Chapter 2: Walk, Idiot, Walk
The next morning they stood before the door to the laboratory, listening. But there came no sound from the other side.
"I really hope she's not dead." Severus said, rattling his keys apprehensively.
"I hope she hasn't tried to eat those mice." Lucius replied. "She seemed capable of it." Severus smirked at that, and opened the door. Eagerly, the both of them burst in, looking around for their test subject. But she was still sitting in the chair, and Severus held his breath. Soon enough, however, soft giggling sounds told them she was very much alive. They snuck over to her. "Er....." Lucius said.
"I second that." Severus whispered. The girl did not even notice them, engrossed as she was in holding her fingers over her eyes, then taking them away and giggling enthusiastically.
"Good morning," said Lucius, waving a hand in front of her eyes as she uncovered them. She started, gave a squeal, and then went back to what she was doing. "Gods...." Lucius said, perplexed. "Do you think she's grown mentally younger?" Severus shook his head.
"No, I don't think so, the mice did not behave like young mice. Furthermore, I know a solution that does that, and it does not even resemble this. It's possible, of course..... but not likely." He said, thoughtfully, then put his hand on the girl's left arm and dragged her to her feet. She made a few protesting shrieks, then went on with her little game, while standing directly in front of the two wizards.
"She can stand, anyway, so that's something." Severus said. Then he gave her a sudden push. She wobbled, walked a few paces back, and then gazed at the two confusedly. "Walk, too, normal balance. Odd."
"Duuuuuuhhhh.." the girl argued. The two wizards raised their eyebrows at each other.
"Exactly, my dear." Lucius said to her. "Now, what was your name again?"
"Duuuuh....." the girl replied, gazing dumbly at Lucius.
"You try something," Lucius said to Severus, "I don't know what to make of this." Severus thought for a few moments, then grabbed a piece of parchment and the quill, and scribbled something on it. He held it up in front of her.
"Can you tell me what that says?" he asked her in his nicest voice, which in his case, was still laced with a dangerous tone.
"Duuuuhhhh........hehehe." the girl said. She then took the piece of parchment, held it in front of her eyes, took it away and giggled.
"This is useless." Lucius said, clasping his brow in exasperation, "Even the mice were more intelligent!"
"Exactly." Severus responded, still gazing at the girl in concentration. "You know," he said, turning to Lucius with his eyes narrowed, "if I didn't know better.... I'd say she's become stupid."
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"I think it's a brilliant idea," Lucius said, sipping his tea. "The Dark Lord will be very pleased to hear it, I'm sure."
"Good, you can go tell him." Severus said curtly, moodily stabbing his toast with his knife. "Then you can also be tortured for wasting his time with bad ideas." He glared at the girl, who was stuffing toast into her mouth with both hands and had apparently forgotten one was supposed to chew one's food, as after her mouth was completely full, she just sat staring, not doing anything. "And take her with you. She's annoying me to no end."
"I'll get rid of her as soon as I can, I promise," Lucius said, looking disgusted as the girl sprayed breadcrumbs and spit all over the table. "But first we have to send an owl to Crouch and tell him to meet us somewhere so we can explain. No, wait, why don't you floo him and get him to come here? It will save us the problem of dragging that" he nodded at the girl, "around." Severus nodded slowly. The girl picked up a cup of tea, and lifted it above her head, tilting it.
"NO, don't!" Severus shouted, waving his arms. "Accio cup!" The cup of tea shot out of her hand into his, dousing nearly everything in sight in hot tea. He put down the cup, swearing, and started to mop the tea off his hands and plate with a napkin. "And it's the good china, too." He grumbled. "Stupid house elf thinks I have proper company instead of a demented oaf." He glanced at Lucius, who was glaring at him disapprovingly. "Oh, and you, of course. I suppose you count as company."
"I suppose so, yes," said Lucius in a sardonic tone. "Shall I go and take care of business? I know where the fireplace is, after all."
"Go ahead," said Severus. "I'll take care of this and possibly tie that creature up before she does any more damage." He glowered at the girl, who had put a napkin on her head, for a few moments.
"Duuuuhh......" she informed him. He just sighed.
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"The question is," Lucius mused, "what we're going to do with her. She's of no use now that they've seen her. Do you suppose we could just go back and let her go?" The two wizards were looking at the now magically bound girl, who was lying on the ground gazing up at them with big, cow-like eyes. "The Ministry probably wouldn't notice, they don't know the potion, and she doesn't look like anything magical happened to her, she just looks.......stupid." Lucius continued, nudging her with his foot just for fun, even though she didn't seem to notice.
"I suppose." Severus said, "What did Crouch say about it?"
"He told me to 'dispose of her as we pleased', meaning he wants us to destroy the evidence." Lucius said, kicking her softly in the side, though she still did not react. "Merlin's beard, she really has gone completely daft." he said disdainfully. "Personally, though, I don't know what else to do. We could blow her to smithereens, of course, but there really isn't another way of getting rid of her that has less chance of being found out. As long as we are not seen with her, naturally."
"I think you're right." Severus said, "Can you make a portkey to the place you found her?"
"Sure. If you can miss something that will look inconspicuous in the Muggle world." Lucius said, giving her a last kick, which made her squeal. Snape's brow furrowed as he considered the dilemma.
"How about a spoon?" he offered.
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"Severus," Lucius said as they were sitting in a tiny, blackened pub in Knockturn Alley that night, "How do you know the potion's not going to wear off, and that the person who ingested it isn't going to be back to their sense after a while? You told me you knew, so I did not question it then, but..."
"It's flesh eating," Severus replied, warming his hands on his goblet of Firewhiskey. "The potion I was making that day was a batch of the same flesh eating poison that they put in the pest repellents. I make it regularly for.....political purposes. The difference with this version of it is that it does not eat flesh per se, it eats something else." He took a sip, gazing at Lucius dramatically from behind the smoke and fumes emerging from the Firewhiskey.
"It eats brains??" Lucius said. Severus nodded. "Fantastic!" Lucius leant back in his seat with a smug expression on his face. "Everyone will turn permanently moronic!"
"As if they aren't already." Severus huffed, making the steam from the firewhiskey whirl wildly.
"Not everyone, surely?" Lucius said, leaning over to Severus.
"Alright.... Severus said, smirking at him. "Everyone except me."
"You'll pay for that one," Lucius said, his grey eyes fixed firmly on his.
"I know." answered Severus, and a large grin spread across his face.