Chapter Eleven
In which a terrible mistake is made
The trio all had their wands drawn as they stepped into the gloomy dungeon corridor with Severus in the lead. The professor paused and listened before nodding curtly and motioning for Ginny and Hermione to follow him. His steps were quick and quiet as he strode through the hall with his robes billowing almost soundlessly around as he moved. The two young women followed with hurried steps that were not nearly so graceful as they glanced behind them from time to time, fearful of pursuit and other lurking dangers. The distance had seemed shorter the previous night when they had been running for their lives in the opposite direction.
Hermione heaved a small sigh of relief when they came upon the pile of books in the middle of the corridor, undisturbed by the demons, who cared little for such things. Snape immediately gathered a pair of heavy tomes in his free arm. Ginny and Hermione followed suit, not daring to put their wands away. Danger felt close, very close. Severus paused for only a moment to examine the titles of the books, nodding with mild approval.
"Let's go." he said in a low growl, ushering the girls back down the passage.
As they turned to go, they heard a sound that made their blood run cold, the keening and penetrating cry of a demon near at hand. They needed no one to tell them to flee before the sound this time and broke into a run for their dungeon sanctuary. Severus could hear the sound of flapping wings bearing down upon them. He shoved Ginny and Hermione along as he glanced over his shoulder. That was his mistake.
Severus caught the toe of his shoe on the stone floor in his haste and toppled to the floor, losing his grip on the books, but thankfully not his wand. In an instant the creature was upon him and he found himself locked in a desperate struggle with the demon that had been chasing them. He cried out in agony as the beast tore at him, rending robe and flesh as it sought to cease the struggles of its prey.
The sound of his screams halted Ginny and Hermione in their tracks and turn to face the enemy that was savaging their professor and protector. Their hearts were both hammering as they began casting curses from their small arsenal of offensive spells.
"Conjunctivitis!"
"Incendio!"
"Furnunculus!"
"Impedimenta!"
While not particularly strong or illegal, the curses and spells caused the demon to claw at its own face, catch on fire, break out in boils, and slowly begin to crawl away from its victim. It was a moment before it managed to take to the air and fly clumsily back up the corridor.
Hermione watched in terror as the wand slipped from her professor's hand and he lay still upon the cold stone of the hallway. Blood. She could see the blood as she moved forward with leaden steps. Torn robes. Torn flesh. And blood that was running freely from a dozen gashes made by cruel claws, rending the flesh of its prey, its next meal. She was dizzy as she crashed to her knees next to him. All the color had gone out of his face. His eyes were closed.
"Hermione, is he? Is he dead?" asked Ginny Weasley with a quaver in her voice. She remained standing, clutching her wand in one hand and the books to her chest. She was very pale again and was trembling terribly.
"No, but this ... this is very bad." said Hermione.
"What are we going to do? More will be coming."
Hermione nodded that she understood that and rose to her feet.
"Mobilicorpus." she spoke.
Severus's body drifted into an upright position and floated slightly above the floor. Blood dripped from his wounds and splattered on the floor with a sickening sound.
"Forget the books, Ginny, and help me move him. We've got to be fast. I imagine that these creatures can smell blood." said Hermione.
"No, I can't leave them behind, not after he has gone through this to get them." said Ginny.
"Right. Watch our backs then." agreed Hermione, admiring the younger girl's sudden mettle.
They could hear far off cries as they moved the unconscious professor through the halls toward the safety of the dungeons, moving as quickly as possible. Ginny trailed with her wand clutched high in one hand, watching for any sign of pursuit, while Hermione expended all of her energy to hurry the floating professor along. They were leaving a trail of blood in their wake. And that wasn't the worst of it. Hermione could hear the sound of Snape's breathing becoming increasingly labored. She wasn't sure if they could save him, even if they managed to get him back to the rooms safely.
