Chapter 12- Compliments Go a Long Way
2nd of May, 2000:
Severus stood in the back as the crowd gathered around the monument located on Hogwarts grounds.
He made sure that Minerva could see him but other than that, he preferred to remain unnoticed by others, which was admittedly an impossible endeavour.
May 2nd marked the day the wizarding world finally knew peace, and the day it lost many young courageous witches and wizards, in the same place where their magical journey began.
The monument looked beautiful, majestic even, covered in flowers and letters that students left for their late friends. It was pleasing to the eye and the spirit of the place spoke of the victory they accomplished with their sacrifice.
Yet Severus avoided it like the plague.
It was two years since the end of the war and Severus had only laid eyes on the monument twice; today and the day he finally returned as a teacher, which was back in September.
Other than that he refused to come near it.
Because despite how everyone felt looking at the statue, Severus only saw the souls of the many people he failed to protect—the people who died instead of him, due to no fault of their own.
Truth be told Severus had no idea how he survived...for all intents and purposes he should be dead after the snake bite. He didn't know how he awakened a week later to find himself in the care of his own mother.
She claimed he apparated there without prior notice, in heaps of blood and quite delirious, only managing to say the word, "Nagini" before passing out.
Eileen, who had not seen her son for more than two years, as he preferred to keep their contact at a minimum after the Dark Lord had risen, took it upon herself to heal him. Though not a healer herself she was quite adept in the field, and she was a decent brewer, a bit like himself. Plus he supposed the Anti-Venom he had in his body that he made sure to drink every time he was summoned certainly helped, though not by much, as the Dark Lord deemed it necessary to do some readjustments on his snake after the failed attempt to kill the Weasley patriarch.
It was only unfortunate that not one of the Death Eaters he associated with nor Severus himself held knowledge of what these changes consisted of.
So after many visits to St Mungo's, and countless discussions with healers and potions masters, it was decided that getting all of the venom out was impossible, so Severus devised his own cure, which consisted of a bunch of potions he had to take to make sure that whatever venom Nagini had inside him, was contained in an enchanted vessel, a bubble of sorts, roaming about his body.
Although it helped him survive thus far, it still had quite a few effects, as sometimes the venom would stay in one place for too long and thus it would start infecting his parts quite badly, sometimes he spent days being unable to walk because it stayed in a particular place that affected his legs. That forced him to add another potion to his list that quite literally forced the venom bubble to move to a different location after a duration of time. It minimized the number of days he would have such relapses but didn't completely eliminate them, not to mention his defence system has weakened significantly, but Severus wasn't complaining.
After all, he should be dead, and sometimes in the days when his mind was overtaken by dark thoughts, he wished he was...
But he wasn't.
And that was still a mystery that took over his dreams.
How on earth did he have the energy to apparate to his mother's house after losing so much blood?
He started dreaming of this shadowy figure that stood over him as he lay there bleeding, about a month after the incident.
An angel.
Or a devil, as Severus, sometimes refers to it when he curses his existence.
It kept reappearing in his dreams, in some of them it would be holding a potion, forcing him to drink it. In others, it would be putting pressure on his wounds apologizing for the pain that caused.
Severus was convinced that this angel was a mere creation of his mind to explain how he managed to apparate.
After all, who would help him?
The only people who knew his location were the Dark Lord, who killed him himself, and Potter with his cronies who were convinced he worked against them.
It didn't make sense.
"Professor?" If Severus was startled by the sudden voice calling his name, he certainly didn't let it show.
Slowly, with an air of coldness, he let his eyes lay on the person who managed to notice him despite his best efforts.
"Miss Granger," he drawled, giving the girl before him a judging look.
"How have you been?" she asked eagerly, her eyes sparkling, "I haven't seen you in a while; you look well."
Truth be told they probably haven't seen each other since the war.
Severus avoided social gatherings and parties arranged by The Order until now, and he couldn't teach in the year that followed the war due to his health. Which he later learnt was when Miss Granger redid her seventh year.
So, she was right to say that it's been a while, which was certainly noticed by Severus, despite his claims that he doesn't care.
It's not like he missed the old days or yearned to see the faces of his old students, most certainly not the Golden Trio.
But after spending years of his life, making sure these very faces stayed alive and accomplished the missions Dumbledore had unfairly set for them, to say that teaching a year without any of that, any of them, didn't take some getting used to, would be a lie.
