Chapter 4

The Wrath of Professor Snape

Snape glared into those pleading blue eyes with fury just bubbling up inside of him. What is wrong with him Snape thought He knows I would not tolerate such impropriety and disrespect. He knows the consequences for such actions.. The anger flew through Snape's hand as he held onto Sage's color with his hand balled up around the fabric and his knuckles white. He's going to wish I had cursed him.

He pushed the boy back and then finally let go of his collar with a huff. Sage grabbed his neck and took a deeper breath.

 Snape crossed his arms over his chest looking so imposing that Sage fought back the desire to run out of there as quickly as possible, out of the castle, past the apparation line, and apparate to somewhere. Anywhere but in front of Snape. Sage was not easily intimidated, but Snape had always intimidated him.

Snape took a decisive step towards him and gave him a backhanded slap to the face. Taken aback, Sage just stood there stunned. Snape stared piercingly at him while the boy just looked blank. Finally, Sage put his hand up to his lip and then looked at his fingers. Blood. His lip was cut. Both stood there unmoving.

When Snape finally spoke his voice was laced with venom and cut through the air like a knife. "The next time you direct something like that to me, you'll be getting something back yourself. I'll not hesitate to curse you back. You know my expectations. You know the rules."

Sage shifted, "It just happened. I didn't direct it at you. I wouldn't. I swear. I didn't mean it, what I said. And the shoulder thing, whatever it was, I didn't-."

"Well, one more accident of that kind and you'll find yourself out of here. If you cannot control your… impulses, then you are dangerous."

"I'm not dangerous. I didn't want to hit you, sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you, FOCUS! Don't betray your emotions. Keep control of them and of yourself and this won't happen!" Snape spat.

Sage looked down. If he hadn't gotten angry about Snape's unfairness, it probably would not have happened. He berated himself for letting his temper flair, and at the Professor of all people.

"And, Sage, if you ever talk to me like that again," he grabbed the black-haired boy by the shoulder, "Ever again. I'll not just be packing you off home. You owe me better than that. You had better not forget it."

Just then the doors flung open again and Dumbledore strode in with McGongall in tow. Snape looked up, let go of Sage's shoulder, and crossed his arms again.

"Severus!"

"Not to worry, Albus, despite what countless students have tried to tell you, I am neither killing him, nor cursing him."

Both the other professors looked from Snape to Sage and back again. Sage's blue eyes were red with apparent terror. Snape's veins were pushed out on his forehead in anger. Apparently, they had missed most of the fireworks, because there surely had been some.

McGonagall's eyes immediately rested on the small speck of blood still present on the corner of Sage's mouth.

Snape looked to Sage, "We'll discuss your punishment later. Now, get out of my sight."

Sage grabbed his bag silently and beat a hasty retreat off the battlefield, nodding politely to the other two professors on his way.

Once Sage had left, the headmaster looked at the potion's master, "Now, Severus, what happened that countless students came flying out of the dungeons, up my stairs, and started screaming outside of my gargoyle as if Voldemort had sprung to life straight out of one of your cauldrons."

Snape smiled inwardly at the hysteria he had caused. Hastily he told both the headmaster and the head of Gryffindor what had happened before he angrily strode out to think of what to do to Sage.

Sage grumbled the password to the Fat Lady and stalked into the Gryffindor common room ignoring all the staring eyes. He made straight for the stairs, took them two at a time, entered the privacy of his room, and slammed the door behind him.

"What do you think Snape did?" Ron asked directed toward no one in particular.

Everyone looked at each other.

"I dunno, did you see the look Snape gave him!" came from Seamus.

"Neville did, he passed out," Ron answered.

Everyone giggled, but Neville.

"Wish I coulda seen it," Fred said smiling, "I'll never get another chance to see someone bash Snape like that to his face!"

"Me too, Snape deserves it," George put in. "The greasy git."

"Yeah, but detention for two weeks with Snape. Gods, I'd rather wander around the forest by myself," Harry said.

Hermione was strangely quiet.

"Whaddayou think, 'Mione?"

Hermione shrugged, "I don't think he should have talked to Professor Snape like that. It's not proper."

"Ohh give over, didn't it just feel kinda, well, good to see Snape get some of his own. Especially since it was backing you up?"

"For your information, Ron, I am glad someone said something to defend me, but I don't think that it was done the right way."

"Hey," interrupted Harry, "you know what I just realized?"

"What mate."

"Nobody's even mentioned that we lost twenty points because of that."

Ron smiled, "Yeah, that's because it was well worth the the points to see Snape so angry. We'll get it back on the Quidditch pitch anyway. Against Slytherin."

"That's what I was thinking," Harry said, "Wish I had the guts to say something like that though. I could make up the points on the pitch."

"You wouldn't have to worry about Voldemort, mate," Fred said, a strange smile on his face.

"Yeah," said George, "Likely we would never find your body after you leave for that detention!"

"Snape'd do you in."

Nobody saw Sage for the rest of the night. He hadn't come to dinner, and he'd been gone before all the Gryffindor's got back. His tutoring session with Snape had been particular hell, yes absolute fiery hell, Sage thought. Snape had decided to make him try the potion he had been instructed to make, which did something akin to making his skin feel like it was on fire. He was still rubbing his arms strangely, even after Snape graced him with the antidote after a minute or so. He took quite another tongue lashing for being so disrespectful to the Professor. Snape wouldn't forget what he had said to him anytime soon, and yes he did feel particularly horrible.

