Disclaimer: You know the basic; the girls belong to themselves, and Selene
is myself, Singapore and its places belong to themselves, of course.
Disclaimer 2: One of Carly's lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (Yep, I am obsessed of writing the lines, see "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood" disclaimer if you don't know what am I talking about) so you may find it familiar and I don't own it.
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.
Note: Like what Freelancer says, My fic, my rules. So there is no SARS in Singapore in this fic. (Anyway, the situation has improved greatly in Singapore)
Pairings: Albus/Minerva, Snape/Maria
Note: Maria, you better read this! I hope you like it.
Thank you for your reviews!
Chapter 4: Night Safari
"Hey, what is that?" Inca asked at the Night Safari the next night, pointing at a small hut beside a small exhibition of reptile bones and dinosaurs' information.
"That?" Selene said absentmindedly, still looking at the skull of a snake. "The Bat House." She straightened herself up. "Anyone interested of going in?"
"No way, I hate bats!" Carly said immediately.
"Fine with us." The rest of the group said.
"OK, you stay outside and wait for us then." Selene sang, leading the rest in.
"Hey, wait a minute, you can't all go!" Carly said desperately and looked around her. The Night Safari was completely different from the Day Zoo. While the Day Zoo was bright and full of life, the Night Safari was dark and spooky.
"I will stay with you. One huge greasy-haired bat at Hogwarts is enough for me anyway." Madam Hooch said and tried to look as innocent as possible when Snape turned his head around and scowled at her.
***
"Selene?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell us that the bats can fly around freely in the bat house?" Sue demanded and ducked when a bat swooped past her, nearly missed her head. The bat house was pretty big, bats were often found hanging from the branches within the visitors' reach and they could be found flying past the visitors. Dumbledore and Minerva were already near the exit, looking at the description of a fruit bat that was engraved on a wooden stand.
Selene didn't respond.
"I'm outta here." Sue said in fear and went to the exit as quickly as possible.
"Me too." The rest said (Except for Dumbledore, Minerva, Snape and Maria) and followed suit.
"Oh come on!" Selene called, she forget completely about Maria and went after them.
Dumbledore and Minerva went out a few moments later, thinking that Snape was outside with the rest.
Maria didn't even notice that the rest had left; she was busily looking at a bat, which was staring back at her with its big black eyes. And when she looked behind her, she found herself alone in the bat house. "Girls? Selene? Sue? Inca? Minerva?" She called.
No response. All Maria could hear was the flapping of the bats' wings.
"Uh oh." Maria mumbled.
"Maria? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked and Maria turned sharply around. "Ah! Oh my God, Professor Snape! (Snape didn't allow the girls to call him Severus or Snape) You scared me to death!"
"Didn't mean to." Snape said shortly. "Where are the others?"
Maria shrugged.
Snape rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here and find them."
Maria nodded and as they went, another bat came flying dangerously near Maria and as she ducked to avoid being slapped on the face by it, she lost her balance and Snape saw it so he....
.... caught Maria neatly in his arms.
Maria blushed deeply because to the outsiders, Snape looked like he was hugging her from behind.
Snape's cheek went pink. "Oh Merlin, what will Hooch say if she sees me like this?! She won't let me have the end of it?!" He thought in panic, grasped Maria's shoulders firmly to steady her. "Walk steadily, will you?" He said sharply, trying to be himself again. But before he could stop himself, he asked: "Are you all right?"
Maria blinked. It was so unlike Snape to be.....gentle. "Um, yeah. Now let's go." She said quickly and walked toward the exit as fast as possible.
***
When Maria and Snape got out of the bat house, Selene had an impatient look on her face. "Ah, you two are out! Finally! Now let's go somewhere else."
As Selene led the group, Madam Hooch tapped on Snape's shoulder to get his attention and she teased: "Can't bear to leave your relatives?"
"Oh shut up." Snape snapped.
"What happened to you? I thought you had left the bat house with us." Lindsey said to Maria.
"I was looking at a bat when you all left." Maria said. "And I glad I did." She thought.