"I suppose one ought to look 'well' when there is no war to worry about," he replied to her compliment, though he doubted she meant it as such.
The girl, who Severus must admit had matured since he last laid eyes on her, smiled back at him, her eyes still glistening from the tears she no doubt has shed today. "I suppose," she nodded.
"You look well yourself," he found himself returning the compliment, not knowing why on earth he did that.
But when he earned yet another smile, wider than before, he no longer questioned his reasons.
"Thank you, I feel well too," she said, and then proving that she was still the same student who spoke out of turn despite no one asking her to, she continued, "That war took so much out of everyone; it was a shadow that took over everything, even our hearts. It's still strange to think that it's all over now."
He nodded. "You were forced to grow much faster than you are supposed to."
"We all were," she replied, seeming to include him in that quote, which made Severus wonder why he wasn't always considered 'grown' from her point of view.
He raised an eyebrow at her, and turned his body in her direction, giving the impression that he's finally agreed to properly converse with her. "Which is why I'm baffled as to why you'd come here today and be reminded of the pain you went through."
Her eyes looked back at his in a challenge. "Why are you?"
He didn't fail to sneer at her. "My situation is different," he said, turning his posture again, this time facing forward. " The headmistress insists all of the staff show up on this day."
Hermione smirked at him knowingly. "You've had no qualms going against Professor McGonagall during my school years." She rolled her eyes. "I very much doubt you couldn't defy her now." And then she side-eyed him. "She has a soft spot for you."
He snorted.
"Which leads me to believe you're here out of your own choice...just like me."
He didn't answer and they stood there in silence for a while.
"I'm very thankful to see it end, but it's important to reflect back on it." Hermione finally chose to answer his question. "After all, some of us weren't fortunate enough to make it through."
"And some of us didn't deserve to," he muttered quietly.
Hermione didn't show any sign of hearing him other than quickly side-eyeing him and then looking away. Severus wouldn't have noticed had he not been trained to pay attention.
They both continued to watch the scene before them, each lost in their own thoughts.
Minerva seemed to start her second speech and everyone else seemed absorbed by it.
Severus made her promise she wouldn't mention him in her speech, and she reluctantly agreed after arguing with him that people should be aware of and appreciate his efforts. So they settled on her being able to vaguely talk about his part without directly saying his name.
Somehow he felt that he fell into her trap, after all, only truly clueless people wouldn't be able to recognize who exactly she would be talking about, but it's still better than her saying his name and for everyone in the crowd to start searching for his face.
"I didn't expect to hear back when I sent you an owl about receiving an O in my potions NEWT," Hermione told him when Minerva stopped momentarily in her speech.
"It was a very short reply, very dry might I add compared to my other Professors." She smiled fondly. "But I still remember what you said: 'you deserve it after your hard work, Miss Granger.'"
"I know what I said," he interrupted.
Severus was surprised by her boldness, he didn't expect her to confront him, but he reminded himself she was a Gryffindor.
He didn't think about ever facing Granger after his reply. Truth be told he thought he would never see her face again, so he allowed himself to reply to her and let her know that he doesn't despise her as much as he let on.
In truth, he received her owl in one of his weakest moments, where he was lamenting back to all of his past actions, and whether all of them were really necessary.
Lily used to point out his poor behaviour and overall standoffish attitude towards other people, especially those weaker than him. He seemed to let himself go after her death.
After all, he always blatantly admonished Miss Granger for attributes he found in himself.
"It's still quite strange after you spent seven years criticizing me for my hard work, Professor," Hermione casually pointed out.
"Yet you still persisted," he said dryly, then let his eyes meet hers. "That's admirable." He surprised both her and himself at this proclamation.
Hermione broke the moment by chuckling lightly. Thankfully they were far away from the crowd so no one noticed their somewhat joyful mood compared to the speech that was taking place. "And that's probably the first compliment I received from you...well second considering the owl."
"Don't expect more," he replied. He didn't say it in mirth, rather as a fact but he was awarded yet another shiny smile.
He might reconsider.
"Certainly not, Professor. I'm quite content with what I got, but I hope you know that honest compliments go a long way."
He was prevented from replying when he caught Minerva's eye amidst the crowd gesturing for him to come closer.
