To say that Avril was nervous at the end of class would be a major understatement; she was distraught with worry. All she could do was try and reassure herself that he was just going to talk to her, not lecture, or punish - she hadn't even done anything wrong, so…
But it was Snape - the cool mask of a man with no emotions to show to anyone, and no conscience to speak of, so they say in the student body.
'I am doomed…'
'No! I did nothing wrong!'
'Still doomed…'
'No, he said he wants to "see me after class". That could mean a bunch of things, like-'
'You're being stupid.'
'No! I'm being logical and-'
'You're being stupid.'
When class finally ended and she was the only one left, she stood straight as a board and slowly made her walk of doom to Snape's desk. She waited quietly for him to speak first, fear holding onto her tongue.
Then Snape, without looking up, said, "Take a seat."
She did, watching as he graded something - probably the potions the first years had just brewed.
She hoped he graded fairly, but had the feeling he didn't…
He put down his quill after a moment of still silence and folded his thin hands neatly across the tabletop. Staring at her oddly, he began:
"I understand you are a good student, Miss Zetta. Your work is proof enough for that."
Avril knew not to get too relieved. There was always a "but" after a statement like that.
"But-"
'Of course…'
"-to associate with a Gryffindor is very degrading for a Slytherin of your blood status."
Avril nearly climbed the table to choke him she was so angry at that retort. He didn't have the right to tell her who to befriend and not! He was not in any way her father or mentor! Her father was far away from here, just as she liked him to be. If Snape told him-
A tug at the front lobe of her brain caused her to cease in her maniac thinking.
She looked away from his eyes, and the tugging feeling stopped abruptly. She knew he was trying to read her mind, many had tried that before on her. And though she might not know how to block his probing, she could concentrate on the conversation at hand and not the personal things which he was trying to find out.
Her grandmother had told her that no one was to find out, and, if it killed Avril, she wouldn't let Snape find out.
"Professor," she started, coolly and using her pure-blooded manners to invent a good comeback to his last retort, "I don't think this to be an appropriate conversation between a student and teacher."
He remained stoic. "As Head of you House, I find it to be perfectly appropriate, Miss Zetta."
'So he is the Head of Slytherin? We are off to a great start…'
She sighed audibly. "So we are not allowed inter-House unity, Professor? I thought Headmaster Dumbledore supported that."
Snape remained quiet and unreadable for a moment before answering, "No. It is just discouraged by many teachers in the school."
She looked at him unwaveringly, her father's courage surging forth for the brief moment. "That is very disappointing… Dumbledore must not know of his staff's inner rebellion against his authority?"
He looked shocked at her nerve and her use of words for a second before covering it over smoothly. "I cannot speak for him."
She knew it surprised many elders that such a young girl was capable of such comprehension and expression. But Avril loved words and the uses they had on people.
She nodded, as she had expected an answer such as that. She mentally jotted down a note to herself to ask Dumbledore about this later. She wasn't one that was scared of high authority consultation.
He allowed her to leave, and Avril left with her head held high. She found Eris waiting outside the door, with a rather tart expression.
'Has she been here the whole time?' Avril wondered.
Avril hoped, in a way, that Eris had heard that terrible conversation, but wished, also, that she hadn't. Somehow, she knew she did…
"Snape's a git." Eris glared at the door.
Avril paled. "So you did hear, then?"
Eris gave a sinister smile, her whole expression darkening. "Of course not…"
Avril sighed and rolled her eyes as she always did. "Sometimes - no, most of the time - I believe you were meant to be a Slytherin, Eris Black."
"Runs in the family," Eris said.
Avril nodded, then turned the conversation back to Snape and his presets. "I don't believe the reasoning behind all that he said. Dumbledore must not mind it…"
They were making their way up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom leisurely, having fifteen minutes to get there. (They had twenty minute breaks in between each class.)
"I don't need this class," Eris said, "I know plenty. And I'm still mad about Snape."
Avril shrugged. She turned to Eris and asked, "Professor Quirell id the teacher next, right?"
"Yeah… He looks like his own shadow would scare him to death."
"Seriously… How could he be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when he doesn't know how to defend himself? And what's with the turban? Lice much?"
Eris gave her best attempt at a terrified man. "N-now, today, c-class, we'll be learning about the d-d-dangers of s-s - SHADOW!"
Avril laughed at Eris, who cast her a grin. The girl was odd, but a great friend to relieve some stress with, that was for sure.
"Bet you our first class will be to defend ourselves from his monster lice," Eris joked.
