A Looping of the Scales ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 62 ~ The Duel

At seven o’clock sharp, Hermione knocked on Snape’s door. It was immediately opened and Snape stood there, looking down at her. She was dressed in traditional robes, her hair pulled back into a bun.

“Right on time,” Snape said softly, leaning in to kiss her.

Hermione jerked back with a frown.

”Don’t you try to disarm me, Severus Snape. No kisses. I have to stay focused on blasting you out of your robes,” she told him.

Snape quirked an eyebrow.

”If you wanted me out of my robes, Hermione, you certainly wouldn’t have to blast them off of me,” he purred at her.

Hermione colored.

”Stop being—being seductive, Severus! It isn’t the time for it!”

Hermione spun and started walking up the dungeon corridor. Snape warded the office door and followed her, thinking there was always time to be seductive. He caught up to her and Hermione noticed he wore a black satchel.

”What is that?” she asked him.

Snape looked down at the bag and patted it.

”Healing potion, pain potions, two extra sets of robes, some herbs for poultices, things of that nature. Just in case we need them,” he replied.

”In case you need them,” Hermione huffed. She was trying to stay in aggressive dueling mode.

Snape didn’t respond as they exited the dungeons.

”Wait,” Hermione said, stopping. She looked around carefully.

”What are you doing?” Snape asked her, looking around too.

”Looking for Harry. He’s going to try to watch us duel. I know him,” Hermione replied, frowning as she looked for knee-high shimmers.

”Potter is probably hiding out in the ROR waiting for us,” Snape said. “I implied that’s where we’d be dueling. But, it isn’t. We’re going someplace else.”

Hermione smiled at him then. Harry was definitely in the ROR. Well, he wouldn’t be seeing any dueling action tonight, that’s for sure.

Harry might not see any dueling action between Snape and Hermione, but he was getting a very large dose of Ron and Susan action.

”All right, let’s go then,” Hermione said, heading for the double doors. Snape followed.

Once they were outside, Snape handed Hermione the satchel and watched as she slipped it on. Then he transformed into the gryffin, crouching slightly so Hermione could mount him. A number of students greeted them, a few looking at Hermione enviously as she sat on the gorgeous animal. No one had the nerve to ask Snape for a ride. Good thing too. His reply would have been scathing. Only Hermione rode him—and vice versa.

Snape took off at a trot across the grounds, then leapt into the air, flying strongly upward into the darkening sky.

”Where are we going?” Hermione called over the wind.

Snape screeched, then banked, turning toward the Forbidden forest and flying over it.

”If we were going to the forest, why didn’t we just go there? Don’t tell me you were just showing off for the other students, Severus. Really. Your ego is huge,” Hermione sniffed at him.

In response, Snape folded his wings and went into a dive that had Hermione screaming at the top of her lungs before he neatly pulled up and landed safely in the clearing. Hermione leapt off him furiously, pulled off the satchel and starting swinging it at the gryffin.

”You nearly scared me to death!” she yelled as the gryffin ducked and dodged the swinging bag, snapping its beak at the witch in irritation before transforming into Snape, catching the strap of the bag and pulling it out of her hands.

“The reason I took a round about route was so no one would see us entering the forest,” he told the irate witch.

”And the dive?” she snapped at him.

Snape shrugged.

“You pissed me off,” he said simply.

”Pissed you off? I’ll piss you off, all right!” Hermione screeched at him as she pulled out her wand. Snape dropped the satchel and dove aside as she tried to Stupefy him and ran behind a tree, pulling out his own wand.

”Hermione! We haven’t set the rules yet!” he called from the other side of the tree. He stuck his face out to see if she’d heard him and nearly was hit by a Reducto spell that blasted a large piece of bark out of the tree. He jerked his head back just in time.

“It’s supposed to be structured!” Snape yelled at her. “We can’t just haphazardly—“

Snape suddenly smelled Hermione and jumped away from the tree just as several ropes whipped around it. Hermione appeared from between the trees, her eyes narrowed and wand held ready to block.

”Fine,” Snape growled. “No rules then, you little—hellcat! Levicorpus!”

Hermione blocked the spell, ran back through the trees and Disillusioned herself. Snape did likewise. Their shimmers would be visible but the trees and waning light would help hide them.

But Snape had the advantage because of his sense of smell. He cautiously entered the trees. Hermione saw his shimmer from her vantage point.

”Finite Incantatum!” Hermione hissed, making him appear again “Furnunculus!”

Snape barely managed to block the boil spell and fired back, not aiming at the witch’s shimmer but the tree next to her.

”Arbor Animus!” he snarled and the tree’s closest branches suddenly grabbed Hermione, dragging her upward. Her Disillusionment spell ended as she struggled for a moment.

”Sectumsempra!” she yelled, slicing through the thick main branch and dropping to the ground and landing in a crouch. .

”Expelliarmus!” she shouted, blasting Snape, who only managed to partially block the quickly thrown spell and staggered back through the trees.

”Accio Hermione Granger!” he hissed and Hermione was drawn forward, then became airborne, flying toward the wizard.

”Avis!” Hermione cried, sending a huge flock of birds at him. Snape wasn’t expecting that and tried to protect his face as the birds flew at him, then he was knocked to the ground, Hermione crashing into and landing on top of him.

Desperately, he grabbed her wand hand and she grabbed his. They began to roll around on the ground, Hermione’s determination increasing her adrenaline so she had an iron grip on his wand hand. Snape was surprised he couldn’t easily overpower her. She wrapped her legs around his and locked them together. Presently they both stopped fighting, panting and still holding on to each other’s wand hands.

“Now, this is interesting,” Snape panted at her.