Hermione had taken some mediwitch classes. She had completed two of them before the first battle with Voldemort, qualifying her to assist in the hospital wing during the aftermath of that confrontation. And she had taken a third since then, but that hardly qualified her to deal with something so serious as this. She could mend bones and remove hexes with the best of them, but this was far more terrifying.
Ginny, she realized, looked almost as though she was going to faint every time she glanced at the wounds on their professor's exposed chest. She would be precious little help. Remus was going to a werewolf for many long hours. Hermione would not be able to depend on him either.
Hermione felt a tingle of relief as they entered the sanctuary of the wards again, but it was brief. Ginny dropped her books by the door and frantically began helping Hermione move Severus onto the bed in the other room. It was as good of a place as any to begin the task of trying to save Severus's life. Hermione released the spell. There was a soft thud as he settled onto the mattress.
Hermione sat down on the bed next to him and began murmuring quiet healing spells. She only knew mild spells designed to heal superficial injuries and ease pain. She peeled away the bloody and tattered robes, slipping them from his shoulders even as she continued to murmur the incantations. Another set of hands, Ginny's, began to help her, peeling the cloth away from the wounds. The girl knew many useful charms and a veritable arsenal of hexes, but she had never trained to be a mediwitch. She simply didn't have the stomach for it.
"Ginny, do you know what healing potions look like?" Hermione asked. Her forehead was covered with beaded perspiration. She couldn't manage much more of this. The strain was horrific.
"Yes." answered Ginny.
"Go and fetch some for me then, please." said Hermione, drying her face on her robes. Ginny nodded and raced from the room to obey.
The wounds, the deep gashes across his chest, were no longer bleeding freely, but bleeding they still were. Hermione touched his face. He was cold to the touch. And his breaths though less labored were still ragged. She gathered the torn robes in her shaking hands and tossed them aside, blood streaking her hands as she did so. She shivered. So much blood.
A soft canine whine at her elbow caused her to start. It was Remus, awakened by Ginny no doubt. She smiled at him, but tears filled her eyes. The werewolf placed his front paws on the bed and leaned toward Severus, nosing his ear gently and whining again. The potions' professor's head lolled to the side.
"He wanted the books we had left behind." said Hermione, taking a deep breath. "I didn't try hard enough to talk him out of it. I guess you can see what happened." She was trying desperately not to cry in front of Remus.
He placed a paw on her knee and gave her a very meaningful look that said in no uncertain terms, "You aren't responsible for this."
"I know." Hermione whispered, taking up her wand again and beginning the healing spells again with trembling hands.
Only a few minutes later she heard the sound of Ginny returning with the potions. The glass bottles clinked softly as she placed them upon the bed. Hermione ceased her efforts and picked up one of the glass containers.
"Very good, Ginny." she said softly, uncorking the bottle.
Remus moved away from the bed to let them work. Ginny had brought some clean cloths with the bottles of healing and wound cleaning solution. They applied the potions carefully, watching the wounds smoke and begin to close. Hermione sighed softly with relief as the bleeding finally stopped. Ginny on the other hand was sniffling quietly and trying very hard to hide the fact that she was crying.
"Is he going to be all right?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"I don't know." said Hermione honestly, feeling his skin again. The warmth had yet to return, but then he had lost so much blood.
"What will happen ... what if he dies here, Hermione? Will his soul be trapped in here with those things forever?" asked Ginny quietly.
Hermione looked at her with a stunned expression on her face. This was what Ginny was crying about? Not the copious amount of blood, not the terror of the experience, but rather something so simple and yet so complicated as their potions' professor's soul? For that Hermione had no answer.
Remus padded over to Ginny and nuzzled her hand.
"Why don't the two of you ... get some rest or something to eat?" suggested Hermione as Ginny wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. "I can keep an eye on him." she added.
Ginny nodded mutely and followed Remus back to the parlor with one hand on the werewolf's back. Remus would be able to calm her down, Hermione told herself before turning her attention back to Severus.
