Armilla

Chapter 29

I felt groggy and unwell when I woke the next morning. It must have been pretty late when I had finally went to bed. For a moment, I just laid there, staring at the canopy above me, memories of the night before swimming in and out of my head.

My father...no, my loving father had sent me a set of behaviour guidelines disguised as a letter and I had received my first punishment...

I blinked as I remembered where I was. I was in Snape's rooms. No, I was in my own bedroom in Snape's rooms! He had insisted that I stay. I pondered this briefly. Why hadn't he just sent me back to Ravenclaw Tower to bed? It would have been just as easy to do that using the chocolate frog card again. And he certainly loathed the idea of my father giving me money. I supposed they were sharing the cost of the school fees, but Snape seemed to have taken it personally that Father had sent spending money. Not that I had wanted it - I didn't want anything from Father, even his wretched mansion and considerable assets. But I would feel funny asking Snape for money. All in all, every time I looked at him, I had to keep reminding myself that he was my brother, not just the mean Head of Slytherin.

But he hadn't been mean last night. Not really.

I stared around the room. Though it was small and lacked any natural light, it wasn't a bad room. I had been so exhausted the night before that I had barely registered any details after I had done Snape's bidding and got into bed.

The floor was stone, but it was largely covered by a cream rug. The bedding was also cream, but the edges of the bedspread finished in lace with pale blue ribbon running through it, the pale blue matching the walls. The hangings around the bed matched the bedspread, with blue ties to hold them back. The bedding in particular reminded me very much of what I had had at home at Merle's. I knew Snape had never been there, but Dumbledore had several times and so I concluded it must have been him who had decorated the room.

The desk and armoire were mahogany, just like the furniture in Snape's sitting room down the hall. It was certainly a lovely room - and very obviously decorated for a Ravenclaw. I let out a muffled laugh, thinking what the room would have looked like if Snape had been left to decorate it. I had a sudden image of suspended objects in bottles lining walls and shuddered to think what it would be like to sleep in the same room as them.

I rolled over and glanced at the clock on my bedside table. 7:03 am. I yawned and sat up, wondering what sort of etiquette I was supposed to follow down here. I supposed that Snape would already be up and possibly already preparing his lessons for the day. I wondered if I was supposed to wait for him to show me out or leave by myself. But then, I had only gotten here in the first place because of the chocolate frog card. I knew I was somewhere in the dungeons, but the dungeons were huge and I had never really explored them on a grand scale. If I let myself out, chances were I would get lost and miss my first class anyway.

I had double Potions first. I groaned. That was the last thing I felt like at the moment. I wasn't bad at Potions, but I didn't have the natural ability for it that Snape did. My Ravenclaw learning prowess mainly resided in the Charms and Transfiguration classrooms. I certainly hadn't slept well enough for a practical Potions lesson.

After I had showered, I realised (too late of course) that I had no clothes with me besides my pyjamas. Cursing, I threw the doors to the armoire open in violent frustration and was startled to find all my clothes in there! The same clothes that I had seen hanging in my dorm the night before. The armoire must have been charmed to hold a connection with the closet in my dorm. I dressed in the bathroom (out of fear of embarrassment if Snape happened to walk in) and then stood staring at the clothes hanging in the armoire, wondering if I could somehow use it to transport myself back to my dorm.

"Don't even think about it. It only holds the connection for garments," said a deep voice from the doorway.

Flushing, I whirled around to face my brother. He was clad in his usual black robes, leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded. His expression as usual gave nothing away.

"I wasn't thinking that," I muttered, closing the doors to the armoire.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no?"

"No, sir," I replied, not meeting his eye. I wasn't confident enough in my Occlumency skills to challenge him yet.

"If you're ready, we'll go to breakfast. You're ready for class, then?"

"Not quite," I said. "I need to go to Ravenclaw Tower to get my bag."

Snape waved his hand, shaking his head. He took a few steps into the room.

"That's already been taken care of," he said. "Your bag is in the sitting room." He folded his arms again. "I meant, are you up to a double Potions lesson after last night's episode? I do not want any explosions, even if they are accidental, occurring in my class this morning."

"I did the readings," I replied. "I shouldn't have any trouble."

Snape shook his head again. "'It's not your abilities I doubt," he said impatiently. Was that a compliment? "You were in bed late and the potion I used on your face and arm does not always leave people in the best health. It has a number of marked side effects."

A gnawing pain settled itself in my stomach, but I couldn't tell if it was from Snape's words or not. I hadn't felt well since I had awoken. Maybe I was just plain paranoid.

