Uncanny Snake

III - A Little Bird

My morning, oh yes, classes. Another year of misery surrounded by mediocrity and teenage angst, one would have to pardon my dwindling excitement. At least my first class wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be mostly because it wasn't quite what I'd call a class. I mean Care of Magical Creatures was enjoyable, considering I was Hagrid's aid so to speak, I got to sit back and watch kids struggle, satisfying to some degree. The half-giant seemed to be well aware of my situation, and he was somewhat loose around me, the way he spoke and the occasional jokes, certainly not ones a teacher would crack with a student. If Albus trusted him though, then he, in turn, had earned my trust.

That being said, the aftermath was somewhat troubling, I had to round up the hippogriff, and that thing did not play nice. I now understood why the students struggled so much, and I was more than a little anxious to approach the beast. After removing my robes, I started slow and steady, bowing to the hippogriff who reciprocated my action with grace. I approached it slowly and petted the creature smiling eagerly, I grabbed a bloody piece of meat from the bucket and lured the beast towards Hagrid's hut, but the bloody thing bit me, and I hissed out in pain, throwing the piece of meat far off into the distance.

"Fucking hell," I grumbled shaking my hand, the bite wasn't too deep, but deep enough to draw blood, and I frowned taking out my newly acquired wand as I mended the wound with care. Note to self: don't try to feed a hippogriff like a baby chick, it's gonna bite your damn hand off. After that, I followed my mental note and threw the meat to the side, and sure enough, the beast caught it with graceful ease as it followed me eagerly awaiting its next treat. Once you get the hang of it, it isn't all that bad, to be honest.

I was thankful I was the first one in my defense against the dark arts classroom, mostly because I did not want to get stuck in hallway traffic or have to take a seat in the front of the class, those seats were always open because no one wanted to sit there. However, as I entered the room, a tall, slender man greeted me with his unruly light brown hair, worn suit and green eyes which matched his looks to the letter. "Moony," I sighed in delight bringing the man in for a much-needed embrace.

"Rynne," he returned the greeting with a gentle smile, his hand settling on the top of my head. It had been far too long since I had last seen him. I had lost count of the years. "They grow up so fast," he joked. "From a child to rebellious young adult."

"Rebellious? You haven't seen my magic at work yet," I teased, and we broke the hug taking time to stare each other down. "You've lost weight," I noted.

"And you've gained weight," he chuckled. I sneered and gave him the middle finger turning my back to him.

"What a charmer," I grumbled. "Oh-did you cast that patronus charm? On the train I mean."

"Pesky dementors are everywhere nowadays, dark wizards roam the world, and Aurors are only thinning by the day," he said grimly, but quickly changed his complexion as a student walked in early. "Thank you for informing me, Miss Salazar, I will inform the headmaster." With that, he dismissed me casually returning to the front of the class to prepare his lecture. The class was rather dull and uneventful, but I couldn't pin the blame on Remus, the first day of class was always a bore, no matter the subject.

I scanned my timetable upset at the fact that I had Snape twice, for alchemy and potions, this was going to be a long year especially since he had wiped me off the map entirely since yesterday. I wasn't mad or upset, well that was a lie, I was definitely upset, but that's the kind of man he was. Putting on a facade and acting out his role with perfection until the very end. Severus was dedicated, even more so when he was on the job. Still, it was frustrating to be brushed off so readily, eight years to me seems like a lot of time to get to know someone, getting to call them a friend, and enjoy the occasional lousy inside joke shared between the two us.