HELL OR HIGH WATER.
IV.

Archie was a frequent guest to professor Flitwick's office, but this would be the first time she was ever there for an actual reason other than just wasting time in between lessons.

She was sitting in the chair opposite to his desk, while the short man climbed up his own chair. Apparently, the professor's family was distantly related to goblins, which was why he was so much shorter than the rest. Archie had the feeling that, had he not been an excellent and well-known duellist back in the day, he wouldn't have been treated with the same respect from the wizarding world. The wizarding world wasn't much different to the muggle world, not really. Especially when it came to the treatment of people they believed were different. It was one of the first things she had noticed once she was able to make the comparison in her mind.

She felt quite nervous to be opposite him at that moment. As the Head of Ravenclaw, Flitwick was the first person to find out about what Archie had done-both slapping Avery and storming off detention and not going back. She wondered if she had disappointed him as much as she had disappointed her brother, which by extent, meant she had disappointed her mother as well. But her mother wasn't there, was she? (She was never there.)

Flitwick's expression softened slightly when he realized how nervous she was feeling. "It was quite unexpected to hear what you've been up to lately, Miss Snape," he said, pushing a small plate of candy that he kept on his desk towards her. Archie was about to try a sweet, but then she remembered what her mother had told her; to cut off chocolate, since it only made her acne worse. She pulled her hand back instantly. Flitwick noticed that, but didn't say anything. "Would you like to talk about what happened?"

"There's not much to say," Archie says. "I know leaving detention was wrong of me, but if I stayed there, it would only get worse so-"

"Why?" Flitwick cut her off. "If I remember correctly, you were having detention with some Gryffindors. Potter and his, uh... usual company," he said. "Did they say something to you?"

Archie didn't feel like explaining the whole situation to Flitwick. She barely understood how things escalated that quickly herself and she was in no mood to talk about feeling helpless while trying to constantly defend her brother. "No," she lied. "No, I just... I just don't get along with them. That's all."

He raised an eyebrow while popping a mint-coloured candy to his mouth. "I can't imagine why anyone would have an issue with you," Flitwick said, his tone still overall friendly. It was like he refused to even consider the possibility that, whatever happened, could have possibly been her fault. It felt incredibly comforting to have someone on her side.

"I don't mind that they don't like me," Archie said. "I don't like them either. They're really, really annoying-especially Potter and Black."

Flitwick looked like he was suppressing a chuckle as he nodded. "Ah, yes. The two of them make quite the pair."

"You can just call them annoying, professor," Archie chuckled softly. "I won't tell anyone."

"That would be very unprofessional of me," the man said, though clearly amused. "But yes... I can see why they could, uh... rub someone the wrong way." As if he suddenly remembered why Archie was there in the first place, he shook his head and turned a little more serious. "Still, that doesn't excuse the fact you got up and left detention, miss Snape. Detention isn't something you can just decide you're done with."

Archie nodded, lowering her head in an attempt to look as pitiful as possible. Maybe she would be able to leave the office without getting second detention, if she played her cards right. After all, this was the first time in five years that she got in any kind of trouble. A second round of detention would just mean she'd have to face the Marauders again; just the thought was enough to convince her that maybe she should fake cry to get the man to feel bad for her.

"Look, I understand this was your first detention," Flitwick said after a moment. "You have been a model student all those years, miss Snape. That is why I've decided to not make this a bigger deal. However-"

Fuck.

"-since you did slap Mr Avery and he's quite the... insistent character, I'm afraid that means I'll have to give you one more detention," the man said. "Only one. I'm sure you will be able to handle that, am I wrong?"

"No, sir," Archie mumbled, even though she felt a sense of despair at the thought of being alone with the Gryffindors again. Only one more detention on Monday, she tried to remain positive. And then you'll never have to talk to them again.

"And if anything else happens or if anyone does anything or tells you anything," Flitwick adds, "you should come to me instead of taking matters into your own hands. I am the Head of the house for a reason."

Archie nodded. "Yes, sir," she repeated and got up to leave. Just when she was about to turn her back to him, her professor took the small plate of candy and motioned her to take one.

"It's just chocolate," he smiled. "It'll make you feel better."

Archie took a small chocolate bonbon before leaving. Strangely enough, it did make her feel better. The voice of her mother nagging her now was replaced by Flitwick offering her a treat like he was confirming that, no matter what happened, he was still on her side.

As ironic as it sounded, there was something magic about Hogwarts being mostly empty. That was the reason why Archie enjoyed the occasional Hogsmeade trips-she rarely ever left the castle, not even for one of those weekend excursions that most students waited excitedly for. There was nothing exciting about going to Hogsmeade when you had no friends; only if she really needed to get something new did she make an exception and actually went, but even then she would usually ask her brother to get it for her. Her mother's signed permission slip rested somewhere in her drawer, the paper should have yellowed by that point.

