Mixed Feelings
Chapter 1
Severus Snape woke up
at the sound of one of his Slytherin roommate's snoring.
Turning
over in his four-poster bed, his first thought of the day: Lily
Evans. The
Mudblood.
He fighted the urge to spit on the floor as he got up. Chasing
that stupid
thought
out of his mind, not even bothering to wonder why he was thinking of
her (not
wanting
to know the answer), he walked down the corridor leading to the great
hall. No
need
to dress up, he slept in his clothes. Lost in his thoughts, not of
Evans this time, he
bumped into someone. He
was looking down, and saw a pair of shoes he hated, belonging
to
a guy he loathed: James Potter. He backed off, slowly looking up.
-Eww, Snivellus, watch your step! Did you slip on your grease, to end up bumping into me like that?
-Potter, your inflated head is so big, it's taking half of the corridor, how could I have not?
-There's always the other half, Snivellus.
Another voice rose: that of Sirius Black. Just who he needed to see the morning of his O.W.L. exams.
-Hmm… I sense a little tension here! He said sarcastically. Both he and James laughed.
Snape rolled his eyes, not even smiling, and asked:
-Why are you up so early? Certainly not to study for your O.W.Ls?
James and Sirius suddenly looked uncomfortable.
-Stick your bid nose elsewhere, will you? said James.
And
with that, they left. They certainly weren't acting like usual.
Shrugging, Snape
continued his way to
the great hall. It was still early in the morning, so the tables had
not
been
rearranged yet. It wasn't surprising to see the piece's lack of
Peter Pettigrew at this
early
hour, but Remus Lupin wasn't up yet, and that was weird.
He didn't really care
about the Marauders, but if he could find a way to get them expelled,
well… He wouldn't say no.
Snape
sat down alone, as he was used to, and opened, his Defense Against
the Dark Arts book, which he brought along.
While studying, he didn't
notice the time pass by. A clock, near the entrance, soon ringed 8
am. He got up,
straight to his dormitory, where he put his book
safely back in his trunk. He got back to the great hall, a little
more slowly than before. He still had plenty of time before his exam,
and besides, he didn't want to bump into him again either.
But next he saw her, so he quickly forgot about him.
There she was, her horrible red hair flowing gracefully around
her, her disgustingly beautiful green eyes starring right into his
black ones.
-Ready for your O.W.Ls, Sni-Severus? she said, smiling.
Why was she talking to him, all of a sudden? Was it a bad joke? Did she think he would be happy about it? And why was it actually true?
-Lost your tongue, Snivellus? said a much more unpleasant voice. Sirius Black. Accompanied by James Potter. Great.
-Must have been Evan's beauty. I mean, even he, who can't see past his nose, could have seen her. His nose is indeed pretty large. said the latter.
-Or maybe I had much better things to do than to answer her? Snape replied. Like trying to walk through the other half of the corridor.
-Apologize to Evans right now, Snape! Or else! said James furiously.
Lily stepped in, looking angry.
-Snivellus has no need to apologize, Potter. Mind your business. She turned to Snape. I was just trying to be nice. But trolls don't have manners, do they? She turned back and left.
James looked abashed.
-Look what you've done, Snape! He said indignantly.
-What happened to you, Potter? Weren't you menacing me a while ago? Did your ego take a hit? You're not really caring about anyone else than you, are you? laughed Snape back. But in fact, he was fighting the urge to say:" Look what you have done!"
-Hey, I do care for Evans!
The only one who seemed to make some fun out of the situation was Black.
Snape entered the great hall, in which were now, instead of the five habitual long tables, about a hundred of small ones. He took a seat and waited. Once everyone were at their seat, the little voice of Professor Flitwick echoed in the hall: "Quiet Please! We will begin the exam in an instant, but before, I must remind you that cheating is strictly prohibited. Your quills have been enchanted to stop you from doing so. I wish you all the best of luck!" And with a "Wingardium Leviosa!", the exams went flying one by one to everyone. Snape read the title:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Ordinary Wizarding Level
He began to write as fast as he could on his parchment, his nose almost glued to it. He was so concentrated he was almost sweating. D.A.D.A. was his favorite subject; he was fascinated by the dark arts. He looked at the clock: only thirty minutes left to go! Before he knew it, the exam was over, and Flitwick was collecting the parchments. He got up, his nose still in his questionnaire. He looked up a bit as he heard James, Sirius, Lupin (who looked really pale and worn out) and Peter talk. He couldn't hear perfectly what they were saying, but he heard the word "Werewolf" quite a lot. "I hope they're not talking about me…"he thought. "Meh. They must be talking about question seventeen."
He once again plunged his nose in his questionnaire, not caring where he was going.