"I must go," he said to his companion, excusing himself with a nod and proceeding to walk, as he passed her however she caught his wrist.
Her courage really astonished him, he thought as he turned to her.
"I'm really glad you survived, Professor," she said sincerely, pointing out his earlier remark. "You sacrificed so much for us. You too deserve to see the war end after your hard work. Even if you don't think you do."
Severus met her eyes for a brief moment, confirming that she was indeed being genuine.
He had half the mind to tell the girl to stop speaking nonsense, that he didn't deserve her words and she should know better than speak them, but her sincerity left him speechless.
Having nothing to say, he only nodded again and quietly walked away.
Later on that night, after his countless attempts to fall asleep only to be awakened later by his nightmares, Severus would reflect back on why the angel of his dreams no longer looked shadowy. But rather she was vivid and clear, her eyes puffy and concerned, holding his neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
And why, on earth, did that angel have the face of Hermione Granger?
Today:
Theo rushed through the crowds of students as he ran his way to the DADA classroom.
Professor Lupin tolerated so much compared to other professors in the school but he drew the line on unexcused tardiness.
He looked down at the new watch that his father had given him.
Five minutes left.
He took a deep breath, determined, he had to make it.
He wouldn't be in this situation if he had remembered to pack his defence assignment, but he had been so distracted lately.
So of course he'd forget to pack his defence book and assignment for the day.
As he reached the last step of the stairs, at his speed, he collided full force with someone, knocking both of them down, and sending his assignment and book flying to the ground.
"Oh bloody hell!" Theo said as he quickly stood up and held out his hand to help the girl.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't lo—" He stopped explaining as the girl looked at him, and he recognized her green eyes. "Eliza?"
"Hello Theo." The girl smiled at him, taking his hand and helping herself up.
"I'm really sorry!" he repeated. "I didn't see you there; it's my fault."
"That's alright," she assured him as she knelt down to pick up his book and assignment.
He thanked her as she handed him his things, and after a stretched awkward silence they both laughed at the situation.
"You're heading to Defence then?" she asked as she eyed the assignment.
"Yes and I'm quite late! I forgot we had defence today and had to run back to fetch my things," he explained as they started walking towards the classrooms.
"Wait!" he suddenly said as he caught up to the fact that she was walking with him towards the same destination. "That means you have Defence too; we share those classes with Ravenclaws."
"You're correct." She nodded at him. "But unlike you, I have a note." She held out a signed piece of paper.
"Lucky you." Theo smiled at her. "Thankfully Professor Lupin likes me," he said proudly. "He might understand if I said I fell on the way there."
"Quite gracefully," she said and they both laughed.
"I also have a witness so he wouldn't question it," Theo said confidently in mirth.
"Actually," Eliza said, as they turned a corner to view the defence classroom. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."
Theo looked up at her statement, and standing in front of the classroom was no one other than his own father, raising his eyebrows at the both of them.
"Dad?" Theo muttered before he could catch himself.
"Ten points from each of your houses for tardiness," he said coldly as soon as they stood before him
"Class hasn't started yet, Professor," Theo defended.
"Yet all of your classmates and your professor are already here, Mr Snape, are they not?" his father drawled.
"They are, Sir," Theo replied, avoiding his gaze.
"If I may, Sir," Eliza interrupted." I have a note from Professor Flitwick." she held out her note.
His father took the note and viewed it briefly, before lightly waving his hand and the paper quickly vanished into thin air.
"Very well, Miss Clark," he said as he stepped aside to make way. "You may enter." He nodded his head towards the door.
Eliza nodded and moved to enter but not before catching eyes with Theo and silently mouthing, 'Good luck.'
Theo appreciated it but didn't think 'luck' would spare him the lecture.
"I hardly think showing up late to classes is the sort of behaviour I asked for, young man," his father said as soon as the door closed.
Theo sighed, recognizing that he was now being admonished as a son.
"I had to run back to my dormitory to fetch my defence assignment," he tried explaining, holding out his assignment. "I also fell on the way," he added as an afterthought, though admitting it made him a bit embarrassed.
"Then perhaps, you shouldn't have forgotten to pack your assignment this morning, to begin with."
"Yes, Sir!"
"And you won't fall if you don't run in the hallways like a hooligan. t's not befitting to break your neck while heading to class. Simply don't be late."
