She peered around the door to her father’s classroom cautiously, not sure what sort of mood she was going to find him in.
“Stop skulking around that door and get in here!”
Dierna jumped slightly but hurried to do as she was told. She couldn’t figure out how her father seemed to see everything, even when his back was turned.
“You already decided what you wanted to work on this term,” Severus said without turning around, “get your supplies and get to work. And make sure you keep detailed records, your efforts last year were a bit lacking.”
Dierna set her bag down on an empty desk and headed towards the supply cabinet. It took her two trips to get what she wanted, and she carefully set up her work station, trying not to make any excess noise.
She glanced over to see what her father was working on, and recognized a basic antiseptic and healing potion in his cauldron. Most likely it was something for Madam Pomphrey. She turned her attention towards carefully removing scarab beetles of their wings.
The silence was rather unnerving.
Finally she had to break it, “I’m sorry… about last night…”
Severus didn’t respond.
“I just wanted to understand… its scary knowing that your housemates could turn on you…”
“That is going to boil over if you do not keep both eyes on it.”
Dierna sighed as she adjusted the flame under her cauldron and carefully measured out a small quality of wormwood. She stirred the mixture precisely six times counter-clockwise, and then adjusted the heat again so that it could simmer for twenty minutes.
“Do not ask me about it again.”
“Are you still mad?”
“If I was I would make sure you were aware of it.”
“I thought about going behind your back and asking Eric about it,” Dierna confessed, “but then I realized that either he wouldn’t answer the question or he would lie… and of course you would have found out about it and I would be in more trouble than I could possibly imagine…”
Severus focused his attention on the healing potion for Poppy, and didn’t respond.
Dierna opened her mouth to say something else.
“Is there a reason why you cannot work in silence?”
She snapped her mouth shut again. And then swore as her potion turned a deep red color with lots of grey smoke.
“What went wrong?” Severus asked, as he bottled Madam Pomphrey’s request.
“You’re not going to tell me?”
Severus ignored his daughter’s blatant attempt to provoke him, “You will learn far more if you can recognize and correct you own mistakes rather than having me point them out to do.”
Dierna was tempted to bring up the fact that her father’s favorite past-time seemed to be pointing out her faults, but decided it might not be wise, “I tried replacing the lacewing flies since their reaction with the wormwood makes a basic dreamless sleeping draught unfit for consumption over a long period of time. I thought the scarab beetle wings might be a better combination, but they must have reacted with the…” she paused to run a finger down the page of notes she had been making as she added each ingredient, “hellebore… I think…”
“It makes the beetle wings unstable,” Severus clarified.
Dierna tapped her fingers on the desk as she thought, “perhaps I should replace the wormwood instead of the lacewing flies… but then…” she growled in frustration as she cleaned out her cauldron with a flick of her wand.
“Do not expect to accomplish this in one day.”
“It’s just rather disheartening when things go wrong so quickly.”
“I think a bit more research is in order before you try anything else.”
Dierna gave him a look of pure suffering, “can’t I just…”
“No.”
“But…”
“No.”
“Fine,” Dierna huffed, “but I’ll need a pass to the restricted section, I want to do my research properly after all…”
“I don’t think I am willing to trust you with one of those again. Besides which, I believe I have everything you will need right here.” He unlocked a cabinet against the wall and pulled several volumes down from its shelves. He made to shut the door, but almost on impulse grabbed two more leather-bound, hand-sewn tomes. “These should be sufficient, let me know if you require something else, and they do not leave this room without my express permission.”
Dierna took the stack and flipped through them just to see what she was working with. A copy of a medieval manuscript from Toledo dealing with the uses of magical plants found in Byzantium and their use in the Islamic culture, several works from the Renaissance, including a rather brilliantly illustrated one on anatomy. “Dad… as good as my Latin and Greek are, oh yeah… my Arabic too…” her tone was mildly sarcastic.
“A translator is in the top right-hand drawer of my desk, touch nothing else.”
Dierna retrieved the translator, it was a small rectangle of beaten bronze that was covered in runes and symbols. She placed it on the cover of the top book and it sank right into the leather cover. As she flipped through the pages the letters rearranged themselves from Arabic script into English. When she was done the sheet of metal would resurface so she could use it on the next book.
