Disclaimers: Refer to Chapter One
When Living is No Longer Enough…
Chapter Nine
The next afternoon found Hermione and Severus sitting in the dungeons discussing various properties of some of the deadliest poisons known to the wizarding world.
"Perhaps a combination of two or more poisons may counteract some of the potions Voldemort has previously taken" Hermione suggested as she leafed through a rather thick potions text that was over two centuries old.
"Don't forget that Voldemort has employed the use of ancient magic in addition to the potions. Mixing poisons, while possibly creating a stronger and less identifiable poison, would not counteract the magic," Snape said as he laid aside yet another text that outlined some of the uses and properties of very ancient dark spells.
"Oh, we've been going at this for hours" the young witch exclaimed in frustration. "Why can't we just kill the snake and be done with it!"
Suddenly, the potions master went very still and his brow furrowed in concentration. Looking over to where Hermione sat surrounded by books, her head bent over a particularly difficult text and her hair spilling around her face, he thought about her words for a moment. Mumbling a few unintelligible words to himself, he nodded his head up and down and then walked over to a large bookshelf and scanned the shelves for a particular book. "Perhaps we can," he said quietly after reading several pages of the aging parchment.
"What are you talking about Severus?" she asked in confusion.
"Think about it. We can't really touch Voldemort because he has made himself virtually indestructible. The immortality potions and the dark magic he surrounded himself with have made him all but unreachable by ordinary means. But what if we don't target his human DNA?" he asked, looking to study the young woman's face as he tried to convey thoughts that were still only partially formed in his own mind.
"But Severus," the young witch replied, obviously confused as to the direction of the potion master's current train of thought, "If we don't target his human DNA then what do we target? I mean, honestly, whether he acts it or not he is still human after all."
"Is he?" Snape questioned with a sneer of disgust. "Most humans I have had the misfortune of meeting are nowhere near as vile as Voldemort, with the possible exception of Lucius Malfoy of course" he amended as one side of his mouth curled up with disdain at the thought of his former friend. "No, we can't target the human part of Voldemort, questionable though that categorization is, so instead we must focus our attention on a means to counteract his reptilian DNA. When he resurrected himself, he used contributions from various sources including Nagini, his overgrown slithering familiar. It's obvious by looking at him that he has retained many reptilian characteristics and since those characteristics aren't usually covered in immortality potions then I suggest that we begin our research along those lines."
Hermione sat at the desk quietly processing the information that had just been presented to her. 'Target reptilian DNA?' she thought incredulously to herself, 'can such a thing be possible? We'd have to isolate the reptilian DNA markers from the human DNA markers and then find a way to…'
Severus stared at Hermione and forced back the smile that threatened to overtake his facial features. He could hear the internal conversation she was obviously holding with herself as clearly as if she were speaking directly to him. 'Is such a concept possible? How do we isolate the reptilian DNA? How do we…' So many questions obviously running through her head and so many answers for them to find, answers that Albus insisted they find together. 'He didn't insist you work together' an inner voice echoed through to his consciousness. 'He might as well have since this is what he was planning all along' Snape replied bitingly and succeeded in momentarily quieting the voice. Oddly enough, the potions master found himself actually looking forward to their intellectual collaboration, a rarity in itself given that he detested working with most people. Hermione, however, was different. The young woman had a one-track mind when confronted with a problem and in all her years as both a student and a professor at Hogwart's, the potions master had never seen her give up on anything. 'The woman doesn't know the meaning of the word quit' he thought to himself.
"Okay, so you're suggesting that we create a potion that specifically targets reptilian gene sequences or DNA markers. Once these markers have been identified, the potion will begin the process of breaking down those particular DNA strands thereby causing Voldemort's bodily systems to become unstable because he relies on a combination of both human and reptilian DNA. This would be similar to an autoimmune disease in ordinary humans where the body's systems are attacked by its own defense mechanisms. These attacks will cause the eventual breakdown and failure of individual systems and lead to massive bodily failure overall. In this case, the lack of stable DNA would theoretically cause system failures in both human and reptilian genes due to the intertwined dependency on one another. Right?" she asked looking to Snape for confirmation.
