She was a liar. Avacia Partana, beautiful and mysterious in all senses, was a complete and utter liar, and her nonsense was something that Severus Snape would not let linger. Knowing this information though, did not derail his curiosity, especially after such an intriguing glimpse into her own private thoughts. A few long, weary, and excruciatingly beautiful days passed before he even began to think about actually seeking the girl out once more, but his mind had been set upon it since her dismissal from his study.
"Wait one moment. Come here." Severus commanded. As though she was compelled to do as he asked, she was suddenly merely inches away from his face. His black eyes bore deeply into her own and she could feel a strange force over her. The bizarre feeling lingered for what felt like an eternity until, unanticipatedly, it was gone and Snape looked at her as though she was delaying her leave. "Well?" Severus said as he turned away from her and looked into the hearth of the fireplace, "What are you waiting for?"
She had left after that, it was his own doing of course, but for all that he was, Severus was still very proud and upon the girl's revealment of her age, he was rather abashed from his own naivety. In truth, he had taken her for twenty or so, at the least, and well, apart from the fact that the girl was a student, she was stunning. That fact alone, along with her complete falsity, disgusted him while he was still compelled to know her on a personal level. That night, after she had left, the professor had found no sleep and only thought of the things that he had seen while searching the depths of the girls mind. He couldn't force the images away, they were too strange, memories best kept quiet, and yet he now understood how such a beautiful and soft-mannered girl such as she was sorted into Slytherin house.
Avacia Elysiana Partana was not just an ordinary witch, of this, Severus was now sure of. She was incredibly brilliant, and through his legilimens he saw a small glimpse of her intelligence. She was indeed a recent student of Beauxbatons, but her skill level in nearly every aspect of general magical studies was far greater than her peers in France and she had finished all offered courses nearly a year and a half ago. Not only that, but also, the girl was very aware of her very promising... powers of persuasion. While it wasn't clear exactly what her past truly held, Severus was almost sure that it was positively infested with the dark arts in some way or another. A threat, though? It was truly hard to ascertain. Dumbledore must have been aware of her past, and yet, it made no sense. Severus had thought long about this and could still not be sure that she was merely at Hogwarts to study. He simply needed more information, and well, Severus had little else to do before the students returned, he couldn't allow something this interesting to just slip between his fingers.
After a short breakfast, Severus, his mind reeling, set out for a short walk , a bit of fresh air, and the intention of finding Miss Partana and asking her a few questions. He calmly paced through the dead leaves upon the soft ground, breathing in the sweet and cool breeze and keeping his eyes open for the girl.
Severus ran a hand through his long, dark hair and scowled. "If I tell the girl that I've used occulmency on her, she'll probably avoid any further contact with me, so that will not do..but, perhaps I can just be more amiable, it may be better to keep things quiet for some time," he sighed deeply. " If I can stand it, that is." He needed no childishness from her. He could abstain from being cruel as well as he could abstain from being wistful for intelligent conversation. All hopes of that disappeared with her place as a Hogwart's student. He had been foolish, but all would be well soon enough. The day was new and bright, the time, plenty, and before the evening came, he would speak to her, and know more than he did now.
Augusts' end had not yet arrived, but a slight chill had taken to the air and a sparse breeze playfully blew throughout the grounds and the sun glowed brightly with an air of careless pleasure. Severus walked slowly across the soft green grass and took in the beauty of the afternoon. His mind buzzed with thoughts, ones that mostly concerned Avacia Partana. Through his legillemens, he had seen things that he had never wished or believed he would see in the mind of a seventeen-year-old girl and his curiosity had paid off in a way, for the professor knew more of the girl than he really would have liked to know, and his mind was positively swimming. The girl's beauty had concealed her utterly devious intentions. Avacia Partana was not the young and innocent girl that she appeared to be and he would make sure that the world knew of it. First, however, he would need to know more, and he knew that he could not simply read her mind and search through her memories once more, there was a possibility that she would know. No, to really know her true intent, she would have to trust him, and trust was not something that came easily when concerned with Severus.
The professor ambled down the hillside and came to the calm waters of the lake. He looked about himself and pulled out the photograph of the young witch. He softly muttered a spell, "Peto quod reperio," and flicked his wand at the image of Avacia. A dim light glowed from the end of the wand and the photograph transformed into a picture of the girl sitting beneath a tree with a book in her lap. He flicked the wand once more and a small orb appeared before him and floated gently in the air. "Take me to her, " he commanded roughly and the orb began to bob and float in another direction. Severus followed suit and the orb floated off towards the other side of the grounds near the quidditch fields. A few minutes passed as he walked and the orb glowed even more brightly as the playing field came into view. His pace slowed as he came over the crest of a steep and grassy hill and he looked down into the shallow valley beneath him.