"I would be surprised if you said you were in the best of health this morning," he continued. He looked at me closely. "If you think you are well enough, you may come to class. However, if an accident occurs...you know how quickly things spread in this school. Draco Malfoy will find out and consequently, Father." Snape scowled at the thought of his father. "He will know then that his...reprimand had the desired effect on you."

He folded his arms. "I think you're a bit off colour, but you know how you feel."

I shrugged. "I don't feel great," I admitted. "But not bad enough not to come to class. I can handle it."

Snape continued to watch me closely, as if he somehow doubted I was alright. Finally, he nodded.

"Very well," he said, moving towards the door. "But if you get the faintest hint of feeling unwell during class I want you to inform me. Just don't mention that you do not feel well in class. If I give you any indication to leave, it will be a fake excuse and you are to return here immediately. It is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," I said. The pain was growing bigger. Damn paranoia.

Snape looked a bit put off for a second, but then his face returned to its usual unfathomable expression.

"In any case," he went on, "you are to return here immediately after classes today. I cannot clear you of any side effects to the potion until tomorrow morning, so you will have to spend another night here."

I didn't really want to. I already felt like I was intruding on his life enough. It was comforting to me that he got his own space away from me at school. All the same, I nodded. "Yes, sir."

Snape looked slightly annoyed now. I would be too. Poor guy, having to monitor side effects of his fifteen-year-old sister...

Again, Snape let his annoyance fade as quickly as it had come. "Of course, I cannot be in the same place as you all day, so if you begin to feel unwell, you can communicate to me using the chocolate frog card in the same way as last night."

"Yes, sir."

Snape glowered at me. "Is that all you can say, Armilla?" he said in a low tone I recognised as dangerous. What the hell had I done now?

At my confused look, he looked at the ceiling in annoyance.

"Tell me," he said in a clipped tone. "What did you call Merle?"

"Merle," I replied, my confusion growing as quickly as the tension between us. What was he going on about?

"Mm. Did you ever call her 'Ma'am?" Snape was glaring at me now.

"No, of course not," I said. Merle was...well, Merle.

Snape folded his arms. "And why is that?"

"Because I didn't have to," I said indignantly.

"Mm." Snape arched an eyebrow, the annoyance still very clearly etched on his face.

Perhaps a little too late, though I guess I could put it down to the potion, I realised what Snape was annoyed about. More than anything else, I was surprised.

"Oh," I said, airily.

Snape scoffed. "Oh, indeed."

"You don't want me to call you sir?" I asked.

The annoyance finally faded from Snape's face. "You need to make a distinction between the times I am your teacher and the times when I am your guardian. You will call me Professor or sir when in class or in the presence of other students, but do you not think things will be more difficult if you continue to call me sir when we are just brother and sister?"

"It is more difficult," I admitted. "But I didn't realise it bothered you that much." The truth was, I was astounded that Snape was annoyed. He always seemed to demand respect.

Snape nodded slightly. "If I can call you by your first name, you should be able to do the same."

"Alright, si-" I hastily stopped myself. "I mean, alright."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Come along, then. And remember what I told you about feeling unwell. We cannot afford any mishaps."

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

"You spent the night in Snape's rooms?" Lisa looked horrified. "I didn't upset you that much, did I?"

Terry had his mouth open in disbelief, which was not a pleasing sight as he had yet to swallow his mouthful of toast.

We were sitting in the Great Hall. Lisa and Terry had been sitting at the Ravenclaw table waiting for me when Snape and I had arrived, obviously having concluded that I wasn't in the Tower.

Snape had swept off to the staff table via the Slytherin table without a backwards glance and so I had made my way over to my friends. It hadn't really been a long way to the Great Hall from Snape's rooms. As it turned out, his quarters were located down another few corridors past his office, completely sealed by a portrait of Hortensia Kinchela, one of the early Heads of Slytherin. Snape had his quarters charmed not to admit anyone but himself, but once we left the sitting room, he had reworked the charm to allow me admittance as well. All I had to do was touch the head of the serpent at Hortensia's feet and the magic within would recognise my fingerprints. Snape had even been clever enough to have the serpent recognise Polyjuice or any dark magic.

"No, you didn't upset me," I replied. "I just had some issues to sort out with Snape and it couldn't wait till morning."

Lisa glared. "Secret, is it?"

I looked at Terry and smiled. "Well, we all have secrets, don't we?"

Terry went red and scowled at Lisa. "You don't have to know everything I do!" he said heatedly.

Lisa returned the scowl and then glowered at her cornflakes instead.

Terry rolled his eyes. "I should be allowed to socialise with whom I like," he continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "As close as I am to you two, why is it so wrong that I spend time with other people as well?"

I shrugged. "I'm not worried."

"It's not the fact that you're friends with other people," Lisa scoffed. "It's just that you have to be so secretive about it. Why can't you tell us what you have been doing? Why is it such a big secret?"

