The International Wizarding School Competition
Title: The Adventures of Hermione and The Potions Master
School: Durmstrang
Theme: Discovering the truth
Year: 7
Mandatory Prompt: (first/last line) It was 11 o'clock when time stopped.
Additional Prompts: (genre) drama
Word Count: 2,848 words
Warning for Superhero/Muggle!AU, Snamione pairing because I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, and a slight bit out of character due to the AUs that were used in this story. I would like to take this time to thank everyone who beta read this story for me. It truly means a lot that you would take the time to help me out like that. So, thank you all very much and I hope you all enjoy The Adventures of Hermione and The Potions Master.
It was 11 o'clock when time stopped. Time stopped and the world prepared to get its first glimpse of the superhero that would later be called The Master of Potions. Time stopped and the world stood still as people in the street watched on in horror as the lumbering tower of a man stalked towards my position in the bank. I'd been stupid enough to call attention to myself by trying to talk the bank robbers out of robbing the bank.
"I said no one talks or they're going to regret it!" the man shouted, pulling his gun from his belt and pointing it at me. "Don't make me do something we're both going to regret."
"Stop playing around with the hostages, you idiot, and help me with this vault!" What appeared to be the leader of the group spoke, struggling to open the vault of the bank. "The sooner we get this open, the sooner we can get the money and leave."
I couldn't help but think that the leader's voice sounded oddly familiar. Like someone who I'd met before but I couldn't quite put my finger on who exactly it could be. The man holding the gun on me's voice sounded familiar too in much the same way.
"Alright, alright," said the man, tucking the gun back into the waistband of his jeans after one last warning shake towards my face. "I'm coming."
I watched as he lumbered over to the smaller man and hunched over to take a look at the vault's door. He seemed to be perturbed as he looked at it and stood back up. He turned towards where I was sitting with the rest of the bank goers and workers. Lumbering back over, he stopped in front of us again. Then something curious happened, His arms folded in the way that my ex-boyfriend Ron's used to when he was angry about something. But Ron wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like this, would he?
"Who has the key to the vault door?" the man asked, the sound of his voice giving me the confirmation that I was wrong. Ron was stupid enough to do something like this. "Hand over the key to the vault and no one will get hurt."
"The only person with the key to the vault is the bank manager," I said, standing up and looking him in the eyes for the first time. If I hadn't already realised from the sound of his voice or the fold of his arms, looking into the man's eyes confirmed that he was Ron Weasley entirely. Which meant that the man trying to break into the vault was…. Harry?
"Did you get the key yet?" the other man asked, looking over his shoulder, and I realised he sounded exactly like Harry if I paid attention. His green eyes told me that my ex-friend and my ex were the ones doing this. "Hurry up and get the key, will you?"
"Where is the bank manager?" Ron asked, waving Harry off and turning back to us. "Do I have to—?"
"The bank manager has off today," I said, standing and moving in front of the customers. I was in charge of the bank when the manager wasn't in. I felt the need to protect the patrons of the banks and the workers alike.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked, slapping the gun against his thigh, making it go off in a way that would have been considered comedic by any other standards. But was downright scary in these ones.
"No," said one of the tellers in a small voice from behind me. "Hermione is usually in charge when the bank manager is off."
"Thank you, Neville," I said, turning to smile at him in a manner that was comforting. Then I turned back to Ron. "I don't have the key and even if I did I still wouldn't give it to you. Why are you doing this?"
As I was talking, I noticed that a slight shadow passed the window. It was so quick that I almost didn't see it. But I did and the shadow gave me hope that someone was up there. That someone was going to rescue us soon.
"What are you looking at?" Ron asked in a gruff voice.
A scuffle was heard from a nearby flight of stairs that was in front of the back exit. Shouts of pain sounded from two different people and one was most definitely a female voice. I couldn't make out who they were but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of my ex-school friends.
"What's going on out there?" asked Ron, turning his back on me and the other hostages to check on his lookouts in the hall.
Before Ron could get very far, a rather tall man in an all black costume and with a blackmask over his eyes and nose emerged from the hall. He looked around the room, taking note of Ron who was staring slack-jawed and dumbly. His eyes then found mine and he skirted over, the small group of hostages gathering in the corner.
"Never fear, The Potions Master is here," he said to me, and turned, striding towards Ron.
