As I was getting ready that first night, I looked at myself in the full-length mirror on the wall, on impulse. I was very skinny, I saw, and there were bags under my eyes, but that was usual. The thing that shocked me most wasn't that, it was the fact that my face wasn't twisted in its usual Snape Frown (a deranged sort of scowl I inherited from my father), but I actually wore a smile.
This is amazing, I thought as I walked downstairs. The first time in my life I've actually been happy. And I'll be happier at Hogwarts - I just know I'll be the best student, the pride of the school. I just know it.
"Oh, there you are, Severus," exclaimed Tom with a grin as I walked in. "Would you exchange everything in the 'MUGGLE CURRENCY' bin for me, please? Thank you..." I had no time for any more thoughts that day as Tom sent me back and forth on errands, but as I lay in bed at the end of the day with ten Sickles safe in my new self-counting money box from "Talia's Trifles - handy tools, pretty trinkets, and more!", something occured to me. What if I wasn't as smart as the rest, coming from a Muggle family?
I sat up in bed, suddenly terribly anxious. What if they threw me out because of "inadequate preparation?" What if all the wizard kids made fun of me? What if I got nicknamed, "Stupid Severus," and all the teachers hated me because I didn't know anything about wizard life?? I started breathing hard. For once in my life, here was a time where I wouldn't automatically have people assuming I knew everything just because my last name was 'Snape.'
In the end, I decided to study my course books for an hour each night, and soon I at least knew enough to start. Magical Drafts and Potions was by far the most interesting book...just the introduction enthralled me. It began, "This book will teach you the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking. It will show you the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... If you read this book carefully enough, it can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - but only if you read on, and learn, learn with all your mind's power."
I enjoyed my Defense Against the Dark Arts course books, too - the section on vampires, even though it was far too advanced for me, was absolutely astounding. I never knew that vampires had their own government! And even more astonishing was the fact that this government was made up of seven strange creatures called charbains which were made completely out of blood and enchanted to look like huge, ravenous boars. It was disgusting, and I loved it.
That month went by more quickly than the first eleven years of my life, it seemed, and soon I was thanking Tom and saying goodbye, rolling my luggage trolley through King's Cross Station, looking down the length of the train in wonder, and speeding along towards my first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nobody came into my compartment on the train - well, maybe that's not completely true - one chubby-faced boy did peer in the window, but when he saw my surprised look, he disappeared as fast as if he was Apparating. I shrugged, almost apologetically, but couldn't bring myself to think about other people right now. I was far too happy.
The time passed quickly, and even though I was angry that I couldn't buy anything from the food cart, I reminded myself that that would soon change once I got out of being lazy, and I was still incredibly excited about being taught wizardry at last! I wondered when I'd start Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions ... I could barely stand the wait.
I fell asleep after awhile, laying down on the full length of the two cushions, glad that there were no other students there to annoy me. Generally, I disliked people, even though I sort of had to depend on Tom that first time. But I always made sure never to ask anybody about the curriculum; I would be the best student Hogwarts ever saw and I would reach that excellence all by myself! I woke up harshly, to the sensation of the train creaking as it stopped. Instantly alert, I jumped out of the train cushions and changed as fast as I could. Students were pouring out of the train, and I wasn't even dressed yet! Hastily, I grabbed my bag and scampered out of the train after the first year group, infuriated that I'd let myself sleep so late.
Severus Serpentus Snape, I told myself hotly, you will pay for this. Look at you! How are you going to get Sorted in this condition! Sleepy-eyed, tousled hair, mussed robes, yawning -
"Hey," a boy with wild black hair and bright blue eyes was beside me before I even knew it.
"What do you want?" I asked acidly, not meaning to sound so sharp. I was still seething about my drowsiness on the train, I guessed.
He shrugged, a frown appearing on his face. "Just wanted to make friends, that's all," he replied hastily.
