Chapter Six
In which Hermione finds a clue
Hermione shuddered involuntarily as the demonic cries subsided. It was almost painfully quiet in their wake. She looked over at Remus and Ginny. Remus had his wand drawn, almost as though expecting an attack, and a protective arm around Ginny, who was shaking hard. Snape on the other hand was sitting passively on the couch next to her, resting his chin in his hands. He could almost certainly feel anything that was testing his wards. Judging by the sounds, Hermione estimated that there were at least a dozen, probably more, of those things outside their sanctuary. She wondered how long it would take them to get in. In any event they were neatly trapped inside.
"Where have they all come from?" asked Remus aloud.
"I heard a legend once from Lucius Malfoy's father." said Severus.
Hermione and Ginny looked at him a bit strangely.
"What? The Malfoy family has longed communed with dark and dangerous creatures." he shrugged. "Does that surprise you?"
"Not at all. Quite to the contrary. Go on, Severus." said Remus, pocketing his wand and giving Ginny's shoulder a squeeze.
"He said that a host of demons had been imprisoned somehow by the Founders on Hogwarts' grounds during a great war. The four of them had sealed the demons into a separate sort of mirror realm. I was young when Mister Malfoy told the story. I don't know where or how they did it exactly." said Snape.
Remus pondered those words and asked, "Could they have been released somehow?"
"I have no other explanation." said Severus.
"But what happened to the castle then?" asked Hermione.
"The answer to that is not going to be easy to find." said Remus, taking a deep breath. "It is getting late. I recommend that you two girls try to get some sleep while we continue reading and debating in a scholarly fashion."
"But we should help you!" protested Hermione.
"You will be helping us. You will be keeping up your strength and keeping your wits sharp." said Remus.
Some blankets were found and the couch was made up for the two girls to sleep upon while Remus and Severus retreated to the potion's classroom, which was well within the wards, thanks to the quick thinking of Snape. The potions' professor was pleased to find that the classroom was exactly how he remembered it, except for the dried gray slime that coated much of the room. Even the bottles of Wolfsbane potion were intact and where he had left them. Both Severus and the werewolf were relieved to see them.
"At least we won't have to worry about being eaten tomorrow night should we still be in this predicament." Severus commented as Remus cleared a spot on a table for the books.
"You couldn't handle one werewolf? Whatever are you going to do about those demons then?" asked Remus.
"Oh, they are most certainly your department. I do believe that demons fall under your purview as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. And I could handle a werewolf. I just don't believe you would be pleased by my methods." said Snape, flashing an unpleasant sort of smile. There was a spark of humor in his eyes however.
"Touché, Severus." chuckled Remus.
"Now, down to business, Lupin." he said, taking a seat near the stack of books.
In the other room Ginny had managed to fall asleep curled up at one end of the soft, overstuffed green couch, but Hermione still felt restless. And something kept poking her in the side. She couldn't seem to find a comfortable position on her end of the couch. Would it have really killed Snape or upset the precarious balance of teacher-student relationships for all time if he had let them sleep in his room? She didn't think so.
It was sometime before Hermione realized what she had in her pocket. It was the old copy of Hogwarts: A History that she had borrowed from the library. Hermione smiled. The current version of the book had always made wonderful bedtime reading. It was better than warm milk.
Hermione started looking through the table of contents in the front of the book. The subjects covered in the book had not changed very much over the course of fifty years. Then she stopped as a chapter title caught her eye: The Demon Realm of Hogwarts. She quickly turned to the page where that chapter began and started reading with extraordinary interest. The edition to which she was accustomed contained nothing like this.
During the early days of the school when the Founders, including Salazar Slytherin, were taking in their first pupils, the school came under attack by a vicious host of demonic creatures intent upon stopping the completion of Hogwarts and destroying what the Founders were attempting to create. Trained wizards were formidable foes while untrained ones were easy prey.
The Founders with great unity of purpose fought the hoard, aided by their young students, and sealed the creatures in a mirror realm, another dimension where the demons could not escape or harm anyone in the outside world. The mirror realm was said to resemble the school in perfect detail, which assisted the Founders as they were able to trick some of the weaker demons into entering willingly, though it required a great effort to seal the more powerful ones inside, including the use of Slytherin's skill in the area of potions.
That answered many questions, but it also caused Hermione to pose a few additional ones.
"If this is the demon realm that we're in, then why is everything here from the Hogwarts of the mid-nineteen-forties?" she wondered, tossing aside her blanket.
Professors Snape and Lupin were reading in silence when Hermione stepped into the classroom, book in hand. Remus glanced up and frowned.
"You should be fast asleep by now." he admonished gently.
"Sorry, but I couldn't sleep. So I tried reading part of Hogwarts: A History."