Theo secretly rolled his eyes, but he nodded obediently.
His father shook his head and as he turned around to open the door, Theo asked, "Where's Professor Lupin, Sir?"
His father didn't answer, instead, he took hold of Theo's wrist and pulled him into the classroom, closing the door behind them.
Silence ensued as soon as all the students took notice that the professor was in the classroom.
His father squeezed his hand lightly before he let go. "Take a seat, Mr Snape."
Theo immediately started moving, but he looked down at the hand his father had just squeezed, his left hand, the one that held his watch, and on that watch, the lunascope that showed the Moon's phases.
Of course, Theo gasped.
Last night was the full moon.
Theo looked up to catch his eyes but the man wasn't looking at him, so he looked in front of him, students were all looking at him, perhaps wondering what occurred between the Professor and him.
He caught sight of Daniel who waved at him, but he was sitting next to Finn; they both shrugged at him when he noticed that.
Not their fault I was late. Sighing he proceeded to look around for an empty seat, but thankfully someone caught him by the sleeve and he looked down to see Eliza, again. She smiled at him and whispered, "Noone's sitting here."
Theo quickly nodded and sat down next to her, not wanting to dawdle any longer.
"Professor Lupin is rather indisposed at the moment, and I'll be filling his place with his classes for the day," his father finally announced.
A murmur ensued after that but his father quickly silenced it with a glare.
"What about our assignment that was due today, Professor?" a Ravenclaw student asked loudly.
A few students, all Gryffindors, groaned at the reminder, Theo also thought it was rather nerdy to ask about that, he rolled his eyes and looked at Eliza who smirked at him.
A stretched silence filled the room when his father didn't answer—he appeared to be reading the curriculum, or a note left by Professor Lupin.
"Five points for speaking out of turn, Mr Johnson," he said without looking up "that sort of behaviour isn't accepted in your potions classroom nor is it accepted here." He then raised his head and looked directly at the boy who spoke. Theo wondered how he knew exactly where he was sitting. "If you wish to speak, raise your hand." He rounded the desk and stood before it, leaning on it.
"As such, you are to hand in your assignments at the end of the class," he began, crossing his hands.
The class nodded in union and waited for the Professor to proceed with the lesson, but the man remained leaning on the desk, looking down.
Silence stretched again, and Theo wondered if his father was simply too tired to start the lesson, it must be tiring to have to teach extra lessons with the ones he already has.
Now that he had time to pay attention, he did notice that his father had the look of someone who hadn't slept for a while as evidenced by the dark circles beneath his eyes.
He hoped the allergic reaction he witnessed two days ago at the hospital was simply that, and not that the man had fallen ill.
It was just luck that when things finally started working with his grandfather—who he couldn't see till Christmas—his father would start having more health problems.
He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts when his father finally cleared his throat.
"Professor Lupin explained to you in theory the importance of this class for the young witches and wizards who wish to defend themselves against the many dangers they might come across, living in the wizarding world," he lectured in his dominating voice.
"Today we shall take a more practical approach,'' he stated as he unpocketed his wand from his sleeve, then he waved it and manifested a dark misty tiny cloud that appeared right next to him.
"This mist symbolizes dark magic, a spell that was fired at you, but you are unaware of its origin," he said as he moved to stand on the other side of it. "What do you think the first approach should be?"
A few hands rose and he picked a fellow Gryffindor girl. "Throw a fire spell at it," she suggested.
The professor nodded his head and moved to stand right beside the girl. "I would expect you to do the honour yourself in later lessons but as you all know so few spells in your second week I shall assist you this time," he explained as he raised his wand and pointed at the black mist.
"Incendio," he said out loud and a fire bolt fired from his wand to the floating cloud, but instead of burning away it consumed the fire and seemed to grow bigger.
"It appears this had the opposite effect of the one we intended," he said bemused.
Some of the students started snickering at the girl who looked down in shame, Theo's father picked one of them and asked, "What do you suggest we do Mr Roberts?"
"Umm, perhaps water, Sir?" the boy replied.
"Ahh, and why do you think this would work?"
"Well the cloud obviously likes fire, water is the opposite of fire," he concluded.
"That is correct," the Professor said, walking to take his stand back at the front of the classroom, the student smirked taking pride in that. "You wouldn't have learnt that however, had Miss Morgan not suggested we use a fire spell before, you're not more astute than her but rather more informed." He eyed the girl who had looked up when he mentioned her name. "Thanks to her efforts."
