Chapter Seven
Fallen Angel of the Half-Blood Princess
"So...about the comment you made about you being the 'half-blood princess', or at least that Crilli guy made," Erin started a couple of days later in Professor Moses's class. "Is that true? I thought your parents were pure blooded."
"No," Kristina shook her head. "Neither one is full-blooded. My mom is a muggle-born, my dad is half-blood. Actually, it's said that my mother's great-grandparents were squibs who married muggles, so the gene probably woke up in my mom. My biological grandfather, as I've recently found out, is a muggle, and my grandmother is a witch. My...Great-Uncle Tobias Snape was a muggle, born of a muggle family. However, my grandma is only half-related to Tobias. Her father was a wizard, but he passed when she was still a baby. So, Tobias and my grandmother's mother married a muggle, and that is how Tobias ended up as a muggle. If he'd been lucky enough, he may have been a wizard."
"So..." Erin started. "That's how Professor Snape is half-blooded. And that's how you are too. Man, and here I was only knowing that he was actually your cousin. None of the actual details. Dang."
"Yep," Kristina nodded.
"And that's why your grandmother never took on the surname of 'Snape'..." Erin realized. "Oh, that makes so much sense now!"
"Yeah..." Kristina nodded. "Basically found this out recently myself. I mean, I knew I was a half-blood, but still...Besides, purebloods are so rare. You really thought I was related to a bunch of pureblood supremacists?"
"Sorta," Erin offered an awkward laugh.
Kristina scoffed at her and smiled at her, "You're just silly, you know?"
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're friends with me," Erin responded. Suddenly, her eyes were tracing something and she fell silent. After the silence fell, Kristina looked up and followed Erin's eyes. Soon, her gaze locked with Alex Northam's cold gaze and suddenly, she was uncomfortable. Alex stalked across in front of Kristina and Erin. Their venomous tentacula was sitting still, for the moment. Professor Moses was helping a couple of students with studying their venomous tentacula, and he was unaware of what Alex was doing.
"Shoot," Erin muttered, following the goth girl with her eyes. "What's she going to do?"
"I dunno," Kristina whispered back. "I'm feeling pretty damn nervous though."
What they could not see was that her wand was precariously pointed at their plant. Kristina and Erin both wanted Alex to go away out of anxiety, but neither girl was brave enough to open her mouth. Alex offered a disparaging smile to them. Both girls returned it with glares.
"This is what happens when you piss me off!" she suddenly exclaimed, causing their plant to move its vines and try to attack them.
Kristina was the first to shout a string of curse words at it and she and Erin both moved aside so they could perform a severing charm on it. Professor Moses, however, beat them to it and he severed its arms. His chestnut eyes darted from the plant, to Alex, to the girls. Suspicion crossed his face as he returned his gaze to Alex.
"Holy crud!" Erin exclaimed.
"Alex..." Professor Moses started. "What did you just do?"
"Nothing, Professor," Alex smirked. "Everything is just fine over here."
"Yeah?" Professor Moses asked. "Then why's your wand out, Alex?"
Before Alex could speak, Kristina stepped back towards her and Erin's table.
"You purposely tried to sabotage our plant," Kristina told her with the most serious voice. Alex laughed, causing Kristina's face to turn a bright scarlet in both embarrassment and fury. Despite this, she tried to keep her voice steady when she asked, "You think this is funny?"
"Maybe you are smarter than I thought!" Alex snickered.
Professor Moses got in between them and glared at Alex, pointing to where she was supposed to be sitting. Alex stood there with a smug look on her face, Kristina and Erin both felt their anxiety flare-up. However, both girls knew Professor Moses to be a fair teacher, so they knew he was not about to take Alex's side in this. Judging from the look on his face, he knew exactly who was in the wrong.
"I'm not having a fight in my greenhouse," he told her in a cold voice. "Get out of Kristina's face, leave her and Erin alone, and go do your work. You're already far behind in your assignments anyhow. If this was your O. W. L., you would've failed."
"Not like I want to be an herbalist," Alex sneered. "This isn't an important class to me."
"Well fine, get out of my greenhouse then," Professor Moses snapped. "Blimey!"
"Nah, where's the fun in that?" Alex wondered.
