Chapter 3: Beginning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny took a deep breath as the first of the Gryffindor seventh years straggled through the door of
the potions dungeon. Dean grinned at her and Seamus waggled his eyebrows, getting a slap on the
arm from Lavender. She grinned back half-heartedly, but continued biting her nails.
From behind her, Severus cleared his throat and she jumped to attention.
"Come on! Get on with it!" He snapped at the Gryffindors. They glared back.
"Well, as I was saying to father..." A familiar drawl came down the corridor.
Ginny groaned inwardly. She'd forgotten that the Slytherins had potions with the Gryffindors.
Draco Malfoy rounded the door and broke off as he spotted Ginny. He and his two minions broke into
identical evil grins.
"Hey, Weasely!" He said, giving her a sarcastic wave. She scowled at him and he grinned even more.
//Why does my life go from bad to worse and then to absolute crap?// She thought.
Harry appeared at the door, closely followed by Ron and Hermione, who were holding hands. Severus
gave them a poisonous look.
"Weasley and Granger." He said lazily, "Please disentangle yourselves from one another and sit down."
The Slytherins sniggered appreciatively.
Ron went red and hurredly sat down, followed by Hermione, who gave Ginny an encouraging smile.
From the look on Ron's face he was still in shock that his sister was taking a potions lesson.
"Right." Severus said, breaking into an evil smile, "Today you will be making simple love potions."
The Gryffindors groaned, knowing how embarrasing Severus would make it for them.
Hermione, however, had her hand up.
"But proffessor, aren't love potions against the school rules?"
"Don't worry, Miss Granger, I have Proffessor Dumbledore's personal permission." Severus grinned
wider, "Now. You need to be in pairs. Miss Weasley," He turned to Ginny, "You can choose the
Gryffindor pairs. I will choose the Slytherin pairs."
Ginny nodded and walked over to the Gryffindors while Severus let the Slytherins arrange themselves
into pairs.
Automatically, the Gryffindors moved into pairs.
"Okay." Ginny said, "Have you all got a partner you're happy with?"
They all nodded. She felt a twinge of jealousy as she saw Harry sitting next to a girl called Jenni, who
was new to the year.
//Stop it, Ginny. He's nothing to do with you anymore. You're not together anymore, he can do what
he likes.// She thought. But it didn't make her feel any better.
"Don't let him do anything to us, Ginny." Begged Neville, who was sitting next to a scared looking
Austrian exchange student.
"I'll try." She said, smiling to make him feel better.
"You will find the instructions on page 170 of your books." Severus said from the front desk, "We may
be testing the potions at the end of the lesson."
Neville gave a small squeak of terror and turned slightly green. Ginny walked back up to the front of the
classroom and stood, awaiting instructions.
The class began shredding their rose petals, and measuring amounts of lavender oil.
"Go and watch the Slytherins." Severus told her. She nodded and walked over to them, silently cursing
him as she saw the look on Draco's face.
"Hello Weasley." He began, while his partner, a girl called Manisha (somehow, Draco had managed to
avoid being partnered with Pansy), shredded the roses. "So, how come you're doing this?"
"It's work experience." Ginny told him.
"Why would you want to do work experience with Proffessor Snape?" He asked.
"He was the only teacher available." Ginny told him sharply, avoiding looking at him. "Oh, and by the
way, that's Miss Weasley to you." She added with a smirk.
He scowled at her and went back to his potion.
//Yes! Strike one to me!// Ginny thought happily. //Maybe this teacher thing won't be that bad.//
Her thoughts were interupted by Severus speaking.
"Do not get this potion on your skin." He said, "It will cause you to become unconcious and when you
gain conciousness later, the first person you see you will fall in love with. And," He added with a smile,
"Amusing though that may be, you will be in detention for a month."
Neville gulped and stepped away from his cauldron quickly. A little too quickly. He walked straight into
Harry and Jenni's cauldron, knocking the potion all over the floor.
Severus sighed as people shreiked and jumped out of the way.
"Longbottom..." He began.
Draco had a sudden flash of inspiration. Now was his chance.
As Ginny rushed forward to help Neville off his chair, Draco flicked a little of his potion at her. It landed
on her cheek and she brushed it away without realising what it was.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, Severus also managed to get in the
way of some of the potion.
Both Ginny and Severus swayed unsteadily, then fell to the floor unconcious. Draco grinned triumphantly
and watching amusedly as Ron scooped Ginny up to carry her to the hospital wing, and Dean and
Seamus supported Severus by his shoulders, also going to Madame Pomfrey.
But what no one saw was that Harry had seen what Draco had done. He cursed. The new potion,
on top of the effect of Harry's one, would have an incredibly strong effect. As soon as they saw each
other when they woke up, they would be all over each other, and that would ruin Harry (or rather
Voldemort's) plan.
