Chapter 22
Lockhart started his lesson, and finally ended up setting loose some Cornish Pixies. Everyone had run from the class, and he left the trio to round them up. Aura wisely slipped out, when they were released, she took Draco with her and they made their way back to the courtyard.
"How did you do on the stupid test Lockhart gave us?" Draco asked, slamming his bag down in disgust.
"He wanted me to stay after class because of it, actually. It was quite funny, really. If I get a detention, then it's definitely worth it." Aura said.
"What did you put on it?"
"I answered the question of what is his greatest achievement to date, with, getting his overlarge ego through the door." She said as they burst out in laughter.
"Did you answer any others like that?"
"Most of them, yes."
"Miss Aurelia." She heard a voice say from across the courtyard, and she saw the obnoxious Lockhart striding towards her.
"Come on, I'm talking to your Head of House about this quiz. You have a detention with me tomorrow night by the way." He said, as he guided Aura towards the dungeons, and down to her father's office. He knocked on the door and heard a soft
"Enter," from inside.
"Professor Snape. One of your students thought it would be funny to write insults on their quiz today. I just thought you should see it." He said, as he put the quiz on her father's desk. Her father picked it up and read over it, smirking slightly.
"Which student, may I ask?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"She was right behind--Aurelia come here! She has a detention with me tomorrow night." Lockhart said in a know-it-all tone.
"Explanation?" Her father asked, handing her the parchment.
"Um, I thought it would be funny, besides, it isn't like I put down complete lies either. I got most of them right." Aura said, sitting down in one of her father's chairs.
"Aurelia-"
"Don't call me Aurelia. Professor Lockhart."
"She wishes to be called Aura or Amethyst, as that is her middle name." Her father said.
"Very well, Professor Snape."
"Amethyst, you need to start putting effort into your work." Lockhart said.
"Your books are rubbish! I don't believe you've done a single thing in there!" Aura said, losing her temper and grabbing her bag from the corner where she had left it.
"I'll come back down later, Father, and you can decide my punishment then, but right now you have to teach my potions class."
"Aura, sit down now." Her father said.
"What does she mean father?" Lockhart asked, narrowing his eyes.
"If you must know, Lockhart, this is my daughter Aurelia Amethyst. I believe I said so at a staff meeting, but you must have been busy looking at a picture of yourself." Her father sneered at a very stunned Lockhart. "Now if you don't mind I do have a class to teach." He said, rising from his seat and walking towards the classroom. Aura shot Lockhart a glare, and followed her father.
The rest of the day went swimmingly and soon enough it was the next morning. She was woken up by another girl on her House team, Bethany Hanson.
"Come on. Wake up Aura! We're practicing today. We need you to get your father to give us a note to use the Quidditch Pitch." She said, shaking her awake.
"Bethany? What-Oh! Flint told me to wake up early today! Sorry, I'll be right down!" She called as she rushed to the girl's bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later she came downstairs, to find the rest of the team sitting there, including a very sleepy Draco.
"There you are Aura! We need you to go get a note from your father, that says we're allowed to practice today. Oh, and your new broomstick is on the couch, latest model actually." Flint said, and started discussing strategies for the playing field again.
Yawning, Aura made her way to her father's office and entered, without bothering to knock.
"Dad? Dad!" She called as she sat down.
"Yes, Aura?" He asked, emerging from his private storeroom.
"Can you please write a note saying the Slytherin team is allowed to practice today. We really need to train our new Chaser." Aura said, looking at him pleadingly.
"Of course. Who's the new Chaser?" He asked as he started to write the note.
"Draco." She said, taking the note he had handed her, and reading it:
I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Chaser.
"This is great, thanks Dad!" She called, slipping out of the office, and going back to her common room.
"I got the note." She said, handing it to Flint.
"Great, let's go then." He said, as they grabbed their new brooms, and headed out towards the field. When they got there Oliver Wood, Gryffindor captain, bellowed,
"Flint! This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!"
"Plenty of room for all of us Wood." Flint said, coolly.
"I booked the field."
"Ah, but I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape." He said, handing over the note.
"You've got a new Chaser? Who?" Wood asked, distracted.
Draco stepped up from behind the larger players, and smirked at him.
"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" A red-haired boy said, that Aura recognized as Fred Weasley.
