((A/N: I'm sorry I didn't get this out sooner! Work has been insane lately and when I get home, I'm literately wiped to the point where all I want to do is just fall on my bed and stay there. Still getting migraines and now I have the annoying factor of pain in my mouth from wisdom teeth appearing. Needless to say, all I want to do half the time is sleep. Then there is the fact that I kinda got hooked on FFX so I've been playing that instead of doing something that involves thinking...And I've had headaches from car problems, let's just say that the car I just got rid of was called 'The Metal Death Trap' for good reasons....And college starts soon so I'll be heading off there soon. No time for writing!
Signeus: Cool. Okay, well, at some point I'll try to start work on that.
athenakitty: Heh, no, Hazel doesn't need the migraine potion, I do....No! No stopping with the questions! Who will die? Well, that'll spoil the fun!
leggylover03: Well, it's not Hazel who hexes Draco into next week this time...
moonypadfoot: Hey look, no cliffy this time either. Possibly cause I was writing this at 1:30 in the morning and had no inspiration for a cliffy...
HecateDeMort: Salutes Yes sir!
M'Lady: Well, nothing too exciting happens unfortunately in this one cause I think everyone miss read the part at the end of the last chapter. Only the Slytherins know about the relationship....But well, I had fun with some humor in this one...
Gryphnwng: Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to put pairings in this or not...Hazel/Harry would be exceptionally difficult. But I might put something for Sevvy cause he needs it.
Dying Angel1: Sorry it's late!
Makalani Astral: Hey! It's not like every other one! Read!
Sakura Saisaka: See?? I can update too! It just takes me a long time when the managers are numbskulls who won't let me bring a computer to my register.
tigersmeleth: Yay! I feel special. Hope you like this chapter, although it's kinda goofy.
Hrei-siesn: Uhh, yeah, whups. 7 hells cause I wrote the other wrong. And uhh, yeah. Well, I had Snape and Hazel in a row in this utterly goofy chapter. Sorry, but I had to throw in some comedy in here....BTW, Hurrah for my 100th reviewer!!!!!!
E: Most likely...As for Hazel with Malfoy: No.No.No.NO.NO.
Projectjay: Oooh, hey thanks.
Okay, now that that's outta the way. Sorry about this chapter. It's utterly comedy since well, it was funny....))
Something was definitely amiss, Harry thought to herself as her first week finally came to an end. The Slytherins hadn't divulged their big secret to anyone else yet besides their own house and this could only mean trouble. If the press knew, then they certainly weren't sharing the information yet either, which could mean either Fudge thought the idea ludicrous, or they were bidding their time. Personally, Harry wished that no one would believe the Slytherins, but deep in the back of her mind, she knew that it was asking too much for that.
Harry wasn't the only one concerned; Severus and Dumbledore were both worried about the sudden reclusive behavior of the students. For their part, neither could understand why this wasn't spread around already to discredit Harry even further, but they could only suspected that all the Slytherin children had received direct orders from their parents to lay low for the time being. On the upside, Rita Skeeter hadn't gotten wind of this yet, or she was still honoring Hermione's deal with her illegal Animagus form.
Going back to Harry's current situation, she had opted to remain as she was for the time being until the information of her father leaked to everyone else. It was easier to ignore the stares instead of questions that would arise from changing back to male and looking fairly identical to Severus. Both her father and the headmaster found this to be a logical method for the moment and conceded.
The mark on the inside of her arm had finally darkened completely which left her spirits dampened as she knew something would come of this, even if it didn't show itself yet. Whenever she looked, it reminded her of what was to come and what she'd have to do from the prophecy's standpoint. And that was a thought that she didn't want to be thinking about; killing or be killed.
Being the weekend, she was free to work on her homework down in her father's quarters assuming she took the invisibility cloak with her to cover her tracks. Dumbledore had seen fit to hand over the Marauders Map to hide from Filch as well as the Slytherin cronies. Hermione and Ron were able to cover for Harry if any of the Gryffindors asked were she was. Currently, she had settled herself into an overstuffed black chair with silver trim with a book on Transfiguration in her hands. She had taken to studying to keep her spirits up as she wasn't able to think of the dark and depressing things when her mind was working on reading.
"Hazel, if you could actually manage to put the book down for more than a moment, I need to speak to you." Severus sneered in his normal tone, not thinking as to which he was speaking to.
"Oh, umm, sorry dad, I was just at a part on here that should help me finish my Animagus form soon. What did you need?"
"You've noticed that the Slytherins haven't let this whole ordeal spill into the public and that could mean trouble. We already know that Voldemort is aware of this from how Draco approached you that day, but why he isn't using this to his advantage yet, is anyone's guess. Albus has it theorized that Voldemort is bidding his time as he knows I'm a spy now, which means instant death if I go back to him, so he may try to debilitate me through the Dark Mark. We're positive that he is aware of your mark on your arm, though not Zabini's as of yet, but he may attempt something through that."
