Chapter XXI
Cyrille, Liam, and Blake ducked behind the nearest counter as they heard the kitchen door swing open. Cyrille prayed that that wasn't her guardian, because she knew that she'd be in so much trouble if she got caught.
"If you value your life then I suggest you come forward now before I come and drag you out. I know you're here," Snape ventured. He wasn't sure that there was someone there, but he didn't want to take chances.
Cyrille cursed when she heard Snape's voice. Why did he always have to catch her doing something? This wasn't even entirely her fault, she thought.
Blake suddenly whispered something to Liam, and she saw him shaking his head. Evidently, the boy didn't listen because he soon stepped out and revealed himself. Cyrille stood to follow, but Liam pulled her hand and forced her back down into a crouch. He shook his head adamantly to indicate that he didn't want her to follow suit.
She was going to protest, but she didn't exactly know what was going on, so she kept quiet and observed. She heard Blake confessing to being hungry, though the man didn't seem to believe him. Her guardian always knew when someone was lying.
"Are you certain that you are alone?" asked Snape as he looked at the counter where the two were still hiding. Blake nodded. The man did not seem convinced, but he did not want to look like a fool in front of the boy so he led the way out.
Outside the kitchen, Snape glared at the wayward student. He had seen this boy with his ward and was disappointed in him. He sincerely hoped that he wouldn't be a negative influence on the girl.
"Go back to your dormitory, Mr. Morgan," he said in a falsely calm voice. "It is late, and I will not have you wandering about alone. I will send you a note tomorrow regarding your punishment."
Blake didn't need to be told twice. Deciding that the two were relatively safe now, he turned back to his dormitory without hesitation. The man was already suspicious as it was, and stalling would make the situation worse for everyone.
Snape watched the boy go, all the while glaring at his retreating figure, as though daring him to disobey. As soon as the boy's shadow was no longer visible, he headed for the other direction with the intent of getting some rest.
Once Snape had disappeared as well, the two decided to finally return to their dormitories before they got themselves caught. Once they reached the Gryffindor common room, Cyrille and Liam decided to call it a night and went to their separate rooms.
The next day, Cyrille woke up feeling tired. The events of the previous night came back to her, and she felt worse just thinking about how close she was to getting caught by her guardian. She really didn't want to disappoint the man. Besides, there was still this bet between them, and she was determined to win.
She crawled out of bed and got downstairs. The common room was still empty, which probably meant that it was still rather early. She decided to clear her head with a long shower, and when she came out, the common room was already crowded.
"Cyrille!" she heard Liam call. The boy approached her and gave her a once over, making sure that she wasn't mad or upset for whatever transpired last night.
"Yeah?" asked the girl.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" he asked.
"I'm on my way now," she responded.
"Great, let's go together," said Liam. They silently trudged down the stairs and proceeded to the Great Hall.
"I'm sorry I overreacted last night," said the girl suddenly. She had been brooding over the events of the previous night, and she realized that she shouldn't have let Blake taunt her.
"You had every right to get mad," said Liam. "Blake is really infuriating sometimes."
"You shouldn't have tried to find me though," she said truthfully. "You could've gotten yourselves in trouble."
"What was I supposed to do? Blake came in last night telling me that he had said something terrible to you, and you weren't back even though it was past curfew."
"Really? He said that?" asked the girl. She was quite surprised to hear that the other boy had been the one who initiated the rescue mission last night.
"He's actually a good person, you know? You just have to see past, well, Blake."
"Yeah, I guess," she said. They both fell into an awkward silence, so they decided to actually eat breakfast instead of just staring at their food.
"That was Blake's version of an apology," Liam suddenly said. Cyrille looked at him questioningly. "Him finding you, I mean. That, and taking the blame for everything, though I suppose it was actually his fault to begin with."
"I sort of figured that myself. I really wasn't expecting anything, so last night was a surprise," she replied honestly. Without giving Liam any time to respond, she grabbed her things and went on her way to the Charms classroom with the other boy tailing her. They shared the class with the Hufflepuffs, and the Ravenclaws on the second period so she hadn't seen any sign of Blake all morning. They only had a class together that afternoon during Care of Magical Creatures, where a gigantic man named Hagrid taught.
Blake walked silently to where Cyrille and Liam were, but he didn't acknowledge them. He didn't know if it was safe to speak to the girl, so he decided to ignore the two altogether.
Liam noticed that his friend was rather silent that day, so he decided to play the role of the middle ground once again. However, as he was about to say something, Cyrille spoke.
