Armilla

Chapter 46

I slept undisturbed on Monday night. Snape had given me a Dreamless Sleep Potion when I had gone to bed and so I was able to sleep peacefully without being reminded of the now dull pain that resided in my back. I vaguely remembered Snape standing over me as the potion had taken hold. I had welcomed the darkness that surrounded me as much as I welcomed the happiness in my heart that I was home.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up feeling a bit groggy. I had a cold, a sore throat and a headache, and I still felt tired. That was just my luck. If I had to get sick, it had to be when I was home, finally free to do what I wanted again...though I wondered if sickness would have gotten me out of memorising books at Snape Manor.

I groaned and rolled over, feeling the dull ache in my back remind me of its presence. I looked at the clock. 8:27 am. I was surprised that Snape hadn't come in to wake me yet - he generally did when I slept past seven thirty. I didn't understand his need to get up so early. Maybe he felt that this time I deserved to sleep in. I fell back into a doze, having to come out of it several times to sneeze or blow my nose.

A sudden flutter of wings followed by incessant hooting finally roused me from my sleep. I sat up rubbing my eyes as two owls came soaring into the room and landed on my bed, each trying to nudge the other out of the way in order to get to me first. Morag hooted from her place on top of the armoire, clearly excited at having guests.

Snape strode in a few seconds later, looking a bit disgruntled.

"It sounds as if you've opened an owlery in here," he said, glaring at the owls on my bed, both of which seemed to be lobbying for my attention. Morag continued to hoot, as if wanting to remind me that she was there, and not to forget that I liked her above the others.

"So the owls know the entrance to these rooms then?" I asked, my voice sounding dry and husky. I leaned forward and untied the envelope from the leg of one of the owls. It hooted in excitement at being chosen first and the other abruptly stopped hooting altogether.

Snape narrowed his eyes as he moved over to the bed. "Yes, they know it," he answered, as he sat down on the bed next to me.

He watched as I untied the other envelope. The owls then went to join Morag for some water. Morag continued to hop about and hoot in her excitement. Snape had opened his mouth to say something, but Morag and the other owls were making such a racket that he would have had to raise his voice to be heard.

"Do cease that infernal racket!" he snapped at the owls. The two guests immediately stopped their noise, and hopped around in an intimidated manner to peer at Snape. Morag, however, seemed to decide that no amount of snapping would deter her from making noise if she wished. She looked directly at Snape and continued to hoot, albeit quieter than before.

Snape glared at her, his lips pursed. "You are a daring one, aren't you?" he said coldly. Morag hooted in reply and flapped her wings. She grew to her fullest form and went jet black. She stretched out her suddenly long sharp claws for Snape to see.

"Is that all you've got to offer?" he said sarcastically.

Morag hooted indignantly and her claws grew even more, becoming so long that they curled at the edges. She began to hoot again, as if Snape's mere presence was egging her on.

"Poor," said Snape dryly, "bordering on dreadful."

It seemed to me that in my absence, Snape and Morag had developed a hostile relationship. I wondered exactly how much noise she made at night when I wasn't there with her.

Morag decided to change tactics at that moment. She opened her beak and let out an almighty high-pitched hoot. It was enough to make me want to cover my ears.

Snape whipped out his wand and pointed it at her threateningly. She ceased at once and I wondered if that was due to experience. He continued to point it at her for a few seconds, wearing a look of the utmost contempt. Finally, Morag was the first to look away and she hopped over to her water and made no more noise.

Snape pocketed his wand again, still glaring at the owl, who had now resumed her usual small snowy form. "I will not be defeated by an owl," he said maliciously, apparently to no one in particular.

"Have you used magic on her before?" I asked, ignoring the dryness of my voice.

"No," he replied, looking at me closely. "But it's certainly a good threat."

"She hasn't been making too much noise, has she?"

Snape gave me a grim smile. "Just a little," he said, sneering. "Enough to make us resent each other's presence at any rate."

"Oh," I said dolefully. I hoped he wasn't about to say that Morag would have to go and live in the owlery.

"Don't fret," he said, waving a hand aside, "I will view her as a challenge. She just needs taming."

"It seems like she doesn't want to be tamed," I pointed out.

Snape gave me a self-satisfied look. "Her desires are not to be considered. If she wants to remain here, she will be tamed." Snape turned and looked back at Morag. "Did you hear that Morag? Tamed!" Morag blinked at him, but didn't hoot. Snape turned back to me, shaking his head.

"I think you'll be good friends before long," I said, looking at the letters in my hand.

"Mm. She'll rue the day she decided to cross me," he said. He reached forward to feel my forehead. "What luck you have," he said, leaning back. "You've got a fever. Well that's an excuse for you to stay in bed today."

"But I want to get out of bed," I said indignantly.

"Dear me, that's a shame," he said sardonically, his black eyes glittering. "You're staying there though." He got up and walked to the door.

"But I'm not that sick," I said. It didn't help that I sneezed as soon as I finished that sentence.

