Chapter 12.
During lunch is it still tumultuous in the great hall. Lots of the students saw the training of Prof. Snape and his yellow animal. And those who didn't see it to hear detailed accounts.
"And than huge lightning bolts came from the cheeks of that cute little animal." A blond girl from Hufflepuff tells the boy next to her.
"It was unbelievably impressive." A Slytherin says.
"That talking cat dropped down, Snape's pet was that strong." The 7th-year Gryffindor even sounds impressed.
At the teachers table Snape is sitting. He is trying very hard to ignore the looks that the students are giving him. Looks of fear, disgust and even hate he doesn't mind as much, as these looks. He know that soft looks are for Eos, but still, he shudders. And then there are the looks that clearly tell him that some students are impressed. When he walked into the great hall for lunch he saw students smile at him. "But those smiles won't stay there for long." He musses. "Next week my classes will be extra hard. Nobody will ever say that I am sweet…" he shivers, "nice…" his appetite disappears, "or cute again." He pushes away his plate with a look of pain in his eyes.
The lunch is over and several students are already leaving, but most of them stay in their seats. They are curious. They don't want to miss a thing of what will happen between Snape, those muggles and their animals.
"Prof. Snape."
He sighs and looks at the red-haired girl. "Yes, miss?"
"Professor, I have collected all the potions we still had." Misty puts several bottles on the table. "If you need me to help…" she proceeds.
"No…no…" Snape replies quickly. "I will analyze them right away." He puts the bottles in his robes and stands to leave. He nods to Misty, turns around and leaves the great hall with long strides.
"Thanks, Prof. Snape." Misty calls after him.
This afternoon predicts to be better then yesterday afternoon. Quiet, his dungeons and potions. He sighs, what is more relaxing than cutting ingredients and the sound of a potion stewing over a fire. "Nothing." He answers his own question.
Snape puts the small bottles with the colorful stoppers on his worktable and takes of his robe. For the first time after those strange muggles appeared he has a peaceful feeling. This afternoon no staring students, not strange muggles and most important, no smiling, chattering, red-haired girl.
He gets the first bottle. 'Potion' he reads on the label. 'Replenishes your Pokemon's Health Points with 10.' He opens the bottle and smells at the content. "Herbs," he mutters. He puts a little of it in a glass phial. Eos jumps on Snape's worktable and also smells the potion. "Pika," she says.
"Yes," says Snape in thought. "Just herbs."
"Chu." Eos answers.
Snape walks to his storeroom and gets out some potions. He is glad that he always has some potions stored he can us to analyze other potions.
He starts a fire under a cauldron to slowly warm one of his own potions. One drop of purple fluid from a second phial, he adds to the 'potion' in the glass phial. Nothing, there is no reaction at all. He shakes his head and makes some notes.
"Pika… chu-hu-hu." Giggles Eos as she tries to catch the quill Snape uses to write with. He tickles her with it over her tummy. "Pi-hi-hi… chu-hu-hu…" laughs the creature.
"But now I really need to get some work done." He says, letting out a sigh of relieve, know that nobody saw this.
The fluid in the cauldron starts to bubble, he gets the bottle of 'potion' of the table and adds one drop of it to the bubbling fluid in the cauldron. That fluid changes right away from green to yellow. Again Snape writes it all down. "Herbs, fruit-juice and some simple minerals." He mutters. "Muggle stuff, no magic… no magic at all."
Test after test give the same results. The other potions are also made of herbs, fruit extracts and minerals. All healthy but none of the very special. A good potions master can, with some simple additions, tenfold the workings of them. Still Severus decides to do some more tests. Not because he isn't sure that the results are right, but because being in his dungeons working is very soothing.
"TCHU!!!" Eos sneezes. Snape looks at the animal. She is holding one of the bottles in her paws. "TCHU!!!" she sneezes again. Snape get the bottle from her and looks at it. There are tiny spots on the bottle. Snape starts investigating the spots. All tests he uses for the potions, he now also uses for the spots. The composition of them is magical. "Oh, no!!!" Snape grumbles.