"No, I'm certainly not going to let you die in here." she told him, pulling the covers up around him to keep the chill away. "Certainly not." said Hermione.
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A/N: I've got nothing. Next chapter: the fall out from this horrible debacle.
Helen: I haven't read very many Albus/Minerva stories (possibly because they are so hard to find). I'm glad you like what I'm doing with the pairing here. Thanks for reviewing!
Witchy-grrl: "Who knew getting books could be so life-threatening??!!!" Amazing! If that wasn't a sign of things to come ... I hate to think I'm that predictable though. And I think that Remus would be just adorable as a werewolf, so long as he's had his potion. Cute and dangerous otherwise. Thank you for reviewing!
Michelle: I'm pleased to hear that you like the pairings. I wasn't sure how well Albus and Minerva would go over. But I think it's sweet too. Thanks for the review!
Mercurial: Why arrogant? Well, mostly because I haven't finished up with this story and I'm already planning a companion story. But thanks for the encouragement. And the three points you mentioned about the previous chapter were exactly the reasons that the chapter had to be written. The Snape/Hermione relationship is in the works. Of course, with the way this chapter ends ... I know, it doesn't look great. Thank you for all of the ego stroking and the extra long review!
clarity: Thank you for all the encouragement! Actually, all of the reviewers have been exceptionally nice. I just feel this uncanny need to explain my own logic perhaps more often than I should. It's always great to hear that I'm keeping people in character though. That is the biggest challenge (in my opinion) in fan fiction. Thank you for reviewing!
Aqua Child: Obviously they did need the luck and didn't have quite enough of it. Until I read PoA I always thought of werewolves as being a weird wolf-human hybrid thing. So that was weird for me and probably no one else. Thanks for reviewing!
Elektra Joradees Gamblin: Thank you for reviewing!
Additional note: I was wondering if anyone knows of a yahoo group dedicated to Albus and Minerva. I was thinking about either joining one (if possible) or starting one (if there was interest). Any ideas? Email me: aerynalexander@excite.com
In which a terrible mistake is made
The trio all had their wands drawn as they stepped into the gloomy dungeon corridor with Severus in the lead. The professor paused and listened before nodding curtly and motioning for Ginny and Hermione to follow him. His steps were quick and quiet as he strode through the hall with his robes billowing almost soundlessly around as he moved. The two young women followed with hurried steps that were not nearly so graceful as they glanced behind them from time to time, fearful of pursuit and other lurking dangers. The distance had seemed shorter the previous night when they had been running for their lives in the opposite direction.
Hermione heaved a small sigh of relief when they came upon the pile of books in the middle of the corridor, undisturbed by the demons, who cared little for such things. Snape immediately gathered a pair of heavy tomes in his free arm. Ginny and Hermione followed suit, not daring to put their wands away. Danger felt close, very close. Severus paused for only a moment to examine the titles of the books, nodding with mild approval.
"Let's go." he said in a low growl, ushering the girls back down the passage.
As they turned to go, they heard a sound that made their blood run cold, the keening and penetrating cry of a demon near at hand. They needed no one to tell them to flee before the sound this time and broke into a run for their dungeon sanctuary. Severus could hear the sound of flapping wings bearing down upon them. He shoved Ginny and Hermione along as he glanced over his shoulder. That was his mistake.
Severus caught the toe of his shoe on the stone floor in his haste and toppled to the floor, losing his grip on the books, but thankfully not his wand. In an instant the creature was upon him and he found himself locked in a desperate struggle with the demon that had been chasing them. He cried out in agony as the beast tore at him, rending robe and flesh as it sought to cease the struggles of its prey.
The sound of his screams halted Ginny and Hermione in their tracks and turn to face the enemy that was savaging their professor and protector. Their hearts were both hammering as they began casting curses from their small arsenal of offensive spells.
"Conjunctivitis!"
"Incendio!"
"Furnunculus!"
"Impedimenta!"