Three Hour's later, the hospital wing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus opened his eyes slowly and wondered why he was in a bed. He suddenly remembered what
had happened and sat bolt upright.
Luckily, the hospital was desserted, as Madame Pomfrey, sure that neither of them would wake up,
had gone to the Hall for some lunch. Well, desserted apart from Ginny, who was in the bed next to
Severus.
He spotted her and immediately fell under the spell's effect.
The feelings he was trying to suppress because of Harry's potion were multiplied by Draco's and he felt
a strange and overwhelming desire to hold Ginny. It wasn't even as if he wanted her to like him, he just
wanted to protect her from the world, and he wanted to love her.
//Don't be stupid, Severus.// He told himself sternly. //Snap out of it, she's a student.//
But the warm feeling that filled him didn't subside, no matter how hard he tried to quell it.
He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and was content by just being close to her. He
began to think that maybe the work experience wouldn't be that bad.
As he calmed, and looked away at the opposite wall, the feelings subsided.
//Maybe it was only a kind of momentary madness. I don't feel anything other than dislike towards her
really.// He thought.
But when he glanced across at her again, a fire began to burn inside him once more. She just looked
so fragile lying asleep that he wanted to -
//No Severus! Stop it! You're just being stupid!// He stopped his previous train of thought quickly.
There was nothing to be done about it, he would just have to stay away from her.
He groaned. The work experience! He'd be spending every single day with her.
//Actually, maybe I'll enjoy it.... No, no, no. God, Severus, you're turning into a dirty old man. It's
nothing serious, just an infatuation. It won't last. Just stick it out and it'll go away.//
Nothing could change. He would have to carry on as he always did, snapping at her and being horrible.
He shuddered. How long would he be able to last?
~~~
Meanwhile, Harry sat, apparently deep in thought. However, it was not Harry that was thinking. Harry's
conciousness was trapped in a tiny part of his mind, helpless, while the majority was taken over by
Voldemort. Voldemort's conciousness was busy thinking about the next step.
Now that the two of them were even more likely to 'fall in love', the plot would have to procceed
earlier than planned. That was no problem. He'd just have to work fast.
High, cold laughter filled Harry's head. Soon, they would be so befuddled by the potions that the Casket
of Artemis would be as good as his. And control of the elements along with it. Earth would be powerless
to resist him. He would have the power that he longed for, and once more the dark powers would rule
over Earth.
To Be Continued......
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginny took a deep breath as the first of the Gryffindor seventh years straggled through the door of
the potions dungeon. Dean grinned at her and Seamus waggled his eyebrows, getting a slap on the
arm from Lavender. She grinned back half-heartedly, but continued biting her nails.
From behind her, Severus cleared his throat and she jumped to attention.
"Come on! Get on with it!" He snapped at the Gryffindors. They glared back.
"Well, as I was saying to father..." A familiar drawl came down the corridor.
Ginny groaned inwardly. She'd forgotten that the Slytherins had potions with the Gryffindors.
Draco Malfoy rounded the door and broke off as he spotted Ginny. He and his two minions broke into
identical evil grins.
"Hey, Weasely!" He said, giving her a sarcastic wave. She scowled at him and he grinned even more.
//Why does my life go from bad to worse and then to absolute crap?// She thought.
Harry appeared at the door, closely followed by Ron and Hermione, who were holding hands. Severus
gave them a poisonous look.
"Weasley and Granger." He said lazily, "Please disentangle yourselves from one another and sit down."
The Slytherins sniggered appreciatively.
Ron went red and hurredly sat down, followed by Hermione, who gave Ginny an encouraging smile.
From the look on Ron's face he was still in shock that his sister was taking a potions lesson.
"Right." Severus said, breaking into an evil smile, "Today you will be making simple love potions."
The Gryffindors groaned, knowing how embarrasing Severus would make it for them.
Hermione, however, had her hand up.
"But proffessor, aren't love potions against the school rules?"
"Don't worry, Miss Granger, I have Proffessor Dumbledore's personal permission." Severus grinned
wider, "Now. You need to be in pairs. Miss Weasley," He turned to Ginny, "You can choose the
Gryffindor pairs. I will choose the Slytherin pairs."
Ginny nodded and walked over to the Gryffindors while Severus let the Slytherins arrange themselves
into pairs.
Automatically, the Gryffindors moved into pairs.
"Okay." Ginny said, "Have you all got a partner you're happy with?"
They all nodded. She felt a twinge of jealousy as she saw Harry sitting next to a girl called Jenni, who
was new to the year.
//Stop it, Ginny. He's nothing to do with you anymore. You're not together anymore, he can do what
he likes.// She thought. But it didn't make her feel any better.
"Don't let him do anything to us, Ginny." Begged Neville, who was sitting next to a scared looking
Austrian exchange student.
