Sudden Relation
Chapter Three: I Must Respect My Superiors
Noel was very, very tempted to skip out on her detention with Umbridge. She was very tempted to tell her where she could shove her precious 'Defensive Magical Theory', and where she could go.
But then she remembered what Severus had said, about passing her classes, and really he was the only family she had. She bit down on her lip as she navigated the hallways, and came to a stop at Umbridge's door. She swallowed. She had never had to make anyone proud before, she had never really had anyone to make proud.
'Well, if I want to be a better person, I better start now,' she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in," the toad's voice called from the other side immediately after her fist connected with the wood. Noel scowled, before schooling her face and pushing the door open and stepping into the room. She was blinded for a moment as she saw the abundance of pink, and she felt like ripping her eyes from their sockets. The walls were pink, and covered with little plates with pictures of annoying, mewling kittens that each reacted to her appearance. There was a table sat aside where Noel assumed that she would be setting. Umbridge stared at her with a small smile toying at the corners of her mouth.
"You're late, Ms. Snape," Professor Umbridge simpered, "I would have assumed, seeing as how your father is always so punctual, that I would be seeing you here five minutes ago." Noel glanced at the clock and blinked in surprise.
"It just turned five o'clock," Noel observed, "I'm on time." Umbridge glanced at the clock, and the minute hand moved to one past five.
"Well, seeing as how we have wasted a minute, I'm afraid that you'll have to stay longer then I planned," she said innocently, tutting under her breath. Noel clenched her fists at her side: she had the perfect shot, if only she could punch her without getting another detention…
"You'll come here tomorrow at eight o'clock instead," the Toad's voice took her from her thoughts, and Noel raised an eyebrow inquisitively, "I have another student who's detention is much more…necessary then yours."
"You speak as if this detention is going to change my disposition," Noel barked out before she could stop herself. Umbridge raised an eyebrow, and smiled. Noel shivered as apprehension went down her spine.
"Oh, it is guaranteed to improve your behavior, Ms. Snape," Umbridge cooed. She briskly motioned to the small desk, "You are to sit here. I want you to write 'I must respect my superiors' until I deem it time to stop." Noel raised her eyebrows and barely kept herself from criticizing her. She remembered her promise to herself, and after one quick breath she had seated herself and moved to pull out her quill.
"Put that away," Umbridge said quickly, "You will be using one of my quills." Noel grimaced, already sensing that something was amiss, but did as instructed. It was very painful for her to do, seeing as how she was used to breaking the rules, not following them, but again she reminded herself that she was going to attempt to make her father proud, even if he seemed less then pleased to have her around.
She took the quill in her hand and observed it quickly. It was long, thin, and black. The point was extremely sharp, sharp enough so that it looked as if it could easily tear through someone's skin. Noel pursed her lips as many insults ran through her head, but otherwise she just glanced back up at Umbridge, who was grinning sadistically.
"Where's the ink?" Noel asked bluntly.
"You won't be needing any," Umbridge quipped as she turned her back to her and observed her kitten plates. Noel swallowed down her instincts, which screamed at her to drop the quill and run, before placing the tip on the paper and began to write in her best calligraphy.
There was a stinging sensation in the back of her hand as she reached the fifth line, and she grimaced before glancing at it. She was surprised to see her handwriting carved into the back of her hand, reading 'I must respect my superiors'. She growled deep in her throat, and Umbridge turned with a smile playing on her lips.
"Is something the matter?" Umbridge asked innocently. Noel glared down at her paper and felt her jaw clench angrily.
"Not at all, Professor," she snarled under her breath. Umbridge didn't notice and turned back around, finally taking a seat. Noel braced herself, and continued writing her best calligraphy.
If she was going to scar, then she would make sure it was as pretty as possible.
She was released from the pink chamber ten minutes before nine o'clock, and her hand was bleeding steadily. She didn't get nearly as many lines as one would expect, but her sure strokes made it nearly excruciating, and only served to deepen the scars. Noel didn't realize it, but she had tears slowly streaming down her face as she began her descent to the dungeons. Even though she belonged in Ravenclaw tower, she needed to get something to stop the bleeding before she fainted from blood loss.
