Disclaimer: I own nothing of J.K or Harry Potter.

A/N: Yeah. HAPPY CHRISTMAS...oh, I mean..Holiday lol. I still say Christmas.

Chapter 7: Misfit Mary

"Oh crap on wheat bread!" I awoke with a startle.

Someone was practically knocking my door down, and I couldn't even gather myself before opening it. In my red nightgown and dishevelled hair, the misfortune of the door no longer being a barrier made me feel awkward. Snape apparently didn't care about my disordered self, but still looked a bit concerned. Obviously for another reason though. Unless he's part of the fashion police.

Snape scowled, "You're late! How much of the potion did you take? Nevermind, no time to answer, get dressed and get to breakfast!"

Damn, he's not rushing me or anything. To show him who was boss of the room, I nodded and shut the door...Not in his face, but close to it.

Hee hee.. I can be evil in the morning too.

Breakfast passed quickly, for I could only sit for five minutes before it was time for classes to start. Lucky me, (not really lucky, but I'm trying to be optimistic), I had first class to help teach. Snape told me to keep quiet for the first class to get the feel for it. He didn't want me to speak unless he told me to. Wow, that's not taking my freedom of speech away or anything.

I'm in such a horrible sarcastic mood. I better not be when class actually starts, or Snape and I will clash with bad moods. Just by him waking me up, I knew his temper was wearing thin. I can picture him saying, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be held against you in Albus' Office." I need to erase that image and stay calm. I have the feeling no amount of Serenity Potion will help today.

"Sit on a chair.. Put in next to mine at my desk. The first years are immature, so beware. They better not give me any problems. Of course, I can't hold my breath." restlessness seemed to entwine Snape's emotions.

I moved a chair as ordered and sat. Class began in a mere few minutes. Snape stood motionless, but soon left the room. I wasn't alone for long.

The first handful of first years giggled and chatted noisily on their way inside of the room. Girls with permed or slick straight hair talked as if they were in a drama movie. Guys with apparent attitudes pushed their buddies and chuckled over hidden jokes. Then moer students piled in and filled every seat. Where was the Snake? I bet anything this was a set up to see if I would talk or not. Or if I could handle a class on my own. . .He had better walk in this room within the next five seconds or I am going after him.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five...

Six.. Seven.. Eight.. Nine..

Aha! The Snake doth enter with his billowing robes. Four seconds late, but I'll excuse it this time. Since I can't talk aloud, I will ask in my head why he was late, and where he was.. Where were you, Snape, to make you late? I am now satisfied with my silliness.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class.." Snape started a long speech about the art of potion making and the dangers of not paying attention in his room.

Then, out of the blue, a short, skinny, brown-haired girl walked in with a scowl on her face. She knew she was late, as did Severus Snape. He watched her take a seat in the Ravenclaw group and slouch. I could feel the heat of anger rise from the Snake. He wasn't going to let this go.

"You," He walked towards the row where the girl was, "Late girl.. What's your name?"

The girl blushed and said in a light but distressed voice, "Mary Burmingham. I'm sorry I was late, Sir, but I couldn't find the room. And then this ghost said it was on the other half of the hall, but the room he directed me to was a closet."

"No reason for your tardiness. Ten points from Ravenclaw." Snape walked back to the front of the room and continued his spiel of potions care and what to expect from this class. I found it oddly funny that he knew exactly what house she was in when her name was presented.

After the long and quite tiring speech from Snape, he began asking random potion questions to the students around the class. A lot of students couldn't answer, but a few guessed right, and some knew for sure. Once Snape called on that poor Mary girl, she turned red again. By this time, we could all tell she was shy and didn't like being put on the spot. Kind of like me in a way.

"...I asked you a question, Miss Burmingham..Care to answer?" I could see the ire in Snape's eyes.

Mary stayed quieter than a summer breeze.

"What is preventing you from answering a question?" A definate hush traveled and settled in the room for Snape was ready to blow a fuse.

The meek voice Mary used made her seem vulnerable and weak, "I...don't know the answer."

"Another ten points from Ravenclaw for being too quiet and not even attempting to reply. One more problem and it's detention time. Understood?" The rising anger from Severus distinguished when poor Mary nodded her head.

The remainder of first period class went pretty smoothly. Mary wasn't chosen for questions at all. I think Snape was fed up with disciplining everyone during such an early time of day. Honest to goodness, I would've spoken up if Snake the Oxymoron had picked on her anymore.

As the bell rang for the end of first class, some boys began teasing Mary.

