Chapter 5! Year 4. Lauren and Snape discuss her notes the next day~
Super duper big thanks to PandaWong, SandyLovesKittens, XenaHades, nightworldangel, FonzFan, The Yoshinator, and Isa'ralia Faradien. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and all the ones after it.
And thank you to all you wonderful people who just read and go on your way. Hope you can enjoy my little fic too~
Chapter 5 – Little Miss Brilliant
Severus was glad to see Lauren in class the day following, obviously in better health and mood when she found her note book sitting on her desk.
She shot him a cheerful smile and he gave a barely there nod in return. The class room was mostly empty, she arriving a bit earlier than was usual, and he stepped from his desk to hers. Arms folded behind his back he stood straight and looked down his nose at her.
She wondered why he was studying her so closely and hoped she hadn't done something terribly stupid in her fevered haze last night, she couldn't remember much of what had gone on, nothing past leaving the library, and her words were a distant memory. That virus sure had been something… She really, really hoped she hadn't made an ass of herself.
"Stay after class, Ms. Dari" his voice broke through her thoughts and she could do nothing more than nod as her mind scrambled to think of a reason why.
Had she done something punishment worthy? Well, she knew she'd stayed out after curfew, that might be a week of detention there, but she couldn't think of anything else off the top of her head. She was going to inquire but he was back at the front of the room before she knew it and the rest of her classmates were inside and seated now.
She frowned but settled in her seat. Whatever it was, she'd know what was up after class.
Flipping her notebook open she paused, eyes jumping back and forth from one line of green to another. There were notes piled on top of her notes, written in a flowing script far different from her own. She caught a few things like 'brilliant analysis', 'point of consideration', and 'was not included in essay?' among the lines crammed into the margins and between her paragraphs and gazed up at the Professor, paying her no mind as he launched them into the lecture.
She flipped through slowly, towards the unmarked pages where she would write her notes for the day, and caught much of the same plus a lot of technical speak that she didn't take the time to read and think about. It amazed her though that he had taken the time to look through, it seemed, every page and make at least one note.
She wondered if they were all good ones though or if the first few had just been flukes before her theories got completely crazy and he had to start criticizing her. Hopefully not but she couldn't be sure now could she, and she had to pay attention to the lesion before she could go back and read everything.
Class flew by faster than she or he would have expected. When the bell rang and he reminded them all of their homework, another paper obviously, she forwent packing her belongings and simply went to his desk, book in hand.
"You wanted to see me Professor?" she asked with a small, hopeful smile.
"Yes Ms. Dari, please take a seat."
When had that chair gotten behind her? She sat in it heavily with a little 'oof' and pulled it closer to his desk, setting her notebook on the tabletop.
"I assume you saw my notes" it was more of a statement than a question but she nodded anyway and pushed at her glasses nervously.
"Didn't get to read them all since I had to take, ya know, more notes for class but um… I'm guessing I wrote at least a few things right, didn't I?"
"Indeed" he said shortly, leaning back in his chair, gaze somewhat incredulous as he regarded her. "Tell me Ms. Dari, why have you chosen to omit certain elements from your works?"
"Certain… I'm not sure if I follow you Professor" she said, tilting her head slightly to the side. It was a habit he had noticed she, and several others had but that she tended to exaggerate, her head nearly resting on her shoulder as she did so.
He sighed through his nose and slid the book from under her hands, flipping it open to a page he had marked with a scrap of paper. The top of the page was titled Draft-Properties of the Wit-Sharpening Potion.
Snape pointed to a paragraph halfway down that she read slowly.
Ginger is perhaps the most important ingredient in this brew. It is known for its uses as a flu and cold curative and for bringing clarity of mind. It is also the ingredient used to cover over the disgusting taste of both scarab beetles and armadillo bile. Because of this, many will want to add more than the instructed amount to their potion, hoping for a better taste and better results, unknowingly putting their lives in danger. Ginger also happens to be a natural blood thinner and consuming too much of the fresh root can have disastrous effects on the body. It is much better for someone who wants to add an extra kick to use powdered ginger which is far less potent and so may be used more liberally.
The paragraph, she decided was messy and scattered, but beside it many notes were scribbled commenting not on structure but on content. At the bottom the question 'Excluded from the paper for what reason?' met her eyes and she looked back up to him.
She shrugged her small shoulders, pushing at her glasses again. "It just… It's messy and, it's just one of my silly theories. You want facts in these papers don't you, not the crackpot thoughts of a little girl." She laughed at that and he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing as his brow knit together.
"Professor?" she asked.
"You are a fool."
"W-What?" she pouted.
"You are a brilliant little fool." He took his hand away and sat up straight, looking into her bespectacled eyes. "Every theory, every speculation, every conclusion you have come to are the same that my colleagues and I think of, the same questions we ask, you have even made a few conclusions that we had not yet considered. Nothing earth shattering, nothing ground breaking, but something as simple as replacing fresh ingredients for powdered or dried ones does not often cross our minds." He sighed again, she still did not seem to understand.
"Ms. Dari, your comprehension of Potions theory is remarkable. You are a fool for discrediting your own ideas and keeping them hidden as you have. Your notes have not given me any insight into your problem with brewing but…" He took a pause, leaning forward just a bit, elbows propped on the desk as he looked over his folded hands, his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper "I would be willing to provide you with supplementary lessons and tutoring, if you so wish."
He watched as her eyes got wide, smile growing as she took in and processed his words.
Tutoring? Tutoring and supplementary lessons from Professor Snape? But he, he never did that for students. For a minute Lauren thought that maybe she was dreaming, but if she was dreaming the room would be a lot brighter, there would be cupcakes, and Ritsy would be here. Still, she opted to pinch herself, just to make sure, and when she stayed put and found that it actually hurt she nodded eagerly, not questioning it anymore lest he change his mind.
"Of course I'd want to! Thank you so much Professor!" It took an extreme amount of self-restraint to keep from jumping up, dancing about, or hugging him but she managed, instead sticking out her hand as they both stood.
He took it after a moment's hesitation and shook firmly before releasing.
"I will expect to see you Friday evening, after dinner. Bring all your supplies and notes."
She beamed at him "yes sir!" and turned to leave.
"Oh and, one more thing" he stopped her.
"Yes sir?" she asked over her shoulder.
"Report this evening and tomorrow as well, six sharp, for your detention. I hope not to find you out after curfew again."
Her shoulders sagged and she looked at him with the incredulous gaze this time. He continued his blank faced stare and she heaved an exaggerated sigh, hanging her head with a smile and soft, tired laugh.
"Yes sir. Sorry Sir."
He nodded "dismissed" and she quickly packed her things, bounding out of his room with a skip to her step.
He sat back down once she was gone and quietly mused about what he had just gotten himself into. One on one lessons with that girl were sure to be a challenge but… A rare smile quirked his lips as he pulled out a parchment scroll, copies of all her drafted papers. He thought that perhaps she could get them published, with his help and a little revision, and he chuckled, setting to work with his quill and green ink again.
"A brilliant little fool."
Just cause she's smart doesn't mean she won't get detention. XD Poor Lauren. Poor Snape having to put up with her from now on.
I liked writing this chapter, hope you liked reading it~ Just so you know, next chapter will be Harry centric cause I decided some character development and interaction with others was needed. =3 Hope you all don't mind and if you do I suppose you could skip it once it was posted, though the chapter after that one might be Draco heavy depending on which of my two plans I go with,
Anyway, questions, comments, advice, send a review my way. And if not, thanks for reading! Have a good day/night/other~