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Of Earth and Stars
Chapter 6: Perspective
November 1988
Suri sat at the library with her legs propped on the corner of one of the large ancient tables balancing a thick hardcover book on her lap as a surface for her to write her transfiguration essay. So far, Suri had learned that Professor McGonagall was no joke when it came to assignments, and she wanted an essay precisely one foot in length; anything less would earn a failing grade. With a huff, she swung her legs off the table and reached into her book bag for her measuring tape and held it against the length of her essay. She smiled; her work was thirteen and a half inches.
Suri noted the time on the large clock behind the librarian's desk. If she hurried, she could still make it to supper with twenty minutes to spare. Quickly she whipped her belongings into her bookbag and left the hardcover book out for last. This book was the real reason she begged off Nate and Mara from their nightly homework session; she wanted to see this book on her own. Suri ran her fingers over the engraved cover-it was a yearbook from 1971.
In 1971 Sirius Black and Contessa Rosier were first years. Suri smiled at the black and white image of Tessa, which she looked at first. Tessa smiled brightly as she waved up at her. Suri thought her mother at her age was cute, especially by the way her smile seemed so welcoming. She flipped back a couple pages and giggled at young Sirius's photo as he gave her a smirk and cooly nodded his head at her. Suri flipped between the photographs, noticing look in her parents eyes. Both Tessa's and Sirius's expressions seemed to shine with passion, but where Tessa appeared open and accepting, there was a layered mystery behind Sirius, as though he kept the world at arm's length. As always, Suri drank in the images, staring until her parents walked out of their small photos, to go wherever it is people in photos went. As always, Suri looked for herself in Tessa and Sirius and found herself in Sirius's artfully mussed hair, and the point of her chin and the shape of her lips were Tessa's.
With great care, Suri took the yearbook back to the archives section of the library. As she left the library, she noticed someone sitting by himself in the quidditch section, thumbing through what looked like a book dedicated to Puddlemere United, a decent quidditch team.
"Oliver!" Suri said brightly, and flinched when she earned a harsh shush from the librarian.
Oliver looked up as Suri raised a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound back at the librarian. The librarian was definitely unamused by her. Suri then offered the librarian an apologetic smile, and the librarian rolled her eyes, and Suri liked to believe she noticed the slightest smile from the older witch. Suri had a theory that one could minimize almost any consequence as long as one smiled.
"Hey," Oliver answered. He gave her a short nod before he continued to flip through his book. Suri raised an eyebrow at him, getting the sense he was trying to dismiss her without saying so. His passiveness both stung and annoyed her all at once. In response, Suri pulled out the extra chair at the table and sat, putting her chin in her hand.
"I heard you made the team as a keeper," said Suri, and Oliver breathed out once, pulling his brown gaze away from the book to meet her eyes.
"Yeah," he said.
"Congratulations," said Suri, and a corner of Oliver's lips turned up at the recognition.
"Thanks," he said, his tone almost bashful. "There were a lot of other good players too."
"I'm sure there were, but they thought you were the best. That's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Er, thank you," Oliver said again, running a hand through his short brown hair.
"So you're a Puddlemere fan," Suri continued, noting Oliver's fidgeting.
"Totally," Oliver answered. "I thought I'd look through this book for inspiration."
"That makes sense," Suri agreed. A pause hung in the air between them long enough to become awkward.
"So," Oliver started, "is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Help me?" Suri's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. "Like I'm a charity case?"
"No, er, it's not that," Oliver rubbed the back of his neck as if he wondered how it got to this point.
"I just thought I'd say hi andwish you luck on the game," said Suri, rising to her feet. She huffed out an angry breath and lowered her voice so she wouldn't make the librarian mad again. "Especially because whenever I say hello to you in the halls now, you barely look at me."
