FINAL CHANCE
By: Shadowedheart89
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, nor do I claim to.
Chapter 5: Snape
As Harry and I made our way back to the common room, I started ranting about Dumbledore's plan. "I just don't get him sometimes. Does he honestly think that you can just force two people to spend a lot of time together and they are automatically going to become best of friends?"
"I thought that we were already starting to become friends," Harry said, sounding a bit confused.
"We are, but wouldn't you rather have a friendship happen naturally than have us put together all the time?"
"I supposed so," Harry said slowly as if he wasn't exactly sure.
"I'm just tired of being forced into everything. What ever happened to free will? Or does that not exist in the part of the world?" I asked angrily, turning a corner where I ended up running into something and falling down. I looked up to see what I ran into, and was faced with an unmoved Draco, looking down at me, seemingly quite surprised.
After a few seconds, he began to smirk, "Wow, Marlene I knew you were falling for me, but I didn't know it was so literal."
I glared up at him, "Ha-ha, very funny. Would you mind helping me up, since it's your fault I fell?"
"It wasn't my fault. You came barreling around the corner. Am I to be blamed because I didn't know you were coming, and you weren't paying attention to where you were going?" he said, although he still held his hand out to me to help me up. He ended up tugging me up so hard that I fell against him. I tried to step away from him, but he slid his arms around my waist, holding me in place.
"What are you doing?" I asked looking up at him.
He just smirked and leaned forward as if to kiss me, but before he could, Harry interrupted him. "What are you doing in this part of the castle anyways, Malfoy?" Harry asked, looking a bit uncomfortable.
Draco looked at him coolly. "Not that it's any of your business, Potter, but I have a meeting with Dumbledore. I was on my way when you two ran into me. Now I intend to take full advantage of this situation to snog my girlfriend senseless."
Once again he leaned forward as if to kiss me but I stopped him, "Your girlfriend?" I asked, raising my eyebrow questioningly at him.
"Yes," he replied confidently, "my girlfriend." Then he proceeded to kiss me. After a few moments, I started to get really uncomfortable with Harry just staring at us surprised, and because of Draco's sudden display of affection. I pulled away from him and put some distance between us. "What's wrong?" he asked in a quiet voice so that only i could hear him. His demenor seemed a bit nervous and concerned, though I doubt that Harry picked up on it.
It dawned on me what he was doing and I felt my anger starting to rise. "You've made your point. Now Harry and I have to leave, and you really should be getting to your meeting," I told him coolly.
He studied my eyes for a few moments, and then said, "Alright, I'll see you later then." I moved to walk away from him, but he pulled me close once more. "Are you sure your okay?" I merely nodded and avoided his eyes. I saw him glance at Harry, then kissed me once more before finally letting me go
I watched him for a moment before I called out to him. He turned to face me, his face once again devoid of any emotion. "Dumbledore knows what happened. So if he asks you, it would be pointless to lie."
He looked confused for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what I was talking about, but then he smirked and nodded. "Thanks for the warning."
I nodded, and then grabbed Harry's arm and walked away, wiping my lips as I did so.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked keeping stride with me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, not quite sure what he was talking about.
"Well as far as I know, most girls don't look so angry when their boyfriend's kiss them," he said, then added as an afterthought, "At least I hope not."
I laughed, "No you're right. I just realized what the whole show was about."
"What do you mean?" he asked as we reached the portrait. He said the password and we climbed through.
"He was giving you a message. Basically, he wanted you know that I am his, so back off," I told him bitterly.
"You're whose?" Ron asked, catching the tail end of our conversation.
"Malfoy's," Harry told him bitterly, grimacing as he said the word.
"You go out with Malfoy?" Ron all but yelled, causing the few students who were in the room to look our way curiously.
"Shhh," I hushed him, taking a seat next to him by the fireplace. "Yeah, I am Malfoy's girlfriend, though I hoping that doesn't become too much of common knowledge," I told him a bit bitterly myself.
