-1 Harry Potter and the Strange Situation

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!!!

Christmas break was only a day away. Hermione knew Draco would be leaving soon. She felt the anxiety welling up for him, and it was becoming more difficult to explain to Harry and Ron.

Harry came into the common room to find Hermione sulking by the fire. He decided to find Ron and see what they could do to cheer her up.

Harry found Ron lounging in the library of all places. "What are you doing in here?" Harry whispered.

"Huh-oh, yeah, well I was trying to look for a good book to give Hermione for Christmas. You know how depressed she's been looking lately."

"Well, yeah, but you don't mean you're giving her a library book for Christmas are you?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Ron frowned, "No, mate. I'm just getting ideas, you know. Then I'll pick something up when we get back. There are still 3 more shopping days 'til Christmas you know."

Harry smirked, "Nothing like waiting until the last minute Ron."

Ron punched Harry playfully in the arm. "I'm not waiting for the last minute! That would be shopping on Christmas Eve! I've got more since than that!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Ok then, what ideas have you gotten so far while shopping in the library?"

Ron put his finger on his chin thoughtfully, "Well let's see…there's a lot of titles I've liked." He started pulling books down from the shelves and handing them to Harry. "How about, 'Are You Dating a Dud?', or 'Dating, Ditching or Pitching', 'The Way to Find a Worthwhile Wizard', and my personal favorite… 'Chastity for Today's Witch'. What do you think?"

Harry couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "I think she's going to kill you!"

"Quiet! Quiet!" Screeched the librarian, "This is a library! People are trying to concentrate on their studies!"

Ron put his hands up in surrender, "OK, OK, sorry."

Harry handed the books back to Ron, "I think she would get the hint and then you would be sorry."

Ron huffed, "I know, but what else can I do? Don't tell me this isn't driving you crazy too. She's acting like, well, like she's not acting anymore. I think she really has feelings for that twit!"

"Quiet! Quiet, I told you! If you make one more peep, out you go!" The old librarian shook her fist at Ron.

"Sorry!" Ron mouthed the words, then motioned for Harry to follow him. He haphazardly stuffed the books back on the shelf when he was out of the librarians sight. "Crabby old bat." He muttered.

They found a place out of sight. Harry sat at the table with Ron. "I have noticed she's been really moody lately." Harry told him. "I think you're right, she's gotten too deep into this Draco mess. But, we really don't have a choice right now. We need him to help the order."

"Ridiculous!" Ron hissed, "I think this lovey dovey stuff is all an act! For craps sake, how long does that stupid potion last? It's been weeks! He could be trying to trap us now for all we know! I don't trust him."

"I don't trust him either." Harry confessed. "Maybe we should ask Snape how long a potion like that would last!"

Ron jumped up, "Why didn't you think of that before! Hurry up get going!" Ron grabbed Harry and started dragging him towards the doorway, knocking over chairs and making a terrible noise in his wake.

"I warned you!" shrieked the librarian, and pointed her wand at Ron and Harry. Books started flying towards them, but not just any books, these books had teeth!

"Eeek! Ron was screaming like a girl. He was swatting the air with one arm while using Harry for a shield with the other and pushing him towards the door. The biting books came at them, tearing off bits of cloth and skin. When they finally reached the door Ron used Harry like a battering ram to push the doors open. Then they had to fight to push the doors shut while books bit at he doors. Pages got caught in the slamming of the doors and the books yelped like puppies with their tails caught in a fence.

Harry and Ron slid down the doors to the floor, panting and wheezing. They looked at each other to find their clothes had holes, their skin was cut, and their hair was even trimmed and sticking out at odd angles.

"Crazy old bat!" Ron screamed at the door.

"Come on! We need to get out of here and find Snape!" Harry pulled Ron up and they went running down the corridor.

By the time they reached the potion master's classroom they were both panting from running.

"Wh-Where is he?" Ron asked Harry.

"I'm not sure?" Harry answered. Then they saw movement in the dark corner of the room. Harry motioned to Ron and they crept quietly up to see what it was.

As they slowly crept towards the movement, a clammy hand gripped both of them on the shoulder from behind. "Can I help you gentlemen?" said a snide voice. Ron was so startled he screamed and jumped at the same time. Harry whirled around to find Snape looking at them with a satisfied glare on his face. "Well," he asked them again, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Um-er, well, yeah. Said Ron in a squeaky voice, as if trying to get his senses together again. "As a matter of fact we wanted to ask you a question about a potion."

"Really?" Snape sneered at them, "And what potion would that be?"

Harry spoke up then, "A love potion, Sir." making an emphasis on the Sir with distaste.

"Would that be the potion that came up missing during a defense against the dark arts class?"

"Uh-I don't know what you mean?" Ron stammered.

"Oh, I think you do Mr. Weasley."

Ron puffed up like a puffer fish trying to scare a larger predator, "Do we look like we took a stupid potion? Are we acting all goofy and slobbery and chasing girls around like stalkers?"

Snape raised a knowing eyebrow, "It seems to me Mr. Weasley, that you know a lot about the actions of a person who took the potion."

"Crap." Ron muttered under his breath.

"If you know who took this potion you need to tell me now, so I can give them a remedy." Snape demanded. Then he turned on Harry, "Mr. Potter? Do you have anything to add to this?"

"How long will it last sir?" Harry bluntly asked.

"That depends on the person, Mr. Potter, it could last days, weeks, months, years. For the last time, who took this potion Mr. Potter?"

"We don't know, Sir. We just heard some rumors." said Harry.

Snape was becoming irritated, "Stop lying and start telling me the truth!"

Harry snapped back, "If you are so knowledgeable, maybe you should start observing the students more closely. It shouldn't be so hard to figure it out."

"One more word, Potter and you will spend a month in detention." growled Snape.

"Come on Harry," said Ron, and started pushing him towards the door.

"Have it your way Mr. Potter, but I'm warning you, the person who took this potion could be a danger to themselves as well as to others. On your own head will the consequences lie if you refuse to tell me."

"I'll let you know, Sir." Harry spat as they walked past Snape and out the door.

After they got out of Snape's earshot, Ron sighed in relief. "Whew! I thought he was going to grill us in oil and put bamboo shoots under our nails! He creeps me out!"

Harry stopped in his tracks, "He'll be watching us now. I should have known he would put two and two together and blame us for this mess."

"Well, I guess we have to stay away from Draco so Snape doesn't catch on." Ron said.

"That won't be too hard, I can't stand him. But, We should probably still keep an eye on him for Hermione's sake. We'll have to keep under the invisibility cloak more often now." Harry told him.