Chapter Ten: Atonement

That day after all of his classes were through, Severus went back to his chambers excited to be able to talk about the events of that day. When he opened the door to his quarters he saw Ariel sitting at the table they usually mated on.

"Hello fishy!" He greeted playfully as he went towards her for a kiss but she did not put effort into the kiss only let him peck his lips. He did not notice this. "So all my students were well behaved today because of Mr. Biggie and you today. Nobody was picking on anybody, nobody was annoying, I think we've found a problem for the bullying problems in school!" (Ariel did not reply and this is when Severus took notice) "Fishy? Fishy…? My sweet fishy?"

Ariel did not speak but instead gave him a weak, teary-eyed smile. Now he was worried.

"Ariel?"

"Hermione…told me…what kind of teacher you are…" She began slowly, not looking at him. "Before she knew who you were to me, she informed me the caliber of your teaching abilities—"

"Sweetheart I'm only kidding with the first years when I threaten to sell them to the Dark Lord as target practice! It's just some light-hearted humor in the classroom!"

"No Severus, you are worse than that to the students! You—are—a—bully!" Ariel cried out as if her heart flying out of her mouth. When Snape tried to defend, she cut him off, "That girl told me everything…Before she knew who you were to me, and she told me how you torture that Potter boy…"

"In my defend, he's such a little bitch sometimes—"

"And how you hate her because you are friends with him—"

"Okay, that is unfair of me but I see that now…"

"What about Neville?"

This is when Snape stopped and Ariel could see she was right there.

"Speechless are we? Have nothing to say about Mr. Neville? About how you bully him so bad in school the kid considers you to be his worse fear? Not that Voldemort guy? Not death or dying or Japanese whale hunters? His teacher, the one that children are supposed to find solace in and are supposed to protect them, instead of doing any of that, ridicules and taunts him."

Snape's face swallow skin contorted with rage and he spoke from his chest as black clouds now erupted in him: "How dare you say I do not protect my students? Sure, I think they're annoying and I don't hold back from telling them this but I would do everything I can to protect my students. Just because they don't hear me bragging about it every day doesn't mean I don't risk my skin on a daily basis for them!"

"And so you lash out on them? If they can't know what you do, you instead bully them? Lash out on them? It's not THEIR faults YOU choose what YOU choose and it sure as hell isn't THEIR FAULTS Lily didn't want you!" Ariel bellowed, her face as red as her hair. Snape went silent again and she took advantage of this, "IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT YOU CAN'T GET OVER LILY. IT'S NOT THEIR FAULT YOU PINED FOR A WOMAN WHO DIDN'T WANT TO BE WITH A PREJUIDICE—CRUEL—SARCASTIC—EMOTIONALLY RETARDED MAN LIKE YOU! YOU—you act so smart…But all I see is a fifthteen year old boy in a thirty-four-year-old man's body."

He had nothing to add to her diatribe and this only upset her more. With a high pitched squeal he interpreted as crying, the former merlady ran full speed into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. He heard loud clanking sounds and knew she had locked the door.

Severus, who was always stunned by Ariel's honesty, slowly went to the door and asked in a trembling voice: "Do you think I still love her?"

He only heard her sobs as a reply and at first this enraged him.

"If you think that I would still have feelings for—" He began on the verge of a speech when Ariel finally answered.

"If you didn't you wouldn't feel the need to get revenge on kids who remind you of her."

Ariel won the argument.

Since she had no way of leaving Hogwarts, nor had she calmed down enough to leave their bedroom all night, Snape slept in the dungeons that night for Ariel's excessive sobbing made his heart shrink with shame. He would sleep for only an hour and woke up with an even worst feeling of dread. She, he berated himself throughout the day, thinks I love Lily. It could not be further from the truth but with all the counterarguments she made last night it was evident that Ariel did not have enough proof to suggest otherwise. What he needed to do would have to make her change her hypothesis, showing her in reality he didn't feel the need to avenge an unrequited love—he was simply an asshole.

It wasn't until after that hour of sleep, would he think of a suitable reprisal that could make Ariel see his love for her.

Classes began at 10 and conveniently enough for the plot of this story; the class was fifth year with Gryffindor and Slytherin.

He began the class by standing in front of the class with a look on his face that said only one thing: Time for a slowly vocalized speech.

