#berdiej

Severus nodded at her attempt at empathy. It was at least a decent connection, Severus decided internally, but the majority of the student body did not know what it was like to been taunted from the moment of one's birth, and for the greasy-haired Slytherin boy, that was no exaggeration. As soon as he was accidentally brought into the world, Eileen and Tobias Snape neglected their child. His mother was fearful of her husband and therefore obeyed his every will no matter how painful it might be for her small son who was more skin and bones than durable flesh. Severus was always hungry, and he would hoard cups of water, never knowing when he would next be nourished or refreshed with the gift of water. He rarely showered, but when he did, the water was too cold and rusty. "No one has the right to insult you either," he told her. "And if I ever hear it, I will be sure to stand up for you too," and Severus smiled weakly with that comment. Severus experienced a pang of guilt resonate across his loose chest when Bertha jumped out of the way of the moderately-difficult curse. It was not one that she would not have heard of, but perhaps it was newer than some simpler charms. Severus opened his mouth to apologize, but Bertha seemed to nervously interrupt herself, as if the action would buy her time and confidence. "If you would like me to switch spells to make it easier," he announced in a gentle tone. "Please do not refrain from informing me; I do not want for you to be uncomfortable." Severus scanned the eyes across the segment from him, and he saw consent and watched Bertha nod her head in determination. With that, Severus rolled up his left sleeve again and commanded rather powerfully, "Confringo!" The blasting curse, characterized by a large blast of red sparks, left the end of his wand and traveled the length of the room towards Bertha, and he waited in anticipation for what she might do and say in response. Severus gripped his wand tightly and mentally prepared himself for a defensive curse in response to whatever she might throw if she defended the one aimed at her currently.

Severus was significantly amazed as he watched Bertha lift herself from her cross-legged position on the stone floor and interject herself into the Gryffindor males' conversation. What surprised him the most was the easy eloquence that resonated in her prominent voice. Many Ravenclaws were stereotyped as quiet and bookish, and ultimately, unconversational. Bertha seemed to extravagantly contrast this simple-minded definition. That was when he recognized that she had been defending him, and at first, he refrained from making eye contact with the enraged Gryffindor boys who were both obviously flustered and dismayed by Bertha's defense of him. When she returned with pep in her step and an attractive sparkle in her eye, the defensiveness and fear faded from his own orbs and he regarded her with an aura and wave of gratitude that he had not experienced in much time. "I thank you," he informed her with a soft smile and a nod of his head in recognition of her words. "Hardly anyone defends me in such situations." The comment about Slughorn cracked a wordless grin on Severus' lips, and for the first time, he could confirm honestly that he was enjoying Bertha's presence. It had been a pleasant surprise because some considered her to be overbearing; but Severus deciphered that she was a tolerable amount of energetic, and she had an attractive personality, and a magnetism that could attract any person, no matter the house or affiliation or bias. "Are you prepared?" Severus inquired, rolling up his sleeves as the two stood in their own private segment of the large room and Severus prepared himself mentally for the spell that would roll from his lips. As a bullied Slytherin boy, Severus Snape had grown accustomed to having a number of offensive spells ready in his mind in preparation for a hex from Potter or a more imperative or lazy spell from Black that would leave him temporarily stunned. He still needed consent; if this was Bertha's weaker area, he did not want to harm her. It was only polite for him to express the spell with moderate force, and if she defended it easily, then he could increase the difficulty, but only when he was sure not to scare her. "Are you ready?" He asked one final time; and the spell came to his mind, ready to flow from his cracked lips the moment she offered her verbal consent.

