"Careful!" exclaimed Elias. He quickly moved the boy's hand out of the way of the blade. "You wanna cut the roots with the very end of your blade. And move your fingers back. That way, your fingers won't be in the way and you won't cut yourself."
The Slytherin barely had the time to nod that Elias was gone. The cauldron of a poor girl had just exploded at the opposite side of the room. Since Professor Snape had to accompany a student to the infirmary –who had poisoned himself by inhaling the fumes of his cauldron and was now hiccupping without end, Elias had to take care of the whole class of Slytherins and Gryffindors by himself. Of course, Professor Snape had ordered that the class continued on without him, but Elias was sure he had done so only to see Elias fail in some sort of way.
Ever since he had arrived late on the first day of class, Professor Snape had disregarded all his efforts to improve himself, both as a potion master in training and assistant. All he ever told him was either orders, things he had to do for the next class, or insults towards his behavior barely disguised as remarks. Elias just couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong: things were going fine with Professor Sprout.
Yet, he couldn't give up. He loved it too much to give up.
However, teaching could be quite challenging sometimes, like in this case. The young man did not know what had gotten into the first years, but they were disastrous today. It was their third week of school, but they managed to do even worse than both the first and second week combined.
Elias quickly put the lid over the cauldron that had just exploded. The dark goo oozing from the dark recipient stopped flowing onto the table. He sprinkled some salt and crushed rose roots over the goo, hoping that it would neutralize whatever effects the girl had given it. It was just a Hiccoughing potion they had to brew, for Merlin's sake! How the fuck had she managed to make a substance that different from it?
He leaned on the wall for a short second. Elias passed a hand in his hair to get his locks away from his eyes and sighed. Thank Merlin he was not wearing his wizarding robes. He wouldn't be able to run all over the place like this without proper pants. Luckily, the teacher's dress code was not strict. Elias could wear a simple shirt and pants to teach, and, because of magic, the Hogwarts crest always appeared on his chest.
"Professor?" he heard from the other side of the room. Elias spun back, almost expecting a demon from the Apocalypse to have been summoned inside the classroom. To his surprise, the tables of Slytherins and Gryffindors in the back were calmly brewing their potions and actually reading their potion making manuals. Were they finally learning from their mistakes? Was Elias actually going to survive the class?
"Yes?" he asked as he went to the table that had called him, sending quick looks at the other tables to make sure that no one was going to cut off their hand or feeling like poisoning themselves.
"You forgot your notebook," a girl mentioned, pointing on the dark notebook sitting on her table.
"Oh, thank you," answered Elias as he quickly took his notebook and pen in his hands to leave more place to the students. It still felt weird to be called "professor", but he kind of liked it. It made him feel important.
The apprentice noticed that the eleven-years old girl was still looking at him curiously.
"Is there something?" he asked nicely. Her potion looked close enough to what they were supposed to get, considering that this was only one of her first classes where they brewed a potion.
"What's that?" she asked with a small frown. Elias followed her glance to his hands.
"This?" he wondered, lifting the pen in the air. She nodded. "It's a pen."
"A pen?"
The young man noticed that the whole table was looking at him, listening as intently as the little girl. He smiled, to try to make them at ease. Elias really did not want to seem as mean as Professor Snape did.
"Yeah. It's like a quill, but instead of needing to put ink on it every few words, it's already inside," explained Elias. "It's a muggle thing."
Since they seemed confused, he opened his notebook to a blank page and scribbled a circle. The apparition of the ink on the paper seemed to amaze the students. Elias had a small laugh. How cute they were.
"Professor Filch?" spoke up the same Gryffindor girl that had asked about the pen. Elias did not remember her name. However, he knew that the Slytherin beside her was her twin brother.
"Yeah?"
She sent a hesitant look to her schoolmates.
"Why don't you have a wand?" she asked.
"Sorry?" Elias said as blinked.
