Severus inched forward and craned his neck around the corner.
All clear. The worried frown on his face relaxed slightly.
He had potions class in three minutes, and he needed to get there.
Without interruption.
Looking to his right and left, Severus took a deep breath and barreled down the hallway. His footsfalls echoed down the long corridor. He caught his breath at the top of the stairs, and glanced down.
Again, all clear.
He dashed down the steps, taking two or three at a time, and raced down the hallway.
"Right at St. Aubry on the Rocks…left at the Gorgons… right at St. Aubry on the Rocks, left at the Gorgons…" He muttered directions to himself. As a second year, he knew how to get around better than the first years, but that didn't mean he didn't still get lost.
"Left at the Gorgons…" He shot past, heading straight for the solid oak door.
He lifted the wrought iron handle with a groan, and threw his slight body into door. His leg muscles shook with effort and his heart felt ready to pound through his chest. The potions door was heavy—abominably so! He em almost /em regretted his mad dash from Transfigurations.
Almost.
The unwieldy door clicked and gave way. "Finally." Severus murmured to himself, shimmying his small frame through the crack. He darted to a table in the back and practically jumped into his seat.
Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me. He prayed. It was times like these that Severus just wished he knew some invisibility spell-- or had an invisibility cloak. He would give his whole left arm for the ability to sneak around unnoticed--he was sure of it!
But, today, as most days, his prayers went unanswered, as Professor Slughorn boomed across the classroom.
"Mr. Snape!"
Severus flinched at his clipped tone.
All at once, thirty heads swiveled in his direction, and Severus found himself staring out into a sea of unfriendly faces. The hazel eyes of James Potter and the grey eyes of Sirius Black glinted with a particularly hard light.
Severus shivered in his seat. The cold of the dungeons seemed to seep into his very bones.
"I will not have you barreling through my classroom." Professor Slughorn's jowls shook, and slight spittle flew with each punctuation. "This is a potions classroom. The ingredients are em dangerous. /em"
Professor Slughorn's eyes drilled into his own.
"If you are going to be late, the correct response is not to hasten your steps, but to leave earlier. Have I made myself clear, Mr. Snape?"
"Yes sir." Severus bowed his head, his eyes prickling with an uncomfortable sting.
How could he tell them he didn't leave early because he couldn't leave early? If he left early, Potter and Black caught him and made him late. If he left late, they merely waited for the professor to mete out their punishment.
Severus cast a furtive glance towards his two tormentors. They were both smirking. He frowned into his cauldron, the Hogwarts crest blurring before his eyes.
It really just wasn't fair.
"Today," Professor Slughorn began ignorant of Severus' internal dilemma, "we will be brewing Hair-rasing potion." "The necessary ingredients are on your desk. The directions are on the blackboard. Begin."
Silence followed the Professor's command, punctuated only with the sounds of chopping and slicing, mincing and dicing. That was until Potter's smug tone broke over the stillness.
"Professor Slughorn?" Potter smiled secretively. "I seem to be missing some ingredients."
"What ingredients, Mr. Potter?" The professor eyed the boy with a keen expression.
"Snake intestines." He drawled, as if savoring each delectable syllable.
The professor huffed non-committally. "Here you are Potter. Now get back to work."
Potter bobbed his head in a quick bow. With the flash of an impish smile, he scurried back to his seat, turning his loathsome blue eyes towards Snape. And to Severus' never ending horror, he winked.
A strange emotion flitted over Severus' face, but, he ignored the unusual fluttering in his stomach. Wiping clammy hands on his sleeve, he steadied his knife hand and plunged the blade into the soft flesh.
SQUUUUEEEELLLCH…
Slimy organs slipped over his small digits. Severus grimaced. It was going to be a long potions class!
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