It's been tough. The other Slytherins don't hate me at all, which makes me feel kind of stupid for thinking they would. Of course, they wouldn't, every Slytherin knows how fiercely loyal we are to each other. Even though I've got the snakes on my side, classes have been the worst. I expected the students to be weird around me, but even the professors have either been completely ignoring me or going out of their way to make things miserable for me.
One professor that's been doing that is Snape.
"Honestly, Draco, you used to be the smart one. Now you can barely stir a cauldron without fumbling around like a mountain troll." Snape all but sneered after I dropped a container of pearl dust. I stared at him as respectfully as I could manage. "My apologies, sir."
He made a noise of discontent, something between a groan and snort. "Maybe you'd be able to handle a detention."
I couldn't stop myself from glaring this time, "But Snape-"
"We'll make it a week's worth if you open up that pretty little mouth one more time."
I instantly shut my mouth, looking back at the light pink potion in front of me. Amortentia. The final ingredient would be pearl dust, and luckily only some of it spilled onto the floor, leaving just enough for me to pour steadily into the liquid.
Pansy was my partner, so she began stirring the cauldron. She looked up at me sympathetically, but I waved her off. Snape's an ass, we all know it. He's nothing I can't handle. The liquid lightened into the color of pink lemonade, indicating that we were finished, so we waited patiently. I tried to ignore Snape as he walked past us again, eyeing our potion without saying anything.
A few minutes later, he spoke again to the class.
"Congratulations to Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode. They finished their potion first."
Blaise whooped victoriously and pumped his fists into the air, but Snape shot him a deadly look that silenced him immediately. Pansy stood up loudly, her eyebrows drawn in the way they do when she's angry.
"Professor Snape, this is ridiculous. Draco and I finished ages ago and you saw it! I understand you have some stupid grudge against him or whatever, and I wasn't going to say anything, but now it's affecting my life and my education. So you damn well better get yourself together and start acting less like a foolish child and more like a real professor!" She huffed, followed by immediate silence. All eyes were on her, including mine. I winced as I waited for Snape to respond.
Snape's voice was so quiet I could barely hear it, even though the classroom was completely silent, as though time had stopped. Not a single person in the room dared to breathe. Not even Harry-Arrogant Asshole-Potter.
"200 points from Slytherin."
Snape had never, ever, ever taken points from his own house. Not once. But of course, we all knew he wasn't finished, because that wasn't punishment enough at all.
"As for you, Parkinson," Snape's voice was as sharp as a blade. For a second, I thought he was about to literally cut her. "This is a N.E.W.T-level potions class. Do you understand that?"
More silence. "You will answer me when I ask you a question!"
I flinched as he suddenly slammed a fist down against our table, so hard that the cauldron bounced into the air for a moment, splashing amortentia onto my lap. Pansy straightened her back, immediately whispering, "I understand."
"And since," he paused letting his voice sink into the air. "N.E.W.T-level potions class is not a required course, I personally will order your schedule to change. You will be removed from my class and my line of sight. I will have you switched into ancient runes. Effective immediately."
"No, I'm going to become an Auror, I need to take this class!" She exclaimed loudly, a tremor in her voice causing her to stutter. "I have to be an Auror! I've dreamed of it since I was 6!"
"Then keep dreaming. You should have thought about your actions before you decided to disrespect me. I suppose you will have to consider other career options, because you've ruined your chance. Now get the hell out of my class, I don't want to see you again for the rest of the year."
Her eyes were glassy with tears and her voice was strained, she was obviously trying not to cry.
"They never should have let you come back to this school." She muttered coldly before running out of the room.
The door slammed and we all looked at each other, unsure of what to do. The silence in the air felt uncomfortable in my lungs.
Snape sat down at his desk and acted as if nothing had happened.
Eventually, class resumed, and everyone finished their potions. I hadn't realized it until Potter loudly announced that he was done, and slowly everyone chimed in that they were too.
"Mmm, mine smells like cinnamon- and, and gillyweed! Oh, and saltwater taffy!" One Gryffindor girl cheered. Her friend inhaled deeply. "I smell pine tree and peppermint. And something else... oh! It's perfume!"
Soon, everybody was shouting the different aromas their potions induced. Granger and Ron were grinning at each other like lovesick idiots, and we all knew that their's smelled like one another. Potter was yelling about broomsticks and treacle tart.
I realized something that made my chest tighten and my head hurt. I wanted to cry out, or punch something, or murder someone in cold blood. I could feel my heartbeat in every part of my body. Because- Because I realized that..
I couldn't smell anything at all.
