Peeves, You're So Cute ღ

"What? You turned Malfoy's head into a pincushion today?" Ron cried in anguish. "This morning, the one time we gave up watching?!"

"What? You have detention with Snape tonight?" Harry exclaimed anxiously. "With Snape himself?!"

Eliana took a roast chicken wing and nodded happily. "Yep!"

Harry looked as though he had lost his appetite. His emerald-green eyes were full of the dread and heartache of someone watching a friend march to her death.

Ron finally caught up. "Wait, how can you still smile?"

Eliana cheerfully drank a whole glass of Pumpkin Juice. "I get to go to Professor Snape's office alone. Why wouldn't I smile?"

Ron even put down his beloved chicken leg.

He wiped his greasy hands on the tablecloth, sat up straight, and asked her with heartfelt sincerity, "Tell me. Which part of any of that is worth celebrating?"

"Every part." Eliana raised her glass of Pumpkin Juice and gently clinked it against Ron's head. "Cheers!"

Ron's mouth fell open. He looked as though that little tap had knocked his brains out.

Good thing his family has seven children.

Eliana felt no guilt whatsoever.

"Right, I'd better go finish today's work early. I don't want chores spoiling my mood when the time comes."

She shouldered her schoolbag and said goodbye to the two boys, who stood there like wooden statues.

After a long moment, Ron drew a sharp breath, as though he had finally broken free of a petrification spell.

"Has studying broken her brain? I told you all that studying every day couldn't be good for her!"

"'When the time comes'—what time? Why does she sound like she's looking forward to it?"

Harry tried to explain on Eliana's behalf. "Maybe she's so scared she's trying to convince herself it'll be fine. You know, sometimes when I don't want to go to Potions Class, I tell myself I like it."

As he spoke, his voice dwindled and his shoulders hunched.

Then he remembered Eliana's smiling eyes when she had looked at him. His face reddening, he straightened up again and stuck out his chin as if to say, Yes, that's exactly it.

Ron looked ready to throw up.

"Mate, you can fool other people. Just don't fool yourself."

Malfoy had only said detention was in the evening, not when it started. Eliana decided to head for the dungeons as soon as she finished dinner.

She walked briskly along the familiar route. September was still fairly hot, but the underground classrooms were pleasantly cool. Eliana often slipped down here at noon for a short rest, so she knew the way by heart.

As she passed an empty classroom, she saw Peeves noisily pulling apart a broken stool inside. In a good mood, she greeted him first.

"Having fun? You're so full of energy, Peeves. You're an adorable ghost."

The broken stool fell from Peeves's hands with a bang.

He stared at it in shock, wondering whether he had forgotten something—perhaps he had thrown the stool at the girl's head earlier and knocked her silly.

Since when is a ghost's memory that bad? Isn't Binns still teaching History of Magic?

"Carry on. I won't bother you. Bye, Peeves."

Eliana skipped away.

"A student's gone mad!" Peeves roared as he flew into the corridor. "A first-year, barely here, and she's already gone mad!"

"Not much going on in his head. Good thing he's a ghost and won't have to find a job."

Eliana shook her head with a sigh.

She seemed to have arrived a little early. Snape apparently wasn't in his office. After several knocks went unanswered, Eliana leaned against the door, crouched down, and waited patiently.

Important people were busy; she understood. Just a few days ago, she had seen a new paper by Snape in a potions journal.

It was well written—probably. She hadn't understood it, so she was guessing.

Suddenly, the door behind her was yanked open. With nothing to support her, Eliana rolled inside like a ball.

Snape's quill scored a heavy P onto the paper.

Had Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry turned into Hogwarts School of Animals? At the meeting, he had to look at that old bee. Afterward, a white hedgehog had barged in. And now what had rolled in tonight—a red gnome?

It was a person!

"Miss Richie, for a genius who mastered enough Transfiguration in a single month to apply it flawlessly to a classmate, you have a remarkable way of expressing your dissatisfaction. Your Potions Master is truly impressed."

With a swift stroke, Snape marked another paper T.

Eliana, who had just rolled three full turns across the floor, looked up at him blankly. A ring of stars danced arm in arm before her eyes.

Had she knocked herself senseless?

Snape pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Get up!" he ordered harshly. "Pick the rotten Flobberworms out of that bucket, then collect the remaining worms' mucus."

The stars had not yet cleared from Eliana's vision, but she had already obediently stood and headed toward the bucket.

She looked down at the sticky worms, which seemed on the verge of melting into one mass. "Professor Snape, may I..."

"No," Snape said softly and quickly, as though he had been waiting for the question. "This is your punishment. No gloves."

Eliana saw a trace of pleasure on Snape's habitually gloomy face, as if tormenting students and watching them tremble in panic amused him.

For some reason, though the sight ought to have been terrifying, Eliana found him a little cute.

He was like a fierce tiger swishing its tail in delight because it had frightened a child.

"Of course," she said, her voice growing cheerful too. "I was going to ask if I could wash my hands. I touched the floor several times just now, and I'm worried the dust might get into the mucus and affect your potions."

