Chapter 3: Toil and Trouble556Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYq3r4DD7zf
With the title of professor, Umbridge altered the course of Defense Against the Dark Arts until it became a complete a bore. I sat beside Neville exchanging bored glances and occasional funny faces. She caught us and threatened detention but backed down after we apologized. When this happened Draco shot me a distressed look and I returned it with a confused one. As I was walking out of class, he stopped me.
"Can I speak with you for a moment?"
I nodded. "Okay." I waved goodbye to a disturbed Neville.
He waited until everyone had gone before he spoke.
"Do you know what detentions are like with her? Are you brainless?''
"She didn't even end up giving us detention. Everything is fine. Why are you being mean?''
"I'm not. You and your boyfriend are being stupid."
I looked at him with the most annoyed face I could have possibly made and rolled my eyes.
He stared down at me a few seconds and sharply turned away and left me standing there.
I arrived at Potions seconds away from being late and hurried to my seat. Unfortunately, followed by Umbridge, who waltzed into our class and made her presence known by one of her signature giggles. My eyes darted to Draco to see his reaction and sure enough, he met mine with a knowing look. She came to assert her dominance once again and this time over poor Professor Snape.
Once she left, Snape began today's lesson. In his usual monotonous tone, he told a cautionary tale of a boy, who brewed the Erumpent Potion and accidentally set it off too soon. It exploded in his face, killing him. Which leads me to wonder why the hell we are brewing it in class today. I glanced at Neville wide-eyed at the absurdity of danger in this class, he simply nodded.
"The Erumpent Potion is a made from the deadly fluid of an Erumpent's horn (a huge magical beast resembling a rhinoceros). Again, I stress that it is highly explosive when touched by an outside source. If anyone causes such an explosion, and survives," He paused for dramatic effect. "you find yourself in detention with me."
"Begin."
Luna wasn't in class today so I had to do it all alone. I followed the instructions meticulously. When my potion turned a vibrant bubbling green, I knew it was completed successfully. I raised my hand to call Professor Snape over to inspect it and pour a reversal potion over it preventing the possibility of an explosion. He acknowledged me but continued to assist another student. While I waited, the Slytherin girl sat at the table next to mine dropped her quill and it rolled over to me. I bent over and picked it up to returned it to her. When I sat back up, the potion was bright red. I immediately dropped to the floor and screamed "GET DOWN!" Covering my head with my hands and shutting my eyes, an incredibly loud crack noise silenced the room. I felt the hot particles fall on to my hands and clothes. I was frozen until I felt hands at my sides. It was Neville. "Hey, It's okay, It's over." I got up from my cradled position and saw that only my desk was destroyed. Every single pair of eyes in the room were on me. To say the least, I was incredibly mortified. Snape stomped over to me with his black cap flowing behind him, absolutely incandescent. He stood extremely close. I could smell his coffee breath. He only said one word. "Detention."
I sat on the floor scrubbing cauldrons while Snape sat at his desk grading essays. He had given me all the cauldrons from his last period of the day, I had done about 15 already, almost finished.
We sat in silence until, "Miss Kapora, are you aware that I knew your father."
Shocked, I put down the cauldron I was working on. "Uh no, I had no idea."
"Keep scrubbing, We were in the same year. He was Slytherin as well."
"Oh, I didn't know that either. Were you friends?"
"We were in the same group. He stood up from his desk and walked over to me. "Do you know what death eaters are Miss Kapora?"
"No. I paused. "I mean yes I know what they are, but no my father was good. He taught me that muggles were just like us and there was no reason to hate." I stood up crossing my arms in defense, facing him. He was still towering over me. I searched his eyes trying to see if he was lying. Nothing. His eyes were black, unreadable.
"Your father was a death eater. He abandoned the cause when he fell in love with your mother."
"No." I shook my head. "You're lying."
"Unfortunately, I am not. Your parents are not here to tell you the truth now but I can assure you I am. I'm only bothering you this because he doesn't take betrayal lightly. I believe you will be a specific target of his if Voldemort has indeed returned. I advised Dumbledoor to leave you at Ilvermonry when we heard of your parent's death but he disagreed."
"Why should I believe you?"
"That's your choice. I'm just warning you."
I leaned against the tables. Trying to process. I put my head in my hands.
"You need to stop making enemies. There are people here that are connected to him and one word will bring him straight to you. Keep your head down and don't draw attention to yourself. No more explosions."
"Sir, you must know I didn't cause that."
"Like, I said stop making enemies."
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