Love and Hate

Professor Trelawney was about to go to bed, but an owl was pecking at her window. She got up, went over to her window and let the owl in. She untied the letter and read it. After she was done, she dropped the letter and started crying into her pillow. “Ron doesn’t love me! He thinks that I am an ugly git! Well, he is grieving; he probably doesn’t know what he is saying,” she said as she started to calm down.

Then, another owl came and Trelawney untied it and read the other letter. ‘Bear skin rug? Oh…that would be nice…’ she thought confused. ‘But who could this be? I know that it’s not Ron; he thinks that I am a git. Oh well, we’ll just see tomorrow.’

The next day, in the Great Hall, before breakfast, Dumbledore made an announcement. He said, “Mr. Ron Weasley has been missing from the hospital wing for a day,”

“I tell you Albus it’s that creature that tries to kill all the Gryffindors,” Professor McGonagall said, sobbing.

Professor Flitwick stands up, puts another book on his chair and said, “Excuse me Professor, but has anyone noticed that Miss Cho Chang is missing too?”

The whispers started to fill the Great Hall.

“Maybe Ron and Cho became really depressed about the deaths of their loved ones,” Fred said.

“That they decided to run away with each other and,” George continued.

“Got MARRIED!” Fred finished.

Everyone that heard that laughed, in spite of the seriousness of the situation.

Professor Dumbledore asked students to keep quiet and gave Fred and George “The Look”.

Fred and George stopped laughing and tried to listen to the announcements.

“Anyway, we suggest that you go around in groups. Don’t let anyone stray off by themselves because we think that the Chamber is open again. Some of you might remember that, but the only students that were here were the 5th years, 6th years, and 7th years. I suggest that the prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl be alert at all times and report any strange behavior,” Dumbledore said, “Hogwarts, is no longer safe…the Chamber of Secrets has been opened.”

Then, everyone started to murmur things and the younger students were looking very scared and started asking the 5th, 6th, and 7th years questions about what had happened.

As everyone was exiting the Great Hall (in groups) and going among themselves for a regular Saturday, Ginny said to Fred and George. “If you see ANY diary lying around…DON’T OPEN IT! It’s the freakiest thing in the world! It makes you do the most disgusting things. It makes you kill chickens. That has to be the most disgusting thing that I have ever done. Well…except that thing with Draco in the Charms corridor…”

She looked over at Fred and George who were twitching and looked as if they were about to ask her a question, but she kept going, “Anyway, just don’t write any diary that writes back. I am going to go rip up all my diaries upstairs right now.” She said heading up to Gryffindor Tower.

“Ginny! Take someone with you!” George yelled.

She looked around and grabbed the nearest Gryffindor there was. It was Neville. “Not NEVILLE!” he yelled as she was climbing the staircases.

Up in the North Tower, Professor Trelawney was crystal gazing and sobbing. She was interrupted by a knock on the trapdoor and called out in her usual misty voice, “Enter.” She looked up to see Professor Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Hooch, Snape and all the other Professors. “Excuse me? Professor?” Dumbledore asked as he approached her desk. “We were wondering if you could help us find Mr. Weasley and Miss Chang.”

Dumbledore was interrupted by McGonagall, who was saying, “Albus! This is a total waste of time! Instead of us wasting time up here, we could be looking for them…or be calling the Ministry. Obviously, we need to tell them what is going on.”

“Well, Minerva, I’m sorry that you feel that way, but we should consult someone who has been here and who knows the students personally,” Dumbledore said.

Trelawney looked at the Professors one by one, and when she reached Snape, she could read his lips and it looked like he was saying, “Bitch,” while his eyes were on McGonagall. He looked at Trelawney and mouthed the words, “Tonight,” and winked. He started to brush his hair with his fingers and she saw a ring on his hand and thought, ‘Is that the ring…that Ron? No, it couldn’t be!’

“So…Professor? Will you help us?” Dumbledore asked.

“Of course…” Trelawney said as the teachers crowded around the crystal ball. Snape came and sat by her, especially.

“What do you see, Sibyll?” Snape asked as he started moving closer to Trelawney.

