September 16, 1972
The rest of the week passed without incident, much to Rowan's surprise. Their little battle in the study room seemed to have quelled the boy's desire to bully, at least where she was concerned. They spent all of Thursday evening in the room without saying a word to each other, and although she found it a bit lonely after the first two hours it was all right enough for studying. Better, really, than the chatter in the common rooms about things she still felt uncomfortable dealing with.
Friday came along, and by now everyone seemed to have gotten the idea that she didn't want to be friends, or at least didn't want to be talked to. She was left alone, realizing for the first time that it might have been a mistake to hide herself away for so long. Eventually she returned to the room, although Severus wasn't there, either. Perhaps he had other Friday night plans, which would make it everyone in the castle but her. She'd been looking forward to at least trying to talk to the sullen, greasy-haired boy, and finding him absent from their usual hiding place was more of a blow than she'd expected. Fighting back tears, she took the time to study ahead in some of her spells, Charms and Potions, for two. She wasn't doing very well in either subject.
After a whole weekend of study and dread she got back her first Potions quiz on Monday and groaned. Although she'd quickly picked up on the different grading system, a D was still a bad grade no matter which way she sliced it. The first chance she got she hid in the room again, into which no one seemed to want to go, for whatever reason. Safe from prying eyes and questions, she collapsed on the couch and began to weep. Again.
"Don't you ever stop blubbering?" the familiar voice asked, followed by the sound of a quietly shutting door. Rowan raised her head and sniffed a little.
"You'd be blubbering too," she snapped. "Oh, I don't know why I bother."
"Neither do I," he muttered, and opened his books at his desk.
Crying over a bad Potions quiz was somehow less satisfying with an audience. Especially one who would never cease to annoy her about it if she didn't stop. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry anymore she forced herself to calm down, pulled her Potions book out of her satchel and started to re-read the assigned draught she'd bungled on the quiz. It made even less sense than it had before.
"Porcupine quills and stewed... or newts... or..." she squinted, but the words weren't focusing, and she had to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief again. "No, it's..."
Behind her the older boy gave a disgusted noise. She turned, but he hadn't turned to face her. "Stewed slugs," he muttered, and she wasn't sure whether he was talking to her or himself until she turned back to the book and saw that he was right.
"... oh." She went back to reading. "Crushed ... fangs..."
"Oh, honestly." The boy slammed his book shut with a loud enough sound to make her jump and stalked over to her. "What are you trying to do, there?"
"None of your business," she snapped, shutting her own book and shoving it away from him. "I'm studying, and I thought we'd agreed to leave each other in peace."
"I didn't agree to anything," he retorted in a nasty, sneering tone, "Now give it here."
Despite the fact that she was holding both quiz and textbook out at arm's length he was both taller and longer than she was, and grabbed them both easily. "That's mine," she snapped, and tried to grab it back. He pushed her rudely back onto the couch and stood over her.
"Oh, for..." he sounded thoroughly disgusted. "You really are thick, aren't you? It's a stupid draught for boils." He threw the book at her, narrowly missing her head.
"I am not thick!" she shouted back, pitching the book right back at him. "I studied, and I studied, and it just didn't come out right, and Professor Dee won't tell me what I did wrong..."
"I shouldn't think he'd have to tell you what you did wrong," the boy replied in lofty tones. "It's so simple even a child of four could do it. But I guess since you're just a hopeless Mudblood..."
She'd found out what that meant in the last week, and glared at him furiously for it. "Don't you call me that!"
"Or what?" His eyebrows raised, his lips curled back from his teeth in an unpleasant smirk. "You'll throw your wand at me?" But then he seemed to remember that she'd disarmed him before he'd had a chance to do anything. Instead of stalking towards her he turned back to his books. She could have sworn she heard him muttering something about stupid, stuck-up Mudbloods.
Now furious instead of weeping, she picked up her potions textbook and pitched it across the room again, knocking down several books from the shelves opposite. "Stupid Potions," she snapped at the air. "Stupid ..."
"Some of us are trying to study!" the boy roared at her angrily, and she ducked her head and was quiet. Unlike the last several times he had snapped at her this time he had been right to; she had, after all, been throwing a temper tantrum while he was doing homework.
