Greetings from absurdly cold Maine! I love my state, and the change
of the seasons, but I am not a winter person and this two week spell of
temperatures in the teens and single digits is making me crazy. (Don't any
of you dare comment on my sanity prior to the cold snap!) It does,
however, lend itself towards keeping me indoors and doing things around the
house like re-organizing messy closets, painting the guest room, and
writing fan fiction. Yea! Not to mention spending time curled up on the
couch watching movies with the adorable Scott! ;)
Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. I can assure you that I already have about ten more chapters all in different stages of production!
Poison ~*~
Remus and Marlina were frozen in place. At first it was due to the fact that they were both so surprised to find an animal inside the castle, but quickly it was because they realized exactly what the creature was. No body would recognize a mangabey quicker than the Defense Against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures professors.
Remus whispered to Marlina as he kept an eye on the beast. "Don't move." He stepped in front of her and drew his wand out of his back pocket, very slowly.
The mangabey eyed them warily and only snarled a little as Remus moved, but it was when he pointed the wand at her that she decided she felt threatened. She showed all of her sharp teeth a good deal more and then charged.
Remus braced himself as Marlina cringed behind him. "This better work!" He said, and he cast the best spell he knew for dealing with the poisonous animal. "Infusio!" he cried, and a fountain of water drenched the animal just before it got to them.
Remus stepped back a little, pushing Marlina further away from the writhing mass of fur on the floor. It only took seconds for the water to do its job, as the Defense professor knew it would. The mangabey virtually melted.
Remus blew out a deep breath as he looked at the small pile of fur that was all that was left of the animal. He turned to Marlie, and saw that the red haired woman was looking at him in a way that he decided he definitely liked.
"That," breathed Marlina, "was amazing." She smiled admiringly at Remus.
Remus shrugged modestly.
"Don't give me that." She said, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Remus thought that he would melt next when Marlie kissed him the way she did. He looked at her and smiled, and then drew her closer again for a second kiss, but was stopped by the distant noises he now heard. Grunting and snuffling and squabbling could be heard rounding the corner, and Remus and Marlina turned slowly to face the next forty male mangabeys that had followed the scent of the female.
Harry and the three Weasley brothers had decided that they'd pushed their luck about as far as they wanted to and, grabbing the remaining fireworks in the bag, bolted out of the tower. They ran down the long staircase as fast as they could.
Harry didn't want to get caught because he didn't like to think of the number of nights he was going to spend in detention with Filch if they got caught in the act, but also he didn't want to be found quite so red- handed by either Snape or his godfather.
The four boys spilled out into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs just in time to skid across the floor as they yelled aloud, and frantically tied to backtrack away from the handful of monkey-like creatures snarling at them in the corridor. They bolted back up the stairs, and it was only a moment before they could hear the animals pursuing them.
It was only another moment before they realized the animals were gaining on them.
Ariel Sinistra heard the commotion coming from the staircase to the tower that was near her rooms, and launched herself out of her chair. This was ridiculous. It was bad enough that students occasionally sneaked up into the tower for a bit of snogging, but when they blatantly stormed up her staircase that way, it made her furious.
She rushed out into the stairwell and was about to follow the source of the noises she heard traveling away from her up the stairs, when a snuffling sound behind her rooted her to the spot. A low growl followed and Ariel turned just in time to see a final mangabey launch itself at her.
Snape was walking rapidly back in the direction of the great hall when Sinistra staggered out of the adjoining hallway. It took him a moment to realize that something was wrong, but then he finally saw the look of fear in her dark eyes.
"Severus!" She gasped, falling back against the wall.
It was then that he saw the blood soaking through her sleeve and went to her. "What happened, Ariel?" He asked, not liking the glazed look in the woman's eyes.
She looked at him in an unfocused way. "Students.....tower." She gasped again. "Trapped."
Snape frowned. "What do you mean, 'trapped'?"
She swallowed hard and leaned her head back against the wall, her breathing rapid. "Mangabeys. Maybe ten." She croaked.
"Mangabeys? In the castle?" Snape asked incredulously. Now he knew where the blood on her arm had come from.
