Chapter Eleven
Science Fiction Double Feature
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A.N. I apologize for my last two chapters, they were complete rubbish. I'm not going to rewrite them because I'll get writers block and I doubt anyone will read them anyway. I promise to do better though. I'm never going to sacrifice quality in order to make my own foolish deadlines ever again.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling = Harry Potter Monopoly
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast feeling tired with the beginning symptoms of the flu. A sheer dread of Madam Pompfrey's sterile smelling infirmary kept her in misery. She sat down between Ron and Ginny at the Gryffindor table and laid her head in her arms.
'Are you okay 'Mione,' Ron asked concerned.
'Fine,' Hermione sniffled. 'I'm getting a cold is all.'
Ginny rubbed her back, 'At least we don't have band practice tonight, so you don't have to sing.'
Hermione looked up with confusion plain on her face
'It's been canceled since half the band can't make it.' Ginny explained. 'I have Quiddich practice, and you and Dean have that special potion class.'
Hermione frowned, 'What special potion class?'
Ron turned away from his food for a moment with the answer, 'I forgot to tell you. Flitwick told us while you were gone, we have a special class on midnight potions tonight at well... midnight.'
Hermione buried her head in her arms again and groaned.
'Yeah, I know, sucks.' Ron said and went back to his porridge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione walked out onto the grounds at a quarter to eleven the cold wind chilled her through her cloak and she wished that she had worn her gloves and scarf.
All of the sixth year students had voluntarily segregated themselves into houses. All of the Gryffindors were huddled together for warmth, so Hermione went to stand by them; wondering what to expect from the night.
Severus strode out onto the grounds dressed in his muggle clothes. Hermione groaned, dreading another trip into The Forbidden Forest.
Severus did not lead them into the forest however, but rather into the middle of the quiddich pitch. Cauldrons had been set up on the same tables that had recently held food for the start of the quiddich season party.
'The moon is full,' Severus said gesturing to the sky.
As if at his bidding, the clouds paring to reveal the glistening orb of the moon.
'There are three potions that can only be brewed at midnight on the evening of the full moon. They are called the lunus potions. The lunus potions are all aptly named after the Greek goddesses of fate: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They help to give insight to the future and as such, in my opinion, the should be covered in Divination rather than in my subject. But since it's been put into my curriculum we'll be covering them over the next three months.' Severus sounded about as happy to be forced outside in the middle of the night as everyone else. 'The instructions and ingredients are on this table here. You need to add the last ingredient in exactly at midnight so you had best get started right away.'
Hermione started to walk over to the table, but Severus put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 'Miss Granger, I need to talk to you about your test grade. If you'll come with me please.'
Hermione followed Severus away from the class towards The Forbidden Forest.
Once they were behind Hagrid's hut and well out of earshot Hermione playfully punched Severus in the arm. 'I thought I told you to call me Hermione, Professor Snape,' Hermione reprimanded.
'And I thought that I told you to call me Severus, Miss Granger' Severus parried and started back towards The Forbidden Forest.
'Where are we going?' Hermione said, running to keep up.
'Potion ingredients,' Severus said offhandedly.
Hermione sighed, 'I hate The Forbidden Forest. Why can't you economize and get all the potion ingredients that we need in one trip so that we don't have to go in there more than once a month?' Hermione whined.
'By potion ingredients I meant brandy,' Snape replied cooly. 'I need a stiff drink.'
'Oh,' Hermione said sarcastically. 'Reducing your drinking bill by mooching brandy off of Firenze is a much more worthy cause.'
'Course it is,' Severus responded, undaunted.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once they were halfway through the forest Hermione broke the silence. 'You know Neville has probably blown up half of the quiddich pitch without me there to help him.'
Severus however, was grumbling to himself about unfair school curriculum and didn't seem to hear her.
'Yes well, I'm sure that if I explain to Dumbledore that I need to go drinking with you he'll understand. I mean, it's not like you need to be teaching a class or anything. And I don't really think anyone will care if the quiddich game tomorrow gets called off because half of the field is missing.'
Severus seemed to have heard this, because he spun around to tell Hermione something. He'd hadn't even opened his mouth yet when he was cut off by a loud noise coming from the thicket.
Severus' eyes shot up to the moon and he pushed Hermione down on the ground, drew his wand, and stood over her.
A great grey wolf came barreling towards them with it's teeth barred. Severus only hesitated a fraction of a second before a bolt of green light shot out of his wand.
The wolf fell to the ground dead.
Hermione remained on the ground shivering from shock. Severus gave her a concerned look and walked over to the dead wolf.
