Chapter 39
Durmstrang, September 7
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
The voice that popped into his mind was strangely familiar. A familiar, but he still couldn't match that voice to a specific person. He barely moved. Feeling pain in his muscles, he thought that he moved for the first time in a long time.
"Sweetheart? Can you hear me?" - he heard the concern in the woman's voice. He wasn't sure how it should feel.
Severus decided to try to open his eyes. He wanted to say something, but his throat was so dry that he wasn't sure he could make a sound. Through half-closed eyelids, he could see a storm of dark brown curly hairs. The more he tried, the more details he saw. After a while he realized who was looking at him and the young wizard felt ashamed that he didn't recognize her immediately.
"Helen..." - Despite the pain, he forced himself to say her name.
Her reaction was immediate. She smiled and focused her eyes on his face. She looked as if she had just finished crying. - "Severus! Finally you woke up… After a while he felt her embrace him. He hadn't expected her grip to be so strong."
He didn't know what to say to her. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Helen sprang up her chair and ran to a nearby bookcase. She reached for a bottle of a pearly white elixir. Then she handed it to him with determination written on her face, saying, "Drink this baby. It's a moisturizing elixir. It will be easier for you to explain what happened."
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Last time she had been so scared while she was in the Ice Kingdom. As soon as she heard that Severus' next experiment had failed, she felt the ground slide under her feet. Ever since the delegation to their schools left Durmstrang, her beloved has become more and more immersed in the exercises. He was overworking even though he needed a rest.
"Will you have to explain to me why you are putting a strain on your health and strength if I need your full strength when you show up at Hogwarts? Can you tell me why you're risking your life just to create another spell?"
Helen felt tears welling up at the corners of her eyes. She was afraid that in a moment she would start crying. She didn't want to show weakness at this point. And she was so afraid of returning to the school from which her beloved escaped. There was a girl for whom he had certain feelings. She knew it was irrational, but she felt jealous of Lily Evans and James Potter. Lilly was close to Severus but she rejected him. And James? It was he who could be standing near Severus. It was HE who was his partner.
"Why are you crying?" - she heard the anxiety in the dark-haired wizard's voice.
"I'm not crying." - paradoxically, at this point, the first tear ran down her cheek, a tear that was almost immediately wiped off by the thumb of her beloved. - "All right. Maybe I am crying. It's just that you're not the only one anxious about your reunion with Lily Evans" - Helen was aware she had pronounced that name like a curse - "and the Marauders. I also don't want to worry about you dying one day because of some stupid experiment."
"It wasn't a stupid experiment, my dear witch." - A confident smile appeared on Sev's face. - "It was a failure due to bad calculations."
"Then tell me what you came up with THIS time."
Helen was aware that Severus Snape was one of the most proud wizards. He was also confident. Confidence combined with pride while working on an unknown spell was a really explosive mix. She was aware that she should get used to accidents but she couldn't do it. It cost her too much nerve.
"Let's start with this..."
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Hogwarts, September 7
Remus Lupin was watching the Durmstrang delegation attentively. He wasn't the only one who watched their Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. The Hogwarts students were curious about the class not only because Evan Potter, who turned out to be James' uncle, was teaching the class. Many of the Slytherins came to the grounds just to see with their own eyes what school Severus Snape was currently at.
Severus Snape. The wizard who created Wolf'sCure. Remus knew he would never forget the look on Albus Dumbledore's face when he learned of his former student's accomplishments. And the pride on the face of the Durmstrang director.
The werewolf's thoughts were interrupted by another lost spell. Remus only turned to see a burned hole about a meter deep in the lawn. He preferred not to think about what would happen if the spell hadn't missed, but had hit him.
"Goddamn it Elsa!" - Professor Potter sent a spell of the same color in one of his students, just by the girl the spell just disappeared - "How many times do I have to say that the spell is your energy? How many times do I have to say that just as you can throw it, you can also turn it around to avoid hitting the wrong target? You could have killed that boy!"
Remus shuddered. He had considered injury but not death. - "Are their trainings always so hard?" - he whispered under his breath. He didn't even notice at his side a curly haired brunette who had arrived with a delegation from Durmstrang.