In what seemed to be a comedic take on those old cartoon show hero/villain fights, The Potions Master took Ron off his feet with just one punch to the gut. I could almost picture the word 'oof' coming from Ron and the 'pow' coming from The Potions Master.
"Ron, what's going on in here?" asked Harry, coming to stand in the doorway only to be met with the knuckles of The Potions Master's fist and going down easily.
The rest of the hostages got up when they saw both Harry and Ron being tied together and left near the front doorway of the bank. I looked back at the glittering black eyes of The Potions Master. Something felt familiar about them. Like I knew him from my school years, too— but I really couldn't tell you who it was.
Walking over I looked up into those glittering black orbs and felt a thrill of electricity go through me. Something I'd only read about in those stories of love at first sight which was utterly ridiculous. Because you couldn't know the first thing about a person from just one look.
"Thank you for saving us," I said, smiling up at him. "Who are you?"
"Your thanks are not necessary, Miss. Granger," he said, nodding at me. "But you are welcome all the same." He seemed to consider his next words carefully. "You can call me The Potions Master, rescuer of all fair maidens like yourself."
"Dear, that is not how that incident went at all," Severus said, thankfully stopping me just as I was getting to the ending of the incident. "That wasn't what happened."
"Yes, it is," I said, looking up from my position on Rose's bedside.
"No, it's not," he retorted, sitting on the side of the bed next to me.
"Tell me what you think happened, Daddy," Rose begged, looking up at us both excitedly. She loved hearing stories of The Potions Master from both of our perspectives. She didn't even question how Severus knew these things without being there which I am thankful for.
"All right then." He cleared his voice and settled down to tell the story the way he thought it happened.
I was going about my routine business of the day. Which included grading a huge stack of Chemistry tests that I had been putting off. The students really didn't care about this area of study and it truly showed how abysmal their marks were. Most not even garnering a C+ for their effort or lack thereof.
In addition, I was listening for any activity that would need me to perform my other job—being The Potions Master. Just as I was about to put the F on the last of the great pile of horror tests, my supernatural hearing picked up a comment by chance. I stopped mid-track so that I could concentrate on the words of the speaker which sent a chill down my spine as I recognized the voice.
"You two take the back."
I was hearing the voice of one of my ex-students . The voice was that of Harry Potter. A boy who liked to think of himself as a hero and a leader but he'd never managed to be more than a mediocre soccer star. He hadn't been good enough and left the game years ago after a lot of scandals. I could picture him gesturing at whatever person was still dim enough to follow his tarnished star.
"Yes, boss," a female voice replied, a voice that sounded an awful lot like Ginny Weasley, or rather Mrs. Potter. "Come on."
"You come with me," Potter talked again, more than likely talking to the only friend besides his wife and whoever else was part of this scheme, Ron Weasley. "We'll be out of here in no time."
"And we'll be rich," Weasley said, confirming my suspicions.
"Or at least richer," Potter said, laughing as a door slammed shut behind them.
I was already making my way across the rooftops. I didn't know where they were but I knew they had to be close by.
"Think, Severus," I said to myself quietly. "What place would most likely be able to make a person richer than they once were?"
My eyes widened as I turned towards the bank that I usually used in order to see a certain teller. One Miss Hermione Granger. She'd grown more beautiful in the years that she'd graduated from Hogwarts High School. She was one of the reasons I chose that bank, the other was the vault that only one person had the key to: the bank manager.
As I reached the rooftop of the bank, I skirted the window that overlooked the bank floor. Looking down I could see Hermione, standing in front of a group of cowering people with the man I recognised as Ron Weasley holding a gun at them. I had to act swiftly if I was going to get everyone out of there alive and safe.
"There's a back entrance to this place isn't there?" I asked myself, moving away from the window when I caught Hermione glancing at me. I hoped she'd keep quiet. I wasn't going to be any help if Ron or one of the others caught me. I knew that much.
Slowly making my way to the back of the bank, I found a ladder leading down to street level, and slightly beyond that was the door to the back entrance. That would do. I knew Potter and his thinking patterns and should be able to get easy access.
I climbed down the ladder as quickly as I could and not for the first time was thankful I hadn't chosen to wear a cape for my costume. That would have made climbing down this ladder that much harder—what with the fabric getting every which way and underfoot, too.