The question had caught him off guard. He had supposed that everyone in the school knew that he was a squib, but since he hadn't been presented as such –Professor Snape was strict, but not mean enough to introduce him as a squib and had only explained that he was his assistant.
The girl looked around, as if she wanted to make sure that no one else would scold her for such a question.
"Why don't you have a wand?" she repeated.
Elias realized that he had no answer ready. Had she asked how much of sunflower root to use, or how to cut a bulb to get the most seeds, the young man would've answered her without any hesitation. However, as of now, he was a teacher. He had to provide her with an answer.
"Well," he started with what he wished was a confident tone, "not everyone is born with the same gifts. I'm just not good with spells."
"Huh," replied the girl with a confused expression.
"My brother said that you're a squib," spoke up a Slytherin girl from another table. With her dark brown hair and piercing eyes, she seemed like she was trying to figure out what kind of monster Elias was.
"That would not be wrong," breathed out Elias. He passed a hand in his hair. The whispers running in the class were driving him crazy, but he needed to calm down. They were just children. They didn't know any better. He was doing a good job. Even if he wasn't a sorcerer. He was fine. Fine.
"You see," started Elias while trying to not think too much about anything, "you were born with magic. You can do incredible things, and Hogwarts will teach you to get to your full potential. But you're gonna have to work hard for it. One day, you'll all be powerful sorcerers because you put the effort necessary to develop your skills. I might not have same kind of powers you all have, but I am still here because I had sufficient skills. I made it all the way here to Hogwarts by my own hard work. So, if you continue to work hard, you'll get powerful too."
Before Elias could judge the reaction of the students, the door slammed opened. Professor Snape walked in like he owned the place. He sent an irritated look around the classroom, as if he was disappointed that the students hadn't caused a magical disaster. Elias instinctively took a step back from the table.
Professor Snape went behind his desk in silence, in front of the black board. It was full of white chalk making small letters and a diagram of a cauldron. In the last weeks, Elias had learned that Professor Snape was not a nice person, but that his explanations were clear nonetheless. He tended to be rough and somewhat rude to everyone, but made sure that the material got across. He was definitely better at teaching seventeenth years than first years. His mercilessness came across as scary in the first years' hearts. He did not hesitate to give detentions the moment someone moderately irritated him. Strangely, few Slytherins were victims of his severity. Elias thought it was unfair, but he couldn't do anything. The most he could do was try to be as nice as possible to the students. They always seemed so scared of Professor Snape!
"Class dismissed for today," Professor Snape announced darkly. "We'll go over this potion next class."
A general sigh of relief seemed to run through the classroom. The students began putting away their things and cleaning their cauldrons. Elias wished he could help those who had trouble with the cleaning spell, but he could not. Instead, he erased the writing on the black board.
"Filch," called out Professor Snape from behind him. Elias turned to face him, only to see him noting stuff down on parchment. He rarely looked directly at him. When he did, it felt like Professor Snape was trying to get read his thoughts. Both situations were very uncomfortable.
"Yes?"
"We will be needing asphodel roots for tomorrow's classes. Let Professor Sprout know."
"Alright. Will that be all?" Elias asked as he gathered his things in his backpack.
"Yes."
Elias nodded. Finally, this day was over! Three morning classes with Professor Snape were definitely enough for him. He put his notebook, potion manuals and pen into his bag.
"Filch!" called out Professor Snape as Elias was opening the door to leave. He was the last one. All the first years had already left. The young man turned around.
"Yeah?"
Elias met with a hard glare. Feeling uncomfortable, he tried not to look away. Professor Snape parted his lips, as if he wanted to say something important.
"...Nevermind."
Professor Snape looked back to his parchments. Elias did not hang around any longer.
He started walking towards the greenhouse. He had to take care of the plants for an hour, gather enough asphodel roots for the next day, then help out Professor Sprout with her last class of the day. Then, he'd be free for the evening, if Peeves hadn't caused a disaster somewhere in the school. The ghost had been a pain in his ass since the beginning of the school year. He'd almost gotten used to having his clothes ruined by whatever prank the poltergeist felt like doing.
