The Raven

Disclaimer: I don’t own it, I’m just borrowing it… please don’t sue.

The Raven

By: Bree McGregor

Chapter 11

Hermione was nervously standing in front of Professor Snape in her first control lesson. She tried to tell herself that there was nothing to be afraid of; it was just a mirror — one of the Twin Demon Mirrors of the Soulless. Surely, Professor Snape would not let her soul be drawn into the void forever... good thing there not using it in this exercise.

They had been practicing for about an hour. He would try to push her with a spell — nothing major, just a force that would knock her off her feet. Her job was to keep a protective field around her to prevent herself from being pushed over.

After a few times of landing on her backside, Hermione got the hang of focusing enough to control the mirror. It was not so much that she was intent on learning it, as much as she was saving her tailbone from getting any more bruised then it already was.

“Again,” Snape called when she successfully pushed back his spell. The first thing Hermione learned about working with Snape was that he was harder on her now then in potions class. She counted at least ten “agains,” fifteen “dunderheads,” and seven “silly girls” since they started an hour ago.

Snape noticed that she was getting stronger with her focus, but he wasn’t sure what she was focusing on to give her that control. He told her to concentrate on one object in her eyesight. He watched her close her eyes, and when she opened them again he was quite shocked to see a new light within them. He found himself mentally shaking his head clear throughout the past hour; for some reason her eyes where having quite an affect on him.

He cast the spell again. Again she blocked and pushed it away, but — when he moved his hand to brush a strand of hair that fell across his face — he noticed her eyes followed the movement… ‘Ah, so she is focusing on my hands,’ he thought to himself. ‘Clever, but not clever enough.’

“Again,” he called, watching her eyes slowly open and focus… yes, she was focusing on his hands. He cast the spell with his wand in his right hand. Then, as she was about to push back, he made a movement with his left hand, casting a wandless spell to levitate an object just inside her peripheral vision.

Hermione was feeling proud of herself. She had discovered that if she focused on a part of Snape’s body, there was no way she can lose focus as long as she could see him. She had always loved his hands, so that was the part of his body she chose… not to mention that staring at his other body parts would only distract her more.

She saw his hand give an eloquent movement, and thought she should know the meaning of it. Then, out of the blue, something caught her attention to her right, a movement of something was wasn’t supposed to move. Without thinking, she broke off her focus on Snape’s hands and looked to see what it was. At that moment, Snape strengthened the spell, and she suddenly flew backward across the room.

Hermione screamed out as she flew back a few feet onto the floor. Looking up, she saw that she was also disarmed, with her wand a few feet out of reach above her head.

Severus tried not to think about her sprawled out on the floor like that, her hair fanned around her like velvet… her breathing labored. How he longed to have her beneath him just like this… perhaps not so many clothes.

