Chapter 12
2 October 1990
The Quicker Fix’er Elixir was strong and bitter, but luckily it left no after taste, and you swallowed down your dose fast. You chased it with a potion for the headache that had developed since last night.
Last night after that bewildering encounter with Snape.
You shook off the heebie-jeebies that crept up your back. All that mattered was a ceasefire was agreed upon. An end to the nonsense. But even so, you were left with a weird feeling about it. Like, maybe you had seen something you shouldn’t have– a locked door shrouded in fog that shouldn’t have been noticed. . .
It did no good to linger on it, you decided to yourself with a final huff, and shoved it all to the back of your mind.You had work to do and it was time to get back to it at full throttle. You locked your chambers behind you and started off to the dungeons.
As you neared Snape’s office, you realized that the door to the potions classroom was wide open, light spilling out through the doorway.
“What in the world?” It was after dinner, who would be in there now? You stepped into the classroom and your eyes went wide in astonishment.
“Dear Merlin, what happened here?”
The potions classroom was in complete disarray. The tables were covered in spills and splotches of unknown ingredients. Cauldrons, dirty dishes, vials, and stirring tools were upturned and littered on said tables. The floor was covered in pieces of scrapped and crumbled parchment, random bits, crumbs, and smears. Even the large scales on the far table that students used to measure ingredients, were tangled and on their sides.
Snape stood over a small desk tucked into a corner, sorting through stacks of parchment. He looked up when you walked in and smirked at your astonished face.
“We’ll be working here tonight, instead of my office.” He tapped on a stack of parchment. “The second year quizzes still need to be finished, and the third years have just turned in their essays on the Girding Potion.”
You nodded in vague agreement. “Yeah, sure… Did someone attack or something? What happened?”
“My seventh years came in for a bit of extra credit.” He said, feigning indifference. Then he pretended to study the scene critically and he tapped his chin. “I suppose they were a bit eager in their work.”
“Just a bit huh.”
A hard knock at the doorway of the class interrupted, and the two students from yesterday stepped in. The Gryfindor, Kettles, had his hands in his pocket, trying to play cool and unbothered, while the Ravenclaw, Strix, had a stubborn frown on his face. But when they took in the state of the room their eyes went wide and their mouths dropped.
“We’re here for our detention Professors.”
Snape turned to them with a flourish. “Wands. Now.” He snatched them out of their hands and motioned to the room. “The two of you will be cleaning every inch of this room by hand. If it takes you all night, you won’t be leaving until every cauldron is scrubbed and every dish is dried and put away. Supplies are in the back closet– get to it.”
Kettles groaned and gave Strix a nudge with his elbow and muttered, “Told ya we’d be cleanin’.” He seemed resigned to the punishment, and shook himself out of his burgundy sweater to drape carefully over one of the chairs.
Strix, on the other hand, was incensed and stared after Snape, who had already taken a seat behind the small corner desk. “This isn’t fair, we can’t clean all of this in one night! It’s too much!” He looked over at Kettles to see if he would agree, but Kettles gave him scowl and headed for the closet at the far end of the room. “I have History of Magic homework and a test in Charms tomorrow morning. I can’t be stuck here all night!”
“Then I suggest you stop blathering like a fool and get. To. It.” Snape answered coldly.
Finally, Strix looked up at you, his eyes pleading. But there wasn’t a thing you could do. Yeah Snape was kind of being a jerk, getting the seventh years to come in and create a disaster, but administering detention was left to the professor's discretion. You yourself had suffered a good handful of detentions at the hand of the potions master so– while you could empathize -– you knew arguing or complaining would be pointless.
“It’s best to get started.” you told him softly, “Professor Snape isn’t kidding- he won’t let you leave till it’s done.” Strix huffed, but turned to join Kettles, who was still looking through the supply closet.
You pulled up a spare chair and took a seat. An awkward tension fell on you, now that you sat in front of him. As you got out your things, you peeked over at him, trying to discreetly study his face. Maybe you had imagined all those things last night? Perhaps those flashes of regret and pain had just been tricks of the light?
Snape, to his credit, didn’t say anything or even look at you, instead examining a small vial of dark blue potion. The vial in his hand glowed faintly with the charm he cast wordlessly. Looking carefully at the twisting wisps of light, his eyes flickered and he jotted down a note into the open grade book in front of him, before picking up another vial.
