Birds of a Feather
Chapter 2: C.S.I. Hogsmeade
Summary: Hermione and Luna investigate.
Warnings: None.
Chapters 1 and 2 were written for the Severus Big Bang Birthday Bash (severusbigbang on LJ).
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"Oh, yuk!" Hermione said as she stared at the filthy floor in the Shrieking Shack. "That's where he was lying when we left. What on Earth happened here?" She and Luna had volunteered to go get Snape's body. The boys were busy with the mess at Hogwarts.
Hermione increased the light from her wand and looked around. The floor was covered with tracks, and there was no sign of a body.
Luna knelt down for a closer look. "Look at these hoof prints! They look fresh. I think they're from a Thestral. I think these funny marks could be tongue tracks."
"You think maybe Thestrals ate the body and then licked up the blood?" Hermione was shocked. "That's disgusting! We should have come sooner." She ran her finger across one of the tracks and looked at it. "This looks like dried blood mixed with dirt."
Luna picked up a piece of shredded black fabric. "This is from a Death Eater's cloak, isn't it? There are lots of these. And there's a mask over there by the wall. But I don't see his wand anywhere. Or his boots. Do you think Thestrals would have eaten his boots? Were they leather? Maybe Thestrals will eat leather if they're really hungry."
Hermione was crawling around examining the floor closely now. "There are lots of tracks here. I mean, it's not like anybody's ever cleaned in this place. There are fresh boot prints, they're probably Snape's and Voldemort's, and here are our footprints, too. These big slide marks must have been Nagini. Ewww. There are a few bird tracks, I'm guessing a vulture, and some faint wolf tracks; those must have been Professor Lupin's from a long time ago." There might be some werewolf droppings around, too, and maybe bat guano. She was going to have to Scourgify her pants after this.
"Here's a potion vial. Three of them, in fact." Hermione held one up to the light. The neatly written label said 'Antivenin.' She looked at the other two. Blood Replenishing Potion, and Extra Strength Pepper-Up.
A strange look came over Hermione's face. "Uh, Luna, I'm starting to think maybe Professor Snape wasn't dead."
"Oh, that's nice," Luna said.
"But Luna, we just left him lying there. We never even tried to help him. That's awful!"
"Well, maybe he did alright on his own." Luna took the vials and examined them. "Yes, that's Professor Snape's handwriting. These were his. And they're empty."
Hermione stood up and dusted herself off. "The professor must have regained consciousness and taken the potions after we left. He dropped the empty vials, and discarded his cloak and mask. The Thestrals must have gotten in after that. They licked up the blood and chewed up the cloak. And maybe it wasn't a vulture; maybe it was a phoenix! That would certainly explain a lot of things. We'll have to tell the boys!"
"Um, maybe you should keep that theory to yourself, Hermione," Luna said quietly. "If Professor Snape wanted us to know he's alive, he would've contacted us by now. He didn't have any friends, you know, and a lot of people on both sides are going to be very unhappy with him. He'd probably like everyone to think that he doesn't exist anymore. You know, sort of like a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
Hermione rolled her eyes at the mention of Snorkacks, but she realized that Luna had a point. Maybe it would be best to just let the professor disappear. It was the least they could do, really.
"Come on, Luna," she said. "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."
~
As they walked out through the dilapidated fence, Hermione stopped and looked back. "I feel so bad about it. He did so much, you know, and he nearly died in there. I wish we could thank him somehow."
"Well," Luna said, "we could wait awhile until he gets settled somewhere, and then owl him a thank-you note. I'm sure an owl could find him. We could send him a gift-subscription to The Quibbler, too."
Hermione tried to imagine the look on the professor's face when he opened the note. "Yes, that's a good idea, Luna. Let's do that, but I think maybe we should skip The Quibbler. Or maybe not," she mused, as a vision of their much-feared Potions Master wearing Spectrespecs and reading The Quibbler popped into her head. "Anyway, let's go back to Hogwarts and get cleaned up. We'll tell everyone about the Thestral tracks and the missing body, and they can draw their own conclusions."
Luna smiled. It was good to know that the professor had survived. So many people hadn't.
The girls took a last look back at the shack. The sun would be setting soon. It was time to get moving.
