Mephistopheles
By: TheGreyLady (immaculatecalypso@hotmail.com)
Chapter 4- Waiting For Dawn
The next day, Hermione set out with Snape, hoping to find Dumbledore in one of his old haunting grounds. Snape was playing his role well, following her blindly and dumbly, whispering directions when no one was looking. They were already taking a huge risk by being in public but they couldn't risk someone recognizing him and realizing the spell had been reversed.
They had apparated to various locations in Africa and Australia, which was a daunting task to say the least. Long distance apparation took a lot out of her. It weakened nearly everyone who did it multiple times in the span of a day. Snape, however, looked no worse for wear but perhaps that was merely part of the act.
When they were isolated from public eyes, hidden in a small grove of trees, Snape said under his breath, "You look like you're done for today."
"How are you faring?" She asked.
"Fine," he said, his tone clearly conveyed that he could continue. She was frustrated with herself. It wasn't lost on her that he thought she was only slowing him down.
"One more," she replied, wanting to travel just a bit further; if only to spite him. "One more and we can go home."
"All right," he said as though he'd expected this from her. "There's a cabin about fifteen kilometers from the Katherine Gorge in Australia. There will be some walking but we won't have to worry about being seen. We can stay the night there."
"Okay," she sighed, "I'm game."
"Follow me," he said, taking her hand as they simultaneously apparated. She felt her body disappear with a jerk and then she was flying forward. Snape's hand still clasped her own when her feet hit the earth.
A wave of dizziness overcame her as she fell to her knees. She hadn't thought about how far away their destination was. The cabin was not within her sight. Nausea struck her relentlessly. Why had she thought she was up for this? A shadow fell over her; she looked up to find Snape crouched beside her, holding something in his hand.
"Open," he said, placing two leaves into her mouth, "Chew, don't swallow the leaves. It's hardly a potion but it will do for now."
She nodded as Snape put an arm under her shoulder and hoisted her up. After taking a few unsteady steps, she pulled from Snape's support, determined to make it on her own. Her steps became more stable as whatever it was Snape had given her began to kick in. It had a most familiar taste.
"What did you give me?" She asked.
"Only green tea leaves and mint. Nothing to be concerned about. The caffeine will pep you up again and the mint will settle your stomach. You're fortunate Albus likes them around here, otherwise we would lose a day purely to your being… sick." He said the final word with such distaste that she experienced a wanting to be sick again, just to wipe that snarky grin from his face.
She briefly considered playing the "Are we there yet?" game but settled upon asking how far they would be walking.
"Eight kilometers. Albus set up apparition barriers."
She nodded and continued to walk in silence. There were no attempts at small talk. With his long legs, Snape remained several steps ahead of her. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of asking him to slow his pace, so she half-walked and half-trotted to keep up.
The sun was setting peacefully somewhere in the distance. The sky was turning from bright oranges and reds into deeps crimsons and purples. She didn't mind walking in the dark, the moon was giving off enough light. The sunset had a calming effect on her. She was glad Snape hadn't made any comments to ruin the moment.
"Oh Merlin…" Snape said suddenly as he stopped, looking up and ruining the moment.
"What?" She asked irritably, "Are we walking in the wrong direction?"
"The moon."
She looked up. The moon looked perfectly normal, beautiful but perfectly normal nevertheless. "What about it?"
"It's a full moon. Run." He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along the path.
She put up no resistance. She knew what had spooked him so much: werewolves. His paranoia on the subject was one that could only be attained through life experience. His experience had been pretty bad. Despite her fondness for Remus Lupin, she would never forget the terror she'd felt when she had to face him down that night her third year. Werewolves were irritable, cranky, and bloodthirsty creatures… and they were probably crawling these woods.
Abruptly, every snap of a twig, every crunch of the leaves, and every shadow in the dark was cause for alarm. She and Snape ran as quickly as they could. If there was one invaluable thing she had learned at Hogwarts through her escapades with Harry and Ron, it was the ability to run at great speeds from danger.
Or straight into it, depending on the year.
She refused to derive any amusement from that thought. She and Snape could indeed be running headfirst into trouble. Being in the woods on a full moon was suicide. Neither of them had planned this through and both were sorely regretting it. Her leg muscles were burning but she tried to push the discomfort from her mind. She knew they couldn't outrun a werewolf but damned if they weren't going to try to get to the cabin before any began to give chase.
A howling came from the distance, from the direction they were running. Snape skidded to a halt and scanned the surrounding area, taking hold of Hermione's hand and turning to a tree. Upon reaching the base, he bent onto one knee and interlaced his fingers, palms up.
"Climb," he ordered breathlessly. She hardly needed further encouragement. Using his hands as a lift, she felt Snape rise to his feet, pushing her until she grasped the lowest branch and pulled herself up. She laid herself on the sturdy branch and wrapping her limbs around it. Looking down at Snape, she realized something.
There was no way in hell he could jump that high.
She dropped her hand to him and shouted for him to take it. He jumped and their hands met, firmly grasping each other.
It was then that Hermione learned an important lesson. Her arm was not designed to hold the weight of a man his size. The bone structure slipped from the socket with a resounding pop. She couldn't resist the cry that escaped her but held tight until he was able to grasp the branch itself and hoist himself up.
Through the blur of her tears, she saw him crawl to her. With an unsettling agility, he coaxed her to sit astride him and scooted back until his upper back hit the base of the tree. She would have made a comment about this not being the greatest time for snogging but couldn't force the words out.
