Serendipity [Book 2]

Keeping Busy

“Now,” her answer was lost in the sea of voices and laughter that surrounded them suddenly.  Severus parted from Ariella as students flooded the hall.

“Meet me in the teacher’s lounge,” Ariella remarked before she disappeared into the crowd of teenagers that surrounded them. Severus frowned before he followed the blonde. Students parted for him, cowering away in fear. He smirked at the thought. When he found Ariella again, she was alone. The teacher’s lounge for the moment was empty of anyone but them. Somehow, he felt she had known that.

“Severus, I…” Ariella paused as she thought of a way to explain her feelings. Severus’s thin, black eyebrow rose in question. He had rarely seen Ariella with little to say, especially to him. As far back as he could remember, she was always talking, yelling, or cursing.

“Will you stop looking at me like that?!” She frowned as Severus smirked. He hadn’t figured her speechlessness would last long.

“Alright, I am not a floozy! Now either you ask me out properly or you stop kissing me!” She exclaimed boldly as Severus stared at her. Her amethyst eyes were alit with fire and her stand was firm. She was passion embodied at the moment.

“What?” Was all he could ask. Ariella groaned before folding her arms across her chest.

“You heard me, Snape. Now either ask me out, or leave,” she repeated. She didn’t let her face betray her feelings. In her mind, she was pleading with him to ask her out. Her irrational side begged for his kisses, and craved something stronger. However, her rational portion won out in the current fight and kept her face clear of any of the desire she felt for the baffled man in front of her. It was the first time she had really caught him off-guard.

“Cross, you can’t be serious,” Snape responded, feeling dread sink in the bottom of his gut. Why did she have to give him such an arduous decision to make right on the spot? Didn’t she understand the chaos that accompanied his feelings for her? Obviously not, Severus growled to himself.

“I am so serious, Snape,” Ariella growled. She pulled her arms tighter against her chest. Snape frowned.

“You want the answer now?”

“Preferably,” Ariella quipped before sighing.

“But, if I know you, you’ll want to wait. You want time to weigh the choices and then make your decision. Alright, you have till dinner to make up your mind, Snape. Minerva’s expecting me in her class of sixth years,” Ariella conceded as she proceeded to walk past him. Somehow Snape felt cheated. She hadn’t even given him time to rebuttal her accusation about his need for time. She was always so sure she knew what he wanted; it irked him.

“Cross, don’t you dare leave yet!” Snape growled as he turned swiftly to stop her exit from the room. Ariella turned to him in surprise as he groaned before brushing his hair away from his face.

“I…have your answer,” he remarked as Ariella tensed.

“Would you…like to go out with me?” The words tasted strange as they fell from his lips. Ariella’s amethyst eyes widened in genuine shock as Snape glared at the stone floor.  A light chuckle brought his attention back onto the woman standing in front of him.

“What is so funny, Cross?” He asked, annoyed she was laughing at him.

“Well you just looked so pained saying those words, Snark. I mean, somebody’s gotta laugh at the absurdity of the situation we’re in,” Ariella answered, still giggling. Snape glared at her. She was mocking him. Again.

“Ok, alright. I’m done. Sure, I’ll go out with you. How about during the Hogsmeade trip, we find something to do here in the castle?” She asked as Snape stared at her. Her laughter had ended and a soft smile graced her features. She easily used her hand to brush her curls away from her face. Snape only nodded.

“Alright, well I’ve got to get going then. Minerva’s going to serve my head on silver platter if I’m not careful. I’ll see you at dinner, Snark,” Ariella remarked before leaving the Potions Master to his thoughts. As soon as the blonde left the room, several teachers entered the room. Filius Flitwick busied him by making a cup of tea and Pomona Sprout sat at the table, grading papers.

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“Animagi have the ability to shift into their character animal. By law, all animagi are required to register with the Ministry of Magic. And one can’t become an animagi with prior consent from the Ministry,” Minerva McGonagall captivated her class by transforming in the feline she was famous for becoming. The students leaned forward as they studied the cat that had just been their teacher. A knock distracted them as Minerva returned to her human form. She frowned as she walked briskly to the door to answer it. The students gasped as she returned to her desk with a large lioness following her. Wide, fearful eyes followed the majestic creature as it perched itself atop Minerva’s desk.

“Animagi come in varying shapes and animals. Dogs, wolves, cats, and owls are the most common. I’ve known a trout, a tiger, and a fly. However, no matter the animal, the animagi always retains some human feature that can help distinguish it from a natural animal. Study this lioness and you tell me if she is an animagi or a real lion,” Minerva instructed as the students reluctantly lined up to get a closer look at the creature. The lioness purred, growled, stretched, and roared like an actual lion. Fred and George Weasley smirked as they raised their hands simultaneously. They knew the answer as soon as they stared the creature in the eyes.

“Yes, Mr. Weasley?” Minerva asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

“Well this lioness is of course,” Fred began as George interrupted him.

“A human,” George finished as their classmates turned to them, impressed.

“And how do you know that?” Minerva questioned as they smirked.

“Lions don’t have purple eyes, professor,” Fred answered knowingly. Minerva smiled before she nodded her head. The other students watched in awe as the Lioness transformed into their History of Magic professor. Ariella grinned wildly as she stood in front of her awe-struck older students.

“Indeed. Professor Cross volunteered her services to help me show you the diversity among animagi and to help explain the consequences if the proper precautions are taken,” Minerva explained as Ariella nodded.

“I became an animagus in my fifth year here at Hogwarts. My reasons were personal and I felt I was doing the right thing,” Ariella began as the class came closer to listen to her story.

“The process is very tedious and painstaking. There were several times when I thought I was going to fail and die or worse. That is why the animagi registry is so important.  It allows the ministry to help and assist in people trying to become animagi and stop those who shouldn’t or can’t become one. An animagi chooses an animal that they feel best represents them. I chose a lioness because my family’s crest has a lion, I was in Gryffindor, and I am fiercely loyal. I knew a man who was a proud stag,” Ariella explained as Minerva stepped up, earning the class’s attention.

“Professor Cross was a brilliant and determined student, but foolish. At any time during the process of becoming an animagus, she could’ve been caught and incarcerated or killed. So her actions, for whatever reasons, should not be repeated,” Minerva warned as Ariella shook her head.

“And the tools to do such have been out of student’s reach since my schooling here, so don’t think that you can try to become a dragon or something,” Ariella added flippantly as she smiled softly at the students. Fred and George raised their hands and didn’t wait for the professors to call on them.

“Have you ever,”

“Attacked anyone, Professor Cross?” They asked as Minerva scowled at them. Ariella nodded her head, still smiling.

“Indeed. There were several people and I have no doubt there will be several more,”  she answered  honestly just as the bell rang. Minerva dismissed the class before turning to Ariella in worry.

“Are you alright, dear? After last night, I’m sure…”

“I’m fine, Minerva. Honestly. Between you and Remus, I’m quite sure I’ll never have to worry about myself,”