*walks in with teeth chattering, looks at Snape who clicks his tongue, looks away and lazily flicks his wand* *sighs with the welcome warmness* ah... yes, now I am functional. Hello! It's freezing here! I wonder if there's going to be snow this year.
As for my reviewers:
Rhianna: Alas, Hermione has been dead for quite some time-- reason why Ron is still a batchelor, I gather. As for the rest, yes, they will all come to help or hinder our dear main characters. Good to have you on board!
Rickman's Girl: Thank you very much! Let's see if events prove you right or wrong then! As for Fudge in the books, he could just be a real idiot. We don't really know.
Zardiphillian Beryllix: *takes a bow* thank you, thank you. Mary Sues are boring. I should think that going with the general line of the books, Lily would look more like a female version of Harry, with little touches of her mom here and there. Okay then. Glasses it is. But not for short sighted people. As for general appearance, she's short, petite, rather agile, has long hair she never lets down (she hasn't been alerted to the subject 'boys' just yet, you see, hehe), her eyes are her dad's/ paternal grandmother's with a green-blue hue... *thinks* she has a nice smile. With which she usually manipulates Remus. *laugh*
Jess the Great: I am to please hehe. I am glad you like this plot.
Sparrow: *triumphant look at Snape* see?? It DOES thicken! Ha!
CynaraHatesGorodrimTheHorrible: That's good thinking. *wink wink*
Angel Baby: *accepts cookies* Sweet dreams, and I hope this one tops your relaxation program. hehe.
Now on with the story
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~~~~ Severus Snape ~~~~
I think I might have a slight concussion. But I shall never admit it, will never give that crone Paloma the satisfaction. Although the nausea I keep feeling as we walk towards where I dropped the pixie is rather alarming. If worse comes to worse, I'll make sure I throw up in private-- and if that is impossible, all over Paloma. That should be satisfactory to watch.
"Severus, are you alright? You look a little disorientated." Remus is watching me with concern. It makes me sick. And with my given situation I only grace him with a snarl and walk on further until we reach the place. I get a good look at the tree that manhandled me. It would be perfect for kindling.
"This is it. The pixie should be here, if there's anything left." I manage to say clearly. It is definately a concussion, with this tendency to slur. The bloody werewolf notices. He rounds up on me and looks me in the eyes.
"Severus, I think you ought to call it a night. Let Paloma fix you up."
"There is nothing wrong with me, Lupin, except being pestered by over-anxious wolf pups." I snap at him, but the last word comes out as 'wool-paps', and I find myself being supported from tipping forwards.
Paloma hauls me off triumphantly as Lupin assures me he will find the pixie and he and Pythia will have everything under control.
Bloody wolf. Just wait till it's time for wolfsbane.
~~~~ Lily Potter ~~~~
Some days just start off being simply awful. This is definately one of them. Alex and I are eating breakfast... and the customary owl cloud that distributes the mail comes swarming in. Alex pales, and I feel my heart beating. I don't dare wish for absolution-- it is usual that when I wish for something, the complete opposite happens.
I hear Alex draw in his breath as a large barn owl flies towards us, carrying a crimson letter that is already leaving a thin trail of smoke as it approaches.
"Oh no. That's Bert, out family owl." Alex moans and hunches his shoulders.
"Do you want to open it elsewhere?" I suggest, rather meekly. Howlers can't exactly be concealed. Alex sighs and shakes his head.
"What's the use? It will be heard everywhere anyway."
Bert lands in front of us and hoots urgently, eager to be rid of the letter attached to his leg. Alex sighs again and takes the red envelope from the squaking owl, and bites his lips. I decide that whatever humiliation exists in there, it's best that Alex be spared the looks on other peoples' faces.
I get up and grab him from his robes.
"Come on. Let's open it elsewhere."
Just as we are ready to leave, I see a familiar white owl. Hedwig! And she is carrying something red as well. Just bloody perfect. I smile thinly at my friend.
"See? We'll open them together."
We bolt and sits at the staircase towards the Gryffindor Tower. There is nobody around, and there is silence. Which is not the best, because then there will be echo, but Alex's envelope seems ready to explode. I nod to him and he opens it tentatively. It flies off his hands and hovers in front of him.
ALEXANDER DIGGORY WHAT WERE YOU THINKING CAUSING TROUBLE IN THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF YOUR SCHOOL YEAR? AND WITH A POTTER NO LESS! I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOU TAKING THE FALL FOR ANY POTTER AT ANY TIME. YOU SHALL NOT CONSORT WITH THAT - THAT GIRL. REMEMBER IT WAS HER FATHER THAT GOT YOUR BROTHER KILLED! STOP DISGRACING THIS FAMILY AND START BEING A TRUE DIGGORY! BE FIRM, BE SHARP AND RESPONSIBLE LIKE YOUR BROTHER ALWAYS WAS! IF I AM INFORMED OF ONE MORE MISGIVING ON GROUNDS OF GRADES OR CONDUCT, I WILL DISOWN YOU! I MEAN IT, YOU DISHONOUR OF THE NAME YOU CARRY!
