Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to J. K. Rowling.
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Chapter 10:
All the students were already sitting at their desks in the potions classroom. Hermione had sat with Neville in the furthest of the room, the most innocuous place the girl could think of, and as expected Ron and Harry followed her and sat in front of them. She tried to think in a reason to tell them to sit in some other place, but it actually didn't matter, whoever sat there was most likely to be rather hurt or deaf for a few minutes. So she simply tried to calm herself and breathed in and out, controlling the nausea.
"Are you feeling well, Hermione?" Neville took her out of her thoughts, placing his hand on her arm. Under any other circumstance this normal act of concern would have helped her, but not now, it simply startled her.
"Oh! Yes, I am, I am fine, Neville, I am just… worried, you know, hum... I have started these new potion lessons with professor Snape and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed" She couldn't look him in the eye, he was soon to be a guinea pig.
"You are having extra lessons with Snape? No question you are feeling bad, you should really take it easy, Hermione, you are already pretty good at potions, I don't think you need any extra lessons." Neville was just so good, there he was, trying to calm her down and comfort her.
"Thank you, Neville, but I have been given the chance, and I think I should take it… I just have been a bit stressed out, you know?"
"I know, this is our seventh year, it is a lot of pressure, but I know you will be the best witch in our generation." He smiled at her, and she felt like if she were to tell him, he would understand, he would have no problem to help her, so maybe, after all of this, she could simply tell him why everything happened that way, which made her feel better somehow.
They shared a nice moment for a few seconds, before feeling the door open in a slam, which had not happened during the whole year, was he putting up an act? Whatever it was, it was effective in the students, who jumped in their seats and turned to see their professor stride through the room and face them from his desk.
"Because of the extension of time it takes to prepare this month project, veritaserum, we will take a break from it for a week at least. Instead, today we will be helping the hospital wing of Hogwarts by preparing a standard healing potion, I believe this task to have already been seen and prepared so many times along the years that you will be in no special need of instructions, but supervision. You may begin."
The students started to move around the room, looking for the ingredients to prepare it. So did Hermione, who stood up, not having a real clear destination and looking to the others as in an attempt to focus in only one, when she felt a hand on her shoulder, pushing her to the chair again.
"I think I can handle this, Hermione, I've prepared this so many times I think I can do it on my own, you can rest."
"Thank you, Neville, but I don't think professor Snape would appreciate me sitting and doing nothing."
"You won't be doing nothing, you can prepare the ingredients I bring, while you stay sitting, weren't you feeling sick?"
"… Yes, thank you, I will wait for the ingredients here, then." Neville smiled and turned around, Hermione followed him with the eyes, till she felt a voice right behind her.
"Not doing much today, Miss Granger?" She jumped in her place, and turned to see Snape just a few inches from her face.
"Sorry, sir, I have not been hum… feeling very well this morning, and Neville volunteered to look for the ingredients, but once he is back, I will start."
The man leaned down a bit more, concern in his face "… not feeling well?"
"I am a bit nervous for this… potion, but I am alright in every other way, I just need to end this and I will start feeling much better." The potions master incorporated once more.
"I understand, as a Gryffindor, you may feel uncomfortable with this task… that is why I suggest finishing it soon." He placed his eyes in a piece of mandrake left by himself on the table.
"I… I will, sir." He nodded and left her, she reached for the mandrake and hid it in the sleeves of her robe. Right a few seconds later Neville was back.
The cauldron had already started boiling, Neville had just stood up to look for some dittany, this was the moment, this way only her and maybe Ron a few steps away would get hurt. She held the mandrake over the cauldron, counted till three… and dropped it. She prepared for the explosion, holding her breath, as she saw the color of the potion change abruptly from crystal clear to bright orange, she closed her eyes and then it happened. The explosion was so strong she felt her body hit the cupboard behind her, a buzz permanent in her ears and smoke in her lungs. She started to cough as she tried to see if Ron was ok, who was currently coughing on the floor.
"…ut! Everybody out! Except you, Longbottom! Stay right where you are!" She saw Snape hurrying to her side, using some kind of spell to clean the cauldron and the air. He lifted Ron by his arm and pointed at the door, the boy turned around to see her before being pushed away by the man. She couldn't hear much of what was happening, the buzz still present, Neville placed himself next to her while mumbling something she couldn't understand and using his wand in her arm, which seemed to be badly burnt, though the adrenaline was stopping the pain.