“Did they really do that to people?” she held up one book which had a detailed illustration of a surgery from the 14th century.
“There are certain benefits of the modern world for which I am immensely grateful.”
“Even wizards did this?”
“To have a thorough understanding of the effects of potions you must also have a thorough understanding of human anatomy. A good working knowledge of Herbology is also useful.”
Dierna rolled her eyes, the last comment was in direct reference to her Herbology grade at the end of last term. Her father had wasted no time in informing her that it should have been higher and it would most certainly improve or he would supervise her while she studied.
“Ok then, must read up on anatomy… although I hardly think medieval texts are useful for that… weren’t they rather… confused?”
“Certain parts of the female anatomy were… get back to work, I have no time for this.”
She frowned as she examined the last two books. There was no title or author identified on the covers, and while they were obviously hand made and not manufactured, like the other volumes, they also looked much newer. She curiously opened the first one and skimmed through several pages. It was all lists.
Lists of potions ingredients, some rare and some everyday, all with detailed accounts of their properties and reactions when used with each other. Intrigued, she opened the second volume. It was filled with charts and instructions for potions that she had never heard of before.
The more she examined the two books the more she thought that there was something here she should pick up on. There was something so familiar…
And then it hit her. All of the lists, and instructions, and charts were lettered in her father’s handwriting. These were copies of his own research.
She knew that he had published works, she knew there were journal articles, books… but she had never seen any of it. More than anything she wanted to skip the rest of her classes for the afternoon until she had read these two books from cover to cover.
“You are going to be late to your next class if you don’t start packing up,” Severus cut into her thoughts.
Dierna sighed, “can I skip this afternoon?”
“Do you really think I would answer that with an affirmative?”
“No, but it was worth a try.”
“What are you so intent on missing?”
“Defense Against the Dark Arts.”
“Hmmm…. Potter’s first NEWT level class of the term… I would probably be tempted to skip myself,” he said dryly, “or show up for the entertainment value.”
Dierna grinned, “it’s just going to be… different… without Professor Lupin here.”
“Very different, I don’t think I have to constantly remind Potter to keep his hands off my wife the way I do with Lupin.”
Dierna rolled her eyes, but by her father’s standards it was an excellent attempt at humor, “can I take these with me?” she gestured to the stack of books on her desk.
“All of them?”
Dierna nodded.
“Certainly not! You may take two.”
He very nearly smiled when Dierna carefully placed the books of his own research in his bag and put the rest away in their cabinet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You’ve got a letter,” Brandon informed Sophia the second she stepped through the Common Room entrance. He pointed at an agitated seagull, which was wildly flapping about near the ceiling, not letting anyone near it.
“It’s probably confused,” Sophia said as she set her bag down, they don’t like being inside,” she looked about, trying to determine the best way to get the bird down when Mark solved the problem for her.
“Stupefy,” he said almost lazily, pointing his wand at the bird.
It fell like a rock into Brandon’s waiting hands.
He detached the letter and handed it to Sophia and then set the stunned bird on the ground out in the hallway so that Mark could revive it.
“Anything interesting?” Kay asked as she passed by on her way to their room.
“Come one then, that ruddy bird caused enough trouble, was it worth it?” Brandon asked as he and Mark returned. Obviously the seagull had not been happy about being stunned. They both had several feathers stuck in their hair.
“Oh, it’s nothing important, sorry for the trouble,” Sophia said as she tucked the letter into her pocket. In reality she couldn’t wait to get back to the privacy of her room so that she could open it in peace. But she was also terrified. What if it said that Remus was terribly disappointed in her for being sorted into Slytherin? Of course that wasn’t quite the sort of thing one could help.
One didn’t just ask to be put somewhere, although she was sure any number of students tried. So it wasn’t really her fault. But she was also growing quite fond of the Slytherins and their Common Room. So perhaps…
“Oh stop it!” she scolded herself, “worrying about it won’t change anything.”
“Talking to yourself or an invisible spirit?” Kay asked from her position half under her bed.
“Just myself,” Sophia said with a sigh as she sat on top of her own bed. “Have you lost something?”
“Yeah, about half of my potions kit. Snape’ll skin me alive if I show up to class without all of it tomorrow.”
