Soul of the Enemy

By Willow Spirit

Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Everything else belongs to the wonderful J. K. Rowling.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter 14 - Ghosts, Charms and Detentions

And so the days flew by at Hogwarts, until it was almost the first official day of spring in late March. Alex had been a part of Gryffindor for about a month and a half now. Things had definitely developed into a new pattern. First of all, the legendary Gryffindor trio was no more. Now it was constantly a quartet. It was as if Harry, Alex, Hermione, and Ron were joined at the hips. They were rarely seen by themselves, except maybe for the girls who sometimes studied in the library while the boys were in Quidditch practice.

Most of the professors didn't mind the enlarged group, except for when they would start making some fuss (usually one of the girls would be arguing with the boys.) Even though there was only one more member added to the gang, sometimes four seemed much worse than three. For the professors who were around during James Potter's time, they feared that they had another generation of Marauders on their hands. Their only consolation was that Hermione Granger was in the group, and the professors knew that Hogwart's Head Girl would never let things get too out of hand.

While the addition of Alex changed the framework of the group, it also changed the members of the group itself. This was mostly noticeable in Harry and Alex. Harry, who was often closed-off and reclusive up until the Christmas holidays, was becoming more and more like his old self, before his fourth year and the whole return of Voldemort. Alex, who had also been closed-off and reclusive, was suddenly lively and very different from before.

There were still many things that Alex wouldn't tell the rest of the group, but they had slowly come to accept that as part of who she was. She didn't really smile much, but at least she wasn't always so negative all the time. And Alex actually cracked a few jokes here and there. She brought this unusual energy to the group that also very refreshing. And speaking of unusual energy…

Alex, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were walking to Charms class one morning when they suddenly spotted Peeves the poltergeist showering a bunch of second years with chalk dust. Several erasers were beating against each other, constantly following the poor students wherever they went.

Hermione was about to open up her mouth to shout at Peeves, but Alex held up her hands to stop her. "Hold on there, Granger," Alex said in a casual tone. "I've got it covered."

She reached into her robe pocket and slowly pulled out her wand. Then she proceeded to march over to where Peeves was hovering.

"PEEVES!" Alex roared as she whipped her wand into the air. "Be prepared for some serious non-corporeal ass kicking!"

Hearing the sound of that particular voice, Peeves head immediately spun around to face the approaching witch. And if it were possible, one could almost say that Peeves' face became even whiter. He let out a pathetic little yelp, and then he took off down the hallway as fast as his ghostly body could take him.

Seeing her target flee, Alex started chasing after him. "Get back here you bloody ghost!" she yelled. "If you weren't already dead…"

The other three watched her as she came to a screeching halt at the end of the hallway. "No fair!" Alex cried around the corner. "You little coward, you know I can't pass through walls. I'll find you, you little…" But the end of Alex's sentence was cut off by the fact that Alex had already taken off in pursuit of her prey.

"Wow," Ron said. "That's like the second time this week she's done that. It's a shame they don't stick around. I'd love to see what she does to him."

"Ah, but she won't be able to say anything," Hermione replied.

"It'll be confidential," Harry added solemnly.

"You have to wonder though," Hermione continued on with this thoughtful look on her face. "How does one hurt a ghost, unless Alex knows some sort of spell that allows her to turn Peeves into a corporeal being? If so, I'd wish she'd tell us where she found it. A spell like that would be awfully fascinating to learn. Imagine the possibilities! We'd be able to…"

"Or we could just wonder why Alex is the only student in Hogwarts who Peeves fears," Ron interrupted.

A moment later, Alex reappeared completely out of breath. "Sorry, everyone, the little bugger got away from me again. I swear I'll get him next time," she huffed. "So off to class, then? Charms awaits us!"

Alex linked her arm with Hermione's and happily walked away, leaving the two boys to trail behind them.

-----

"Try your best, everyone. Try your best!"

Flitwick stood atop his stack of books, eagerly encouraging his seventh year class. Some needed no encouragement from the petite professor, as they were doing perfectly fine. The others, however, were beyond the benefits of encouragement, since they were hopelessly lost anyway.