Terry opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked sideways at me, as if weighing up something in his mind. "Sometimes it is in the best interests of everyone that they don't know everything about you," he said finally, not looking at either of us.

"You sound just like Armilla!" Lisa said, indignantly.

"Hey, you make that sound like a bad thing," I said, mocking offence.

Lisa stood up. "Fine, you two can have your secrets!" She turned at stormed out of the Great Hall, turning a few heads at the Ravenclaw table on the way. They looked surprised and it was no wonder. Dramatics generally wasn't a part of Lisa's disposition. She had always been so level-headed and rational about things. This sudden hysteria was completely out of character for her.

Terry continued to look interested in his toast, determined not to meet my eye.

"Oh relax," I snapped. I wasn't in the mood to talk things over; I really wasn't feeling good. "I'm not going to ask what you've been up to."

Terry visibly relaxed at once. He let out a breath and a small laugh.

"That girl has gone nuts lately," he said seriously. "I don't know what to make of her."

"She feels left out in the dark," I said. I took another bite of toast, trying to ignore the pain in my stomach that was growing bigger.

Terry looked thoughtful. "Maybe she's jealous. You've got this whole Snape-is-my-brother-and-my-father-is-alive fiasco going on and I've got my own...stuff going on. Lisa must feel left out."

"Yeah," I said softly. I gave Terry a significant look. "That could be one reason."

"What's the other?" Terry looked genuinely confused.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "You'll figure it out, Mr. Boot. Come on, we've got to go to Potions."

Terry looked hassled as he hastily got up too. "What do you mean - I'll figure it out? Figure what out exactly? What do you mean?"

I waited until we were in the Entrance Hall, walking towards the stairs leading back down to the dungeons.

"I won't spoil the fun of figuring things out for yourself," I said quietly. "But, I will say that I've never known Lisa to be jealous about whom you spend time with before."

Terry looked perplexed. "Well, erm..."

"There will be no more secretive talk today, then," I said. I thought a bit. "Well, I wonder if telling her that I'm staying at Snape's tonight counts under that."

Terry looked at me, clearly worried about this. "Is it bad, spending time with him?" he whispered.

"Not really," I answered. "We always have important things to discuss I suppose, so no really awkward moments have come up."

We joined the line of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws outside Snape's classroom. Lisa was at the front, determined not to look at either of us. It wasn't long before we heard footsteps behind us that announced Snape's arrival. His eyes flew up and down the line and all was quiet.

He opened his classroom door.

"In," he said.

We filed past him and settled at our usual desks. I sat towards the back in between Lisa and Terry. Lisa sat staring straight ahead.

The class was quiet as Snape made his way to the front of the room. His presence alone was enough to intimidate the class into silence.

"Today you will be creating Strengthening Solutions," he said, waving his wand towards the blackboard. The instructions appeared there.

"I trust that you have all had the sense to do the required readings. In any case, I shall know if you haven't." He cast a significant look to a few of the Hufflepuffs, who retreated lower on their stools.

"It is a complicated potion, but can be easily made by the disciplined mind, though I have lost all hope that certain members of this class will ever possess one."

More Hufflepuffs and a few Ravenclaws were looking scared now.

"Git," Lisa mumbled under her breath.

"Five points from Ravenclaw, Miss Turpin," Snape said, coldly. "You were not asked to speak."

Lisa went red. Generally I would have pitied her, like I pitied anyone under Snape's wrath. But I had the feeling Lisa had called Snape a git for my hearing more than his. In fact, I was certain that Snape hadn't even heard what Lisa had said. She would have gotten detention if he had.

"Begin," said Snape, waving his wand to open the storeroom door.

Lisa flounced off at once to the storeroom. I sighed.

"Forget about her," Terry mumbled. He went to collect ingredients while I lighted our cauldrons. I opened my textbook so I could have the instructions right next to me. Though I wasn't feeling that well, I wanted to prove to Snape that I could make a perfect potion, even if he didn't think I was up to it.

For half an hour, he didn't come near our table anyway, choosing to bully the Hufflepuffs instead. I completely ignored Lisa, and concentrated entirely on my potion, adding ingredients at exactly the right time and stirring at the right moment and in the right direction. It certainly wasn't the easiest potion, but I was determined to do it.

Snape passed by, but made no comment, which meant that the three of us were perfectly on task. I didn't even look up.

Another hour went by and my potion was definitely on the right track, the texture and colour the same as indicated in the book. I was beginning to feel a small sense of triumph, having nearly completed the potion perfectly. It meant more to me now than before when I didn't know Snape was my brother. For some reason, I felt as if I had to achieve for his benefit too.