"I accept your apology," said Cyrille, glancing at Blake for a short moment before turning her attention back to the front, where Hagrid was showing them giant slugs. The three of them stood at the back of the field, because apparently, none of them could care less about the proper way to feed slugs.
"I don't recall making one," responded Blake after his initial shock from being spoken to by the girl had subsided.
"Well, then I'm just going to assume that you did, because that's what friends do," said Cyrille with a playful smile that had gone unnoticed by the two. She was beginning to understand how to deal with the other boy because of Liam.
Blake looked horrified. "We're not friends!" he protested. "Last night made us equal. Now, we can go back to not being acquainted."
"Not acquainted it is," she said, knowing that he would come around sooner or later. Liam watched the two interact and couldn't help but feel relieved. Though Blake made it seem like he hated the girl, Liam knew better. When the boy hated someone, that person would know. Blake definitely liked Cyrille now. Or at least tolerated her, but that was a good start.
Snape had just finished his class with the seventh years, and he was feeling particularly good. He always liked his seventh years, though he would rather die than admit to that. The older students were taking his class by choice, and they were generally less troublesome. In fact, they needed so little supervision that Snape could usually do some other work while he supervised them.
He had just finished correcting the essays he set for the younger students the previous day, and though he wasn't exactly satisfied with their answers, he felt refreshed because he had one task off his shoulders.
Suddenly, he heard a knock. He wondered who it was since he wasn't expecting to be disturbed yet until 6 pm, when he had to supervise the detention he handed to the Morgan boy just that morning.
"Enter," he said in his usual cold voice. He saw the door crack open a few inches, followed by Potter's head poking in. He raised an eyebrow in question. The boy looked utterly ridiculous standing in the doorway like he were in trouble with him, though he supposed he couldn't blame him. All of their interactions had been unpleasant, and in all of those times, the boy was either in trouble or just barely escaping trouble. Perhaps he was here to save the Morgan boy from detention, he thought. It would be just like Potter to overlook the rules for his precious students.
"Do come in, Potter. You look ridiculous with your head hanging in the doorway," he said when the boy still hadn't moved. He gave a nervous laugh and closed the door behind him. Figuring that it was already too late to back out, he stepped further inside and sat down awkwardly in one of the chairs in front of Snape's desk.
"So, to what do I owe the... pleasure?" he asked in his usual sarcastic tone. It made Harry think that he was back in his school years. The man poured all his attention on him, like he were somehow enjoying his discomfort. He was enjoying it, though not in the cruel way that he did in the past.
"Um, I was just wondering if... I mean I wanted to ask... um, the headmistress told me to talk to you," said Harry as he fumbled for words. He wanted to hit himself for sounding so pathetic.
"Mr. Potter, you truly amaze me. Surely this isn't what seven years of education has taught you," he said with an eyebrow raised in amusement. Technically, it was only six years, Harry mentally corrected. The boy, at least in Snape's mind he was still a boy, flushed nonetheless.
Snape sighed and asked, "What did the headmistress want that she had to send you here?"
"Well, you know how I never actually had my N.E.W.T.s..." he started.
"Yes, Potter. I am well aware of that."
"Would you let me finish?!" replied an outraged Harry. It was difficult to find the right words as it was. He didn't need the man to interrupt his thoughts to make matters worse. Snape smirked in amusement, thinking that the boy still had his temper. A few months ago, he would have thrown the boy out of his office for having the nerve to take that tone with him. He had truly changed, he thought. He inclined his head in acknowledgment.
"Like I said, I never had my N.E.W.T.s, and the Ministry made a special case for me," he said while looking anywhere but at Snape. "They said that they won't require me to take it due to my... er... special circumstances," Snape snorted at that. "Instead, I need to pass some kind of an aptitude test before they could allow me to become a full time member of the Hogwarts faculty, especially since I'm also being assigned as a Head of House. I was wondering if... maybe you could... give me a hand with Potions?" he finished uncertainly.
The man was surprised. He never thought that he would live to see the day the Potter brat would willingly come to him for help, especially with Potions.
"You're telling me that you're willingly coming to me to learn?" he asked incredulously.
"I wouldn't exactly call it willingly!" he protested hotly. "I mean, I asked Professor McGonagall to help me, and she pointed to your direction."
"Minerva doesn't know the first thing about Potions, Potter," he said with an eye roll. "What about your other subjects?" he asked, curious as to who else the boy had asked for help.
"I think I'm doing fairly well with Defense," he said, though he felt a bit self conscious saying such words to the man. "And I think that I can manage to learn the other subjects by myself. I'm just having a bit of a difficulty with Potions."
