Chapter 5
“Have you heard? if you get too close or talk to Snape, you’ll get a stroke of bad luck.”
“Snape? As in the Slytherin gloomy girl, who the marauders kept bullying before? The one who had a friend in Gryffindor before she insulted her?”
“That’s the one, apparently a group of Gryffindors was teasing her and during the night when they were asleep, fireworks started shooting out underneath their beds, fortunately, no one was hurt but their room was a mess. After that, girls from both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws were making rumors about her, and the next day they all got big zits in their faces, even the Slytherins were not excused. You remember when two boys came in the Great Hall who was looking green, as in literally, well someone saw them what looked like they were threatening Snape in the library and that how that happened.”
“They all sound like silly pranks to me though, maybe it was the Marauders who did it. And it seems like all of them were because they were bullying the girl”
“Then why are they all connected to Snape, it’s not like they would defend her when they’re the ones who started it.”
“Then have you seen people who are talking to her normally get misfortune?”
“I didn’t know people talked to her other than her Gryffindor friend, I bet they would get it anyways, she’s like a black cat, a bad omen. That’s why people have been steering clear away from her.”
Severina couldn’t take it anymore; she came here to study not hear people gossip about her. She stood up and picked up her books then rounded the shelf that was keeping her hidden to confront the two girls talking.
“Ahem.” The girls swiveled their heads to see Snape standing there.
“Since you haven’t fully grasped the concept of what gossiping is, you have to check your surroundings to make sure I am out of earshot before you start talking shit about me.” She said as she rolled her eyes and walked away but not before hearing another girl say “Oh God do you think misfortune will befall me.” Horrified the talky one while she saw the other girl face palm herself.
James was expecting this grumpy woman to be sitting hunched at a rock or underneath a tree and studying or doing whatever work was given, not singing. Never in his life would he have expected to see or hear Snape sing and what was unexpected was that she was good or maybe even better.
He didn’t know what to do so he just stood there in his Animagus form waiting for her to notice him and she did.
“What are you standing there for? You could come closer you know.” He did and like always he lay down beside her and she continued her singing as she stroked his back. He was mesmerized he never knew Snape could be so talented other than studying potions.
After she was done, she became quiet for a moment. “My mother… she used to sing that to me, she’s gone now, although I’m not good like her or Lily, I would sometimes sing to myself as a false comfort.” She said as she stared nowhere
“People have been recently talking behind my back, saying I’m bad luck. I don’t mind it since they started avoiding me, it’s been quiet and peaceful save for the annoying girls who like to gossip other than that, I’ve been doing good… but quite lonely. “James was starting to feel guilty, maybe what he did was not the best idea after all.
“I miss Lily, she was my only friend who accepted me and I destroyed her trust, she wouldn’t even accept my apology, I guess that was the stretch of our friendship, and as much I hate to admit it, I quite miss James as well, even though all he did was embarrassed me, at least he looked my way.” James felt like he couldn’t breathe, did he just hear Snape right? Did she miss him? HIM?
“He would probably do an unforgivable curse on me if he ever finds out, that I like him.” WHAT? James's head was screaming with so many questions. It seems that he didn’t only have bad eyesight but hearing as well because Snape just did not admit that she likes James of all people.
“Do you think if I were pretty, he would like me back?” She asked as she looked sideways to gaze at James's deer eyes as if she could see into his soul and know that it was him behind the mask before deflecting her eyes to return to stare at nowhere.
“Who am I kidding? He only has eyes for Lily because there no more beautiful than her, I also think so too.”
That wasn’t true, lately, his eyes seem to be only looking for this woman who was next to him, and his mind is filled with thoughts about her. Sure, Lily is more attractive than Severina—well if he was being honest most girls are more attractive than her but he was starting to find Severina to be more likable or appealing, perhaps it was the guilt building up.
“Alight, let’s stop dwelling on such depressing thoughts. The ice on the pond seems to have finally thickened.” She abruptly stood up.