"Just another bloody thing to deal with in this unfair life..."
"This could mean your life if you're not careful...Even if I haven't been showing it, the thought of you being ripped away from me now would destroy me. So you know of all the restrictions still apply. When coming down here, make sure that you bring along either Granger or one of the Weasleys so you won't be alone. If anything starts to act up in your arm, you will tell me straight away through the pendant or else you most likely will be extremely sorry."
"Alright, fine, it's not like I get a choice in the matter. All that matters is that Dumbledore's little weapon doesn't get hurt before killing Voldemort off." She huffed angrily at the situation. They didn't trust her to be careful and certainly didn't want to have her be killed before the Dark Lord was defeated.
Snape narrowed his eyes at the tone she took. "Believe me; you should be grateful that everyone cares about you so much to keep you alive with all the trouble you get yourself into."
"Oh, I'm sure you all do. You just care enough to see me defeat Voldemort and then what? Cast me off to the side and not really care about what happens then? If I die with him, does anyone see fit to be worried? You know, maybe you haven't changed as much as you think you have." Her eyes danced around furiously before grabbing the book off the nearby table and storming out of the room with her cloak draped around her body.
Severus slunk back into his own chair and let out a sigh of defeat. He hoped that those thoughts weren't roaming around in her head all the time or it would be a matter of time before her mental state really did shatter. That girl needed someone to talk to and it was evident that she wasn't talking to her friends about this either or some of the stress would be diminishing. It was clear that Dumbledore wasn't on the top of her trust list either from the events of last year, even if she gave off the impression that she'd forgiven the headmaster. He knew that there were still deep harbored feelings of hatred from losing Sirius like that and guessed that it would be a long time, if ever, before Harry would completely trust anyone again.
At that point, using the pendent was out of the question. If he tried, most likely she'd yank it off her neck and throw it against the wall in her current mental state, and that was something they didn't need. Deciding it was best to leave her alone, he grabbed a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky and filled his glass and promptly downed the entire contents. The next few hours blurred together as more and more of the alcohol was consumed and his actions went unnoticed by all as it was the weekend and had the time to himself.
Harry, feeling bad later that night, decided to return to her father's quarters with Hermione and Ginny escorting her as Severus's wish, and hissed the password for the door to open. As soon as the portrait swung aside, their senses were assaulted by the acrid scent of a potion gone wrong. Needless to say, the three because worried and searched the living area for any sign of their Potions Professor, and were shocked by the sight of a half man, half lion creature lying on the floor with a bottle of Firewhisky by his side and a spilt cauldron.
"Oh bloody hell," Harry muttered, looking down at her father, knowing exactly who it was, although uncertain as to how it came about. Motioning the other two over, they were able to heave the man-lion over to the couch before Harry pointed her wand him and muttered the spell to wake him up. Eyelids cracked open to reveal bloodshot eyes that were surrounded by a furry face.
"Where the ruddy hell am I?" He choked out hoarsely, rolling his head to the side to try and stop the light from shining in his eyes.
"Umm, you're in your quarters and well, your breath gives away the fact that you've been drinking and considering the state of your body, I'd say you got yourself into one helluva potions accident."
"Ridiculous, I don't have potions accidents."
"Well, I'd say you're wrong unless you wanted to be half man, half lion." Harry spat back, still not entirely appeased from the earlier row.
"What are you rambling on ab-..." He trailed off as he caught sight of his paw like hand and let out an equivalent of a roar before jumping off the couch and whipping around to try and get a good look at what had happened. His body was coated in golden fur, feet transformed completely into paws, his hands were almost unable in their current state, and he had a lovely pair of lion ears poking through his still greasy black hair and a long tail that had ripped through his favorite set of robes. "OUT!!!!!!!!" He bellowed loud enough for the entire floor to hear.
The three were smart enough to scramble out of the chambers before Severus did something he deeply regretted. They stood by the door for a moment long enough to hear crashes of furniture flying across the room in rage and decided that it might be best to leave for now.
Inside the chambers, Severus was throwing anything he could get his paws on at the walls in an attempt to appease his anger. How could he have been so stupid as to get himself drunk when there was a cauldron in his possession with ingredients handy at a moments notice? Not only that, but the bloody house elves had cleaned up all the spilt potion and he had none to figure out what had happened. Luckily it was the weekend, but that didn't mean he could disappear from meals or the staff members would be looking for him. Silently he wished that Harry had left her invisibility cloak here so he could use it, but never the less, a trip to the headmaster was in order.
"PROFESSOR SNAPE?!?!!"
