Chapter Text
Severus's second year at Hogwarts started off horribly, his bad luck trailing behind him from his house right up that train platform and beyond it.
It stared off well enough. He got to sit with Lily in an otherwise empty compartment, sharing candy and chatting about their classes. Only for about fifteen minutes though before the place was swarmed by overzealous lions all wanting to catch up with her. That James guy in particular clung to Lily like a mouse to a glue trap.
He may have gotten a bit heated when Potter suddenly insinuated Lily should switch to their compartment instead and ended up kicking the other boy in the shin. Bad idea. As sweet and innocent as he acted towards Evans, James was more vicious than many Slytherins Severus had encountered. For the rest of the conversation James sent him passive aggressive looks and offensive remarks that got more and more grating up until he mercifully left them alone again.
That did not stop him from tripping Snape on his way out of the train compartment when Lily wasn't looking; Sirius Black, James's little minion, snickering as Snape picked himself back up.
Severus managed to swallow down his bitterness for the rest of the evening, trying not to pay as much attention to the table of lions during the opening feast. He had dealt with bullies back in muggle school, this was no different, they would let go eventually. Besides, Lily would never associate herself with a boy like that.
After the meal the Slytherins all headed to the dungeon, Snape lagging a bit behind to admire the tall, imposing architecture he loved so much. A couple new paintings were added, though mostly of inanimate objects so there wasn't much of a conversation to be had. His favorite was definitely the still life of assorted deep wood branches, the fruits of that tree a popular ingredient in many potions. They were tiny, black and bitter, with a characteristic smell of charcoal and syrup.
Snape's hands were itching to grab a cauldron.
Instead he sighed and started again walking towards the dungeon stairs. Potions would happen soon enough and then he could relax.
Walking through the portrait hole Severus was greeted with a group of students crowded around each other in the common room. A lot of them were clearly first years getting acquainted with common school rules though apparently not in any official way as the head of house was missing. As usual anyway.
Snape sighed and walked through the room with quick steps, determined to just get back into his dorm and sleep his feeling away. Maybe in the morning he'd feel better.
"Hey Snape!" Avery's voice made Severus freeze halfway through his journey.
He slowly turned to the group, Avery being one of the boys standing next to the first years. "How was summer for you Snape? Back in the slum with the muggles?" His pale face was twisted into a cruel smirk, the other boys around him giggling at the comment. The gaggle of first years turned as well to look in Snape's way. "That's a reminder for you guys," Avery nudged one of the younger students on the shoulder. "Halfbreeds are in every house nowadays, even in Slytherin." The smaller boy standing next to him looked unsurely between Snape and his roommate. He was clearly an affluent pure blood, with dark hair and grey eyes, his brand new uniform pressed evenly and his shoes shined and sleek; other first year purebloods crowded around him like a flock of sheep.
"Not going to say anything?" Mulciber chimed in, leaning his body on Avery's side.
Severus flushed, realizing he had been standing in the center of the room, all eyes on him for way too long for comfort. Yet he felt like he couldn't leave, their gazes pinning him down like a butterfly to a corkboard. But the entrance to the doorms was right there behind him. If he could just move- move-!
"Excuse me..." a monotone voice spoke just next to him. Severus flinched, snapping his head to the side where a familiar face greeted him. Long and oval, with strong features and a cascade of golden hair rivaling that of a lion. Tallhill looked down at him passively, a massive, cream yellow cat nestled in his arms. Snape never got to know her name, yet now he was hit with how she had grown twice as big over the course of the summer holidays. She must have been eating whatever her owner does.
Acher looked around when Snape didn't reply, his eyes falling on the group of students crowded near the fireplace, gaze catching on Avery's.
It was downright mesmarizng, watching the proud pureblood melt like wax in candlelight under Tallhills stare. Instantly the groups co*cky attitude shift, nervousness slowly bleeding through each member until everyone was looking in different directions as if they hadn't been jeering and laughing at Snape just a second ago. Even the first years who did not know who Tallhill even was and had no idea about his violent streak could tell it was better to stay quiet.
