The Snake and Eagle
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
The next day was the usual routine. Before Severus knew it, the day was over and the night had fallen. That night, Severus was prepared to head towards the Gryffindor commons to confront Lily. But to his despair, Lily had gone back to her bed early. Agitated, Severus stood in front of the Gryffindor portrait.
"Out, OUT! NO password, NO entering!" yelled the Fat Lady. Out of annoyance, Severus took that moment to utter the word, Langlock. He watched the Fat Lady clutch her tongue to try and pry it from the roof of her mouth.
A Gryffindor girl came up from behind Severus. He whirled around to see if it was Lily but his face fell when he saw that it was Molly Wesley. Molly put her hands onto her hips and spoke to him in a very bossy manner, "what do you think you're doing here?" She waved her finger at Severus, "last time I checked, the Slytherin dormitories were that way," the red-haired girl waved to her right.
Molly pushed past him as the Fat Lady choked out, "Lasslerd?" Molly whispered the password not wanting Severus to hear it. The door opened and Severus caught a glimpse of red and gold before it swung shut again. Becoming irritated, Severus yelled out, "LILY! I'M GOING TO SLEEP RIGHT HERE UNTIL YOU COME OUT!" Surprisingly, the portrait swung open once more and Lily popped her head out of the circular hole, eyeing Severus with distaste. Severus flinched at the sight of her expression. Not bothering to hear about what Severus had to say, she spoke in a stern voice, "go away. I don't want you to be here."
With that last comment, the door swung closed. Severus shut his eyes and tried to see if Lily's words had a double meaning in them. His face fell as he knew that Lily had had her final word. She had meant what she said. Slumping down the stairs, Severus dragged himself away from the portrait, ignoring the glares from the Fat Lady. If that was all Lily had to say, then all hope was lost. She truly did hate him.
As he dejectedly shuffled along the corridors, Severus caught and glimpse of blue and bronze. As he decided that he was imagining things, he heard a stumble of footsteps. Under normal circumstances, Severus wouldn't have cared but he was so full of grief after his confrontment of an angry Lily that he desperately wanted to distract himself. Without a second thought, Severus trailed after the sound. Why would someone be out of bed at this time of the night? He wondered. Severus quickened his pace and sprinted towards the student.
Severus caught up and to his surprise, it was Cindy. He didn't want to draw attention to himself so he fell into a step behind her. Well she certainly wasn't a werewolf Severus thought. Judging by her limp, Cindy did seem to be sick. Severus followed her and she didn't even seem to notice him. As Cindy took a turn to the left, Severus wondered where she was going.
Cindy came to a stop a front of the big gates which lead outside Hogwarts. Severus heard the whisper of alohomora, the lock click. He was quite astonished at how low the security of Hogwarts was. Shrugging, he continued after Cindy as she walked outside of the building.
After what seemed like a long time, he finally saw where Cindy had been heading. The Shrieking Shack. Howls came from within and Severus shivered at the thought of a transformed werewolf Remus. Deciding that Cindy had pushed the limit, he put a hand on her shoulder.
Cindy whirled around in surprise and Severus gasped, taking a step back. She looked wolfish. Although she still was a human, Severus noticed that her ears were slightly pointed than usual and her teeth were a tad bit canine. When she looked at Severus, he saw that her eyes were slightly slitted like wolf. A low harsh growl came threateningly from her throat. But another howl came from the Shrieking Shack and Cindy jerked away and continued to head towards the place. Thinking back, Severus should have run as far away as he could but the idea didn't occur to him.
Severus could see the swaying branches of the Whomping Willow and hesitated before making a stick hover to prod a certain spot in the willow. Instantly the tree immobilised. Cindy was already dangerously close to the Whomping Willow and started to make her way towards the Shack. Without wavering, Severus took out his wand and shouted "levicorpus!"
Cindy shot into the air dangling from invisible cords. She glared at him heatedly. "Are you crazy? There's a werewolf down there!" Severus shouted at her.
His voice seemed to bring her to her senses. Cindy blinked and whispered, "Severus?" Her angry expression and faded into a more confused one. She mumbled, "Sorry." Severus stared back at her, more bewildered than he had ever been. Cindy murmured, "I think...that I'm fine now. I'm not going to go down there." Wearing an extremely puzzled expression, Severus let her down. She fell down with a crash at the willow's tree roots.
Brushing herself, Cindy stood up. "I'm sorry Severus. I was...attracted werewolf calls." Noticing Severus's even more confused expression she continued, "I'm slightly infected with lycanthropy." Cindy walked towards Severus who was still baffled. "Sit down. I have a long explanation."
To be continued…
This is mostly likely a draft so I apologise for any mistakes which I have made.
Next Chapter: A very long conversation between Severus and Cindy with a lot of dialogue.
