Chapter Three
The stairs are full of students rushing to class. Gwen and her best friend Lilly are running late, they are never late. They take the secret passage to the corridor where Potions is, passing the dawdling Marauders with their odd nicknames for each other. James stares at Lily as they run past.
"Well at least we beat them," smiles Gwen pushing open the creaky door to Potions. Professor Slughorn smiles politely at them, Lilly is his favourite pupil and can get away with anything not that she ever puts as much as one toe out of line.
"Ten points from Gryffindor, I think," is all he says on the matter. Gwen tries to do the sums with the four Marauders late as well, that's thirty points just for tardiness.
Lilly sits next to Rita Skeeter, the busy body leaving Gwen to sit next to Severous Snape. Gwen takes a peek at Snape's book with his unreadable spidery squall, and turns to the right page. She isn't as good at Potions as she should be, she can brew the stuff and knows all the properties of the ingredients but it's not a great passion.
Snape however, seems to have a knack with the subject, he knows just how to prepare the ingredients to what way he stir it and in what direction. Ten minutes later the boys turn up, minus Peter Pettigrew who just couldn't make the grades. Something in Snape changes, as he puts up the barriers.
"You're very good at this," she says trying to offer him a branch.
He looks at her, down his magnificent nose. She's never really thought of his nose as magnificent before but it is. "Obviously," he says. "Or, I wouldn't be continuing it into the NEWTS year."
"No," Gwen smiles. She finds his brute honesty refreshing, why should people always follow the rules of polite conversation? "Quite," she adds.
"I think the lady was trying to pay you a compliment," James chips in nuzzling his way into the conversation. "Merlin knows why, but play nice Snevly or do I have to teach you some manners?"
"Nice one Prongs," sniggers Sirius.
"Don't you ever shut up?" Gwen asks, "I am capable of looking after myself if the situation arises."
"Oooh!" James minces, as he and his idiotic friends laugh at her defiance.
"Ignore them," Snape tells her.
"Oh I do," Gwen smiles at him, "Frequently."
The lesson comes to an end and everyone is in a rush for the first break of the day. Gwen asks Snape is he would like to help her with the homework Slug has just set them.
"Ok," he answers. "Meet me in the library before tea."
After Charms Gwen goes off to the library, she can't belief she is going to meet Snape. It's not like a date, or anything but she still feels those mixed emotions that flutter around in her stomach like butterflies. It's Snape, she tells herself.
She finds him in the Restricted Area, absorbed in a big tome. She admires his concentration; despite her grades she was never very good at studying. She blames her father, who could never sit still long enough to read a book. She doesn't disturb Snape only gets out her things ready for the learning.