Chapter 7
)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(
In the next few weeks, Hogwarts found herself covered in snow several feet thick. The lake froze, the icy layer was around ten feet thick and barely showed through the top of Rebekah's window.
Instead of being the drafty, damp cold dungeons as the other Houses believed that the Slytherin common room would be, it felt like very early spring. All the Slytherin students swore their black or dark grey vests under their robes, the older years taught the younger warming charms that lasted several hours.
Rebekah had signed her name to say that she was staying the Yule holidays within Hogwarts' walls. Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley understood, well, Petunia and Vernon did. Rebekah had stated in her letters that she preferred to stay the holidays as she could catch up with any work that she needed to finish. Her gifts would be sent by eagle on the 25th of December.
Rebekah and her Slytherin year mates finished their potions lessons for the day and were the first to leave the class. As they left the classroom, a large Fir tree blocked the corridor. They instantly knew that Gameskeeper, Hagrid was the cause of this inconvenience.
Ronald Weasley shoved past Draco, elbowing Rebekah in the process. It caused her to elbow him a bit harder in the side than needed. The small group of Slytherins laughed when he glared back at them.
"Hi, Hagrid," Weasley popped his head through the branches of the Fir tree. "Want any help?
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Draco said coldly. "You want to make some extra money for you and your family? Or are you hoping to become groundskeeper? His hut must be a palace compared to the hovel that your family is used to."
"Draco, you know that isn't nice," Rebekah said. "Even if you are putting it nicely. But we all know the truth so it is fine to say, I suppose."
Weasley dived at them. He grabbed the front of Draco's robes. The latter just smiled and laughed as the bat-like Snape came up the stairs.
"Weasley!" Snape said as Weasley jutted away from Draco.
"He was provoked, Professor Snape," Hagrid said. "Malfoy was 'nsulting 'is family."
"Fighting is still against Hogwarts' rules, Hagrid. You should know that fights of all natures unless during the duelling club, are prohibited. Ten points from Gryffindor. Move along, all of you."
The small group shoved past the tree, scattering nettles onto the floor. They chuckled a little, hurrying down the hall.
"There's been talk of a creature on the third floor," Pansy said as they went into the library. "The one Dumbledore warned us about. Some of the older years, sixth years I think, went there and found a dog. But not a normal dog, it has three heads!"
"You mean a Cerberus, then. The three-headed dog from the Netherworld. Pet of Hades," Rebekah said.
"From one of your books, yeah?" Blaise asked.
"Yeah," Rebekah shrugged. "When don't I know something from my books?"
"True," Daphne laughed. "Also, isn't it true that you're staying the holidays here and not going home?"
"Yes, I've decided to stay the holidays since I'll be able to catch up on work,"
"What's the real reason?" Draco said, looking to the others. "We all know that isn't the only reason. Spill."
"Alright. I already knew about the dog. I overheard the older years talking about it a few weeks ago," Rebekah said as the group entered the library. "I want to know why the dog is here, and figure out if they are dangerous or not. You all know that I love animals, love them enough to stop eating them."
"And you adopted that fleabag, Emperor," Pansy said.
Rebekah gasped in fake shock and disgust. "My poor, not so defenceless familiar of mine. How dare you!"
Everyone in the group knew that Pansy was not a fan of animals unless they were on a poster and not shedding fur, skin or scales. No one could make fun of her, the barely visible scars on her left bicep were from a dog. She had a genuine fear of dogs and was wary of other animals in general.
Rebekah made sure that she was never alone with Emperor, even if the familiar was asleep, Pansy couldn't think very clearly alone with him. Rebekah may have been unkind and cruel to those that she does not care for, but she had a small bit of respect for her little group of snakes.
"Has anyone done the History homework?" Blaise said, glancing to the group.
"No, but I finished the essay for Chams. This one was easy. Can you read mine and see if there are any mistakes, please?" Rebekah passed a single foot of parchment over.
"Does anyone have the notes for our lessons on Monday? I was ill and only just remembered to ask for them," Pansy said, her cheeks blushed a rosier tint.
Draco flipped through a notebook. " Yes, here. You can borrow them over the holiday since there is only one day left."
"Oh, before I forget, I have a detention this evening with Snape," Rebekah said, silence ensured after her words. "Don't worry, it's not actually a detention. It's more like an extra tutoring lesson, Snape thinks that I could use this extra time to advance myself and my potion-making skills."
