Hghwaychil --- Thank you so much for that review! I was thinking along the same lines myself, but was more concerned with what was going to happen rather than what actually was happening. Bad idea, that. I'm going to redo this once it's finished. Right now, though, my time is a bit short ---my hours increased 300% at work, up to 60 hours a week after school ends. Plus, I have my college orientation, placement testing, and my crazy thoroughbred to play with.
Anyway, thanks again for the review. I hope I do a bit better until I get the chance to rewrite it …
:o)
Speaking of thanks for reviews …Wow, geez, you guys are so cool! I can't believe I've actually gotten reviews …Heh. Thank you all so much! If it weren't for you, I'd've really given up on this a long time ago, just settling for it living in my head.
Lina Inverse the Dramata –Actually, it's an exorcism. I had a psychology paper to do on a psychological disorder, so I chose exorcism. Er, at least I treated it as a psychological disorder. I wrote an Anatomy/Physiology extra credit report on the Cruciatus curse, too. Off topic again… I had 10 pages to waste, so I added the Latin. Here's the whole thing:
Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, et in noimine Jesu Christi Filii ejus, Domini et Judicis nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti, ut descedas ab hoc plasmate Dei (name), quod Dominus noster ad templum sanctum suum vocare dignatus est, ut fiat templum Dei vivi, et Spiritus Sanctus habitet in eo. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum, qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem.
Translated:
I exorcise thee, every unclean spirit, in the name of God, the Father Almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Judge, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that thou depart from this creature of God, (persons' name), which our Lord hath designed to call unto His holy temple, that it may be made the temple of the living God, and that the Holy Spirit may dwell therein. Through the same Christ our Lord, who shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire.
~8^)
Starr --- Sirius and Severus have different last names because …uh, okay, well, because they're not really twins in the book series, and I'm too chicken to actually change them. Heh.
Oh well, then. Lemme grab the sacred jar of olives and finish off this chapter!
The Fifth Marauder
Chapter 15 …16…something. Let's just call it A New Chapter.
Severus sprinted as quickly as his long legs could carry him toward the stairs before he realized something that made him slide to a stop: the wards are down. He apparated to the Great Hall before he finished the thought. If the wards are down, why not take advantage of the fact?
Students lined the floor like the aftermath of a bloodless battle. Groans were heard above the still shuddering castle, which seemed to be shifting to keep its own balance in the earthquake occurring outside. Snape drew his wand.
"Excito!" (to bring about, wake) Power flared around him, sent out in a circle to each corner of the Great Hall. Students shot into sitting positions, some rolling to their feet, all holding their throbbing heads.
The magic that Severus had summoned lingered longer than it should have. He waved his wand experimentally, and watched as a small whisp of energy escaped the tip. It wasn't supposed to do that. It was as if something were pulling the magic out of him through his wand, the focus point of his magic.
Nobody else seemed to notice the extra power as it slowly dissipated into the air or seeped out the window. Thinking twice about casting anything again so soon, he spoke louder instead of using a charm to magnify his voice.
"Get to your Common rooms immediately. You will be dealt with as soon as you appear capable of human speech again. Now!" Snape glowered at three nearby Hufflepuffs, and they began walking quickly toward their tower, beginning a mass march away from the open room. It would undoubtedly be best not to alarm the students and cause mass hysteria ---even if it would make their sorry hung-over arses move quicker. Apparently they thought the school's spasms were only inside their own heads.
He flexed his damaged hand, wincing in pain. Time to find Albus and get the faculty to his labs where they could get to work on the antidote. The sooner the Headmaster got back to normal, the greater the chance that they wouldn't all die in the immediate future.
Striding out of the Hall after the students, he spotted a glint of light from inside the courtyard, as if someone wish a small hand mirror was reflecting the light in a sort of code toward that particular window. He stopped and glared as best he could, but he could see nothing other than the small, flashing light.
He would inspect it after locating the Headmaster and securing him down in the dungeons where it was safer.
Severus began walking down the hall, straining his ears for sound.
* * *
So concentrated on listening as he was, he didn't notice the other man silently stalking him.
A figure jumped from the shadows, catching Severus Snape from behind. The professor spun to meet the intruder head on, deflecting a wrist that held a knife, and jumping to kick it out of his raised hand. Severus did not like the problem he had with his magic lingering in the Great Hall, and was too nervous to attempt to cast anything with an enemy attacking him. Only reliable weapons are to be used in fights, unless you had no other alternative, his combat Master once told him.
The intruder lunged at the professor, unfazed at his swift disarming, pushing him into the wall and snap kicking at waist level. Snape twisted out of the way, leaving him to kick the wall. Snape took that moment of imbalance to punch the intruder under the jaw with his good hand. He recovered what seemed like too quickly, spinning away from Snape to elbow him in the gut.
That was blocked and parried with a knee to the shorter, stockier man's stomach, followed by a series of snap kicks aimed at his side.
The intruder blocked the second snap kick, countering with a punch to the stomach and jaw, which landed and caused Snape to growl a curse that, under normal circumstances, would probably have gotten him a firm scolding from the Headmaster.
Snape grabbed the man's arm as he threw a third punch, twisting his elbow and slamming him face first into the wall, elbowing him in the kidney region of the back. He pushed the man away, and jumped back when he was attacked again.
Snape kept the wall to his back in case there were others around. The stranger jumped to kick out Snape's knee, and Snape blocked it with his foot, not hesitating to kick out the other man's support leg. He fell back, and Snape watched for an opening.
They exchanged a series of kicks and punches that were all successfully blocked, Snape ending in a back-sweep kick to knock the intruders legs out from under him.
Snape reached for his quill-knife, kept in a breast pocket. Grabbing the man by the collar, he dragged him to his feet and slammed him against the wall, holding the thin blade under his jaw.
Tears came to his eyes at the sudden pain of holding something in his broken hand, but he quickly blinked them away as he glared down the intruder.
He was wearing damaged Muggle clothing. His eyes were blank, containing no thought of their own. It was a Muggle. Under the Imperio curse.
Snape cursed, his voice echoing in the darkening hall of Hogwarts.
PHEW! I hope you liked this bit. More to come, some time. I'm getting a bit more serious now that things are starting to heat up. Please let me know what you think …or what you think is going to happen! I despise being predictable, so I may have to change my original plan …