"She's not too happy about it though, if you didn't catch that," Harry told Ron.
"Well can you blame her? I mean it's Malfoy. Who wouldn't be upset with being stuck with him, with having to kiss him?" Ron said shuddering at the mere thought.
I started laughing, "Well, he's really not that bad of a kisser. He's actually amazing," I told them, watching them gag before asking, "Do you guys really hate him that much?"
They looked at each other for a moment, and then said, "Yes."
"Why?" I asked still laughing.
"Well for a start, he hates me because I'm a Weasley, and I'm not rich," Ron told me.
"He hates me because I'm Harry Potter," Harry added.
"And he hates Hermione because she is muggle born, and smarter than him, and that makes him hate us more, because we are friends with her," Ron finished.
"Well that is a lot of hate for stupid reasons on his part. But why do you guys hate him so much?" I pressed.
"Well first of all, he's obnoxious and arrogant. He walks around thinking he's better than everyone because he's rich and a pure blood," Harry told me.
"Besides, he's been doing his best to make our lives miserable for the last five years. That is a big part of it," Ron said matter-of-factly.
"Well those are better reasons," I said absently, wondering why Draco was so cruel to these people.
"So tell us, why do you like him?" Ron asked.
I just shrugged, "I have my reasons," I told him.
"C'mon. Don't tell me that you are going to say that he's not that bad and we have to just give him a chance because he's really a great guy," Ron said suspiciously.
Harry shook his head, "No she's not. I already asked. She knows exactly how much of a prat he can be."
"Then spill," Ron pressed. "Tell us why you don't hate him."
I sighed. "We've come to an understanding, that's all." I glanced at my watch, and noticed that it was started to get a bit late. "Shouldn't we start heading to class?" I asked.
Ron glanced at his watch. "We should hurry. We don't want to be late for Snape's class on the first day. He'll never let us forget that."
We all went up to our rooms and got our things for class before meeting back downstairs and making our way to class. On the way, Ron kept pestering me about my relationship with Draco, but somehow I managed to get away without answering his questions.
When we reached the class room, we found Hermione waiting outside of it with a pile of books. She started complaining about how much homework she already had from her first period. I felt a bit bad for her. Although I never had the class, from my parent studying the subject, I ended up taking an intrest in it and knew exactly how much work went into trying to translate all the symbols.
After a few moments, they went into the class room and I followed. I watched as Harry and Ron took a table together, and Hermione took a seat next to Neville, leaving me to find a place myself. I looked around the room until I saw a familiar looking blonde who was sitting by himself near the front of the room. Smiling to myself, I approached him.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked.
He looked at me and smirked. "Are you sure that you want to be seen with a Slytherin? Or have they not turned you against me yet?"
I shook my head, "No such luck. I just thought it would be appropriate with me being your girlfriend and all. You did make a point of branding me in front of Harry after all," I told him sitting down. I looked around the room at the décor, and notice that it was a bit graphic. The walls were covered with portraits of people who appeared to be tortured. Their faces were all contorted into gruesome expressions, and some barely looked human at all in their pain. "This teacher must be rather morbid," I muttered to Draco looking around.
Draco laughed, "He's an alright guy as long as you stay on his good side."
No sooner did the words leave his mouth, did the doors slam open and a tall, thin, pale man came striding into the class, with his black robes billowing dramatically behind him. Upon sight of this familiar man, I could do nothing more but stare at him for a few moments in disbelief.
He strode to the front of the class, and then turned to look at us with his black eyes and a look of disgust on his face. I couldn't could my surprise any longer, and blurted out, "SEVERUS?"
His dark eyes fell on me and a scowl contorted his features. "Ms. Wizidore, you are to address me as Professor Snape or Sir at all times. Is that understood?"
I was still so shocked at seeing my old private teacher that the only thing I could saw was, "You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"
"Yes, do you have a problem with this?" he asked glaring down at me.
"No sir just surprised. I mean with your past and all," I told him regaining my composure.
