The first week at Hogwarts did not go very well for Severus, to say the least.
Narcissa Black had been right, the classes were quite hard. They spent most of their time taking notes, but when they did try magic they had little success.
Yet it wasn't really the classes that troubled Severus.
Herbology wasn't bad, as he found the magical plants and fungi which the short, squat Professor Sprout showed them rather interesting; but History of Magic was little more than a glorified nap. It seemed a waste of time to even attend the class taught by the nearly centennial Professor Binns, an extremely boring wizard with pallid skin, white hair, and a droning monotonous voice, as the Slytherin and Ravenclaw first years simply dozed quietly until the bell rang.
They had Charms with the Hufflepuffs. Though all they did in Charms was take copious notes, Professor Flitwick, a tiny, squeaky-voiced, highly excitable wizard, made it seem remarkably enjoyable. The first thing he did after the roll call was float all their hats to the rafters with a simple flick of his wand. As they stared up at their hats, hovering near the ceiling like black conic balloons, Professor Flitwick squeaked happily, "Levitation Charms! We'll be starting that in a few weeks. Rudimentary skill for all wizards, you know—and rather fun at the same time."
Transfiguration was the hardest class by far. McGonagall did seem to hold a grudge against Slytherin's nine-year House Cup dynasty, and appeared to be doing her utmost to prevent its happening again. She took a point off Rodolphus for asking Severus for parchment when they were meant to be taking notes, but no one dared to contradict her. She gave them matches to turn into needles. No one had any luck on the first day, except Fulton Bulstrode; but when it turned out he had known about this task beforehand and had switched his match with a different needle when she wasn't looking, they lost another five house points—and gained an additional five feet of parchment due on their first essay.
After that class, in which Severus' match did nothing but accidentally catch flame and scorch his desk when he got frustrated and prodded it too hard, Potions was a breeze. It was taught by Professor Marchbanks, head of Ravenclaw house, a sweet, merry little woman who was possibly the oldest living person on the planet, older than even Dumbledore. She was going deaf, and shouted everything as if she thought everyone else was deaf as well; but apart from the yelling, it was an excellent class. Potions incorporated everything Severus esteemed: logic, precision, careful focus, clear instructions with straightforward rules. Somehow it was only when bound by restrictions that Severus discovered his most creative side.
Their first assignment was a simple boil-curing potion, and Severus finished before everyone else, even the Gryffindors, with whom they shared Potions class. Professor Marchbanks, who was so ancient and jolly that it was impossible not to like her on first sight, astonished Severus by pulling her grey hair back from her neck and applying his potion to a boil behind her ear. When it vanished without a trace, she happily awarded him five points. Potions was delightful, really; Severus was disappointed he hadn't discovered it earlier. There were probably loads of terrible things you could do to someone with a potion easier than with a curse.
Defence Against the Dark Arts was the class Severus had most been looking forward to ever since he had Blasted himself in the face with a stolen wand, and Professor Astaroth, a commanding, authoritarian wizard, seemed a good person to teach it to him. Astaroth had earned national renown in his youth, defending his All-England Duelling Championship title for nineteen years, and later as a top Auror for the Ministry of Magic and close personal friend of the notorious Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, of whose frequently unlawful antics Septimus Snape often complained.
Professor Astaroth had a soft, high-pitched voice and possessed seven pairs of spectacles—not worn, as one might think, separately on each day of week, but several at once, and occasionally all seven at the same time, which alarmingly magnified his vision to telescopic ranges.
Overall, his unfortunate appearance was of a gravely myopic scarecrow. His wrinkled face fell naturally into a menacing scowl, and bore the faded scars of many decades of duels and Dark-wizard hunting. Severus would hate to be a Dark wizard and have to face this ghastly countenance.
"This is likely the most important class you will ever take at school," Astaroth began very quietly, his violet gaze behind three layers of lenses sweeping the class, who sat silent and partly paralyzed by fear. "No doubt you have read and heard much about the Dark wizard currently at large, who calls himself Lord Voldemort."
Most of the pureblood students winced at the sound of the forbidden name, and Professor Astaroth gave a grim smile. "Perhaps a few of you have already been affected by this madman's crafty actions. He's a sly creature, cunning and skillful with his wand... There are a lot of good witches and wizards nowadays who are being kidnapped, brainwashed, or killed. I don't want you lot to be among them. Quills out! Take this down!" With a swish of his wand, the blackboards filled with notes and diagrams in tightly packed script.
