A Turn for the Better

Chapter 19 ~ Heading for Trouble

Two days later, Neville was leaving the Medical Ward and saw Luna walking ahead of him. She was dragging her hand along the stone wall in a wavy motion, and waving her wand like a baton in the other.

He slowed down so as to stay behind her, although he had to get to class. He had stopped by the ward in order to get something for his stomach. It had been acting up lately, probably because of his upcoming adventure with Hermione. He was nervous, but excited. It seemed possible they could indeed overcome the basilisk if they followed their plan.

Luna seemed to slow down too, although she didn't look back. Neville's stomach tightened a bit as he drew closer.

Suddenly the witch said, "Hi Neville," and stopped walking.

Neville blinked. How did she know it was him behind her? She hadn't looked around. But he hurried up and stopped next to her.

"Hi Luna," he said softly, looking into her big blue eyes.

She gave him a soft smile.

"Why did you go see Madam Pomfrey?" she asked him as she started walking again.

"Um, stomach trouble," Neville said shortly, reflexively bringing his hand to his stomach, "but she fixed me right up with some Calming potion."

"Worry often does that. Are you worried about something, Neville?" she asked him idly, still trailing her hand along the wall and waving her wand.

"No, not really. We have exams, you know. Maybe that's what's doing it," he replied.

"Hm," Luna said, stopping and looking up at him. Neville had the feeling she could see right inside of him, and his heart starting pounding.

"I make you nervous," she stated.

Neville didn't reply, he just swallowed.

"That's not good for your stomach. Maybe you should go," she suggested.

Neville blinked at her. This would be the perfect time to ask her out, but he couldn't get the words out. He let out an aggravated sigh.

"All right, Luna. It was nice seeing you," he said awkwardly, then walked away. He stopped for a moment as if he were going to turn back toward her, then faltered and continued walking.

Luna watched him for a moment, then suddenly flicked her wand toward the wizard. His robes billowed slightly but Neville didn't feel her tracking spell at all.

"You'll be seeing me again, Neville Longbottom," she said as she flicked her wand in the air and a small floating map appeared in front of her, showing where Neville was in the castle with little footprints.

This wasn't a spell that was taught at Hogwarts. She had learned it on her own after reading an Auror handbook she found in a wizarding thrift shop two years ago. Normally, the book wouldn't have been available to the public. It must have been mixed in with whatever else was dropped off at the shop, which simply had piles of unsorted items for sale. Luna snapped the book up immediately and the clerk charged her the set going rate for second-hand books.

The handbook listed the spells an Auror had to know, and the wand movements that accompanied them. Luna made it a point to learn all of the spells, thinking they could come in handy. She flicked her wand at the translucent map and it faded away.

She continued running her hand over the wall as she walked. Suddenly, a stone pushed in and the wall opened.

Luna blinked at the secret passage, then smiled slightly as the wall slid back into place.

She'd found another one.

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"He's carrying a chicken around with him, Draco! In a box with a handle and air holes," Harry said to the pureblood as they made their way to supper. "He said it helps him find Stone Gougers, but he never lets it out where anyone can see."

Harry was talking about Hagrid and his night patrols.

"Maybe it's his girlfriend," Draco chuckled, "something to keep him company those long nights."

Harry's face contorted as he thought about the possibility of Hagrid being a chicken lover. They were out there after all, the sickos. But he really didn't believe that.

"Ew. No, it would be dead, Draco. Hagrid's a half-giant. It would never survive a shagging," Harry grimaced, then laughed.

"Maybe it can take it," Draco suggested.

"You're sick, Draco . . . you know that?" Harry laughed.

The two wizards walked into the Great Hall chuckling.

Neville and Hermione were already at supper, the witch picking over her food. She was too excited to eat. Tonight was going to be the night they opened the chamber. They had decided it would be best to do it during the week, because extra Prefects patrolled on the weekends, and it was going to be tough enough to slip by everyone as it was, even with the map.

From the dais, Snape watched Hermione with hooded eyes. She had been terribly distracted in class today, almost exploding her cauldron. For the first time he witnessed Neville actually correcting her, and that was downright disturbing. After class, he gave her a little lecture about paying attention to her brewing and once again asked her what she was up to. Hermione was even more adamant that it was her business and would reveal nothing.

Snape would have placed a tracking spell on the witch, but surveillance of students by staff or staff-appointed students was not allowed as it was an invasion of privacy. If it were allowed, he would have had an easier time of keeping up with Harry in the other timeline.

For a male staff member to put a spell on a female student would definitely be considered a breach of propriety. He wanted to know what Hermione was up to, but not lose his job in the process if he were discovered. And Hermione was sharp enough she might detect the spell. So he'd have to continue to skulk about, hoping to catch her at whatever she was doing.

