DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters or things that you
recognise, they belong to J K Rowling, and I don't make any profit from
writing this stuff.
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There was not a cloud in the pitch-black sky and the stars seemed to look down upon the world from further away than usual. The thin moon shimmered like glowing, cold silver and not a sound could be heard through the night. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry slept peacefully, every eye was shut.
Except for one pair of eyes.
As silently as a cloud a dark shadow moved through a corridor on the third floor. It moved very quickly, but no steps could be heard coming from it, as if it had no connection to the stone floor. One would have thought that a piece of the dark night itself had entered the school.
The only proof that it was really there and alive, and not just a ghost or a memory locked inside the very walls of the castle, was the cold it brought as it headed on, and the smell of fresh blood.....
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"Pass me the orange juice, Harry."
The Great Hall was full of students having breakfast the next morning, filling the air with chatter and laughter while at least a hundred owls flew in through the tall windows to deliver mail.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated at the Gryffindor table as usual. Hermione was checking the day's schedule as Harry read it over her shoulder, pulling away some of her thick, brown hair.
"Herbology's the first one, then Potions", he said and took another bite of his toast.
Half an hour later the Gryffindor students were crossing the lawn and heading for the green house. It was a cloudy, grey day and the smell of rain hung in the air.
"Good morning, class", said professor Sprout.
"Good morning, professor", the students echoed.
"Today", the professor continued, "we will have a look at a very unusual plant. The calma. Now, who can tell me the uses of this plant?"
As always, Hermione's hand popped up above everyone's heads, like a light house in a sea.
"Yes, miss Granger?"
"The calma is used mainly as the most important ingredient in many sleeping draughts since it is very tranquillising. Also, calmas that are kept together have a sort of bond between them, if one dies, everyone dies."
"Precisely, five points to Gryffindor. Today we will replant the school's supply of the calma, but we must be very careful, if these plants die it will take three months to grow new ones. They're in that glass box over there. Mr Longbottom, would you like to fetch the box and give everyone a plant each."
Neville headed for the big glass box with the strange, very red plants and took it in his hands. He started to give everyone a plant each when it happened.
Neville tripped over his too long apron. With a frightened gasp he fell forward, the glass box hit the floor and shattered.
Professor Sprout dived to the floor and started investigating the plants, while Neville stuttered out excuses.
"Right, they all seem to be okay. Give me a hand, will you, and pick them up.... EEEEHH!!!!"
She held in her hands a plant that looked like it had been stabbed. Sharp pieces of glass were sticking out of it and it had been cut off clean from its roots. The red leaves were already dying, not just on that plant but on all the others as well.
The students spent the rest of the class cleaning up the mess. When they finally went back to the castle, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.
"Did you see the look on Sprout's face? One would have thought her own children had had their heads cut off."
"Yeah", Harry said. "She must really love her plants."
The dungeons where professor Snape held his Potions classes were as dark and cold as ever that day. A few bats were hanging from the ceiling, sleeping.
"Is it just me, or are there a few bats missing every time we come down here", Ron asked and looked at the leathery wings of one very big bat.
"They've got other places to live in", Harry said. "I've seen some around, not just here."
The Gryffindors, accompanied by the Slytherins, entered the class room and sat down chatting, but when the tall, dark shadow that was Severus Snape came in through the door all noise ended, as if someone had turned the sound off on everyone.
"Today we will brew an exceptionally difficult potion called Dormatica. It is a sleeping draught, strong enough to kill you if not brewed correctly", he said, ignoring the look on Hermione's face as she had been ready to raise her hand.
"You will find everything you need on the black board", Snape continued and waved his wand. Immediately words wrote themselves down on the black board and the students began to work.
After about twenty minutes a voice was heard.
"Professor, there seem to be a problem."
Snape looked up from the essay he was correcting at the moment and stared right into the eyes of the girl who had spoken, a red head with a nervous look in her eyes.
"What, miss Ross?"
"It... It seems that these calma's leaves are dead."
"Mine too", another voice said.
Snape's eyes swooped over the benches. It was true, the calma's leaves that were required for the Dormatica potion all looked very lifeless and grew more dry and black by the second.
Neville's face did the opposite, he was sweating and he looked as pale as a sheet.
"It's my fault", Harry heard him whisper to himself. "I killed the plants."
"Calm down, Neville", Harry said, then turned to look at Snape. He could hardly believe what he saw, Snape's usually pale face was now not just pale, but completely white and the black eyes had a look of pure terror in them. He was clutching a feather quill tightly in his hand and everyone could hear the sound when it eventually broke.
After a few second he waved his hand to the board again. The recipe for the Dormatica potion was wiped off and replaced by another one that didn't include calma. No one asked anything, they started working on the new potion at once, a little shaken by the look on Snape's terrified face.
As the students went up to Snape and left their bottles of the new potion called Sarnodia, a cure for mosquito bites, Hermione threw a look at the professor's frightened and stressed face.
"Professor... Are you all right", she asked carefully.
Snape turned his eyes to her, and looked at her as if he had never seen her before. Hermione took a small step back, the look in those deep, dark eyes was burning!
"I'm fine, miss Granger. Get out", he hissed.
Hermione put her bottle with the shocking pink, perfectly brewed potion on his desk and walked out through the door, fully aware that the Potions Master didn't take his flaming looks off her for a second.