The class was currently working on invisibility charms. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Alex were nearly bored to tears.

"This is bloody pointless," Ron muttered as he tried and tried again to make his feather disappear. "Why do they get us to do this kind of stuff?"

"Because they can, I suppose," Harry shrugged. He wasn't having much luck either.

"I…am…so…bored," Alex bit out each word as she tried to correctly flick her wand. "I think I'm going to start pulling my hair out…oh, look! I think I actually made the tip of my feather disappear!"

"I agree," Hermione sighed as she repeatedly flicked her wand with ease, making her feather reappear and disappear in an endless cycle. "This is rather pointless (flick). We could be practicing other charms too (flick). This is a rather tricky spell. I don't know why Flitwick insists we practice until everyone gets it (flick)."

That just earned Hermione three very nasty glares.

"Yeah, well, some of us aren't masters of complicated charm spells," Alex nearly growled with frustration. Her invisible tip had reappeared again.

Luckily, the entire class was saved from further aggravation when Flitwick interrupted. "Splendid work today, class," he clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "Now if I could have your attention please, I will hand out your tests from last week!"

Several loud groans could be heard amongst the students as they lined up to receive the bad news (and the good news was sure to be few and far between.) They filed out of the classroom, gazing over their latest results.

Ron cursed softly under his breath. "Look at this!" he stared discouragingly at his test. "I only got a 61 this time. How'd you guys do?"

Hermione quickly tried to hide hers, which had a glowing 116.

"Not much better," Harry just shoved his test away in his bag. "I got a 70."

"Well, join the 'happy loser club'," Alex waved hers around in the air. "I have my 64 right here!"

"What!" Hermione almost grabbed Alex's test just to be sure.

"Don't start again, Granger," Alex warned. "I'll not have you lecturing me again about my study habits. I told you I wasn't good at everything. Maybe now you'll believe that I'm just an average student."

"But I know you have such potential!" Hermione exclaimed. "If you would only study a little bit more or try a bit harder…"

"Look, Granger, this is the best I can do," Alex pointed to her test. "I'm honestly not good at this stuff. It's not an act. I didn't learn much of this stuff where I came from. And quite frankly, I really don't care."

"That's too bad," Hermione sighed. "Especially when you do so well in Potions."

"That's an entirely different story," Alex said.

"I still don't get how you could even come back to Potions after what happened last month," Harry wondered.

"Well, that would be between me and Snape," Alex swiftly reminded her friends. "Besides, I don't think he'd like me talking about it."

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Really, Alex, you and your secrets."

-----

Snape, at the moment, was sitting alone in his quiet office. He had a few minutes before his next class and he wanted to collect this thoughts. He knew he should be preparing for his lesson but this was one of those rare moments when he needed to sit down and think.

He had a puzzle to solve, one of the most challenging puzzles he had had in a very long time. This particular puzzle came in the shape of a certain seventeen year old girl with brown and blonde hair.

He was still suspicious. He didn't care what Dumbledore or McGonagall had to say about her. He wasn't going to trust her yet. In these dangerous days, one had to be very careful about trusting people. If only she wasn't so good at making Potions, then it would be so much easier to hate her!

As he continued sitting in his chairs, his thoughts slowly drifted towards her detention that took place almost five weeks ago.

(flashback)

It was the evening after Valentine's Day. Snape was grading papers at his desk when he heard a knock at his door. He looked questioningly at the solid piece of wood. The knock was very uncharacteristic of most of his students. He knew it had to one of his students since he was not expecting a visit from any of his fellow professors. But this knock was firm and unwavering. It belonged to a professor and not a student, since Snape knew that nearly all of his students were petrified of him.

"Come in," Snape called, semi annoyed. If it actually was another professor, then why hadn't they entered by now? When the door opened and revealed who was on the other side, Snape had to focus on hiding the surprise on his face. "Ah, Miss Reid," he put a hint of sarcasm in his voice for good measure. "I do hope you are prepared for your detention?"

