Hello everyone, I'm sorry I have not updated in so long. Life kind of got in the way of writing for a little bit. I went to live in England for awhile and now I just graduated from university. So, please forgive my absence. Without further ado, let's get on with the story.

Ch. 10 Changes

It had been two days since the Slytherin scrimmage match and yet the school was still buzzing about it. Snape had done the unthinkable. Not only was he was a school pariah who'd climbed the social latter by winning the spot of seeker, but he'd also managed to knock a pure-blooded Slytherin down a few notches in the process. Now the student body wondered what would come next.

"Do you reckon Gryffindor is going to have to up the ante now for the match with Slytherin?"

"Happy to see that his Malfoyness has been dethroned, but now we have to deal with Snape!"

"I don't care how weird Snape is, thank God someone kicked that wanker, Malfoy, to the curb."

"You know…Snape isn't all that bad looking once you get past the hair."

Severus walked into the Great Hall and was met by jovial greetings from a few of his housemates, something he had slowly become accustomed to in the past few days.

He caught Zabini's eye; the boy gave him a toothy smile. After responding with an awkward nod, Severus picked up a fork and dug into his French toast before turning to his book to catch up on reading from the night before, completely oblivious to the conversations going on around him.

After a few moments, he glanced up and scanned the Gryffindor table.

Another meal and she still isn't here. She's going to starve pretty soon if she is that adamant about avoiding me.

That wasn't necessarily true. Severus wasn't sure if Ella was actually avoiding him per se. All he really knew was that outside of class he hadn't seen her since the Quidditch match on Saturday night and he was beginning to get anxious.

They usually had potions sessions on Sunday nights and after the match Severus didn't know what to think. No matter what they thought of each other they had an agreement and she had fulfilled her half. He was determined toi fulfill his. So he went to the Room of Requirement as usual at 7:00 that Sunday evening. He usually studied while he waited for her. The room always had everything they needed set up and ready to go, so he opened his books and began to study.

Two hours later Ella still hadn't shown up.

She came to my Quidditch match… but now she's too prideful to come get the tutoring she really needs?

He didn't know what to think, other than perhaps "Well, that's it then". Their agreement was over. Yet for the past two days he kept having this nagging feeling in his stomach whenever he thought about her and found himself searching for her at mealtimes.

Severus took one more look at the Gryffindor table before returning to his reading, unaware of the attention he was creating among a specific group of Gryffindors.

"He's looking over again!" exclaimed James.

"Well, maybe it's because you lot won't stop staring at him!" said Lily as she gave Sirius, James and Peter all accusing glares.

For the past few days, Snape, whether he realized it or not, had captured the surprised curiosity of most of Hogwarts Quidditch community. Despite the fact that the match had ended two days ago, there were still whispers over Snape's performance and proven capability at Quidditch. Many like Sirius and James were beyond confused as to how the hated Slytherin, who had only two months prior been denied a position on the Slytherin Quidditch team, was now the star of it.

"Maybe he used some sort of potion you know how good he is at that stuff!" Sirius suggested.

"Or maybe he charmed the broom…." James said excitedly.

"Or maybe…he actually has been practicing and was able to win the match on his own." Lily said once again trying to stop the annoying theories.

"Hey, where's Ella? She hasn't been around at meals much," Sirius asked, interrupting Lily's thoughts.

Lily blinked and looked over at Sirius.

"We have that big potions exam coming up. She's been spending every waking moment in the library studying. I get the impression we won't be seeing much of her for at least a few days." Lily frowned, "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be studying for the same exam?"

Sirius leaned back on the bench, folding his hands behind his head and letting what could only be described as a truly self-assured expression dawn his face.

"Who needs to study when you've got a face like this?"

James smirked as he bit into another slice of toast, "Yeah, didn't you have that same school of thought last time we had a test? You know, where you tried to 'woo' McGonagall?"

"She'll come around, she just didn't know what she was missing." Sirius said as he made a gesture of blowing on his fist.

"So, what are you going to do if Slughorn realizes her loss is his gain?" James remarked.

Sirius choked on his pumpkin juicesending everyone into a fit of laughter.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ella awoke to a house elf gently shaking her.

"Miss! Miss! You must wake up, breakfast is nearly over and morning classes start soon!"

Ella sat up and rubbed her eyes as she looked around. She had bounced between the library and the Room of Requirement all weekend. After the library shut down last night she came here to continue studying. She had Flooed Beabea Sunday morning after missing lunch and requested that the elf bring a tray up from the dining hall. Since then Beabea had periodically been bringing in food and checking in on Ella.

