Senna had some steam to blow off. After interrogating several students and talking paintings, she managed to find her way to a gym.
An abandoned gym.
It looked like it hadn't been used in years. The wooden floor had a layer of dust. The equipment looked unmaintained.
"Figures as much," Senna whispered under her breath. She noticed wizards were prone to neglecting the body, in favor of magic. While muggles had vigorous sports such as football, track, and baseball, and intensive martial arts such as karate, judo, and taekwondo…. Wizards had quidditch. She admitted it looked tiring, but the flying broom was doing all the cardio. And in DADA, opponents stood in opposition to each other, hardly moving at all.
Senna knew the real world was different. You needed to know how to move. How to climb, how to jump, roll, in a variety of environments. Being good at flicking your wrist was only a fraction of the skill required. What good is it calling yourself a powerful wizard, if the fight ends when someone drops their wand?
Senna slipped off her white blazer, letting it hit the dusty floor.
She started with the muscle strengthening equipment, rotating between reps for her upper body. She sighed in relief as she felt her muscles burn. It has been awhile since she took the time to exercise. Neither Hogwarts nor Browell mandated P.E. like muggle schools did, and she had to find her own way to stay in shape.
She didn't check the time. She worked until she couldn't feel her limbs anymore.
Eventually, she collapsed onto the dusty floor and cursed. She was exhausted now. But she didn't feel any better. The anger was still coiled in her stomach.
"I wish I had someone to beat up." She sighed.
As soon as the words left, a noise startled her. The floor boards a few feet away from her opened up. Senna jumped to her feet.
A wooden dummy rose from the floorboards below. It rose and rose until it was taller than Senna. It had a blank wooden face, and knobbly wooden limbs and joints. It looked very much like those tiny wooden model figures artists use to sketch… except much much bigger. And creepier.
When the blank wooden face turned towards her, her intuition sent a chill of danger down her spine.
She cursed again and leaped when it whirled towards her. It smashed against the stone wall with frightening force—but remained intact. It turned around, and headed toward her again.
Senna dodged attack after attack. Its wooden arms spliced the air with alarming speed. Senna's already tired muscles complained with every move.
And then something hard struck her shin, painfully so, and the force of it knocked her over. The thing had kicked her while she was watching its arms.
With amazing flexibility, its entire torso came down to smash her—she rolled away just in time.
She threw herself back on her feet, her lower leg throbbing painfully.
Finally, an opening! She thought. She raised her wand and sent a few spells at it, all of which it was able to dodge. "Damn!" She exclaimed. At least the thing was now on the defensive, she had the upper hand.
They danced for a few more minutes, until Senna finally sent a spell that reached it. "Confringo!"
The wooden dummy exploded into a cloud of dust.
She watched it in disbelief. She was exhausted and very sore.
The dust settled onto the floor. Senna sighed in relief, and lowered her wand. It was over.
Then, the dust began to move, rolling towards a singular point.
Senna gasped and drew her wand. She didn't know how much longer she could fight. Her eyes darted to the exit. How long could this thing follow her?
The rolling dust sunk back down into the floor and disappeared. She stood there for a moment, watching the place where it had disappeared. Was it reassembling itself? Senna wasn't going to stay and find out.
She snatched her jacket and bolted out of the room.
Luckily, she was in between periods. The halls were deserted. After she was sure she wasn't being followed, she broke into a slow jog.
She used her keen hearing to navigate the halls, avoiding hallways that had Aurors patrolling. Or wayward students. She looked down at her dirty palms. The floor had been so dusty, she probably looked like a mess.
When she reached the Brownwell dorms, the other girls starred with surprised and disgusted faces. No doubt it was from her appearance. She ignored them and headed to the showers.
She checked her pocket watch after her shower. She still had another hour and a half until dinner. She sighed. It wouldn't hurt to rest her aching muscles. Senna pulled closed the curtain on her bed. She groaned in discomfort when she lifted her legs. She would definitely be sore in the morning. She closed her eyes. She would only rest for a bit…
"Senna?" A sweet voice called.
