The Hogwarts Challenge: Evolving Magic
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
7
Views:
4,671
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
7
Views:
4,671
Reviews:
19
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Dungeon Crawling Pt 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, not me. This is just fanfiction, written to amuse myself and (hopefully) others and not for any profit or material gain.
Severus Snape ran through the dark dungeon corridor, a sheet of parchment clutched in one hand, his wand in the other. Several minutes ago he had heard a blood-curdling scream and the sounds of fighting. The rush of flames, the
thudding of rocks and bodies as well as the screaming of monsters had not stopped since. Hopefully, that was a good sign. He had never had a student die under his supervision (although he had entertained the fantasy many times) and he did not care to explain to Dumbledore the death of this one.
As he drew closer, the noise of battle grew louder andwas was able to see periodic flashes of light cast by flame and lightning. For such a small person, she seemed to have a gift for creating havoc. Her characteristic intelligence and restraint only made her more difficult to deal with. Potter and Weasley were much easier to handle. Her insistence on following rules, seemed to mean that she simply found methods to create chaos within the rules. She and Neville were a brutal combination. And her eagerness to both acquire and apply knowledge regularly landed her in situations that other students
simply didn't have the talent to get into. Take this one for example.
He was finally close enough to make out figures. Ms. Granger appeared to be alive and uninjured. She was sitting, cross-legged on thoundound, leaning against the wall of the passageway, coolly firing off various charms and hexes. The corridor beyond her was draped with webbing. She was surrounded by neatly ordered piles of rocks, upon these rocks, were scrawled runes hes he watched, she picked up one stone marked with symbols for light and impact and tossed it down the corridor, where it emitted a brief flash of light, illuminating a few redcaps cautiously peeking around the bodies of the dead monsters which littered the hallway and spiders skittering across the ceiling. There were runes inscribed along the walls at varying heights as well.
Between throwing hexes, the young witch asked him in a detached voice, "Professor Snape, were you unable to leave the dungeon?"
Not trusting himself to speak, he nodded curtly.
"I take it the Challenge has been activated and we are both trapped until it's completed." It was more of a statement than a question.
He thrust the crumpled sheet of paper at her and she grabbed it eagerly, smoothing the creases out and examining it, while at the same time keeping an eye on the dungeon behind her. After all of those potions classes with Mrngbottomttom she seemed to have become quite adroit at doing multiple things at once, much to his dismay.
The parchment read,
Welcome Young Adventurer!
Congratulations on beginning your first Challenge! You have the privilege of partaking in a remarkable adventure, one which will shape the future of Hogwarts and the Wizarding World! But that is far in the future, and many adventures away. For the moment, prove your mettle by slaying spiders, trouncing trolls, scorching slugs and roasting redcaps! Below you will find your monster checklist, defeat them all to complete the first Challenge!
Giant Flesh-Eating Slugs (12)
Redcaps (200)
Trolls (3)
Giant Spiders (24)
Boggarts (2)
Bugbears (7)
Fire Drakes (9)
For Extra Credit, defeat the armored maneater with a poisonous sting.
In very small print, at the bottom, it read:
Hogwarts accepts no liability for any death, injury, or dismemberment incurred during Challenge events. All participants are confined to the Challenge area until the Challenge is complete or all participants have been incapacitated.
"Did you kill any monsters on your way here Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the parchment.
"No, the corridors were deserted." Snape replied absently, scrutinizing the runes Hermione had set on the walls and stone piles.
"The monsters werertinrting to swarm, so I set traps. I tried to keep it simple and effective. All of the damage runes are prefixed with motion runes to trigger them. I started off high up the walls with severing runes for the larger monsters. I switched to crushing runes at midlevel heights and fire runes at the low level heights. The s des descend as the tunnel progresses, the little monsters simply aren't tall enough to set off the high level runes and the bigger monsters get taken out before they reach the low-laying runes."
Professor Snape appeared to be at a loss for words.
"It's very effective," Hermione insisted, seeing the incredulous lift to his eyebrows. "I've killed more than half of the monsters on this list. Of course, there's a slight problem with the ceiling, I couldn't reach it and the slugs and spiders come up along it every now and then," she admitted scowling.
"And the rocks?" his voice still held a sneer, but it seemed to have a resigned quality to it now.
"I've been experimenting with those," Hermione said, her brown eyes shining with excitement.
"Another problem with the walls is that they're stationary of course. So I tried to make something more portable. I switched the prefix to an impact trigger on them and they work really well!" Hermione demonstrated, selecting a rock from a pile near her knee and tossing it as far as she could down the tunnel. A small fireball blossomed in a muted whoosh of air, diatdiately overshadowed by the harsh shrieks of redcaps and rushing air as bits of them scattered outward, spattering a fine, mist-like rain of blood. "If I cast cushioning charms on them so they don't set each-other off and shrink them so that they're easy to carry, I think that finishing off the rest of this list should be very manageable." Hermione concluded, smiling proudly.
"Enough!" Snape growled, massaging his temples with one hand and glaring at her.
"Lets finish this quickly, I find the company matches the surroundings." Snape reached down and grabbed the collar of Hermione's cloak, pulling her to her feet. But the moment he released his hold on her, her right leg buckled underneath her and she fell forward with a whimper. Professor Snape leaned down and caught her by her shoulders, pinning her against the wall in one smooth movement.
