Snape: You'd Better Be!

Cyrus felt he was being singled out.

Ever since he had stolen just a teensy mountain of Snape's private stash, Snape had had his eye on him.

Whenever he wandered around the school, Snape would suddenly appear, his gloomy eyes scrutinizing him without restraint, as though he were putting a hardened criminal on trial. Cyrus suspected he was trying to use Legilimency, but it had no effect on him.

As for lessons, that hardly needed mentioning. Snape might as well have had "I can't stand you" written across his face.

"Miss Weasley-would you kindly tell us how many uses dragon blood has?"

During the last Potions class before Christmas, Snape pointedly called on Cyrus and asked a question that pained Snape himself.

"Twelve, sir." Cyrus stood up.

He had almost thought Snape would ask him what he would get by adding asphodel root powder to an infusion of wormwood. Instead, it was merely the uses of dragon blood. Still, that was indeed covered in the first-year textbook.

"Headmaster Dumbledore discovered and catalogued the twelve uses of dragon blood. Dragon blood can stop bleeding, relieve pain, heal... it can be used to make various cleaning agents, spot-removing potions, and treatments for warts."

"I suppose that's correct-" Snape was visibly displeased. "Then why don't you tell us the effects of phoenix tears?"

"But sir, we aren't studying phoenixes," Cyrus said, refusing to back down.

"But I think you might need to know-the uses of phoenix tears, Runespoor venom, Chimaera mane... so that if you were poisoned, you would know what could save your life. Wouldn't you agree?" He was practically saying outright that he already knew that Cyrus-"Ginny Weasley"-was the despicable thief.

But Cyrus remained unmoved and even thanked him. "Thank you for your concern, sir. If I ever manage to get hold of so many expensive potion ingredients, I'll certainly remember your warning today."

Snape grew even angrier. "Now, tell me what morning dew can be used for!"

"Who knows? Perhaps to practice becoming an Animagus." Cyrus shrugged. Clearly, this was an extremely perfunctory answer, since Cyrus couldn't possibly have a Death's-head Hawkmoth chrysalis. Besides, this wasn't even his own body.

"You'd better be!" Snape said furiously.

For almost the entire lesson, Cyrus faced Snape's attempts to trip him up, but he dealt with them one by one. In the end, Snape still docked Gryffindor five points on the grounds that Cyrus had been fidgeting in his seat before Snape had dismissed the class.

"He doesn't like you..." Luna's distinctive voice drifted over, sounding as though her soul had been drawn out of her.

Cyrus turned and saw an oddly dressed girl with protuberant eyes.

"Obviously," Cyrus said.

How could he expect a middle-aged teacher he had only recently victimized to like him? Besides, everyone knew that the one and only person Snape loved was Lily.

"You seem strange, but much better than before." Luna tossed her hair cheerfully and skipped away like a sprite.

Cyrus couldn't help being astonished by her remarkable intuition.

He parted ways with the Ravenclaw students on the seventh floor. As he passed through the Entrance Hall, he noticed a crowd gathered around the common-room noticeboard.

"What's going on?"

"They're starting a Duelling Club."

"The first meeting's tonight."

Fred and George, being such good older brothers, stepped forward specifically to explain things to their little sister, "Ginny."

"I have a plan-" Fred slung an arm around his little sister's shoulders with unprecedented enthusiasm and said excitedly, "Remember when you cast that spell on Marcus at the stadium?"

"What? Are you worried he'll get back at me?"

"If he has any shame,

he won't," Fred said. "But whether he'll get some other second- or third-year Slytherins to deal with you, we don't know." "Still, we both think you wouldn't be afraid, right?" George and Fred looked at him confidently.

"Of course I'm not afraid. He can send Snape himself for all I care." Cyrus didn't take it seriously at all.

"Well said! If you were this confident in front of Harry, he'd definitely fall in love with you!"

Cyrus merely rolled his eyes, but neither brother minded.

Fred continued, "We think this is an opportunity, too. The Slytherin Quidditch Team has been giving us trouble lately. Chances to beat them up fair and square don't come along very often."

"So? What do you want me to do?"

"Pick out the younger Slytherin students-"

"Draco Malfoy would be even better!" George put in. "Don't forget his dad gave us trouble over the summer."

"-And give them a good thrashing!" the two said in perfect unison, utterly resolute.

"If they try to cause trouble, then of course I will," Cyrus said with a nod.

Apparently having heard them, Percy emerged from the crowd and shielded Cyrus behind him as though guarding against thieves. He eyed Fred and George warily. "What are you two saying to Ginny?"

"Nothing." The twins immediately exchanged a glance, their mouths curving upward. "Just remarking that the Slytherin students are in for it!"

"Whatever you're planning, you'd better not lead Ginny astray!" Percy warned. "Or I'll tell Mum!"

With that, Percy forcibly dragged Cyrus away from the two troublemakers.

Fred and George looked at each other, then simultaneously pulled exaggerated, comical expressions of deep hurt. "Good heavens! He actually thinks we're going to lead Ginny astray!"

"Ginny doesn't need us to lead her astray!" George added.

The implication was that Ginny was already a "genius" herself. Who else would dare cast a spell on a seventh-year while still in their first year? The other implication was that they weren't the ones leading Ginny astray-someone else was. They had long since noticed that lately, Ginny often crammed into a bathroom with Harry and his friends.

Four of them together-exciting hardly began to cover it. It was downright thrilling!

"Don't listen to them," Percy said, patting Cyrus on the shoulder. "You're different from them, Ginny!"

His voice was full of great expectations.

"Almost all the professors have praised you and said you're doing very well. Hermione also told me you're eager to learn. That's a good thing!" Percy said. He automatically disregarded Snape, because Snape never praised anyone, much less a Gryffindor.

"If you keep this up, you can be like me: become a prefect in your fifth year and earn all your O.W.L. certificates. Once we reach seventh year, we can aim to become Head Boy, then join the Ministry of Magic after graduation and secure a good position," Percy said enthusiastically.

Being Head Boy at Hogwarts carried considerable weight.

After all, it was Britain's only wizarding school. Almost immediately after graduating, Percy had become Barty Crouch's assistant. Though other factors had also played a part, there was no doubt that if you wanted a promising job at the Ministry of Magic, being Head Boy was enough to smooth the road ahead.

"Perhaps you think all that is still too far off, but I think you should plan early! First, I suggest you take every subject in your third year. I can't really explain the specific reasons; I just hope you'll do as I say. It'll be a bit tiring, but you know, a lot of people actually look down on families like ours..."

Percy paused and swallowed back his words, then gave Cyrus a firm pat on the back. "I shouldn't be telling you these things, but whatever happens, work hard, all right? Don't follow Fred and George's example. They're not good role models. And certainly don't be like Ron. All he thinks about is playing, and he doesn't have any goals at all. He never knows what he's doing."