AUTHOR'S NOTES: While basic information on the snakes in this story is easy to come by (Thank you, Google) there are a few things I had to fudge.
In this chapter, Hermione is the next snake victim and next chapter, baby anacondas cause a lot of chaos and panic.
Chapter 4
The castle and grounds were dark when the anaconda found the tunnel on the far side of the castle, away from the lake. She could smell another snake although the scent was weak and there was also a smell of decay as though the snake that lived there before had died long ago. Slowly venturing into the tunnel, the anaconda left the outside world, traveling through stone tunnels and metal piping until finally coming into a large stone room. Torches blazed around the room and gave off just enough warmth. Here would be a safe place for the birth of her babies. In a few weeks, her offspring would emerge and strike out on their own.
----------------
While the anaconda found its new home deep in the Chamber of Secrets, the Western Diamondback and the Russell's viper settled themselves into one of the greenhouses. This land was strange and there were far too many humans but so far the humans seemed to be avoiding the snakes. Inside the greenhouses it was warm and there were plenty of places to hide. As long as the humans maintained their distance, the snakes would not strike.
The Rinkhals cobra had been wary of the humans and preferred a nice, safe hole underneath a stone structure a fair bit away from the castle. There were the scents of rat and corn snakes but they had been long gone.
But the black mamba preferred a much safer temporary home in the branches of the Whomping Willow. The weather would be colder soon, but for now, the mamba felt safe. The humans avoided this tree and the mamba felt that was a sure sign that this was a safe place.
----------------
October came bringing unseasonably warm weather.
Harry and Draco both returned to their classes and while they were by no means friends, they were at least civil to one another. Their similar experiences seemed to inspire the former rivals to forge a truce. Draco wasn't as harsh towards the Weasleys, Hermione, or Harry; and Harry included Draco during Quidditch practice sessions.
Even the other houses felt a strange sense of camaraderie and there was far more intermingling between the students than there had been in years.
It seemed that the snakes in the castle were uniting Hogwarts in a way that no supernatural force had ever been able to.
----------
On a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon a few days before Halloween, Hermione sat outside by the forest reading one of the many books on venomous snakes she'd borrowed from Dr. Hindle. After the capture of the king cobra, she'd wanted to study the snakes as much as possible.
Yesterday, Hermione had gone with Snape and Dumbledore to Hindle's estate and while Dumbledore and Snape spoke with Hindle's son, Dr. Hindle gave Hermione a tour of the reptiles in his collection. "What's the deadliest snake?" Hermione asked, curiously, as she studied the snakes that the herpatologist had collected.
"The one that just bit you," Hindle replied, stopping by the enclosure which now held the recaptured king cobra. "If you mean specifically… that's harder to say."
"How come?" Hermione asked, looking at the king cobra before turning back to Hindle. "I know different snakes have different venoms, but they can all kill, right?"
"For the most part," Hindle agreed, continuing to lead Hermione through the maze of glass cages and enclosures. "But some venoms are more potent than others." Stopping by one of the enclosures, he explained. "As I'm sure you're aware from your friends' injuries, some types of venom can destroy tissue while others block signals from the nerves." Leading Hermione to a backroom lab, Hindle pulled a vial of blood from a cooler along with a smaller vial of a very viscous, clear liquid. "I collected a sample of venom from an Inland Taipan from Australia," he said, indicating the clear substance. After adding a very small amount of venom to the vial of blood, he shook the vial to evenly distribute the venom.
As Hermione watched, she saw the blood start to separate and clot. Looking horrified, she said, "Incredible."
"This venom is the most toxic," Hindle replied after putting the venom back in the cooler and disposing of the blood vial. "In about 10 minutes it can cause massive clots in the body. But other venoms, like that of the Russell's viper or the Western Diamondback rattlesnake destroy blood and tissue."
Hermione nodded, making mental notes. "What about the Rinkhals cobra?"
Hindle smiled a bit as he led Hermione back out to the snakes. Stopping at a cage, he said, "This is a Mozambique Spitting Cobra. Its bite delivers a tissue destroying venom but it can also spit venom at any attackers."
Hermione looked curious and after a moment, she asked, "How can a snake spit venom?"
Hindle hesitated for a moment but after a while, he grabbed a pair of snake tongs and motioned for Hermione to step back as he opened the door of the cage. "There are two pairs of protective goggles behind you." After quickly donning eye protection, Hindle grabbed the snake behind the head with the tongs before grabbing the tail of the snake with his other hand. "If he starts attacking, back away quickly," Hindle warned. Hermione nodded and just as a precaution, drew her wand.
Hermione watched at Hindle lowered the snake to the ground, keeping an eye on it. Suddenly, the snake spun around and spit at her. Hermione jumped back, surprised to see venom on the outside of the goggles. But when she realized that there was something wet on her face, she started to panic.
"Don't worry," Hindle reassured her as he put the snake back in her cage. "The venom isn't harmful if it's on your skin unless you have a cut or open sore." After Hermione washed her face at the sink nearby, he said, "Rinkhals venom in the eyes hurts like Hell and can cause blindness if not washed out quickly."