"These are all the fundamentals of Defence Against the Dark Arts," he declared over the scratching of their quills. "I suppose in November or so we shall begin studying a few Dark creatures… and of course, we won't be starting curses or defensive spells until at least January."
Severus and Bellatrix exchanged aghast looks. Sirius Black raised his hand, but Professor Astaroth ignored it. "Now, what we have here are the key-"
"Professor Astaroth?" Black spoke up.
Astaroth wheeled swiftly.
"Never interrupt me when I am speaking! That will be two points from Gryffindor."
He spun back round and started pointing at the board again, but Potter glanced at Black and said loudly, "But Professor Astaroth, Black's got a question."
"So do I," Astaroth said coldly, turning back to face them. "How would you both like to spend the rest of the class outside in the hall? No? Then be quiet."
Potter and Black looked at each other, and Black lowered his hand, looking mutinous. Astaroth dropped another pair of spectacles over the three already perched on his nose. "It seems," he said softly, his violet eyes glittering, "that some of you have issues with discipline and respect. I trust the rest of you will not pose such problems?"
He looked at the Slytherins, who shook their heads while suppressing grins.
Tentatively Bellatrix raised her hand. This time Professor Astaroth's thin lips peeled back, revealing crooked yellowed teeth. Severus nearly screamed before he realized this was Astaroth's smile. "Yes, Miss Black?" Astaroth said, in as close to an amiable tone as he could muster.
"Why do we have to wait so long to start learning curses?" Bellatrix asked. Severus saw Sirius Black turn to Remus Lupin and mutter, "That was my question too. Why isn't she being yelled at?"
"Another point from Gryffindor," Astaroth said without looking at the dismayed Black. "Miss Black, in this class theory always comes first. All the great Aurors will tell you that. One can never peform a spell properly until one knows the magical theory behind it. For instance, the Furnunculus Curse. I wouldn't expect anyone here to know what that does, so I'll- oh." His smile widened. "Well, well, well."
Severus' hand had shot up, as had Lily Evans', but Astaroth ignored her. "Yes, Snape."
"Furnunculus causes the victim to break out in boils," Severus said.
"Very good, Snape. A point to Slytherin. Furnunculus, of course, is related to the term 'furuncle' meaning boil or pustule..."
And it was not the homework loads that bothered him, either, even though every teacher seemed determined to heap as much work on the first years as humanly possible (and in the case of Professor McGonagall, more than was humanly possible). Rodolphus floundered and quickly fell behind but Severus was not so easily put off; he worked harder than anyone and was the only Slytherin to get consistent perfect marks in most of his classes. In Transfiguration, however, nothing he did was ever good enough for McGonagall, no matter how many hours he spent in the library doing research. He worked so much that after one long letter to his parents on the second day of school, he barely had time between classes to dash off three inches of news, though Rosella wrote him faithfully, long, rambling letters about something funny a house-elf had done with her slippers, or a new book she was reading. He found these letters guilt-inducing and depressing, and most of them ended up in the bottom of his trunk—he couldn't bring himself to throw them out entirely.
Nor was it getting to class that exasperated Severus—though it was sometimes frustrating. The staircases often switched direction, getting tired of leading upstairs and going downstairs on Wednesdays, and the suits of armour liked to walk around the hallways, and some doors wouldn't open unless you told them a joke about doors or hinges or opening. But it was no different than the ever-changing floor plan of Severus' own house.
And Peeves the poltergeist enjoyed trapping students in broom cupboards and leaving them to be discovered hours later, dumping ink on people's heads, snatching book bags and scattering the contents throughout the school, and generally being a horrible nuisance. Fortunately, the Bloody Baron, who besides Dumbledore was the only person (living or dead) who could give Peeves orders, would never ignore a Slytherin's plea for deliverance from the poltergeist's bullying.
But from the embittered old caretaker, Argus Filch, who hated everything and everyone with a passion, there was no relief. The mere presence of students seemed to irritate him. The only thing he loved better than doling out detentions was his kitten, Mrs. Norris, a tiny, straggly grey creature with large, lamplike eyes who bit people who tried to pet her. All the students stayed as far away from Filch and Mrs. Norris as possible at all times, but this was rendered difficult as he seemed to know every secret passage in the castle, and could dash between any two rooms in less than ten seconds.
