"The New Teacher"
by *CelestialMoon_EmpressCrysta*
Note: Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but the Calena belongs to me! Please R&R !!
Harry felt his spirits fall as he, Hermione, and Ron reached their next class, which was Potions. The rest of the Gryffindor fifth years, as well as Slytherin fifth years, walked into the dark, torch-lit dungeons, murmuring and whispering as they reached the classroom. When the Harry Potter group walked into the cold, musty dungeons of the Potions teacher, Professor Snape was at his desk, an impatient scowl covering his face.
"Hurry up and get into your seats! And take out a quill. We're going to have a little pop quiz."
The class groaned.
"Another word from you guys and I'll take away points from both houses!"
Quickly the class quieted down as Snape began to pass the tests towards them. Harry looked at his paper and frowned. This was going to be tough....
Afterwards, the class began to work on their lessons. Snape slithered from table to table, lecturing and criticizing the students on their attempts to mix potions. "Longbottom!" Severus screamed as Neville accidentally knocked over a potion he was mixing. At once, the chemicals spilled over onto the floor, forming a nasty odor around the area. "Clean this mess up at once! I've never seen a more ignorant boy." His face contorted into a furious expression as Neville scurried over towards the mess with a mop. "You! Continue with the experiments" He gestured to the rest of the class.
Harry looked at the fearful Neville, scrubbing frantically with the mop, while Snape towered over him, grimly overlooking the situation. Then, Snape, as if realizing that a student was watching instead of working, turned his black eyes towards Harry.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor! For both you and Longbottom, Potter!"
"Hey! That isn't fair!" cried Hermione. Snape glared towards her, and Hermione, realizing that that was a mistake, quickly turned back to her potion.
"Another twenty points from Gryffindor, thanks to little-miss, smart-mouthed Granger!" The entire half of the class, which consisted of Gryffindor students, mumbled and groaned. The other half of the class (Slytherins) snickered, Malfoy being the loudest.
As the class period went steadily on, Harry began to wonder when Potions would be over. It seemed to be taking an extremely long amount of time, and as he and Ron tried to work on trying to turn their potion green, he began to think about how much more he could stand of Snape's potions. "Only three more years," he murmured to himself as Ron finished adding a small vial of white powder.
"Yep. Three more years until Snape is out of our lives!" Ron seemed to be thinking the same thing that Harry was thinking. He grinned slyly at Harry and whispered, "After we graduate, we will never have to go to this class again...."
********
They would never have to see Snape's face again. Harry kept thinking about that wonderful day as he, Ron, and Hermione walked towards the Gryffindor common room after dinner. During the entire day, the thought of them leaving had never left Harry's mind. He suddenly felt excited as he thought about how happy he would be to finally look over his shoulder and not see the scowling professor there. As the three friends sat down at some chairs, they started to talk about how fun it would be without Snape, when they leave school.
"Yes," Ron agreed as the subject of Snape ended. "But you know what would be even better? Snape leaving school!"
Hermione and Harry looked at him, grinning. "Yeah. We might finally get a nicer teacher. Any teacher would be better than Snape!" Hermione said.
"I agree! Any teacher would be better. Too bad he can't leave or get abducted by aliens," Harry added. Ron looked at him in an expression that said "what the heck are aliens". "I'll tell you later," he said to Ron. Then the three began to do their homework.
The next day dawned bright and early. The three Gryffindor students went to each of their classes as usual, ate lunch and did the same things that they did every day. Soon enough, they walked over to their next class, Potions, which was again, with the Slytherins. "Why, why, why?" Ron kept muttering as they sat in their seats and waited for Professor Snape to yell at them.
"Guess what we're going to do today?" Snape's voice seemed a little happier than usual. "Because you all FAILED on your last test, we're going to have another one...A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT ONE!!! And you will all be performing the test in front of the class." He glared at Neville, who began to shiver uncontrollably. He started to stalk the rows of seats, handing each person a piece of parchment with the test questions on it. Then, amused by the predicament the class was in, sat at his desk and called the first student to the front of the classroom.