While not particularly strong or illegal, the curses and spells caused the demon to claw at its own face, catch on fire, break out in boils, and slowly begin to crawl away from its victim. It was a moment before it managed to take to the air and fly clumsily back up the corridor.
Hermione watched in terror as the wand slipped from her professor's hand and he lay still upon the cold stone of the hallway. Blood. She could see the blood as she moved forward with leaden steps. Torn robes. Torn flesh. And blood that was running freely from a dozen gashes made by cruel claws, rending the flesh of its prey, its next meal. She was dizzy as she crashed to her knees next to him. All the color had gone out of his face. His eyes were closed.
"Hermione, is he? Is he dead?" asked Ginny Weasley with a quaver in her voice. She remained standing, clutching her wand in one hand and the books to her chest. She was very pale again and was trembling terribly.
"No, but this ... this is very bad." said Hermione.
"What are we going to do? More will be coming."
Hermione nodded that she understood that and rose to her feet.
"Mobilicorpus." she spoke.
Severus's body drifted into an upright position and floated slightly above the floor. Blood dripped from his wounds and splattered on the floor with a sickening sound.
"Forget the books, Ginny, and help me move him. We've got to be fast. I imagine that these creatures can smell blood." said Hermione.
"No, I can't leave them behind, not after he has gone through this to get them." said Ginny.
"Right. Watch our backs then." agreed Hermione, admiring the younger girl's sudden mettle.
They could hear far off cries as they moved the unconscious professor through the halls toward the safety of the dungeons, moving as quickly as possible. Ginny trailed with her wand clutched high in one hand, watching for any sign of pursuit, while Hermione expended all of her energy to hurry the floating professor along. They were leaving a trail of blood in their wake. And that wasn't the worst of it. Hermione could hear the sound of Snape's breathing becoming increasingly labored. She wasn't sure if they could save him, even if they managed to get him back to the rooms safely.
Hermione had taken some mediwitch classes. She had completed two of them before the first battle with Voldemort, qualifying her to assist in the hospital wing during the aftermath of that confrontation. And she had taken a third since then, but that hardly qualified her to deal with something so serious as this. She could mend bones and remove hexes with the best of them, but this was far more terrifying.
Ginny, she realized, looked almost as though she was going to faint every time she glanced at the wounds on their professor's exposed chest. She would be precious little help. Remus was going to a werewolf for many long hours. Hermione would not be able to depend on him either.
Hermione felt a tingle of relief as they entered the sanctuary of the wards again, but it was brief. Ginny dropped her books by the door and frantically began helping Hermione move Severus onto the bed in the other room. It was as good of a place as any to begin the task of trying to save Severus's life. Hermione released the spell. There was a soft thud as he settled onto the mattress.
Hermione sat down on the bed next to him and began murmuring quiet healing spells. She only knew mild spells designed to heal superficial injuries and ease pain. She peeled away the bloody and tattered robes, slipping them from his shoulders even as she continued to murmur the incantations. Another set of hands, Ginny's, began to help her, peeling the cloth away from the wounds. The girl knew many useful charms and a veritable arsenal of hexes, but she had never trained to be a mediwitch. She simply didn't have the stomach for it.
"Ginny, do you know what healing potions look like?" Hermione asked. Her forehead was covered with beaded perspiration. She couldn't manage much more of this. The strain was horrific.
"Yes." answered Ginny.
"Go and fetch some for me then, please." said Hermione, drying her face on her robes. Ginny nodded and raced from the room to obey.
The wounds, the deep gashes across his chest, were no longer bleeding freely, but bleeding they still were. Hermione touched his face. He was cold to the touch. And his breaths though less labored were still ragged. She gathered the torn robes in her shaking hands and tossed them aside, blood streaking her hands as she did so. She shivered. So much blood.
A soft canine whine at her elbow caused her to start. It was Remus, awakened by Ginny no doubt. She smiled at him, but tears filled her eyes. The werewolf placed his front paws on the bed and leaned toward Severus, nosing his ear gently and whining again. The potions' professor's head lolled to the side.
