To my utter delight, I didn't have to wear my uniform all the time.
I wore jeans and a button-up blue shirt to my first apprentice lesson.
The potions classroom was empty, so I tried Snape's office.
It was empty too, but I stayed anyway. It wasn't green like the rest of the dungeons, so it wasn't an eyesore.
There were plenty of books in the room. Most were about potions. One shelf was all about the dark arts. I reached out to look at one.
"Miss Marion."
I snapped my hand back. Snape stood in the doorway.
"You have quite an impressive library, Professor."
He half-smiled. "Thank you, Miss Marion."
I scratched my ear. "Can't you call me Ellen, sir?"
He walked to his desk. "I will call you Miss Marion until the day you are no longer my student. Then we will both be adults and past petty formalities."
"Sir, I'm already 18."
"But still my student."
He had me there.
His face changed, as he looked me over.
"Why aren't you wearing green? Don't you have any school spirit?"
"Well, sir, I hate green. I only wear it because I have to."
He smiled so quickly, I wasn't sure I'd seen it. "I'm not very fond of green myself. When you see it everyday for years upon years, it kind of loses its charm."
I giggled softly.
He didn't. He gave me a list of potions to make before dinner.
--
My reception at the dorms wasn't as exciting as my last two hours had been.
"Well if it isn't potions girl."
"She can turn your hair green in thirty seconds, or your money back!"
They laughed. I sat on my bed.
"At least mine did what it was supposed to do."
They got quiet. Theirs had turned hair pink, orange, and purple.
"You're a nerd," the leader said. They all giggled and left.
Wow, a nerd. I think I'm scarred for life. I rolled my eyes.
--
That night, I had a rather naughty dream starring my new master: Severus Snape.
I got up and walked to the common room.
Why would I dream about Snape?
He wasn't an underwear model, but he wasn't bad to look at. He was also considerably older than me.
I started a fire in the fireplace and settled on one of the couches.
"Miss Marion."
Snape walked into the common room.
"What are you doing out of bed?"
I got up. "Sorry, sir. I had an unexpected dream and came here lest it should come back again."
I noticed he was still wearing his robes. Did he ever change?"
He sat down in the armchair opposite the couch, so I sat down again.
"You did very well this afternoon, Miss Marion. Better than I expected. I tried one of your potions, not expecting it to work properly, but seeing you here tells me that it did."
I briefly remembered that one of the potions was a dream-sharing potion, allowing the drinker to project his dreams to whomever they were about.
I felt a blush creep over my face.
He had dreamed about me.
"I apologize for your discomfort."
I nodded, still too embarrassed to say anything.
We sat there for a few minutes in silence. I flipped through different responses and I decided to leave him guessing, just as he had done to me.
I stood up.
"Well, Professor, while I don't blame you for having naughty dreams, I would appreciate it if you would inform me when you plan on sharing one with me again. I would then be able to seek accommodations where no one can hear me scream."
I could feel his gaze on me as I left. I had failed to specify if my screams were from terror or pleasure.
I smiled. That would keep him up at night.
