A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than all the other ones, but I really like where it ended. Don't worry, I'm already working on the next one which should be out shortly. Many thanks to everyone who reviewed; it makes me very happy to see that people are enjoying the story and want to read more! In this chapter, Lola is finally rescued? I think so... Stay tuned for the next chapter, where Lola will have to fight to remain at Hogwarts!

"Alohamora!" Lola heard someone say from outside the door.

She didn't even have time to get up from the chair she was sitting in before the classroom door burst open, revealing a stern man with dark, long robes, greasy black hair and a large, hooked nose.

"Finally!" Lola cried out with joy. It was over, finally, it was all over. Everything was going to be okay. "Thank you for coming, Professor Snape –"

"Incarcerous!"

A stream of thin cords shot out from the tip of Professor Snape's wand, tightening around Lola's arms and legs, binding her to the wooden chair. He quickly walked over to Lola, grabbed her by her left shoulder and checked the lower half of her inner forearm.

Lola tried to swallow down her panic. "Professor Snape!" she yelped, struggling to get out of the chair. "What are you doing –"

"Quiet!" yelled Snape as he took a few steps back.

He reached into his robes and brought out a tiny vial. It contained a clear, watery liquid that had a slightly greenish undertone. He then poured a tiny fraction of the fluid into a very small, metal spoon.

"What – what is that, sir?" Lola asked nervously, gulping.

A faint silhouette of sympathy flashed across Severus' face as he regarded Lola's pathetic attempts of escape. "Veritaserum," he murmured sleekly.

Lola's face paled instantly, her eyes widening with terror. "But – but that's illegal!" she protested. "You can't do this!"

"Oh, but I can," Snape breathed as he approached Lola slowly, like a snake. "There exists a small loophole in the Ministry's legislation against forced potion use, for those who know how to take advantage of it. This specific dose is known as 'the shy minute'. It will work on you for fifty-nine seconds exactly; nothing more, nothing less. The harshest sentence that exists for this… practice… is a small monetary fine, and to that I say, bring it on. Now, stop talking and open your mouth."

Lola had no intentions of doing such a thing, but when Snape pinched her nose to stop her from breathing through it, she couldn't hold out for much longer and opened her mouth to draw in a huge gasp of oxygen. Severus pushed the metal spoon through Lola's lips and poured the liquid into her mouth. It was cold but tasteless.

"Now," Snape said a few seconds later. "First question; are you an imposter?"

"No!" Lola said furiously. She would have told him that even without the use of Veritaserum.

"Do you know how to cast the Cruciatus Curse?"

Lola laughed, thinking what a strange question. "Of course not," she said, fuming. "This is absurd –"

"Silence!" Snape screeched. "You will respond with nothing more than yes or no! Did you use the Cruciatus Curse on someone this morning?"

"No! I already told you I don't know how to cast it!"

"Did you send me a letter this morning?"

Lola was beginning to wish she never did. She wanted to say "No" just to be ironic but something within forced her to cry out "Yes!".

Snape paused for a second or so. "Are you a servant to the Dark Lord in any way?"

Lola was speechless. "Jesus Christ, no!" she said at once.

Out of all the scenarios that she had created in her head for when Professor Snape would come to her rescue, this was certainly not one of them.

Severus paced the room, trying to form his next questions carefully. He had about 35 seconds left.

"Is Lola Allen your real identity?" he asked hastily.

Lola rolled her eyes. "Come on! What kind of a question is that?!" When she saw Snape's icy stare, she murmured "Yes," resentfully.

"Why are you in this room?" Snape asked next.

Lola wanted to find a good excuse to hide the truth, but couldn't help it. "I don't know," she said.

Snape's eyes lit up with interest. "Did someone put you in here?"

"Yes," Lola said through gritted teeth.

"Who?" Snape demanded urgently.

Lola's breathing quickened. She knew that if Veritaserum wasn't involved, she wouldn't have dared, but thanks to the strong potion she had no choice but to speak the truth. "Professor Quirrell," she whispered.

Snape instantly closed in on Lola, placing a firm grip on both of her shoulders. "Why?"

"I don't know," Lola said once again. She had her suspicions, but in reality, she didn't really know his motives with absolute certainty.

"How do you know it was him?"

