Disclaimer: Characters are the work of the wonderful J.K Rowling.
A/N A warning first up: This chapter contains coarse language. All is still not what it seems. Thanks again reviewers (yes, I'm going to say that every chap, to my new reviewers and to the lovely loyal ones :D ) Chocolat Elf: Thanks for the cookies *munches on cookie * Can't tell you what a Lupagab is, I made it up, lol. Just one of Hagrid's creatures. Enough rambles, on with Chapter 24, In Which the Characters Don't Swear Nearly as Much As The Author.
A/N2 Okay, just a little adjustment here after reading dreamkin's review. And the last line's changed, to make things a little clearer.
I couldn't help myself. Although he had almost certainly betrayed Harry and I, I felt immediately protective when I saw Ron with Cho. I mean, he'd been there at the Ball, he knew the situation! Why did he want to talk to her? Suddenly, fleur seemed like a lovely girl…I marched over, in a rage.
"What the fuck is going on here?" I shouted. There were taken about. You see, I wasn't really in the habit of hardcore swearing. The worst thing I said was 'shit', and that was only in dire circumstances. Unfortunately, they weren't the only one I had shocked.
"Miss Granger!"
Oh fuck. Fuck, there I go again. Argh!
"Professor Snape" I said in a grim tone as I turned around to see his pallid face – although at this moment, the blood flowing to his face made it an almost healthy, pink colour.
"You'll be cleaning up your potty mouth in detention tonight. Twenty points from Gryffindor".
I nodded, knowing any words would come out as a squeak under his blazing eyes.
Harry chose the very wrong moment to come around the corner and see Ron and Cho together.
"Shit! What the Hell are you two doing?" he exclaimed, and his eyes swept the scene, with Ginny still visibly shocked by my outburst, and Snape glaring at him with a vindictive smile.
"Ah, Potter. I see where Miss Granger learnt her impeccable language", he said with a sneer, "you'll join her tonight in detention. And a further thirty points from your house".
Ron seemed ready to yell something at Snape, but apparently remembered that he was angry with us and shut up. He and Cho shared a glance and then strode off, knowing we wouldn't do anything under Snape's watchful gaze. They were long gone when Snape sauntered off with a final glower.
"Ah, fuck me" Harry muttered. I smirked at him.
"I don't know how you expect me to even kiss you, with a dirty mouth like that".
"Like this" he grinned and I found myself pressed against the corridor wall, incredibly glad that everyone had moved onto lunch, and feeling sorry for the scandalised portraits around us.
Ron, the sneaky bugger, managed to avoid us for the rest of the day. I was determined to know what was going on there. He couldn't possibly be messing around with Cho, could he? Unlike Harry, the guy knew she had a boyfriend. What could he possibly have to gain by getting close to her, apart from maybe herpes?
Such questions were still racing through my mind as Harry and I trudged hand in hand down to Snape's dungeon. I would've preferred a years worth of Divination lessons with Professor Trelawney to this detention. Didn't Snape have some halls to prowl, or some axl grease to buy for his hair, or a hole to curl up and die in?
Instinctively, we released hands when we reached the door to out Potions room. No need to give Snape something else to sneer at. At the same time, Draco Malfoy rushed out of the dungeon. "Move it" he growled and we did, shocked at the sight of him. I could've sworn his eyes were bloodshot, but didn't get time to check as he hurried off. Sharing a glance, we entered the room. Snape was not in sight, so we sat down at a table. After a few seconds, he popped up from under his bench at the front of the classroom.
"At, Potter, Granger, the foul-mouthed ones", he said with a look of distaste, "I better keep you separated, wouldn't want you teaching each other any more profanities".
He looked away for a moment, as if he's already lost track of the conversation. His eyes momentarily glazed over, then snapped back into focus.
"Miss Granger, I think you will find that my First Years made quite a mess today in that corner". He pointed. "Clean it. Without using magic" he spat out, with something that could only be described as a smile when it appeared on Snape.
"Potter, you come with me. I have a special assignment for you. I'll be back to check on you Miss Granger, so no cheating" he said, and swept out of the room. Harry cast me a worried look, blew me a kiss, and ran out of the room to follow him.
Reluctantly, I made my way over to the corner he had pointed to. It was disgusting. Some Neville Longbottom-type – or perhaps a few – had knocked over a beaker of thick liquid, which was glowing an unnatural purple hue, and smelt like something Crookshanks might have thrown up. Pinching my nose, I made my way over to Snape's nearest supplies, looking for some sort of cleaning liquid and equipment. My eyes brushed over bottle upon bottle, some empty, some filled with solution that was brown like Polyjuice. Finally, shoved at the back, I grabbed some of 'Moira May's Mighty Magical Cleaner' with a smirk. It's not really using magic is it? A scrubbing brush was located and I retreated back to the dungeon, reluctant to have Snape creep up on me whilst I was amongst his life's work.
I got down on my hands and knees and got to work on the potion, which, unfortunately, had seeped into the floor and was glowing magenta. I was in my second hour of scrubbing when Snape swept in.
"That's enough Miss Granger. Return to your tower. I hope you've learnt your lesson" he said with his usual sunshine expression.
"Thankyou, Professor Snape" I muttered and scrambled out of the room. I was in dire need of a shower, and I still had homework to finish. Harry was waiting for me outside with a dour look on his face.
"Hey, it couldn't have been that bad" I said and grabbed his hand. He pulled it away. What the…?
"What's wrong?" I asked. Just a couple of hours ago he's been blowing me kisses! What the hell had Snape's "special assignment" been?
"Hermione, we can't be together", he said bluntly, refusing to meet my eyes, as my heart broke into a thousand pieces.
A/N Sorry. Please review!