The satisfaction vanished from Snape's face. He looked at her without expression.

Eliana looked back, docile and innocent.

"Of course."

There was a faint edge of gritted teeth in Snape's voice.

With a wave of his wand, a thin stream of water spouted from the mouth of a little snake sculpture in the corner. It was a tiny sink.

"You have wonderful taste,"

Eliana said as she washed her hands thoroughly under the stream and looked around.

It was an office worthy of a Potions Master. Tall wooden shelves rose to the ceiling, every tier crowded with glass bottles. Potions of every color stood in rows. Some held nothing but liquid; others contained preserved plants and animals floating inside. Eliana narrowed her eyes at a tangled mass resembling rat tails and guessed it was Gillyweed.

"Miss Richie, I am not one of those softhearted professors. Insincere flattery will not get you out of your punishment," Snape said coldly. "I assume you came here for detention, not because I invited you to review my office?"

"Now! Be quiet! Get to work!"

Eliana mimed zipping her mouth shut and darted over to the bucket of Flobberworms.

Though it was a little disgusting, the work was fairly easy once she got started.

Eliana pinched her thumb and forefinger together a few times. The green mucus stretched and compressed between them. Ugh, it was like snot.

She flicked the snot into a wide-mouthed jar.

Eliana soon got the hang of it, thanks to all the work she had done at the orphanage.

To be honest, it was dreadfully dull: a simple task repeated mechanically until the tedium seemed to stretch time itself. Still, she could bear it.

Once again, she had the orphanage to thank.

Just as the bucket of Flobberworms was nearly empty, Snape asked without warning, "What is Flobberworm mucus used for?"

Strictly speaking, this was not first-year material. Flobberworms did not even appear in Care of Magical Creatures until third year. But while researching how to improve her Scabbers Potion and looking up horned slugs, Eliana had come across their distant relatives, Flobberworms, and remembered what she had read.

"It can be used to make Sleeping Draughts, weed-killing potions, and Scabbers Potion. That version of Scabbers Potion seems more complicated than the one we're learning. It also needs Hirake fish fin spines, ginger root, and other ingredients. Is that right, Professor?"

Snape gave no indication either way.

He didn't insult me. That means I'm right.

Eliana's nonexistent tail perked up. She felt like the cleverest person in the world.

As if he could read her mind, Snape shot her a cold look the very next second. "What's this? Does our brilliant Miss Richie find first-year lessons too easy? Are you already eager to set your sights on loftier goals?"

Eliana's eyes widened. Wait, where did that come from?

I'm innocent!

Apparently satisfied to see her at a loss for words, Snape said mildly, "Once you've finished with the Flobberworms, get the ingredients from the cabinet and make a Scabbers Potion."

She understood. A surprise test, was it?

She wasn't afraid! She remembered every ingredient and every step. She had practiced after class until she had made a potion that matched the textbook three times in a row before moving on to the next chapter!

Eliana marched proudly to the cabinet, collected the ingredients, and picked a cauldron that looked both new and expensive.

She always used her battered secondhand cauldron. With this rare opportunity, she wanted to see what the expensive one could do.

Before lighting the fire, she ran her hand over the bottom and sides of the cauldron. Nothing felt particularly special. It was just a little thicker than hers, probably because it was new and had hardly worn down. Give it two years and they would be the same.

Because its walls were thicker, Eliana warmed it a little longer. During the simmering stage, she watched the potion's color more carefully before proceeding. As a result, her timing did not always match the textbook exactly.

Snape, who had just viciously marked another paper P, looked up and saw what she was doing. He said nothing, but the furrow between his brows seemed to ease a little.

Eliana produced a perfect Scabbers Potion, exactly as the textbook described.

She eagerly bottled it and brought it to Snape, like a kitten carrying a prize to its human. She said nothing, but her meaning was obvious.

"So, Miss Richie, who knows better than to follow the textbook exactly while brewing, do you believe this is the best a Scabbers Potion can be?"

"What?" Eliana froze. When she realized what he meant, excitement surged through her. "Professor, are you saying..."

"Your detention is over. Now go back to your dormitory." Snape cut her off coldly.

"But—Professor, what if we extended detention for just five more minutes—wait—"

Eliana was thrown out.

She stamped her foot in frustration, but still did not dare kick open the firmly shut door.

There was no Potions Class tomorrow.

Hmph! Did he think she would give up that easily?

So the next day, a sniffling Malfoy, still in hedgehog form, rushed into Snape's office again. "Prof—"

He swallowed the rest under Snape's stern gaze.

Eliana followed right on his heels, her little hands tucked into the sleeves of her school robes and her eyes sparkling.

Malfoy burst into wails again. Like a bullied puppy that had found someone to defend it, he wheeled toward his enemy and started barking.

"Professor, look at her! She's gone too far! She even followed me here! Professor, she's bullying me! Give her detention, Professor!"

Snape met two equally expectant pairs of eyes and nearly laughed from sheer exasperation.