”Hardly,” Hermione breathed back at him. They were laying on their sides, facing each other, Hermione’s legs firmly wrapped around Snape’s and crossed at the ankles. “We can’t lie here like this forever.”

”I could,” Snape said with a smile. He tried to kiss her and Hermione yanked her head back for the second time of the night.

”No kissing! Now, let’s just let go of each other and get up,” she instructed. “No hexing until we can put a bit of distance between us. Agreed?”

”All right,” Snape replied.

Hermione gingerly released his legs and slid back, still holding his wand hand. They both let go at the same time and jumped up, wands pointed at each other’s chest.

They began to back up slowly, then both flicked their wands at the same time, light flashing from the tips and colliding. They took this opportunity to each dash for the trees again.

”Hiding’s not going to help you, Severus!” Hermione called out.

”I notice you aren’t standing in the middle of the clearing,” Snape called back with a grin.

”I’m not afraid,” Hermione called back. Snape’s eyes widened as the witch walked into the middle of the clearing. He could hardly see her because night was falling. They’d have to make bonfires soon. She made a “come get some” motion with her hand.

Hermione watched as not one but three Snapes emerged from between the trees. They faced off for a second, then charged toward each other, robes flying as all wands were extended.

Suddenly a Chimera leapt out of the forest from the right, hurtling toward Hermione, all three heads snarling. Another two Chimeras flew out from the left, charging the Snapes.

”Oh fuck!” Hermione screamed as the Chimera landed on her—and passed right through the illusion she’d sent. She had screamed from the safety of the trees.

Suddenly, the white gryffin sprang from the woods and landed on the first Chimera, tearing at it with its talons and beak as it tried to protect Hermione, not realizing she wasn’t under it. Snape had sent out three illusions of himself, not trusting Hermione.

“Severus! No!” Hermione screamed, running from between the trees. “Avada Kedavra!”

She hit one of the other Chimeras before it joined the fray. It had no prey and the gryffin was real. It fell, stone dead as the other Chimera leapt on the fighting gryffin.

”NOOO!” Hermione cried, casting the Reducto spell and blowing one of the creatures off of Severus. It slid across the ground, crashing into the trees before righting itself and charging toward Hermione. It was suddenly driven out of the way by a very bloody Snape, who leapt on it viciously, ripping and tearing as the other injured Chimera began healing. The snake and goat head had been torn off by Snape, but the lion head was only damaged, so the creature was healing.

Horrified, Hermione dispatched the other Chimera, but she couldn’t get a bead on the one fighting with Severus while they were so close, rolling over and slashing and biting at each other. Blood was everywhere.

”Severus! Get away from it!” Hermione screamed at the gryffin. It seemed to hear her and tore away from the Chimera, almost completely crimson.

”Avada Kedavra!” she screamed, hate filling her heart. The green light bathed the beast and it dropped where it stood.

”Severus!” Hermione cried, running toward the gryffin, which staggered and fell to its side. Hermione fell on her knees beside it, her eyes full of tears as she looked at the torn animal form of her lover.

”Severus, transform back. You have to transform back. I can’t help you like this. Please—oh gods. Severus. Please—“

The gryffin lay there, its sides rising and falling with effort, the black eyes half-closed and glazed with pain. Suddenly, Severus appeared, his face torn and robes soaked with blood.

Hermione gently rolled him to his back. She had to stabilize him enough to get him back to Hogwarts. She pointed her wand at the night sky and fired a red flare, the signal for help, then ran to find the satchel. After searching about, she found it, and ran back to Severus. She gently lifted his head and fed him two bottles of healing potion in the hopes it would help any internal injuries. Then she gave him pain potion to ease his agony.

”Oh gods, Severus,” she breathed as she opened his robes, and then his shirt. Deep scratches and bites covered his body. “I wasn’t even there. It wasn’t me. You did all this for nothing.”

Snape’s eyes opened.

”Not—not—“ he whispered.

Hermione’s lip began to tremble at how weak he sounded as she began cleaning his wounds. The bleeding had stopped.

”Shhh, don’t talk,” she said, softly, dabbing at his wounds with a sterile cloth and more pain potion.

”Not for nothing—for you,” he said softly. “I would die for you.”

His eyes closed again as Hermione continued to work on him, wishing she had never mentioned dueling him. If she hadn’t been so competitive and so dead set on proving that she was a better duelist than he was, this would have never happened.

“Hallo!” Hagrid’s voice sounded through the forest.

”Over here!” Hermione cried. “We’re over here!”

Hagrid’s enormous bulk emerged from the trees, followed by Filch’s slender frame. Both of them looked shocked at the dead Chimeras and Filch ran forward, looking down at Snape.

”Oh no,” he breathed, his eyes filling. He bent down and gently picked Snape up in his arms, showing surprising strength as he cradled the injured wizard. Hagrid blinked at him.

”I think I’d better do tha’, Argus. Yer up in years, yeh know.”

Filch shook his head.

“I’ll do it. I’ll get the lad back to the castle,” he said. “You get the information of what happened from Miss Granger for the report.”

With that, Filch quickly carried Snape through the trees at a run, heading for Hogwarts castle as fast as his legs would carry him.

Thanks to Snape’s salve, that was very fast indeed.


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A/N: Difficult time writing today. Four very cabin-fevered grands to watch. Not the twins, but the older ones. Noise, noise, noise. Fighting. Whining. Ack! Lol. I managed to get them to watch Ducktales the movie and typed this chapter out. I hope its satisfactory since it was written under duress. Thanks for reading. ***

A/N/N: I had to change Manticore to Chimera. I described the wrong creature. Ack!