The house elf pressed a hot cup of tea into her hand and set a plate of eggs and bacon before her.

"Thanks Beabea," Ella said gratefully.

Ella let her memories rise to the surface as she ate. She'd walked away from the match last Saturday with a new determination.

The match had been the stuff of legend, and students would be whispering of it for years to come, not only because it was the first in house match in decades, but also because it was the downfall of a Malfoy.

Severus flew brilliantly. He made all the right moves and maintained a level head up there. Even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, deep down she knew she was proud of him.

But that was where it would end, for her.

After walking away from the match she had come to a decision.

Dumbledore was right. She'd done the same thing to Severus that Malfoy did to her. She put him in a tidy little box; one Slytherin was as bad as the other, just like one mudblood was just as filthy as the other. She felt ashamed as once again her own words came back to haunt her.

"You stood there just like the rest of them!" Ella cringed at the memories. I'm just another `stupid mudblood bitch to you!'

Dumbledore had been right, but he had also forgotten one thing. He said after everyone else tells you you're different, you start to believe it yourself. Maybe Severus believed that fantasy until it became truth. An ugly truth, but a truth no less. Maybe Severus wasn't like the rest of them after all. But as far as Ella could see he wasn't any better. His actions—pr rather, lack of action—had spoken for itself. He would stand aside and let her rot on the side of a road rather than help her all for the sake of heritage. He himself had admitted he didn't know what he would do.

So, at the end of the day Ella had every proof she needed in the matter of her relationship concerning Severus Snape. Nothing had changed. He would treat her as disdainfully as he would have before they ever entered into their bargain.

She had to let it go. Whatever feelings of friendship she may have felt towards him she needed to forget. She had fulfilled her part of her the agreement. She would not hold him to his. She would find some other way to get through her potions exam.

Ella brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was chillier now and the thick sweater she'd dawned early in the day was not nearly as cozy as before. Still, she faced the cold and turned her thoughts back to Severus.

Eventually the betrayal that still lingered would dissipate and all feelings of friendship or friendly acquaintance she may have felt towards Severus would disappear. She would forget him.

…or at least try to.

Which was the reason Ella had gotten so little sleep since that Saturday. She spent all of her waking moments dedicated to studying and not thinking about Severus Snape. She was determined more than ever to pass this potions exam, but also to do it on her own. She didn't need him. She would do whatever it took, even if that meant downing countless anti-sleeping potions to keep her up through the night.

Ella finished her breakfast and felt a tug at her sleeve. Beabea was back with a Gryffindor uniform pressed and prepared.

Time to start my Monday morning.

XXXXXXXXXX

Severus had just come back from the library to grab a few things from his dorm before heading off to potions. He had not seen Ella in the library, not that he had been looking for her.

He'd tried to keep out the way of many of his housemates since Saturday's match. Slytherin was a traditional house that prided pure blooded families. Unfortunately that made Malfoy a somewhat revered figure. Those who didn't suck up to him or fear him were generally bought off, and everyone else tried to stay out of his way. But Saturday's match proved to be a bit of a conundrum in the Slytherin house. People didn't know if they were supposed to be happy at Severus` win because he was a new hope to bring back the quidditch cup, or hate him for taking their "dear' leader's place on the team. So when in doubt over what to decide…Slytherin chose both. When Severus entered the room everyone was congratulatory. But as soon as Lucius came into sight they all made a big show of saying how Lucius had been robbed and how it was a disgrace to the quidditch team to have Snape take his place.

Snape made his way through the common room without anyone noticing, as they were all too wrapped up in conversations of their own. He unpacked a few books to lighten his load momentarily, only to replace them with other books from his desk. After grabbing some extra quills and parchment he was off again.

As he made his way through the common room, he didn't quite make it to the door before he was approached by a short 6th year with black hair. The boy's name was Russel Sipes.

"Snape, great game over the weekend. Sure you'll be a great help for the team."

Severus was about to nod and keep going when Sipes put his arm around him—or at least tried to what with their difference in height—and walked with him out the door.

Before Severus could say another word, Sipes looked behind them and said in a low voice, "If you need something stronger than your average calming draught to help handle the stress of N.E. and the pressures of the team, you just let me know eh?"

