Hydra at Hogwarts

Chapter Five: Results

Lily stood back from the bench with her arms folded. She and Snape were in his quarters.

'There's nothing else to do, Severus.'

Snape carefully filled a small phial from the cauldron and held it to the light, swirling the cloudy liquid. 'We should run through the calculations once more.'

'We've done them several times. It's ready for testing.'

They arrived at Lupin's quarters. He answered the door in his work shirt and trousers.

'Hello, Lily.' He nodded at her and looked levelly at Snape. 'Potion time, is it?'

'You haven't taken it yet, have you?' asked Lily.

'No, I was just about to.'

'Then would you try the new potion?'

Lupin looked from her to Snape and back. 'What's new about it?'

Lily waited for Snape to elaborate, but he was silent. 'Well, it should give you more control. It should stop you having to change, you should be able to change at will...' she tailed off.

Lupin slowly took the phial from Snape's outstretched fingers. 'There are no side-effects? Nothing you aren't telling me?'

Snape cleared his throat with a gravelly sound. 'The calculations say not.'

Lupin sighed. 'Well, what choice do I have?' He opened the small sample. 'What's the dose?'

'Same as before.'

Lupin poured two fingers of the liquid into a glass, paused, and abruptly drained the contents. He shuddered and coughed once, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

'I see you still haven't worked on the taste, Snape.'

The three of them stood around silently for a minute.

'What am I waiting for?' asked Lupin presently.

'I suppose we won't know until moonlight.'

They sat around the fireplace for nearly an hour, Lily reading one of Lupin's books, Lupin finishing his marking and Snape staring moodily into the fire.

Eventually Lupin dropped his quill and said 'It's happeninggg.' The end of the phrase trailed off as his jaw lengthened and his features turned wolflike. There was a moment of tension as he transformed, his clothes falling on the floor as his body contracted. He howled in pain as his bones re-formed until a wolf stood facing them on the rug.

'He's quiet still. The mental effects of the potion persist.' Lily said excitedly. 'Remus? Do you still hear us?' Slowly, the wolf nodded.

Then, abruptly, the wolf's body twisted, hunched, and with a yelp the shape lengthened and stretched until it became human again. Lupin knelt on the rug, his body shuddering with the effort of transformation. 'I can control it.'

Snape's eyes flashed with triumph. 'Excellent. Do you see the effect of the anti-inhibitor?'

Lily nodded. Lupin, however, looked up at Snape with loathing. 'I'm so glad I'm available for your little experiments.'

'Now, now, Lupin - that's not a nice way to thank me, is it?'

Lupin visibly swallowed his anger. 'Thankyou,' he snapped.

Lily leant over and took his hand to pull him up.

Lupin looked up at her blackly. 'I'm so glad that being a werewolf gives you an excuse to spend so much time with him.'

-

The third-year students filed out of Lupin's classroom, hurtling towards the great hall for tea. Lily waited until they had all cleared then put her head round the door. She was about to say hello, but hesitated. Lupin was sat at his desk, resting his head on one hand with his eyes closed. He looked tired out and paler than ever.

'How are you?' she asked eventually, walking over and leaning on his desk with a smile.

He looked up. 'I've been worse,' he said with a half-smile. 'Your potion helps.'

Lily smiled then looked pensive. 'Another person from the village has gone missing,' she said thoughtfully.

Lupin frowned. 'Isn't anyone from the Ministry looking into it?'

'You'd think so, wouldn't you? Apparently they've scheduled someone to pay a visit later this week.'

'Let me guess - you want to go over to Hogsmeade and take a look. Want to go over there for tea?'

'Is that a date, Remus Lupin?'

He grinned boyishly. 'Accio broom!'

They flew together over the fields on the way back from Hogsmeade, the air cold in Lily's nose but her body warm from the (very small) firewhisky at the Three Broomsticks. Lupin easily matched her flight, hovering to her left as they neared the lake. The view was beautiful, as lyrical a sunset as she had ever seen, the quiet presence of Lupin sharpening her senses.

'What on earth - look at that!' he suddenly zoomed close and shouted in her ear above the whistle of the air streams. She followed his pointing finger and saw the lake, a low, dark smudge on the fields where a pale, bright body of water should be. 'What's covering it?' As they swiftly dropped for a closer look, Lily saw that the lake was filmed over with a crusty, broken coating in several places, brown and seeping.

'Look! On the island!' she hissed. Lupin saw movement, a hulking shape moving awkwardly on the bank, moving into the shadow of the trees.

'I knew there was something wrong when I went there with the class!' Lily breathed, swooping silently over the solidified lake. Lupin grabbed her shoulder.