Snape sneered. "Indeed. Forgive me if I do not trust your judgement. I do believe that the last time you were unwell, I said that in future all your health decisions would be left to me." He folded his arms and glared at me. "That said, you're staying in bed today."

Before I could reply, he swept from the room leaving me alone with the owls and my letters. If I had felt much better, I would have been annoyed with the man for telling me to stay where I was. In truth, if I did get of bed, I wouldn't feel like doing much anyway. And besides, Snape was easier to get along with when I let him be right. He loved to be right.

I knew the letters were from my friends because I recognised the handwriting on each right away.

Dear Mill,

Hello from Copenhagen! My family and I have been here in Denmark for five days and we're all having a great time. (I've picked you up some great presents.) I had a pretty good Christmas - got everything I wanted. Thanks for your present - the bag is beautiful and it goes perfectly with my dress robes. Speaking of dress robes, I bet you looked nice in your new ones the other night. You'll have to tell me all about it when I see you again.

Did you have a nice Christmas? Did you get anything nice? I'm dying to talk to you about how everything turned out.

I'll be back at Hogwarts on Sunday, just in time for school on Monday. Are you back at Hogwarts now or the Merrigan Estate? Wherever you are, I hope you have a lovely week. I miss you heaps.

Love, Lisa

Dear Milly,

Terry always referred to me as Milly when he wrote because it was the only time he could get away without me hitting him.

Greetings! I hope you woke this morning to the sound of a mooing alarm clock - I thought it was such a laugh when I found it. I hope Professor Snape lets you use it. Thanks for the book - it was the only one in the series that I didn't have.

How was your Christmas? Where did you go and what did you do? Oh yeah, and what did you get? (I do have many questions, but I'll save the rest until I see you next).

I had a spiffing Christmas. I got an excellent racing broom and I can guarantee that I'll beat you any time now...just name the day and I'll leave you behind at the starting line! Hmm, I had better finish this letter before my head gets too big and pops.

Lisa and I were thinking of you a lot over the past week. Just assure us again that you're happy and we'll be content.

I'll see you either on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Terry

Closing their letters, I smiled down at them sadly. I missed them both so much. They were still worried that I wasn't happy with Snape though. But then, they didn't know him as I did. They only knew him as the cruel, cold, sarcastic, but skilled Potions Professor and Head of Slytherin. I supposed they had a right to worry when that was the only side they saw.

"Your friends have wasted no time in writing, have they?" said Snape, coming back into the room, carrying a couple of potions as well as my breakfast.

"They've been waiting for me to come back here before they wrote," I said, putting the letters aside.

"How thoughtful," he replied dryly, handing me the tray with my breakfast. "Eat. All of it."

As I ate, Snape used magic to clean Morag's cage for me. I was grateful, but Morag watched him suspiciously the whole time. When he finished, she hooted at him softly.

"I didn't do it for you," he scoffed.

I refrained from rolling my eyes. I wondered if her snowy form caused him irritation because it reminded him of Harry's owl.

As I finished my breakfast, Snape uncorked two potions, one of which I recognised as Pepper-Up potion.

"Thanks," I said, taking the first potions from him. I grimaced at the taste, hoping the next one wouldn't be as bad. It wasn't, but the aftertaste wasn't the best.

"If I feel better later, can I get up?" I asked hopefully, knowing perfectly well what the answer would be.

"No, you may not," he said smoothly, pulling my covers back up. "Except for bathroom use, you're staying right there until further notice."

"I'll be bored," I grumbled.

"No you won't," he replied, "you have plenty of sleeping to do."

"I slept the whole night though," I pointed out. "I only have a cold."

Snape shook his head. "Not just a cold, but exhaustion, stress and a small case of malnutrition. Enough to warrant a full day in bed, if not more."

"But-"

Snape held up a hand. "I thought you would have learnt from experience that I do not accept buts."

"I do know," I said quietly, "I wanted to try anyway."

"Oh, I feel for you," he said, smirking. "But I know what will make you feel better."

I looked up at him suspiciously. "What's that?"

"Perhaps when you're feeling better, you can show me your superior pureblood walk." He had a small smile on his face.

"No way," I said firmly.

He raised an eyebrow. "No? Are you serious? I was looking forward to it."

"Definitely no," I said again. "I never quite mastered it anyway."

"Surely not?" he mocked. "No? Well, that's a shame. I was looking forward to some amusement."

"Amusement?" I repeated. "But there are plenty of Slytherin girls who already walk like that. You must have seen them."

Snape looked thoughtful as he sat down on the bed next to me again. "Yes, but many of them are already snooty," he said, "and don't repeat that," he added harshly as an afterthought.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I said. "I don't need too. Slytherin girls are already known for being snooty."

"As opposed to Ravenclaw girls being bookish?" he quipped.

"It's far better to be bookish than snooty," I said airily.

"A valid point indeed."

"Father told me that he wanted me to go to Beauxbatons, but you wouldn't let him," I said. "You didn't tell me that."

"I didn't think it important," he said, looking surprised. "There was never any question of you changing schools, regardless of what Father felt about it."

"I'm glad I didn't have to," I said, playing with the hem of my sheets.