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Like it? Whether you do or not, please send a review.
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There was not a cloud in the pitch-black sky and the stars seemed to look down upon the world from further away than usual. The thin moon shimmered like glowing, cold silver and not a sound could be heard through the night. Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry slept peacefully, every eye was shut.
Except for one pair of eyes.
As silently as a cloud a dark shadow moved through a corridor on the third floor. It moved very quickly, but no steps could be heard coming from it, as if it had no connection to the stone floor. One would have thought that a piece of the dark night itself had entered the school.
The only proof that it was really there and alive, and not just a ghost or a memory locked inside the very walls of the castle, was the cold it brought as it headed on, and the smell of fresh blood.....
_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
"Pass me the orange juice, Harry."
The Great Hall was full of students having breakfast the next morning, filling the air with chatter and laughter while at least a hundred owls flew in through the tall windows to deliver mail.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were seated at the Gryffindor table as usual. Hermione was checking the day's schedule as Harry read it over her shoulder, pulling away some of her thick, brown hair.
"Herbology's the first one, then Potions", he said and took another bite of his toast.
Half an hour later the Gryffindor students were crossing the lawn and heading for the green house. It was a cloudy, grey day and the smell of rain hung in the air.
"Good morning, class", said professor Sprout.
"Good morning, professor", the students echoed.
"Today", the professor continued, "we will have a look at a very unusual plant. The calma. Now, who can tell me the uses of this plant?"
As always, Hermione's hand popped up above everyone's heads, like a light house in a sea.
"Yes, miss Granger?"
"The calma is used mainly as the most important ingredient in many sleeping draughts since it is very tranquillising. Also, calmas that are kept together have a sort of bond between them, if one dies, everyone dies."
"Precisely, five points to Gryffindor. Today we will replant the school's supply of the calma, but we must be very careful, if these plants die it will take three months to grow new ones. They're in that glass box over there. Mr Longbottom, would you like to fetch the box and give everyone a plant each."
Neville headed for the big glass box with the strange, very red plants and took it in his hands. He started to give everyone a plant each when it happened.
Neville tripped over his too long apron. With a frightened gasp he fell forward, the glass box hit the floor and shattered.
Professor Sprout dived to the floor and started investigating the plants, while Neville stuttered out excuses.
"Right, they all seem to be okay. Give me a hand, will you, and pick them up.... EEEEHH!!!!"
She held in her hands a plant that looked like it had been stabbed. Sharp pieces of glass were sticking out of it and it had been cut off clean from its roots. The red leaves were already dying, not just on that plant but on all the others as well.
The students spent the rest of the class cleaning up the mess. When they finally went back to the castle, Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.
"Did you see the look on Sprout's face? One would have thought her own children had had their heads cut off."
"Yeah", Harry said. "She must really love her plants."
The dungeons where professor Snape held his Potions classes were as dark and cold as ever that day. A few bats were hanging from the ceiling, sleeping.
"Is it just me, or are there a few bats missing every time we come down here", Ron asked and looked at the leathery wings of one very big bat.
"They've got other places to live in", Harry said. "I've seen some around, not just here."
The Gryffindors, accompanied by the Slytherins, entered the class room and sat down chatting, but when the tall, dark shadow that was Severus Snape came in through the door all noise ended, as if someone had turned the sound off on everyone.
"Today we will brew an exceptionally difficult potion called Dormatica. It is a sleeping draught, strong enough to kill you if not brewed correctly", he said, ignoring the look on Hermione's face as she had been ready to raise her hand.
"You will find everything you need on the black board", Snape continued and waved his wand. Immediately words wrote themselves down on the black board and the students began to work.
After about twenty minutes a voice was heard.
"Professor, there seem to be a problem."
Snape looked up from the essay he was correcting at the moment and stared right into the eyes of the girl who had spoken, a red head with a nervous look in her eyes.
"What, miss Ross?"
"It... It seems that these calma's leaves are dead."
"Mine too", another voice said.
Snape's eyes swooped over the benches. It was true, the calma's leaves that were required for the Dormatica potion all looked very lifeless and grew more dry and black by the second.
Neville's face did the opposite, he was sweating and he looked as pale as a sheet.
"It's my fault", Harry heard him whisper to himself. "I killed the plants."
"Calm down, Neville", Harry said, then turned to look at Snape. He could hardly believe what he saw, Snape's usually pale face was now not just pale, but completely white and the black eyes had a look of pure terror in them. He was clutching a feather quill tightly in his hand and everyone could hear the sound when it eventually broke.
After a few second he waved his hand to the board again. The recipe for the Dormatica potion was wiped off and replaced by another one that didn't include calma. No one asked anything, they started working on the new potion at once, a little shaken by the look on Snape's terrified face.
As the students went up to Snape and left their bottles of the new potion called Sarnodia, a cure for mosquito bites, Hermione threw a look at the professor's frightened and stressed face.
"Professor... Are you all right", she asked carefully.
Snape turned his eyes to her, and looked at her as if he had never seen her before. Hermione took a small step back, the look in those deep, dark eyes was burning!
"I'm fine, miss Granger. Get out", he hissed.
Hermione put her bottle with the shocking pink, perfectly brewed potion on his desk and walked out through the door, fully aware that the Potions Master didn't take his flaming looks off her for a second.
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Like it? Whether you do or not, please send a review.