Certainly it was not the course material that vexed Severus, nor even the foibles of Hogwarts. It was his Gryffindor classmates—especially Potter. He had disliked Potter the moment he'd set eyes on him, and now he found that the feeling was mutual.
When he and Rodolphus entered the Potions classroom on the first day, they had chosen the desk at the very front, just ahead of Potter and Black. But when Severus went to sit down, he fell to the floor. As he jumped up, face flaming, touching his bruised backside, he looked back at his chair in time to see Potter's foot retreating under his desk from where it had been hooked round Severus' chair leg. The other Gryffindors tittered. Professor Marchbanks had entered then and Severus had been able to do nothing but glower at the innocently smiling Potter as he yanked back his chair and sat down heavily.
At the beginning of the next Potions class later that week, Black tried the same trick; but Severus was not stupid enough to fall for it twice. He held onto his chair tightly and wrenched it forward, causing Black to slide forward off his chair. It was the Slytherins' turn to snigger as Black crawled back onto his seat, blushing madly.
Severus went round feeling quite pleased with himself for the rest of the day. But later, as he, Rodolphus, and Maud Wilkes were walking to Herbology, they passed the Gryffindors lined up outside the Transfiguration classroom. Severus only had time to see Potter bring out his wand and whisper something before he felt his legs snap together and he fell to the floor. Potter's friends burst out laughing.
"How do you like my Leg-Locker Curse, Snape?" Potter said, grinning. Severus was too humiliated and furious to even be astonished at how well the curse had been executed.
"Oh, that was a scream, Potter," snapped Maud Wilkes, "I'm sure you must have spent the whole day in the library looking that one up."
"What's the countercurse?" Severus hissed at Rodolphus as he struggled to stand on his rigid legs, which felt like they were bound together with tight ropes.
Rodolphus shrugged and looked to Maud desperately. Yet it was Lily Evans who stepped out of the line and intoned, "Finito Incantato."
Severus' legs returned to normal, but he could not feel gratitude towards this Mudblood who was showing him up.
"I could have done that," he snarled at Evans.
She turned red and frowned. "Then why didn't you?" she said coldly.
"He- he didn't feel like it," Rodolphus said with a scowl, pulling on Severus' arm. "Come on, we'll be late."
Severus stood up and drew his wand quickly. "Pescalesco!" he said, pointing at Potter. Potter immediately gave a yelp and began hopping on one foot. Severus grabbed Maud and Rodolphus and they ran all the way to the greenhouses.
"What was that?" gasped Maud when they stopped.
"A Hotfoot Hex," panted Severus, clutching his ribs, which ached from the physical exertion. "Until McGonagall sorts him out, he'll feel like he's walking on hot coals."
Maud screamed with laughter. "Serves him right for trying to attack a Slytherin!"
The Head of Gryffindor did sort everything out, and rather more thoroughly than Severus liked. She took two points from Slytherin and four from her own house for using magic in the corridor, then gave both Severus and Potter detention for fighting. Though he protested the injustice of being punished for self-defence, Severus was forced to help Madam Pince, the librarian, categorize and shelve seventy crates of new books in the school library without using magic, while Potter got off with only alphabetizing Professor Marchbanks' cupboards of potions ingredients.
But the first exchange of curses was like a spark to a keg of dynamite, and a full-scale feud between Severus and Potter began. They hexed each other in the halls whenever they had a chance, and when they got caught, which was often, each always blamed the other, and usually it was Severus who was ultimately punished. Only Astaroth willingly overlooked his Slytherins' participation in fights.
Severus quickly discovered that Slytherins were not very well appreciated outside their own circles, even by the allegedly impartial teachers. The Slytherins as a house, it transpired, had a reputation for being lying, underhanded, manipulative troublemakers, and were regularly ganged up on by the other three houses.
Teachers almost always believed Potter over Severus, to the end that Potter was able to worm out of several well-deserved detentions and pin them on Severus. Severus' fury escalated to new heights.
"I don't mind being punished for bad things I've done," he told Rodolphus as they furiously scrubbed the windowpaned wall of greenhouse 2 after a very literal mud-slinging fight with Potter, who claimed Severus and Rodolphus had started it. "I can deal with those because I know I've brought it on myself. But getting punished for things he's doing? That's simply unacceptable."