Senna's eyes flew open. She bolted upright.
Her blonde guest staggered backwards in fright.
Senna shook her head to clear it. She looked more closely. It was Hannah. "Hannah?" Senna mumbled, "Wha—how'd you get in—nevermind what time is it?"
"Er—" Hannah checked her watch, "Seven o'clock."
Senna sighed in relief. She missed dinner, but at least she didn't miss Snape's detention. That would have been disastrous.
Senna threw her legs over the edge of her bed, and turned towards her friend. "How'd you get in here?"
Hannah's cheeks turned red. "Oh… I knocked, and asked your classmates if you were here. They pointed me here." She admitted. "You didn't come to dinner so I got worried…" the images of her fight with Viola flashed through Hannah's mind. "Here, I brought you something to eat." Hannah handed her a napkin wrapped bundle.
Senna stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. She spent so much time alone that she could not conceive of her whereabouts affecting people other than herself. It was a foreign concept.
"Uh.. Senna? You ok?" Hannah leaned in, now concerned.
Senna snapped back to reality. "Oh! Um. Thank you." Senna took the bundle from her.
Hannah smiled in delight.
Senna's heart fluttered. It was odd. It was odd to look in someone's eyes and see thoughts and emotions that were… genuinely good. Hannah's pure kindness was definitely a rare gem. When she looked into people's eyes, she usually saw egotistical desires, ulterior motives, and completely self-serving endeavors. But Hannah's thoughts were completely clear. True. Sincere.
It reminded Senna, that not everything in life was a miserable fight. There were things in this world worth staying for.
Senna opened the bundle. Stuffed inside was some sandwiches, a chunk of steak, and a potato. Her stomach rumbled.
"Oh goodness, I'm starving! Thank you!" Senna dug in.
Hannah smiled and sat on the edge of her bed.
"How did the conjuring exam go yesterday?" Senna asked between mouthfuls.
Hannah's cheeks reddened again. "Good. The practical went ok, perhaps it could've gone better, but…" she shrugged, "Thanks to you I got a passing grade."
Senna smiled at her friend, happy for her.
Senna ate in silence for a few moments.
"Are you coming with us to Hogsmead tomorrow?"
This peaked Senna's interest. She had forgotten about the next Hogmead trip. "Yes!" She said without thinking.
Hannah smiled. "It'll be fun." Hannah paused for a moment. "By the way? What happened to your face?"
Senna stopped chewing and looked around for a shiny surface to look at herself, but she couldn't find one around her cot.
"You got into a fight? Was it with that Richmond girl? You have a black eye." Hannah elaborated, her brows furrowed with concern.
"Oh." Senna sighed. "No, that was from the gym, not Viola." Though Senna was sure Viola wouldn't mind taking a few swings at her right now.
"Oh." Hannah paused. "What's going on between you two?" A flurry of images, emotions, and thoughts passed through Hannah's mind, as well as a rundown of Viola's reputation. She felt confusion and concern, mostly. Viola was a very popular girl. Very popular in every house except for hufflepuff. She was extremely good looking, brave, clever, and very talented. She was at the top of the Slytherin house, both in terms of academics and popularity. But she was known to hate hufflepuffs. She was a bully. And discriminated against those she thought of beneath her. Hannah was concerned about Senna's well being, making an enemy out of one of the most "dangerous" girls in school.
Senna smiled at her friend's concern, though it wasn't necessary. Viola wasn't dangerous, at least, not to her. She was just an irritation.
When Senna smiled, Hannah looked confused, as this was not a comical subject.
"Nothing really. We made a deal, and she's being a pain about it."
"A deal?" She leaned in, curious.
"Yes." Senna peered around her cot to make sure there wasn't anyone else within hearing distance. "Can you keep a secret?"
