"Oh, isn't this a bit boring?" said James, idly waving his wand around.
"Very," muttered Severus, staring up at the ceiling.
Professor Dumbledore had put everybody in random pairs for a little charms test- rolling a stick across the table. Severus had been paired with James Potter, much to his displeasure, but the way Severus felt was nothing compared to the look on Lucius's face when Dumbledore put him with Arthur Weasley.
"Weasley, you buffoon, that's not how you wave the wand!" Lucius was frequently heard remarking.
James seemed to have taken over the entire responsibility of performing the charm, though he couldn't seem make it budge any more than he could make his hair neat. After what seemed an eternity of James muttering and yawning, Severus pushed him out the way, saying "I'll do it, idiot," muttered a few incantation words, and successfully rolled the stick off the desk.
"Well done, Severus," said Dumbledore, beaming.
James seemed to have gotten the hint after that, and was a lot colder towards Severus from then. Frankly, Severus couldn't care less- Potter was an aggravating fool, as was his friend Black. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
The last subject of the day was flying lessons- Severus was rather apprehensive about this. In his point of view, a lesson that wasn't inside a classroom and whose knowledge couldn't be written on a piece of parchment was unreliable... even so, he couldn't help feeling slightly excited about it.
"What've we got now, Snape?" asked Lucius as their class filed out of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Severus gave him a dark look, but said "Flying lessons." He couldn't help keeping his voice in it's usual monotone, nerves shook it.
"Excellent," Lucius said, grinning. "I was basically born on a broomstick, this'll be great."
"Right," muttered Severus, and they headed for the Entrance Hall.
Stepping onto the grounds, they saw another group of students heading towards the Quidditch pitch. They looked like the-
"Gryffindors," Lucius snarled. "This is just great, isn't it? We have to have them with us twice in one day! Why is that?"
"Don't ask me," said Severus, as disappointed as Lucius about this news.
"Right everybody," squawked a frail-looking old wizard who Severus doubted had ridden a broomstick in well over ten years. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. I am Mr. Niken, your teacher. Let's get things cleared up first- whatever I tell you to do, you do it. No questions asked... do you all understand?"
The class nodded mutely. Mr. Niken's eyes scanned their faces, his craggy face scowling.
"Right. Step up to your brooms, hold your hand over it, and say clearly 'Up!' on the count of three. Ready; one, two, three!"
"Up!" shouted Severus. His broom slowly hovered into his hand; Severus felt quite proud of this, but then he saw James. James's broom flew straight into his hand without hesitation, making Severus glower with jealousy.
"Now, I want you to mount your brooms, kick off, hover for a moment, and lean your broom forwards slightly and land. Any of those who have flown before may circle- slowly! - around our group and come to land where they started. Ready; one, two, three!"
Severus kicked off from the ground; he was suddenly floating, floating above the ground. It was only a few feet, but to Severus it was like he was soaring through the clouds. He had never felt anything like it... it was breathtaking.
His daydream was suddenly broken when Mr. Niken grabbed the front of his broom and yanked it downwards. "You're doing it totally wrong, boy," he said loudly. "You're holding it wrong, sitting on it wrong and you were starting to fly backwards. Take a leaf out of Potter's book; go on, Potter, show him how it's done."
James gave a smug smirk, kicked off from the ground, did a perfect loop around the class and landed neatly exactly where he took off from. Severus sneered. James sneered back at him.
Severus seemed to have made his first enemy- James Potter.
The next few days were uneventful, until Thursday. The Slytherins had Potions for the first time right after lunch. Severus was keen to go to this; he knew plenty about potions and alchemy, thanks to his father owning an apothecary. Maybe it was best to remember about the apothecary, just for this lesson. The knowledge would come in handy.
The Slytherin first-years sat in their seats, borely awaiting their professor's arrival. Potions class had began twenty minutes ago, and the teacher still hadn't come to class. By the sounds of other students running along the corridors outside, laughing and yelling, none of the other teachers had come either. A few Slytherin boys stood up and headed for the door, but they stopped suddenly as a tall man blocked the way.
"Sneaking out of class, are we?" he snarled, stepping menacingly towards the three boys who scampered back to their desks like frightened rabbits. "I do apologise for being late, my students, but Headmaster called us in for an urgent meeting." He stared around the class with cold eyes, making everybody shudder.
"I am Professor Eros Septimius. I have been teaching Potions here at Hogwarts for well over thirty years and so I expect none of you to have any reason to complain about anything that I set." Septimius's voice was low and like a growl; his features matched this voice perfectly. His nose was large and bulbous, his penetrating ice-blue eyes seemed to have sunken into the heavily-wrinkled face like heavy stones on a sponge. His weak-looking chin was covered in white bristles, his sparse grey hair hung about his face at all different lengths. Severus took an immediate disliking to him, as did just about everybody in the school.
Septimius sat down at his desk, unrolling a peice of parchment and dipping a very large, ornate quill into the ink pot. "Abercorge," he muttered, reading out each student's name and ticking them off as they answered. He soon came to Severus's name.
"Snape."
"Present, Professor," mumbled Severus, staring at the ground.
There was a short pause, before Septimius asked, "You're Severus Snape, of the apothecary family?"
Severus looked up, his dark eyes glowering. "Yes, sir."
Septimius snickered, a sound that was quite unpleasant to hear. "You should do well in this subject, my boy," he said slyly, before carrying on.