Sinistra nodded weakly.
Snape knew that he'd had that feeling of dread earlier for a reason. This must have to do with Malfoy, he knew it.
"Severus?" Sinistra choked out his name and he looked at her again. "I tried.....couldn't get up.....stairs.." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to slide down the wall.
Snape could have stepped forward quickly and caught the Slytherin witch before she hit the ground, but he found it much more satisfying to delay by a second and hear the sickly thud her head made when it smacked into the floor. "My, that sounded like it hurt." He said to the unconscious woman, and he picked her up ungracefully, and turned and carried her toward the medical wing.
He was going to have to find Lorien and hope that she could help Sinistra before the poison from the bite did any more harm. He spoke again to the unconscious woman. "You'd better hope that the Mistress of the Healing Arts is in one of her forgiving moods tonight, Ariel."
Remus and Marlina knew they were in deep dragon dung as they ran, and as much as they would have liked to run back inside the great hall, they each knew that it was too much of a risk that some of the creatures might make it inside the crowded room as well. They bolted for the front door, hoping to get outside before the creatures that were pursuing them closed the gap any further.
Marlina hit the door, yanked it open as hard as she could, and flung herself through it, coming face to face with a wide-eyed Keath and Hermione. Remus leaped through right after her and yanked the door closed behind him, but found his arm was jarred when the door hit the head of a mangabey that had flung itself at them instead of shutting all the way. He pulled on the door as hard as he could to keep the animal trapped and started shouting at the three people behind him. "Hex it! Hex it!"
Marlina and Hermione, in keeping with the spirit of the muggle party had left behind their wands, and Keath was unsure exactly what hex to use on the snarling head stuck in the doorway in front of Remus.
Hermione snatched the auror's wand out of his hand and pointed it at the animal lying on the ground. "Infusio!"
The animal snarled once more and melted away into a pile of fur on the floor when it was doused with the fountain of water. Remus slammed the door shut and turned to Hermione as she handed the wand back to the surprised auror.
"I know the term isn't over yet, but Hermione, I promise you get an A in Defense." He panted. He saw the look of horror on her face. "Ok - A plus better?" He asked, and then it dawned on him that all three people in front of him wore the same expression as the door behind him was being pulled open by the first of the clever little animals to reach it. Then they were coming through. "Run!" He whispered, and the four of them ran into the darkness.
Harry, Ron, George, and Fred were losing the race up the stairs until Fred finally reached into the bag he still clung to. One silver orb remained and he spoke the lighting charm and flung it over his shoulder as he ran. It blew the first mangabey behind him to bits when it exploded, which bought them just enough time to throw themselves though the door to the observation deck and slam the heavy door home behind them.
Unfortunately it also bought them about twenty more mangabeys that joined their comrades in throwing themselves at the door.
All four of them flung themselves against the door to try to brace it enough to keep it from opening.
Ron looked at Harry with large eyes. "Were those what I think they were?" He gasped.
"Mangabeys? Yeah. I think so." Harry panted back.
"Why do I feel like I'm taking one of Lupin's damn practical exams?" Ron asked.
"If only we were." Harry answered.
Snape made it back to the great hall a moment or two after the last of the group of mangabeys had charged after Remus and Marlina, and he didn't know how close he came to coming face to face with the whole lot of them.
He put the woman down on the floor and she stirred a little as he propped her up against the wall, and went quickly into the great hall to find Lorien.
He spotted her talking to Cho Chang and walked quickly up to her. "A word, Mistress Lorien?" He drew her away from the younger Ravenclaw.
"What is it?" She asked, knowing that something was seriously wrong by the look in his eyes.
"Lorien, there are at least ten mangabeys running loose in the castle." He said in a quiet voice as they walked rapidly toward the door.
"What? How did they get in?" She gasped.
"I don't know, but they've already injured one person." He replied. "You need to see after her while I alert the rest of the staff."
She was nodding in agreement until she saw just who her patient was, and she looked back at Severus. "You've got to be kidding." She sighed when she saw him shake his head and pick the unconscious woman back up.