"Well…" Oliver closed his book and pushed it away from him. "I'm sorry for doing that it's just—"
"I'm a Slytherin," asked Suri, putting a hand on her hip. "Because we're rival houses? Or is it because of my last name?" Just last week she heard a seventh-year Ravenclaw whisper that she shouldn't be allowed to learn magic, especially after what her father did to those muggles seven years ago. No one cared that her mother was a good person and earned the Order of Merlin: First Class after she died fighting Death Eaters.
"Your last name? No!" Oliver's eyes widened momentarily. "I mean, I've heard about your dad after you got here, but I still thought you were the right sort because I thought I'd gotten to know you on the Express." Oliver blew out a heavy breath. "I guess it's the Slytherin thing. I mean, I thought for sure you'd be in Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff at least, but you ended up there. And, we're playing Slytherin this weekend and you could be a spy."
"A spy," Suri's storm-colored eyes widened at Oliver's accusation. "You think Slytherin sent me here to talk to you to find out information for the game?!"
"It sounds daft when you say it out loud," Oliver mumbled and chuckled nervously. His laughter eased Suri's frustration and soon they both were laughing over the ridiculous situation.
"SHH!" The librarian glared at the pair and Suri clamped her hand over her mouth to quiet her laughter and Oliver did the same.
"That doesn't seem like a bad idea," Suri finally said, "but lucky for you I'm not a spy."
"That's good."
Suri almost laughed out loud when she noticed Oliver's shoulders visibly relax. "So you really stopped talking to me because I was sorted into Slytherin?"
The silence that followed was loud and clea. A part of her was incredibly impressed that he was so dedicated to Gryffindor, and another part of her, the irritated part, rolled her eyes. "You know," said Suri, "the Hat considered putting me in Gryffindor, but decided against it at the last second."
"Why?!" Oliver gave her a look of pure shock, as if he couldn't understand why anyone would pick Slytherin over Gryffindor.
Suri worried her bottom lip, she wondered if she should tell him the truth—that she attempted to use occlumency when the Hat probed her mind because she was afraid it would see her secrets. Finally, she shrugged. "I guess the Hat thought I'd do best there."
"Gryffindor would have been a better choice," he answered, his tone playful.
"Oliver, you know you're allowed to have friends in other houses, right?"
He grunted in response and Suri sighed. She thought she had made a friend on the Express, and she realized that maybe it wasn't meant to be. Suri turned the corners of her lips up, instead, and nodded at Oliver.
"Well, enjoy your book," she said and backed away. "Good luck at the game on Saturday."
"Suri!" Oliver whisper-yelled her name, and Suri turned around, cocking her head to the side.
"You'll be there," he asked, "at the game on Saturday?"
"I will."
"Good," he said, his smile was bashful. "I mean, you'll be there for Slytherin, but it's my first game, and I guess…" Oliver trailed off and Suri noticed the blood rush up his neck all the way to his hairline. His bashfulness brought a blush to her cheeks.
"I'll probably wear my Slytherin scarf," said Suri, "but I think cheering for friends is more important than cheering for a team."
He nodded at her, and Suri smiled before she quickly exited the library, her heart hammering beneath her necklace.
After a quick supper in the Great Hall, Suri returned to the Slytherin Dungeon where she found Nate, Mara, Gemma, and a few upperclassmen girls sitting together by the fire.
Mara looked up when she came in. "Where've you been?"
"Finishing that ridiculous essay for transfiguration," Suri answered, depositing her bookbag against the couch before sitting beside Isabelle Yi, her fifth-year sponsor who had a booked propped open on her lap. "What are looking at?"
Isabelle, was a lovely pureblood girl with light brown almond shaped eyes, porcelain skin, and long dark hair. Along with her beauty, she was incredibly smart and incredibly devoted to her parents' beliefs in pureblood supremacy. She was also incredibly kind to Suri.
"She's looking up the ingredients for amortentia," Nate supplied when Isabelle took too long to answer.
"Nathaniel," Isabelle scolded, frowning at him, her face turning red. Nate only rolled his eyes, unperturbed by his blunt manner.
