Chapter 4 ~ Misunderstandings
By the next Hogsmeade weekend, Muriel was thoroughly convinced that no such thought had ever crossed Black's mind. Since then, he'd taken every opportunity to hex her that he could. He had even managed to hit her with a few. Once she had had to spend the night in the Black and Deesia Ward while a laughing Madam Kinnison administered an hourly potion to get rid of the green and yellow polka dots that had appeared on her skin after a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
It was hard to know what her Legilimens ability was capable of anymore. She was completely unable to read anything from Severus, thought or emotion, and after that obviously incorrect thought she'd heard from Black, she just wasn't sure that her brain was working right at all. She couldn't remember if there'd been any emotion from him that night, but who could tell? Maybe she just wasn't picking that sort of thing up anymore. It was far easier to believe that than to believe that Severus no longer had any feelings for her.
She had half hoped that Wood would ask her to Hogsmeade this weekend, but he'd barely spoken to her since Halloween. That was odd, too. She KNEW she had felt some emotion from him, and it seemed like a sure thing that he would want to go out again, but somehow, she just KNEW that he didn't.
Maybe once you started dating, Legilimens abilities became a curse rather than a blessing. It still worked fine on her dorm mates, so maybe there was something about boys at this age that just made them impossible to understand, no matter WHAT special insight a girl possessed. She smirked at this thought as she followed Severus to Hogsmeade. His cloak was snapping in the harsh wind, and she had to hold her long hair out of her face to even see where they were going.
They ducked inside the first store they came to, Honeydukes. It looked like all the other students had done the same, because the place was full. She was glad, because it meant they wouldn't have to try and have a conversation. Not being able to hear his thoughts or feel his emotions had made it really hard to make sense out of him. He wasn't nearly as articulate as she remembered him being last year. He often started sentences and didn't finish them, and she realized that a year ago, she would have been able to complete them for him. Maybe that was why he was so distant lately. Maybe he thought she wasn't paying enough attention to catch his thoughts.
When they'd filled their pockets with boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a few chocolate frogs, they quickly headed for the Three Broomsticks. Muriel immediately emptied the first box of beans onto the table. She picked one up and cast a spell on it. It glowed green, so she put it in her mouth. "Licorice!" she said happily as Severus sat down with their butterbeers.
"So it works?"
She tried another one, but it glowed red. She threw it back in the box and kept trying until she got another green one, then handed it to him.
"Cinnamon! Excellent." Muriel's father had recently invested in the company that made the ambiguous candies, and she had rifled through the literature they sent and come across this spell. It was buried in the fine print, so not very many people had ever bothered to learn it before.
"Anonymous Christmas presents for the marauders, then?" she asked as he started casting the charm on one bean after another, eating the ones that glowed green. He nodded and soon they had four boxes full of the worst tasting beans that Bertie Bott had ever thought up. They left the bar, laughing when they passed the boys on the road.
But Mur wasn't laughing two weeks later as she threw the largest stack of books she had ever tried to carry onto the floor in the library. The pile nearly reached the top of the desk. "How much more homework do they think we can do?" she asked. Severus didn't look up from his book. He had a million things to read as well.
The 5th year students were already staying up well after midnight each night, trying to get the work done! Just today, Professor Averbeck (Divination), Professor Warrington (Potions) AND Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) had all mentioned special projects that would have to be done in addition to the obscene amounts of homework they'd already assigned.
Mur threw herself into the chair and picked up the top book. An hour later her potions essay was done. When she stopped writing, Sev looked up, then took the essay and read over it. He made a few changes, and she rewrote it. Then she started on History of Magic. Binns couldn't prepare questionnaires, so that was an essay, too, on the Goblin rebellions. That only took another half an hour, since her mother had drilled it into her long before she'd come to Hogwarts.
Severus was still just reading. She finally looked up to see what, and dropped her quill in surprise. "How can you possibly be reading 'Electrical vs. Magical: The Best Way To Take Care of Household Needs' when we've got all this work to do?! You aren't even TAKING Muggle Studies!"
