Mina had barely slept a wink the night before as old memories of Sirius kept coming back to her. In times like these she wanted nothing more than to hear his voice again as she reached over next to her bed and grasped for the picture of the two of them. She sighed loudly as she clutched it against her chest and forced herself to get up and out of bed.
It was still very early in the morning so she doubted that anyone would be up yet. Mina quickly got dressed and made her way through the empty castle hallways to the library, one of the few places that brought her true peace at Hogwarts. Mina was so caught up in her thoughts that as she plopped down in an empty row at the Library with some random books on Care of Magical Creatures, she did not notice the bushy haired girl with her arms full of books make her way over to the same row. The girl slammed several books down on the table which caused Mina to jump.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize there was someone already sitting here." Mina exclaimed as she quickly got back to her feet ready to find another empty row.
"It's fine, please sit!" the young witch insisted as she pointed back to the seat.
"No one ever comes to the library this early. It's nice to see someone else who enjoys a bit of reading." The girl gushed as she sat the rest of her books down.
"I'm Mina." Mina said as she introduced herself to the girl.
"Oh yes, I know! We've had a few classes together already. I'm Hermione Granger." The girl beamed.
"Granger, Oh right! You're in Gryffindor aren't you?" Mina asked as she started to recognize the girl.
"Yes I am!" she replied proudly as she took a seat and glanced over the books that Mina had sitting in front of her.
"Care of Magical Creatures? I do love that class but sadly I don't think the Creatures care much for me." Hermione confessed with a sad look on her face.
"Well, maybe you just haven't discovered the right tricks to win them over yet?" Mina encouraged as she gave her a small smile.
"Maybe not. I do spend much more time focusing on charms and potions." Hermione admitted.
"Well if you ever need any assistance, I'd be more than happy to help. Care of Magical Creatures happens to be my specialty." Mina replied.
"Really? That's great to know, I'll keep it in mind! Are you planning on working for the department after you graduate?" Hermione inquired as she started to sort her books.
"No, Actually I'm more fond of traveling and learning about the creatures in their natural habitat." Mina confided in her as she grabbed up one of her books.
"Ah, Like a modern day Newt Scamander." Hermione declared.
"Exactly!" Mina answered, "I'm surprised you know who he is, most people our age are oblivious to him."
"Which is so sad because he did write many of our textbooks." Hermione shrugged as she gave Mina an encouraging smile.
"Yes, Yes he did." Mina replied as she suddenly found herself lost in her memories.
*Flash Back*
"Newt Scamander, who's that?" Sirius asked as he came up behind Mina in the library and was glancing over her books.
"Did you really just ask me that question?" Mina laughed as she turned to greet him.
"Should I know who that is?" he asked as he glanced over the book again.
"Newt Scamander happens to be one of the most brilliant wizards of all time, at least when it comes to Magical Creatures." Mina explained as she turned her attention back to her book.
"Wow, the way you talk about him, you'd think you were sweet on him." Sirius teased as he took the empty seat next to her.
Mina laughed softly as she felt a sudden blush creep up on her cheeks.
"Well nevermind then, I was coming to remind you about our try outs tonight but it seems you'll be otherwise engaged." Sirius pretended to pout as he looked at her with fake sad eyes.
"Oh hush, you know I'm coming." Mina smiled as she rolled her eyes at him as she watched a goofy grin spread across his face.
"Really?" he asked in an excited tone.
"There's no where I'd rather be." Mina beamed back as she closed her book and slowly got to her feet.
Mina grabbed her bag off the floor and slung it over one arm. She then grabbed up her small pile of books to take with her to her first class of the day.
"Allow me my lady." Sirius said as he jumped up, gave Mina a fake curtsy and took all the books from out of her arms.
Mina giggled as Sirius gave her a quick wink. He carried her books proudly for her as he escorted her to her Transfiguration class. This would eventually become a regular habit of his that Mina looked forward to each day.
*Present Day*
The girls sat together in the library for quite some time before the others finally started to wake up in the castle. They would stop every now and then and chat enthusiastically about something in their books.
"Well I better get to the great hall before my Uncle sends out the serpent Calvary to find me." Mina said sarcastically as she got up waved her wand and watched as several of the books flew back to where she had picked them up from.
She took the remaining book and slipped it into her bag as Hermione started to clean up her pile of books as well.
"No offensive, but it is just so hard for me to imagine Professor Snape as a God Father." Hermione spoke as she looked over to Mina.
"Yeah he's a pretty interesting guy, but I promise you he's really a big teddy bear underneath it all." Mina smiled brightly which made Hermione smile in turn.
"Do you mind if I walk with you to the great hall?" asked Hermione as she stuffed her arms with a bunch of books and quickly stood up.
"Yeah, of course you can! Here can I take some of those for you?" she asked as she reached out a hand.
"Could you?" Hermione nodded as she handed over some of her books.
The girls made their way to the Great Hall giggling as Hermione reminisced about some incidents she had had with Professor Snape in the past.
"No! I don't believe you! He would never say something so mean!" Mina gasped as she turned to look at Hermione.
