The next day, Ariel found out that Lavender had a theory about her hair. She half-listened while she was getting ready, scrubbing the sleep from her eyes over the sink while Lavender piled a salon's worth of hair products onto the counter beside her.
"When you brush it out, you brush out the shape," she explained to Ariel, who was still half asleep. "You need a leave-in conditioner, that's it."
"Sure," Ariel said sleepily, as Hermione hopped into the shower. "As long as we're done soon, we're supposed to meet Ron."
"He can wait," Parvati called dismissively, braiding her hair and curling the ends with her wand.
Lavender gave Ariel a shove. "Go wash your hair, then."
"But I did that last night!" she protested, yawning.
"And that's why your hair looks like a pygmy puff."
"I haven't brushed it out yet!"
"I just said — you shouldn't do that. Were you even listening?"
Ariel grumbled but got in the shower, sharing a private look with Hermione, who was shaking her head.
"I think your hair is just fine." she said, making Ariel's stomach squirm just a bit, because why did what her hair looked like matter at all anyway?
When she got out, Lavender wrapped her head up in one of those silk head towels and plopped Ariel down on her bed. She was starting to feel like a doll while Parvati put mascara on and Hermione tied her hair up — it was the most manageable hairdo for her by far, but the poof of hair hanging out the back was almost certainly going to get Pansy's attention. Ariel prayed they didn't have any classes with Slytherin today… or Potions…
Lavender started squirting stuff into Ariel's hair, which felt nice, but Hermione was already dressed for the day and waiting. Ariel shot her an apologetic look as Lavender used some sort of hair-drying Charm. When Ariel reached up to touch her hair, it felt very soft and smelt wonderful, like peppermint and lavender and some other spice she couldn't name.
Parvati gave a delighted squeal as Lavender handed her a mirror, looking smug.
Ariel blinked, almost not recognizing her reflection for a moment. "Whoa," she was suddenly very awake. "How did you —"
Her hair looked… very different. Her auburn curls were softer, hanging in long waves. There was definitely more height to it too, not like Hermione's, but it didn't fall around her face as harshly, didn't look weighed down with the thickness anymore. There was a healthy sheen to it that Ariel only saw fresh out of the shower, when it was still wet, but now it was completely dry.
"You will learn," Lavender said, in a way that almost came across like a threat. "Don't worry. You'd look even prettier if you put your hair up, you know. It's always hanging in your face."
Ariel swallowed hard. She could see glimpses of Mum, when she looked long enough, looked past the dark eyes and thin face. It had been effortless, before. Now, Ariel felt like she was losing her, losing a part of herself to something else.
"You're next," Parvati said to Hermione, who was crooning something to Crookshanks.
"No thank you," Hermione said, quite haughtily, which made Ariel snicker.
She thanked Lavender, giving herself one last glance in the mirror, still trying to find herself, before Summoning her rucksack. Hermione was going through her own, like she was checking to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, when Ariel noticed that something was on the bed.
It was a small, see-through plastic bag, like the one Aunt Petunia kept her makeup in, only Hermione's had feminine products in it.
Ariel stared at the little bag, blinking, as Hermione's cheeks pinked. "I forgot to tell you… I got it in July. I didn't really know how to put it in a letter… it was pretty awful if I'm being honest. I got it while on vacation and Mummy had left all of her things at the hotel, and we were quite literally in the middle of nowhere, so I had to use a ripped-up blanket till we got back."
Lavender and Parvati had gotten their periods last year, a week apart. Ariel hadn't thought about it, if she was being honest with herself, but there was something about Hermione getting it first and leaving Ariel to be the only one who hadn't that made her feel very small.
"What's it like?" Ariel asked, cocking her head.
"Pretty awful," Hermione admitted. "I get headaches and some cramping, but mostly I just get tired. Good thing I decided to take every elective this year, right?"
Ariel shook her head as Hermione threw the rest of her things back into her bag. "If anyone can manage it, it's definitely you."
Hermione snorted as they headed down the stairs to the Common Room. "At least you don't have to deal with stuff like this yet."
"Is it that bad? Lavender and Parvati were ecstatic."
"No, it's a hassle, and it lasts for days. Not to mention the symptoms — Lavender eats more than usual when she's got it, haven't you noticed? And Parvati gets those terrible mood swings…"
"I don't mind missing out on that," Ariel said with a shrug. "But I get it, I guess. It's just part of being a girl."
"What is?" Ron asked as they approached, his tone impatient as he leaned against the fireplace. The rest of the Common Room was near deserted, which meant they were late. He squinted at Ariel. "What's with your hair?"
"Well spotted, Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes as they climbed through the portrait hole.
The Great Hall was practically sparkling in the sunlight, a stark contrast to the storm of last night. The air drifted in, cool and fresh, rustling Ariel's hair as the three of them settled at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table. Looking around, Ariel found Hagrid excitedly talking to Professor Lupin, who looked quite tired and disheveled, his hands deep inside his robe pockets. She noticed a group of Slytherins snickering and pointing to him, causing her to scowl.
