Chapter 4
More rumors of his insanity ooze through Hogwarts, students giving him wide berth regardless of where in the castle he is.
Sniffing Professor Snape did him absolutely no favors whatsoever.
He received a perplexed, mildly aghast reaction, being ever so kindly gifted with three weeks worth of detention.
It’s an awful situation. Venom has a certain… fixation on Snape. Ron thinks it’s because of all the potion ingredients seeping out of the greasy bugger but Venom won’t share anything, nothing besides his growing urge to cannibalize his Professor.
He refuses to eat two Professors within the same month.
…He should reword that. He refuses to eat any Professors.
“You would do well to focus more on the dirt in front of you, rather than the dirt ingrained into your clothes.” Snape looked down at him from his crooked, stupid nose.
He can’t help think, ‘Look who’s talking.’
Can we eat him now?
Ron shakes his head back and forth roughly, about to yell at the voice in his head that no one but himself hears. Once Snape turns around, Venom uses his body to extrude multiple tentacle-arms, speed cleaning the five cauldrons for him.
Ron tells him not to, that he’ll be forced to stay here longer because cleaning that much in so little time is impossible without magic, but Venom listens little.
He is correct. Snape turns around and taunts him, parading around that big, ugly ego of his. He magically filthies them, telling Ron to redo it.
Just when he gets back to work, Harry goes speeding by on a broom just outside the window, an area he’s most definitely not supposed to be in.
He stops his mental battle, choking out a strained “Harry.”
Snape is alert at once, realizing that something is amiss.
Worried about the stupid Professor doing something out of line to his best mate, he stands frantically, mind a repeat of “Not again” and “Bloody Potter Luck.”
Snape interrupts his musings. “Stay, foolish boy. I’ll deal with this. Do not get in my way.”
“You can’t honestly expect me to trust you, Professor?” He scoffs. “You’ll probably throw him off his broom and laugh as he free falls.”
He’s still circling.
Outside, Harry’s broom has yet again betrayed him. A decent sixty feet up in the air, he jerks back and forth and up and down, holding on for dear life as he ends up dangled upside down.
“I need to help him!” But he doesn’t know what to do.
Sure.
“No! Not you-“
Venom takes over Ron’s body and catapults out the window, catching Harry in his mouth like a dog with a frisbee. He lands on the ground, no one around.
Harry, as expected, looks downright alarmed. A bit of resignation is mixed in there too.
Venom drops Harry, boy flailing onto the ground.
He backs up, no wand on him but hands in front of him nonetheless. It’s an awkward stare down.
Just then, Hermione comes running over from around the castle, shoes muddy and hair wind blown. “Harry-“
She stops dead. The duo stares at Venom.
Venom takes his opportunity to cackle in that ear piercing tone of his before taking his leave, Ron left in his place.
They all stare at each other.
Hermione is the first to lose it, firing off questions at a Nasa-level speed. Her mouth cannot keep up with the mess that is in her head, leaving her stumbling.
Harry just stares at him, mouth gaped and glasses hanging off his face.
“Ron! This is so a Dumbledore level threat! What on Earth is going on!”
She continues her barrage of questions, Ron left unable to say anything. She eventually pauses to let him speak. It’s quiet.
Venom burps. Right into Hermione’s face.
She freezes, hand slowly reaching up to wipe the foul spit off her face. “Who are you?”
She points her wand at Ron’s Venom head, as if that would do anything.
“You’re too thick.”
Venom is clearly responding towards the mountain that is Hermione’s hair, but she pauses in her would-be attack to look down at herself, taking offense.
“I will have you know I am in a perfectly normal and healthy category for my age!”
Harry is still lost.
Venom lets go, Ron coming back. He lifts his hands up. “Wait wait wait, don’t shoot.” He closes his eyes, sure that he is going to end up tied up in Dumbledore’s office and shipped off to Azkaban.
But when nothing comes, he opens his eyes. She is eyeing him intensely, mind working at that scary speed.
She inhales. Then loudly, very loudly, exhales. “Ron, what’s happening?”
Ron blurts out, “I have a cannibal monster living in my body.”
Hermione blinks. Harry blinks.
It’s a rough day when I have more social skills than you.
“Be quiet you good for nothing mess up!” He wildly shakes his head.
