A/N

I know, I know, this took ages. I've had several rampaging plot bunnies jumping around in my head... we all know that feeling, don't we?!

Chapter Ten: Scarlet and the Flobberworms

Hermione yawned and arched her stiff back off the carpeted wall of the diamond-shaped room. A tantalizing few feet away, Severus was sleeping. His features were relaxed and a strand of hair had fallen across his face. The Head Girl smiled.

To her left, the Creevey brothers were squashed together in a rather dodgy position. On her right, Draco Malfoy was snoring gently.

Her smile faded slightly as she remembered the full implications of the situation, however. She just wished for her own bed and to hold Severus again. It had proven to be even worse that she'd thought – being this close. She daren't even look at him too much because of her own dare. She really was getting mightily sick up of it all now. Malfoy would have hell to pay when they all got out of this. Grinning evilly and experiencing a wonderful case of déjà vu, she reached over and punched the Slytherin squarely on the nose.

The blond let out a high-pitched scream which woke the others up too. Ron and Severus, after realising what Hermione had done, grinned together. In fact, everyone was laughing at Malfoy except Millicent Bulstrode.

Sadly, though, they were interrupted by the headmaster as he stuck his head round the door.

"Morning all!" he announced in such a sunny manner it almost made Snape want to be sick, "I've brought a new person to see you all! Her name's Scarlet!" Dumbledore held out a screaming toddler, seemingly unfazed at the wildly flailing limbs and saliva coming from it. Hermione thought the child's colouring rather matched her name. "Poor thing," continued Dumbledore over the racket, "She's an orphan. Nowhere to go."

Hermione and Ron shared a knowing glance, remembering what had happened to the last orphan to pass through the headmaster's hands.

The child's eyes turned to Snape and it abruptly stopped crying. Instead, it began making odd noises that seemed to be giggles.

Susan Bones, in a pitying, Hufflepuff sort of way, took the girl from Dumbledore. Hermione gasped.

"You idiot!" she breathed. "You've gone and got her stuck in here with us!"

Snape's eyes went wide and he just about caught the tiny girl as she launched herself at him.

The Head Girl made a valiant attempt to rectify the situation by saying: "Hasn't she got any relatives?" but could tell no one was really listening.

"Ah," said Dumbledore a while later, as the toddler wrapped her arms around the Potions Master's neck, "You see, that's the other problem." he paused, staring at Hermione. "I'm afraid her nearest relative is Professor Snape."

Everyone present could tell things had just gotten infinitely more complicated.

Tension was running high. Scarlet would not be moved from Snape, no matter how hard he tried to shake her off. Hermione could see he was torn between hating the girl and being protective of her for his dead relative's sake. They had all attended the scheduled lessons – which had done nothing for Severus' temper – and even managed to go three corridors without falling over, but were no nearer to finding a counter-curse than turning the sky green.

Of where he had found the curse, Draco would say nothing. The Potions Master was about an inch away from hexing him when there was another (rather familiar) flash of light and the younger Slytherin was replaced with a flobberworm.

Hermione groaned. "Of course! It's been a week! I totally forgot!" All around the hall, faces turned.

"Ugh!" cried Susan. "He was bad enough before – now we're stuck in here with that?!" Hermione felt compelled to agree. She wished she could get away with stepping on him.

Snape sighed. It certainly had been a revealing few days. He would be glad when the year was over – he would be free of the dares, free to be with Hermione whenever they both wanted and free of all the strange animals. He was definitely going to get Albus to ban this kind of competition for next year.

Scarlet shifted on his arm, reminding him of the ache she had created there. She wasn't so bad really. Caring for young children wasn't in his general repertoire, but he would do it. Maybe Hermione could... no, he wasn't even going to think of the future yet. It was still too far away.

Adjusting the child's weight to a more comfortable spot, he began to eat his dinner. If things insisted on throwing themselves at him, he would meet them calmly. No point in him getting worked up about it, he reasoned. This resolve was nearly broken, however, when there was a second flash and Pansy Parkinson became Hogwarts' third flobberworm.

He sighed again, louder this time. Things just happened around him, didn't they?

Hermione looked up, annoyed beyond measure. They had better find a counter-curse soon, or else she would probably go mad.

She could see from his slumped shoulders Snape felt the same. They were both solitary by nature – both preferred books to people most of the time and here they were stuck with others 24/7. At the moment he was crouching on the floor, trying to get Scarlet to eat some form of vegetables.

It was a strange curse – it only affected people. Food, books or toys could come and go at will. For some reason Hermione found it strangely irritating that a piece of carrot could have more freedom than she was allowed.

Remembering a small cousin she had back home, Hermione decided she might be able to help the poor professor. Getting up from the wall of the diamond room they once again occupied, she walked over to him and crouched down.

"I'm not avoiding you," she whispered. "It's just I'm scared if I look at you I'll forget my dare. And I don't want to spend the rest of the year as an animal, as well as being indefinitely stuck in here."

He nodded.

"I know. I can't wait until this is all over..."

She smiled.

"Well," she said in a louder voice, "Need any help there?!"

With a playful smirk and a pair of coaxing hands, she began the feeding ritual they were to continue for the next four months.

A/N

I'm going to try and advance the plot in the next chapter so don't get annoyed at the little time jump. I can almost promise it'll be up within the week as I have ten days off soon.

Keep reviewing! I read everything and it makes me smile!

ss13 xx