The wolf had begun to appear fuzzy around the edges and change shape. Hermione suddenly understood, and rushed over to the werewolf.
The grey wolf slowly transformed back into human form. The form of a very small girl. Hermione choked down tears as she knelt over the little girl. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. She lay naked on the forest floor. Her brown eyes stared blankly up at the sky, reflecting the moon that had been her demise. Her soft brown hair pooled around her head. Her lips were closed in a slight smile, she seemed sad. And why not? Severus had killed her after all.
Tears were now flowing freely down Severus' face. 'Why?' was all she could manage.
'She would have killed us,' Severus told her without remorse.
'You didn't have to kill her, you could have stunned her, or hexed her, or anything other than killing her. She was only a child.' Hermione cried.
'She was a werewolf Hermione,' Severus rationalized.
'She was a little girl.' Hermione cried, 'And you killed her.'
Hermione ran out of the forest with tears running down her face, she'd never be able to look at Severus the same way again. To think that she'd fallen in love with a murderer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A.N. My sincerest apologies dear readers, but you'll thank me for this later. I'll review within the week I think.
Thanks:
Amara Tsu: *tear* no review. I know they were bad, but were they really that bad?
SarahAmanda: Thanks
Leper Messiah and Blue Crayon: Thanks for the professor thing, I wasn't exactly sure how to do it. Tee Hee....apple.
Stargazer Starluver: I'm definitely enjoying having Hermione and Severus sparring all the time, and the cliffhangers of course.
Toreshi-san: I'm glad someone caught the Labyrinth reference.
Belle Mortis: The raisin thing was a movie reference from Benny and Joon.... but I guess it was in the deleted scenes from Pirates of the Carribean because Johnny Depp steals his improv.
Nicky Black: *curtsies* thankee sai
Song4Fluffy: I'm happy someone caught the Benny and Joon reference as well, I was worried it was going to confuse everyone and it wouldn't be funny.
EmpressSarah1: Glad you caught the Labyrinth reference. If you like the Rocky Horror Picture show as well, you should check out my Laby/Rocky crossover fic.
Casiana Joy: Stop whining about the cliffhangers, they're necessary for plot reasons. You'll find out what Dumbledore said in chapter 13.
Parody-of-an-Angel: *hangs head in shame* I've regressed back to the cliffhangers.
Hermine-Severus-Fan: Thanks, more soon.
Science Fiction Double Feature
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A.N. I apologize for my last two chapters, they were complete rubbish. I'm not going to rewrite them because I'll get writers block and I doubt anyone will read them anyway. I promise to do better though. I'm never going to sacrifice quality in order to make my own foolish deadlines ever again.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling = Harry Potter Monopoly
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast feeling tired with the beginning symptoms of the flu. A sheer dread of Madam Pompfrey's sterile smelling infirmary kept her in misery. She sat down between Ron and Ginny at the Gryffindor table and laid her head in her arms.
'Are you okay 'Mione,' Ron asked concerned.
'Fine,' Hermione sniffled. 'I'm getting a cold is all.'
Ginny rubbed her back, 'At least we don't have band practice tonight, so you don't have to sing.'
Hermione looked up with confusion plain on her face
'It's been canceled since half the band can't make it.' Ginny explained. 'I have Quiddich practice, and you and Dean have that special potion class.'
Hermione frowned, 'What special potion class?'
Ron turned away from his food for a moment with the answer, 'I forgot to tell you. Flitwick told us while you were gone, we have a special class on midnight potions tonight at well... midnight.'
Hermione buried her head in her arms again and groaned.
'Yeah, I know, sucks.' Ron said and went back to his porridge.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione walked out onto the grounds at a quarter to eleven the cold wind chilled her through her cloak and she wished that she had worn her gloves and scarf.
All of the sixth year students had voluntarily segregated themselves into houses. All of the Gryffindors were huddled together for warmth, so Hermione went to stand by them; wondering what to expect from the night.
Severus strode out onto the grounds dressed in his muggle clothes. Hermione groaned, dreading another trip into The Forbidden Forest.
Severus did not lead them into the forest however, but rather into the middle of the quiddich pitch. Cauldrons had been set up on the same tables that had recently held food for the start of the quiddich season party.
'The moon is full,' Severus said gesturing to the sky.
As if at his bidding, the clouds paring to reveal the glistening orb of the moon.
'There are three potions that can only be brewed at midnight on the evening of the full moon. They are called the lunus potions. The lunus potions are all aptly named after the Greek goddesses of fate: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They help to give insight to the future and as such, in my opinion, the should be covered in Divination rather than in my subject. But since it's been put into my curriculum we'll be covering them over the next three months.' Severus sounded about as happy to be forced outside in the middle of the night as everyone else. 'The instructions and ingredients are on this table here. You need to add the last ingredient in exactly at midnight so you had best get started right away.'
