Adverse Attachment
Chapter 1
Neville's Nefarious Concoction
Summary: Neville unknowingly wreaks havoc while trying to brew a potion. What's new? Well, the fact that neither Hermione nor Snape, who are directly affected, is unable to create a cure for the ailment that ensues. To make things worse, they have to battle their attractions for one another as they need to work together to solve the case. Oh yeah, and one more thing: Neville's Nefarious Concoction has led them to be drawn towards each other—literally. Our ill-fated couple cannot be physically separated over a certain—increasingly smaller—amount of space!
Author's Note: This is my first SS/HG FanFic. I must say, I love this pairing, and decided to take a stab at writing it. This was inspired by the Bound challenge posted at WIKTT and by A Sticky Situation by RedOrchid, but doesn't actually follow the rules… Plus, that challenge was posted ages ago—so I'm not doing anything right. I do hope you enjoy, regardless!
Disclaimer: Not mine. Non-for-profit. Does that mean I get tax deductions?
"Blast!" Neville drew a curse under his breath. 'Mione?" Neville whispered to the student on the lab bench beside him.
"What is it Neville?" Hermione answered absently. She was stirring her cauldron which contained a liquid at a color that could be called Salmon Sherbet, if anyone had decided to create a frozen treat out of salmon. It was the precise color the potion should be. It was the color that Neville's potion was decidedly not.
"Erm. Could you help me here? I'm not sure what went wrong. Everything was fine until I added—" Neville was cut off from a sharp bark from the professor. Neville squeaked and adamantly went back to stirring his concoction. After a few minutes pause, he worked up the courage to whisper again. "'Mione?"
"Yes?" Hermione cautiously slid her eyes over to Neville, making sure to not gain Snape's attention. Her potion only needed to cool, and she could focus on whatever blunders Neville had to offer this period.
"The newt tendon. It was fine until I added the newt tendon," Neville hurriedly explained.
Hermione's brows slightly creased. "Did you add it by only .025 grams at a time?"
"Yes, yes," Neville answered anxiously.
Hermione sat thinking for a second. "Did you make sure that—Wait. What was it that you added?"
"The newt tendon! It was a bloody booger to separate into such small amounts and—"
"Neville! That was supposed to be newt cartilage!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I—! Oh. Oh no." Neville's face paled. It was starting to reflect the newfound Salmon Sherbet color.
"By Merlin, what have you done?" Hermione shouldered her way in front of Neville's cauldron and grasped his stirring rod. The delicacy of the tendon comparatively to the cartilage had quickly dissolved and created a raging flame color. The solution had turned thick and the stirring rod slipped from Hermione's fingers to plop into the cauldron. She quickly rescued the rod, but not without getting ample amounts of the mess onto her hands and robe sleeve.
"Neville, give me my wand! It may not be too late to try and transfigure the tendon into the cartli—" Hermione never finished her sentence as her shoulder was forcibly thrown back. The hand holding the rod was flung out and said rod landed squarely into the chest of one formidable Professor Snape. The gooey liquid also made it down the front of his sweeping, black robes. Now the color was draining from Hermione's face as she looked up.
Severus Snape's eyes noted Hermione's mouth as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "Pr-Professor?" Luckily the period's end was marked, and the stunned students in the class hurriedly jumped up and scrambled to escape their professor's wrath.
Snape's black eyes were still glaring at Hermione.
"Professor," Hermione repeated, "I—I was aiding Neville and he—he…" Hermione's voice became small and trailed off under Snape's glaring eyes.
"Neville," Snape remarked. "Let me guess. The dunderhead made being a dunderhead seem like a dunderheaded thing to do while allotting the processor to forget that originally the dunderhead was already doing something dunderhead-worthy."
"Ahh… Yes. I mean, no. Professor, it was an honest mistake," Hermione managed to peep out. Her throat was dry, and efforts to swallow were becoming difficult. She tried to harden herself beneath his scrutiny.
"Yes. So it was. You know what the difference between an honest mistake and a deliberate misdemeanor is, Miss Granger?" Snape asked between his teeth, containing his rage. It was incredible how his words remained at a drawl, while his anger steadily increased.
"N—No Sir."
"None. Fifty points from Gryffindor for the destroyed potion. Seventy-five points for your interventions ," Snake snapped. He looked disgustedly at his ruined robes. "And one hundred points for my freshly laundered garment being slathered in your carelessness." He turned his heel and strode briskly to his desk.
That git! He was the one who had pushed her aside, causing her to lose hold of the stirring rod! And because of his brusqueness, she had just lost over two hundred points from her house! Hermione wasn't sure if Ron or Harry had even managed such a number at a time. Seething, she grabbed her belongings and had every intention of storming out of the classroom, when she was halted. Literally. She couldn't take a step further! Her chest clenched as if the air was being squeezed out of her lungs just at the effort. She furiously whipped her head to Snape's desk, which was only a few feet away, in accusation. If she hadn't already lost her breath, she would have gasped, because Snape was busy scribbling at his desk and completely oblivious to her predicament. She stumbled back, and her wheezing finally caught Snape's attention.
Irritated, Snape looked up from his markings and found his best student—not that he would admit it—blundering and coughing about. Narrowing his eyes, he directed at Hermione, "Miss Granger! Would you care to explain why you are still here?"
"I can't leave!" Hermione said, half to herself.
"I don't believe I understand. Miss Granger, if you will leave now, before my patient nature exhausts itself," Snape sneered.
"No professor. I really can't leave! See, look, I—" Hermione tried taking a step away and was severed by the restricting air again. Eyes wild, Hermione desperately tried to break through the invisible barrier.
By this time, Snape had stood up and started over to the girl.
"Ahhh!" Hermione wailed as she suddenly stumbled forward and fell.
Frowning, Snape quickly reached her. "Curious," he said as he towered over his student's form.