Sorry about taking so long updating. Please don't hold a grudge against me.
Disclaimer: Do you have to rub it in? I don't own anything except the plot so there! Happy now?
Chapter 6
"I will be handing back your pathetic excuses for essays. Not one of you knew what their properties were, save my two top students. I am ashamed at the lot of. And this class is supposed to be for my best students." He muttered the last line to himself, but started again in full force. "When you are given homework, I expect you to finish it or hand in a note from the Head of you House explaining the lack of it. I am utterly revolted at your efforts. Your are my advanced NEWT class, I expected more from you than the other bumbling fools that take Potions." Snape said as his furious gaze swept the classroom.
He had never been so disappointed in his advanced class before and Ginny could see it pained him.
Snape controlled his anger enough to announce. "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley will both receive 20 points for not only producing a satisfactory essay but also for managing to gather the full list of their properties and side effects." Snape awarded with a hint of pride in his voice, but his tone quickly went back to its menacing state he had started with.
"The properties of moonstone and dragon-scale are on the board" he flicked his wand and writing appeared on the wall behind him. "Copy them and redo the essay by yourself. You will hand in the finished essay at the end of the lesson to either Mr. Malfoy or Miss Weasley. You two" - he said addressing Draco and Ginny - "will be supervising the rest of the class" with that he swept out of the classroom.
A surprised silence followed the abrupt departure. Ginny took a deep breath and went to the front of the room. Turning around to face the class, she glared at them before snapping " Well you heard him, get to work."
When Ron opened his mouth to protest, she gave him a glare that would've sent a tiger backing. Soon the only noise in the room was the scratch of quills on parchment.
As Ginny made herself comfortable on the front desk, she realised that the two Slytherins, Pansy and some guy called Zabini, had their arms folded and were staring at her, as if challenging her to order them around.
Ginny sighed and met their gazes squarely. "I told you, get working on those essays." She said loudly causing several people to look up, but the two people she was aiming at had no reaction at all.
She growled. She should've known that it was going to take more effort than needed to make those two do what she said.
"Just do what she says, will you," came the quiet drawling voice of Malfoy. He sounded weary and was rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Pansy and Zabini looked taken aback but did as he said. No Slytherin would dare to cross the Malfoy heir and they weren't about to start now. They would save their accusations till later, in the Slytherin common room.
Ginny was the most surprised of all. She had learned long ago that if a Malfoy was being nice to you, they usually wanted something or more likely, you were a part of their plans.
Draco knew what he said was strange and he was going to be questioned by Pansy afterwards but he really didn't care.
Ever since Snape had started ranting he had not said a word. He had understood how he felt, it was exactly like a dumb house-elf not doing what it was told. But that wasn't why he felt confused. Snape had given that Weasley girl the same amount of points he had, not that he was complaining. It was just that. . . well, he didn't know, something wasn't right. When he had awarded the points, it was almost as if he was. . . proud? Snape was never proud, not even of himself. People thought Snape favored Draco but really, he just relented giving him a glare because he knew Lucius Malfoy would here about it. Also because Malfoy was exceptionally good at potions.
So obviously, the little mud-blood lover had something to with it. It was there ever since she had skipped fifth grade. Snape had even complimented her in front of the whole class!
Somehow he needed to get closer to the Weasley. Even thinking it made him wrinkle his nose in distaste.
There you go Father, he thought silently, I'm actually going to be nice to the little wrench just to please you. Think of all the sacrifices I make just to keep you happy yet you don't even notice me.
Draco sighed. There was no point in grumbling about how his Father treated him now. He had worked to do.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The end of class bell rang and everyone hurried to get out of the room. As they passed the front desk, they left their completed essays.
Ron, Harry and Hermione all waited for Ginny at the door so they could go up to dinner together but the red-head simply ignored them. Instead she gathered the pieces of parchment on the desk into a neat pile then started taking down unmarked jars from the shelves.
After placing them on the desk, she looked at the trio and feigned surprise as she said "What are you still doing here?"
Ron, clearly outraged at his sisters behavior, snapped "We're waiting for you to get a move on so we can go to dinner!"
"I'm touched. But I've got work to do. So please go before Snape catches you loitering here." Ginny knew she was a bit harsh but she really did have work to do. And also the minor fact that she knew Ron was going to lecture her about the way she treated Hermione the other day. She had been trying to avoid the trio for the past couple of days but knew she couldn't ignore them forever.
"Not before you answer as to why you acted like that to Hermione." Ron said persistently. He wasn't going to drop the subject was he? Ginny sighed and took a quill from the top drawer. She dipped it in the ink bottle and held up one of the numerous jars of ingredients. As she wrote the label, she replied "I only told her to mind her own business."