“This… makes a bit more sense, I suppose.”
Ron cries out, “Hermione, nothing here makes sense!”
Harry finally gets his head out of the ground, frantically pointing at Ron with the glasses still half on his face. “So, you mean to tell me I’ve been sleeping around a creature that could snap and eat me at any moment?” He pauses. “Wicked, mate.”
“No! Not wicked! Stupid! Ridiculous! Barmy and we are going straight to the Headmasters office!”
She grasps ahold of Ron and Harry’s arm, ready to go. That is, until Snape catches and corners them, making them explain what exactly is going on.
They end up huddling together, rain coming down. Snape pinches his nose.
“So, you mean to tell me that you have a flesh-craving creature inside of you and you thought it was a good idea to mention this to no one?!” He interrogates and berates him a little more.
I don’t like his tone.
“What’s new?,” he mutters.
As if realizing something, Snape gets a vicious gleam in his eye, striding forward. “I do hope you realize you’ll be expelled for this, Mr Weasley.” He grabs ahold of Ron.
Both Hermione and Harry protest, ready to fight. “It wasn’t his fault, Professor! It’s not like he meant for this to happen!”
She looks over at him, questioning with her eyes if this was intentional.
He blusters out, “Hell no!” Why would anyone sane do this to themselves?!
Harry snarls at the man in front of them, always eager to get a chance to back-talk Snape. “And what would you have done if this had happened to you?!”
Snape scoffs. “It was bad enough to let a werewolf in school, let alone roam through the world freely. Haven’t you heard of not letting the vermin roam free, Potter?”
This is getting out of control, rather quickly. Ron is terrified. He doesn’t want to be killed, or worse, experimented on. How the man in front of him is trusted by the Headmaster, he’ll never know.
Snape grabs him, dragging him forcefully. Ron just about snarls, digging his nails into his arm. “Let go of me!”
“Professor!”
Perfect.
Uh oh.
Ron feels it before it happens. Venom engulfs him.
He towers over Snape, man having nothing on Venom’s height.
Before Snape can even get out whatever spells he’s intending, Venom swallows him.
He hears twin gasps, so he twists around, Snape not fully inside there. His feet are dangling out of his overly stretched mouth.
Hermione makes a disgusted sound, Harry looking far too interested in the sight before him.
Venom goes to shuffle away, but Hermione stops him, Harry joining as they trap him.
She screeches out, “No no no! Bad, down!” Venom tries to sidestep her politely, but Harry raises a leg at him.
They treat him like a feral dog. Kind of like Sirius, actually.
Hermione panickedly says, “Spit him out!” They try to coarce him into spitting back out their teacher. Venom gurgles.
Ron cries from within. Ew, ew, eww.
After circling around him like cultists with a ritual gone bad, Venom relents at the promise of finding him another meal. He spits Snape back out, but not in the way that is expected.
Like a missile firing from its canon, Snape flies through the air, hitting the side of the castle and splatting, sliding down it slowly like splattered grease.
I’m no longer bored.
Ron is given his body back. He covers his head and screeches. Two Professors! He’s killed two Professors!
Hermione and Harry wearily approach him, for once, not having any words to say.
They slowly creep towards Snape. Harry scratches his head. “What a day, huh?”
Hermione looks at him, words trying to come out but not working, sounding like she’s mid-stroke. Ron just weakly laughs, forcing it. “I’d say.”
She leans down on one knee, checking his pulse. She breathes, relief filling her face. “Oh thank God, he’s alive.”
He tastes sooo good.
Ron doesn’t appreciate this behavior. He doesn’t reply.
“So… see what I mean? I don’t think this can go public.”
Hermione stares at him like he’s insane, Harry quietly agreeing. Ron paces. “Look, I’ll be thrown away if anyone finds out! And I haven’t eaten anyone since Moody, so…”
Harry’s head snaps up. “Huh?” Their defense Professor? The alive one?
Hermione snaps, sense coming back. “Let’s take him to the nurse first, scheming comes after we make sure we didn’t commit manslaughter.”
Ron and Harry pick him up by the front and back. Hermione doesn’t have to tell them with words what she thinks of this.
She levitates Snape to the Hospital Wing, two sheepish boys following behind.