I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.
After what seemed like forever, the mandrakes were finally mature enough to be used in the potion to cure those who had been petrified. No one was sure exactly how long it would take to brew the concoction, but there was a hopeful feeling rushing through the air at the knowledge that fellow students and other members of the castle would be returned to normal. Everyone was talking about it over supper.
"How are they supposed to harvest the mandrakes if their cry can kill a person?" Neville wondered out loud.
Connie was wondering about that herself. Earmuffs could protect against the screams of the young plants, but the older ones were loud enough for the sound to get past them. Professor Sprout had only taught them about how to raise and tend to mandrakes, but hadn't covered how to harvest them. As everyone was throwing out different ideas of how it might be done, she noticed Professor McGonagall walking toward their table.
"Miss Stryker." the woman said once she arrived. "Please come with me."
Constance blinked. She had no idea why McGonagall would be pulling her off somewhere. She couldn't recall doing anything that would have gotten her in trouble... She shot a baffled look at all of her friends, then rose to follow the woman out of the Great Hall.
"Um..." the girl began once they were out in the hallway. "Professor? What is this about? Am I in trouble for something?"
"Certainly not." McGonagall replied. "Everything will be explained once we get to my office."
That was... strange. If she wasn't in trouble then what on earth was going on?
As was the case with most of the teachers' offices, McGonagall's was located just down the hall from her Transfiguration classroom. It was a sizable room, with the furniture arranged to make the most economical use of the space, making it look open and larger than it actually was. It wasn't very long after they arrived that Professor Snape walked in with Mihnea in tow. This was getting odder by the minute. The boy looked just as confused as Connie felt. He didn't know what was going on either. McGonagall gestured for everyone to sit down in the remaining chairs that were open, then stepped behind her desk and cleared her throat.
"Mr. Bassarab and Miss Stryker, did Professor Dumbledore happen to speak to either of you before his departure from the school?" she questioned as she sat down.
What? Connie wondered. What reason would he have for talking to them? She and her cousin exchanged a mutual look of bewilderment.
"No, ma'am." Mihnea replied for both of them.
The woman sighed. "I suspected as much." she pulled open one of her desk drawers and retrieved a small envelope. "As I'm sure the two of you are aware, Professor Sprout's mandrakes have reached full maturity and are ready for harvesting. Before the headmaster's unexpected suspension from his position, he left very clear instructions that he wished for the two of you to assist in brewing the de-petrification potion."
Connie's eyes widened. "What?" she exclaimed. "But... why?"
"The headmaster's letter indicated that the two of you have experience in working with the highly advanced brewing techniques which would be required for this potion." Snape informed them in his deep, silky tone. He gave Constance a look. "This particular potion requires a silver cauldron. There are no such cauldrons here of sufficient size to brew enough for everyone who has been petrified. Professor Dumbledore specifically mentioned that you had a large, silver plated cauldron in your possession which would be more than adequate to meet our needs."
Wow. The girl thought. When she first received her Christmas present, she hadn't imagined that it would cause her to get recruited by teachers to do something like this. McGonagall took in both of their expressions.
"From what I understand of the brewing process, the potion must be carefully watched at all times." she told them, looking at Snape as if to confirm that was correct. When he inclined his head, the woman went on. "It simply isn't possible for Professor Snape to brew it himself due to his teaching schedule. Therefore, the two of you will be excused from attending classes until the potion is completed. The mandrakes you will need for this potion must be collected by the persons doing the brewing so beginning tomorrow morning, Professor Sprout will assist you in harvesting."
Mihnea studied the professor for a long moment, then cleared his throat. "Professor McGonagall? It's an honor to be asked to do something like this, but... I'm a fourth year, and Connie is a second year. Wouldn't it be better for one of the seventh year students to work on this?"
McGonagall gave Professor Snape a look. It seriously seemed that the two of them didn't fully understand why Dumbledore had given the directions he had either.
"To be perfectly honest, Mr. Bassarab, I would normally be in agreement with you." she told him. "However, Professor Dumbledore's instructions were very plain. He believes very strongly that the two of you are the most appropriate candidates. The headmaster is a very knowledgeable man and he always has a reason for what he does."
Her cousin glanced at her sideways, and Connie immediately understood the guarded look in his eyes. Dumbledore knew about their family. He knew that they received lessons in things that ordinary witchcraft could never hope to touch or understand. Perhaps he thought that would give them an edge to ensure the potion would be successful. Either way, there wasn't much of a choice in the matter. If the potion to cure the people laying in the hospital wing was going to be brewed, they had to be the ones to do it. Constance thought about Hermione. She still felt that her getting petrified was somewhat her fault, so this could be her way of making amends – even if it was only with herself. She took a deep breath.
"When are we supposed to meet Professor Sprout?" she asked.
"She has an open block first thing in the morning." McGonagall informed them. "You will meet her in the Great Hall at seven o'clock. She will escort you to the greenhouses from there."
The Potions Master rested his elbows on the arms of his chair and interlaced his fingers in front of him. "I suggest you bring your cauldron and any other supplies you may need with you." he said, giving both of them a serious look. "You will set up a work area in the back of my classroom where you will be out of the other students' way. Once you begin the potion, you will not be allowed to leave until it is finished. I will give you a thorough list of instructions and monitor your progress between classes. Do you understand?"
Both of them nodded.