"We all knew you were good at Potions, but we didn't know you were this good!"
"As I've said before, Potions is like cooking," Rebekah chuckled lightly, "And I love my food, you all know that!"
"You scarf food down like a pro and still look polite while doing it,"
"Aunt Petunia was picky about that, I used to copy Dudley, my cousin, but since I was a girl I was forced to learn manners. I am happy that I know manners and how to use them and when. It's very important in this World and the Muggle World."
)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(
Lunchtime came soon enough, and they marched down the stairs to receive a lovely meal: there were sausages and butterbean stew. Oranges, grapefruits and limes in one bowl. Roast chicken, beef and pork in separate bowls with their own broths. Sweet potato wedges in small portions on each plate. They all had their fill and left for their last few lessons.
Later that evening, when lessons and dinner finished, Rebekah made her way through the cold corridor from the common room to the Potions classroom. There was a large pile of caldrons, all covered in a vomit green and rancid yellow slime, and in that disgusting smelling slime was small lumps of something.
It was a surprising mess in the Potions classroom of Severus Snape. He wasn't one to allow such disastrous matters and affairs to happen in his lessons. The maker of this glob must have messed up so badly, it was almost unbelievable.
Professor Snape was hunched over his desk, his quill correcting papers, essays and homework, Rebekah guessed, and he was getting frustrated by the lack of intelligence in some of his pupils.
Rebekah remained by the door, counting how long it took him to realise that she was there and staring at him. She started counting.
One.
Two
Three
Four…
Eighteen…
Hundred and three…
It took him two minutes, forty-eight seconds and three loud sighs. Those papers must have been so awful to force Dungeon-bat Snape to sigh so much. There were two piles, the completed pile was several inches tall and the other piles were only a couple inches tall.
"Good evening, Professor," Rebekah said, coming closer to the desk. "Are you grading papers?"
"Yes, and sadly my fourth years do not have the potential that you do. Even though they have four years of lessons on you," He pinched the bridge of his nose. Rebekah chuckled and sat the desk nearest Snape's, planting her bag on the spare chair next to her.
Since Snape was in a slightly foul mood, this hour would take a while to finish. She had to scrub the caldrons clean while stating what was wrong with the essay that Snape read out to her. Rebekah wasn't very happy about the cleaning, but she didn't dare complain.
After all, Snape could not stand complaining and whining, he was already in a bad mood to start.
During the dead of night, at a time when the patrols ended and morning light a distant dream, did the group dare leave the common room and venture into the dark halls of Hogwarts. Rebekah donned her dark pyjamas and slippers, accompanying Blaise, Daphne, Draco and Pansy to the third-floor corridors.
There was an eerie feeling about the castle. Too calm. Too quiet. Almost too silent for the dwellings of perhaps a thousand students and thirty-odd staff members, but everything seemed fine in any respects that were due to with the castle.
Hogwarts did not light her torches as they reached them, those torches stayed extinguished of any sort of light. It left the castle and the group of young Slytherins in the dark, Emperor lead them to that corridor as quietly as the soft footfalls of a scurrying mouse into their respective mousehole.
It wasn't very difficult to find the banned corridor. They walked down it, not seeing any distinctive features on any of the doors that might have distinguished the door from the others. It could take minutes to find it, perhaps any hour or….
There.
The soft sounds of light snoring echoed in the silent corridor and alerted the young group and Emperor to the canine. Emperor strolled to the door and pawed it once, Rebekah ushered the group to be quiet but swift to get over there.
They crept through the door. The room was extremely large, enough to house the black three-headed dog. There was a harp to one side, close to one of the corners. One head started to snore, followed by another and the last head joined. They stopped in that order and continued in the same way. Each of their left ears twitched as they exhaled.
It was an ...unusual sight, truth be told, for the group. An unusual sight that freaked Pansy quite severely, and so they rushed out of the room. Mrs Norris sat in the arms of one of the statues that lined the halls, her eyes glowing even without any light. Emperor strolled over to her, placing a paw on her much small head, then he trotted away with a feline smirk.
The group, excluding Rebekah, gasped at the sight of the bug-eyed cat.
"Don't worry," Rebekah whispered, stroking Mrs Norris' head and making her purr deeply. "She won't snitch, she likes me."
No one said anything, simply nodded and rushed back to their respective dorms, and slept till the morning of the last day of term. Luckily, it would be a free day for the whole school.
)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)(