Chapter 4
"Hurry up Harry!" moaned Ron as Harry rummaged once more through his trunk, "what is so important that you need to find it now?"
"Ron...the marauder's map...someone's stolen it," Harry replied, throwing out socks and bits of spare parchment which Ron just managed to dodge.
"It's got to be in there somewhere Harry, search for it later – Herbology started five minutes ago! Anyway you've had the whole of lunch to look for it." Ron edged closer to the dormitory door.
"I didn't wipe it last time I used it, I was in a rush...anybody could use it!" Harry started to feel under his four-poster.
- - - - - -
"Has anybody seen Weasley and Potter?" Professor Sprout shouted over the noise of the class. "They should have been here ten minutes ago."
"Here, Professor," gasped Harry as he and Ron fell through the greenhouse door. "Sorry we're late."
"Ten points from Gryffindor and hurry up, today's lesson is important and should have been started ten minutes ago," she snapped.
"What's up with her, mouldy old cabbage," Ron muttered as he and Harry sidled over to join Hermione at her tray.
"Well really, you are very late, what kept you?" Hermione said disapprovingly. "Skibblydibberts are a very important part of our syllabus and will probably come up on our exam. Thanks to you, we'll only be able to extract sap today. And Sprout's already in a bad mood because the new mandrakes were savaged last night."
"Oh really?" asked Ron examining the Skibblydibbert's flowers as they changed from polka-dot green to stripy yellow.
"Yes, it's terrible because the second years won't be able to look after them and gain the valuable experience that we gained. It's so unfair. Poor Professor Sprout was really distraught and I really don't blame her," Hermione said in one breath.
"Valuable experience!" exploded Ron. "What valuable experience. All I learnt was never to plant one in my garden."
"Garden? You don't have a ..." began Harry
"WEASLEY, POTTER! BE QUIET! You were late for my lesson now have the decency to shut up and listen!" yelled Sprout. The tops of Ron's ears went very red.
After half an hour of taking notes on the ways that the skibblydibbert changed according to temperature, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Ron managed to vex Professor Sprout further by elbowing a tray full of flowering shrub seeds off the bench, covering the greenhouse floor with a carpet of green. Neville stayed behind to help clear up, mostly out of fear rather than kindness.
Neville closed the greenhouse door tentatively, hoping professor Sprout would not realise that he had escaped without de-weeding the whole greenhouse. The sun was setting behind the castle, casting long shadows on the grounds. Suddenly Neville heard a high-pitched giggle and a cold voice cutting it short from somewhere behind him. Intrigued, he sidled silently between greenhouse one and two and peered through the first few trees of the forbidden forest. In a clearing a little way in, Neville saw two shadowy figures – a tall man in long black robes and a smaller woman standing just in front of him.
"What was that?" Snape escaped Sinistra's grasp and raised his wand, his cold black eyes looking accusingly a bush close to where Neville was hiding.
"Er... a bush? Stop being so jumpy Sev!" Sinistra wound her arms around Snape who pulled away again.
"Don't call me Sev, how would you like it if I started calling you Aur?" he snapped, lowering his wand slowly and reluctantly putting an arm around her waist.
"I wouldn't mind at all Sev, in fact, I'd prefer it if you called me Aur," Sinistra said sweetly, using her wand to tighten one of her black curls.
"It's getting dark Aurielle, shall we leave?" asked Snape looking uncomfortable.
There were a few seconds of tense silence. The couple drew closer, Neville felt highly embarrassed but if he left now they would definitely hear him...all the same, they would have to pass the bush concealing him on their way up to the castle.
Neville started to crawl through the undergrowth standing up behind a tree, which he peered around, deciding to wait until they had left before returning to the Great Hall. At that moment, the sunlight spread over the clearing illuminating Snape and Sinistra, their mouths almost touching. The light reflected off of Snape's face, and as Neville stood debating whether to run to the next tree, he caught sight of Snape's mouth with two long, gleaming white fangs fast approaching Sinistra's neck. Neville gasped and Snape's black eyes flashed towards Neville, their gaze met and both of their hearts stopped.
Without thinking, Neville turned and sprinted back to the castle as fast as he could. Snape pushed Sinistra roughly away and began to struggle through the bushes on the far side of the clearing in pursuit of Neville.
"Severus!" Sinistra shouted angrily. But Snape seemed unaware as he untangled his robes from a thorn bush. "Severus, what is your problem?"
Snape ignored her, the boy had seen them, but that was not the only secret he had uncovered and that was Snape's prime concern. How could he have been so careless? He had nearly bitten Aurielle...this had to stop, he would never forgive himself if he killed her.
"Sinistra..." Snape said, turning back towards the clearing, "this has to stop. I'm...err...sorry?"
"FINE!" Sinistra shouted, a flock of birds took flight in the silent forest as she stormed back to the castle, trying to disguise the tears running down her white face.