Just like all the other times the weekend trip took place and Archie had nothing to do, she found herself conversing with the Grey Lady. The ghost was of a tall, beautiful witch with dark, waist-length hair that appeared in unkempt, loose braids. From the first moment Archie saw her, she felt an inexplicable connection to her; maybe it was her haunting but somehow also comforting aura or her sad eyes that made it hard to imagine her as a human and not just a spirit or a projection.

The Gray Lady was normally not the friendliest of ghosts, but she was always kind to the Ravenclaw students, as the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw herself. Archie had seen her help plenty of lost first-years and she had been one of them as well. Ever since then, she'd find some time during the week to go and keep the ghost company. It would be safe to assume that at first, the Lady was just trying to be nice to the lonely girl, even though she probably didn't enjoy the company of an eleven year old as much as she pretended she did. As the years went by, it became a habit for both of them. A lonely girl and a lonely ghost of a woman being something less than friends; what was more fitting than that?

By that point, Helena Ravenclaw was probably one of the people who knew Archie the best. It was one of the reasons why she didn't mind the ridicule that came with her peculiar friendship with the ghost.

Archie honestly never understood what was apparently so odd about it. There was something incredibly fascinating about ghosts; the imprints of departed souls that were either too afraid of death to let themselves rest or simply refused to abandon the locations they haunted. They simply floated through the castle, searching for what they've been missing the most. For some of them, it was the company of others, the feeling of being understood. Most students found the ghosts annoying; not Archie. She supposed she could relate to them in some aspects. Sometimes she felt like a ghost too.

After a conversation with the Ravenclaw ghost, she made her way to the library, clutching a book in her arms, while the others were inside her worn and faded satchel. She had some catching up to do when it came to Care of Magical Creatures, one of her elective subjects that had come to bite her in the ass. Learning about Kneazles, Crups and Knarls was easy, since they looked and behaved so much like non-magic animals that she had a frame of reference in her mind. The same could not be said about Thestrals-the rare winged horses that were only visible to people who had witnessed death at least once.

As she was about to turn to another corridor, she noticed something unusual out of the corner of her eye-a section of the stone wall that looked slightly different from the rest. It was as though there was an irregularity in the castle's structure, but she knew better than to assume that; she had read about Hogwarts' secret passages before, despite having no idea where they were or how to access them. She was about to take a step forward, examine it, the curiosity getting the better of her, when she saw four boys stepping out of the shadows of the passageway. Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew-of course it was them. They were sneaking back into the castle, clearly returning earlier from the Hogsmeade trip than the rest.

Archie pressed her back firmly against the rough stone, careful not to make the slightest movement as she watched them whisper amongst each other, their expressions betraying some sort of arguing. They hadn't noticed her, which she was quite thankful for as she would rather not have to deal with them until Monday, where she'd likely have to suffer through detention with them. As the passage behind them started closing again and they walked away, Archie couldn't help but notice something falling out of Black's robes.

Once they were gone and she was sure she hadn't caught their eyes, she let her curiosity win once more and she walked to the spot where they were just seconds ago. On the ground was a leather pouch that felt light as a feather when she picked it up. She shook it, hoping she wouldn't hear the clinking of coins; she did not hold the group of boys in high regard, but she wouldn't have pegged them as thieves. She opened the pouch, expecting the worst; she saw leaves. Leaves. Their distinctive jagged edges caught her eye and paired with its touch and smell, she recognized the plant they were from to be a Mandrake. Archie's mind raced-restorative plant, typically used in transfiguration-related processes. Unlike its roots or its stewed state, Mandrake leaves were not used in many potions.

She put the pouch in the pocket of her robe and resumed her walk to the library, her mind flooded with information and possible scenarios related to her little discovery. Everything about the situation screamed preparations for another prank, one whose victims would most likely be the Slytherins, once again, including her brother. She doubted that any potion that included Mandrake leaves could do a lot of damage, but she was still too curious to let it go. And, as much as it bothered her that anything regarding the Marauders made her feel excited, she really wanted to see their faces when she ruined their latest prank. They'd call her a stick in the mud and a goody two shoes, as if she wasn't already immune to those insults by that point, but their expressions... oh, they would be priceless.

At the library she was surprised to see her brother, sitting at the table they had claimed since their first year there. She crouched down a little so her voice wouldn't be heard. "Thought you were at Hogsmeade too," she said, sitting next to him.

"I was," Severus said, giving her some space by uncluttering the mess in front of him. She glanced at the scrolls he was studying and she noticed something about the history of spell-making. "I just came back early to find you."

She raised an eyebrow. Severus was a good liar, but he barely ever managed to lie to her. "Did you leave your wonderful friends for me? Oh, Sev, you shouldn't have," she said, the sarcasm dripping from her voice as she tried not to show her amusement at his attempt.

"Oh, come on, please don't tell me you're still bitter over that incident," he rolled his eyes. "You know I talked to Avery, gave him a stern talking-to. He won't bother you again."

"It's not your job to teach him manners, it is something he should have known by now!" she said. She was quite lucky there was almost no one at the library at this time. "Especially considering he was raised in those shitty prim and proper pureblood households."

