#8 ~ A Rather Catty Situation

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JKR (except Odessa Divine). All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 30 ~ Saving Severus

Where the hell was her wand? Hermione crawled under the bed. There it was, at the top. She stretched her arm, and scooted up. There she had it. Fuck the shoes. Barefoot, she shot out of the bedroom, through the study, and into the Potions office. Flinging open the door she flew into the dungeon hallway, startling a group of Slytherins heading for their common room. She slid to a stop in front of Odessa’s rooms. She tested the door. It was securely warded and had a silencing spell on it. Shit! She started working on the wards.

Severus had removed his robes and was halfway down with his shirt. His mind was crying for him to turn around and exit the bedroom, but his body was determined to fuck Odessa. His cock strained against his pants, throbbing intensely. Odessa was writhing invitingly on the bed, affecting him even more, her eyes flashing with desire.

“Please hurry, Severus. I’m about to burn up,” she hissed.

He unfastened his cuffs and removed his shirt. Odessa’s eyes ran over his pale, lean muscular torso, and remembered how passionate he was in the moonlight with his wife, and a small burst of wetness flooded her thighs. His black eyes burned down at her, hard, intense. She couldn’t fool herself to think there was love in them, but lust…yes. Nothing but. She could count on him fulfilling her needs thoroughly and completely.

Severus opened his pants, his eyes never leaving hers.

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Hermione was having trouble with the wards. A flash of Severus undoing his pants hit her, and in a burst of fury, Hermione blasted Odessa’s doors clear off the hinges.

In the room, Odessa sat up in the bed. What the fuck was that. She jumped out the bed and dove for her robes, fumbling with it, trying to get to her wand. Severus continued to remove his pants, stepping out of them. He was in his boxers now. Hermione charged through the door, just as Severus began to lower them.

“Petrificus Totalus!” Hermione yelled, pointing her wand at her husband. Severus’ arms snapped to his sides, and he toppled to the bed, unable to move, and glad of it.

Odessa found her wand and pointed it at Hermione, just as Hermione aimed hers at the witch.

“You fucking bitch!” Hermione screamed at her, her wand arm shaking as she looked down at the crouching naked witch. She had a mark on her neck where Severus had suckled it. Hermione had never wanted to kill so badly in all her life.

Still pointing her wand at Hermione, Odessa slipped one arm into her robes, then transferred the wand to her other hand, still pointing it, and slipped on the other sleeve. She slowly stood up.

“You’re the bitch,” Odessa spat, “You filthy decent wizard-stealing mudblood. He deserves better than you. A pureblood witch like himself. Like me. One of his own kind.”

Odessa began to tremble as her hatred of Hermione manifested itself. She was still in the throes of desire for Severus, and would be having him right now if it wasn’t for his wife’s interference. She had nothing now to lose. It was all ruined. Giving him an illegal lust potion meant a definite trip to Azkaban.

“I would have shown him what it really meant to be loved. He would have never come back to you after me! Never!” Odessa screamed, her eyes beginning to glow redly. Hermione watched in horrified fascination as Odessa began to transform, the wand falling from her hands and her eyes rolling back into her head. She fell to the floor and suddenly, the panther stood there, snarling at her. Hermione didn’t hesitate. She transformed.

The two cats faced each other, the lioness and the panther, both snarling menacingly at the other. The panther was so rabid with hatred, spittle formed around its mouth, flecks of it flying as it spit its fury. Hermione was crouched, ready to leap. Severus, face down on the bed couldn’t turn over, he could only hear the great beasts, his heart thudding in his chest as the potion began to clear, the object of his desire no longer available.

The panther charged Hermione slashing at her face, but she turned, slamming her body into the black cat, throwing it off balance. She fell on it crashing it into the wall, knocking over the end table, sinking a claw into its side. The panther roared with pain and writhed around, slipping under her belly and clawing at her, slashing, and biting. Hermione slashed downward and caught Odessa a glancing blow on her muzzle, but the witch managed to sink a tooth into it, before Hermione pulled it away roaring in pain. Both animals leapt back, panting, looking for an opening before they charged each other again, snarling viciously, clashing together, rising on their hind legs and locking their taloned paws around each other, biting at each others’ faces viciously. Hermione, being the heavier cat, took the panther down, trying with all her might to reach the animal’s jugular. But Odessa was a spitfire, wrestling all four paws beneath the larger cat, and with a great effort, threw it off her, then it was she who had the upper hand, leaping on Hermione’s back and biting into her neck just behind her head, clinging to her with all four paws. Hermione roared and rolled, crushing the snarling panther beneath her until it released her and raced from the room, Hermione in hot pursuit. Odessa shot through the living room and out into the dungeon corridor, racing for the main hall.