Ariel helped herself to some fried tomatoes and sausages while Professor McGonagall handed out the Third Year schedules. Fred and George had stuck themselves on either side of Ariel in order to go over how to get the potion side business up and running again.
"We have some requests for some… trickier potions." George was telling her, like he was discussing the weather. He was trying to look nonchalant and was doing a terrible job of it — Percy was giving him severe looks from the front of the table. Ron had mentioned he'd been insufferable all summer, the Head Boy position having gone straight to his head.
Ariel raised an eyebrow at George as Ron swiped one of her tomatoes. "Already?"
"You were a lifesaver last year, what can we say?" Fred nudged her elbow and slipped her a piece of parchment, which Ariel slipped into her bag. "Obviously we can't get started until after the first Hogsmeade visit, but we can start a waitlist in the meantime."
"I can get them myself now, can't I?"
"I think it's best to retain anonymity," said George. "Besides, if ol' Snape catches on, we'll take the hit. Better to shoot the messengers, am I right?"
Ariel felt like she swallowed a rock but nodded. "I guess that makes sense."
"My people will call your people," Fred tousled her hair, as he stood which caused Lavender to screech something rather unkind from the other end of the table.
Hermione was already shaking her head as Ron stared at Hermione's schedule like it had Egyptian hieroglyphics on it. Ariel grinned to herself, feeling eager to get started. It was a huge risk to be taking, but it felt good to be doing something she was good at and reaping some of the recognition. She didn't care about the money at all — Fred and George could've kept it all and Ariel wouldn't have complained — but she was excited to expand their inventory.
"I hope they don't have you doing anything too risky." Hermione said, interrupting Ariel's thoughts.
"Er, Hermione —" Ron started.
"It's just basic tonics and draughts," Ariel munched on one of the sausages, gazing up thoughtfully. "Though now that I think about it, it was starting to get a bit boring brewing the same stuff over and over again."
"What if you get something wrong and make someone ill by accident?"
Ron poked Hermione's arm. "Hermione, they've messed up your schedule, look —"
Ariel rolled her eyes. "I'd have to try to do something wrong at this point. I can brew a Pepperup with my eyes closed and both hands tied behind my back."
Hermione pursed her lips. "And what about the trickier potions?"
"Well, I don't know yet." she shrugged. "I wouldn't let Fred and George sell them if I thought they'd hurt someone."
"Not on purpose, but…"
"Besides, if I can't brew it, I'll tell them no. We got some requests for Felix Felicis last year and I said absolutely not. That was beside the love potions, I don't know what they were thinking even asking —"
"I just don't want you doing it for the wrong reasons," Hermione's eyes flitted behind her, and it took all of Ariel's self control not to turn around. "You have nothing to prove."
"Hermione," Ron tapped her shoulder a couple of times.
"What?" she finally snapped back at him, jerking her arm away. Ariel speared another tomato and tried not to feel annoyed. Hermione was just worried — worried because she cared.
Ron held up his hands. "They've got you down for ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."
Ariel's gaze fell to Hermione's timetable right as she swiped it away, catching a glimpse of what Ron was going on about. Sure enough, Divination, Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy were all at the same time.
"He's right," Ariel set down her fork slowly. "You're only supposed to take one elective anyway, aren't you?"
She was expecting a full blown panicked frenzy up to the High Table at that moment, but Hermione only shrugged and helped herself to a handful of raspberries. "Professor McGonagall fixed it, I told you."
It was Ariel's turn to frown. "But how? You can't be in three places at once."
"Of course I won't be — Ron, can you pass the marmalade again?"
Ariel and Ron shared a long, confused look that Hermione pretended not to notice. Shaking her head, Ariel went back to cutting into her sausage, not feeling very hungry anymore. While it was true that Ariel wasn't being entirely truthful with Hermione about Him, it wasn't like Hermione to lie about something. Besides, with Him it was different. Hermione knew that. She'd been there when Ariel had read her mum's letter.
Glancing down at her own timetable, Ariel quickly scanned through today's classes. First was Divinations, then Magical Creatures with the Slytherins (ugh), followed by Transfiguration. No Potions until Thursday. Ariel let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. He was somewhere behind her, handing out the Slytherin's timetables.
"So," Ron was still eyeing Hermione's timetable, but he bent his head closer to them and lowered his voice. "How was your summer, Ariel? You didn't say much about it."
She almost forgot to swallow the food still in her mouth before she answered. "Fine. I was here for most of it, so I can't complain about that."
"But you weren't here the whole time, right?"
Ariel shook her head slowly, staring down at her plate. She didn't want to talk about Him — they almost never did — but she could understand why Ron was asking her about it. He would never say it, but Ariel knew that he had never been thrilled about the sudden change in percentage. Despite everything, Ariel didn't think Ron would ever like the idea of Him being her father.
