As Professor Potter had promised, she had invited Professor Snape to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom to teach her sixth years some of the most common potions used by Dark Wizards and the antidotes. It was obvious from the second Snape set foot in the room that a clash between the two was inevitable. The first thing the potions master did was close the window shutters so that the room was plunged into total darkness for a second. When the torches sprang to life Elizabeth had risen from her chair, wand in hand, and wore an angered expression that she was clearly trying to overcome.
“Good afternoon Professor Snape. Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts,” she said in a cheerful tone that was in opposition to her face.
“I have taught this class before,” Snape replied with distinct haughtiness.
“Yes, I’m aware of that. You taught this class in their third year during one of Professor Lupin’s absences, I believe you covered Werewolves with them in the hope that they would notice the similarities between what they read in the textbook and the Professor’s condition,” there was an edge of anger and hatred in her voice. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks of amazement at Ellie’s outright dislike of Snape, no other teacher would dare to talk to the Slytherin head with that tone of voice.
“I was merely trying to make sure that the class was well informed,” Snape smirked. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw that Draco was grinning at the scene before him.
“I am quite sure that Professor Lupin did a more than adequate job of that,” she answered indignantly.
“You are biased in you opinion of Remus Lupin.”
“As are you.”
“Perhaps I could begin my teaching?” he sneered.
“By all means,” she answered returning to her seat.
So Snape’s lesson began, from the start he was his normal self, he picked on members of every house but his own. The entire time Ellie watched him from her desk like a hawk observing its prey, and on more than one occasion Snape caught her eyes for a second. Slowly it began to affect his behaviour, his insults became weaker and fewer. Everyone pulled out their cauldrons and collected their ingredients from a pile that Professor Snape had conjured at the front of the room. The potion they were brewing had to simmer for twenty minutes so people settled in beside their cauldrons to read until a loud plop disturbed the uneasy silence. It originated from Ron’s cauldron as a small bundle of spider legs soared through the air and plunged into the depths of his Freezing Solution, a potion that when ingested made the drinker feel like they had swallowed a block of ice as the cold swept through their veins. Ron’s eyes immediately scanned the room behind him in search of the culprit.
“Who did that?” he yelled, furious that his perfect concoction was now ruined. Snape swarmed round to the front desk and salivated over Ron’s solution like a famished snake.
“Well Mr. Weasley it would appear that you have added too many spider legs,” he said with vindictive glee.
“I did not! Someone threw them into my cauldron!”
“Is that so? May I ask who?” it was Snape who had instructed their examination of the textbook and he must have known that nobody was daring enough to not pay proper attention, therefore he knew that Ron couldn’t prove who the perpetrator was.
“I don’t know but if I find out who did it I’ll…” Ron described an act so violent that Hermione gasped and exclaimed ‘Ronald!’
“You have some very interesting violent tendencies Mr. Weasley. I’ll have ten points from Gryffindor for the issue of yet another threat, ten points from you for your slanderous accusations and a further ten points for your tone of voice,” he said triumphantly.
“In that case I will be forced to take thirty points from Slytherin,” Ellie barked furiously.
“From Slytherin?” the triumphant look faded away from his face.
“Yes. Mr. Malfoy threw a bundle of spider legs into Mr. Weasley’s cauldron. Therefore I am taking ten points from him for stealing ingredients and twenty more for sabotaging a fellow student’s potion.”
“How do you know that it was Mr. Malfoy?”
“Because I saw him do it, are you questioning the quality of my eyesight?” she was teetering on the edge of all out war with Snape.
“I don’t presume to be an expert in such matters.” Harry was certain that if Snape had thought he could get away with questioning the clarity of Elizabeth’s eyesight then he would have. The only thing that stopped a duel from breaking out in the very tense classroom was the conclusion of their twenty minutes simmering. Snape turned away from Elizabeth and addressed the class.
“Fill a flagon with your potion and leave it in the rack at the back of the room,” he waved his wand and thirty glass flagons appeared along a side table. With their potions submitted for approval the students returned to their desks and packed away their things. Ron, Harry and Hermione hovered outside the classroom in the hope of speaking to their teacher, their close proximity allowed them to overhear the heated words that passed between Snape and Potter when their students were gone.
“What did you think you were doing?” he hissed at her.
“What do you mean?” she asked innocently.
“You completely undermined my authority!”