"I swear to you it's true! It was so humiliating!" Hermione confessed as she blushed deeply.
"I'll have to scold him for that later. I just can't believe he would do that." Mina exclaimed as she shook her head pretending to be shocked by Hermione's story.
The girls rounded a corner only to come face to face with a very frantic Draco Malfoy. He looked disheveled, his hair was a mess and he was tugging tightly on his uneven tie.
"Mina! There you are!" he exclaimed as his let go of his tie and ran his fingers through his messy hair.
"And Good Morning to you too Draco." Mina said slowly as she exchanged an odd glance to Hermione.
"Yes Morning! Your Uncle is looking for you. We've been looking around for…" he started as his eyes slowly registered who was standing next to Mina, "What are you doing with her?"
Immediately his demeanor changed and a very angered look came over his face.
"Her? Oh you mean Hermione? We were catching up on some reading, why?" Mina asked as she quickly glanced from Hermione back to Draco.
"You shouldn't be hanging around with her sort, that's why." He spat as he gave Hermione a piercing glare.
"What do you mean?" Mina asked as she again glanced over at Hermione who suddenly looked very furious.
"Did she tell you she's a mudblood?" he smirked as he raised one of his eyebrows at Hermione.
Mina gasped while Hermione gave Draco a very annoyed look, as if this wasn't the first time she had heard this from him. A handful of other students had gathered around at the mention of that horrible word to see what was unfolding.
"What is your problem!" Mina expressed as she suddenly found her voice which sounded very alarmed.
"What is my problem?" Draco asked sounding legitimately confused on why she was asking him that.
"Yes! What the hell is your problem? How dare you call her that!" Mina retorted as she gave Draco a dark look.
"Call her what? Oh you mean mudblood…well that's what she is." Draco smirked evilly as he swaggered forward.
"Well you're a monster and no amount of pureblood will ever change that." Mina remarked as she gave him a disgusted look.
Draco took a step back looking as if Mina had just slapped him across the face as several of the students nodded in agreement to Mina's statement. Mina turned her back on him and walked over to console Hermione who now looked as if she would start crying. Draco then disappeared before either of them could notice.
"Are you okay?" Mina asked.
"Yes, Thank you." She whispered softly as she dabbed at the corner of her eyes.
"Forget him Hermione, you know he's just a stupid arse." Ron added as he too came over to Hermione's defense.
"I just think I need to be alone right now." Hermione nodded as she took the extra books back from Mina and climbed back up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room.
"Right, I better go with her." Ron added as he nodded to Mina and took off after Hermione.
The small crowd that had gathered around them also cleared off as Mina sighed heavily and turned to go in search of Severus.
Mina found Severus standing with his arms folded at the entrance to the great hall with an unpleasant look on his face.
"Finally." He huffed as he walked over to Mina.
"Why on earth did you think it was a good idea to send the Malfoy boy after me?" Mina hissed in a hushed tone as the two of them made their way towards the dungeons.
They entered Snape's empty classroom as he made sure to shut the door behind them before speaking.
"I didn't know he would go looking for you. I just merely asked if he had seen you." Severus replied in a mater of fact voice.
"Please don't say anything about me in front of him ever again." Mina groaned as she fell into an empty seat.
"Why? What did he do?" Severus asked sounding rather worried.
"He got upset that I was hanging out with Hermione Granger and called her a Mudblood." Mina divulged.
"Are you surprised?" Severus questioned as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes.. well I guess no, knowing who his Father is…I just expected more is all…"Mina struggled to get out.
"You really shouldn't be hanging out with Granger though. That's a sure way to get mixed up with the Dark Lord." Severus professed as he gave Mina a warning look.
"Severus I'm trying. I'm trying to keep to myself but all I keep doing is thinking of him. I went to the library to try and read to keep my mind off of him but all it did was remind me of him and then I ran into Hermione and we just hit it off. I swear I'm not doing these things on purpose. I just…"Mina started as she begin to cry.
"Believe me, I understand." Snape admitted as he sat himself in the chair in front of of Mina.
"Do you remember how hard it was for me to come back here after Lily…" he spoke after a few moments of silence.
"Of course I do." Mina managed through her tears.
"If it wasn't for you, I would have never been able to do that." Severus confided in her.
Mina sniffled as she ran her sleeves over her eyes.
"We both knew this was going to be difficult for you." Severus sighed as he pulled her into a tight hug, "But, I only want the best for you and I think that what's best for you is for you to be here. Even if it makes you completely miserable."
"I know and I'm so grateful for you, I really am." Mina expressed as she gave him a squeeze.
"You're my best friend. The only one I've ever had and if anything were to happen to you…" Severus answered as he shook his head.
"You're right. I'll do better." Mina sighed.
"I know you will." Severus nodded as he hugged her again and then gave her a soft smile.
"I better get to class." Mina nodded as she slowly got up and cleaned the tears from off her face.
"Did you eat?" Severus asked.
Mina shook her head no only for Severus waved his wand to make a small plate of food appear before them.
"Thank you." She smiled sadly.
"Anytime. Now off with you before you're late to class." Severus said as the door to his class opened a few students started to come in.