At least hes stopped grabbing my cloak, she thought through the haze of pain that moving her injured leg had caused.
"What have you managed to do to yourself Ms. Granger?" he snapped, examining her critically.
He managed to make it sound as if it were her fault! "I didn't do anything!" she replied hotly, "one of those non-existent slugs knocked me down and took a bite out of me after I removed my unnecessary protective walls." she snarled at him.
But he wasn't paying any attention to what she was saying. He'd discovered the slug bite and swooped down on it in a billowing cloud of black robes.
"You're certain that this is from the slug?" he asked running his fingers professionally around the wound.
"I remember it clearly," she hissed, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. It hurt when he touched it. "It looks worse than it is, just leave it alone, we can take care of it later."
"Once again, Gryffindor bravery breeds idiocy, he sneered, examining it more roughly now. Under the pressure of his fingers, sickly white pus oozed out of it, covering the crusted blood and dirt. "You appear to have lost the use of this particular limb and have managed to so roll it in dirt and filth that you have contracted an infection in what is probably a record time. Once again, you excel Ms. Granger." Snape replied caustically, pointing his wand at her leg and muttering, Ferula. The dirt around the wound cleared and bandages wrapped around it, a little too tight for comfort. He raised his other hand to her forehead, "and you are feverish, which explains these ridiculous contraptions," he gestured disparagingly towards the rocks and walls.
"I've been trying to stay alive!" Hermione protested, her voice rising, "and they've worked, haven't they?"
"Your constant need for adoration and praise is pathetic Ms. Granger." He reached into a pocket of his robe and withdrawing a small, nondescript looking phial. "Drink this." He ordered, pressing it to her lips as if he didn't trust her to hold her hands steady. His fingers were cool against her skin and the glassthe the phial was positively chill. It was so tempting to just take it.
"No!" she declared, turning her head aside, "I can take it once we've finished. I can't afford to take something that will dull my senses until we're out of here!"
"That was an order, not a request, Ms. Granger" he hissed, leveling his wand at her.
"Try it" she bit out, "I've got so many defensive, reflection and protection charms layered on myself it'd be weeks before anything got through!" she grinned smugly, raising her own wand. "Do you?"
The hand that had been holding his wand flicked it smoothly back into an unseen holster in his voluminous sleeves and she relaxed slightly. For once he was going to be reasonable. Suddenly, with no warning, he was in fronther,her, incredibly close, too close. She tried to say something, a hex to knock him back, but it was difficult. His body was crushing her against the wall and her breath was coming in shallow gasps. It was the fever, it had to be the fever, that was making her react like this. His hand had caught her wrist and was slowly, inevitably forcing it back. His strong fingers pressing against hers, until she could no longer maintain her grasp on her wand and it fell, with a harlattlatter to the floor. He had caught her other hand as well, and pulled them together, up and over her head so that she couldn't struggle against him. She fought the panic. So he'd disarmed her, all of her spells were still in place, what she'd said was true. It would be difficult if not dangerous to cast a spell on her, she just had to keep her mouth shut and she'd be fine. So she glared at him, through her hair, which had come loose and seemed to be everywhere, curling against her face, clinging to his robes, caught in-between their clasped hands.
"Clearly," he whispered, a small, cruel smile on his face, "magic isn't everything, Ms. Granger." his voice dropped off menacingly as he said the last.
She looked at him warily, what was he thinking?
Calmly, casually, he broke the seal on the phial with his thumb and leaning his head back, emptied its contents into his own mouth.
She felt her jaw drop and looked at him incredulously, her thoughts racing. What was he doing? Had he set up some sort of mirroring charm of his own? But he couldn't have, she would have noticed. And it wouldn't work, even if he had cast such a spell, not through all of her spells.
Then he lunged down at her, like a striking snake his lips meeting hers, brushing past hers, and a bitter taste flooded her mouth. The potion! The bastard! She yanked furiously at her arms, but he only tightened his grip, his fingers biting into her wrists painfully. She tried to bring a leg up to kick him, but her injured calf brushed against his robes. As the scratchy material brushed harshly against the open wound on her calf, waves of pain shot through her and she gasped in pain, choking on the potion. He brought a hand to her throat, massaging it so that her muscles relaxed and the potion slid the rest of the way down. His legs tangled with hersdgindging her injured leg to the side, so there was no weight on it or anything touching it. It was so strange, having him pressed against her so tightly, so furiously, the bitter taste of the medicine between them. She thought about tightening her throat, refusing to swallow the rest of it, but she was tired, and it seemed pointless now. Going limp, she dutifully swallowed the remainder of the potion and he hastily stepped back, drawing the back of his hand across his mouth.
"So now what?" Hermione asked wearily, slumping against the wall of the corridor as she felt the effects of the potion kick in and a wave of lethargy swept over her. "The monsters have stopped coming, but there's still a fair number to go before the Challenge is complete." Ir mer methods were so pathetic and useless, let him figure it out.
"You will do nothing Ms. Granger. You will be accompanying me safely under the influence of a Mobilicorpus spell while I complete the rest of the Challenge. All I require from you is silence and cooperation."