The girl smiled sheepishly at the professor and seemed to regain her confidence.
"That is exactly why these lessons are important for you, in addition to learning the various spells you'll require, you'll also study, encounter and in some cases even practice, the very forces you fight against. Understanding your enemies and being aware of the spells they use against you will help you plan the best approach to take in order to..." This time he raised his wand and pointed it at the dark cloud, silently shooting a spell, only for it to gradually vanish into nothing "...completely eliminate the danger."
They all looked in awe at the place the cloud was just in.
"You'll find the spell I just used, amongst many others, in your textbook," his father stated.
The class carried on after this, with the Professor splitting them into groups of threes, then creating various clouds for each group and ordering them to figure out what is the correct spell to destroy it.
The class was vastly more different than their potions classes with the man as some students pointed out, where the Professor kept careful watch on each and every student and ordered them to follow instructions, in this class, however, he was letting them think and decide for themselves, which was more fun, but a little bit harder than simply following instructions.
He felt proud when some of the students remarked how skilful the potions master was with his wand—and without it—especially since some of them believed him to be only proficient with a cauldron, perhaps they forgot or were unaware of the role he played in the Wizarding War.
Meanwhile, his father walked between the groups, offering his guide, or dropping hints, and oftentimes performing a spell the groups wanted to try but were too difficult for them to try on themselves.
When it was finally time for their group to be examined, his father asked them if they figured out how they would eliminate their cloud.
"Yes Sir," answered Eliza, "We noticed the mist moves and vibrates quite viciously after each attack. Its power seems to be speed so we decided to use a body-binding curse."
"Very well, Miss Clark. Are any of you aware of the name such a curse?"
Michael, the third in their group, held out their Defence book and pointed at the page. "Petrificus totalus, Sir."
Theo's father nodded. "Correct, Mr Parry: Petrificus Totalus." He held out his wand but then stopped. "This happens to be a simple spell, well within your capabilities and the movements are explained in the book thoroughly."
He looked at the three of them, his eyes lingering on Theo. "If one of you cares to give it a try, be my guest." Michael immediately put the book down on the table, and Eliza seemed to evade the Professor's eyes, both hesitant of trying out the spell for fear they might fail.
Theo raised his hand. "I can try," he said.
His father nodded and moved to stand behind Theo as he stood up.
Nervous, now that everyone was looking at him, Theo took a deep breath, preparing himself.
"Are you aware of the incantation?" his father spoke from behind him.
"Yes, Sir," he replied.
"And have you seen the wand movements?" he quietly asked.
"I have,Sir"
"Then that's all you need, focus and be confident in your magic."
Reassured, Theo regained some of his confidence. He raised his wand and pointed it at the cloud, narrowing his eyes in concentration.
"Petrifcus Totalus!" he spoke clearly, moving his wand.
He felt his magic rush through his wand, straight to the cloud ahead.
The cloud immediately froze, stopping its speedy movements, and then a second later it exploded into nothing.
Eliza clapped in excitement, and a couple of students cheered around them.
They were the first group to get rid of the cloud, Theo smiled back at his group and looked up at his father to see his reaction.
The man was still looking at the place the cloud was in, lost in thought.
Then he cleared his throat and spoke, "Well done, two points each."
They all smiled at each other, their eyes wide, surprised the Professor awarded them points as he very rarely did so.
Theo enjoyed the rest of the class, unbothered by the usual unpleasant thoughts that crept at him in the presence of his father.
He was determined to ask the man if he could visit him in his private quarters for a cup of tea this weekend.
"Hey, Theo, sorry for not saving you a seat," said Daniel as they exited the classroom, "We all panicked when we saw Professor Snape and quickly looked for any empty seat to sit down."
"No worries," Theo replied, smiling at the mental image of his friends losing their wits over finding out that his father is teaching Defence.
"Hey, Theo," said Finn and Nathan when they caught up to them.
"Hey, guys," he replied, "Oh, this is Eliza by the way, she's a Ravenclaw first year."
"oh Hello, I'm Finn."
"Nathan."
"Hi, Finn and Nathan," replied Eliza, not bothered that she was now surrounded by five boys.
