Mudblood

The Philosopher's Stone

"Miss Parkinson," Snape turned back to the other girls, "Why would Miss Wiley be unable to open the door, even after unlocking it?" He asked Pansy. The girls stood still staring directly at the floor. It wasn't very long before Isobel broke.

"Because there was a dresser in front of the door," Isobel said, still avoiding eye contact.

"Thank you, Miss MacDougal." Snape said, "I will be taking 15 points each from Slytherin for your behaviour," The girls looked defeated. Good, Lyssa thought, serves them right. "You are dismissed," he waved the girls out of his office, "Miss Wiley please stay a moment."

Lyssa stood with Snape in his office for only a moment after the others left when he gestured for her to have a seat.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked her.

"Only last night Professor," Lyssa didn't need to explain where she had been sleeping since November, that was a secret she wanted to keep.

"Really," Snape quirked an eyebrow at her, "And I am meant to believe you had an enchanted alarm clock merely by coincidence?" he questioned.

"I'd been practicing my charm work on it," Lyssa shrugged.

"Lyssa," Snape warned. He had never used her first name before, it was kinda scary.

"Since November," Lyssa sighed, "After the first quidditch game."

"And why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Because I needed to deal with it myself," she huffed, "They're never gonna respect me if I go crying to a Professor every time something doesn't go my way." Snape stared at her urging her to continue. "And it's not like no one knew, all the first-years knew, and the quidditch team knew I wasn't sleeping," Lyssa turned her head away, "It was just that nobody really cared."

Snape did not question her further and he let Lyssa return to her dorm. She had to go retrieve her things from the Room of Requirement first but she settled back into her dorm pretty quickly. The story of the enchanted alarm clock quickly spread around the school. The warped version Pansy was telling though, not the one that the Slytherins knew was the truth. This incident did, however, give Lyssa a reputation among the Slytherins. They all thought twice before insulting her now, most of them still did insult her but they weighed their options carefully knowing that they might come to regret anything more.

Lyssa got a good laugh when Professor Flitwick asked to see the clock. He even gave her extra credit for it, citing her impeccable charmwork and ingenuity.

𝀈𝀈𝀈

When exams finally arrived it felt like Lyssa could finally breathe again. She had spent the entire school year preparing for this moment as if her finishing at the top of her year would be enough to erase everything else that was going on in her life. All of her studying proved worth it though when she sat her exams. The theory parts were a breeze, Lyssa looked over all her answers twice after she had finished writing each one and was still always the first to hand in her paper. The practical parts couldn't be described as anything other than fun for Lyssa.

Professor Flitwick had asked her to make a pineapple dance across a desk. Lyssa giggled with glee as the pineapple performed a very intricate tap number in spite of its lack of legs or feet. Professor McGonagall had set the task of turning a mouse into a snuffbox. Lyssa focused very clearly on the image of one in her house back in Surrey. It was a pretty blue colour with ornamental flowers and jewels all over it. When she waved her wand Lyssa was delighted to see the picture in her mind appear in front of her. Professor Snape's practical was comparatively the hardest, but Lyssa breezed through that one as well. She took extra care in brewing her forgetfulness potion and refused to hand it in until she knew that it was perfect.