"Misfit Mary," The boys chanted as some girls joined in, "Misfit Mary, your hair and face are deathly scary. You're shy and weak, you barely speak, and you sound like a little faerie."

Oh, that was so original. I was about to voice my opinion of their stupid chant, but Snape shouted at them to leave. Then he walked over to his desk and sat down.

"Three minutes until the other first year class. Slytherins and Gryffindors." Snape looked in one of his desk drawers for something. Maybe he was looking for the Lost City of Atlantis.

My mouth moved with words I didn't want to say, "You shouldn't have picked on that girl."

"You shouldn't have opened your mouth."

I laughed, not wanting to take his crap, "Ha! Touche!"

The next congregation of first years came into the Potions Classroom and sat down quietly, knowing the rumours of Snape's bad temper. Too bad they wouldn't know the living oxymoron.

Boring as ever, Snape repeated his whole lecture from the other class. He must do this every year. If he was going to make me stay silent for much longer, I'd go insane. To make him aware that I wasn't a manequin, I coughed a few times. He waited until after the students relaxed to say anything about me.

"This young woman," Began Snape unenthusiastcally, "is Miss Maranda Maguire. She will be questioning you in a moment on some safety tips you all should know by now."

Eh? Wanna repeat that, Your Majesty? I didn't understand the part from She will be to you all should know by now. Oh. Right. The entire statement.

I wasn't sure what to say, "Umm..Sir..."

"Yes," Sev turned around and glared at me. As did the children.

My mouth froze, but I managed to release some speech, "What, exactly, do you want me to ask?"

"Simple common sense questions of safety in the classroom. You should know it perfectly, for you did learn from your mistakes in the past two years. All those spills and problems. Safety should be natural for you now."

Cue overdramatic pirate's voice in my head...Yeh got me there, Cap'n..Yeh got me fair and square. Arrgh! But beware! I know where yeh live.. Ahaha Aha Ahahaha Ah-

"Miss Maguire, are you ready?" The Snake pulled me from my strange thoughts. I stood as he said, "Ask anybody. If they give up too easily, without even guessing a resolution, I will take points away. If they are wrong, I will also take points away."

My feet wanted to guide me out of the room, but there I stayed. The class was watching me as if I were a new species; Wonderous eyes that hold curiosity, bewilderment, and the common hatred from young people to authority. Glancing around the room, I noticed a few girls giggling, one gleeming with a smile. She was not the type I would pick first. I hate overly-perky females. They reminds me of the popular clique from my orphanage.

"You," I pointed to a red-headed boy in front of me, "Name four things you must clean after making a potion."

The boy, who reminded me of a much younger Ron, answered boldy, "Your cauldron, your desk, your...umm.. I don't know the rest."

I shook my head, trying to impress Snape with my disappointment in the child. "You forgot to mention your spoon and your hands. You can't expect to go around with dirty hands! And if you use a contaminated spoon...Whoa boy... You could pass out, get sick, or even die!" Out of the corner of my eye, a smirk from Snape was visible. Hopefully my effort to interrogate was all right.

The perky girl was still grinning, but not for long if I could help it. She was in Gryffindor, so I don't think Snape would mind if she got a question wrong. I will ask one she won't even know. And, judging by the looks of her, she wasn't too bright.

"Miss," I looked in perky-girl's direction, "what could you do if an acidic-based potion spilled on the floor, and you had no wand to cast it away?"

Perky girl started to chew gum like a cow, "Like, you'd totally wipe it up with a paper towel."

"Wrong!" I felt...powerful in a way.. "You couldn't use the paper towel, for it would be eaten away by the acidic ingredients. For cleaning the spill, it would have to dry and be cleansed with soap and water that has been specially treated for acid. It's not as potent or dangerous when dry. Of course, from what I've learned, acidic-based potions can take hours to dry."

Snape chimed in, "Five points from Gryffindor." How did I know he was going to do that?

The perky-girls smile disappeared. Yay, mission accomplished to crush a preppy chick's mood. I know, I know, I'm terrible.

I asked a few more questions, but stopped once Snape stood and smirked at me. Mr. Oxymoron. He assigned homework to the students, which he also did in the previous class. The day was dragging by way too slowly.

"Next class you have off. After lunch you have to come back though. The second years will be waiting for you to drill them with safety questions like just now. The first few days are repetitious and strenuous, but after awhile things will be more interesting." Snape stared at me blankly until I got the hint to leave.

Back to my room. Back to boredom.