Our next lesson was herbology and while Mrs Sprout was always entertaining with her peculiar quirks my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't help thinking about the fact that Snape had agreed to help us, why would he do it? Was he planning to trick us so that when we arrived with the blood the Headmaster would be waiting for us?
All the same I was going to have to trust him, what other choice do we have? It was with that thought I met Harry at the stairs to the dungeon and with a nod we both began to walk towards the Professor's classroom.
'Are you sure about this?' Potter asked, seemingly a little nervously.
'No.' I replied honestly and he gulped. When we reached the bottom I swiftly knocked on the door. It opened seconds later to reveal Snape. 'Evening Professor, we have the samples so let's get started.'
'Hurry up and get in then!' He snapped. We immediately slipped in the door and I glanced around, half expecting to see the Headmaster and McGonagall waiting for us. However the potions room was empty apart from the three of us and I sighed before going over to where the Professor had everything set up and ready for us to perform the tests.
Once Potter and I placed the samples on the desk we set to work, Snape gave us instructions and helped us when necessary. I was more than a little surprised by just how well the three of us worked together, Snape even seemed to be somewhat impressed by us. When we finished and discovered the results we discovered that the speculation was correct, the thing doing this was indeed a vampire.
'So now what do we do?' Potter asked.
'Well we can't really do much until we cross reference these results with the saliva or DNA of other students and teachers. Once we do that we will hopefully find a match and then we have our vampire.' I replied.
'And just how do you plan to collect DNA from every person in this school, Miss Granger?' The Professor inquired, skeptical.
'To be honest, I don't know.' I felt my brow furrow as I tried to come up with an idea.
'What if we don't have to test everyone, there are things specific to vampires, aren't there? What if we just look at everyone and try to get a list of suspects then get their DNA.' Potter suggested thoughtfully. Snape tilted his head slightly, as a nod.
'That might work, Potter.... Provided you know the signs that someone is a vampire... Do you?'
'Um.... I've heard that they have pale skin, fangs and can't be around garlic.' He replied shyly, reciting many of the traits muggles believe vampires to have. I didn't know whether to laugh or hit him for resorting to stereotypes. Snape just sighed and shook his head and for a moment I thought he would look up and slap Potter up the side of the head. He did no such thing however.
'Honestly Potter, don't believe everything muggles say.' He stated then turned to look at me. 'What about you Miss Granger? What do you know about this subject?'
'Only that two of the things Potter said were right, some vampires do actually have pale skin and many have fangs. I also know that many vampires might appear normal during the day or indeed most of the time, so spotting them can be very difficult and it often comes down to the smallest details of their appearance or what they do that gives them away.' The potions professor nodded.
'It looks as if you have done your research, Miss Granger.'
'Well my sister and I aren't totally different, sir.' I replied.
'It would seem not.'
Potter and I left not long after that, it was getting late and while Snape was known as the "dungeon bat" and it wasn't uncommon for him to stay up late working on his potions or doing rounds, Potter and I had lessons tomorrow and we needed our sleep. So we bid our teacher goodbye and returned to the Tower where we said goodnight and quickly went upstairs to bed.
Unfortunately it didn't do me much good. I lied awake staring at my ceiling for several hours. Well actually I didn't get to sleep at all and was still awake when the sun rose to start the day. So I decided to get ready early and go to visit a friend, after all it was a while before the Great Hall opened for breakfast and everyone else in the dorm was still asleep, including Tiger.
Once I got dressed I left Gryffindor Tower, headed toward the girls bathroom on the first floor, AKA Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I knew she deserved an explanation of why I had run in there the other night. So I crept through the castle until I walked into the bathroom and saw Myrtle floating around doing nothing in particular. I smiled as her face lit up upon seeing me.
'Melanie, you're back! Are you staying longer this time or are you just going to be here for a few minutes then leave again?'
'I'm staying for a while this time my friend. I think it's about time I told you why I was in here two nights ago.'
'Yay!' She swooped down and flew in a spiral around me before flying back slightly. 'Tell me everything.' I nodded and sat on the floor.
'This is going to take a while....'
So I did as she asked and explained everything that had happened, it was funny to see the expressions on her face as I mentioned working with Professor Snape.
'Ugh! Snivelling Snape!'
'He wasn't that bad, grumpy yes, but not horrible.' I replied, defending the potions master.
'He must have changed since I last saw him then.' She shrugged. 'Anyway, so you are actually going to look for the vampire now?' I nodded, trying not to cringe at the name of the beast we were going to search for. ' I wouldn't be surprised if it's Snape.'
'Why would it be Snape? He to helped us.' I pointed out.
'That's true, but he could just be doing it so he sees where you are in your search.' Myrtle replied. I considered it, she could be right, but I doubt it. It's just too obvious and from what I know, vampires don't make themselves appear obvious, they try to hide what they are, so I don't think it's him.
'Maybe.' I replied as not to upset her for disagreeing. 'Only time.... And a little bit of magic will tell.'