Severus' eyes looked like saucers as he lowered the book. His face was red, and it was spreading all the way down to the top of his robes. Muriel narrowed her eyes. "Did you smuggle something from your father's study in here?" she hissed.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to stay calm. If she caught him with an Occlumency book, there was going to be a row right here in the library. Then it clicked. His father's study!
"Of course not!" he snapped, a little too loudly. She was giving him a look of cold fury and holding out a hand. How was he supposed to avoid showing her?
There was only one answer. He snapped the book closed. "Alright," he said, sounding defeated. In a swift motion she snatched the book from his hands and incinerated it before his eyes. Apparently she felt very strongly about his father's stash of books. He would have to keep that in mind in case he ever got the urge to look at such things himself.
"Disgusting!" she spat, gathering up her things. She would study in the common room after all. At least the boys in there weren't blocks of ice with hormones attached! Bloody Slytherins!
Severus started his homework, ignoring the curious glances from across the room. Now he owed Papa a copy of that book, and he'd probably have to make a trip to Knockturn Alley to get it. "Bloody hell," he muttered. By the time the library was closing, he'd finished just about everything. He decided to leave the rest for tomorrow, and tossed his books in a heap on the floor when he reached his room, not caring if he woke up Goyle or Macnair. It was a shame he'd had to let her think he'd been looking at his father's things when it upset her like that. Now he was going to have to apologize for it.
It was quite a while before he got the chance. She didn't want to talk to him at all. He finally cornered her after charms a week before the Christmas holiday, having begged Marisa the day before to leave without her. "I'm sorry about the book," he said quickly, as soon as he was sure they were alone.
"Forget it, Sev. It doesn't matter." She sounded really depressed.
"It does matter," he insisted, stepping in front of her as she tried to get away. "I didn't know it would upset you so much." Muriel rolled her eyes. "If I never look at another one, will you forgive me?"
She looked up at him then. His expression was serious, but she couldn't tell if he was really sincere. As far as her mind was concerned, he wasn't even standing there. The part of Severus Snape that had really been important to her was buried somewhere inside the person in front of her, and she couldn't reach him. She closed her eyes and nodded, willing herself not to cry.
He looked around again, and seeing no one, he put an arm around her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Mur," he whispered. It was only a moment before she pulled away.
"I've got to get to class. You should, too," she said quickly. "See you later."
But Muriel skipped her next class. Instead, she headed for the kitchens and asked the house elves to deliver some presents to the marauders for her on Christmas morning. They were happy to agree, and gave her several delicious pastries to take back up to Ravenclaw tower, which was good, because she had a feeling she was going to skip dinner as well.
The day before Christmas, most of the school had gone home for the holiday. As things out in the world became more and more dangerous, the students were anxious for any chance they got to see their parents. Many (especially among the Gryffindors) were going home in direct defiance of their parents' wishes. Severus, of course, went to be with his mother. But Papa had written Mur to tell her to stay, and she would listen. She had no desire to end up like her mother.
James Potter was going with his parents to America over the holidays to visit his mother's sister. Sirius had been invited, but decided that was a little too much to ask. It wasn't a big deal for him to stay here for Christmas, even though Remus and Peter were both going home.
Muriel was looking forward to sleeping in, now that everyone was gone from her dorm, but was awoken far earlier than she'd hoped by Kyle's voice calling up from the common room. "Pick up game of Quiddich," he explained when she stomped down the stairs and demanded to know what his problem was. "Three on three. We need a beater! Come on!" He would have dragged her off to the pitch that minute if she'd had her broom, pajamas or no. Instead he had to wait ten whole minutes while she found her gloves and a hooded cloak she could play in. She grabbed her broom and rushed downstairs.
"I didn't think there were 6 of us left!" she exclaimed as they flew out to the pitch.
"There aren't! We're playing the Gryffindors." Muriel brought her broom skidding to a stop. Kyle circled back to face her.
"Who are we playing, Kyle?" she asked quietly.
"Wood, Black and Bell," he said guardedly. "I thought you'd love a chance to show up Black."
"I've never played beater in my life!"
"Here's your chance," he said, grinning and speeding once again toward the pitch.
"This is not at all funny, Kyle," Mur muttered as she chased after him.