Hermione, bless her heart, changed the subject. "Have you heard anything about the new Defense professor? You mentioned in one of your letters he was here over the holiday."
"Well, he's no Lockhart, for one thing." Ariel said, looking back up to the High Table. Professor Lupin seemed to be gathering his things.
"Thank Merlin," Ron rolled his eyes. "The last thing we needed was another one of those… or were you talking about the robes?"
Hermione gave him a cross look. "Really, Ron? What he wears hardly matters."
"Oh c'mon, Hermione. You couldn't have asked for someone who looks so completely different. Maybe that's why Dumbledore hired him."
She pursed her lips. "I doubt it… although I couldn't find anything about him. No articles or interviews or published papers… it was rather odd."
Ariel thought about that for a moment while she finished off her last piece of sausage. She liked Professor Lupin but she didn't know anything about him either, aside from the fact that He seemed to loathe him, but then again, He loathed just about everyone.
Do you trust me
More than anyone
Lupin is not what he seems —
Ariel was soon distracted by the distinct feeling that someone was standing directly behind her. Her stomach felt like she'd been dropped ten stories until she heard Professor McGonagall's voice say her name. Ariel's heart gave a funny sort of little pang of relief as she turned around to find Professor McGonagall waiting, stiff and straight as though she had a broomstick for a spine.
"Miss Evans, a word, if you please." Professor McGonagall said, her mouth thin and tight, like she'd bit into a lemon.
She swallowed and nodded, her throat suddenly dry and followed Professor McGonagall to the front of the Great Hall. Ariel opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but was quickly beaten to it.
"You did not hand in your Hogsmeade permission slip." Professor McGonagall said. There was a strange sort of look in her eyes that almost looked like regret — or maybe it was pity.
Ariel blinked back, completely blindsided by this information. "I — what?"
"Your Hogsmeade permission slip," she repeated, in a much gentler voice. "It was to be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to me. I have yet to receive yours."
"Oh." was all Ariel managed to say as she tried to remember why she hadn't realized this earlier. He had handled her school things — had he not —
Anger boiled deep in the pit of her belly, right in the middle of her stomach, although it could've also been the sausage, which made Ariel say the first stupid thing that came to mind.
"I gave it to Professor Snape," she said.
Professor McGonagall's eyebrows nearly hit her forehead. "Is that so?"
"Yes." Ariel said automatically, like she had no control of her voice while her brain screamed that this was an awful idea. If it had to be signed by a parent or guardian, maybe he had —
"I see," Professor McGonagall's tone was clipped, very matter-of-fact. "And if I ask Professor Snape about this, I'll find an explanation as to why he has not yet given it to me?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure about that last part, but he said that he took care of it."
There was a long, hard stare that made Ariel feel like a drill was being pressed into the center of her forehead. She shuffled her feet both nervously and impatiently, especially because He had noticed and seemed to be making his way towards them. If He came over now, Ariel didn't know what she'd do, but she was quite certain that He would have a hippogriff.
"I will look into this," Professor McGonagall said stiffly, her eyes sweeping over the top of Ariel's head. "Now, I believe you have a rather long journey to Professor Trelawney's tower, do you not?"
Ariel gave a jerky nod and mumbled a thank you before scurrying back to Ron and Hermione.
"What was that about?" Ron asked, cocking his head at her. "Don't tell me your schedule's been bungled, too."
She shook her head at them, slinging her rucksack over her shoulder. "It was nothing. Come on — I don't want to be late."
Squirrel was not nearly as appetizing as Sirius had thought it would be. It had looked better sitting in the tree and staring at him with black eyes than dead with its fucking hair sticking to his tongue.
It tasted like shit after a couple of bites — maybe Azkaban had done something to his sense of taste, but then again, Sirius had never had the pleasure of eating fucking squirrel. It was the only thing he'd been able to catch in this sodding Forest — everything else was a magical creature — far too fast for him to catch, even as Padfoot. Sirius didn't dare turn back into his human form yet. He'd be even more fucking useless as a man than a dog. He didn't have a wand, and was there really even a point to changing back if he couldn't do any magic?
This had to be the worst thought out plan he'd ever fucking had. Goddamn Wormtail —
Well at least he was out of Azkaban. That was a start. And away from Bellatrix. He hoped she chipped her teeth biting away at the bars — crazy bitch.
Sirius spat out the remaining squirrel he was chewing at and padded away, looking for the break in the tree line. The students must have arrived at Hogwarts by now, he'd been traveling for ages.
He didn't even know where to start— he didn't even have a plan. Merlin's saggy balls, he didn't even have a surefire way of getting into the fucking school. He could only imagine the professor's reactions if Sirius sodding Black walked through the front door— he'd be Kissed before dinner, and then, they'd probably throw a Feast in celebration.
He needed a fucking strategy. Those took time, though, and time wasn't a luxury Sirius could afford. He'd had all the fucking time in the world in Azkaban, spending his nights planning the escape, when the line of Dementors would be thinnest, when Bella had lulled herself into that haze of detachment and euphoria. Sirius had heard her screaming almost four floors down once he'd worked his way between the bars, and even then, it took six guards drawing straws to choose who would go to check on her.
