I tried to reprisent the cueform letters, but it wouldn't translate over to the site.

They Call chapter 10

Letters

The punchbowl of pumpkin-butter seemed heavier now that he had to carry it out of the great hall. Snape hadn't realized how big it was until he was heading through the door. He had been loosing his footing even before he caught sight of Lily going in to breakfast. "Lily," he instinctively called to her.

Lily looked up from what she had been reading. All it took was that look from Lily to make the punchbowl slip from Severus' uncertain grip. It only took seconds before the bowl was on the floor. Snape had saved it from shattering, but he had not saved himself from landing inside of it in a sitting position. Only someone as skinny as he was would have fit.

"Honestly Severus," Lily groaned. She kept on walking towards the tables. Severus struggled to his feet; he wasn't too upset; Lily had called him by his first name, something she hadn't done all week. That did not change the fact that he now had a backside covered in pumpkin-butter.

"This doesn't seem to be your day Severus," Dumbledore stated the obvious. The headmaster used a cleaning spell on Snape and the floor before adding, "I did not say you had to physically carry it, I just said get rid of it."

"Right Headmaster." Snape took out his wand and levitated the punchbowl to the kitchens where despite the displeasure of the house elves, he dumped it down a drain.

"Why'd you do that?" A particularly old elf asked.

Snape informed, " It's not edible. It was all over people, and I sat in it."

"What makes that inedible?"

"I'd hate to see what you lot eat."

Snape hurried back up to the Slytherin table to collect the clay tablets and get a bite to eat himself. His interest in food had waned so he was happy with a few pieces of toast which he took along outside.

When Severus had left the castle he had no qualms about meeting Corona at the beech tree. The closer he got to said tree, the more anxiety began to grip him. Though he had just seen them in the great hall, he looked in every conceivable place where a marauder might be hiding. He made sure there was no gang of girls down by the lake. It was Sunday morning after all, who would be out there this early. All was in the clear, but Snape's palms were beginning to sweat. "Oh come on," he berated himself. 'Like Corona said, I'm not going to let what they did stop me.' He had now become resolute and took determined steps to reach the meeting place. He rounded the tree surprised to see his pupil already there, waiting.

"Hi Severus!" Corona was like a ray of sunshine.

"Hi Corona," Snape said while taking his place on the root next to the girl.

"It's a gorgeous morning."

Severus looked up at the sky, which had eluded his sight till then. "Yes it is."

The boy was caught off guard when the girl asked, "Did you hear about what happened at the quidditch pitch yesterday evening?"

When Corona asked this, Severus stiffened. 'Does she know? Will she be mad?' He thought, before he said, "Yes, I heard."

"Did you know that half of the Ravenclaw House is betting James Potter did it? The other half - - is betting on - - you."

"I'd bet on Potter," Snape said with a laugh in his voice. Then he questioned, "No one thinks there could be a third party?"

"That's exactly what Xen thinks. It's a Hufflepuff conspiracy to get the other houses arguing about it. He's going to investigate."

"Investigate?"

"Well yhea. If Madam Hooch inspected all of your wands, and found nothing, it's a fair conclusion it's a Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff," Snape sputtered. "Does he really think the House of Fluffy would come up with - - " Severus did not finish his question.

"Or someone didn't use magic."

"Not use magic?" Snape sounded convincing.

"It would have to be someone that was good with substances."

"You think?" There might have been a small chink in Severus' armor at this point, his smugness.

Corona was still off on her own tangent. "It would take someone very clever to know how to make all those suds just explode out of the room without magic.

"They didn't quite explode," Snape let slip. 'Dang, why did I say that?'

"They didn't?"

"Or so I've heard."

"You know - - " Rona cocked her head as she spoke. "Some practical jokes, are just that; Jokes. You know ones that don't hurt people. Although, the team's equipment and uniforms weren't in great shape.

"I suppose they'd like to get their hands on whoever done it?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Severus looked a bit nervous before he remarked, "I suppose."

