"Chapter 3"
A/N: So you get multiple postings of the same story! I was an idiot and left my flash-drive in my grandparents' car, so I had to wait several days before I could get it back. In the meantime I worked on this chapter for you. Enjoy!
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The first class with the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins came very quickly, and Snape found himself rather reluctant to face it. But he had not yet ever missed a day teaching at Hogwarts, and he was about to start now. So he fixed his permanent scowl on his face and strode down the halls to the door of his room, where he saw the two Houses standing apart from each other, scowling in their usual ways in their common rivalry. He sneered to himself, his attention focused mainly on the Gryffindors, who stood farthest from the door, trying their best to look intimidating.
Snape almost felt sorry for them. The little fools had no idea what it meant to be intimidating. Standing before Lord Voldemort—now that was intimidating. The Dark lord was insane, and for everyone who bowed before him, none knew if that moment would be their last; the smallest mistake could cost you your life. Scratch intimidating—to stand before Voldemort was terrifying.
Snape just hoped that none of them ever found that out.
Severus Snape may have been an oily bastard, but he did, in fact, have a conscience. He knew that there were things that were labeled morally and fundamentally wrong, and he had violated many of those such things in his service to the Dark Lord, before Lily's life was threatened and he turned to Dumbledore. He had done a lot of things that haunted him, things that had tortured him with guilt and self-loathing, things that had effectively rendered him forever un-forgiven. He was a damned man, and he had learned to accept that.
Common belief was that Severus Snape loathed the world and everything in it.
The truth was that Severus Snape hated himself most of all.
But he had learned to live with that, too.
"In," he growled to the students, giving them his best glare. They complied without argument, and he felt satisfied that he had not lost his touch at terrorizing students. Walking in after them, he slammed the door shut and strode up to the front of the classroom, where he had the potions for the lesson ready. He turned to the tables to see all the students seated, grouped to their Houses as usual. He glanced over to the farthest corner to his left, where he saw Potter and his precious friends Granger and Weasley sitting together.
He started them on their lesson, creating the Draught of Living Death, and made his rounds to inspect the students' working. Draco glanced at him as he passed, but neither smiled nor spoke, which did make Snape's foul mood become even darker. He knew that Draco thought he was trying to usurp Lucius Malfoy's position as the Dark Lord's right hand, but that had not prepared him to be cold-shouldered in such a way. He passed to the Gryffindors, hearing their conversations about meaningless things—and then caught a bit of Granger's words as she spoke to Potter and Weasley. She sounded utterly baffled.
"… and then the end of the story comes and we find out that this kid has been making up all of this as he went! He's really a patient in a mental home, and everyone he met were really in the mental home with him… it was so odd."
"Maybe the author was mad," Weasley suggested. "That seems to be the case for writers."
Granger sent him a glare over Potter's shoulder, who merely rolled his eyes and continued working. "There you go again, Ron!" she snapped. "You're automatically grouping everyone into the same category! I'll have you know that although the story was odd, it was still brilliantly written!"
"Okay!" Weasley backed off. "Okay, sorry. I'm sorry I insulted a book."
Snape rolled his eyes. At least some things were still normal.
A/N: Credit to those who know what book Hermione is talking about! Fourth chapter will be up whenever, but I'm starting college in two days' time, so I really have no idea when I'll be able to update any of my stories. But I will find time to do so!
On a completely different note, how many people have ever heard of or watched The Bumblebee Flies Anyway, based off the book by Robert Cormier? If you haven't, find it, watch it, and enjoy it. It's a beautiful story.