'Harry Potter' © 1997 to Joanne Kathleen Rowling, all rights reserved. Infringement of copyright acknowledged.
Bitten by the Love Bug
Chapter One
Realisation
"Potter!" Snape called. "Potter!" He shook Harry's shoulder. Harry suddenly jerked awake.
"Sorry." Harry mumbled sleepily. He was exhausted, Katie Bell, the new Gryffindor Team Captain, was working the team harder than Oliver Wood ever did.
"You shouldn't be sleeping in my lesson, five points from Gryffindor." Snape walked back to the front of the room.
"Today, we sorry were going to look at the Draught of Living Death, but," He looked at Harry. "Circumstances being what they are I have decided to teach you verbally." Snape turned to the black board and wrote the date, the class sniggered and Hermione's hand shot in the air.
"Miss Granger?" Snape said without turning round.
"It's the 23rd not the 20th."
"Just testing." Snape replied as he changed the date. "Who can tell me what two plants make the Draught of Living Death." To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand shot in the air once more. "Someone other than Miss Granger." No one else volunteered an answer. Snape sighed and sat down. He looked at the class; the recent addition of glasses magnified his cold black eyes.
"You are all intelligent, in fact your one of the most intelligent groups I've ever taught. So someone tell me why only one person ever volunteers an answer." They looked at each other. "See what I mean? You all know the work, many of you know the answer but your just too lazy to put your hand and tell me. I won't bite your head off if it's wrong." Harry would not count on that. "Do I have to start picking on people to answer?" Still no one answered him. "Very well. Longbottom."
"Asphodel and" Neville faulted
"It's a kind of wood." Neville's round face still looked blank. "Long thin wriggley thing."
"Wormwood." He said finally.
"Well done. See if Mr Longbottom can answer a question correctly so can you all." He stood up, turned to the board and wrote that down. "Malfoy, what part of the asphodel do I use?"
"Dunno." Malfoy replied shrugging his shoulders.
"Try."
"Dunno." Malfoy replied again.
"If you don't answer, guess if you have to, I will take five points from Slytherin." Harry saw Malfoy look at Snape in amazement. Harry could not blame him, Snape threatening to take points of his own house and actually being sort-of nice to the class was something incredible.
"You can't do that!" Malfoy answered in shock.
"I am teacher, I can and will if I have to."
"But Slytherin's your house!"
"I know that!" Snape was becoming impatient. "What part of the asphodel do I use?"
"You can't pick on me." Malfoy told Snape slyly.
"Five points from Slytherin." Malfoy gasped and so did many of the Gryffindor's. "Fininigan what part of the asphodel do I use?"
"The roots." Seamus answered. Snape scribbled that down on the board.
"Malfoy, what do I have to do to the roots?"
"You can't keep picking on me." Harry could not understand it why Snape just did not lose his temper with Malfoy. "I'll tell my father that you're victimising me."
"I'm not afraid of your father." Malfoy glared at Snape."Now then Mr Malfoy what do I have to do to the roots?"
"Powder them." Malfoy replied sulkily.
"See you do know that answer." He scribbled that on the board.
The lesson continued in this way right until five minutes before the lunch bell.
"Homework!" Snape called. "I want your to right a detailed summery using the notes on the board about the Draught of Living Death, to be handed in next lesson."
The class left the dungeon all talking about their lesson.
"What do you reckons up with Snape?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch.
"If Wales had won the Quidditch World cup I'd say that, but otherwise I don't have clue what's up with him." Wales had got to the semi-finals and then been knocked out by Bulgaria.
* * *
"Snape's acting really weird." Fred Weasley said to Harry when they met outside the portrait hole.
"I know." Harry replied.
"Maybe he's glad that Percy's finally left!" George did sort of a celebratory dance and they all laughed.
"Who's acting weird." Came the strict Scottish voice of Professor McGonagall. Minerva McGonagall was the head of Gryffindor and transfiguration teacher; she was strict and clever, like Snape, not a teacher to cross.
"Professor Snape." Fred replied cheekily.
"Yeah, he was actually being nice to us." George backed up.
"That's enough! Go into to the common room."
"Yes miss." They scurried through the portrait hole. Once into the Gryffindor common room they fell into fits of laughter.
Outside Professor McGonagall chuckled to herself. Yes, Severus Snape was acting strange, this morning he had said good morning in a rather cheery way, not his normal stiff way. She shook her head and headed towards the staff room.
"Severus, I've just had a rather interesting report from some of my Gryffindor's." McGonagall said as she sat down next to him.
"What sort of report?" He asked.
"One that said you were actually being nice to your classes."
"Being nice! Me being nice to a class!"
"I only know one reason why you would be acting nice." Professor Flitwick piped up, using a mysterious voice. "You've been bitten by" He paused dramatically. "The love bug!" They all laughed.
"So who's the lucky lady." Professor Sprout asked as she poured the kettle. "Anyone we know?"
"No." Snape had gone a bright shade of red. "I'm not telling you."
"Oh come on!" McGonagall said. "Tell us." A chorus of yeah' and go on' followed her demand.
"No."
"If you don't tell us I'll follow you to the bathroom."
"That's fine with me Professor McGonagall."
"Give us a clue!" Professor Sinsitra's Irish voice floated over the other mutterings from the staff.
"No."
"Is she Welsh?" Flitwick asked.
"Yes."
"Older or younger than you?" McGonagall asked.
"The same age."
"Did she go to Hogwarts?" Sinsitra asked
"Yes."
"What house?"
"What is this the Spanish Inquisition!" The staff glared at him. "Ravenclaw."
"We can't guess from those! Who is she?" McGonagall was getting impatient.
"Did I say it was a she?" Snape grinned. Professor McGonagall hit him round the head with the newspaper knocking his glasses askew. "All right!" He said correcting his glasses. "It is a she, but I am afraid you'll have to keep guessing."
"That's easy!" Professor Binns replied. "I'll just go through all the student records from the time you were at Hogwarts and find the name of you Welsh girl friend."
"How will you do that? The records don't tell you nationality, and if you think you will remember an accent, unlike me she doesn't have one." The staff groaned.
"There's only one thing left Minerva, you'll have to follow him." Flitwick said.
"That's fine with me, follow me all year if you have to, but I'm not telling you!"
"How about we tickle him!" Professor Sprout conjured up a giant pink feather duster.
"I'm not ticklish. I am not telling you, yet. I'll tell when our relationship becomes more definite." Snape stood up and headed for the staff room door.
"Were are you off to?"
"My office, to get away from the Spanish Inquisition." Snape left the staff room at a run in order to get away from the questions. There was no way they were going to find out, they would have to wait to find out who she was.