Sometimes, he wondered if Remus had seen the Prophet, too, and recognized Peter. He would've dismissed it, probably. Denial had been his specialty, after all. Deny deny deny and you didn't have to face up to it, deny deny deny. That's why they'd figured he was the spy, anyway. Lily was the only one who doubted it, but that had been Lily's specialty, seeing the good in everyone. It had driven Sirius fucking ballistic.
He stared at the tree line, surveying it for cover. He'd spent twelve years locked away for a crime he hadn't committed— surely he could wait a week or so for Wormtail to make an appearance. That would give him time to scope the grounds, find any points of entry that might be able to work in the meantime.
Just a while longer, he told himself. He'd get that little fucking shithead, he'd grab him in his maw and do what he should have done that day — a little while longer — only a while —
A week or so to think about how Sirius was going to take Wormtail apart. The exoneration could come after, Sirius supposed, because what greater proof was there than a body?
He knew all too well. A finger had been enough for Sirius, he could only imagine Fudge's reaction with an entire corpse.
Still hungry, Sirius trotted along the thick foliage, making his way to the west end of the castle. He'd be able to see Gryffindor Tower from there and scavenge what he could from Hagrid's hut. He always had food lying around for animals, and the food he fed his pets had to be better than the slop they gave Sirius in Azkaban (and squirrel). After a while, though, Sirius began to hear voices, voices from behind him, from within the Forest.
Keeping low to the ground and covered by the bushes, Sirius stalked closer to the source, recognizing the chatter of students as a voice bellowed over them — Hagrid.
"Everyone gather round the fence here! That's it — make sure yeh can see — now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books —"
He was a professor, now? Christ, what else had he missed?
Sirius poked his nose through some shrubs, scanning over the class, noting that it was Gryffindors and Slytherins, until he saw —
A low growl escaped from the back of Sirius's throat. It was the ginger boy Sirius had seen with Wormtail — a Weasley. Ryan or Ralph or something. And beside him was —
He kept himself pressed against the grass, inching closer. It took him a moment or so, but it was her. He'd seen a picture of her in the Prophet, something about her birthday. He supposed they'd publish that short of thing, with everything that had happened.
The baby — her. Ariel.
Christ, the name was still too much of a fucking mouthful.
She was a clone of Lily, dark auburn hair and a clump of freckles over her nose, but she was shorter and stood almost hunched, her arms wrapped around herself as though she were cold. When she tilted her head in Sirius' direction, he noticed that she had dark circles beneath her eyes, like the space was hollow. They didn't look anything like James' from where Sirius was. They'd all been certain that her eyes would change at some point, turn into that golden brown, sunbursts with flecks of green, especially since Lily had green eyes, but they never had.
Sirius' chest gave a sharp twist. In an instant, he felt all the years that had passed between them creep up on him. He'd only ever known her as The Baby — the size of his hands, and when Lily had stared at her, she'd stared like Sirius was holding the whole world there. It had changed James so drastically that Sirius had almost resented The Baby for it, but he'd understood, in time. It hadn't happened until The Baby had fallen asleep on his chest, a comforting weight against him, felt a fraction of what he supposed James and Lily did.
Ariel seemed distracted, not all that interested in the lesson. She kept glaring at something in the direction of the Slytherins students. She was wearing Gryffindor robes, which made Sirius' tail wag.
That was, until Hagrid stopped lecturing and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Right — who wants ter go first?"
There was a herd of hippogriffs grazing behind him. Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Sirius gave a low woof as Ariel exchanged a hesitant look with the Weasley boy and another girl with hair that would've made James' look tame.
"No one?" asked Hagrid, with a pleading look.
Ariel stepped forward, raising her hand. "I'll do it."
"Good girl, Ellie!" Hagrid applauded. "Right then — let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."
Sirius made himself comfortable as Hagrid gave Ariel instructions, tensing as she seemed to reluctantly take a step towards the hippogriff. Hagrid seemed just as nervous as the rest of the students were. The bushy-haired girl was gripping the Weasley boy's arm in a death grip, causing him to wince and hiss "Hermione!"
He set his head atop his paws, giving a small exhale as he watched. After a moment of bowing, the hippogriff returned the gesture, earning Ariel a round of applause from the Gryffindors in the class. Sirius watched as his goddaughter stepped back, her shoulders slumping in relief. He could see the resemblance between her and Lily when she smiled, but Ariel's smile was fleeting. He wondered what was bothering her.
Ariel looked a little lighter, a bit happier as she joined her friends at the back of the group again. The Weasley boy and bushy-haired girl were gesturing excitedly at her, giving her pats on the shoulder as they bent their heads together and grinned. They moved to the front of the class as the group moved into the paddock, leaving Ariel to stand away, her eyes lost in thought. Sirius rose, moving a bit closer, just an inch —
A branch cracked beneath his paw. Her head snapped in his direction, her eyes scanning the tree line with a precision like an arrow.