Severus whirled around to see Draco Malfoy staring at him in shock, mouth dangling open from seeing his Head of House as a half lion creature.
"Get lost boy before I curse you through the seven levels of hell," he growled, pointed teeth gleaming.
"What happened?"
"Oh that's it!" He spun around and let loose about a dozen and a half spells that left the boy scrambling away with three extra legs, corn stalks where his ears should be, and tentacles where previously blonde hair had been. Mentally praising himself for coming up with such hexes on short notice, he continued his path towards the headmaster's office where he was sure there would be an earful to listen to on his actions.
A few more students caught sight of the Professor as he made his way up to Albus's office, but were smart enough to scram once he glared in their direction. "Ice Mice," he snarled at the gargoyle and it revealed the elevator type stairs leading up to the office. He glided into the room as best he could, the black robes still billowing behind as per the norm.
All Albus could do was stare, although the mirth was evident in his eyes.
"My my, Severus, just what did you manage to get yourself into this time?"
"Evidently I got drunk, made a potion I don't remember, knocked it over myself, and the ruddy house elves cleaned it all up before I could get my hands on it."
"Paws Severus, paws..."
"Oh, with all due respect sir, do shut up."
The twinkle in the Headmaster's eye increased a tenfold followed by a large smile. "Now really, I'm just stating the obvious. So why are you here if you, yourself can't figure it out with a potion? You know I'm terrible when it comes to brewing those."
Severus at this point, was fuming and those trinkets on the headmaster's desk were looking rather tempting to throw. Perhaps his daughter had something when she'd thrown her tantrum and had started trashing the office. Albus caught sight of this and mentally shoved a few trinkets towards the paw-like hand in hopes to get him to release more of the pent up rage. He prided himself on keeping things like that in his office for when stressed out students and staff members came to see him and generally at least one was broken.
A loud crash vibrated around the room as a once silver outlined mirror shattered from being thrown into the wall. Severus panted loudly as he glowered at the man sitting before him, his hands itching to throw the goblet of water at his head as well.
"You know Severus; I can't just cancel your classes because of your current physical state. They will need to continue since you do have classes that have their OWLs and NEWTs coming up at the end of the year. So, just be a good little lion and don't eat anyone, hmm? Or I'll have to set Hazel on you with some of that potion she made back in the beginning of the summer."
With that, Severus stomped out of the office, prepared to curse anyone who even attempted to cross his path, whether it be student or fellow teacher. Fates didn't smile upon Minerva that day as she looked down the staircase to see a lion-Snape walking quickly down towards his quarters.
"Oh dear, Severus, what on earth did you do to yourself?"
"I suggest you leave me alone, Minerva unless you'd like to teach your own classes as a half cat."
"Now really, I was only asking what was wrong."
"Leave me alone."
"Perhaps you should go visit Poppy."
At this point Severus was scowling loudly and was about ready to curse the woman on the spot. Something clicked inside and decided that since he was going to be like this for an unknown time, he figured that perhaps some others should share his torment. While her back was turned, he muttered the curse and soon enough, the transfiguration teacher stood there as a half-cat person, similar to Severus's own physical state.
"SEVERUS SNAPE, TURN ME BACK THIS INSTANT!!!!"
"My dear Minerva, I have no intentions of any such thing. If I have to teach my classes this way, I do believe that the rest of the staff should join me."
Her eyes narrowed and with the furry face, it looked rather comical so it took all of his will power to not burst out laughing. He doubled back to the headmaster's office and placed a curse on him before he could realize what was happening and was left with being partly poodle. Severus prided himself once again on getting revenge on Albus and dove out of there before he realized what had been done.
Once down into the main hall, his luck turned and ran into someone he didn't mind meeting up with in the least.
"Severus? What did you do?"
"It would appear my fruity colleague that you're in a bit of a jam...."
"S-s-severus I'm sure we could avoid a nasty scene? I just got finished brushing and styling my hair..."
"Oh don't worry. I'll leave your crowing glory intact."
"Well, thank you then. I guess you won't be trying to fillet me now?"
"Who said anything about me not harming the rest of your poncy hide..?"
((A/N: The underlined stuff was directly inspired to me by Tiger Yan who is really cool and good for coming up with ideas when you're in a jam....))
Severus put his wand to work once again and the once well groomed man stood, was now a fully grown gobbling turkey, albeit with his hairdo still intact as promised. For the rest of the day, whenever he ran into another staff member, they were promptly gifted with a new body for the time being and since Albus thought it would be best, they had to go along with it. The headmaster seemed to think that this would lighten everyone's moods, especially Harry when she saw the antics of the staff.
Severus learned one thing that day though- Don't ever drink and brew again...
((A/N: Like I said, utterly comedy, but well, sorry! Review!))