"I think 'a bit of a difficulty' is the understatement of the century, Potter."
"Well, I'm not that bad!" argued Harry. Snape raised an eyebrow at that.
"Need I remind you of your abysmal performance in class?" he asked. As the boy was about to protest, Snape continued. "I am willing to lend you my expertise if you promise to be agreeable," he said.
"I won't be any trouble, Sir," said Harry as relief flushed through his system. He didn't feel like begging the man for lessons.
"If I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it without protests," Snape said after a moment. "You are well aware of the fact that I detest laziness. That said, I do not wish to hear any excuses from you. You will give your full effort into learning what you should have learned from five years under my tutelage, and more." Harry nodded earnestly. He was serious about learning; he just didn't know if he could spend so much time with his former professor without his temper being tested. The next few weeks would indeed be a challenge.
It was now midnight, and Snape sat alone staring at the fire blazing in front of him. He had dismissed the Morgan boy two hours ago after a particularly long session of scrubbing. He had even remembered to threaten to put him in detention until he was of age if he ever planned on getting his ward involved with his mischief in any way. The boy had gone rather pale after hearing his warning. Served him right, thought Snape. Nobody had the right to corrupt his precious girl, and anyone who so much as thought of it would pay dearly.
His thoughts involuntarily replayed his conversation with Potter earlier. He was quite surprised with himself, agreeing to teach the son of his once mortal enemy. Of course, his views had changed, though it had more to do with his recently discovered capability to love and forgive. He had Cyrille to thank for that.
Cyrille. The brat hadn't even bothered to visit him today! How quickly she forgot about him. A few days at Hogwarts and she was already turning her back on him, that traitor. He refused to admit that he was indeed missing her constant company.
Early next morning, Cyrille found herself in her guardian's private quarters while she waited for the man. She was sure that he was already awake; in fact, he was probably already thinking about work, if not already doing it. She opted to lie on Snape's couch until he turned up, all the while thinking about how comfortable she felt.
A few minutes later, Snape had come out fresh from the shower. He felt another presence in his office, and he instantly had his wand out. His gaze suddenly fell on a figure on the couch, and he felt himself relaxing; he smiled despite himself. The brat was sleeping peacefully on his couch. Since it was still early, he let the girl have her beauty sleep while he proceeded to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He decided that he could miss breakfast in the Great Hall today in exchange for some quality time with his ward.
The girl managed to sleep for an hour before she began stirring. As soon as she was conscious, she looked around and saw her guardian reading the morning paper near the fireplace. The man seemed to have heard her move, and he lowered the paper to look at her.
"Severus! Why didn't you wake me?" asked the girl, looking genuinely surprised that she had fallen asleep and a bit flustered by the entire situation.
"Well, good morning to you too, Miss Cromwell," said the man as he put down his paper on the coffee table.
"Er... good morning," she said with a blush. "What time is it?"
"Time for breakfast," said Snape as he motioned for the girl to join him in the kitchen. The girl followed behind and took the seat directly in front of the man.
"So, what have you up to this morning?" asked the girl as she poured herself a glass of milk. Snape had poured himself coffee at the same time.
"I was having a relaxing shower when you came to my office uninvited," said the man, though it was evident from his tone that he meant no offense. "And why, pray tell, were you sleeping on my couch instead of in your own bed in Gryffindor tower?"
"Well, I woke up early and thought I'd give you a visit so you wouldn't miss me," she said as the man raised an eyebrow, as though the idea of missing his ward was absurd. "I didn't want to disturb you in case you were busy, so I thought I'd just wait for you to turn up. Then, I... er... fell asleep," she finished lamely.
"What time did you go to bed last night?" he asked suspiciously.
"Um, around midnight, I think," she said sheepishly.
"And how is that a reasonable time for a growing child to go to sleep?"
"I was in bed the whole time; I just couldn't sleep! It's not like I was out partying or anything," Cyrille said defensively. "Besides, I like your couch. It's comfortable, and for some reason, I find it easier to sleep there."
"Shall I transfigure your bed into a couch then?" asked Snape sarcastically. In truth, he was rather concerned that the girl was having a difficulty sleeping.
"I don't think it's the bed, really," she said uncertainly. "I think I just need a little more time to get used to... everything."
"Are you having any difficulties with your housemates?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern. It was common for first years to have difficulties adjusting with new people. His ward seemed to pick up on this, and she immediately tried to placate the man.
"No! In fact, they're really nice. Well, most of them are, especially my roommates."
