"EM!" I jumped, looking up from my bowl of cereal as I turned to face my brother. He must have been calling my name for a while, from the concern in his eyes. "What's going on?" He scoffed, glancing around at the rest of the table for a brief moment. I looked over at Ron, then Hermione, who were both staying at The Leaky Cauldron the night before school. We had only been reunited a mere hour before. Ron had just came back from a long trip to Egypt, and had been talking about the different fantastical beasts that lurked around the Pyramids.
I had found myself growing lost in their conversation, entirely. For my headache was worsening in the pub filled with crowded people attending breakfast. My lips parted, "My head is killing me." I spat, adjusting the sunglasses I had managed to find in my backpack, along with that hat that covered my hair; not the time nor place to alarm anybody with my new look.
I could feel my brother and his friends' stares burning into me, and I felt a little relief in those brief moments of silence. But that peace was shortly lived, as Hermione began to speak, "Do you think we should take her to the hospital?"
I groaned angrily, "Merlins, I'm fine! It's just a headache!"
The pub suddenly became engulfed in a green light, the warmth from the fire radiating as a figure emitted, blinding us all momentarily. I pulled my sunglasses down my nose, glancing in the direction of the light as my eyes landed on Professor Snape, who had Flooed into the pub. He eyes darted about the room frantically, as he found Mr Weasley and made his way over to him.
Mr Weasley pointed in my direction, causing me to get up from the table and make my way over to them both. Snape met me in the centre, his eyes concerned, "Miss Potter, are you alright? Dumbledore informed me of what happened."
I shook my head, "No. I need your help, Professor," grabbing his hand and dragging him into another, more secluded room in the pub. Snape's eyes looked haunted, "What's the matter?"
"Do you know any transfiguration spells that can change appearance?" He scoffed at my query, almost out of disbelief, as his black locks covered his face slightly. It took a moment for him to realise how serious our conversation was. "Why would you want to change your appearance?"
I shook my head dismissively at his questioning, "That's not important-" But he cut my protest short, a sense of anger emitting from him, "-Well it is, to me!" Noticing he had raised his voice beyond comfort, and causing the pounding to resume in my head, he glanced around, making sure that we were entirely alone in the room as he leaned closer to face me. My headache submitted, momentarily, as the scent of pine and white musk filtered through my nostrils like velvet.
"Emerald, what's going on?" His charcoal eyes met mine, his hand reaching to grab the glasses and pull them away from my face. I grabbed his hand quickly, preventing him from doing so. But as his eyes met mine once more, my hand fell back to my side, allowing him to remove the glasses. His eyes found my own, dull green ones, as the concern grew even more evident in them.
I took a deep breath, "And that's not the worst part." I reached towards my hat, removing it and showing my Professor my newly found, grey locks. The black eyes widened in shock and disbelief, the silence in the room now deafening. I had never known Snape to be at a loss for words. And I prayed he would snap out of his frozen trance soon.
"Say something." I plead desperately, watching as the man took a step back. For a moment, I thought he could have abandoned me in the room, had he so wished. Instead, however, he withdrew his wand and spoke simply, "Crinus Muto." A gust of wind emitted from his wand, causing me to be taken aback a little. But as I glanced back down at the small wisps of hair now hanging in front of my face, I found they were back to my previous, natural-red colour.
I turned to face a small mirror in the room; letting out a sigh of sheer relief that I was semi-back to normal. My eyes were still duller than before, but I didn't mind so much. "Much better." Snape complimented from behind me, but as I turned back to face him I found his concern was still evident. "Yes, thank you, Sir. I suppose the universe decided to punish me for jinxing my aunt Marge." I shrugged, which he nodded in confirmation, appearing in slight discomfort at my statement. "Indeed. But, I must make you aware of the recent events that have unfolded, my dear."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Sir?"
He took a deep and needed breath, intertwining his hands formally as his gaze averted to the cobbled floor. "There is a murderer that has escaped Azkaban prison..." I nodded, "Sirius Black; I know."
Snape's eyes met my own, as he scoffed once more and shook his head. "No, you don't know." He spoke angrily, that anger soon turned to guilt, however. Guilt at his very small outburst. I watched as the Professor stepped forth, closing the gap between us both, once again. "Black was extremely close to Voldemort; he betrayed a lot of people the night your mother and father died. And he knew that your brother, and possibly you, were the cause of The Dark Lord's downfall."
It suddenly clicked in my mind, why Harry was in such grave danger. "...And now he wants to come back-to finish us off?"
The Potions Master nodded, reaching down to take my hand in his. "Emerald, I need you to promise me that you will not seek Black out, under any circumstances."
I chewed my lip, forcing myself to stop as I knew it would give away the potential lie I was about to tell. "I promise, Professor."
The man let out a small sigh of relief, recomposing his slip in emotion momentarily. "I best let you get back to your friends. Go on!" He ushered, causing me to nod and make my way towards the next corridor, leading out into the pub. "See you at school." Snape sent a curt nod in response, with a small and sincere smile.
"So much like Lily."
I turned around quickly at the sound of his words, my eyes scanning him up and down. His eyebrows raised impatiently, "Are you leaving?"
Shaking my head in dismissal to my own thoughts, I chuckled lightly, "Yeah um...Sorry. Bye." And with that, I opened the door and stepped outside. Trying to rid my mind of the words Professor Snape had just spoke, I continued down the hallway. But I found myself almost in denial, trying to convince myself that he had not spoken them. But I couldn't help but think...Were they spoken at all? He looked at me as though he had not said anything...He couldn't have been...Thinking the words and I heard them as they projected from his mind....Could he?