By the next Hogsmeade weekend, Muriel was thoroughly convinced that no such thought had ever crossed Black's mind. Since then, he'd taken every opportunity to hex her that he could. He had even managed to hit her with a few. Once she had had to spend the night in the Black and Deesia Ward while a laughing Madam Kinnison administered an hourly potion to get rid of the green and yellow polka dots that had appeared on her skin after a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
It was hard to know what her Legilimens ability was capable of anymore. She was completely unable to read anything from Severus, thought or emotion, and after that obviously incorrect thought she'd heard from Black, she just wasn't sure that her brain was working right at all. She couldn't remember if there'd been any emotion from him that night, but who could tell? Maybe she just wasn't picking that sort of thing up anymore. It was far easier to believe that than to believe that Severus no longer had any feelings for her.
She had half hoped that Wood would ask her to Hogsmeade this weekend, but he'd barely spoken to her since Halloween. That was odd, too. She KNEW she had felt some emotion from him, and it seemed like a sure thing that he would want to go out again, but somehow, she just KNEW that he didn't.
Maybe once you started dating, Legilimens abilities became a curse rather than a blessing. It still worked fine on her dorm mates, so maybe there was something about boys at this age that just made them impossible to understand, no matter WHAT special insight a girl possessed. She smirked at this thought as she followed Severus to Hogsmeade. His cloak was snapping in the harsh wind, and she had to hold her long hair out of her face to even see where they were going.
They ducked inside the first store they came to, Honeydukes. It looked like all the other students had done the same, because the place was full. She was glad, because it meant they wouldn't have to try and have a conversation. Not being able to hear his thoughts or feel his emotions had made it really hard to make sense out of him. He wasn't nearly as articulate as she remembered him being last year. He often started sentences and didn't finish them, and she realized that a year ago, she would have been able to complete them for him. Maybe that was why he was so distant lately. Maybe he thought she wasn't paying enough attention to catch his thoughts.
When they'd filled their pockets with boxes of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and a few chocolate frogs, they quickly headed for the Three Broomsticks. Muriel immediately emptied the first box of beans onto the table. She picked one up and cast a spell on it. It glowed green, so she put it in her mouth. "Licorice!" she said happily as Severus sat down with their butterbeers.
"So it works?"
She tried another one, but it glowed red. She threw it back in the box and kept trying until she got another green one, then handed it to him.
"Cinnamon! Excellent." Muriel's father had recently invested in the company that made the ambiguous candies, and she had rifled through the literature they sent and come across this spell. It was buried in the fine print, so not very many people had ever bothered to learn it before.
"Anonymous Christmas presents for the marauders, then?" she asked as he started casting the charm on one bean after another, eating the ones that glowed green. He nodded and soon they had four boxes full of the worst tasting beans that Bertie Bott had ever thought up. They left the bar, laughing when they passed the boys on the road.
But Mur wasn't laughing two weeks later as she threw the largest stack of books she had ever tried to carry onto the floor in the library. The pile nearly reached the top of the desk. "How much more homework do they think we can do?" she asked. Severus didn't look up from his book. He had a million things to read as well.
The 5th year students were already staying up well after midnight each night, trying to get the work done! Just today, Professor Averbeck (Divination), Professor Warrington (Potions) AND Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) had all mentioned special projects that would have to be done in addition to the obscene amounts of homework they'd already assigned.
Mur threw herself into the chair and picked up the top book. An hour later her potions essay was done. When she stopped writing, Sev looked up, then took the essay and read over it. He made a few changes, and she rewrote it. Then she started on History of Magic. Binns couldn't prepare questionnaires, so that was an essay, too, on the Goblin rebellions. That only took another half an hour, since her mother had drilled it into her long before she'd come to Hogwarts.
Severus was still just reading. She finally looked up to see what, and dropped her quill in surprise. "How can you possibly be reading 'Electrical vs. Magical: The Best Way To Take Care of Household Needs' when we've got all this work to do?! You aren't even TAKING Muggle Studies!"