"So am I," Snape said, narrowing his eyes. "You would have cost me a fortune if you went there. The students at Beauxbatons are nothing to the Slytherin girls. I heard a rumour that that school actually has a beauty parlour within its grounds."

"I would have cost you nothing," I said. "I wouldn't have gone to the beauty parlour."

Snape sneered. "Mm, well, it might just be a school rule, you know. Not all those girls have Veela blood. Speaking of beauty though, forgive me for not having asked after the welfare of your dear nails." He smirked. "Are they in good health?"

"Very well, thankyou," I smiled, holding them out for him to see. "I'll have to write and tell Rougier that you remembered to ask."

Snape flexed his fingers. "I would dearly love to meet that woman," he said darkly.

"I think Tonks found her amusing," I said.

"She would," Snape muttered. "Speaking of Nymphadora, did Father or Rougier go with you to meet Tonks yesterday?"

"Rougier," I answered. "I'm not sure if I prefer her to Father."

"Rougier's probably easier to squash," he said, rationally. "Tonks took you straight to Grimmauld Place?"

"No," I answered, hoping I wouldn't blush. "We went shopping."

"What f-" Snape paused mid-sentence. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Never mind." There was an embarrassed silence.

"I hadn't been to Grimmauld Place before," I said, watching him closely.

Snape scowled, though not at me. "It is my wish that any time you spend there will be limited." He looked closely at me. "So who did you see there?"

"Mrs Weasley, Professor Lupin-"

"Not professor anymore," Snape muttered. "Go on."

"Sirius Black."

Snape positively glowered at the name. "There's an acquaintance that you could do without," he said. "Did you actually meet him?"

"Sort of," I said. "Not properly. He got a shock when he found out who I was."

"I bet he did."

"Lupin and Mrs Weasley were nicer, but Black acted a bit strange."

"He is strange," Snape murmured. "Not right in the head. Never has been."

"He seemed more acquiescent when Lupin told him I was in Ravenclaw."

"Well Black hates anything associated with Slytherin," he said, glaring at the wall.

"But his house has serpents everywhere," I said.

"Black comes from a family of Slytherins," he explained, turning back to me. "His younger brother, Regulus, was a Slytherin."

"Where is he?"

"Dead," Snape replied shortly.

"Oh," I said quietly as Snape turned to glare at the wall again.

We stayed silent for several moments. "Why don't you like each other?" I said softly.

Snape didn't answer at first. Initially, I thought he wasn't going to answer, but at length, he turned back to me.

"There's nothing to like about him," he said in a hard tone. "We have our differences, Armilla, and our history extends over many, many years. It is not worth delving into and I would prefer not to." He gave me a significant look which I knew meant that his word was final. I nodded.

"You must have come into contact with a few more Gryffindors," Snape said, raising an eyebrow.

"I did," I replied. "Hermione, Ginny, Harry and Ron...I didn't see the twins though."

"No great loss, I assure you," Snape sneered. "Did you talk to them much?" He was watching me closely.

I shrugged. "Hermione came in late in the afternoon and I talked to her for awhile. The other three came in together later on." I was trying to refrain from mentioning Harry's name again. Snape's expression had darkened as soon as I had said Harry. It must have pained him to hear me use his first name.

"So they talked to you properly, though they're fully aware that you're my sister?"

"Yeah," I said. "They seemed okay with it after awhile."

"After awhile?" Snape sneered.

"You couldn't expect the Gryffindors to accept it so readily," I said. "I expected them to be wondering whose league I'm in."

"Whose league?" Snape repeated, frowning slightly.

"Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's league, or Slytherin's."

Snape scoffed derisively. "I hope you put their worries at ease then."

I shrugged again. "They're okay."

Snape looked sternly at me. "I do hope you're not friendly with them," he said in a hard tone. "Especially Potter," he practically spat the name. "Father would do more than curse you if he found out."

"What about you?" I asked. I thought Snape would kill me first if I was a friend of Harry's.

Snape stared at me. "Potter is-" he began, looking agitated. He shook his head. "I understand that you need to maintain relations with students from your own...league," he sneered. "But I would prefer it if your contact with Potter was kept to a minimum."

"Is he such a bad person?" I asked. I had never understood the animosity that had existed between the two since Harry's first year.

Snape considered me for a moment, as if weighing up something in his mind. "Potter," he said finally, still sneering slightly, "has many things to learn in order to improve his character. He is disrespectful, reckless, arrogant, and has an undue fetish for playing the hero."

I considered this. Snape hadn't really answered my question and I felt that he didn't want to. I decided not to push the subject any further.

"Enough information?" he said, standing up.

I nodded, sneezing again.

Snape conjured an armchair next to the bed and sat in it, accioing a bunch of parchments, a quill and ink from the sitting room.

"I have lesson planning to do," he said, unscrewing the lid off a bottle of ink. "And you need to sleep. Am I to assume that if I stay here with you, you will oblige me and sleep?" He looked at me, his face unfathomable.

I nodded, lying down again. So he was going to stay while I slept. He didn't have to, of course. But something in my heart told me that I was glad he was.