"Heavy? What do you mean mister...?"
"Lupin. Our lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts are much softer." - he said resignedly. Only after seeing how other schools were learning did the Gryffindor understand how poor their curriculum was.
"Oh... boy. These classes are just a warm-up. In school, they fight until one side is unable to fight anymore. This usually means a death threat. After all, that's what this class is all about, right? For learning defense. The striker will not limit his arsenal of spells just because your school has theoretical training or relaxed duels instead of DADA."
The woman leaned forward, turned to him, and smiled. There was a void in her eyes, and Remus felt as if he had something common with her. He just couldn't imagine what he might have in common with Jean Granger.
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Durmstrang, September 7
Helen Granger was sitting with her head resting on her hands. She was beginning to think that her man wasn't fully mentally capable. She wondered if she would find a spell in the Institute's Library that would temporarily bind her wizard's magic. Even Veela shouldn't be playing with his magic core.
"You will not say anything?" - she heard Severus was concerned. - "I would even prefer a lecture listing my every mistake instead of this silence."
"I'm trying to calm down. I don't know if I can do it, but I'll try to explain it to you. What prompted you to try to connect with the protective magic of this place? It could kill you. I understand that you are trying not to think about the hardships of the next days but this?! This is an exaggeration."
"I came across a book with protective magic. I didn't want to be connected to the Durmstrang Guard Circle. I wanted to analyze it."
She didn't say it out loud. She had to do something about Severus' excess enthusiasm. She felt he needed to be "grounded". She just wasn't sure how.
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Hogwarts, September 5
Wolf'sCure HOPE FOR LYCANTROPIA INFECTED?
In recent weeks, on the Old Continent, there was a lot of talk about the drug created by one of the students of the Durmstrang Institute. Interestingly, this school of Magic, in the past more widely associated with Gellert Grindelwald, is becoming a stronger and stronger center of innovation in the Magic World. Wolf'sCure patented by Severus Snape has also joined the numerous patents that belong to former students of this institute.
What is Wolf'sCure? It is an elixir that may prove to be a rescue for people freshly bitten by a werewolf. The ingredients of the elixir attack foreign blood (in this case, werewolf blood) until only the blood of the victim is left in the body. According to the information received from the International Office for Magical Development, the recipient of the elixir will undergo transformation until the end of the treatment.
Are there already cases of curing lycanthropy with Wolf'sCure? Yes. Unfortunately, due to the confidentiality of the research, we were unable to reach people who could confirm the effectiveness of their treatment. In any event, the World Drug Distribution Organization has confirmed that Wolf's Cure will be available everywhere outside of Magic Britain. What is the reason for this? We hope to solve this mystery quickly.
Albus Dumbledore crumpled his copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands. He was furious. He glanced surreptitiously at the Durmstrang Delegation. He saw Aleksiej Ivanovic talking to Lucius Malfoy. Both wizards looked extremely proud. Besides, not only them.
"What's happening?" - The older wizard realized that his unusual behavior had been noticed by Minerva. Usually, he didn't allow himself to show his displeasure outright.
"Haven't you read?" - with his hand he moved the crumpled newspaper towards the Transfiguration professor. - "Our Severus Snape has become famous."
He hadn't expected a reaction from Horace Slugthorn. In a voice dripping with what might have been a mixture of annoyance and satisfaction, he said. - "He's not OUR anymore. He was never OUR, after all. Maybe he was MINE. But he was never YOURS."
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Hogwarts, September 10
Albus Dumbledore didn't believe what he had just seen on the parchment. The first participant in the Triwizard Tournament was someone he didn't expect. He didn't think the boy would want to return to Hogwarts only a few months after he escaped from it.
"Severus Snape. Severus Snape is the champion of Durmstrang."
"Did anyone talk about me?"
At this point, the headmaster of Hogwarts heard the whispers of his students. Severus Snape returned to Hogwarts.
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It turned out that the written chapter was almost two weeks without publication. How do you like this chapter? In the next, I will develop the draw TriWizards champions. Regards, katie-krum