He felt her body being lifted and placed on the desk, Snape was inspecting her, specifically her burnt arm, looking much better thanks to Neville, he used his wand in her nose and a few seconds later the sound was back.
"Is she going to be alright?"
"You are not helping, go get me the small green bottle in the first drawer of my desk." Neville left running, and as he did she could see how the look in the man's eyes softened in her face. "You used way more than necessary, you could've seriously injured yourself, this is not what I expected, this is… I…" For an instant, the girl thought he was going to whine, she had only hear him use this tone once, talking to the Dark Lord before being betrayed, already aware he was going to die. So she raised her right hand and placed it in his face.
"I'm sorry."
"Hush, it is better you remain silent." Looking at her hand, and then at Neville who was returning, the man pushed it away. He took the small bottle from Neville and offered it to Hermione's lips. "Drink, it will make the pain go away, if you don't feel it now, you will do it very soon."
She opened her mouth and drank its content, it was sour and bitter, and it made everything look like melting,
"I feel funny."
"It is because of the painkiller, you will be back to normal in about half an hour." He remained there, looking at Hermione for what looked like forever for Neville, who was squirming in his place.
"Hum… sir?"
"Detention, both of you, the moment your classes are over, you will come to this very room and clean this bloody mess. No wands allowed, give them to me, now." Neville was quick to move and give his wand away, but it took much longer to Hermione, who was clumsily looking for her wand in her robes. Finally, she found it and gave it to the man, who took it looking deep in her eyes.
"I will return them the moment you are finished with this room, Longbottom, escort Granger to the hospital wing or the next class, depending on how she feels for the moment."
"It's ok, I think I am feeling better now." She jumped from the table, and was caught by Neville, who held her by her waist, trembling and moving his hand awkwardly up and down, as if not sure where to exactly touch without consent.
"I amh... can I?" His face turning slightly red. Hermione smiled, he was such a good boy, she felt suddenly thankful that he was the one to go through the potions effects.
"Please, do." They both walked out of the room, with Neville supporting most of her weight as she still felt the floor melting under her feet.
It was already time, she was feeling much better, whatever Snape gave her was definitely good, because if it wasn't because of the bandage on her left arm, she would not even remember the morning incident.
She was waiting in the potions classroom door for Neville to appear, their classes had been over about half an hour ago, and most students were returning to their common rooms or visiting the Great Hall. She saw him coming from the corner of her eye and greeted him.
"Hi, Hermione, how are you feeling? How is your arm?"
"Oh this? I am feeling great, don't worry. I am actually feeling better than before the class, I think the explosion fixed me."
"… You serious?" the boy seemed confused and uneasy at the same time.
"Yes, it is true, now… shall we go in? I think Professor Snape is waiting for us."
The boy inhaled deeply, he was definitely nervous "… I thought this was over, you know? It is my seventh year and here I am, still scared of him."
"He is not so bad, Neville, he is just angry because we destroyed his classroom, just breath, and let me do the talking if necessary, it will be over soon."
"Ok, let's do this." Hermione opened the door, but there was nobody inside. Just the empty classroom, as ruined as in the morning, the only difference was a couple of buckets and cleaning kits over the final table. "It seems we will be alone, he must be busy."
"Sweet Lord, thanks. I think I could not clean this with him staring at me and making sharp comments on how useless I am."
"He would not do such a thing… he is a good man, Neville, especially since he came back, we made a total disaster, he could've been much more strict, like telling on us with Professor McGonagall or taking half of Gryffindor points."
"I still don't feel comfortable in here." They both moved to the table and inspected all the objects, together with the cupboard and fallen ingredients on the floor.
"I am sorry for this, Neville, I… don't know what went wrong."
"Don't worry, Hermione, actually… I think it was me, I must have done something wrong, maybe too much or not enough, I really don't know, I feel so bad we are in this because of-"
"It is not your fault, Neville, I was with the potion when this happened."
"Exactly! You were hurt because of me, I was preparing the potion and-"
"I have something for you." Hermione held him a bottle of juice and placed cookies and sandwiches on the table, next to one of the buckets. "We are most likely going to stay here for a while, so I thought in bringing some food, you know… to take some breaks."