"Amortentia?" Suri frowned. "Isn't that a love potion?"
Isabelle nodded. "It doesn't seem too hard to make," she caught Suri's dubious look as she scanned the long list of ingredients and even longer list of instructions, and quickly added "for me, at least. It wouldn't be too hard for me to make."
"I don't get why you need one," Suri said. "Is it for that seventh year Ravenclaw boy? The one with the bright green eyes and nice smile?"
"Byron Thorne? Yes." Even saying his name caused Isabelle's blush to deepen.
"You'll understand when you have a crush, Suri" Mara said in a tone one would use to talk to young children. She smirked when a couple girls tittered.
"I'd get why some girls feel the need to use a love potion—"
"Or boys," Nate interjected.
"Right, or boys," Suri continued coolly. She ran a hand through her long wavy tousles and returned Mara's jeering smile. "Some people lack important qualities that make some potions necessary, but Isabelle, you are not one of those people."
Mara glowered when Suri's comment earned more laughs.
"Thank you for thinking so, Suri," said Isabelle, "but Byron hasn't noticed me and I've tried everything." She sighed heavily. "I love him more than anything, and this is the only way." The girl scanned the ingredients again, "a lot of these are easy to come by, and easy to purchase from the apothecary at Hogsmeade. The only ingredient I couldn't find would be Ashwinder egg."
"I'm sure Snape has some in his supply closet," Nate said.
"But Professor Snape isn't likely to offer such a rare ingredient to even his best seventh year student," Gemma Farley pointed out.
"How much of the ingredient do you really need? The potion calls for three tablespoons of powdered Ashwinder egg. Snape doesn't have to know it's missing."
All eyes turned to Suri.
"Are you suggesting pinching from a professor," asked Mara, she looked at Gemma as if asking the girl to stop it, but Gemma's expression remained neutral.
"Borrowing," Suri clarified. "Because technically, it's not leaving school property."
"Who's small enough to get into Snap's supplies without being noticed," asked Isabelle.
Once again, all eyes turned to Suri, who was, by a mere inch, the shortest of the group.
"You could get in a lot of trouble," said Gemma, as the voice of reason.
"If I were to do it, I would only be in trouble if I got caught."
"I shouldn't encourage you to steal," Isabelle frowned, but she looked at Suri with a hopeful expression. "If you did this for me, I would owe you for the rest of my life. You would be doing me a huge favor."
"I don't know," Suri answered. "Professor Snape has some weird hatred toward me, and I wouldn't want to risk getting caught."
"I understand," Isabelle said. "It is a nice thought, though."
The group of girls dispersed after they realized Isabelle wouldn't be able to make the love potion. Suri smiled apologetically at her sponsor as she got up from the couch. Mara also got up to leave and Nate yanked her arm, making her sit back down, leaving the three of them in front of the fire.
"What," Mara asked, annoyed.
"If all three of us sneak into Snape's supply closet, we could get the ingredients," Nate whispered conspiratorially.
"Why me," asked Mara, looking between Nate and Suri.
"One person to get into the supply closet, one person to be a lookout, and one person to distract Snape. It's foolproof."
"Nate, I don't know," said Suri. "I really don't think Isabelle needs a love potion."
"She's your sponsor, Suri," said Nate, "and wouldn't it be nice to help her?"
Suri grumbled a consenting response. "Fine," she said, "but we tell no one. We'll only tell Isabelle after we successfully get the ashwinder egg." Both Suri and Nate looked at Mara.
Mara twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger before throwing her hands up dramatically. "The best time would be during the game between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Even Snape is likely to go to that."
"Then it's settled, Saturday is the day," said Nate.
"Agreed," Suri answered, and she bounced in her seat with the excitement of mischief.
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The week passed quickly, and by the time Saturday arrived the whole school was excited for the first quidditch game of the year: Slytherin versus Gryffindor.