The cat in Achers arms twisted her head to stare at the crowded Slytherins before her whiskers bristled and she hissed loudly, the pupils of her purple eyes thin like needles. A first year girl actually flinched, hiding behind the students next to her.
Tallhill turned back around to face Snape before his gaze trailed further to the exit he was blocking.
"Oh- um-" Severus stuttered and hurriedly turned on his heel, marching out of the common room and into the adjacent hallway.
Snape's brain was running a million miles per hour as he made his way down the corridor to their dorm room, Tallhill's languid footsteps following him in long, brisk paces. So easy. It was so bloody easy for a person like Tallhill to completely subdue a bully like Avery, not only that but a bully surrounded by like minded goons. He did not even have to say anything.
That was the power of having a reputation.
Snape opened the door to their room and walked in quickly, rushing over to his bed that was the furthest to the left. He sighed once he touched the familiar dark canopy and thick covers, he really had missed this. Popping open his suitcase the boy rummaged through the contents to sort back his stuff.
Then Snape quickly stole a glance back through the wall of his dark hair.
Tallhill was still entertaining the beast, allowing the tall, chunky creature to stand proudly on top of his shoulders and back while the blonde leaned over the pile of clothing in his suitcase, sorting out his pairs of socks into tight bundles.
Despite being a mere second year Snape could see clear as day the other could throw him across the room if he wanted. He was an almost full head taller than him and outweighed him nearly twice over. Not that big of an achievement in retrospect seeing as Severus looked closer to a skeleton than anything else but Tallhill rivaled most of his year in terms of body mass so it still counted. He'd probably only get bigger as time goes on too...
Severus bit his lip, an interesting, if a bit slimy idea suddenly forming in his brain.
If he were to, somehow, glue himself to Tallhill frequently enough to blend into his shadow then guys like Avery or Mulciber would not be able to get him as easily, if at all. Now, Snape had never made another friend after meeting Lily, she was after all, all he needed in terms of relationships. She was smart, funny, empathetic and understood him on a level nobody else ever did. Suffice it to say he was not really in shape when it came to talking to people he did not know very well.
But well, Tallhill seemed like a simple creature, far simpler than Lily that's for sure. He was strange and a bit dull, violent too from what he's seen, but at a glance not unnaproachable. Snape didn't know much about his particular likes and dislikes, or really even what kind of grades he had. All he did have to know though was that he was a good fighter, that he saw for himself, and if Tallhill was dumb enough to throw himself at Snape's bullies that one time then he was dumb enough to get swayed into accepting Snape tailing him for the rest of the year.
Snape turned back to his suitcase and took a long, shuddered breath. He could do this, just light, surface level conversation. Nothing to fear.
He turned, fully determined to either talk or get hit "Tallhill-" the sound of the door shutting made his jaw snap back shut.
Severus looked around dumbly yet all he found was an empty room, the blonde boys suitcase shut and already slid under the bed.
Tallhill...left?
All that was really left of him was the cat. With her plump, almond shaped body and tall, pointed whiskers she looked more like a seal than a feline where she laid lazily on top of a messy knot of covers.
Merlin, he had forgotten how elusive Tallhill was.
[...]
Severus hoped to catch the blonde the next morning yet upon waking up Tallhill was already gone, his bed left haphazardly made where his large cat slept in a pile of his discarded pajamas. She had evidently moved very little since the previous night.
During breakfast, nothing. Honestly Severus wasn't expecting anything from that anyway.
First period, charms. Tallhill did not show up until the very last minute, taking a seat in the last empty spot next to the door, furthest from Severus as if he was mocking him.
Second period, history of magic. Snape actually managed to sit relatively close to him this time, at least in the same row, separated by some Hufflepuff girl Severus knew nothing about. Yet even with this small blessing he completely failed to make any sort of eye contact, let alone exchange a word. The entire class Tallhill scribbled what appeared to be complete gibberish in his notebook, not looking up from it once.