"Antivenom doesn't work if the venom gets in the eyes?" Hermione asked as she and Dr. Hindle went to rejoin Hindle's son, Damon, Snape and Dumbledore.
"Regretfully, no," Hindle replied. "Only for actual injections of venom. Best to get the venom washed out with clean water as fast as possible. And," Hindle warned. "The more venom a person gets in their eyes, the worse the damage can be."
--
Hermione was startled from her thoughts when she heard a strange pained whining sound coming from the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. Getting to her feet and leaving her book bag by the boulder she'd been leaning up against, Hermione withdrew her wand and started towards the sound, stopping when she saw a thestral staggering around blindly. Lowering her wand the slightest bit, Hermione ignored her first instinct which was to go and find help and rather started further into the forest, eyes peeled for any signs of movement in the brush.
Walking down the path, Hermione froze when she heard something in the bushes and before she could raise her wand, she felt something liquidous hit her in the face. It was a split second before her eyes started burning and tearing heavily and as Hermione blinked, hoping that her own tears would help dilute the venom from the spitting cobra, the snake spat again, hitting Hermione again, this time full in the eyes.
Staggering back as her eyes continued to burn, Hermione tripped on a tree root, falling backwards and hitting her head on the hard ground. Before the finally lost consciousness, the last blurry image she saw was the spitting cobra firing one more time.
-------------
It was the insistent and urgent barking from Fang that made Hagrid turn from his garden where he'd been picking a few more pumpkins for the Halloween Feast. Looking at the forest, Hagrid called, "Fang! Come on in now!" But the dog refused to come. When Fang let out a loud howl, Hagrid headed down to the forest, following the sound of the aging boarhound.
"Fang?" Hagrid called as he stood at the edge of the woods. When he heard whining and more howling, Hagrid started into the forest, hurrying when he saw Hermione lying unconscious on the ground. Picking the teenager up, Hagrid noticed that her eyes were very red and very swollen. And although her head wasn't bleeding, there did seem to be a large, nasty bump forming. Hurrying up to the castle, Hagrid met Dumbledore in the Entrance Hall. "Hermione's been attacked. It didn't look like she was bitten, but…"
Dumbledore nodded quickly and conjured a stretcher and instructed Hagrid to lay down the unconscious student.
-
Up in the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey looked worried as she examined Hermione.
"Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, concerned. "Will Miss Granger be alright?"
"How long was she out?" Poppy asked, quickly, putting drops on a potion in Hermione's eyes before using her wand to cover them with bandages. When neither Dumbledore nor Hagrid replied, Poppy looked annoyed. "She has a serious brain injury! How long was Miss Granger unconscious?"
"Hermione went down by the woods to read after lunch," Hagrid said, thinking back. "Several hours ago… maybe more."
"How serious are we talking about?" Dumbledore asked, as Madame Pomfrey began working on Hermione.
But Pomfrey wasn't listening as she tried to take care of Hermione. After almost an hour, she looked up at Dumbledore who was still standing there, looking both concerned and curious. "Albus… If Miss Granger doesn't wake up in 48 hours, you'll have to contact her parents."
"How bad is it?" Dumbledore asked, gravely.
Pomfrey sighed as she got Hermione settled and pulled the curtains around the bed. "No skull fracture, but she has a severe concussion to the occipital lobe of her brain. Between the head injury and the snake venom…" Looking at Hermione, she added, "We'll have to wait for her to wake up before we'll know if there's any permanent injury."
-------------------
Standing next to Hermione's bed the following morning, Harry felt a surge of anger towards the snake that had attacked Hermione. Madame Pomfrey hadn't been able to wake Hermione up and even with the potions drops Hermione's eyes were still red and swollen.
The snakes had now proven that they were a force to be reckoned with and even though there was the slightest sense of relief when the Rinkhals cobra and the black mamba were finally captured, that still left a rattlesnake, a viper and an anaconda to be dealt with.
As Harry's mind turned to the snakes, he felt like he was suddenly daydreaming. He let himself be absorbed into the feeling and suddenly he felt like he was a great serpent, sleek and powerful, curving through hidden tunnels. Coming into an open area, Harry could feel the presence of another snake. Hissing, he tried to speak to the beast, but it was twice his size. He reared up, bearing his fangs, but the larger snake wasn't afraid as it struck, throwing massive coils around it's prey.
"Potter!"
Harry felt hands on him and he looked wildly around. Pomfrey was helping him to his feet and over to one of the beds. Lying down, Harry's breathing was a bit labored and he put a hand to his ribs. It had truly felt as though he was being crushed to death by a giant snake. "Wha—"
"Easy, Potter," Pomfrey said, gently, as Harry sat up, his legs over the edge of the bed.
"I saw Voldemort's snake," Harry said, trying to make sense of the vision. "The anaconda… It's in the Chamber of Secrets. It killed Voldemort's snake." Before Harry could say anything more about his vision, his eyes rolled up and he fell forward onto the floor, landing in a heap at Madame Pomfrey's feet.