Chapter six
"Shit!"
Professor Snape nearly spilled the jar of dragon venom he was refilling when he heard Neville cursing. It was such a rare occurrence that he nearly ran out of his office, after carefully setting the jar down of course. He was greeted with the sight of a young tree growing out of bowl in the middle of a classroom table.
"I thought there was to be no experimentation in my classroom!" Professor Snape snapped. "Petrificus Totalis!" he added, seeing that the tree was growing at a rather alarming rate. The spell had no effect.
"Dormiens frigido!" Neville said helpfully, while taking the rest of the potion base to a safe distance from the tree. "And I wasn't experimenting!"
"Dormiens frigido," Severus commanded. The growth slowed, but did not stop. The tree was now five feet tall, and roots were winding there way down the table legs like vines with a bad sense of direction. "Where's your wand?" he asked in frustration. Although Neville wasn't good at charms or transfiguration, he had shown a surprising knack for healing and plant related spells, and the growth retardant spell would work much better if he was casting it.
"Right there!" Neville said, waving his hand at the tree.
"Oh." Severus was hard pressed to keep from laughing, but was helped by a branch knocking a valuable jar of unicorn horn off the newly restocked shelves. "Use mine," he said abruptly, throwing it to Neville, who fumbled but managed not to drop it.
"Dormiens frigido!" Neville said, pointing the other mans wand at the tree. The wand hissed white sparks that stung Neville's hand making him drop it with a yelp. "I'm no good with other people's wands," Neville said helplessly, picking it up and giving it back to Snape.
Severus swore and cast the spell again. It made perfect sense that Neville was wand sensitive, and only able to use wands that were in harmony with his specific magical energy field. Wand sensitive wizards tended to be very good with certain magics, but abysmal with the rest. Snape thought fast. By the time he could get help, the wand tree would be to big to get through the doors, not to mention the wreck his classroom would be in, and it would be public knowledge that he hadn't been able to deal with the problem himself. Many of the substances in the room were volatile so he couldn't destroy it without also damaging the room. Neville couldn't use his wand, since they obviously had different magical energy types. "Accacio wand!" Severus snapped waving his wand in the direction of his private rooms. Perhaps Neville wasn't too sensitive. Severus hoped so.
Neville stared as a stick came flying through the air. It didn't look like much of a wand to him, but Snape directed it to him and he caught it automatically. He didn't have time to examine it. "Try that one!" Severus snapped at him.
Neville griped it by what he hoped was the handle and again cast the spell to stop the trees growth. "Dormiens frigido!" This time he felt the power respond smoothly to his desires. The tree stopped growing immediately, and Neville knew it would remain still for several days. He gaped at the wand in astonishment. It was only eight or nine inches long. Rather then being a smooth crafted piece it was lumpy and heavy, and thick with a diameter of an inch and a half at the base, tapering only slightly toward the point. Looking closer, Neville saw the grain was swirled and almost seemed to form strange runes. It wasn't like any piece of wood he had ever seen. "What is this?" Neville asked, tearing his gaze from the strange wand and looking finally at Snape.
Severus had collapsed into a chair in sheer relief when the growth stopped, and was wondering if the tree was still small enough to fit through the doors. Neville's question interrupted his mental door measuring and he raised an eyebrow at the student. "Hmm? Oh that. I've no idea actually. It in my fathers vault when I went though his papers. It's not dark magic," he added at Neville's wary look, "I checked it for that." He had tried using it himself but found it to clumsy for potions work.
"Oh." Neville said. "Well, thank you." Neville added and made as though to hand it back to Severus.
Snape raised the eyebrow again. "Should I assume you have a spare wand? If not, you'll need it for classes until you can buy a new one." He smiled at Neville's look of stunned delight, wishing he could make Neville that happy on a regular basis. He was starting to speculate on what else might delight the young man, when Hermione and Vincent Crabb walked into the classroom. Severus was relieved by the interruption, or so he told himself most firmly. He forced himself to concentrate on getting the tree out of the dungeons and into the greenhouse with the help of the hapless draftees.