Hanna leaned in further, her brow furrowed. "Of course."
"Viola agreed to put my name in the goblet of fire, if I tutor her in defense against the dark arts." She whispered.
Hannah gasped and leaned back. "But— but… that is surely against the rules!" Hannah whispered in a flurry, "If a teacher found out—"
Senna put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Everything will be fine, it's not like the chances of getting chosen are very high." The determination of every testosterone-fueled Male at Brownwell was running high. Among them, what were the chances?
"But still—" Hannah's face was turning red in displeasure.
"Really, how trustworthy is Viola anyways? Think she's the type who would share attention? Especially if she got chosen, she'd want to be queen around town." Senna rolled her eyes.
Hannah seemed to relax a bit. Viola saw Senna as a threat. There was no way her ego would put Senna in a place where she would potentially get more glory than her.
Senna checked the time on her watch. It was approaching a quarter till eight. Senna jumped to her feet.
"Oh! I have detention."
Hannah stood as well, tentatively pulling out her wand. "Wait, let me fix your face."
Senna eyed the wand warily. She'd seen Hannah's magic in Charms. She wasn't awful, however sometimes inaccurate, but healing magic was very tricky.
Sensing her discomfort, Hannah reassured her. "Don't worry, I've been studying under Madam Pomfrey during my free period." She said, "I will start an internship with her next year if I fulfill the requirements."
"Er… Thank you." It didn't help that Senna could read her thoughts, and knew she only got this spell right two-thirds of the time.
A warm trickle of magic dripped down her forehead, down to her nose.
Senna opened her eyes. Hannah smiled, satisfied with her accomplishment.
Though she didn't have a mirror. Hannah's thoughts were enough to confirm the success of her spell.
"Thank you." Senna said as she pulled on her blazer. "And thank you for dinner."
Senna packed the rest of her dinner into her bag.
Hannah scrunched her nose and pointed to a tattered piece of gray cloth sticking out of her bag. "What's that?"
"Oh this?" Senna pulled on it, exposing more of the gray cloth, but not removing it entirely.
"Ew." Hannah shrunk away from it, as if it carried bugs.
Senna sighed. "It's what I was wrapped in when I was delivered to the orphanage." She said quietly.
Hannah gasped. "Oh! I'm sorry."
Senna shrugged. It was ancient history.
"It's a blanket?" Hannah asked.
"It's a travel cloak. With my name on it." Senna pulled it out to show her. The old cloak had several holes, and looked very much used. It spelled: S. SNAPE.
"Really?" Hannah inquired. "It looks older than you are."
Senna shrugged again and stood up. She stuffed the cloak back in her bag. "I really should get going."
Senna and Hannah parted ways at the entryway. She went in to the dark dreary halls towards the dungeon.
When Senna arrived at Snape's office, Viola was already there. Her emerald lined black robes were pressed and immaculate as always. Her red hair thrown over her shoulder and covering the side of her face so she couldn't see her expression. But she didn't have to, she could feel tension emanating from her. Viola was still angry. Viola didn't acknowledge her presence, not that Senna expected her to.
Senna took out her pocket watch. She watched it, and waited for the hand to strike the last minute until eight o'clock.
The door swung open before the clock struck eight. Snape's long nose pointed down at them in disappointment. "Enter." Was all he said.
They took the two seats in front of his desk in silence. The air was cold and damp, and the sour smell of the preservatives from the jars lingered.
Snape jabbed a finger towards the two chairs in his office. "Sit."
Both girls took a seat. Viola's body was positioned away from Senna, as if she had a contagious disease.
Snape made his way around the desk and sat down in front of them both. "You two," his voice was quiet, but it sunk a note of fear in Senna's stomach, "Such a waste of talent. And Viola, you're a prefect, and yet here we are. It's been years since I've had to take house points from my own house."
