Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Chapter 13: unchartered

Ariel couldn’t decide whether or not Hagrid was a wonderful friend, or a really, really terrible secret keeper as she exited his hut.

She decided the answer was probably both as the door shut behind them, Hagrid’s worried voice carrying through the cracks as he spoke to what Ariel hoped was presumably Fang. She’d come with Ron and Hermione for tea, and to discuss the Quidditch match, but then Hagrid had let the name Nicholas Flamel slip, and soon enough, he was muttering and shooing them out, as if he’d had a bad fright.

“I can’t believe this,” Ron said, the three of them huddled together for warmth as they headed back up to the castle. “after all that’s happened, we have a right to know!”

Ariel sighed, watching her breath hang in the air like smoke before it disappeared. It wasn’t a discouraged sigh, or an indifferent one, but it caused Hermione to turn to look at her, a question in her brown eyes. Ariel shook her head at her, the silent exchange between them lost on Ron, who continued to huff and puff in annoyance.

“Hagrid’s already told us too much as it is,” said Hermione, her lips pressed together. “I don’t want him to get into any trouble.”

Ariel nodded in agreement, trying to picture Snape’s face if he knew what Hagrid had just told him. He’d probably have broken one of Hagrid’s rock cakes over his head.

“Yeah, but Ariel almost had her head knocked off by that Bludger, something is happening!” Ron said, kicking the dirt road with his boots.

Both Ariel and Hermione winced at his choice of words. Her boots went crunchcrunchcrunch over grass and dead leaves, the path up to the school seeming much farther than the trek down to Hagrid’s. It was beginning to get dark, the sun settling itself behind the treeline, like it was making itself comfortable beneath the cover at its own pace. It reminded Ariel of getting into bed after a long day.

“Well, we have a name.” Ariel said, trying to sound optimistic. “That’s a start, don’t you think?”

“Nicholas Flamel… it sounds so familiar,” Hermione said, eyebrows knitting together in deep thought. “I swear I’ve heard it somewhere before.”

“I’m sure you’ve read it in at least one of your books.” Ron offered, rather unhelpfully. Ariel shot him A Look — he’d been in a horrible mood since lunch, when Malfoy and Pansy had come over and reenacted the Bludger scene at the Quidditch game for them. Ron had tried to jump over the table to pummel Malfoy himself, but Ariel had managed to scrawl “kick me” on a napkin, place a Sticking Charm on it, and had it over to Fred, who’d levitated it onto Malfoy’s back as he and Pansy had left the Great Hall.

“Well, I’m going to the library to find out,” Hermione said, a hopeful expression on her face. “We’ll be able to find out more if there’s three of us looking.”

“Of course,” Ariel said, and Hermione smiled.

“As long as we’re done in time for dinner, I’m okay with it.” Ron said, his stomach voicing it’s opinion of the matter just then. “Those rock cakes Hagrid put out made what we brewed in Potions yesterday look like Christmas dinner.”

“We’ll be quick,” Ariel promised. “Besides, I have to be back in time for my detention.”

Snape had awarded Ariel with two months of detention for sneaking out. This was, of course, an elaborate ruse. He’d promised to help her discourage the Giant Smoke Monster from following her, and he had upheld his promise… well, at least so far, he had. Ariel was on day five of detention, which wasn't really a detention. Snape had ordered her to sit down and do whatever homework she had neglected, and then disappeared into his storerooms. Then, he’d walk her back up to Gryffindor Tower without a single word, and that was that.

It was… not what Ariel had hoped for, but it was a start. Not to mention the coin Snape had given her. It was Charmed so that if she held it in her palm and thought of a message, he would receive it on his, only he got a pocket watch. Ariel didn’t know how to make a bloody coin look inconspicuous, but she gave herself another week before she lost it.

He’d given her one rule: no one was to know the truth about the detentions, or about the coin — not even Ron and Hermione. Ariel had tried to protest it, because they were her friends and she trusted them, but she was swiftly learning that Snape didn’t trust literally anyone. He’d made her swear it, and Ariel wasn’t about to go breaking any promises to him anytime soon.

It was something, and it was more than enough for Ariel, for now. The trade-off was that while Ariel and Snape tried to track the Giant Smoke Monster, she was trying to figure out what the bloody hell was so damn important about this Stone Fluffy was guarding, and who really wanted it with Ron and Hermione’s help.

And Snape didn’t know that. So it was even, really. The secrets she kept made everything fair, in her mind.

Ron gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, mate. I don’t know how you’ve made it this far already.”

Ariel shrugged. “It’s not so bad.”

He shuddered. “Whatever you say. I’d take scrubbing bedpans by hand over those creepy dungeons any day.”

She sighed again, trying to block out Ron’s negativity. She didn’t blame him — Snape was a git and had been downright horrible to them all, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that had enveloped her since the night of the Quidditch match. The lighthouse in Snape’s eyes was her only beacon now, the only thing she trusted to keep whatever was in the school away from her and her friends.

