Chapter 6
"So, at night- you're a swan."
I nodded mutely.
"Like- a real swan. But not a normal one, you're a- Singer Swan?"
"Singing Swan", I corrected Ginny. "Also known as a Cygnus Cantare."
Ginny blew air into her cheeks, then exhaled slowly.
"Wow. I mean- wow. This is- wow. And all you need is a true love's kiss to break this curse?"
I rolled my eyes.
"Apparently."
Ginny took it way better than I had expected. After my transformation, she had returned to the castle (after staring at me for ten minutes straight), her face as pale as white chalk. It was past eight a.m. and we were sitting on my bed, talking. Or actually, Ginny was bombarding me with questions and I gave her answers, barely finishing my sentence before the next question came.
"And you only turn back once the sun rises?", Ginny asked for the fifth time.
I sighed.
"Yes."
"So- you're like a werewolf. Except you transform every night."
"I'm not like a werewolf", I said irritatedly. "I keep my human mind throughout the entire night."
Ginny bit her lip and absentmindedly stroked Crookshanks' back. The half-kneazle purred contently.
"And what does a- Cantar Cygus do again?"
I almost had to grin from Ginny's attempt to say 'Cygnus Cantare' correctly.
"We sing", I explained. "There's not much known about what exactly the song does to the one who hears it, but it's supposed to heal. And our feathers too."
"You're like a walking potions cupboard, filled with rare ingredients", Ginny said thoughtfully.
I raised my eyebrows incredulously.
A walking potions cupboard? Seriously?
Suddenly, Ginny squealed and jumped up excitedly, accidentally dropping Crookshanks to the floor. My familiar snarled enraged and shot under the bed, his bushy tail sticking out on the side.
"Do you realize what this means?", said Ginny breathlessly. "Your true love is going to save you from this curse- and you're already in love! All you need to do is to get Snape to kiss you!"
"No!", I said sharply. "The feeling has to be mutual, Ginny. It won't work if he doesn't give a sickle about me. Which he doesn't."
Ginny's facial expression became very determined.
"Then we will just have to get him to fall in love with you, won't we?", she said firmly.
****
Once in the Great Hall, I was surrounded by Harry, Ron, Neville and even Lavender, who were all asking me how I was after getting hit by Malfoy's spell. I told them that it hadn't really been his fault, but it took several tries until Ron looked halfway convinced. The wounds between him and Malfoy still ran too deep, I assumed.
The rest of the day passed by quite uneventfully. Malfoy did not spare me a glance, not that I had expected him to, but he did mutter something that sounded like "My apologies" when he brushed past me in the corridor.
Oh well. That was probably the best I could expect.
After dinner, I had half an hour before my private session with Professor Snape. And of course, Ginny saw this as a window of opportunity.
"Just some lipgloss here and there-"
"Ginny-", I started, getting cut off when the redhead dabbed something glossy onto my lips.
"-and I know a nice hairdo spell from Mom that will do the trick."
Ginny flicked her wand and I felt my hair braid itself into a thick, long braid that fell over my left shoulder.
"Now- what about your clothes-"
"Ginny!", I said annoyed. "I really appreciate you trying to help, but- he won't care about how I look like. That's not how he is."
Ginny arched her eyebrow.
"You mean he's the guy who only cares about the insides?"
"He- exactly."
"Well honey, there's one thing you should know."
Ginny turned me chair around so I could see myself in the mirror. She leaned over my shoulder, smirking.
"Even if Snape doesn't care about looks, he'll still notice yours."
I stared at myself wide-eyed. Contrary to what I was expecting, Ginny had kept the amount of make-up at a bare minimum. It was not very noticeable, but I still looked- different. My eyes looked larger and the dark rings under my eyes were less prominent.
Ginny straightened back up and shot me another scrutinizing look before nodding satisfied.
"Go down there and show him the lioness-swan that you are."
****
When I arrived in the Potions classroom, I found the door to Professor Snape's private lab to be open.