"Get. Out." Professor Moses, who usually was calm, collected, and laidback, looked like he was about ready to scream at her. Professor Moses rarely showed anger. If he was angry, he usually would sit and quietly stew. If he was upset with his students, generally he simply lectured them at them. However, with the way he was currently acting, the whole classroom knew he was serious.
"Oh, well fine then," Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Not like I care." She spun around on her heels and stalked out of Professor Moses's classroom.
Exasperated, he sighed and then turned to look at Kristina and Erin.
"Get back to work," he told them hotly, unable to regain his temper for the moment.
"Thank you, Professor," Kristina thanked in a quiet voice.
"Y-Yeah," Professor Moses struggled.
Almost everyone in the classroom fell silent, then exchanged uneasy glances. They had never seen Professor Moses on the verge of losing his patience. In fact, no one thought it was possible for that to happen. After collectively deciding not to push any more of Professor Moses's buttons, they all sat in silence and continued working until the end of class.
Just as class ended, he took out one of his cherry pops and placed it in his mouth to begin sucking on. When class dismissed, Kristina and Erin both walked up to Professor Moses with concern.
"Are you okay, Professor?" Erin asked in a cautious voice.
Professor Moses glanced to the side, pulling the sucker back out of his mouth.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he told her. "I've...been rather stressed out. Sorry. I didn't mean to be harsh with you two earlier...Don't you two worry about me, you've enough on your plates at the moment."
"We just wanted to make sure you're okay," Kristina told him.
"You kind of did scare us," Erin added.
Professor Moses stuck the sucker back in his mouth and nodded.
"Yeah," he reassured them. "I'm fine. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you two."
"It's fine," Kristina smiled. "See you later, then!"
"See ya, Professor!" Erin said.
"See you guys later!" Professor Moses smiled.
Their next class was Transfiguration. Sure, they should have been perfectly fine now that Alex knows Professor Moses is not playing around with students who were being rude and knowing Professor McGonagall to be much worse. However, that apparently was not stopping Alex. She sat at a table near them and talked with her friends about what happened in Professor Moses's class, and then she began a new round of teasing.
"Look at Kristina," Alex told them, pointing at her. "Even without the nose, she looks just like Professor Snape. Like...if he had a button for a nose."
"My nose isn't a button..." Kristina touched her nose gingerly.
"Just ignore them," Erin reminded gently.
"Can you believe she's related to him?" one girl, another Slytherin by the name of Alyssa Thamesford, asked. "I mean, look at her!"
"She kinda looks like him though," another kid pointed out.
"Well I'm pointing out her personality," Alyssa reminded. "I mean, seriously. She's just this...shy little nerd with a penchant for potion-making."
"But she's such a teacher's pet," Alex reminded. "Just because they have different personalities apparently means nothing! I don't know how he can stand her!"
Kristina worked on transfiguring her rabbit into a vase, but it failed miserably because her mind was fogged up by the taunting. The rabbit was turned into a frog and it began hopping around in confusion.
"Goddammit!" Kristina cursed as Alex and her group of girls laughed at her.
"Miss Magi, please control your tongue," Professor McGonagall gently reminded. "It's alright, you almost had it. I know you're stressed, just keep practicing."
"R-Right..." Kristina swallowed hard and McGonagall caught the frog to transfigure back into a rabbit.
However, when McGonagall walked away to examine other students, Kristina again struggled to get it right. Alex and her friends were still rambling about her, and it was still bugging her.
"She's the same way with Professor Moses, let's be honest," Alex said. "She's a teacher's pet for all of the teachers."
"I swear to goodness if she doesn't stop," Erin growled under her breath. "This is getting really annoying."
"I know," Kristina agreed.
"I'm about to pop her in the eye again," Erin hissed.
"Don't," Kristina told her. "I don't want you to go to detention again for me."
"It was well worth it, and it wasn't the worst thing ever to be fair," Erin admitted.
"Don't," Kristina told her.
"Well, I can't let you do anything," Erin reminded gently. "You remember what happened last time, right? And you fainted afterwards."
"I don't remember what happened afterwards," Kristina reminded. "I only know what you and Uncle Severus told me."
"Just please don't do anything that could summon the demon," Erin told her. "Try to ignore it. If you need to, later on you can go find Professor Snape and tell him what Alex is doing and he can punish her."