"You always think in everything. "
"Here, have some." She offered him the cookies, he took one and took it to his mouth, she gulped when he finished and let the plate back on the table, "I already had some, so please, eat all of them."
"I will, thank you, Hermione… really."
They both looked at each other, before going for the buckets and starting to clean. They chit chatted for a while, commenting on how the other classes were, how Ron was doing after the explosion, and the rumors spreading. With the time running, Hermione started to get nervous; she knew that the time was coming, they were almost done with the floor and the cupboard, leaving only the table and cauldron to be fixed. What if these cookies or juice were clean, what if nothing happened? Or even worse, what if they did work and it got out of her hands, she didn't have her wand with her, she wasn't sure how to protect herself without it, why would Snape take her wand knowing what was going to happen?
"Neville, could you hand me the sponge, please?" A few minutes passed and there was no answer, she turned around to see Neville, who was frozen looking at the floor in a much uncomfortable position. "Neville…?" She fixed her eyes on his, lost, as if he was in some other place, but not there, his hands trembling. She knew it was happening, and wondered if she held the same expression under its effects. Doubting if to stand up or get closer, she tried to remember any other instruction from Snape, what was she supposed to do? Suddenly, Neville turned her way and moved on his hands and knees, causing Hermione to move backwards.
"Neville, listen, can you listen to me?" The boy nodded, but didn't stop. "Stop, I know you can do it, I know you can stop." She continued to move backwards, till she felt her back hit the stone, she had gotten to the wall, there was no more space to crawl away. "Oh dear…" Neville reached her and was right on top of her, she thought in kicking him, but she restrained herself, it was not his fault.
She could feel her heart pounding, and Neville slowly moving closer, his hands went to her face and she pressed her lips closed, in an attempt to stop a kiss if he tried it. But it didn't happen, she just felt his forehead against her own and his eyes piercing hers.
"Neville…? What are you…?" She felt a kiss in her forehead, and then they continued along her face, but they didn't get near her lips, just surrounded her, it tickled when they got to her ears. His hands went from her face to her waist and pushed her over him, reversing the papers, with her sitting on top of him. "Neville, I don't want to hurt you, please don't make me hurt you." But nothing happened, his hands traveled up and down her back, he stopped right in her waist and went back to her head, caressing her hair in all the way down, just to meet the end of her sweater and up her head again. His other hand carefully placed on her cheek, preventing her from moving away, she could feel his heart beating, but nothing as hers, his beating was slow and comforting. She started to relax, was this what Snape expected to happen? Did he know that Neville was going to behave in such a way? Maybe that is why he took her wand, it was not really necessary.
She could not continue to make any more questions, because a strong slam sound filled the room, she immediately stood up, leaving a baffled Neville sitting on the floor, staring at her with his open hands.
It didn't take long for Snape to kick his way to them, literally kicking benches and tables. He stared at Hermione and then at Neville, just to quickly point his wand at him, causing the boy to jump and make a ball on the ground, holding his legs, scared to tears.
"He didn't do anything, professor! I swear, he just-"
"Shut. Your. Mouth. Look what you did to my classroom you little… I knew I should not have let you stay in my class, you cannot even prepare a healing potion for your life… Stand up." The young wizard was quick to obey, embracing himself in the corner.
"Sir… don't you think you are going to far? We already cleaned the place, and he is still under the-"
"One more word, Granger, and you will be the one on the floor." He was acting, right? This could not be happening for real. Where was the nice man that made her breakfast in the morning?
"Go on your knees, Longbottom." The boy went to his knees, and Hermione could swear he was already crying. She didn't know what he was supposed to do on his knees, but something was clear to her eyes, it was humiliating and she couldn't take it any longer.
"Stop this, let him go, it is not his fault and you know it, I… I will do it." The girl positioned herself on her knees, next to Neville and wiped his cheeks. "Stand up, Neville, go to the common room."
"You, stupid witch." The potion master pointed his wand in her direction, causing an immediate effect on Neville, who didn't take long to throw himself against the man, screaming and biting. Snape's wand fell on the ground, while trying to take the boy off of him.
Has she gone nuts? Maybe the explosion knocked her down and she was currently in a comma. There she was, on her knees, looking at Severus Snape, potions master, and Neville Longbottom, hero of war, fight on the floor. She wasn't sure what to do or who to help.