She was beginning to get the feeling that there was something Snape wasn’t telling her, though. Something about the Giant Smoke Monster put a quiet desperation in his eyes, one Ariel couldn’t quite place as a product of it being out of his control, or because it was interested in her.

every day I am reminded she is gone

I am here for one reason only and that is

to make sure you stay

alive

“Do you think Hagrid knows who’s after the Stone?” Ron’s question sliced through Ariel’s thoughts like a butcher knife. “Maybe that’s why he won’t tell us anything.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Hermione quipped, but Ariel saw her eyes scan the grounds warily. “If Hagrid knew, then Professor Dumbledore would know, and there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Yeah but… who in the school would want it that badly? Why doesn’t this Nicholas Flamel just keep it?” Ariel asked, frowning. “They’ve already let a troll in the school and sent that Bludger after me.”

Enough to kill you for it, a cold, dark voice whispered.

“Someone who knows what it’s meant for.” said Hermione, grimacing.

“It better be something good,” Ron said, almost bitterly, but it was diluted by something else, something Ariel couldn’t place. “all this trouble for a rock.”

“But who here would try to steal it?” Ariel asked quietly. “It can’t be a student… no one else knows besides the three of us and the teachers, and Dumbledore trusts all of them.”

“I still don’t think we should cross Snape off the list yet.” Ron said darkly, but Ariel noticed that his eyes flickered to her, a sort of hesitant fear in his eyes, like he was testing the waters.

“If it were Snape, he would’ve done something already.” Ariel said, hardening her gaze. This argument had come up in Hagrid’s hut too, and while Ariel couldn’t give Hermione and Ron the concrete proof that Snape was innocent, Hagrid had been adamant that Snape wasn’t trying to steal the Stone, let alone trying to harm a student.

Hermione went quiet. “Maybe… maybe whoever wants it isn’t trying to steal it for themselves.”

That was when Ariel saw it move. It was quick, but as they ascended the stairs back into the school, the smokey darkness moved across the entrance, like a train passing through a graveyard. It moved with purpose, Ariel could tell. It wanted her to see it. It had waited for her.

She didn’t know how she knew that.

Ariel froze, her blood running cold. Ron noticed that she’d stopped walking first, his eyes darting from Ariel, and then back to the entrance. His face didn’t hold anything other than concern, his eyes shining with worry.

“You okay?” Ron asked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to complain about Snape, I just —”

“It’s fine.” Ariel pushed past him, catching up with Hermione, who had stopped just past the main entrance. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“Wait — hey, Ariel, I’m really sorry.” Ron pleaded, but Ariel barely registered what he was saying. She just wanted to get away and into the Great Hall, surrounded by other people, and fast.

Ariel pulled Hermione with her as Ron hurried to catch up behind them. She gripped at her hand, making a beeline towards the Great Hall. The smell of roast chicken wafted through the foyer along with the din of students, and there was safety in numbers.

“The library —” Hermione started, but Ariel cut her off.

“Tomorrow,” Ariel said as the torches flickered. “we’ll go tomorrow. Nicolas Flamel isn’t going anywhere.”

————

Dumbledore had sent Severus a peace offering in the form of an ambush.

This was, of course, a move only utilized when push came to shove. It had been eighteen days, thirteen hours, and two minutes since Severus had last spoken to Dumbledore, the silent message between them at the Quidditch match a momentary lapse in judgement, but not at all a reason to restart the clock. Severus had no intentions of ending this either, the girl and whatever was inside the bloody school the only thing on his mind.

He watched Lily-thing scamper out of Hagrid’s hut, Granger and Weasley-twerp in tow. He was really trying to maintain the illusion that he was going to let her get anywhere near this — he didn’t even know what to fucking call it — whatever pedophiliac stalker was watching the girl, speaking to her on a plane of existence no one else could see.

It was not lost to Severus that he could be labeled the pedophiliac stalker, but the difference was that no one was going to find out that he was following the brat, and that he was trying to keep her from getting herself killed. He didn’t know what he was thinking, having the girl stay in his classroom after nightfall to see if anything… happened.

Weasley-twerp was complaining about something, throwing his hands up in exasperation while the girls exchanged a look behind his back. Lily-thing seemed distracted, her eyes drifting off into the distance as Weasley-twerp rambled. Granger seemed to be deep in thought — Severus knew that look from class. It came right before she called out a question, and Severus docked ten points.

He’d been following Lily-thing when she wandered outside of the castle. The coin he’d given her had a Tracking Charm on it, so if she went anywhere she wasn’t supposed to, or called for Severus, he’d be there in seconds. Lily-thing didn’t know the half of it, for obvious reasons, but Severus wasn’t fucking around with this Stone business anymore. Lily-thing had no idea how much danger she could be in, didn’t know how dark the magic that followed her was. If someone was following her in shadows, whispering her name and demanding things… it was soul-crushing magic, magic you couldn’t come back from. Magic that would tear you apart piece by piece, and it still wouldn’t be enough to satisfy.