Severus grimaced. "Yes, yes, I know," he muttered. "Anyways, I wasn't even hanging out with them before. I was with-"

"Lily?"

He nodded. He looked as if he had just been force-fed a dozen lemons. "Yes, at least until she remembered she had plans with McKinnon and that Macdonald girl," he said, spitting out the girls' names as if they were dirty words. "Ever since McKinnon got into their Quidditch team, she's acting more and more like a female version of Potter, the cocky bastard. It's a wonder how Lily tolerates being around her."

Archie wanted to argue that Marlene McKinnon didn't seem that bad-she was actually rather pretty, said the intrusive voice in her head-and that Severus was probably just lashing out because of his deep-rooted insecurities and abandonment issues. But she didn't. Arguing with her brother about his jealous, toddler-like behavior would just make things between them even worse and that was the last thing she needed after everything that happened between her and Avery.

"You said you wanted to come find me?" she asked, changing the subject.

Severus nodded, humming something under his breath as he looked through his own satchel. He pulled out a heavy-looking book with yellowish pages and handed it to her. "Elemental Runes and their Variations," he read the title for her. "I saw it at Gran Trafford's and remembered you talking about it."

Archie's eyes lit up at the sight. Ancient runes had been her correct fascination ever since she took it as an elective subject and during the Christmas break, she had mentioned it once when the two siblings were having one of their usual book-related conversations. She didn't really expect him to remember, much less buy it for her, even if it was bought from the secondhand store.

"Consider this a late birthday present," he said. Their birthday was January ninth. All things considered, it was quite late.

"This is shitty," she murmurs, gulping down the knot in her throat. "I thought we agreed on no presents this year. I didn't get you anything."

Severus shrugged, looking back at his scrolls to avoid eye contact. "I was harsh on you, during the whole... incident," he said sheepishly, the words being forced out of his mouth like he really didn't like bringing all that stuff up. "If you feel bad considering this a present, then, uh... consider it a formal apology."

Archie couldn't help but smile as her fingers trailed the spine of the book. "Did you also write me a dedication?" she said, the tone of her voice turning teasing. She always enjoyed making fun of her brother's inability to be vulnerable, even around his own twin. It was quite hypocritical of her, as she suffered from the same problem, but she still had the upper hand on him when it came to dealing with emotions.

Severus sneered. "No."

"You should," she says, opening the book to its first page and moving it in front of him. "You can't gift someone a book and not write a dedication."

He glared at her for a full moment, as if hoping she would back down, but she didn't. "Fine," he sighed and grabbed his quill, dripping it into ink before starting to write. To my sister.

Archie snorted. "You can do better than that. There needs to be an adjective there."

He smiled through gritted teeth. To my perfect-Archie raised an eyebrow-ly annoying sister. "Is that better?"

"I'll take what I can get," she said, taking the book back in her hands and adding the date below her brother's writing. Once she was done, she put the book inside her satchel, trying not to show her excitement at the fact that she had something new to read after she was finished with Pride and Prejudice.

Then she remembered the pouch inside her robes and she deflated. She hated giving her brother the chance to brag about how good he was in Potions. "Can I ask you a question about Potions?" she asked, pushing through it. Though painful for her fragile ego, it would be quicker than searching through the textbooks.

"Why, have you started studying for the OWLs already?" he chuckled to himself.

Both of them were quite bright when it came to academics (Flitwick used to say that Ravenclaw had experienced a great loss when not both twins were sorted there) but punctuality had never been Archie's strongest suit and both of them knew it. She was way more interested in obtaining the knowledge than getting good grades.

"Yes," she lied quickly. "I thought Slughorn's image of me could use a bit of repair after I slapped one of his favorite students."

Severus sighed, but didn't find it in his heart to disagree. "So, what did you need to ask me?"

"What's the use for Mandrake leaves?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, as far as our curriculum goes, I have only heard about them being used for the potion necessary for the Animagus process. There are a few more potions that use them, but they are not the main ingredient."

"Animagus?"

"A witch or a wizard who-"

"Yes, Sev, I know what an Animagus is," she cuts him off. No, no... surely even the Marauders couldn't possibly be stupid enough to do something like this, she thought, feeling an unwanted sense of panic at the idea.

She glanced at her twin brother who was staring at her curiously. She asked a few more questions relating to Potions, just so he wouldn't get suspicious, but her mind was stuck on that one word; Animagus. The group of Gryffindors were huge idiots, that was an indisputable fact. But they wouldn't stoop low enough to risk their lives for just another silly prank.

Right?

Right?

♰ archie having no friends in school but her brother, her professor and the ghost of ravenclaw (so luna lovegood coded) means so much to me. like my girl is so lonely that she searches for some kind of warmth in the most unlikely places from anyone willing to give it to her. she might be a girlfailure but shes MY girlfailure, okay? and shes slowly going to girlfailure her way into the marauders group, you'll see, you'll see...

anyways if u like good writing and the marauders era go read bIoodforbIood's new fic "great expectations" :)