Dunderhead - A Harry Potter story: Snape becomes Harry's mentor

Chapter 10: EYEBROWS

Harry walked slowly back to the tower with the heavy book that Snape had given to him tucked under one arm. He was not thinking about the evening that he had had however. Harry did not want to go over the finer details in his head; of how he had mimicked his father's childhood taunts, how he had been struck by Snape, and how he had then had his injuries tended to by the same man. Most of all, Harry did not want to think about how he had wept into Severus Snape's chest. Really, it was all too much to bother with, and he did not want to invite the dormant headache, which was currently residing somewhere around the healed cut in his temple, into the forefront of his mind. 

Harry walked up the dungeon stairs to reach the ground floor. He had been gently flicking through the pages of the book that Snape had given him, but now he closed the heavy volume and tucked it under his arm again. He noted how quiet it was as he passed the Great Hall. In fact, it was dead silent. Everyone was in bed. Harry walked quicker as he remembered the curfew, although he mused that it would be just his luck to run into some kind of monster, fall into a trap, or get attacked by Peeves. 

Harry started to walk up the grand staircase to his dormitory when he saw something. No one would not have noticed her, but Harry had seen a shadow move out of the corner of his eye, and, with many experiences of dark lords, spectres, huge ancient snakes, werewolves, and whatever else, Harry turned quickly. 

There, sat crossed legged on the stone floor at the feet of a suit of armour, sat a girl. Harry stopped and looked at her curiously. Did she know the lateness of the hour? Did she realise that it was past curfew? Harry shrugged inwardly; it wasn't his problem, he though. He made his way up the stairs, it wasn't any of his business. But, as though she had heard his thoughts, the girl looked up at him.

"I come and sit here every evening, and no one ever notices." She spoke to him. 

Harry tucked the heavy Occlumency book, which had been slowly slipping from his grip, more securely under his arm and hesitated for just a moment before walking back down the stairs. "How come?" He asked lightly. 

The girl shrugged, "I don't like working in the common room." She admitted.

Harry nodded awkwardly as the girl sat up straight to look at him properly. Her movement threw her face into the light of a torch bracket on the wall. Harry had originally thought her hair to be black in the shadows, but now he could see that it was in fact a very dark brown. He recognised absently that she did not have the unmistakable prettiness of Cho Chang. Her features were too serious, her expression too grim. The girl stood to pack her books away in a bag. She rubbed the tip of her nose with the side of her hand in an anxious manner. It was a snub nose, and it finished in a slight point, mirroring the sloping upward tilt of her philtrum. She also had a slightly pointed chin and an altogether angular face. However, Harry decided that what made her appearance interesting, like the protuberant eyes of Luna, which made her look slightly dotty, or Mad-Eye's scars, which made him look fierce, was her default look of concentration. This impression was solidified by her eyebrows, which Harry thought would have looked more at home on a man's face. They were thick and darker than her hair; black. 

"Are you alright?" Harry asked tentatively. He himself was exhausted after the tumultuous events of the evening and yet he recognised the tense poise of the girl as she straightened her bag strap over one shoulder. It was a bit like Neville when he had just experienced a vicious verbal attack by Malfoy.

"What's your name?" Harry asked instead when the girl didn't reply.

"It's Mint," she said shortly. "I'm fine, thank you for asking." She added calmly.

Harry nodded and made to make his way up the spiral staircase to Gryffindor tower, lightly pondering on the amount of derision with which Aunt Petunia would have reacted to this somewhat eccentric name.