Chapter Three
In which Gryffindor loses house points
The first sound Hermione was aware of when she opened her eyes was Ginny coughing quietly nearby. She groaned softly as she sat up. Her head felt as though it were about to split right down the middle. That had been some explosion. Glancing around, Hermione was surprised that the classroom was not in worse condition. The air was filled with slightly acrid smoke, and the floor, not to mention the walls and everything else, was damp with an oozy gray mixture of potions' ingredients, water, cleaning solution, Wolfsbane potion, and glass fragments. The same mixture was also coating their robes. But the room and its occupants all appeared to be in one piece.
Hermione winced as Professor Snape, his face livid with rage and splotched with the gray muck, rose shakily to his feet, yanking Ginny up with him by the sleeve of her robes. The poor girl was trying desperately not to cry. Lupin was still lying on the floor, massaging his temples, obviously afflicted by the same sort of headache from which Hermione was suffering. Despite the pain in his eyes, he appeared to be ever-so-slightly amused.
"One hundred points from Gryffindor for nearly getting us all killed and for general idiocy!" snarled Snape, thrusting Ginny away and looking at his stained robes.
"Severus, it was only a simple accident. Aren't you being a bit harsh?" questioned Remus, sitting up very slowly.
Hermione could have told him that Snape was simply being Snape, but she felt that the best course of action was to say nothing.
"Harsh! They blew up my classroom! No, you blew up my classroom. You are all Gryffindors and you all blew up my classroom!" said Snape, wiping his face on his sleeve, which only served to transfer more of the slime from his robes to his face.
Remus chose to ignore the outburst as he helped Hermione to her feet and asked, "Are you all right, Miss Granger? Miss Weasley?"
"I ... I think so, professor." answered Hermione.
Ginny could only bite her lower lip and nod. Snape was still glowering at her.
"Maybe we ought to visit Madam Pomfrey to be sure. Potion accidents are tricky things." said Lupin, noting a few small cuts on their hands and faces from the glass fragments that been in the explosive mix.
"We're all right. Honest." said Ginny in a quavering voice, sniffling slightly.
"Severus, I trust their detention is over for tonight." said Remus, putting a protective arm around each of the girls and making it clear that they would be leaving with or without his approval.
"Get out." Snape told them, looking at the mess. "Just get out now."
As Remus and the girls left the classroom, they could hear the sound of Snape slamming the door to his nearby personal rooms. Remus chuckled and shook his head as they walked out of the dungeons. He had not expected visiting Severus to be quite so entertaining, although he was still tempted to go see Poppy about a headache potion or something.
"I can't believe what just happened." said Ginny, shaking her head.
"Just an accident." shrugged Lupin, giving her a reassuring smile. "It could have happened to anyone."
"He's right, Gin. Don't fret."
"But the points ..."
"We will earn them back somehow." said Hermione.
"Of course you will." said Remus. "For starters I am awarding you twenty-five points for handling yourselves so well in a crisis."
"What?" questioned Ginny.
"Well, you didn't panic or anything or talk back to Snape when he lost his temper." said Remus lightly.
"Thanks, professor." said Hermione.
"Don't mention it. Now, you two should get cleaned up and go to bed. You really look dreadful."
The castle seemed unusually quiet that night as Hermione and Ginny made their way to Gryffindor Tower. The halls were deserted, and all the lights, the candles and torches, seemed pale. On most evenings students could be found walking to the library or the classrooms for either extra study or possible detentions. Or going to the hospital wing for one thing or another. Or visiting friends and significant others in another house. Or returning to their own common rooms for the night after extended conversation in the Great Hall after dinner. But that night the halls were empty of both students and staff.
And when they reached the top of the stairs leading to the common room, the portrait hole was open and the Fat Lady was missing from within her frame. The two girls paused and peered into dimly lit the room, wondering what was going on.
"I don't like this." Ginny whispered as they entered the inner of sanctum of Gryffindor house.
The common room was usually bustling with activity well after dark. The chairs were normally full of talking or studying students, and other lively activities, such as Exploding Snap and Wizards' Chess, were also taking place here and there throughout the room. But this evening, not long after eight o'clock, it was completely and utterly deserted. And the portrait had been suspiciously open. Had everyone left at once? Why? And where would they have gone? Hermione felt sick with dread as she thought of the possibilities: an attack, an evacuation, a disaster. Horrible things might have happened during their absence, while they were secluded in the dungeons or when they had been knocked out for who knows how long.