Viola squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. Senna could feel the tension grow in Viola, the need to defend her position, but she held it back. They knew better than to start pointing fingers in front of Professor Snape. Snape waved his wand, and two rolls of parchment manifested in front of them. "Lines." He barked, "Until I tell you to stop."
Senna felt relieved. It could've been much worse. She's seen Snapes detentions in the minds of others. They could be very cruel. But this was no different than her last detention with Viola.
Viola's shoulder hunched as she scribbled the lines with an angry grip. I will not be attention seeking. She wrote.
Senna entered a rhythm as she wrote. During the hour, she heard Snape work with the papers on his desk, grading.
Many minutes after Senna hand begun to cramp, Snape spoke. "Ok that's enough."
With a wave of his wand, the two parchments disappeared. "Go to bed. And I expect you," his eyes went to Viola, "To act accordingly."
Both girls nodded and turned to leave. But Senna hesitated at the door, letting Viola go ahead of her. She caught Viola accusing green eye before Snape's door closed between them, making her alone with Snape.
Senna turned to Snape, who didn't meet her gaze. He continued to focus on the papers in front of him.
"What do you want?" Snapes voice was cold and irritated.
Just one week ago, his cold tone would have depressed Senna, sent her into a spiral of hopelessness. But Senna had built a new sense of self since then, and his tone did not discourage her.
"You know where I came from." Senna said in an equally cold voice.
"Not exactly." Snape said dismissively. "You misunderstood our conversation last week. There is nothing—"
And then something dawned on her. The travel cloak.
"Dont act stupid." Senna blurted. Was he going to play the 'I don't know' game?
The beat of silence was deafening. His cold black eyes rose from the paper in disbelief. She could see the rage rising up his neck, and settling in his jaw.
"How dare you." He slowly stood, letting the quill fall from his fingers.
Before he could yell at her, Senna reached in her bag and grabbed a black robe. The black robe she had been carrying with her for 16 years. She tossed it onto his desk, letting it send his papers into disarray. Emotion rose from her as well, and she was surprised by the strength of it. Both Senna and Snape's eyes looked down at the black travel cloak. It was faded and worn, closer to the color gray. Stitched on the upper right breast was a very faded, but still legible name.
S. SNAPE
"The orphanage gave this to me. This is what I was wrapped in when I was dumped at the orphanage." She tried to hide the sob crawling up her throat. Now was not the time to be weak.
Snape's eyes were unreadable as he fixated on the tattered cloak.
"It's yours, right?" Senna accused.
Snape did not say a word. She waited. But his gaze did not leave the cloak.
Now, it was Senna's turn to be angry. She didn't know the whole truth. But one truth became clear to her. This was the man that left her at the steps of the orphanage. He left her there for sixteen years, without a word. And he had nothing to tell her.
Her blood felt unbearably hot under her skin. The urge to grab her wand and force him to speak grew so tempting. The logical side of her knew he was too fast for her to have a chance.
"Are you disappointed?" She said quietly. Her voice more torn than she had wished. She rather be silent than appear weak, but now that the words were coming, she couldn't stop them. "You tried so hard to get rid of me, but here I am."
Snape's hands became fists. And he became impossibly paler.
"Why didn't you just off me then?" She whispered. Every question she's ever had floated to the front of her mind. Her rage was hot in her stomach. "If you didn't want a child? Maybe we would've both been happier."
"You're wrong." He forced through his teeth with great effort.
"Oh, so you tried? Couldn't bring yourself to do it?"
"Stop!" He shouted. Senna staggered backwards. The force of his outburst made the jars shake dangerously.
"Then tell me!" She shouted back, "Tell me why you bothered!"
"Because," He choked suddenly. Though from emotion or magic, she couldn't tell. "You're not…" he paused. "Mine."
Senna stared back at him, confused. Her anger was still hot.
"You're—" He choked again. His face was scrunched up and ugly. "Elena's. She asked me to do it."