"So where are we heading?" asked Theo after a while, as they now have a free period.
"They wanted to head to the library." Daniel nodded towards Finn, Michael and Nathan, who were now walking in front of them. "To finish the potions assignment, I think seeing Professor Snape today pushed them to finally start on it." He smirked.
Theo snorted. "They're in a rush, I told them we'll catch up to them," Dan continued.
At that, Theo looked at Eliza. "Do you want to study with us or are you studying with your friends?" he asked.
"Oh!" Eliza looked up, she seemed relieved at his invitation. "No, sure I'll come."
They ended up spending the rest of the day in the library, only leaving for dinner and then returning to continue with their studies.
Nathan, Finn and Michael thankfully finished their potions assignment and headed out to play on the grounds for a break, but they never returned so Theo figured they'll be heading straight to the dorms afterwards.
Daniel stayed to read ahead on their transfiguration lesson next week, while Theo and Eliza chatted.
When it was about to hit curfew they all got up to leave, Theo was still conversing with Eliza so he told Dan that he would walk her to their common room.
"It's been nice hanging out with you, we should do this more often," said Theo when they reached the Ravenclaw tower.
"Yeah, I imagine you'll see more of me these coming days...if you don't mind, of course," Eliza replied.
"Of course, I don't mind! If you were sorted into Gryffindor we would hang out all the time," he said, blushing a little when he realized what he said. "I mean because we would have more lessons together and stuff."
Eliza smiled at him, and then looked down. They stopped walking now, standing near the entrance to the common room both seeming to dawdle.
"I fought with my friends today, that's why I was with professor Flitwick," she confessed as she looked up at him.
"For what?"
"I really don't know..." she said, and when he raised his eyebrows, she explained, "They're just mean."
"Did they say something to you?" Theo asked, quick to come to her defence if that was the case.
She shook her head. "They were bullying a Hufflepuff first year, who was by herself, she didn't really do anything to them. But they kept calling her stupid, I didn't like it but I didn't do anything about it…until yesterday, they bullied her relentlessly until she started tearing up and walked away."
"And what did you do?" Theo asked, still surprised this all took place without any of the teachers noticing.
Eliza smirked. "I stuck a note on the back of one of them that said, 'Dimwit.'"
Theo snorted. "And she didn't notice?"
Eliza shook her head. "I used a sticking charm, Professor Flitwick said it was genius and difficult to counter—he whispered that to me, of course, but I think she heard because her face went all red." She chuckled.
"I get it she's not your friend anymore." He smirked.
"Nope and it's good riddance, I don't want to be friends with bullies."
"Yeah me neither." Theo nodded, and then he thought about the fact that Eliza was too eager to hang out with him today. "So do you have any more friends in your house?"
"I didn't really make any, those were my dormmates so we kinda just stuck together." Eliza sighed. "Sadly I'm stuck with them for at least the rest of the term. Professor Flitwick said we'll have to wait till then to request moving out to another dorm. I didn't talk to any other Ravenclaw girls, I hope they're better."
"In the meantime," Theo said as he smiled at her. "You can hang out with us" He pointed to himself.
Eliza chuckled, shaking her head. "Five Gryffindor boys."
"Hey, we're cool," Theo defended, though he wasn't offended as he knew she was joking.
"For sure."
Theo smiled at her, he would have to tell his friends that they were about to have a girl in their group. Thankfully not one of them seemed annoyed by her company today; they all seemed rather accepting as she commented on various things they said.
He was thankful nobody in his group of friends was a bully.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Theo heard a frantic voice behind them. They both turned around expecting to see students fighting nearby, but to their surprise, there was no fight, instead, a student was rapidly approaching them.
"You!" the student repeated angrily, before his friends could catch up to him he was right in front of Theo, looking at him with fire in his eyes.
He was a Ravenclaw student, who seemed to be at least a third year or even above.
"Me?" Theo repeated nonchalantly.
Eliza put her hand on his arm, trying to stop him from challenging the older student.
But Theo couldn't see why he should back down when he's done nothing wrong.
"Your father is a piece of shit. Do you know that?" the boy asked angrily.
Two of his friends tried pulling him back, but he wouldn't budge.
Theo immediately saw red, and for a moment he forgot that the other guy was much taller than him.
"Watch your mouth!"
"You watch yours," he countered, coming threateningly closer.