"Funny you should mention Draco's father," said Flint as the whole team smiled even more broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's given the Slytherin team." Flint said, as they all held out their broomsticks. "Very latest model. Only came out last month," Flint said carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. "I believe it outstrips the old Nimbus Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleansweeps--" he said, smiling nastily at Fred and George who were both holding Cleansweep Fives-- "sweeps the board with them. Oh, look. A field invasion." He said, pointing at Ron and Hermione, who were crossing over to see what was happening.
"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what're they doing here?" He said, looking at Draco and Aura.
"I'm the new Slytherin Chaser, and Aura's still the Seeker," Draco said smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."
Ron gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven superb broomsticks in front of him.
"Good aren't they?" said Draco smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives; I expect a museum would bid for them."
The Slytherin team howled with laughter.
"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent." Hermione said sharply.
"No one asked your opinion," Aura said, coming to Draco's defense. "Filthy little Mudblood. How they let your kind in Hogwarts I'll never know."
There was an instant uproar when she finished speaking. Flint pulled her and Draco behind him, to stop Fred and George Weasley from jumping and tackling them.
"How dare you!" Ron screamed. "You'll pay for that one, Snape!" He yelled at her, and ducked under Flint and pointed it at her face.
A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of the wrong end of Ron's wand, hitting him in the stomach and sending him reeling backwards onto the grass.
"Ron! Ron! Are you all right?" Hermione squealed.
Ron opened his mouth to speak and several slugs dribbled out of his mouth, ad onto his lap.
"Looks like the blood-traitor got his due!" Aura said, as she laughed coldly, holding onto Draco for support. The others laughed with her also, and the Gryffindor team gathered around Ron, who kept on vomiting large, glistening slugs.
"Come on, let's start practice. Nice one Aura. You're a true Slytherin." Flint said, smiling down at her. Aura smirked and climbed up onto her broom.
Draco was a decent Chaser and they praised him continuously for it. Aura was caught between amusement and anger, at that. They had never praised her that much. But, he was a very good Chaser.
That evening came all too quickly, and Aura made her way to Lockhart's office, grudgingly. Harry was there and Aura narrowed her eyes at him.
"Harry." She greeted him coldly.
"Aura." He greeted back just as coldly, but with a trace of hurt in his voice.
"You two can address envelopes!" Lockhart said cheerfully, as he set them to work. They were in there for a long time, as the candles burned lower and lower.
Aura heard a voice saying.
"Come…come to me…Let me rip you…Let me tear you…Let me kill you…"
What!?" Aura and Harry said at the same time.
"I know!" Lockhart said. "Six solid months at the top of the best-seller list! Broke all records!"
"No," Harry said, frantically. "That voice!"
"Sorry?" said Lockhart, looking puzzled. "What voice?"
"Didn't you hear it?" Harry asked.
"Perhaps you're getting a bit drowsy? Go on back to your common rooms. We've been here nearly four hours.." Lockhart said as both Harry and Aura left his office.
"Did you hear it?" He asked her.
"I thought we weren't talking." Aura said.
"Please, Aura. I need to know."
"Yes. I did hear it." She said as Harry's bag strap broke and his books fell out.
"Oh great!" He said, bending down to pick them up.
"What's this?" Aura asked, picking up a book titled, The Honorable Prince Family.
"I got it out of the library awhile ago. Why?" Harry asked.
"Harry, this book is about my family."
"It's about the Princes not the Snapes."
"My grandmother was Eileen Prince."
"Aura-I-no. No. It's not possible." He said, shaking his head.
"What's not possible?"
"Salazaar Slytherin is in that family. He's distantly related, but it says in this book that all of the family members have his same qualities."
"That's true. My entire family has been in Slytherin, except for my grandmother who was a Ravenclaw. Do you mind if I borrow this, Harry? I could really use it. My father and I don't know much about our family. My grandmother died when he was fifteen." She said, shaking her head.
"Sure. Just bring it back to me in Gryffindor Tower. The password is 'wattleworth'." He said as she raised an eyebrow.
"Kay. Let's go before Filch finds us. Bye Harry. It was nice talking to you, even if we are only friends for a minute." She said, holding his hand, and then turning down the corridor to the Slytherin common room.