"I'm not in the mood," I told him, and pushed past him up to the boats, not even bothering to take a look at the towering castle in the distance. The annoying boy stayed away from me, I was happy to find, and got into a boat with three chattering students: a strong-looking girl with bright red frizzy hair, a small, weak, trembling boy, and a tall, handsome boy that looked older than he was. Maybe he got accepted late because he was too stupid, I thought nastily.
I wasn't exactly starting off on the right foot to be the admired best student, but I didn't like the idea that some aggravating little guy thought that all he needed to do to be "instant friends" with me was to scream "Hey" at me. I was going to play hard-to-get, and I didn't mind at all. I'd rather choose my friends, I thought to myself sourly.
Two giggling girls sat on the other end of my boat, and I stared in the other direction as they pointed out "cute men" to each other and sighed. Carmine was never like that - but why was I thinking about Carmine? All she wanted to do was destroy me, and at this school I would be the best. Nobody would stop me - I would make absolutely sure of that, I told myself, determined, as I ducked under the wall of ivy. No. Matter. What.
As we got up to the front door, a stern-looking, brown-haired man opened the door. He had big hands, I noticed right away, and he looked very strong. His eyes, an unusually bright shade of orange, seemed to cast a light spell over us all, and we were instantly awed.
"I am Professor Ari Delmondo, the Headmaster of this school," he announced in a cool, collected voice. We all blinked at once, and our vision and our minds cleared. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Please follow me." We obeyed, and he led us into a positively colossal hall, with huge stone ceiling, walls, and floor, and a splendid marble staircase grandly opening to the floors above. Professor Delmondo ushered us into a small chamber off of the hallway where we - I put the number of students at around forty - listened once again to his little speech.
"Welcome to my school. This building is the place where you will spend the better part of seven years of your life. There will be good moments, bad moments, hilarious moments, subdued moments, triumphant moments, ashamed moments, awkward moments, grand moments ... seven years gives you plenty of time to have many, many experiences. As you take the terrific journey of growing up in these friendly walls, new responsibilities and opportunities will be offered to you - many times. The first is the great Sorting Ceremony." He paused while we all absorbed this information. "From the moment when you are Sorted into a House, every action of yours will count towards your House's points. Work hard and excel at everything you do, and your House profits terrifically. Fail and break rules, and your House stands no chance to win the glorious House Cup that is awarded at the end of the year.
"Now, you may freshen up and get ready for the Sorting Ceremony. Remember: worrying now is pointless, for you are already in the good hands of fate." Smiling, he left, leaving us all in utter wonder and confusion. Students around me began to chatter, obviously worried despite his - er - helpful advice. I swallowed and reminded myself that I had practically taken the courses already. I muttered things like the twelve uses of dragon's blood and how vampires react to the leaves of a burning aloe plant until it was finally time, and we all filed in front of the entire school in the Great Hall.
I didn't have time to look around me; I was suddenly lost in fear. What was I going to - suddenly, I was watching a stout, flame-haired old woman placed a stool and a hat in front of the line of first years, and I pushed my anxieties to the back of my mind as the hat began to sing. I jumped about a foot when it started, but, ashamed, I'd backed down inconspicuously and listened, hoping no one had noticed my outburst of shock.
It was a bitter eternity before my name was called. I sat there miserably; watching, hoping, waiting, wondering, listening, pondering. Finally, the old woman croaked, "Snape, Severus," and I shakily walked to the Hat, feeling numb. And right away, I was staring into its black depths and smelling the magic-filled scent of cedar, ashes, and clean linen all in one.
"Aha," it began. "Very interesting. Let me see - a strong will, that can be useful, high standards, excellent. But - oh, what an iron heart. It's so cold, it seeps through your entire body like a virus. I can see where all this is coming from ... Is it too late?" The hat tightened on my head momentarily, and I realized it was giving off a little sigh. "Hasn't been another one like you since - well, there was Salazar, but he wasn't young like you ... my, I'm rambling! Well, I've made my decision, and hopefully I'll have to change it - but for now, looks like it must be SLYTHERIN!"