Sage only said that because for that brief moment, Snape did not seem like Snape to him. In fact, Snape had never acted like that around him. He was just so unfair. That was what had got his anger up. Now that he had time to reflect, he felt like he had committed some grave betrayal. Nobody had really ever paid as much attention to him as Professor Snape did. Nobody had ever tried to help him. Afterall, Snape had tried to make him a potion that would take away the pain of his attacks. Sage never really had the heart to tell him that it didn't really do anything other than stop his limbs from flailing around and help him to stay as calm as he could get in such pain. Nothing had ever numbed the pain of the attacks for him and they were getting steadily worse and he felt powerless to act against them.

I'm such a git. I was a big a one to him as he was to Hermione! Sage thought as he scrubbed. If I wasn't such an ingrateful idiot, I wouldn't be down here at 10:30 at night. He dunked the brush in the bucket again. Why did I feel the need to stick up for that Granger girl anyway? I don't even know her, nor do I care too. I just yelled at a Professor for her because she was accused of doing something she didn't do. How very chivalrous of me. Why should I have even cared? He furiously brushed hard on this stubborn bit of something that just wouldn't go away. Fine mess I'm in now. I'd 'ave done better to just keep my damn mouth shut. Nobody'd be angry with me, I wouldn't have detention. I had to go and say something stupid to defend someone I don't even know, only to piss off the man I already have to spend at least 2 hours a day with. He's right, I am a bloody idiot. Sage looked up around him, he was almost done. His arm hurt like a trunk had fallen on it, but he was almost done. He knew one thing… If Neville spilt anything on the potions classroom's floor after this, he would kill him. An hour and a half of his jolly arm work would not be immediately ruined. With his luck, he would have to do it again tomorrow night if anyone messed it up.

Snape looked through the open door and locked eyes with him. "Not done yet?" he said with incidious mock surprise. "Hurry up. I don't want to spend my whole night babysitting you." Before Sage could answer, he left again.

Babysit. Wouldn't have to babysit if you didn't insist that my detention had to be with you everynight. I could be filing papers, or polishing trophies, or roaming the forest with Hagrid. No, that wouldn't do, not quite bad enough for me, has to be exceptionally awful. Has to be scrubbing, with no magic mind you, the potion's floor. As if it would ever stay clean of disgusting muck. Now that Sage thought about it and was that close to it… it didn't look as if it had been cleaned in a long, long time.

By the time Sage had finished the whole floor, his fingers were rubbed raw from where he had been holding the brush. The knees of his khaki pants were soaked as were the cuffs of his sleeves. He had begun to loathe the fact that he always had to wear long sleeves. He was so unbearably hot. Once he managed to get up off the floor, his body was protesting, he dumped out the bucket and threw the brush back into it. He scratched his arm, stretched, and went to go find the potion's master.

The door to Snape's office was open and he could hear the scratching of a quill coming from inside. He knocked on the open door. Snape didn't move. He moved just inside the door anyway.

"Umm, sir, I'm done," he volunteered. The silence was uncomfortable.

"Indeed," Snape answered him scratching away at the paper. Sage stood there in the open doorway expecting Snape to continue. But, he didn't.

"Uhhh, it's after eleven, can I go now?"

"No, I do not believe it is for you to decide when you are done. Sit."

Sage closed his eyes, but then took a seat as he was asked. Snape looked up. It seemed as if he was appraising him.

"Is there something that you want to tell me," Snape asked Sage.

Sage's eyes went from left to right, completely at a loss for words. What does he want? Sage asked himself. "No, sir."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Yes," Snape corrected, his lip curling slightly with distaste.

"Yes, sir, I'm sure."

Snape looked back down at his papers. Sage thought he read disapointment there, or maybe an aggravation, he wasn't sure. "Fine, Sage. I expected more of you and better of you."

What does that mean, Sage thought.

Snape continued, "I will not allow you to act the way that those children do. Clearly a disappointment. Go."

Sage obligingly got up and turned to go.

"Sage…"

The boy turned back around. "Yes, sir?"

"Next time, consult your brain before opening your mouth. If you would have thought about what you were about to say in the classroom, as I am sure you are doing presently, you would not have done what you did. It is most unlike you, and I will make sure it does not happen again."

When Sage returned the Gryffindor common room was empty except for Hermione, Harry, and the red-headed Weasley boy whose first name he didn't know.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked with genuine concern.

Sage looked up at her, "Yeah, grand."

"Hey, uhh, that was great what you said," Ron piped in.

Sage looked at him, "Glad you think so."

"I mean Snape deserves it for how much he favors the Slytherins and picks on us."

Sage started walking toward the stairs again, "Not from me he doesn't."

"Wait, Ron's an idiot, don't go," Hermione pleaded. Ron threw her a dirty look. Harry giggled.

"I can see that," Sage answered, making Ron turn red. "Look, I just spent the last 2 hours of my night scrubbing the potions room's floor, before that 2 hours of tutoring, before that 2 hours of potions class. A grand total of 6 hours in a day with someone whom I have blatantly and horridly insulted and disrespected. So, I'm quite worn thin." Sage started walking again and finally made it up the stairs. Just as he was about to enter his room a tentative hand touched his back.

"I'm sorry, you know," the girl said. Didn't this Hermione girl ever quit.

"Don't be."

"Ummm, thanks, though, for standing up to him for me. It wasn't really the right thing to do, but I appreciate it anyways."

Sage looked back at her, his blue eyes were cold and unconcerned. "You're right, it was not the right thing to do, for you or for anyone else." He walked into the room and closed the door behind him.