"I would appreciate you handed me my wand, Miss Granger." Oh, now she was back to being Miss Granger instead of just a stupid witch. "I do not intend to bring myself to the spotlight by punching a student in the face, though Longbottom has already done more than that." Neville was biting the man's right arm as he tried to reach for his wand. "Trust."
With that final word, Hermione took his wand from the floor, but instead of handing it to him, she used it.
"Desmaius!" Neville's body fell on Snape's, who removed him from himself by slowly standing, Hermione was amazed to see how a man could gracefully move and reincorporate himself after such a scene. But, just in case, she kept the wand with her. "May I have a bloody explanation here? What was all that about? I seriously thought…"
"It is called acting, Miss Granger, I had thought that fighting against the Dark Lord had taught you what that was."
"But you just- Why? Was all of this really necessary? How do I know?"
"If proof is what you seek for, I will hand you my planning for this… it is in my right pocket, I will take it, together with your wand and give both to you, so I would be grateful if you don't point at me with my own wand."
"I will lower the wand once I have seen that planning of you, sir." There was venom in her last words, she didn't mean to be disrespectful, but everything went nuts. The man gave a sardonic smile and took a parchment from the insides of his robes, giving it to Hermione to read, on it there were details of probable behavior in case of different scenarios: Hunger, sleep deprivation, jealousy, fear, and others. "… You were expecting Neville to cry and attack you?"
"I was expecting him to flee, not to make a ball on the floor… and though I knew he was going to stand and protect you, I didn't consider him biting my fingers."
"… What is all of this? I thought-"
"We were wrong all along; this potion was never intended, neither to cause love, nor to follow instructions. It was made to somehow disconnect your brain from your body, a complete loss of self control; under its effects you are not much evolved than a four legged mammal. You are hungry, you eat, you are sleepy, you sleep, and so on. That. Is. it."
"… But that cannot be, I mean… You are right, I did make a lot of those things, I ate the food on the table, I even smacked you for approaching, I also fell asleep on you, when I was really tired, but what about last night? And your… your hand?"
"I was confused at the beginning, but I think it is related to what Mr. Longbottom showed just now… compassion and guilt, you smacked my hand, later you apologized in a much unique way. He believed to have burnt your arm; he acted as your mother."
"You were watching us?"
"Of course I was, all of these have been hypothesis, things could have gone different, so I was ready to enter the room in case."
"Then why didn't you get in the room earlier? I really thought he was going to-"
"I also thought he was going to, but he didn't, and as he didn't, I wanted to see why... I didn't tell you anything, because neither I was sure of what was going to happen, in this way you could prepare to go along with anything, instead of sticking to a plan that could fail and freaking out for it."
She wanted to reply, she even opened her mouth to do it, but the man was right, she fell for his performance, and it ended up going well, if she had known about it earlier, it may have been different.
"… What is going to happen to him now?"
"Understand, Miss Granger, that this is like it or not, a secret between us two, he cannot remember what happened here, or there will be a lot of questions. Besides… you don't want him to feel the same confusion as you, am I correct?"
"… No, I think Neville would be much better without any new reason to worry about. Are you going to take his memories?"
"I will, don't worry, he will believe he has spent his evening cleaning with you, you just go along with that story. Now, may I have my wand back?"
"May I have mine?"
The potions master looked in his robes for both wands, and handed them to Hermione, getting his in return. The girl nodded, looking at Neville peacefully resting on the floor, she was determined to make things up for him later, maybe help him with all of his projects. He saw as the man raised his wand, mumbling a spell under his breath, a silver threat left Neville's head forehead and went to a small flask in Snape's hand, which he later saved in his pocket. The man lifted Neville and sat him on the closest bench. Finally, Both of them fixed the room, till it was as clean and tidy as ever.
"Then, I will be leaving, we have a meeting with McGonagall about that nonsense contest… see you tomorrow at 7 pm, for our… special potions lesson."
"I think we will have a lot to discuss."
"Bring your doubts in a piece of parchment if necessary." The man was half his way to the door, when the girl called his way.
"Professor"
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"There is one thing I cannot comprehend yet. The first one, the hum… the kiss, I was not… I don't see any reason to-"
The man stopped and stared at her face, before smirking "I believe you must be familiar with the need for reproduction." With that said he left. Leaving a baffled Hermione to fall sitting on the bench next Neville, her jaw still open, she must have heard wrong.