"Ginny, check the sixth year dorms. I'll check the seventh." said Hermione.
"Right." Ginny agreed. "I hope this is all just a joke or something." she muttered as she climbed the stairs to the room where the girls of her year lived and slept.
The room was empty and dark. But what was a thousand times worse, what couldn't be explained by some emergency or special gathering or anything Ginny could think of, was that the room wasn't exactly like she remembered it from earlier that day. The beds were different, positioned differently in the room even, and covered with linens that were not the same. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I've walked into the wrong dormitory." she told herself out loud.
But then she looked at the shape of the room and the windows and realized that this was the room she had been sleeping in since September and immediately raced back down the stairs where Hermione was waiting for her.
"Everything has changed." said Hermione.
"We have to tell someone." said Ginny, nodding her agreement.
"Professor McGonagall." Hermione said, starting toward the chamber of their head of house.
Meanwhile in the dungeons of the school Severus Snape was standing in front of his mirror, combing his freshly washed hair. There was nothing for it. The slime from the explosion had to be gotten out somehow.
"My goodness, professor, twice in four years! This is unexpected!" the mirror commented.
Snape only snarled at it and continued combing. He had learned long ago not to dignify the mirror by answering its constant barbs, which most people might have considered well meaning.
His post-explosive detention evening was turning out to be pleasantly student free. Most evenings he found himself dealing with his Slytherins as part of his duty as head of house. While he cared deeply for the students of his house, they were not always a pleasure to be around. The intrigues that went on in the dungeon were often simply beyond comparison. Gryffindors were famous for pranks. With Slytherins it was a different story entirely. It was vicious rumors, veiled threats, and political alliances for them. And it fell to Snape to handle the resulting dramas caused by those three things. It was, of course, not always easy.
This evening, he was surprised to find, only involved a quiet sit by the fire with a good book and perhaps a drop of brandy. Then he noticed something strange. The bathrobe he was wearing ... the shade of green was too pale, and it was a bit large. Had it somehow been bleached or altered? He had been lost in thought much of the evening, pondering his classes, the stupidity of his Gryffindor students, and how nice it was to have a bit of peace and quiet. Now that he finally took in his surroundings, he realized that his rooms, his furniture, his things had all been shifted around. In fact he was quite certain that some of the things in the room were not his at all.
He was immediately annoyed.
"Those deuced house elves and their annual cleaning!" he fumed. "I shall certainly speak to them about this first thing in the morning!"
And with that, he decided to turn in for the night.
Hermione and Ginny, upon finding Professor McGonagall's rooms unlocked and empty, left Gryffindor tower to find Professor Lupin. A constant source of quiet strength and comfort, surely he would know what was going on and what to do about it.
They were more than a little frightened as they dashed down the stairs and through the castle corridors. Both girls could admit that to themselves. Their house mates were gone, vanished into thin air, and an eerie, unnatural silence had settled over Hogwarts. Not since the days of the Basilisk had the place felt so unwholesome or unsafe to Hermione.
Their footsteps were abnormally loud as they raced down the passage leading the Lupin's rooms. A shadowy figure emerged from the doorway just as they reached it. Ginny shrieked aloud.
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A/N: This might be a good time to mention that I am really winging it as far as the layout of the castle goes. I am relying heavily on The Lexicon for help in figuring out where things are in Hogwarts. I imagine everyone has their own idea of the floor plan, which may or may not disagree with the one I'm using. What can I say? The place is huge, magical, and confusing.
excessivelyperky: Well, here's another chapter. Thanks for the review!
snickerdoodle: Yup, dense is the perfect description. Thank you for reviewing!
Witchty-grrl: I read an Ginny/Remus a long time ago and fell in love with the pairing. The unusual ones are a lot of fun to write. The review is much appreciated!
Artemis: All right, all right! Here's another chapter. Thanks!
Michelle: Thank you for reviewing!
Christine: I am hoping this will be an adventure anyway. At least the set-up is mostly out of the way. Thank you for the review!
gagmewithasp0rkx: Well, ta-duh! Here it is! Thank you for the feedback!