"I see. Well, I am glad to hear that. You do know that you can come to me should you have any concerns, don't you?" Snape wasn't entirely convinced that the girl was alright, but he didn't push. Perhaps she was still getting used to life at Hogwarts. He would make sure to let the girl feel safe with him so that she wouldn't feel so alone.
"Yes, Severus. You've only reminded me about several hundreds of times," said the girl, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
"If you still find it difficult to sleep tonight, I can give you a potion," he said, and his ward smiled gratefully at him. They finished their breakfast in silence, and the house elves popped in to clean.
"You have fifteen minutes before class starts. Now, run along. I don't want to get blamed for your tardiness," he said as he escorted the girl out of his quarters. He also had his own class to teach, and they went separate ways, but not before Cyrille subjected the man to a torturous hug.
So began a new routine. Everyday, Cyrille would make it a point to visit her guardian after her last class. Sometimes, she would go in the morning before classes began. Occasionally, she would visit twice in a day, if she wasn't particularly busy. During those times, her friends never questioned her actions. They understood her need to be with the man. The girl had also gotten used to the atmosphere at Hogwarts and was finding it easier to sleep in her own bed in the Gryffindor tower.
They were already two weeks into the school year, and the days had passed by relatively peacefully. That particular day, the first years were scheduled to have their first flying lesson. It should have started a week ago, but the weather had been terrible then. Under normal circumstances, Quidditch would have pushed through. However, since these were first years, and it was their first flying lesson, Madam Hooch decided wisely to postpone the lessons until the weather was more ideal.
Cyrille found herself nervous about the prospect of flying during the entire morning. She had barely touched her food as she was certain that there were several butterflies occupying her stomach. She was not aware that her guardian had been glaring at her during the entirety of breakfast because she hadn't eaten anything substantial.
"Cyrille, you should probably eat something more than a slice of toast," said Liam as he glanced nervously at the staff table. He had felt an ominous stare in his direction moments ago, and he found the Potions Master's eyes burning into him. "You need stamina to be able to fly effectively," he added reasonably.
"It's not that hard," said Blake, who was sitting beside Liam despite his House. The boy had been more and more decent to Cyrille in the past week, and they were now officially friends. Ever since then, he had made it a point to attend breakfast, though he usually came at the last few minutes.
"That's right!" Liam agreed. "You just have to focus on your intention, then the broom will do the work for you."
"I wasn't talking about flying," said Blake flatly. "I was speaking of eating. You shove the spoon in your mouth, chew, then swallow." Cyrille momentarily forgot about her worries and glared at the boy.
"How about I shove the spoon in your mouth to stop you from talking?" Cyrille snapped.
"Aren't we cranky today?" commented Blake. Liam sighed as he watched the two argue. It had been a common occurrence, and he was convinced that that was how the two showed their affection for each other.
"Sorry," said Cyrille as she picked up her fork and attempted to eat some fruits. "I don't know why I'm feeling kind of nervous, really." Blake mouthed 'kind of' incredulously, but Liam shook his head to indicate that his friend shouldn't comment on it. He wisely shut up.
"It's natural to be nervous," said Liam kindly. Blake chose to keep busy with his food.
"Were you nervous when you were first taught how to fly?" asked Cyrille a little hopefully.
"Well..." Liam stalled. Having grown up in a wizarding household, flying was like second nature to him. The same could be said of Blake.
"We grew up knowing that we're wizards. What do you expect?" said Blake when he saw his friend struggling. Sometimes, the boy was too sympathetic for his own good.
"I thought so," Cyrille all but whined.
"What exactly is your problem with flying?" asked Blake curiously. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"Well, no," she said truthfully. "I just don't enjoy the prospect of being flung into thin air on a stick."
"A stick!" reacted Liam, who was a Quidditch fanatic. "It's not just a stick, Cyrille."
"Yeah, it's a magical stick," said Blake with a snicker. Cyrille couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the boy's statement.
"Seriously though, you shouldn't worry. Madam Hooch has been teaching for ages and nothing drastic has ever happened apart from a few minor injuries," said Liam.
"Very comforting," responded Cyrille sarcastically, though she was actually feeling better from just talking. She ate a few more forkfuls of fruits before abandoning the pretense of eating breakfast.
Snape watched his ward leave the Great Hall with her friends after barely touching her food. They would have a serious conversation later about the proper food to eat during breakfast.
The headmistress saw his colleague sulking beside her, and she wondered what had gotten him in that state yet again. She sighed as she heard him mutter words.