Third period, double potions. Snape was getting jittery, this was the last lesson block of the day and he had not even exchanged a glance with his roommate. How hard can it be? They are in the same house. Same year! Same bloody room!
The first thirty minutes of the first class were the usual speal. Slughorn talking up a storm about vaguely potion related topics. Snape had a complicated relationship with the man, on one hand he admired him for his talent while on the other downright despised his jovial yet opportunist attitude. He knew that if he had not been as good at potions as he is the man would not look twice his way. After all, what good was a gangly little halfblood to a pureblood favorist like Slughorn?
Snape gazed around the dim classroom, taking in the low, orange-green lighting that spilled across the colorful potion glass and scratched cauldron casings. The air was thick, fumes of several potions stewing quietly at the front of the room (no doubt the professors personal projects) permeating it in a swirl of sweet yet bitter aroma. The tables were chipped, old, dark brown paint coming off on the bottom in tiny chunks, a few meaningless drawls etched into the wood at the sides, most certainly cut in with the standard potion knives.
The boy exhaled through his nose quietly. It felt as if for the first time in a long time his heart had truly settled. In the darkness of that classroom, feeling the far away heat of the fire, hearing the low simmer of potions. This was good, for once.
"All right everyone. Now, since it is the new semester we are going to be assigning working partners again." Slughorn clapped his hands. "Please find your pair and move on to the closest available working area!"
Severus scrambled to his feet as everyone rose. Merlin, it was as if he had almost fallen asleep, what were they doing again? The Slytherin looked around in panic.
Ah yeah, potion partners. Honestly he had not been expecting it, he thought the arrangements would simply stay the same as last year...
Wait.
Severus searched frantically with his eyes for a mop of familiar blonde hair. There. Tallhill was bowed over some book on his desk, standing as was everyone yet apparently completely not interested in looking for a partner, his body leaning away from the text yet his eyes still glued to the page as if connected to it by a piece of string. Snape crossed the classroom quickly, weaving between a group of Gryffindors and two other Slytherins. Finally he was at the boys side once again.
"Hey." Snape said.
Tallhill blinked, slowly straightening his body to look back at Severus with a blank expression, his eyes even darker in the dimness of the classroom. Ugh, what a creep. With the way he moved you'd expect the guy to be a hoard of crows in a trench coat or something.
And of course he did not reply, simply staring at Snape.
"Could we um, you know, partner up? This semester...for the potions I mean." That came out way more awkwardly than he intended to.
The other Slytherin assessed him for a few seconds that to Snape lasted hours, his gaze heavy like stone. Then he nodded slowly before his gaze suddenly shifted to something behind Severus.
Snape turned around.
Lily stood a few steps behind him, her eyes rapidly bouncing between Tallhill and Snape as if assessing something.
Wait.
Did she...?
"Lily-!" Snape immediately called.
"Ah, Sev it's really no problem! Don't worry about it!" The girl smiled wide, quickly trotting backward to one of her Gryffindor friends. "I'll work with Dorcas instead! Really!" She wrapped her arm around the other girl and not listening to any of her protests pulled her away to the other end of the classroom.
Severus was left dumbfounded, his hand, stretched out to where Lily used to stand, still in the air.
He had totally forgotten they had potions with Gryffindors this year! Had he really been so enraptured with trying to talk to Tallhill that he didn't even notice Lily being in the same classroom as him?? Morgana, now she'll think he actually wants to be friends with that weirdo. Oh he won't hear the end of this...
Severus looked back, only to see Tallhill already looking at him. His expression impassive as always yet equally intent, dark eyes not afraid to meet his.
Snape swallowed thickly, before straightening his spine and huffing out a curt "Let's go then."