He eyed the expanse of green and colored leaves ahead of him. As he glanced towards the few ancient oaks that lay in the distance, a bright flash of emerald green caught his ink-pool eyes. He stared towards a tall and still relatively leaf-covered tree to his far right and saw her. The girl's dark hair blew carelessly in the wind and she appeared lost in the book she held in her small hands. Severus caught his breath in his throat and with a flick of his wand, the glowing orb disappeared and the photograph returned to its former image. His mind was reeling, and his pallid hand clenched his wand constructively. What could he way to redress his former actions? He did not know. He could only hope that his negativity could remain in check and his pride would not surface; he could not afford to dismiss her so rudely again. The wizard stared long at the girl, thinking of what to tell her. Her vivid green robes softly reflected the light off of their sheen surface and her face was stoic and calm, contrasting the professor entirely.
There was only one thing that he could say, and as much as he detested the words, he could think of no other way to approach her. He would have to apologize and it nearly made him sick to his stomach to think about it. As he approached the tree, Severus straightened himself, replaced his wand within his robes and walked quickly to the young girl. As he drew nearer, she did not move, even though he was certain he would be heard. As he came closer to her, the scent of lilacs filled his nose and he stopped about a yard behind her. Severus opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as she greeted him first.
"Ho saputo che verreste, Professore Snape," she said in Italian. When Snape did not answer, she repeated herself. "I knew you would come, Professor Snape. I can't pretend to know the reason, though." Miss Partana stood and turned to Snape, and tucked her hair behind her ear. Around her neck, the blue pendant she had worn before glowed brightly, radiating a light all its own. She walked closer to him and stared intently into his eyes. "How are you?" She asked politely.
"Hello, Miss Partana. I am fine and well, thank you very much. But tell me, how do you fair this day?" Severus asked without showing any expression. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and stared down at her.
"I am very well, thank you. Tell me Professor, what brings you here? I believe you made it quite clear that you had no further wish to speak to me again, and yet, here you are. This is most confusing, you do know that?" She raised a delicate eyebrow in irritation and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. Snape frowned with annoyance, but the expression was gone quickly. He mustn't let her childishness get the better of him. The professor was too intent on finding her true means to let his fool-hardy pride get the better of him.
He cleared his throat and cast a look of mere indifference across his face. "I understand that you are mostly likely upset after your dismissal from my chambers last night, but I have come to make amends, that is, if you will allow me to."
She looked at the wizard with an unconvinced expression upon her lovely face. "Am I really to believe that was the best apology that you could come up with, Professor? If it was, you're really going to have to try a bit harder. Last evening, you had written me a letter insinuating that you were curious to meet me, am I correct?"
He shrugged. "Perhaps. I was curious about the strange activity that took place at the lake, and I am not used to merely forgetting such bizarre occurrences. I'm sure you understand. My curiosity was indeed genuine. I am afraid that I was a bit harsh to you though. For that, I must sincerely apologize. I was rude."
"Of course you were rude, and it really isn't that, that bothers me. What truly upsets me is that I was excited to meet a professor with such extensive knowledge of potions, but once I speak with him, he dismisses me for apparently no reason whatsoever." Snape eyed the girl carefully, not liking where the conversation was going. "Professor Snape, why exactly were you so amiable to me before you learned my identity, and why were you so completely malicious after you were aware of it? "
"I am afraid that you couldn't possibly understand the answer," Snape hissed, frowning grimly.
"Oh, I see. You were just angry that you were so worried about an average student-girl, am I correct? You couldn't handle the fact that you were so worked up about a regular witch instead of something interesting. Well, I apologize Professor," she seethed loathsomely, "but I am nothing more than just a girl. You can stop tormenting me for ruining your day, really. It will save you a lot of troublesome time." She began to turn away and held her book to her chest. "Good day, Professor." Severus glared at Miss Partana's back, wanting to shout hex after hex at her, but after a deep breath, he had calmed his temper and walked after her.
"Miss Partana, please wait."
"What for? I was sure that our conversation was over. If you dislike me, I really do not care, but I will not be hassled any longer simply because you are bored and enjoy seeing me squirm."
"I apologize, Miss Partana. Truly." Severus sighed in frustration. " It was not appropriate to dismiss you or to treat you so rudely. I merely want to talk to you."
Avacia slowed to a stop and glanced toward the man in black behind her. "Do you really mean that, or are you just trying to get at something?"
"Honestly. Merlin, how can you be so frustrating? I said that I was sorry. I will not repeat myself." Severus looked down his nose at her and she turned completely around to face him. Her eyes glimmered in the sunlight and she smirked.
"Alright, then. I accept your apology Professor, but I really do not know why you have such a distinct urge to speak with me. I have nothing that could possibly interest you, I'm sure." She sighed deeply and pushed a few rebellious strands of hair out of her eyes.
"I must disagree with you, Miss Partana. I believe there are many things that could possibly interest me when concerning you." He stood there solemnly looking at her, taking in her willful energy and her underestimated presence. Amidst the sparkle and self-assuredness within her almond shaped eyes, a shadow of fear seemed to darken them for a moment and Severus nearly smiled with satisfaction. The truth about Avacia Elysiana Partana would soon be known to the world, he was sure of it.
