Scrawlings: Terrible Unfinished Peices

"Apprenticed To Darkness" (thankfully unfinished)

Alone in his office, Snape busied himself with some marking. In the flickering candlelight, all of the essays seemed to dance on their parchment. Though his mood was usually foul, he was exceptionally annoyed today. He had been assigned an apprentice. It was not that he thought he would dislike the girl. On their first meeting she seemed strikingly co-operative, but he resented the fact that he would no longer have his evenings to himself. He preferred being alone.

Looking about the ravenclaw dormitory, the new girl sighed. It seemed a pity to unpack, she would be moving to separate courters the next night. All of her life she had been an anomaly. The fact she was a witch did not help things. When she had received the invitation to hogwarts, she had thought that she had found a place where she would be normal. This was not to be so.

She had gone to buy a wand and, while waiting to be served, had accidentally bumped into (literally) a tall man in black. He had come to pay a deposit on a new wand, as the other had been broken in, after she asked him about it, an incident involving “the little dunderhead Potter.”

He seemed quite pleased that she didn’t know who this Potter was. He also mildly pleased that she was going to hogwarts. “You look older then your age,” ho commented. As she hadn’t told him her age, this had puzzled her but, before she could ask him what he meant, he was served. She did not know she was talking to a future teacher either.

The letter had come when she was 13. It was only when she met with all of the other first years did she realize that it was two years late. When she had asked Dumbledoor about this, he just smiled and said “Some people take longer for their magic to be recognized.” This was not promising.

When she mentioned her conversation in the wand shop to the others in her carriage, they had all looked at her wide eyed. “Did this man have greasy hair and a big nose, Ada?” Asked Mara, who was sitting next to her. “Ummmm…His hair might be thought of as greasy I guess.” She replied. “And he spoke to you NICELEY!?!?!” “Yes,” It was then that Ada learnt about Snape’s ‘bad reputation involving shouting, belittling and detention

When she had stepped up to the sorting hat, it didn't even touch her head before it roard "APPRENTICED TO SEVERUS SNAPE". This was not a promising thing. Another thing seperating her from normal people. Severus did not look pleased. the girl looked nervous. The whole hall stared.

So now both master and apprentice sat alone, wondering what the next few years would bring.

That morning, Ada woke to find all of her belongings, save a change of cloaths, had been taken away. The friends she had made on the train were up, despite the early time, to bid her farewell. After getting dressed, they all walked down to the portal to see her off. She wished she was in ravenclaw for more then one night and wanted to rush back inside, but at the same time was greatly looking forward to all that she would learn.

Severus, who had been awake all night, looked at the clock amongst bottles of dead animals on a shelf. His office, as dark as usual, seemed colder then usual. Scowling, Snape lit the fire and looked up at the clock again. It was time. Picking up his wand, he swooped toward the great hall.

It was as he turned the corner near the ravenclaw commen room that he saw her, reluctantly quickening her step. "Good morning, miss Quigly." He muttered as they drew level. "Good morning sir," she replied, quickening her pace to keep up with Snape's long strides. They walked some way, before Ada bit her lip and quietly asked "Sir, I can tell you dont like this." He stopped and stared at her, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, girl?"

"I mean that, from what little that I know of you, you like to keep to yourself. I know that teaching me is going to mean a lot more work for you and I'm sorry about that. I just hope that you will think of me as your student, not the pest that stole all of your time." On finishing, Ada smiled shyly and turned to continue her journey. When her back was almost out of site, Snape called "How observant of you, miss Quigly."

When dumbledoor saw first Ada, then Snape enter the hall, he noticed something rather odd. Ada looked as she should, nervous but Snape...Though his face was the usual mask of scowl, he could see something else twich across it every now and then. Contentment? Approval? He couldn't be sure.

"Til Death Do Us Part" (It has a chicken in it. That is the only reason I didn't deleate it. Honestly.)

The great hall was a mass of milling bodies. There were first years of every description, all but one looking about in wonder. The odd one out was currently smiling and talking to a bird on her shoulder. It was a handsome bird, if in a rather chubby way, with gleaming black feathers. It was only when one looked closely that you could see that it was a chicken. It seemed to be listening to her intently, eyes fixed on her face. The other students didn’t take any notice, however, distracted by the splendor about them. The teachers however, were used to the wonders of Hogwarts. Frowning, they whispered along the line to Dumbledoor. He whispered something back and their faces cleared. Mcgonagal looked troubled, muttering
“Remarkable.”

Snape, hoping no-one had noticed, slipped into his seat. He was late due to a rather tricky potion he was brewing to help professor sprout’s troublesome carnivores beans. They seemed to have a cold. The sorting went as usual until Mcgonagal called
“Linne Grabthoer,” and a girl with a bird on her shoulder walked up to the stool. Mcgonagal made to remove it but the sorting hat stopped her.
“I can see this bird is a part of her. It should be counted.” So the hat was lowered over both chicken and girl’s head.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat cried after quite some time. The girl got off the stool and the chicken clucked softly. They both made their way to the appropriate table. She soon befriended the girls next to her. The sorting hat had chosen these four girls for Slytherin despite the fact that they all seemed to have none of the qualities usually prided in the serpentine ranks. Snape, by now, was quite put out by the fact that this girl was allowed to keep that bird with her. Animals shouldn’t be in the vacinity of dining- it was unhygenic! Dumbledoor’s speech calmed him and, by the time the food had arrived, his mind was back to the potion he had been working on earlier.