"Come in," Severus' monotonous voice called from the other side of his office door. Noel pushed the door open with her other hand and Severus lifted his head, raising an eyebrow, "What are you doing-?" He was cut off as she lifted her hand and showed him her bloody hand, and he immediately stood and walked towards her.
"What happened?" he asked lowly, taking out his wand and murmuring "Episkey." When nothing happened, he frowned and narrowed his eyes.
"This is what Umbridge does for detention," Noel whispered under her breath, "She makes you write lines with a quill that uses your blood for ink." She was still crying, but her voice didn't waver. Severus raised his eyebrows, before murmuring a spell and clearing the blood away from her hand. He read the inscription and raised an eyebrow.
"You used calligraphy," he commented dryly, "That most likely made it more painful." Noel opened her mouth to respond, but the bell indicating curfew rang. Noel hissed out angrily, but Severus just sighed.
"I'll have to escort you to your common room," he said with a frown, "I'll give you a blood clotting potion so it will scab over, but otherwise there is nothing I can do."
"Are you sure?" Noel pleaded, catching him by surprise, "I don't want any more scars." Severus just watched her for a moment, before shaking his head.
"The only thing I know would erase most damage from sight, and Umbridge will just be as hard on you and you'll end up in worse condition then you are now," he explained. Noel clenched her eyes shut, but worrying her bottom lip.
"I'm going to need a blood replenishing too," she said, "I've lost a lot of blood." She swayed on her feet, and Severus quickly grabbed onto her shoulder and waited for her to regain her balance. She nodded, and he motioned towards a seat.
"Sit down; I don't need to explain why I'm carrying an unconscious student to the hospital wing," he sneered, and Noel flinched but did as instructed. She waited patiently as he grabbed two vials down from his private stores and placed them down in front of her. They both looked similar, and the only way to tell the difference between the two was the labels, one saying 'BC' and the other reading 'BR'. She took the blood replenishing first, wincing as it burned her throat, followed almost immediately after the blood clotting potion. Severus then handed her some gauze. She didn't wrap her hand too tightly, not wanting the bandages to stick, and let out a sigh of relief. Severus handed her some more gauze.
"So you don't have to go to the hospital wing to replace your bandages," he explained. She thanked him softly and stowed the roll into her satchel. She waited a moment until she was sure she could walk before she stood and pushed his chair back under his desk. He gave her an impatient look as she picked up her satchel, and she gave a small nod, and soon he was leading her back to her common room. They reached the knocker, and Noel turned to thank him.
"Don't get any more detentions," he said simply, before turning and stalking off as quickly as he had come. Noel felt her jaw drop open slightly, before tears began to build up. She quickly turned back to the knocker.
"My life is often a volume of grief, your help is needed to turn a new leaf. Stiff is my spine and my body is pale, but I'm always ready to tell a tale. What am I?" The knocker asked. Noel barely hesitated before answering, "A book," in a dull voice. The knocker nodded, and allowed her into the common room. She walked past all of the other students who didn't care to spare her a glance. She walked up the stares and softly opened and closed the door to her dormitory. No one else had gone to sleep yet, and the dormitory was empty. She was silent as she striped down and changed into her pajamas, before setting on her bed with her legs crossed and her head bowed.
'What did I do to disappoint him so much? I barely met him, and he looks at me like I'm a big fuck up, like I'm not even worth his time…'
She fell backward on her bed and observed the ceiling dully, counting cracks in an attempt to distract herself: it didn't work, and she groaned angrily and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her breathing hitched, and a few stray tears leaked from her eyes.
"S-Stupid git," she murmured, before turning onto her stomach and burying her face in her pillow and, eventually, falling asleep.
.
