A Snake's Crutch Book 1

Part 24: Nightmares

The next few weeks were...odd. There was no better way to put it. Professor Quirrell seemed to take a liking to y/n, though she didn't remember ever doing anything different towards him than she had done all year. Everything she did, Professor Quirrell would quietly praise her for. Leaving little notes on her essays telling her how good it was, owls telling her she was top of the class, and one day she even got a letter to meet him in his office. 

Snape, however, seemed to be doing the exact opposite. He seemed to start treating her almost like he would Harry Potter, though, luckily, with far less venom. After the day on the platform, Snape would watch y/n closely, always there to intervene whenever Quirrell went up to her. The day y/n received the letter, Snape appeared suddenly behind her, making everyone jump as he snatched the letter, read it, then insisted she go back to her common room to study for the end of the year exams. After all, they were only about five and a half months away.

Snape and Quirrell also seemed to be getting along with each other less and less, though that wasn't much of a surprise to anyone. 

All of y/n's friends saw Quirrell's newfound interest in her differently. Pansy, Daphne, Tracy and Millicent all found it creepy that the teacher seemed so fond of her, and even suggested Quirrell's motive wasn't to befriend a good student. Lillith and Katherine both thought Quirrell just liked telling her she was doing well. Sarah didn't insert her opinion whenever the others brought it up, but bit her lip and seemed worried, clearly leaning toward the ulterior motive theory.

Then there was Draco. He seemed to be hating Quirrell even more than Professor Snape. Y/N had no idea why, though. Quirrell was showing Draco much of the same support, though it was much less obvious. Draco, too, had gotten 'Well-Done' notes on his essays and owls from the professor. But he hadn't shown anyone the letters on his essays, and the owls were buried under all the goodies his parents sent him and his weekly copy of The Daily Prophet. The only reason y/n even knew, was because she saw one of his essays while they worked in the common room at midnight a few weeks ago, and, when she asked to see his newspaper, she found a letter matching hers folded into an article called Hinkypunk Hightails Muggle Hiker. 

It had been a month since the Christmas Holiday, and students were itching for the next Quidditch match. "For lack of anything fun to do," said Pansy, lazing about in a velvety armchair in the common room. With the endless rain that had been keeping everyone inside, and piles of homework the teachers had begun giving out, no one could do anything 'fun.'

Y/N disagreed. Her parents had always taught her to look for the good in a situation. She saw doing her homework as fun, but that was mainly because all these topics were fascinating to her. After she finished her daily homework, usually before most the rest of the group, she would leave the common room to get fresh air. Even when it rained, she went outside. Her favorite thing to do was go down to the spot by the lake and watch the rain make the dark water ripple. 

"Why is it that you're always coming to dinner soaking wet these days?" Sarah said one rainy day as y/n waltzed into the Great Hall, sopping wet, with no shame. Sarah was entirely confused by y/n's love of rain. She just found it gross. 

"I should bring you with me one day. I'll show you what I do when it rains," Y/N said sitting down with the whole group of girls. 

"That sounds like fun!" Lillith said. Katherine nodded in agreement. 

"What would we even do?" Pansy asked, in the same boat as Sarah. 

"Well, I have a few ideas," y/n said mischievously before the boys took their seats around them. 

Blaise took a seat next to y/n. "Why do you look so suspicious? You look as though you're plotting a murder."

Crabbe and Goyle snickered stupidly and y/n elbowed Blaise. "Don't give me away!" Everyone laughed .