A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews. Droxy, you are right in regards to the movie. But in the book Lockhart actually suggests Neville and Harry as a pair. The insult is similar though, something about being sent to the hospital in a matchbox. Rather than confuse people, I decided to concentrate his ire on Harry. Anyway, onto book three...
Werewolves and Whispers
Professor Snape entered the classroom in the same dramatic manner that he always did. He found it particularly useful in subduing a class into silence. It worked to even greater effect here because they weren't expecting him, until Potter strode into class late, looking as if he owned the place. He was just as arrogant as his father ever was, peppering him with questions about Lupin's absence. Snape almost wished the little brat wouldn't sit down so he could take off the fifty points. But he did.
The interruption, however, gave the other students the false impression that they could now speak their minds. He rebuked them coldly, brushing aside comments about how Lupin was the best teacher they had ever had. Well, they didn't have much to compare him to, did they? And they certainly had no idea what he was. How their opinions would change when they found out, and he would make certain that one of them did. It was the very reason he had volunteered to take Lupin's class in the first place. He may have promised Dumbledore long ago not to reveal Lupin's true nature, but that didn't mean one of the students might not 'discover' it on their own.
He suspected it would be Miss Granger. Miss Granger, who had spent so little time in his class last year that he had forgotten what a nuisance she could be. He was beginning to think that he preferred her in the infirmary. At least petrified she was unable to speak. After three years, she still raised her hand for every question, spoke out of turn, and turned red from embarrassment when he berated her for it. She had saved Mr. Longbottom's toad from certain death even after he told her to stop showing off. But today he would use her determination to answer a question, her stubborn will to impress him with her knowledge against her, and against Lupin.
He watched with cool detachment as she struggled not to cry after he called her insufferable, and then as she clenched her fists in resolve. She had yet to learn how to ignore snide comments such as those. Didn't she know that responding so openly only subjected her to more torment? It was a lesson he learned early in school. Apparently, Miss Granger was not as advanced as McGonagall exclaimed.
He returned to the desk at the front of the room while the students copied notes from their books. Reading their recent essays, he could see that the girl was bright in more than just Potions. If only she could be convinced to shut her mouth, but she would serve a purpose yet. Yes, he rather thought it would be her that would discover Lupin's 'ailment.' Assigning Weasley detention would just be icing on the cake.
As the class ended, he felt no guilt assigning an essay on recognizing and killing a werewolf. It was relevant information that might very well save their lives in the near future. But he wondered what Miss Granger would do when she discovered her professor's dirty little secret. Would she attempt to confront him as Snape had done so many years ago, subjecting herself to danger? He hoped not. Or would she go to Dumbledore only to be told to keep the secret? He felt a stab of sympathy for burdening her with this revelation if his plan to get Lupin sacked failed. He had felt its weight for too many years.
But he pushed away all thoughts of sympathy for the girl as she left with Potter, on their way to assassinate his character, no doubt, as soon they left the room. He would finally see the secret unveiled after so many years of hushed whispers, and it would be because of her. He certainly had nothing in common with a Mudblood Gryffindor and friend of Potter.