It was easy to ignore Lisa, but it was definitely harder to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach, which was progressively growing worse. I needed to throw up, I knew that when Snape finally ordered the class to bottle their potions. My hand shook slightly as I filled my phial and labelled it. I kept swallowing deeply to keep everything down. Terry kept casting anxious looks at me. I supposed the pain must have been a delayed side effect to Snape's potion.

"You should have all left a sample of your potion on my desk now and be cleaning up," Snape said, returning to his desk to mark off the students who had done so.

"Go on," whispered Terry, who was still looking at me anxiously. "I'll clean your stuff up. Did you wreck your potion or something? You're very white."

I was the last to place my phial on Snape's desk. He didn't look up as I put it down. He only looked up as I turned away.

"Wait a moment."

He was staring at me, his black eyes fixed on mine. Immediately I put the steel arm up in my mind. I wasn't going to get accused of not practising.

Snape glared at me slightly. "I think you had better go see Miss Kinchela," he said, barely moving his lips.

I nodded. I was going to be sick. I walked as composedly as I could back to my desk and picked up my bag. I slipped out while the rest of the class were madly cleaning up.

Once out in the corridor, I broke into a run towards Hortensia's portrait. I touched the serpent's head, thankful that I didn't have to speak, and the portrait swung open to reveal the sitting room and at the same time the bell rang to indicate morning break.

I raced into my bedroom, dropping my bag next to the bed, and continued on to the bathroom.

I just made it. I had never been so violently sick. It was amazing how quickly that side effect had surfaced. I hadn't thought it would get that bad. Snape had known though. I supposed he had allowed me to attempt to prove myself.

I sat on the floor next to the toilet, thoroughly exhausted. I managed a small smile though, thinking of the perfect potion sitting on Snape's desk. It would have been nicer if I had survived right up until break.

I was just getting game enough to rise to go back into my bedroom when for the fifth time, I was sick again. When I finally sat back, I heard Snape come to stand in the doorway.

"Yes, I believe being violently sick is a side effect," he said, silkily. "Do you still think you should have come to Potions this morning?"

I nodded, wiping my forehead.

"I'd give you something to control it," he went on, "but it would not bode well with the potion I gave you last night. If luck is on your side, it should stop soon."

I looked up at him. There was something grim about his expression. Was he supposed to be feeling triumphant or was I? Technically, I hadn't survived the whole Potions class, which was clearly what Snape had predicted. But I had still handled making the potion, hadn't I?

Snape leaned against the doorframe, apparently happy to talk while I was in this state.

"I didn't know you planned to use Occlumency every time I looked at you," he said, folding his arms.

I opened my mouth to reply, but ended up being sick again. Snape, annoying as it was, stayed while I suffered. Being sick wasn't really something you wanted an audience for.

Finally, I sat back again. "You told me to practise," I said, my voice shallow. "I was ready."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "So you were," he replied.

"Are there any other side effects I should know about?" I asked, glaring at him. I felt so sick.

"Don't look at me like that," he snapped. "There are a number of side effects, but they differ according to the individual. Hopefully, this will be the only one you have."

"Hopefully," I muttered, reaching up to flush the toilet. The sick smell was embarrassing. So much for telling Terry that we didn't really have awkward moments...

"At least I didn't have to miss another Potions class," I said, rubbing my eyes.

"You nearly did," Snape replied, narrowing his eyes. "I was going to tell you to leave about halfway through, but you seemed so intent on proving yourself."

I looked up at him. He was looking at me, as if sizing me up.

"Well, I nearly made it," I said quietly.

"I know you did," Snape said softly.

From somewhere above, the bell sounded throughout the castle.

Feeling slightly better, I got up to get ready for Charms and History of Magic. At least I had two free periods in the afternoon. I passed Snape and went into the bedroom to pick up my bag. Snape followed.

"And where do you think you are going, might I ask?" he asked dangerously.

"To class," I said, innocently. "I'll make it."

Snape shook his head. "Oh no, you won't," he said, narrowing his eyes again. "You may have triumphed in making a perfect potion but this time your health decisions are being left to me." He glared at me. "You will remain here."

"But-" I didn't want to miss my classes. Yes, very Ravenclaw of me.

Snape put a hand up to stop me. "No, buts," he said firmly. "I'll have an easier time teaching if I know you're being sick here instead of elsewhere in the castle. I will collect your work for you."

I didn't reply as Snape walked to the door. I felt really downhearted though. He turned around in the doorway.

"I suggest you rest, Armilla," he said, softly. "I have no intentions of cancelling your extra lessons tonight so I expect to find you sleeping when I get back at lunchtime."

And with that, he left.

And I made another hurried trip to the bathroom.