They took Sinistra to the hospital wing, where Severus laid the woman on the same table that he himself had been treated on all those months ago. "It's the poison that's the problem." He advised Lorien.
She nodded and watched him quickly sweep out of the ward, and then turned her attention to stop the bleeding from the Astronomy professor's wounds.
Filias Flitwick knew something was wrong when he saw Lorien leave in such a hurry with Snape, and he decided to ask them if there were reason to be concerned about any of the students. He moved quickly to the door of the great hall and opened it to step through, and was promptly knocked flat on his back.
A second wave of monkey-like creatures descended on the lower hallways from the third floor and ran in the direction that their comrades had, in search of the female that was the origin of the scent that drew them. When they started by the door to the great hall it was just opening, and the mass of vicious creatures changed direction when they caught the new smell of pizza. They plowed through the open door, rampaging right over the top of the diminutive Charms professor and into the crowded room.
Snape made it back near the great hall just as Sirius was walking up from the other direction.
"Anything?" Black asked, unaware of what had transpired in his absence.
"No, but we have a new problem." Snape replied gravely.
"What?"
"There are mangabeys in the castle, Black, and I have reason to believe that there are students trapped by them in the astronomy tower." Snape answered.
Sirius hit himself in the head. The Astronomy tower. He hadn't thought of the tower. It must be Harry and Ron that were trapped up there. "I'm going for the tower." He said, drawing his wand.
Snape nodded. "I intend to alert the rest of the staff of the danger and then I'll...."
It became apparent to both men that the shouts coming from inside the great hall were no longer those of happy party-goers. They each seized their wands and stepped forward together to throw the doors open.
The scene before them was an absolute nightmare.
Most of the younger students were screaming or crying or both as they desperately tried to get away from the rampaging beasts that had swarmed into the room.
Several seventh year Hufflepuffs were in a corner valiantly trying to protect a small group of first years, but it was a lost cause without wands, and two mangabeys slashed away at the two boys until they were doused with water by Professor Vector.
Seamus Finnegan and Colin Creevey were holed up behind the refreshment table, slamming cans of soda on the table and then opening them to spray any of the animals that threatened the small group of third year girls that they'd managed to pull behind the table with them.
McGonagall had kicked off her heels and was hexing mangabeys like a wildcat, standing in front of as many students as she could protect at a time.
Hagrid had grabbed two of the horrid creatures by the neck and slammed them together and the recovered Flitwick jumped forward and soaked the dazed creatures in a flash.
Students were fleeing out the teachers entrance behind the head table, but there was only so much room for them to try to exit by that route.
Snape and Black flung themselves into the battle without hesitation.
Snape doused the closest mangabey as he ran into the room, elbowed another brutally in the head and then blanketed the fallen beast in a jet of water. He looked up as he heard a particularly close cry and saw one of the creature sink its teeth into the leg of a Slytherin fourth year girl. He snarled the hex and soaked the animal until it was nothing but a pile of fur and then grabbed the girl and pushed her, limping, behind him as he turned to face the three mangabeys that had arrived with the cry of their fallen comrade.
Snape doubted whether or not he was going to be able to blast all three of the snarling animals in front of him in time to avoid being bitten and he took another step back to give himself as much room as possible as they launched themselves at him. He was able to get two and he heard a loud thud as braced himself for the impact and the girl behind him screamed. It never came, and after a moment Snape ventured a glance to see what had happened to the third creature. It lay on the floor, disintegrating into a pile of fur.
Even more amazing to Snape than the disappearing monster on the floor was the sight of Neville Longbottom, standing before him with a newly open can of shaken soda.
Sirius ran into the middle of the room and started blasting the group of mangabeys that were ripping at a group of screaming students with jets of water. The floor in the great hall was now getting slick from being wet, and here and there blood mixed with the water around Sirius as the monsters continued their devastation. He redoubled his efforts and started melting the creatures as fast as he could, and just when he felt like he might be making some headway, the third wave of nightmare monkeys swept into the great hall.