"He wanted the books we had left behind." said Hermione, taking a deep breath. "I didn't try hard enough to talk him out of it. I guess you can see what happened." She was trying desperately not to cry in front of Remus.
He placed a paw on her knee and gave her a very meaningful look that said in no uncertain terms, "You aren't responsible for this."
"I know." Hermione whispered, taking up her wand again and beginning the healing spells again with trembling hands.
Only a few minutes later she heard the sound of Ginny returning with the potions. The glass bottles clinked softly as she placed them upon the bed. Hermione ceased her efforts and picked up one of the glass containers.
"Very good, Ginny." she said softly, uncorking the bottle.
Remus moved away from the bed to let them work. Ginny had brought some clean cloths with the bottles of healing and wound cleaning solution. They applied the potions carefully, watching the wounds smoke and begin to close. Hermione sighed softly with relief as the bleeding finally stopped. Ginny on the other hand was sniffling quietly and trying very hard to hide the fact that she was crying.
"Is he going to be all right?" she asked in a trembling voice.
"I don't know." said Hermione honestly, feeling his skin again. The warmth had yet to return, but then he had lost so much blood.
"What will happen ... what if he dies here, Hermione? Will his soul be trapped in here with those things forever?" asked Ginny quietly.
Hermione looked at her with a stunned expression on her face. This was what Ginny was crying about? Not the copious amount of blood, not the terror of the experience, but rather something so simple and yet so complicated as their potions' professor's soul? For that Hermione had no answer.
Remus padded over to Ginny and nuzzled her hand.
"Why don't the two of you ... get some rest or something to eat?" suggested Hermione as Ginny wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robes. "I can keep an eye on him." she added.
Ginny nodded mutely and followed Remus back to the parlor with one hand on the werewolf's back. Remus would be able to calm her down, Hermione told herself before turning her attention back to Severus.
"No, I'm certainly not going to let you die in here." she told him, pulling the covers up around him to keep the chill away. "Certainly not." said Hermione.
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A/N: I've got nothing. Next chapter: the fall out from this horrible debacle.
Helen: I haven't read very many Albus/Minerva stories (possibly because they are so hard to find). I'm glad you like what I'm doing with the pairing here. Thanks for reviewing!
Witchy-grrl: "Who knew getting books could be so life-threatening??!!!" Amazing! If that wasn't a sign of things to come ... I hate to think I'm that predictable though. And I think that Remus would be just adorable as a werewolf, so long as he's had his potion. Cute and dangerous otherwise. Thank you for reviewing!
Michelle: I'm pleased to hear that you like the pairings. I wasn't sure how well Albus and Minerva would go over. But I think it's sweet too. Thanks for the review!
Mercurial: Why arrogant? Well, mostly because I haven't finished up with this story and I'm already planning a companion story. But thanks for the encouragement. And the three points you mentioned about the previous chapter were exactly the reasons that the chapter had to be written. The Snape/Hermione relationship is in the works. Of course, with the way this chapter ends ... I know, it doesn't look great. Thank you for all of the ego stroking and the extra long review!
clarity: Thank you for all the encouragement! Actually, all of the reviewers have been exceptionally nice. I just feel this uncanny need to explain my own logic perhaps more often than I should. It's always great to hear that I'm keeping people in character though. That is the biggest challenge (in my opinion) in fan fiction. Thank you for reviewing!
Aqua Child: Obviously they did need the luck and didn't have quite enough of it. Until I read PoA I always thought of werewolves as being a weird wolf-human hybrid thing. So that was weird for me and probably no one else. Thanks for reviewing!
Elektra Joradees Gamblin: Thank you for reviewing!
Additional note: I was wondering if anyone knows of a yahoo group dedicated to Albus and Minerva. I was thinking about either joining one (if possible) or starting one (if there was interest). Any ideas? Email me: aerynalexander@excite.com