Several students later, it was Longbottom's turn. Clutching the parchment to his chest, he started towards the front of the room, where the lab table stood waiting. Swallowing nervously, he read the paper and took a container full of blue liquid. Carefully, he poured the liquid into the beaker. Suddenly, the entire class heard a loud pounding on the door. Snape, grumbling about the disturbance, strode to the door and opened it, only to find no one there. He slammed it shut and sat down at his desk. "Get on with it, boy. We haven't got all day!" his harsh voice echoed across the silent room. Before Neville could touch another container, the room was filled with a white light, more luminous than the torches that lit the room. Everybody covered their eyes, as the light filled the classroom, and then suddenly disappeared before anyone could comprehend what was going on. Snape scanned the room for the light, but found nothing, as the students started to chat wildly about what happened.
"What the heck was that?" Ron asked.
"I didn't see it, but it was really bright!" Hermione answered, her voice very anxious and hyper.
"Maybe it was You-Know-Who...."
"No, his light would be green." Harry was the only one not excited about the light. He glanced at Snape, who looked around several times before settling down into his chair.
"Class, quiet down now," Professor Snape growled at the class. But then another thing caught his attention. Standing in the doorway was a young woman, with hair darker than his and eyes that were deep and expressionless. Her hair a bit long, and she wore very strange-looking robes the color of midnight-blue. She stood there, still as a statue, but very much alive, and for some wierd reason, Snape felt his stomach twist and turn when he looked at her.
Suddenly the professor realized his eyes staring into hers. Shaking himself out of the gaze, he called the attention of the class, who had finally recognized the girl in the room and quieted down. He then walked towards her, his expression stern. "Who are you?" the professor heard himself ask.
She opened her mouth to speak and answered, in a tone unrevealing, "My name is Calena. I'm going to be the new professor of the Potions classes."
It was as if time had stopped. The class gaped at her, and Snape felt his jaw drop as she walked towards him in a swift and graceful manner, her gaze never leaving his face. "Excuse me?" Snape stammered after a few moments of shock.
She flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes and repeated, "I'm going to be the new professor of this class."
Snape could not believe his ears. That girl was going to replace him? How could she? She was probably younger than he was and he knew more about Potions than she. Then, suddenly a thought flickered into his mind. Was he being promoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts? Was he getting the class that he desired more than Potions? He felt his frozen heart lift. Smirking, he held out his hand to her and said, "How lovely to meet you, Professor Calena."
"That's 'Professor Abalin'. Calena is my first name." She held out her hand.
"Sorry...Calena." Snape felt something inside him jump at the sound of her name, as if he had met her before. He took her small hand in his and shook it.
Calena smiled and let go. Her eyes still focused on his. "The headmaster said that I may begin after you finish with this class. Is it alright if I stay in here to observe your teaching methods?"
Snape shot a quick glance at the class, which had suddenly disappeared from his mind when Calena began to talk to him. Then he nodded and she sat down in an empty corner seat. Snape decided to cancel the test and instead let the students work on their own potions while he found out about his new job. After setting the class to work, Severus Snape walked over to Calena, who looked at him silently from her seat at one of the lab tables. She had been whispering to Granger while he instucted the class on what to do. As Calena excused herself from her conversation with Hermione, both she and Snape walked out of the classroom, out of the listening ears of the students.
"You wanted to speak with me, Sir?"
She sounded so much like a child of seventeen or less. How could she have been a professor? Snape thought as he eyed her carefully. Her expression was now filled with interest as he began to ask her about his new job.
"I don't really know. The headmaster said nothing about you. He only told me to go to your classroom in order for me to get a feel of the atmosphere of the class environment."
He said nothing? But certainly he must have mentioned something about his new job or about talking to him about it? Snape wondered.
Calena sensed his problem and suggested talking to the headmaster himself. "I'll take care of the students while you're gone," she finished.
Snape looked at her suspiciously, then agreed. With that, he began his rush towards Dumbledore's office. After Snape had left, Calena walked back inside the classroom, where the noise level went up a notch or two. "Excuse me! Students?" she announced in a clear, articulate voice. "I'm going to be your new teacher by tomorrow, so I would be happy to hear every single one of your names...starting with you!" She pointed at Harry, who suddenly grew very aware of all the attention he was getting.
"My name's Harry, Harry Potter." he answered in a mild voice. Professor Alabin smiled at him and Harry felt his ears grow red.
"The famous Harry Potter. I'm honored." she nodded at the next student, and the next, and so on. Soon, she had heard everyone's names. "Do you have any questions for me?"