"That'll do it." snorted Snape.
"And I found something very interesting that might help us understand what's going on here." she said, setting the open book on the table between them.
Severus and Remus leaned over the tome and peered at the chapter title with great interest.
"Malfoy was right!" said Snape with some astonishment, as though he had been skeptical of the tale himself.
"So it seems." said Remus, skimming. "This means that we have somehow been brought into the realm of the demons' imprisonment."
"Well, there has to be a way back out again, especially since it was so easy for us to stumble in here." said Hermione.
"I think getting out will prove far more difficult than getting in. There are things in here that the Founders intended to imprison for all eternity." said Snape.
"I didn't say it would be easy." said Hermione. "But I'm certainly not content to live out the rest of my life in a warded room in the dungeons of a facsimile of Hogwarts!" she said, raising her voice.
"Of course not." said Remus, looking up from the book and shooting not so friendly glance in Snape's direction that said quite clearly, "Don't upset her, Severus!" "We are all getting out of here. I know we will find a way. And you've given us a good start by identifying the problem." Remus told her.
"I want to help."
"And help you shall." said Severus. "But not until morning. Leave this to us for now."
Hermione looked at him blankly for a moment, realizing that he was managing to keep a civil tone, and did the only thing anyone could in that situation. She turned and walked back into the chambers next door to get a few hours of sleep.
"You do realize that we are most likely trapped here permanently, don't you?" he asked Lupin as soon as she was gone.
"I'm a bit more optimistic." said Remus.
Snape merely sneered silently and started going through more books.
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A/N: They seem to be in a spot of trouble, now don't they?
Artemis: Yes, where would they hide? They had better keep an eye on those wards. Thanks for reviewing!
Witchy-grrl: If they had known about them, then they would probably know how to fight them ... which takes a lot of the fun out of it. After all, Remus and Severus are well-versed in DADA and the girls probably aren't too shabby. And I imagine that there would be real magical creatures (unicorns, pixies, so forth) and mythical magical creatures. Just a thought. Thank you for reviewing!
Slytherin Girl: Thank you very much! Always nice to hear. By the way, your quotes are really cool!
labrisa: I think that there was some problem with the website yesterday. I hope it works now. Thanks for reviewing and letting me know about that!
Helen: I always try to be original, but with the volume of HP fiction, it's tough sometimes. Thanks for the two reviews! I will try to update as frequently as possible.
In which Hermione finds a clue
Hermione shuddered involuntarily as the demonic cries subsided. It was almost painfully quiet in their wake. She looked over at Remus and Ginny. Remus had his wand drawn, almost as though expecting an attack, and a protective arm around Ginny, who was shaking hard. Snape on the other hand was sitting passively on the couch next to her, resting his chin in his hands. He could almost certainly feel anything that was testing his wards. Judging by the sounds, Hermione estimated that there were at least a dozen, probably more, of those things outside their sanctuary. She wondered how long it would take them to get in. In any event they were neatly trapped inside.
"Where have they all come from?" asked Remus aloud.
"I heard a legend once from Lucius Malfoy's father." said Severus.
Hermione and Ginny looked at him a bit strangely.
"What? The Malfoy family has longed communed with dark and dangerous creatures." he shrugged. "Does that surprise you?"
"Not at all. Quite to the contrary. Go on, Severus." said Remus, pocketing his wand and giving Ginny's shoulder a squeeze.
"He said that a host of demons had been imprisoned somehow by the Founders on Hogwarts' grounds during a great war. The four of them had sealed the demons into a separate sort of mirror realm. I was young when Mister Malfoy told the story. I don't know where or how they did it exactly." said Snape.
Remus pondered those words and asked, "Could they have been released somehow?"
"I have no other explanation." said Severus.
"But what happened to the castle then?" asked Hermione.
"The answer to that is not going to be easy to find." said Remus, taking a deep breath. "It is getting late. I recommend that you two girls try to get some sleep while we continue reading and debating in a scholarly fashion."
"But we should help you!" protested Hermione.
"You will be helping us. You will be keeping up your strength and keeping your wits sharp." said Remus.
Some blankets were found and the couch was made up for the two girls to sleep upon while Remus and Severus retreated to the potion's classroom, which was well within the wards, thanks to the quick thinking of Snape. The potions' professor was pleased to find that the classroom was exactly how he remembered it, except for the dried gray slime that coated much of the room. Even the bottles of Wolfsbane potion were intact and where he had left them. Both Severus and the werewolf were relieved to see them.
"At least we won't have to worry about being eaten tomorrow night should we still be in this predicament." Severus commented as Remus cleared a spot on a table for the books.
"You couldn't handle one werewolf? Whatever are you going to do about those demons then?" asked Remus.