"Yes, sir, I am," Alex nodded. She stood there calmly but respectfully. Snape nearly raised an eyebrow. Who was this girl? And what did she do with Alex Reid? She was definitely not the same girl who had stormed out of his classroom a few days ago.

"Very well, then," Snape said. "I suppose I will have to find something suitable for you to do." Snape paused as he regarded her carefully. He always hated detentions. That usually meant giving students something to do. He normally didn't trust students to do a good job. That's why he usually gave students jobs that were far, far away from his classroom. The last thing he needed was to have some bumbling idiot of a student mess up his surroundings.

There was just one problem. Snape knew that his personal store room was a complete disaster area at the moment. He had recently received a large shipment of ingredients the other day and he hadn't found the time to organize anything yet. Worse still, he doubted he would be able to find the time within the next day or so. He was so incredibly busy with grading, lesson planning…and meetings with a certain secret organization that was dedicated to fighting a certain dark lord.

And yet the solution to his problem could be right here in front of him. But dare he trust her with such a task? Snape had become very protective of his store room over the past few years. People kept on stealing his supplies! But Miss Reid was a Seventh Year. It's not like she was a very immature First Year. Could she handle the job?

"I do have one idea…" Snape started slowly. "Though, I do not know if you would be capable of doing the task."

"Whatever it is, sir, I'm sure I can do it," Alex said with pure confidence.

"We'll see about that," god, Snape just wanted to strangle her. She was so calm, yet so damn cocky at the same time! "The assignment I have in mind would test your organizational skills and your precision."

"Sounds interesting to me," Alex shrugged her shoulders. "What did you have in mind, sir?"

Snape paused, and took a moment to consider his game plan. Then, without saying a word, he rose from his chair and swiftly left his office, leaving a slightly confused Alex behind. After a hint of hesitation, Alex hurried after him and followed the surly professor. Soon they were standing before another door. Alex glanced up at Snape as he continued to stand there like a statue. There was conflict written all over his face, but something in his being made him reach out and open the door. It swung open on its hinges, revealing Snape's precious store room.

Alex looked around and was fairly surprised. Several opened boxes where sitting in the middle of the floor, jars were empty and were scattered over the many shelves that lined the walls. The room wasn't neat and it certainly wasn't orderly. In fact, it appeared to be the exact opposite of Severus Snape. No wonder he was so cranky lately; a perfectionist with an imperfect room!

"This, Miss Reid, is my personal store room," Snape explained efficiently. "In here you will find all the ingredients needed to make a standard potion. You will also find several simple potions that have already been prepared and bottled. You will not, however, find any dangerous or potent potions in this room. Those are under lock and key in another location."

Like he was taking any chances while Potter was still at Hogwarts.

"Your job would be to organize this chaos," Snape continued on. "Can you do this?"

If Alex was irritated by Snape's abruptness, she did an impressive job of hiding her feelings. Instead, she turned to look him directly in the eye. "Would you like me to follow your system?" was all she asked him.

"I would prefer it if you could," Snape almost sneered at the thought that she could duplicate his system. "But I suppose I can always come in afterwards and make the necessary corrections."

"Is there anything specific that needs to be done?"

"Of course! Unpack the new ingredients, place them in the appropriate jars, remove all the labels from the jars and rewrite them, arrange everything in an orderly fashion, and clean up any garbage in the room," Snape honestly didn't expect that Alex would finish all of that, but why worry about it. If she could manage to get a good head start on this project, then that would make his life a whole lot easier. "Just one more thing," he ordered as he glanced once more across the room. "If you even consider stealing anything from this room, I will find out eventually. I know exactly how much inventory I should have so if I find afterwards that something is amiss you will receive five more detentions. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Alex surveyed the job to be done.

"Good," Snape turned to leave but then paused with an evil grin on his face. "Oh, and you won't be needing your wand tonight. I never allow students to use their wands during detention."

