A Different Kind of Magic--UNDERGOING EDIT

It all belongs to JK Rowling. I make no $$ off this fic. Warning: Graphic violence





Severus and Hermione thought someone had dropped a bomb on the building. They had been dozing together on the bed when a great blast shook the foundation of the building, shattering the bedroom window. Severus instinctively threw Hermione to the side of the bed nearest to the wall. “Get under the bed, and stay down until I come back for you!” he rasped. In a flash, he jumped over the bed and peeked out the door, slipping out like liquid grace.



Hermione heard frightened shouts in the corridor and the unmistakable bang of gunshots, lots of gunshots. Another massive boom shook the building again, and plaster started to crumble and fall from the ceiling. The bookcase fell onto the floor with a resounding bang, making Hermione nearly jump out of her skin. She huddled in terror, fighting a fierce urge to run after Severus, knowing she needed to stay put until he came back for her. Mad footsteps pounded down the hallway, stopping at her door. Hermione held her breath as the door banged open, and she heard Brian’s distinct voice order someone to check the room. “They’re both gone!” shouted an unfamiliar male voice. The door slammed shut as Brian cursed, the steps continuing to pound on down the hallway.



Hermione nearly screamed when the door opened again, and someone jumped over the bed, grabbing her arm. It was Severus. “Come on!” he hissed, practically dragging her over the bed and out the door. Ralph sat outside the doorway, slumping, with staring eyes and a bullet hole between them. Two more guards bore similar wounds further up the hall, leading into the Conservatory. Severus flattened his back to the wall as another set of footsteps sharply rounded the corner. The professor stuck out his foot to trip the man and quickly set upon him with a knee in his back. Hermione quickly looked away when he put a gun to the man’s head and pulled the trigger.



The pair darted into the Conservatory, skirting the wall and keeping low. It was deserted, save for a dead nurse in front of the running telly. Snape shoved Hermione into the nearest fireplace and hissedone command: “Climb.”



The fireplace was massive. Smoke still rose from the previous night’s ashes, making it hard to see and even harder to breathe. Soot blackened her dress as he shoved her unceremoniously onto his shoulders and up onto the first of a set of metal steps, pegs really, screwed into the ancient brick. “Climb!” he roared, shaking her out of her stupor as she fumbled on the slim purchase, struggling to get a good grip on the crumbling metal. She did as he bid her, slipping and sliding her way upward, beginning their dangerous ascent.



Severus cursed women in general as he jumped as high as he could, catching the lowest rung in the fireplace. This was an old trick he’d learned from Malfoy’s place; large fireplaces were oft-used as a hidden escape route when the doorways or windows were blocked in Manors of old, such as this one. They were rarely utilized, tending to fall into disrepair as time forgot their purpose. He hoped it would hold. “Fuck!” he bellowed as a rung came loose, bashing him squarely on the head. Sure as shite, Hermione’s shoe dropped off as well, smashing him in the nose when he looked up. “Double fuck! Get your ass in gear, Hermione, and stop trying to kill me!”



“Sorry,” came the faint reply as she struggled to maintain her balance, unsteadily continuing her climb. She hadn’t slept in nearly twenty-four hours, her strength already sapped. “I-I can’t climb anymore,” she called down to him. Her arms felt like lead, lungs burning, and she was ready to pass out.



A massive explosion, closer this time, rocked the chimney, sending bricks raining down from above. The metal studs groaned under the strain of the pressure.



Dimly, she heard Severus shout, “Where’s that Gryffindor courage? Come on, Hermione, if you don’t get out of here, Deidre will have died for nothing!” Gathering all her resources and seeing nothing but Deidre’s dead face in front of her, she gasped out a sob as she climbed the final few feet out the top of the chimney, gracelessly plopping over the side to land on the flat top of the Manor house.



Severus quickly followed and was graced with the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. The sky was filled with figures on brooms, some raining down spells that dissipated before they hit the ground, others being deflected by the anti-magic charm shield that cast a static zone around the house and property. The only spells that seemed to hit their mark were the ones that landed on the very top of the roof, very near to where he was standing.



Hermione wasn’t moving. “We’re down here!” he screamed, waving his arms overhead. He pulled out the last gun he had confiscated before shooting its owner, and lifted it into the air, aiming at a blank patch of dusky sky before firing three times. Merlin’s hoary shite! Now he had drawn attention to them, but not quite in the way he had intended. A barrage of various colored spells showered down around them. He dove, landing on top of Hermione, trying to protect her from the worst of the blasts. One hit its mark right next to them, blasting apart the chimney they had climbed in an eruption of brick and metal. Severus shouted in pain as a metal spike drove into his thigh and bits of blown-apart brick pierced the side of his face.



He bellowed into the din of chaos one last time, rising to wave his arms at the nearest figure swooping down right for him. Just as he thought the rider was going to strike him from the roof, the figure turned at the last possible moment, swooping up into the sky again while making wild hand gestures at some of the other people on brooms.



Severus heard gunshots ring out from the Manor compound. A bullet ricocheted off the roof by Hermione’s face, and another one grazed the top of his head just as he ducked at the noise. He turned and began firing at the three men who were taking aim at him and Hermione. Three spent cartridges and one useless gun later, he had taken out two of the guards, but the last one continued to fire rounds at him.



He spun around, ready to inflict damage on someone when he heard a familiar voice. “Professor Snape, is that you? By the Gods, it is! Hurry, jump on behind me! We’ve got to get you and Hermione out of here!”



Severus knelt by Hermione, lifting her into the arms of Remus Lupin. “You must get her to safety, Lupin! Now go!” Remus took off into the sky, disappearing quickly into the distance with his fragile cargo. Another bullet bit him in ankle, causing him to cry out and collapse onto the roof. Damn, it had lodged in bone. He could feel the damn thing stuck in there, rendering his foot useless. Two more brooms lowered from the sky to land on either side of him. Minerva herself, along with Madame Hooch, hoisted Severus under each arm. They flew in tandem to a spot several hundred yards away from the compound and landed, and then Apparated back to Hogwarts. When the two were safely borne away, the attack on the Manor ended as abruptly as it began.



The moon began its ascent into the night sky, oblivious to the destruction that had occurred in its wake.