Malfoy shot his hand up first. "Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously.
"Didn't I already answer that?"
"Yeah, but how did you get the job?"
"I was applying at several schools. Dumbledore thought I would be an excellent teacher for Potion-making so I agreed to the job. Does that answer it?"
"Yes. But why in the middle of the year?"
"Oh, because I heard some very awful rumors about this Potions teacher, and I wanted to see if they were true. When I inquired, Dumbledore told me about how Snape treats you a bit, 'unfriendly' and he thought I would like the job better than him."
Harry's mouth dropped. Wasn't this what he had been waiting for? He glanced at Ron and Hermione, who both had the same idea. Then Hermione raised her hand in the air.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"Professor, are you going to be our teacher for the remainder of the year?"
"Yes, and the years after that." She smiled as the Gryffindor half of the class broke into a jubilant cheer. The other half only stood there, grim as tombstones. Harry stared at the new teacher as she began to tell the class about what she would be teaching. This was a dream come true! He couldn't believe his luck. And they were the first ones to be witnessing this. Snape was finally leaving! And he was leaving sooner than he thought.
That night, Severus Snape laid in his bed thinking about what had just happened. He recalled what had passed between him and Dumbledore when he asked about the new teacher.
"Why now, Professor?"
"Why Severus! I'm surpised. I thought you would want the job of the Dark Arts teacher. It was what you had applied for in the beginning."
"Yes, but how come-"
"Oh dear. You're worried about the transition. Don't worry, the students will adjust to the changes. And she came in during the middle of the school year. I thought that it would be a treat for you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, since the new teacher left the class so early in the school year. (I wonder why he left so suddenly?) So I agreed. It's as simple as that. And also, Severus," Dumbledore glanced in Snape's direction with an unusual twinkle in his eyes, "I do believe that a person like that would do a person like you some good."
What did Dumbledore mean? The thought was running back and forth across his mind as he shifted in his bed and finally realized that he couldn't sleep. The excitement about teaching another class was getting to him, and for some odd reason, Severus couldn't stop thinking about Calena, and her eyes that bore deep into his. "She is different, but then all of the teachers are different" Snape thought as he got dressed into his black robes. He straightened his hair and walked out of the room into one of the deserted corridors. Why did the girl have a big impact on him? And why was she so young? She was probably a few years older than the seventh years, so why was she teaching his class?
As Severus Snape turned the corner, he bumped into a figure in dark robes. Severus looked into the person's hidden face and suddenly gasped. It was Calena. And she was in tears. "Professor?" she asked in a trembling voice. Snape looked into her eyes, which were full of sorrow. What had she been up to?
"What are you doing here?" Snape asked in a harsh way. Calena quickly looked around the corridors and wiped her tears with the rough texture of her robes. It appeared that she didn't want to be seen crying.
Severus watched her shake her head at him and stammer, "Please don't tell anyone!"
"Don't tell anyone what?" He found himself putting a hand on her shoulders. They appeared to be soaked, but it wasn't raining outside. She tried to look away, but he made her face him. "What is going on, Calena?"
She looked at him in an expression that pleaded, "Promise me that you won't tell a soul." He nodded as if he understood her, and she somehow understood him. As he stared into her dark eyes, which were almost covered by the dark, he felt a scene come to him: a scene that showed shadows looming in and out of the trees, and unbearable screaming in the background. There were sparks in a corner of the scene, with two people crowding around the light, the green light....
His mind jolted back to reality, as he held the shivering Calena by the shoulders. Suddenly Snape felt his suspicion dull, and a larger emotion fill his body: Pity. He held the girl in place, then led her to the nearest room with a fireplace. There, he watched as Calena dried herself in front of the warm fire in the teachers' lounge. He began to wonder what secret she was keeping from everyone. As soon as Calena had finished drying herself, she turned towards Snape and a smile crept to her lips. "Thank you, Professor."
"Call me Severus."
"Okay. Thank you, Severus."
Snape felt his face redden with embarrassment as he whispered "you're welcome" back. It was the first time someone was kind to him in such a way that it touched him somehow. Then he remembered the secret and asked her, "Now, tell me that secret of yours...."
by *CelestialMoon_EmpressCrysta*
Note: Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but the Calena belongs to me! Please R&R !!
