Thanks to my new Beta-reader PuddyTatt
A/N: due to some technical problems this chapter was delayed. Sounds serious right? Well it was actually. The memory stick on which I kept all my chapters died… there's no other word for it.
Flashback… I had almost finished this chap when a few days later the bloody computer didn't recognise my stick anymore. It didn't work on any computer. So I had to write the whole chap ove again – which was like realllllyy annoying. Also I loved that memory stick. It's a really pretty one; it's a metal rectangle, with the metal being polish in a circle…and… and… erm well you probably don't really care what the thing looked like so just read on.
R&R
A leap in the dark
Chapter seven
Brooms and bruises
After another week of stressing, Severus's last class ran out of his classroom. It was the end of the second week after the holidays and the kids had finally turned to their usual selves again. With his constant bad temper Severus had insured all classes were as quiet as he demanded them to be. This meant even the mice made more noise than the dozens of children that walked those dungeons day in, day out.
Severus had worked for nights on end, but there had been absolutely no progress with the wolfsbane whatsoever. Nor did a breakthrough seem to present itself any time soon. His time till his first transformation was running out, only a week to go. No time left to waste you should think. He sighed, defeated, as he made sure he had everything he would need this evening lying in front of him on his bed.
Tonight Slytherin would be playing a quidditch match versus Ravenclaw and not only did he have to be present because it was his own house that was playing, but also because he had to referee it. Madam Hooch got smacked off her broom last week when she flew over the lake. Apparently the giant squid that lives there was near the surface at that moment and wasn't that keen with the woman flying over his habitat. He knocked her off her broom and she broke several bones.
Because bone-healing potions can only heal one bone at a time and it takes about 12 hours till the next potion may be taken, it's not at all surprising that Hooch still hasn't completely recovered from the whole incident.
"You must understand the conditions Severus, if the game gets cancelled, people will start wondering why you didn't referee. Most know you are our reserve referee and they would think you mad to turn down a chance to be the biased fool that they think you are."
Well, there's no arguing with that, he thought sarcastically as he left his bedroom. He sat down behind his desk and decided to grade until dinner.
Hermione was again far ahead on all her homework and Harry managed to drag her down to the quidditch pitch, where in half an hour the match Ravenclaw against Slytherin would begin.
She had mainly agreed to come along because 'Won-Won' was trying to lick Lavender's face off. Besides it was very nice to talk to Harry again. They hadn't spoken much these couple of weeks seeing as Ron was always around. He and Lavender would come to see the match as well, but only arrived at the very last minute and had horrible places.
It was 20 minutes into the game and Slytherin was ahead by sixty to twenty, mainly because Snape was the one refereeing the match. Slytherin was playing extremely dirty because of that. He never seemed to look when the Slytherin did something foul but he always managed to notice when a Ravenclaw player made a mistake.
He smoothly floated through the air glowering as Ravenclaw scored a point he had to acknowledge since they did absolutely nothing wrong. The whole crowd – except the Slytherins of course – went wild and cheered even harder went Cho Chang sped up, obviously having sighted the Snitch. Harry next to her kept awfully quiet.
Cho first flew over the tribune of Ravenclaw, followed by that of Hufflepuff and as she flew over the Gryffindor tribune, Crabbe, who was one of the Slytherin beaters, tried to finish her chase off by hitting a Bludger towards her. It never hit Cho though but instead smacked Hermione at the back of her head and sent her tumbling down the high tribune.
Snape saw everything happen and sped towards his falling student. He made a spectacular dive to get hold of her, but he never made it in time to catch her and he landed only shortly after her body hit the ground with a loud thud.
The whole crowd had stood and watched shocked as Snape hurried towards the girl. He crouched and checked her pulse; despite himself he was very glad her pulse was okay. It was pumping rapidly but she was alive.
He checked her arms and legs for factures and blinked twice when he felt her broken bones moving. The bones were healing and soon, even before the rest of the staff had arrived, she had no factures left, even the cut on her forehead where she had hit the ground healed before his very eyes.
"Miss Granger?" he asked curt, but there came no response.
"Professor! Professor, is she alright?" he heard McGonagall call as she hurried towards the pair.
