Chapter Twelve
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Snape braced himself for the demands about to be placed on him.
"As long as you keep your end we do." Malfoy stated firmly, difficult to the end.
From Potter all he got was a tired nod.
"Give me your demands and if they are in my ability to provide, I will return you both to normal." Snape forced his voice to sound cool and collected.
"Return us to normal now." Malfoy whined petulantly.
Little brat. The urge to render him mute rose again.
Surprisingly it was Potter who came to his defense. Somewhat.
"Oh, just tell him what you want Draco, so we can get out of here." He said, clearly exasperated.
Snape was mildly surprised. Since when were the two rivals on a first name basis?
Malfoy didn't have a retort, probably reluctantly agreeing. He just sat there in sulky silence for a few minutes.
So Potter spoke up again, in a tired voice.
And then it started, the part he'd been dreading. Snape had to bite his lip to keep from protesting at Potter's demands.
The boy wanted him to be "nice" to the Gryffindors, accusing him of being unfair to those who deserved his wrath. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything different from Potter. Self-sacrificing little git.
He burned with resentment when he was told he was expected to deliver a public apology Monday morning during breakfast. A heartfelt plea for forgiveness to all those students he'd supposedly slighted or treated unfairly.
He's composure nearly slipped when he realized what he was expected to do. But he stayed strong and reluctantly gave a curt nod of acceptance.
"I would also like my cloak back." Potter concluded.
Snape numbly handed to boy back his cloak.
Not to be upstaged Malfoy hesitated no more in making his demands.
In a single breath the boy had demanded everything from illegal potions to use of Snape's private chambers (for sordid purposes no doubt). It was no less than what Snape would have expected from him.
He repressed a shudder as the boy continued, apparently no end to his greed or thirst for vengeance.
His last demand of the evening nearly caused Snape to have heart failure. Was it possible to die from indignation?
Not only was he expected to grovel for forgiveness come Monday morning, but he was expected to do it in the form of a song. If witnessing Severus Snape actually apologizing for his alleged misdeeds weren't shocking enough, the sound of his singing voice would surely send his audience into near conniptions.
But of course he had no other choice. He hoped that if agreed to these outlandish demands easily enough that the two wouldn't be too upset when another consequence of this awful night was placed on their shoulders.
The "disappearance" of Hagrid's cockatrices.
The rare (and no doubt expensive) "pets" of Hagrids would definitely be missed and explanations would have to be made as to their whereabouts. And how they came to be traipsing freely through the Forbidden Forest.
But Snape chose not to broach on that subject just yet.
Malfoy's grating voice brought him back to his current reality.
"That will be all for now." The boy said with a casual wave of his hand, like a prince dismissing a servant. With emphasis on the word 'now'.
Snape sighed, thinking of the unpleasant tasks that lay ahead. Maybe it wasn't too late to do those memory charms. His wand hand twitched in anticipation.
But he restrained and instead snapped out crossly.
"Why are you two still sitting on the ground? Get up so we can get this over with."
Malfoy glared with displeasure at his tone, but Potter was oblivious as he slowly got to his feet. The boy wavered slightly from what Snape hoped was fatigue before offering his hand to Malfoy. Surprising Snape again with their newfound camaraderie towards each other.
Snape couldn't hide his concerned frown when he saw Malfoy, with Potter's help, struggle to his feet. They boy grimaced in pain and favoured his ankle, leaning on the other boy for support.
And then Snape remembered the devastation around him. That powerful burst of magic and the fallen trolls. He had been so caught up in getting the boys cooperation he forgot the events that had occurred and the dangers of the forest.
"What happened out here?" He asked.
But the boys weren't in the mood to give any answers.
"Set us right first!" Malfoy insisted, face paler than usual under the dirt.
Right, better do that. He'd almost forgotten.
With a casual wave of his wand he said the spell to release Malfoy from his temporary blindness.
He gazed into Malfoy's eyes, expecting to see them clear up to their usual grey. But nothing happened.
He waved his hand in front of Malfoy's face. No response.
He mustn't have cast the spell right. He tried again.
Nothing.
He looked at his wand incredulously, seeing if it was at fault for his lack of success. But nothing seemed amiss.
So he tried again. And again.
"What's wrong? Why is it taking so long?" Malfoy demanded impatiently.
Snape ignored him and turned his attention to Potter, casting the spell that should restore his hearing.
Same result, the boy still could not hear. His green eyes widening with realization as he recognized the look of barely controlled panic on Snape's face.
But the professor kept trying. But to no result.
Catching on that something was terribly wrong Malfoy fell silent and both boys turned to their teacher for answers.
But Snape didn't have any; he was at a complete loss.
No matter what he tried he couldn't repair the damage he'd done.
His heart was leaden with guilt as the awful truth set in. He ignored his students horrified stares but they both seemed to know.
He couldn't fix what he had done. He didn't know how.
Could things get any worse?
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A/N: Hope more happened this chapter then in the last, which was uneventful I will admit. But I find it very entertaining to get inside Malfoy's head. But I really hope to finish this story soon, it's been fun.
Thanks again to. zeynel, Kanoi, simmysim and monkee-maimer.
For their reviews and continued support.