“I’ll go for a little skate, but you can’t since you’re too heavy we’ll might both fall and freeze to death, and don’t look at me like that, you are heavy and I’m lighter than you since I don’t eat as much as you do.” She hmphed as she transfigures her shoes into skating shoes.
Severina didn’t glide like a figure skater but nonetheless, it was still graceful, James thought of the muggle story of the Ugly Duckling who turned out to be a swan because at that moment Snape just did look like a swan.
“Remind me again what exactly are we looking for?” Peter asked, the room of requirement was too messy and dusty that it made Peters's nose itch too much.
“We’re looking for something that will help us prank some meddlesome girls who are making false accusations,” James replied as he lifted off a grimy rug covering some weird trinkets—Room of requirements my arse, more like filthy storage.
“Why are you acting like a girl? Since when do you care what these vixens talk about anyways?” Sirius grumbled while opening a trunk.
“Will you guys just stop complaining and help me out?” James sighed.
Remus who was quiet moved closer to James.
“What are you planning,” Remus asked in a hushed voice
“I already explain—"
“Not that, I know you’re hiding something James and while Sirius is too dense to know what it is, Peter is suspecting something as well and he’s not the only one.”
“I don’t know what you mean by that Moony, I’m just having a bit of fun like always.”
“You stopped doing that after a certain case, and it seems like your targets are more specific, so stop beating around the bush and just say—”
“Shhhhh, do you guys hear that?” Sirius interrupted
They all went to hide and see what or who it was, they weren’t taking any chances if it turned out to be Filch and saw them after curfew.
But unexpectedly it wasn’t the grouchy squib, but it might be as well a close guess to him because it was Snape.
“Merlin’s beard where the bloody hell did, I left it.” Severina cursed as she looks for a book.
Earlier this afternoon, someone was following her, being a woman she was scared, of course, magic was not a problem if it was a one-on-one, but the hallway was deserted and she didn’t know how many were following her or who they were.
She didn’t want to take the risk so she tried to run and look for a place to hide when a door suddenly appeared, she didn’t have time be to cautious and just went in.
What was inside was full of strange things and furniture, pixies flying around, the whole place was covered in cobwebs and dust, the room of requirements she thought, she read about it but never expected to find it.
She was too busy looking around that she didn’t realize the time and went to leave in hurry, but not before a book fell out of her bag.
A very important book to her, with corrected potion ingredients, how to properly concoct them, and spells that she had created. A very dangerous book when given to the wrong hands.
“Found it!” cried the Slytherin. as she was about to leave, she heard thudding. At first, she thought she was hallucinating things or maybe it was the pixies trying to scare her, but she heard it again and it sounded like it was trying to gain her attention.
She looked around to see where the noises were coming from and narrowed it to a tall figure that a white sheet was covering.
She pulled the fabric that was draping it and revealed a cabinet. It was oddly shaped with a curve and its front was covered in mirrors, the knob has the shape of a man’s face. The cabinet moved again violently.
Lately, it seems that Severina has been foolish and impulsive due to the peacefulness. Like entering a room and opening doors, but as the terms say, curiosity killed the cat and now she is paying the consequences of her actions as the man who came out of the door is holding a belt and beer bottle, her father.
Severina felt like a Petrification spell had hit her and she couldn’t breathe, she was frozen in her place. “H-How… you were s-supposed to be dead…” she stammered
“Did you think you could get rid of me that easy girl!? You and your mother are an abomination to this world, she probably tricked me into marrying her by sorcery!” Tobias roared.
“Don’t you talk about her like that! You’re the reason she's dead!”
“Then I shall let you meet her again.” He said with a glint in his eyes as he broke the bottle, spattering its liquid contents on the floor and raising the broken bottle above his head.
Severina backed away but slip on the spilled liquor and her back fell on something sharp, stabbing her.
“Severina!” cried someone but not being able to comprehend who it was as her visions blurred for reasons that she was losing a lot of blood.
But she saw what look like the stag she was meeting in the woods shoved her father aside and someone shouting ‘Riddikulus’ before seeing nothing but black.