Chapter 9

This was absolutely ridiculous! It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Cate had been stuck in the library since six o'clock that morning. She had been trying to sneak down to the kitchens when she was thwarted by Severus Snape, who promptly dragged her to the library stating they need to work on their project. It wasn't due for weeks yet!

"Can we at least take a break?" she sighed, tapping her quill on the table, ignoring the fact that she was splattering ink onto the wood. He continued to ignore her as he carefully studied the rather old and moldy smelling book in front of him. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she laid her head down on the table. Well, if he wasn't going to talk to her, she might as well take a nap.

Suddenly she yelled as someone grabbed her hair from behind and gave a rather sharp yank, causing her to quickly lift her head off the table. Eyes watering slightly from the pressure being put on her scalp, she glared darkly at Snape, whose wand was pointed casually at her as he flipped through the pages of the book.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" she screeched, trying to loosen the invisible hold on her hair.

"It seems that you need help staying awake," he said silkily, giving her a rather annoyed look. He wasn't about to do the entire project by himself. Although at the rate they were going, it might not have been a bad idea. He would certainly get more work done by himself than having to share the responsibility with some bumbling idiot.

"You have no right to hex me!" Snape sighed and with a soft flick of his wand the pain stopped and Cate was able to move her head without having any hairs ripped out of it. Wishing that she had the courage to curse him out, Cate sighed and pulled a book in front of her. The quicker they got this done, the quicker she could be outside with her friends.

It didn't take her very long to find some information about the Kappa. The book she had conveniently grabbed was called Dark Creatures of East Asia. "It says here that the Kappa originated in Japan. They are a water demon, preferring rivers and ponds." Cate read aloud, relieved at finally finding some useful information on their topic.

"That information is incorrect." Snape frowned, looking up from the book he was reading. "The Kappa is found in Mongolia."

"Don't look at me! I didn't write the book!" Cate argued. "It says it right here—the Kappa, also called the Gataro or the Kawako, is found on the Pacific islands of Japan."

"And again, I will tell you that you are incorrect. Kappas are found in rivers and ponds; not in Japan, but in central Asia, specifically in Mongolia." Snape pointed to the information in the book that he had currently been reading. She studied it for a moment and then leaned back in her chair with a smirk on her face.

"Your book is wrong."

"Why is it that you automatically assume that I am the one that is wrong?" He glared at her. The information was in front of her face, as plain as day! Any ideas of her being somewhat competent had just flown out the window.

"I never said that you were wrong, Severus." Cate grinned. She knew that she had struck a nerve. It was rather fun to get him all riled up. She could see why the Marauders always picked on him. "I said that your book was wrong...and it is."

"You impertinent child," Snape spat out cruelly. Cate's grin quickly turned into a frown. Did he really just call her a child? What was she? Two?

"Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

"You know what your problem is, Bajer? You are afraid." Snape sneered standing over her with his hands laid flat on the table. "You are afraid to be a pureblood and all the title and reputation that comes from it. Your father must be very ashamed."

"You know nothing about my father!" Cate cried out in shock and outrage, tears glinting in her eyes. The problem was, that there was some truth to his words.

"I know more then you think. I know more than your Gryffindor friends do." He sneered, his eyes glittering with the fact that he was right. Cate looked at him in the eye and realized that he knew! Severus Snape knew that her father was not only a supporter of You-Know-Who, but was also one of his growing number of followers. She had never told anyone about this. Not even her best friends! "It would be intriguing to see what your friends would say if they knew who you really were outside of Hogwarts."

"How about you keep your beak of a nose out of my business!" Cate glared hatefully, tossing her books and parchment into her bag. Before he could stop her she was practically running out of the library. Snape did not fail to see the silent tears streaming down her face. For a fleeting moment he actually felt some remorse but shrugged it off as he turned back to his book.

Cate hurried outside pushing past a group of Ravenclaws, ignoring the rude stares she was getting. All she wanted was to get as far away from the library and that arrogant Slytherin as possible. How did he know? Someone had to have told him - but who? No one at school knew her secret. At least not that she knew of. Of all people to find out the truth, why did it have to be him?

"Cate!" a loud shout echoed across the courtyard. She looked up and immediately saw Samiya and Lily waving at her from underneath a large tree by the lake. What would they say if they knew the truth? Would they turn from her like she had always feared? Like Snape had insinuated? Pushing the tormenting thoughts away, she slowly made her way to her friends.

"Where have you been all morning? We almost broke into the Slytherin common room to search for you." Samiya grinned as Cate reached them.

