Chapter 14 - Inspection

A/N: Hyloooo just wondering - what's your opinion on chapter length? Do you like em short or long? This chapter was initially the second half of the previous chapter but it was nearly 4000 words and I thought people might find it too long. Lemme know your thoughts :))

As always, thanks for reading!!

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Late Tuesday night, Asha had finally managed the Doxicide.  She hovered the cauldron over to the back bench where the other five 'assignments' sat and retired to her common room feeling somewhat accomplished. Somewhere deep down she was actually looking forward to seeing her potions professor tomorrow, much like in Abersoch when she had felt ... comfort?... being in his vicinity. But for the most part (and the part she was listening to), she didn't enjoy the fact she had become abnormally close with him and wished she could wipe herself from his memory.

The next morning Asha woke early but didn't go down to breakfast. Ever since the staff had returned she'd been avoiding meal times when possible. Instead, she got dressed and jogged up to the Astronomy Tower. She was longing to go outside and sitting on the balcony railing was the closest thing to it.

When the Clock Tower rang nine o'clock Asha headed to the dungeons. When she arrived the classroom was empty so she sat down at a desk and propped her feet up on an adjacent chair. When, after five minutes, Snape still hadn't arrived, Asha conjured a levitating ball of water and began magically moulding it into various shapes.

Finally, after forty-five minutes, Snape came strolling into the classroom. His eyes briefly flickered between Asha and her hovering pool of water, which was now in the vague shape of a Thestral. Apart from this, he made no acknowledgement of her presence and continued to stride over to his desk and place down the rolls of parchment he had been carrying.

Asha wasn't annoyed at him in the slightest for being late - he was doing her a favour setting her brewing assignments at all. But despite finding his disregard of basic social etiquette quite amusing, she couldn't stand the lack of greeting.

"Um, good morning," she said.

Snape grunted in response, still fossicking in the draws of his desk. Eventually, he sighed and said, "Right, where are your potions?"

Asha pointed to the back bench with her wand.

"Don't wave your wand around if you're not planning on using it," he snapped.

Merlin, he's grumpy today! Even for his standards... Asha raised her eyebrows but tucked her wand into the back pocket of her jeans all the same.

Snape started to make his way over to the six cauldrons lining the back wall. Assuming he didn't need 'support' to check her work, Asha made no attempt to move from her comfy spot. But as he walked past her he snapped, "With me, Winters!"

She hopped up and walked with him to the bench. She watched as he leaned over the first cauldron, his black hair brushing the sides of his face.

"Good," he stated after a moment.

"Wh- Aren't you gonna test it?"

"I can tell a good Girding Potion when I see it," he said coldly.

As he sidestepped to examine the next cauldron, Asha slid next to him and stared into the foul-smelling, golden liquid. What could he see that she couldn't? The potion could easily match those distinctive characteristics while still being flawed - Asha had relied on an indicator to check its quality.

"Good," he said again, moving on to the third potion. Asha was quietly impressed, though he was a Potions Master after all.

"Has Professor Dumbledore spoken to you yet?" he suddenly asked.

"No," Asha replied truthfully. She glanced sideways at him, wondering if he was concerned Dumbledore might've found out he had housed her for a third of the holidays. His face gave nothing away.

"You followed the instructions well here, but Wideye Potion tends to activate better with a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon," he said. Asha experienced a pulse of irritation.

"My job was to follow the steps perfectly. Did you expect me to start taking creative license and sprinkling spices into my hard work?" she retorted. Snape just turned and glowered at her.

"Achieved any more wandless magic recently?" he questioned. Asha was caught off guard by the change in subject.

"I- No, I have not," she said firmly, annoyed that he was bringing it up. Snape's gaze flicked to Asha's right thigh and she realised she was unconsciously touching the spot she had wounded herself. She quickly shoved her hands in her pockets and nodded at the fourth cauldron.

"How's my antidote then?" she urged him. His shrewd eyes lingered on her own before he eventually turned to look at the potion. He leaned over to sniff the mixture, his hooked nose inches from the surface.

"Surely with all this free time you've been able to master some more advanced magic?" he drawled, before placing his hand on the side of the cauldron to feel the temperature.