"Is that how you speak to your friends?" Ron asked, furious at her sisters carefree manner. He was about to launch into one of his 'brotherly' lectures when someone interrupted him.
"What's going on here?" came Snape's silky voice. Ginny sighed with relief. Finally she could get on with her work quietly. Helping Snape keep his potions store up-to-date was a hard task especially when the Ministry needed urgent supplies from any Potions Master they could get their hands on. Apparently the hospitals, like St Mungo's were down on potions stock since the random attacks on Wizard and Muggle families alike.
"Sorry Professor Snape. We were just going up to dinner, weren't we Ron?" replied Hermione, speaking for the first time. She poked Ron in the ribs with her elbow. Ron finally stopped glaring at Ginny's back and scowled at Hermione instead. Harry, who had been staring at Ginny like she had grown two heads, was now casting Snape a death glare.
"Well get on with it then!" snapped Snape, glaring at them until they disappeared up the stairs. Snape shut the door and turned to look at the remaining Gryffindor. "Miss Weasley, is the potion for Dumbledore's cold ready?"
"I'll just check professor." Ginny said, going to a cabinet that held all the simmering potions. "Yep, it's ready, puffing a perfect sky blue." Ginny said as she sniffed the ginger smelling potion.
"Good, I would like you to deliver it to the Headmaster right away. I believe he is in the Great Hall" Snape said sitting down to mark the pile of essays on his desk. He showed none of the pride Ginny knew he must be feeling, for correctly completing her first essay in the advanced class.
'Showing to much encouragement makes one conceited.' Was Snape's motto. Ginny grinned inwardly as she poured the potion into the vial. Her smile faded at Snape's next words.
"And while you're there, bring young Malfoy down here. With the work load piling up, I believe we'll need some more help." Snape said casually.
"Wh..why can't Hermione help?" Ginny spluttered, nearly dropping the vial. No matter what qualms she had with the older girl, she preferred her than Malfoy. She didn't want to spend anymore time with Malfoy than she had to.
"No, do you have a problem with him?" Snape said raising an eyebrow.
"I um..well.no" Ginny said reluctantly. Well she couldn't possibly say that he annoyed her and held a grudge against her family.
"Good, off you go then." Snape said gently. As he watched Ginny leave, he smiled. Step one was in action.
Disclaimer: Do you have to rub it in? I don't own anything except the plot so there! Happy now?
Chapter 6
"I will be handing back your pathetic excuses for essays. Not one of you knew what their properties were, save my two top students. I am ashamed at the lot of. And this class is supposed to be for my best students." He muttered the last line to himself, but started again in full force. "When you are given homework, I expect you to finish it or hand in a note from the Head of you House explaining the lack of it. I am utterly revolted at your efforts. Your are my advanced NEWT class, I expected more from you than the other bumbling fools that take Potions." Snape said as his furious gaze swept the classroom.
He had never been so disappointed in his advanced class before and Ginny could see it pained him.
Snape controlled his anger enough to announce. "Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley will both receive 20 points for not only producing a satisfactory essay but also for managing to gather the full list of their properties and side effects." Snape awarded with a hint of pride in his voice, but his tone quickly went back to its menacing state he had started with.
"The properties of moonstone and dragon-scale are on the board" he flicked his wand and writing appeared on the wall behind him. "Copy them and redo the essay by yourself. You will hand in the finished essay at the end of the lesson to either Mr. Malfoy or Miss Weasley. You two" - he said addressing Draco and Ginny - "will be supervising the rest of the class" with that he swept out of the classroom.
A surprised silence followed the abrupt departure. Ginny took a deep breath and went to the front of the room. Turning around to face the class, she glared at them before snapping " Well you heard him, get to work."
When Ron opened his mouth to protest, she gave him a glare that would've sent a tiger backing. Soon the only noise in the room was the scratch of quills on parchment.
As Ginny made herself comfortable on the front desk, she realised that the two Slytherins, Pansy and some guy called Zabini, had their arms folded and were staring at her, as if challenging her to order them around.
Ginny sighed and met their gazes squarely. "I told you, get working on those essays." She said loudly causing several people to look up, but the two people she was aiming at had no reaction at all.
She growled. She should've known that it was going to take more effort than needed to make those two do what she said.
"Just do what she says, will you," came the quiet drawling voice of Malfoy. He sounded weary and was rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Pansy and Zabini looked taken aback but did as he said. No Slytherin would dare to cross the Malfoy heir and they weren't about to start now. They would save their accusations till later, in the Slytherin common room.