New screaming broke out and Sirius caught a flash of red hair out of the corner of his right eye. Two of the male mangabeys were just about on top of Ginny Weasley as she tried to get away. Sirius saw she was out of range of the water hex and that he'd never make it to her on foot, and instantly the large black dog was racing in her direction. The dog's jaws closed on the arm of one of the beasts and he flung the animal through the air and away from Ginny and turned just in time to see the second one swiping a vicious clawed hand at the girl. There was nothing else he could do fast enough and the great black dog threw himself on Ginny, slamming her to the floor. He yelped as the claws ripped through the skin over his back, and then the beast snarled as it was blasted by water from Flitwick's wand.
Lorien was puzzled as to why she didn't seem to be getting the response she expected from the unconscious woman on the table. It wasn't that she wasn't trying in earnest to save the woman that had caused her so much trouble, it was just that so far her remedies weren't working.
"Can't get a bit of sleep with all that racket at the party." Poppy was walking into the medical ward in her dressing gown. "Who do you have there, Lorien?"
"Ariel." Lorien answered her. "She was bitten by a mangabey, Poppy."
"A what? Here in the castle?" The older woman looked alarmed as Lorien nodded.
"Severus says there are at least ten in the castle and he thinks they're holed up near the astronomy tower."
"I see. So, the poisonous bitch has been poisoned, has she?" Pomfrey asked.
"Poppy!" Lorien was actually amused at Pomfrey's assessment. "I've gotten the wound closed, but she doesn't seem to be responding to the standard restoratives, even class III."
"Have you given her bezoar derivatives?" Pomfrey asked.
"Yes. Both kinds." Lorien replied to the other healer. "Minimal response."
"Hmmm." Said Poppy. "It seems to me that a remember a case like this quite some time ago. I seem to recall that mangabey toxin is slow to act, but it has to be countered by a special antidote."
"What would that be?" Lorien asked.
Pomfrey shook her head. "I don't recall the formulation, but I'd be willing to bet that our resident Defense Against the Dark Arts professor does." She said. "Lorien, I'll stay here with Sinistra. You run down the hall and get Lupin so I don't have to scare the students in my bathrobe."
Lorien grinned at the older witch. "Be back in a minute." She said and she walked out of the hospital ward toward the great hall.
A/N: My own preference is to believe that it was a can of Mountain Dew that rescued our favorite Potions master. You may substitute whatever type of soda you prefer. ;)
Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. I can assure you that I already have about ten more chapters all in different stages of production!
Poison ~*~
Remus and Marlina were frozen in place. At first it was due to the fact that they were both so surprised to find an animal inside the castle, but quickly it was because they realized exactly what the creature was. No body would recognize a mangabey quicker than the Defense Against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures professors.
Remus whispered to Marlina as he kept an eye on the beast. "Don't move." He stepped in front of her and drew his wand out of his back pocket, very slowly.
The mangabey eyed them warily and only snarled a little as Remus moved, but it was when he pointed the wand at her that she decided she felt threatened. She showed all of her sharp teeth a good deal more and then charged.
Remus braced himself as Marlina cringed behind him. "This better work!" He said, and he cast the best spell he knew for dealing with the poisonous animal. "Infusio!" he cried, and a fountain of water drenched the animal just before it got to them.
Remus stepped back a little, pushing Marlina further away from the writhing mass of fur on the floor. It only took seconds for the water to do its job, as the Defense professor knew it would. The mangabey virtually melted.
Remus blew out a deep breath as he looked at the small pile of fur that was all that was left of the animal. He turned to Marlie, and saw that the red haired woman was looking at him in a way that he decided he definitely liked.
"That," breathed Marlina, "was amazing." She smiled admiringly at Remus.
Remus shrugged modestly.
"Don't give me that." She said, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Remus thought that he would melt next when Marlie kissed him the way she did. He looked at her and smiled, and then drew her closer again for a second kiss, but was stopped by the distant noises he now heard. Grunting and snuffling and squabbling could be heard rounding the corner, and Remus and Marlina turned slowly to face the next forty male mangabeys that had followed the scent of the female.
Harry and the three Weasley brothers had decided that they'd pushed their luck about as far as they wanted to and, grabbing the remaining fireworks in the bag, bolted out of the tower. They ran down the long staircase as fast as they could.