It blew up in little charred scraps of paper. I swallowed, feeling tears coming to my eyes. Everyone knows that dad never got anyone killed. Uncle Remus had told me the story of the Triwizard tournament, and it was not dad's fault. I felt instantly angry, upset and indignant.
I glance at Alex, ready to tell him that his father is bloody wrong. He is hunched over, head bent, wringing his hands together. Some of my anger washes away and I try to pat his hand, to tell him it's alright. But he looks up at me with liquid angry eyes and says in a low, hostile voice.
"Stay away from me."
All my anger comes back.
"Your father is an IDIOT. Voldemort killed Cedric, not my dad, everyone knows that!"
Alex yells at me, flushed.
"Your father banks on other people's heroism! It was Cedric that should have been honoured, not Harry bloody Potter!"
That does it. Nobody badmouths my father in front of me, even if they are not themselves. I see red as I attack Alex, not with my wand, since I don't know enough charms for that, but with my fists. He doesn't expect that, so it only takes one punch in the gut to get him down. I straddle him.
"If. you. EVER. say. that. MY dad. is not worthy, and a great hero, I will KILL you!"
Alex is only blinking up at me, his face a mix of pain, shame and anger. I grab my howler and walk away from him.
~~~~ Severus Snape ~~~~
Exiting the infirmary, after having virtually brought Paloma to the verge of hexing me senseless, I walk towards the dungeons. It is almost time for 5th year Potions, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I eat the last of the chocolate frog Remus left for me on the bedstand. It is hard to resist that particular sweet, anyway. As I descend the staircase, I savour the sweet creamy flavour-- and hear something I do not expect but amuses me.
LILY WEASLEY POTTER I SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER TELLING YOU -NOT- TO DISOBEY ORDERS AND NOT TO WANDER OFF TO THE FORBIDDEN FOREST AT NIGHTS! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HURT, OR EVEN WORSE! YOU DO NOT TOY WITH DARK MAGIC, IT IS NOT A GAME! IT HURTS PEOPLE AND IT DESTROYS LIVES! I CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE YOU LILY, AND NEITHER DOES YOUR MOTHER! I AM SO ANGRY AT YOU I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU AND WHAT NOT TO! SEE THAT YOU DON'T DO IT AGAIN, AND WE CALL IT EVEN. BUT IF YOU ARE EVER CAUGHT AGAIN DISOBEYING RULES, THEN I WILL COME TO HOGWARTS MYSELF!
and then a charateristic 'pop' of the howler self destructing.
Potter giving his daughter a shake down for what he had been doing all this school life here. Delicious. I walk on to look upon the girl, intending to walk past with a sneer. I have heard from Lupin's accounts that young Lily is a girl that takes a scolding with her head high, accepting her mistake or trying to defend herself. So I do not expect to see her curled up against the wall crying like this.
She has not heard me, that much is obvious. I am not sure what to do. I am not the nurturing type-- I never have been, and at consolation and support I am severely inadequate. I am also going to be late for class if I linger here.
But do I let the girl cry like this, here, all alone?
No. I shall not fall for the bleeding heart stunt again. I make a U- turn and go the other way, not feeling entirely nice about myself for doing so. But... I just cannot be her cuddly teacher, and that is what she needs at the moment.
I snap my fingers. I know just the man to be that. I call for Dobby, and send him off with the message to go salvage the Potter girl before she floods the school with her sniffling, and go to class with my conscience sufficiently calmed.
Besides, I'll have her for detention tonight.
~~~~ Lily Potter ~~~~
I know dad is right. I know that and his howler did not impress me much. It was Alex's father's howler that hurt me, and his reaction to me and my father. Had he been thinking all these horrible things about father all the time we were friends and doing stuff together with Nigel? Could he be so hypocritical?
My anger flared once more and I hit the wall, crying some more. I hate crying, because afterwards you get puffy reddish eyes and swollen lips, and you look like a goldfish that has been out of its bowl for too long trying to breathe. But I can't help it now. I wish I had hit him some more. I wish I knew some hexes. I wish dad had let me learn them before coming to Hogwarts. Then I'd show the miserable twit.
"Lily? Why are you here? Don't you have a class to attend?"
The voice is gentle, and is accompanied by hands that gather me up into a lap. That makes me cry even more.