"Leave him, Jeff. He's got nothing to do with it," said one of his friends.
The student seemed to listen this time, he glared at Theo one last time before turning around and walking back.
"Come on, mate, he's just a first-year," said another friend as he passed him, the boy didn't answer, instead he shouldered his friend and kept walking.
Theo kept staring at the retreating student, who the hell did he think he was? How dare he speak about his father like that? in front of him!
It's not his fault if you're trash at potions.
He realized he spoke this out loud when Eliza started pulling him away and the student that was about to enter the common room turned around and glared at him.
"What did you just say?!" he asked, as he pushed his friends out of his way and approached Theo again.
"You heard me," said Theo, choosing to own up to what he said, he's not one to cower down, after all.
"Yes. I. Did" the student said as a fist collided hard with Theo's face.
Theo winced at the pain as the force of the hit dropped him to the ground, he put his hand on his cheek to wipe it and noticed the bloody scratches on his hand from hitting the ground too hard.
"Leave me!" the student said as he once again passed his friends and walked into the common room.
One of his friends stayed behind, looking at Theo with concern. "Is he okay?" he seemed to ask Eliza.
Eliza didn't answer as she knelt down in front of Theo, worry written on her face. "Theo! let's go to the hospital wing, you're bleeding."
"I'm fine!" Theo answered loudly, the pain didn't bother him as much as his wounded pride.
Eliza flinched at his loud voice but she didn't relent. "No you're not fine. We should tell a professor!"
"No!" he shouted again, and this time he flinched too.
He didn't mean to yell at Eliza, he was just so bloody angry.
"No Eliza," he repeated quietly, attempting to stand up with her help. "Really, I'm okay, It doesn't hurt that much."
Eliza didn't seem convinced, but the other student interrupted them, "I'm really sorry for what Jeff did, he was just in detention with Professor Snape, he seems to have it out for him this year."
Eliza continued to glare at the boy, still mad at his friend. "He had no right to hit Theo like that, he's done nothing to him."
"I know...he hasn't been himself lately, his girlfriend recently broke up with him, and the professor made a few remarks that hit home."
Theo just continued to stare, wondering what kind of remark his father would make to cause the student to be that angry.
There's no way his father enjoyed other people's breakups while he was dealing with his own.
"I really shouldn't be telling you this. I've gotta go, I'm sorry again!" he repeated, before rushing to the common room after his friend.
They stood in silence for a bit, before Eliza broke the silence. "I will walk you to the common room."
"Don't be ridiculous! It's almost curfew!"
"Which is exactly why we should tell a professor. If you don't want me to do that, then I'm walking with you," she said with finality.
Theo sighed miserably and relented, "Fine."
You can't really argue with girls, he thought tiredly.
The walk to the Gryffindor tower was silent and long, they both chose not to talk to prevent arguing.
After he convinced Eliza that he would be alright, she finally left him to run back to her tower and he entered the Gryffindor common room.
He immediately noticed his friends playing a game on the other side of the room but they didn't notice him, so he headed up to the dorm.
He went to the bathroom to wash up quickly, looking at the mirror, and making sure no traces of blood were on his face and hands.
It didn't hurt much...only a little bit. But his heart was still beating loudly, he was still reimagining what happened.
He knew that not telling anyone was stupid; it doesn't make him weak if another student chose to hit him for no fault of his own.
But for some reason, Theo didn't even want to consider it. He knew that his father would raise hell if he found out, especially if he learnt that the other student was actually mad at him and not Theo.
He didn't necessarily want to protect the boy, but Theo felt that he must deal with this on his own. If the other student decided to mark Theo as his target then Theo would show him what a target he would be, all on his own.
Heading back to the bedroom, he noticed that he accidentally left his 'borrowed' book out in the open, groaning, he picked it up to return it to its hidden place.
Then, for some weird reason that Theo could never explain, he found himself reaching for the other hidden book; the one with no title or content.
As he held it in his hands and looked at it, Theo winced as one scratch in his hand seemed to reopen, and blood started dripping from it. When one drop landed on the cover, he felt magic surround him, seeming to radiate from the book.
A second later, Theo stared with wide eyes as a title appeared on the cover of the once vacant book, 'The Secrets and Essence of Blood Magic.'
A/N: Special thanks to BowieQueen on FFN for beta reading this chapter!
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