A/N: Not much of this is mine. Only a little bit. I make no money writing this. It's only for my enjoyment.
Chapter Six
I forced the lump in my throat down and smiled up at Fred.
"Hello Fred, Angelina. It's great to see you both." I said as I looked at them both.
Fred let go of Angelina and stepped towards me just as the fire in the fireplace turned a bright green.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry to bother you again, but could you send Miss Black through?"
I never thought I would be so happy to hear Severus Snape, the great bat of the dungeons, talking. I thanked Mrs. Weasley for her hospitality, said goodbye to my friends, and floo'd to Professor Dumbledore's office. I stumbled through and would have fallen if Professor Snape hadn't caught me.
"Thank you, professor." I said and he just grunted at me.
I smiled at Professor Dumbledore and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. He picked up a bowl and held it out to me.
"Lemon drop?" he offered.
I refused politely and looked down at my clasped hands.
"I suppose explanations are in order. Severus has told me what has occurred as of late, and I want you to know that we are doing everything in our power to find Rabastan Lestrange. Severus also relayed that you believe that Rabastan would join the Order, faithfully, if given the chance." Dumbledore said, looking at me over the rim of his half-moon spectacles.
"Yes. I fully believe that. Rabastan is a good man at heart. He… he's made some mistakes, done terrible things, but I know that he's not his brother." I replied strongly.
"Well, we're looking for him adamantly. As for what we are going to do with you, you will begin training with Professor Snape as soon as term starts. He will be teaching you Occlumency, and will be your friend and confident." As Professor Dumbledore spoke, I found everything he said more and more amusing.
"Friend and confident? Severus Snape, the tall, dark haired man behind me that hated my father and hates me as well? The man would much rather set me on fire." I declared before going into a fit of laughter. This was rich.
"I would never intentionally hurt you, Miss Black." Professor Snape's voice traveled over my laughter.
"She knows that, Professor. I think that she just needs sleep." Professor Dumbledore said. "Now, you're going to make a room for her in your quarters?"
My laughter choked to a stop at Professor Dumbledore's comment.
"A room for me in his quarters? I'm not living with him!" I exclaimed.
"There are still many people who wish you harm, Jedda. Students who are children of Death Eaters will try everything in their power to hurt you, or take you back to Voldemort. We cannot take any chances with you."Professor Dumbledore's voice left no room for arguing.
"Come with me, Miss Black." Professor Snape said and I heard the door open.
I stood up slowly and turned around to face my professor. He swept out of the room quickly, his long black robes billowing behind him, and I followed as quickly as I could. His strides were long and quick, and my short legs couldn't keep up very well. I was running by the time we reached the dungeons. He came to a sudden stop and I slammed into his back. The professor turned and looked down his nose at me.
"Perhaps you should get your eyes checked, Miss Black." He said silkily.
"Perhaps you should give me some warning before you come to a dead stop after making me run to keep up with you!" I replied hotly.
He glared at me before turning to the portrait on the wall and saying, "Asphodel". The portrait swung open and Professor Snape walked in. I followed slowly, not quite sure what to expect. I was standing in a nicely sized sitting room that had floor to ceiling bookshelves everywhere. There were four doors that led from the sitting room, a large grandfather clock ticked loudly in the corner, and every other space was occupied by bookshelves. A fire was crackling nicely in the fireplace, and there was a couch and a cushioned chair that both looked very comfortable.
"My bedroom and my office are off limits. You, under no circumstances, are to enter either of those rooms. I took the liberty of having some clothes picked out for you. They are in the wardrobe in your room. The kitchen is through that door, and house elves will be happy to help you." He pointed to each door as he talked about it. "I am going to my office. Dinner is at six, we being training at seven. If you need anything, knock on my door."