The room was absolutely silent as I walked over to the table second from the right. Nobody applauded. At. All. I didn't mind. I was just relieved to be somewhere.
It didn't take long after I was seated for the entire ceremony to end, and the venerable witch carried the stool and the hat away from the center of the room. Someone shouted, "Dig in!" and we all happily obeyed.
As I dumped sour cream on my baked potato, I glanced at the other tables, and caught a dark-haired boy's eye. He was sitting at the table on the far left, and he nudged his friend. As the person next to him looked up, I realized it was the annoying kid from the boats! I glared, and turned back to my potato. So what if I was already making enemies? I had to be prepared for jealousy if I was going to be the best in the school, didn't I?
Back in the Great Hall the next morning, I pretended to be concentrating hard on my bacon while I peered up at the left table stealthily. I watched Annoying Boy and his friends eating together (AGAIN). None of them looked over at the Slytherin table, which was a great relief, I thought ... then I saw the girl turn around and look at me and was preparing my most vicious glare when someone banged my right elbow. I looked over and saw a burly arm grabbing for pineapple juice, and then I noticed that the arm was attached to a huge boy with a nasty grin on his face.
"Sorry," he said unsorrowfully. I scowled, but didn't say anything. Better not to mess with weight-lifters.
"I said sorry!" he yelled, and grabbed me by my collar and sneered right into my face. Horrid-smelling breath rose like a cloud around me, and I closed my eyes. "What do you say when someone says they're sorry?????"
"It was my fault," I said untruthfully, trying my best to unwrinkle my nose. He smelled awful! His lizardlike eyes rolled in his head and flashed.
"Good, little tyke. Now let's be friends. I want a midget for a friend." The rest of the table, which had been watching, all laughed.
"I -" I started, but Delmondo had seen what was happening and strode right on over. Gregory turned green - well, more green than his huge face already was, anyway - and plopped me right back down, but it didn't do anything. The Headmaster had already seen him.
"Mr. Goyle," he admonished. "When will you ever learn? What a poor welcome you gave Mr. Snape! Twenty points from Slytherin, and don't let it happen again." The Slytherins that had been watching were now all innocently devouring their breakfasts, and Gregory gave me a horrid glare as Delmondo turned his back on us and left.
"Snape," Gregory whispered. "You'll pay dearly for this one." I pretended not to notice, but inside I was screaming. What would Gregory do? I had the awful feeling I'd find out very soon.
Late afternoon found me in the Astronomy room, paying close attention to Professor Alga - or so it seemed. We had double Astronomy on Monday afternoons - with the Hufflepuffs. The gossip queen, instantly known and dreaded throughout the whole school, had been whispering the entire period, and all I caught was "Severus Serpentus? [giggles]" and "Snape, he's a Slytherin." I figured out who they were talking about in a bit, using a lot of hard thinking skills.
"Sirs moja ish no best too sbiper," Alga announced. Well, that's what it sounded like to me, anyway. "Issa Shnay?" he asked. I rested my chin in my hands and scratched my forehead, getting ready for a long nap. If I could just ...
"MR. SNAPE!" yelled Alga. "How many times do I have to ask you??!!" The Gossip Queen snickered under her breath. I vowed revenge. I was also glad that Gregory wasn't there to add his snicker as well - I saw him go off to Divination or something like that with a bunch of his friends, so I figured we were in different years.
"Y - yes, sir?" I asked, hoping that my drowsiness wouldn't lose Slytherin points OR grade points. I shook myself out of it, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry, sir," I added.
"Well, what is it then?"
"Er, well, Sirs moja is northwest of -"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??" Alga screamed in fury. I shivered a little, surprised. I'd never seen a teacher this angry, never. My hands quivered and my notes became crooked as I scrambled to take them down while I was talking to him.