"Enough," he said sharply. He glared at me for a few more seconds before speaking again. "Now if there are no more interruptions," he said, pausing as if daring someone to interrupt him, "We will now begin class."
There was a bunch of rustling as everyone started to take out their books. "I did not tell you to take out you books," Snape snapped at us. Everyone froze for a moment before dropping their books back into their bags.
After a few moments of silence, he launched into his lecture, "Many of you may feel accomplished to have gotten this far in Defense, and I must say I am surprised that most of you have. Though I must tell you that your past teachers have been mediocre at best, and none of them had any idea of the true power that lies within the Dark Arts. The Dark Arts are forever changing, and more powerful than anyone of you could even dream of. Right now most of you may only be familiar with the 3 Unforgivable Curses, but there are others that are worse, and more painful. There are curses that would make you beg for death, and none of you, and I do mean none of you," he said looking pointedly at me, "would stand a chance against them.
"As of now, the only spells you most like know are to disarm and to stun or bind your opponent. These will not suffice against anyone who is truly trained in the Dark Arts. They are the must elementary of what you will use in this class. If you are able to get through this class, you may stand a chance at surviving in the real world."
I couldn't suppress my giggles. Draco nudged me, trying to tell me to be quiet, but it was too late, and the damage was already done. Snape looked at me with pure hate in his black eyes, and I just smiled up at him. "Do you find something funny, Miss Wizidore?" he asked coldly.
"As a matter of fact I do," I replied, hearing a couple people gasp in the room. "I find your speech a bit overly dramatic. I mean you make it seem as if all you have to do in order to survive is to know the counter spells. A person could know all of the spells and curses in the world, but it wouldn't do them a bit of good if they can't react quickly enough. In some cases, a well placed Expelliarmus or Stupefy could be just as effective, if not more so, than any Dark curse or counter curse. Besides, you speak more with a love of the Dark Arts than with any real desire to teach us to protect ourselves from them."
He glared at me for a moment before responding. "Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting our time with that obvious yet idiotic point of elementary spells and reactions." Draco snickered next to me, and I elbowed him, causing him to fall silent. "Although, since you were the one to bring up reaction, you can help me demonstrate today's lesson," Snape told me, motioning for me to come to the front of the room.
"Today we are going to practice the art of non-verbal magic. Can anyone tell me what the advantage of you non-verbal magic is?"
The only one who raised their hand to answer was Hermione, who looked about ready to jump out of her seat, but Snape refuse to acknowledge her.
"I believe Hermione knows the answer," I said.
He turned and towered over me, "You are to remain silent unless I address you, is that understood?"
"Yes sir," I said, trying my hardest to refrain from rolling my eyes.
He turned back to the class, "Mr. Potter, tell us what the advantage is."
Harry looked flustered, and I knew he didn't know the answer, and that was exactly why Snape chose him to answer. Snape was angry at me, so he was taking it out on poor Harry. I decided to intervene.
Non-verbal magic prevents your opponent from knowing which spells you are going to cast, I told him telepathically.
Harry met my eyes for a mere second, and then turned back to Snape, looking exceedingly nervous. "Um, non-verbal magic gives you an advantage because," he paused, and I wasn't sure whether or not he was going to answer, but he continued, "your opponent won't know what spells you are going to use."
A heave silence fell over the classroom as Snape stared at Harry, seemingly speechless. Then, in a swift movement, he turned and bore down on me, resembling a bull, with his usually pale skin turning a bit red, and his greasy black hair falling into his face. I could sense his fury radiating off of him. "Did you tell him the answer?" he almost yelled.
"No, sir. Wouldn't you have heard me if I did?" I asked, feigning innocence.
He locked eyes with me as though we were in a staring contest, but I knew what he was really doing. He was trying to figure out whether or not I was lying. I could sense him trying to use Legilimens to penetrate my mind, but my mental defenses prevented him. Finally he turned away saying, "You have detention, Saturday night in my office. Now, take your stance and prepare to duel."