***
"Did anyone of you notice that the Clouded Leopard looks like an angry McGonagall?" Snape said unmercifully, loud enough for Minerva to hear.
"Haha, very funny, Severus." Minerva snapped. "If I remember correctly, the python looks exactly like you."
"Come on, let's go to see the Golden Cat." Selene said, trying not to laugh.
Maria looked at the different path to the lions, then at Selene, who was leading the group to the other direction. She was dying to see the lions but she didn't mention it to Selene. "Oh, just a look, then I will join the rest...." She thought and left the group quietly to go to the different path.
"My legs are tired....." Snape heard Sandie complained when he noticed Maria sneaking out of the group.
"What the....." He started and began to follow her.
***
Maria stopped in front of a wooden fence that separated her and the lions' territory and leaned forward on the fence to have a closer view of the lioness.
As she did, someone called: "Maria!"
She turned and saw Snape frowning. "What?"
"How can you leave the group like that? Do you have any idea how serious this is?!" Snape demanded. (Yep, this is his line in CoS movie, and I don't own it!)
"Oh come on, it won't take a while..." Maria said.
"You must go back, didn't you remember what that Selena girl....." Snape started.
"Selene." Maria corrected.
"Whatever. The point is, she said that unless you know where you are going, you must stay with her or you will get lost and accidentally wander into the tram route, where the animals are allowed to walk ANYWHERE freely!" Snape said loudly.
Maria shifted her weight from one foot to another and didn't respond.
Snape growled. For some reason, he felt that he had the responsibility to watch over Maria. He grabbed her hand and said: "Come on, or we can't catch up with the rest!"
Maria stared at his hand.
Snape realized what she was staring at and let go quickly. "Follow me." He said gruffly and started to walk without looking behind.
***
"I think Selene and the others went that way." Maria said, pointing to her left when they came back where Selene and the others used to be.
"I thought they went this way." Snape said, pointing the dark path in front of him.
"No, they went that way!" Maria insisted.
"No...they...." Snape said slowly. Then he paused to think. "Maria? I think we are lost." He said finally.
Disclaimer 2: One of Carly's lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (Yep, I am obsessed of writing the lines, see "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood" disclaimer if you don't know what am I talking about) so you may find it familiar and I don't own it.
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.
Note: Like what Freelancer says, My fic, my rules. So there is no SARS in Singapore in this fic. (Anyway, the situation has improved greatly in Singapore)
Pairings: Albus/Minerva, Snape/Maria
Note: Maria, you better read this! I hope you like it.
Thank you for your reviews!
Chapter 4: Night Safari
"Hey, what is that?" Inca asked at the Night Safari the next night, pointing at a small hut beside a small exhibition of reptile bones and dinosaurs' information.
"That?" Selene said absentmindedly, still looking at the skull of a snake. "The Bat House." She straightened herself up. "Anyone interested of going in?"
"No way, I hate bats!" Carly said immediately.
"Fine with us." The rest of the group said.
"OK, you stay outside and wait for us then." Selene sang, leading the rest in.
"Hey, wait a minute, you can't all go!" Carly said desperately and looked around her. The Night Safari was completely different from the Day Zoo. While the Day Zoo was bright and full of life, the Night Safari was dark and spooky.
"I will stay with you. One huge greasy-haired bat at Hogwarts is enough for me anyway." Madam Hooch said and tried to look as innocent as possible when Snape turned his head around and scowled at her.
***
"Selene?"
"What?"
"Why didn't you tell us that the bats can fly around freely in the bat house?" Sue demanded and ducked when a bat swooped past her, nearly missed her head. The bat house was pretty big, bats were often found hanging from the branches within the visitors' reach and they could be found flying past the visitors. Dumbledore and Minerva were already near the exit, looking at the description of a fruit bat that was engraved on a wooden stand.
Selene didn't respond.
"I'm outta here." Sue said in fear and went to the exit as quickly as possible.
"Me too." The rest said (Except for Dumbledore, Minerva, Snape and Maria) and followed suit.
"Oh come on!" Selene called, she forget completely about Maria and went after them.