And then Ariel's eyes met his, and they widened.
Sirius felt himself give a little whine, his tag wagging involuntary. James would've been relieved, knowing she turned out like Lily. Sirius had made the comment to him about the baby getting his bloody magic hair and he'd gone a little white at that.
Suddenly, there was a shout and her head turned back to the direction of the paddock, giving Sirius the opportunity to hide amongst the bushes again. Giving another whine, he could make out through the brambles and branches a boy on the ground, writhing like he was in pain.
"What happened?" Ariel rushed to the Weasley-boy's side, tugging on his arm.
"I don't know," the Weasley boy said frantically. "Buckbeak took a swipe at him —"
"I'm dying!" the boy's voice was yelling as the rest of the students began to give one another fearful looks. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"
Sirius immediately recognized the white-blonde hair. This was Narcissa's brat — Jesus fucking Christ, he hadn't inherited any of her nuance. She'd always been an ice queen, but the way he was flailing around would've had Sirius' father turning the boy into a scorch mark on the family tree. Luckily, Ariel didn't seem too concerned with him. She shot the bushy-haired girl a look of panic as she held open the gate to the paddock. They watched Hagrid carry the boy away as he flailed and moaned in his arms, looking stricken.
Ariel shook her head as the class began to disperse. "I don't think I've ever said this, but I really hate him."
The Weasley boy patted her shoulder. "You and me both, mate."
"Let's go, then." she muttered. "Knowing my luck, Black will pop out of the trees and off me before the end of the day. Do you reckon I'll come back as a ghost?"
Sirius gave another whine, sinking lower to the ground.
"I told you it's a load of rubbish –" the bushy-haired girl began to say, her words fading as they walked away.
Sirius backed away from the students and made his way back to the woods, feeling like a ghost himself now — wandering for something that used to be alive but was no longer there.
Severus was already in a foul mood after the first day, remembering why children were the bane of his existence. There had only been one cauldron explosion from a First Year Ravenclaw boy that had thought he could rewrite the fucking potion's textbook on the first day. Severus had let him show off, until he'd added in foxglove before the potion had reached stasis and nearly melted his fucking face off.
He'd gone to the staff room to listen to the other professors complain only to find it deserted, aside from the last person on earth Severus wanted to see. Lupin was sitting at one of the tables with the Prophet and an untouched cup of tea, one leg crossed over the other as though he owned the fucking room. Severus thought about smashing his face into the table, the mess his face would leave and felt only minutely quelled.
Lupin inclined his head in greeting. Severus ignored him, thinking of the Scalping Hex he'd used on Potter with a certain fondness that would have left Dumbledore in tears.
He decided to make a cup of coffee and leave as quickly as possible when he noticed the wardrobe behind Lupin rattling. It skirted a few inches to the left, the knob shaking violently as the werewolf continued to read, unbothered.
"Boggart," Lupin said, flipping through the pages idly. "I plan on using it with the Third Years as an introductory class."
Severus snorted derisively. "I would expect a class of First Years to be able to defend themselves against a Boggart."
Lupin only smiled that infuriating smile in response, amused. "You know, I think you underestimate the power of fear and the human imagination." he nodded towards the wardrobe, where the rattling had gotten louder — and somehow more menacing. "There's much more involved than just conjuring up an image of your worst nightmare."
"They should know much more than just basic Banishment spells at this point," Severus glanced disdainfully at the wardrobe as Lupin craned his neck to look back as well.
He chuckled lightly. "Perhaps, but with their previous instruction I think they'll benefit greatly from the concept of facing their fears; it's part of their growth."
Christ, he'd definitely spoken to Dumbledore about this. This was exactly the sort of half-baked, nauseating mindset that he'd tried to instill in Severus for the first several years of his reluctant teaching career. Dumbledore thought the little shits were shining beacons of hope, the key to the future. It was a bleak fucking future, if the brats were any indication of what was to come.
Severus rolled his eyes and sneered. "I do hope you won't patronize the little idiots with that sort of rubbish. You brandished it far too often when we were students — do try to keep up with the times."
"I'll certainly keep that in mind," Lupin said calmly, his gaze diverting back to the Prophet.
Severus opened his mouth to retort when the wardrobe behind Lupin made a loud creaking noise. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, about to ask if Lupin had remembered to lock the damn thing when Lupin spoke up again, "Some thoughts are more powerful than any spell. Ariel was doing that sort of research over the summer in regard to the Patronus Charm."
He almost let the indifferent, cold mask slip, but he forced himself to pour the freshly brewed coffee. He would not take the bait. He would not talk about the girl with Lupin, he would NOT —
"I'm aware," he said flatly. "What of it?"
"I thought the Boggart would align well with that sort of magic, give them all a chance to be successful," said Lupin, a pleasant sort of look on his face that made Severus want to scream.