Luckily he did not get his teeth kicked in for that subtle bite in tone, and the blonde did actually follow him, the shadow of his form eclipsing Snape's figure in the dim classroom like some mountain. They found and empty station pretty quickly, allowing Snape to rummage through his things and get his potions book out, the well loved pages crinkling as he sifted through them. He had already gone over most of the material in his spare time, having not much to do during summer. Long blocks of notes littered the corners of the recipes, quick and thin like spiderwebs.
Once everyone found their seats Slughorn walked over to the front of the room again, clapping his hands together with a pleased smile. "There we go. Now, this academic year you will be presented with a unique assignment, of course done in pairs, right along with your partner."
Severus paled. Year long assignment? Oh Merlin, this was bad. He only wanted to sit with Tallhill to periodically use him as a shield, he didn't need to work with the guy for longer then necessary.
Biting his lip he glanced quickly at the blonde next to him. Maybe though...maybe this was also an opportunity... Maybe getting a bit closer would ultimately guarantee him more safety. Being seen outside of class would make the claim they were acquainted more tangible. He just needs to not hang around him too much, less he is demoted to an outcast alongside him.
"You will be assigned a potion at random, and have to brew it yourself, with your own ingredients. I've chosen the potions myself, so do not worry about not being able to find specific things as all of them are available within the castle grounds!"
Just like that tiny slips of paper sprung up from a small jar that so far had been sitting innocuously on top of the professors desk. The parchments fluttered as they flew through the classroom, each one stopping at a different desk. Snape watched curiously as their own individual slip wobbled over in the air, unfurling itself in front of them.
"Sunbeam Brew" was written inside.
Sunbeam Brew, Snape was familiar with that one thankfully, not too many ingredients though it would be rather tricky to gather them all quickly. Sand Ducts only grow in early spring so they would have to wait until next semester-
"What is that?" Severus nearly jumped out of his skin. Tallhill had leaned over to gaze at the paper, his quiet, monotone voice making Severus's back explode in shivers. He had completely forgotten how how the blonde even sounded up to this point.
Snape cleared his throat. "It's a very simple potion, it makes your skin feel hot when you rub some into it." He explained. "Medwixen usually use it."
"Huh." The blonde hummed, watching passively as the strip of paper fluttered away, back into the jar with the others.
Snape carded through the contents of the potion book once more, finding the designated concoction at the back of the book where smaller recipes were placed. Sunbeam only took up half a page, with the brewing instructions being most of it as the ingredients list was only a couple entries.
They had to be intelligent about gathering those ingredients though. Since they themselves were supposed to gather them and couldn't use the schools reserves they had to get them fresh from the source.
"We have to get started soon." Snape mused.
"When?" Tallhill asked, straightforward with his words.
Clearing his throat the other Slytherin answered awkwardly. "Uh, whenever? This week...preferably." unless the blonde wanted Snape to do all the gathering and brewing, then it didn't really matter. Back in first year he was paired up with a random Ravenclaw boy named Sander. The two of them didn't really speak with each other and Snape was the one to brew most things. It worked for the both of them, Sander didn't have to do anything and Snape didn't have anybody sticking their fingers into his potions.
"Okay, tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow?" Snape turned towards Tallhill, baffled.
The taller boy just shrugged, gazing at the faint ceiling light and the way its fire flickered against the potion fumes wafting through the air. Tallhill's silhouette beat orange and dark as the glow reverberated across his features. "We might as well. What is tomorrow anyway?"
"Two Herbology and one Charms." Snape replied after a couple seconds of thought.
"We can do some of it after Charms then."
Snape nodded unsurely.
"Can I get a copy of those?" Tallhill pointed at the ingredients list for the potion.
"Oh, yeah." Severus sputtered, pulling out a blank piece of parchment and scribbling them down with shaky fingers, unsure of exactly why he felt as nervous as he did.
[...]
They sat next to each other at Herbology the next day, pulling dead leaves off of the same plant, an old Eastern Blackbush. Originally they were not actually paired together at all, but Tallhill came to class a full five minutes late and ended up being sat with Severus, the only one to not yet be in any sort of group.