Lola had to quickly recount the events of last night to the potions master, and just as she finished talking, the 59 second came to an end.

Snape began pacing the room once again, taking in all of the information that Lola had just given him. A minute later, he flicked his wand and the ropes around Lola's arms and legs became loose.

"Thank you!" Lola said angrily. "I don't regret asking you for help at all, Professor. Oh, by the way, do you need to use more illegal Veritaserum on me to determine if that sentence was true or not?"

Snape didn't look happy about that remark at all. "10 points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable dimwit," he said coldly.

Lola gasped arrogantly. "Ouch. That sure hurt more than these ropes that you tied around me!"

If such a thing was possible, Snape looked even more pissed now. "Fine. Make it 20."

"Professor, I don't care! What makes me angry right now is the fact that I would have told you all of this without the Veritaserum! I asked you here for help. What you did to me was very uncalled for and may I add, a significant waste of potion!"

Severus was taken aback by this response. He regarded Lola curiously. Most pupils her age would tremble to death at the sight of Severus, let alone be able to protest him or back-chat. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not, but one thing was for sure; he felt like this girl could see right through him.

"You have no idea what's going on out there, do you, idiot child?" Severus asked condescendingly.

Lola ignored his malicious insult. She wasn't intimidated by this man, nor his cold exterior, probably because she knew him inside-out. "How could I?" she simply asked. "I have been trapped here since last night."

Severus' eyes hardened as he looked back at Lola. There was only one thing left for him to do now. "Give me your wand," he said assertively.

After a moment's hesitation, Lola obliged, tired of fighting back.

Severus raised his own wand and placed its tip against the tip of Lola's wand.

"Prior Incantato!"

A blazing red fire appeared from where the two wands met, and Lola could swear she heard faint screaming coming from somewhere.

"Just as I thought," muttered Snape to himself, before he made the fire vanish. "Your wand was last used to conjure a Cruciatus Curse. But not by you."

"What… what are you saying, sir?!" Lola squealed, her voice quavering. "Quirrell used my wand to torture someone?".

Snape sighed heavily. "Not just that, he also impersonated you. At first, I thought he must have put you under Imperius Curse, but I think Polyjuice Potion now. He must have stolen your wand at some point during the week, practiced the Curse on animals - or humans - to make sure he could get a good response out of your wand – a very solid plan, indeed."

"But I had my wand this whole time!"

"Use your brain, silly girl! You were probably carrying around a copy – the plan wouldn't work if you reported your wand missing, would it? He must have picked up your wand at some point, and given you back a copy –" Lola immediately got flashbacks to their last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Quirrell. "He also probably put one of your close friends under the Imperius Curse – to collect some of your hair or nails, and to gather information about you, of course."

Fay, Lola thought instantly. Fay had been acting very strangely since she had gone to see Quirrell that evening all by herself, and had asked Lola for a hairbrush the other morning even though hers was sitting on her bedside table.

"That's awful! But I don't get it! Why would he do any of this? It sounds like a lot of work!"

"To set you up without raising suspicion, of course. Oldest trick in the book. He wants to see you gone from this castle," Snape explained as he gave Lola back her wand. "The Cruciatus Curse, though; that was a bit of an overkill in my opinion."

This was a signature Death Eater move; steal their wand, create a copy, spell-bound their friend, become them and do something illegal in front of witnesses. Then, get rid of the copy, place the original wand back with its owner and just wait until they got in trouble. Severus had witnessed many people working for the Ministry get fired or even sent to Azkaban with this tactic during Lord Voldemort's early years. It was useful when you wanted someone to disappear without it being traced back to you.

It was textbook.

Oh my, thought Snape inwardly. Little innocent Quirinus, a Death Eater huh? Oh my, oh my indeed.

Why, thought Lola at the same time as Snape continued to walk up and down the classroom. Why would Quirrell want me gone so badly?

"Overkill or not," Snape continued after a while. "I still think his plan, for whatever reason, worked beautifully. The Minister of Magic is on his way to officially expel you from Hogwarts, and there is nothing you can do about it."

A/N: As always, thank you for reading. You are a true soldier. And shoutout to those who left reviews, favourited and followed this story; you guys are the absolute best! See you next chapter.