He and Rodolphus schemed all the more fervently to get Potter and Black expelled, or at the very least in detention where they belonged.
Most of the time their magical skirmishes had little effect, because of their lack of magical skill. Maud had been right, Potter had probably spent the whole day practicing the Leg-Locker Curse in order to perform it so well. Although Severus knew a number of excellent curses, he soon realized that hexing someone was much a harder feat than simply waving a wand and pronouncing the incantation. Of course, with his firm basis in magical theory from years spent delving into books, knowledge-wise he was further ahead than Potter, but not by a lot. He was coming to understand that the hexes he had learned by heart were simply far too complex for a first year with no experience with a wand.
His years of reading up on curses in his father's books gave him a small headstart, but when his repertoire was exhausted, he and Rodolphus spent hours that should have been devoted to homework in the library, poring over how-to guides of hexes and spells. Potter and his friends, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew, were often to be found there as well, but under the vigilant eye of Madam Pince, neither group could attack the other within her territory. Watever spells they learned in the library had to be saved for later encounters.
Although Severus and Potter tried to jinx each other every time they met in the halls, more often than not both walked away completely intact. For all their ferocity, the injuries that necessitated a visit to Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse (for instance the time Potter's Tickling Charm accidentally gave Severus a deep leg wound that would not stop bleeding, or when Severus' attempt at a Trip Jinx knocked Potter down two flights of stairs), were fairly rare.
So they dragged the battle into the classroom. There began a tremendous struggle between Severus and Potter to achieve better marks than the other, often resulting in sabotaged essays and assignments.
On one occasion Severus wrote seven feet of parchment on the subject of vampires, only to have it erased as it touched Professor Astaroth's hand by a Nullifying Charm that had secretly bewitched his quill. Fortunately, Astaroth saw through the trick and was appropriately enraged. He took ten points from Gryffindor and gave Potter a detention.
A week later, Severus and Rodolphus purloined Black's Potions textbook, rubbed out and rewrote an entire page, and stealthily returned it, causing Potter and Black to drop armadillo bile in their potion instead of daisy roots and melt Black's cauldron. Severus wrote Professor Marchbanks a six-foot-long essay on decorum and social responsibility for that prank, but it was certainly worth it to have seen the look of horror on his enemies' faces when their potion bubbled onto the floor and ate through their shoes.
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As time went on and classes progressed from hours of note-taking to trying real charms and spells, Severus learned more about magic and, equally, about himself.
His worst class was Transfiguration, in which McGonagall coolly informed him he never paid enough attention and took away points from Slytherin. It was very frustrating; though McGonagall had quite good reason for continually taking points from Slytherin, Severus had a paranoia that she hated him in particular, and it made him uncertain and tense in her classroom. Professor Marchbanks, on the other hand, kept delightedly bestowing points on Slytherin for Severus' perfect potions, and told him he had a real gift for the subject.
Severus was alarmed when he began to receive consistent failing marks in History of Magic, but was slightly mollified to find that just about everyone else was gettting the same grades, since they all slept through Professor Binns' monotonous droning.
Professor Astaroth somehow managed to make Defence Against the Dark Arts, easily the most remarkable of all subjects, incredibly boring. He persisted with the note-taking, though Severus was eager to show his Head of House the fruits of his private study. Lucius Malfoy had not been joking when he'd said that Astaroth wouldn't let them start curses in class for a long time; the emphasis in Astaroth's method of teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts was always on theory and magical procedure. And the students had all noticed, with mild curiosity, that he never stowed his wand in his pockets or his desk, or indeed let it stray far; it was always very close at hand, perhaps as if he was fearful of being attacked and not being able to get his wand out in time. In any case, it was highly unbecoming of a retired Ministry Auror like Astaroth.
His fellow Slytherins were approximately his intellectual equals. Maud Wilkes turned out to not be quite as clever as she claimed, though she was quite good at Herbology. Petula Swipe was uniformly atrocious at everything, as she kept getting flustered and saying the wrong thing, causing things to explode or change into kumquats. On the infrequent occasions that she did manage to do something right, she got so surprised that she ended up with a pile of kumquats anyway. Evan Rosier, Fulton Bulstrode, and Alexis Avery were consistently mediocre, blundering through their classes with some tutoring from Severus.