Back in the dormitories, Suri pulled on her favorite black jumper patterned with small red rosebuds. She surveyed her reflection in the mirror, admiring the way her eyes popped whenever she wore dark colors. She ran her hands over the soft, thin material of her sleeves before she shrugged on the layers of a thicker black coat and her Slytherin scarf. She would be sitting at Slytherin's section in the stands today, but she figured the red on her jumper was enough to remind her to cheer for Oliver every now and again.
"Suri!" Mara called before she appeared in the dormitory. Mara also wore her Slytherin scarf and a knitted silver beanie with green stripes. "We have to get going!"
"Right." Suri felt a knot of excitement in the pit of her stomach as the two girls raced down the stairs to find Nate.
"Save us a seat," Nate said to Carly and Willem as they left with the rest of the Slytherins for the game.
"Where are you going?" Carly asked, looking at Suri and Mara.
"Mara left her bookbag in the library yesterday," Suri said and gave Mara a look.
"Yeah," Mara continued smoothly. "I need to know that I have it safely with me before I go to the game."
"Suit yourself," Willem said as he and Carly left. Finally, it was just Nate, Mara, and Suri left in the common room.
"Here's the plan," Suri said, looking around to make sure they were alone. "Nate, you're going to distract Snape and get him to go in the other direction. Mara will be my lookout. I'll be in and out of the supply closet faster than you can say "quidditch".
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"There's Snape!" Mara whispered as they three stuck close to pillars and corners while making their sneaky descent to the potions dungeon.
Sure enough, Severus Snape, potions master, briskly walked down the hall. Nate took a deep breath and whispered to his friends "wish me luck" before he casually came around the corner and Suri and Mara hid behind a large pillar.
"Professor Snape!"
"Mr. Avery," Snape acknowledged.
"Are you on your way to the quidditch game," Nate asked. Snape gave Nate a look and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Nate continued on. "I am too! I'll walk with you! I have a few questions about the potion you recently lectured on…."
"I think you're clear," Mara whispered as Nate's voice trailed away from the potions dungeons. "We have fifteen minutes until the game starts."
"I only need five!" Suri promised as she darted from behind the pillar toward Snape's classroom, trusting that Mara.
Entering the large empty classroom, Suri made her way to the supply closet and tugged on the handle. Locked.
"Alohamora," Suri murmured, pointing her wand at the door. There was a soft click as the lock sprung open from the inside.
The closet was lined with incredibly tall shelves and everything was well organized. "Ashwinder egg, ashwinder egg..." Suri murmured under her breath searching each labeled container. She was careful to listen for Mara's signal—a loud sneeze—in case someone was coming.
"There you are!" Suri quickly pulled down a jar with gray powdery substance labeled "ASHWINDER EGG". Moving quickly, Suri pulled out a bit of parchment she had fashioned into an envelope and carefully dumped three tablespoons worth of the substance into the envelope before tucking it away.
"Alright," Suri put the jar back into place and turned to leave. As she did so, two items caught her attention. One was a jar of small, smooth stones, and another was a bunch of dried lavender hanging from the wall. She took one of the stones, pocketed it, and a bit of lavender before closing the closet door behind her.
"Colloportus," Suri pointed her wand at the door and heard the lock click into place. She managed her stealthy feat in less than three minutes. Rushing from the closet, Suri pulled the classroom door shut, rounded the corner and came to a full halt in her tracks.
"P-Professor Snape!" Suri looked up to see the potions master. He looked down at her over his hooked nose, glaring at her with his dark eyes.
Suri felt the lavender in her hand shoot out from her grasp and Snape caught that in the air.
"Why is it, Miss Rosier-Black, that you're down here looking for lavender when all of your friends are at the game?" Snape's voice managed to be even and condescending.
"I er, needed it for a personal issue," Suri murmured, she looked down at her feet and glanced into Snape's eyes, determined not to show fear.
Snape raised an eyebrow, waiting for further explanation.
