Visions in the Night Sky
Chapter 2: Observation, Cause, and Effect
The first days of Merewen's experience flew by. Before she knew it she was teaching her first class. Merewen found herself shaking a bit as she rose and walked to the front of the room. She started well.
"Your assignment today will be to produce a sleeping potion," Merewen began. "Please open your textbooks to chapter 12, section 31." The students did as they were told as Merewen read from the book and asked that they follow along. The chalk at the board copied the instructions as she spoke them aloud.
After Merewen had finished her lecture, she walked around as the students prepared their potions, commenting and correcting as they went along. Aside from minor disciplinary problems that Merewen did her best to put a stop to, everything seemed to be going according to plan. Professor Snape watched from his desk, making notes and generally observing as Merewen taught. He was impressed. He would not have guessed that she would do so well right away. Then the inevitable happened: Neville Longbottom's younger brother Nigel messed up. It was a problem that seemed to follow in the Longbottom family genetic structure. Anything could be messed up.
Nigel's potion turned a sickening shade of green and began to foam and spill over the side of his cauldron. He tried to raise his hand, but Merewen was standing over Agatha Anness' cauldron and complimenting on her careful mixture of the ingredients. By the time Merewen looked up and saw Nigel's predicament, the foam had spilled over the cauldron and burned through the sleeve of Miranda Marcus' school uniform causing her to howl in agony.
Merewen produced her wand and emptied Nigel's cauldron. She gave him a stern look.
"Miss Marcus, please go to the hospital wing and see that Madam Pomfrey tends to that burn quickly. Mr. Longbottom, I want to see your lab notes immediately," Merewen said, coming to Nigel's table.
"That won't help. The Longbottoms could cause havoc even with proper instructions and notes. Take points from Gryffindor and get it over with, Miss Capenum," Snape said, standing and walking toward them.
"With all due respect, Professor, I don't think taking points away is necessary. Mr. Longbottom and I will discuss after class today ways that he could improve his methods in class as well as his safety precautions," said Merewen. Snape was now right beside her.
"It is clearly stated in the list of procedures I gave you that mine is the final authority in the classroom, Miss Capenum. Ten points from Gryffindor for your incompetence, Longbottom," Snape said coldly. Before Merewen could muster the courage to argue, the bell rang, and Merewen assigned their reading homework before she released them.
When they were alone, Snape returned to his desk, leaving Merewen still standing beside the lab table and wondering what the most prudent course of action was.
"I'll be noting your lack of classroom ethics in my evaluation, Miss Capenum," Snape said without looking up at her.
"Lack of ethics, Professor?" Merewen repeated breathlessly.
"Your apparent disregard for the school rules reflects faulty ethics, Miss Capenum. Longbottom should have immediately lost points for his mistake. You hesitated. You cannot repair a fence with a toothpick," Snape said, finally looking up at her. She took a few steps toward him as she found the courage to defend herself.
"And Confucius said not to use a cannon to kill a mosquito," Merewen countered.
"Confucius was a fool."
"And so are you."
Snape stopped his quill and looked wide-eyed at his student teacher.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked.
"How can you expect your students to learn if you don't allow them to make mistakes and to mend them? Mistakes are how people learn! No one simply gets on a broomstick and automatically knows how to ride one!" Merewen cried.
"Professor McGonagall seems to be of the opinion that Potter accomplished that very thing in his first year, so it must at least be possible," Snape replied.
"Good day, Professor," Merewen said, slamming her book and lifting the stack of papers to be corrected into her arms with it before heading for the classroom door.
"Where are you going? I haven't dismissed you!"
"I have work to do," Merewen growled.
"I'll be noting this in my—"
" So note it then! Nothing I say is going to make a bloody bit of difference because you've already made your judgment before I can defend myself!" Merewen yelled, slamming the classroom door and going back to her room.
Sitting in the silence, Snape placed his quill back in the inkpot and rubbed his temples. This day had been a cascade of cause and effect. Nigel's mistake lead to the chaos in the classroom. This situation lead Merewen to try to fix it, just as any good teacher would. When she tried to fix it using an approach he had not considered he had openly challenged her in front of the students and probably had damaged their respect for her. Then he had made it worse by challenging her again after the class was gone. She had been right and he knew it. He didn't dare try to confront her again. It would have to wait until morning.