Mina nodded and made her way off towards her first class trying to eat as much as she could before she got there.
Draco never showed up for their first class, or for the second or third class either. Mina felt herself glancing over her shoulder during the beginning of each class searching for him against her better judgment.
Later that day, Mina walked alone to her first Advanced Potions class. Mina took an empty seat towards the back of the room. She kept her eyes cast down on the floor until the Professor finally spoke.
"Welcome Sixth Years to Advanced Potions!" Slughorn informed them sounding very excited.
Slughorn started to go off chattering on about a bunch of different potions he had sitting on his desk in front of the class.
"Come, gather around so that I may show you!" he encouraged as all the students got up and gathered around his desk.
Mina tried to keep her distance standing behind the rest of the Slytherin and Gryffindors. When she did finally glance up she noticed a pair of icy blue eyes starring at her.
Draco and Mina locked eyes. She gasped abruptly as she quickly turned her focus back the floor.
Just then, the rest of the students started to look past the Professor as Harry and Ron strolled casually through the classroom doorway.
"Ah, Harry my boy…"Slughorn called out as he started to address the boys.
Mina glanced up cautiously at them trying her best not to look in Draco's direction.
She stopped listening to Slughorn and started thinking about the last time she had taken this class. She remembered sitting next to Regulus, Sirius's Brother who was very similar to Sirius but in a undercover kind of way. She had taken a liking to him and was quite glad to be able to sit next to him. If she wasn't sat next to Severus, or Sirius for that matter, then Regulus would be her next best option.
Mina was so lost in her thoughts that it startled her when Professor Slughorn called her name.
"Miss Smith!" he called out.
"Yes." Mina answered jumping slightly at the sound of her name.
"You seem like you were off in another world." Slughorn chuckled, "Would you mind coming up here and demonstrating what this love potion smells like to you?"
"Of course sir!" Mina nodded as she made her way to the front of the room knowing very well what she would smell.
She leaned over the small cauldron and took a deep breath.
"I smell the forest, wet dog and…" she hesitated before speaking again, "apples."
"Wet dog?" Ron remarked as Hermione quickly shushed him.
"How interesting." Professor Slughorn nodded excitedly.
Mina cursed Slughorn in her mind for bringing up more memories of Sirius as she continued to smell the forest and wet dog while she made her way to where she had been standing before. The last time she had smelt that potion all she had smelled was everything that smelled like Sirius, The Forest, Wet dog and Tobacco. She never recalled smelling apples before and had no idea where that smell came from.
As the class went on, Professor Slughorn explained how they would be attempting to make draught of living death in class today. The winner would get a small bottle of liquid luck. Mina knowing there was really no occasion for her to use that decided to take her time and hope that someone would brew the potion before she did and win the prize. She sat silently with her textbook open in front of her, following the directions word for word.
"So Wet dog huh?" Crabbe whispered over to her with a suggestive smile on his face.
Mina glared at him once before returning back to her potion.
"Who do we know who smells like wet dog?" Crabbe continued on as Goyle and Theodore both started to speculate.
"Potter?" Theodore suggested as he, Crabbe and Goyle started snickering.
"Yeah but Potter doesn't smell like apples." Goyle added.
"Apples would be more like…" Theodore started.
"Would you give it a rest already!" Draco growled as he spun around to glare at them.
Mina let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she closed her eyes suddenly. Those smells were making her feel very overwhelmed. Mina could just imagine Sirius sitting next to her as another waft of Wet dog and the forest hit her nose.
Slughorn suddenly appeared before her and took a look in her cauldron.
"Ah, Miss Smith it seems you have burned your flower heads." He said sounding disappointed, "I won't bother testing it. I'd rather not have my classroom set on fire today."
Mina opened her eyes to look at her potion and sighed loudly before burying her face in her hands.
Later, the entire class stood watching as Professor Slughorn presented Harry with the small bottle of liquid luck. As soon as the clapping stopped Mina ran back to her desk grabbed her stuff and dashed out of the room. She found herself climbing the last step of the astronomy tower and rushing over to the small railing before she even realized where she was going. She threw her bag onto the floor and placed her hands on the cold railing. She looked out at the view and sighed deeply.
"Not planning on jumping are we?" called deep voice as a figure appeared from out of the corner of the room.
"Goodness! Couldn't you warn people before you just go about appearing through walls!" shouted Mina as the Bloody Baron floated before her.
"Cheeky brat! If I were alive, I'd cut your tongue out for speaking to me that way!" he hissed as he drew his ghostly dagger from his waistband.
"Too bad you're dead because I'd love to see you try." Mina mocked him as she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the scenery before her.
"Can't find a damn peaceful place in this castle! I tried to come here earlier but no, stupid Blondie was here and now this brat is here…" The ghost sneered under his breath as he floated through the wall once again.
Mina ignored him and ran her hand down the right side of the railing feeling for something that she had not seen in many years. There at the very right corner of the railing, trailing down were the initials S.B. and M.M. carved in a small heart. Mina exhaled loudly as she allowed the tears to flow freely now as she kept running her finger up and down the engraving.