Hermione started to walk over to the table, but Severus put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 'Miss Granger, I need to talk to you about your test grade. If you'll come with me please.'
Hermione followed Severus away from the class towards The Forbidden Forest.
Once they were behind Hagrid's hut and well out of earshot Hermione playfully punched Severus in the arm. 'I thought I told you to call me Hermione, Professor Snape,' Hermione reprimanded.
'And I thought that I told you to call me Severus, Miss Granger' Severus parried and started back towards The Forbidden Forest.
'Where are we going?' Hermione said, running to keep up.
'Potion ingredients,' Severus said offhandedly.
Hermione sighed, 'I hate The Forbidden Forest. Why can't you economize and get all the potion ingredients that we need in one trip so that we don't have to go in there more than once a month?' Hermione whined.
'By potion ingredients I meant brandy,' Snape replied cooly. 'I need a stiff drink.'
'Oh,' Hermione said sarcastically. 'Reducing your drinking bill by mooching brandy off of Firenze is a much more worthy cause.'
'Course it is,' Severus responded, undaunted.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Once they were halfway through the forest Hermione broke the silence. 'You know Neville has probably blown up half of the quiddich pitch without me there to help him.'
Severus however, was grumbling to himself about unfair school curriculum and didn't seem to hear her.
'Yes well, I'm sure that if I explain to Dumbledore that I need to go drinking with you he'll understand. I mean, it's not like you need to be teaching a class or anything. And I don't really think anyone will care if the quiddich game tomorrow gets called off because half of the field is missing.'
Severus seemed to have heard this, because he spun around to tell Hermione something. He'd hadn't even opened his mouth yet when he was cut off by a loud noise coming from the thicket.
Severus' eyes shot up to the moon and he pushed Hermione down on the ground, drew his wand, and stood over her.
A great grey wolf came barreling towards them with it's teeth barred. Severus only hesitated a fraction of a second before a bolt of green light shot out of his wand.
The wolf fell to the ground dead.
Hermione remained on the ground shivering from shock. Severus gave her a concerned look and walked over to the dead wolf.
The wolf had begun to appear fuzzy around the edges and change shape. Hermione suddenly understood, and rushed over to the werewolf.
The grey wolf slowly transformed back into human form. The form of a very small girl. Hermione choked down tears as she knelt over the little girl. She couldn't have been more than six or seven years old. She lay naked on the forest floor. Her brown eyes stared blankly up at the sky, reflecting the moon that had been her demise. Her soft brown hair pooled around her head. Her lips were closed in a slight smile, she seemed sad. And why not? Severus had killed her after all.
Tears were now flowing freely down Severus' face. 'Why?' was all she could manage.
'She would have killed us,' Severus told her without remorse.
'You didn't have to kill her, you could have stunned her, or hexed her, or anything other than killing her. She was only a child.' Hermione cried.
'She was a werewolf Hermione,' Severus rationalized.
'She was a little girl.' Hermione cried, 'And you killed her.'
Hermione ran out of the forest with tears running down her face, she'd never be able to look at Severus the same way again. To think that she'd fallen in love with a murderer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A.N. My sincerest apologies dear readers, but you'll thank me for this later. I'll review within the week I think.
Thanks:
Amara Tsu: *tear* no review. I know they were bad, but were they really that bad?
SarahAmanda: Thanks
Leper Messiah and Blue Crayon: Thanks for the professor thing, I wasn't exactly sure how to do it. Tee Hee....apple.
Stargazer Starluver: I'm definitely enjoying having Hermione and Severus sparring all the time, and the cliffhangers of course.
Toreshi-san: I'm glad someone caught the Labyrinth reference.
Belle Mortis: The raisin thing was a movie reference from Benny and Joon.... but I guess it was in the deleted scenes from Pirates of the Carribean because Johnny Depp steals his improv.
Nicky Black: *curtsies* thankee sai
Song4Fluffy: I'm happy someone caught the Benny and Joon reference as well, I was worried it was going to confuse everyone and it wouldn't be funny.
EmpressSarah1: Glad you caught the Labyrinth reference. If you like the Rocky Horror Picture show as well, you should check out my Laby/Rocky crossover fic.
Casiana Joy: Stop whining about the cliffhangers, they're necessary for plot reasons. You'll find out what Dumbledore said in chapter 13.
Parody-of-an-Angel: *hangs head in shame* I've regressed back to the cliffhangers.
Hermine-Severus-Fan: Thanks, more soon.