Harry felt his spirits fall as he, Hermione, and Ron reached their next class, which was Potions. The rest of the Gryffindor fifth years, as well as Slytherin fifth years, walked into the dark, torch-lit dungeons, murmuring and whispering as they reached the classroom. When the Harry Potter group walked into the cold, musty dungeons of the Potions teacher, Professor Snape was at his desk, an impatient scowl covering his face.
"Hurry up and get into your seats! And take out a quill. We're going to have a little pop quiz."
The class groaned.
"Another word from you guys and I'll take away points from both houses!"
Quickly the class quieted down as Snape began to pass the tests towards them. Harry looked at his paper and frowned. This was going to be tough....
Afterwards, the class began to work on their lessons. Snape slithered from table to table, lecturing and criticizing the students on their attempts to mix potions. "Longbottom!" Severus screamed as Neville accidentally knocked over a potion he was mixing. At once, the chemicals spilled over onto the floor, forming a nasty odor around the area. "Clean this mess up at once! I've never seen a more ignorant boy." His face contorted into a furious expression as Neville scurried over towards the mess with a mop. "You! Continue with the experiments" He gestured to the rest of the class.
Harry looked at the fearful Neville, scrubbing frantically with the mop, while Snape towered over him, grimly overlooking the situation. Then, Snape, as if realizing that a student was watching instead of working, turned his black eyes towards Harry.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor! For both you and Longbottom, Potter!"
"Hey! That isn't fair!" cried Hermione. Snape glared towards her, and Hermione, realizing that that was a mistake, quickly turned back to her potion.
"Another twenty points from Gryffindor, thanks to little-miss, smart-mouthed Granger!" The entire half of the class, which consisted of Gryffindor students, mumbled and groaned. The other half of the class (Slytherins) snickered, Malfoy being the loudest.
As the class period went steadily on, Harry began to wonder when Potions would be over. It seemed to be taking an extremely long amount of time, and as he and Ron tried to work on trying to turn their potion green, he began to think about how much more he could stand of Snape's potions. "Only three more years," he murmured to himself as Ron finished adding a small vial of white powder.
"Yep. Three more years until Snape is out of our lives!" Ron seemed to be thinking the same thing that Harry was thinking. He grinned slyly at Harry and whispered, "After we graduate, we will never have to go to this class again...."
********
They would never have to see Snape's face again. Harry kept thinking about that wonderful day as he, Ron, and Hermione walked towards the Gryffindor common room after dinner. During the entire day, the thought of them leaving had never left Harry's mind. He suddenly felt excited as he thought about how happy he would be to finally look over his shoulder and not see the scowling professor there. As the three friends sat down at some chairs, they started to talk about how fun it would be without Snape, when they leave school.
"Yes," Ron agreed as the subject of Snape ended. "But you know what would be even better? Snape leaving school!"
Hermione and Harry looked at him, grinning. "Yeah. We might finally get a nicer teacher. Any teacher would be better than Snape!" Hermione said.
"I agree! Any teacher would be better. Too bad he can't leave or get abducted by aliens," Harry added. Ron looked at him in an expression that said "what the heck are aliens". "I'll tell you later," he said to Ron. Then the three began to do their homework.
The next day dawned bright and early. The three Gryffindor students went to each of their classes as usual, ate lunch and did the same things that they did every day. Soon enough, they walked over to their next class, Potions, which was again, with the Slytherins. "Why, why, why?" Ron kept muttering as they sat in their seats and waited for Professor Snape to yell at them.
"Guess what we're going to do today?" Snape's voice seemed a little happier than usual. "Because you all FAILED on your last test, we're going to have another one...A MUCH MORE DIFFICULT ONE!!! And you will all be performing the test in front of the class." He glared at Neville, who began to shiver uncontrollably. He started to stalk the rows of seats, handing each person a piece of parchment with the test questions on it. Then, amused by the predicament the class was in, sat at his desk and called the first student to the front of the classroom.
