Hermione dreamily watched the dancing flames of the fireplace, mind journeying through the events of the previous week.
Monday had been the most challenging day, to say the least. Unsurprisingly, news of the neo-Death Eater attacks had proven remarkably unsettling to the student body. Chaos erupted as soon as the Daily Prophet made its arrival, and as expected, the news had reached the whole school by word-of-mouth in a matter of minutes. She recalled the defeated attitudes of almost every professor at dinner that evening, beaten-down by a day of taming flustered school children. Professor Flitwick had even burst into tears of frustration.
Slowly but surely, order at Hogwarts returned as students became distracted by the business of schoolwork, club meetings, and Quidditch tryouts. By Friday, the normalcy Hermione remembered from her more mundane times at Hogwarts had returned. Once again, students were complaining about the toughness of classes, competitively comparing house points, or sharing their latest purchases from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Realizing that it was nearing one o'clock, Hermione left her perch at the couch to begin readying herself for a trip to Hogsmeade. The previous evening, she'd compiled a list of items she'd be needing for her various Transfiguration classes throughout the year. While she'd succeeded in developing an extensive curriculum map for each of her courses, she'd neglected to acquire many of the materials required for individual lessons. She could only hope that the small wizarding village offered everything she was looking for.
Draping her signature beaded handbag over her shoulder, the young witch exited her quarters to begin her journey to Hogsmeade. As she'd predicted, the rainy weather had kept the majority of students nestled within their dorms, leaving the Hogwarts grounds remarkably desolate for a Saturday afternoon. Regardless of the weather, Hermione looked forward to a few hours of absentminded shopping away from the pile of essays she'd yet to grade.
Severus searched the shelves of Dogweed and Deathcap, determined to locate the few remaining ingredients he needed for a batch of Pepperup Potion. The shop was either short of or completely out of almost everything, likely having been picked clean by students fulfilling their school shopping lists. The frustrated wizard sighed, well-aware that he was the main professor to be blamed for the shortage.
Departing the shop in defeat, Severus started on his way to J. Pippins Potions to purchase a mediocre Pepperup Potion for Madame Pomfrey, not wanting to return to the castle empty-handed. As he traversed the wet cobblestone streets of the village, a sudden flash in the corner of his eye froze him in his tracks. Reflexively reaching for his wand, the wizard turned his attention to Tomes and Scrolls, a little bookshop that, at that moment, appeared quite normal. Not wanting to take any chances, Severus cautiously approached, wand at the ready. Sure enough, another flash in its front window confirmed that spells were being cast within.
Without hesitation, Severus burst through the front door of the shop, earning the startled attention of every person within. The man gazed around the room of trembling witches and wizards, all watching him with wide, pleading eyes.
"We have a visitor! How charming!"
Severus whipped his wand around to face the wizard who'd spoken. The large man walked to the center of the room, a mischievous smile playing at his lips.
"Come to save the day, mate? It's a bit late for that, I'm afraid," the man declared with mock-sadness. Just then, Severus spotted the crumbled body of who he quickly identified to be the shop owner, along with two other unconscious bodies he didn't recognize. Instantly, he was confident that he'd walked into a neo-Death Eater attack.
"Stupefy," Severus spat, sending a brilliant flash of red light from the tip of his wand. The neo-Death Eater, not bothering to reach for his wand, stood in his place as an ally suddenly emerged at his side with a shield charm. Severus clenched his jaw, forcing his expression to appear unbothered at the deflection.
"Silly man," the perpetrator laughed, amused by his opponent's fearless attempt to stun him. "I'll admit, I appreciate the boldness. But do you really think you can beat all of us?"
Suddenly, four more wizards stepped forward, increasing the number of opponents to six. Severus eyed the attackers, all dressed in the black hooded robes which once distinguished Lord Voldemort's most loyal followers. However, rather than shielding their identities, each neo-Death Eater was maskless, the Dark Mark carved into the skin of their foreheads. These wizards had no shame in showcasing their loyalties.
"Go ahead and put the wand away, Professor," the leader insisted, informing Severus that he was aware of who he was. "In fact, I'll give you a freebie if you just go ahead and leave right now."
Severus narrowed his eyes darkly, readying himself for a duel he very likely could lose. He had no means of measuring the power or skill of his opponents and therefore could be entering a fight he had no chance of winning. Regardless, it was not in his character to leave a bunch of helpless people for the slaughter.
Suddenly, a waving hand from the back of the room caught Severus's attention. Hermione Granger, hidden behind a cluster of huddled witches and wizards, was staring at him with an expression of determination. If eyes could speak, hers were screaming at him to take on the attackers.
"Stupefy."
"Expelliarmus!"
As Severus shot another stunning spell in the direction of the leader, Hermione burst forth from her hiding place and cast a powerful disarming spell at the ally who'd aided him. Once again, the leader arrogantly refused to lift a finger, but this time much to his immediate regret. Severus's spell succeeded in blasting him across the room, leaving him sprawled across the floor completely unconscious. All eyes flew to the neo-Death Eater who'd been expected to defend the man, surprised to discover that he'd been disarmed by the witch who'd suddenly appeared at the professor's side.
"End them!" the disarmed neo-Death Eater cried, commanding the four hooded wizards to attack.
"Watch my back," Severus ordered his colleague calmly. Hermione gave an assuring nod, taking her stance behind the powerful wizard.
"You're going to regret involving yourself, Professor," a neo-Death Eater shouted before firing a curse toward the pair of challengers.
"Doubtful," Severus responded coolly, easily deflecting the curse with a shield charm. In fact, regret was quite the opposite of what he would experience following the duel. He would incapacitate these pathetic followers of Voldemort and revel in doing so.
Thank you for reading! It makes me so happy to know that people are enjoying this story.
I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter! Please leave me a review with your honest thoughts. Much love, friends!