Harry didn't want to get caught because he didn't like to think of the number of nights he was going to spend in detention with Filch if they got caught in the act, but also he didn't want to be found quite so red- handed by either Snape or his godfather.
The four boys spilled out into the hallway at the bottom of the stairs just in time to skid across the floor as they yelled aloud, and frantically tied to backtrack away from the handful of monkey-like creatures snarling at them in the corridor. They bolted back up the stairs, and it was only a moment before they could hear the animals pursuing them.
It was only another moment before they realized the animals were gaining on them.
Ariel Sinistra heard the commotion coming from the staircase to the tower that was near her rooms, and launched herself out of her chair. This was ridiculous. It was bad enough that students occasionally sneaked up into the tower for a bit of snogging, but when they blatantly stormed up her staircase that way, it made her furious.
She rushed out into the stairwell and was about to follow the source of the noises she heard traveling away from her up the stairs, when a snuffling sound behind her rooted her to the spot. A low growl followed and Ariel turned just in time to see a final mangabey launch itself at her.
Snape was walking rapidly back in the direction of the great hall when Sinistra staggered out of the adjoining hallway. It took him a moment to realize that something was wrong, but then he finally saw the look of fear in her dark eyes.
"Severus!" She gasped, falling back against the wall.
It was then that he saw the blood soaking through her sleeve and went to her. "What happened, Ariel?" He asked, not liking the glazed look in the woman's eyes.
She looked at him in an unfocused way. "Students.....tower." She gasped again. "Trapped."
Snape frowned. "What do you mean, 'trapped'?"
She swallowed hard and leaned her head back against the wall, her breathing rapid. "Mangabeys. Maybe ten." She croaked.
"Mangabeys? In the castle?" Snape asked incredulously. Now he knew where the blood on her arm had come from.
Sinistra nodded weakly.
Snape knew that he'd had that feeling of dread earlier for a reason. This must have to do with Malfoy, he knew it.
"Severus?" Sinistra choked out his name and he looked at her again. "I tried.....couldn't get up.....stairs.." Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to slide down the wall.
Snape could have stepped forward quickly and caught the Slytherin witch before she hit the ground, but he found it much more satisfying to delay by a second and hear the sickly thud her head made when it smacked into the floor. "My, that sounded like it hurt." He said to the unconscious woman, and he picked her up ungracefully, and turned and carried her toward the medical wing.
He was going to have to find Lorien and hope that she could help Sinistra before the poison from the bite did any more harm. He spoke again to the unconscious woman. "You'd better hope that the Mistress of the Healing Arts is in one of her forgiving moods tonight, Ariel."
Remus and Marlina knew they were in deep dragon dung as they ran, and as much as they would have liked to run back inside the great hall, they each knew that it was too much of a risk that some of the creatures might make it inside the crowded room as well. They bolted for the front door, hoping to get outside before the creatures that were pursuing them closed the gap any further.
Marlina hit the door, yanked it open as hard as she could, and flung herself through it, coming face to face with a wide-eyed Keath and Hermione. Remus leaped through right after her and yanked the door closed behind him, but found his arm was jarred when the door hit the head of a mangabey that had flung itself at them instead of shutting all the way. He pulled on the door as hard as he could to keep the animal trapped and started shouting at the three people behind him. "Hex it! Hex it!"
Marlina and Hermione, in keeping with the spirit of the muggle party had left behind their wands, and Keath was unsure exactly what hex to use on the snarling head stuck in the doorway in front of Remus.
Hermione snatched the auror's wand out of his hand and pointed it at the animal lying on the ground. "Infusio!"
The animal snarled once more and melted away into a pile of fur on the floor when it was doused with the fountain of water. Remus slammed the door shut and turned to Hermione as she handed the wand back to the surprised auror.
"I know the term isn't over yet, but Hermione, I promise you get an A in Defense." He panted. He saw the look of horror on her face. "Ok - A plus better?" He asked, and then it dawned on him that all three people in front of him wore the same expression as the door behind him was being pulled open by the first of the clever little animals to reach it. Then they were coming through. "Run!" He whispered, and the four of them ran into the darkness.