Severus scoffed instead, turning his back to him. "How quaint."
Lupin only shrugged and continued reading as if the conversation hadn't even happened. Severus huffed in disgust and looked back at the wardrobe with a sense of dread before turning sharply to march back to the dungeons before he did something regrettable — like murdering a colleague in front of witnesses.
As he began to leave, Lupin watched him — his face still lit with thinly veiled amusement — before returning to his paper as though it were nothing; all but for one slight quirk in his lips that suggested he'd gotten exactly what he wanted out of the exchange.
Someday — not today — Severus was going to kill him. He was almost certain of it, now. That realization crested over the height of his Occlumency just as Minerva slammed into the room, the door hitting the opposite wall with such force that it actually left a dent in the stone.
Ah — this was what he'd come here for.
Severus set the cup of coffee back down and poured himself another. Lupin's eyes widened as Minerva stormed over to stand beside Severus at the kitchenette, Summoning the kettle and slamming it down on the countertop.
"Is something the matter?" Severus drawled, not bothering to stop what he was doing.
"Miserable old sod," Minerva seethed, her face white with rage.
Sybil. She always used the same insults. Lupin looked positively bewildered.
"Ah — and who will be popping off this term?" Severus asked lightly.
"Miss Evans," she said, setting down the mug she'd Summoned with so much force that some of the ceramic chipped off.
Something inside of Severus did the same, like a crack in stained glass. He could feel the swelling rage bleeding red, as fractured and jagged as his thoughts.
"What?" Lupin supplied from the table, sounding outraged — fucking idiot.
Severus pretended not to care about this information as Minerva turned to the werewolf, which gave him the opportunity to hide the shaking, clenched fist he shoved down to his side. He'd wondered how the girl had been sleeping since she'd stopped speaking to him. This was only going to add to the problem — goddamn it all —
"She told Miss Evans she had the Grim and that she will die." Minerva said, her words like ice.
He felt as though someone had punched him in his gut; that cold, hard heart that never faltered cracked slightly before he resumed composed, stoic calm. Lupin's face was taut with anger and disbelief.
Severus took a sip of his coffee and set it back down on the counter. He knew that his anger would not help the situation. It was not the first time that Sybil had made absurd predictions about a student's untimely demise, but this was different. She had crossed a line with his daughter — of all people — of all the fucking people to point her finger at —
"Why in Merlin's name would she do that?" Lupin demanded. It took all of Severus' self control not to fling his coffee in his face.
"She does not need a reason," Minerva continued to fume, stirring her tea with such force that it splattered. "It is the same with all Seers. They make these predictions without a second thought and expect us to accept them blindly. I have seen it time and time again, and I will not stand for this one. I have half a mind to interrupt her class right now and let her have it."
"If you won't, I will." the werewolf said — shut up, fucking shut up —
Severus ground his teeth together before interjecting. "Sybil is always spouting nonsense. I do not put any credence into it, and neither should you. Miss Evans will be fine, as she always is."
Minerva shook her head, lost in thought for a long moment before her eyes flitted back to Severus, who pretended not to notice. The wardrobe rattled, vying for all their attention, but Severus knew that they were all thinking of the same thing, of that damnable girl who didn't deserve any of this. Perhaps Severus could slip something into Sybil's tea, a hallucinogenic that would have her questioning her own mortality for a time — yes, it would be so easy and even more satisfying — he would show her an omen of death, oh yes —
"While I have you here, Severus," Minerva's demeanor shifted to one that she'd used often during his initial tenure, when she'd still treated him as a student and berated him in front of the staff for decimating Gryffindor's House Points. "I was told to ask you about Miss Evans' Hogsmeade form."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "By whom?"
"Miss Evans. She says you took care of it."
Severus felt a shattering inside of himself, like a thousand shards of glass erupting in his chest.
Lupin lowered the Prophet once more.
I am going to kill that girl — I'm going to throttle her — I'll make the Grim pale in comparison —
"I did no such thing," Severus responded coolly. "And if I did, I would have instructed Miss Evans to deliver it to you herself. I'm not responsible for the girl's paperwork."
"You're certain?" her eyes narrowed, a thinness in her lips that told Severus to tread lightly. Little did she know that her only concern paled to his in comparison.
"Why in Merlin's name would I purposefully withhold a student's form?" he snapped.
"I was not implying that." Minerva replied coldly.
"Then perhaps you should discuss the matter with Miss Evans. In case you've forgotten, but I seem to recall that her Muggle relatives are reluctant to give the girl any sort of reprieve." Severus swallowed the rest of his coffee in one swig. "I daresay it's for the best, in light of the circumstances."
She looked like a cat ready to spring, making Severus feel only slightly better. Before she could retort, Lupin half-hidden behind the Prophet again, the door swung open, all three of their heads snapping in its direction.
Dumbledore paused in the threshold, a greeting on his lips as his indigo robes swayed lightly in the breeze, constellations adorning his sleeves.