Severus knew this magic well.

This was, of course, incredibly inconvenient for him. The Dark Lord had not yet returned, and Severus was watching the girl’s every move on top of keeping his storeroom and the infirmary well-stocked, performing his Head of House duties, and teaching the little dunderheads how not to blow each other up.

The price you pay, for becoming a father, Conscience said, coldly, carelessly, calculatingly.

You didn’t want anything to do with me! You act like Mum never existed, that it doesn’t matter that she’s not here —

He bit back a snarl.

Severus un-Disillusioned himself from behind the bush he’d been crouched behind. This was absolutely fucking ridiculous. If someone saw him, Severus was going to have to answer a lot of hard questions, and the last thing he needed was Dumbledore —

“Ah,” said a voice Severus had not heard for eighteen days, thirteen hours, and — now ten — minutes. “Severus, my boy, I didn’t think I’d find you out here.”

Severus eyed a nearby stick. The end was sharp enough so that if he thrust it into his eyeball, he could probably do enough brain damage. He did not turn to face Dumbledore, keeping his eyes locked on Lily-thing.

“I do recall recommending long walks as a sort of… outlet, if you will.” Dumbledore continued, as if they were discussing the weather. “I didn’t think you’d actually heed any advice from me, but it is a lovely evening.”

He’d been caught — there was no delaying this any longer. Lily-thing was giving Weasley-twerp a cross look, the boy averting his eyes sheepishly. After a moment, they disappeared over the hill, back up to the school. In a few minutes, they’d reappear as they continued the steep climb back.

Severus turned, letting out a deep sigh. There stood the Headmaster, his robes a soft lilac color (Severus noted that he knew that particular color swatch, with a tinge of horror). Dumbledore matched the sunset blooming behind them, pastels of pink and yellow and orange adorning the sky.

“I had planned on visiting Hagrid,” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled at him, like nothing was wrong, like he hadn’t a care in the world. “he’s expressed concern about some beast in the forest as of late, something hunting unicorns.”

A feeling pricked the back of Severus’ neck, like pins and needles scurrying down his spine.

“Well, don’t dally on my account,” Severus said coldly. The clock inside his head went off, making the insides of his ears rattle.

Dumbledore’s eyes met his, the same way they had at the Quidditch match. He gave Severus a long, searching look before clasping his hands together in front of him — here was the olive branch. “Hagrid will certainly understand if I explain that we had a serious matter to discuss.”

Something — not the clock — inside of Severus' brain felt like it had clicked off. He stared and stared at Dumbledore, the urge to laugh welling up inside of him, like there was a punchline he hadn’t yet figured out.

“You want to discuss a serious matter with me?” Severus asked, in a voice that shook around the edges. “Have you dictated that I’m once again worthy to be privy to such dialogue, or is this simply a rouse to lull me back into thinking I am to be trusted?”

Dumbledore finally frowned. “I trust you implicitly, Severus. I have never once doubted your loyalties since Tom set his sights on Lily and her family.”

He barked out a humorless laugh. “You didn’t trust me to deal with those human shitstains that made the girl their own personal house elf —”

“Severus —”

“Or with the fact that the Lily’s daughter wasn’t Potter’s at all — that if the Dark Lord were to find out, that I would immediately compromised with no hope of securing information for the Order since I would be dead, and the girl would be too —”

Severus turned away, a feeling in his chest that crushed his heart like an avalanche. If that foolish, incomprehensible girl had kept this secret all to herself —

“Severus, I realize the circumstances are not ideal,” there was a hand on his shoulder now. “but I can assure you that anything done on my part was not intended to cause you pain. Lily wanted —”

“What Lily wanted and what Lily had control over are two entirely different things.” Severus said through gritted teeth. “She wrote that letter for Miss Evans to find someday, yes, but if you had even an inkling of suspicion, it would have been far better to come from you rather than her. It should not have been Miss Evans’ burden to bear, alone.” As it had been Lily’s.

Dumbledore knew nothing of pain. He did not know what it felt like stare into that memory, to see Lily again, to have a piece of her Severus had made himself forget, that he had left her there, in that room at the inn. If Severus could, he would have gone back in time and never left her side. They could have fled to some distant country and waited for the Dark Lord to blow himself up. Lily would’ve been alive. The girl would be unmarked. Severus would not be a murderer.

It did nothing, to dwell on what could have been. He would tell Dumbledore none of this, anyway, so what did it matter?

“I am truly sorry, my friend.” Dumbledore said, his voice full of earnest and reassurance. “If there is anything I can do —”

“You can start by begging me not to hand in my letter of resignation.” Severus snapped, shoving him off.

They both knew he was bluffing, but it felt good to say out loud, to threaten Dumbledore with something that would cause literally anyone else a mite of distress, were they in his position. Severus didn’t want an apology — he wanted to forget that any of this had ever happened.

“You have threatened me with resignation many times before,” Dumbledore chuckled. “Although, I would admit that the pen is mightier than the sword.”