Thankfully Profesor sprout was not angry enough to duck any points for the blondes lateness. Not that Tallhill would receive any sort of ire from the Slytherins, as far as Snape was concerned, the tall boy could cost them a 100 and no one would be brave enough to say anything.
So they were off to the side of the class, preening an old bush while all the other groups were busy repotting the newer Blackbushes into new pots.
Snape always liked the greenhouse, it was wide with a tall transparent ceiling that allowed for a full view of the sky and was packed to the brim with long stretches of bushy greenery, stretching on and on. It certainly put a contrast to something like the dungeons but Snape liked it anyway.
"Hey." Severus jumped, snapping back to reality where he had been staring quietly at a group of bees filtering through the nearby flowers.
Tallhill was leaning over the side of the bush, gazing at him from behind the dark, coiling leaves with a lone, black eye.
"What?" Severus whispered, resuming his scissor work at the wizened branches of the plant.
"I've got one of the things we need for the potion."
"That's good." The raven haired boy nodded. Now that was interesting, he didn't think Tallhill would take so much to the project as to gather things before Snape even did. "What is it? The clovers?"
Tallhill looked to the side to where Profesor Sprout was fussing over a Hufflepuff girls work before he reached into his back pocket. Pulling out a bundle wrapped in brown parchment he slid it over to Snape on the small wooden stool the Blackbush was standing on.
A bit crudely wrapped but still better than nothing at all. Severus huffed. And what's with the secrecy? Honestly, you'd think they were trading dragon bone with how-
Snape gaped at the unfurled package in his hands. Mushrooms, Lumina-Lumus fungi, no doubt about it. Thin, silvery mushrooms with long stretchy stems and tiny, plaint caps covered in small, snow like warts. Three of them, more than they needed.
Quickly snapping the bag closed Snape pushed the object deep into his own back pocket. "What- how-?" He whispered-yelled. "Those aren't growing around here until November! Did you steal those or something??"
"I'm many things, but I am no thief." The blonde raised his hands in mock surrender, returning back behind the plant to resume his work.
Yeah, Snape did not believe that for a second. He could have broken into Slughorn's reserves. Morgana, what if he bullied some upperclassmen into giving him the ingredients?
Severus massaged the space between his eyes before quickly pulling out the bundle again.
No, this couldn't have been stolen from any reserves. They were fresh, not dried which was the usual way wixen stored fungi, including their potions professor. But how on earth could he get those? He would've had to go into a cave or something, somewhere where the temperatures were low enough the mushrooms grew even outside of season.
The rest of the class passed with Snape feeling jittery, his leg bouncing nervously while his mind continued to spiral.
He did not even notice when the lesson ended, only when the greenhouse was already half empty did he look around to find himself almost completely alone. Cursing under his breath the boy stood up and quickly gathered his things before bolting out the door on with hurried steps. Weaving between groups of students the boy walked through the adjacent courtyard that connected the greenhouse to the rest of the school, gazing around to find the familiar head of golden hair.
"Hey Sev!" Snape startled and swiveled his head to the side.
Lily was red in the face as if she had been running, the wind having blown her bushy hair astray. The massive backpack she always wore laying heavily on her back making her look comically small in comparison. She always insisted on taking almost every book with her, even if she did not need it that day.
"Ah-" she gasped, out of breath. "Sorry I saw you and I needed to catch up!" Evans fanned her face. "How was Herbology just now? We have it in like five minutes, did she ask about the poison root from last year? Ah, I know how much you like to talk about that, I bet you answered it didn't you!"
"Uhh-" Snape, looked around, his eyes still searching for Tallhill. "Eh, no she didn't ask about it."
Lily frowned. "Oh, well I guess it wasn't as important as I thought." Then she smiled again, wide and unabashed as always. "How was your first night back Sev? Did you like the feast yesterday? I ate so much mashed potatoes I don't think I'll be able to look at them again!"
