Once more, Ari managed to escape Snape's attack by the skin of her teeth. She tore blindly through the corridors and didn't dare stop until she retreated into a hidden alcove on the topmost floor of the school, far away from the bat's lair. She took a break there to catch her breath, but her brain was spinning wildly at her near-death experience. Ugh, talk about annoying. She had just wanted to talk to Snape about her essay, but he just ended up throwing a fit and trying to kill her again! Maybe he had been about to grab her and hang her from the ceiling like he had done with the other poor students. Thank goodness she had managed to escape in time and foil all his plans yet again!
But despite her success now, she knew she couldn't keep up this cat-and-mouse game forever. There was still a long way to go until the end of the year, and considering she hadn't been able to get Snape fired, it looked like she was going to have to deal with him for the rest of that time.
Or... maybe she could try asking Professor McGonagall to reconsider her position on Snape. The Transfiguration professor hadn't believed Ari when Snape had threatened to kill her the first time, but now Ari had more tangible proof. Maybe the zero on her essay would be a good enough reason for Professor McGonagall to reevaluate her standards and kick Snape out once and for all for being a horrible, ineffective bully of a teacher!
And so feeling quite cheered up by her wonderful plan, Ari left the alcove to seek out the Transfiguration professor. She went down a few more staircases and circled through a couple of corridors and only got lost twice this time before she located the Transfiguration classroom.
But as Ari approached the open door, she realized that there were already voices coming from the classroom! And what was more, she suddenly heard the sound of her name! She froze beside the doorway at once, her heart hammering in her chest. What could people be talking about her for?
"… have had no complaints with Ari while she is in my class," Professor McGonagall's distinctive rolling voice came from the other side. "She's a good student who is eager to learn and agreeable among her peers and professors."
"I beg to differ, Minerva," said a cold, horribly familiar drawl. Ari jumped, feeling like she had been doused in ice water. Snape! She peeked over the edge of the doorway and sure enough, saw the Slender Man standing with Professor McGonagall at her desk. Ari quickly ducked back into the corridor before they could notice her.
Great, just great! she thought to herself in annoyance. Just what was Snape doing here?! Ari had come specifically to Professor McGonagall to vent about him, but now that he was here Ari couldn't do that anymore! It was like he was just always popping up at the most inconvenient times, ruining Ari's plans and making her miserable.
"Believe me," Snape was saying, "the goody two shoes behavior you described is all an act — albeit a very poor one. She has already shown her true colors and proves to be nothing but disruptive, attention-seeking, and argumentative. And based on the most recent homework assigned, it is clear she cannot put in the bare minimum of effort in even the simplest of tasks. It is paramount of you, Minerva, as her head of house, to look past her pretense and recognize these problems. The sooner you are able to implement proper discipline and put her back in place, the better."
Ari scowled. Oh, so that was why Snape was here, huh? He was trying to spew all this horrible propaganda so he could brainwash Professor McGonagall and get her to turn on Ari! He really was an evil psycho!
"Thank you for your recommendation, Severus," Professor McGonagall said in a cool voice, "but because she is in my house, I will do what I see fit."
Snape made a soft, impatient sound, and Ari wanted to laugh right in the big bat's face. Ha, rejected! She was immensely glad that Professor McGonagall hadn't bent to Snape's evil brainwashing powers — she really was a strong witch after all!
"Anyway," Professor McGonagall continued briskly, "don't you think you're being unduly critical, Severus? I understand that you have had some… conflicts with Ari, but she's a good girl. This is her first time coming to school and interacting with people her own age, so I advise you to be patient with her. If you could just give her some time to adjust—"
"Why should I?" Snape cut in, his voice razor-sharp. "Plenty of other students also come to school for the first time when they enroll in Hogwarts, and none of them are half as insufferable as her. If she can act this way at only eleven years old, just imagine what she will be capable of in the future without proper discipline."
"I thought I already made my viewpoint clear," Professor McGonagall said tightly. "I will decide what is best for her."
"And I understand that," Snape said. "But I must warn you, Minerva, this is not simply a house issue. If we allow her deplorable behavior to continue, she will grow up knowing no limits and will feel entitled to everything and anything. Society will not cater to anyone's whims, much less those of a whiny brat — so the sooner we can rein her in and make her understand, the better."
Ari shifted restlessly on her feet. She had already lost track of what Snape was ranting about, and just wanted him to shut up and go away already so she could have her time alone with Professor McGonagall. Just when would he be done? She peeked her head over the doorway again to check, and saw Snape and Professor McGonagall hadn't budged from their original spots.
Without warning, however, Snape's black eyes flitted to the side and landed right on Ari's! She gasped and quickly ducked behind the doorway, her heart racing. Oh no! Snape had seen her! She was so done for!
As Ari stood there, frozen, Professor McGonagall started speaking again. "I understand what you're saying, but you must also remember, she is but a child. Children at that age are naturally curious and excitable. With time, they will mellow. Until then, as long as we set clear expectations and enforce reasonable discipline, they will thrive and will eventually find their own place among our community."