“I could exercise my parental rights and take the girl far away from here.” Severus said, without a trace of humor.

He thought of Lily, penning a letter to a baby she knew she might never get a chance to watch grow up. He thought of the baby, the girl, reading that letter, and the grim determination she’d carried with her ever since. Severus was still figuring out how to rid himself of Lily-things’ hope that he could ever be anything other than a distant figure, someone she might not have ever known if Potter and Lily were still alive.

“Have you decided how you want to go forward, then?” Dumbledore asked, his eyes looking straight through him.

Severus stared ahead, watching the girl turn into a dot in the distance. He could still make out Lily-things’ hair, the same color of the leaves he crushed underfoot.

“I don’t intend on breaking my promise,” said Severus.

“Your promise was to protect Lily’s daughter.” Dumbledore turned, following his gaze. It softened before turning back to him. “I would imagine that vow would mean more now more than ever.”

It did… and didn’t. Lily-thing was the last of her mother, that had not changed. What had changed was that Lily-thing was also a part of Severus. He had never planned on having children — the thought was nauseating — or to marry. He hated people, and people hated him. He wasn’t fit to be anything other than repulsive to others. The only person he’d ever considered to be any kind of partner had been Lily, and even then, he had spent years trying to rid himself of his emotions, his feelings, to cease caring about her and thinking of her. Severus couldn’t fathom that the two of them had created that girl, that she existed so effortlessly, that she carried her mother’s heart so close to her own.

“It’s… by my own actions that she’s here,” Severus said. “And it is by my own actions that she finds herself in danger.”

Dumbledore finally looked something akin to troubled. “I wanted to discuss the Quidditch match with you, my friend. I am worried that someone would try something so bold, in front of not only the staff, but the students as well.”

“That’s not all you need to be worried about.” Severus said, a feeling in his veins like ice. “The girl is being followed by… something.”

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at him. “Something… other than you?”

Severus bit back a retort that would only lead to him brooding later on. “The girl says something is following her. Something only she can see.”

Dumbledore’s face hardened, his blue eyes clear and concentrated, like he was putting together a puzzle with no pieces. He motioned with his head, pivoting away from Lily-thing and her cronies. “Walk with me, Severus. Tell me more.”

He did, trying to keep any kind of emotion out of his voice when he did so. Emotions would convey something other than what Dumbledore already knew, and what Dumbledore knew was that Severus would protect Lily-thing at all costs. He was trying to reach inside of Severus and find a bright, shiny trophy, something that would affirm that Severus was capable of being something more than a double-agent. Lily had tried to do the same, and it had only brought the two of them misery.

“This does concern me, my boy.” Dumbledore said once Severus had finished. They’d waded into the entrance of the Forest, not entering, but lingering on the outskirts. An owl hooted somewhere nearby, a curious sound that invited them to come closer.

“As it should,” Severus said, tension building in his jaw. “since it’s only a matter of time until it’s patience wears out.”

“It cannot touch her,” Dumbledore shook his head, but his face was still set in deep thought. “Lily’s sacrifice ensured that. Tom himself wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on the child.”

“Light believes it travels the fastest, but what it forgets is that the darkness is always there to greet it.” Severus said coolly. “Lily’s sacrifice is certainly protection enough, but you forget that the Dark Lord will not stop until he has the girl.”

“It cannot harm her.” Dumbledore said firmly. “Of this I am certain. I do, however, find it troublesome that only Ariel can see and hear it. Perhaps more alarming is that it believes Ariel to have something it wants.”

“What could it possibly want from the girl, other than the Stone?” Severus asked, turning his attention back to the girl. He could no longer see her, a feeling that felt like panic gripping at him. He shoved it away, wanting to Hex it into nothingness, into oblivion. “And even then, Albus, she’s barely a first year. It cannot truly believe that the girl knows how to get past the trapdoor.”

Dumbledore was silent, his gaze impenetrable, but Severus could tell his mind was somewhere else. “Tom needs very little reason to believe that those he distrusts have ulterior motives. You know this better than anyone, I’m afraid.”

Severus stared at Dumbledore, stared and stared and stared until his eyes began to burn, his heart beating to an entirely new rhythm of panic. The ground beneath felt unsteady, uneven.

“The Dark Lord,” Severus felt the words sticking to his throat like spiderwebs. “could not have infiltrated the school. You said it yourself, it’s impossible.”

“As long as I am here, yes.” Dumbledore nodded, his blue eyes piercing. “That does not, however, eliminate the possibility that someone is working on his behalf, and is practicing the Dark Arts inside of Hogwarts.”

A thought was blossoming inside of Severus’ mind, something so vast and moving swiftly, covering everything until it was upon him. “You — you knew this all along.”