"Students…I have…come…under the realization that I...owe apologies to quite a number of you."

The students sat silently, waiting for this to turn into a lesson on "how they are too dumb to procreate and how it would be sin against nature to allow such inferior breeding to commence without properly teaching them how to make the birth control potion" (exact quote from fourth year).

"Now…I do not…apologize more than once a year and…since I already used it this year I have come up with a better fit solution…"

"I'm confused. Are we getting castrated or something?" Ron blurted out fearfully.

"No Mr. Weasley…In fact quite the opposite!" This is when Professor Snape pulled his chair from behind his desk and placed it directly in front of the room. He sat down and continued to explain. "Mr. Longbottom would you stand up please?"

Neville began to shake, fearfully, but Hermione who sat next to him, placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry," She whispered to him with confidence. He followed her advice and did as he was asked.

"Mr. Longbottom, I know I have been particularly cruel to you and, from what I understand, apparently give you night terrors. And for that, you have earned one free punch."

The classroom didn't believe this.

"Bullshit!" Cried out Ron.

"No, no I mean it. One, only one, free hit. No repercussions, no detentions, Dumbledore will never hear of this…," This is when ropes magically appeared to wrap his wrists and ankles to the limbs of the chair, restraining him. "I won't even fight back. So Mr. Longbottom, I'm sure you, and many of you, have been waiting—"

He didn't finish that sentence before everything went black and all he remembered was Neville Longbottom taking one step towards him with a cauldron in his hands. Next thing he knew, he was face down on the stone floor of the dungeons.

He did not need to investigate to know he was bleeding. Raising his head, he realized the ropes were gone, along with his students. He lifted his eyelids, painfully, only to find out one of those were bleeding as well as his nose, forehead, lip and chin from where he landed on the ground. Snape did not know about the other injuries just yet for it was too excoriating just to sit up straight.

"Professor?" He heard a meek female voice call to him.

"Miss Granger, please…go get me a potion." He begged, softly, holding his head in his hands.

"Does it matter which one?"

"Just make sure it isn't poison,"

She did as asked and brought the man a lilac colored bottle which he instantly uncorked and swallowed whole. It would take a minute but he would convalesce.

"Professor?" Hermione's voice called out again.

Snape sighed and looked up at the girl, who stood over him curiously.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" He asked, expecting the questions.

"Are you okay?"

He sighed heavily but felt the potion began to heal his internal bleeding and he smiled. "I think I'll manage…Should I ask what they did to me?"

"Well, after Neville bashed your nose in with her cauldron, which I felt was very symbolic for all the times you criticized his potions—"

"Miss Granger I do not care for analysis, just—" He cut her off, holding back his biting sarcasm.

"Everyone took their swings, and kicks, and your wallet, and then they just kinda left…"

Snape didn't even bother to ask who did what. "What time is it?"

"It's only 10:25. I figured I'd let you wake up gradually."

"That's…shorter than I expected."

"Yeah…You're not doing this for the next class, are you?" Hermione asked apprehensively. "I don't think you have enough healing elixirs if you are planning on having every student get revenge."

"I realize that…" He replied as she assisted him to his feet. Professor Snape then pushed his chair back to his desk and plopped down exhaustedly before asking, "Does everyone know now?"

She nodded. "Now everyone's asking questions."

"Questions?"

Hermione gave him a buck-toothed smile. "They're asking who is she?"

(This was a lie, the faculty and students really asked: "Does Snape got Alzheimer's too?" "Is Snape dying?" and "If he dies, does this mean we have to wear capes to his funeral?" It was only Dumbledore who started the rumor that the Potion's Master was in-love, which promoted this stupid act of atonement)

Snape sighed again, only this time more sorrowfully. "She loathes me."

Hermione frowned. She then took out her wand and put it to her head. A silver strain appeared at the end of her wand to which she yanked it from her skull and waved it over to her teacher. Snape looked at the memory which floated to him and smiled with found warmth at Hermione. He then took a flask which he carried in his cloak out, bottled it, and got from behind his desk to leave the dungeons but before he did, said this, "I'm glad I used my apology on you."

Whatever grand act of romance that was going to precede Snape with the high hopes of regaining Ariel's affections went out the window when he went back to his chambers and discovered a crucial part of wooing Ariel back—Ariel had left.