In which Gryffindor loses house points
The first sound Hermione was aware of when she opened her eyes was Ginny coughing quietly nearby. She groaned softly as she sat up. Her head felt as though it were about to split right down the middle. That had been some explosion. Glancing around, Hermione was surprised that the classroom was not in worse condition. The air was filled with slightly acrid smoke, and the floor, not to mention the walls and everything else, was damp with an oozy gray mixture of potions' ingredients, water, cleaning solution, Wolfsbane potion, and glass fragments. The same mixture was also coating their robes. But the room and its occupants all appeared to be in one piece.
Hermione winced as Professor Snape, his face livid with rage and splotched with the gray muck, rose shakily to his feet, yanking Ginny up with him by the sleeve of her robes. The poor girl was trying desperately not to cry. Lupin was still lying on the floor, massaging his temples, obviously afflicted by the same sort of headache from which Hermione was suffering. Despite the pain in his eyes, he appeared to be ever-so-slightly amused.
"One hundred points from Gryffindor for nearly getting us all killed and for general idiocy!" snarled Snape, thrusting Ginny away and looking at his stained robes.
"Severus, it was only a simple accident. Aren't you being a bit harsh?" questioned Remus, sitting up very slowly.
Hermione could have told him that Snape was simply being Snape, but she felt that the best course of action was to say nothing.
"Harsh! They blew up my classroom! No, you blew up my classroom. You are all Gryffindors and you all blew up my classroom!" said Snape, wiping his face on his sleeve, which only served to transfer more of the slime from his robes to his face.
Remus chose to ignore the outburst as he helped Hermione to her feet and asked, "Are you all right, Miss Granger? Miss Weasley?"
"I ... I think so, professor." answered Hermione.
Ginny could only bite her lower lip and nod. Snape was still glowering at her.
"Maybe we ought to visit Madam Pomfrey to be sure. Potion accidents are tricky things." said Lupin, noting a few small cuts on their hands and faces from the glass fragments that been in the explosive mix.
"We're all right. Honest." said Ginny in a quavering voice, sniffling slightly.
"Severus, I trust their detention is over for tonight." said Remus, putting a protective arm around each of the girls and making it clear that they would be leaving with or without his approval.
"Get out." Snape told them, looking at the mess. "Just get out now."
As Remus and the girls left the classroom, they could hear the sound of Snape slamming the door to his nearby personal rooms. Remus chuckled and shook his head as they walked out of the dungeons. He had not expected visiting Severus to be quite so entertaining, although he was still tempted to go see Poppy about a headache potion or something.
"I can't believe what just happened." said Ginny, shaking her head.
"Just an accident." shrugged Lupin, giving her a reassuring smile. "It could have happened to anyone."
"He's right, Gin. Don't fret."
"But the points ..."
"We will earn them back somehow." said Hermione.
"Of course you will." said Remus. "For starters I am awarding you twenty-five points for handling yourselves so well in a crisis."
"What?" questioned Ginny.
"Well, you didn't panic or anything or talk back to Snape when he lost his temper." said Remus lightly.
"Thanks, professor." said Hermione.
"Don't mention it. Now, you two should get cleaned up and go to bed. You really look dreadful."
The castle seemed unusually quiet that night as Hermione and Ginny made their way to Gryffindor Tower. The halls were deserted, and all the lights, the candles and torches, seemed pale. On most evenings students could be found walking to the library or the classrooms for either extra study or possible detentions. Or going to the hospital wing for one thing or another. Or visiting friends and significant others in another house. Or returning to their own common rooms for the night after extended conversation in the Great Hall after dinner. But that night the halls were empty of both students and staff.
And when they reached the top of the stairs leading to the common room, the portrait hole was open and the Fat Lady was missing from within her frame. The two girls paused and peered into dimly lit the room, wondering what was going on.
"I don't like this." Ginny whispered as they entered the inner of sanctum of Gryffindor house.
The common room was usually bustling with activity well after dark. The chairs were normally full of talking or studying students, and other lively activities, such as Exploding Snap and Wizards' Chess, were also taking place here and there throughout the room. But this evening, not long after eight o'clock, it was completely and utterly deserted. And the portrait had been suspiciously open. Had everyone left at once? Why? And where would they have gone? Hermione felt sick with dread as she thought of the possibilities: an attack, an evacuation, a disaster. Horrible things might have happened during their absence, while they were secluded in the dungeons or when they had been knocked out for who knows how long.
