A Howler

The Great Hall was filled with laughter and excitement as people readied for the big day. Gryffindor and Slytherin having this yearly Quidditch match was always exciting. It was Natilee's first but she had heard her father mention it in passing in a couple of his letters. He wasn't kidding when he said the rivalry got fever pitched and ignorantly brutal.

 She greeted a couple Gryffindor students coming into the hall and they snubbed her, even Nearly Headless Nick ignored her greeting. He passed right through her as if she wasn't even there. That cold chill made Natilee's hair tighten and sent chills down her body. 

"You there, Sir Nicolas, Manners please." The Bloody Baron snapped at him before turning to Natilee. He wasn't quite sure why she reacted so badly, but he could tell the youth was shaken up. 

"I expect you are just fine, correct, Miss Natilee?" He asked a bit expectantly and her hand raised to wipe a tear from her eyes. 

"Yes, Sir Bloody Baron. I forgot myself for a moment." Natilee replied and it was like flipping on a switch. A smile and brilliant grin that shocked him momentarily… until he noticed her eyes. The one place a shield could not be deployed on one so young. 

"Very Well. Enjoy breakfast then, dear." He replied, gaining some respect and pity for the youth. Astoria smiled and walked with Natilee back to their seats unaware of the mask. 

They sat down, and Natilee felt eyes on her. Glancing to the high table her father's eyes were trained on her with a burning intensity. Of course he had seen her reaction to Nearly Headless Nick. It was clear he was concerned but forcing himself to stay in his chair. She offered him a soft smile, nowhere near as bright but much more genuine. 

He seemed to nod at her and return to his meal. Natilee took a muffin from one of the trays and bit into it. Pumpkin and coffee cake. A fantastic blend of batters in her opinion. Though, it didn't appear to be a popular one since there were so many left.  Astoria grabbed one and began eating it with a curious expression. Natilee seemed to be enjoying it enough to make her wonder and she didn't regret it from the very first bite. 

"Delicious. I never thought these flavors would blend so well." Astoria exclaimed quietly and Natilee smiled at her, eating a banana as well. 

"I enjoy pumpkin quite a bit. It's my second favorite Gord." Natilee explained and Astoria looked interested. 

"What's your favorite?" She asked, she felt comfortable with Natilee and just chatting like this felt easy. 

"Spaghetti Sqaush with butter and Garlic salt. It is absolutely divine if you hit it with a touch of olive oil and basil then top it with some grilled chicken." Natilee smiled as she thought of the tasty treat her Mother used to make all the time. Just then, the first owl swooped in with the mail call. 

However among the similarly owl shaped feathers, one stood out. An red tailed hawk flew into the room; a letter in each claw. One with a deep maroon ribbon and the other tied with a purple ribbon. The Hawk flew to the teacher's table circling for several long moments. When no one moved, the hawk opened a claw, dropping the maroon letter on Snape's lap before doing a languid turn back toward the students. Natilee stood and raised an arm in front of her. Noticing this the Hawk flew to her and landed on her outstretched arm. 

"Rubyanna love." Natilee purred excitedly and pet her neck. The hawk preened and basked in the affection, wings folded in close to her body. She took the letter off her leg and took another from her pocket. The top right of the envelope had 3 wholes in it that the Hawk's talons slipped through. "Take it to Mother." Natilee raised her arm again throwing the Hawk into the air. She beat her wings a few times before soaring out the owl entry. 

"Wow that was a fierce bird." Daphne commented as she glanced at her friend and sister. 

"Yea, she's a Red Tailed Hawk. She's been trained for distance travel. The ocean is a long flight with no place to stop and rest." Natilee explained as she sat down and began to open her letter. 

"SEVERUS SNAPE YOU BETTER HAVE AN EXPLANATION WHEN I SEE YOU NEXT. DO NOT MAKE ME REGRET MY DECISION AND COME TO HOGWARTS MY BLOODY SELF." a screaming, angry female voice silenced the great hall. A letter levitated several inches off the table in front of Professor Snape. it was clearly a howler, and he stared at it in shock and contempt.  

Natilee hid her face in her hands. The heat burned her face, turning the tips of her ears brilliant pink. Malfoy looked at her in interest. 

"What's bothering you, Natilee?" He asked with a bit of a smirk. He couldn't help but tease her, for once he had the upper hand against this witch. 

"That voice is my Mother." Natilee replied as she drug her hands down to support her chin. "And by the sounds of it… Dad is going to get a tongue lashing because I got injured yesterday." Natilee replied trying to hide her embarrassment. Malfoy couldn't help but smile slightly and several people around them chuckled. Natilee frowned "It's not funny. He's going to be in a sour mood that even I can't calm."

"So?" Vincent asked and Natilee stared at him. 

"He teaches potions. We take potions." Natilee pointed out meaningfully. 