"Albus —" Minerva began, but Dumbledore took one look at the room, at all of their furious expressions, and pivoted. She followed briskly after him, leaving Severus alone with the werewolf once more.
Lupin stared at him, something in his eyes Severus did not care for one bit. It was reminiscent of the glares Lily had given him after she'd stopped speaking to him – disgust without wanting to acknowledge Severus directly. He'd fared better with the unabashed hatred she'd wielded whenever she was with Potter or Black.
Severus held Lupin's gaze with a density that would've made Longbottom faint, daring him to say something, make the accusation, but the werewolf was silent.
Coward – two-faced, lying mongrel –
When Severus slammed the door behind him, he made sure the force overturned Lupin's tea.
Ariel wasn't feeling very hungry at dinner that night. The only class she'd managed to get through without feeling like she was in a freefall had been Transfiguration, and only because Professor McGonagall had essentially told them all off for being so gullible. Ariel would've felt loads better after that, knowing that Professor McGonagall thought it was all rubbish, except for one thing.
She'd seen a bloody black dog staring at her in the middle of Hagrid's class, right after Professor Trelawney had told her she was going to die.
Poking at her steak-and-kidney pudding, Ariel let her eyes rove over the Great Hall. The Slytherins were all huddled together, no sign of Malfoy. Normally, Ariel would've been delighted at this, but the fact that he was still in the infirmary definitely wasn't a good sign. Ariel felt awful for Hagrid — his first class, and it had been a great one, at that, until Malfoy had bungled the entire thing.
(And the Grim showing up, too, but Ariel wasn't thinking about that anymore)
dark and distant year — fated force more powerful than life —
Ron was poking at his own dinner, his head propped up on his chin. "Do you reckon they'll fire Hagrid?"
Hermione looked up from the book she'd brought with her — she'd started reading when they'd all fallen silent, and it was clear the silence had been unnerving her. "Would they do that after his first day? They couldn't — they can't."
"If he makes a big enough deal out of it, I'm sure something will happen." Ariel said glumly. "Malfoy's father has a lot of pull at the Ministry, remember?"
Ron's expression darkened. "Dumbledore wouldn't let that tosser anywhere near the school after last year."
"Ron," Hermione hissed, shooting a frantic look over to Ginny, who didn't seem to have noticed.
"Could you ask Snape?" Ron turned to Ariel, his face hopeful.
She dropped her fork, forcing herself not to look at the High Table. She still hadn't told Ron anything, the guilt pooling in the bottom of her stomach when Ron's expression changed into one of confusion. She could only imagine what her face looked like as she forced herself to take a gulp of pumpkin juice.
"What's happened now?" Ron demanded. "Don't tell me that greasy git has done something again."
Hermione answered for Ariel, who could have hugged her. "I don't think it's appropriate for Ariel to ask about things like that."
"Why not? He's her dad."
"And Slytherin is Professor Snape's responsibility. That would be like if you got injured and Malfoy went to Professor McGonagall to poke his nose in your business."
"Professor McGonagall isn't my mother, Hermione."
"I'm not asking him." Ariel cut in, her voice short. "He wouldn't like it."
Ron frowned, his blue eyes snapping up to the High Table. "What's going on with him, then? Why's he glaring at us like that?"
Oh gods. "Stop it," Ariel hissed.
"He's not glaring at us, he's glaring at you because you're gawking." Hermione snapped. "Stop making problems where there aren't any, we were discussing Hagrid anyway."
"Well, it's a good sign Snape's here and not in the infirmary, right?" Ron pressed. "If Malfoy was close to death, Snape probably wouldn't be here enjoying dinner, would he?"
Ariel wanted to say no, that Snape was probably here only because he had to be, but Hermione sighed and said instead. "I guess so."
Ron grinned. "See, it's not a big deal, then."
This seemed to placate the three of them and the conversation soon turned back to Hagrid and the hippogriffs. Ariel continued to stir her dinner around her plate, feeling as though all of the energy had been sucked out of her. She sorely hoped that tomorrow would be better, that after an eventful first day, tomorrow would be dreadfully boring.
She couldn't help but notice how He kept sending glances towards their table. They weren't long enough to be obvious but certainly long enough for someone who knew him – like Ariel did – to recognize the subtle movement from his peripheral vision whenever he thought no one was watching. Feeling embarrassed at being caught staring once again, Ariel hurriedly went back to the conversation only to find that Ron had left to go and sit with Dean and Seamus.
Ariel decided to leave to give herself some time to go over the twins' list. Hermione had already started her homework during dinner, which didn't surprise Ariel much, especially if she was taking all those classes, but she was growing quite annoyed that Hermione wouldn't tell her how she was doing it.
After letting Hermione know that she would meet her up in their Tower, Ariel tried not to drag her feet as she left the Great Hall. Stupid bloody Grim — stupid Divinations and Malfoy and everything in-between.
