DISCLAIMER: Much against my will, I do not own anyone involved. Mind you, if I did Sirius would still be alive!! (I know he's not in this story, but what the hell, he's still mine!) Please, lawyers of JK Rowling, please, please disregard the last three words of the statement in parenthesis. Sirius Black does not, I repeat DOES NOT belong to me…yet ;)
[a/n] Thank you for all your reviews, and yes, this chapter is longer, I have satisfied all of your wishes. I'm sorry if you notice anything accidentally written in the Present Tense. Target for Betrayal is my other fic. It's about 128,000 words and it's in Present Tense. Let's just say it's difficult not to get sucked back into the present. Please be kind in pointing out anything in the inappropriate tense! Much love, my reviewers! M.O.E.
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Chapter Two: Scarab Beetles and Bezoars
The first day of my Seventh Year was upon me. I spent the majority of my time for breakfast directing scared and confused first-years to the Great Hall. How they could get lost on their way to breakfast was beyond me, but I directed them kindly, eager to help. I found myself admiring the Head Girl badge pinned to my robes. I worked so hard to achieve this status. Finally I felt like my work paid off. I glanced at my watch and saw that I had fifteen minutes before my first class of Seventh Year: Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions. I sighed and shook my head. How did I manage to get sucked back into Snape's class?
I walked into the Great Hall and took a seat next to Ron, who was too immersed in a conversation about Quidditch with Harry to even notice my presence. I grabbed a few pieces of toast, ate them in now hurry, drank an entire goblet full of pumpkin juice, picked up my bag and walked out of the Great Hall. The sad thing about the whole thing was neither Harry nor Ron paid me any attention. I walked down to the Potions room cursing the entire male gender, as I have found myself doing on various occasions. I walked into the dismal classroom with only a few handfuls of others. The class was small, especially taking into consideration that all four houses were included in this class. I took a seat near the front next to Padma Patil, the intelligent Prefect from Ravenclaw. I was barely able to say hi to her when the door of the classroom slammed shut.
"I hope that each useless piece of dimwitted filth sitting in this room realizes the exclusiveness that is Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions. This class was designed only for the brightest and the best…sadly, I am left with you for a class," he says cruelly with a smirk on his face as he strides across the front of the room. "This class will be more difficult than anything else you have faced at this school, and is not for the weak of heart or slow of mind. You are in here because you have the possibility of being successful; mind you I doubt any of you have a chance in my class. Nevertheless, I am here to teach you the material whether or not you have the intelligence to put it to good use. Put away your books; let's see just how much you remember."
What have I gotten myself into? Was the only thought going through my brain from the moment Snape opened his mouth the time I sat down in Advanced N.E.W.T. Transfiguration. For one shining night I thought that maybe Snape had changed, maybe fighting against the same Dark Lord had given us some sort of bond. Obviously I was wrong. He was still the same slimy, greasy, hook-nosed git with no respect for anyone. I started wondering, as I climbed the marble staircase and walked down the hall to McGonagall's classroom, what I would have to do to drop out of Potions. Would I have to talk to Snape or could I just go through McGonagall or Dumbledore? I shook my head in disbelief. What had been going through Snape's head last night? Why had he been so adamant to enroll me in his class? He didn't seem too happy to have me in his class today. I answered every question he threw at me correctly, yet he still found a way to make me into an "insufferable know-it-all". I walked into Transfiguration still grumbling about being trapped in Potions and took my usual seat between Ron and Harry.
"Hermione, where have you been?" Harry asked me, jerking me out of my angry mutterings. "What happened to being in Care of Magical Creatures with us?"
"I dropped it," I said with a sigh. Both of their jaws dropped and their eyes seemed to pop out of their heads. They stared at me, too shocked to speak, waiting for me to continue. I hesitated in telling them the truth, unsure whether their jaws or eyes could handle any more shocking news. "I enrolled in Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions instead."
"WHAT?!" Ron shouted as he jumped out of his chair. "You've got to be joking!"
"Sorry, Ron, no joke," I said with a sigh as I pulled out my Transfiguration book, parchment, and quill.
"Seriously, Hermione," Harry said quietly, "why did you switch classes all of a sudden?"
I hesitated for a moment. I wasn't sure what to tell him. "Snape enrolled me in his class," I answered, deciding to tell only part of the truth. "I suppose he figures I'll do well in his class."
"That doesn't seem very fair!" Ron spat angrily as he retook his seat. "Does that son of a bitch think he's so much smarter than everyone else that he can just change your schedule without your permission?
"He had my permission," I responded shortly. "Now let's just drop it."
Harry and Ron, who had just opened their mouths to respond quickly closed them and turned away from me when Professor McGonagall strode in ready to put us through the Hell that was Advanced N.E.W.T. Transfiguration.
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Ron and Harry hadn't mentioned my schedule change after Transfiguration on Monday. Well, actually, Ron made several angry attempts to bring it up, but was stifled by Harry's foot slammed onto his. I thanked Harry when Ron wasn't around, and he always said, with a smile, "What's done is done, why make a big deal about it?"