"I get nervous, sometimes," Suri explained, "you know, during exams and sometimes in general, and lavender soothes me. I put it in my tea or under my pillow." All of this was true.
"And it seemed best to steal it from my supply closet as opposed to visiting the infirmary for your...issues?" Snape asked.
He made it sound like she was crazy, and something about his stare made her uncomfortable. Because of it, she exhaled heavily, simultaneously imagining a heavy curtain closing in her mind, shielding her every thought.
"It know, Professor," Suri continued, "and I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stolen it. It's just something I'd rather my friends not know about me."
"Clearly," Snape said drily, "the offspring isn't much different from its origin. Detention for three days—"
"What? You knew my parents?" Suri's eyebrows shot up. "And three days of detention for a bit of lavender?!"
"I had the displeasure of knowing both of your parents. Your mother was prideful and meddlesome, but nowhere near as conceited as your father who believed he could do anything without a care for what happened to those around him. You are just the same, taking without a care that the world does not belong to you. One week of detention, Rosier-Black."
Stunned by his insults against her family, anger uncurled in the pit of her stomach. She had heard people speak of Tessa Rosier as headstrong and popular, and she had heard Sirius Black would do anything for his friends. Aside from her father, she had never heard anyone speak as if they Contessa Rosier and Sirius Black personally.
"Follow me," Snape barked, snapping Suri from her thoughts. "Detention starts today."
"But the game," Suri protested lamely, as she hurried to keep up with Snape as he stalked out of the dungeons.
"Your point being?"
She kept her mouth shut as followed Snape up to the first floor, past the Great Hall and to the hospital wing, thinking of every great insult she knew.
"Madam Pomfrey," Snape called, his voice more controlled when calling for the school's matron.
"Severus?" Madam Pomfrey questioned, coming out from behind a door that led to her office. She looked at Suri and back at her colleague.
Snape pointed a finger at Suri, and it was all she could do but roll her eyes at his dramatics. "Miss Rosier-Black was found stealing from my personal supply closet, and she has earned a week of detention. Her time might be best spent here, and maybe she can find a cure for her...issues." Snape glared down at her.
"My issues," Suri muttered, her voice tight, her mind on fire. Equally, she wanted to yell at Snape as well as ask him questions about his relationship with her parents. She wondered if his relationship with them had anything to do with the way he seemed to detest her.
"I hardly think a week's worth of detention with me would be necessary," Madam Pomfrey said as she wrung her hands looking around the hospital. She then noticed the exchanged glares between Snape and Suri and she nodded once. "But I will find some use for her."
Snape gave the woman a curt nod before he turned on his heel and stalked away.
Suri stared after him, and made a face at his back before he left.
"Well now," said Pomfrey, looking at Suri. "A week is a long time."
"Too long," Suri agreed.
"Then I will cut your time to about an hour a day. You'll be more in my way than a help," Pomfrey decided. Her tone was not unkind. Suri noticed the way Pomfrey picked invisible lint from her robes and kept everything in the infirmary in an orderly manner. It seemed like unless one was a fully-trained healer and highly familiar with this hospital wing, they would always get in Pomfrey's way.
Suri frowned when she heard the cheers from the stadiums. The game would start in ten minutes and she wasn't there. As unhappy as she was to miss the game, she breathed a sigh of relief while patting her pockets. She still had the small stone and the ashwinder egg; she was glad Snape hadn't found those.
Author's Note:
To those of you who read this chapter already when it was chapter 5-sorry for confusion! I knew something was off, and I'm kind of ashamed of how long it took me to realize I was missing a full chapter! Now that things are in order, I hope my mix-up doesn't deter you from this story! SO MANY things are in store for Suri! : )
**ALSO** similar to Thorns, this story will also feature time-skips with the intention of going through the years. Some years will be more important than others, hence less time intervals, and some years will be less important, which will demonstrate longer intervals!
Your reviews are love!
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