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Merewen sat at her desk, correcting papers by lamp light. She was furious, but she tried not to let it show in her correction of the students' papers. Finally, she couldn't hold it back anymore and managed to replace her quill in its ink jar before she lowered her head to her hands and cried. Meriwether jumped up to the top of her desk, mewed softly, and curled against her arm. As she reached over to pet him, there was a knock at her door. Who could that be? Merewen looked at her pocket watch. She had been so upset that she worked through dinner. Carefully, she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief and rose to answer the door.
Professor McGonagall stood there, head held high and a stern look on her face. Merewen was sure that she had heard about Professor Snape's evaluation. Merewen quietly invited her in. Without flinching, she entered and sat down in one of the chairs near the fire that Merewen offered her.
"May I offer you anything, Professor McGonagall?" Merewen asked politely.
"No thank you, Miss Capenum. Please, join me," McGonagall replied. Merewen slowly approached and sat down in the chair opposite the stoic Deputy Headmistress expecting an earful of what she should have done. Instead, when Merewen looked up, Professor McGonagall's look changed completely. Her eyes softened, her mouth relaxed, and she took on a look of pure concern and sympathy.
"Merewen, Professor Snape told me about what happened in class today," McGonagall began, watching for Merewen's reaction. Merewen flinched nearly imperceptibly.
"Professor Snape says I should have just taken points away from Nigel and let it go," Merewen replied.
"Yes. That would have been the easiest thing to do, but what do you think?" asked McGonagall.
"I think that what Nigel needs is encouragement and extra help. I've worked with children like him before. They need a classroom environment where it's okay to make a mistake as long as he learns how to correct it. He should feel safe enough to ask questions and explore the art of potion making, not be afraid of it," Merewen explained, beginning to feel like she could open up to Professor McGonagall. Meriwether stretched and softly mewed as he trotted on little cat feet over to meet this stranger in green robes. He mewed at Professor McGonagall's feet and then jumped into her lap, purring and rubbing against her hands.
"Meriwether, no!" Merewen admonished him, but Professor McGonagall was already stroking his downy fur and smiling.
"That's quite all right, Merewen. You of all people know that I share a special kinship with cats." Merewen smiled at this. Meriwether continued to purr and lightly gnaw at McGonagall's fingers. She just chuckled and stroked him a bit more as she and Merewen talked.
By the time Professor McGonagall left, Merewen was feeling much better. McGonagall had completely understood and encouraged her to be patient with Professor Snape. Snape had his reasons for doing things the way he does, and to have someone newer and younger come in and do it differently was difficult for him. Merewen understood this. She hoped that she could patch things up with Professor Snape. A rift so early in her 10 week student teaching experience would have a devastating effect on their working relationship. Merewen snuggled into bed that night feeling better. Perhaps this experience at Hogwarts was going to be okay after all.
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For the following three weeks, Professor Snape did his best to let Merewen teach the way she wanted. If she made mistakes or had questions, she would come to him soon enough. He just didn't know when that would be and it bothered him. Their private meetings had been tense for a while after that first explosion. She had been short with him—professional—but short all the same. He wondered at length just how long she was going to be upset with him.
Three days into her fourth week, Merewen had long since started talking to him again. To both of their surprise, a professional relationship was blossoming. Professor Dumbledore even spotted them walking through the halls, discussing the latest issue of Potions Monthly. It seemed there had been a discrepancy between traditional ingredients of involved in the brewing of a sensation potion and the more modern. As they talked and walked, they hardly noticed anyone else around them.
Professor McGonagall noticed the following week, the middle point of Merewen's teaching experience, that the students were coming back from Hogsmeade with rumors that Professor Snape and Miss Capenum were having coffee together but not really saying much in the way of conversation. The students giggled at this but Professor McGonagall wasn't sure it was quite so humorous. To speak to her and spend time with her was one thing, but for the students to begin thinking that there was something going on between them could be dangerous. For Severus more than anyone else. The professional repercussions notwithstanding, McGonagall knew what lay in Severus Snape's heart, and if he had that heart broken, the damage may well be irreparable. Something had to be done.
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