Chpt. 16- Tree

Saturday morning, Lyric woke up with the sun streaming in her dorm room window. All of her roommates were asleep, and Griselda had no doubt spent the night in Slytherin. Lyric felt like some fresh air, so she quickly showered, dressed, and headed out to the grounds.

Early morning walks were Lyric's favorite thing to do at Hogwarts. The castle really was quite breathtaking and the surrounding very serene. When bustling from class to class with a heavy arm-full of books, one tends to forget to stop and take a look around.

As Lyric headed outside, she pulled her coat closed and shivered. Summer had officially melted away, leaving in its wake a relatively mild fall. Despite the good weather, mornings were still a bit chilly. Lyric walked down to the lake and settled for a sit near the base of a large willow tree. An off-shoot of the Whomping Willow, this tree was far less temperamental. The tree, which the students named the Welcoming Willow, actually appreciated visitors. It sighed peacefully as Lyric sat down.

In the distance, Lyric could see a few of the Merpeople playing tag in the early morning sun. She thought about talking to them, but her Mermish was rusty. While staring out at the lake, Lyric became aware of someone watching her. She turned her head to find Snape staring at her. She wondered how long he had been standing there.

"Can I help you?" she asked the dark professor.

"What are you doing out here?" he snapped back, seemingly embarrassed for having been caught staring at her.

"Just gone for a bit of a walk, Professor. Is that alright with you?" Lyric tried to bite back her sarcasm, but it didn't work.

"You're out after curfew, that's grounds for detention, though I expect you wouldn't have the time to serve more."

"It's not after curfew, it's six thirty in the morning. I've been out here this early before and never gotten in trouble." Lyric protested.

"Curfew is from ten o'clock p.m. to seven o'clock the following morning. You've been here for quite some time, therefore you're out after curfew." Snape said triumphantly.

"Then punish me already so I can get back to enjoying the view." Lyric's disdain for the professor was clearly evident.

"You will not speak to me in that tone of voice!" Snape demanded.

"Then you shouldn't go around trying to bother me!" Lyric shouted back. "For God's sake, Professor, you'd think I could get some privacy from time to time, but you won't leave me alone."

Snape looked ready to go ballistic, "I will not let you talk to me like that," he screamed at Lyric, "I don't care who you uncle is, you are not going to act like a child with me."

Lyric was about to protest, but a large tree branch swung down and hit Professor Snape squarely on the head. Lyric had forgotten that while the Welcoming Willow liked people, it did not enjoy any sort of negative words. The fight had been too much for the tree, so it decided to end it.

"Oh shit!" Lyric screamed. She jumped as a branch came swinging at her. "Sorry," she apologized to the tree. She knelt down before the professor. He wasn't bleeding, but Lyric could already see a large knot forming on top of his greasy head.

"Professor?" she said, tapping his cheeks. He groaned, though remained unconscious. "Professor!" she shouted, and slapped him much harder on the cheek. Snape rolled over a bit, then opened his eyes.

"What happened?" he asked in a strained voice.

"Tree got mad at you for yelling," Lyric said.

"What?" Snape asked sitting up and clutching his head in pain.

"Easy, Professor," Lyric warned, "you took it pretty hard. The tree hates it when people fight, so it hit you." Lyric looked back at the tree. It had been so upset that it wrapped itself up in its own branches; the tree really was rather sensitive.

"I was assaulted by a tree?" Snape asked, not sure whether to believe Lyric's story.

"Yeah," Lyric said. Then Lyric felt a rise of laughter coming up. She tried hard to suppress it, but couldn't let it go. Snape stared at her in disbelief as she broke out into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"What, Miss Dumbledore, is so funny? Snape demanded.

"Sorry, Professor," Lyric gasped between laugh, "but the image of you getting beat up by a tree is just too funny."

"You and I do not have an agreeing sense of humor then." Snape said, standing up, still clutching the top of this head.

"You went down like a ton of bricks." Lyric said, still laughing at the situation. "And then, I had to apologize to the tree. I never in my life figured I would have to apologize to a tree."

"I'm glad you find this so funny, Miss Dumbledore. You'll need a sense of humor if I give you more detention." Snape was scowling in his embarrassment.

"Believe me Professor, that was worth at least two or three detentions." Lyric laughter had died down a bit, but she was still grinning widely.

"I'll be forced to give you more if you don't stop laughing this instant!" Snape yelled, inciting another branch to coming swinging in his direction. This time he ducked, but the sight drew another fit of laughter from Lyric.

"We'll discuss this later at your detention," Snape said eyeing the tree. As he turned to leave, Lyric swore she could see a smile flash across Snape's upset face for a minute.