Shaking away the depressing thoughts as he shook his head, Elias redirected his attention to more interesting matters, like Quidditch. He'd been thinking about going to watch the Quidditch game.
Since Quidditch season had been cancelled, the students of Hogwarts had decided to hold unofficial quidditch matches for fun a few times a month. This evening was Gryffindor's time on the field. They were set against Slytherin for the first match of the year. Elias hadn't even spent his life at Hogwarts, yet he still knew of the rivalry between the two houses. The match was sure to be interesting.
As he walked to the greenhouse, Elias realized that the leaves were already starting to fall from the trees. Elias couldn't believe how quickly time passed. They were already at the end of the third week of classes. He'd been so busy with classes and caretaking that he'd barely seen the days pass. Now that he was slowly getting the hang of things, he was getting more and more free time, but, even if he was busy, he'd rarely ever been so happy in his life.
He loved teaching. It brought him such joy to see other people succeed with his aid. He only needed to explain a few things, and they could now do it by their own! It was an incredible feeling. It felt way better to see others succeed than when he was brewing potions on his own. The only downside was Professor Snape, who always seemed like he was barely tolerating him. However, as Elias had succeeded in every test the teacher had given him, Professor Snape had no choice but to agree that Elias was of huge help, even if he only helped with small tasks. Still, Elias could help the students, which he loved.
Herbology was a blast as well. There was simply so much to learn! He was having so much fun taking care of the sentient plants of greenhouse number one that he had started reading his herbology manual in his free time to understand the most of Professor Sprout's explanations. Soon, he would be able to teach the first, second and third years, with Professor Sprout's help.
As for caretaking, it wasn't as exciting, but it wasn't very hard either. With his father, they could clean messes twice as fast. Also, one of them could argue with Peeves while the other warned the students about him. The paintings also loved to help out Elias, as they preferred him to the loud trouble-makers running in the halls. They'd started cleaning out the castle for the schools coming at the end of October and readying the rooms for the new students.
Elias sighed of happiness. He couldn't believe how accomplished he felt. To think that if the Triwizard Tournament not been held this year, he would have never been able to live this amazing life!
When he reached the greenhouse, Elias realised that his potion class hadn't gone as bad as he had first thought. Except for his disastrous entrance on the first day, he had managed to show his skills in helping the students and clarifying certain instructions the first years had trouble with. It didn't matter if he was a squib. A little voice in the back of his head told him the opposite, but he ignored it.
***
After locking the greenhouse behind him, Elias made his way to the Quidditch court. He fidgeted with his keys for a moment before attaching them to his pants.
His Herbology class had gone without trouble. It had been a seventh year class, so everyone mostly knew what they were doing. Professor Sprout also helped him out when he was not sure how to behave with the students or how to answer certain questions. As for the plants, they were all surprisingly well behaved. Elias even had time to collect enough Asphodel roots for every student in potion class the next day when the class had ended.
His anxiety had slowly passed as he got to help out with more and more classes. Professor Sprout loved his help. She truly behaved like he was a sorcerer like any other, which was a real relief for Elias.
The young man zipped his vest as he went out to the Quidditch Field. A few players were already on the field, in red and green. Elias walked on the stands for a few minutes before finding a good spot where no one was. A lot of students were already there to cheer on their friends, as Elias was doing, and he didn't feel like bothering them.
He leaned on the wooden edge. In front of him, the north side of the pitch laid in front of his eyes. Elias smiled when he recognised Angelina on the field, talking with the other Gryffindors. On the other side were the Slytherins, but Elias couldn't have cared less. He just wanted to cheer on Angelina. The young man did not have time to talk to her since the welcome Feast. Every time he was free, she was somewhere else. He was no stalker, so he let her live her life, but he wished, now that he had more time on his hand, that they would hang out more. His biggest fear was that their friendship would change. Had it already changed? Was he only a mere acquaintance now? After all, she hadn't sent him any letters this summer...