"I'll try." She said, smiling to make him feel better.
"You will find the instructions on page 170 of your books." Severus said from the front desk, "We may
be testing the potions at the end of the lesson."
Neville gave a small squeak of terror and turned slightly green. Ginny walked back up to the front of the
classroom and stood, awaiting instructions.
The class began shredding their rose petals, and measuring amounts of lavender oil.
"Go and watch the Slytherins." Severus told her. She nodded and walked over to them, silently cursing
him as she saw the look on Draco's face.
"Hello Weasley." He began, while his partner, a girl called Manisha (somehow, Draco had managed to
avoid being partnered with Pansy), shredded the roses. "So, how come you're doing this?"
"It's work experience." Ginny told him.
"Why would you want to do work experience with Proffessor Snape?" He asked.
"He was the only teacher available." Ginny told him sharply, avoiding looking at him. "Oh, and by the
way, that's Miss Weasley to you." She added with a smirk.
He scowled at her and went back to his potion.
//Yes! Strike one to me!// Ginny thought happily. //Maybe this teacher thing won't be that bad.//
Her thoughts were interupted by Severus speaking.
"Do not get this potion on your skin." He said, "It will cause you to become unconcious and when you
gain conciousness later, the first person you see you will fall in love with. And," He added with a smile,
"Amusing though that may be, you will be in detention for a month."
Neville gulped and stepped away from his cauldron quickly. A little too quickly. He walked straight into
Harry and Jenni's cauldron, knocking the potion all over the floor.
Severus sighed as people shreiked and jumped out of the way.
"Longbottom..." He began.
Draco had a sudden flash of inspiration. Now was his chance.
As Ginny rushed forward to help Neville off his chair, Draco flicked a little of his potion at her. It landed
on her cheek and she brushed it away without realising what it was.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, Severus also managed to get in the
way of some of the potion.
Both Ginny and Severus swayed unsteadily, then fell to the floor unconcious. Draco grinned triumphantly
and watching amusedly as Ron scooped Ginny up to carry her to the hospital wing, and Dean and
Seamus supported Severus by his shoulders, also going to Madame Pomfrey.
But what no one saw was that Harry had seen what Draco had done. He cursed. The new potion,
on top of the effect of Harry's one, would have an incredibly strong effect. As soon as they saw each
other when they woke up, they would be all over each other, and that would ruin Harry (or rather
Voldemort's) plan.
Three Hour's later, the hospital wing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus opened his eyes slowly and wondered why he was in a bed. He suddenly remembered what
had happened and sat bolt upright.
Luckily, the hospital was desserted, as Madame Pomfrey, sure that neither of them would wake up,
had gone to the Hall for some lunch. Well, desserted apart from Ginny, who was in the bed next to
Severus.
He spotted her and immediately fell under the spell's effect.
The feelings he was trying to suppress because of Harry's potion were multiplied by Draco's and he felt
a strange and overwhelming desire to hold Ginny. It wasn't even as if he wanted her to like him, he just
wanted to protect her from the world, and he wanted to love her.
//Don't be stupid, Severus.// He told himself sternly. //Snap out of it, she's a student.//
But the warm feeling that filled him didn't subside, no matter how hard he tried to quell it.
He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and was content by just being close to her. He
began to think that maybe the work experience wouldn't be that bad.
As he calmed, and looked away at the opposite wall, the feelings subsided.
//Maybe it was only a kind of momentary madness. I don't feel anything other than dislike towards her
really.// He thought.
But when he glanced across at her again, a fire began to burn inside him once more. She just looked
so fragile lying asleep that he wanted to -
//No Severus! Stop it! You're just being stupid!// He stopped his previous train of thought quickly.
There was nothing to be done about it, he would just have to stay away from her.
He groaned. The work experience! He'd be spending every single day with her.
//Actually, maybe I'll enjoy it.... No, no, no. God, Severus, you're turning into a dirty old man. It's
nothing serious, just an infatuation. It won't last. Just stick it out and it'll go away.//
Nothing could change. He would have to carry on as he always did, snapping at her and being horrible.
He shuddered. How long would he be able to last?
~~~
Meanwhile, Harry sat, apparently deep in thought. However, it was not Harry that was thinking. Harry's
conciousness was trapped in a tiny part of his mind, helpless, while the majority was taken over by
Voldemort. Voldemort's conciousness was busy thinking about the next step.
Now that the two of them were even more likely to 'fall in love', the plot would have to procceed
earlier than planned. That was no problem. He'd just have to work fast.
High, cold laughter filled Harry's head. Soon, they would be so befuddled by the potions that the Casket
of Artemis would be as good as his. And control of the elements along with it. Earth would be powerless
to resist him. He would have the power that he longed for, and once more the dark powers would rule
over Earth.
To Be Continued......