Disclaimer - Harry Potter, and all the characters from the books belong to
J.K. Rowling not me. All other characters are mine.
When Snape awoke it was morning. He had missed dinner last night. In his dream, there was another tornado. This time he could hear it as well as see it. He hurried to his dormitory to take a bath and get ready for classes.
All outdoor classes were cancelled for the day. Rain was threatening to ruin the entire weekend. While the students were glad that some classes were cancelled, they were also unhappy that a Hogsmead weekend could be cancelled too.
Harry and Ron were a couple of the fortunate students that didn't have a Herbology class. Hermione on the other hand had to go to all of her classes, not that she minded. She looked forward to going to class, especially her Muggle Studies class. Today they were learning about Muggle entertainment, which she already knew about because of her parents. They were to learn more specifically about the television.
In class, the teacher explained about how Muggles watched television to be entertained as well as informed. Everyone agreed that they were glad that they weren't muggles, because there was a slow process to everything, even watching television was slow. The teacher compared muggle news to the Daily Prophet. Eventually they came to a television station that was receiving weather reports. The class got to watch the weather report for a minute. Hermione was happy; it felt like home to her for a minute. Then she heard it. She wasn't sure that she heard correct at first but when the weatherman showed a picture of them she knew it was true. She knew her ears didn't deceive her. He had said 'tornados'. Lots of them. There had been five reports of tornados over the last two hours. Her smile had faded from her face and a look of shock had replaced it. Even where there weren't tornados people were reporting small whirlwinds. She had to tell Harry and Ron.
When class was over, Hermione ran to Gryffindor Tower where she knew Harry and Ron were. She was so out of breath that they couldn't make out a word she was saying.
"In . . .class. Muggles . . . tornados . . . five . . . everywhere," Hermione panted.
"What did she just say?" Ron asked Harry.
"I don't know. Hermione, what are you talking about? You are making no sense."
Once she caught her breath she told them all about the weather report she had seen in class. As they listened, Harry and Ron exchanged looks of fright. They didn't know what to say. They sat there in shock until Neville passed by them and told them that Potions class hadn't been cancelled and that they better get a move on.
"Neville's right. We have to hurry or we'll be late," said Harry. "We'll have to watch Snape carefully during class."
They had watched Snape throughout the entire class. All he did was stare and chew on his lip. He looked nervous.
"Do you think he knows about the tornados?" Harry whispered to Hermione. He could have said it out loud and Snape would have never noticed because he was so out of it.
"I think so," she whispered back.
Class was finally over and everyone left as miserable as they had been when they entered the classroom. Even Snape was glad it was over. When he left the classroom he didn't go back to his office. He headed straight for the Great hall. He knew he had disappointed the Headmaster the night before and he didn't want to do it again. He figured that if he fell asleep in the Great hall he would eventually wake up to the sound of students. Which is exactly what happened. Not even five minutes after he sat down in his spot he was asleep.
He dreamt of her again. She was standing in front of him. She looked different this time. She looked as if she had walked through a light rain. Water dripped from her hair and gathered in a puddle at her feet. He watched the puddle, mesmerized by it. It started spinning and he looked back up at her and she smiled at him. He wanted to reach out for her hand but he knew she wasn't really there. She started to speak, 'Welcome back.' He blinked. He didn't understand. Then she said it again and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Welcome back," Professor Dumbledore was saying trying to wake up Snape.
"What?"
"I said, welcome back professor. I'm glad you decided to join us tonight." He took his hand off of Snape's shoulder. Snape watched his hand and felt a pang of sadness sweep through him. It hadn't been her that touched him at all.
"I figured that the only way I would make it to dinner would be to come here before it started," Snape explained.
"Good idea."
"Headmaster?"
"Yes Severus," Dumbledore said sitting down at his place. They were the only ones in the Great hall and could talk freely.
"Have you heard about the tornados?"
"Indeed I have. Are you worried Severus?"
"Not really. Before you woke me up, she was here. Standing over me with water dripping from her hair, and the puddle beneath her feet was spinning. Just like a tornado would. Then she smiled at me. It was as if she was telling me not to worry about the tornados."
"If you don't think you should worry about them, then don't. Save yourself the energy."