"Hurry up Harry!" moaned Ron as Harry rummaged once more through his trunk, "what is so important that you need to find it now?"
"Ron...the marauder's map...someone's stolen it," Harry replied, throwing out socks and bits of spare parchment which Ron just managed to dodge.
"It's got to be in there somewhere Harry, search for it later – Herbology started five minutes ago! Anyway you've had the whole of lunch to look for it." Ron edged closer to the dormitory door.
"I didn't wipe it last time I used it, I was in a rush...anybody could use it!" Harry started to feel under his four-poster.
- - - - - -
"Has anybody seen Weasley and Potter?" Professor Sprout shouted over the noise of the class. "They should have been here ten minutes ago."
"Here, Professor," gasped Harry as he and Ron fell through the greenhouse door. "Sorry we're late."
"Ten points from Gryffindor and hurry up, today's lesson is important and should have been started ten minutes ago," she snapped.
"What's up with her, mouldy old cabbage," Ron muttered as he and Harry sidled over to join Hermione at her tray.
"Well really, you are very late, what kept you?" Hermione said disapprovingly. "Skibblydibberts are a very important part of our syllabus and will probably come up on our exam. Thanks to you, we'll only be able to extract sap today. And Sprout's already in a bad mood because the new mandrakes were savaged last night."
"Oh really?" asked Ron examining the Skibblydibbert's flowers as they changed from polka-dot green to stripy yellow.
"Yes, it's terrible because the second years won't be able to look after them and gain the valuable experience that we gained. It's so unfair. Poor Professor Sprout was really distraught and I really don't blame her," Hermione said in one breath.
"Valuable experience!" exploded Ron. "What valuable experience. All I learnt was never to plant one in my garden."
"Garden? You don't have a ..." began Harry
"WEASLEY, POTTER! BE QUIET! You were late for my lesson now have the decency to shut up and listen!" yelled Sprout. The tops of Ron's ears went very red.
After half an hour of taking notes on the ways that the skibblydibbert changed according to temperature, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed to the Great Hall for dinner. Ron managed to vex Professor Sprout further by elbowing a tray full of flowering shrub seeds off the bench, covering the greenhouse floor with a carpet of green. Neville stayed behind to help clear up, mostly out of fear rather than kindness.
Neville closed the greenhouse door tentatively, hoping professor Sprout would not realise that he had escaped without de-weeding the whole greenhouse. The sun was setting behind the castle, casting long shadows on the grounds. Suddenly Neville heard a high-pitched giggle and a cold voice cutting it short from somewhere behind him. Intrigued, he sidled silently between greenhouse one and two and peered through the first few trees of the forbidden forest. In a clearing a little way in, Neville saw two shadowy figures – a tall man in long black robes and a smaller woman standing just in front of him.
"What was that?" Snape escaped Sinistra's grasp and raised his wand, his cold black eyes looking accusingly a bush close to where Neville was hiding.
"Er... a bush? Stop being so jumpy Sev!" Sinistra wound her arms around Snape who pulled away again.
"Don't call me Sev, how would you like it if I started calling you Aur?" he snapped, lowering his wand slowly and reluctantly putting an arm around her waist.
"I wouldn't mind at all Sev, in fact, I'd prefer it if you called me Aur," Sinistra said sweetly, using her wand to tighten one of her black curls.
"It's getting dark Aurielle, shall we leave?" asked Snape looking uncomfortable.
There were a few seconds of tense silence. The couple drew closer, Neville felt highly embarrassed but if he left now they would definitely hear him...all the same, they would have to pass the bush concealing him on their way up to the castle.
Neville started to crawl through the undergrowth standing up behind a tree, which he peered around, deciding to wait until they had left before returning to the Great Hall. At that moment, the sunlight spread over the clearing illuminating Snape and Sinistra, their mouths almost touching. The light reflected off of Snape's face, and as Neville stood debating whether to run to the next tree, he caught sight of Snape's mouth with two long, gleaming white fangs fast approaching Sinistra's neck. Neville gasped and Snape's black eyes flashed towards Neville, their gaze met and both of their hearts stopped.
Without thinking, Neville turned and sprinted back to the castle as fast as he could. Snape pushed Sinistra roughly away and began to struggle through the bushes on the far side of the clearing in pursuit of Neville.
"Severus!" Sinistra shouted angrily. But Snape seemed unaware as he untangled his robes from a thorn bush. "Severus, what is your problem?"
Snape ignored her, the boy had seen them, but that was not the only secret he had uncovered and that was Snape's prime concern. How could he have been so careless? He had nearly bitten Aurielle...this had to stop, he would never forgive himself if he killed her.
"Sinistra..." Snape said, turning back towards the clearing, "this has to stop. I'm...err...sorry?"
"FINE!" Sinistra shouted, a flock of birds took flight in the silent forest as she stormed back to the castle, trying to disguise the tears running down her white face.