Noel awoke around seven in the morning, determined to make Snape's life a living hell as long as she could. Anger had swelled up in her with a vengeance, and the only thing that could quell it was lashing out at the perpetrator. She remembered her schedule and cackled softly: she had Potions first thing, as well as Herbology. She hesitated. She needed to plan this out. So, she got dressed, using her tie as a belt instead of a tie. She grabbed her satchel before leaving the dormitory and spotting Luna in the common room, watching the window with a dazed expression.
"G'morning, Luna," she said cheerfully. Luna angled her body slightly to face her, with a dreamy smile.
"Good morning," she said blissfully, "The sun is unusually bright today. I think that the wrackspurts will be more active now."
"Wrackspurts?" Noel asked curiously, coming to stand beside her and looking out the window curiously; indeed, the sun was very bright today.
"Yes, they like to float into peoples ear and make their brains go fuzzy," Luna explained, "They tend to be the reason students pay less attention in class, or walk into walls."
"Wow, Wrackspurts must really like my ears then!" Noel said with a grin, "I walk into walls all of the time!" Luna smiled at her but returned to the window. Noel kept smiling, "Well, I'm heading down to breakfast; I'm craving waffles."
"Watch out for Barnails," Luna cautioned, "They tend to like syrup; they eat away at you brain cells until you're reduced to an infancy state." Noel's back stiffened slightly, and she smiled, though her eyes didn't sparkle like normal.
"Maybe I'll stick with some nice fruits then," she said, "I'll see you later."
She didn't stick around to hear Luna's response. She hurried out of the common room and to the great hall, and turned too early when she got to the great hall, causing her to ram her shoulder into the doorframe.
"Damn wrackspurts!" She said angrily, rubbing her shoulder with a grimace and ignoring all the wide eyed stares aimed at her from the first years and the fifth years, and even a few years in between. She warily observed the room before taking a seat, and observed the first year in front of her. She had a very small build and looked as if a small amount of pressure would snap her in half. She had curly white-blond hair that ended at her chin and large, baby-blue eyes that reminded Noel of a baby.
"Oi, why are so many people staring at me?" Noel asked curiously. The girl gulped.
"W-Well, Professor Umbridge barged in during Professor Snape's first year class a-and mentioned you being his d-daughter…" she said shyly. Noel sighed.
"Dammit, now everyone's going to avoid me," Noel murmured, before grabbing an apple and taking a bite. She watched the first year curiously for a moment, before pointing at her, "You, what's your name?"
"F-Faith Barbu," the girl stuttered. Noel watched her for a moment with a calculating expression, before smiling kindly.
"How would you like to be my apprentice?" she asked, causing Faith to tilt her head in confusion.
"O-Of what?" she questioned. Noel shrugged.
"Of everything; magic, personality, hobbies, whatever. Basically, how would you like to hang out some time?" she simplified with a smile. Faith hesitated before smiling and nodding. Noel's smile widened, "Excellent! Right now, I plan on making Snape's life a living hell."
"Why?" Faith asked innocently. Noel hesitated, before smiling.
"Why not?"
Faith giggled, and Noel felt pride burst up inside of her; Faith seemed like a good kid, and she was very adorable. It made Noel just want to pinch her cheeks and squeeze the life out of her. She settled with ruffling her hair and offering her a bite of her apple, which Faith turned down politely.
"Okay, so I have Snape first thing and I need to think of things that will annoy him," Noel explained. Faith hummed slightly as they both began to think of ideas.
"Well, he doesn't seem to like much of anything," Faith said nervously. Noel sighed.
"I know, but we have to think of something he hates." She said in determination.
"You mean besides Potter?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow. Noel felt a spark of inspiration, and laughed ingeniously.
"Faith, you're bloody brilliant!" she complimented, causing the first year to blush.
"Th-thanks, but what did I do?" she asked curiously. Noel smiled and shook her head.
"You started an epiphany! Congratulations!" Noel said, before cheering loudly. Several people looked her way, but didn't say anything. Noel cackled, and Faith turned slightly apprehensive, but smiled shyly. Noel glanced at her watch, before nodding.
"I've got myself a Gryffindor to catch," she said, her gaze sweeping over the great hall until she saw the golden trio. She cackled softly, before saying goodbye to Faith and skipping over to Gryffindor table and taking a seat beside Harry.