"Well..." Snape began but then at the end of the courtyard a group of sixth years finally moved to the side, revealing Talhill. The tall boy was going up the stairs that lead to the adjacent building underneath the yellowed canopy of trees. His back turned away. Snape looked back at Lily. "Uhh- sorry Lily but I'm a bit busy right now! I'll catch up with you later, okay?"
"What- wait what!?" Lily squeaked but by that point Snape was already running after the other boy.
Catching up with him was no easy feat. The amount of people permitting the hallways seemed to suddenly double, turning Snape's pursuit into an obstacle run. Just how fast was that guy? Surely having longer legs doesn't lead to that much of an advantage.
Finally, he spotted him again, but by that point Talhill was on the moving stairs that led to the higher level.
In some weird, adrenalin furled haze Snape, instead of stopping, increased his speed and jumped for the stairs as the object was already in motion. He landed, but then tripped, tipping backwards with an embarrassing yelp that surely would have turned into a scream had it not been for someone catching his arm at the last minute, preventing him from pummeling down.
"Oh, hi Snape." Of course it was Talhill, the boy pulling him up by the arm with startling strength that had Severus's gangly body lurching dangerously forward.
"Ah- thanks-" he wheezed, all that running catching up to him as he tried to regain his balance.
"Don't do that again, you could have died." The blonde said as the staircase aligned itself with the far side wall.
"He's right!" A painting of an older gentleman in armour on a white-brown horse chimed in. "That was a mighty jump young fellow but completely unnecessary!"
"I agree!" A young lady dressed in silks from a nearby portrait nodded sagely, wagging her painted fan at him. "Foolish I say."
Snape went even readded under the scrutiny, muttering an apology as all the paintings murmured amongst each other. Thankfully now that the staircase was aligned he could quickly follow the other boy up and onto the next floor where the charms classroom was, escaping all the scandalized paintings.
"You still haven't answered my question." Severus hissed, bumping into the blondes shoulder as they walked down the wide, stone hallway.
"About what?" Talhill mused, gazing at him from the corner of his eye.
"Where did you get the fungi?"
The boy pursed his lips, looked up at the marble rafters constructing the ceiling before huffing. "My cat found it."
"Huh? That creature of yours? What is she a dog!?"
Talhill shrugged. "She has a pretty good nose, maybe she was one in her past life."
"Wha- you- how-?" Snape stuttered, his face going horribly red again.
When they finally arrived at the charms classroom Talhill slipped in without a word, Severus following in his footsteps. They ended up sitting next to each other at the front as they waited for the others to arrive, Talhill instantly pulled out some random notebook and began scribbling weird, crude shapes into the paper. Severus wanted to ask him whether they meant anything at all, but found himself only sitting there, watching as the other boys quill scratched on and on.
Up and down, left and right in strange, mellow strokes that were all both random yet bizarrely consistent. Like watching water drip, combine and separate itself down a window.
Before he knew it class had started, yet Talhill kept on drawing.
[...]
"What are they called again?" Acher asked, leaning over Snape's shoulder to get a look at the list he had in his hands.
"Sun clover. It's a very popular ingredient but there isn't a lot of it. Luckily we only need about five in total."
They were already outside. The weather was a bit cloudy but it wasn't necessarily cold, just a bit windy. Stretches of wild grass and tangled bushes climbed underneath their feet as they walked through the meadows surrounding Hogwarts, tall trees humming around them with their yellowed leaves, birds chirping. The air was always so crisp and full around the school, a total opposite of co*keworth where the stench of chemicals and smoke permitted everything.
It was nice at Hogwarts, but it also made coming back home that much more torturous.
"I know where a patch of them is." Severus nodded, speeding up his walk down the wavy, stone steps pushed into the earth.
Yet when they arrived at the patch all they saw were two students already crouched over it.
"Oy! It's Snivvy!" And of course one of them just had to be Sirius Black.
The curly haired fool straightened from his crouch with a beaming smile on his obnoxious face, hands poised on his hips.
"Sod off Black." Snape scoffed.