She swallowed the lump in her throat when she inadvertently turned in the direction of the dungeons. Normally, Ariel would've gone to His quarters and let him tell her that she was being ridiculous, let him simmer and snipe at every stupid comment Professor Trelawney and Lavender and Parvati had made about how she was going to die — my Uncle Bilius saw one and he died twenty-four hours later —
Ariel turned around to shoot a glance at the High Table to find that He was gone.
She took one step outside of the Great Hall before the realization hit her like a gust of wind. The hair on her arms stood up straight, the instinct to turn around and sit back down with her friends overwhelming, but she was a Gryffindor for a reason.
(it was a mistake, leaving the coin behind)
Ariel steeled herself as she began to walk briskly up to her Tower. The moon was full and bright in the night sky, casting an eerie light on everything it touched. Shivering, Ariel glanced around nervously for any sign of life, half expecting Him to peel himself from the shadows inhabiting the corridors. She listened intently for something more than just the hoot of a distant owl, but all was silent.
It wasn't until she rounded a corner and headed towards the first staircase that she felt as though someone was watching her. She whirled around quickly but there was nothing there, only an oppressive silence that made her heart beat hard and quick, like a rabbit. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that He was still somewhere nearby waiting for her, lurking in some unseen corner —
Letting out a nervous breath, Ariel charged forward until she realized that her footfalls were not the only ones she heard.
Her heart lurched along with her strides, flying around the first bend in the stairs as He moved behind her, silent and stealthy like a ghost — he'd must've been following her each step of the way without making his presence known until now.
She heard Him hiss her name, Miss Evans — Miss Evans stop —
Ariel was so focused on making sure she didn't turn around, didn't falter once or trip over herself that she plowed right into Professor Lupin, who was coming around a blind turn.
"Whoa, there," Professor Lupin said, steadying Ariel with a firm grip on her shoulder. "What's the hurry?"
Ariel took several deep breaths, trying to steady her heartbeat as she glanced back down the corridor, expecting Him to be glaring at them, black eyes glittering, crackling with contempt. But –
There was no sign of Him.
Had Ariel imagined it all? Was she being paranoid, like Him? She was so preoccupied with making sure that she didn't so much as look at him that maybe she'd made it all up in her head – or she was losing it, like how she'd felt over the holidays, bent over all of those books on the War –
Taking the Vow to become a Death Eater was a lifelong commitment, never broken, never given the chance to even be contemplated –
Lord Voldemort only recruited those he thought would benefit him, those who sought power amongst his ranks —
The crimes Death Eaters were convicted of equated to thirty consecutive life sentences —
Ariel forced a smile, not wanting to appear completely mental. "Sorry, Professor. I was just in a bit of a rush."
Professor Lupin raised his eyebrows, gaze flickering over her as if he could sense her unease. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm sorry." Ariel said, feeling a little ridiculous. "It's been a strange day."
His expression softened at this. "So I've heard. Were you fleeing from the Grim, then?"
Ariel's stomach dropped and she felt her face pale. How could he have known? "I — I don't know what you mean —"
A look of regret pulsed through his eyes, the torchlight flickering across his worn and weathered features. "I meant it only as a joke, Ariel. I didn't mean to alarm you."
Ariel let out a shaky breath, realizing that she had been holding it in. "Right. Sorry, it's just been… a lot."
"I can imagine," Professor Lupin sighed, running a hand through his silver-flecked hair. "If it's any consolation to you, the Grim is only a fable. When I was a student, I was told that the oddly shaped fruit at the bottom of my teacup meant that I should expect something good to happen the next day. That night I found a moldy peach under my pillow I'd left there by accident."
Ariel managed a weak smile, grateful for his attempt at lightening the mood. "I'd rather an old peach than an omen of death."
"I do hope it didn't completely ruin your day."
"It wasn't all bad," Ariel shrugged. "I got to ride a hippogriff in Hagrid's class today. If I was going to get offed, I reckon that would've been a good time."
Professor Lupin gave a strange sort of smile, like he was relieved. "Yes, I suppose so."
He gave her shoulder another quick squeeze before he left her alone on the staircase, staring after him as he left. She wanted to ask him what her odds of dying were if she'd actually seen the Grim, but acknowledging it out loud somehow made it feel more real, like she really should be panicking. Ariel had never seen a dog on Hogwarts' grounds before, besides Fang, and what were the freaking odds that she'd see a black dog right after one had showed up in her tea cup?
Probably not big, but she was also the only person to survive the Killing Curse. Maybe she could survive the Grim, too.
Ariel shook her head, wishing she could throw away today like a bad luck charm. The thought sat with her as she entered her dormitory, rummaging through her nightstand for a shot in the dark.
She turned the coin over in her hand, freezing at the words she found there.
Gryffindor Portrait Hole
That arsehole —
She threw the coin across the room and buried her face in her pillow.
A/N: Look — another game of hide-and-go-seek! Well, a spooky one, but it's Snape, what did we expect?
Reviews would be loved and appreciate