To be completely sure, he also tests the bottles themselves. Synthetic material muggles use, with a crude oil base, again nothing special. But those spots, they are a whole different thing, they are magical. No beginners magic, but advanced, dark magic.
He gets his robes and puts them on while he is walking. "Eos." He says, and the creature jumps on his shoulder. He gets the bottles and his notes. Albus needs to be told these findings right away.
"An other cup of tea, Minerva." Offers Prof. Dumbledore the woman with the worried look on her face.
"Yes, please." Is all she says.
"Do you want a Lemon drop with it?" The old man points at a bowl of sweets you can always find on his desk.
Prof. McGonagall shakes her head and takes a little sip of her tea. "What if it is dark magic…" she looks worriedly at the Headmaster.
"Then we will solve it, all of us together." The man sounds very confident.
A knock at the door. "Ah, that will be Severus." He says and then a little louder he says in the direction of the door: "Come on in, Severus."
The wizard in black storms into the room. "Dark magic, Albus. They have been brought here by dark magic." Snape looks from the Headmaster to Prof. McGonagall.
"I was afraid of that." Says the gray-haired witch, she rubs her forehead tiredly. "But why, Albus?" then she looks at Snape. "Severus?"
"Probebly to have us do what we are doing." Prof. Dumbledore says. "To keep us busy."
For a few moments it is quiet in the Headmaster's office. "Do you know how they have been brought here, Severus." The Headmaster says calmly.
"With a very complex potion. It isn't any magic any of our students could have done." He looks at the elderly witch. "Not even miss Granger. I am not quite sure which potion, but I do have so my ideas." The Potionsmaster pauses. "I do have some books I can check on it. And if it is, what I think it is, then the one who wanted those muggles here, had an accomplice within the walls of Hogwarts." The silence that follows is longer and not a nice kind of silence.
"Severus, do you need something else for your investigations?" Albus looks Snape straight in the eyes.
"Well," he sighs, actually he just wanted peace and quiet, but… "I need to run some tests on the clothes and possessions of all our guests." He know that this means more contact with the people he so desperately tries to avoid.
"I can arrange that." Minerva says. "I will make sure that they will be brought to your office in a while."
"Thanks." Snape says, he feels a big headache coming up. "That is the end of my quiet afternoon." He thinks low spirited.
"Anything else?" Albus asks.
"No, not really." Snape starts. "Wait, do you know if Poppy already examined the muggles?"
"Not jet, I think. Minerva?"
"No." Prof. McGonagall answers the Headmaster.
"Maybe it is a good idea, to sent them straight on to Poppy, so she can examine them." There is a little bit of hope in Snape's voice.
"Great idea, Severus." agrees Albus, he nods.
Snape gets up. "I will go by the library to get a book that I don't own, after that I can be found in my office, sent our guests to me, as soon as you find them." Without an other word Snape turns around and leaves the office.
"Poor Severus." Minerva says.
"Poor Severus?" Albus asks, with a twinkle in his eyes, his coworker and friend.
Minerva gives the Headmaster a stern look. "You know that Severus is fond of his privacy and of quiet. And now he will have people in his dungeons the rest of the afternoon."
"Well," Albus says with a smile on his face. "He offered."
Minerva laughs. "Sometimes you are a bigger scoundrel then the Weasley-twins put together."
Many miles from Hogwarts, the muggle-case is also the the topic of a conversation. But the tone of that conversation is different.
"Lord, I am sure this will work." A confident sounding man says.
"I really hope so, because I can no longer tolerate that Harry Potter gets in my way." A second man says.
"I am sure. Those other world muggles distracted every professor at Hogwarts. It is all that they are talking and thinking about. It is working exactly as planned. On your command the Deadeaters will enter Hogwarts and kidnap Harry Potter, Lord. Albus Dumbledore himself will not know what happened before it is to late."
"Those are nice words, Lucius, no just make sure that they become the truth." Lord Voldemort says coldly.
