They Didn't Know We Were Seeds
Filing out of the defense classroom behind Sage, he hardly waits until they are past the room's threshold to say, "He's an incompetent creep."
Sage turns his head, a bemused look on his face. However, before he can say anything, Evan Rosier comes up beside Severus and scoffs loudly. "Don't you think it's a bit early to be deciding that? I don't know where you got the creep part, but he didn't sound incompetent to me. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about when explaining what we'll be going over this year in his class."
Severus wants to say he's a creep because he knows the man will be barred from teaching at Hogwarts again next year (or ever) because of rumors about him having lewd interactions with upper year girls, but he can't. Instead, he says, "Did you not see the way he was watching the sixth year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff girls as they were leaving the classroom when we came in? It was disgusting."
Rosier scowls as a few of their fellow Slytherins exchange glances. Severus holds back a sigh. Of course they didn't notice. Why had he expected they would? They are all thirteen. Teenagers are known for their self-absorbed behavior and it would take a hippogriff crashing through one of the walls to Hogwarts's classrooms for them to notice anything that isn't right in front of their noses. "Watch him the next time we have class," Severus advises.
"And the incompetent part?" William Wilkes presses.
Severus is amused by his question. While Wilkes is obviously trying to back up Rosier by wearing a tough expression, his tone is far too genuine in its curiosity. "I dare one of you to ask him about werewolves or vampires," says Severus. "He's going to perpetuate superstitions. Like if you are bitten by a werewolf when they are not in their wolf form you will become a werewolf too."
"You don't?" Lilith Crabbe asks, surprised.
He rubs a hand down his face. "No." Briefly making eye contact with all of the students huddled around him, Severus explains, "You only become a werewolf when you are bitten by one in their wolf form. However, it is not unheard of for one to take on characteristics of lycanthropy if bitten by a werewolf who is in their witch or wizard form. They might end up having insomnia on nights of the full moon, or their sense of smell might sharpen some."
"Wow, where'd you learn this stuff?" questions Sage.
Severus hesitates. The part of the library open to everyone at Hogwarts has few books that go so in-depth on werewolves and lycanthropy. But the Restricted Section… "Unless you're sure you can get into it without getting caught, don't do it," he warns first. "But I was looking through books in the Restricted Section one night and read up on lycanthropy."
"Why were you reading up on it?" Wilkes asks.
He almosts says it's because he suspects a student in their year is one. However, Lily would be furious with him. She cares about Remus and would definitely severe their friendship if he outed Remus so callously. He sighs. "I was just interested."
None of his classmates look like they quite believe him, but they let it drop.
"What's going on here?" Lily calls from behind the wall of Slytherins.
Severus stands on his toes and meets her gaze. "Just talking about the professor," he explains.
She raises an eyebrow. "What about that berk is worth discussing?" she demands.
He laughs as he elbows his ways through his fellow Slytherins. "Nothing."
Severus can feel his classmates watching as the two of them walk off together, but he doesn't care. Honestly, they should be used to him leaving them for Lily. This time, Lily will always be first.
-o-O-o-
"Oi, what do you think you're doing?"
Edmund Scabior looks up from the book he is shredding to pieces. He scowls, disgruntlement clear. "What does it look like I'm doin'?"
Severus crosses his arm and studies Scabior and scene more closely. Finally, he sighs. "Whose book is that?"
The boy grins wickedly. Voice chipper, he says, "Felicity Flint's. The bint wouldn't let me copy 'er notes."
"Is there a reason you couldn't take the notes yourself?"
Scabior scowls. "Course there was!"
"Oh? And what reason is that?" Severus demands.
The boy begins to flounder. "I— I—"
Severus doesn't have time for this. Whatever reason Scabior could have for not taking the notes himself is going to be juvenile and stupid. Perhaps he just didn't want to, or he fell asleep in class because he's been homesick and not gotten much sleep. Severus has promised himself he wouldn't do this while he's a student, but…
He connects eyes with Scabior and dives into his mind. He finds a memory of Scabior staring at the board in charms, but the writing on it is fuzzy instead of legible. Scabior then moves his attention to his mostly blank parchment of notes and he crumples it up in frustration before shoving it over the edge of his desk. 'Ah,' Severus thinks, 'he's near-sighted.' From his days as a professor, Severus knows it's quite normal for pureblood and some half-blood near-sighted children to come to Hogwarts not knowing they need glasses. It's not until they are in classroom settings where they have to read things from far distances that they realize something's wrong.
He jerks his head in the direction of the common room's entrance. "Come on," he says to Scabior. "Madam Pomfrey can fix you up with some glasses."
Scabior gapes. "What?"
"You've been having trouble reading the boards in class, right?" Severus asks, annoyed at how long this is taking.
"'Ow—"
Severus sighs loudly. "Do you want to be able to see the boards or not?"
"Yes!"
He motions once more to the entrance. "Let's go then."
Scabior hurries to his feet and starts toward the door. Severus begins to follow, but falters after a step and looks back at the remains of Felicity Flint's book. He pulls out his wand and casts a repairing spell. Everyone will be much happier if the girl finds her book intact. When he looks back to Scabior, he finds the boy gaping at him.
"You fixed it!"
Severus rolls his eyes. "It's not Flint's fault you're blind."
"But—"
He grabs the younger boy and drags him out of the common room. "Flint has two older brothers, do you know that? One's a fifth year and the other is a seventh. If they find out you ruined their sister's book they will get you for it." As they move through the dungeons in the direction of the infirmary, he adds, "Flints are quite nasty. They aren't afraid to play dirty."
"Why are you 'elping me? Da always said that in Slytherin it's every man for 'imself."
He glances at the boy. "You'll find that's not always the case. Especially with me. Ask around sometime."
This seems to stun Scabior into silence and he compliantly follows Severus to the infirmary. Stopping in front of the doors, he tells the boy, "Go in and tell Madam Pomfrey you can't see the notes on the boards from the back of the classroom. She'll test your eyes and give you a pair of glasses. Since this is your first visit, she might try and insist you stay for a checkup. You can sit through that if you want, but if you don't want that, tell her you don't have time and you're going to meet with a mate soon."
Scabior starts to look around as if contemplating an escape. Severus smirks. The lad doesn't know who he's dealing with. Gesturing to the wall beside the doors, he tells him, "I'll wait right here for you."
"I'm not a baby!" the boy snaps.
He nods. "Yes," Severus says, "I can see that." He pushes the door to the infirmary open and tells Scabior, "I also know how boys like you work. So, I'll be waiting."
The boy makes a rude gesture at him before he stomps into the infirmary. Severus snorts, vaguely amused. He then takes a seat beside the doors and settles in to wait. He knows that this problem is not the one he set out to solve, but hopes that when the time comes to fix Scabior's issues with those in other houses, Scabior will remember this. Remember this and realize that Severus is on his side and only wants to help him.
Thoughts everyone?
Thank you for reading :)