A Little Bit of Love and Laughter

At breakfast, I received my first letter of the year from my mother - the first of many, I was sure.

Dear Emily,
I hope your school year has gotten off to a pleasant start. I'm sorry I didn't write you sooner, darling; I've just been quite busy.
How has everything been, dear? Are you enjoying your classes?
I wish I could actually hold a conversation when it comes to this wizarding mumbo-jumbo; I feel so clueless. When you come home for the holidays, you should tell me all about it. I would love that.
Please send my best to Severus and your little friends.
Je t'aime, ma fille.
Cordialement,
Ta mère

It was not unusual for my mother to revert back to her native French at the closing of her letters. Though her once-thick accent was quickly fading, she made it a habit to maintain her knowledge of the language so that she could still communicate with her family in Cannes.

I put aside my two-page essay for Severus's class that I was finishing up last minute and pulled out a separate sheet of parchment to respond to my mother's letter, signing it, as she did, in French. I told her about the upcoming Triwizard Tournament, my date with Roger, and updated her on the statuses of Violet and the twins, just for good measure.

Once she saw that I was done writing, Violet pulled me up and nearly dragged me down the corridor so that we would be on time to Potions. As we made our way down to the dungeons, Violet demanded that I disclose each and every detail of my rendez-vous with Roger.

"It was nice," I began. "We played a little game of Quidditch and then sat and talked for a bit. It was fun."

"I'll bet you two snogged," she said, facetiously.

"Well..."

"You did! I knew it!"

"Bet you're already planning your wedding to that git," growled a voice from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around; I knew precisely who the voice's owner was.

"Shove off, Fred. This is none of your affair."

"It kind of is," he argued, "when my best mate's snogging a total prat."

"No need to get so jealous, mate," Violet joked with a giggle.

"I'm not jealous, just... concerned."

I said, "Well, there's no need to be concerned either. I can take care of myself."

When we walked into the Potions classroom, Severus was already seated at his desk, tapping his fingers impatiently against the old wood. I knew that we had not been late, but the look on Severus's face made me second guess myself.

"Miss Burke, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Miss Prince," he sneered as we each took the remaining seats near the front. "Thank you for finally joining us."

For what seemed to be the first time since I could remember, Fred did not sit next to me at the center table. He opted instead for the empty seat behind me, next to George, while Violet and Roger wound up on either side of me.

"Today we will be learning about Felix Felicis, commonly known as Liquid Luck. This will be a strict book lesson. Please turn to page two-hundred and eighty-three and silently read the chapter."

I did as I was told and got about two pages into the chapter when I felt something hit against the back of my head. I turned to Fred and hissed, "Stop it!"

He rolled his eyes. "Make me."

"Oh, I will."

"Silently, Miss Prince," Severus repeated, shooting an irritated glare in my direction.

"Yes, sir." And I was hit by a second crumpled-up leaf of parchment. I looked back again. "Knock it off!"

Severus slammed his fist against his desk. "Miss Prince, I will not tell you again. If you refuse to do as instructed and read silently, then I will remove you from this class."

"But, Sev- sir!" That was close; I almost slipped. That secret was so well-kept from even my closest of friends that I refused to let myself blow it now.

I saw Severus's jaw clench tightly at my near faux-pas, and I resumed reading the chapter, burying my face in the textbook.

The remainder of the class seemed to drag on endlessly due to the monotony of the reading assignment. As the rest of the class filed out through the door, Severus called, "Miss Prince, may I have a word?"

I turned to Violet and Roger. "Go on; I'll catch up." I was well aware that this discussion was not going to be a pleasant one.

Severus waited until they had all left before continuing, "How dare you almost refer to me in such a disrespectful manner?"

"I didn't mean-"

"Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, sir."

"Now go," he spat.

As I neared the door, I turned back to Severus and said, "My mother sends her best."

Passing through the doorway, I ran into the twins, who had obviously been eavesdropping.

"What was that all about?" they asked in unison.

"Don't worry about it," I replied with a sigh. "Let's just get to Transfiguration, all right?"