During lunch is it still tumultuous in the great hall. Lots of the students saw the training of Prof. Snape and his yellow animal. And those who didn't see it to hear detailed accounts.
"And than huge lightning bolts came from the cheeks of that cute little animal." A blond girl from Hufflepuff tells the boy next to her.
"It was unbelievably impressive." A Slytherin says.
"That talking cat dropped down, Snape's pet was that strong." The 7th-year Gryffindor even sounds impressed.
At the teachers table Snape is sitting. He is trying very hard to ignore the looks that the students are giving him. Looks of fear, disgust and even hate he doesn't mind as much, as these looks. He know that soft looks are for Eos, but still, he shudders. And then there are the looks that clearly tell him that some students are impressed. When he walked into the great hall for lunch he saw students smile at him. "But those smiles won't stay there for long." He musses. "Next week my classes will be extra hard. Nobody will ever say that I am sweet…" he shivers, "nice…" his appetite disappears, "or cute again." He pushes away his plate with a look of pain in his eyes.
The lunch is over and several students are already leaving, but most of them stay in their seats. They are curious. They don't want to miss a thing of what will happen between Snape, those muggles and their animals.
"Prof. Snape."
He sighs and looks at the red-haired girl. "Yes, miss?"
"Professor, I have collected all the potions we still had." Misty puts several bottles on the table. "If you need me to help…" she proceeds.
"No…no…" Snape replies quickly. "I will analyze them right away." He puts the bottles in his robes and stands to leave. He nods to Misty, turns around and leaves the great hall with long strides.
"Thanks, Prof. Snape." Misty calls after him.
This afternoon predicts to be better then yesterday afternoon. Quiet, his dungeons and potions. He sighs, what is more relaxing than cutting ingredients and the sound of a potion stewing over a fire. "Nothing." He answers his own question.
Snape puts the small bottles with the colorful stoppers on his worktable and takes of his robe. For the first time after those strange muggles appeared he has a peaceful feeling. This afternoon no staring students, not strange muggles and most important, no smiling, chattering, red-haired girl.
He gets the first bottle. 'Potion' he reads on the label. 'Replenishes your Pokemon's Health Points with 10.' He opens the bottle and smells at the content. "Herbs," he mutters. He puts a little of it in a glass phial. Eos jumps on Snape's worktable and also smells the potion. "Pika," she says.
"Yes," says Snape in thought. "Just herbs."
"Chu." Eos answers.
Snape walks to his storeroom and gets out some potions. He is glad that he always has some potions stored he can us to analyze other potions.
He starts a fire under a cauldron to slowly warm one of his own potions. One drop of purple fluid from a second phial, he adds to the 'potion' in the glass phial. Nothing, there is no reaction at all. He shakes his head and makes some notes.
"Pika… chu-hu-hu." Giggles Eos as she tries to catch the quill Snape uses to write with. He tickles her with it over her tummy. "Pi-hi-hi… chu-hu-hu…" laughs the creature.
"But now I really need to get some work done." He says, letting out a sigh of relieve, know that nobody saw this.
The fluid in the cauldron starts to bubble, he gets the bottle of 'potion' of the table and adds one drop of it to the bubbling fluid in the cauldron. That fluid changes right away from green to yellow. Again Snape writes it all down. "Herbs, fruit-juice and some simple minerals." He mutters. "Muggle stuff, no magic… no magic at all."
Test after test give the same results. The other potions are also made of herbs, fruit extracts and minerals. All healthy but none of the very special. A good potions master can, with some simple additions, tenfold the workings of them. Still Severus decides to do some more tests. Not because he isn't sure that the results are right, but because being in his dungeons working is very soothing.
"TCHU!!!" Eos sneezes. Snape looks at the animal. She is holding one of the bottles in her paws. "TCHU!!!" she sneezes again. Snape get the bottle from her and looks at it. There are tiny spots on the bottle. Snape starts investigating the spots. All tests he uses for the potions, he now also uses for the spots. The composition of them is magical. "Oh, no!!!" Snape grumbles.