Corona got the distinct feeling Severus would like to change the subject. She asked, "Shall we begin our lesson?"

"Yhea." Snape rummaged in his book bag for a piece of parchment. "I'd like to put some things down on here before looking at the tablets." He rummaged some more for a sort of stamp thing that he had devised to write in cuneiform. There was also an inkpad. Sev dug down the bottom to find it. He scooted closer to Corona so she could see the parchment. "The tablets are primarily used for record keeping. It's mostly lists and numbers not real sentences. You have to figure out the spells a bit for yourself." He began to stamp out patterns for numbers. They were fairly obvious.

! one !! two !!! three

Other things like foxglove, were more complicated.

"I think I've got it," Corona said.

Snape took out one of the clay tablets. "Let's see if you can figure this one out." His finger traced a small portion of the tablet.

Just as Rona was reading her first sentence, an owl flew by and dropped a letter at Sev's feet. He rolled his eyes ignoring it.

"Aren't you going to read it?" Rona asked.

"It's probably another joke," Sev responded.

"Joke?"

"I got a card that was a joke this morning."

"This one might not be."

"I don't get owl; Ever."

"Your parents don't write to you?" Corona could tell by the look on Severus' face that she had hit on a sore subject.

All Snape said was, "No."

To anyone else Snape would have come up with some kind of cock-and-bull story that would have involved his parents being off in some distant exotic country on some grand adventure of the utmost secrecy. He'd never be able to tell even Corona the truth, but he found it hard to lie to her. Only one other student knew the truth about his parents, and only the headmaster knew the whole truth. Lily and Dumbledore knew Snape's secrets. He wasn't about to let anyone else know them.

"Maybe you should read it," Corona suggested. "You never know."

Feeling that Rona might next ask to open it herself if he didn't, Severus did. It was not a joke. The change in Severus told Corona it was not good news either. What almost looked like a veil crossed the boy's continence. Only a very good reader of people would have been able to tell anything was wrong as for a few minutes Severus reread the letter. Then he broke his mask like face's stillness. His brow furrowed as he hissed out a, "No - - "

Corona watched as her friend's face began to twitch. It was obvious to her that boy was holding back tears. She supposed being called Snivs, Snivelly, and Snivellus for five years, as she had recently learned, made Snape good at holding back. That was true, he'd never cry in front of anyone.

Just because Snape didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, didn't mean he didn't have one. In fact his emotions ran deeper than anyone suspected. Solaris was one of the rare people of magic who could see that deep. She could tell something very heavy had just hit Snape. What she couldn't read the details. It was not Legimency she used. It was a strong empathetic skill. It was almost as if Severus and Corona were polar opposites, yet at the same time fit like twins; like the eastern symbol of yin and yang; Dark and light, thinking and feeling, balancing each other.

"Severus?" Rona intoned. She gave the lightest touch to his arm. He flinched but settled down. She asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's from - - " He wouldn't say who, " - - a relative. It's about my, Mum. She's - - " He couldn't tell her the whole truth. " - - hasn't been well for a long time. She's taken a turn for the worse. She's at St. Mungos."

"Oh no," Corona said in sympathy. "Should you go see her?"

"It's not a matter of should I; it's can I."

"I'm sure the headmaster would help."

Snape rubbed one of his eyes with the palm of his hand trying to clear his thoughts. This had to be the worst year of his life. Everything had gone wrong this year. He spoke about all things, "Exams." He kept rubbing a spot on his forehead between his eyes.

"Listen," Rona took charge. "We're going to see someone, be it Dumbledore, Slughorn, or who ever can get you to see your mother and not have you worried about a stupid test."

'Stupid test?' Snape wondered. Did Corona know how important it was to him to get strait O's and go on to N.E.W.T. classes? Did she understand his obsessive thirst to know, everything? Did she know how deep the need to prove himself worthy of his place in the wizarding world was? She may not have known that, but she knew what was truly important.

tbc