"She's fine, just unconscious." He grumbled and got up as Harry, Ron and Lavender and many more worried Gryffindors ran towards them.
"How can she be fine, she fell like a thousand feet down?!" Ron scolded his teacher.
"Ten point from Gryffindor for cheekiness, don't talk to me that way again, Mr. Weasley. When I say she's fine, she is fine." He growled at the red haired boy and turned as the rest of the staff gathered around the girl. Harry pulled Ron down to Hermione before he could follow Snape.
Hagrid gently picked her up and followed by Harry, Ron and a few teachers they hurried to get to the infirmary. The Professors who stayed behind tried to calm the furious group of Gryffindors who wanted to get back at their Slytherin schoolmates for hurting one of them. The Slytherins on the other side of the field taunted them to try. When Crabbe landed a few angry Gryffindors stormed at him.
"Enough!" Severus called but no one really listened.
With a wave of his wand all children fighting flew a few feet backwards in a binding flash.
"Enough I said!" Severus called finally having everyone's attention, "I'm calling a time-out!"
"Everyone must head for their common rooms now." professor McGonagall backed him up, "If I see anyone fighting I will personally see to it that they won't enjoy any more quidditch games for the rest of their time here at Hogwarts."
Hagrid laid the fragile girl on a nearby bed and stepped back for the medi-witch to have some space. Harry hurriedly explained what happened and madam Pomfrey ordered everyone out of the room.
With one last glance Harry and Ron left the room to wait outside. After half an hour waiting – in which Snape had dared to show up as well – madam Pomfrey came out obviously a little distressed.
"How is she?" Harry prompted.
"She's alright; she hasn't even got any bruises, the lucky girl." Pomfrey smiled at the two boys.
"May we see her?" Ron asked.
"She's sleeping now, better not to disturb her. I'm keeping her here for one night, just in case," Ron nodded and stood. "Can we come and see her tomorrow?"
"I don't see why not, though you must go back to your common rooms now," she said as she turned her attention towards professor Slughorn, who had waited to hear what news there was on one of his most promising students. "Could you please take them back, professor?"
As the boys left with their potions teacher, Pomfrey looked at Severus and Minerva who had stayed behind. She held the door open and both professors entered the hospital wing.
"I suspect you've noticed something strange about her accident as well, Poppy" said Snape as he walked up to the hospital bed of the girl in question.
"There's nothing wrong with her." Madam Pomfrey stated, "Nothing is wrong, yet there ought to be." Minerva looked a little confused as she didn't really knew what was going on.
"I wasn't in time to catch her, but I was the first to determine her injuries. Her pulse was racing, but she was alive. Furthermore, she had obviously broken her arm and probably more bones as well, but when I felt her arm the bones began to move."
"What do you mean they began to move?" McGonagall interrupted.
"They healed themselves Minerva." He looked at the girl pointedly.
"You don't mean…"
"I do mean precisely that." He said seriously and looked at the innocent girl on the bed near him. The stream of blood from where the cut used to be had dried and he felt some sympathy for the young beauty. He had to admit she'd grown out to be a pretty little thing after all those years he had so pointedly ignored her. The demanding hand had stopped its frequent waving over the years and the essays ceased in its extra information on things that had but the smallest thing to do with the actual subject.
All the intelligence in the world didn't mean a thing to a wizard or a company once they knew she was a werewolf.
He suddenly noticed he was staring at her and quickly turned on his heel and headed for the door.
"Albus will want to speak with her when he gets back, as do I. Tell him I'm in my lab." He said curtly and strode out of the infirmary his thick winter cloak and black scarf billowing behind him in a characteristically way.
A/N: this was an awfully short chap wasn't it? Sorry about that, but – in case you haven't read what I've wrote above – it isn't my fault this chap is so late and short. My memory stick broke down and the whole chap got deleted (damn me for making no back-ups), I promises the next chap will be in shortly and be a lot longer.
Also I'd like to thank PuddyTatt for offering help… you're a dear for Beat-reading my story! (and God knows I really needed a beta)
I hope you stay with the story till the end :D
Reviews:
Goldnote: thank for the review, I know I have to watch my grammar, but with PuddyTatt that problem ought to be solved :)
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