“No, you managed that all by yourself. You knew that Ron’s potion was fine when you passed by it the first time and unless you have serious hearing problems you must have heard the noise that the spider legs made when they fell into the cauldron but your behaviour was utterly detestable. I’ll be discussing it with my grandfather later on.”
“The headmaster is fully aware of my teaching methods and they have yet to result in a fail in my class,” he bit back sourly.
“Of course it hasn’t, the students are too terrified to fail! You manipulate your class using intimidation and terror, you victimise the students who don’t belong to your house and make a particular point of harassing those who are friends with Harry. Your behaviour is entirely inappropriate for a teacher.”
“You are no judge of whether my behaviour is appropriate or not. Once again the unjustifiably high Potter self-opinion reveals itself.”
“Don’t you DARE try and tarnish my father’s memory,” that dangerous tone that Ellie had only ever used with Lucius Malfoy seeped into her voice and her eyes flashed furiously.
“You’re father and Uncle were both well-known for their high opinion of themselves just because their name was Potter,” he snapped. “It is inexplicable that two women who were supposedly intelligent and talented could fall for two imbeciles who believed that they were better than everybody else and set no store by rules and discipline.”
“So now Severus Snape the former Death Eater ridicules the characters of Jane Dumbledore and Lily Evans. I think you need to sit down at your pensieve and rifle through those memories of yours, the next time you go trying to tear up my mother’s character you ought to think about what she did for you!” Snape seemed to falter at this.
“I remember exactly what she did for me. I have little opportunity to forget when I have to see her face at breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday!” Snape made a gesture with his hands that clearly indicated he was talking about Elizabeth.
“I would have thought then, that you would hold your tongue. Picking on Lily too, have you forgotten how many times she tried to stop James picking on you?”
“No I haven’t.”
“Good! While you’re at it you might want to remember how hospitable Molly Weasley is to you and lay off Ron.”
“That’s the problem with you, you are too lenient with them, and they can see how easy it is to manipulate you with their simple deeds. You have no standards.”
“The problem with me is that I believe in my students until they prove me wrong. They respect me because I respect them and they know that ultimately and above all I’ll be fair with them. Now if you don’t mind Professor I have some fifth year homework to mark,” Snape exited the classroom with the look of someone who had been forced to swallow something very unpleasant.
Harry, Ron and Hermione waited a minute or two before venturing back into the room. “Everything alright Professor?” Harry asked politely.
“What? … Oh! Fine thank you Harry,” she answered looking up from the pile of parchment in front of her.
“Are you sure?” Ron looked over his shoulder at the empty space where Snape had been.
“Don’t worry about that,” Ellie said eyeing the same area with a glum expression.
“Snape’s a dangerous character, be careful of him,” Harry advised.
“As far as Professor Snape is concerned I don’t need to worry. He is indebted to me, he just ought to remember it more often,” she said cryptically.
“Why?” Hermione asked, speaking for the first time.
“I’m afraid that’s between me and your Potions Professor, Hermione. Now you three better run along to dinner, you must be hungry after all that taxing stuff,” she smiled warmly.
“Now that you mention it…” Ron began but stopped when they all looked at him incredulously, daring him to finish his sentence.
During dinner Harry watched as Snape’s eyes drifted over Elizabeth almost apologetically, he watched her for several minutes and Harry could have sworn that his features softened. He leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear, she responded with a short, curt nod that evidently showed he wasn’t yet forgiven for his earlier outburst. Hermione, who was as observant as ever, noticed that Harry was watching Snape closely.
“You shouldn’t worry Harry; Ellie told you that Snape isn’t a threat to her. Besides how many times are we going to go through this, Dumbledore trusts him and he wouldn’t trust him if he thought that he was a danger to Ellie.”
“She’s right you know. Dumbledore would never put Ellie in that kind of danger,” Ginny said leaning forward a little further to look at their headmaster.
“You know I don’t like Snape Harry, but Dumbledore wouldn’t risk his own granddaughter would he?” Ron added.
“No, course he wouldn’t,” Harry said half-heartedly returning to his dinner but he couldn’t stop his mind wandering to what his Aunt Jane could possibly have done to earn a debt from Snape that extended beyond her grave and to her only daughter.
A/N: After that lovely spiteful chapter some Christmas cheer will be in the air for...A Christmas Engagement, coming to a computer screen near you soon! (I’m sorry, I’m a little hyperactive today I think I’ve had too much sugar. :-)