The first observation which Severus picked up on was Bertha's bubbly personality. He was pleasantly surprised at that, and even though he was a dark and brooding individual for the most part, he was attracted- inwardly- to those who engaged in chattering conversation. The curious souls reminded him of himself because he, too, wandered, ambitiously searching for new information, and at times, wondered kiddingly if he had been missorted. He had many qualities of Ravenclaw House. She had an infectious smile too and a willingness to learn; thus far, Severus was fond of her, all the while maintaining his concrete cover with tightly-pressed lips, but a deepness to his big black eyes that could see through even the most practiced façade. Severus followed the eager Ravenclaw to the floor and slowly lowered himself. He was not nearly as graceful as she was and looked rather awkward with his long, lanky legs misfolded and his knees bent at all of the wrong angles. He colored faintly at the acknowledgment of how he looked and felt other students laughing at him. In fact, he heard one boy in particular say something that concluded with... "You could be Slytherus" followed by a crude laugh, but he had missed the first part of the conversation. Severus was always the punchline or the insult and neither were flattering; he felt himself deflating at the teasing but remembered Bertha's presence and immediately put forth a false smile and tried to forget the boy's words behind him. "A Christmas present would suffice. A watch and perhaps a decent pair of bifocals." Severus tried for a laugh, but it sounded hollow because the boy's insults still plagued his mind. Severus immediately snapped out of his brooding when he watched the smile fall humbly from the Ravenclaw girl's face and he shook his head to deny her statement. "That is not true the slightest," he said and the grin that entered his features was more genuine and human. "I am a craver of small details, and I must say that you have pleasantly surprised me with new facts. I appreciate an attentive mind," he complemented. "By the way," Severus interjected curiously, "I would feel greatly disrespectful to call you Bertha if that is not the name which you prefer. Is there something else? A nickname?" After the pair stood and she vocalized her desire to enhance her skills on certain tactics of defensive spells, Severus decided to say something even though he had mostly mastered many spells. He was strong in all kinds, but he supposed one slightly less than the others. "Some basic offensive spells at times elude me," he provided with a tiny grin. "We can practice the both types for each other's sakes."

The first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. The subject in itself had once been of great fascination to the Slytherin boy with the broken heart and the unimpeded ambition. He once had been passionate about it, and in a more structured and educational manner, he still was, but remaining in the class, surrounded by people whom he had directly and indirectly betrayed at the hands of dark magic was painful, and contributed greatly to his decline in self-esteem. What he had said and done to Lily Evans.. The only person in the world who ever truly showed him kindness and affection and dedication. Severus loved her; Severus would always love her; and although their bond had been patched, he could never forgive himself for that terrible word that he called her, and for betraying her confidence and friendship so numerously. The list seemed to stretch endlessly like the Black Lake outside of the castle. Marlene McKinnon. Mary MacDonald. A plethora of other names had all been hurt because of his conformity and ignorance. That was unforgivable. Now, he enjoyed practicing the subject to better himself as a wizard. He made a series of dark and light spells alike during his free time, and frequently, spent his time learning important dueling lessons that Professor Slughorn could only dream of comprehending. Severus Snape was considerably humble for a young man of his talent, but he was also very much aware of his skill, and feared being limited because of his victimization conducted by the filthy Potter, and by remaining at his parasitic whim every encounter. Everyone seemed to value the reckless buffoon, but Severus saw him for the bullying toerag that he really was. Sirius Black was no better, almost worse, and Peter Pettigrew was a mindless follower. Severus deducted that the only /tolerable/ Marauder was Remus Lupin for his intelligence and only slightly increased maturity, but Severus would never be fond of the boy either; he still took every chance that he could to joke about poor Severus Snape with his unkempt hair and abused childhood. As he awoke from his tireless slumber, Severus lifted himself to a set of tired, clumsy feet, and full of fatigue, searched inefficiently to make the bed. His longer, pale fingers stumbled with the blankets, but he pulled them tightly, and soon, the bed was so extensively neat that it looked as if no one had ever touched it. He tucked the Defense Against the Dark Arts book into his knapsack in case he might need it, and knew that he wouldn't, already having the information encoded in his memory, and then some, but having the tool could only enhance his performance. He bounded clumsily from his compartment and started for Slughorn's room. Bertha Jorkins had been his assigned partner, and Severus did not know what to think of her. From what he knew, she was a bright student, being a dedicated Ravenclaw and craver of knowledge, and for that reason, Severus presumed that she could not be intolerable. When she approached him with an unexpected bubbly personality, Severus' face flushed with color and his cheeks became tainted with a deep red blush; he was antisocial and especially nervous around people, like an untrained and nervous puppy. He looked at his feet and nodded a bit before muttering, "I thank you for the compliment." After a moment, Severus urged himself to swallow his nerves and to look at her. She was so close that he could smell her perfume, and he internally admitted that it was a rather nice scent. His lips cracked into a rare smile and he replied wryly, "I presume that he will miss most of the class, by which time, you and I shall have already practiced a multitude of different defensive spells, and he shall retire to his mumbo jumbo repetitive lessons." Severus opened up when he was offered the chance, but many people never saw that side of him; he would open up and then immediately retract to his protective shell.