Part 3 – TO BE OR NOT TO BLONDE
with my heart's bloody tatters I'll mock again;
Whoever they were, they were not going to come to his bedroom. They were surely heading for the store-room, or his library.
Snape stood quietly by the door frame, hidden in shadow, but couldn't see anything. They were probably using an Invisibility Cloak. And that meant Potter, he thought grimly: his was the only Cloak in the castle, and it was highly improbable that an outsider had broken in.
He moved swiftly to the little desk in his bedroom, and took up a large jar.
« Apparecio, » he whispered, throwing some of the golden dust it contained in front of him.
The dust glittered gently into the night, covering every surface of his chambers – the floor, his desk, and a human of some kind moving silently towards the library.
Snape took his wand and followed it. It didn't look like Potter, he thought, as he crossed the room. He had to get close enough to see…
Hermione tiptoed between the shelves, cocking her head right and left to read the titles. Her heart, which had been thumping madly at the idea of being in Snape's private chambers so late at night, was starting to relax at that amazing sight.
Books.
Hundreds of them. Poetry, Charms, Alchemy, History…and in the very back, a shelf with what looked like the most precious copies.
Hermione passed her fingers on the books, smiling to herself.
And here you are, she thought, seeing the familiar outline of Hogwarts: A History between a dragon leather bound book and a reddish little volume.
The wish to stay there all night and read as much as she could was killing her, but she knew it was too dangerous.
She put one hand on the spine of the book she was looking for, and started to pull.
« Sleep walking, Miss Granger? » said a smooth voice from behind her.
Hermione jumped and turned round. The menacing figure of Severus Snape was glaring at her right through the Invisibility Cloak. She tried hastily to push the book back in the shelf, and the red volume fell down.
« I'm- I'm sorry, sir. », she said hastily. « I didn't mean to-»
He didn't say anything, and she bent down to pick up the volume.
Breathe, she thought, Breathe. He's only human, after all.
Once everything was at its place again, she lowered the Cloak's hood, and she heard a sharp gasp behind her, and she turned.
Snape was still looking at her, but his expression had changed completely. When she had turned, he had taken a step back. He seemed shocked and scared by her, and it was the first time that she saw him unsure about what to do. His hands were clenching into fists, and he looked like he was stopping himself from moving – if he did or didn't want to come towards her, she couldn't tell.
They stood looking at each other for a very long minute, and then Snape broke the spell.
« Get out of here immediately, and don't come back. Ever. », he hissed, in his most dangerous voice.
Hermione nodded, apologies trapped in her throat by the murderous glare in his eyes, and positively ran out of his chambers and back to the Gryffindor Tower.
« Flamma demanat», she panted, arriving in front of the Fat Lady.
« As you say, dear. », she mumbled sleepily, without opening her eyes.
Harry and Ron were still up, waiting for her, drowsing off in their chairs.
« Wake up! » she said urgently, shaking Ron. « I'm back – I'm alive – barely, he caught me. »
Both of them stirred instantly and raised their faces to her. And they jumped in fright.
« What – what did he do to you? » Harry asked, very pale.
Ron simply opened his mouth and pointed at her.
« Nothing, not even detention. He must have been ill, » she replied, shrugging off the Cloak.
« Not even detention ? » repeated Ron, disbelievingly. « So he just turned your hair yellow instead? »
« What are you talking about? »
« Didn't you -»
« Just go and look at yourself! »
Hermione eyed them suspiciously, but went to the mirror.
« Very nice, dear, » it said sleepily, while Hermione gaped to her reflection in mute horror.
Her bushy, chestnut hair had turned into a a perfectly curled, white-blonde mane. Her warm chocolate eyes had now a blue Malfoyish shade.
Flattering indeed, said a treacherous part of her brain.
« How-how did he do that? He didn't even say a spell! »
Harry and Ron were standing behind her.
« I never heard any curse with this result. Have you? » she asked, turning to watch at them.
« Let's go to the Infirmary. » said Harry, taking her arm.
« No! » she squealed. « Madam Pomfrey will ask me how I got stuck like this! »
« Hermione, » said Ron, taking her other arm, « She once saw you arrive with a cat's face, and she didn't ask anything about that. »
« Yes, but -»
The boys ignored him and pulled her bodily out of the common room. For the second time that night, she found herself walking in the dark corridors against her better judgement.
Harry and Ron, however, were mercifully right: Madam Pomfrey didn't ask anything about her condition. She said dryly that she looked far better than the last time, gave her a cup of Restorative Draught and put her to bed, shooing the boys out.
But when Hermione woke up the next morning, she still had blue eyes and white-blonde hair.
She remained hidden in the Infirmary for three days, swallowing more Restorative Draught and Verimago Elixir and the Chocolate Frogs Harry and Ron had brought to her.
Nothing happened, and the third day she received a note from Professor Snape which requested her presence in his lessons, 'if she wanted to achieve at least a T in her N.E.W.T.S'. She glared at the parchment – she had been doing all her homework the last three days after all – but Snape was right: she couldn't spend the rest of the term with Madame Pomfrey.
Muttering to herself, she put on her school robes and she braided her hair tightly to make it as unconspicuous as possible. Then she got to her feet and made her way to the dungeons, clasping her books in her arms.
A/N Thank you to every person who reviewed…I got the feeling there are any of you out there, why don't you drop a line? It's really nice for me to know that this story is not worthless. And I know chapters are short – the next ones will be longer. Next update : February the 6th. The Gryffindor password is a line of Catullus – of his own pale Latin translation of a beautiful Greek poem of Sappho (fr. 31). I do hope someone out there can enjoy the Latin original, or, better, the Greek, because it truly is the most wonderful love poem ever.
1. Ille mi par esse deo uidetur,
He seems to me to be equal to a god,
2. ille, si fas est, superare diuos,
he, if it may be, seems to surpass the very gods,
3. qui sedens aduersus identidem te
who sitting opposite you againand again
4. spectat et audit
gazes at you and hears you
5. dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis
sweetly laughing. Such a thing takes away
6. eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te,
all my senes, alas- for whenever I see you,
7. Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi
Lesbia, at once no voice at all remains
8. vocis in ore;
within my mouth;
9. lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus
but my tongue falters, a subtle flame steals down
10. flamma demanat, sonitu suopte
through my limbs, my ears tingle
11. tintinant aures, gemina et teguntur
with inward humming, my eyes are quenched
12. lumina nocte.
in twofold night.
13. otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est:
Idleness, Catullus, does you harm,
14. otio exsultas nimiumque gestis:
you riot in your idleness and wanton too much.
15. otium et reges prius et beatas
Idleness ere now has ruined both kings16. perdidit urbes.
and wealthy cities.
