Chapter 10: Felinus Anthropos
"What's the matter Hermione?" James asked. She was staring at her hands in astonishment with her mouth hanging open and her face ashen. Hermione shook her head and stood up. She tried to keep the memories that were bombarding her at bay but that didn't work.
Lying in the corner of the room was an animal of some sort. It was very wolf-like and had fur that was long, stringy, dirty and black. It must have been making the sounds because at this very moment it was making odd grunting sounds and it was scratching the floor with amazingly long nails. It lifted its long furry head up off the floor and stared at her. Hermione stood frozen to the spot on the floor as the large animal slowly lumbered to its feet. Its hair was even longer than it first appeared, some of it dragged along the floor.
"Avada Kedavra!" Hermione screamed. At the same time, the beast pounced. It was met with the flash of green light, but not before it took a large chunk from her arm.
Hermione saw the body of the beast as it was consumed by green flames. She felt something cold and hard drop into her palm. And then, Hermione became aware of the pain that emanated from the wound on her arm. The pain rapidly spread through her body. It felt as if the blood that was rushing through her veins was molten magma.
A long time or very little time passed before the pain receded minimally. It was during this time that Hermione felt a tug at her navel and felt everything go black.
"I think we should go see the headmaster." Hermione said, after the memories finally subsided, her voice distant. She clenched her fists so no one could see they were shaking. Remus stood up and put his hand on her shoulder, he noticed her vacant expression and it worried him. Hermione jumped away from him as if she were burnt by a hot iron. Remus looked at her curiously. Hermione just looked away and left the room, heading for the headmaster's office. James, Remus and Sirius followed.
Hermione was walking through the halls in a fast pace so conversation was something that was impossible. When they got to the gargoyle James spoke the password. (He was Head Boy, of course he knew the password.) They all ascended the stairs and where admitted into the office after they knocked.
"What a surprise visit." Dumbledore said, even though he did not look surprised to see them. "Miss. Granger, I must inquire why you are not in the Hospital Wing."
Hermione blushed and stammered out a reply that she didn't even understand. Dumbledore smiled, he was not expecting an intelligible answer.
"What brings you all to my office at this late hour?" Dumbledore questioned dramatically.
"I know what attacked me and what I turned into." Hermione stated. She raised her head and squared her shoulders.
Dumbledore seemed shocked at her declaration; this was obviously not what he was expecting. "How did you remember?" He queried.
"Well, Remus was the one to jog my memory. He told me what I was, even though he didn't know that that's what I am, and then I remembered being attacked." She explained.
"Well," Dumbledore said pleasantly, "tell me what you are."
"Felinus Anthropos," Hermione stated simply, "otherwise known as Therianthropes."
Dumbledore stared at her, dumbstruck. He was stunned, shocked, dazed, shaken, and any other synonym that you could think of. He just blew his persona of knowing everything clear out of the water.
"I still don't know what you mean." Sirius whined, he hated being out of the loop.
"In layman's terms," Remus said, "werecat."
Sirius' face showed understanding, his mouth made an 'o' shape. Remus had his arms crossed uncomfortably and was leaning away from Hermione, her posture was a mirror image of Remus' except her face had a look of mild disgust on it.
Sirius noticed the tension in the room and sighed. This was going to make things difficult, he could feel it. James was slightly amused by the predicament that was occurring. Hermione, he thought, was obviously not meant to be a part of the Marauders. First, he and Hermione were fighting and as soon as that rift was mended, Remus and Hermione just developed a deep hatred for each other.
Dumbledore's eyes seemed to bug out of his head at the mention of Hermione's Therianthropy. He looked up at the ceiling and muttered something that sounded like blood of families feuding… Maybe Dumbledore was loosing it too. Dumbledore looked at Remus and Hermione and seemed to be contemplating something.
"Well," he said, "I think this is going to be a bit of a problem."
What an understatement, Hermione thought.
"I shall consider what shall be done about this predicament. I shall find an answer by the next full moon." Dumbledore stated. He stared at both of his students who had 'special needs' and sighed. It was almost certain that his school will turn into a battle ground before long. He just hoped that neither of these two kids was hurt seriously. "In the mean time, Miss. Granger, I believe Poppy will be looking for you. You should go back to the Hospital Wing and stay there until you are released."
Hermione looked abashed and nodded her head. She got up and left. Sirius, James, and Remus got up to follow her out of the room but Dumbledore detained them a bit longer.
"Mr. Pettigrew will be returning soon," he informed the Marauders, "I would appreciate it if you did not inform him of Miss. Granger's … condition."
All of the boys nodded their heads obediently and then slowly filed out of the room.
Dumbledore sighed and got to work. He had a full day ahead of him in light of this new development. He began writing a letter of great importance. He couldn't believe that after all of these years this would happen. He always assumed that it was a mistake, but now, he couldn't help but believe that it was finally coming true. Maybe. If nobody died.
Hermione snuck back into the Hospital Wing. It seemed that nobody had noticed her absence. She lay down on her bead and didn't bother changing back into the hospital gown that she had been put into earlier. She knew that Madame Pomfrey would know that she snuck off, so why get back into that horribly unpleasant gown?