"Mouthy today, huh?"
"Sirius..." The boy next to him murmured. He was tall, with ashy brown hair and a face layered in small scars. "Let's not do this today."
Black pouted like a toddler.
"Yeah Black, you better listen to your owner and stop barking." Severus hissed.
"What did you say?" Black moved closer, face thunderous.
Just when Severus thought he was going to end up on the ground again Talhill moved a step in front of him. "We are not here for that." He stated, matter of factly. "We just need the clovers."
Sirius scoffed. "Tough luck then, we've got the last batch."
"What!?" The smaller snake exclaimed. "What do you mean by that? It's the second day of school! How could it be gone already?"
"Uh, I think more people were assigned potions with it than we thought." The boy next to Sirius said. "So a lot of people came by early and...took them."
Snape pushed through the two Gryffindors to look at the patch and yes, the small clover field was picked try, only the stems still sticking out of the ground.
"Looks like you'll have to wait." Black snickered, shrugging his shoulders with a smug expression.
The tall ashy blonde next to Sirius turned suddenly to Talhill. "Ah, we do have some extra if you need them. We only need four so we can spare this one." He reached into a small brown baggie and took out a white, bushy flower, putting it onto Tallhill's outstretched palm.
"What!? Nooo, Remus don't give them anything." Sirius whined, pulling on the boys arm.
Snape sighed, looking at the lone flower. "That is nowhere near enough..."
"Well, I'm sure there is some other place you can go and look before the end of the season." Remus scratched his head awkwardly before taking Blacks arm gingerly into his grip. "We need to go now, so, um yeah. See you around." He gave Severus a curt nod and a polite smile to Talhill before he dragged the other lion away back towards the castle.
Exhaling deeply Severus sat down on the grass, looking up into the grey sky. The trees around them rustled again, birds singing a little louder.
After a couple quiet seconds Talhill spoke. "We can just wait for new ones to grow."
"I know but.." Snape clicked his tongue. "I'm worried it's going to get picked out again before we get to it, you know how people are. And the season for them is ending." Frustrated, he ripped out a patch of grass, throwing the shredded leaves into the wind. "This assignment is so stupid."
"Is there really no other patch?" Acher asked, the boy gazing down at the small clover flower pinched between his fingers.
"Not around here I think." He shrugged. "There's probably other patches in the forest but, we can't go there."
Acher paused. "Why would there be ones in the forest?"
"The patches like to follow a line pattern." Snape motioned vaguely in the air before pointing behind himself at the edge of the dark forest. "So if there is one here there is definitely one in those woods...somewhere."
"Huh..." The tall boy hummed, his eyes trailing between Snape and the woods. "I guess we need to go into the forest then."
Snape nearly chocked on his own spit hearing that. "Huh- you're joking right?"
Tallhill shook his head. "If we want the flowers now we need to find them, and if that means going into the forest then so be it."
"The forest is forbidden."
"I never said it wasn't."
"This is ridiculous, you know what I'm saying Tallhill."
"I know, but I also know what I'm saying and what I'm saying is we need to go into the forest to find those flowers for the potion."
Snape groaned, putting his face into his hands.
"We may also...find some other things." The blonde boy mused. "Like, some other rare ingredients..."
Snape bit his lip, his eyes trailing to the dark canopy of trees. Then when he turned around Tallhill was suddenly crouched in front of him, staring right into his soul. "Some cool mushrooms, herbs, weird unknown plants... All without limits, for free."
"N-No way!" Severus pushed him away before standing up hurriedly. "I'm not going to follow you into the Forbidden Forest like some sheep, that would get us into so much trouble! We would get detention for the rest of the school year!"
"Who says we'd get caught?" Tallhill shrugged, standing up as well.
"I'm saying we would!" Snape started walking back to the castle, Tallhill hot on his heels.
"Well I'm saying we wouldn't."
"Who cares what you're saying this is a stupid idea!"
"I think it's quite brilliant actually."