Students were beginning to file in towards their house tables, and soon the Great hall was filled conversations and laughter. Everyone noticed that Snape was back and a great deal of the conversations was about him. Eventually everyone settled down and dinner began. At times, loud noises could be heard over all the talking. No one could make out what it was.
Suddenly, the enchanted ceiling began to falter. The beautiful clear sky was one with dark clouds hovering above their heads. Students began to get scared. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers watched in disbelief. Just then, the large doors at the entrance of the castle flew open with a great force. Wind was being swept through the Great hall and students were screaming and some even crying. Dumbledore requested that everyone settle down and stay in the Great hall. He instructed that the teachers stay and watch the students while Professors' McGonagall and Snape accompany him to the castle entrance.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat huddled together frightened and unmoving. Hagrid had come over and was making sure the doors to the Great hall stayed closed. He saw them and told them that everything was going to be okay.
When Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape reached the entrance, they had found that the doors had been completely ripped away from the castle. Dumbledore was about to perform a spell that would repair the doors when they all saw it. It was the largest tornado any one of them had ever seen. They stood transfixed on it for a minute. It was headed straight for the school. Neither Professor Snape, nor anyone else noticed that he had begun walking out of the castle to stand on the front steps. The tornado was coming closer at an incredibly fast speed. It was already across the lake and had stirred up a lot of water. By the time that Snape had snapped out of it and turned to go back up the steps, the tornado had reached the bottom of the steps and had stopped in its tracks.
The tornado just stayed there spinning. All three of them watched in fascination, as none of them had ever seen a tornado do that before. They watched from the entrance this spinning tornado get smaller and smaller in size. Finally it stopped shrinking when it had become the size or a large oak tree. They turned to go back in; once inside they turned around to perform a spell to fix the doors and guard the castle from the intruding tornado when they noticed a leg emerge from the tornado. They stared as another leg came through and then Professor McGonagall fainted when she saw the woman step completely out of the tornado. Dumbledore looked at Snape, who stared at her the whole time never taking his eyes off of her, then he looked back to the woman standing there before them with wet hair. He understood now what was happening. He had heard of it before but never believed any of the rumors. He didn't believe it to be true because no one had ever done it before, at least not that he had ever seen, not even the Dark Lord could have done it.
She stood there dripping with water. She looked up at Dumbledore then over to Snape; then she smiled.
When Snape awoke it was morning. He had missed dinner last night. In his dream, there was another tornado. This time he could hear it as well as see it. He hurried to his dormitory to take a bath and get ready for classes.
All outdoor classes were cancelled for the day. Rain was threatening to ruin the entire weekend. While the students were glad that some classes were cancelled, they were also unhappy that a Hogsmead weekend could be cancelled too.
Harry and Ron were a couple of the fortunate students that didn't have a Herbology class. Hermione on the other hand had to go to all of her classes, not that she minded. She looked forward to going to class, especially her Muggle Studies class. Today they were learning about Muggle entertainment, which she already knew about because of her parents. They were to learn more specifically about the television.
In class, the teacher explained about how Muggles watched television to be entertained as well as informed. Everyone agreed that they were glad that they weren't muggles, because there was a slow process to everything, even watching television was slow. The teacher compared muggle news to the Daily Prophet. Eventually they came to a television station that was receiving weather reports. The class got to watch the weather report for a minute. Hermione was happy; it felt like home to her for a minute. Then she heard it. She wasn't sure that she heard correct at first but when the weatherman showed a picture of them she knew it was true. She knew her ears didn't deceive her. He had said 'tornados'. Lots of them. There had been five reports of tornados over the last two hours. Her smile had faded from her face and a look of shock had replaced it. Even where there weren't tornados people were reporting small whirlwinds. She had to tell Harry and Ron.
When class was over, Hermione ran to Gryffindor Tower where she knew Harry and Ron were. She was so out of breath that they couldn't make out a word she was saying.
"In . . .class. Muggles . . . tornados . . . five . . . everywhere," Hermione panted.
"What did she just say?" Ron asked Harry.
"I don't know. Hermione, what are you talking about? You are making no sense."
Once she caught her breath she told them all about the weather report she had seen in class. As they listened, Harry and Ron exchanged looks of fright. They didn't know what to say. They sat there in shock until Neville passed by them and told them that Potions class hadn't been cancelled and that they better get a move on.
"Neville's right. We have to hurry or we'll be late," said Harry. "We'll have to watch Snape carefully during class."
