Eleanor Snape- Book 1

This Time It's NOT My Secret

I spent the remainder of Christmas Break studying potions and pickling ingredients, as promised. Every day I went to bed smelling of vinegar and other preservatives. The only good side of my punishments was that, due to the extended lessons, my potion making actually improved. I had successfully accomplished the work of a first year at last!

The first night I finished a potion without disaster was the last night of break. I remember how Uncle Severus gazed at me as I added the last ingredient. I dropped it in and closed my eyes, expecting the concoction to blow up in my face, but instead nothing happened; well, nothing bad at least. The potion turned from a dark blue to a dark lilac purple. At first, I thought I hadn't finished it, so I reread the directions. Once I saw that i was correct, I looked up, amazed. I caught eyes with my Uncle Severus, who, believe it or not, was smiling.

"Ellie!" Draco practically tackled me when he saw me in the Common Room the next day. All the students who had left for Christmas were returning.

"Draco! Get off me!" I ducked under his arms to get out of his grip.

"Geeze, okay. No need to get aggressive." He put his hands up as a signal of surrender. I rubbed my eyes. I hadn't meant to snap at Draco; I was tired and grumpy.

"Draco, I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night...I had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep.

"Another nightmare?" He questioned in disbelief. "Sirius Black?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I hope the Ministry catch him soon. Your sleepless nights are killing me!" I smiled.

"Awl, Draco!"

"If you get any crankier, I might end up dead!" My smile faded. What did he mean 'if you get any crankier'? I wasn't cranky in the least!

"What do you mean by that?!"

"All I mean is that when you loose sleep, you get irritable-"

"I do not!" I yelled, making the whole Common Room's attention turn to us. Seeing this I turned on my heels and left the room, going into the hallway.

"Ellie!" I heard Draco run after me, but I ignored him and continued walking. Who was he to tell me how I felt? "Elle, wait up! What's wrong?!"

'Just ignore him.' I thought while resisting the urge to turn around. Suddenly, I turned around a corner and-

BAM!

Ran face first into someone.

"Watch it!" I yelled as I stepped away from them

"I-I'm sorry, Elle." As I came back to my senses after the surprise, I saw it was Crabbe.

"Oh, Vincent, I'm sorry, I-"

"Elle!" Draco panted, finally catching up. "What's wrong!?" I turned around to face him.

"You should know." His face was blank.

"What?"

"Ugh! You are so clueless!" I put my palm to my face in annoyance.

"What is wrong with you? Are you on your period or something?" That was the final straw. I could feel my face getting red as I grabbed my wand with one hand and formed a fist with the other. Weighing my options, I put my wand back and jumped at Draco. Before I could lay a hand on him, I felt Crabbe grab me around the waist and pull me away.

"Let me at him!" I flailed my limbs as Crabbe carried me down the hallway, Draco following behind. "Let go of me!" Both the boys remained silent.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" I heard Draco knock on a door as I squirmed.