Severus shrugged off Sipes' hand and raised his eyebrow. "Thanks Sipes, but I think I'll manage."

Sipes laughed a little, "Alright mate, just putting it out there. But in case you change your mind there isn't anything I can't get you. You may be great at potions, but certain ingredients aren't exactly available to everyone."

Snape gave him a pointed look, now getting annoyed "Like I said, I'm not in the market for a golden ticket to the bloody pink elephant rodeo. So bugger off."

As soon as Sipes turned back to the common room, Severus looked at his watch and cursed. After throwing his satchel over his shoulder he made a dash for the dungeons.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Mr. Snape, so good of you to join us." Severus was panting from all the running he had just embarked on to get here, only to discover he was five minutes too late. He half expected to have points deducted, but Slughorn seemed rather preoccupied with what he'd been talking about before Snape's entrance. As Snape made his way to his work station he looked over towards Ella, who was staring down at a blank sheet of paper on her desk. She didn't even look up when he came in.

Fine, if that's the way it is then that's that. We made a deal, she fulfilled her end and I attempted to fulfill mine. The fact that she didn't show up for potions tutoring is her decision. Fine. Great. Whatever.

Even as Snape recited this to himself he couldn't help feeling a strange sensation in his gut. It was as if his stomach had turned and twisted into various knots that would not unwind. Just as he was beginning to contemplate why he was feeling this way something in Slughorn's speech made him stop.

"All right class. Now I know that the test is coming up at the end of next week, but I feel it is important for you to evaluate where you are right now, so that you know what you need to work on for the upcoming test. So, I have decided we are going to have a pop quiz. Please get out a fresh sheet of parchment and quill to record the steps you have taken in creating the potion and your justification for the ingredients you use. No talking. You will have one hour to complete this potion, then you will have the rest of the period to read chapter five in your textbooks. Due to the fact that this particular potion takes two days to simmer before drinking I will grade you by the color and texture of your potion as well as the steps you outlined in your notes."

With a flick of his wand, the blank chalkboard behind Slughorn suddenly illuminated the name of the potion, the Polyjuice Potion, written out in Slughorn's loopy script.

Severus glanced over at Ella again and this time he saw a look of undeniable concern on her face as she read the name of the potion. Snape knew what that meant.

We haven't gone over this potion in our sessions together. In fact if she'd shown up to tutoring the other night like she was supposed to we would have reviewed this.

His stomach gave another flop as he saw her anxiously try to write down what ingredients she might need, only to scratch them out.

No, this is her fault. She should have swallowed her pride and gotten over her anger with me and shown up to the lesson. She needed my help. Her pride shouldn't have mattered!

Only after he'd watched her finally get up to grab several ingredients from the store room did he realize he needed to get started. He knew how to do this potion and knew exactly which ingredients to get. He got up to follow her into the storeroom, hoping to catch her eye. She wouldn't even look at him. Snape opened his mouth to say something sarcastic but saw Slughorn watching them like a hawk, making sure no one was giving away answers.

Finally putting himself in the mindset of completing the task at hand, Severus gave up on any thoughts of Ella and returned to his work station where he immersed himself in completing the potion.

An hour later…

Severus had just finished writing his justification for why one should finely shred the boomslang skin for the potion, when Slughorn announced that their time was up and that they should hand in their notes to him immediately. Snape bottled his potion and handed it to Slughorn along with his notes. As he headed back toward his desk he saw Ella frowning at her own cauldron. He stopped himself from looking at the potion to see how it had turned out.

You don't need to look at the potion, because you don't care if it turned out great or terrible.

Once again stern in his thinking, Severus lost himself in a text he had collected from his room earlier, having already completed chapter five in their texts.

Time seemed to go by a lot slower today, which was unusual for him because generally when he read, time flew by. Severus had convinced himself it was because he was hungry, which, he had decided, was also why his stomach was acting up.

Slughorn finished grading five minutes before the class ended and emerged from his office with a stack of parchment ready to be passed back to his students.

"Here you are everyone, please keep up your studying. This quiz is a good indicator for what the exam will be like and I'll see you all on Thursday."

Severus looked down at the red Outstanding written on his parchment, then tucked it away in his satchel. He began to file out with the rest of the students when he heard Remus Lupin say "It's just a quiz… you'll be better for the exam."

Severus looked up. Remus was talking to Ella, and though Snape couldn't see her face he saw her silently crumble up the quiz and throw it in the waste bin before walking quickly away.