Ginny was the most surprised of all. She had learned long ago that if a Malfoy was being nice to you, they usually wanted something or more likely, you were a part of their plans.
Draco knew what he said was strange and he was going to be questioned by Pansy afterwards but he really didn't care.
Ever since Snape had started ranting he had not said a word. He had understood how he felt, it was exactly like a dumb house-elf not doing what it was told. But that wasn't why he felt confused. Snape had given that Weasley girl the same amount of points he had, not that he was complaining. It was just that. . . well, he didn't know, something wasn't right. When he had awarded the points, it was almost as if he was. . . proud? Snape was never proud, not even of himself. People thought Snape favored Draco but really, he just relented giving him a glare because he knew Lucius Malfoy would here about it. Also because Malfoy was exceptionally good at potions.
So obviously, the little mud-blood lover had something to with it. It was there ever since she had skipped fifth grade. Snape had even complimented her in front of the whole class!
Somehow he needed to get closer to the Weasley. Even thinking it made him wrinkle his nose in distaste.
There you go Father, he thought silently, I'm actually going to be nice to the little wrench just to please you. Think of all the sacrifices I make just to keep you happy yet you don't even notice me.
Draco sighed. There was no point in grumbling about how his Father treated him now. He had worked to do.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The end of class bell rang and everyone hurried to get out of the room. As they passed the front desk, they left their completed essays.
Ron, Harry and Hermione all waited for Ginny at the door so they could go up to dinner together but the red-head simply ignored them. Instead she gathered the pieces of parchment on the desk into a neat pile then started taking down unmarked jars from the shelves.
After placing them on the desk, she looked at the trio and feigned surprise as she said "What are you still doing here?"
Ron, clearly outraged at his sisters behavior, snapped "We're waiting for you to get a move on so we can go to dinner!"
"I'm touched. But I've got work to do. So please go before Snape catches you loitering here." Ginny knew she was a bit harsh but she really did have work to do. And also the minor fact that she knew Ron was going to lecture her about the way she treated Hermione the other day. She had been trying to avoid the trio for the past couple of days but knew she couldn't ignore them forever.
"Not before you answer as to why you acted like that to Hermione." Ron said persistently. He wasn't going to drop the subject was he? Ginny sighed and took a quill from the top drawer. She dipped it in the ink bottle and held up one of the numerous jars of ingredients. As she wrote the label, she replied "I only told her to mind her own business."
"Is that how you speak to your friends?" Ron asked, furious at her sisters carefree manner. He was about to launch into one of his 'brotherly' lectures when someone interrupted him.
"What's going on here?" came Snape's silky voice. Ginny sighed with relief. Finally she could get on with her work quietly. Helping Snape keep his potions store up-to-date was a hard task especially when the Ministry needed urgent supplies from any Potions Master they could get their hands on. Apparently the hospitals, like St Mungo's were down on potions stock since the random attacks on Wizard and Muggle families alike.
"Sorry Professor Snape. We were just going up to dinner, weren't we Ron?" replied Hermione, speaking for the first time. She poked Ron in the ribs with her elbow. Ron finally stopped glaring at Ginny's back and scowled at Hermione instead. Harry, who had been staring at Ginny like she had grown two heads, was now casting Snape a death glare.
"Well get on with it then!" snapped Snape, glaring at them until they disappeared up the stairs. Snape shut the door and turned to look at the remaining Gryffindor. "Miss Weasley, is the potion for Dumbledore's cold ready?"
"I'll just check professor." Ginny said, going to a cabinet that held all the simmering potions. "Yep, it's ready, puffing a perfect sky blue." Ginny said as she sniffed the ginger smelling potion.
"Good, I would like you to deliver it to the Headmaster right away. I believe he is in the Great Hall" Snape said sitting down to mark the pile of essays on his desk. He showed none of the pride Ginny knew he must be feeling, for correctly completing her first essay in the advanced class.
'Showing to much encouragement makes one conceited.' Was Snape's motto. Ginny grinned inwardly as she poured the potion into the vial. Her smile faded at Snape's next words.
"And while you're there, bring young Malfoy down here. With the work load piling up, I believe we'll need some more help." Snape said casually.
"Wh..why can't Hermione help?" Ginny spluttered, nearly dropping the vial. No matter what qualms she had with the older girl, she preferred her than Malfoy. She didn't want to spend anymore time with Malfoy than she had to.
"No, do you have a problem with him?" Snape said raising an eyebrow.
"I um..well.no" Ginny said reluctantly. Well she couldn't possibly say that he annoyed her and held a grudge against her family.
"Good, off you go then." Snape said gently. As he watched Ginny leave, he smiled. Step one was in action.