I crossed the room and took out my wanted, and then waited for directions that didn't come. Luckily for me, I already learned how to do non-verbal magic last year, because before I realized what was happening, a jinx flew at me, and I was just barely able to deflect it, causing it to fly up and hit the ceiling, causing sparks and stones to shower down on the classroom.
"Acceptable, but just barely," Snape commented dryly. "Now, you try."
I smirked, and then attempted to jinx him. He lazily cast a shield charm so strong that I was knocked backwards, onto the floor.
Snape smirked down at me, "Well as feeble as that was, at least you managed some form of a jinx."
Glaring at him, I stood up and jinxed him again. This time, it was so powerful that it knocked him backwards so that he was only able to maintain his balance by grabbing a near by table to steady himself.
His eyes blazed with anger, and before I was able provide any type of defense, a jinx hit me squarely in the chest. My entire body erupted with pain, and I was dimly aware of the fact that I was screaming.
After a few seconds which felt like an eternity, the pain faded, but my body still tingled unpleasantly. I opened my eyes, which I had evidently closed in pain, and saw Snape and Draco kneeling next to me. They both appeared to be calm and in control, but I could sense the underlying panic in both of them, and their thoughts started to creep into my mind,
What have I done? Why do I always let her get to me like this? This girl is going to cause me my job. She's going to ruin everything…
She better be alright. If Snape did anything to hurt her, he'll regret it…
Their thoughts began as a low murmur, but were soon joined by those of the others in the class, and before I could regain control, it was as if they were all screaming inside of my head.
I cradled my head in my arms trying to close my mind, but I couldn't. I felt some one nudge my arm and I looked up to see Snape holding a potion out to me. I saw his lips move as he spoke to me, but I couldn't hear him. I drank the potion, and slowly started to regain control over myself.
Finally I was able to stand up with their help. Draco looked at me intently, "Are you okay?" he asked, his arm around my waist to prevent me from falling.
"I'm fine," I said, hearing hoarseness in my voice.
"You should go to the Hospital Wing to make sure," Snape told me, an unrecognizable emotion in his voice.
"I said I'm fine," I snapped. Then added telepathically, besides, you wouldn't want word to get out that you have been using Dark Arts on your students, would you?
He studied me for a moment, an unreadable expression in his eyes, "Very well. Return to your seats, both of you," he said, motioning to Draco as well.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Draco asked quietly as we made our way back to our seats. I just nodded and tried to forget all that had just happened.
"That was a perfect example of what can happen if you are not prepared," Snape told the class in his could demeanor. I smiled to myself. It was just like Snape to try and blame me for his inability to control himself. "Now, you are all going to practice on each other, and if any one tries to reenact what just happened, there will be dire consequences. Now begin."
There was a rustling and scraping of chairs as everyone stood up and they prepared themselves, but then silence descended as everyone started to look around, seemingly at a lost as to what to do. After a few minutes, everyone began to try, strain and concentration contorting their faces as they struggled to produce a jinx. For a long time, no one was successful.
It didn't take long for me to get tired of waiting for Draco to jinx me. Finally I just went over to him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" he snapped.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you're frustrated, so I'll let that slide. I mean how are you going about trying to get the spell to work?"
"I'm thinking it," he said angrily.
I shook my head. "No wonder," I mumbled. I thought for a few seconds about which approach was best. After I decided, I turned him so that he was facing a near by table with a quill on it. "Let's try something different. Try focusing on the quill, and get a mental picture of it."
"Marlene, this is stupid. What does this have to do with jinxing anyone?" he asked stubbornly.
I hit him lightly on the arm. "Stop being so difficult and trust me," I told him. "Now take a deep breath. Clear your mind of everything except the quill and my voice." Reluctantly he did so, but I could still sense his frustration and anger. "You're angry," I said simply.
"Well I'm sorry. Not everyone can learn as quickly as you," he snapped.