"In here, Granger", I heard him call. He always seemed to know when I was near, even though I tried to be silent. Perhaps he had some super hearing or something like that.
"Good evening", I greeted the man when I entered his lab, whom I found bent over the cauldron of the Cruciatus cure.
"Good evening", Professor Snape replied shortly. At least he acknowledged my presence now. I guess that was some progress.
"We will be working today on the Heat-Resistance Potion. I assume you know what it's for?"
I nodded.
"It's used by Aurors when they enter a burning place, as well as by Dragon Keepers", I began. "The potion needs ten minutes to develop its full potency after the user drank it. However, it causes someone to become inflammable if one comes into contact with anything containing alcohol."
"You would be surprised by how often that gets disregarded in the Wizarding World", said Professor Snape and turned to me.
For a moment, his dark eyes lingered on my face, before he busied himself with summoning two more cauldrons.
"Artists that claimed to be invulnerable towards fire suddenly found themselves being extremely flammable after drinking. Even one drop of alcohol on their skin was enough."
The two cauldrons floated to an empty worktable and he motioned for me to follow him.
"You will prepare the ingredients for two batches", Professor Snape said and stepped up to the table. "As I am sure you are aware, you need to be working with dragonleather gloves when handling the armadillo bile."
I nodded.
"Yes, sir."
I got to work and quickly found myself becoming lost in slicing and dicing and filling each ingredient into a separate bowl. The art of Potions captivated me every time, but more so did the sight of Professor Snape brewing.
Okay, focus Hermione.
He stood beside me and brewed the Heat-Resistance Potion, using the ingredients I had prepared.
It was silent as we worked, but the silence was not unpleasant. I quite liked working side-by-side with Professor Snape. It gave me the sense that I was an equal he trusted his ingredients with.
As time passed, it grew hotter and hotter in the lab. I found myself wishing I could take off my outer robe, since I had my blouse and skirt on underneath, but forced myself not to. I was not sure whether it would be inappropriate. At least my hair was out of the way. Ginny had done a good job with the braid.
When I glanced sideways after a while, I realized Professor Snape had taken his cloak off, which left him in a white buttoned shirt and black trousers. His long black hair was tied back into a low ponytail.
I swallowed and quickly forced my eyes to return to my hands, yet the image of Professor Snape was burned into my mind.
Focus, Granger, I told myself. Ignore Professor Hotpants next to you and-
Merlin. If I started calling him that in my mind, I had to be mental.
My pulse quickened and I felt my face heat up. The fact that I was wearing a thick robe in an extremely warm lab did not help.
"Granger, take off your robe", said Professor Snape suddenly as he carefully lowered the spiked cauliflower into one of the two cauldrons.
My head snapped around and my eyes widened incredulously.
Oblivious to my reaction, he continued: "The temperature will continue to rise and I do not wish to pick you up from the floor."
Oh. Right.
My cheeks burned even brighter when I realized his explanation did not match what I had thought of at all. I cast a non-verbal spell that took my robe off and let it fold itself on a nearby chair.
I sighed with relief when I felt my skin cool off and continued focusing on squishing the vile-smelling berries of the black-thorned whiteberry bush. Their juice was extremely useful, but oh, did it stink. I did not dare to cast a stench-ridding spell because I didn't know how it would interfere with the other potions boiling in this room. And I couldn't very well shut my nose with a hand because I needed both.
I wrinkled my nose when another wave of rotten eggs wafted up and turned my head away to swallow the urge to gag.
Severus' P.O.V.
There were some perks to being a vampire. Obviously, one was the increased sensitivity of my senses, such as hearing, smelling and seeing. Vampires did not age either, as everyone knew. And another advantage was that heat and cold had no longer an impact on me.
I still decided to take off my outer robe, lest Granger would become suspicious. She was smart, I had to give her that, and I did not need, nor want, her to figure out what I was.
