R&R!
Not too much to say except that… thanks to all my reviewers! I wish I had more **tear** so review this one to get it off your conscience!
Sorry for the late update, here's a recap:
Severus needs to get vampire venom and needs Hermione's help for unknown reasons. Will they be answered? Maybe… read on to find out…
"You're doing what with whom going where?" Harry whispered harshly at around 7 a.m. He found Hermione packing some things in the common room, where she explained.
"I told you," She said peevishly and rolled her eyes as she threw a few pads into her enchanted purse, "Dumbledore needs a key ingredient for a potion that will help him, and I need to accompany Professor Snape, and I'm not sure exactly where we're going," She decided not to tell him about Vampires until it was absolutely necessary,
"Well, what is the key ingredient?" Harry snapped.
"Look Harry," Hermione snapped back as she violently through some close in her enchanted purse, "I didn't ask for this ok? But I don't really care because all this is going to help Dumbledore and probably you, too. Sure, Professor Snape isn't preferred company, but it's the best and only one I've got to keep both of us safe. So you can either wish me luck or hope I get… well hurt," She finished lamely. She was going to say something about getting eaten by Vampires, but quickly changed what she was going to say.
"You're not telling me something," Harry said accusingly, "But I know you will tell me eventually. Please be safe," He added with genuine care and concern.
Hermione's icy glare turned into a softer smile and said, "Thanks for your support. Tell Ron and Ginny for me will you? I have to leave in a few minutes,"
"Aren't you coming to breakfast?"
"No, I'm leaving around 8, but I want to go for a quick walk. Maybe say bye to Hagrid,"
"Oh. Ok. And Hermione," He added before she left with her enchanted purse around her shoulder, "Don't let Snape get to you,"
"It's Professor Snape, Harry," She smiled softly and exited the portrait door. She couldn't help but sneak into the Great Hall and grab a banana, muffin, and donut before going outside.
She breathed in the sweet autumn air. It was October 3rd, and the leaves were beginning to change and the autumn smell of the grass and leaves was intoxicating. She walked over to the lake, took her shoes off, placed them by her bag, and went to put her feet into the lake.
She was wearing a pair of Muggle skinny jeans and a lime green tee shirt that clung to her curves. After her jeans were rolled up she stepped in deeper and sighed at the cold contact of the icy lake water. A deep, silky, male voice brought her out of her mindless thoughts,
"A Gryffindor wearing green? It must be the apocalypse,"
She turned around to see Snape wearing black slacks and a long sleeve, button down white collared shirt that he rolled up to his elbows. He looked rather… nice. She blushed at the thought and turned her head to hide it.
It didn't go unnoticed by our favorite professor.
"Shall we go then?" Hermione asked as she came out of the lake to put her shoes back on.
"Of course," He started and offered his arm when she stood up. She took it hesitantly and he continued, "We will be aparating now. I know you haven't taken the test, so we will be side aparating,"
"Sir, I thought you couldn't aparate within Hogwart's grounds,"
He smirked and said, "You shouldn't always believe what you read, Miss Granger. Are you ready?"
She looked at the school she considered her home more than anything and replied, "Yes," As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt the sensation of being twisted and turned in uncomforting ways as she sped through a tube that quickly became tighter and tighter.
When she was sure she was going to die either from suffocation or from being squeezing into nothingness, she landed on the ground by Snape's feet on soft grass. She immediately stood up and surveyed the area. It was mountainous, yet full of greenery like a meadow. Trees towered stories above them, and she heard the rustling of rushing water a few yards behind her.
"It's beautiful," She breathed. Snape looked around. He agreed, but showed almost no emotion.
"It is. We should be heading off now," He started walking at a quick pace.
"Wait!" She called, already struggling having to keep up with his long strides and leaping over large logs and boulders, "Where are we going and where is it?"
"A few miles in," He called a few meters in front of her, "We should be there relatively shortly,"
A few miles? She stifled a groan. She liked exercising, but it was at least five times harder having to keep up with the man who was already so far ahead that he looked at least a foot tall because of the distance.
The rushing water became louder and louder, and Hermione saw Snape stop abruptly and take out his wand. She hurried up to see what was wrong and arrived panting by his side a few moments later.
This time, she let out a groan. Standing a few feet in front of her was at least a hundred foot drop to a rocky river that rushed by so quickly when a fish jumped up and landed in the water, it was bumped and jammed into rocks before it could steady itself. They couldn't see more of the fish because there was too much blood to find it anymore.
As soon as she looked across her heart fell into the bit of her stomach. The other side must have been a football field away from where they were standing.
Hermione cleared her throat and said, "This seems like a rather stupid question, but can't we make a bridge?"
"No," He said. He seemed to be listening for something, or at least trying to feel something. His hands were clenched in fist and his eyes were screwed shut in concentration. Finally he opened his eyes pulled out his wand, and muttered Latin words that exited his mouth so fast and were replaced by new ones faster that it seemed the words were out of sync with his mouth.
Long, bright, gold strips emitted from the tips of his wand and flew out a few feet before disintegrating. It was Severus's turn to groan.