Dumbledore bowed his head. “Nicolas expressed concern, and warned me that this was a possibility. He’d been… receiving signs through dreams. Tom has been attacking his mind, since Nicolas cannot die physically. Tom wanted the Stone to not only retain his physical body, but to obtain immortality.”

hey it’s me you want yeah

come and get me

I have to tell you something

something’s happening and I don’t know how to make it stop

make it stop

A frantic, desperate tidal wave was building up inside of Severus, the world shimmering around the edges. “And you still allowed for the Stone to be kept here?”

“Hogwarts is the safest place to keep it from Tom.” he sounded so calm, so serene, and it made Severus angrier. He could see the girl in his mind’s eye, watching her small face twist as she told him about the force that called to her, how her tiny frame trembled, but her voice stayed strong, unwavering.

“Not if the Dark Lord is INSIDE OF THE SCHOOL!” Severus finally shouted, everything he’d been trying (and succeeding) at keeping at bay breaking loose, like a tidal wave. “You allowed the girl to come here knowing that the Dark Lord wanted not only the Stone, but that he could murder the girl and claw his way back to a corporeal form all in one fell swoop!”

“He is not here, Severus.” Dumbledore said, and Severus could have sworn their shadows became longer, the sky darker. “He will not step foot in this school so long as I am Headmaster.”

Dumbledore’s magic fizzled in the air around him, though Severus could tell it wasn’t directed at him. He wanted the girl safe as much as Severus did, wanted to keep her out of the Dark Lord’s clutches and had done everything to ensure it. This was what they had been planning, what they’d spent countless nights combing through, ensuring that Lily-thing would be safe.

And even that had failed, ten years ago.

A breeze blew through the airs, their leaves shaking like Severus’ hands. Off in the distance, something howled, a long, wounded sound as the sun finally disappeared behind the horizon.

“I would ask that you would continue to keep an eye on Quirinus.” Dumbledore said quietly after a long period of silence. “He is the only member of the staff of whom I am not entirely certain can be trusted.”

Severus spat at the ground. “Quirrell is spineless —”

“Please, Severus.” Dumbledore interrupted, holding up a withered hand. “If not for my peace of mind, then for Ariel’s. She cannot be exposed to such forces.”

“She has already been exposed!” Severus heard his voice rising again, but he didn’t care. “She has been stalked by this… this thing — if it is the Dark Lord, surely she must leave the school!”

“The safest place for Ariel is here.” Dumbledore said sternly.

“But you just said —”

“It could very well be Tom’s astral projection into the school with someone’s assistance,” Dumbledore’s voice softened. “but as I said before, neither of them could hurt Ariel. I give you my word on that, Severus.”

Severus leaned against the nearest tree. He was distantly aware that he was breathing heavily, panting as he struggled to shove his anger, his fear, his panic, and all-consuming desperation back beneath the Shields of his Occlumency.

“It is touching —” Dumbledore began.

“Don’t,” Severus threw behind him. “Do not.”

He steadied his breathing, racking his brain for a counter argument that would disarm Dumbeldore, but he could not find one. If Lily-thing left Hogwarts, she would be terribly exposed, even with all of the Wards in the world surrounding her. The Stone needed to be taken from the school, but the idea of the Dark Lord getting his hands on it was equally as terrifying. The girl would be in even more danger, but she was already in danger —

There was no alternative. Dumbledore, as dense and mental and infuriatingly benign as he was in his beliefs, was right. The Dark Lord had to be discouraged, had to be stopped, but he should not be able to touch the girl. He could not. He would not. Severus would make sure of it.

Severus did not know which thought scared him more — the Dark Lord, or what could happen to that reckless child.

“The girl mentioned a poem,” Severus said, his heart heavy. “that was you, wasn’t it?”

He turned when he heard no answer. Dumbledore was gone, the only sound the wind whispering through the trees.

————

Ariel hurried down to her detention with one shoe untied and her rucksack unbuckled.

She wasn’t about to be late for her fake-detention when she was only six days into it. In her defense, Ariel had gotten carried away with hearing about how some of the Gryffindors had taken creative liberties with the note she’d left on Malfoy’s back. He’d been giving her horrid looks all of dinner, his cutlery screeching against the plates as they ate. Ron, who seemed to be in much better spirits after eating, laughed so hard that he fell over a few times. Ariel couldn’t help but let herself forget about the Giant Smoke Monster, the Stone and Snape when Seamus reenacted Professor McGonagall showing Malfoy the note on his back after he’d tried to Hex Oliver Wood.

Snape was already waiting for her when she entered, lightly knocking on the door as she pushed into the classroom, clutching at the stitch in her side. He frowned as she walked in, trying to hide the fact that she was out of breath.

“Anything?” Snape demanded in a sharp voice.

It took Ariel a minute to figure out what he meant.

“Before… just outside the school.” she swallowed roughly. “It didn’t stick around or say anything to me, but… I saw it.”

Fury cracked across his face. “And you didn’t tell me?”

Her stomach dropped to her feet. The coin —

Embarrassment washed over her in thick waves, followed quickly by horror. She wasn’t even a week in, and she’d already broken her promise.