His enemies in Gryffindor also varied in their stages of academic progress. Lupin answered almost as many questions in Defence Against the Dark Arts as Severus, but he was terrible at Potions, and damaged his fair share of cauldrons even without sabotage. Pettigrew was simply too nervous to be good at anything. He was very forgetful, unable to remember the simplest charms, and he claimed that the mere sight of Professor Astaroth frightened him as an excuse for his abysmal performance in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Potter and Black were usually too busy playing tricks on Severus or teasing their other classmates to pay much attention to any lessons, but on average Potter and Severus were about equal, since Potter's Defence Against the Dark Arts mark was just as precarious as Severus' Transfiguration one.
Lily Evans, Severus heard with some consternation, quite excelled in Charms. Leonora Winthrop from Ravenclaw told Bellatrix that Lily was the first and only one to Levitate her feather the first time they tried it. During the same assignment, Severus' feather simply sat on the table doing absolutely nothing, and Petula Swipe somehow Vanished hers by mistake, leaving Professor Flitwick scratching his head. Rodolphus ended up snapping his feather in half in a pretend swordfight with Alexis Avery. (Bellatrix, predictably, lit hers on fire.)
The Slytherin first years quickly discovered that Severus excelled in most subjects and tried as often as possible to study in a large group with him, so as to have someone to ask for help.
"You study too much," Bellatrix said in annoyance to the other first years in the common room as they were doing their homework and she was playing with Avery's Remembrall.
"You don't study enough," Petula said worriedly. "I've heard that if you don't pass your final exams, you can't go on to second year."
Petula wasn't actually studying either. She was snipping away at her long golden tresses, which in a few short days had grown from just past her shoulders to her waist.
"I'll manage," said Bellatrix, tossing the Remembrall casually up into the air and catching it.
"Don't break that," warned Avery, a boy whose hard grey eyes, pointed nose and spiky dark blond hair gave him a vaguely Scandinavian look.
"Why not? Your father will just buy you a new one," Fulton Bulstrode said. He was a chubby boy with very thick glasses and mud-coloured hair that lay flat on his egg-shaped head. "Can't be very handy though, if it only tells you you've forgotten something and doesn't say what."
"Well even if I've forgotten things, my father can just replace them, right?" Avery sneered.
"You know what I'd like to have?" Evan Rosier piped up. "A Sneakoscope."
"That's no good," Maud Wilkes said from behind One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. "Snape and Lestrange are always up to something, we'd go deaf from the whistling. But for Dark detectors, the Foe Glass is the way to go. It tells you when your enemies are coming."
"You don't have any enemies," Severus objected.
Maud shrugged. "Not yet—but I'm sure that eventually, I will have enemies, and then the Foe Glass will be invaluable, won't it? There's not better way to survive than to keep all foes in sight." She was quoting from the advertisement. "But Dad says I'm not to waste money on rubbish, and anyways I'd have to go all the way back to Diagon Alley to buy one."
"There're shops in Hogsmeade that might sell them," said Rosier.
"I heard that first years aren't allowed to go to Hogsmeade yet," remarked Petula. "Only third years and up can visit Hogsmeade."
"I wish there was somewhere you could buy an Invisibility Cloak," said Bellatrix, lobbing the Remembrall dangerously close to the ceiling and catching it. "But they're quite rare, on account of the animal they're made from being invisible and rather difficult to catch, as a result."
"My father has one," said Rodolphus. "Maud, can you look up dittany? It's been in my family for six or seven generations."
"What has, dittany?" asked Bulstrode.
"No, the Invisibility Cloak! Dad never uses it anymore, though."
"Can you ask him if I can have it?" Bellatrix asked.
"Maybe when he's your father-in-law," Severus teased.
Bellatrix stared him down coldly. He nervously cleared his throat and muttered, "Sorry."
"I wish I had a racing broom," Rodolphus remarked, oblivious to their exchange.
"I've heard first years aren't permitted to have brooms," said Petula.
"Yeah, when the flying lessons start, everyone has to be riding a school broom," Bellatrix said scornfully. "Comet 180's, Tinderblasts! Disgraceful, really. But Narcissa said Lucius Malfoy's got a Nimbus 1001, the newest Nimbus model."
"That's what I'd get," said Avery approvingly. "Wouldn't you, Snape?"
Severus stared hard at his essay on Fanged Geraniums and did not answer. Rodolphus said to Avery, "Severus hasn't flown on a broom."
"What, never?" Avery asked, eyes wide. "Why not?"