Several students later, it was Longbottom's turn. Clutching the parchment to his chest, he started towards the front of the room, where the lab table stood waiting. Swallowing nervously, he read the paper and took a container full of blue liquid. Carefully, he poured the liquid into the beaker. Suddenly, the entire class heard a loud pounding on the door. Snape, grumbling about the disturbance, strode to the door and opened it, only to find no one there. He slammed it shut and sat down at his desk. "Get on with it, boy. We haven't got all day!" his harsh voice echoed across the silent room. Before Neville could touch another container, the room was filled with a white light, more luminous than the torches that lit the room. Everybody covered their eyes, as the light filled the classroom, and then suddenly disappeared before anyone could comprehend what was going on. Snape scanned the room for the light, but found nothing, as the students started to chat wildly about what happened.
"What the heck was that?" Ron asked.
"I didn't see it, but it was really bright!" Hermione answered, her voice very anxious and hyper.
"Maybe it was You-Know-Who...."
"No, his light would be green." Harry was the only one not excited about the light. He glanced at Snape, who looked around several times before settling down into his chair.
"Class, quiet down now," Professor Snape growled at the class. But then another thing caught his attention. Standing in the doorway was a young woman, with hair darker than his and eyes that were deep and expressionless. Her hair a bit long, and she wore very strange-looking robes the color of midnight-blue. She stood there, still as a statue, but very much alive, and for some wierd reason, Snape felt his stomach twist and turn when he looked at her.
Suddenly the professor realized his eyes staring into hers. Shaking himself out of the gaze, he called the attention of the class, who had finally recognized the girl in the room and quieted down. He then walked towards her, his expression stern. "Who are you?" the professor heard himself ask.
She opened her mouth to speak and answered, in a tone unrevealing, "My name is Calena. I'm going to be the new professor of the Potions classes."
It was as if time had stopped. The class gaped at her, and Snape felt his jaw drop as she walked towards him in a swift and graceful manner, her gaze never leaving his face. "Excuse me?" Snape stammered after a few moments of shock.
She flicked a strand of hair out of her eyes and repeated, "I'm going to be the new professor of this class."
Snape could not believe his ears. That girl was going to replace him? How could she? She was probably younger than he was and he knew more about Potions than she. Then, suddenly a thought flickered into his mind. Was he being promoted to Defense Against the Dark Arts? Was he getting the class that he desired more than Potions? He felt his frozen heart lift. Smirking, he held out his hand to her and said, "How lovely to meet you, Professor Calena."
"That's 'Professor Abalin'. Calena is my first name." She held out her hand.
"Sorry...Calena." Snape felt something inside him jump at the sound of her name, as if he had met her before. He took her small hand in his and shook it.
Calena smiled and let go. Her eyes still focused on his. "The headmaster said that I may begin after you finish with this class. Is it alright if I stay in here to observe your teaching methods?"
Snape shot a quick glance at the class, which had suddenly disappeared from his mind when Calena began to talk to him. Then he nodded and she sat down in an empty corner seat. Snape decided to cancel the test and instead let the students work on their own potions while he found out about his new job. After setting the class to work, Severus Snape walked over to Calena, who looked at him silently from her seat at one of the lab tables. She had been whispering to Granger while he instucted the class on what to do. As Calena excused herself from her conversation with Hermione, both she and Snape walked out of the classroom, out of the listening ears of the students.
"You wanted to speak with me, Sir?"
She sounded so much like a child of seventeen or less. How could she have been a professor? Snape thought as he eyed her carefully. Her expression was now filled with interest as he began to ask her about his new job.
"I don't really know. The headmaster said nothing about you. He only told me to go to your classroom in order for me to get a feel of the atmosphere of the class environment."
He said nothing? But certainly he must have mentioned something about his new job or about talking to him about it? Snape wondered.
Calena sensed his problem and suggested talking to the headmaster himself. "I'll take care of the students while you're gone," she finished.
Snape looked at her suspiciously, then agreed. With that, he began his rush towards Dumbledore's office. After Snape had left, Calena walked back inside the classroom, where the noise level went up a notch or two. "Excuse me! Students?" she announced in a clear, articulate voice. "I'm going to be your new teacher by tomorrow, so I would be happy to hear every single one of your names...starting with you!" She pointed at Harry, who suddenly grew very aware of all the attention he was getting.
"My name's Harry, Harry Potter." he answered in a mild voice. Professor Alabin smiled at him and Harry felt his ears grow red.