"I got Chaaaarms Uncle Remuuuus..." I wail against his chest, unable to pull myself together. He rocks me gently and strokes my hair like he always does when I am hurt or sad about things, and mom or dad aren't around to do it.
"Come, come. Stop your crying, Lily. It'll be ok. Your dad can't have sent you that bad a howler, can he?" he dabs my eyes against the sleeve of his robe as I look up to him. I swallow and look down, shaking my head.
"There then. Why are you crying? What is worth so many tears?"
His voice is so gentle and calming, that indeed I stop crying, leaving only that horrible hiccup that doesn't stop, after the crying is over. I swallow and tell him.
"I punched Alex in the gut."
His eyebrow shoots up in surprise. I don't beat up kids. Well, not often anyway.
"And why did you? I thought you were friends?..."
"Because he said my dad is responsible for Cedric's death! Because his father sent him a howler and blared in the school that he doesn't want Alex to talk to me, because if he does he is disgracing the Diggorys, and that my dad got his brother killed! And then Alex said that he steps on other people's heroism and I punched him and I am not sorry, I would do it again, and again, and again, I hate him!"
I am shouting now and Uncle Remus is not stopping me, he only keeps rubbing my back until I have it all out. Then he locks his eyes with mine and says seriously:
"Are you done now?"
I nod and rub my eyes. He continues in that calm voice that always explains things and never lets you stay angry even when you want to. Sometimes the effect is infuriating.
"Lily, there are some things that you have to explain. Amos Diggory -that is Alex's and Cedric's father- suffers, because he has lost a son. He is certainly wrong in what he says, but when people ache, they say things that are irrational and wrong. Alex clearly has been hearing this stuff for many years. From the way I have seen you together, I doubt he really believes them, but what his father thinks of him is very important to him. Do you understand, Lily?"
I nod again. I do understand, although I would prefer not to. Because I feel I might not be as angry as I would like with Alex when Uncle Remus is done. He continues on:
"Amos Diggory is a very stern man. He demands things, and he does not shift from his convictions easily. It is obvious he does not like your father, and this carries over to you. But as far as Alex is concerned, you have to give him time. Understand the position he is in, and give him his space. I think that he will come around, because I have reason to believe he likes you enough to do so. But even if he doesn't, that should not hurt you, because it is not your fault, and it never will be. Alright?"
I swallow and nod. My eyes are dry, my hiccup has left me, and I start feeling embarrassed for sitting in a professor's lap, even if that professor is family to me. As if on cue, Uncle Remus sets me down and with a smile, he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.
"I am still angry at him." I say and allow myself to pout. He chuckles as he gets up.
"That is alright, Lily, as long as you don't punch him anymore. Now run along to class, and don't forget your detention at 8 with Professor Snape."
I shudder as I run off. Alex will be there. My heart is lighter now, but it is far from light.
~~~~ Severus Snape ~~~~
Lupin found the pixie I was holding in the Forbidden Forest. I was rather surprised when he came in my office with the dead creature in a small glass box. I am staring at it now, as it lays before me in its glass coffin and my mind races, stating the facts, so that I will be able to form a hypothesis:
-- It has no wings.
-- It has no remaining wing juices, which seem to have evaporated.
-- Its skin is like that of a prune
-- It is no longer blue, but an off-bluish white.
Pythia has not yet given me or Minerva any full account of what she saw and how I was found. As I understand it, she is busy punishing her son for trying to follow the Potter girl to adventure... the boy will probably remain awake all night charting constellations for Astrology, which she also teaches.
I am not in the least sympathetic. I know I am sneering as I get up to get the dark crimson book I recovered from the restricted section of the library. Its title reads "Fauna and Dark Potions: The Ultimate Power" in squiggly letters that like to move and writhe as if caught on the cover and unable to escape.
I find nothing under 'pixies' or 'fae' or 'faeries', but I am not disappointed. I am not a Potions Master for nothing. The symptoms I noticed on the pixie as well as my experience with it of last night's, makes me look for a rather lengthy chapter entitled 'Channeling Natural Power'...
... and I lose the sense of time until there is a knock on the door-- rather loud one, as I apparently didn't hear immediately.
I am both shaken by what I have read and annoyed for the interruption.
~~~~ Lily Potter ~~~~
"ENTER!" the voice almost roars from inside. I swallow. That is not a happy Professor Snape, I am certain. Alex beside me fidgets uncomfortably, but he doesn't talk to me and I don't talk to him. We enter in the semi lit potions classroom, and see Professor Snape glowering at us from his office, a glass box with something in it on his desk. His hand is on an open book. He is not happy to see us.
There is a lengthy, uncomfortable pause until he decides to sneer, and talk to us both.
