"WEASLEYS, JORDAN, BLACK!" Snape thundered, grabbing George and Lee by the collar as we walked down the hall. "My office, NOW!" Sharing looks between amusement and anxiety, we all followed behind him. Soon we were all facing him at his desk, barely concealing smirks. Radiating anger, he drawled venomously, "Which one of you set up a dung bomb in my storage cupboard?!" He looked around at us all.
Feigning innocence, George replied, "Now, Professor, you know us. We'd never do something as cruel and hil-" Discretely, I stomped on his foot. "I mean...as mean as that." Snape saw right through our words.
"Detention, all of you, and twenty-five points from Gryffindor," he snapped. "Jordan, you'll be with Madame Pomfrey. Weasley, Professor Sprout. Weasley, Mr. Filch. And Black, you'll be with me. Tonight, eight o'clock. Don't be late." I internally groaned but didn't say anything. "Now, get out of my office before I decide poisoning is a better method of discipline." We all left and soon the usual groans and complaints rose up.
"Mr. Filch is going to torture me," Fred whined.
"You think you have it bad," Lee scoffed. "I'll be cleaning sick in the hospital wing."
"At least you don't have to be with Snape," I countered. "I bet he'll do something really nasty." Everyone finally stopped their complaints and went to the Great Hall for dinner. We remained gloomy for a few minutes before George inevitably cracked a joke and we were light hearted again. After spending some time on homework in the common room, I glanced at the clock and groaned.
"I've got to go," I sighed. "I'll see you guys later." They all said goodbye as I left the common room to head to Snape's office. The door was open and he was organizing some things in his storage cupboard.
"Black," he greeted irritably. "Due to your immature prank, several of the plants in my stores have gone bad. I need them replenished. Luckily, most of the plants can be found right here on campus in the Forbidden Forest. Here are what the plants look like. I need a jar of each and then you may go."
Taking the jars and parchment from him, I started down the hallway. All in all, it wasn't a bad detention considering it was from Snape. Now, am I paranoid and think something will probably happen to me? Yes, but sometimes that's just the way it is. Carefully studying the pictures of the plants I was supposed to find, I stepped into the forest. Crouching down by the trees, I began to pull some plants by the roots, humming softly to myself.
After I had been working for a half hour, I had gathered a jar for two out of the three plants, but the third one was evading me. "Lumos," I muttered, holding my wand aloft as I went deeper into the forest. Spotting a hopeful spot, I got on my knees and got on my hands and knees.
"Vaaallerieeee," a deep, soft voice called, causing me to instantly straighten my spine, looking around with my wand raised. Seeing nothing, I cautiously went back to what I was doing, my ears twitching as I strained to listen. The jar was half full and I was sweating, every sound making me twitch. "Valerieeeeee," the same deep, mystical-sounding voice called, sweeping through the forest. I shot up again, looking around on high alert.
"Nox," I whispered, extinguishing the light from my wand.
"Valerie!" a different voice shouted, making their way towards me with a lighted wand.
"Snape," I replied, hiding my unease as I got to my feet. "I, uh, got most of it, but..." I stopped, glancing back to see that they were all filled. Brows furrowed, I crouched down and grabbed the jars. "It's...it's all here," I said in disbelief.
"Get back to the castle," Snape ordered, shoving me towards the direction I came from. Still confused, I did as he said. I was still consumed in my thoughts as I washed the herbs in Snape's classroom, the man himself watching me carefully. "Chop them up," he ordered once they'd been washed. I began to do so, but the voice from the woods rang in my mind until my hands began to shake. Suddenly, I fumbled and the blade slipped.
"Argh," I hissed, dropping the knife as I winced in pain. Snape fixed me with a sharp look as he came over next to me. His usual expressionless face seemed to have concern veiled by irritation. "Sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to-"
"Get some sleep, Black," he drawled, still seeming to faintly be concerned.
"O-Okay," I stuttered, grabbing my things and pinched the cut to try and stop the bleeding. I shook slightly as I left the classroom.
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Snape stared after Valerie before he followed after her briefly to go to Professor Dumbledore's office. "Severus," he greeted, looking up from a piece of parchment on his desk.
"I'm concerned about one of the students," Snape drawled. Dumbledore seemed to sit up straighter. "Miss Black and the usual accomplices got detention today. I had Miss Black collecting some potion ingredients for me in the Forbidden Forest. When I noticed it was getting remarkably late, I went out to search for her."
"Was she hurt?" Dumbledore asked tensely.
"No," Snape replied. "However, she was remarkably shaken and confused. Then when I had her cleaning the plants and cutting them, she started shaking, resulting in cutting her finger. I have known Miss Black for five years. Never have I seen her anything but confident and arrogant, like her father."
"Your point?"
"Try as I may, I can't see how this could not be concerning. Whatever she saw or heard in the forest greatly rattled her. I suspect it might pertain to Sirius Black," Snape admitted. "I've told you, having Remus Lupin here is not-"
"Severus," Dumbledore interrupted firmly. "I trust Remus Lupin with my life." Snape huffed.