Summary: Hermione and Luna investigate.
Warnings: None.
Chapters 1 and 2 were written for the Severus Big Bang Birthday Bash (severusbigbang on LJ).
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"Oh, yuk!" Hermione said as she stared at the filthy floor in the Shrieking Shack. "That's where he was lying when we left. What on Earth happened here?" She and Luna had volunteered to go get Snape's body. The boys were busy with the mess at Hogwarts.
Hermione increased the light from her wand and looked around. The floor was covered with tracks, and there was no sign of a body.
Luna knelt down for a closer look. "Look at these hoof prints! They look fresh. I think they're from a Thestral. I think these funny marks could be tongue tracks."
"You think maybe Thestrals ate the body and then licked up the blood?" Hermione was shocked. "That's disgusting! We should have come sooner." She ran her finger across one of the tracks and looked at it. "This looks like dried blood mixed with dirt."
Luna picked up a piece of shredded black fabric. "This is from a Death Eater's cloak, isn't it? There are lots of these. And there's a mask over there by the wall. But I don't see his wand anywhere. Or his boots. Do you think Thestrals would have eaten his boots? Were they leather? Maybe Thestrals will eat leather if they're really hungry."
Hermione was crawling around examining the floor closely now. "There are lots of tracks here. I mean, it's not like anybody's ever cleaned in this place. There are fresh boot prints, they're probably Snape's and Voldemort's, and here are our footprints, too. These big slide marks must have been Nagini. Ewww. There are a few bird tracks, I'm guessing a vulture, and some faint wolf tracks; those must have been Professor Lupin's from a long time ago." There might be some werewolf droppings around, too, and maybe bat guano. She was going to have to Scourgify her pants after this.
"Here's a potion vial. Three of them, in fact." Hermione held one up to the light. The neatly written label said 'Antivenin.' She looked at the other two. Blood Replenishing Potion, and Extra Strength Pepper-Up.
A strange look came over Hermione's face. "Uh, Luna, I'm starting to think maybe Professor Snape wasn't dead."
"Oh, that's nice," Luna said.
"But Luna, we just left him lying there. We never even tried to help him. That's awful!"
"Well, maybe he did alright on his own." Luna took the vials and examined them. "Yes, that's Professor Snape's handwriting. These were his. And they're empty."
Hermione stood up and dusted herself off. "The professor must have regained consciousness and taken the potions after we left. He dropped the empty vials, and discarded his cloak and mask. The Thestrals must have gotten in after that. They licked up the blood and chewed up the cloak. And maybe it wasn't a vulture; maybe it was a phoenix! That would certainly explain a lot of things. We'll have to tell the boys!"
"Um, maybe you should keep that theory to yourself, Hermione," Luna said quietly. "If Professor Snape wanted us to know he's alive, he would've contacted us by now. He didn't have any friends, you know, and a lot of people on both sides are going to be very unhappy with him. He'd probably like everyone to think that he doesn't exist anymore. You know, sort of like a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
Hermione rolled her eyes at the mention of Snorkacks, but she realized that Luna had a point. Maybe it would be best to just let the professor disappear. It was the least they could do, really.
"Come on, Luna," she said. "Let's get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."
~
As they walked out through the dilapidated fence, Hermione stopped and looked back. "I feel so bad about it. He did so much, you know, and he nearly died in there. I wish we could thank him somehow."
"Well," Luna said, "we could wait awhile until he gets settled somewhere, and then owl him a thank-you note. I'm sure an owl could find him. We could send him a gift-subscription to The Quibbler, too."
Hermione tried to imagine the look on the professor's face when he opened the note. "Yes, that's a good idea, Luna. Let's do that, but I think maybe we should skip The Quibbler. Or maybe not," she mused, as a vision of their much-feared Potions Master wearing Spectrespecs and reading The Quibbler popped into her head. "Anyway, let's go back to Hogwarts and get cleaned up. We'll tell everyone about the Thestral tracks and the missing body, and they can draw their own conclusions."
Luna smiled. It was good to know that the professor had survived. So many people hadn't.
The girls took a last look back at the shack. The sun would be setting soon. It was time to get moving.