"... a slice of toast... spoon feed her myself..."
"Severus, has it occurred to you that your ward might be nervous?" she asked when she was finally fed up with her colleague muttering to himself.
"What reason does she have to be nervous, Minerva?" he asked scathingly. "And even so, that doesn't excuse her from not eating a proper meal."
"It's their first flying lesson this afternoon! She's bound to be nervous," said the woman.
"Flying lesson? Why wasn't I informed?" asked Snape, scowling at the headmistress.
"I believe I did inform you, young man! I announced it during the staff meeting yesterday, but of course you were too busy shutting me out of your mind to listen," she said exasperatedly. Snape had the gall to look embarrassed at being caught not paying attention during the meetings.
"You should have announced it sooner," said Snape petulantly.
He heard Potter snicker beside the headmistress, and he turned to glare at him. The boy tried to cough in an attempt to cover his earlier reaction. He decided that it wasn't safe to antagonize the man, especially if they were going to continue to spend a lot of quality time together in the coming days.
They had agreed to meet every Saturday night for their lessons, and their first lesson constituted Snape insulting Harry's lack of knowledge on even the most basic concepts. So, he thrust an old first year book at the boy and asked him to try and understand the basics before even attempting to brew. Harry had no choice but to comply, though he had to admit that he was disappointed to hear that he would not be permitted to brew anything yet. They hadn't had their second lesson yet, but he looked forward to the coming Saturday. He would show the man that he wasn't as stupid as his professor claimed he was.
Deciding that he had been humiliated enough, Snape exited the Great Hall and proceeded to the Potions classroom. He wasn't in a very good mood, so his class with the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws was going to be very interesting indeed. He just hoped that neither House would end up with negative House Points by the end of the day, or he would once again incur the wrath of the headmistress.
Before they knew it, it was already time for their first flying lesson. The Gryffindors once again found themselves in the same class as the Slytherins, though the House rivalries had already significantly died down with the downfall of Voldemort as well as the assignment of the new Heads of House.
Cyrille, Liam, and Blake walked over to the field where several brooms were laid side by side on the grounds, forming two neat lines parallel to each other. Madam Hooch was seen dragging a large brown chest to the side, and Cyrille couldn't help but wonder what was inside. She could've sworn she saw the box move for a while before it went completely still.
"That's where they keep the Quaffle, the Bludgers and the Snitch," said Liam. Cyrille had read enough about Quidditch to at least know what they were, though she wasn't completely familiar with the rules of the game. She only knew the basics. "One of the teams must be reserving the field later for tryouts."
Madam Hooch called them over and soon, they found themselves standing in two lines facing each other, a broomstick on the ground in front of each of them. The professor instructed them to hold out their hand, picture the brooms shooting into their hands, and say, "Up!"
The first years yelled "UP!" in chorus, but only Liam and Blake had succeeded on their first try. Cyrille managed to get the broom up, though it didn't reach her hand. Liam smiled at her approvingly.
Right after the first trial, everyone became a little too enthusiastic to the point where some were screaming at their brooms in frustration. Madam Hooch tried to make the students quiet down to no avail. It was chaos.
Suddenly, they heard a loud crack, followed by a painful yelp from one of the students. His broom had come straight up and hit his nose, which was now bleeding freely. Madam Hooch asked one of his friends to escort the boy to the Hospital Wing, since it wasn't grave enough for her to have to escort him personally.
After half an hour, everyone could successfully command their brooms to go up. It was now time for the second phase of the lesson—the flying.
The students were told to hop on their brooms and attempt to hover a few inches above the ground. Blake and Liam assisted Cyrille when they saw that she was having a difficulty staying on air. Soon, she managed to get the hang of it, and she could hover by herself.
When told to kick off the ground a little higher, Cyrille succeeded without difficulty. Those who were now in the air were told to fly loops around the field, while those who still had trouble were assisted by the professor.
Soon, Cyrille was flying happily with her two friends, and she wasn't quite so worried anymore. Blake and Liam had decided to race each other even though they were told explicitly not to, and she watched with interest as the two enjoyed the breeze.
Suddenly, the air around her changed. From the corner of her eye, she saw something approaching at high speed. She turned just in time to come face to face with a Bludger. She managed to fly sideways to avoid getting pounded in the face, but the Bludger managed to get her on the shoulder. Before she knew it, she was knocked off her broom and was falling fast. She felt a strange ripple through the air, as though someone had cast magic around her, and she landed with a sickening thud on the ground.
A/N: Another chapter done! Let me know what you think. :)