"Come closer, both of you."
We do, meekly, but we keep a distance between each other. I wish Nigel were here and not in the Astronomy tower.
"I shall not even mention the sheer stupidity you have both displayed trying to follow me -any-where... or even refer to the rediculous aspiration of not being discovered... no, I shall not consider these matters," he drawls, his eyes gleaming like coals on cold fire, a small smile that is decidedly unpleasant. That small smile tells me that we are both in serious trouble with this one.
"Instead I shall start by deducting 30 points from Gryffindor for doing what you did and making me waste my research time for this detention-- and another 30 each for ruining my evening."
I hear Alex gasp nearby, and I share the sentiment. He has already deducted 90 points from Gryffindor, and we have only been here 2 minutes!
He looks decidedly pleased by the effect he has caused by the lovely introduction, and he nods to Alex.
"Diggory. Here is the toothbrush, there are the cauldrons. You clean them both with no magic. You use nothing more than water, soap and the toothbrush. I want to see them shining. Off you go. Don't gawk boy, or it shall be 10 points for lingering!"
Alex bolts, retrieves the toothbrush and goes to two huge and considerably dirty cauldrons. I blink at his predicament-- the cauldrons could fit him inside!
But I am not sorry for him. I am too angry to sympathise. And pretty soon, I am too concerned for my own self to consider Alex.
Snape steeples his hands, watching me. I make myself stand straight and not fidget. There is no reason to fear this man. I know all this is not true hostility. I should not fear this man. I must not fear this man...
My ruminations are stopped abruptly when he speaks.
"What were you trying to achieve, Miss Potter, by following me to the Forbidden Forest? Making more work for me, by obliging me to save three meddling children as well as carry out my task?"
His voice is low and silky and definately reprimanding. It chills me, and makes me feel small. He clicks his tongue when I do not answer. I hurry to do so. I don't want more points deducted.
"Because, Professor, I was curious."
"Curiosity kills the cat, or the young girl, as the case may be, Miss Potter. I expected better from you."
"I was not going to invite trouble! I am not stupid. I just wanted--"
"You think that trouble *waits* for you to invite it, if you stand in its way? You are truly dense if you believe that. I dare say not even your father thought that during his time here."
My cheeks flush crimson. I am angered. I am not dense, and I hate it that he thinks so. I attempt one more shot at my defense, while my heart beats fast and hard and I still have the nerve to do so in front of this man.
"Professor, I meant that I would not stand in its way, when I said I would not invite it. I am not as dense as you might think, nor completely unaware of what the Forbidden Forest means. Which is why I hesitated following you there, and Nelly caught us, and the Professor Lupin followed."
Snape frowns oddly, then says lazily:
"That will be 5 points from Gryffindor for impertinence, Miss Potter. I do not like students that talk back to me. At that cupboard you will find rosewood roots and nyhta tea leaves. You are to cut the roots in thin slices and ground the nyhta leaves until they are a homogenous juicy pulp. You may begin."
I walk there, feeling my knees slightly weak. Snape's voice wasn't as cutting as in the beginning, but he still had deducted points. My eyes widen when I see that the cupboard he mentioned contains a whole sack of roots and a large basket of leaves. This is going to be a long, long night. I sigh and put on my oval reading glasses to start chopping. I am not shortsighted like dad is. I can see fine at long distances, but I can't for the life of me discern print or focus clearly on items at close range. I feel Snape watching me as I start to cut up the roots. At a point, I dare steal a glance at him. He seems troubled.
I turn back to my work, neatly chopping away, then grinding. My back has started to ache after I have finished all the roots and am halfway through the leaves. I still hear Alex's toothbrush working, too. Serves him right. I press the grinding handle harder against the leaves.
In the end, I am done. I look up at Professor Snape, who has been reading and noting stuff down all this time.
"I am done, Professor." I say and just manage to stifle a yawn. I don't even dare think what time it is now.
He sets down his quill, gets up and with a regal, unhurried step comes over to inspect my work. He nods appreciatively.
"This is acceptable work, Miss Potter. Dismissed."
I nod and get up to leave. Alex is still finishing the last cauldron. I smirk to myself, still not feeling sad about him. I am about to step out of the dungeons when Professor Snape's voice stops me.
"Miss Potter. Who did you say caught you first?"
"Eh, Nelly Fudge, professor." I tell him, slightly confused.
He nods dismissively and I walk out. I frown to myself.
Now why did he want to know that?
_________________
And that's that. Look how LONG it was! You should REALLY reward me for this. *waits expectantly* *pause* Snape -demands- to reward me. *Snape lazily retrieves his wand with a dangerous gleam in his eyes*