"Hurry up, Neville," Hermione hissed at the wizard, who was carefully chewing his food before swallowing it down, chasing each bit with pumpkin juice methodically.

He looked at Hermione with a slight frown.

"Madam Pomfrey told me to be sure to chew my food properly when I eat. It will lessen the stomach aches," he said to her. "I need to be in top form tonight, so I'm following her instructions to the letter."

Hermione fumed. She wanted to check over their equipment once more before they set out tonight. Neville's weak belly was slowing things down. She must have checked everything at least a hundred times already.

In their arsenal were the bottled Parseltongue commands, now separated into smaller plastic bottles with labels on them to show what commands they contained, a slew of offensive and defensive spells, and two large oval mirrors with little handles on the back. And of course, there were the Basilisk Gazer One Thousands. The hats were rather heavy and clumsy, and Neville hated the chin straps, but the ridiculous looking metal things had to stay on.

Always the cautious one, Neville had a couple of defensive tricks up his sleeve he hadn't shared with Hermione. He thought it better if he kept them to himself so she wouldn't bark orders at him to use them before he was ready. They would be more effective if he used them in case they needed to retreat.

One should always have a way out and Neville had no intentions on becoming a permanent fixture of the chamber's décor, although he was sure he'd make a fine statue.

Finally, and it seemed like ages later, Neville finished his meal, carefully wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin as Hermione looked like an approaching storm, drumming her fingers on the table. Her aggravation was so noticeable, Snape was really on point. It was easy to tell she wanted to get going someplace, and badly.

He'd be watching for them tonight.

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To Hermione it seemed as if Time had tried to stop completely. It seemed to take hours for just a few minutes to pass. They decided to wait until midnight. That way, Harry would be taken out of the equation. He'd be back in Slytherin house by then and they would only have to worry about Hagrid, Luna, Filch and Mrs. Norris, and of course, Snape.

At midnight, they cautiously met in the Common Room. It was dark except for the fire in the fireplace. Neville opened the map.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," Neville breathed.

The map filled in, and Hermione's heart sank as she saw the location of Snape. He was right outside Gryffindor Tower, standing next to the suit of armor in the corridor, probably hiding behind it. He could even be Disillusioned.

"Oh bloody hell," Hermione hissed. "Professor Snape is right outside. He told me he'd have his eye on me. I didn't know he'd be so serious about it."

Neville studied the parchment.

"Filch and Mrs. Norris are on the third floor, but are moving toward the stairwell, so they must be going to the lower floors. Hagrid is actually in the bathroom. Harry's in bed in Slytherin house and Luna . . ."

Neville hesitated.

"I don't see Luna on the map at all!" he exclaimed.

"Maybe she's left the castle for the night. She's not on the grounds?" Hermione asked him.

"No. Why would she leave the castle on a weeknight? I could see the weekends. Plus, she's not of age yet, so she couldn't just leave," Neville said, his brow furrowed.

"Well, she's not wandering around the castle, and that makes the odds better for us," Hermione said to him. "But how are we going to get past Professor Snape?"

Both of them looked down at the map. Snape's tiny image wasn't moving.

"Well, he can't stay there all night. Let's just try to wait him out," Neville suggested.

"Damn it," Hermione hissed.

They waited for over an hour for Snape to leave, but he didn't. He remained where he was and no doubt vigilant.

"Maybe we should try again tomorrow, Hermione," Neville suggested.

"No. Tomorrow's Friday. There'll be two more Prefects on patrol, Neville . . . it'll be harder than ever."

"Next week then," he suggested.

"No, tonight is perfect. All we have to do is get past Snape," Hermione said insistently.

Neville's eyes widened.

"McGonagall's appeared on the map. She's on her way up here," the wizard said. Both Neville and Hermione watched as she rose level after level until she reached the tower corridor. She walked down it, and then Snape's image converged on hers.

"They're talking! Come on, we've got to hide this stuff and get back in bed," Neville said to Hermione.

They scrambled, hiding the mirrors, hats and doodads behind the curtains and ran for their rooms, both leaping into their beds and covering up completely to hide their clothing.

Sure enough, Minerva walked into both their rooms to check on them. They appeared to be sleeping. She was dressed in a housecoat and slippers, her hair in a loose bun. Hermione did her best to breathe easily and rhythmically as Minerva shined her wand on her. The witch harrumphed.

"I told Severus he was in error. Miss Granger and Mr. Longbottom are not the type to roam around the castle at all hours of the night. If he wants to watch for rule breaking students, he should turn those black eyes on his own house," she sniffed, exiting the room.

