Chapter Five

Danu sits in the window of Ravenclaw Tower, watching as the snow drifts from the sky, settling in soft mounds along the grounds below. A shutter runs through her, as she realizes that in just a few short moments, she will have to leave the safety and warmth of her perch at the back of the common room and make her way down to the dungeon. It is unnaturally cold down there, as if Snape purposely makes it as uninviting as possible.

It has now been three months since Dumbledore has taken her out from under the wing of Professor Sprout and stuck her with Snape. Instead of leaving the room the moment she enters, he now looms over her shoulder, black eyes watching every move she makes, ready to strike should she make any mistakes. The man still hates her, and she is no closer to figuring out why. Obviously, he hates everyone, he has made that abundantly clear, but he seems to despise her most of all. Unless, of course, you count Harry Potter. She has heard tale that he gets it worse than her. At least she doesn't seem to find herself in constant trouble or need of saving.

Over the last two weeks, she's taken to asking him simple questions, most of which remain unanswered. Occasionally, Snape will grunt in affirmation. Being in his presence still terrifies her, even more so when they are alone. She does not believe that he would cause her physical harm, especially knowing that Dumbledore himself tasked Snape with this job. Dumbledore must trust him, or else he would not have a job at Hogwarts at all.

Snape has begun to show her more advanced potions, instructing her on any specialty ingredients she should retrieve from Professor Sprout beforehand. Last week, he tasked her with retrieving more mandrake, and showed her how to stew it. The mandrake was then placed on a shelf high above her reach, to continue stewing for five days, and will be ready to use in tonight's mystery potion. Based on Snape's last lecture during Advanced Potions, she believed it to be a Blood-Replenishing Potion.

Danu shivers and wraps her cloak tighter around her body as she enters the potions room. Snape is in his usual spot, a small desk he brought in two weeks ago, angled towards her brewing station as to simultaneously grade essays and watch her like a hawk. Snape glances up at her as she enters and places his quill into his jar of jet-black ink.

"Tonight, you will brew a Blood-Replenishing Potion. Had you paid an ounce of attention during my class, you would have already known that, based solely on the fact that we stewed mandrake our last visit."

"Yes sir, I figured as much. I took notes."

Snape only scoffs, following her with his eyes as she makes her way across the room, her cloak still wrapped tightly around her body to offset the intense chill in the room. Her shoulders tremble involuntarily as she feels the goose flesh rise across her arms. Suddenly, Snape stands and stalks towards the door. Perhaps he has grown bored of watching her week after week and has decided to go back to trying to catch Potter and his friends in another scheme. "Begin." He commands, leaving the room and slamming the door with a thud.

Danu quickly gets to work lining up her ingredients to the left of her cauldron in the order in which she will need them. For such a complex and important potion, there are few ingredients. She lights the burner beneath her cauldron and pours in 250 ounces of standard potioning water to begin simmering. Just as her hand reaches for the unicorn horn to begin crushing it into a powder in the pestle and mortar to the right of her cauldron, Snape returns carrying two green China teacups on matching saucers. He places one on the counter next to her ingredients, and seats himself back behind his desk with the other.

"You are cold." He begins, busying himself with his quill again. "Drink. Outside of the burner beneath your cauldron, I cannot admit another heat source within this room. The ingredients, while more or less protected, are quite sensitive to temperature fluctuations. I cannot have you spilling unicorn horn throughout the place due to your constant shivering."

Danu carefully wraps her cold hands around the warmth of the cup. He wouldn't poison her, would he? The scent wafts throughout the room, enticing her as she brings the cup to her lips, steam billowing around her face. It's warming effects almost instantly.

"Herbal. Chamomile with cinnamon and ginger. You do not need caffeine this time of night."

"Thank you, Professor."

"Get back to work. You have one hour and thirty minutes remaining. Do not waste any of that unicorn horn or I will personally see to it that you work off every remaining ounce of it in detention with Filch."

Blood-Replenishing Potion, while simple in regard to ingredients, proved to be rather complex to brew. She found herself consulting Snape's notes more than once to ensure that she had stirred the correct number of times, and more importantly, in the correct direction. The required temperature also became hard to maintain, as the temperature in the room repeatedly dropped the temperature of the liquid within the cauldron. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, the concoction within reached its signature blood red color. She could feel Snape's eyes boring into her from behind, could smell the cinnamon and cloves permeating from his breath and clothing. She moves away from the cauldron, allowing him to step forward to access for work.

Snape begins pouring the potion into vials, stopping as he fills each one to hold it up to the light in order to further inspect it. The light illuminated the many scars on his hands, some of which appeared to be rather deep. She had never noticed them before. Then again, she had never had cause to look.

"You are not as hopeless as I once believed you to be, Miss Black." The compliment, as well as her name, sounded almost painful on his tongue, as if they bit him on their way out.

"Thank you, Sir." She responds, meekly, a rush of heat spreading up her neck and across her cheeks at his first ever admission of her talent.

"You are dismissed. Keep this on your person at all times. One can never know for certain when they may require it." He passes her a small vial of the potion and waves her out of them room.