To be completely sure, he also tests the bottles themselves. Synthetic material muggles use, with a crude oil base, again nothing special. But those spots, they are a whole different thing, they are magical. No beginners magic, but advanced, dark magic.
He gets his robes and puts them on while he is walking. "Eos." He says, and the creature jumps on his shoulder. He gets the bottles and his notes. Albus needs to be told these findings right away.
"An other cup of tea, Minerva." Offers Prof. Dumbledore the woman with the worried look on her face.
"Yes, please." Is all she says.
"Do you want a Lemon drop with it?" The old man points at a bowl of sweets you can always find on his desk.
Prof. McGonagall shakes her head and takes a little sip of her tea. "What if it is dark magic…" she looks worriedly at the Headmaster.
"Then we will solve it, all of us together." The man sounds very confident.
A knock at the door. "Ah, that will be Severus." He says and then a little louder he says in the direction of the door: "Come on in, Severus."
The wizard in black storms into the room. "Dark magic, Albus. They have been brought here by dark magic." Snape looks from the Headmaster to Prof. McGonagall.
"I was afraid of that." Says the gray-haired witch, she rubs her forehead tiredly. "But why, Albus?" then she looks at Snape. "Severus?"
"Probebly to have us do what we are doing." Prof. Dumbledore says. "To keep us busy."
For a few moments it is quiet in the Headmaster's office. "Do you know how they have been brought here, Severus." The Headmaster says calmly.
"With a very complex potion. It isn't any magic any of our students could have done." He looks at the elderly witch. "Not even miss Granger. I am not quite sure which potion, but I do have so my ideas." The Potionsmaster pauses. "I do have some books I can check on it. And if it is, what I think it is, then the one who wanted those muggles here, had an accomplice within the walls of Hogwarts." The silence that follows is longer and not a nice kind of silence.
"Severus, do you need something else for your investigations?" Albus looks Snape straight in the eyes.
"Well," he sighs, actually he just wanted peace and quiet, but… "I need to run some tests on the clothes and possessions of all our guests." He know that this means more contact with the people he so desperately tries to avoid.
"I can arrange that." Minerva says. "I will make sure that they will be brought to your office in a while."
"Thanks." Snape says, he feels a big headache coming up. "That is the end of my quiet afternoon." He thinks low spirited.
"Anything else?" Albus asks.
"No, not really." Snape starts. "Wait, do you know if Poppy already examined the muggles?"
"Not jet, I think. Minerva?"
"No." Prof. McGonagall answers the Headmaster.
"Maybe it is a good idea, to sent them straight on to Poppy, so she can examine them." There is a little bit of hope in Snape's voice.
"Great idea, Severus." agrees Albus, he nods.
Snape gets up. "I will go by the library to get a book that I don't own, after that I can be found in my office, sent our guests to me, as soon as you find them." Without an other word Snape turns around and leaves the office.
"Poor Severus." Minerva says.
"Poor Severus?" Albus asks, with a twinkle in his eyes, his coworker and friend.
Minerva gives the Headmaster a stern look. "You know that Severus is fond of his privacy and of quiet. And now he will have people in his dungeons the rest of the afternoon."
"Well," Albus says with a smile on his face. "He offered."
Minerva laughs. "Sometimes you are a bigger scoundrel then the Weasley-twins put together."
Many miles from Hogwarts, the muggle-case is also the the topic of a conversation. But the tone of that conversation is different.
"Lord, I am sure this will work." A confident sounding man says.
"I really hope so, because I can no longer tolerate that Harry Potter gets in my way." A second man says.
"I am sure. Those other world muggles distracted every professor at Hogwarts. It is all that they are talking and thinking about. It is working exactly as planned. On your command the Deadeaters will enter Hogwarts and kidnap Harry Potter, Lord. Albus Dumbledore himself will not know what happened before it is to late."
"Those are nice words, Lucius, no just make sure that they become the truth." Lord Voldemort says coldly.