"No!" She shook her head violently and felt the room spin, luckily, she was already leaning against the wall. Hopefully he hadn't noticed. "I can transfigure a crutch and accompany you. The Challenge has to be completed budenudents and besides, it will be dangerous to look after me and try to fight off monsters."
"You have done more than enough Ms. Granger." Professor Snape said, drawing his wand out of its holster in his sleeve. "Now if you will kindly remove the atrocious bundle of protective spells you've layered on yourself?"
"No." Hermione set her jaw mulishly, crossed her arms and sat down on the floor. "It's a matter of human dignity! I may not be at my best, but I can do this. Please!" she added as an afterthought, remembering that open defiance was not the best method to use with him.
"Odd, youe see seemed quite happy to use Mobilicorpus in the past"
Hermione winced, recalling Professor Snape's experience with the spell in her third year. But that hadn't been her! "This is different sir, I'm awake and quite capable. It doesn't make sense to use that spell, then I'd just be a liability!"
"You expect me to let you fight, injured, drugged, and bleeding to death? Ironically, I place more value on your life than you seem to." he observed, looking at her coldly.
"But it's not like that sir!" she wailed, trying not to cry, but could feel the stinging at the corners of her eyes that heralded tears. It was so much more difficult to convince someone that you were serious while crying. "You've given me an antidote and a pain reliever, I'm not in any immediate danger and I won't submit to Mobilicorpus. I won't!" Deciding it would be easier to simply do it than to argue, she quickly configured a rock into a crutch, and, leaning on it for support, started to walk down the hallway.
"Why must you be so difficult Ms. Granger?" Professor Snape muttered, "for the last time, you are NOT walking." She heard a quick rush of footsteps behind her and black robes fluttering around her as Professor Snape casually picked her up and held her in one arm. He was disconcertingly strong. He didn't look strong. Well this was awkward. Better than Mobilicorpus, but certainly not ideal.
"Professor Snape?" she asked cautiously.
Silence.
"If you carry me on your back, we'll both have our wands free and I won't be walking." Wordlessly, he shifted her to his back. She wrapped both arms around him and peered curiously over his shoulder. He'd actually compromised! She'd be able to finish the Challenge! She felt a surge of excitement and giddiness and impulsively squeezed her arms around her potions mastgivigiving him a quick hug.
"Ms. Granger. If you do that again, I will assume that you are no longer in full possession of your senses, such as they are, and immediately perform a Mobilicorpus spell." he snapped, sounding quite frazzled, or at least as frazzled as he could sound.
"Yes, sir" she whispered, smiling against his back. Luckily, he couldn't see her. This was going to be fun.
Professor Snape walked forward at his usual, brisk pace. It was surprisingly comfortable. She tried to concentrate on the shift of his muscles underneath her, if she could just figure out how he managed that effortless, smooth gliding pace. Her concentration shifted abruptly as Professor Snape uttered a crisp "Incendio" and flicked his wand abruptly sending an enormous fireball down the corridor, completely obliviating all of the runes that she'd scrawled on the walls and rocks and making the entire area smell disturbingly like roasting meat.
The tunnel was eerily quiet. They'd been walking for about ten minutes now with no sign of any monsters. Why couldn't he have a more jarring gait? This was entirely too comfortable, it was very difficult to stay awake. The adrenalin from earlier had long ago faded and the sedatives in the potion were urging her to yield to a more relaxed state. She wondered if Profr Snr Snape had a pepper up potion in his robes as well. She really should start carrying her own potions supply around as well, for emergencies. He'd probably notice if she started fishing around in his robes though, she thought, smothering a giggle at the mental image.
"Professor Snape?" she whispered, as quietly as she could, "I killed all of the flesh eating slugs, redcaps, trolls, and spiders on the list. I haven't seen any boggarts, bugbears, or fire drakes yet. The boggarts are probably in a crevice somewhere. The drakes must be somewhere warm, but I have no idea about the bugbears. All of the literature says that they're extinct, it's not very reliable about describing them either."
"Bugbears are mythical Ms. Granger. In the wizarding world, the term is also an euphemism for an unknown, unpleasant monster. May I remind you that you will simply be observing, not participating?"
As usual, he made a request sound like an order given to a particularly dense person. She wondered what the unknown creatures could be. Maybe they were something entirely new. That would be exciting! She could write essays on it, its magical properties, habitat, physiology, possible wizarding uses. She smiled dreamily, imagining the possibilities. Her eyes drifted shut. Yes it would be lovely.
Ms. Granger had fallen asleep, finally. With any luck she'd stay that way for the duration of the Challenge. The sedative was supposed to be effective for several hours, but that wasn't under battle conditions. Her soft, regular breathing against his neck was strangely comfortable. She really wasn't bad company, away from Potter and Weasley and out of the classroom. At least she hadn't managed to get herself killed. Self-preservation was an ability he tried to cultivate in his students. He'd have to speak to her about her little creations though. The last thing Hogwarts needed was another Hagrid. Student safety was difficult enough, without Hermione Granger deciding to create and test magicalponspons in his class.