"I don't know, sir," I said truthfully, trying to see behind him to the board, I'd gotten half a word -
"SNAAAAAPE!!!!" he bellowed, huge veins sticking out of his thin neck. I knew I was in for it. "GO TO DELMONDO! NOW!! BEFORE I -" I didn't hear anything else. I was already running.
Delmondo gave me an extremely stern talking-to, and I lost fifty points from Slytherin - I should have believed the gossipers when they said that Delmondo was a gigantic point-taker. For once, they were right!
But I was wrong. Gregory did eventually find out about that awful Astronomy class - it was all over the school! Yes, Gregory Goyle ["the First," as he always insisted] found many ways to torture and tease me about that one ... in fact, he found ways to torture and tease me for every mistake I made.
He didn't torture and tease me much, and not just because I made few mistakes. Most of his attention was concentrated on James Potter - otherwise known as Annoying Boy - and Sirius Black - the hotheaded kid who was his best friend. This I found amusing - Gregory and I, rivals from the start, had come up with a common foe.
What I did not find amusing, however, is that James and his friends didn't return Gregory's feelings; they never had time. All of their attention was on me.
One incident in particular I will always remember ...
"Class, I'm going to step out for a minute with Professor Delmondo," Professor Colloqua remarked one morning in Herbology. He slid the door of the greenhouse closed, and strolled back up to the school with the Headmaster to discuss something of "utmost importance." Black seized his chance.
"Why, it's Smarty Severus, peering out the greenhouse window!" he cheered sarcastically. James and his other little friend, Remus, laughed.
"Interesting that you call me Smarty," I replied coolly. "Finally you realize that I am, in fact, smarter than you all." I sneered, very well. I'd been practicing since the day I was born.
Black glared, then grinned. "Well, let's see," he returned, his smile growing. I didn't like the look of it. "Keep it fair," he began. "Only James and Severus are allowed to answer the questions I ask." I was about to protest that he was biased, but that would have made me out to be a coward, so I didn't dare. James was grinning now, too.
"First question ..." Black announced. "What do you get when you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"The Draught of Living Death," James answered immediately, before I could even open my mouth. I narrowed my eyes.
"I knew that one," I said, fury rising in me. "Just give me a chance to answer." Sirius nodded.
"Fine by me," he agreed. His sudden amiability was extremely unconvincing. "Where would you find a bezoar?" he asked. I gulped, hoping they didn't see it.
"In the stomach of - of - of -"
"A goat," James finished. I glared frightfully at him, but he didn't even flinch. He stared calmly back, obviously proud of himself. Self-centered, foolish, full-of-himself, stuck-up pig, I concluded.
"Last question," stated Black. "Even though since it's a best out of three, you've already lost." He smiled triumphantly at me.
"Hey!" I shouted, really angry now. "I answered the second one!"
"All right then ..." Black screwed up his face. "We'll give you that one." He exchanged a wink with James. "But answer me this - what is the difference between monkshood and aconite?"
"They're the same plant, also called wolfsbane," James shot out quickly. Right on cue, they both beamed proudly at me.
"I didn't even have time to answer," I grumbled.
"It's all in the speed," Black informed me mock-helpfully. He snapped his fingers twice. "You don't have that, how can you ever have an education?" The two terrors vanished into the class as Professor Colloqua came back, and I vowed bitter revenge on all of them. Someday, I would get them where it hurt. For now, I was content to lie still, and let my enemies come to me, and nibble.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. Did anybody catch the sort-of pun I made around dinner...let me see...why is Snape so SOUR..*grin* If you didn't get it, you can go back and check if you want, but the joke will have lost something. Oh, and final sentence belongs to the fine, talented people who wrote the script for Gladiator - that was Senator Falco's line. Random question: where do wizard kids go to school BEFORE Hogwarts?? Do they at all?? And who's the other twin besides Parvarti?? Opinions, please, along with your reviews on the story - of course! *grin* Thank you very much, as always!! Need I remind you that I write for you? =)