"Shit!"
Professor Snape nearly spilled the jar of dragon venom he was refilling when he heard Neville cursing. It was such a rare occurrence that he nearly ran out of his office, after carefully setting the jar down of course. He was greeted with the sight of a young tree growing out of bowl in the middle of a classroom table.
"I thought there was to be no experimentation in my classroom!" Professor Snape snapped. "Petrificus Totalis!" he added, seeing that the tree was growing at a rather alarming rate. The spell had no effect.
"Dormiens frigido!" Neville said helpfully, while taking the rest of the potion base to a safe distance from the tree. "And I wasn't experimenting!"
"Dormiens frigido," Severus commanded. The growth slowed, but did not stop. The tree was now five feet tall, and roots were winding there way down the table legs like vines with a bad sense of direction. "Where's your wand?" he asked in frustration. Although Neville wasn't good at charms or transfiguration, he had shown a surprising knack for healing and plant related spells, and the growth retardant spell would work much better if he was casting it.
"Right there!" Neville said, waving his hand at the tree.
"Oh." Severus was hard pressed to keep from laughing, but was helped by a branch knocking a valuable jar of unicorn horn off the newly restocked shelves. "Use mine," he said abruptly, throwing it to Neville, who fumbled but managed not to drop it.
"Dormiens frigido!" Neville said, pointing the other mans wand at the tree. The wand hissed white sparks that stung Neville's hand making him drop it with a yelp. "I'm no good with other people's wands," Neville said helplessly, picking it up and giving it back to Snape.
Severus swore and cast the spell again. It made perfect sense that Neville was wand sensitive, and only able to use wands that were in harmony with his specific magical energy field. Wand sensitive wizards tended to be very good with certain magics, but abysmal with the rest. Snape thought fast. By the time he could get help, the wand tree would be to big to get through the doors, not to mention the wreck his classroom would be in, and it would be public knowledge that he hadn't been able to deal with the problem himself. Many of the substances in the room were volatile so he couldn't destroy it without also damaging the room. Neville couldn't use his wand, since they obviously had different magical energy types. "Accacio wand!" Severus snapped waving his wand in the direction of his private rooms. Perhaps Neville wasn't too sensitive. Severus hoped so.
Neville stared as a stick came flying through the air. It didn't look like much of a wand to him, but Snape directed it to him and he caught it automatically. He didn't have time to examine it. "Try that one!" Severus snapped at him.
Neville griped it by what he hoped was the handle and again cast the spell to stop the trees growth. "Dormiens frigido!" This time he felt the power respond smoothly to his desires. The tree stopped growing immediately, and Neville knew it would remain still for several days. He gaped at the wand in astonishment. It was only eight or nine inches long. Rather then being a smooth crafted piece it was lumpy and heavy, and thick with a diameter of an inch and a half at the base, tapering only slightly toward the point. Looking closer, Neville saw the grain was swirled and almost seemed to form strange runes. It wasn't like any piece of wood he had ever seen. "What is this?" Neville asked, tearing his gaze from the strange wand and looking finally at Snape.
Severus had collapsed into a chair in sheer relief when the growth stopped, and was wondering if the tree was still small enough to fit through the doors. Neville's question interrupted his mental door measuring and he raised an eyebrow at the student. "Hmm? Oh that. I've no idea actually. It in my fathers vault when I went though his papers. It's not dark magic," he added at Neville's wary look, "I checked it for that." He had tried using it himself but found it to clumsy for potions work.
"Oh." Neville said. "Well, thank you." Neville added and made as though to hand it back to Severus.
Snape raised the eyebrow again. "Should I assume you have a spare wand? If not, you'll need it for classes until you can buy a new one." He smiled at Neville's look of stunned delight, wishing he could make Neville that happy on a regular basis. He was starting to speculate on what else might delight the young man, when Hermione and Vincent Crabb walked into the classroom. Severus was relieved by the interruption, or so he told himself most firmly. He forced himself to concentrate on getting the tree out of the dungeons and into the greenhouse with the help of the hapless draftees.