When Monday came back around, I was sitting in the Great Hall listening to Ron advise Harry on who should be added to the team this year. When I finished chapter seven of A Whole Lot of Magical Herbs and Fungi for the Oddly Obsessed, I said goodbye to them and headed off for the Potion's classroom. I walked slowly, not wanting to be too early. I head just made it down the stairs when I found Padma Patil walking ahead of me alone. I called to her and the two of us walked to Potions together. We took the same seats we sat in last week and began taking out our supplies.
Snape strode into the room and everyone fell silent. He eyed every one of us carefully, and I had the distinct feeling that his eye stayed on me longer than anyone else. I fought the urge to drop my gaze and stared him back. When he moved on I felt a strange sensation of relief.
"Coagulating Concoction," Snape spat. He wove his wand and the chalkboard filled with instructions in a tiny script. "Read carefully. Begin."
It took me a moment to realize there would be no explanation, no clarification, and no suggestions of any kind. This was Advanced N.E.W.T. Potions; "if you can't follow simple directions, get out" was the motto.
We were half-way into class before things went wrong. I caught myself just before I added crushed scarab beetles to my pale blue potion. The directions on the board were written in such a way that if you didn't read them slowly several times, you would add the beetles at the wrong time and achieve disastrous results. I carefully set down my beetles and reached instead for the bezoar. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and noticed something that made the hair on my neck stand up and my blood run cold. Padma's bezoar was lying abandoned beside her cauldron, and in her hand was a bowl of crushed scarab beetles.
"PADMA NO—!" I screamed, but it was too late. The beetle dust fell into the cauldron, turning the pale blue potion deep crimson. She looked at me, confused. I waited in terror for what seemed like an eternity, though it was only about four seconds. Then it happened: the potion exploded with a deafening bang! I saw Padma dive out of sight under her desk, but I didn't act fast enough. The potion flew into my eyes and I screamed in pain as the burning intensified. I brought my hands to my eyes, about to try to remove the burning potion, but cold firm hands stopped me. The hands grabbed my wrists just centimeters from my eyes and brought them down to my waste.
"Whatever you do, do not touch your eyes," came the stern voice of Professor Snape. He sounded very worried. "Ms. Patil decided she would rather make a very vicious Blinding Potion instead of the Coagulating Concoction. It's harmless to the skin, but fatal to the eyes. PATIL!" he shouted, making me jump. "Take Ms. Granger to the Hospital Wing immediately and explain the situation to Madame Pomfrey. As soon as you have done that, return here to clean up. Start preparing your excuses, Ms. Patil, or you will be out of my class before lunchtime."
Padma led me out of the Potions classroom up to the Hospital Wing. Tears were streaming down my face, but each tear was so painful it brought more. The tears were reacting with the potion and creating something even more painful than it had been moments ago. I had a Blinding Potion in my eyes. I was terrified. Would I really go blind? Was there a possibility that I wouldn't get to Madame Pomfrey in time? What if it was already too late?
Before I had time to completely absorb myself in morbid thoughts, I heard Padma open a large door and scream, "MADAME POMFREY!!" The sound of rushing footsteps told me that the nurse was approaching.
"Dear girl, what happened?" she asked, sounding appalled.
"A B-blinding Potion," Padma stuttered.
"Dear, dear," Madame Pomfrey tutted as she took me by the hand and led me to a Hospital bed. I carefully lied down and waited for her to return. "Thank you, dear, you may leave," she called to Padma. I heard the door to the Hospital Wing open and close and figured Padma must have left. "Don't worry, Ms. Granger, this should do the trick," the nurse said in a calming voice.
I felt a cold, thick cream being spread over my eyes. The cream brought instant relief and my mind was suddenly cleared of all thoughts of "Kill me, please!" She spread on two layers before telling me to sit still and rushing away again. She came back and set something that sounded heavy and made of stone on the nightstand next to me. She dipped something—a rag, I assumed—into the liquid and rung it out. She carefully wiped the cream off my eyes. Using another cloth she dried my eyes, only to reapply the cream. This series of on-cream, off-cream was repeated a number of times. Finally, she took the cream off for the last time.
"I'm going to wrap an eye-cloth around your head, just to remind you to keep your eyes clothed, Ms. Granger." She wrapped the cloth around my head and I laid my head back on the pillow. "I must keep you here the rest of the day. We will see how you are doing around dinner time. It doesn't usually take very long for this cream to restore you to perfect vision, but it's different for everyone." With a quick reminder not to open my eyes, she left me alone. My eyes still stinging slightly, but nothing compared to the burning pain I suffered through earlier. Having nothing better to do, I let myself fall asleep.
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[a/n] Hee hee, I can see you, fanfic reader! I know you are reading; now you must review!! Bwah ha ha!!! …Please? :)