Chapter eleven: The traitor.
Morning came sooner than she wished and Kyra found herself at the dungeons, waiting for Professor Snape to arrive. She remembered how tender he had been that night when he had found her crying, how warm his embrace had been... that night had given her feelings for him a new turn. And she was immensely grateful for him giving her another chance to sit for the exam. The downside of that was that she was to take it with the 5th year Hufflepuffs. Not that she cared, actually, the kids were harmless. All except for one.
Snape entered the room and everyone went silent. With a softer tone than the one he used with the other students, he told her to take the empty space next to the one and only Huffie she disliked: that obnoxious Matthew Anderson kid. Now, Hufflepuffs weren't like that at all, so the Sorting Hat had probably screwed up big time. The poor brat was after a Slytherin girl and the best way to become appealing to her he could think about was to be as mean as he possibly could. He spent all his time imitating the members of her House; and since they disliked her, he disliked her as well.
Now, Kyra was good-natured and polite, but when someone messed with her… well, that person was in huge trouble. She could ignore the Slytherins, mainly because she knew that was how they were, but that that kid, who had nothing to hold against her, was actually against her… that was very serious.
Sighing, she focused on her exam and was halfway through it when she heard some strange noises coming from somewhere next to her. Kyra lifted her gaze and noticed Matthew pulling up his sleeve. She was enraged to see that the stupid boy's body was covered by writings. ' He's cheating!' She thought. And Kyra knew she had to do something about it.
Coughing softly, as to clear her throat, she managed to catch Professor Snape's attention. His eyes fell on her and she acted as if she hadn't noticed that. Pretending to stretch the sore muscles of her neck, she looked to her side, where Anderson was and her eyes widened in a very calculated expression of surprise. For a few seconds, she stared at the boy and then turned her gaze back to her exam, shaking her head lightly, as in disapproval.
Snape frowned. What had she seen? It was impossible that the kid was cheating, but she had seen something. Getting up, he approached Anderson's table and noted he was shifting uneasily under his scrutiny; that told him the boy was up to something. As he passed the desk, he noticed him trying to hide something… there were some marks in his arm…
" Mr. Anderson!" He snapped, causing everyone to jump off their seats.
" S-s-sir…" Stammered the poor boy. " W-what i-is it?"
" Show me your arm." As he didn't move and chose to examine the floor instead, Snape grew even more infuriated. " I asked you to show me your arm, sometime within this century!"
Matthew lifted his arm and looked away in embarrassment (and in fear), as Snape grabbed it none-too-gently and examined it.
His lips curved up in one of the most sinister smiles anyone had ever seen. " Cheating, Mr. Anderson? How very disappointing from you! And using a Muggle method? Distastefully uncreative."
" S-sorry sir, I didn't have time to revise..."
" And your House having the fame of having hard-working members..." He cut him in. " Pity, really. A hundred points from Hufflepuff! And you shall go see the Headmaster at once," he barked at the poor boy.
Immediately, Snape called for Filch, who came in to escort Matthew to Dumbledore's office. Once they were gone, the Potions Master turned to the rest of the students.
" There is nothing to see, so I suggest you focus on your exams. You only have an hour left," he said with a sneer.
The shocked Huffies went back to their work. Kyra did the same and was ready to hand in in less than ten minutes. As she approached his desk, Severus observed her with wonder. He had never expected the girl to do such thing. Before he knew, she was about to exit the classroom.
" Miss Gardner," he called out for her. " Perhaps you would like to stay while I grade your exam." He looked into her eyes and a silent understanding passed between them.
Kyra smiled to herself, knowing that wasn't the reason why he had asked her to stay behind.
" Of course, sir," she replied calmly and went back to her seat. Pulling out a heavy volume of 'Louisa Coolidge's romantic novels for the young witch', she proceeded to read until the exam time was up and all the Hufflepuffs had left the dungeons. She then looked up at Severus and smiled placidly.
" Miss Gardner," he started, pacing behind his desk. " You knew that Mr. Anderson was cheating." It was an affirmation, not a question and Kyra simply nodded. " And you put one hell of an act so I noticed that he was."
" Yes, Sir."
" I did not know you disliked Hufflepuffs so much," he said, questioningly raising an eyebrow.
" I didn't tell on him only because he was a Hufflepuff," replied Kyra shrugging.
" Then why did you do it?"
" Because I remember having busted my buns for months studying for that test when I was in my fifth year and I wasn't going to let that little… you know, get away with his cheating and a better mark than mine," she stated.
" No one, ever, gets better grades than you, Miss Gardner," Snape pointed out.
Kyra almost fainted. Had that been some sort of compliment? No, she probably got it wrong and it was a sarcastic comment; Severus Snape never complimented anyone.
" Besides, the prick has treated me like dirt for as long as I've had the pleasure of knowing him, so I thought it would be nice to make him pay," she went on.
" That was very Slytherin from you, Miss Gardner."