"Oh, they are most certainly your department. I do believe that demons fall under your purview as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. And I could handle a werewolf. I just don't believe you would be pleased by my methods." said Snape, flashing an unpleasant sort of smile. There was a spark of humor in his eyes however.
"Touché, Severus." chuckled Remus.
"Now, down to business, Lupin." he said, taking a seat near the stack of books.
In the other room Ginny had managed to fall asleep curled up at one end of the soft, overstuffed green couch, but Hermione still felt restless. And something kept poking her in the side. She couldn't seem to find a comfortable position on her end of the couch. Would it have really killed Snape or upset the precarious balance of teacher-student relationships for all time if he had let them sleep in his room? She didn't think so.
It was sometime before Hermione realized what she had in her pocket. It was the old copy of Hogwarts: A History that she had borrowed from the library. Hermione smiled. The current version of the book had always made wonderful bedtime reading. It was better than warm milk.
Hermione started looking through the table of contents in the front of the book. The subjects covered in the book had not changed very much over the course of fifty years. Then she stopped as a chapter title caught her eye: The Demon Realm of Hogwarts. She quickly turned to the page where that chapter began and started reading with extraordinary interest. The edition to which she was accustomed contained nothing like this.
During the early days of the school when the Founders, including Salazar Slytherin, were taking in their first pupils, the school came under attack by a vicious host of demonic creatures intent upon stopping the completion of Hogwarts and destroying what the Founders were attempting to create. Trained wizards were formidable foes while untrained ones were easy prey.
The Founders with great unity of purpose fought the hoard, aided by their young students, and sealed the creatures in a mirror realm, another dimension where the demons could not escape or harm anyone in the outside world. The mirror realm was said to resemble the school in perfect detail, which assisted the Founders as they were able to trick some of the weaker demons into entering willingly, though it required a great effort to seal the more powerful ones inside, including the use of Slytherin's skill in the area of potions.
That answered many questions, but it also caused Hermione to pose a few additional ones.
"If this is the demon realm that we're in, then why is everything here from the Hogwarts of the mid-nineteen-forties?" she wondered, tossing aside her blanket.
Professors Snape and Lupin were reading in silence when Hermione stepped into the classroom, book in hand. Remus glanced up and frowned.
"You should be fast asleep by now." he admonished gently.
"Sorry, but I couldn't sleep. So I tried reading part of Hogwarts: A History."
"That'll do it." snorted Snape.
"And I found something very interesting that might help us understand what's going on here." she said, setting the open book on the table between them.
Severus and Remus leaned over the tome and peered at the chapter title with great interest.
"Malfoy was right!" said Snape with some astonishment, as though he had been skeptical of the tale himself.
"So it seems." said Remus, skimming. "This means that we have somehow been brought into the realm of the demons' imprisonment."
"Well, there has to be a way back out again, especially since it was so easy for us to stumble in here." said Hermione.
"I think getting out will prove far more difficult than getting in. There are things in here that the Founders intended to imprison for all eternity." said Snape.
"I didn't say it would be easy." said Hermione. "But I'm certainly not content to live out the rest of my life in a warded room in the dungeons of a facsimile of Hogwarts!" she said, raising her voice.
"Of course not." said Remus, looking up from the book and shooting not so friendly glance in Snape's direction that said quite clearly, "Don't upset her, Severus!" "We are all getting out of here. I know we will find a way. And you've given us a good start by identifying the problem." Remus told her.
"I want to help."
"And help you shall." said Severus. "But not until morning. Leave this to us for now."
Hermione looked at him blankly for a moment, realizing that he was managing to keep a civil tone, and did the only thing anyone could in that situation. She turned and walked back into the chambers next door to get a few hours of sleep.
"You do realize that we are most likely trapped here permanently, don't you?" he asked Lupin as soon as she was gone.
"I'm a bit more optimistic." said Remus.
Snape merely sneered silently and started going through more books.
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A/N: They seem to be in a spot of trouble, now don't they?
Artemis: Yes, where would they hide? They had better keep an eye on those wards. Thanks for reviewing!
Witchy-grrl: If they had known about them, then they would probably know how to fight them ... which takes a lot of the fun out of it. After all, Remus and Severus are well-versed in DADA and the girls probably aren't too shabby. And I imagine that there would be real magical creatures (unicorns, pixies, so forth) and mythical magical creatures. Just a thought. Thank you for reviewing!
Slytherin Girl: Thank you very much! Always nice to hear. By the way, your quotes are really cool!
labrisa: I think that there was some problem with the website yesterday. I hope it works now. Thanks for reviewing and letting me know about that!
Helen: I always try to be original, but with the volume of HP fiction, it's tough sometimes. Thanks for the two reviews! I will try to update as frequently as possible.