Students were strolling about idly, enjoying their free time, when the panther burst snarling into the hall, sending them fleeing with terror, before bolting for the main doors, crashing against them and bursting into daylight. Just as the students were gathering their wits, the lioness appeared, running at full speed, her tawny body stretched in flight. They screamed and fled again as Hermione raced out the door behind Odessa.

The two cats raced across the grounds of Hogwarts, toward the Forbidden Forest, Hermione gaining ground with her larger stride and better conditioning. Just before Odessa reached the forest, Hermione caught up with her, hooking a claw into her flank and drawing the beast back into her. They writhed in a tangle of teeth and claws, a snarling, rolling ball of murderous fury, biting and slashing lethally, blood and fur flying. This was a battle of life and death, of territory and mate. The cats parted, snarling and panting, their sides heaving heavily. Hermione stood between the red-eyed panther and the forest, determined not to let it get past.

The panther gathered itself and leapt at Hermione, who maintain much more of her human mind than before, possibly because of Severus and the situation he had been in. She had calculated this leap, just as if she were calculating a defensive move. When the panther leaped, Hermione rose on her hind legs and caught it, rolling over on her back in a somersault, pinning the panther beneath her, its neck exposed. With a roar she bit down into the animal’s throat, shaking it like a rat, and crushing its windpipe. She bit down, holding it tightly, until it ceased to move, hot blood filling her mouth. She held it several minutes, until she was sure it was dead. Then she released the limp body, the panther’s eyes closed in death.

She sat on her haunches above her kill, licking the blood from her fur, and watching the small crowd of people hurrying across the grounds toward her. She could see the Headmaster and Severus leading the group, Madam Hooch and Minerva flanking them, Flitwick, Marcus and Sprout bringing up the rear. They slowed as they approached, seeing Hermione’s ears flatten. She was reacting the way a lion would in the wild, protecting her kill.

Severus stepped forward. “Hermione,” he said softy, “transform, my love. It’s over.” Hermione flicked her ears toward her husband, and suddenly she stood before him, her robes in tatters. He drew her into his arms, and held her tightly. Albus and the rest of the staff came forward, looking down at the panther.

“My word,” Dumbledore said, as the panther began to slowly transform, shrinking in size, becoming the beautiful housecat.

“She had two forms,” Hermione breathed, looking down at the small feline.

The cat transformed again and the body of Miss Odessa Divine laid there, her long lashes against her cheeks in death, still beautiful, an expression of peace on her face.

Dumbledore looked somber.

“It appears that Miss Divine was prepared for this contingency,” he said heavily, “we found a pensieve under her bed, containing her thoughts for the past twelve years. She was a very disturbed young woman, driven to madness by the cruelties inflicted on her. I only looked in it briefly, but she led a life of pain. I think she meant it to be her final confession. There was also a powerful poison hidden in her rooms, and the empty vial of potion she used on you, Severus. It seems she intended to end her life shortly.”

He looked at Hermione.

“Odessa was a dangerous woman. There is no doubt in my mind she would have killed you, Lady Snape, and so I consider this incident, self-defense. There will be an inquiry, of course…all involved will be required to give testimony…”

Here he turned and looked at Marcus, who was gazing quietly down at the dead witch, his eyes thoughtful. Marcus looked up at him.

“Yes, of course Headmaster,” he replied, knowing the story of his own tussle with the panther would come out. He’d have to tell the truth. They already had the pensieve. His manipulation of the witch would be common knowledge. On the brighter side, his attempt at discouraging her from pursuing Severus ought to balance it out nicely and clear him of any duplicity. But there was the issue of his not telling about Odessa’s dangerous form. Ah well, if he got dismissed, it had been a great ride.

Marcus looked at Hermione and Severus. The couple was gazing down on the dead witch with mixed emotions. He could see relief, pity and something else he couldn’t identify. But they had landed on their feet again. That’s all that really mattered.

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A/N: Well, Hermione protected her man, and Odessa found the peace she was looking for. Because of all the rabid reviews, I had to write this chapter with a screaming grandchild on my lap. I hope it meets expectations. Please review.