Kyra felt tempted to ask him if that was a good or a bad thing, but seeing that her Professor was in a slightly less horrid mood than his usual one, she decided it would be better not to do anything that could ruin such state of things. So she just sighed contentedly. Professor Snape's reaction at Matthew's cheating had been so amusing!
Snape sighed inwardly. He wondered if she knew how beautiful she looked just sitting there... It was very hard for him being near her and having to restrain himself, for she was his student. He had admitted to himself long ago that he liked her and now he had to acknowledge that after the day's events, he liked her even more.
" You can go now, Miss Gardner," he said shortly.
" But I thought you were going to grade my exam," was her protest.
" You will have to wait until the rest of your classmates get their own. Why should you get any special treatment?"
Kyra smiled, that had been cruel, even from Snape. But that was exactly why he liked him so much. " OK, then I'll see you tomorrow, sir."
Without waiting for an answer, she left the dungeons and hurried towards her Herbology class, running into the very Matthew Anderson on her way. At the sight of his tear-streaked face, Kyra felt guilt twinge inside of her. But as he passed her down the hall, giving her a quick shove and muttering something about 'damn mudbloods', her satisfaction was back. He had got what he deserved.
***
The following day, Kyra and her two Gryffindor friends were at the dungeons, sitting on the floor and surrounded by the rest of their classmates. Snape had announced he would give out their grades before lunch, so they were all there, waiting for them. The aura of apprehension was almost palpable.
The Potions Master opened his office's door and saw her outside, waiting with that unnerving friend of hers for their grades... truth was, John's constant presence by her side annoyed Snape to no end. He found himself envious of their relationship, the way they interacted with each other in open displays of affection and easy laughter. Countless times he had seen her laugh or blush at one of the boy's remarks, occasionally touching his arm or resting her head on his shoulder. It made Snape's blood boil with... yes, jealousy.
With a frightful scowl, he called out for her and proceeded to wait at the door while Kyra got up and smiled to her friends, who returned her smile encouragingly. His anger knew no limits as John got up as well and gave her a peck on the cheek.
" Should I order tea while I wait for you to grace me with your eminent presence, Miss Gardner?" He snapped.
" I'm sorry, Professor," she muttered and followed him inside.
" Sit, Miss Gardner," he commanded from behind his impressive desk.
Five minutes later, Kyra emerged from the office with a huge grin on her face. " I got a 98!!!" She announced, bursting with satisfaction.
John hurried to give her a hug, while Hélène congratulated her. Then, the three of them proceeded to wait until it was Hélène's turn. She took a deep breath and adventured into the lion's den. A long while later, she left the Potions Master's office looking rather downcast. John and Kyra rushed to her side.
" What happened?" They asked in unison.
" He gave me a 30!" Said Hélène, her voice filled with barely contained fury. " He said that I had made a really big mistake in one of the questions and that I didn't deserve to be approved..."
" Just because of one mistake? That's unfair!" Raged John.
And just when Kyra was about to open her mouth and dedicate her professor quite a few unladylike expletives, the door opened and they could hear his voice calling out, " John Andrew Reid!"
Johnny hurried to enter and Kyra turned to Hélène. She was trembling with rage.
" Go outside, some fresh air might help…" she suggested. " Besides, Marianne was gonna get us something to eat and wait for us by the Quidditch field."
" OK…"
Kyra gave her friend a light hug and watched her walk away. The unfairness committed against Hélène had angered her to no end. She could like Snape very much, but that didn't mean he wasn't a real bastard at times.
When Johnny left the office with an unreadable expression, Kyra hurried to ask, " So?"
" I passed! 61, but I passed!" He screamed, full of satisfaction.
She emitted a cry of pure joy and raced towards John. He opened his arms and Kyra went airborne. He caught her in his embrace, burying his face in her neck as she held him with all her strength in an exuberant embrace.
They were unaware of Snape watching them bitterly as she proceeded to rain kisses all over his face.
" Miss Gardner, Mister Reid!" He yelled. " It is most unbecoming for the two of you to allow your hormones take control of your bodies in the middle of the hallway. I would suggest you take it to somewhere private and spare us from having to stomach such a sight."
" Professor, we weren't..."
" And fifty points from Gryffindor for indecent public display of affection!" He added, ignoring Kyra and slammed the door of his office shut.
John spent the rest of the walk to the Quidditch field cursing Snape in English, Spanish, German and Arabic.
" Oh, c'mon Johnny!"
" Ky, thing is, I hate the goddamned overgrown bat and I'd be happy to see him rot in hell."
" Chill out, hon', at least you passed the exam!"
" Thanks a lot for the support, Ky. I know that without your help I wouldn't have made it... But what I'd really like right now is Snape's head on a spike. I think it's time for him to realize that there's more to life than just being a hardass git."
Kyra didn't reply to that. She knew he had been awful that day, but that didn't keep her from being disappointed when she didn't see him at the Great Hall during dinnertime.