"One word…Snape." She groaned as she plopped down onto the grass. The Marauders were sitting with them as well, and Cate was surprised there hadn't been any bloodshed…yet.

"Snivellus?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What were you doing with Snivellus?" Why would anyone want to spend even one second with the greasy-haired git?

"Are you jealous that Snape got more action then you?" Samiya laughed.

"What are you trying to do? Make me sick?" Cate groaned, turning slightly green at the very idea of snogging Snape. She wasn't the only one, as all the boys cringed at the idea.

"Oh please, are you kidding me? I get more action than Snivelly does in my sleep!" Sirius laughed, stretching out on the grass comfortably. "If you're so curious we could meet in the broom closet on the fourth floor. You can see the full extent of my experience."

"If you keep dreaming, then maybe one day it will come true." Samiya grinned. Sirius couldn't help but smile back and think about how he had this girl wrapped around his finger. If only it was that easy!

"If you two are done with the innuendo…" Lily said with a roll her eyes. Although even she had to admit the two were falling quickly for each other. They did make a rather cute couple, if you could look past the bickering.

"So what did Snape do to get you all riled up?" Remus asked Cate, turning their attention back to the Slytherin girl.

"Well first, he dragged me off to the library before any other sane person was even awake in the castle," she sighed.

"What a way to put the moves on a girl, Snivellus!" Sirius joked.

"Please don't make me hex you," Cate said with false cheerfulness. Samiya and Lily had to bite their lip to keep from laughing out loud at the look on the boys' faces. They had never seen Cate so irritated before.

"So did he try to have his way with you?" James teased. Sure he had decided to try and be nicer, but he wasn't a saint!

"No!" Cate couldn't help but laugh. "We were working and then we started arguing over the paper. He went too far and made some rude insults about my family."

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Remus said gently. He could easily tell that whatever it was that Snape had said upset Cate greatly. If only they knew the whole truth of what had happened—but they could never know. She couldn't risk losing them.

"What he needs to do is keep his mouth shut," Peter chimed in, trying to look tough and impressive. Samiya nudged Lily. It was well known that Peter had a thing for Cate since their first year.

"You know, Bajer, all you have to do is ask and we can easily make Snivellus pay," Sirus said casually, fiddling with his wand in his hand.

"Hexing him is not the answer." Lily frowned. "He's just doing it to get your attention."

"If he wants attention, we can give it to him!" Samiya grinned, for once agreeing with what Sirius had in mind.

"Hey, Evans is right. We should just ignore him, especially if he is just looking for a fight," James commented and almost regretted it for the look of shock on his friends' faces. Sirius, Peter, and Remus were all staring at him with identical looks of horror, while Cate and Samiya had to quickly hide their grins. But best of all, Lily seemed to be very impressed. Maybe this would work after all!

"Are you feeling okay, Prongs?" Peter stammered, while Sirius couldn't even seem to express what he wanted to say.

"Mates, we are seventh years! We need to start focusing on the future instead of wasting time by goofing off," James stated, trying to act more mature than usual. Cate and Samiya's grins quickly turned into laughter, which they quickly smothered behind their hands. This was a very different James indeed! On the other hand, Lily couldn't help but smile. It was as if she was seeing James Potter in a new light.

"Well, if you decide to hex Snape, make sure you tell him it's from me," Cate grinned. Even though James said they should leave him alone, she knew that her housemate would have some sort of hex thrown at him by the end of the week.

"Speaking of which, I need to get started on that project," Samiya said lamely, standing up from her spot on the lawn. She had noticed Lily's changed attitude toward James and wanted to give them some alone time. Fortunately, Remus caught on and stood up to leave as well. Cate glanced at Peter and Sirius who were both oblivious to what they were trying to do. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed Peter by the arms hauling him to his feet, while Samiya grabbed hold of Sirius.

"Let's go, boys." Cate grinned, winking at James as they led the rest of the Marauders back towards the castle. Unnoticed, Lily slid closer to James as they continued to talk. James sent a silent thank you to the two angels who gave him some very fruitful advice.

"So, you're finally taking me up on that offer, eh, Rosa?" Sirius smirked, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

"What offer?" Samiya was almost too afraid to ask.

"Two words," he replied, leaning in closely. "Broom. Closet." Samiya rolled her eyes and smacked him hard on the arm. Why couldn't she have one who followed her beck and call like Peter did with Cate? The boy was practically drooling over the Slytherin girl for the simple fact that she had touched his arm. It was actually pathetically cute, if there was ever such a thing.

"Oh, shut it, you prat!" Samiya laughed. Like she would ever think about entering a broom closet with him of all people. Or maybe she was just in denial.

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