Glaring at him, I passed my hand slowly across his face, sending him positive energy to calm him down. He posture relaxed, and his eyes glazed a bit. "Calmer?" I asked. He nodded almost dreamily, and I hit him on the shoulder. "Good, now stop acting like such a jerk."
I sensed his anger start to rise again, so I put my hand on his shoulder to calm him back down. Then I walked him through the steps. "Now close your eyes and envision the quill. Imagine that it is levitating." I paused and watched as his eyebrows furrowed with concentration. "Now imagine yourself casting Wingardium Leviosa verbally." I looked at the quill and saw it starting to levitate a bit. "Now open your eyes and cast the spell non-verbally."
He opened his eyes, which were beautiful in their intensity, as they seemed to glow as he focused on the quill. With a swift movement of his wand, the quill began to levitate. He floated it around for a minute before letting it fall back on the table.
I gave him a quick hug. "You did it!"
He smirked. "Was there any doubt? I mean I am a Malfoy after all."
"That would have been much more impressive if this was Charms," Snape said coldly from behind us. "Five points from each of you."
"I don't understand," I protested although Draco tried to stop me. "You told us to practice non-verbal magic and we did."
"You were supposed to practice in terms of Defense Against the Dark Arts, not Charms," he told me icily.
"What difference does it make? None of the students in here even know how to do non-verbal magic. If it's easier to learn charms first, then why shouldn't they? They have to start some where."
"You are correct, you don't understand. Students will learn charms in Charms, not in here. I am the teacher, not you. You are to do as I say, and you will not question my authority. If you have a problem wit this, get out of my class." I thought about leaving, but I knew it would just make him happy, so I just held my tongue and said nothing. "Very well, now get back to practice. And of Defense, not Charms," he said before walking away.
After a few more minutes of practice, Draco was able to manage to perform a jinx and to block one. It looked as if Hermione was the only other one to succeed, but Snape ignored her accomplishments. She looked used to it, but I could tell that she was disappointed.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Snape gave us a homework assignment, making us write a foot on the proper techniques for using non-verbal magic, and dismissed us. He asked me to stay behind though, so I waited until the last student packed up their things and left before approaching his desk.
"What, may I ask, did you think you were going to accomplish with your little show in class?" he asked.
"I wasn't trying to make a show. Besides, you were the one who almost killed me, not the other way around," I responded defensively. He got under my skin just as much and I got under his.
"In trying to get the best of me, you are only going to hurt yourself. This is not the same situation as before. You will show me respect here. We will not engage in these pointless challenges."
"Severus, do not try to blame this all on me. You are an adult. You should be able to control your temper. Besides you disrespect your students and make them feel like they are fools. I will not let you do that to me."
He looked at me appraisingly for a moment before responding. "Okay, you don't like me very much, and I don't like you. Let's just respect each other as much as we can and stay out of each others way. Believe it or not, I'm trying to protect you."
I laughed. "Protect me? Severus, you've tried to kill me, and more than once."
"If I had tried to kill you, you would be dead. You don't understand the amount of power you have. If everyone just takes it easy on you, it will never develop to its full potential. You could do so much Marlene," he told me with a slighly dreamy tone in his voice.
I scoffed. "You sound like Uncle Damien," I told him, causing him to reel back. My uncle was power hungry and was often found trying to turn me into some kind of weapon of destruction. "You have always been obsessed with power. That's why you fell in with the Dark Lord. Sometimes I wonder if you're not trying to make me into the next ruler," I said absently. He eyes hardened and I felt his mental defenses strengthen. I laughed, "Don't worry Severus. I won't use my powers on you. I won't tell Uncle Albus about earlier either, so your job is safe."
I turned and started to walk away, but he stopped me, "Marlene, be careful about who you choose to befriend. Not everyone here will be looking out for your best interests, and you may find yourself in your own little war."
I looked at him and smiled. "Why Severus, one would almost think that you cared," I told him before leaving.