Chapter Thirty-three
Damp Dungeon
Severus went ahead down to the dungeon, and I promised to follow him in a few minutes. I crossed over from the table and into the shadows of the outdoor corridor that ran around the courtyard. Quirrell and Professor Binns were floating near to the wall. I started to make my way over towards them when Peeves appeared.
"Student staying at school- what did you do?" He asked in his normal cheeky voice.
"Not now Peeves." I said. He persisted. The Bloody Baron flew towards Peeves and the poltergeist flew off.
"Thank you." I said to the Slytherin ghost.
"I don't know what we're going to do with him." The Baron muttered, glaring at the retreated form of the poltergeist and flew away.
"Professors." I said gently, approaching Quirrell and Binns.
"Elixa. Excuse me a moment." Slatero gave a kind smile, and we moved away from Professor Binns.
"I just wondered if you'd been given a position here?" I asked. Quirrell put his head to one side, the turban almost appearing to slip, but not quite.
"Well, I haven't been offered a permanent position, but I think I've got a chance of staying here. Have you heard something?"
"No, I just wanted to say I'd be fully behind any decision to give you a job, I think you've proved yourself to be very worthy and useful this year." Slatero looked touched.
"Thank you so much Miss Amethyst. I appreciate that so much." I just nodded.
"I'll see you later perhaps. I've promised Severus that I'll help him in the dungeon. The Weasley twins flooded it with real water."
I could feel the damp as I walked down the stairs. The stone floor in the dungeon corridor glinted with water.
"Where do you want me to start?" I called out, stepping carefully onto the wet stone. Severus appeared at the potions lab doorway.
"In here I should think." It was clear from when I walked in that the Weasley's joke had backfired. There were pools of water where the floor dipped slightly, and the water had got into quite a few books which Severus had laid open on the desks to try to dry off slightly.
"Most of the books were charmed against flooding and potions damage, but some of the older ones weren't. I must have missed them. I will kill those two." I walked over to the nearest book and put a hand to the edge of a page, feeling the damage for myself.
"At least the ink hasn't run." I said, trying to find something positive.
"Know any decent drying spells?" Snape asked, pulling a drawer out of the desk at the front and placing it on top of the worn wood surface.
"I'll start over here shall I?"
"No need, I'll do one in a minute." I looked curiously at Severus. Behind me came a squelching noise. I frowned, and turned slowly. It came again, from the sink. I stepped forwards slowly, reaching for my wand inside my robes. I thought to peer in, and it was lucky I didn't. A huge black creature rose out of the sink, looking like a puddle of oil in three dimensions. I shot a stunning charm at it, but the spell past through.
"What the heck is this?" I said, taking a couple of steps backwards. Severus was beside me quickly, holding a large jar in his hand. He slammed it down over the creature and tipped the jar up and tapped it with his wand. Seconds later, the jar was filled with formaldehyde and the top was on. The creature was motionless.
"You just killed it?" I asked. Severus shook his head, and put the jar on the side.
"No, I simply put it into a deep sleep. It's going to the ministry tomorrow." Snape walked away from it, walking between the desks, inspecting the books.
"What was it doing roaming around the lab like that if it's something dangerous?" I demanded. Severus laughed.
"It's no more harmful than having a toothless baby trying to suck on you. The ministry want it because it's thrice the size it should be." I looked from my uncle back to the jar.