I had to smirk inwardly when I saw her obvious disgust to the whiteberries. Vampires did not need to breathe, so I had no troubles holding my breath as Granger squished those foul-smelling berries.
In a way, I was relieved to see she had not obtained severe injuries after Draco had accidentally redirected my spell towards her. Wernin, acting like a complete imbecile, had lost his head until I had taken Granger to the hospital wing.
I frowned at the thought of that wizard and mentally shook my head, clearing it of all thoughts.
"Professor", Granger said, her eyes focused on her hands, "how is your Cruciatus cure coming along?"
"Quite well", I responded. "Due to the swan feathers, I have managed to get the potion to a stabilized phase."
Granger blushed and continued squishing the berries. For a moment, the only sound in the laboratory was the gentle bubbling of the other potions in the room.
"Have you decided on what potion you will create in the last part of your apprenticeship?", I inquired.
Granger shrugged.
"I've had a few ideas, but- they're all a bit crazy", she admitted.
"Try me."
Granger shot me a surprised look and lowered the berry she was holding.
"Well, I would really like to create a remedy for...a curse", she said vaguely.
I furrowed my eyebrows.
"You will need to be more specific with that, Granger."
Granger bit her lip.
"I need to research it a bit more before I'm completely sure it's doable", she said, avoiding my eyes.
"Granger", I said irritatedly, "I am sure if you would just spit it out, I could tell you what curses are worth searching remedies for and what projects would just be a waste of time."
The young woman shrugged silently.
"Give me a few weeks and I'll tell you, sir."
Now my curiosity was awakened and I narrowed my eyes slightly, but remained silent. Fine. She would realize sooner or later that she could have saved hours in the library by just asking me.
"I am sure Professor Wernin would love to hear your project idea", I said, watching her carefully.
Granger's face twisted into a grimace.
"He would know his own arse better than any curse ", she muttered under her breath.
I suppressed a smirk and returned my attention to the two cauldrons boiling in front of me. I couldn't exactly comment on that because she had spoken too quietly for any human ears to hear.
When I remained silent, I saw Granger exhale relieved, thinking I hadn't heard her comment.
The more time passed, the more restless the witch beside me grew. I saw her check the clock every few seconds, which showed that it was almost eight o'clock. I refrained from asking what urgent business she had to attend to since I was not particularly interested anyway.
After another thirty minutes, Granger left to wash her hands in the basin and then began clearing up her workspace. The potion had reached a phase where it would need to cool. I placed a stasis charm on both cauldrons and retrieved my robe.
"We will continue this next week, same time", I said and Granger nodded hastily. She pulled on her robe.
"Have a nice evening, sir", she said curtly and left the laboratory in a hurry.
I raised an eyebrow at her sudden departure, then turned to continue cleaning the worktable, feeling the hunger I had suppressed the past hours grow in strength.
I needed to feed.
Hermione's P.O.V.:
I rushed through the corridors and headed straight for the double doors of the entrance. While walking, I cast a Disillusionment spell on myself and broke into a run.
Brewing with Professor Snape had taken longer than I'd hoped. I needed to find a way to break this curse because there was no guarantee I would be able to leave before moonrise every time.
Once I was outside, I sprinted down the grassy slope, my robe whipping behind me. I did not stop until I had broken through the thick trees and skidded to a stop at the shore of the large black lake. In the distance, I could see the water shimmering calmly at the end of the lake.
My robe landed on the ground in a heap, which I stashed under a bush. The next moment, my Disillusionment spell washed away as I transformed into a Cygnus Cantare.
I sighed and bowed my head to stare at my reflection. Brown eyes with golden glints stared back at me.
Severus' P.O.V.:
The warm blood of the old stag flowed down my throat. The prickling sensation spread throughout my entire body. Not one drop was spilled onto the ground, something only experienced vampires managed to do. I had never been one to make a big mess, as most of the recently-turned fledglings did.
When the body of the stag had shrunken to a heap of bones and dry skin, I licked the last remnants of blood from my lips and rose.
