"And I Don't Need Your Attitude"
One-shot! (Slight prequel background to Dimeirah Black's mom: Madison O'Hara)
By Capt. Blue-Eyed Jane
Summery: Severus is badgered by a girl who ends up teaching him a couple lessons about life. Funny, considering that she's at the bottom of her class. SS/OC friendship!
Taking a couple deep breaths Madison straitened her robes and started walking over to the edge of the lake, where a small willow tree bent over. At the foot was the object of her conquest: Severus Snape. A couple of butterflies were whirling around in her stomach because Severus wasn't alone, beside him stood Avery, Mulciber, and Evan who everyone suspected to be aspirers of Death Eaters. However Madison cared little for them, she had tried to convince Lily to talk to Severus for about a year now, but the redhead refused, not that it helped that James were now together, both Head Boy and Girl of Gryffindor.
Even though Madison was best friends with Lily- she couldn't help think that Severus needed someone who could and would stand up with him-for him when and if he needed. Madison wasn't stupid she didn't expect Severus to vouch secrets to her anytime soon, or to talk to her in class or…anything else. But she wanted him to know that he wasn't alone. Something she knew he would never believe.
At the sound of approaching footsteps Evan turned his head and smirked as he noticed someone coming towards them, he quickly moved his hand to the wand pocket of his robes and nudged Severus with his foot. At that point Mulciber and Avery were looking at her too.
"Look who's coming." Severus' heart leapt for a moment before turning to see that it was in fact not, Lily. Turning back to the lake he scowled the footsteps stopped and Severus kept his gaze on.
"what's a Ravenclaw like you doin' down here?" Mulciber said. Madison calmed her nerves and looked at Severus.
"I have come to talk to Severus, if he'll allow me an audience."
"'if he'll allow me and audience' ha!" Avery mimicked, his dark brown eyes felt as if they were boring a hole right though her, but Madison stood her ground. "Who are you anyway Halfling?"
Madison's eyes narrowed. "Madison O'Hara and for your information I'm a pureblood, not that it matters as scum like you couldn't even be told apart from what's on the bottom of my shoe!" she said hotly, this time she looked and spoke soly to Severus.
"Severus. I would like to have a wor-" but her sentence was cut off as her air supply was cut short, her hand flew to her throat as though someone were choking her.
"You've said enough for one day don't you think?" Evan looked at Mulciber.
"Grab her wand" Severus watched as his three friends were laughing at her and for a reason he didn't understand he hexed Evan, and quickly dispelled the other two and she dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap.
"What do you want?" Severus asked, Madison look up at him.
"Just to talk"
"What makes you think I want to?"
"What makes you think I'm concerned about what you want?" Severus saw the small quirk of her mouth and put his wand back into his pocket. Madison stood up and stuck out her hand as if to receive something and her wand floated out of Avery's grip and into her own.
"thanks." She turned and walked with Severus across the lush fields towards the Forbidden Forest.
"Sorry about pulling you away like that. I know you'll get bugged about it later."
"What do you want" Severus asked again, Madison gave a meek smile.
"Not one for pleasantries, eh?"
"I don't have all day you know" Severus spat.
"Alright" Madison gave a little cough. "I need help with two of my classes-"
"Do I look like a tutor?" he interrupted then spun around to face her, Madison stopped as well and looked at the seething boy before her. "If you mean to play me O'Hara-"
"I don't mean to do anything Severus-but learn-!"
"I would think that that would be what a teacher is for." He replied snidely reveling in how her face was turning red.
"yes well, I would if it wasn't for the lack of moral and-he's been acting really weird- look I'd just rather not go to Professor Slughorn."
"And this should make me sympathize how?"
"Look, if you really must know then when you teach me how to make Vireteserum you can test it on me."
"How tempting" Severus sneered, rolling his eyes. "However I have more important things to do then to teach am impudent girl the basics of potion making-"
"Please." Madison begged, "You're the most brilliant student in his class. I watch you…" she said her face flushing a bit, "you cut corners, add things that are never in the textbooks, come out with a ready potion in half the time. And I'm terrible at it, hardly a Ravenclaw thing for me but I am. And if Lily knew-" Severus visibly stiffened and Madison's eyes became apologetic.
"Sorry, look. If there was anyone else that I could go to for this I would, simply not to bother you. But there isn't; there's only you. And I'm begging you, please tutor me." Severus opened his mouth to reply but over her shoulder was a hex came hurling at them-him; Severus pushed her out of the way and retaliated, throughing the attacker off his feet, their wand flying. A smirk appeared on Severus' lips and Madison propped herself up on her elbows to see Sirius.