"Very," muttered Severus, staring up at the ceiling.
Professor Dumbledore had put everybody in random pairs for a little charms test- rolling a stick across the table. Severus had been paired with James Potter, much to his displeasure, but the way Severus felt was nothing compared to the look on Lucius's face when Dumbledore put him with Arthur Weasley.
"Weasley, you buffoon, that's not how you wave the wand!" Lucius was frequently heard remarking.
James seemed to have taken over the entire responsibility of performing the charm, though he couldn't seem make it budge any more than he could make his hair neat. After what seemed an eternity of James muttering and yawning, Severus pushed him out the way, saying "I'll do it, idiot," muttered a few incantation words, and successfully rolled the stick off the desk.
"Well done, Severus," said Dumbledore, beaming.
James seemed to have gotten the hint after that, and was a lot colder towards Severus from then. Frankly, Severus couldn't care less- Potter was an aggravating fool, as was his friend Black. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
The last subject of the day was flying lessons- Severus was rather apprehensive about this. In his point of view, a lesson that wasn't inside a classroom and whose knowledge couldn't be written on a piece of parchment was unreliable... even so, he couldn't help feeling slightly excited about it.
"What've we got now, Snape?" asked Lucius as their class filed out of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Severus gave him a dark look, but said "Flying lessons." He couldn't help keeping his voice in it's usual monotone, nerves shook it.
"Excellent," Lucius said, grinning. "I was basically born on a broomstick, this'll be great."
"Right," muttered Severus, and they headed for the Entrance Hall.
Stepping onto the grounds, they saw another group of students heading towards the Quidditch pitch. They looked like the-
"Gryffindors," Lucius snarled. "This is just great, isn't it? We have to have them with us twice in one day! Why is that?"
"Don't ask me," said Severus, as disappointed as Lucius about this news.
"Right everybody," squawked a frail-looking old wizard who Severus doubted had ridden a broomstick in well over ten years. "Welcome to your first flying lesson. I am Mr. Niken, your teacher. Let's get things cleared up first- whatever I tell you to do, you do it. No questions asked... do you all understand?"
The class nodded mutely. Mr. Niken's eyes scanned their faces, his craggy face scowling.
"Right. Step up to your brooms, hold your hand over it, and say clearly 'Up!' on the count of three. Ready; one, two, three!"
"Up!" shouted Severus. His broom slowly hovered into his hand; Severus felt quite proud of this, but then he saw James. James's broom flew straight into his hand without hesitation, making Severus glower with jealousy.
"Now, I want you to mount your brooms, kick off, hover for a moment, and lean your broom forwards slightly and land. Any of those who have flown before may circle- slowly! - around our group and come to land where they started. Ready; one, two, three!"
Severus kicked off from the ground; he was suddenly floating, floating above the ground. It was only a few feet, but to Severus it was like he was soaring through the clouds. He had never felt anything like it... it was breathtaking.
His daydream was suddenly broken when Mr. Niken grabbed the front of his broom and yanked it downwards. "You're doing it totally wrong, boy," he said loudly. "You're holding it wrong, sitting on it wrong and you were starting to fly backwards. Take a leaf out of Potter's book; go on, Potter, show him how it's done."
James gave a smug smirk, kicked off from the ground, did a perfect loop around the class and landed neatly exactly where he took off from. Severus sneered. James sneered back at him.
Severus seemed to have made his first enemy- James Potter.
The next few days were uneventful, until Thursday. The Slytherins had Potions for the first time right after lunch. Severus was keen to go to this; he knew plenty about potions and alchemy, thanks to his father owning an apothecary. Maybe it was best to remember about the apothecary, just for this lesson. The knowledge would come in handy.
The Slytherin first-years sat in their seats, borely awaiting their professor's arrival. Potions class had began twenty minutes ago, and the teacher still hadn't come to class. By the sounds of other students running along the corridors outside, laughing and yelling, none of the other teachers had come either. A few Slytherin boys stood up and headed for the door, but they stopped suddenly as a tall man blocked the way.
"Sneaking out of class, are we?" he snarled, stepping menacingly towards the three boys who scampered back to their desks like frightened rabbits. "I do apologise for being late, my students, but Headmaster called us in for an urgent meeting." He stared around the class with cold eyes, making everybody shudder.
"I am Professor Eros Septimius. I have been teaching Potions here at Hogwarts for well over thirty years and so I expect none of you to have any reason to complain about anything that I set." Septimius's voice was low and like a growl; his features matched this voice perfectly. His nose was large and bulbous, his penetrating ice-blue eyes seemed to have sunken into the heavily-wrinkled face like heavy stones on a sponge. His weak-looking chin was covered in white bristles, his sparse grey hair hung about his face at all different lengths. Severus took an immediate disliking to him, as did just about everybody in the school.
Septimius sat down at his desk, unrolling a peice of parchment and dipping a very large, ornate quill into the ink pot. "Abercorge," he muttered, reading out each student's name and ticking them off as they answered. He soon came to Severus's name.
"Snape."
"Present, Professor," mumbled Severus, staring at the ground.
There was a short pause, before Septimius asked, "You're Severus Snape, of the apothecary family?"
Severus looked up, his dark eyes glowering. "Yes, sir."
Septimius snickered, a sound that was quite unpleasant to hear. "You should do well in this subject, my boy," he said slyly, before carrying on.