"Five points to Gryffindor Miss Granger," Severus replied teasingly in his most professor-like tone of voice. "As usual, you seem to have grasped the basics of what such a plan would entail."
"Only five points professor?" she asked flippantly. "I would have thought that it would have been worth at least ten points given the level of complexity of the project which you are proposing. Not to mention the fact that I seriously doubt anything like this has ever been conceived of, let alone tried before."
Grinning at her playful attitude, Snape considered the concerns she had just mentioned. She was right about the level of complexity of the project. It ranked amongst the most difficult endeavors he had ever undertaken and that was saying a lot considering he had been responsible for the invention of several curative and preventative potions as well as several darker forms of poisons throughout his career. "It will be difficult but not impossible given the need for success," he said quietly.
"I don't mind the difficult part," she hastily assured him "but Severus, even supposing we can isolate the reptilian DNA markers and come up with an appropriate potion, how do you plan to deliver the end result to Voldemort? You can't, for obvious reasons, deliver it to him in person now that he is aware of your activities on Albus' behalf."
"That is one of the many factors that will have to be taken into consideration. First, I suggest that we concentrate our efforts on the primary matter, the creation of a viable potion. Once that has been accomplished we may begin working on an appropriate method of delivery" he replied.
"How much time do you think we have?" she asked, biting her bottom lip worriedly.
"Given the recent increase in Death Eater activity as well as the nature and in some cases, audacity, of the crimes committed, I would say that Voldemort is planning a major strike in the near future" the professor answered grimly.
"How near in the future?" Hermione questioned, knowing she wasn't going to like the answer.
Snape sat back in his chair and considered her question for a moment. 'When would Voldemort be the most likely to attack?' he thought to himself. 'When the wizarding community is distracted and the chance for publicity is at its highest. When the death toll would be high causing the morale of good wizards and witches to drop like a lead weight would drop to the bottom of the ocean' he thought to himself.
Considering these points, Severus looked into the nervous chocolate brown eyes of Hermione Granger and quietly answered her question. "Voldemort craves glory. He would plan an attack that would cause major loss of life and deliver a crushing blow to the members of the wizarding community that oppose him. Taking this into consideration, I would estimate he would plan a major strike against Hogwart's itself close to, if not during, this year's graduation."
"But that's only four months away!" Hermione protested in horror. "It's already mid January and graduation is scheduled to take place at the end of May."
"Which leaves us very little time to devise a potion and invent a suitable method of delivering it to Voldemort. Then, of course, we will need to plan a final attack and end this nightmare once and for all," the professor replied quietly.
"But Hogwart's?" she asked, concerned for the many children who attended the school. "There are too many children here that could end up being hurt. Or worse, killed."
"Think about it Hermione," he said, walking over to crouch in front of her and clasping both of her small hands firmly in his own in a gesture of comfort and support. "The two things that Voldemort wants above all else is the destruction of Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. This would assure him of eliminating at least one of those two thorns in his side. In addition, the school will be filled with students as well as their friends and relatives who have come to witness the ceremony. Not to mention the press coverage he would receive if he were to attack Hogwarts directly. Should he succeed, the wizarding community would become a picture of panic and total chaos forcing people to openly choose sides between good and evil."
"That would be a complete and utter nightmare," the chestnut haired woman agreed. "We should consider researching some of the finer aspects of biomedicine. I understand that the muggle world has made some very advanced discoveries over the past several years. We'll also need to look into veterinary medicine as it would relate to reptiles and cross-reference between the two fields. And then we'll have to begin research on…"
"Hermione," Severus interrupted in a low voice bringing a halt to her verbal thought process. "Rest assured that we will devise an outline detailing the many different branches of science and magic that need to be researched if we are to successfully complete this project. However, I would suggest that we continue tomorrow evening as it is now time for dinner and I am fairly certain that you have little if almost nothing to eat during the past two days. Correct?"