'Don't! How do you know what it is?'

'I do know, I've just realised - I knew something was wrong when I was there. The lake wasn't like this though, it was clear.'

'Lily, you really should tell the Ministry. They'll handle things - this is meant to be a break from work, remember?'

Lily looked doubtful for a moment, then laughed.

'I suppose you're right.'

-

It was late that evening when Lily returned to her office, reaching the Ministry of Magic by Floo powder as soon as she could.

'So if you could send someone from the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures committee as soon as possible, please.' Lily jumped up from her knees by the fire as her office door banged open.

'Professor - Barry and Ermine - they've gone to fight the grindylows-'

'Merlin's beard! I'll send the committee right away.' The tawny-headed man in the fire retreated and Lily reached for her cloak and felt in her pocket for her wand. 'Thankyou, Granville. Please inform the Headmaster.' She jumped on her broom and sped along the corridors. Even before she reached the lake, clearing the window with inches to spare, she saw the black specks of other teachers on brooms veering towards the lake from the other castle exits. As they got closer to the lake, the ground appeared dry and dusty, the usual lushness of the grassy fields now a brown and cracked wasteland. The water of the lake appeared cloudy and thickened, an almost furry coating on the surface.

'Don't touch the water!' she cried over her shoulder to the others.

'No need to warn us!' shouted Tonks, looking with distaste at the mouldy, corrugated lake. Lily's suspicions were confirmed when she halted on the shore of the island, noting long, flat trails and prints in the sandy earth. She turned, hearing talking behind her as other teachers landed on the beach.

Vector touched the ridges in the sand with his long fingers. 'What on earth-'

'It must be a hydra.' Lily stated, touching the blackened trees where the creature's passage had now stripped all the bark. 'A water beast with many heads. Its venom is what's fouling the lake.' The talking hushed as a faint slithering sound reached their ears.

Behind them, Dumbledore landed on the beach. 'Thankyou, Fawkes.' He was holding a jewelled sword. 'A hydra, then, Lily?'

'I'm afraid so, Headmaster. It spits venom.' Lily continued in a lowered voice to the staff as the slithering approached. 'You need to cut off the heads. They grow back, though, so chop the head then burn the neck so it can't grow back.'

'What about the students?' Tonks asked.

Lily was silent. The slithering was almost upon them. 'The hydra eats humans. I don't hold out much hope.'

At that moment a creature burst out from the stand of trees. It was vast, lizard-like, with four thick feet and a long belly trailing the ground like a seal. Six heads waved in the air, turning to assess the figures on the beach. Breaking the silence, Lily took the sword from Dumbledore's hands and ran to the great beast, hacking one head off before the creature realised. With a sickening squeal, two grotesque, wet heads emerged from the one neck, growing and lengthening.

'Burn the wound!' Dumbledore cried, and with a heave Lily hacked at the new heads, dodging the other heads as they looped around to try to reach her.

Snape, with cold efficiency, said 'Incendio.' and aimed at the neck. With a gout of flame, the severed wound seared black. No more heads reappeared.

Heartened, the staff gathered round the beast, dodging the flailing heads. 'Scourgify!' one teacher's voice yelped as they pointed their wand at a bubbling liquid eating its way through their robe.

'Avoid the venom!' Lily cried as she heaved the sword at another head, adrenaline giving her strength she didn't know she possessed. The teachers' spells were jets of light in the fallen night, crossing and criss-crossing each other in attempts to stun the animal.

Finally the creature stopped attacking and backed into the stand of trees, breaking the slim trunks and crashing through the undergrowth. Only one head was left, now, the severed necks dark blotches in the pale light. The group followed it, running to keep up as it had a surprising turn of speed. They rounded a corner and faced the beast in a small clearing, where still figures lay on the earth floor, glistening with mucus.

Lily rushed over, the sword dropping from her hand as she clawed at the sticky stuff coating the bodies. They still breathed! But so slowly. 'It must be a preservative! They're alive!'

Tonks rushed to her side, using her wand to burn away the gel-like stuff. 'They might live, if we get them to the hospital wing.'

The rest of the teachers were slashing at the remaining head, with no effect. 'Why won't it die?' 'It's no use! It can't be killed!'

Dumbledore silenced them. 'The last head cannot be killed by any weapon.'

Lily and Tonks looked at him in disbelief.