"No," Asha lied. As always, she did not like the idea of being noticed, even if it was for her impressive magical capabilities. "I've been too busy with your -" (she nearly added 'stupid') "-potions."

"Oh, is that so? How implausible," he mocked.

Asha wanted to be anywhere else. She'd come here for Snape to inspect her potions, not for a cross-examination. But she had the distinct feeling he wasn't going to drop the subject until she conceded at least something.

"Fine. I've been working on conjuring," she admitted. The corner Snape's mouth curled and he looked at her expectantly.

When Asha didn't move he said,  "Well, let's see it then."

Asha bit her lip in frustration. She wanted to get out of here and the quickest way to do that way probably just to do as he said. She pulled her wand out of her back pocket, silently conjured the wooden rocking chair, and gave Snape a look that said 'Happy?' Snape prodded the chair with his boot and it creaked loudly.

"Oh, that's a bit mediocre don't you think, Winters?" he drawled.

Asha rolled her wand between her fingers, thinking perhaps Snape would be more impressed if she demonstrated her Expulso curse on him...

"Conjuring is N.E.W.T level," she stated coldly, vanishing the chair.

Snape ignored her and returned to inspecting the fourth cauldron, hands clasped behind his back, though he wasn't thinking about the potion at all.

"Any more trips to the restricted section?" he said, after a minute or so.

Asha narrowed her eyes at him. She hadn't come here to be interrogated. And why would he ask about that? Had he figured out why she was looking at that scroll that night? Why did she feel like he knew something about her?

"Your silence suggests guilt, Winters". He spoke softly now.

Asha knew what he was about to do a split second before it happened. But she was prepared. The walls of her mind were back up. Without them, there was no way she could've managed those potions. She stared furiously back at Snape and easily shut out everything in her mind except the sight of his piercing black eyes. His face revealed nothing, but after a few seconds, Asha felt the pressure at the back her skull recede.

How dare he try to invade her mind! He had no grounds to do so! But beneath the boiling anger, Asha was afraid. Why was he so interested in her? Did he know something she didn't? Or... her stomach dropped... could he also sense whatever was wrong with her? Why on earth had she let him get so close? This needed to stop now.

She wanted to pull out her wand and blast him to the other end of the room. She wanted to yell and swear at him to never dare do it again. Instead, she reigned in her emotions and gave him one last icy glare before walking to the door. When Asha's hand grasped the cool metal door handle, she stopped, thinking hard. After a few seconds, she let go and slowly turned around.

"Why?" she demanded. Snape's face was inscrutable as ever.

"Tell me why you were looking at Slytherin lineage that night," he shot back.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked slowly. Now Asha could see curiosity burning behind his eyes. "I could threaten you with a year's worth of detentions and I still don't think you'd tell me. What is of such significance?" When Asha didn't respond he continued, "Or are you just the kind of person who is determined to keep others at arm's length? Scared of what might happen if people get too close?"

"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Asha said darkly. Snape didn't even flinch. "You have your secrets, I have mine," she said finally.

"A third year student shouldn't have secrets," he hissed, walking towards her until they were only a couple of feet apart.

"If you wanted to peruse my mind like it's you're own personal cinema, why did you bother helping me wall it up again?" Asha fired back. There was a long pause in which both parties stood totally still, glaring. Eventually, Snape spoke quietly:

"How are you feeling?"

Asha was totally unprepared for this response and out of nowhere she felt a prickling behind her eyes. The thing was, she was feeling so much better. She no longer felt like she was on a sinking ship. During that fortnight in Abersoch, Snape had somehow helped her pull herself together again. He'd drawn her off the path that was quickly leading her towards some kind of break down. She bit the inside of her lip to pull the feeling - whatever it was - away and retained a blank expression, praying Snape hadn't noticed.

"Better," she said flatly.

Snape was looking at her in that unnerving way again - like he just... knew. He stepped back and lazily waved his wand at the back bench, causing all the potions except the Doxicide and antidote to vanish, and the four empty cauldrons to whiz back to the storage cupboard.

"Your other potions also sufficed. You may leave," he said coldly, returning to the piles of parchment on his desk.

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A/N: The pace starts to pick up soon, promise!