Harry, Ron, George, and Fred were losing the race up the stairs until Fred finally reached into the bag he still clung to. One silver orb remained and he spoke the lighting charm and flung it over his shoulder as he ran. It blew the first mangabey behind him to bits when it exploded, which bought them just enough time to throw themselves though the door to the observation deck and slam the heavy door home behind them.
Unfortunately it also bought them about twenty more mangabeys that joined their comrades in throwing themselves at the door.
All four of them flung themselves against the door to try to brace it enough to keep it from opening.
Ron looked at Harry with large eyes. "Were those what I think they were?" He gasped.
"Mangabeys? Yeah. I think so." Harry panted back.
"Why do I feel like I'm taking one of Lupin's damn practical exams?" Ron asked.
"If only we were." Harry answered.
Snape made it back to the great hall a moment or two after the last of the group of mangabeys had charged after Remus and Marlina, and he didn't know how close he came to coming face to face with the whole lot of them.
He put the woman down on the floor and she stirred a little as he propped her up against the wall, and went quickly into the great hall to find Lorien.
He spotted her talking to Cho Chang and walked quickly up to her. "A word, Mistress Lorien?" He drew her away from the younger Ravenclaw.
"What is it?" She asked, knowing that something was seriously wrong by the look in his eyes.
"Lorien, there are at least ten mangabeys running loose in the castle." He said in a quiet voice as they walked rapidly toward the door.
"What? How did they get in?" She gasped.
"I don't know, but they've already injured one person." He replied. "You need to see after her while I alert the rest of the staff."
She was nodding in agreement until she saw just who her patient was, and she looked back at Severus. "You've got to be kidding." She sighed when she saw him shake his head and pick the unconscious woman back up.
They took Sinistra to the hospital wing, where Severus laid the woman on the same table that he himself had been treated on all those months ago. "It's the poison that's the problem." He advised Lorien.
She nodded and watched him quickly sweep out of the ward, and then turned her attention to stop the bleeding from the Astronomy professor's wounds.
Filias Flitwick knew something was wrong when he saw Lorien leave in such a hurry with Snape, and he decided to ask them if there were reason to be concerned about any of the students. He moved quickly to the door of the great hall and opened it to step through, and was promptly knocked flat on his back.
A second wave of monkey-like creatures descended on the lower hallways from the third floor and ran in the direction that their comrades had, in search of the female that was the origin of the scent that drew them. When they started by the door to the great hall it was just opening, and the mass of vicious creatures changed direction when they caught the new smell of pizza. They plowed through the open door, rampaging right over the top of the diminutive Charms professor and into the crowded room.
Snape made it back near the great hall just as Sirius was walking up from the other direction.
"Anything?" Black asked, unaware of what had transpired in his absence.
"No, but we have a new problem." Snape replied gravely.
"What?"
"There are mangabeys in the castle, Black, and I have reason to believe that there are students trapped by them in the astronomy tower." Snape answered.
Sirius hit himself in the head. The Astronomy tower. He hadn't thought of the tower. It must be Harry and Ron that were trapped up there. "I'm going for the tower." He said, drawing his wand.
Snape nodded. "I intend to alert the rest of the staff of the danger and then I'll...."
It became apparent to both men that the shouts coming from inside the great hall were no longer those of happy party-goers. They each seized their wands and stepped forward together to throw the doors open.
The scene before them was an absolute nightmare.
Most of the younger students were screaming or crying or both as they desperately tried to get away from the rampaging beasts that had swarmed into the room.
Several seventh year Hufflepuffs were in a corner valiantly trying to protect a small group of first years, but it was a lost cause without wands, and two mangabeys slashed away at the two boys until they were doused with water by Professor Vector.
Seamus Finnegan and Colin Creevey were holed up behind the refreshment table, slamming cans of soda on the table and then opening them to spray any of the animals that threatened the small group of third year girls that they'd managed to pull behind the table with them.
McGonagall had kicked off her heels and was hexing mangabeys like a wildcat, standing in front of as many students as she could protect at a time.