“It didn’t talk to me or anything!” Ariel said desperately. “I only saw it for a second!”

Snape began to do a remarkable impression of a fire-breathing dragon.

“I’m sorry!” Ariel said again, meaning every inch of it. “It was so fast and Ron and Hermione were with me… I didn’t want to stick around and for something to happen! We were going to dinner anyway, and then I was going straight to you. It never stays!”

“Until it did, and it started speaking to you!” Snape snarled, his face white with anger.

Tell me tell me what it said

Tell me

TELL ME

Ariel looked away, biting her lip. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Her hands and feet were suddenly cold, a feeling in her heart like a riptide. She snuck a glance up at Snape, who slowly moved away, his lip curled. His eyes were bright, a fire blazing behind them.

“Foolish girl,” Snape muttered, still extremely cross, but the edge was gone. “sit down and busy yourself with whatever you fancy. You will tell me next time you see or hear anything, or so help me, I will have you in detention every waking moment you are not in class for the next seven years.”

“I just didn’t want them to get hurt.”

It took Ariel a minute to realize the voice that spoke was hers. Snape stared down at her, past his hooked nose and curtain of hair.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

“Ron and Hermione,” Ariel said, swallowing the rock in her throat. “I didn’t want to tell them when I saw it in case whatever that thing is got mad and came back. I don’t want them to know about it, because the more I pay attention to it, the more I see it. What if it starts bothering them?”

Snape gave her an inscrutable look. “It might have escaped your notice, but Miss Granger and Mr Weasley did not lead to the downfall of a deranged madman.”

“The Bludger could’ve hurt Hermione.”

Snape’s eyes glittered dangerously. “All the more reason for you to think about your actions going forward.”

Ariel sighed, dejected and relieved. She’d half expected him to throw her out right then and there. “I will. I promise.”

Snape made a noise that sounded half-growl, half words stuck at the back of his throat. He waved flippantly at the workbench closest to the front of the room, right near the storerooms where he usually spent their detentions. Ariel dragged her feet over, throwing her rucksack on the tabletop as Snape disappeared to count ingredients or take inventory, or whatever it was he did. Ariel wanted to ask, but she felt too silly to bother Snape now.

When she found out who or what this Giant Smoke Monster was, she was going to give them a piece of her mind.

She reluctantly took out her Charms textbook and a roll of parchment, not at all in the mood to do any sort of schoolwork. Ariel couldn’t figure out how Hermione did it without complaining. She liked school too, but Hermione took it to a whole other level. She wished more than anything that she could just curl up on one of the couches in Gryffindor Tower right now and practice Fire-Making charms next to the fireplace. Neville had made the mistake of practicing in the dormitory the other night, and had nearly burnt the Tower down.

Something moved out of the corner of Ariel’s eyes, tearing her away from her thoughts. It was Snape, standing in the doorway of the storeroom with an assortment of jars in his arms, his eyes watching her closely. She wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“Is it bothering you?” Snape demanded, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Ariel hadn’t realized it, but she’d been touching her scar. “No, it’s just… a habit. I touch it when I’m thinking.”

His reaction took her off guard. He stalked over to the front of the room, slammed down the jars, and took the lid off of the cauldron, the ginormous one at the very front of the classroom. Snape fumed into the cauldron for a moment, like something was at the bottom he wanted to kill before he noticed that Ariel was staring at him.

“Well?” Snape bit out. “Don’t you have an essay to write?”

Ariel wanted to ask him how he knew that, but when she looked down at the workbench, it was quite obvious what she was trying to do. Professor Flitwick wanted six inches on the theory of pyrokinetics in Charms by tomorrow afternoon. Luckily, that was the class that Ariel had decided to try and take detailed notes, but she wasn’t sure if she’d done a good job. She’d gotten distracted halfway through class when some of the smoke had wafted across the room, and for a heart-stopping moment she’d thought it was the Giant Smoke Monster. Needless to say, Ariel hadn’t been able to focus much after that.

Ariel studied Snape instead of working on her Charms essay. Once he started brewing, he seemed to calm down, the stiffness in his shoulders melting away. The lines in his face had faded away, his mouth set in a tight line as he concentrated. Ariel had never seen him look this way, it looked sorta… peaceful.

She stared at the notes she’d taken, unable to figure out if she’d written an f or a lazy l. Either way, she couldn’t decipher what the bloody hell she’d written.

“What’re you brewing?” Ariel asked finally, her brain moments away from turning into mush.

“A potion.” Snape said, sounding bored. Or maybe he was trying to concentrate. Or he was still mad.

She straightened up, trying to make herself sound interested instead of desperate. “What kind of potion?”

“Dreamless Sleep.” he turned, dropping some sort ofherb into the cauldron Ariel didn’t recognize. It glowed like sunlight, but it was a deep, royal purple.

Ariel perked up — she’d half expected Snape to ignore her, and they hadn’t learned anything like that yet. “Are we learning that next week?”