Trelawney concentrated and mist started to form inside the crystal ball. “I see…” Trelawney started to say, “I see…a black and a red haired figure. I believe that the red haired figure is invisible. I see the red haired figure’s wand raised and he is some how directing the figure with black hair. Maybe the black haired figure is under some kind of curse. Perhaps the Imperious Curse. They started to approach the bathroom where Moaning Myrtle haunts and the black haired figure went down some sort of hole. Possibly, the Chamber of Secrets. Then, I see the red haired figure turning around and seeing a short, bald man.” She looked at Flitwick, who was looking very nervous. She didn’t say anything but kept going in her misty voice. “I see the short, bald man putting curses and charms on the red haired figure. I see a ring of fire coming from the bald man’s wand and surrounding the red haired figure,” Everyone looked at Trelawney who now looked as if she was possessed. Her hands were shaking, she wasn’t breathing regularly. Her eyes kept rolling around and it was just her mouth moving. She continued, “I see the bald man’s wand raised. I believe he is yelling some sort of charm or curse. I see a snake popping out of the end of his wand and going over to the red haired figure.” Trelawney was sweating bullets and the table and crystal ball were vibrating. The torches were going on and off and Trelawney continued. “I see the snake at the foot of the red haired figure and starting to coil up around the red haired figure. I see…I see…” she gasped for breath. The room suddenly got dark because the torches blew off and it got very cold inside the room. “I see the snake killing the red haired figure, crushing his every bone and devouring him. Then, the snake slithered into the same hole that the black haired figure went into…the Chamber of Secrets.” Then, she blacked out, and fell to the floor.

“Sibyll! My love! Are you okay?” Snape asked as he ran to her side. He looked up to see that all of the Professors were looking at him strangely. “Ummm…yea…Let’s just take her to the Hospital Wing,” Snape said as he picked up Trelawney and thought, ‘I hope that she will be okay in time for our THING tonight…’ Snape said as he went down the trapdoor.

‘Oh my gosh! Maybe she really isn’t an old crackpot like we all thought…’ Flitwick thought as he held the trapdoor open for Snape, along with Dumbledore.

As the entered the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey asked, “What happened to her?” as she got the bed ready.

Snape laid her down and Dumbledore explained that they were asking her for help to see if she knew where Ron and Cho were and if the Chamber is really open.

“She will be alright tomorrow. She just needs bed rest,” Madam Pomfrey continued, “She might be able to go back to her tower tomorrow afternoon. So, did she see anything?”

“Yes, she saw some very interesting things…” Dumbledore said turning and said, “If anyone needs me, I will be in my office.”

In Dumbledore’s office, he had the Pensieve lying on his desk. He was transferring some of his thoughts into the Pensieve and then, the Gray Lady, Nearly Headless Nick, The Fat Friar, The Bloody Baron, Peeves, and Moaning Myrtle came in one by one, entering through the paintings. “Professor?” The Gray Lady said.

“Yes?” Dumbledore said as he turned around and saw all of the Hogwarts ghosts coming out of the paintings.

“Are you okay Professor?” Moaning Myrtle said. “What happened with Professor Trelawney? Did you find out what was going on with Cho and Ron?”

Then, Dumbledore explained everything, from the look on her face, to her shaking the table, to her collapsing on the ground. When he was done, the Bloody Baron said, “We, the ghosts of Hogwarts are going to do our best to find out what is happening. Ask the students in our houses and keep a look out for strange behavior. We will also escort the students to classes and watch over them.”

“Thank-you. That is a very nice gesture. I appreciate that,” Dumbledore said as he sat down.

The Gray Lady, knowing that Dumbledore was under stress and very exhausted, followed her female intuition and went over to comfort Dumbledore. He looked up at her, twinkle in his eyes. He thought, ‘She is so beautiful.’

Then, Moaning Myrtle said, “I have to go back to my toilet. I will keep an eye out for any strange behavior in my bathroom. Since, that is where the Chamber is.” She said as she dived through the floor and into the water pipes.

Slowly, all of the ghosts left and Dumbledore was left alone only with his thoughts. He slowly fell asleep in his chair.

The next day, everything was almost back to normal, Trelawney was back in her tower, relaxing. Snape was in his office, writing her an owl that said:

My ever-dearest:

Since I figured that you are tired and exhausted after all of that work, I figured that you wanted to have our date tomorrow night. I will be at YOUR place with the bear skin rug and in my robe. Keep the fire going. We’ll put the rug in front of the fire…to keep us warm. Even though we will have each other.

Love: Your hunky Potions Master Severus Snape (You can call me Sevi)

Then, the owl that Snape had given the owl treats to came into his office. It started to look for more owl treats. The treats were in a cabinet at the very top of the shelf. The owl soared up there and tried to open it. It turned out that that cabinet was locked. Beside the cabinet, was a shelf full of Potions. The owl’s wings flapped, and turned one over and it spilled all over the floor. It started to simmer and it turned black.

Snape, who was in the other room (was writing the letter to Trelawney) heard the crash and came running in placing the letter in his pocket. “You stupid owl!” he yelled. The owl’s eyes got big and started flying towards him and pecking him. “Oh I’m sorry! You’re the bearer of good news!” he said as he opened the cabinet and reached for the owl treats. “Now, I have to go get Argus!” Snape said as he placed bowls of owl treats on his desk. He exited the classroom and sauntered to Filch’s office.