Turning around, he backtracked to a nook he'd seen a few minutes back. He had not been about to confront a boggart with an awake Hermione Granger. His greatest fear was not something he wanted any member of the student body seeing. As he stepped closer to the crevice, a form materialized in front of him. He allowed himself a pained smile, he'd been facing this fear every day for the past several years. It was easy to dispatch the boggart with a murmured "Riddikulus" and his soft, mocking laughter was quite real, even if it was directed at himself and not the boggart. The next boggwas was dispatched with similar ease. Now for the drakes, a heat seeking charm wasn't really necessary, the corridor had yet to branch off. All he had to do was keep walking forward. If he'd had an entire class it would have been a very simple exercise. Ms. Granger probably could have finished it on her own, if her leg hadn't fallen off first. It seemed like he was always rescuing foolish Gryffindors these days, he should start charging Minerva.
The tunnel startedgrowgrow uncomfortably warm, the fire drakes must be close now. Ms. Granger shifted against his back, murmuring something. Damn, she was waking up. He paused for a moment, the last thing he wanted was a disoriented Ms. Granger mistaking him for a monster as well. He was aware that most of his students already considered him in that category. Of course, the feeling was mutual.
"I fell asleep!" the young Gryffindor gasped, sounding very put out.
Mobilicorpus spell and letting you return to that happy state?" he smirked, turning around to enjoy her outraged expression. If he could just take points from Gryffindor, it would be a truly enjoyable evening.
She ignored his taunts. As long as it wasn't about her teeth, hair, or blood, she didn't mind. Besides, there was something much more important that he was obviously avoiding.
"Did you defeat any monsters while I was asleep?"
"The boggarts. I believe that we're close to the fire drakes now."
She couldn't believe that she'd missed such an opportunity. Not that she'd abuse it like Harry or Ron, she was just curious about what kind of thing he'd fear. The whole school already knew hers after that embarrassing DADA final. She suppressed a sigh, this semester was off to a bad start, and classes hadn't even begun yet! First she didn't pay attention to the sorting hat, then she missed the confrontation with the boggarts, next thing you know she'd be day-dreaming duringnsfinsfigurations class. But she could berate herself later, she thought practically, for the moment, there were almost-dragons!
"Ice spells?" she asked looking at Professor Snape for confirmation. At least she'd get to see fire drakes she thought, whispering fireproof charms onto her robes. She looked at Professor Snape's robes yearningly, wanting to do the same to his.
"Yes, I will be using ice spells Ms. Granger. Please restrain yourself."
"I won't get in your way sir" she replied, carefully not meeting his eyes.
He sighed, thank Merlin she was graduating this year. "They're particularly vulnerable under the neck. Try to stay behind me." He instructed as he set her down gingerly, checking the bandage on her leg. She looked as excited as if he'd just given her a perfect score for her N.E.W.T.S. No, more than that, she looked eager, as if she'd just been offered a particularly difficult extra credit question. How suspicious.
"Ms. Granger. Those little rocks you were telling me about, you don't happen to have any of them with you, do you?" he purred, tapping his wand against his palm.
Looking as if she'd just been instructed to removeingeinger, Ms. Granger reached into a pocket and withdrew a fist-sized bag, which she handed to him with obvious reluctance.
He withdrew a container of his own, dropdropped the bag inside. He'd deconstruct them later.
"We will discuss these later. For the moment, I want your word that you will not create or use any more of these toys." Not waiting for an answer, he turned and continued walking, looking back occasionally to ensure that she waill ill behind him.
As she tried to get the hang of walking with a crutch, Hermione thought about Professor Snape's reaction to her rock and wall spells. She hadn't expected praise from him, but he was acting as if hcaugcaught her raising dragons in her closet.
It was starting to feel like an oven, the fire drakes must be close now. She was sweating terribly and felt dizzy, as if everything were spinning around her slightly. Perhaps it had not been one of her most brilliant ideas to insist on participating. It was disconcerting having a teacher think so little of her though, she just wanted to prove that she was intelligent and capable, but it seemed like no matter what she did she just managed to convince him of the opposite.
Professor Snape drew to an abrupt halt, raising a hand for silence and caution. Hermione peered around him, catching her breath. The fire drakes were beautiful. They glowed a dull red, their scales shimmering in fiery hues, small tongues of flrollrolled off of them occasionally. She wished that Hagrid could see them. She felt frozen suddenly. It hadn't been difficult to kill the other creatures, not when they were rushing at her, all claws and sharp fangs. But these weren't doing anything.
Professor Snape's first spell caught the nearest fire drake in the throat, its scales changing from dusky red to an icy gray in seconds and it laid there, as if petrified, like a cold lump of ash.
Gelidus before the drakes were in range, as did Hermione. The distance between them was closing quickly, and the lead drake blew a burst of flame that caught Professor Snape squarely in the chest at the same time that the professor dropped the beast with a commanding, Gelidus.
Hermione frantically yelled a cold spell at the next drake, no longer hesitant, hoping Professor Snape had not been seriously injured. But he stood as calmly as ever, throwing off cold spell after cold spell. His robes must have been fireproof after all, Hermione spared a thought to wonder what they were made out of. The last three were almost on top of them, opening their mouths in concert to bathe the two humans in flames. Professor Snape swirled his robes around both of them, but the air grew stiflingly hot and everything blurred before Hermione's eyes. As the last burst of flame dissipated Professor Snape dropped his cloak in time for the first drake to lunge at him, needle sharp teeth barely missing his arm as he lunged to the side, Hermione behind him.
