Rex tremendae maiestatis, / King of awesome majesty,
qui salvandos salvas gratis, / who grants salvation to those that are to be saved,
salva me, fons pietatis. / save me, o fount of Pity.
"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Hermione peeked her head inside Snape's office, she was hoping she hadn't caught him at a bad time.
"Yes, Miss Granger, come in." Snape ducked down to pull out a paper from a file drawer. It was Hermione's report on the properties of Mimbulus Mimbletonia. He laid it flat on the desk. Hermione nervously glanced at the paper and took a seat. It was full of red correcting ink.
"I wanted to talk about your report. This paper is not at all up to you usual standards," He began, flipping to towards the end of the report, "Look at the sources you've listed." He pointed to one of them, "'1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi' Are you a first year, Miss Granger?"
"No sir," She sank lower into her chair. Hermione's face was bright pink, she wasn't used to being berated over the quality of her reports.
"Then why would you use such a cursory text?"
"Well, actualy that particular source I used to get an overview of the plant, to give me ideas on where I might look for further, more specific information."
"I see. How about this one." He pointed to 'The Care and Feeding of Exotic Magical Plants' by Seymour Krelborn.
"Professor Sprout recommended it."
"Professor Sprout is not interested in the science of potionsmaking."
"I've heard they go hand in hand."
"The fact remains that you haven't looked hard enough. You didn't use the resources available to you effectively."
"I'm sorry professor..." She said fretfully, "I ... I know it's no excuse, but I've had a lot on my mind."
"Yes... well, to show that I am not completely without empathy to your loss, I've decided I won't give you a poor mark," Snape handed the roll of parchment to her, "I'm going to allow you a do over. You have three weeks to write this report over. I hope that you will do better this time."
"Thank you, professor!" She would have never have expected this sudden generosity from Snape, "I'll get started right away." She almost tripped over the chair in her excitment to leave the room.
A minute or so later, Hermione knocked on the doorframe of Snape's office door, "Umm.... excuse me, Professor Snape?"
"Yes Miss Granger?"
"May I please have a pass to the restricted section... for my report."
"Certainly, you may." He signed a permission slip which was already sitting nearby and handed it to her.
"Thank you, sir."
"Good luck, Miss Granger."
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Hermione stopped back at the seventh year girls dorms, she needed her notebook. She went over to the large pile of notebooks that sprawled across her bed. In preparation for her NEWT's, she had gathered up all of her notes from the previous six years, but they all had been haphazardly thrown onto her bed when Neville came running into the common room to tell them Dumbledore was going to the Dursley's.
She searched for her most recent notebook, shoving the others aside, they promptly slipped off of her bed and all over the floor. scraps that were marking important pages flew all over the floor.
"Oh no!" She quickly tried to put them back again, but there were too many. Finally she gave up and gathered the notebooks to her, but something caught her eye.
"Bottle fame, brew glory, stopper death..." It was her potions notebook from first year, "hmm...." She took the notebook along with her and headed for the library.
By the time she got to the library, she had an idea of what she was looking for; Snape had obviously meant for her to find more applications of the Mimbulus Mimbletonia. She had mostly kept to the theoretical aspect of the cactus' magical properties, and did not bother listing actual potions and incidences of use. She decided first to look under herbology in the restricted section. "Poisonous Plants and How to Use Them to Your Advantage." "Gardening for Goblins." "Protect Yourself Against Hedgehounds and Other Class XXX Garden Pests." "Devil's Snare and You"...
She thumbed through some of these titles and a few more, but none seemed to contain information she hadn't already found out on Mimbulus Mimbltonia. She tried a different angle.
"Potions.....potions......fame.... glory....poisons...." Her hand brushed the bookshelf. 'Potions for Gaining Power', 'Not So Ethical Potions through the Ages'. 'Begining Necromancy: Potions and the Power to Call on the Dead' 'Potiones for a Bettermente of Statione' 'Deadly plant-based Poisons'
She took out the last book, but there was nothing on Mimbulus Mimbletonia. She went for the one next to it, 'Potiones for a Bettermente of Statione' It contained all sorts of fascinating potions that did everything from making you temporarily beautiful, to something like a liquid form of Imperius.
She thumbed to the index, "Mimbulus Mimbletonia...mim...mim..." Suddenly several heavy books came crashing down on her head.
"Ow!"
Draco ran around the corner to help pick up the books he'd knocked off the shelf from the other side, "Oh dear, I thought I could reach it, must've lost my balence." he smirked,
"Right."
"What're you doing Granger?" He glanced at the shelf again, "Looking for a potion to bring Potter back to life? That can get rather messy you know. And usually you'd need a body."
"You would know, Malfoy."
"Hey, just trying to be a helpful." He smirked, "Of course," He said in a mock confidential tone, "According to the Ministry, Potter isn't even dead. So you don't have to worry. He'll be back, right as rain."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "If you believe that, you'll believe anything."
"Oh I don't believe it. I've seen him myself." Hermione's heart gave a little leap but then plummeted back down to where it was again, remembering who was talking, "So what are you doing in the restricted section Granger?"