"I'm so sorry. I know I tend to ramble when I get nervous but there's just so much riding on this and we have absolutely no room for error and…"
"Dinner now, research tomorrow in my quarters at seven o'clock when we will begin organizing the stages of research which will be required. Agreed?" Snape asked taking on a dictatorial tone of voice to try and focus the nervous young witch.
"Agreed," she mumbled sheepishly. "But wouldn't it be better to begin in the library since our initial research will require gathering background information on so many different topics?"
"Ordinarily I would agree with you," he said smirking as she raised her eyebrows in surprise at the thought of him 'ordinarily' agreeing with her on much of anything. "However, our research will need to be conducted in absolute secrecy. In the event that people begin to ask too many questions regarding our time spent together we might consider telling them we are researching a class project that would entail the combined talents of charms and potions. Besides, I have an excellent private library that consists of many rare, original texts that you will not find under the care of Madam Pince here at Hogwarts."
"Seven o'clock it is then," she agreed. "Are you coming to dinner?"
"Yes," he answered as he gathered their notes and locked them away in well-hidden cabinet in his office. "I'll walk with you to the Great Hall."
The couple had almost reached their destination when they saw Albus Dumbledore hurriedly coming toward them. The normal sparkle in his eyes was replaced with something that resembled a mixture of worry, sadness and even anger as he approached them.
"Good evening Albus," Severus said when they were within a foot of one another.
"Good evening to you as well Severus, Hermione," he replied politely. "I assume that you are both headed to dinner?"
Snape merely nodded and looked at the headmaster expectantly. He had seen the look on the old man's face a few times in the past and knew from experience that something had happened. He also knew that Albus would talk to them about whatever problem had arisen when he was ready. Unfortunately, it seemed he was now ready and that dinner would have to wait.
"Would the two of you mind joining me in my office," Dumbledore asked quietly and turned toward his office knowing that both Severus and Hermione would follow. Arriving at the gargoyle, the headmaster muttered 'fruity choco beans' and the hidden staircase leading to his office was revealed. Upon entering, he motioned for both professors to take a seat and proceeded to offer each a lemon drop prior to tossing one in his own mouth. Placing the tin of candy back in the desk drawer, he looked at his friends and colleagues and sadly shook his head.
"I am afraid that I have just received news of the most upsetting kind," the older wizard said gravely while shaking his head from side to side in a saddened gesture. "I was just informed that Voldemort ordered several attacks against families of children that attend school here at Hogwarts. We now find ourselves with four children in various houses that are now without parents and siblings. In addition, we had several students attending a conference in London with Professor Darrlia this weekend. It has just been confirmed by the Ministry that there was a Death Eater raid on the hotel they were staying in early this morning.
"Oh no," Hermione gasped as her hand flew to cover her mouth.
"Were there any casualties Albus?" Snape asked knowing by the look on the man's face that there was still more bad news to come.
"Sadly, yes. There were seven students in addition to Professor Darrlia attending the leadership conference. Two were injured and have been admitted to St. Mungo's overnight for observation. Three are currently being debriefed by Ministry officials and will return to Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon. Their families have been contacted and are on their way to visit with them. I will make an appearance at the Ministry in the morning before the students return," the headmaster said.
"And the other students?" Hermione questioned hesitantly.
"Two of the students were killed as was Professor Darrlia. The surviving students did indicate to Ministry officials that the Death Eaters seemed to have particular targets in mind for once they had killed these particular students they simply apparated away. It seems that Professor Darrlia was killed trying to protect one student in particular."
"Which students, Albus?" Severus asked resignedly.
"Hogwart's Head Boy and Head Girl" the old wizard whispered.
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TBC