Even their own Head of House saw what the new Potions Master was playing at. But instead of defending them and making him reschedule their detention, she took five points from Gryffindor on behalf of each of them, probably for giving Snape a chance to keep them from Quidditch practice before such an important match.
But how on earth could they have suspected this?
Heads of Houses helping out their own teams had always been as much of a tradition as start of term feasts and seventh years daring each other to spend their last night in the Forbidden Forest. But the way Snape was doing it brought things to a new level.
Their Keeper, Vincent, broke that potion bottle last Monday. Lupita, their Seeker, handed in her essay half an inch shorter the Friday before. Stockmore, who only had been their Beater for two weeks, had a fight with Slytherin's Prefect back in October, and had been in detentions on every Tuesday since, but now suddenly he joined them on Wednesday, because this way Snape could watch half the Gryffindor Quidditch Team chop his bloody Pungous Onions until they cried their eyes out, instead of practicing for their upcoming match against Slytherin.
"At least you should have tried to keep your head down," whispered Lupita, wiping her tears and most of her mascara on her sleeve.
"I was only 'alf a day late! I was goin' to take it back right after lunch," hissed Scabior indignantly. "And 'e must 'ave been very desperate to find fault with us if 'e combed through the library register," he croaked as he started to feel the smell of the Onions get in his mouth and attack his throat, making him cough so hard he dropped his knife and almost knocked over his chopping board too.
"Have I not warned you that silence is of utmost importance when handling Pungous Onions?" asked Snape, not even looking up from the papers he was grading at the other end of the room.
"Yes, you 'ave, you son of a bat," mumbled Scabior, picking up his knife and pulling the neck of his shirt up above his nose to cover the lower part of his face. It didn't give much protection, but he was willing to try anything to keep the vapours away.
"We won't get out of here before midnight," groaned Stockmore with a very wet sniff, and he was probably right. They've been working for two hours, and the pile in front of them hardly shrank.
"You will," whispered the pretty little fifth year from Ravenclaw in front of them, reaching behind her and taking a few Onions from Scabior's tray. "And you'll beat their sorry asses on Saturday," she added, smiling at him over her shoulder, before turning away and cutting off the green parts with a single swish of her knife, while her friend, a girl from Hufflepuff, tossed a handful of neatly chopped Onions on their table in return for the stolen ones.
"Then you ladies are welcome to the party afterwards," grinned Scabior, incorporating the gift to their own pile, then readjusting his shirt and his Captain's badge on it. No matter how many nasty tricks Snape had up his billowy sleeve, the whole school wanted them to win.
The best thing about characters we don't know much of is that I can play with their ages until they end up having their seventh year in Hogwarts with a newly appointed Severus Snape as their teacher. :)
(And yes, that's Tamora.)
Thank you for reading, please, review!
And thank you, DragonMoonX for your help. :)