"Sorry," she murmured, meekly picking up her book again and putting everything back onto the shelves. The feelings of hopelessness and ignorance had settled so far in by now that she was getting used to the idea that she'd be dismissed from the school as a useless case. She wasn't going to tell anyone that, of course, not and give the Slytherins the satisfaction of knowing that the girl they called a filthy Mudblood couldn't handle the school. But she was starting to believe that they just might be right, too.
"Oh, give it here."
Rowan looked over at the boy, who had turned and was giving her a look of mingled disgust and impatience. "Excuse..."
"Give it here, I said. If I'm not going to get any peace out of you till you learn the stupid thing, I might as well ..." He looked uncomfortable with the very idea. "Tutor you and make sure you get it right the first time."
She blinked. He was already pulling out the cauldron and what looked like an entire trunk's worth of potions ingredients from a cabinet under the table. She hadn't noticed it there before, but if it was a study room she supposed it had a right to be there. Hesitantly, unsure of what exactly she was in for, she picked up her book and went over to the table. The dark- haired boy was tapping spidery fingers on the table, glaring at her as though she was dragging her feet.
"I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire," he muttered. "All right, let's go over this from the beginning. And I'll go slowly and use small words so you'll be sure to understand."
She glared at him but bit back the retort she wanted to make, just in case. A few moments later it didn't matter anyway. He launched into a detailed and step-by-step explanation of the assignment, showing her everything as he told her what to do, demonstrating with his graceful hands. It took no effort at all for her to follow what he was doing, and when he ordered her to repeat the process in a superior tone of voice she did it perfectly, not bothering to return the condescension.
"Perhaps you're not as thick as I thought," he allowed, after she had finished successfully and filled up a flask to present to her Professor.
"I had a good tutor." She turned to pack her books again, sure that it was getting late, and so missed the utterly bewildered expression on the boy's face. When she turned around again it vanished so quickly she wasn't sure she'd actually seen it. Instead he was scowling again, his usual expression whenever he bothered to meet her eyes. It didn't bother her as much as it had before. She even waved at him over her shoulder as she left the room, deciding to put off the rest of her homework for between classes the next day. "Thanks, Severus..."
The rest of the week passed without incident, much to Rowan's surprise. Their little battle in the study room seemed to have quelled the boy's desire to bully, at least where she was concerned. They spent all of Thursday evening in the room without saying a word to each other, and although she found it a bit lonely after the first two hours it was all right enough for studying. Better, really, than the chatter in the common rooms about things she still felt uncomfortable dealing with.
Friday came along, and by now everyone seemed to have gotten the idea that she didn't want to be friends, or at least didn't want to be talked to. She was left alone, realizing for the first time that it might have been a mistake to hide herself away for so long. Eventually she returned to the room, although Severus wasn't there, either. Perhaps he had other Friday night plans, which would make it everyone in the castle but her. She'd been looking forward to at least trying to talk to the sullen, greasy-haired boy, and finding him absent from their usual hiding place was more of a blow than she'd expected. Fighting back tears, she took the time to study ahead in some of her spells, Charms and Potions, for two. She wasn't doing very well in either subject.
After a whole weekend of study and dread she got back her first Potions quiz on Monday and groaned. Although she'd quickly picked up on the different grading system, a D was still a bad grade no matter which way she sliced it. The first chance she got she hid in the room again, into which no one seemed to want to go, for whatever reason. Safe from prying eyes and questions, she collapsed on the couch and began to weep. Again.
"Don't you ever stop blubbering?" the familiar voice asked, followed by the sound of a quietly shutting door. Rowan raised her head and sniffed a little.
"You'd be blubbering too," she snapped. "Oh, I don't know why I bother."
"Neither do I," he muttered, and opened his books at his desk.
Crying over a bad Potions quiz was somehow less satisfying with an audience. Especially one who would never cease to annoy her about it if she didn't stop. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry anymore she forced herself to calm down, pulled her Potions book out of her satchel and started to re-read the assigned draught she'd bungled on the quiz. It made even less sense than it had before.
"Porcupine quills and stewed... or newts... or..." she squinted, but the words weren't focusing, and she had to dab at her eyes with a handkerchief again. "No, it's..."
