Disclaimer- Again, nothing but Holly Evergreen!
Another edited chaper...
Chapter 2 - An Interesting Detention
At exactly ten o'clock the following evening Holly Evergreen was standing at a painting of an emerald snake, poised with rippling scales ready to strike. Situated in the dungeons, the rather dark image fitted in nicely with its' surroundings. Acclimated to the calming blues and relaxed bronze of the Ravenclaw tower, the stark greens and silvers were rather a shock to the system. The cold draught which seemed to be ever-present in the lower regions of the castle didn't help either.
She muttered to herself as she began to pace impatiently, rehearsing the spells she would no doubt be quizzed on by the Defence professor. It was unfair. She had flourished under Professor Lupin, and Professor Moody, and had even done fairly well while Professor Umbridge was terrorising the school- although that was mostly thanks to the tutelage of Harry Potter in Dumbledore's Army meetings. This year, however, she couldn't quite grasp the theory behind the increasingly complicated jinxes nor master the counter-curses which were 'child's play' according to the irate Professor.
She strode to the top of the corridor and back to the bottom as boredom began to set in, counting each portrait she passed. She stopped in front of the snake portrait again and turned the snake aquamarine then fire-red then buttercup yellow and finally back to the original green with a simple charm. The snake hissed angrily in response, although she paid it no heed. Again, she began to pace up and down the dark corridor, muttering spells she was learning in transfiguration- her new best subject, much to the disappointment to her head of house. The minute hand on her watch made a full turn before she sighed and turned to head back up to the tower.
Apparently, the directions given to her by the professor on the note were charmed for one use only- he was obviously wary of her finding her way back to the painting for some reason or another- and she was soon lost, vexed by the narrow, turning corridors built into the dank ground beneath the school. She cursed harshly and spun her wand between her fingers as she tried to determine the best course of action. To continue forward, she supposed, with a tired sigh. No-one was about to come looking for her, anyway.
Opening a door which looked vaguely familiar, she slipped inside and paused. The click of the door echoed across the plain stone flooring, identical to that of the corridor, although the walls were lined with black marble. The octagonal wall was obviously meant for flooing- a mode of transport which had been popular during the war with the Dark Lord, she had read- with a large fireplace on each wall, lined with silver patterning.
Without warning, green fire flared in the grate opposite the door and, with a groan of pain, the Defence professor she had been waiting for tumbled out.
"Professer Snape!" Holly cried without a thought, forgetting the more prickly side of the man in favour of the sudden surprise coursing through her.
Snape looked up at her, a crease in his forehead. His unfocused eyes drifted over her features, no flicker of recognition in his eyes. He clutched at his stomach with both hands as he crouched, doubled over, gasping and retching.
It took her several moments before she could form any coherent inquisition as to what was wrong. "What happened?"
"Sectumsempra." He managed to mutter through a wheezing breath out.
"Should I go and fetch Madame Pomfrey?" Holly offered as she bit down on her bottom lip, unsure of what else she could do to help in the situation.
"No!" Snape protested, voice suddenly a harsh bark. "Take me to my rooms." The second part was more of a request than a command.
He reached out a hand to her for help and she hesitantly took it to help him up. It was odd, his long, shaking fingers clutching onto hers in an attempt to stay upright.
"Where are they?" Holly doubted Snape could make it very far, as judged from the increasingly grey pallor of his features.
"The snake painting..." He stumbled and Holly caught him with a hand cupping his elbow. It wasn't until his head lolled forward that she realised he was unconscious.
Holly swore viciously, struggling with Snape weight, she pulled her wand out of her back pocket and muttered a levitating spell. She shivered, rubbing her upper arms at the oddly-eerie sight as every step she took echoed off the cold walls. It wasn't difficult to imagine this to be the setting of one of those muggle horror films she had watched when she was younger...
She mentally shook herself, angry she'd let her mind wander down that path. Slowly, with Snape in front, she retraced her footsteps to the painting of the coiled snake. It hissed as though it remembered her from earlier, and backed away into the background of the painting.
"What do I do now?" She wondered outloud, grimacing at the way the echoed response mocked her, knowing that she really should know what to do in such circumstances. Pulling out her wand, she swallowed thickly, knowing that his reaction was not going to be fun. "Aguamenti." The water caught him full in the face and before she had even had time to blink, the Professor jumped up with a shout, tip of his wand pressed against her throat while he twisted her wand arm behind her back.
The strangled cry of pain which came from her throat made him drop her and she stumbled to the opposite wall, gasping at the adrenaline surging through her all of a sudden.
"Evergreen?" Snape snapped, voice just a little more hoarse than usual. "What the hell are you doing snooping around at this hour?"
"You gave me a dentention... and then you were late so I went to go to bed but you were hurt... you told me to take you here.." Holly was still breathless, hands pressed against the wall behind her.
"Oh..." Snape muttered and swung violently on the balls of his feet.
"Professer... I don't think you should be standing up... how do you get into your rooms?" She moved forward, catching his elbow to stop him falling over.
Snape stepped forwards, face twitching a little in pain. Holly frowned a little as she watched this, knowing that the private professor would only let his pain show when it was too much to bear. He muttered something incomprehensible and the snake left the painting, which then swung open. The bricks each disappeared with a soft 'pop' until an archway the size of Hagrid stood in front of them. Snape didn't hesitate for a moment and swept into the chambers, collapsing onto the couch as he lit the apartments with a flick of his hand.
Thank you for reading! :D Please review... you can have a HP character of your choice on their own for a while if you do...