It was all slashing claws, sulfurous breath, and biting teeth interspersed with bursts of flame. They were both casting cold spells, but it was more difficult to aim now, and the spells had little effect unless they hit a sensitive spot. All types of dragons, even drakes, were famous for their scales' resistance to spells. A drake bit Professor Snape's calf, just below the knee, Hermione blasted it with a cold spell, catching it squarely in the face and it crumpled, unconscious, but still hanging limply to Professor Snape's leg. His skin turned blue from the cold and the blood from the drake's bite froze mid-trickle. Professor Snape staggered from the impact and the spell and the last two drakes leapt at him.
Hermione tried to push Professor Snape out of the path of the lunging fire drakes at the same time that he tried to push her safely behind him. As a result, they fell in opposite directions and Hermione watched in horror as the last two drakes landed on her falling potions master, their jaws sinking into him and razor claws slashing his robes and flesh beneath it. She couldn't get a good shot in, their throats were safely buried in Professor Snape, who would be even more injured than the drakes if one of her spells were to hit him.
She rushed forward, stumbling a bit as her bad leg gave beneath her and grabbed one of the drakes by the horns on its knobby head, yanking it back so the throat was exposed. Her hands blistered, the moment she touched the fire drake's scales, but she ignored that, jabbing her wand into its soft throat and uttering a cold spell. And everything was silent. She stood in a dark tunnel, the air still around her, clutching the chill body of a fire drake in her blistered hand. Its scales felt cool and metallic under her bleeding, roughened skin and every nerve ending in her body shrieked with pain, except for her leg, which was blissfully numb.
"Hermione!"
The sound of Professor Snape yelling at her broke through the shock and inspired shock of a different kind. He'd used her given name. She smiled in surprised pleasure, he was the last one, now all of her Professoad uad used her given name at one time or another. She'd never thought he would. She smiled brilliantly at him, feeling deliriously happy. Vaguely aware that much of it was the potion and shock, but still blindingly happy.
"You were not responding." He explained, scowling at her pleased expression. He leaned heavily on the wall as he dragged himself up. His robes in tatters andedineding from a dozen shallow cuts and bites. Fortunately nothing serious had been hit. It was a shame about the robes though, he hoped they could be salvaged, they were proof against most caustic materials and extreme temperatures, a necessity for a potions master. Going from one fire drake to the next, he murmured the words of a spell to lock them in their cold-induced hibernation. It would not do to have them wake back up.
Hermione followed his example and cast the spell on the bodies of the drakes nearest her, starting on the one she was still clutching. The cold spread outward from its body along her hand, then her arm. She let it go and watched it crumple dully on the floor with a slight crunching sound of breaking ice and chipping scales. Fire drakes turned into dragons as they grew older, and dragons had laws protecting them. It seemedt evt even in the Challenge, some rules still applied. They'd be sent to one of the dragon reserves, to grow in safety. She thought she should be happy, after all they had attacked the drakes first, it wasn't the drakes fault that they were involved in this. All she felt was tired though.
Professor Snape had finished with the last of the fire drakes and leaned against the wall, casting minor healing charms on the more serious cuts and bites. She stared at him, a thought nagging at her. She tried to recall what it was, but it was difficult to get past that pleasant floaty feeling that was becoming more insistent now. Like a cushion between her and the pain, but also from rational thought. Professor Snape looked up, catching her gaze.
"Shouldn't you be seeing to your own injuries Ms. Granger? I assure you it will not be pleasant if I have to heal you." He added, giving her a look designed to send her cowering to lick her wounds.
She murmured a healing spell on her hand, but the words slurred and it didn't have much affect. She tried again, enunciating carefully, and the blistwentwent down a bit, but her left hand was still raw and an angry shade of red, like a terrible sunburn. She stared dully at Professor Snape, wondering how badly he was hurt.
"You can't carry me anymore." She stated flatly, watching him warily for his reaction. His robes hung in tatters about him, exposing more than they concealed at this point. And his pale skin seemed to glow in the dim light, he didn't even bother to conceal the dark mark on his fore arm. It seemed to suck light into it, she couldn't make out the details, but she didn't care to either.
"You would be surprised what I can do," he said calmly, drawing his robes about him and straightening, as if exhaustion and pain were something that could be shrugged off.
Hermione scowled, he had almost seemed human for a moment. She must be getting delirious. It was aggravating, she could barely stand after the last battle, but he seemed to be fine, despite having been gnawed on. Picking up her crutch from where she'd dropped it during the fighting, she started slowly down the corridor. She could walk at least. She stepped as quickly as she could, knowing he would swoop down any second, like the great bat they were always comparing him to, and she would once again be carried in safety, like some helpless child. She grit her teeth and walked faster, hating this, hating him, hating everything.
It took her some moments to realize that it wasn't going to happen. Professor Snape was walking sedately beside her, his gaze scanning the corridor ahead of them. She relaxed slightly and concentrated on not stumbling. Maybe he was slightly human after all.
