Chapter 3-8 (POV Cas)

What the actual hell is he talking about? I'm trying to focus here- he's the one who asked me to do this, and now he won't let me work. I got back to Hogwarts from holiday about a week ago. I walked through the door and not a minute later Fred was hugging me and dragging me around and talking non stop. It was the warmest welcome I've ever received, and there's this warmth in my belly hasn't quite subsided since, but I swear his nagging is turning me ice cold.

"Oi! I got home a week ago, Fred! You were at the door waiting for me like a dog, and haven't left my side since, so no. I haven't talked to George. About anything. Okay?"

"Well yeah, you say that now, but I just mean like, ya know, you'd tell me, right?"

"Tell you what? If I ever talk to your twin brother? No, Fred, I don't think I can promise that. Especially since we're secretly conspiring against you."

"No, I don't mean-"

"Fred! By God I swear if I get distracted it won't just be your gloves getting burned," I snap, gingerly dropping some more ingredients into my cauldron. I have a bag of them sitting beside me. Fred had approached me about some convoluted scheme of George's or Jo's or something. They tried to charm snow globes to actually make it snow. Complicated charm, apparently.

"Wait, you okay? You didn't burn yourself, did you?"

"No, Fred, I'm fine. But we're here without Snape's knowing and I'm really not in the mood to get expelled."

"Expelled? Really, Cas, lighten up! It's just a little potion. But seriously, about George-"

"No more about George! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to set me up with him, and I pray you know better than to do that," I tell him. It shuts him right up, and he goes a little pale, which is weird.

"I- are you...?- I was joking, Fred. Just a joke. I'm sorry, just stressed, okay? This is a hard potion and I don't want to blow up the Dungeons." No response. Dammit, Fred, what is it you want from me? He's always so hard for me to read. "How about I promise to report straight to you when I'm done, okay? Won't talk to George, even if he ambushes me. Yes?" A small smile and half hearted laugh. I can live with that.

Fred leaves and I get back to focussing on my work. It's not easy, especially with this guilt gnawing at me from the inside out. Cause how am I supposed to tell Fred that yeah, me and George met up without him? And talked about something relatively deep and serious? More importantly, why does Fred care? How did he know it was going to happen?

I yelp as I realize too late my hand was resting on the hot cauldron. Damn those twins, coming after me to help their mischief and then stirring drama up to distract me from the work. Lucky I had some salve ready in case of this, left over from my meeting with George. He had shown me his hands, all burned and pink and irritated looking. I brought him to the Dungeons and made the salve for him. Kept the extra for times like this now.

It takes maybe fifteen more minutes and a lot of hard work and sweat, but I finally think I'm ready to test the potion with the snow globes. I pull one out with hands as steady as I can get them. Fred and George both warned me about their sensitivity. I hold it over the cauldron and drop it, flinching away as I do. There's no explosion, so I open my eyes after a second and look into the cauldron. Everything looks the same, so I grab a ladle and spoon out the globe, give it a second to dry off, and then I close my eyes and shake it. My last thought is of my stupid and suicidal tendencies and loyalty to Jo and the twins.

The next thing I know, I feel a cold wet land on my hands and face. I look up to see snow. Real, genuine snow falling from a cloud hovering over my head. I can't help myself from laughing- I did it! No help or instruction or anything! Just me, my book, and my skill. And now the snow. I look around and watch the snow fall and stick to the ground, not fast or anything, but making a nice little dusting on the dark stone floor.

...wait. "Shit shit SHIT!" I shout, slapping a hand over my own mouth a second later as my profanities echo all around me. I can't have a mess like this waiting around for Professor Snape to find. Problem is, I don't know how to stop it. There wasn't instructions or anything- this is an original invention or spell or whatever the hell it is.

I shake the globe furiously hoping to reverse the effect, but to no avail. I grab my wand and start yelling at the ceiling to stop, but nothing. I dive into the potions book I had been referencing, but nothing about how to stop the magical snow.