“You’ll learn before the end of this year,” Snape’s eyes were cold and hard, like diamonds. “that is, if you pay any attention.”

Ariel gaped at him for a moment before scowling. “I always pay attention!”

Snape gave a ripping snort. “You’re too busy making Longbottom doesn’t accidentally chop off an appendage.”

“I am not! You never give me back my papers.” Ariel challenged. “What are my marks like in your class?”

“They’re not abysmal.”

“My potions always end up looking like yours!” Ariel shot back, affronted.

“Incorrect,” Snape put a Stasis charm on the potion, glaring at her. “Longbottom usually ends up butchering the preparation of the ingredients, so your final product loses some of its… potency.”

Ariel stared at him, suddenly furious. “Then why haven’t you said anything to me?”

She genuinely liked Potions — it was the only class where they made something every day, where she was able to turn her brain off and work on something that could be useful. Not to mention that she was doing her damndest to try and impress him. To hear that her marks had been less than stellar was incredibly disappointing… unless he was just being a giant git. That wouldn’t have been surprising.

“I say all I need to in my instruction.” Snape said coolly.

“Yeah, but how am I supposed to get any better if you don’t tell me?”

“It is not a fault that lies with you, Miss Evans, but with Mr Longbottom.”

“You could try being nicer to him.”

“Being nice won’t teach that boy anything,” Snape sneered. “He’s got to keep a level head if he’s going to brew anything without accidentally poisoning himself, or someone else.”

“He’s only a nervous wreck because he’s terrified of you!” Ariel shot back.

“There would be nothing to fear if he didn’t let his emotions get the better of him.”

Ariel fumed into her parchment. Snape was such a git — she didn’t know why it bothered her so much. He wasn’t even nice when he was trying to be… well, nice. Snape didn’t have to have these fake detentions with her, but he was certainly making it known that he wasn’t thrilled about it. Poor Neville couldn’t help being terrified of Snape when Snape went out of his way to terrorize him.

As you wish

When she looked up, Snape was back at concentrating on the Dreamless Sleep. His eyebrows were furrowed now, not in concentration anymore, but like he was thinking about something deeply regretful.

Her anger fizzled away. She thought of the woman in the mirror, in her dreams, because now, she had the same feeling she did when she woke up. It was a feeling that ran through her fingers like sand, so close to touching, but small and undefined, unable to be given a name.

“Can I… have some, do you think?” Ariel blurted out. “Of the Dreamless Sleep?”

Snape’s eyes shot to hers, narrowed in suspicion. “Why?”

Ariel bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him or not. She did trust him, despite Ron’s claims. He was her father, and even if he didn’t like it, he’d felt some obligation to protect her because of Mum. He’d saved her from the Giant Smoke Monster, the Bludger, and the Dursleys… surely Ariel could tell him about some weird dreams, right?

She sucked in a deep breath. “I’ve been having weird dreams that wake me up. I can’t go back to sleep after.”

Snape didn’t look at her, but his head tilted. “You can have some once you learn how to brew it.”

Ariel blinked at him. “But you said we won’t learn it until the end of the year!”

“Then I guess you’ll have to wait.”

She wanted to throw her quill at him. She’d thrown things at Dudley when he’d made her angry, knowing it would incur Aunt Petunia’s wrath. Something told her that if she threw something at Snape, she’d have bigger things to worry about than the Giant Smoke Monster.

Instead, Ariel picked up her quill and began scratching away at the parchment. She didn’t write anything in particular, but made sure the sound was loud enough that it was audible. She swung her feet back and forth so that her boots skimmed the stone floor, making a scratchscratchscratch sound as they brushed the floor.

Ariel knew when Snape’s eyes were on her, because she could feel the temperature in the room drop.

That’s when she began to hum — she didn’t know many songs, but Lavender and Parvarti played this one song by the Weird Sisters over and over again, only Ariel couldn’t remember the chorus, which meant she was making half of it up. If Snape caught on to that, he didn’t make it known, but after about thirty seconds of the writing and the scratching and the humming, he snapped.

“For the love of —” Snape gave an exasperated sigh. “If you insist on imposing yourself upon me, then you might as well make yourself useful.”

She bit back a smile. “How?”

Snape glowered at her. “I’m assuming your risible study habits stem from the desire to watch me brew.”

“Just a little.”

“Then you’ll assist me.” Snape beckoned her forward with his index finger. Ariel tried to contain the bubble of excitement that grew inside her chest, quickly making her way to his side, beside the cauldron. She quickly realized that there was going to be a problem, as she was half a head shorter than the cauldron.

Snape wordlessly Summoned a stool, jerking his head at Ariel to step up. Her face went as red as her hair. She was the shortest girl in her year, which made her the shortest girl in school, and she hated it. Pansy looked like she wanted to step on her, sometimes, and as much as Ariel couldn’t stand the thought, if it came down to it, Pansy would win in a fist-fight, no question.

(She thought about punching Pansy in the face, a lot)

“Thanks,” Ariel mumbled.

