Magical Bonds

VIII. Guilt

Normally, I should be wondering what the hell my mother is doing here and whether she came to take one of the potions for the upcoming full moon. It doesn't affect me as much as to make me lose control, considering I'm half-vampire, but my mother has her moments—more often than not, the kind where I have to make sure Sev doesn't get hit with a vase or one of her marvelous books, which are as thick as both my thighs combined.

I glance at Draco, then at Harry, who is watching my mother curiously.

I crouch down, crawling under the tables until I reach the end of the row, a few meters away from my mother's heels. Merlin, I'll never understand how this woman can walk in those damn things that aren't even high enough to make her taller than Sev. I cross myself before rolling the small, intensely toxic blue ball between my palms, listening to the conversation between the two.

"You sure picked a moment to show up, Rovergrood," Sev mutters, shooting my mother a rather nasty look.

She rolls her eyes, gesturing carelessly with her palm. What can I say? This year is off to a great start!

"Of course, Snape, did you really think I'd just stand by, knowing Harry and Neville are here? I'm not going to let you mess with them."

I frown slightly, trying to piece together this new information. What does Nev have to do with all this? I mean, Uncle James and Severus never got along from the start, but what could he possibly have against the poor boy? I just hope he hasn't found some ridiculous reason to make his life harder.

"Sure, do you want me to do that in front of Lyra? You know very well that the last thing I want is to push her away from me."

"Haven't you been trying to do that all these years?" my mother asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You know exactly why I wanted to do that. This is not the time to discuss it," he replies just as harshly, his jaw clenching.

I swallow hard and lean slightly to catch Draco's gaze. He shrugs, signaling that he has no clue about what was just said. Luckily, they're close enough to eavesdrop, unlike Harry, who's sitting somewhere at the back of the classroom. I take a deep breath, watching closely as my mother picks up the small bottle and deciding this is the perfect moment to set my plan in motion. I slowly throw the ball and quickly crawl back to my seat, emerging from under the table and pretending to cut a random root.

"You'd better not hurt my child, Snape, especially since she cares about the boy. It will be the last thing you ever do, trust me."

"Enough already!" he raises his voice, making all of us flinch. "Why would you even think I want to do that? I'd rather..."

He suddenly stops, staring at the glowing blue ball right next to my mother's foot. I signal the four troublemakers to get down if they want to get out of this unscathed. Merlin, don't abandon us now!

I raise an eyebrow, unsure of what's about to happen. I created it with the Weasley twins this week, keeping it cold until today because, at room temperature or warmer, it starts glowing like it is now. And if I think about it, maybe letting them add their own touch of originality and chaos wasn't the best idea... I take a step back, turning toward Harry, who's watching the scene in front of him in bewilderment.

Just then, I hear a sharp ringing sound so loud that I have the awful feeling my ears might start bleeding. I want to cover them with my hands, but I'm pulled back, so the boys stand with their backs to the blackboard while Pansy and I are shielded against their chests as small explosions—like fireworks—go off. I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing for something bigger, maybe a real explosion. But all I feel is a strong gust of wind that could knock us over if the boys weren't holding us up.