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Snape braced himself for the demands about to be placed on him.
"As long as you keep your end we do." Malfoy stated firmly, difficult to the end.
From Potter all he got was a tired nod.
"Give me your demands and if they are in my ability to provide, I will return you both to normal." Snape forced his voice to sound cool and collected.
"Return us to normal now." Malfoy whined petulantly.
Little brat. The urge to render him mute rose again.
Surprisingly it was Potter who came to his defense. Somewhat.
"Oh, just tell him what you want Draco, so we can get out of here." He said, clearly exasperated.
Snape was mildly surprised. Since when were the two rivals on a first name basis?
Malfoy didn't have a retort, probably reluctantly agreeing. He just sat there in sulky silence for a few minutes.
So Potter spoke up again, in a tired voice.
And then it started, the part he'd been dreading. Snape had to bite his lip to keep from protesting at Potter's demands.
The boy wanted him to be "nice" to the Gryffindors, accusing him of being unfair to those who deserved his wrath. He supposed he shouldn't have expected anything different from Potter. Self-sacrificing little git.
He burned with resentment when he was told he was expected to deliver a public apology Monday morning during breakfast. A heartfelt plea for forgiveness to all those students he'd supposedly slighted or treated unfairly.
He's composure nearly slipped when he realized what he was expected to do. But he stayed strong and reluctantly gave a curt nod of acceptance.
"I would also like my cloak back." Potter concluded.
Snape numbly handed to boy back his cloak.
Not to be upstaged Malfoy hesitated no more in making his demands.
In a single breath the boy had demanded everything from illegal potions to use of Snape's private chambers (for sordid purposes no doubt). It was no less than what Snape would have expected from him.
He repressed a shudder as the boy continued, apparently no end to his greed or thirst for vengeance.
His last demand of the evening nearly caused Snape to have heart failure. Was it possible to die from indignation?
Not only was he expected to grovel for forgiveness come Monday morning, but he was expected to do it in the form of a song. If witnessing Severus Snape actually apologizing for his alleged misdeeds weren't shocking enough, the sound of his singing voice would surely send his audience into near conniptions.
But of course he had no other choice. He hoped that if agreed to these outlandish demands easily enough that the two wouldn't be too upset when another consequence of this awful night was placed on their shoulders.
The "disappearance" of Hagrid's cockatrices.
The rare (and no doubt expensive) "pets" of Hagrids would definitely be missed and explanations would have to be made as to their whereabouts. And how they came to be traipsing freely through the Forbidden Forest.
But Snape chose not to broach on that subject just yet.
Malfoy's grating voice brought him back to his current reality.
"That will be all for now." The boy said with a casual wave of his hand, like a prince dismissing a servant. With emphasis on the word 'now'.
Snape sighed, thinking of the unpleasant tasks that lay ahead. Maybe it wasn't too late to do those memory charms. His wand hand twitched in anticipation.
But he restrained and instead snapped out crossly.
"Why are you two still sitting on the ground? Get up so we can get this over with."
Malfoy glared with displeasure at his tone, but Potter was oblivious as he slowly got to his feet. The boy wavered slightly from what Snape hoped was fatigue before offering his hand to Malfoy. Surprising Snape again with their newfound camaraderie towards each other.
Snape couldn't hide his concerned frown when he saw Malfoy, with Potter's help, struggle to his feet. They boy grimaced in pain and favoured his ankle, leaning on the other boy for support.
And then Snape remembered the devastation around him. That powerful burst of magic and the fallen trolls. He had been so caught up in getting the boys cooperation he forgot the events that had occurred and the dangers of the forest.
"What happened out here?" He asked.
But the boys weren't in the mood to give any answers.
"Set us right first!" Malfoy insisted, face paler than usual under the dirt.
Right, better do that. He'd almost forgotten.
With a casual wave of his wand he said the spell to release Malfoy from his temporary blindness.
He gazed into Malfoy's eyes, expecting to see them clear up to their usual grey. But nothing happened.
He waved his hand in front of Malfoy's face. No response.
He mustn't have cast the spell right. He tried again.
Nothing.
He looked at his wand incredulously, seeing if it was at fault for his lack of success. But nothing seemed amiss.
So he tried again. And again.
"What's wrong? Why is it taking so long?" Malfoy demanded impatiently.
Snape ignored him and turned his attention to Potter, casting the spell that should restore his hearing.
Same result, the boy still could not hear. His green eyes widening with realization as he recognized the look of barely controlled panic on Snape's face.
But the professor kept trying. But to no result.
Catching on that something was terribly wrong Malfoy fell silent and both boys turned to their teacher for answers.
But Snape didn't have any; he was at a complete loss.
No matter what he tried he couldn't repair the damage he'd done.
His heart was leaden with guilt as the awful truth set in. He ignored his students horrified stares but they both seemed to know.
He couldn't fix what he had done. He didn't know how.
Could things get any worse?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~
A/N: Hope more happened this chapter then in the last, which was uneventful I will admit. But I find it very entertaining to get inside Malfoy's head. But I really hope to finish this story soon, it's been fun.
Thanks again to. zeynel, Kanoi, simmysim and monkee-maimer.
For their reviews and continued support.