Before either could move, the door slammed open and someone called out. “HERMIONE!”

~~~~

Harry was quite worried about Ron. He finally convinced him to see Madam Pomfrey about the numbing sensation he started having after his detention with Snape, a few days ago. Ron felt too embarrassed to go at first, but he finally went after he had a disastrous date with Lavender, who threatened to spread the knowledge of his inadequacy throughout the school.

Harry had a strong feeling Snape did this to Ron on purpose. He was now making his way down to the dungeons to make Snape tell him what he did to Ron and why!

He stood before the door of Snape’s office, his hand raised to knock. Suddenly, he heard from the other side of the door a painful scream of a voice he knew only too well. Without even knocking, he threw open the door.

“HERMIONE!” Harry yelled, instantly furious at the sight before him.

He saw Hermione lying on the floor, as if she had been thrown down with some force. Her wand was laying a few feet away from her, with Snape towering over her, glaring at them both.

“OUT, POTTER!” Snape yelled at him, with his long finger pointed to the direction of the door.

Without saying a word, Harry walked up to Snape and punched him in the face.

Severus wasn’t expecting a physical attack. He was thrown off balance and landed hard on the floor. Looking up at Harry with pure rage, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the boy.

By this time Harry had his own wand out, and was now pointing it at Snape. Hermione knew she had to act fast. Grabbing her wand, she cast two spells simultaneously.

“Expelliarmus!” she put enough force into the spell to knock Harry onto his arse on the floor, joining the two of them.

“Accio wands!” Catching both their wands with one hand, Hermione looked at Harry with disgust.

“Hermione, what the hell?” screamed Harry. “He was hurting you!”

“No, Harry! He was training me! I lost concentration, and the spell overpowered me. This was my fault, not Professor Snape’s.”

“Then explain about Ron!” Harry challenged.

“What’s wrong with Ron?” Hermione asked suddenly concerned.

Harry noticed Snape getting up off the floor, and he did the same. Hermione remained seated on the floor, still not really sure if she wanted to get up. Her head still spun a bit from her fall. But when her mind cleared, she looked up at Snape, who had a hand out to her to help her up. As she took it, she noticed his cut lip and the start of a bruise on his left cheek.

“Harry!” she gasped. She turned from Snape once she was standing, and looked at her best friend. “You hit a teacher! You could be expelled! Just because you think he did something to Ron?”

“I thought he was hurting you!” defended Harry.

“Be that as it may,” a voice came from the doorway.

All three jumped and looked over to see Professor Dumbledore standing there. The Headmaster’s normally sparkling blue eyes were cold and harsh, giving Harry an impression of an Arctic glacier.

“Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore wouldn’t look at the boy as he spoke. “Please wait for me in my office. I will be there once I speak to Professor Snape. The password is ‘Lemon Heads’.”

With one last glare at Snape, Harry stormed out of the dungeon. Dumbledore gave a soft sad smile to Hermione, and put out his hand expectantly.

“The wands please, Miss Granger,” he said softly.

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” She spoke nervously as she gently placed both Snape’s and Harry’s wands into his awaiting hand.

“No need to be sorry, child. You did the right think in stopping something tragic from happening, So how is the training going?” he asked, smiling softly.

“Well, sir, I still lose focus when a sound or movement catches my attention. I had lost my concentration, and the surge of energy threw me back. I guess I yelled. Harry must have heard me through the door. Thinking that I was hurt, he stormed in. I guess the scene he saw brought him to the conclusion that I was in danger, and, well…”

“Well…?” one of Dumbledore’s eyebrows lifted.

She glanced over at Snape. He was watching her closely, not bothering to clean up the blood that was drying on the corner of his mouth.

“He slugged Professor Snape,” Hermione said dejectedly. She felt that she was betraying Harry, but she could not lie to the Headmaster, and Snape deserved the truth to be told — that he had been hit for something that was not his fault. Still, the fear of Harry being expelled was one of Hermione’s greatest fears come true. And with only a few weeks left of school.

“Thank you, Miss Granger. If I can have a word with Professor Snape, please.”

“Of course, sir,” she said as she turned to leave, only to turn around once she reached the door. “Umm… Professor Snape, should I return later to finish our lesson, or should we take this up tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow will be fine, Miss Granger”

Dumbledore turned to him after she had closed the door and her footsteps faded away. His face had lost all traces of a smile.

“What did you do, Severus?”

“Meaning what, Headmaster?”

The use of his title was not lost on Albus. “The meaning of the hospitalization of one Ronald Weasley.” Dumbledore didn’t raise his voice, but Snape knew that the Headmaster was quite upset with him.

“I repeatedly offered the boy gloves and a bandana … three times, to be precise. I even demanded him to wear them, but the dunderhead refused all three times! So it’s his bed; let him lie in it”

“What plant, Severus?”

“Staphysgria.”

“That’s a POISON, Severus! What were you thinking!!!”

“It’s only a poison if swallowed.” Snape didn’t raise his voice, but he made his point clear with the deep tones of his voice.

The Headmaster quieted down to await an explanation he knew was forthcoming.

“Trust me, it will not kill him. It will only make him impotent; unfortunately, the side effect is only temporary. The gods know that that family could use some control. You would think they were trying to start their own Quidditch team!”

“Severus,” Albus said his name softly, but Snape got the hint.

“Well, it should wear off in a few months. There is nothing Madam Pomfrey can do until it works its way out of his system. He only harvested and washed the plant. I made sure he washed his hands thoroughly before he left, and he didn’t at any time consciously or unconsciously ingest even a minute amount. Besides, keeping that Weasley away from the female population is not a bad idea.”

Dumbledore knew he had been far too lenient on the boy. He had also been dreading Severus’s retaliation on Ron, knowing the Slytherin’s attachment to Hermione since the Raven days, when he not only saw Ron attack Hermione but also witnessed the aftermath on her emotionally. Personally, the Headmaster thought they were getting off quite easily, all things considered. ‘At least the boy is in one piece,’ he thought. Giving a deep sigh, he turned back to his Potions Master.

“But impotence, Severus, really.”

“Don’t worry, Headmaster. As I said, it’s only temporary. But as the old Muggle saying goes ‘Let the punishment fit the crime.’ I’m sure we will being having more redheaded Weasleys running around Hogwarts in due time, to make my teaching here the equivalent of the seventh level of hell.”

“Really, my boy! Oh, by the way, no more detentions with you. If you must give detentions, send them to Argus. Is that understood

“Yes, as you wish, Albus”

Dumbledore smiled at him and walked to the door. He was about to leave when he heard a question asked softly behind him.

“You are not going to punish or expel Potter, are you.”

In truth it was more of a statement then a question, thought Albus.

“You know I can’t, Severus. To have Harry Potter running around unsupervised, untrained, and without support is an inherently dangerous prospect.”

“That I believe is the most intelligent thing I have ever heard you say, Albus. Upon that we agree.”

Dumbledore looked back at his young friend and slipped out of his office, leaving the Potions Master to his own thoughts. Walking down the hall toward his own office where Mr Potter was waiting for him, he felt his years creep up on him. Truth be told, he was not looking forward to dealing with Harry’s attitude, which just seemed to be getting more out of control

~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: ok just to clear a few things up first! Staphysgria, is a poison if swallowed. It is normally used in such as post-surgical incisions and is used to heal wounds and incisions, how it does that is by numbing the nervous system. It’s a very dangerous drug if swallowed.

And again to my Beta June… you’re great!

And my deepest sincerity I am truly sorry this is so short, but I have tests and projects for school. So get use to it because I have finals coming up!