She was concentrating so fiercely on walking, that at first she didrealrealize she'd stepped on something. It was furry and lumpy and it squeaked slightly, but then maybe that was her as she stumbled frantically backwards.
Professor Snape turned immediately, lunging backwards to catch her. Which he did, irritatingly enough.
"It would seem that walking is now beyond you," he observed caustically, not setting her down.
"I was about to catch myself! Oh, but that's not the point." She scowled, "I stepped on something, over there" she pointed, knowing it wouldn't change his opinion in the least.
He looked in amusement at the empty corridor, "you appear to be delirious as well now Ms. Granger. I think it's finally time,"
"No, it's down there, on the floor!" she gestured, interrupting him before he could say something truly horrible. She'd probably already thought it hef, bf, but it was worse hearing it. Especially from a teacher.
Surprisingly, he looked, illuminating the area where she'd stepped. And there was something there, little balls of fur, a slightly paler gray than the stone they were on, shivering slightly. Hermione counted them, there were seven.
"Those are the mystery monsters?e fee felt her voice rising in disbelief. "Opuffs?!?"
Professor Snape merely looked relieved.
She took a great deal of glee in roasting the opuffs. They were related to the puffskein. The first time she'd ever seen them, hiding in the corners of her wardrobe at Grimmauld Place, she'd thought they were cute and charming. When she woke the next morning, to discover her car carpeted with them, she changed her mind. They weren't particularly harmful, they were just pesky. If you let them be, they'd multiply at an amazing rate, becoming almost impossible to get rid of. Professor Snape turned back in the direction they'd come. She frowned at him, what was he doing?
"Are you coming, or must I carry you again?" he looked over his shoulder at her.
"But we're not finished yet."
"All the creatures on the list have been defeated one way or another Ms. Granger."
"All except the extra credit, the manticore."
"No"
She scowled, the potion was finally starting to wear off and while this was, thankfully, letting her think a bit more clearly, the pain was also becoming more insistent as well. She didn't understand, Professor Snape was just as competitive as she was, how could he have no desire to completely finish the Challenge?
Professor Snape folded his arms in front of his chest forbiddingly and glared at Ms. Granger. He'd hoped she wouldn't figure out what the extra credit was. Hoped she'd have the sense to leave it alone. Sadly, common sense was not a Gryffindor trait.
"Ms. Granger, you are injured and possibly poisoned. The potion I gave you was not a remedy, merely something to alleviate the pain and slow the effects of the slug's bite."
"I know that!" she shouted, frustrated, "we brewed it sixth year, I remember. But this is important. The Challenge is important! It will change the future of Hogwarts, of magic! We can't leave anything out." Professor Snape looked unmoved. She sighed, and prepared to try again. She'd been deliberately vague, she was unsure about the specifics herself, but she had her guesses. It would be interesting to see what Professor Snape thought of them. "yoneyone says that Hogwarts is safe because of Headmaster Dumbledore. But even when Headmaster Dumbledore is gone, Voldemort hasn't made any direct attacks on Hogwarts. Furthermore, if Headmastemblembledore was truly a threat to Voldemort, then why hasn't he defeated Voldemort yet, why is he grooming Harry to defeat Voldemort? So Professor Dumbledore isn't a serious threat to Voldemort, but Voldemort still leaves Hogwarts alone. Hogwarts is mysterious, it isn't just a building, it can produce ghosts, rearrange itself at will, and more, no-one is entirely sure how the founders created it, or what its true nature is. So perhaps, it's Hogwarts that Voldemort is wary of. And if this Challenge will seriously affect Hogwarts, then it's important to the fight against Voldemort. That's why we can't leave anything out where the Challenge is concerned. That's why I want to fight the manticore, even though we don't have to in order to be able to leave." She'd been watching Professor Snape closely throughout her explanation, but he'd simply stood there, looking his usual inscrutable self. She heard a faint rumbling noise in the distance, but ignored it, waiting for Professor Snape to say something.
"You are a very clever witch Ms. Granger. It's a pity that self-preservation ranks so low on your list of priorities. Regardless, I believe the decision has been made for us. The Challenge is finished." He gestured to the corridor behind her.
Turning, she saw the source of the noise. The Weasley's former car, a run-down Ford Anglia was rushing towards them at an alarming speed. It was incredible battered and looked as if it would fall apart any moment, as if the speed it was going at would shake it apart. At the last possible moment, it screeched to a halt, lightly bumping her knees. With a blast of sound that could have been trumpets, the cars' doors flew open and pmentments unrolled themselves with a burst of sparks and confetti in front of the two. Hesitantly, Hermione reached out and grasped hers. It was standard congratulations and praise, she couldn't bring herself to be excited, not when she'd missed the chance to get the manticore as well. She wondered what would have happened if she'd succeeded in defeating the manticore, would the results have been different? With a start she realized that the piece of parchment was more than just that. Attached to the parchment's seal was a key. It was slim and silver, with a very muggle shaft of cut-out design but the haft was Hogwart's crest. A ribbon was threaded through a loop on the haft, Slytherin green and Gryffindor crimson striped across it. It looked very ornamental and holidayish. She wanted to examine it more, but the Ford Anglia honked impatiently.