"The LSM put a charm over the cliffs that prevents any way to get across. So in other words, a bridge is out of the question. It looks like aparation is checked off, too,"
"The LSM?" She asked.
"Its Latin for lamia societas magica meaning Magical Vampire Association,"
"That doesn't sound very official," She observed.
"I guess that's why they had it put out in Latin,"
"Probably," She said with a smile, "So how do you know we can't just aparate,"
He looked at her sideways and said in a low voice, "This protection charm is over a hundred years old. That means wizards who aren't vampires must not have made it over. And the first thing wizards try is aparation. Their bodies were probably disintegrated as soon as they made contact,"
Hermione shivered, then said a bit more seriously, "So the question remains how do we get across?"
Severus remained quiet as they both searched the many files of their brain to solve the problem. Hermione sat on the ground and dangled her feet over the edge and looked over to the other side. She saw something flash, and immediately stood up.
Her eyes narrowed and she was in such deep concentration she did not hear Snape's question. She waited until it flashed again.
"Look, Professor!" she exclaimed with a large satisfied smile, "Do you see that building? It's like a wooden cabin and it reflects when light hits it. It must have glass windows. Look!"
Indeed, when Severus squinted he found the tinest hint of light. Then he raised an eyebrows and asked, "Yeah. So?"
She rolled her eyes and replied, "Muggle make them. That means—"
"They crossed the river," He finished.
"No! I mean… well… they could have. But my point is that non vampires went across it!"
Realization hit him like Potter's spell hit him in his childhood years (that was the only analogy he could think of), "We are going to have to cross the river,"
She paused, the happiness drained from her attitude and her face as she said unenthusiastically, "Oh. Well. Can't we just see if there's like a bridge?"
He shook his head saying, "They would have made sure this was an island so no one could cross,"
"Then why are the humans…ugh!" She exclaimed and face palmed herself in exasperation.
"What? He asked bemused.
"They are humans," She moaned, "With blood. The vampires must have let them live here and lifted the enchantment so they could cross, then they placed the enchantments back on,"
Severus was surprised at the young girl's wit. Even he didn't think of that.
"You may be right," he started, "but think of it practically. The humans must cross the river at some point. I think that the LSM but that river there to make it hard for people to get across. At least the humans could cross it and bring more humans for the clan to hunt,"
"Do vampires kill when they drink?" She asked, suddenly curious. She was surprised she wasn't very curious. She told herself that it was because everything happened so fast to comprehend and take a step back.
"I'm not sure," He said in a soft voice that wouldn't have scared me more if he screamed. The way he put it was so eerie and creepy that a sudden rush of goose bumps did the wave from my neck to the tips of my toes.
There was a dramatic pause before Severus said in a more steady, calm voice, "I will cross the river first,"
"No!" She immediately said, "No way—"
"Think!" He had finally lost his temper, "Dumbledore had me bring you along for a reason. You must not get hurt or else the plan will be a complete fail,"
"With the possible chance that could cost of your life?" She asked searching his deep black eyes for answers that he would not yield.
"Dumbledore would have wanted me to take the chance,"
She shook her head and all she said before he got ready to climb down was, "I don't think he would wish for a death just to save another,"
He gave her a thoughtful look before digging into the small bag that was probably enchanted like hers. A few moments later after groping through the bag he pulled out a dirty brown rope that must have only been a few yards long. It was probably an enchanted rope.
He tied it around a thick tree a few feet back from the edge, muttered a spell, and then tied the other end to his waist. As he stepped back, the rope extended itself, but still remained taught. Nifty.
Before he lowered himself from the edge she said, "Wait!" and walked up to his side. She cautiously lifted his face to look at hers with her right hand and whispered, "Be careful,"
He looked into her eyes, but not as hard and judging as normal. It was…softer and rather a nice look. But as quick and unexpected as it came, it was erased from his features and he nodded briskly after I removed my hand.
Ever so slowly, he lowered himself, occasionally gripping a rock for balance. She thought he was moving slowly to see if the enchantment was where he was. I would too. I wouldn't want my leg to be disintegrated.
Hermione sat against the tree that held the rope, and luckily the rope remained taught but showed no signs of ripping, nor did the tree show signs of snapping in two.
All of a sudden, the rope fell loosely to the ground with a seemingly soundless thud. She shot up and ran over to the edge to see an ant sized Snape walking around the sand. She wouldn't have been able to see him if it wasn't for the single black, misshaped speck against the light brown sand and blue river.
"Professor?" She called. She couldn't tell if he looked up, but she heard a definite, "I'm fine!" from below.
Then the oddest thing happened. He walked up to the water, appeared to be testing the temperature, then shed his white collared shirt and black slacks. Hermione felt her face flush and she immediately felt dirty. He's your Professor! A voice shouted at her.
He left his clothes and wand it looked like in a pile and began walking into the water with just his evergreen boxers. Her face flushed again, and the voice insulted her as well.
She was biting her fingers furiously as he stumbled through the rocky, lightning fast water. It was a wonder how he made it across in an almost perfectly straight line. When he reached the sandy beach, he fell in a heap, and Hermione let out a scream.