The match started. Elias made sure to cheer on Angelina, but also Alicia and Katie, who were also on the Gryffindor team. The Slytherins started attacking, but the Gryffindors were ready. Broom flew everywhere. A bludger almost hit Katie, but she managed to duck in time. One of the Weasley twins immediately hit it back. It almost knocked a Slytherin off his broom.
Both the teams were very strong. Elias cheered on as loudly as he could, but he was not sure if they could even hear him: they were flying way too fast. At half time, the young man managed to understand that Slytherin was in the lead. Yet, they'd lost a chaser due to a violent attack on their goal keeper. Even if Elias did not understand completely all the rules of Quidditch, he tried his best to keep up.
One thing was for sure: Gryffindor's chaser, Harry Potter, had been chasing the golden snitch for a good five minutes, followed close behind by the Slytherin chaser. Elias watched him fly around with ease. Oh, how he wished that he could fly just like him! He knew it was impossible, but he could not help it. He was so agile! And fast!
However, the young man didn't truly want to be Harry Potter. The poor guy had lost his entire family in one night. The murder of James, Lily and William Potter was such a horrible story that even Elias had heard about it. Frankly, Elias wondered how Harry held on, knowing that his mom, dad and older brother all died for him to live. Elias's life was not easiest, but it was nothing like Harry Potter's. And he felt somewhat glad that it was the case.
Still, Elias wanted to fly. He wanted a broom! He wanted a wand!
He sighed and slumped on the ledge. Humans were truly cursed to desire for things they can never have.
In the end, Harry caught the snitch just as the match was about to end. It boosted the score of the Gryffindors, who won by ten points. It had been quite entertaining watching the match: Elias didn't even feel like it had already been an hour. He'd even managed to ignore the presence of the Weasley twins on the field for the whole hour.
One by one, the Gryffindors left Quidditch pitch to go change in the locker-rooms. Wanting to congratulate Angleina on her first win of the non-official season, Elias made his way down to the locker rooms. He wasn't the only one there, as many Gryffindors also wanted to greet their housemates.
Elias stood back a bit. The other Gryffindors made him uneasy. He wasn't sure how to act. He didn't want to look too enthusiastic, even if he was really looking forward to meeting her, as he was sure he'd come off as creepy, especially since they only talked once since the beginning of the school year. It'd be better to talk to her about it later on, he thought, maybe at dinner. Yeah, she'd enjoy that for sure.
Imagining scenarios where he met up with Angelina, Elias smiled to himself. He almost did not notice that Angelina had gone out. Quickly, before he could decide against it, he spoke up.
"Hey, Angelina!" Elias exclaimed, smiling at her. "Congrats on your victory."
She spun back, her brown hair falling down delicately on her broad shoulders.
"Elias! You managed to get enough of a break to see the match?" she asked teasingly. She told Alicia and Katie to go on without her with a movement of the hand.
"Yeah," Elias answered. "You were awesome!"
"Thanks. You should've seen the look on the Slytherins' faces! Man, with Harry just snatching the snitch in front of Draco's eyes!"
He laughed with her, happier to see her happy than of who won the match.
As they talked about their respective lives at Hogwarts, Angelina describing her classes, Elias sharing stories about his own experience and both agreeing that Peeves was an asshole, Elias felt like he finally got his dear friend back. It was as if they'd never left each other. He felt at ease with Angelina, and words came to him easier with her. It was fun finally having someone to tell his complaints, feelings and other stories without being scared of being judged or reprimanded.
Enjoying his time, it took Elias sometime to notice that a Slytherin player had stayed back. Leaning on the wall nonchalantly, the young man had short dark hair in a military cut. His brown eyes were set on Elias and Angelina. He had left his quidditch clothes for more casual clothes. Elias recognised him instantly. But what was Marcus Flint doing here? Elias felt strangely spied on.