When I reached the ground, I struck a heroic pose before strutting towards the door that led to the back of the bank. I raised my hand and knocked in a pattern that I thought Potter would have used for a signal to his men.
"Thank God," I heard Mrs. Potter mutter as she neared the door. "I told him we needed more people to watch the entrances."
"Gin, I don't think that's…."
"Don't use our real names," she hissed at the person who sounded an awful lot like that Creevey boy, a sort of fanboy who used to follow Potter around during his school years. "You don't know if they're here to help. What if someone overheard you and later told the police?"
"I didn't think of that," Creevey said, sounding mournful.
"Just go open the door will you," Mrs. Potter said, sighing and walking away. I could hear her retreating steps fading down the hall.
For a moment there was silence, but then the doorknob started to turn. As I heard the click of the door latch opening I pushed against it. I would have thought Creevey would have been smart enough to let go of the door. But he wasn't.
The sandy blond-haired boy went sailing through the air as though I'd picked him up and thrown him. Mrs. Potter was just turning around to see what was going on when Creevey collided with her, sending them both sprawling on the floor.
I couldn't believe my luck. I walked over to make sure that they were still breathing. After all, my intent wasn't to kill them. I merely wanted to incapacitate them until the police showed up. Which made me hope that at least someone was smart enough to have called the police. I feel bad for not doing so before I left my home. It would have made things much easier but I forgot.
I knelt next to them and breathed a sigh of relief as I felt their breath on my hand when I checked to make sure they were alright. I felt around in my utility belt that I had made a part of my costume after the last time I had had to wait for police back up. I cursed as I remembered that I hadn't brought along my replacement pair of handcuffs. At least there were zip ties in there. That would have to do for keeping them tied up.
"Miss Weasley, you had a lot of promise," I said, tying the former Miss Weasley now Mrs. Potter and Creevey together and leaving them unconscious in the hallway. "Why did you allow yourself to be talked into a life of crime? You could have done so much better for yourself."
Which was true. Ginny Weasley had been a star soccer player at Hogwarts High. She had had more scouts come out to watch in her last year than any other member of any other sports team at the school. I shook my head sadly and walked towards the door leading onto the main bank floor. I could hear the sounds of Ron Weasley talking to someone as I neared the door and realized that it was more than likely Hermione.
I walked through the doorway in a rather heroic pose if I do say so myself. I could see Ron Weasley staring at me slack-jawed and stupidly. I could also see that my entrance had gotten Harry Potter's attention. He was just walking away from the vault and towards us. I could also see the admiration on the face of Hermione Granger.
"Never fear, The Potions Master is here!" I exclaimed as I walked towards the first of my opponents.
Ron Weasley was rather easy for me to take care of. I took him off his feet with one punch to the gut while he was still staring at me in slack-jawed amazement. I could hear the footsteps of Harry Potter and turned quickly. The next thing Potter was on the floor next to Ron. I quickly tied them both up as I'd done to Ginny and Colin and dragged them to the main door of the bank. I could see that thankfully someone had called the cops and that they were just arriving.
I heard the click click click of heels approaching me and turned to find Hermione Granger standing there in all her beauty. I hope I didn't look nervous or anything. I must not have because she walked right up to me and looked right into my eyes.
"Thank you for saving us," she said, smiling and looking up at me. "What do we call you?"
"Your thanks are not necessary, Miss. Granger," I said, smiling down upon her and wishing I could tell her my real name. The name of the man underneath the black costume and mask. But I couldn't. It wouldn't do well to let the villains know your true name. They could find your family much easier if they knew your name. "You can call me The Potions Master. I will always be here to save the day for you, Miss Granger. Always."
I felt a subtle tap on my shoulder and turned my head to see my wife of two years pointing towards our sleeping daughter. More like a stepdaughter for me, even though Rose considered me her father.
I nodded towards the door after I tucked the blankets up around the sleeping child's head. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, I backed out the door and was met with a smiling Hermione who led me downstairs to our living room.
"Let me make you a drink to settle your nerves, Potions Master," she said, eye twinkling as she walked into the kitchen. I could hear the sounds of her pouring one of my favorite drinks together.
It was eleven o'clock when time stopped, and neither my world nor Hermione's was ever going to be the same again.
I hope you all enjoyed The Adventures of Hermione and The Potions Master as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know if I should continue this as a multi-chapter and I might do so.