It looked as if he was laying on his back, breathing heavily. She only thought of one thing—getting to her professor. She ran to her bag, fumbled in it until she found her dragon skin gloves, and then went to the rope. She tied the rope around her waist in a fashion that looked like she was simply rock climbing. With her bag as well as Severus's bag around her shoulder and waist, she looked down at the drop.
It seemed farther down now that she had to go down. She gulped, and then quickly started her descent. It was utterly frightening.
There were times when she felt the rope was going to give way, and she would fall to her death either on the beach or in the water. Instead of freaking out, she looked straight ahead at the cliffy rocks and climbed down slowly but surely.
After what seemed like endless climbing, she felt the soft beachy ground under her sneakers. She quickly followed suit of her professor only she left her bra and underwear on and easily transfigured them into a red bikini. It was the only one she could think of off the top of her head.
She looked at the river, and realized it was barely moving at all. She cocked her head and tossed a leaf into the river. It flowed slowly away form her.
The LSM must have made it look impossible to cross with the help of some magic. She thought.
She tested the water. She reacted quickly by pulling her foot out. Freezing. Goosebumps already filled her body, and she looked across the river that must have stretched a football field away to Severus laying almost motionless except the constant, slight shaking. That image made her put her foot back in and take in a deep breath before stepping completely into the ice cold water that was a few inches short of her waist.
Her breath hitched and she stood there for a moment and shivered as she got as adjusted to the water as she could. She felt her face and body pale and get covered in goose bumps and her lips became chapped and purple.
She tentively edged onward, closer to the shore. As she inched her way over, she began seeing more colors besides the peach colored ground and white colored skin. She saw crimson red. She stopped in her tracks and gasped after she was sure it was what she (and you) thought it was.
Before she registered that he need help and fast, she wondered what caused that injury, and why he didn't bring his wand. Moron.
What seemed like hours later, she reached the shore. Before she could help him, she quickly cast a heating spell on her and transfigured her bathing suit into baggy sweatpants and a tee shirt.
"Professor?" She asked and touched his face so it would turn to hers. He groaned in pain. She finally looked down at his cut and gasped. He lost a lot of blood, which made sense as to why he looked so pale from so far away. She shivered.
She performed a number of healing spells that healed his deep gash in his upper thigh, then made him drink a bottle of blood replenishing potion. After he downed the bottle, he groaned, and sat up, completely oblivious to the fact he was wearing only his boxers. She tried hard not to flush.
"Are you alright?" She asked looking him in the eye. He squinted and answered,
"Fine. Wait. What are you doing here?" He looked angry.
Hermione squinted and said, "You were hurt, so I came,"
He looked at her oddly, then narrowed his eyes saying, "I was managing fine—"
"Don't you dare give me that bull shit you ungrateful bastard!" She scream over him. How dare he! She risked her life to save his bloody ass.
"Don't use that tone with me young lady," He hissed dangerously and sat up, "You're just an insufferable little know-it-all. The vampires were supposed to get lured over here so I could get their venom,"
"You could have told me your plan so I wouldn't have thought you were dying on the beach!"
"Think, girl! Did you really think I would have accidently got hurt?"
"I wasn't thinking about that!" She said, eyes watering with anger, "I was thinking about the fact that you were hurt!"
"Why would you think that?" He snapped.
"Contrary to common belief, people may actually care if you live or die,"
"You full knew I wouldn't die—"
"No I didn't! God Damnit don't you get it? People have feelings, so when others are hurt they want to help,"
"You're weak," He seethed.
"HOW AM I WEAK?" He just crossed the line. She was anything but weak, "I risked my ass to save your sorry one! It doesn't matter if you had a plan or not. The fact is that you didn't clue me in! Why?"
"You wouldn't understand,"
"Yes I would have!" She said exasperated, "If you had told me you plan, you would explain that everything was under control. And I thought Dumbledore said that you need me,"
He sighed angrily, desperate to end the conversation, "I do not need you,"
She groaned loudly, picked up her stuff and stood up. She pointed her finger at him and said, "Fine! Don't need me then? I'll fine these bloody vampires (A/N. pun intended :P ) and get the venom myself,"
"How will you get back after you get it?" He said with an edge of amusement.
"I'll find a way," She sneered, "Oh. Here's your wand," She tossed it to his side.
With that, she turned on her heel and walked away, seething. How dare he make her look like the fool!
After her head stopped expanding and her face returned to its natural pigment, she realized the mistake she made. How could she survive without him? She looked around. It must have been around 5:00. Wherever we were.
Now she was frightened. He was right. How could she get home. She couldn't go back and fine him. God no. Her pride was already wounded.
And besides. She told herself in a not-so-very convincing way, How hard is it to find a bunch of vampires?
With that, she head off to where she hoped was a human or wizard only village. Sadly, life isn't always nice to its pupils.
Did I fail at making a cliffy? Probably. Don't laugh, please.
Hope I get some reviews even if there is another chapter waiting :D Make my day!