The rest of the day passed by in a haze of dullness. Ari only dragged herself out of bed to attend Herbology and Charms, which she couldn't pay attention in at all. By the time the bell rang, she'd forgotten everything they'd learned. She spent the rest of the afternoon lying around her bed doing nothing. She was almost glad by the time her detention with Snape rolled around, so she could get a reprieve from the lethargy. Even if Snape could be mean and annoying, at least she would never feel bored around him.
At four-fifty she made her way down to the dungeons. She arrived in front of the Potions classroom and knocked on the door. She waited for Snape's admission to let her in, but was surprised by the door creaking open. Snape's greasy yellow face poked through the crack of the door.
"Well well well," he drawled, opening the door fully. "Look who it is. The little dunderhead."
"Yes, sir," she said, shuffling her feet. "It's me. Your little dunderhead."
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow. "That was a quick admission. Have you finally learned to accept your place around here?"
"Yes, sir."
He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicion etched in every line of his expression. "What's with the sudden change of heart?"
"I dunno," she said, scratching her head. "All your letters really changed my heart, I guess. And I sure learned my lesson again this morning, when my roommate snooped through my owl and read it without my permission."
"Your roommate?" Snape repeated.
"Yes," Ari scowled. "It was that Lavender girl. She stole my owl from my window this morning and read it without my permission. I managed to get it back, but she'd already read the part where you told me to put on the Dittany. And I heard her talking to Parvati, and they thought that the Dittany thing was a potion that made your brain bigger, and they thought I was taking it because they said my brain is small."
He snorted. Ari glared at him. "What?" she demanded.
"Are you bothered by what they said?" he asked, a sneer curling around his mouth.
Ari shrugged, feeling hot. "A little bit."
"Why is that?"
"Huh?"
"Why are you bothered by what they said, when you've heard far worse from me?"
She fidgeted some more, a bit unnerved by Snape's admittance of self-awareness. "I don't know," she mumbled. "It feels different when it's with you."
"Different?" he repeated.
"Yeah," she said, feeling prickly again.
"How is it different?"
"I dunno," she said again. And she really didn't. All she knew was that hearing those girls talk about her like that was enough to ruin her whole day. "I can't really explain it."
He continued staring at her, his eyes narrowed, while tracing a finger over his lips. "Professor?" she said, uncertain of his silence.
"Put it out of your mind," he finally said. "There is nothing to be gained from dwelling on something so insignificant. It was just one passing remark. What role do you think one passing remark will play in the grand scheme of things?"
Ari shrugged. "Not a real big role, I guess."
"Then stop thinking about it," he said. "You will find it much more productive to devote your time to things that will reward you in the long run - such as your studies. After all, there's no better way to enrich your so-called small brain than to keep it active and continually feed it with new information."
"Yeah," she sighed, slumping her shoulders. "But it's hard. It's like I can't understand it. Like I can't make the information pass through my brain."
"Don't be ridiculous," he said coldly. "Anyone with a halfway functioning brain will be able to understand and retain information. Some people may be able to understand faster. Some people may be able to retain more. However, for the most part, as long as one makes a genuine effort, they will be able to train their brains and complete the necessary tasks. That idea goes for anything. As long as you have the mindset and self-discipline, then you will be able to overcome whatever hurdles you encounter."
"I guess so," she said. "I'm still working on that, though. Getting self-disciplined, I mean."
"Yes, you are," he said. "But you've already shown you have the capability. Granted, it's a very meager capability, but with anything, growth comes with time and practice."
"I guess," she said again. She wasn't sure if Snape was trying to encourage her, but she had to admit his words made her feel a bit better after a day of gloominess. Her heart suddenly felt a bit more hopeful, a bit more confident in herself.
"You'll have more time to think about it more during your detention," Snape said. "Speaking of which, it's already past time." He suddenly stepped away from the doorway and beckoned her to let her through. Suppressing a sigh, Ari stepped into the classroom and he shut the door behind her. It was going to be a long night.