"He's a professional, Natilee. He won't take it out on us… will he?" Gregory asked and she just stared at him. She didn't answer and went back to her muffin without another word. They all exchanged looks that were outwardly confident but in truth… they all knew he could be testy. 

"If it makes you feel better, we weren't laughing because he was being humiliated." Malfoy offered, seeing she was stressed he felt a little guilty. He had been the beater after all, and though he would never admit it, it was partially his fault. 

"Then What; Mr.Malfoy, where you and your friends snickering about?" A voice that was completely emotionless but struck a cord of fear in their hearts. Natilee covered her face with both hands. 

"We.. we… we…" Malfoy was caught off guard as professor Snape stared down his long nose at him with folded arms. There was a certain annoyance on his face that Natilee knew all too well. 

"It was Natilee." Vincent offered quickly, and she held back a groan. 

"Oh so not only did you fail to do your job as a beater, Mr. Malfoy but you also laugh at the victim of your inadequacy the morning after?" Professor Snape asked though his voice was slightly surprised. "What pray tell, did she do that was so… FUNNY." the way funny fell off his lips was quieter and yet somehow heard louder than anything else they had said before. It was emotionless but the tone was almost dripping with a dare. 

"Dad, I made a bad word choice and they laughed. My apologies." Natilee tried to counter his anger, realizing why they had been snickering. His eyes cut over to her and they were surprisingly cold. 

"Miss Snape, please wait your turn before speaking. I was not addressing you at this time. 10 points from Slytherin for interfering in teacher's business." Snape spoke with a carefully measured tone and Natilee looked down at her hands. 

"Yes, Sir." Her cheeks were red but her face was pale, embarrassed but also shocked. She had never lost house points before. It had never occurred to her how that would feel. Well now she knew and that wasn't a good feeling. 

"Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you mind your words. 10 points from Slytherin for refusal to answer a direct question. 10 points from Mr. Crabe for interruption of a teacher's business." Professor Snape spoke clearly before turning to walk away. With that, the small lead Slytherin had over Gryffindor was gone, and Ravenclaw took the second spot. The other 5 youth involved looked at Natilee. 

"You still think that Howler isn't going to affect us?" Natilee asked as she looked back at Malfoy, Crabe, and Goyle. Even the Green Grass sisters were uneasy. 

"I see your point. What do we do?" Draco asked honestly concerned as they saw Huffelpuff sand go backwards as well. For a brief moment she felt bad for anyone who crossed the Professor's path. It was known he would turn a blind eye to little things but right now… nothing was little to him. 

"We behave like bloody Angels and you and your Quidditch buddies win the match this afternoon.  Now is not the time to test him." Natilee replied bluntly. Draco nodded, knowing she knew him best. 

"Will that work though? He's already rather flustered." Daphne pointed out and Natilee nodded. 

"It will. His hatred for Gryffindor isn't because he's a Slytherin. There's a personal vendetta against the Quidditch team. If we beat them, it should ease part of it." Natilee pointed out carefully. She knew damn well why her father hated them. She was probably the only young soul that knew her father's past with the Potters. 

If it wasn't for her being teased heavily in grade school, she probably wouldn't even know. He had told her the story to make her feel better after kids put gum in her hair and splashed her with paint in class for being too white and pasty. She hadn't wanted to go back to school and so, he told her so she wouldn't feel alone. It had worked, she never felt alone again. She was a Snape after all, a quartet blood Princess. They couldn't touch her tiara. 

"Then that's the plan." Draco agreed knowing she knew her father best. They had to do something, and this was the only thing that made sense. 

"Us girls will work on preparing for potion's club. That should make him happier too. He seemed excited about that." Astoria offered and Natilee nodded. That was a really good plan. 

"I was told people are having issues with the stain remover potion. Hopefully Wally got the date and time put in the book. If he did then the meeting is tonight thankfully." Natilee pointed out calmly. A certain individual scoffed and popped her upside the back of the head gently. 

"As if I have ever failed you, Lovely. Glad to see you're up and about." Wallace offered as he dropped into a seat to her left, directly beside Astoria. Natilee smiled at him. 

"Good. Asti, can you hit up the other main members, remind them to check the Book." Natilee assigned and she nodded. 

"Of course." Asti affirmed instantly. She took great pride in being Member Management for All 4 Potions 

"Good, then operations Save our Skins has begun." Draco responded with a nod, rather impressed with how quickly Natilee took control and divided up responsibilities. 

"What about me, Batty Miss Nati?" Wallace teased and Natilee smiled. 

"You get to stay close to me because he will feel better knowing a delinquent like you with a certain flare for bending the rules is keeping me safe." Natilee replied rather straightforwardly and unfortunately; no one could deny she had a good point. She usually did. 

"It's an honor and a pleasure. Let's do this." Wallace agreed smirking slightly at Malfoy as Natilee looked away. 

"Then let's get to work." Natilee stood up and brushed her bangs behind her ear and smoothed her robes.