"Well...Professor McGonagall has a better chance of stopping her, to be honest..." Kristina admitted.
"I don't think anyone does, really," Erin grumbled. "Just figured it'd be best for Professor Snape to punish her since he's the head of house."
"Nah..." Kristina muttered.
"Oh my God, have you ever seen Kristina's confused face?" Alex realized suddenly, causing both Kristina and Erin to glance over in curiosity. "She just sits there and makes this...face..."
And Alex attempted to recreate it in the ugliest way possible.
"And she was sorted into Ravenclaw! To think she is a Ravenclaw! No way! She's too stupid to be a Ravenclaw. She should've been a Gryffindor, at least then she'd have an excuse to be so dumb." Alex and her girls giggled.
"Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it..." Erin whispered to Kris. "Please ignore it, Kris."
"Professor McGonagall!" Kristina stood up quickly, her heart beginning to race. Professor McGonagall immediately stood up to look at Kristina, and the whole class's eyes were now on her. Embarrassment flooded Kristina, and doubt flooded her mind, but she knew she had to try for the sake of her grade. "Would you be so kind as to tell Alex and her friends to stop talking, please? They are distracting me, and they are making fun of me and Erin."
"Oh goodness, please..." Erin put her face in her hands. "Don't let this get out of hand..."
"Miss Northam, have you been making fun of Miss Magi and Miss Hartnell?" McGonagall straightened up and offered the group a glare.
"N-No..." Alex stammered. "No, she's taking it out of context!"
"There is no taking it out of context, Alex," Kristina snapped and McGonagall waved a hand at Kristina to be quiet.
"Twenty points from Slytherin," Professor McGonagall told her. "And I will be discussing this with Professor Snape, who will determine your detention."
"What? I wasn't bullying her!" Alex exclaimed.
"You kinda were," muttered Douglas Caprio.
"Shut up, you filthy mudblood!" Alex exclaimed.
"Like you have any room to talk, really," Douglas retorted. "Born of muggles yourself. And yet you think it's cool to bully other people for not being purebloods? Hypocritical much? Sheesh."
"Alright, I think she gets the point," McGonagall sighed.
"You don't get to talk about my parents like that!" Alex exclaimed.
"Miss Northam—"
Kristina immediately reached for her wand to stop Alex from hurting Douglas. Not wanting Kristina to cause more issues, Erin slapped at Kristina's hand. She retaliated by dropping her wand.
"Don't," Erin warned gently.
"She's about to attack poor Douglas!" Kristina exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"I know but I don't want you to get into trouble for defending him," Erin told her, also hushed.
"I'm not gonna get into trouble," Kristina pointed out.
"No, but your demon will complicate things," Erin reminded.
"Ugh," Kristina muttered.
"Kristina is a stupid half-blood," Alex snapped. "And she's a demon. She has no right to be here. All she ever does is whine too. Like why would you accept her staying here? Aren't you a teacher?"
"Yes, and I'm doing my job of protecting my students," McGonagall snapped. "I'm protecting her and I'm protecting you guys. Now if you don't sit down I will send you straight to Professor Snape, interrupting his class. He will not be pleased with you."
"Oh no, me ticking off Snape?" Alex asked. "Whatever shall I do..."
"Wow someone's a bit ballsy," Kristina muttered.
"No crud," Erin agreed.
"You know what, Northam," McGonagall started and she quickly scribbled out a note. After finishing it, she gave it to Alex and pointed out of her classroom, "Out. Go to your Head of House and give him this note!"
"Oooh I'm so scared," Alex told her.
"My gods what is her problem?" Kristina bared her teeth.
"You're my problem," Alex told her as she stalked by.
"I hope you get expelled," Kris muttered as she left. "Bumbling fool."
"You do sound like Snape," Erin told her.
"Mm," Kristina shrugged. "I try."
"Oh dear," McGonagall shook her head. "The nerve of some children!"
"Mate," came Douglass. "I can't believe Alex had the balls to say any of that to you, Kris."
Kristina felt her chest tighten up, "I need a few minutes, Professor. May I be excused?"
"Certainly, Miss Magi," Professor McGonagall agreed.