Sighing, Avril's mind jumped to what her parents would think about her choice of friends, House, and certain opinions - what they would say if they heard this conversation. They weren't much for joking about your elders…
It wouldn't be a good lecture.
So Avril kept quiet, as she often did when guilt and her childhood torturous lessons took possession over her humor.
They came up to the classroom, where all the other first year Slytherins and Gryffindors (all six of them…) stood - far apart from each other, mind. They all stared at a notice on the door that read as follows:
"To all students:
Professor Quirell has found himself unable to teach at this time. All Defense Against the Dark Arts classes are, until further notice, canceled. Study periods will take the place during this time in the Great Hall under the supervision of Headmaster Dumbledore. Students must attend and will work on assignments.
Deputy Headmistress,
Minerva McGonagall"
Some cheers went around the group and some Gryffindors roared - no pun intended - with joy.
Just as they had begun to walk away to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall herself stopped them. She had come up behind them while they were reading the notice, and now, she had them all together in front of her, giving them yet another bit of news.
"There have been some issues with your schedules. Hand them all back, please. Your new ones will be given out tomorrow morning. Until then, you are to go to the Great Hall as said on the notice. Free periods until dinner after. No flying."
And she took all the unwanted schedule papers before leaving, while some students groaned.
The group murmured the whole way to the Great Hall.
"No flying?"
"Mixed up schedules?"
"Quirell is quirky, isn't he?"
Avril whispered to Eris as the followed behind in the back, "I wonder how they mixed up the schedules…"
It sounded ridiculous, absurd, for a school of this caliber to make such an inexcusable mistake.
"I dunno." Eris shrugged. "Maybe it's got something to do with what's his face?"
"Quirell?" Avril thought about that. "I don't know… Maybe… He wasn't here for class… I didn't see him at the feast… He could've had something to do with the schedules…?"
Maybe we can do like those Muggle books about the spies."
Even though Avril was a Pure-blooded witch, she didn't even find it odd that she herself knew Muggle stories - her mother owned a bookshop containing Muggle as well as Wizard books.
"I doubt that…" Avril said, always the pessimist. "But maybe we could try to watch Quirrel closely for a while…"
Eris pouted. "Fine… But I'm so breaking into his office."
Avril grinned. "Thought so."
They chatted all the way down to the Great Hall on how and when to execute their plans. They were quite separate from the rest of the students, scheming and plotting.
The Great Hall was near now, and they went quiet as they entered, for it was quite empty. It seemed so large and daunting without all the other students.
Avril loved it: quiet, airy, huge. Like home.
They took their seats at the vacant Gryffindor table and looked around for Professor Dumbledore; he was at the teacher's table all the way across the room, his head bent over parchment as he as he was carefully writing. Writing what, Avril would like to know, but didn't care to snoop. She felt a little squirmy underneath the scrutiny of Professor Dumbledore, though she didn't know why.
Avril took out some paper and a sketching pencil charmed by magic at the perfect tip, and started drawing, a picture in her mind.
Eris looked at the blank page, but didn't say anything. She herself held a book from her bag.
Avril pulled her blonde hair to her left shoulder, set the paper at an angle, and began her sketching. She loved to draw any images her mind invented or recalled from the past; it was one of the best pastimes.
It was fifteen minutes later when Dumbledore strolled in, his eyes twinkling as always. Avril looked over to where he had sat when they had arrived. The chair was empty. How was that possible?
Well, Avril knew personally of several ways, ways that were completely illegal in school but ways that a teacher of his status is capable of.
He never spoke a word the whole class period.
The first years hadn't been assigned homework yet, so everyone occupied themselves with some form of amusement. Talking, laughing at others (Stephen and Mitchell), and others just playing with some piece of paper they had fashioned into a bird, all of them attempting to get it to fly, and failing miserably.
Avril's sketch was beginning to resemble something and Eris finally took notice.
"Now, doesn't that look familiar. Two crossed wands… A lion… A snake. Wonder where I know that from…"
Avril shrugged, too busy concentrating on putting her pencil tip to paper.
The image was rough, but Eris could tell what it was supposed to be.
"I like sketching what I've seen that not many people have… Like the thestral…"
"What else have you seen, then?" Eris asked. "The things that not many others do."
Avril paused. She'd released too much information!
'She might figure it out, stupid!'
'No, she can't. Calm down. I could just say I see odd circumstances…'
'That sounds ridiculous.'
'No! It seems ridiculous to remain quiet!'