Behind her the older boy gave a disgusted noise. She turned, but he hadn't turned to face her. "Stewed slugs," he muttered, and she wasn't sure whether he was talking to her or himself until she turned back to the book and saw that he was right.
"... oh." She went back to reading. "Crushed ... fangs..."
"Oh, honestly." The boy slammed his book shut with a loud enough sound to make her jump and stalked over to her. "What are you trying to do, there?"
"None of your business," she snapped, shutting her own book and shoving it away from him. "I'm studying, and I thought we'd agreed to leave each other in peace."
"I didn't agree to anything," he retorted in a nasty, sneering tone, "Now give it here."
Despite the fact that she was holding both quiz and textbook out at arm's length he was both taller and longer than she was, and grabbed them both easily. "That's mine," she snapped, and tried to grab it back. He pushed her rudely back onto the couch and stood over her.
"Oh, for..." he sounded thoroughly disgusted. "You really are thick, aren't you? It's a stupid draught for boils." He threw the book at her, narrowly missing her head.
"I am not thick!" she shouted back, pitching the book right back at him. "I studied, and I studied, and it just didn't come out right, and Professor Dee won't tell me what I did wrong..."
"I shouldn't think he'd have to tell you what you did wrong," the boy replied in lofty tones. "It's so simple even a child of four could do it. But I guess since you're just a hopeless Mudblood..."
She'd found out what that meant in the last week, and glared at him furiously for it. "Don't you call me that!"
"Or what?" His eyebrows raised, his lips curled back from his teeth in an unpleasant smirk. "You'll throw your wand at me?" But then he seemed to remember that she'd disarmed him before he'd had a chance to do anything. Instead of stalking towards her he turned back to his books. She could have sworn she heard him muttering something about stupid, stuck-up Mudbloods.
Now furious instead of weeping, she picked up her potions textbook and pitched it across the room again, knocking down several books from the shelves opposite. "Stupid Potions," she snapped at the air. "Stupid ..."
"Some of us are trying to study!" the boy roared at her angrily, and she ducked her head and was quiet. Unlike the last several times he had snapped at her this time he had been right to; she had, after all, been throwing a temper tantrum while he was doing homework.
"Sorry," she murmured, meekly picking up her book again and putting everything back onto the shelves. The feelings of hopelessness and ignorance had settled so far in by now that she was getting used to the idea that she'd be dismissed from the school as a useless case. She wasn't going to tell anyone that, of course, not and give the Slytherins the satisfaction of knowing that the girl they called a filthy Mudblood couldn't handle the school. But she was starting to believe that they just might be right, too.
"Oh, give it here."
Rowan looked over at the boy, who had turned and was giving her a look of mingled disgust and impatience. "Excuse..."
"Give it here, I said. If I'm not going to get any peace out of you till you learn the stupid thing, I might as well ..." He looked uncomfortable with the very idea. "Tutor you and make sure you get it right the first time."
She blinked. He was already pulling out the cauldron and what looked like an entire trunk's worth of potions ingredients from a cabinet under the table. She hadn't noticed it there before, but if it was a study room she supposed it had a right to be there. Hesitantly, unsure of what exactly she was in for, she picked up her book and went over to the table. The dark- haired boy was tapping spidery fingers on the table, glaring at her as though she was dragging her feet.
"I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire," he muttered. "All right, let's go over this from the beginning. And I'll go slowly and use small words so you'll be sure to understand."
She glared at him but bit back the retort she wanted to make, just in case. A few moments later it didn't matter anyway. He launched into a detailed and step-by-step explanation of the assignment, showing her everything as he told her what to do, demonstrating with his graceful hands. It took no effort at all for her to follow what he was doing, and when he ordered her to repeat the process in a superior tone of voice she did it perfectly, not bothering to return the condescension.
"Perhaps you're not as thick as I thought," he allowed, after she had finished successfully and filled up a flask to present to her Professor.
"I had a good tutor." She turned to pack her books again, sure that it was getting late, and so missed the utterly bewildered expression on the boy's face. When she turned around again it vanished so quickly she wasn't sure she'd actually seen it. Instead he was scowling again, his usual expression whenever he bothered to meet her eyes. It didn't bother her as much as it had before. She even waved at him over her shoulder as she left the room, deciding to put off the rest of her homework for between classes the next day. "Thanks, Severus..."