"Bloody hell," I snarl.

"Such profanity, Walker. I should penalize Slytherin, but I do hate such things," a low voice says from over my shoulder. I whip around to see Snape standing there, arms crossed and glaring right at me. Time feels like it stops as a million lies and escape plans flash across my mind, but nothing seems good enough to make its way to my lips. So instead my eyes widen and my face flushes and I bite my lip.

"Explain, Walker. Now," he demands, and I feel my eyes flash with the heat of frustrated tears. I'm scared and ashamed and guilty and proud all at once, and I can't decide which emotion to give into. Instead of deciding, I focus on holding the tears back. The heat subsides and I look him in the eyes, which is hard when snowflakes are still falling, some sticking to my eyelashes.

"I was...it's a...it was a challenge. I thought I could figure it out. And I did," I say, not quite challenging him but not quite ashamed. I say it like a fact, since it is one. Snape whips out his wand and with one swish the clouds disappear and the snow on the ground evaporates. I gasp and jump a bit but quickly regain my composure, standing quiet with my face staring down at Snape's shoes.

"Walker," he says. I can't tell if it's a question or a command or what, so I just look at his face again. He looks angry, but he always does so that's not a very good indicator of anything.

"What is all this?" He asks again.

"Th- uh- I was trying to see if I could make a snow globe actually cause real snow. I charmed it, but the plastic needed something more- to keep it stable. I found a potion in the textbook and I made it..." I trail off. There's not much else to it, excepting my accomplices. But I'm not about to drag them into this mess, especially if I'm about to get in trouble.

"You're top of your class, aren't you Walker?"

"Yes, sir."

"You have interest in Potions, then?"

"Very much so, sir."

"Next Monday, five o'clock sharp. Be here," he tells me. I nod and he dismisses me. I grab the snow globes, including the functioning one, and leave. I go straight to the Slytherin Common Room. Fred isn't around, probably off with his brother or something. Damn, I forgot about all that. I'll have to deal with it eventually, probably. Maybe not. Who knows?

All I know is that I need to be in the Dungeons next Monday after classes to meet with Snape. It doesn't sound like detention, since he didn't take any House Points away. So it must be a good thing, right? Like maybe an advanced private class. Maybe it's a club or something usually only for upperclassmen, but I got invited. I get excited thinking about it.

I wait for Fred by the fireplace, throwing the defective globes in one by one. I can't take any more risks in the Dungeons, with whatever Snape has planned for me. If the twins want more, we'll need to set up a cauldron somewhere else. When I threw the first little globe into the fire I was worried there'd be an explosion, but the charm didn't trigger, so I keep tossing them and watching them melt in the green firelight.

When Fred finally shows up it was too late to go out, so we go to bed straight off. The next day I bring him out on the grounds and show him the globe. He is so excited he starts jumping around like a little orange fox in the snow. I laugh and he grabs my hand and we go to get Jo and George. We show them the our little success and sit under our own personal snow flurry. The thing only subsides after a full hour of non stop snow, and I kick myself for not trying to figure out the spell Snape used to stop the flurry in the Dungeons.

I tell everyone about my little encounter with Snape and they all assume I have detention, but I know better. They keep making fun of me, so I switch the subject. We start talking about how we're all kind of tired of the winter, and how we can't wait for spring. Obviously with talk of spring the twins bring up their birthday, even though it's well into January, so their birthday is like a little over two months away. They talk about what they want as gifts and me and Jo just laugh. We have plenty of time to plan something for them, although their mischievous grins make me think they might already have a plan of their own.

AN: Hey honeys, hope you've been liking our updates. Year three is coming to a close real soon, hope you're as excited as we are! Keep reading, tell your friends to look us up, and don't be afraid to review. Humbly yours -cowriter

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: I was just informed that only one half of chapter 3-2 (2 part chapter) was updated last month. I apologize for this oversight. I have updated the document known as chapter 3-2 to include both halves.