The night was quiet. I was at least an hour away from the castle, that is if I traveled on foot at a human pace. With my flying abilities, I managed the distance in a few minutes.
I pulled out my wand and vanished the corpse, ridding the clearing of any evidence that I had fed here. No human one alive knew I was a vampire and I wanted to keep it that way.
During the day, I changed my appearance to look older, as I had during the war. That meant, as much as it pained me, making my hair look greasy, adding shadows under my eyes and the extra wrinkle here and there. When I was alone in my chambers, I usually kept the glamour on, in case I would be surprised by anyone.
I squared my shoulders and breathed in. But no one was out here, at least not in a one hour-radius. I exhaled and felt the magic covering me wash away. It felt refreshing, taking off the mask of being a human. The only thing I could never change were my eyes. Dark and deep eyes, that was one of the characteristics all vampires had. Yet it was rare for one to have black eyes. Most had dark brown eyes.
I turned my head to the moon, which was a thin crescent on the black sky. The cold air filled my lungs, bringing the scents from the forest with it. Moss, wood, rotting leaves.
I felt my lips part in a satisfactory smile, my fangs glinting slightly.
Out here, I could be the strong and invincible predator that I was.
Hermione's P.O.V.:
The night had passed on quickly. I had managed to catch some sleep without anything disturbing me. Once dawn was nearing, I swam sleepily back to the shore and waddled to where my robe was hidden. On the water I was a graceful swan, but on land I was quite an amusing sight to behold.
I guess I'll just freshen up and head to breakfast. No point in sleeping longer, I thought as I transformed back.
I pulled my robes around my shoulders, grabbed my wand and set off to the castle. The shadows of the trees were still dark and hid me well from anyone's eyes. I made my way through the trees and lifted my wand to cast a Disillusionment charm- a cold hand wrapped itself around my wrist.
I shrieked as I was whirled around and slammed backwards into a tree. I instinctively thrust my right knee up, right between the legs of my attacker. A deep gnarl reached my ears and I felt the grip on my wrist loosen.
Heart hammering wildly, I lifted my wand.
"Lumos!"
Black eyes and a pale face appeared in the darkness with black, silky hair framing it. My eyes widened in shock.
"Professor Snape?!"
He instantly stepped back and let go of me.
"Granger", he growled, "what the fuck are you doing out here? I almost mistook you for a trespasser!"
"Me?- I thought you were-", I gasped and lifted my wand. Was that really Professor Snape? He looked so...different.
Yet when the light of my wand shone on him, he looked the same as before.
The wizard crossed his arms and his eyes blazed angrily.
"Explain, Granger, what you are doing out here, during your curfew."
I swallowed. As the shock wore off, I realized I had no good explanation for my presence out here.
"Er-"
My voice trailed off and I just stared blankly at him, racking my brain for an answer.
"I am waiting", said Professor Snape icily.
My eyes flitted back to the direction I had come from and the hint of an idea formed in my mind.
"I- wanted to see the swan again", I stammered and lowered my wand so he couldn't read the lie in my eyes.
The wizard raised an eyebrow.
"At night?"
"Technically, it's not night anymore", I said.
"And you couldn't wait until the sun was more than an inch above the horizon because-?"
Black eyes bored into mine.
Excellent point.
"I couldn't find the swan during the day", I said and put on my famous I-am-the-boring-old-bookworm-face, "I was curious to see it again, sir."
Professor Snape studied my face for a moment, before nodding.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor. Now back to your dorm. Now."
He didn't need to tell me that twice. I whirled around and hurried back to the castle, my heart still thumping wildly in my chest. He was literally a lie detector on two feet. I couldn't believe he had bought that.
Severus' P.O.V.:
There was no way I bought that lie from Granger. If I thought her explanation of how she obtained the swan feathers was suspicious, then this was definitely worthy investigating. That Gryffindor would not spill a word, I knew that much. If I wanted to find out what business she had out here, I had to do it the Slytherin way.