I nodded quietly and watched him leave the room. His door shut loudly and I got the message; don't need him. I walked slowly to the door of my new "room" and opened it. My eyes widened at the sheer magnificence of the room. The room was shaded with light blue and lime green; two colors I wouldn't have expected Professor Snape to have picked out. There was a large canopy bed colored in light blue and lime green situated in the far right corner, along with a black desk not far from it. A black chair was pushed under the desk. My eyes wandered to the rest of the room and found two bookcases full of books, a large wardrobe, and the door to a walk in closet. I opened the wardrobe and found school robes, every day robes, jeans, shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, scarves… it was amazing how much was in there. How much did this cost? I wondered quietly to myself. And why did Professor Snape go to all of this trouble? When I opened the closet my eyes widened even more. Shoes were lined in perfect rows in the bottom of the closet. School shoes, flip flops, high heels, boots, slippers… All colors, all types, all brands… Dresses, skirts, blouses and other dressy clothes were hung neatly in the top of the closet. I went to the bookshelves and started picking through the titles. You had the basic books, your standard books of spells, magical history books, and personal biographies. As I looked towards the bottom of the shelves I found books on potions of all types. I picked one up and flipped to the table of contents. I fell back onto my legs, sat cross legged, and let myself get caught up in the book. Before I knew it, the grandfather clock in the sitting room struck six and I was jerked out of my book. I stood up slowly, laid the book on my bed and headed into the kitchen. Professor Snape was already sitting at the table that was set and full of food. Roast beef, chicken, potatoes and different types of vegetables were stacked on the table. He had a glass of what looked like firewhiskey in front of him, and there was a glass of water in front of the other place setting.
"I wasn't sure what you ate, so I had the house elves bring two types." He said quietly as I sat down.
I nodded and filled up my plate. It was silent as the only sounds that were heard were the clink of silverware on plates. I took a sip of my water and looked up at my dark professor. He cut his roast beef into medium sized bites, stabbed the meat rather… savagely, and then placed it in his mouth slowly. He chewed with precise, calculated bites, and his Adams Apple bobbed as he swallowed.
"Something interesting you, Miss Black?" He asked as he caught me looking at him.
I jerked out of my trance and looked into his dark eyes.
"Um, no, sir. I just, uh, never mind."
He looked at me curiously and went back to eating and I averted my eyes to my plate from then on. I started eating again, but stopped when Draco's face came up in my mind.
"Professor, is Draco on our side now?" I asked curiously, still staring at my food.
I heard him clear his throat and set his silverware on his plate. "I'm not at liberty to say, Miss Black. Whilst I assure you that we are in very hot water with the Dark Lord, I cannot disclose another's allegiance without their consent."
I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "You could've just said that you can't tell me, Professor. You didn't need to choose your words so carefully."
"You are so very like Miss Granger sometimes." He said under his breath as he finished off his glass of firewhiskey.
"Oh, am I? Does that mean I am to assume that you have been… paying extra attention to Hermione?" I grinned up at him, just to see how he'd react.
The Professor stood up quickly and slammed his chair into the table harshly. "She is my student." He hissed and then walked out of the kitchen.
I was only joking with him, to get a rise out of him. Of course, I never expected him to react so strongly… My eyes widened with a realization. Maybe he reacted so strongly because he had been paying extra attention to Hermione. I stood up and quickly followed him into the sitting room.
"You have feelings for Hermione!" I exclaimed as he stopped in front of his bedroom door.
I immediately regretted the words as they came out of my mouth. His shoulders tensed and he turned around to look at me slowly. Fire blazed in his eyes and if looks could kill, I'd have been on the floor bleeding to death. Slowly. Before I knew it, I was against the wall with a hand lightly around my throat.
"Listen very carefully, Miss Black. My feelings, relations, or engagements with Miss Granger, or any other person for that matter, are none of your business. Next time, I suggest you keep your thoughts and revelations to yourself." He hissed my ear.
I nodded quickly and watched him retreat into his bedroom. The door slammed so hard that the bookcase against the wall shook and the books looked like they were going to fall. I waited to see if the books would fall, and if the professor would come back. Neither happened.