at the High Table, where Professor Snape was sitting. "He's not that bad".

Clary nearly choked on the juice she was now eagerly ingesting. "Not that bad? Not that bad!" she shook her head in disbelief, "there is no one worse than him".

Mary did understand where Clary's potent hatred toward that raven-haired man ensued. He spent most of his time roaming around the classroom, pointing out everyone's mistakes and calling them by rude names. He had called Mary "brainless", "imbecile" and "empty-headed" during their first private lesson. But something about his restless anger intrigued her.

As Mary was about to stab her last piece potato with a fork, a square object landed on her plate. "What the..." Mary mumbled and picked the thin object from the plate. She turned it around, excited to see the numbers "114" written on top of it. Instead, she was faced with a rush of disappointment. The figures on top of the letter clearly formed the name "Mary Montgomery", not "114". Swiftly, she tore through the paper and unwrapped the finely folded piece of parchment.

Dear Mary,

I hope you are well, and you find your studies fulfilling. I am currently working on a project in London, so I will be staying here for a while. I hope to find a new house before the Christmas break, so you can come and visit me, but I must discourage you from getting too hopeful. It hasn't been as easy as I had previously expected. But you must not worry, I want you to focus on your studies. I shall inform you well before the Christmas break if I am unable to have you with me.

Study hard and stay safe.

Best wishes,

Theodore Montgomery

"Who is it from?" Clary asked and tried to peek over Mary's shoulder.

Mary folded the letter and put it in her pocket before replying to Clary. "My uncle. He says I might not be able to stay with him during the Christmas break".

Clary nodded in understanding and placed her hand reassuringly on Mary's shoulder. "You can stay here with me!"

Mary's eyes met with Clary's light blue eyes as she gently touched Clary's hand.

"That sounds great".

****

After finishing the delicious lunch, Mary and Clary headed towards the dungeons, where they would be spending the rest of their afternoon. Clary didn't enjoy double lessons no matter what the subject was, but when it came to a double lesson of Potions, it was practically a nightmare. Clary expertise didn't lie in the precise art of measuring the exact amount of dried herbs or finely grinding a cluster of roots. She was more at home when she was strolling through the castle grounds, taking care of the unique creatures with Hagrid, or speeding through the quidditch field as one of the three chasers in the Slytherin team.

"I can't wait for this to be over", Clary growled as they entered the Potions classroom.

Mary responded with a giggle, she found Clary's reluctance towards the Potions amusing. What she didn't find amusing was Professor Snape, who was already sitting by his desk, and his expression which clearly stated that he had heard Clary's complaints. Mary held her breath as she waited for Professor Snape to scold Clary. Unexpectedly, Snape remained silent. After the rest of the students had entered the classroom, Snape stood up and began to present their task for today's lesson.

"This is not going to end well", Clary whispered after Snape had gone through the instructions. Even though it wasn't unusual that Clary found the tasks overwhelmingly difficult, today Mary agreed with Clary. The potion assigned for them was manageable for Mary to produce, but for someone as clumsy as Clary, there was a very high chance that it would lead to a disaster.

"I'll try to help you as much as I can", Mary reassured, being grateful for the fact that Snape had given them the freedom to choose their partners for today's task.

Like a miracle, Mary and Clary had somehow managed to create a satisfactory brew without destroying the entire workstation. After presenting their creation, Snape had dismissed them and reminded Mary to be back at eight sharp.

"Bless you, Mary!" Clary chanted, "I would've been done for if it wasn't for you and your miraculous skills in Potions".

Mary told Clary that it was her pleasure to help her and that she felt much more comfortable returning to the dungeons knowing that they hadn't destroyed half of Professor Snape's classroom.

"Could you imagine that?" she Clary giggled, "I don't think even Albus Dumbledore himself could save us from his wrath if we had messed up his precious den".

"You're right", Mary agreed.

They decided to spend rest of their free time in the Great Hall, finishing their homework for Monday.

After sitting by the table for about an hour, a beautiful grey owl navigated through the Great Hall, landing on the Slytherin table right next to the pile of book Mary and Clary had created. There was a letter attached to its leg. A letter which was decorated with the beautifully carved numbers "114". Mary felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the writing on top of the letter.

"Thank you, Quill", Mary said and gently stroke the own's back.

"Still can't believe you named your owl 'Quill'", Clary snorted.

Too eager to find out what her pen pal had written this time, Mary was unable to register Clary's comment. With a swift motion, Mary opened the envelope and started to read the small print on the letter.

Dear Tilly,

I hope this letter find you well. In your last letter you wondered why I was so reluctant to share any personal information. As you suggested, the reason for this is to keep our identities confidential until it was time to disclose them. However, I believe there are things we can discuss without the fear of revealing one's true identity to the other. So, apart from your favourite subjects, what are your hobbies? How do you like to spend your free time?

I prefer to spend most of my leisure time reading and experimenting with new recipes. Unfortunately, the latter one is rather difficult to put into practice whilst I'm staying at Hogwarts.

Lastly, you suggested us to give each other nicknames. So, from now on, you may call me Half-Blood Prince or just Prince.

Sincerely yours,

Half-Blood Prince