Kristina stood up and left the class slowly. She did not want to startle any one, or cause any harm to herself by accident. Her chest already felt tight, she did not need that to get any worse.
"Shit," she cursed. "What's going on with me? This can't be another demon attack. You better not..."
Anxious, Kristina began clenching her hands into fists and she felt the sweat in the palms of her hands.
"Gross," she muttered. "I'm sweating and hot. What's going on..."
Looking around, she found the bathrooms and headed in there so she could calm down in solitude. She went into a stall and locked the door, sitting down on the floor to breathe.
"Goddess bless..." she muttered. "Stupid demon. I hate you. Why don't you leave me alone already?"
"Hey! You're in my bathroom!" came a shrill voice.
Kristina looked, "Huh? Oh, Moaning Myrtle..."
The ghost girl, wearing pigtails, examined Kristina.
"You're a Ravenclaw," she murmured. "And you're really pretty."
"Thanks, I suppose," Kristina blushed.
"You can stay," Moaning Myrtle told her. "You here to cry?"
"Er, not entirely," Kristina's mouth twitched.
"What brought you to my bathroom?" Myrtle asked, curious.
"I uhm...just needed to get away..." Kris muttered.
"Understandable," Myrtle agreed.
Kristina nodded distantly, wishing this stupid demon would leave. Her stomach grew queasy and she bit down on her bottom lip. This was not going well. At what point should she go see Uncle Severus? She could almost hear him demanding her to come see him now.
"Do you have a demon attached to you?" Myrtle asked.
"I...yeah..." Kristina nodded. "Why? You see it?"
"I can..." Myrtle nodded behind Kristina.
"Well that's great," Kristina's sarcasm was evident. "Sorry to cut this visit short, Myrtle, but I think I need to see my uncle Severus."
"I understand," Myrtle nodded.
Kristina forced herself back up onto her feet and unlocked the stall door.
"I hope you make it to your uncle all right," Myrtle hoped.
"Thanks," Kristina thanked, leaving the stall and heading out of the bathroom. As soon as she left, the warmth flooded her body and the nausea proceeded to get worse. "Ugh." She stumbled a little, mainly from her usual clumsiness, and she eventually got to her uncle's office, where he was standing and reading McGonagall's letter to him. Alex stood in front of him, hands on her hips.
"Tsk, tsk, Miss Northam," he clenched the letter and tossed it on his desk. "Really! What makes you think you have the right to bully Kristina? Bloody abyss, child."
"And yet you're always bullying other students," Alex pointed out. After Professor Snape bared his teeth in frustration, Alex continued after she noticed she hit a nerve. "What are you going to do about my behavior, Professor?"
"I'm going to give you detention," Professor Snape snapped with impatience.
"But it's okay for you to bully other students?" Alex asked.
"I don't bully, Northam. I teach them to take a joke, unlike you who outright bullies Kristina," Snape replied.
"Whatever," Alex sneered. "You're such a shit teacher."
"Another week of detention, Northam," Snape responded. "I can keep going."
"Ooh I'm so scared," Alex put her hands up to her face.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Office," Snape snapped in irritation. "And don't you dare come back."
Alex shrugged and turned around. Her face lit up when she saw Kristina and she smirked. Before Kristina could move Alex quickly brushed past her, purposely knocking right into her shoulder and knocking Kristina back some.
"Ouch!" Kristina squeaked.
"Oh, excuse you," Alex snapped.
"Oh go kiss your bitch's ass," Kristina snapped. "I'm not in the mood."
"Oh, why? Did my words hurt your wittle feewings?" Alex mocked.
"Bugger off," Kristina snapped, starting to shake from a sudden adrenaline rush.
"Oh! Wait, it's your demon! I see, your eyes show it," Alex gestured at her eyes.
"Piss off," Kristina reiterated. "Or I swear to fricking Odin..."
"Kristina, that is enough," she heard Professor Snape say.
"There should be a rule at school stating under no circumstances should there ever be a demon, and as soon as one is found they should be expelled," Alex sneered at Snape.
"What did I tell you, Northam!" Snape snapped. "GO!"
"Fine, fine, whatever," Alex shrugged at Professor Snape and stalked off.
"My god," Professor Snape growled. "Where do we get some of these snots from?"