"What is it?" asked Angelina. She turned her head and saw Marcus.
"Did you want something?" she asked him with confidence. Elias loved it. She seemed to unafraid, so powerful!
"I wanted to talk to Elias for a sec," Marcus answered curtly, his eyes now on Elias. The apprentice lost his smile. Whatever Marcus wanted, it couldn't be good. Just last time they'd met, it had almost turned into a fight because of the short-tempered Slytherin.
"I'll talk to you later," Angelina said to Elias with a small frown as she wondered what Flint wanted with Elias. "I'll be in the library till six or seven, if you wanna come say hi."
"Oh, yeah, I will," only managed to answer Elias. "Bye."
Angelina waved, smiled and walked away. Elias, stunned, just watched her. Had she just asked him to hang out? Sure, it wasn't a date, but she wanted to be with him! She enjoyed his presence!
Thank god. It brought Elias such relief. It wasn't hopeless, like his father always said. Angelina actually liked him.
Stuck in thoughts, it took him a moment to realise that Marcus was still by him. He'd watched the entire exchange in silence.
"What a girl," he simply commented. Elias frowned. His good mood evaporated. Was the Slytherin trying to insult his friend?
"What do you want?" curtly asked Elias. He crossed his arms over his chest. Marcus frowned, but Elias was not intimidated. Not this time. Angelina liked him, for god's sake! The opinion of a boy who'd always been rude to him didn't fucking matter.
"Alright, so, huh," started awkwardly Marcus. He shook off his frown. He passed a hand in his dark hair. "So, you're Snape's assistant and all, right?"
"Yeah?" answered Elias, completely lost. Last time they talked, the boy had blatantly insulted him. Now, he went forward to talk to him? Even though he'd royally ignored him in the last weeks when Elias was teaching potions?
"Look," Marcus said before taking a deep breath. "I'm taking potions this year, as you know..."
Elias nodded. Yeah, he was in the seventh year class. He remembered seeing him there. Marcus grimaced.
"...And, truth is, I have trouble in potions. I know you're kind of a student, so, maybe, you'd be free to... help me out? Like, tutor me?"
Elias's eyes flew wide open. What? Did Marcus Flint, the proud pureblood, just ask him, a squib, to tutor him in potions?
"Look, I understand if you say no," continued Marcus, feeling as awkward as Elias, if not more, "but I can pay you for your work. I just really gotta pass this class."
"How much?" asked Elias.
"I don't know, two galleons an hour? For two hours a week?" Marcus answered. He fidgeted with his shirt, looking down.
Elias mentally calculated how much that made in muggle money. It seemed respectable enough. Besides, his salary wasn't the highest right now. But why would he agree?
"And what makes you think that I will agree?" Elias asked slowly, trying to weight the pros and cons of agreeing to such a thing. His instinct screamed to refuse, but his mind told him that he would be able to treat himself to many things should he gain two galleons a week for explaining something he was good at.
"Nothing. I just don't have any other options." Marcus sighed.
Elias thought about it. The money was tempting. What would be the harm in agreeing?
"Alright. I agree."
"What?" Marcus looked incredibly surprised. "You'll do this for me?"
"If you pay me," Elias specified. Marcus' face lit up.
"I will, don't worry!" Marcus continued. "I'll check when I'm free, and I'll talk with you later about it."
"Alright."
Marcus smiled. He truly looked relieved.
"Well, thanks," he said once last time before he left Elias alone.
Elias simply nodded. He wasn't forbidden from tutoring people. His status was the same as a student, except he didn't belong in any specific house. He wasn't yet a teacher, so he could hang out with friends and other students as much as he liked, as long as he didn't show favoritism in class. That way, he could still have a social life.
Elias watched Marcus walk away with an amused smile. His anger was mostly gone. He'd just gotten himself another job. But he didn't quite care about that. What he was looking forward to was his meeting with Angelina.