"Sup, Harry?" she asked quickly, startling the three.
"Er…Hello, Noel," Harry responded awkwardly. Though they had lived together at Grimmauld Place for a few weeks, they hadn't actually talked much and it was slightly awkward to know that her father was one of his least-favorite teachers.
"I need you to do me a favor," she said softly under her breath.
"…what?" he asked cautiously. She coughed into her fist.
"Well, Daddy dearest has gotten on my nerves and I decided I want to get some sort of revenge," she admitted, "and I know one thing that will completely piss him off, and maybe give him an attitude adjustment." Harry shook his head quickly.
"He already hates me," he said, "there is no way I'm going to be able to go through they year if I piss him off now." Noel sighed and pouted.
"Please, Harry? I'll never ask you to help me again!" she begged, "I'll do anything you want!" Harry sighed.
"Fine. But I don't want involved in one of your schemes ever again," he said. Noel nodded with a large smile.
"Of course! Now, I need you to come with me," She didn't wait for an answer before grabbing his hand and dragging him down a few hallways, stopping and turning back, "Okay, Daddy Dearest always passes through this hallway to get down to the dungeons," she explained, "Tell me, how many birds have you snogged?"
"What?" Harry asked quickly, "you want me to snog you!"
"It won't hurt," Noel said with a roll of her eye, "I swear, you won't even notice my tongue ring-"
"This is complete barmy!" Harry said in a panicky voice, "Snape'll kill me!"
"Oh, I doubt it," Noel snorted, "Look, I won't ever ask you for anything ever again, and you don't even have to count it as a kiss! Simply…giving me a dental exam." Harry looked at her incredulously. She sighed, "Please?"
"No!"
The sound of footsteps came towards them, and Noel could hear the faint swish of a clock. Before Harry could react, she grabbed the front of the robes and twisted them around so her back was pressed against the wall. She yanked his hands down her hips, a bit lower then some would consider 'proper'. She wound her hands in his hair, whispered a quick sorry, before yanking his face down to hers and prying his lips open with her tongue. Harry was much too surprised to react as she took complete control, even going as far as to wrap her legs around his middle.
"Close your eyes, fucktard, you look like a fish," she hissed. He did so, mostly because it was too late to go now, when the footsteps neared them.
"Potter, Black."
Noel pulled away, gasping theatrically, before glancing at her father innocently, who was still walking towards them
"Yes?" she asked innocently. Harry looked mortified (technically, he had just been molested in the hallway) and Severus looked like he was smelling something foul.
"Ten points from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," he said monotonously, glaring at both of them. Noel waited for him to blow up, do something fatherly, but to her anger he walked right on past, leaving her with her legs wrapped around Harry. She hissed out angrily, before dropping down from him and crossing her arms in a huff. He hadn't even stopped his pace, hadn't even faltered.
"Can…can we not mention this to anyone?" Harry asked slowly, trying to block it from his memory. Noel raised an eyebrow.
"I know I'm a good snog," she said blandly, "but obviously I'm not important enough for it to matter!" she smacked him and huffed off, leaving Harry completely confused, with a burning cheek. He sighed in defeat before heading back to the Great Hall.
"Girls," he murmured.
To say Noel was furious would be an understatement. She sat on the couch in Ravenclaw Tower, ignoring the looks sent her way as the bell rang to indicate the beginning of first period. She felt tears build up from her anger, and she punched the couch angrily.
"What is his malfunction!" she screamed. She was breathing heavily, before she glanced at her watch. Class had started two minutes ago. She whimpered, before grabbing her bag and booking it down to Herbology. She ended up setting beside Lisa Turpin and Padma Patil, both of whom she had a low tolerance for. Luckily, Professor Sprout let her off of the hook because of her time turner, and had assumed that she had gotten a bit behind.
Noel didn't go to potions, and instead headed straight to Transfiguration with Gryffindor. Harry still seemed a bit confused, but otherwise she didn't really find him mentioning what had happened, though Ron and Hermione both looked at her strangely.