“Planning on doing any work, [Last Name], or should I start on those quizzes myself?” His testy question snapped you out of your small daze. You undid the stopper on your red ink pot and pulled the first stack of quizzes toward you.
Quiz grading was easy, and after a few minutes you were comfortably absorbed in your work. You noted that this felt like a nice change– the class room felt much less claustrophobic then Snape’s office, and the sound of the two boys working was nice background static. But you had to admit that you missed the old worn armchair; despite being a bit small, it was wonderfully cozy and always had a faint, pleasant smell of clove and bergamot.
You moved to adjust your position on the hard wooden stool at the same moment Snape had reached out a hand to grab one of your graded quizzes for review.
“Hey stop it! You’re making a bigger mess!”
Strix gave Kettles a shove and held the broom and dustpan away at arms length. “No I’m not, you are! Just let me do the sweeping and we’ll get done faster! Go scrub the cauldrons.”
“Quiet you two!” Snape barked out, “I’ll get rid of the brooms and have you cleaning off the floor by hand.”
The two blanched at the suggestion and quieted down, muttering angrily to each other instead. Snape rolled his eyes and, without a glance at your quiz, he placed it back down in the stack and went back to the potions.
You hid your grin behind a parchment. Well that was interesting; he didn’t even bother to look at it. Was he really that easily exasperated by the two boys arguing?
You’d soon find out because the quiet didn’t last- the two continued their fighting, prompting continued threats from Snape. Fortunately, for you, their timing was delightfully perfect.
Every time Snape was about to grab one of your parchments, or was about to say something sarcastic when you had to stop for a moment to stretch or rest your eyes, the two behind you started shouting at each other, throwing rags or debris, and making a bigger mess. You felt immensely grateful for their troublemaking– you couldn't imagine doing this without them here to take attention off of you.
But it made you think back to your own first few years at Hogwarts. Were you ever just as rambunctious and wild as them? Well, maybe not as wild, but certainly just as mischievous.
“Something funny [Last Name]?” Snape gave you a hard look; you didn’t realize you had started giggling to yourself.
“Hmm? Oh no, no. This essay is just,” you waved the parchment in your hands. “I need a Girding potion just to get through it.” you joked lamely.
Snape arched his brow, but before he could respond, a loud hollow clang came from the back of the classroom. You suspected one of the heavier pewter cauldrons had been dropped. He shot up from his seat, his teeth gritted in anger.
You could see the growing frustration twisted on his face and for a moment felt a small pang of guilt. You were probably enjoying the two boys’ horseplay just a bit too much.
“I’ll talk to them, Snape.” You offered and got out of your chair. “I need to stretch my legs anyway.”
The two were straightening up a table when you approached them.
“What happened?” you asked. They glanced at each other and shook their heads.
“Nothing Professor.” Kettles stepped forward, “We just dropped a bowl. But it didn’t break and we’re done now anyway. So can we leave?”
Strix, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, but you caught his eyes and looked deep. He was practically screaming– Don’t look at the big cauldron!
“Is that so?” You reached for the big cauldron on the table beside them and turned it over, spotting the giant dent on the side immediately. “You are both terrible liars.” You glanced back at the desk where Snape sat, but he wasn’t looking your way, his eyes were focused on the classroom door.
“Please Professor, it was an accident!” Strix whispered. “We weren’t fighting this time– honest!”
You gauged the looks on their faces, urgent and apologetic. Well, it probably wouldn’t do them any good to have Snape blow up again tonight. Probably not any good for Snape either, the way his face was scrunched up and tense from having to deal with them.
“Alright you two, I’ll take care of it, but no more of this nonsense– for the next two weeks of detention at least, I need you to behave. Trust me, you don’t want to keep getting on Professor Snape’s nerves like this.”
They nodded in agreement and you led them up toward the desk.
“Professor, they’re all done and- ” Snape held up his hand to silence you.
“Do you hear that?” He glared at the door suspiciously, and, before you had a chance to answer, stood and swept out of the room.
“Whelp, I guess it’s gonna be a bit longer.” you shrugged and sat back down on your chair. “Sorry guys.”
The Ravenclaw sniffed and crossed his arms. “He’s probably off to give someone else detention for doing nothing at all.”