He watched her go for a minute, and then looked at the trash.

Don't! You don't care how she did. It's her own fault no matter what she got, which apparently wasn't good.

But despite the nagging in his head, Severus found his feet walking towards the waste bin. He grabbed the crumpled parchment and unraveled it.

There, in the same red ink, was a large P for poor. Ella had failed the quiz.

Severus now knew he wasn't hungry. The twists and knots in his stomach were so strong now he felt almost nauseous. Despite how much he told himself it wasn't his fault and how much he told himself he didn't care, he knew the word for what he was feeling: guilt.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ella had practically run off after potions that morning, and she didn't attend her other classes. She felt so hopeless since the quiz. When she walked into potions she was barely prepared to listen and take notes. All she wanted to do was sleep. Then of all things Slughorn announced a pop quiz. She'd panicked. She didn't know enough about how to prepare the Polyjuice Potion. All she knew was what it did and a few key ingredients. By the time she'd handed in her notes to Slughorn she knew she didn't do well, but she was at least hoping for an "acceptable", just a passing grade.

When she received her notes back at the end of the period it felt as if all the studying she had done over the weekend had been for nothing. All she wanted was to get through this course and prove that she could do it without Snape's help. The worst bit was he had been there to watch her fail.

Maybe he didn't see the potion or the mark, Ella thought.

It still didn't matter. As a muggleborn she would have it hard enough once she left Hogwarts. Outside the school, everything was about bloodlines and family names. She would literally be fighting the system and she needed every N.E.W.T she could get to have a decent career in the wizarding world.

Ella shook her head.

There's no point in feeling sorry for myself. Just forget about it, and move on. There'w work to be done.

She rubbed her eyes and began to organize her stack of papers to begin another round of studying once more.

There seemed to be millions of papers on her desk. Every note she had taken, or that Snape had given her, every graded homework assignment, and quiz in potions was before her. She rifled through the pages with haste and as she jotted down notes on every equation, side effect, proper cutting method; the large crimson grades seemed to wiz passed her eyes, mocking her.

There they were, "Acceptable, Acceptable, Barely Acceptable, Troll, Poor, Poor, Poor, Acceptable, Acceptable"

She could only ever barely make it through or fail utterly when it came to this subject.

She sighed as she came to another page marked "poor," scribbled some useful notes from it then moved onto another "acceptable." She ran her hands through her hair, gazing down at the graded assignments once more, the red grades blazing at her as if on fire.

She took a deep breath and stood up, then paced the room a little. As she leaned against her desk she looked up and into the mirror. The bags below her eyes were so prevalent she looked as if she were ill. Her blood shot eyes from lack of sleep and unkempt hair reminded her of how drastically she had paid over the last few days —the last few weeks even — for this subject. With another glance at the table filled with less than satisfactory assignments and tests she realized the sacrifice was moot. She couldn't do better. It was pointless. The exam was in less than two weeks and she still had so much to get through before that. On top of it she still had to attend to her Quidditch responsibilities and the rest of her homework.

How was she ever going to do it all?

There was no way…unless.

No, I can't do that.

But I need to get through this exam. It will be just this once.

If I get caught… I could be expelled.

But if I don't do it, I might not pass.

Ella paced around her room for a few minutes. Finally she went to her desk and grabbed a piece of parchment. After penning a quick note, she went up to the Owlery and sent it off.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a clear night. The stars were out and the there was no wind. It would have been a perfect night for flying, had it not been so cold.

Russel Sipes had barely managed to avoid Filch as he snuck out of the Slytherin's common room. Curfew ended an hour ago and Sipes was not keen on getting caught. He made it out the main doors, turned the corner, and walked until he came to the southern abbey. He leaned against the wall, his eyes searching the area. That was when he saw it, a lit wand circling in front of its possessor three times.

Sipes moved quickly to the wand, its owner hidden by shadows.

"Evening," he said casually.

"Sipes," the figure acknowledged.

"I must admit I was intrigued to hear from you, of all people," said Sipes.

The figure scoffed and said, "I thought the only thing that mattered to you was if I had enough galleons to pay you with."

Sipes grinned. "Oh I assure you, I am a business man to the core. The money is all that really matters. So, what can I do for you?"

The figure put their wand away and removed their hood as they stepped into the moonlight.

Ella tried to keep her voice steady as she whispered, "I've tried all the usual draughts and potions, Sipes. I need something… stronger."

End Chapter Ten