"Fragile ribs," Bellatrix said in her baby voice, mimicking Severus. He looked up sharply at her and she stopped smiling. "Sorry."
"My parents didn't like the idea of me going near a broomstick," Severus said flatly to Avery.
"What was the broom shed built for, then?" murmured Rodolphus.
Severus kicked him under the table. Rodolphus knew perfectly well that the Snapes had built the broom shed expecting their son to become an athletic Quidditch-star flying ace, but that they had changed their minds about getting him a broomstick after the Blasting Charm incident. It had stood bare and unused since its construction. But it was hard to distinguish between when Rodolphus was being mean, and when he was merely being stupid.
"Overprotective parents, eh?" asked Avery sympathetically, not having heard Rodolphus. "Well, they can't stop you here. Flying lessons start this Wednesday."
"Great," Severus said without enthusiasm.
He wouldn't admit it, but he was particularly worried about the flying lessons. Not only did he have a fear of heights, but he'd also never been within ten feet of a broom in his life, and since he was rubbish at every land-based sport he had ever attempted, he was quite certain that flying would conform to the pattern.
Rodolphus started to explain in gruesome detail the various injuries his older brother Rabastan had sustained in his three years as a Slytherin house team Beater, beginning with a broken wrist from a twenty-foot fall and continuing with an alleged disappearance and re-materialization in Alaska six weeks later, minus his big toe. As Petula's face grew paler and paler, Rosier and Avery's whoops louder, and the stories increasingly inaccurate, Severus sighed. He'd heard each of these outrageous tales at least a hundred times. So had Bellatrix, for that matter, but she never failed to paste a rapt look on her face whenever Rodolphus opened his mouth. (Of course her awe was all an act; she liked to indulge Rodolphus' whims, for reasons Severus had never fully worked out.)
Rodolphus was very exhausting to be around. They had quickly found that he had about as much aptitude for learning as for pedalling a bicycle with his ears; which is to say, none. He was a whiz at causing trouble, but when it came to academics, he was no more erudite than a turnip. He had a flair for writing, and could write essays that were stylistically impeccable. The problem was that he had no idea what he was writing about, and often resorted to making it up entirely. But he was strangely determined to succeed. Despite Severus' unconcealed annoyance, he persisted in accompanying him to the library, though he asked so many questions Severus was rarely able to accomplish anything himself.
Severus had tried several times since the Sorting Ceremony to tactfully shake off Rodolphus, but the other boy blithely refused to take the hint. Severus did not even have the courage to broach the subject with Bellatrix. He wondered if he was destined to live the rest of his life with the pair of them dogging his steps.
Bellatrix was faring much better in class than Rodolphus, though she had absolutely no passion for scholarship. She never appeared to do any homework or pay attention at all, but somehow she absorbed everything effortlessly, and occasionally proved her supreme intellect. When McGonagall coldly stated that she would keep them at their first assignment of tranfiguring a match into a needle until someone succeeded (without cheating), Bellatrix almost immediately brought McGonagall a perfect needle.
"How'd you do that, Belle?" Severus whispered while McGonagall inspected the needle suspiciously.
Bellatrix shrugged. "Muto acus," she said, almost lazily, and Severus' matchstick suddenly went silvery and pointed.
"It's not hard, it's just dull. I could have let her go on trying to make us do this assignment for months, but I suppose I'd rather she moved on." Severus and Rodolphus exchanged pained looks.
Bellatrix was also developing a wild streak that Severus had until now only glimpsed, and those glimpses had been thankfully rare. Surrounded by people with whom she could disagree freely, her temper flared often, causing minor bonfires. It was not uncommon, when she was having an argument with someone, for their eyebrows to get singed off. Nowadays, all one had to do to get a fire going in the common room was to rile Bellatrix with a casual comment on the Mudblood infestation at Hogwarts, and a giant blaze would suddenly explode in the fireplace. But Madam Pomfrey maintained that it was a childhood affliction, and assured the victims of scorchings that Bellatrix would lose her ability long before she even entered adolescence, when quick tempers and raging hormones would become a terrifying combination.
Rodolphus, by contrast, was getting tamer and tamer in his dogged pursuit of good marks. No matter how persuadingly Bellatrix expressed her arguments for sabotaging their classmates from other houses, he claimed to prefer to toil through his homework and refused to join in; the obvious exception being, of course, the disruption of Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin.