The next morning as I sat at the Ravenclaw table pushing my eggs and bacon around on my plate I received my class schedule. I had potions every day and double potions on Tuesdays and Thursdays followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts. I would have been very happy about that had it not been for the scowling new professor with the greasy black hair. What was his name? I looked at my schedule and read the name Professor Snape. Good thing Monday and Wednesday I had Herbology after potions. I liked that class too.

Susan grabbed my schedule from my hands. "We have Charms and Transfiguration together." She said with a smile. The smile slid off her face when she saw that I hadn't eaten anything. "Oh, Stop sulking, you. It isn't the end of the world to have a new professor now is it? You have enough potions classes that I'm sure you'll like him well enough by the end of the week, you might be surprised to find that he is better than Slughorn."

I slammed my fork down on the table and stood up quickly almost making myself fall backwards over the bench. "No, one could be better than Slughorn!"

I snatched my schedule out of her hands and marched angrily to Charms. People stared at me as I left the Great Hall and I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

Susan ran up next to me. "Ruby, I'm sorry, I know how much you liked Slughorn but it's not the end of the world. You only have a few months with this new guy and then you'll be done with Hogwarts."

I let out a sigh. "I know, but I'm not going to like him." I said the last bit with an air of defiance.

"I never said you had to."

"Good, because I won't."

Susan laughed a little at me and shook her head.

Charms went quickly enough since we just reviewed some of the last things we learned before summer holiday. Susan and I split up. She headed for Divination, I never understood why she liked that class, especially with that Professor Trelawney that started two years ago, and I went to the dungeons for Potions.

The room seemed far darker than it had when Slughorn had been the professor. I sat at a table near the back instead of in front like I used to. I took out my books and set up my scales and cauldron and waited for class to begin. Everyone else in the room was quiet and unsure looking. The door burst open and the new professor walked purposefully to the front of the room. He had the same sneer from last night on his face.

"There will be a few changes to my class." He began in a low voice every word drawn out. "First, this class is not meant to be fun. I know that was Slughorn's main objective but mine is to make you learn. I may look young but I will not tolerate foolishness in any form in my class. It is up to me what I consider to be foolish behavior and if I catch you in the act you will be immediately excused from my class and not welcome back. Do you all understand?"

Everyone avoided eye contact and slowly nodded their heads.

"Good, then let's begin attendance." Snape droned. "Abernathy, Penelope." A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. "Gregorian, Peter." A Slytherin boy with curly brown hair raised his hand.

"Winston, Ruby." He called finally. My heart jumped and I was afraid to move and risk being deemed foolish by Snape and kicked out but I raised my hand slowly anyways. He looked in the direction of my movement. His eyes widened and the sneer fell from his face. His lips parted slightly and he took a breath, his chest tightened with the air. I felt like he looked at me for a long time like that before he tightened his lips again and made a mark on the parchment he held. As soon as his eyes left me I felt the hair on my arms raise and my stomach was set to burst with the rapidly fluttering butterflies that just came to life.

A tingle ran up my spine the next time he spoke. I focused more on keeping the butterflies from bringing up the little bit of breakfast I ate than on what he was saying. The calm deep drone of his voice was oddly soothing. But what was that all about. He looked like a startled him. Oh God, did I have something on my face? I wiped both of my hands over my face and looked at them to see if anything rubbed off. Nothing. I looked up to see that he appeared to be making eye contact with all of the other students but purposely avoiding my corner of the room. This was ridiculous I didn't even want him to be here why should I care if he didn't like me?

I shook my head and began to pay attention.

"…and I also want a foot of parchment on the uses of Belladonna." Professor Snape finished.

Everyone started packing up their things and made for the door. I was sure I had missed part of the assignment. I quickly threw my things into my bag and sprinted after Snape before he went into his office.

"Professor," I called. "I'm sorry but I think I missed part of the assignment. I heard the bit about the uses of Belladonna but I missed the part before that." I tried to force a smile but he stared at me with a disdainful scowl. I tried to laugh but it got caught in my throat and I just started coughing.

"Miss Winston is it? I didn't think I needed to iterate at this level the importance of listening but apparently you are a special case. I am going to do you a favor and not repeat the homework to you. Perhaps next time you will pay attention." He stepped inside his office and shut the door.

I knocked on his door. "Professor, I apologize. I normally pay attention very well and I'm not sure what happened today…"

"I suggest you leave this instant or I wouldn't bother returning to another potions class, Miss Winston." He said menacingly on the other side of the door.

I pulled my hand back from his door, my heart in my throat. I turned on my heel and left the classroom.

I wasn't in the mood for lunch so I skipped it and went into the library to start looking up uses for Belladonna. I was about half way finished when I looked up and realized it was time for Herbology.

Professor Sprout met us by the entrance to escort us to the greenhouse (part of the additional safety precautions). It was still raining but not as hard as the previous night. My shoes made a squishing sound on the ground. I thought it was strange that I could hear the sound of my own shoes until I noticed that everyone was silently following Professor Sprout all heads bent to the ground. It seemed as though the thought of needing an escort on school grounds made us all too nervous to speak and made it feel as though we could be attacked at any moment.

Herbology passed as usual. I spent the walk back to the castle picking the dirt out from under my fingernails and once inside the castle I made my way up to the library to finish my potions homework. I felt this need to prove to Professor Snape that I was serious about potions, especially considering the event this morning. I worked extra hard in hopes that my paper would even impress him. I read the first couple chapters in the book in hopes that that might have been the part of the assignment I missed. I looked up at the clock. It was slightly past 6 and time for dinner. I finally felt hungry.

I made my way down to the Great Hall and found Susan sitting at the Ravenclaw table reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts book over her plate of Steak and Kidney pie.

She looked up at me. "So, how was potions?" She asked me closing her book.

I helped myself to some Shepard's Pie. "That man is impossible." I moaned.

"You've had one class with him and you already know he's impossible?" She challenged. "Are you sure you aren't exaggerating a bit?"

"Susan, I missed what part of the assignment was, only part, and when I asked him about the part that I missed he told me he was doing me a favor by not telling me and shut his office door in my face. Naturally I apologized and was about to ask one more time. He told me to leave or not to bother coming back to another potions lesson…so I say again; that man is impossible." I took a fork full of my food and looked at her.

"Maybe he's just proving that he is serious about his subject and going a bit overboard." She said. "He was just a student here a few years ago."

"How long ago?" I asked.

"Well I was talking with Mark Wizenby from Gryffindor in my D.A. class and…first do you remember James Potter?" I nodded my head "Ok well Mark was saying that James and his friends used to make fun of Snape when they were all students and called him Snivellus. They were 7th years when we were 4th years."

I nodded my head to show that I was following her story.

"And I know you remember Lily Evans. She and Snape were friends all the way back before they even came to Hogwarts and I guess one day he called her a Mudblood."

I gasped, "He didn't."

"He did. Lily apparently never forgave him and James Potter didn't appreciate it either."

I looked up at the head table to see that Professor Snape was watching me. As soon as our eyes met he looked quickly away. He took a gulp from his goblet, vacated his seat, and took his long confident steps from the Great Hall.

I looked to Susan to see what she thought of what just happened but she was busy with her pudding and hadn't seen any of it.