Chapter 121: A Mother Of Nature
{A/N: Here's Another Update...long awaited I know but here it is...}
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S
Eastern Quadrant,The Forbidden Forest, Wizarding World...
Draco Malfoy had been having a harder time combating the Spriggan he had stumbled upon, of course he had not expected the blasted thing to have another Spriggan not far from it. Both had enlisted the assistance of various forest animals to do their bidding. He had been fairing rather well until a third spriggan made it's way into the battle. When current Head of Slytherin House managed to take out the animals sent by the two known spriggans, he had been overwhelmed by the third's creatures. Draco had skillfully taken out the back up of the other two spriggans and had maneuvered in a bid to eliminate them one by one but a slight miscalculation on his part found him being chased by the third spriggan's bees. Putting up a slick oil charm, he had narrowly avoided being poisoned but he had not anticipated an assault from a rather large pack of forest beasts.
"Ahhhh!" shouted Draco as he took a unceremonious claw to the chest.
Lucius Malfoy had not been far from his son when the sound of his distress had gotten his undivided attention. The handsome blond wizard made his way over to Draco's location putting down quite a few of the lesser spriggan enchanted beasts.
"Having trouble Draco?" asked Lucius in a taunting tone.
Draco gritted his teeth despite the pain from the slash across his chest.
"Doing just fine father." he replied annoyed at the unnecessary assistance.
"Of course you are." replied the elder Malfoy with a smirk filed across his handsome face. "That's why you're bleeding all over the forbidden forest like stuffed pig."
"Father." said Draco not at all hiding his emotions in his tone. "Will you please..."
"I thought you'd never ask." said Lucius cutting him off as he sent a barrage of spells in the direction of the two opposing spriggans Draco had cornered moments before the third one's attack. His spell work had quickly dispatched the monstrosities and Lucius made his way over toward their mangled remains taking his sweet time plucking the Taproot from their twisted wooden bodies.
Draco rolled his eyes and sent his own barrage of spells in the direction of the third spriggan.
He killed the attacking animals in league with the creature and ended the final spriggans reign of terror with a quick swipe of his wand.
"SECTUMSPERA!" shouted Draco picturing Harry Potter briefly as he unleashed his pent up fury on the wooden forest guardian.
Despite the spell being used to nearly murder him and his godfather by that arrogant Gryffindor prat, Draco found it useful given it's many uses other than mutilating one's enemy. He had memorized the counter-curse since his assault at the hands of Potter in the restroom at Hogwarts so there was always a way to use it safely.
"You about done?" asked a rather impatient Lucius as he returned to Draco's side, his gray eyes filled with boredom as he looked upon his only son.
"Just about father." replied the young Malfoy bitterly.
Draco proceeded to remove the taproot from the wooden carcass of the downed spriggan. He placed it into his satchel and watched as Lucius inspected his own which had been three taproots fuller in the wake of this extraction. The two Malfoy men made their way toward the rendezvous point together watchful of any other forest hazards along the way.
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Eastern Quadrant, Forbidden Forest, Wizarding World...
The late chill had caught Phaeron and Lily Potter as they made their way though the forbidden forest, the both of them had narrowly avoided the poisonous bees that had been sent out to follow them. At the last second the two of them ducked behind a rather large tree blocking the bees flight path. Phaeron cast an oil charm causing the bees to become stuck in a black tar like substance as they continued to hide planning their next move. The Spriggan called upon some forest creatures to do it's bidding.
Lily gripped her wand tightly despite her mounting fear of what was to come of this battle with the forest creatures.
Phaeron smirked gripping his wand as well. He had been quite the duelist since he had been eleven years old, tutored by his war hero mother and since his father had come into his life, he had learned a good deal more from the wizard whom had taught her everything she knew about magical and physical combat.
"Get ready Lily." said Phaeron focusing on the animals one by one.
"Alright." said Lily Potter steeling herself in the wake of their apparent plan.
They had not actually spoken about what they were going to do, Phaeron had been in more of a mind to improvise.
"Alright." said Phaeron glaring at the spriggan, his main target for the evening. "Take out the animals."
Lily took a deep breath and peeked from her hiding place near the tree letting off spell after spell in rapid succession in a bid to aid Phaeron against the spriggan. The raven haired wizard employed a few Quidditch tactics as he took out the animals one by one not stopping to watch them fall dead as he neared the spriggan.
"Ignis!" shouted Phaeron setting fire to the creature as it attempted to slash at him.
He burned away the arms and with a final slash ended the wooden monster.
"Lily." he shouted turning toward the youngest member of the Potter clan. "Help me harvest the taproot."
Without a word, Lily Potter held open the cut portions of the creatures carcass and allowed Phaeron to obtain the taproot.
He placed it in the satchel she carried about her waist and smiled.
"One more step closer to saving my father." he said a bit triumphant.