Kristina was still shaking from the adrenaline, her mind clouded with anger and anxiety, "D-Dunno, S-Severus..."
"My dear...are you okay?" he asked her gently.
"Not particularly," Kristina responded.
"Whatever she said about you is not true in the slightest," Professor Snape reminded.
"She is such a bitch!" Kristina screamed out with tears in her eyes. Then, she gave a frustrated cry, "Argh! Bloody imbecile!"
Professor Snape flinched a little at the volume of her voice and sighed.
"I'm sorry," he apologized gently.
"She said I shouldn't be a Ravenclaw! That I should've been sorted into Hufflepuff! I'm not a Hufflepuff, I'm a Ravenclaw! How fucking dare she!" Kristina's voice was shrill with anger.
"I..." Professor Snape stopped when Kristina opened her mouth again.
"Sh-She—She tried to get our plant to hurt us in Professor Moses's class!" Kristina exclaimed, starting to cry. "Then she fucking laughed about it. And then they picked on my looks! A-And—ARGH I HATE HER SO FUCKING MUCH SEVERUS!"
"I know you do," Professor Snape started calmly.
"I want her to stop!" Kristina cried.
"I know..." Professor Snape agreed. "I do too."
"I'm so bloody pissed!" Kristina exclaimed.
Professor Snape chose not to make any sort of comment on that. He knew anything he said about that would worsen her anger.
"I wish she'd just lie down and die!"
"Now now, Krist—" Professor Snape paused. Wait, no he could not say that. He thought the same things with his bullies. "Erm..."
"Fuck!" Kristina hiccupped, grabbing Professor Snape and embracing him. After that, she fell into a silent sob. Glancing around, he sighed and placed his arms around her and held her in comfort. Although her sobs were silent, her attempts at breathing were not as she struggled to catch her breath. Underneath his hands, he felt something soft and when he looked, he saw those same black wings he saw a few weeks ago. The realization that this was serious hit him hard. "I-I hate her so much...I want her to stop, Uncle Severus," Kristina whimpered.
"Dearest child, I need you to calm down," Professor Snape told her.
Kristina hiccupped again and clutched his jacket, "I don't feel so good."
"You need to calm down," Professor Snape urged.
Kristina let go and put the back of her hand up to her mouth, fighting the nausea.
"Oh dear me..." Professor Snape sighed.
"Mh..." Kristina swallowed hard.
"Sh..." Professor Snape shushed her. "Calm down, my child."
"Mm..."
"Sh..." Professor Snape gently stroked her face with the back of his hand. "Calm down, Kristina. You can't afford to let the demon take control again. If she escapes again, you will faint and miss more class. And you will be in trouble with the ministry. Can't have that, now can you?"
His voice was soothing Kristina slowly. After forcing herself to take in deep breaths, she soon calmed down and was able to breathe normally again. Professor Snape took a step back to examine Kristina. The feathered ebony wings were still there, and her eyes still crimson and teary. Her face was red and wet from crying, and little did he know her face felt numb from the crying. Her hair was slightly curled like it was damp. Anxiously, she wiped at her eyes as more tears filled them again. Her demeanor and current, disheveled appearance made her appear as some sort of fallen angel. Perhaps that's what she was, Professor Snape mused. At this stage of the game, anyway.
"I don't feel good, Uncle Severus," she told him after a few moments.
"I know you don't," he told her. "Come, I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey and she'll give you a freshly brewed potion to soothe your stomach."
"You don't have one?" Kristina asked.
"Unfortunately, no," he put his hand on her shoulder and led her to the nurse.
"Don't you have class right now?" Kristina asked.
"I do...but they're fine for the moment," Professor Snape told her. "They just started. Much like your Transfiguration class just started."
"Okay..."
He quickly escorted her to the hospital wing just around the corner.
"I-I'm sorry," Kristina apologized.
"No, no need to apologize my dear," Professor Snape assured her. "It's bad to hold it in, I'm glad you vented it."
He opened the door to the hospital wing and led her inside.
"Alright, just...just sit down...and I've got to return to my class," he told her.
Kristina sat down on the bed and nodded, "Thank you, Uncle Severus."
"Of course, my child," he responded. "Love you..."
"Love you too..." Kristina sighed and watched him turn around and swiftly stalk out of the hospital wing.