“I think you moved it last night. Try in the bottom of your wardrobe,” Sophia offered as she fingered the corner of the letter in her pocket. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to open it. Perhaps ignorance really was bliss. But it was also liable to drive her mad.
“Found it!” Kay cried triumphantly as she tossed a veritable mountain of clothing onto the ground. “Guess it wasn’t under my bed…”
Sophia couldn’t help but smile, it wasn’t even two days in yet and already Kay’s belongings had commandeered the room. They were everywhere. Not that she minded, she owned little enough that she didn’t miss having any of the space that Kay’s personal effects filled.
“Haven’t you opened that yet?” Kay demanded as she watched her roommate playing with the unopened letter.
“I’m getting to it…”
“What’s wrong? It’s not as though you’ve got yourself a howler.”
“It’s just that… I’m a bit nervous actually.”
“You related to Professor Lupin?”
“Sort of… he’s my guardian’s consort…”
Kay grinned wickedly, “well, that sounds like an interesting arrangement…”
Sophia couldn’t help but giggle, “I suppose it does sound rather odd…”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. Professor Lupin was always decent towards us Slytherins. Even if he was Head of Gryffindor.”
“Why wouldn’t he be?”
Kay shrugged her shoulders, “because some of the instructors… they’re not very friendly towards us.”
“Why wouldn’t they be? Have you done something in class?”
“Nope, I wouldn’t act up in class, not for all the galleons in the world… Snape gets royally pissed whenever someone gives another instructor any trouble. Ask Mark about it sometime, he got smart with Professor Black once, told him to, well… I’ll not repeat what he said,” she shuddered dramatically, “that’s the angriest I’ve ever seen our esteemed Head of House.”
“I’ll have to remember never to get him angry at me.”
“Don’t worry, as long as the terrible trio are around to attract most of the attention you won’t be bad off.”
“Right then…” Sophia opened the letter she had been holding onto for what felt like forever and held it with slightly trembling hands.
“Come on then, what does the good professor have to say?”
Sophia rolled her eyes at her roommate’s demanding nature, but didn’t really mind. The first part is from Kalliope, not really anything interesting actually. Just reminding me to behave myself. Ah… here’s the part from Remus,” she unfolded his letter and read aloud:
My dear Sophia,
I am extremely disappointed in you. I could tell right off from the tone of your letter that you were practically begging me not to be angry with you for being placed in Slytherin. How could you possibly thing that I would be anything but proud of you? I ought to send you a howler for even thinking that… After I got over the initial shock (Kalliope says you should have seen the look on my face) I realized that this will be an excellent opportunity. You’re sure to keep Snape on his toes. I can just imagine what you will get into… the offspring of a marauder with the cunning of a Slytherin… and now Kalliope is glaring at me as she is reading over my shoulder. Apparently she thinks I am undermining the note she enclosed ordering you to keep out of trouble. Just try not to do anything you know I would disapprove of (or am willing to turn a blind eye to). Let me know how your first week of classes goes.
~Remus
“There now, I told you he wouldn’t be mad,” Kay looked very smug.
Sophia grinned, “I have to admit, it is a bit of a relief.”
Kay tilted her head to the side and examined Sophia closely for a moment, “you ought to come with us tonight.”
“Who is ‘us’ and where are you going?”
“Ummm… it’ll probably be me, Mark, Brandon’ll tag along, a couple for 6th and 7th years, undoubtedly the terrible trio… it’s somewhat of a tradition to sneak out the first night of classes.”
“Well…” Sophia was torn. It sounded wicked fun, but if they got caught…”
“Don’t worry, we almost never get caught,” Kay assured her as though she had read her mind.
“Almost never?”
“You have to understand, the Bloody Baron is often recruited by Snape to keep an eye on us, but unless we’re doing something really dangerous or stupid he never rats us out, and none of the other ghosts would dare snitch on us, they’re too scared of the Baron. All we have to worry about are Snape and Filch. And we know Filch’s usual route that he takes when patrolling, he’s easily avoidable. Snape’s the only tricky part, never know when or where he’ll show up. But he’s fairly forgiving the first couple of days of classes. Never piss him off around exams though…”
“Where are we sneaking off to?” Sophia asked, warming to the idea.
“The kitchens first, then the astronomy tower. There’s nothing like a moonlit picnic to celebrate the start of term.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