Dumbledore and Minerva went out a few moments later, thinking that Snape was outside with the rest.
Maria didn't even notice that the rest had left; she was busily looking at a bat, which was staring back at her with its big black eyes. And when she looked behind her, she found herself alone in the bat house. "Girls? Selene? Sue? Inca? Minerva?" She called.
No response. All Maria could hear was the flapping of the bats' wings.
"Uh oh." Maria mumbled.
"Maria? Is that you?" A familiar voice asked and Maria turned sharply around. "Ah! Oh my God, Professor Snape! (Snape didn't allow the girls to call him Severus or Snape) You scared me to death!"
"Didn't mean to." Snape said shortly. "Where are the others?"
Maria shrugged.
Snape rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get out of here and find them."
Maria nodded and as they went, another bat came flying dangerously near Maria and as she ducked to avoid being slapped on the face by it, she lost her balance and Snape saw it so he....
.... caught Maria neatly in his arms.
Maria blushed deeply because to the outsiders, Snape looked like he was hugging her from behind.
Snape's cheek went pink. "Oh Merlin, what will Hooch say if she sees me like this?! She won't let me have the end of it?!" He thought in panic, grasped Maria's shoulders firmly to steady her. "Walk steadily, will you?" He said sharply, trying to be himself again. But before he could stop himself, he asked: "Are you all right?"
Maria blinked. It was so unlike Snape to be.....gentle. "Um, yeah. Now let's go." She said quickly and walked toward the exit as fast as possible.
***
When Maria and Snape got out of the bat house, Selene had an impatient look on her face. "Ah, you two are out! Finally! Now let's go somewhere else."
As Selene led the group, Madam Hooch tapped on Snape's shoulder to get his attention and she teased: "Can't bear to leave your relatives?"
"Oh shut up." Snape snapped.
"What happened to you? I thought you had left the bat house with us." Lindsey said to Maria.
"I was looking at a bat when you all left." Maria said. "And I glad I did." She thought.
***
"Did anyone of you notice that the Clouded Leopard looks like an angry McGonagall?" Snape said unmercifully, loud enough for Minerva to hear.
"Haha, very funny, Severus." Minerva snapped. "If I remember correctly, the python looks exactly like you."
"Come on, let's go to see the Golden Cat." Selene said, trying not to laugh.
Maria looked at the different path to the lions, then at Selene, who was leading the group to the other direction. She was dying to see the lions but she didn't mention it to Selene. "Oh, just a look, then I will join the rest...." She thought and left the group quietly to go to the different path.
"My legs are tired....." Snape heard Sandie complained when he noticed Maria sneaking out of the group.
"What the....." He started and began to follow her.
***
Maria stopped in front of a wooden fence that separated her and the lions' territory and leaned forward on the fence to have a closer view of the lioness.
As she did, someone called: "Maria!"
She turned and saw Snape frowning. "What?"
"How can you leave the group like that? Do you have any idea how serious this is?!" Snape demanded. (Yep, this is his line in CoS movie, and I don't own it!)
"Oh come on, it won't take a while..." Maria said.
"You must go back, didn't you remember what that Selena girl....." Snape started.
"Selene." Maria corrected.
"Whatever. The point is, she said that unless you know where you are going, you must stay with her or you will get lost and accidentally wander into the tram route, where the animals are allowed to walk ANYWHERE freely!" Snape said loudly.
Maria shifted her weight from one foot to another and didn't respond.
Snape growled. For some reason, he felt that he had the responsibility to watch over Maria. He grabbed her hand and said: "Come on, or we can't catch up with the rest!"
Maria stared at his hand.
Snape realized what she was staring at and let go quickly. "Follow me." He said gruffly and started to walk without looking behind.
***
"I think Selene and the others went that way." Maria said, pointing to her left when they came back where Selene and the others used to be.
"I thought they went this way." Snape said, pointing the dark path in front of him.
"No, they went that way!" Maria insisted.
"No...they...." Snape said slowly. Then he paused to think. "Maria? I think we are lost." He said finally.