"I could ask you the same question, Malfoy."
"Oh but I asked first."
"Okay then, I've got nothing to hide. I'm looking for more information on the Mimbulus Mimbletonia, for Professor Snape's essay." She flashed her permission slip at him.
Malfoy wrinkled his nose, "Wasn't that due a week ago? I do believe you're losing your touch."
"I can only imagine what you're here for," She smirked back.
Draco prepared some smart remark, but his vision shifted to over Hermione's shoulder, "Longbottom!" He barked, causing Madame Pince to glare at them. Hermione followed Draco's gaze to see Neville, shrinking away behind a stack of books, trying unsuccessfully to make himself invisible.
"And what brings you to the Restricted Section, eh, Mr. Longbottom?"
"N-nothing... none of your buisness...." Neville muttered irratably, "Just something for Professor Sprout is all."
"Let's see what you have here..." Malfoy took the top book off of Neville's stack of books, Herbologist's Journal Special Edition: 12 Dissertations on Magical Cacti from Around the World.... sounds fascinating.... no... no wait...it sounds utterly boring.... still not sleeping Longbottom?" He sneered, "Why don't you ask Miss Granger to read you her report on that stupid plant we learned about in potions the other day, I'm sure that would put anyone to sleep."
"What plant was that Hermione?" Neville's eyes focused in Hermione's general dircction. If he'd been less exhausted, he would have sounded truley interested.
"Oh don't ask her, apparently Snape's making her do it over, it was so terrible."
"C'mon Hermione, I want to sit down with these. Malfoy, give me my book."
"And what if I don't want to?"
"Then I'll just have to take it, won't I?" Neville dropped his other books with a loud thud.
"Oh Neville, don't!" Hermione said surprised, this wasn't like Neville at all.
"Shut it, mudblood."
Neville had his wand out in a flash, "Call her that again and you die Malfoy,
"Neville!" Hermione gasped,
"Shut up Hermione, he's had this coming for years." He turned back to Malfoy's frightened face, "And don't think I won't, I haven't slept in a week and my thinking isn't what it should be...I might just act on pure animal impulse." A wild, insane grin spread across Neville's usually befuddled looking features, adding to the effect of the sleep deprivation.
Without another word, Malfoy fled.
Neville dropped exhaustedly to his knees and didn't move for some time. At first, Hermione thought he'd had some kind of fainting fit, but then he proceded to pick up the books he had dropped.
"A-.. are you okay, Neville?" Hermione said gently, hurredly rushing to help Neville with his books.
"No! No I've got them, Hermione, don't worry about it." He snatched the books Hermione had collected from her hand, "Thanks."
"Are you sure? Because I don't mind helping you carry them, "
"No, really I'm fine, I can handle it, honest." He tried to smile casually, but it only served to remind Hermione of the wild grin he'd worn when threatening Malfoy.
"You weren't seriously thinking about killing Malfoy, were you?"
Neville snorted tiredly, "Hermione, this is Neville your talking to. As if I could have killed him even if I wanted to. You know me, I barely know which end is up on a wand."
"Now Neville, that isn't true, you do a tremendous job in the D.A. and you know it."
Neville was silent for a moment, " Yeah, I guess I do okay."
"I ... I think Harry was proudest of you. You know....out of everone in the D.A."
"Thank you, that's very kind of you to say." Neville's stride lengthend and Hermione almost had to jog to keep up with him,
"I'm not just saying it, Neville, I know he thought that...he told me so once." Neville dropped his books onto a table and began thumbing through the one on top, not even knowing exactly what he was looking for, "He said out of everyone that you made the most progress and that he thoug-" Neville slammed the book shut, causing Hermione to jump,
"Shut up, Hermione okay!? Just shut up! I'm not anything special... I'm just a nobody! I'm not smart like you, or funny like Ron, or really powerful like Harry. I'm just Neville the Screwup, who can't do anything right, I'm....I'm not anyone worth dying for!" He slammd his head down on the book, trying to cover the fact that he was crying again.
"Don't say that! Don't ever say that! Harry considered you just as much of a friend as he did Ron and I."
"Why'd he have to go and do that Hermione!?" Neville said, muffled between tears and the cover of the rune dictionary he was stubbornly pressing his face against, "Why couldn't it have been me? Why couldn't it-" He couldn't speak anymore amid sobs he unsucessfully tried to hide. He sat for five minutes, quietly sobbing until he had himself under control again. He lifted his head to dry his eyes on his sleeve, "I'm so tired, Hermione. I just want to go to sleep, but I can't, because I know the dreams will come again. I don't know what to do."
"Sowulo" Luna said as she wandered by Hermione and Neville's table.
"huh?" Neville said, trying to make himself look like he hadn't been crying.
Luna cocked her head, shrugged and pointed at Neville's face, " Sowulo, the rune, it's on your forehead, did you know?"
Neville felt his head, then looked down at the book of runes he'd been burying his face in.
"Oh!" Hermione gasped, " That looks like..."
Neville scooped up his books, and jogged from the library, covering his head with his arm.