"Professor Severus Snape!"
With that, she stepped into the flames. They were slightly warm, and Hermione felt heartened. It was only a detention, after all. Then she was spinning endlessly, fireplaces whizzing past, the soot blinding her.
Hermione was thrown to a cold stone floor when she stopped spinning. Her arm was pinned painfully under her, and her nose throbbed from being landed on. She got up gingerly, her hair flying every which way, and reached up to feel her nose. It was slightly numb, and her hand came away bloody.
"Miss Granger."
Hermione suppresed the urge to roll her eyes as she whirled around to face him.
"Professor."
"Get off the rug, I don't want blood all over it."
Snape had an expression of loathing on his face, and she thought angrily of how his underlying tone had implied he thought her to be worthless. Scum. Filth. Some pureblood wizards- such as himself, no doubt- would call her a Mudblood. The nastiest thing one wizard could call another.
"Yes, sir."
Hermione tried to keep the hurt out of her voice. Snape muttered a healing spell, and she felt her nose repair itself.
"I just recieved a new shipment of potion ingredients this morning," he said, staring at Hermione with distaste, "There is a list on my desk of where they should be kept. I trust you are familiar with the names of basic potions ingredients, and will not have as much trouble in that area as you have in holding your tongue. When you have finished, I will inspect your work to make sure it is up to my... standards. Now, I have some pressing matters to attend to. See that you do not break anything, and that you do not touch anything you do not need to."
With that, Snape swept out of the room, and closed the door without a backwards glance. Hermione frowned. She'd been here only once before, when she had stolen a boomslang skin in her second year. Snape had no idea it was her, and she wasn't about to tell him. He had so wished to believe it was Harry... but there was something else bothering Hermione. Snape had left her alone in his office. Definitely uncharacteristic of him, she thought, and displaying a rather large amount of trust. Obviously, he thought her to be trustworthy.
Or perhaps he thinks me too innocent to steal anything or nose around in his affairs.
It was that last thought that drew Hermione's attention to a blue light filtering in through a crack in one of Snape's desk drawers. She wondered, for a fleeting moment, if it was some Dark object from his Death Eater days. But Dumbledore trusted Professor Snape, Hermione chided herself, so she did as well. That did nothing to quench her curiosity, however.
Hermione glanced at the door, then crept over to the drawer. She laid a shaking hand on the carved brass handle, and gave a slight pull. The drawer opened with ease, and Hermione saw, to her confusion, a large stone bowl. Inside the bowl was a glowing, blue substance that looked to be both gas and liquid. It was swirling slowly, like a small storm, and Hermione got the feeling that this bowl was highly significant- something she should definitely not see.
All the more reason to find out what it is.
Hermione was surprised at herself. Perhaps her streak of mischieviousness came from hanging around Harry and Ron too often. Suddenly, the blue clouds parted inside the bowl, and she found herself staring down at a circle of hooded figures, as if they had shrunk and fit inside the bowl. One man walked around the circle slowly, then looked up at her. To Hermione's shock, he had red eyes, with slits for pupils...
Hermione's elbow slipped on the edge of the drawer in surprise, and her hand made contact with the substance in the bowl. She felt herself being pulled in, yanked... She tumbled through space until she found herself face- to-face with Lord Voldemort.
With that, she stepped into the flames. They were slightly warm, and Hermione felt heartened. It was only a detention, after all. Then she was spinning endlessly, fireplaces whizzing past, the soot blinding her.
Hermione was thrown to a cold stone floor when she stopped spinning. Her arm was pinned painfully under her, and her nose throbbed from being landed on. She got up gingerly, her hair flying every which way, and reached up to feel her nose. It was slightly numb, and her hand came away bloody.
"Miss Granger."
Hermione suppresed the urge to roll her eyes as she whirled around to face him.
"Professor."
"Get off the rug, I don't want blood all over it."
Snape had an expression of loathing on his face, and she thought angrily of how his underlying tone had implied he thought her to be worthless. Scum. Filth. Some pureblood wizards- such as himself, no doubt- would call her a Mudblood. The nastiest thing one wizard could call another.
"Yes, sir."
Hermione tried to keep the hurt out of her voice. Snape muttered a healing spell, and she felt her nose repair itself.
"I just recieved a new shipment of potion ingredients this morning," he said, staring at Hermione with distaste, "There is a list on my desk of where they should be kept. I trust you are familiar with the names of basic potions ingredients, and will not have as much trouble in that area as you have in holding your tongue. When you have finished, I will inspect your work to make sure it is up to my... standards. Now, I have some pressing matters to attend to. See that you do not break anything, and that you do not touch anything you do not need to."
With that, Snape swept out of the room, and closed the door without a backwards glance. Hermione frowned. She'd been here only once before, when she had stolen a boomslang skin in her second year. Snape had no idea it was her, and she wasn't about to tell him. He had so wished to believe it was Harry... but there was something else bothering Hermione. Snape had left her alone in his office. Definitely uncharacteristic of him, she thought, and displaying a rather large amount of trust. Obviously, he thought her to be trustworthy.
Or perhaps he thinks me too innocent to steal anything or nose around in his affairs.
It was that last thought that drew Hermione's attention to a blue light filtering in through a crack in one of Snape's desk drawers. She wondered, for a fleeting moment, if it was some Dark object from his Death Eater days. But Dumbledore trusted Professor Snape, Hermione chided herself, so she did as well. That did nothing to quench her curiosity, however.
Hermione glanced at the door, then crept over to the drawer. She laid a shaking hand on the carved brass handle, and gave a slight pull. The drawer opened with ease, and Hermione saw, to her confusion, a large stone bowl. Inside the bowl was a glowing, blue substance that looked to be both gas and liquid. It was swirling slowly, like a small storm, and Hermione got the feeling that this bowl was highly significant- something she should definitely not see.
All the more reason to find out what it is.
Hermione was surprised at herself. Perhaps her streak of mischieviousness came from hanging around Harry and Ron too often. Suddenly, the blue clouds parted inside the bowl, and she found herself staring down at a circle of hooded figures, as if they had shrunk and fit inside the bowl. One man walked around the circle slowly, then looked up at her. To Hermione's shock, he had red eyes, with slits for pupils...
Hermione's elbow slipped on the edge of the drawer in surprise, and her hand made contact with the substance in the bowl. She felt herself being pulled in, yanked... She tumbled through space until she found herself face- to-face with Lord Voldemort.