Hermione lay there for another fifteen minutes before venturing back to the Common Room, looking around for Neville.

"Neville?" she whispered.

Suddenly he appeared from behind a set of long curtains.

"I'm here . . . and Snape left," he told her. "I guess McGonagall told him we were both in bed asleep."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she gazed down on the map.

"He's on the fifth floor now, not near the shifting stairs. If we're careful we can ride down past him. Where's Filch and Mrs. Norris?"

"Near the DADA classroom on the ground floor," he replied.

So that left the fourth, third and first floors free.

"Luna hasn't shown up yet," Neville observed, feeling like he was missing something.

"The less people the better. Hagrid is near Myrtle's bathroom. I think we can distract him and slip by him if we're fast," Hermione said. "Let's get our things and go."

The pair gathered up their goods and Disillusioned themselves, carefully exiting the tower, opening the entrance very slowly so they wouldn't wake up the snoring Fat Lady's portrait. They needn't have worried however. She'd eaten a whole box of bourbon chocolates. She was down for the count, her mouth wide open as she slept in her upholstered chair.

Utilizing a Silencing spell, they quickly ran down the corridor and mounted the shifting stairwell, heading down, watching Snape's image on the map carefully. He was far enough away that they could pass his floor without discovery. Filch was walking through the Entrance Hall and turned into the dungeons. Hagrid was still in the second floor corridor.

They'd deal with him once they reached the second floor landing.

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In the Room of Requirement, Luna watched Neville move through the castle on the hovering map with interest.

"They're on the move," she said to herself.

She checked her pink masks, then her pocket to make sure all was in order.

Of course it was. She'd give them time to make it to the second floor, then make her move.

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Hagrid was standing near the beginning of the little used corridor, talking to Hercules, who was glaring at him balefully from the little cage he was in. If he could get out, he'd peck the half-giant into squirming little pieces.

"I know yah don' like it, Hercules," he said to the angry bird gently, "But I might need yah."

Hercules ruffled his crown at him disdainfully. This was just humiliating. Well, he had to let him out sometime. And when he did . . .

Suddenly, a clatter sounded down the hall, like something falling and hitting the landing.

Snape, who was approaching the stairs himself, also heard the noise and ran forward to investigate.

Hagrid quickly hurried toward the noise too, passing two shimmers pressed tightly against the wall. The shimmers quickly ran the other way, entering Myrtle's bathroom.

Neville and Hermione caught their breaths. It had worked. Hagrid fell for it. They removed the Disillusionment spells and looked at the map. Hagrid was standing at the second floor landing, and Snape was riding the stairs down.

Luna was also on the map now. She was heading up to the third floor.

"Where'd Luna come from?" Hermione asked.

Neville shook his head, at a complete loss.

"I don't know, but she's not coming this way. Let's get armed and ready," he said.

In her stall, Myrtle listened with interest, wondering what they were doing. She didn't come out though because she wanted to spy. If this were anything juicy, she'd tell Hagrid.

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Luna appeared on the other side of the second floor landing on the other side of the castle and waved at Professor Snape and Hagrid, who were both looking about trying to find out the source of the noise. Seeing Luna was no surprise and they didn't pay her much attention as she mounted the stairwell and rode it to the third floor landing above them, then disappeared down the corridor.

Luna walked down two corridors, then stopped in front of a wall and pressed a brick. It slid open and Luna entered. It closed behind her. She walked forward a few feet, then suddenly dropped.

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Hermione and Neville had out the bottle of Parseltongue labeled "Open" and were just about to open it, when the wall next to them opened up and Luna slid out, landing neatly on her feet beside them. She pulled out an atomizer and promptly sprayed them down with it.

"Hey!" a startled Hermione cried out in a whispered gag. "What the hell are you doing, Luna?"

Neville turned green as the funk washed over him, and Luna liberally sprayed herself as well. Whatever that stuff was, it didn't smell good at all.

"It's weasel musk," Luna said softly, putting the bottle back into her pocket.

"Basilisks hate it."

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A/N: Annnnd they're off! Lol, Luna. Weasel scent. Gah. That must stink. :::snickers::: Now we see Luna's "hand-trailing" serves a purpose after all. That's how she finds secret passageways. Smart chick there. Thanks for reading.

A/A/N: I had to do some age adjusting. Severus was seventeen when Hermione met him, not eighteen, and Luna just turned sixteen, not seventeen. I did a couple of teeny rewrites to fit this info in properly. Sorry about that. Actually, I find it a bit sexy Hermione was older than Snape, but hardly a cougar. lol. The rewrites are in chapters 1, 8 and 13 if anyone wants to revamp. Thanks.