Snape didn’t say anything. Instead, her handed her a vial of something red that looked a whole lot like —

Ariel stood on her tip-toes and gazed down into the cauldron. It was a murky grey, steam rising up the bubbles as it hissed back at her. “Why do you need blood?”

“It’s dragon’s blood,” Snape said, leaning over the cauldron.

She perked up. “Ron’s brother Charlie works with dragons!”

“Fascinating.” Snape said, as if it were anything but.

“Did you have him? As a student, I mean.”

“I’ve had the displeasure of teaching all of the Weasleys.”

Ariel frowned. “You don’t like them?”

“Why someone would want that many children is beyond me,” said Snape, his eyes focused on the cauldron. “Especially after those horrid twins.”

“I think they’re wonderful.” Ariel said, very matter-of-factly.

“I never said anything about how wonderful they are, Miss Evans, only that they’ve had an annoying amount of children.”

Ariel wanted to point out that he was in charge of hundreds of children, seeing as Snape was Slytherin’s Head of House, but decided against it. He’d probably ground her into potion’s ingredients, or worse, just drop her in the cauldron right then and there.

“The dragon’s blood is quite unstable,” Snape said. “It will need to go in last.”

“What happens if it goes in too early?” Ariel asked, her curiosity piqued.

“It will have the opposite effect — instead of a restful sleep, the person ingesting it will find themselves unable to do so.”

Well that sounded… unpleasant. “Oh… for how long?”

“If you were to add in the dragon’s blood now, it would be about a week, but by that point, the ingestor would have descended into madness.”

Ariel grimaced. “So how do you know when to put it in?”

Snape quirked an eyebrow at her. “I’ve just added the lavender extract — you tell me.”

It took Ariel a minute to register that he was being Professor Snape. She stifled the urge to roll her eyes. “Well, you said in class that lavender disintegrates quickly… so you’d need to put that in as the base, right?”

He gave a short nod. “And what properties does lavender possess?”

Ariel pondered this for a moment. “It’s supposed to reduce stress and anxiety, isn’t it? It makes you calm.”

“Dragon’s blood is quite potent in it’s own properties.” Snape said, without telling Ariel if she’d been right or wrong. She assumed she was, because he wasn’t calling her a dunderhead. “It allows for the base ingredients’ abilities to be heightened, leading to a dreamless sleep rather than just making the ingestor drowsy.”

“Cool,” she muttered, mostly to herself. When she peered back up at Snape, he had a peculiar expression on his face. “So, once the lavender disintegrates, I can add in the dragon’s blood?”

Snape gave another quick nod, but Ariel could sense that something was… off. He was staring at her strangely, like she’d sprouted a second head and he was trying to remain calm. Ariel wondered what she’d said, but she didn’t really care. All that mattered was that he was allowing her to brew a Potion with him, a Potion that they hadn’t learned yet, and that would help her sleep tonight.

“Was Mum good at Potions?” Ariel asked quietly.

Snape made a strange sound, like all the air was being sucked out of him with a vacuum. “She had a knack for them — Charms were her area of expertise.”

“Professor Flitwick said she wanted to be a Healer.”

He didn’t say anything to that. Instead, he glanced back down at the cauldron. “You may add the dragon’s blood now. Pour it in slowly so that the potion has time to absorb it.”

Ariel nodded jerkily and did as she was told. When she looked up, waiting for Snape to say something in approval, she found him turned away from her, his back hunched like he was trying to disappear into himself. It looked like an incredibly private moment, one Ariel didn’t dare try to break him from.

He didn’t move as Ariel hopped off the stool and set the empty vial down beside him. She was about to ask if he was okay when his eyes darted to hers, bright and glittering, but cold. Ariel could feel their iciness against the goosebumps on her skin.

She wordlessly went back to her workbench and pretended to work on her essay, trying to figure out what she’d done, but some small voice in the back of her head told her it wasn’t her. It did not tug at some great sadness inside of her, the same sadness that had lulled her to sleep after Halloween.

It would never be about her, because to Snape, it would always be about Mum.

Snape’s hand was suddenly in front of her face. Ariel peered up at him warily, but his face was blank.

“Come,” he said. “It's nearly curfew.”

Snape moved past her, but as Ariel went to pack up her things, she saw what he’d left behind. It was a vial of Dreamless Sleep, along with instructions. Ariel ripped the bottom part of the parchment and quickly scribbled thank you at the bottom, placing it where the vial had been. Something told Ariel that Snape wouldn’t acknowledge her saying it to him, but that he would read her words and understand.

Just like Mum’s letter.

Chapter End Notes:

————

A/N: I know literally nothing about potions/chemistry, so if you think I made up everything about the potion, you are correct! I tried to do some research into what canonically would make sense, but alas, the fictional world of Harry Potter wiki has failed me.

Thank you for the outpouring of reviews last chapter, they mean the world. If you could leave a review on this one, I would greatly appreciate it :,)

Until next time! xx


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