"Black…" Madison mumbled getting to her feet and taking out her wand as well.
He got up, ego uncrushed but looked shocked to see Madison's wand out.
"We always seem to start off on the wrong end of the wand don't we Madi."
"YOU always seem to be on the other end of my wand Sirius." She put her wand away but did nothing to convince Severus to do the same.
"Out for a little stroll with Snivellus are we?"
"Yes Dog Breath, or are you blind as well as stupid" Madison replied, Sirius put his hand to his chest in mock anguish.
"That hurt Madi right here"
"aww. I'm sure it did, now I must speak with Severus so…goodbye Black." Madison quickly grabbed Severus by the arm for a moment leading them in the direction of Hogsmeade but Sirius quickly sprinted up in front of her making her stop.
"what, Black?" Sirius switched his silver eyes between Madison and Severus before saying so quietly that Severus had to strain to hear him.
"We're still on for tomorrow, right?" Madison gave him the smallest of a smile.
"sure." She then stepped around him and turned to Severus who had a look of pure disgust on his face.
"anyway-"
"You're one of them?" he spat. Madison looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
"One of what?"
"The Black groupies." Madison laughed.
"Hardly. Although he does seem to have quite the interest in me, But I think that's because I stopped talking to him since The Incident two years ago, I guess he's after the girl that has no interest. He strikes me as that sort."
"The Incident."
"Yep. I was horribly angry with him for a long time. They had absolutely no right. I sometime wonder what she sees in Potter." Madison sighed. "It's not like I dislike them, I dislike their behavior. Especially towards you they had no right."
"I don't need your pity" Severus said.
"And I don't need your attitude" Madison replied with a hard tone in her voice. "So will you help me with potions or not?"
"…Seven o'clock. Don't be late." Severus then turned away from her and made his way back up to the castle, Defense was the next class.
"Wait! where?"
"You don't really need me to answer that do you? I thought you were in Ravenclaw" Madison laughed and Severus felt unnerved, it was not meant to be funny.
"Alright see you then!" Madison watched as he left. Everything was finaly starting to work out; she looked down at her stomach as it rumbled. Damn, she forgot to eat lunch.
…6: 30…
"Where are you going?" Lily asked as they left the library, Madison gave her a curious look.
"What makes you think I'm going anywhere?"
"You're all aglow. Very easy to notice-are you going out with Sirius."
"Define going out. One a date, yes full time, no."
"Do you think he's the one?" Lily asked a huge smile. Madison laughed much to Lily's dismay.
"I doubt it and besides; Sirius is always too busy being a big rebel to get married." And even though she said it so care freely one little part of her hurt. But that's who Sirius was, and she would be a fool if she were to try and change him.
"Anyway I have to go I'll be late!" giving a short wave, Madison split up from Lily and made her way down to the dungeons, she knocked lightly on the door and a voice called from within.
"Enter!" the door groaned in protest as she opened it and saw Professor Slughorn sitting at his desk and he did a double take as she walked it, making sure to stand as close to the door as possible she gave a small smile.
"Hello Professor, has Severus arrived yet?"
"No he hasn't" His gaze lingered on her then he retuned to his work. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Slughorn looked back up at her.
"You can set up your stuff; I'll be leaving for patrol soon." Madison tiptoed to one of the desks in the back row but Slughorn stopped her.
"Those seats still have a bit of the potions residue on them, apparently whatever they did made a level three Scorgify seem utterly useless"
"oh" Madison said
in a tiny voice then slowly walked up to the front and carefully set
up her work station. As she did she watched Slughorn out of the
corner of her eye and was relieved that he hadn't looked up at her
once, letting out a sigh of relief she happily started turning to the
pages of assigned text when the door burst open and Severus furiously
strode down and sat beside her. A trick she learned from her mother
was to smile and say-
"Hello, Severus" she was responded with
a grunt but didn't think much of it as she pulled out her wand and
gave her throat a small clear and commanded.
"Accio Belladon-" suddenly long spidery fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist in a surprisingly strong grip, she slowly turned her head towards Severus and was shocked to find him looking absolutely livid and her face flushed.
"Are you really that impudent?" he threw her wrist away and stalked towards the store room and called back:
"You cannot use magic to summon object to you; first because the spell encircles it putting it's own magical properties out of balance and can leave you with an exploding potion," he came back and dumped numerous ingredients onto the conjoined desks. "and secondly, it's incredibly sloth-like"
"Or incredibly efficient" Madison muttered underneath her breath, but he seemed to have heard her and retorted:
"If it was so incredibly efficient then why haven't we used it, ever?"
