Chapter 11 - Unwilling, Part Deux
As Snape made his way to the Potions classroom, he began feeling light…and happy? In fact, he added a skip to every few steps he took and even kicked his heels once. He was never much of a singer, even in his youth, but he could hold a tolerable tune while whistling. Unfortunately, the only song he could think of was Draco's "Weasley Is Our King."
But soon enough, he couldn't stop whistling it. In fact, he found it rather catchy. Actually… he rather liked it. No, loved it! He began swinging his arms in an exaggerated motion and a grin threatened to break his usually dour visage into two. But he held it in until he almost burst into giggles. Giggles? 'What's the matter with me?' Snape thought, shaking his head and catching a whiff of what smelled like freshly baked beetle-and-treacle cookies, his favorite.... It brought back found memories of his youth-
Snape cursed colorfully and broke into a run. Only he was impeded by the insane desire to skip. However, any well-trained former Death Eater could - must - not let frolicking get in the way of completing a task that would ultimately be for his own best interest. After all, if he couldn't save his best students from killing one another, he would be left with imbeciles like Potter and Longbotton, Crabbe and Goyle. He shuddered at the thought; he needed his top students to keep him sane.
So with that forceful motivation driving him on, Snape burst into the Potions classroom, ready to tear Draco and Hermione apart from one another.
He had, of course, expected Draco and Hermione to have their hands around each other's throat instead of clamped on the sides of each other's face while caught up in the tightest lip lock he ever had the misfortune of seeing. He was pretty certain that in a few moments, both would pass out from lack of oxygen and the issue would resolve itself. But again, for his own sanity, the Potion Master had to end the offending scene before him. Pulling out his wand, he waved it in an elaborate flourish that both frustrated and filled him with glee; the cauldron emptied and the teenagers instantly broke apart, gasping for breath.
"Well I see you two are getting along famously now," Snape said dryly. "Perhaps I should let the Headmaster know how much you have been working on improving inter-House relations."
"I-uh-I er…" Draco began, still blue in the face.
"Well, we, um -" Hermione blushed.
"What, may I ask, were you doing?" Snape said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot in an impatient manner. He always felt better, more secure, whenever he adopted a menacing position. And after his ridiculous coming-of-spring leaps in the corridor, he desperately needed to assure himself he was by no means a nancy boy.
Draco and Hermione looked at each other. They were not particularly sure what had happened. One moment they were peering at the bubbling potion before them and the next they had locked eyes and then lips. Moreover, they couldn't stop. Draco had panicked, drowning in his own stagnant air whereas Hermione tried breathing through her nose. But even that was not enough. She could not take in enough air and was pilfering Draco's diminishing supply in the process. No force of will could break them apart and their confusion and anxiety seemed to drain as the kiss continued, whether from lack of oxygen or whatever had brought them together in the first place, they didn't know.
"What do you need Nolo Torquen vapors for anyway?" Snape continued when neither of them answered his previous question. "And you should have exercised more caution. I'm sure every recipe for it has a-"
"Excuse me, sir?" Hermione's hand shot up as though they were in class.
"Yes, Miss Granger," Snape replied, rolling his onyx eyes at her.
"What are Nolo Torquen vapors?"
"What are-" Snape stared at the petite brunette. He rarely looked startled but he knew at that moment he did. "What do you mean, 'what are Nolo Torquen vapors?'"
"I think she wants to know what are Nolo Torquen vapors."
"Thank you, Draco, for elucidating the matter." Snape swiveled on one foot to glare at the blond boy. "Nolo Torquen vapors are emitted from that potion you just brewed. Surely you two knew what you were concocting?"
"Oops."
"Oops?" Snape echoed, raising an eyebrow.
"I thought we were brewing Felix Felicis," Draco said, turning to Hermione for confirmation.
Hermione nodded, all the while translating Nolo Torquen vapors from Latin. "I thought we were too," she replied. "Nolo means 'to be unwilling.' Well, snogging to death was not exactly what I had in mind this evening."
"Are you trying to be smart?" Snape muttered under his breath. He had been ready to berate the pair for brewing such a dangerous potion by mistake, but he himself had never thought of using another potion to help find an antidote for Draco's condition. And what better potion was there than Felix Felicis?
"I hardly think she's trying," Draco replied. "Intorqueo means to distort."
"So does torqueo."
"Hmm, well that's counterintuitive." Draco turned to the Potions Master. "So what did we concoct exactly? A potion that forces us to do something against our will?"
"Not exactly. When I first came in here, I thought you two would be at each other." Snape paused. "Well…" Technically, they had been at each other but he didn't want to think too much about that. "Let's just put it this way. It does not exactly change your will but distorts it and makes you act in a way that is not quite contradictory to your feelings but not something you would do on a normal basis either. In particular, it intensifies your feelings. Also, the more you resist it, the more potent it is."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "That's a powerful potion. Why haven't I heard of it before?"
"Because it's unpredictable and thus, not highly favored," Snape explained, "much less quite difficult to brew."
"Well we were able to do it," Draco commented, "but it sounds like it's better used as a gag than anything else."
"Oh no."
Snape and Draco turned at the dismal tone in Hermione's voice. She dropped her face into her hands in humiliation and despair.
"Miss Granger?" Snape finally asked.
"I-I…" Hermione's lip quivered. She quickly turned and grabbed the textbook that Draco and she had been using to confirm her suspicions. It was for the next level up so she had borrowed it from her most convenient source without thinking much of it. Her breathe hitched when she saw the note on the left hand corner of the first page. How could she make such a mistake? How could she admit to such a mistake? She couldn't. At least, not verbally. She slid the tome off the desk and held it out for to the Potions Master.
After peering at her quizzically for a moment, Snape took the proffered book. He flipped open the cover and read the loopy handwriting on the first page.
To our dearest Ronniekins,
Use your Potions book well. And make us proud.
Even a wanker like you can give old Hook-nose the slip.
Your ARS-O-YOU (and don't make us remind you!) favorite brothers,
Gred and Forge
"How charmingly clever they are." Snape closed the book with a resounding clap. "This is what happens when you trust a Weasley."
Both Hermione and Draco blushed.