Professor Snape was already sitting stiffly in the drivers seat (of course), looking slightly tense, as purebloods are want to do when dealing with muggle things. She slipped the key around her neck and hurried to the passenger side of the car, hastily fastening her seat belt. She wondered if she dared suggest that Professor Snape do the same. After a moment, he fastened his as well, and she noticed that a similar key was also hanging from a ribbon around his neck. So he'd gotten one as well. She was surprised, but then if a Professor could participate in the event, it stood to reason that they would receive the reward as well. She had no idea what the key was for, and for once, she wasn't particularly curious, just tired, she could think about it later. She relaxed back into the seat, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to watch the vehicle drive towards solid stone walls at 100 km an hour. The trip back was, unsurprisingly, very short.
They got out of the car in silence. Hermione stared up at the doorway, which she had unwittingly fallen through mere hours before. Professor Snape gestured for her to precede hi the the stairs. He probably didn't think she was capable of climbing them, she really didn't care. It was precarious, walking up stairs in crutches, particularly since these stairs had no railings. There were several moments when she thought she would slip. She didn't though. She fell through the entrance into the library with a slight sense of victory. Professor Snape, like a shadow, behind her. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall both sat at a table a few meters away. They looked up as she and Professor Snape stepped out. Professor McGonagall's face showed consternation, while Headmaster Dumbledore merely looked amused, but he always looked amused.
"So the first Challenge has been completed. I suppose I should not be surprised at the slightly unorthodox timing." He said, smiling gently at her, "it is good to see you both alive and well, and it would appear that 100 points are due to Slytherin."
"Slytherin?" Hermione frowned in confusion, "but Headmaster Dumbledore, surely there's been some mistake. Why are points being given to Slytherin?"
"As the mentor should have explained," Professor McGonagall said, her lips pursed and her voice slightly shrill, "all points awarded during the Challenge are awarded to the mentor's house. Similarly, all points deducted during the Challenge are deducted from the mentor's house."
Hermione felt the room swim dizzyingly, this was the last straw. No wonder Professor McGonagall looked so upset. With an effort, she dragged herself back to the present. It would simply be too embarrassing to faint, besides there might be something to be salvaged from the situation.
"Then the points you deducted at the beginning" she turned to Professor Snape, "those were deducted from Slytherin, weren't they?"
"I don't believe the Challenge had started yet. So technically, they should still be deducted from Gryffindor." He replied smoothly.
"The Challenge was triggered the moment a student appeared in the Challenge area, the points are to be deducted from the Slytherin House, I'm afraid." Headmaster Dumbledore smiled pleasantly, and patted Professor McGonagall's shoulder soothingly. The moment points had been awarded to Slytherin, she had gone the same shade as her House colors and her hand was clenched around her wand as she glared at Professor Snape.
"Nevertheless the detention still stands, I will expect you tomorrow evening in my office Ms. Granger, as well as a 14 inch essay on ethical usage of runes. We will be discussing the matter at length." Brushing by Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore in his tattered robes, he added "and I suggest confining Ms. Granger to the hospital wing for the night. The silly girl got herself bitten." He said, gesturing to her bandaged leg before exiting the library.
********************************************************************
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in the stiff cotton sheets of the hospitad. d. They hadn't been entirely sure what sort of toxin the giant flesh-eating slug had used, so Madame Pomfrey had dosed her with a variety of serums and a flesh growth potion. She'd insisted that Hermione stay the night in the infirmary, in case there were any side effects. No one else was in the sick room yet, it was too early in the school year. She wished that she a b a book to read, she wasn't accustomed to being bored. She'd tried to get to sleep, but every time she closed her eyes she saw glistening black slime, and heard the echoing sounds of its sucking. Or she remembered the bitter taste of the potion and cool lips on her own. It had been one traumatic event after another. Professor Snape seemed to wear Murphy's law like a cloak, she had no idea how she'd face him in potions tomorrow, thenthen again in Challenge class. The creaking of the infirmary room's door distracted her from her thoughts, she looked over, but there was no light in the room and all she could see was darkness. She had a fair idea of who it was though, but she still slipped her hand underneath the sheets and withdrew her wand from a pocket in her robe. A familiar voice whispered "Lumos" and brightness flooded the room. Harry and Ron's disembodied heads were grinning madly at her from across the room. She'd wondered if they'd come.
Seeing her awake, Harry let his invisibility cloak fall to the floor and ran across the room to where Hermione lay. She looked pretty miserable. He could sympathize, he thought Madame Pomfrey must make the place deliberately uncomfortable to discourage extended stays. It made getting better an even more painful process than it normally wase spe sprawled across the bed next to Hermione, facing her, and felt Ron plop down beside him.
"You've been having adventures without us Hermione," Ron sighed, looking at her sadly, "you always get hurt when you have adventures without us!"
"It wasn't on purpose." Hermione scowled, "besides there were spiders. Loads of them." she added, watching Ron go pale and look nervously under the bed and corners.
"You look terrible! Even worse than you did after O.W.L.S." Harry observed, "are you going to be abo mao make it to classes tomorrow?"
"Don't be silly! Of course I'm going to classes. I can't miss the first day." Hermione replied, looking at them incredulously. She wasn't like some people, who took everportportunity to get out of class. "Anyway I finished a Challenge like this, I think I can manage classes!" she grinned at them smugly, unable to resist the urge to boast.