She crossed her arms and stared at the ceiling. It was nearly five in the morning and she was wide awake. How cruel life could be.
Severus Snape could not believe his luck. The girl that he liked (he did not just think that! No way did he just think that) was in the Hospital Wing. AGAIN! It's not like he keeps track of her or anything. He just so happened to be standing in the corridor outside of the place that Hermione seems to be so fond of when Madame Pomfrey walked out grumbling about something or other. He just so happened to glance into the room and see Hermione's bag.
It was a coincidence, that's all. He hadn't gone looking for her. Please, that is far underneath him. He would never go looking for a girl. Well, never again. Not after what Lily did to him. She was, after all, dating that arrogant prick.
The fact that he was going to visit her has no meaning whatsoever. He was going to visit a friend, an acquaintance even. He did not like her.
He cautiously opened the door and stuck his head around it. The room was empty and only one bed was surrounded by a curtain. Her bag was at the bottom of the bed. He approached the bed slowly and stood about an inch away from it. He cleared his throat and saw an outline of a girl sit up.
Hermione sighed and checked her watch again. 5:21. Still. It's been 5:21 for the past half hour! (Or so it seemed to be according to a bed-ridden Hermione.)
Then, she heard shuffling. She paused in her annoyed movements and listened. She heard a throat clear and she sat up. She saw the figure of a man. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and opened the curtain a fraction. She saw Severus and smiled. She gestured for him to come forward and he did.
She sat on her bed and gestured for Severus to sit down as well. He did so and smiled at her shakily.
"What is going on outside of this damn ward?" She asked him. She smiled at him widely and urged him to tell her all of the juicy gossip.
"Come on." He complained teasingly, "I'm not some pre-pubescent girl."
Hermione giggled at Severus' dark, sarcastic tone. "But I'm dying in here!" She whined in a joking manner.
Severus was suddenly uncomfortable. Was she dying? Hermione seemed to notice his discomfort.
"Figuratively, of course," She said, "but what a figurative death it is!" Hermione grasped Severus' slightly rough hands. "You need to tell me what is happening. I don't care how stupid and inconsequential it is."
Severus grinned and tried to say no, but Hermione would not let up. So, he finally began outlining the gossip that he heard. It surprised Hermione that he knew so much, but, he knew how to be quiet and how to listen, which is why there was hardly anything that he didn't know. He held Hermione enthralled for nearly an hour. They joked with each other and he laughed at her stupid jokes.
It didn't seem like a long time but Severus was happy spending time with her. She was easy going and she had her hand on his knee, something he was hyper-aware of. Once she leaned forward and brushed his hair out of the way, she said it was in his eyes and that she liked looking into people's eyes as she talked to them. In that moment Severus' heart slowed down and all he could think about was how nice she smelled. But, all too soon she leaned away.
Severus was awed. Hermione was such a warm person and she liked him. That much was evident, especially because whenever he held her hand a bit too long she turned red in the face. And sometimes Severus caught her staring at him. Without think Severus felt himself leaning towards Hermione. She stared into his eyes and he stared into hers. He felt a connection to Hermione and he hoped that she felt it as well.
Severus was about an inch away from Hermione. Their noses were nearly touching when the Hospital Wing doors flew open. Two pairs of steps were clearly heard. Severus jumped up and he felt his nose brush against Hermione's forehead.
Then, the curtain was viciously (In Severus' opinion) ripped open, revealing the Two Biggest Pricks in Hogwarts.
"What are you doing here Snivellus?" James questioned snidely.
Sirius glared at Severus and smirked.
"James!" Hermione exclaimed. "Be nice to Severus, he's my friend!"
Sirius snorted. "Please!" He exclaimed, "That greasy Git? Are you serious?"
"Yes!" Hermione replied, outraged. "Now stop calling him names!"
"Is Snivellus happy that a girl is fighting for him? Protecting him?" James hissed meanly.
Severus clenched his fists and squared his shoulders. He hated those arrogant fools. One day he will show them how much he needed protecting. He will make them sorry. He glared at James and Sirius. Then, he reached out and took Hermione's hand in his. He muttered a good-bye, but before he had a chance to leave he felt a jinx hit him.
Petrificus Totalus. Severus seethed inside his head. He was grateful when Hermione cast the counter-curse.
"Expelliarmus!" Severus shouted. He disarmed James and Sirius simultaneously and caught their wands. He threw them to the other side of the room. He stalked past both boys, who were stunned at his reaction. He slammed the heavy hospital wing door closed.
Hermione was fuming when the door closed. She yelled at both of the boys furiously, using words that are not meant to be typed, and went to run after Severus, leaving behind a very hurt Sirius and a very angry James.
So, that's it! I hope you like this chapter! You finally figure out what is happening. (A bit anyway)
Now, I know that I said this story would be Hermione/Sirius, but right now, I'm not sure if it's going to stay that way. Sorry.
I would like you to review. I would really, really like it. You have no idea (or maybe you do) how frustrating it is to have 30 people put your story on alert and get a maximum of five reviews per chapter. I know that it makes me a 'horrible' person to be begging for reviews, but my friends are getting tired of hearing me complain. But there you go. REVIEW!