Lily held his hand as they stood there basking briefly in their minor victory.
"Come on we've got to meet the others." said Phaeron snapping out of his moment.
"Right behind you." said Lily as they made their way toward the meeting point.
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Eastern Quadrant, Forbidden Forest, Wizarding World...
The hollowed glow of angry red eyes had been one of the most unnerving sights for Hermione Granger as she gripped her wand tightly. It had been quite a different thing to stare down the despot Voldemort or his death eaters, it had even been something to stare down her own husband back when he had been her Potions Professor. It had been something all together strange to stare down a forest creature with out eyes and capable of emitting an other worldly glow behind it's hollowed eye sockets.
The bushy haired witch had been determined to put an end to this creature and preserve her husband's life despite the fear that coursed through her. It had not taken long to counter it with her long tempered Gryffindor courage. For his part, Severus had very little magic to contribute to the effort against this lethal forest creature, his expertise when it came to tracking it as well as his understanding of it had been a valuable asset when trekking in the forbidden forest during night fall.
They hadn't counted on being stalked by what Severus described to Hermione as a Matron Spriggan.
The bushy haired witch had been quite unfamiliar with the subject of the creature and more than a little out of her depth magically when it came to combating it. Severus himself had barely been a match for it even with his health and magical reserves at a normal level. The superior spriggan had been about as ruthless and calculating as a formidable death eater as it hunted them through the forest, sending it's animals and glowing bees at a relentless pace.
Hermione had done her best to keep herself and her ailing husband safe but she was getting worn out from the consistent battling. Severus for his part chose to rely on muggle tact to combat the animals in the forest putting them down with a little improvisation. He had been covered in their blood and felt no qualms about ending the enslavement of the soulless creatures.
"I can't keep this up." said Hermione finding herself much more exhausted than she realized.
Snape looked around for a means of escape but the Matron had closed in on them.
"Neither can I." he replied sure that they would be overrun in a matter of minutes.
Before he got to say or do anything more, he had been captured by the Matron who's glowing eyes had been fixated on him.
"Get your claws off my husband!" demanded Hermione redoubling her efforts to combat this creature.
The Matron let out a blood curling shriek and sent a burst of magic in Hermione's direction.
Snape struggled against the surprisingly strong wooden creature's grasp. He could see the sickening glow of what appeared to be it's life flame, and the constant buzzing of it's poisonous bees had been ringing in his ears. The Matron had an extremely feminine appearance slender and almost highly sexual carved out into it's wooden frame. The Potions Master had briefly wondered why a creature such as this needed to be sexually enticing.
The wooden arm clamped tighter around his throat as he watched Hermione be blown back so fast and so hard by the magical burst that she was knocked unconscious as her body hit the ground in a limp heap.
"STOP!" shouted Snape enraged despite his helpless position.
The Matron squeezed his throat tighter.
Snape had not understood what the creature wanted from him as he began to feel the odd sensation of foreign magical energy bubbling through him. The longer the creature held him this way, the more frequent the occurrence became. He struggled but the Matron had been much too powerful.
"W-What the hell are you...?" was all Snape managed to say before the sensation of euphoria filled him.
His vision blurred and his body began to spasm in an all too familiar way as the creature continued to hold him by the throat. Snape's mind had been racing with images of him bedding the bushy haired witch Hermione Granger as well as the deranged Bellatrix LeStrange. Unable to help himself or resist whatever this creature was doing to him, He felt the overwhelming rush of his release but not the familiar messy out come.
Feeling as if he had run a marathon, Snape found himself growing as weak as a newborn. He had begun to lose consciousness as he witnessed a glowing orb of white magical energy leave him and enter the Matron. The creature dropped him onto the cold hard forest floor and took it's leave of them. Severus had been fortunate that it had chosen to leave them both alive given how this all could have turned out.
Still a good deal weakened by the strange occurrence, Snape crawled over toward the downed Hermione and pulled her close to him. She had still been out cold. There was minor bruising and a scrape on the side of her cheek from the impact but she was mostly intact. He didn't doubt that she'd feel some soreness later when she awoke but she'd be fine and that was all that mattered.
"Hermione..." said Snape still cradling the downed bushy haired witch into his ebony clad chest.
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The Meeting Point, Forbidden Forest, Wizarding World...
Phaeron had been pacing a seemingly lost in the trance of worry that had overtaken him. It had been a good two hours since anyone had seen or heard from his parents. While he knew his mother and father were formidable in their own right, He had not anticipated the effect Snape's illness would have on this mission. A thousand scenarios had gone through his mind as he envisioned what could be happening to them out there in the dark.
"I'm sure they're alright." said Lily trying to lend her hand at being supportive.
"They are to war veterans after all." added Albus Severus.
"This is Aunt Mione and Uncle Sev we are talking about...they've got this in the bag." said Scorpius Malfoy with a confident tone.
