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Disclaimer: Nope, I still do not own any of the characters in this fanfic, except Emily Malfoy and Megan Jones (possibly more in the future). I used to own all of the characters… but then I woke up…Sadly that means I still do not own Gollum, for I find him quite hilarious.
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~ This fanfic contains spoilers from The Lord of the Rings books/movies and the Harry Potter books. ~
---------- Rated: PG-13 for violence and mild sexual reference. ----------
Two Heroes, Two Villains, One Ring
Ch. 7: Snape's Bad Morning
"I wonder where Snape is," Harry said to Ron as they waited for Professor Snape to show up for the first Potions class of the week. Harry was curious about where the teacher was, because Snape was almost never late for torture, er, I mean class. Hermione seemed unusually anxious for Snape to arrive. Ron could care less where Snape was, but tried to contribute to the conversation anyway. "Maybe he finally decided to take a bath!" Ron suggested hopefully. "Shhh!" Hermione said. "I can hear voices, outside the door!"
Severus Snape was in a bad mood again. And it wasn't one of his normal bad moods either. It was one of his famous come-anywhere-near-me-and-I'll-stab-you-in-the-face-with-a-broomstick kind of moods. He decided to sleep in late and not only did he miss breakfast but he was late for class as well. The only good thing he had going for him right now that he could think of was that he was on his way to double potions. Slytherin and Gryffindor. Severus smiled. This will be fun.
As he rounded the corner leading to his class in the dungeon, two second year Hufflepuff girls came running around the corner, giggling. With lightning fast reflexes, Snape grabbed them both by the arm and they skidded to a stop, a look of dawning horror on their young faces. Snape spoke slowly and quietly, "Miss Harper. Miss Jenkins. You two do know that running is not permitted in the dungeon hallways." He said this more as a statement than a question. The two girls gulped. "We're sorry, sir," Harper said. Snape smiled, "Ten points from Hufflepuff. From each of you." Jenkins gasped. "But Professor, we don't have twenty points left! We can't go into negatives can we? There's no rule that says that! " Snape looked thoughtful. He smiled and said, "Very impressive, Miss Jenkins. You have enlightened me with something I did not know, and that rarely happens. Fifty points will be awarded to Hufflepuff for your intelligence…" The two girls looked shocked at first but then grinned. "…and one hundred points will be taken from Hufflepuff for talking back to me! There is no rule that says your house points can go into negative numbers, but there is no rule that says they can't either." Snape smiled at the look of horror on their faces. "Now, I'm not even going to ask what you were doing down here in the first place. Go to your classes before I change my mind about taking points for your hair growing in the wrong direction on the left side of your head." They didn't need to be told twice. Snape chuckled at the sound of their retreating footsteps before stepping into the classroom.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had heard every word. Harry and Ron gulped and slid down further in their seats as an angry Snape walked into the room. Hermione however, remained calm.
As Snape came to a stop in front of the class, Hermione got up and made her way toward him. He turned around to see Hermione standing before him. "Granger, what are you…? He was surprised into silence when Hermione hugged him. Snape looked furious at first, but then his face softened after she whispered "thank you". Snape grimaced before reluctantly patting her on the back. "Go back to your seat," he said quietly.
After Hemione sat down Snape realized that everyone in the classroom was staring at him. He quickly regained his composure and growled, "Why are you lot not continuing making the Strengthening Potion we started on last Friday?" Everyone hurriedly got out their cauldrons and supplies. "Ten points from Gryffindor!"
No one even bothered mentioning that the Slytherins weren't prepared either. They were all too shocked at what they had just witnessed. Harry didn't know what was scarier, Hermione hugging Snape or Snape patting her on the back. For a moment he thought that maybe Snape did have a heart after all. Or at least an eighth of a heart.
Sirius Black sighed as he folded up the letter he had just received from his godson that had been forwarded from Lupin's house. He glanced over at his two guests, sitting on a rock to his left. "My godson tells me that four 'hobbits' an 'elf' and a 'dwarf' showed up two days ago, at the school I told you about. He says they just appeared. Like you. Do you know them?"
Aragorn turned and looked at Gandalf, a look of shock on his face. If Gandalf was surprised by this, he certainly didn't show it. "Four hobbits, an elf, and a dwarf, you say? Yes, yes, that sounds like our companions we were traveling with before we were separated. But there were only two hobbits with us at that time." Gandalf looked thoughtful. "Saruman's power is greater than I imagined," he said quietly. Sirius was curious. "Saruman?" Gandalf smiled, "The evil wizard that sent us here." Sirius grinned back, "It seems there is still much we don't know about each other and our cultures." "When will it be possible for us to see our companions?" Aragorn asked. Sirius sighed again, "That will be difficult. The majority of the teachers and students there don't really want me around, but I'll get to that in a moment. First, I have to write a letter to my godson…"
A/N~ Sorry for the short chapter. I will post the next chapter soon.
~ Kettch