"And if she doesn't," Snape said, "which I predict will be the case, then we know what to do. And I suggest it be done sooner rather than later. After all, a weed is best treated when it is young, before it can grow and cause irreparable damage to the garden."
"Excuse me?" Professor McGonagall said, her voice turning dangerously sharp. Meanwhile, Ari had a horrible image of her battered, lifeless body hanging from the dungeon ceiling. "Just what in the world are you implying, Severus?"
"Why, of course," Snape said smoothly, as Ari stood there, frozen, "she must be expelled from Hogwarts."
Ari's heart dropped like it was in free-fall. "No!" she squealed in horror. Her muscles unfroze at once and she burst out of her hiding spot and into the classroom. Professor McGonagall turned around to face Ari, and immediately the professor's eyebrows darted all the way to the tip of her witch's hat.
"Ari!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, placing a hand to her chest. "What are you doing here? Do you need something?"
But Ari was staring stricken at Snape, who seemed to have gotten over his temper tantrum and was wearing his usual annoying smirk. "Ah," he said, descending his oversized nose over Ari, "so the worm has revealed herself! Now in addition to speaking when you're not supposed to, you're also listening in on conversations when you're not supposed to. Does the concept of boundaries not exist to you, child? Or perhaps your ego is just so unbearably large it can't help but make itself known on every occasion?"
"The door was open!" she retorted. "And you were talking loudly! So it's not my fault I heard what you were saying!" As Snape started to respond, she burst out, "but Professor, you can't expel me! That's not fair! I mean, I just got here, and I've had so much fun and learned so much. It's my dream to come here, to learn and become a magic witch, and you can't get in the way of that! No way!"
"Oh, Ari, no," Professor McGonagall said as Ari broke off from her babbling to take a breath. She squeezed Ari's shoulder, her eyes hard and earnest. "Professor Snape wasn't being serious. You are staying at school, and you are not going to get expelled. I will make sure of it if it's the last thing I do."
"Really?" Ari asked, widening her eyes.
"Really," Professor McGonagall assured her.
"Oh, good," Ari let out a breath of relief. Then she turned back to Snape and placed her hands triumphantly on her hips. "See? Looks like I'm staying after all. You thought you could get away with expelling me, didn't you? But you won't! You can't get rid of me that easily, nuh-uh!"
She wagged her finger admonishingly at him and an ugly scowl twisted up his face. "Very well," he growled, his fingers twitching, "consider yourself spared a while longer. Next time, however, the chances may not be so much in your favor. Every last weed must be removed sooner or later, just remember that…" He suddenly lowered his head towards her as though about to disclose some great secret — Ari leaned in curiously, only for him to hiss in her ear — "so you'd better start counting your blessings, dunderhead, because one day I'll rip you out and trample you to dust."
Ari squealed and jumped back. A smirking Snape straightened back up, his eyes glittering wickedly behind his stringy hair. Too stunned to come up with a retort, Ari could only gape as Snape turned around and glided out of the room like a big bat, his black robes billowing out dramatically behind him.
Once he was gone, Ari unfroze and whirled toward Professor McGonagall, who was staring at the door, her face white. "See, Professor! He's crazy!" Ari cried. Snape's ominous warning still rang in her ear and she shuddered. "He wants me dead! He just said he's gonna rip me out and trample me to dust!" She glared indignantly at Professor McGonagall. "And he says that, and you still let him stay in the school? Even when he wants to kill me?!"
Professor McGonagall gave a drawn-out sigh, looking rather like a soldier who had fought a long, grueling war. "Oh, Ari, I do apologize for that," she said, and she sounded like she meant it. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's not usually this extreme, believe me… perhaps he's just under some pressure right now, with the start of the school year and influx of new students. But of course" — she added quickly as Ari opened her mouth to retort, "that does not mean his comments are acceptable, and I will keep watch on him to make sure he does not do anything out of line."
"You better!" Ari growled. "I'm not gonna have Snape kill me and ruin my dream of coming to school! No way! I'll sooner push him into the lake before he can get away with his horrible plans!" And then she grinned widely as she imagined a vivid scenario in which she snuck Snape onto one of those boats, drove it into the middle of the lake, and then — plop! — just pushed that big bat overboard! Right into the bottomless depths of the water, as dark and cold as his soul — never to be found again!
"Rest assured, that won't be necessary," Professor McGonagall said tightly, eying Ari with her sharp hawk eyes. Ari quickly snapped her mind back to reality and put on her best innocent face. "But nothing else has been bothering you, Ari? Are you still feeling sick?"
"Oh, no," she answered. "I'm feeling a lot better now. My head doesn't hurt anymore, and my throat doesn't, neither. Those moon potions really helped."
"Good, I'm relieved to hear that," Professor McGonagall said. "How about school? How do you like it here so far?"
"Oh, it's really good!" she answered heartily. "I like it here a lot! It's way better than my dreams! The castle is big and pretty and I like exploring it. And the mountains and lakes are really nice, too. And the portraits on the walls are nice to talk to."