Lucius had said nothing feeling a bit of concern himself. He of all people knew that Severus had been made of flesh and blood and Hermione had been a virtually good duelist but she wasn't a master or even an expert in her own right, if the second wizarding war's bloody conclusion taught him anything, it was that there was always room for mistakes no matter how skilled the fighter.
Draco had been just as worried but masked it rather stoically as his gray eyes searched as far as he could see in the Forbidden Forest.
After a few moments of quiet debate, Phaeron had been relieved to see the familiar shadowy figure that had been his father making the trek back to the group. As Snape got closer everyone noted that he had been carrying Hermione in his arms. The young raven haired Slytherin immediately took off toward his father.
"Father!?" he said frantic as he made his way through the trees. "What happened?"
Snape sighed as he gently sat Hermione down amid the soft leaves and let her lean against him.
"W-Wake her up." he instructed his frantic looking son. "I-I have no magic to spare."
Phaeron immediately pulled out his wand and proceeded to revive his mother. The amber eyed witch looked up at her exhausted husband as tears started to stream down her pale cheeks. Without a word, Snape pulled his sorrowful wife into his arms and she hugged him tight.
"I'm still here." he said softly as she proceeded to weep against his ebony clad chest. "I'm still here."
Their son had gathered things had not gone according to plan while they were in the forest, but he didn't get why both of them had been incapable of taking out a few spriggans when everyone else even those whom had not graduated Hogwarts had. The three Snapes made their way over to join the rest of the exhausted group.
"Father, what happened out there?" asked the raven haired young Slytherin unable to make sense of what was happening before him.
"We encountered a Matron." replied Snape.
Lucius Malfoy's eyes widened.
"A Matron, truly?" he said stunned that they had even made it out of the forest alive.
"Yes." replied Snape meeting his eyes as Hermione continued to cling to him. "She didn't see fit to kill us, which is obvious by our presence here but there had been something else she wanted."
"What was it?" asked Draco curious.
Snape's expression went blank as he tried to make sense of what happened to him.
"I-I'd rather not speak of it." he said. "Honestly, I'm not sure I could accurately put such an ordeal into words."
The Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor had been stunned by the look of obvious embarrassment filed across The Potions Master's face and then disappeared behind a mask of indifference.
Draco arched an eyebrow at this but didn't press the issue.
"Well the important thing is that you're both okay." said Lily Potter.
Everyone else seemed to agree with her.
"And that we've managed to collect six taproots." replied Albus Severus.
Hermione's eyes widened as she looked upon the group that had been so dedicated to help save her husband's life that they went into such a monstrous forest and took on the spriggans just to gain these taproots.
"All that's left his for us to obtain Vaermina's torpor." said Phaeron pleased with the results of this excursion.
"Indeed." said Lucius looking over at Severus with his usual node of concern.
Snape offered him a less than friendly scowl and turned his attention to his son.
"So how do we get it?" asked Hermione looking over at Phaeron.
The young raven haired wizard's face went blank for a moment. He had not the slightest idea of how to obtain such a rare ingredient.
Snape sighed as if he had something to tell them that carried a good deal of weight.
"There is only one person that I know of that can get you what you seek." he said his face a grim mask of indifference. "But you are not going to be pleased about whom it is."
Hermione pulled back from Snape and looked into his obsidian eyes.
All at once it became clear whom he had in mind.
"No." she said feeling her rage seep into her tone.
"Hermione.." said Snape his tone portraying his exhaustion.
"No." she said again.
"Can someone enlighten the rest of us to whom this person is since Aunt Mione has clearly figured it out." said Scorpius Malfoy in a bored tone.
Phaeron's eyes widened as he took caught on to whom his father was speaking of.
"Bellatrix." said Lucius with a bit of spite in his tone.
"She's the only known student of Vaermina, possibly the last before the demented enchantress disappeared from the world as we know it." said Snape as if he were merely giving a lecture.
"But you know how she feels about you Uncle Sev." said Draco not all all fond of this conclusion himself.
"Listen to me...if Bellatrix once again holds the key to putting an end to this illness then it's worth it to pursue." said Snape.
"You know what she'll ask of you Severus." said Hermione concerned. "She's been trying to find a way to take you away from us for years...what's to stop her from letting you die out of spite?"
Snape treated Hermione to a weak smile before pulling her into a chaste kiss.
"I'll speak with her." he said. "But know that there is no danger of anything else happening."
The Potions Master turned his attention to Phaeron and the others.
"You lot get back to Hogwarts, Phaeron escort your mother home and ensure she sees a healer before hand..." he said sounding a bit like his old self. "Lucius and Draco will accompany me to see Bellatrix if only to put my wife's mind at ease."
Lucius nodded.
As did Draco.
With one last parting kiss, everyone parted from the Forbidden Forest with one final aspect of the potion at hand.