"So it's true?" Ron asked. "There were all of these weird rumors going around, some of them were really wild. And Professor McGonagall looked like she'd just lost the house cup."
"Yeah," Hermione said miserably, staring down at the bed sheets, "but it's not as good as it sounds. I didn't even wonder, but I should have noticed, that Professor Snape wasn't taking any points off, even though I drew my wand on him, and disobeyed him several times, and kept on pestering him with questions. I can't believe that I didn't notice him not dng png points!" she cried, near tears.
"So you didn't lose points." Ron was looking at her strangely, "why is that a bad thing?"
"I didn't lose points, because I'm in Professor Snape's Challenge group. And when you're participating in a Challenge event you earn and lose points for the house of the Professor whose group you're in. Professor Snape didn't dock points from me, because if he had, they would have been deducted from Slytherin! Do you understand now?" she asked, looking at them plaintively.
"You're in Snape's Challenge class?" Ron echoed, looking at her in horror, "didn't anyone get sorted into the Gryffindor class?"
"But that's great!" Harry grinned, ignoring Ron. "That means that we can't lose points for Gryffindor when we're in Snape's Challenge class, no matter what we do. We can make him miserable!" Harry's green eyes were almost glowing with excitement, revenge would be so sweet!
"don'don't understand! I won points! I spent three absolutely hellish hours getting mauled by monsters and wound up in the infirmary for the night, I haven't gotten any studying done and I WON POINTS FOR SLYTHERIN!!!!!!!!!" She couldn't stand it any more, she threw the sandpaper sheets to the floor and jumped off the bed, pacing back and forth in agitation.
Ron and Harry were sitting there in stunned sil. .
"You see how horrible it is now?" Hermione asked softly, "if we do well at the Challenge, we win points for other houses. It's a really stupid way of setting it up! I feel like a traitor." she stared up at the ceiling, trying to steady her breathing. She wasn'tkingking forward to facing everyone in her house tomorrow. It had been bad enough x year when they'd each lost 50 points for Gryffindor. She couldn't imagine how it would be when they found out that she'd earned 100 points for Slytherin.
"Well, at least we can do our best to get Snape to dock points from us when we're in Challenge class." Harry murmured, still grinning. "Besides, it'll be better to let Gryffindor win anyway, right? All we have to do is sit back and have fun. It'll be an opportunity."
"Are you mad? We can't lose on purpose." Hermione said, glaring at him.
"So it's better to help Slytherin win?" Ron chimed in, supporting Harry, as usual.
Harry and Ron instantly looked instantly contrite and jumped out of bed, flanking her on either side.
"You're right" Ron said, patting her shoulder, "you've been through a lot. You should be resting."
"Not pacing around like that. You'll just make yourself si Loo Look, your leg is all puffy." Harry added, gripping her other shoulder. Together, they lifted her up by her shoulders and dropped her back into the bed. Ron scooped the sheet up from off the floor and tucked it around her tightly.
Harry patted her head "you just rest and get better now" he murmured in saccharine tones.
Hermione wrestled the sheets off and pointed her wand at the two. They jumped back from the bed laughing. They'd been spending too much time around Fred and George.
"Now is that any way to behave? We're just trying to be considerate." Ron pouted.
"We even brought you your books." Harry added slipping a parcel out from underneath his cloak.
"And chocolate." Ron said, fishing a slightly squashed and battered package out of the pocket of his school robes. "We figured that after so much time alone with Snape. You'd really need it."
"He's like a dementor, right?" Harry set the books neatly on her bedside table "he sucks all the joy out of everything. His kiss is probably lethal too!" Ron snickered at that. "Hermione, you've gone all pale, should we get Madame Pomfrey?" Harry looked at Hermione with concern. She hadn't seemed sick, they shouldn't have been so rough with her.
"No, I'm ok." Hermione squeaked, "I just, I just need to get some sleep I think." she said, staring very hard at the sheets.
"Yeah, get some rest. We'll see you at breakfast." Ron set the package of chocolates on top of the books. "You can show us that hex you used on Harry earlier today. He went all the way to the common room without realizing it was there, and then it caught his hand. It was brilliant!"
"Did he really?" Hermione giggled, feeling slightly better.r />r />
"You didn't have to tell her Ron." Harry groaned, tossing tnvisnvisibility cloak over the two of them. "Now she'll be impossible for weeks!" They both disappeared from sight.
"Just trying to cheer her up"
There was a soft shuffling of footsteps and the door thudded shut, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Next Chapter, Challenge Class
A/N: Sorry it's been so long with this release, but as you can see it'se. e. I'm also suffering from the lack of a beta reader, so it takes a lot longer ;_; (please, somebody volunteer!). I tried to set down a bit of a Hermione-Snape dynamic this chapter to develop through the Challenge, please let me know how you like it. Next chapter, more Hermione, Snape, Harry, and Draco in the first Challenge class.
Melagic: \^o^/ another regular reader! Happiness! You'll stay until the end hmm? Well that's definitely an incentive to finish it. In the meantime, here's a long chapter with no cliffhanger, hope you like ^_^.