That moment, there was a howl and a crashing sound, and a wiry wolf body burst out of the trees and launched itself at the creature. The wolf attached its jaws to the neck, biting and tearing. The hydra whipped the long neck around, trying to shake off the dog. 'Lupin!' breathed Lily. The dog yelped as the beast shook its head from side to side but kept scratching with its claws and tugging at the rubbery flesh. Finally the hydra sank down to its belly, its last head hanging at an odd angle. The Lupin-dog sprang up for a last attack. The hydra swung its head around to where Lily was standing, and sank its jaws into her leg with its last movement. She felt a blinding pain, then blackness.

-

Lily opened her eyes. She looked at the ceiling, the walls, and recognised the hospital wing. It was very quiet and the sky outside the windows was dark, the room lit by tapers along the walls. She sat up, ignoring the protest in her leg, and looked around. The beds were empty. At her side, the recumbent figure of Lupin lay back in a chair, his head to one side, sleeping soundly. An open newspaper was on his lap. His shirt sleeves were rolled up, showing scratched hands. His skin looked even paler than usual and his chin was fuzzy with stubble, his mouth red around the edges - hydra venom, she presumed. He looked exhausted.

Lily reached out and touched his arm. 'Remus.'

He stirred, opened his eyes and smiled sleepily. 'You're awake.'

'What happened?'

'The hydra. One of the heads, it bit your leg before they could reach to sear it.' he nodded at the frame over her right calf. 'It was a nasty bite. You've been out for nearly an entire day.'

'Did we get it?'

'Yes. The students are back and the Hogsmeade people are in St Mungo's. They're doing fine.'

'What about you?'

'I'm alright. Apparently only the mouth holds the venom. The neck had a recoil like a whip, though.'

At this point, Madam Pomfrey came in and bustled up to the bed. 'Lily, you're up. Remus, go and get some sleep.'

Lupin squeezed Lily's hand and with a sheepish look at Madam Pomfrey left the ward.

'He's been asking after you constantly.' Snape's sardonic voice came from her other side, making her jump. 'Madam Pomfrey, I need new supplies of aconite. Have you had the delivery?' She strode off through the double doors and Snape sat down languidly in Lupin's recently vacated chair, casting the newspaper aside with a sneer. 'Yes, he's quite the faithful hound.'

Lily refused to rise to the bait.

'What happened to the hydra?'

'Oh, the Ministry's minions arrived on the scene shortly after you were carried off and took it away for study.' He paused, then said with studied nonchalance, 'The potion was obviously successful, though it was a bit rash of dear Lupin to test it so prematurely.'

'It's a good thing he did, don't you think?' she flashed back, sitting up abruptly but wincing with pain.

'I suppose you'll accept him now, then?' Snape's expression was neutral but his voice cut like a blade.

Lily looked at him levelly, not quite trusting herself to speak.

At this point, Lupin returned, his cheerful expression replaced by a guarded look at the sight of Snape.

'Back so soon, Lupin?' Remus dropped a book on Lily's bedside table. The skin on his hands was shredded, the nails torn and scuffed.

'I'm glad to see you're so concerned over Lily's welfare.'

'I imagine we are all very concerned. Lucky you were there to save the day, hmm?'

'Yes.'

'So, did you keep your reason throughout? Or were you simply a mindless beast?' Snape almost whispered the words, his nose close to Lupin's pale, scarred face.

'Oh, come on now, Snape - you never let go, do you? That must be what comes of being Voldemort's little terrier all those years.'

Lily watched in misery as they fought. Snape stood in profile to her, his shoulders hunched as he spat his comments. She was surprised at the rage and passion in the usually pacific and gentle Lupin, but unsurprised at the vitriol in Snape. So much bile fighting for control of that brilliant mind. With a jolt, she realised that Lupin was angry for her sake, too, because Snape was hurting her.

'You just don't like the fact that Lily spends so much time with me, in my dungeon...alone.'

'I admit I don't know how she stands it.'

'Careful, Lupin - remember you need my goodwill for your potion.'

In a second Lupin had his wand out and pointed at Snape, his eyes nearly black with dislike.

Snape smirked. 'Come now - what would Dumbledore say? Still, that kind of temper should only be expected from a werewolf, don't you think?' Snape turned to Lily, quite unconcerned by Lupin's wand at his throat. 'You won't attack me.'

'You think so?' Lupin snarled, and in a second both had their wands out, almost touching, poised to curse each other, until Lily sat up.

'Both of you! Just go! Severus, stop goading him, and Remus, don't be so easily baited. Please will you both just leave.'

Lupin and Snape were face to face, bristling and panting with rage, when Madam Pomfrey reappeared.

'Right - both of you - out,' she ordered, seeing Lily's agitated face. 'She will be back in school tomorrow.'