Elizabeth Lily Potter: The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 17: Snape and Quidditch

After the rather scary encounter with the Three-Headed Dog, the four of us spent quite a bit of time discussing what exactly was being guarded: the mysterious package from Vault 713. Problem was, none of us had any idea what it was and who tried to steal it from Gringotts. Luckily, a new break in the case came when we were sitting in the Common Room together.

Hermione and I were on the floor, practicing for our upcoming Charms exam, Harry was upside down in a chair reading a book, and Ron was sitting in the chair next to him, eating a chocolate frog.

Absentmindedly, I looked up at the cover of the book Harry was holding (Quidditch Through the Ages), when I suddenly realized something.

"Harry?"

"Yeah, Liz?" He answered, not looking up from the book.

"When did you get that book back from Professor Snape?"

The day before Halloween, when we were walking down to the Black Lake, Snape had taken the book from him, claiming that 'books cannot be taken outside of the castle walls.' Of course, that was a made-up rule, but none of us bothered to correct the professor.

"Oh, I never told you?"

I shook my head. By this point, Ron and Hermione were looking at us, deciding to participate in the conversation.

"Well, on Sunday, I went after him to ask if I could have it back -"

"Bad idea, Harry," Ron cut in.

"I know, but still. Anyway, I walked to the Staff Room, and heard voices in there. I went to knock, but the door, which was slightly open, pushed itself open even further. You won't believe what I saw!"

"What?" We all asked, excited to hear what happened next.

"I saw Snape and Filch together!"

"What do you mean by 'together'? Please tell me you're not going to scar me for life!" Hermione swatted my arm while Ron nearly fell out of his seat laughing at my comment.

"Ew, Liz, no! Snape was sitting in a chair, with his leg propped up, holding his robes away from it -"

"I really don't like where this is going, Harry." Hermione interrupted.

Harry shushed her and continued speaking. "His leg was all bloody, like something had taken a big bite out of it! Filch was wrapping it up in bandages while Snape was muttering about 'that damn dog.' I tried to back away before he saw me, but I was too late. I'd never seen his face so red before!"

"What happened next, mate?"

"He yelled 'POTTER!' and threw the book at me. I grabbed it, closed the door and ran away as fast as possible!"

"Why didn't you ever tell us before now?"

"I was going to right after it happened, 'Mione, Nearly Headless Nick stopped me, and then I saw Hagrid and, well, I forgot." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at my brother's fantastic memory.

"You know, now that I think about it, when Professors Snape, McGonagall, and Quirrel found us with the troll, I did notice that Snape had a slight limp. I didn't really pay much attention at the time, since McGonagall was about to start shouting at us, but it does sound rather odd, now that I think about it." Hermione wondered aloud.

So, apparently, sometime between when Snape took Harry's book and when the professors confronted us about the troll, Snape was attacked by the three-headed dog. Obviously, that was suspicious, but after that crucially eye-opening conversation, we didn't get much of a chance to discuss our thoughts on the situation.