"Ginny, check the sixth year dorms. I'll check the seventh." said Hermione.
"Right." Ginny agreed. "I hope this is all just a joke or something." she muttered as she climbed the stairs to the room where the girls of her year lived and slept.
The room was empty and dark. But what was a thousand times worse, what couldn't be explained by some emergency or special gathering or anything Ginny could think of, was that the room wasn't exactly like she remembered it from earlier that day. The beds were different, positioned differently in the room even, and covered with linens that were not the same. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I've walked into the wrong dormitory." she told herself out loud.
But then she looked at the shape of the room and the windows and realized that this was the room she had been sleeping in since September and immediately raced back down the stairs where Hermione was waiting for her.
"Everything has changed." said Hermione.
"We have to tell someone." said Ginny, nodding her agreement.
"Professor McGonagall." Hermione said, starting toward the chamber of their head of house.
Meanwhile in the dungeons of the school Severus Snape was standing in front of his mirror, combing his freshly washed hair. There was nothing for it. The slime from the explosion had to be gotten out somehow.
"My goodness, professor, twice in four years! This is unexpected!" the mirror commented.
Snape only snarled at it and continued combing. He had learned long ago not to dignify the mirror by answering its constant barbs, which most people might have considered well meaning.
His post-explosive detention evening was turning out to be pleasantly student free. Most evenings he found himself dealing with his Slytherins as part of his duty as head of house. While he cared deeply for the students of his house, they were not always a pleasure to be around. The intrigues that went on in the dungeon were often simply beyond comparison. Gryffindors were famous for pranks. With Slytherins it was a different story entirely. It was vicious rumors, veiled threats, and political alliances for them. And it fell to Snape to handle the resulting dramas caused by those three things. It was, of course, not always easy.
This evening, he was surprised to find, only involved a quiet sit by the fire with a good book and perhaps a drop of brandy. Then he noticed something strange. The bathrobe he was wearing ... the shade of green was too pale, and it was a bit large. Had it somehow been bleached or altered? He had been lost in thought much of the evening, pondering his classes, the stupidity of his Gryffindor students, and how nice it was to have a bit of peace and quiet. Now that he finally took in his surroundings, he realized that his rooms, his furniture, his things had all been shifted around. In fact he was quite certain that some of the things in the room were not his at all.
He was immediately annoyed.
"Those deuced house elves and their annual cleaning!" he fumed. "I shall certainly speak to them about this first thing in the morning!"
And with that, he decided to turn in for the night.
Hermione and Ginny, upon finding Professor McGonagall's rooms unlocked and empty, left Gryffindor tower to find Professor Lupin. A constant source of quiet strength and comfort, surely he would know what was going on and what to do about it.
They were more than a little frightened as they dashed down the stairs and through the castle corridors. Both girls could admit that to themselves. Their house mates were gone, vanished into thin air, and an eerie, unnatural silence had settled over Hogwarts. Not since the days of the Basilisk had the place felt so unwholesome or unsafe to Hermione.
Their footsteps were abnormally loud as they raced down the passage leading the Lupin's rooms. A shadowy figure emerged from the doorway just as they reached it. Ginny shrieked aloud.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: This might be a good time to mention that I am really winging it as far as the layout of the castle goes. I am relying heavily on The Lexicon for help in figuring out where things are in Hogwarts. I imagine everyone has their own idea of the floor plan, which may or may not disagree with the one I'm using. What can I say? The place is huge, magical, and confusing.
excessivelyperky: Well, here's another chapter. Thanks for the review!
snickerdoodle: Yup, dense is the perfect description. Thank you for reviewing!
Witchty-grrl: I read an Ginny/Remus a long time ago and fell in love with the pairing. The unusual ones are a lot of fun to write. The review is much appreciated!
Artemis: All right, all right! Here's another chapter. Thanks!
Michelle: Thank you for reviewing!
Christine: I am hoping this will be an adventure anyway. At least the set-up is mostly out of the way. Thank you for the review!
gagmewithasp0rkx: Well, ta-duh! Here it is! Thank you for the feedback!