He guided her good arm around his neck and said, "Wrap your legs around me. We have to get higher."
She complied, ignoring the intimacy of the position as he adjusted to let her legs clamp around him. He slowly rose, pausing only to grasp her derriere and haul her further up his body. She sighed with momentary relief. It was easier to hold her legs around his waist; the slight indentation gave some respite on her aching muscles.
"Hold on and don't move," he commanded.
Like she had a choice.
He moved slowly so as to not lose his balance as he took them the few precious feet higher. She clung to him, amazed at how easily he carried her weight, until he settled back against the trunk of the tree, letting his body sink back into a sitting position. She relaxed her legs, letting them dangle on either side of him.
Snape began pulling on the back of her shirt. She leaned back, suppressing a whimper as he firmly grasped her injured arm. "This is going to hurt," he mumbled, leading her head to his shoulder. "Bite if you must. On three. One…"
Before he even counted two, he jerked his hand, forcing her shoulder back into its socket with a loud crack. She muffled her scream against his cloak and bit hard. No sound of pain escaped him, tempting her to bite harder.
"You said 'Three!'" She accused as she pulled back and gasped for air.
"You'd have tensed up," he replied smoothly but equally out of breath. "It was easier to catch you unawares."
She grumbled, "When my arm feels better, you may rest assured I'll be using it to beat you within an inch of your bleeding life!"
He chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out several large leaves. He placed one into his mouth for a moment before sliding it out. His hand slid under the collar of her shirt and placed the wet leaf on her shoulder. It quickly cooled the burning.
She laughed under her breath, "Spearmint."
The crackling beneath them halted any conversation. Something was coming. Hermione tensed, despite her aching arm, and watched as a werewolf appeared from beneath the leaves and began circling the tree. It leaped into the air, trying to get to them. Despite her common sense, Hermione still jerked her legs up when it jumped.
Baring its teeth, the creature gave a long howl into the night and continued to jump for them. It really was a beautiful creature, a light silver coat with a speckling of brown. She couldn't imagine she'd feel the same way if she were still on the ground. The werewolf growled fiercely, prompting Hermione to promise herself that she would check the moon cycle in any area they searched from henceforth.
Her eyes jerked away from the werewolf when a resounding shriek echoed into the night. It was human, possibly a child. The wolf ran off in the direction of the cry, eager for the easy kill. She was overcome with a powerful desire to help the source of the cry and a paralyzing fear that kept her limbs from working.
Snape muttered, "We can't help them, Miss Granger."
"I know," she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder again. His arms wound around her waist, drawing her closer to his body to stabilize her. She took no comfort as the haunting cries continued to pierce the silence. It was all she could do to keep from crying.
Unable to sleep, they each withdrew into solemn contemplation in the cool night air.
* * *
When dawn came, the pair decided to move again. Hermione wanted to put as much distance between herself and the night as possible. Relocation seemed to be an easy way to do that. She had caught little sleep during the night and doubted Snape had had any.
After untangling their bodies, they began the descent to the ground. Snape was remarkably agile. She, however, felt about as graceful as a hippo holding an umbrella. Her arm protested the movement as she painstakingly lowered herself closer and closer to the forest floor. The lowest branch must have been ten feet from the ground.
Snape told her to jump. She looked at him as if to say, "You must be out of your mind." Shrugging, he dropped to the ground and looked up at her, smirking. She couldn't resist gaping, Snape was a man nearly twice her age and he was jumping out of trees like a ten-year old. She was tempted to jump from the tree simply to throttle him. She lowered herself to a sitting position on the branch. Nope, still too high. Snape was looking impatient.
"Jump," he snapped. "We haven't got all day!"
She continued to stare at the ground, feeling more and more like a kitten up a tree. "I will," she said feebly. "Just… give me a minute.
"Not that I need to point this out," he said, "but you aren't being very Gryffindor, right now."
She'd give him a point. Preferably a sharp point attached to the end of a stick. She screwed up her courage and jumped, landing awkwardly on the ground with a soft "Ooof." She hadn't managed to stay on her feet but had, rather, collapsed onto all fours. She rose to her feet, stopping to give Snape a disdainful look, and motioned for him to lead the way.
As fate, that rat bastard, would have it, Dumbledore was not in the cabin. Small amounts of dust had accumulated from its disuse. All in all, it was a nice place. It would have been even nicer if Dumbledore were here but it would do for spending the night.
Hermione bit back her frustration and said, "I need to sleep before we do anything else."
Snape nodded and motioned her down one of the hallways. At the end, she found herself faced with a most opulent bedroom. Unconcerned with everything except sleep, she transfigured her clothing into comfortable pajamas and collapsed upon the bed. Exhaustion quickly overtook her weary body and she entered the dream world with open arms.
Author's Notes- First and foremost, I must thank the "Goddess/Beta Kate" also known as MoaningMyrtle whose stories have been "sadly bereft of recent commentary." I swear, Kate, you keep giving me ammunition! Let us all give a moment of silence for poor Kate, her children have been home with friends a lot this week because of snow.
Kate… we hardly knew ye.
Secondly, I'd like to thank everyone for the positive feedback I've been getting. This is my first serious fic and I'm grateful to everyone who has encouraged me in this endeavor. Next chapter will, hopefully, be up by the end of the weekend. So keep watching. And remember, reviews are the only payment I get for this. LOL! If I owned Harry Potter, well, then that would be another story.