An Heir

Part Twenty Four- Just a Theory

“Professor won't Professor Snape be teaching?” I asked not opening my eyes, I peered through my left eye to see his reaction and he collapsed back in another chair with a huff.

“I didn’t even think about that.” He admitted croakily, and sighed deeply, he was looking paler and I frowned.

“Professor, I’ll go first,” standing I announced this to My Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who looked up, I didn’t think that he would have done it any other way.

“Alright, I won't be far behind.”

I closed the door to the teacher’s lounge quietly behind me, the two gargoyles that were in front of the entrance looked at each other before looking rather pointedly back to me. I just kept walking and ignored what they might have been saying, concentrating on my goal two floors above me.

I hopefully didn’t look too bad as I walked towards the Hospital Wing, I was wearing my uniform and while I felt like shit and most probably looked like it there wasn’t anyone really in the halls to see me. The staircases were a problem- that much movement made my stomach clench menacingly and I swallowed hard as the sting of bile threatened at the back of my throat. When the doors to the infirmary came into view I was relieved, but my relief was short-lived as Hermione rounded the corner, looking troubled. She hadn’t seen me yet and I hid down behind a lamp pedestal against the wall and watched covertly as she stopped mid corridor and took a gold chain from her shirt, on the end of it there was a small golden time turner.

“So that’s how you're doing it,” I muttered in parselmouth. There had been something suspicious about her getting to all of her classes all year- what surprised me was that I was actually slightly jealous that she was managing all of her subjects, I'd be taking all the exams at the end of the year but I mean I was no-where near occupied enough with the work I’d been given to study myself. She vanished in a whirl and figuring that it was safe I ventured out from my hiding place and continued to the Hospital Wing where Madame Pomfrey was waiting. 

“There you are Imogene,” She looked out of the door behind me and frowned. “Where’s Professor Lupin?” She asked quietly.

“He… um- He said he’d follow me in a minute we didn’t want to attract attention.” I explained sedately, I was breathing a little faster than was normal but that was because when I did take a deep breathe I felt a sharp sting flourish up the left of my abdomen- probably just a bruised rib.

I was taken aside to the first bed and sat down- which made my body scream with pain- maybe the rib was a little more than bruised and so I stood while Madame Pomfrey drew the curtain and I stripped to allow her to heal my rib and shoulder- it only occurred to me when she didn’t comment on my scales that she’d seen them before. There was a sound from outside the curtain and Madame Pomfrey checked the bandage that she’d secured my ribs with and then stepped out from the curtains and I heard her tut from the entrance. “Remus you should have come sooner.” I unintentionally eavesdropped.

“I was worried about Imogene Poppy, I’ll be fine.”

“You’ve lost a lot of blood Remus, come on.” She let out a deep sigh and I listened patiently as presumably Madame Pomfrey took to healing Professor Lupin’s wounds in a similar manner she had my own.

XXXX

Sthyss still didn’t show up for a week after the full moon and I was seriously contemplating going down to see Hagrid and asked if he’d seen my slithery friend despite how nervous he made me. I still wasn’t speaking with Hermione, Harry or Ron either; so things were even more stressful, I hadn’t realised before just how much I had shared with them in terms of what was on my mind and now that they weren’t there to help me I missed them dearly, really wishing I could find a way to make things up to Hermione. I would walk past the Gryffindor’s between classes- not just the three I had called friends- but others; and watched as they glared or sneered at me. I wondered if they realised how little their looks affected me, it didn’t hurt, it didn’t sting me or strike me down as I returned their glances in class, I just moved on. Hermione however, was above glaring at me and apparently the boys had both taken her lead and were decidedly not staring daggers at me when they believed I wasn’t looking.

The next Hogsmead trip was then suddenly upon us and despite better judgement I decided that that would be my chance to test my theory about Animagi being virtually invisible to dementors. My nervousness hopefully wouldn't give me away- well at least I was hoping so as I slithered through the trees in the general direction of the swaying creaking and groaning Shack, knowing that it would lead me to the village that I hadn’t yet seen through my own eyes.

The holidays started tomorrow, that was why I was so eager to get to Hogsmead, during the holiday there’d be less students and I would be watched more closely. I was so busy contemplating how my plan could possibly go wrong in the next few seconds that I almost completely missed the hulking figure moving my way. I froze just as I had the last time I had been in the woods when faced by the centaur and hoped that he hadn’t seen me- but I hadn’t stopped in time and now the monstrous black dog was sniffing in my direction; I was probably upwind of him as well. His nose testing the air I decided that then was going to be my only opportunity to run- or slither- away quickly as soon as I began moving though I heard his snarling on the air behind me and could feel the pounding of his paws upon the ground as he closed in on me with a steady- if not eagerly, towards me, despite how fast I darted between the undergrowth and tangle of roots. He snapped his jaws behind me and the thought that crossed my mind- “I'm going to be eaten for dinner by Sirius Black” Finally I became tired and despite my efforts I failed to escape from him behind a particularly protruding root and I ended up surprisingly not between his jaws- but rather underneath a paw. He growled at me and I strongly considered biting him but that was unfair, he would suffer for days before his body began to eat away at itself from the inside out; much like a spiders’- I'd tested that out on a very unlucky rat not a few nights ago and seeing the effect my venom had had, I'd decided not to try biting things again. I hacked violently as his paw became more firm against my scaled underside and he started to hurt me, I wanted him to know that I was not impressed and if I was pushed he would know about it- yet for all that I still didn’t bite him and I guessed that that was what was keeping me alive, I wasn’t behaving strictly snake like and that was throwing him off, that and I didn’t smell like a snake- I'd smell like a human to him- that was if he was paying attention to his nose and not his stomach.