They had watched Snape throughout the entire class. All he did was stare and chew on his lip. He looked nervous.
"Do you think he knows about the tornados?" Harry whispered to Hermione. He could have said it out loud and Snape would have never noticed because he was so out of it.
"I think so," she whispered back.
Class was finally over and everyone left as miserable as they had been when they entered the classroom. Even Snape was glad it was over. When he left the classroom he didn't go back to his office. He headed straight for the Great hall. He knew he had disappointed the Headmaster the night before and he didn't want to do it again. He figured that if he fell asleep in the Great hall he would eventually wake up to the sound of students. Which is exactly what happened. Not even five minutes after he sat down in his spot he was asleep.
He dreamt of her again. She was standing in front of him. She looked different this time. She looked as if she had walked through a light rain. Water dripped from her hair and gathered in a puddle at her feet. He watched the puddle, mesmerized by it. It started spinning and he looked back up at her and she smiled at him. He wanted to reach out for her hand but he knew she wasn't really there. She started to speak, 'Welcome back.' He blinked. He didn't understand. Then she said it again and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Welcome back," Professor Dumbledore was saying trying to wake up Snape.
"What?"
"I said, welcome back professor. I'm glad you decided to join us tonight." He took his hand off of Snape's shoulder. Snape watched his hand and felt a pang of sadness sweep through him. It hadn't been her that touched him at all.
"I figured that the only way I would make it to dinner would be to come here before it started," Snape explained.
"Good idea."
"Headmaster?"
"Yes Severus," Dumbledore said sitting down at his place. They were the only ones in the Great hall and could talk freely.
"Have you heard about the tornados?"
"Indeed I have. Are you worried Severus?"
"Not really. Before you woke me up, she was here. Standing over me with water dripping from her hair, and the puddle beneath her feet was spinning. Just like a tornado would. Then she smiled at me. It was as if she was telling me not to worry about the tornados."
"If you don't think you should worry about them, then don't. Save yourself the energy."
Students were beginning to file in towards their house tables, and soon the Great hall was filled conversations and laughter. Everyone noticed that Snape was back and a great deal of the conversations was about him. Eventually everyone settled down and dinner began. At times, loud noises could be heard over all the talking. No one could make out what it was.
Suddenly, the enchanted ceiling began to falter. The beautiful clear sky was one with dark clouds hovering above their heads. Students began to get scared. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers watched in disbelief. Just then, the large doors at the entrance of the castle flew open with a great force. Wind was being swept through the Great hall and students were screaming and some even crying. Dumbledore requested that everyone settle down and stay in the Great hall. He instructed that the teachers stay and watch the students while Professors' McGonagall and Snape accompany him to the castle entrance.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat huddled together frightened and unmoving. Hagrid had come over and was making sure the doors to the Great hall stayed closed. He saw them and told them that everything was going to be okay.
When Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape reached the entrance, they had found that the doors had been completely ripped away from the castle. Dumbledore was about to perform a spell that would repair the doors when they all saw it. It was the largest tornado any one of them had ever seen. They stood transfixed on it for a minute. It was headed straight for the school. Neither Professor Snape, nor anyone else noticed that he had begun walking out of the castle to stand on the front steps. The tornado was coming closer at an incredibly fast speed. It was already across the lake and had stirred up a lot of water. By the time that Snape had snapped out of it and turned to go back up the steps, the tornado had reached the bottom of the steps and had stopped in its tracks.
The tornado just stayed there spinning. All three of them watched in fascination, as none of them had ever seen a tornado do that before. They watched from the entrance this spinning tornado get smaller and smaller in size. Finally it stopped shrinking when it had become the size or a large oak tree. They turned to go back in; once inside they turned around to perform a spell to fix the doors and guard the castle from the intruding tornado when they noticed a leg emerge from the tornado. They stared as another leg came through and then Professor McGonagall fainted when she saw the woman step completely out of the tornado. Dumbledore looked at Snape, who stared at her the whole time never taking his eyes off of her, then he looked back to the woman standing there before them with wet hair. He understood now what was happening. He had heard of it before but never believed any of the rumors. He didn't believe it to be true because no one had ever done it before, at least not that he had ever seen, not even the Dark Lord could have done it.
She stood there dripping with water. She looked up at Dumbledore then over to Snape; then she smiled.