"Wonderful," Professor McGonagall nodded approvingly. "Do you still like all your classes?"
"Yeah!" Ari answered brightly. "I like 'em all, honestly! Charms and Astronomy and Herbology and Flying and Defense Against the Dark Arts — and of course, I like Transfiguration too," Ari added quickly, looking up at Professor McGonagall, who smiled faintly. "I like everything except for Potions. But you know, Potions wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have Snape as our teacher. He's always talking about weird things and yelling at us and making us feel horrible about ourselves — oh, yeah, and speaking of horrible," Ari burst out, suddenly remembering why she had come here in the first place, "he also gave me a zero on my essay today, Professor! That's right, a zero! I worked so hard on it, and he gave me a zero, all 'cause he said he couldn't read it!"
And then Ari rummaged through her backpack for her essay, which had become extremely crumpled by now, and showed it to Professor McGonagall. Then Ari ranted about how unfair Snape's grading policy was and how he was just a mean bully and that the only right thing to do was to get rid of him ASAP!
"I'm sorry, Ari, but Professor Snape is not going anywhere," Professor McGonagall said firmly once Ari paused from her raving to draw breath. Ari's heart dropped and the professor peered sternly at Ari over her spectacles, her lined face firm. "Regardless of what people think of him, his gift as a Potions master is indisputable. His knowledge and research are a great contribution to not only our school, but the wizarding community in general. There is nobody more qualified for the position than him."
"But!" Ari protested.
"There is no proof that he has been doing anything to warrant concern," Professor McGonagall cut in before Ari could go off on her murderer-Snape theory again. "For the years I've known him, Professor Snape is a prudent man, and I do not believe he would not do anything risky to jeopardize his position. And anyway, like I mentioned earlier, I have no say in this matter in the first place. As long as the Headmaster decides to keep Professor Snape employed, then he shall stay."
Ari scowled. Oh, so this was all the Headmaster's fault then, wasn't it? It sure showed a lot about the Headmaster and his character, if he would willingly let an evil murderer in the school to teach children! And anyway, wasn't Professor McGonagall buttering up Snape too much, too? Surely he couldn't be the only person in the world who could brew a stinky potion. Anyone could whip together some ingredients and throw it in a cauldron, stir it around a bit, then call it a day.
As for the essay, all the advice Professor McGonagall gave was just to write it in a more legible format next time and hope for a better score. Of course, that was easy for her to say. Professor McGonagall was a smart, experienced witch and probably had been using a quill to write her entire life. She could have finished writing out an entire page with a quill and Ari would still be working on the first word.
Ari was feeling in a grumpier mood than ever after that, but she figured that she should have just been glad she wasn't getting expelled. Still, that happiness was short-lived when classes ended that day and Ari returned to her dormitory — and oh no, oh no, there was another stupid owl perched at her window!
Heart sinking, she plodded over the window like a dazed zombie. "Please let it be from Dad," she said to herself as she opened up the window. "Please let it be from Dad," she repeated as she removed the letter from the owl's leg. "Please let it be from Dad." She opened the letter up. "Don't let it be from…"
And she groaned when she saw horrible jagged lines scribbled across the page. Oh no, no, not this again… she grimaced and squinted to decipher the caveman markings.
Miss Rossi,
You are to report to my classroom this evening at seven o'clock sharp for your detention. Do not be late. The door will be closed when you arrive. Knock on the door and I will admit you inside. Failure to follow any part of these instructions will result in another detention with Filch.
Professor Snape
Ari scowled deeply. Great, just great! So right after she had recovered from her last detention, she had to do another one, only now with Snape instead of Filch. At least she didn't have to scrub toilets anymore... but honestly, she wasn't sure if that was better or not. With the way Snape had exploded and then hissed that warning in her ear today, she wouldn't be surprised if he was really going to go through with it later tonight. Plus the detention was in Snape's dungeon, too — double shady. She gulped as her fears of being hung on the ceiling came back in full-force. She had to reassure herself that Snape shouldn't have been able to do anything too dangerous… Professor McGonagall had promised that she wouldn't let Snape enforce any more unreasonable punishments, after all.
As Ari stared at Snape's letter and contemplated all of this, she suddenly realized something. Snape's handwriting was also really bad, to the point where she needed ten minutes to decipher it. So if Ari could spend the time and effort to understand Snape's writing, then why couldn't he do the same for hers? And he really had the nerve to preach to her to write more legibly, when couldn't be bothered to fix his own horrible handwriting! Clearly, he was just a unfair, lazy stinker who would use any excuse to give her a zero and make her miserable.
She was only feeling even angrier that night as she stomped out of the Great Hall after dinner and down the gloomy dungeon stairs. But she was too heated-up to let the cold shadows affect her. She marched all the way to Snape's classroom and then banged on the closed door.
"Enter," came Snape's commanding voice.
Setting her face in her fiercest glare, she turned the doorknob and stepped inside.