"Very good." McGonagall stated from behind her desk. She pushed her chair back to stand up. "Make sure to get a good night's sleep tonight, because tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for you."
With the meeting over, both professors took up escorting their students back to their common rooms. Mihnea went off with Snape toward the dungeons, while Connie followed McGonagall up to Gryffindor tower. She was supremely thankful she'd actually had time to eat before all of this. As they walked down the hallways, the girl found herself wondering about the logistics of practically moving into a classroom. If they wouldn't be able to leave until the potion was completed, then they'd have to work out some way of sleeping in there. She really hoped Snape would let them drag over a table to lay on, because she was not about to sleep on the floor in the Potions classroom. With all the botched potions that leaked or spattered during every one of his classes, there was no telling what was on the floor that hadn't been cleaned up completely. The thought alone was enough to make her skin crawl.
Professor McGonagall bid her a good night outside the Gryffindor common room and made another comment about making sure to sleep well. Constance assured her she would, then stepped through the portrait hole to go inside. She wasn't overly surprised to find that Harry and Ron were nowhere to be seen. They were probably out snooping again. But she did catch sight of Fred and George over in a corner working on something with their buddy Lee. Constance wasn't sure what it was, but knowing them, it probably wasn't homework. They'd probably pulled him into the middle of their 'Wheezes' thing to get more ideas. She wasn't really keen on giving an announcement of what she would be doing to the entire house, but someone had know so the boys wouldn't freak out about her not being around for however long this potion brewing would take.
As she approached their table, she saw Lee elbow George in the ribs, then heard him whisper something about 'Miss Bossy Pants is coming'. Jesus, that boy was awful. When the hell had they started calling her that?
"I heard that." she said once she got to the table.
Lee pouted at her, as if to show he was just making a joke. She just shook her head at him, then cleared her throat.
"Listen, I'm not here to get in the middle of whatever 'guy thing' you're doing, but I just wanted to let you know that McGonagall and Snape have me working on something, so I'm not going to be around for a while."
All three of the boys blinked at her. It definitely got their attention.
"Do what?" George asked, turning around in his chair to look directly at her. "Working on what?"
"They asked Mihnea and I to help brew the de-petrification potion." Connie explained. "I don't know how long it's going to take, but Snape said once we get started, we're not allowed to leave the potion until it's done. I wont be in any of my classes, and I'll have to move into the Potions classroom until this is over with."
Fred and George's mouths fell open.
"Move into Snape's classroom!" Lee exclaimed.
"You mean you have to sleep in there?" Fred questioned. "That is nasty."
Constance wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, I know." she agreed. "We're supposed to start harvesting mandrakes early in the morning, so I don't know if I'll see Harry or Ron to tell them. Could you guys make sure they know so they don't go into a panic when I'm not in class?"
They all looked at each other. "Yeah." Fred replied. "We'll tell them. Where are you off to then?"
"I'm going to bed." she told him. "I'll have to be downstairs by 6:30 if I'm going to get any breakfast."
Connie turned to leave and was walking toward the stairs to her dorm when she heard the scrape of a chair being pushed back.
"Hey, wait up a second!" George called out. She turned back around to find him coming toward her. "How long are you going to be working on this?" he asked her.
"I have no idea." she told him honestly. "Snape made it sound complicated, so it could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. I wont know until he gives us instructions tomorrow."
He didn't look the least bit happy about that. She wasn't quite sure if it was because she'd be down in the dungeons for that long, or if it was just that she wouldn't be around to do things with him.
"We'll be set up in the back of the classroom, so it's not like you wont see me at all." she told him, hoping that would make him feel a little better about it. "Depending on where we are, I might be able to throw something at you."
For once, George actually didn't smile at the joke. "I'm more worried about you being locked up in the dungeons by yourself at night while there's a basilisk in the castle." he said.
Was he going all protective on her? That was... unexpectedly sweet. She coughed back the sudden feeling of dryness in the back of her throat.
"I won't be by myself." she told him. "Mihnea will be there. And I've heard Professor Snape practically lives in his office just down the hall. If anything were to happen, he would know about it as soon as we did. The teachers wouldn't have arranged this if they didn't think it would be safe." she paused and looked around before leaning forward to drop her voice to a whisper. "The basilisk is controlled by the heir of Slytherin. The Potions classroom is in the Slytherin section of the castle, so it's not very likely that it will be roving around down there."
George gave her a look. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Constance wasn't quite sure what it was. Maybe it was the notion of him looking out for her and being worried that gave her such an odd feeling in her stomach. Whatever it was, it made her stand up on tip toe to give him a small kiss. Just a peck really, but it was enough to thoroughly shock him. When she pulled back, George was blinking at her like it was the last thing in the world he expected her to do. Then his whole face brightened and he got this big, goofy looking grin. At the table behind him, Lee stuck his fingers in his mouth to let out a wolf-whistle, and Fred was beaming like an idiot.
"It's about bloody time! Go Georgie, go Georgie, go Georgie!" he chanted, doing this weird dancing motion in his chair.
Connie's cheeks turned bright pink and she glared at them. "Shut the hell up you damn fool!"
They were still laughing in delight as she turned on her heel to march up the stairs that led to her room. Once she got inside and closed the door behind her, the full realization of what happened fully hit her. She'd kissed George Weasley. And it was... nice. Very nice.