Snape knocked on the door. He knocked a few more times, no one answered. He figured that Filch must be checking up the corridors for students roaming around. So, he opened the door and cross the threshold of Filch’s office. He went looking for mops to clean the potions that spilled on the floor. Finally, he found one. He turned around and bumped into Filch and pieces of parchment fell from both of their pockets.

“Sorry, Professor,” Filch said as he started picking up pieces of parchment. He handed some of the parchment back and Snape and put some in his pocket. Then, Snape exited the room.

That night, when Filch was getting ready for bed, he felt a piece of parchment in his pocket. Then, he remembered that he was taking notes on the Kwikspell Notes and he put them in his pocket, right before Peeves knocked over a suit of armor.

As he reached into his pocket, he pulled out another piece of parchment. One that wasn’t there earlier that day. He took it out of his pocket and immediately recognized Snape’s handwriting and heading. His heart skipped a beat. He read the piece of parchment. When he got done, he thought, ‘Awwww…now I know who Sevi loves!!! He loves me! That is so sweet! I thought that I had competition…nahhh…I knew he was gay like me.’

Then, Mrs. Norris entered the room and rubbed against Filch’s leg. “Awwww…hey Mrs. Norris! Guess what!? You know that guy that I have loved for so long? Well, he feels the same way! He gave me this note!!” Filch said as he reread the note. He looked down at Mrs. Norris and she had a puzzled look on her face and continued her journey to the kitchen.

‘She doesn’t understand what it feels like…she is just jealous. She wishes that she could have someone has good as Sevi…she is just jealous that I have found my soul-mate. My hunky potions master. Sevi Snapie.’ Filch thought as he fell asleep with the parchment under his pillow.

The next day, Trelawney was in her tower, still relaxing and was crystal-gazing again. This time, she tried to get a clearer vision. She was sitting at her table and she was looking down at the crystal ball and she saw…Ron (The red-haired figure) Cho, (The black haired figure) and Flitwick (The short bald man) ‘How could Ron kill Cho?? Why would Ron kill Cho? WHY THE HELL DID THAT MIDGET KILL MY EVER DEAREST RON????’ Trelawney thought as she started to cry. ‘This is too depressing, I am going down to the feast and eat…just pig out!’ Trelawney thought as she got up and exited the North Tower.

As she was going down, she saw a very excited looking Filch. When she entered the Great Hall, Snape was also entering it and he asked, “Hey Sibyll! Are you okay? Why are you crying?” Snape asked as he put his arm around her.

Trelawney nodded her head back and forth and Snape continued, “Do you want to take a walk with me by the lake?”

“Sure, I really need someone to talk to,” Trelawney said as she allowed Snape to escort her out of the Great Hall and onto the Hogwarts Grounds. ‘If Flitwick killed Ron, then I have to pay Flitwick back. But how?’ Trelawney thought.

30 minutes later, they had made a complete circle around the lake. Then, Snape suddenly stopped and held Trelawney’s hands. “Sibyll, have you received any owls recently?” he asked.

“No, I have been in the Hospital Wing, remember?” Trelawney said. Then, she thought, ‘His hands are really sweaty, he is shaking. What’s wrong with him?’

‘Oh…you haven’t?” Snape said as he got more nervous and disappointed. “Anyway, I have to tell you something,” Snape said as he led Trelawney to a nearby rock and showed her his ring.

“I have that exact same ring! Except that it has my name engraved on it!” Trelawney said not thinking any thing of it.

Then, Snape took off the ring and gave it to Trelawney. She looked at it and saw her name, engraved in it and thought, ‘Wait…this ring is supposed to be Ron’s…Uh-oh…’ Trelawney thought as Snape held her hands.

Then, a soft breeze came and Snape said, “Sibyll, I-I-I admire your Divination skills. You have a very special gift. Many special gifts, in fact,” Snape started to say.

‘What is he doing? What is he talking about?’ Trelawney thought.

“I have been admiring you from a far for a while now, I was only waiting to see if you felt the same, and…you do!” Snape said as a grin was starting to form.

‘Ron! Ron! Ron!’ was all that Trelawney could think of. “You’ve been admiring my Divination skills?” Trelawney asked hoping that Snape wasn’t saying what she thought he was.

“It’s not just admiration. You’re the inspiration behind the Potions that I make. You’re the air that I breathe, you’re practically the reason I live, you’re the reason that I get out of bed in the morning. You are the first thought in my mind in the morning, the only thought in my mind during the day, the only thought in my mind at night and I dream about you all the time. When I’m awake, sleeping, eating, taking a shower, eating, cleaning my hair, mixing a potion, in classes, between classes. I practically live for you!” Snape said as he started to shake more violently.

Trelawney just stared at him.