Hex Zapper

As the days passed, they are still cold, but warmer at Hogwarts. One day during Alchemy class, "Vonderful!" Professor Boas loudly exclaimed as he peered at Rowan and Severus's medical alchemy product. "Di tvo of you are brilliant! I simply look forvard to your final exams dis year! It shall be fantabulouz!"

Rowan and Severus nod their heads as they collect their things before heading off to their class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Rowan and Severus take their usual seats with Severus sitting by Lily and Rowan by the marauders. Peter Pettigrew leans forward and says, "Rowan, will you give something to Quyen from me?"

"Fine, hand it over," Rowan sighed as she extended her hand out to Pettigrew.

"Thanks, Rowan!" Peter happily said as he handed her a tiny, wrapped gift to be given to his girlfriend.

Rowan carefully puts the gift away as the sound of a cane clacking can soon be heard. Everyone quickly straightens up and pulls out any last-minute items as the door opens. The door opens to reveal Professor Lye's grizzled gray head can be seen as he limps into the classroom.

"Put your things away," Professor Lye said. "We'll be having a practical lesson today." Everyone hurries to do as they're told, before rising to gather in the front. With a wave of his wand, the desks are pushed to the far side of the room.

"Now, then we shall be practicing the Hex Zapper today," Professor Lye explained. "Oftentimes in the field, Aurors won't have anyone to aid them in removing hexes. As such I'll be throwing hexes at you all one at a time and have you use the Hex Zapper spell on yourself. If done properly it will counter and remove the effects of the hex that I've cast on your person."

"Very well, we shall begin with the first person, Miss Prince, if you would please," Professor Lye signaled Rowan out.

Rowan furrows her brows but walks into the center of the room. She had been noticing as of late that Professor Lye had been purposefully signaling Severus and her out. But then again, both of them were apprentices, and much more was expected out of them. Professor Lye hadn't given her any reason to feel uneasy. Still, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was something about his eyes that seemed to carry a hidden bloodthirst.

"At ease, Miss Prince," Professor Lye said before moving his wand as a hex is thrown at her.

Rowan forces herself to not flinch as the hex hits her full in the chest. Suddenly, her chest begins to hurt and squeeze as if a snake is constricting around her chest. Trying to gasp, she mutters the counter, Hex Zapper as she points her wand at her feet. Suddenly, she can breathe again as she feels the painful squeezing vanish. She was fairly certain that if she just removed her shirt, she'd see bruises across her ribcage and chest.

"Well done, Miss Prince!" Professor Lye said. "Ten points to Slytherin!"

Rowan doesn't reply as she stiffly makes her way forward and simply stares at him. The rest of the curses thrown were all child hexes like the Tickling Hex or the Bat-Boogey Hex. Nothing nor nowhere near as scary nor as painful as the hex cast upon her. And for whatever reason, Professor Lye did not attempt the same thing on Severus. Then again, perchance, he didn't want the risk of being caught.

The class quickly went by until the bell rang. "I'd like all of you to practice for our next class. We'll be working on the Hex Zapper again!" Turning toward Rowan, he says, "A moment of your time, Miss Prince."

Rowan warily remains behind as everyone streams out and leaves her alone with Professor Lye. "Is there something you needed, Professor?" Rowan asked.

"I noticed you were staring at me quite intently during the classroom," Professor Lye said as he took a seat at his desk. "Was it because of the hex I cast on you?"

Rowan doesn't reply as Professor Lye waves his hand at her. "There is no need to reply, we both know I used a nasty hex on you, while the rest of them had low-level hexes cast on them. It wasn't my intention to be cruel for it was merely my intention to test your control, Miss Prince. I merely wished to test how far that prowess had gone as your brother is more powerful than yourself."

"Is that all, professor?" Rowan crisply asked.

"That will be all, Miss Prince," Professor Lye said. "Now go on your merry way. No doubt you have plenty of studying and homework to complete."

Rowan merely nods her head, before making her way to the library. On her way there, she spots Quyen Crowley coming up from Potions. "Crowley, a word, please," Rowan loudly said.

Hortense Sicca and Gertrude Fowl sneer at Rowan, but Quyen Crowley says, "I'll see the both of you in the study hall." The two girls glared at Rowan, before marching arm in arm to the study hall down the corridor.

"Well, what do you want?" Quyen Crowley grumbled in her usual nasal voice, before tossing her thick, wavy hair over her shoulder in a dismissive gesture. She still had to keep up appearances despite being on much friendlier terms with Rowan Prince, after having sat together for a short period of time at the start of the school year.

"Peter asked me to give this to you," Rowan drily replied as she handed the wrapped gift over to Crowley.

Quyen tries to hide her eagerness but fails miserably as she happily accepts the gift. "Wait, is this a trick?" Quyen suspiciously asked, after her Slytherin instincts reared up.

"Crowley, no matter how much I dislike you, I would never do that to Peter," Rowan truthfully answered. "As strange as it is, the of us tend to be good friends most of the time. And for whatever reason he likes you and you like him. It's none of my business as I'm not the one who's going to end up marrying you. So, I'm fairly certain I can stand to live with the idea provided, we don't have to chat for prolonged periods of time."

"The feelings mutual, Prince," Quyen said with a trace of respect in her eyes.

The two nod their heads at each other before each goes her own way. For the two girls would never really like each other but for Peter's sake they could learn to be civil. And what was what really counted, in the end, might serve to prove the love of a girlfriend and that of a true friend.