Tarnished | Severus Snape [Book One]

Chapter Seventeen | Uncanny Truth

Nothing but a pure white landscape.

The red and orange maple leaves falling through the white canvas sky as I laid motionless on the cold floor. The air was still and a small whisper echoed in my ear;

Red Woods.

I gasped to regain my consciousness as I sprung up from the dungeon floors. I looked up in cold sweat to see the four Slytherin girls eyeing me with shock and confusion.

"Erm--" one staggered, "Miss Copperstone?"

I blinked and stumbled up, the girls to dumbfounded to help me up. I leaned heavily on the wall and breathed out, "How long was I out?"

"Just a minute!" Another girl spoke up and I nodded.

"Well--" I stuttered trying to think up an excuse, "Never again shall I take muscle relaxer draughts to relieve the stress! You-- you know?" They kept quiet, "B-because the side effects--? Never mind that." I blushed madly. "Professor Snape--"

"Is gone," one older girl said, "He left on business with the headmaster. Won't come back till Monday, ma'am." I shut my eyes and sighed deeply.

Damn it.

"Do you think you should stop by at the Hospital Wing?" The eldest said and I shook my head with a sincere smile.

"Oh no," I laughed nervously as I started my way back down the dungeon hall, "This isn't the first time-- I mean... Never mind. Thank you, ladies!"

*

That was embarrassing.

And now Severus is gone. And Dumbledore. Great...

I stopped by at the library and rushed in, seeing only a few students sitting separate from each other, studying quietly at their own tables. I nodded a greeting to Madam Pince who nodded back, staying by her desk reading The Daily Prophet.

I searched through the bookshelves to find any kind of relation to The Red Woods. But, to be honest, I had not a clue where to start. As I was deep in thought as I walked through a row of shelves, I bumped into a student, having her to drop her books and parchment. A small pot of ink fell and cracked all over the fallen parchments.

"Oh my," I gasped as I crouched down and hurriedly stacked her parchment one by one. "Its okay," she said and I glanced up to noticed it to be that Granger girl who hangs with Harry Potter.

"Oh-- Miss Granger," I gasped, "Oh, no-- the ink--"

"And that is why I was blessed with magic," she smiled and whipped out her wand and with a gentle flick of her wand Reparo, the ink emitted off the parchment and the shards of glass rebuilt itself, the ink slipping in through the top back to its original state.

I smiled in amazement and shuffled together the parchment, both standing up and gave Hermione her studies.

"That was amazing," I said and Hermione smiled back, "I'm surprise I don't see you with your friends. You lot seem inseparable."

"Well, I have a test on Monday for Arithmancy and other than my friends, I like to study hard on the weekend than to fret about it later." She said curtly, walking to a small desk by a window. She stacked her supplies on the table neatly and turned to me.