A War with a Twist
Chapter 1: Prancing about
The snow fell heavily as the two people crouched down low behind the barrier, the only obstacle shielding them from defeat. Shots rained down heavily, constantly on them. It had started this morning with no warning or time to prepare, the war had begun.
"Miss Granger if you'd just stop prancing about and got on with it then maybe we would be winning!" Professor Snape spat angrily.
"What do you mean prancing about, sir may I remind you that we are in this together whether you like it or not!" Hermione shouted back just as aggressively.
"Believe me Miss Granger, I would much rather be anywhere else but here with you!" he replied matter of factly.
"How dare you, you, you evil over grown bat!" Hermione retorted, hand flying instantly to her wand. Snape dived forwards, knocking Hermione off balance. She hit the cold, wet ground hard, sprawled beneath the heavy weight of his body. Laying their stiffly she suddenly noticed how close his face was to hers, his dark black pools for eyes focused on hers for a split second before he turned away and picked himself up.
"One was about to hit you," he said gruffly while wiping snow off his long black coat. Noticing she was still on the ground he offered her a hand, blushing slightly she accepted and shook the snow out of her hair. They sat in silence for a while, only the sound of their heavy breathing could be heard and the shots reigning down hard on the barrier in front of them.
"I still think it's not fair!" Hermione suddenly blurted out.
"In case you hadn't noticed Miss Granger, life isn't fair," he stated, staring out into the white landscape around them. His lips drawn into a tight line and his gloved hands placed inside his coat pockets.
"But I mean come on, two against four in a snowball fight! That's just ridiculous!" she replied with a heavy sigh. Snape turned to face her and said with slight amusement.
"Miss Granger I wouldn't be too worried, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley have a limited brain size, I daresay both their brains together could only throw five snowballs every half an hour. As for Lupin I'm sure he would be a great help, Albus is the only immediate danger, he may be old but he is incredibly sly. Anyway, how can we lose when we have me?"
Taking his usual pose, with his arms crossed he started to pace, talking in his classroom manner as though it was a normal potions lesson. " Now, do you want to beat the boy who lived to make my life a nightmare, the ginger headed numbskull, the old coot who seems to have a Christmas light permanently twinkling in his eye and that chocolate loving werewolf?" He said, managing to keep his face emotionless.
"Yes sir," Hermione replied uncertainly.
"Well here's what we will do then!" Snape announced with a scarily evil smirk on his face. He gestured for Hermione to come closer to him, those deep pools of black staring intently at her face as he explained what was to be done. He withdrew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at her. Hermione tensed, nervous as to what he was going to do next. Then as she realised he was placing a spell on her so they wouldn't get separated in the chaos that would soon ensue, her body relaxed and she noticed he was holding her hand. His skin was surprisingly smooth and his movements were gentle as he made a small circle in her palm, he pulled away suddenly and then she remembered it was only for the spell. He caught her eye, nodded stiffly and then ran swiftly along the barrier, his coat swaying in the wind behind him. Realising he was expecting her to follow she ran behind him. Maybe they did have a chance of winning after all.
"Ready?" he asked. Hermione nodded nervously. "NOW!" he bellowed.