"The famous Harry Potter. I'm honored." she nodded at the next student, and the next, and so on. Soon, she had heard everyone's names. "Do you have any questions for me?"
Malfoy shot his hand up first. "Why are you here?" he asked suspiciously.
"Didn't I already answer that?"
"Yeah, but how did you get the job?"
"I was applying at several schools. Dumbledore thought I would be an excellent teacher for Potion-making so I agreed to the job. Does that answer it?"
"Yes. But why in the middle of the year?"
"Oh, because I heard some very awful rumors about this Potions teacher, and I wanted to see if they were true. When I inquired, Dumbledore told me about how Snape treats you a bit, 'unfriendly' and he thought I would like the job better than him."
Harry's mouth dropped. Wasn't this what he had been waiting for? He glanced at Ron and Hermione, who both had the same idea. Then Hermione raised her hand in the air.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"Professor, are you going to be our teacher for the remainder of the year?"
"Yes, and the years after that." She smiled as the Gryffindor half of the class broke into a jubilant cheer. The other half only stood there, grim as tombstones. Harry stared at the new teacher as she began to tell the class about what she would be teaching. This was a dream come true! He couldn't believe his luck. And they were the first ones to be witnessing this. Snape was finally leaving! And he was leaving sooner than he thought.
That night, Severus Snape laid in his bed thinking about what had just happened. He recalled what had passed between him and Dumbledore when he asked about the new teacher.
"Why now, Professor?"
"Why Severus! I'm surpised. I thought you would want the job of the Dark Arts teacher. It was what you had applied for in the beginning."
"Yes, but how come-"
"Oh dear. You're worried about the transition. Don't worry, the students will adjust to the changes. And she came in during the middle of the school year. I thought that it would be a treat for you to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, since the new teacher left the class so early in the school year. (I wonder why he left so suddenly?) So I agreed. It's as simple as that. And also, Severus," Dumbledore glanced in Snape's direction with an unusual twinkle in his eyes, "I do believe that a person like that would do a person like you some good."
What did Dumbledore mean? The thought was running back and forth across his mind as he shifted in his bed and finally realized that he couldn't sleep. The excitement about teaching another class was getting to him, and for some odd reason, Severus couldn't stop thinking about Calena, and her eyes that bore deep into his. "She is different, but then all of the teachers are different" Snape thought as he got dressed into his black robes. He straightened his hair and walked out of the room into one of the deserted corridors. Why did the girl have a big impact on him? And why was she so young? She was probably a few years older than the seventh years, so why was she teaching his class?
As Severus Snape turned the corner, he bumped into a figure in dark robes. Severus looked into the person's hidden face and suddenly gasped. It was Calena. And she was in tears. "Professor?" she asked in a trembling voice. Snape looked into her eyes, which were full of sorrow. What had she been up to?
"What are you doing here?" Snape asked in a harsh way. Calena quickly looked around the corridors and wiped her tears with the rough texture of her robes. It appeared that she didn't want to be seen crying.
Severus watched her shake her head at him and stammer, "Please don't tell anyone!"
"Don't tell anyone what?" He found himself putting a hand on her shoulders. They appeared to be soaked, but it wasn't raining outside. She tried to look away, but he made her face him. "What is going on, Calena?"
She looked at him in an expression that pleaded, "Promise me that you won't tell a soul." He nodded as if he understood her, and she somehow understood him. As he stared into her dark eyes, which were almost covered by the dark, he felt a scene come to him: a scene that showed shadows looming in and out of the trees, and unbearable screaming in the background. There were sparks in a corner of the scene, with two people crowding around the light, the green light....
His mind jolted back to reality, as he held the shivering Calena by the shoulders. Suddenly Snape felt his suspicion dull, and a larger emotion fill his body: Pity. He held the girl in place, then led her to the nearest room with a fireplace. There, he watched as Calena dried herself in front of the warm fire in the teachers' lounge. He began to wonder what secret she was keeping from everyone. As soon as Calena had finished drying herself, she turned towards Snape and a smile crept to her lips. "Thank you, Professor."
"Call me Severus."
"Okay. Thank you, Severus."
Snape felt his face redden with embarrassment as he whispered "you're welcome" back. It was the first time someone was kind to him in such a way that it touched him somehow. Then he remembered the secret and asked her, "Now, tell me that secret of yours...."