Lunch was terrible, and the only good thing that came of it was setting beside Faith, who was shyly picking at her food.
"H-How did you plan go?" Faith asked timidly. Noel scowled.
"Terribly. He didn't even care."
Faith made a soft 'oh' with her mouth, before looking at her sympathetically. She didn't mention it again, and Noel was thankful for her soft chatter about nothing, and her avoidance of mentioning potions and the like. Her attitude was actually improving, when she saw her schedule and discovered that she had to put up with Umbridge. Her hand began to sting and she looked down at her bandaged hand.
"Noel? What happened to your hand?" Faith asked softly, eyes filled with worry. Noel shrugged.
"Detention with Umbridge," she said angrily, "Promise me something, Faith. Promise me that, no matter how stupid Umbridge's class gets, or how annoyed you get, do not get yourself in detention with her." Faith watched her for a moment, and seemed like she was twice her age.
"I promise," Faith said softly, with a smile, "How can I help you out in secret if I keep getting in trouble?" Noel smiled at her, and felt her heart warm in adoration. It didn't matter that they barely knew each other, or that Faith was only eleven. She felt as if she had found something to protect.
"Can you maybe make me another promise?" Noel asked. Faith nodded. Noel grimaced, "Don't turn out like me."
She didn't give Faith a chance to respond and stood before walking out of the hall, feeling a pair of eyes boring into her back.
Noel managed to sit through the rest of her classes like a good student, and took notes on whatever the teachers said. She was polite, and she knew that she had most of the teachers wrapped around her pinky, especially Professor Flitwick. He was proud to have a student attempting to get twelve O.W.L.s, and he thought she was the sweetest girl, despite her pierced face. She almost chuckled every time she thought about the initial reactions to her face.
And then her good day came to a screeching halt as seven thirty rolled around, and Noel found herself heading down to Umbridge's office for her detention. She reached the door at Seven Forty-five, and waited for ten minutes when the door opened and Harry came out with a murderous expression and a bleeding hand.
"Hey Harry," she said softly, causing him to start in surprise and look at her. She was silent as she handed him a blood clotting potion and gauze. He wouldn't need the replenishing potion, because he didn't write as pretty. He raised an eyebrow.
"The blood clotting potion is to make sure it scabs over," she said, "and you obviously know what the bandages are for." He smirked slightly in amusement, before nodding.
"Thanks," he said.
"and I'm sorry about this morning," she continued, "I didn't mean anything by it…I was just annoyed and I took my anger out on you." He just nodded, murmuring an 'its okay', before walking off again. Noel then entered the office and saw Umbridge watching her with satisfaction.
"I was afraid you would be late again, Ms. Snape," she said in a sickly sweet voice, "How is you hand coming along? I'm sure you father would know of some sort of magic to heal it for you."
"Actually, he didn't," Noel bit out, though she didn't know why she was defending him, "He simply gave me a blood clotting potion and some gauze so it could scab over." Umbridge hummed slightly, staring at her fist.
"You did quite a number on your hand yesterday, Ms. Snape," she said, tapping her fingers on the table, "And you hand really was quite pretty. What a pity." Noel hissed slightly, and Umbridge ignored it, "Today, I think, seeing how much your behavior improved, you will be happy to find that Professor McGonagall needed some papers sorted through, and since you had already served one detention with me, I thought you would do well to serve your last detention with her."
Relief flooded through Noel, and she simply nodded in understanding. Umbridge smiled, and waved her off.
"Now, McGonagall is expecting you. I hope to hear a good report." She ordered. It only took Noel two seconds, and she was out of the office with tears burning at the corners of her eyes.
That woman was going to regret ever coming to Hogwarts.
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Disclaimer: I own nothing save for Noel Black (of no relation to Sirius Black). Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I claim nothing save for my characters and the plot.
A/N: Because every superhero needs a sidekick. O[]O And Noel is PISSED. This is just the begun a long, long battle between Noel, and Snape. MUAHAHA!
- B.E. Nomads