Hagrid had grabbed two of the horrid creatures by the neck and slammed them together and the recovered Flitwick jumped forward and soaked the dazed creatures in a flash.
Students were fleeing out the teachers entrance behind the head table, but there was only so much room for them to try to exit by that route.
Snape and Black flung themselves into the battle without hesitation.
Snape doused the closest mangabey as he ran into the room, elbowed another brutally in the head and then blanketed the fallen beast in a jet of water. He looked up as he heard a particularly close cry and saw one of the creature sink its teeth into the leg of a Slytherin fourth year girl. He snarled the hex and soaked the animal until it was nothing but a pile of fur and then grabbed the girl and pushed her, limping, behind him as he turned to face the three mangabeys that had arrived with the cry of their fallen comrade.
Snape doubted whether or not he was going to be able to blast all three of the snarling animals in front of him in time to avoid being bitten and he took another step back to give himself as much room as possible as they launched themselves at him. He was able to get two and he heard a loud thud as braced himself for the impact and the girl behind him screamed. It never came, and after a moment Snape ventured a glance to see what had happened to the third creature. It lay on the floor, disintegrating into a pile of fur.
Even more amazing to Snape than the disappearing monster on the floor was the sight of Neville Longbottom, standing before him with a newly open can of shaken soda.
Sirius ran into the middle of the room and started blasting the group of mangabeys that were ripping at a group of screaming students with jets of water. The floor in the great hall was now getting slick from being wet, and here and there blood mixed with the water around Sirius as the monsters continued their devastation. He redoubled his efforts and started melting the creatures as fast as he could, and just when he felt like he might be making some headway, the third wave of nightmare monkeys swept into the great hall.
New screaming broke out and Sirius caught a flash of red hair out of the corner of his right eye. Two of the male mangabeys were just about on top of Ginny Weasley as she tried to get away. Sirius saw she was out of range of the water hex and that he'd never make it to her on foot, and instantly the large black dog was racing in her direction. The dog's jaws closed on the arm of one of the beasts and he flung the animal through the air and away from Ginny and turned just in time to see the second one swiping a vicious clawed hand at the girl. There was nothing else he could do fast enough and the great black dog threw himself on Ginny, slamming her to the floor. He yelped as the claws ripped through the skin over his back, and then the beast snarled as it was blasted by water from Flitwick's wand.
Lorien was puzzled as to why she didn't seem to be getting the response she expected from the unconscious woman on the table. It wasn't that she wasn't trying in earnest to save the woman that had caused her so much trouble, it was just that so far her remedies weren't working.
"Can't get a bit of sleep with all that racket at the party." Poppy was walking into the medical ward in her dressing gown. "Who do you have there, Lorien?"
"Ariel." Lorien answered her. "She was bitten by a mangabey, Poppy."
"A what? Here in the castle?" The older woman looked alarmed as Lorien nodded.
"Severus says there are at least ten in the castle and he thinks they're holed up near the astronomy tower."
"I see. So, the poisonous bitch has been poisoned, has she?" Pomfrey asked.
"Poppy!" Lorien was actually amused at Pomfrey's assessment. "I've gotten the wound closed, but she doesn't seem to be responding to the standard restoratives, even class III."
"Have you given her bezoar derivatives?" Pomfrey asked.
"Yes. Both kinds." Lorien replied to the other healer. "Minimal response."
"Hmmm." Said Poppy. "It seems to me that a remember a case like this quite some time ago. I seem to recall that mangabey toxin is slow to act, but it has to be countered by a special antidote."
"What would that be?" Lorien asked.
Pomfrey shook her head. "I don't recall the formulation, but I'd be willing to bet that our resident Defense Against the Dark Arts professor does." She said. "Lorien, I'll stay here with Sinistra. You run down the hall and get Lupin so I don't have to scare the students in my bathrobe."
Lorien grinned at the older witch. "Be back in a minute." She said and she walked out of the hospital ward toward the great hall.
A/N: My own preference is to believe that it was a can of Mountain Dew that rescued our favorite Potions master. You may substitute whatever type of soda you prefer. ;)