Avril put down her pencil. "I'm just extremely observant, I guess… I just notice things…"
She didn't look at Eris, but instead at the paper.
"How observant? And what things, exactly?"
Avril groaned mentally. She'd befriended the wrong type of girl: pushy, curious, intrusive… The complete of someone a Seer should associate with.
"I don't know… The thestral… I saw a unicorn once - no, twice…" Avril went to sketch again.
"Did you see it, too?" Eris seemed eager. "The one outside our compartment window when we got here?"
Avril's head jerked up, her hair flying. She went to speak in a normal voice of surprise, but lowered her voice, even though they were quite a distance from the others.
"So you saw it as well?" Avril asked, her heart pounding.
"I thought I was the only one." Eris was distant now. "It was gone so quickly. I've been reading up on them and, according to this book," she held up the book, "the unicorn was warning us."
Avril had known that. Unicorns had been one of her favorite subjects to investigate. But she had told herself she had just imagined the unicorn… It couldn't be warning them… Could it?
"What about, though?" she asked. "If it was warning us… what about?"
"Well, this is where I've really been reading…" Eris was flipping through pages. "It says in this book that unicorns are known to warn young girls of evil beings and situations. But only if it feels they would be in danger."
Avril went cold and her mind panicked. If what Eris said was true, then they (or one of them, at least) was in danger of something… But what?
Avril flipped her paper over and sketched the unicorn, in the exact pose she'd seen it in, hidden amongst the trees.
Avril held up the paper and showed Eris. "It looked like this…"
Eris moved a bit closer. "The eyes… Do you remember them? I do… So much fear…"
It seemed to hurt Eris to say that…
Avril went into a state of remembrance as her mind's eye reproduced the picture. "They were a gold and silver combination… I think…"
'Silver mist, a dash of pure white hints of glittering gold...Drifting in was liquid metallic...it held bled out of the silver and took over the whole scene. No more gold, no more... Just that silver liquid…'
Avril stilled. That vision… Eris mustn't know about it, even if it could be a major clue.
"What?" D'you remember something?"
Avril's mind reeled.
'But, I see the future, not the past…'
'Then, we are to see the unicorn again in the future?'
'Maybe… but-'
Fingers were snapping before her face.
"Avril! Snap out of it!"
She looked blankly at Eris for a moment. "Hmm… Oh, sorry."
Avril went back to the paper and lightly shaded the unicorn, her mind only focusing on her thoughts.
"I'm sneaking out tonight."
Avril twitched, officially drawn back to her senses, as Eris was completely out of hers. "WHAT?"
"Oh, you heard me. I'm going to the Forbidden Forest to find that unicorn. I feel… Something's up. I think it may need our help."
Avril couldn't believe her ears.
'Yep, definitely wrong type of friend…'
"I'll go with you," she heard herself saying.
She couldn't even imagine making her tongue agree to that, and there it came out of her mouth! Rebellious little…
"Lovely. How's your lick, then?" Eris cocked her head as she always did when interrogating someone.
Avril nearly laughed. "I have no luck… Any I had was sucked out of me by Stephen. He has all that Irish luck and charm…"
"That Slytherin bloke that keeps making eyes at you?"
Avril's eyes shot open, big as saucers. "What? No… He, er, no."
He didn't… Did he?
She better change the subject….
"So, when we sneaking out, then?"
Eris grinned.
"The sooner the better."
Avril here!
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am so sorry it was not uploaded until today! We had the Thanksgiving break, and we postponed, and, yes… Okay, yes, we procrastinated.
Sorry.
Here's a cookie.
Don't cry!
DON'T CRY!
Never mind, I am what I am. And I am Avril Zetta, and you know you'll forgive me. If not, I will personally obliviate all of your recollection of anything related to Harry Potter.
Just joking. (Or, am I?)
Any need for modifications, just let us know. (That means, yes, REVIEWING)
Thanks!
REVIEW AND FAVORITE!
Avril Merae Zetta
PS: Oh, and thank you to CBWeasley, our greatest reviewer of all time! Continue reading our story, and cookies, Draco Malfoy, more Fred Weasley, and other elements that we love so much will be included.
On that note, I need to say, that to those who came to this story because of Draco Malfoy, I am so sorry to disappoint, but he will play a huge role in the NEXT addition to The Black Zettas (that'd be Year Two.) This is due to the fact that Eris and Avril are a year older than Harry Potter, and thus Draco too, so they are not at Hogwarts just yet (it is the year of 1990).
Sorry. There will be mentioning of him (a LOT of that, to be sure), just not yet.