"So we need twenty grams of Belladonna root?" Madison asked diverting the conversation. It seemed to have worked because from then on the two of them talked about the bases of potions and what catalysts were used for them. For example if the potion was brewed with water as the base and you weren't done cutting up whichever ingredient is supposed to go next, add a bit of salt-which has no magical properties but slows down the potion by a fraction. In the middle of chopping mint Madison looked over at him.
"So, what do you plan to be when you grow up?" Severus glanced at her, his face void of emotion.
"I'm not too sure yet"
"I think you should be a teacher" Severus snorted and Madison giggled.
"I'm serious"
"So
am I" replied Severus grabbing her freshly cut mint from her side
of the bench and adding it to the Pepper Up potion.
"Hey who said you could come over on my side?" Severus blinked and Madison's smile fell a little.
"It-it was meant to be funny"
"It wasn't"
"OK"
Hours passed between the two of them and finally when the last stage of the Amoradormus they packed everything up and headed out of the classroom. Biding each other goodnights and farewells, they went to their dormitory. For the next few days Madison would make a point of saying hello to Severus and his friends in the hall. Many people whispered about such a strange occurrence, but after a week it died down. Lily however was one of the few who didn't forget about it. She questioned Madison nearly every night. Finally frustrated Madison yelled at her.
"You're not to the only one allowed to like him!" Madison had shouted. Lily had blinked her green eyes narrowed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I think you know exactly!" Madison had sighed, "I know he's never going to get over you, and until The Incident you liked him as well; don't even deny it! But I want to be friends with him he needs someone although he refuses." For some reason Lily had smiled and placed her arm around Madison's shoulders.
"You know that when
you die trying I want your entire CD collection?"
Madison had
laughed, glad that Lily was so accepting, "unquestionably"
Madison sprinted down the hallway gasping for breaths as she slowly opened the great wooden doors to Transfiguration. The door moaned loudly as she took a step in. All eyes turned towards her.
"Glad you are able to join us Miss O'Hara. Five points will be taken from Ravenclaw I think." McGonagall said then as she turned back to the chalkboard she said over her shoulder, "take a seat" Madison looked around her, there were only two empty seats: One beside Severus and one beside Sirius. Walking briskly she sat down beside Severus who glanced at her once and went back to taking notes.
"Why do you insist upon sitting near me?" Severus hissed through the corner of his mouth, Madison pulled out a quill and whispered back.
"Because I like you," she saw his body quickly tense up then said, "Not in that way! I meant as a friend!"
"Don't we have to be friends in order for you to like me as such?"
"Deep down I know you like me" then returned to her writing quietly adding, "Very, very, very deep down." Through her peripheral vision she saw Severus crack a smile and chuckle! Forgetting they were in the middle of class she turned pointing at him and said (quite loudly)
"Aww you smiled!" everyone turned to look at Severus who had replaced his smile with its customary scowl and Professor McGonagall turned to Madison and said firmly.
"Miss O'Hara it is bad enough that you already interrupted my class once with your tardiness, I do not need another for you loud mouth! Ten points from Ravenclaw! And if you interrupt again I will send you to the Headmaster. Am I understood?" Dimeirah nodded and looked back down at her desk.
After an hour of solid note taking, Madison looked over at Severus.
"Sorry about that."
He didn't reply. Spirits slightly crushed, she looked around the classroom and met a pair of grey eyes staring intently at her. Sirius gave her a flirtatious smirk and a wink. Rolling her eyes Madison smiled back. Sirius checked to see if the teacher was looking then giving his wand a flick Madison watched as a long-stemmed paper rose floated across a couple people faces and onto her desk. Severus turned his head and stared at the rose, then looked at Madison. She gave him a small shrug and picked up the origami rose. As soon as she did though, it transformed into a real one blooming instantaneously. A huge smile reached all corners on her face. Sirius looked satisfied as she blew him a small kiss in return. Madison heard a groan from beside her and watched as Severus's face turned green.
"I think I'm going to throw up." She couldn't help it. Madison laughed at the top of her lungs her stomach hurting and tears streaming down her cheeks. At first it was a chuckle, and Severus would always question why, he had begun to laugh with her as well. It was unspoken, but known that after that; Severus would be her friend for a long while.
Thanx for
reading!
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Tah tah
Capt. Blue-Eyed
Jane