If Snape was expecting Alex to throw a tantrum over this last minute detail, then he was going to be sorely disappointed. Alex merely shrugged and pulled her wand out of her cloak pocket. She willingly placed it in Snape's waiting hand. Snape glared at her with contempt before he spun around and took off to his office.

Several hours later, Severus Snape was still sitting in his office when he realized that it was approaching 11 o'clock. He hadn't even checked on Alex once and she hadn't even returned to his office.

'She probably ran back to Gryffindor an hour ago,' he thought bitterly to himself. 'Without her wand. That shows what she thinks of her belongings.'

Snape marched himself over to his store room, only to pause just outside the door. It was still open and he could hear someone moving around inside. Ever so slowly, he approached the doorway and peered inside. There, to his utter amazement, was Alex, sitting on the floor surrounded by near-empty boxes and dozens of jars. Snape had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing things properly. At that moment, Alex looked up at him in surprise.

"Oh," she said lightly. "Hello, Professor. I didn't realize you were still around. Since you're here I'll let you know that I almost emptied all your new inventory boxes and I've finished arranging those shelves over there. I'm sorry I haven't gotten to the other ones yet and I still have to clean up the garbage but I imagine I can finish up during my second detention, don't you think?"

Snape blinked again. He made his way over to the shelves that were finished and began inspecting her work. All the labels looked exactly like the ones he did himself…only he had to admit that the hand writing was much better than his.

"How did you manage these labels?" he demanded, turning around to face her.

"I did them by hand, of course," Alex frowned with confusion. "I didn't have a wand so I couldn't use a writing spell. I also find that it helps to write out the descriptions first, then attach the labels to the jars. It's sort of hard to write around a jar, if you know what I mean. I could've gotten more labels done, but I'm kind of slow at writing. At least I do a good job since I take my time."

Great Merlin, he just wanted to smack her. Snape turned back around to examine the rows of jars. They were neat and tidy. This wasn't right. This aggravating girl wasn't supposed to do such a good job. She was supposed to fail so then he could berate her and criticize her work. Then he'd take great pleasure in making her do it all over again. That's when he noticed something else.

"The jars…" Snape couldn't quite believe it. "They're properly categorized."

"Yeah, I noticed you kept them separated into five categories," Alex started rattling them off on her fingers. "Solids, powders, liquids that…"

"I know my own categories," he snapped quickly to cover his shock. "How did you come to be so adept at potions and ingredients? Who was you teacher?"

Alex only offered him a small, naughty smirk. "I'm afraid that's confidential, Professor."

Bloody hell. "Fine," Snape dug into his pocket and practically threw Alex's wand at her. "Be sure you are here at the same time tomorrow evening. I expect this room to be in immaculate condition by the end of your detention."

"No problem," Alex shrugged as she tucked her wand away. "Good night, Professor." And then she was gone.

Snape stood alone in the middle of his store room, wondering what on Earth had just happened. This was not good at all. He didn't know what made this situation so wrong but it unnerved him to think that this girl could so easily organize his room. He knew that she was not a Legilimens since he didn't feel her probing into his mind. Something told him, though, that she was one hell of an Occlumens. Whenever he had tried to extract anything at all from her mind he came up empty. It was like trying to look through an impenetrable wall. There was simply nothing there to see or feel.

That was what scared Severus Snape most of all. No girl her age would be that powerful for nothing. He knew that Voldemort was planning something; he just didn't know what it was…yet. As it was, Voldemort was being particularly careful lately, only letting out information on a last-minute, need-to-know basis.

Snape didn't know what this girl's agenda was, but you could be sure that he was going to keep an eye on her. If no one else would, then he would do the job himself. No, he did not trust her in the least…and if that meant that she should stay in his potions class, then so be it. He took one last look around his store room. He knew he had to leave now. His eye was starting to twitch with exasperation.

Damn her for being an evil perfectionist!

-----

A/N: Please review people! Even just a short one, it doesn't take too long.

Next Chapter: Bad news hits Hogwarts...

"It's starting," Harry suddenly said quietly.

"What's starting?" Hermione asked.

"The war."