Severus' eyes looked like saucers as he lowered the book. His face was red, and it was spreading all the way down to the top of his robes. Muriel narrowed her eyes. "Did you smuggle something from your father's study in here?" she hissed.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to stay calm. If she caught him with an Occlumency book, there was going to be a row right here in the library. Then it clicked. His father's study!
"Of course not!" he snapped, a little too loudly. She was giving him a look of cold fury and holding out a hand. How was he supposed to avoid showing her?
There was only one answer. He snapped the book closed. "Alright," he said, sounding defeated. In a swift motion she snatched the book from his hands and incinerated it before his eyes. Apparently she felt very strongly about his father's stash of books. He would have to keep that in mind in case he ever got the urge to look at such things himself.
"Disgusting!" she spat, gathering up her things. She would study in the common room after all. At least the boys in there weren't blocks of ice with hormones attached! Bloody Slytherins!
Severus started his homework, ignoring the curious glances from across the room. Now he owed Papa a copy of that book, and he'd probably have to make a trip to Knockturn Alley to get it. "Bloody hell," he muttered. By the time the library was closing, he'd finished just about everything. He decided to leave the rest for tomorrow, and tossed his books in a heap on the floor when he reached his room, not caring if he woke up Goyle or Macnair. It was a shame he'd had to let her think he'd been looking at his father's things when it upset her like that. Now he was going to have to apologize for it.
It was quite a while before he got the chance. She didn't want to talk to him at all. He finally cornered her after charms a week before the Christmas holiday, having begged Marisa the day before to leave without her. "I'm sorry about the book," he said quickly, as soon as he was sure they were alone.
"Forget it, Sev. It doesn't matter." She sounded really depressed.
"It does matter," he insisted, stepping in front of her as she tried to get away. "I didn't know it would upset you so much." Muriel rolled her eyes. "If I never look at another one, will you forgive me?"
She looked up at him then. His expression was serious, but she couldn't tell if he was really sincere. As far as her mind was concerned, he wasn't even standing there. The part of Severus Snape that had really been important to her was buried somewhere inside the person in front of her, and she couldn't reach him. She closed her eyes and nodded, willing herself not to cry.
He looked around again, and seeing no one, he put an arm around her. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Mur," he whispered. It was only a moment before she pulled away.
"I've got to get to class. You should, too," she said quickly. "See you later."
But Muriel skipped her next class. Instead, she headed for the kitchens and asked the house elves to deliver some presents to the marauders for her on Christmas morning. They were happy to agree, and gave her several delicious pastries to take back up to Ravenclaw tower, which was good, because she had a feeling she was going to skip dinner as well.
The day before Christmas, most of the school had gone home for the holiday. As things out in the world became more and more dangerous, the students were anxious for any chance they got to see their parents. Many (especially among the Gryffindors) were going home in direct defiance of their parents' wishes. Severus, of course, went to be with his mother. But Papa had written Mur to tell her to stay, and she would listen. She had no desire to end up like her mother.
James Potter was going with his parents to America over the holidays to visit his mother's sister. Sirius had been invited, but decided that was a little too much to ask. It wasn't a big deal for him to stay here for Christmas, even though Remus and Peter were both going home.
Muriel was looking forward to sleeping in, now that everyone was gone from her dorm, but was awoken far earlier than she'd hoped by Kyle's voice calling up from the common room. "Pick up game of Quiddich," he explained when she stomped down the stairs and demanded to know what his problem was. "Three on three. We need a beater! Come on!" He would have dragged her off to the pitch that minute if she'd had her broom, pajamas or no. Instead he had to wait ten whole minutes while she found her gloves and a hooded cloak she could play in. She grabbed her broom and rushed downstairs.
"I didn't think there were 6 of us left!" she exclaimed as they flew out to the pitch.
"There aren't! We're playing the Gryffindors." Muriel brought her broom skidding to a stop. Kyle circled back to face her.
"Who are we playing, Kyle?" she asked quietly.
"Wood, Black and Bell," he said guardedly. "I thought you'd love a chance to show up Black."
"I've never played beater in my life!"
"Here's your chance," he said, grinning and speeding once again toward the pitch.
"This is not at all funny, Kyle," Mur muttered as she chased after him.