“Not for nothing, you wouldn’t quit bugging me, you toad.” Kettles hissed.
Strix made a face at that. “You wouldn’t leave me alone first. Besides it's all Snape’s fault anyway.”
Kettles nodded emphatically, “Yeah, twenty-five points and two weeks detention is too much. The guy is such a jerk.” He half mumbled that last bit, but it made you sit up a bit straighter.
“He’s a stinky spiteful snake. Cold hearted and venomous.” Strix’s eyes twinkled, and he laughed at his own joke.
“No, more like a buggered old bat! Especially with those creepy black robes!” Kettles added, starting to giggle, bolder now that Strix joined in.
“Bet he eats nothing but blood and guts just like a bat!”
“He probably eats souls, just like You-Know-W– ”
“Stop that now!” you snapped sharply. The two jumped back and shut their mouths instantly, startled by your raised voice. You stared at them with open incredulity; you couldn’t believe what you were hearing. “Did you two forget I am standing right here? I’m appalled by your language and disrespect. Professor Snape can be harsh and difficult, but don’t blame him for your punishment or speak like that about him.”
“B-but Professor, we heard that he was bullying you too.” Kettles offered weakly.
“Yeah, we heard about that class from the fourth years and how you told him off– Snape just likes to make everyone miserable.” Strix added.
You groaned and rubbed your eyes. This really wouldn't do; you couldn’t have the students thinking you two were enemies and that they could bad mouth Snape in front of you. And while they weren't necessarily wrong– he definitely wasn't your friend– you had to nip this kind of behavior in the bud, before it got out of hand.
“Listen you two, while I don’t agree with him on everything, I don’t ever want to hear you speak so disrespectfully about Professor Snape– or any other faculty for that matter. He is a master of the subject and a powerful wizard; There is a reason he is a professor here and you will do well to remember it. Understood?”
The two seemed confused to hear you defend him so ardently, but agreed and muttered apologies.
In all honesty, that little speech had left a sour taste in your mouth. It felt hypocritical to be stern about being disrespectful, when he couldn’t extend you the same courtesy; had in fact, tried to stir up trouble. The way that Slytherin girl spoke to you, the way Snape had just stood back.
The door to the classroom flung open suddenly and Snape walked back in. He shot you a peculiar glance before turning to the students. Without a word, he started scrutinizing every cleaned table, all the stacked dishes, and scrubbed cauldrons. Finally he waved a hand, “Dismissed.”
You handed the two their wands and gave them a meaningful look. “Remember what I said– and straight to your dorms, it’s almost curfew.” you called to them as they scrambled out of the classroom.
The class was disturbingly quiet now that the boys were gone. Snape let them leave pretty easily too; thank goodness, he must not have heard what they said.
“Well that was… interesting.” you said into the stillness and reached for your bag to grab your wand. “I never thought I’d see detention from the other side before.”
Snape snorted and followed behind you as you went for that busted up cauldron. He scowled when you turned it on it’s side and began casting small useless charms on the large dent.
“I knew those two brats were hiding something.”
“Eh, it was an accident. They were done otherwise.” you answered nonchalantly. “Besides, did you really want them around any longer?” He made a small noise of concession and you continued. “You could have just worked from your office. Why stick around? Just to supervise? ”
“I don’t trust those two alone in my classroom. And I was clearly right not to.”
Snape arched a brow as he watched you struggle with the small charms before he reached over and slowly floated his hand over the cauldron. The dented metal dipped down like it was melting for a second, before inflating up and rounding out neatly.
Okay, that was impressive.
“Am I to assume you spent the entire summer taking out cauldron dents by hand?”
“No, not all summer.” You set the cauldron straight again, “Just half. The other half I spent waist deep in armadillo bile.”
The short snicker from him almost bowled you over and you gave him a wondering stare. You didn’t think he could laugh– well t least not at some dumb quip. Laughs from him were cruel or at someone’s expense.
Snape straightened up when he saw the look you were giving him. “That’s enough for tonight. Tomorrow we’ll work in my office.”
“What about detention for the Troubled Two?”
“Not your concern.” He turned and walked away from you, ending the conversation.
You threw a glare at the back of his dark head. Oh yes, defending him in front of the students was definitely hard. They were right after all; he was as cold as the snake that adorned his house's crest.