As they left the great hall, the first years murmured quietly to each other.
“Isn’t this exiting!” Enthused Rally, Linne’s newest friend.
“I’ll say. It’s brilliant.”
“Not everything is,” Harly, the third of the small group.
“My big brother left here last year. He says that our house head, Snape, is an absolute monster.” Glancing to the fluttering black robes of the professor who was striding ahead, Rally nodded.
“I’ve heard bad stuff about him too. He can’t be all that awful.” They entered the common room, gasping at it’s rich tapestries and plush chairs.

A low
“If you please, first years…” cut through the chatter, scielenceing it in an instant. They all stared up at Snape, faces all bright with excitement.
“In this house, we do not accept failure or misbehavior and nor do I. One toe out of line and you will find yourself right back home. I expect you all to do well…Who’s. bird. Is. this…?” His final words were almost inaudible, laced with more menace then any of the students thought should be possible. Lisse’s bird had strolled forward and sat on Snape’s shoe.

Lisse, who had a rather odd look on her face, raised her hand.
“Remove it…” She did so, stepping forward slowly and stooping to pick up her softly clucking friend. She streightened, replacing the bird on her shoulder.
“I would appreciate it if you could come and speak to me tomorrow. I don’t believe you have been enlightened on the school’s policy of animal management.” With that he turned and swept out of the room, leading the prefects to explain the sleeping arrangements. Lisse still had that odd look and it took both Rally and Harly to lead her into the girl’s dorm.

“What is up with you?” Rally asked, plonking Lisse down on her bed.
“Mmm?” Lisse murmured. Harly dumped a cold glass of water on her head. The odd look faded.
“What was that for?” The now rather grumpy Lisse asked.
“You were all weird. Scared of Snape are we??” Harly said, apologetically lowering the glass.
“Errrrrrr…No….” Lisse suddenly found the wall very interesting.
“Well, you’ve got to go see him tomorrow. Face your fears, eh! What about this place, ‘mazing, isnt it!” Rally, much to Lisse’s approval, changed the subject.

Their first potions lesson had gone very well. Lisse appered to be very talented, answering all of Snape’s questions with quick accuracy. Even he seemed impressed, in that low-key way of his. As they were mixing their potions to make metal glow (Snape’s way of testing their ability level) He made a point of reminding her to stay after class to discuss “That chicken” who was currently hiding under the table, out of Snape’s veiw.

When the whole class had gone, Snape standing by the doorway and handing out their first assignment, Lisse packed her equipment away and sat back down at her place.
“Follow. Bring the bird.” Obvously Snape’s vision was sharper then expected.

She walked smartly alongside Snape through the corridoor, chicken under her arm like a book. When they got to his office though, she stopped.
“Dear god sir…” Her voice was hushed as her eyes skimmed across the numerous bottles that lined the walls and their murky contence. Snape inwardly cringed. He was ready for the ‘that’s revolting!’ that would surely follow.
“It’s beautiful. So many…You must have been collecting for years…Would you mind if I had a look?” Snape was so surprised that he nodded. Lisse slowly circumnavigated the room, eyes wide with fascination and delight. Was it just the lighting or had her hair always been that delightful blue-black color..?

“Sorry about that, you wanted to see me?” Lisse had completed her inspections.
“Yes…About this bird. It has come to my attention that you take it everywhere. Usually, I would give you detention right here and now but…From what I’ve seen, you do not seem like the type of student to blatantly disregard rules. You do know that all animals are not to be taken into class unless the teacher has asked…?”
“Yes sir.”
“Then why have you done so?”
“I’ve spoken to the headmaster and he has seen fit to give me permission to take Segal wherever I wish.”

There was a pause as Snape regarded her. She, unlike many others, did not cringe when their eyes met, but simply regarded back.
“Would you see fit to tell me why?” He was asking purely out of curiosity now.
“I guess…Just don’t go all ‘you poor dear, what a terrible blah blah blah I-can-help-you’…” He almost smiled at that. He’d had his fair share of people who are convinced you need saving from your past, and that they are the only ones who can.

“When I was five. That was when my parents discovered that I was a witch. I cant remember why- I think it was an aunt who found out. Though they were both muggles, they took it well and encouraged me. The aunt, who was a witch, took me to diagon alley regularly to buy study books and such. By the time I was seven, I was going to pre-school extension classes. My parents, though rather disturbed by all of this, were wonderfully supportive. It was on my seventh birthday that I got Segal. They thought I should have a familiar and the local pet store was having a sale on chicks. I was so happy when Segal popped his head out of the box. That was the best day of my life. The next was to be my worst.

“I was woken by screaming. I rushed out to find two charred shapes lying in the hall. My parents corpses. A shape was standing over them, I remember being scared- screaming- then something happened. The room around me shifted. I found myself in a strange building, my aunt standing there looking at me. She told me that a bad wizard had been following my parents, had tried to kidnap me and that she had called far far away, that my parents had gone for a long while and I couldn’t see them. Segal was hiding in my pocket, small and warm. I’ve spent my life living with my aunt and her kind husband, they’ve treated me really well. Segal reminds me of that happy day…We just cant seem to part…”

She stopped, a sad smile growing on her lips. Snape set his face in its usual impassive mask. His past had been turbulent, yes, but to see your own parents murdered…
“I see…” Shaking off his bad mood, he pulled his mind back to the more mundane issues of everyday life.
“There is still the matter of the fact that your chicken decided that my shoe would be a nice place to sit. I was going to simply send you to detention, but due to your obvious like of my collection…It has been in need of a re-organizing for quite some time now, but I have found myself too busy. If you would care to make it your job to come and work for half an hour after dinner, it would be sufficient reprimand.” The smile on her face was well worth his moment of generosity.
“Thankyou so much sir!” She looked fit to hug him. Restraining herself, she exited and grinned all the way back to the commonroom. Snape striding to the doorway, watched her retreating back with a look of quiet fascination. This would be an interesting student…

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