It was painful just to watch Snape try to read the Mayhem Manual. Eventually, McGonagall and Pomfrey busied themselves with other things so they wouldn't have to watch. Snape barely heard them as they moved around behind him. Madame Pince wasn't as easily ignored. She was constantly at his elbow or looming over his shoulder. She probably would have climbed up his back if her pointed shoes had been able.
His irritation with her was tripled by the trouble he was having with the book. The pages twisted and the print blurred, sending sharp pains through his head. The illustrations whispered to him. A cold sweat sprang up on his face and his hands began to tremble. Pince's nose shoved itself over his shoulder again and he almost screamed.
"Irma!" he snapped, barely able to keep his voice below a shout. "Will you get away from me??" McGonagall and Pomfrey agreed, reminding the Librarian that she had left the library unattended for nearly twenty minutes now. Torn between getting the Mayhem Manual from Snape and the thought of what a horde of unruly students might do to her shelving system, Pince started for the door. She hesitated and turned back to Snape, who had suddenly and miraculously stumbled upon the right page.
He read over the whole procedure feverishly, reading it aloud. McGonagall paused for a moment and then began copying his words down on the apron Pomfrey had lent her for their cleaning. As soon as he had read the whole passage, Snape slammed the book shut, making all three witches jump. He flung the Manual at Pince with enough force to double her over when she caught it. She seemed ready to give him an earful, but he looked so crazed and furious that she only stormed away with a snort.
"Are you all right, Severus?" McGonagall asked, reaching for him.
"No!" he snapped again and then he seemed to realize that Lorelei was gone. He peered around the room wildly for a moment and then his eyes fell on McGonagall's apron. She quickly slipped it off and handed it to him. Without another word, he flew from the room, leaving the door swinging open and disappearing down the corridor in a flutter of black. Left behind, the puddle of blood tried to keep up. McGonagall and Pomfrey watched it trickle after the Potionsmaster and then turned to each other.
"What do you see in that man?" Pomfrey asked, annoyed. McGonagall shook her head with a little sigh.
Meanwhile, Snape was reading over the hastily scribbled-on apron as he went sweeping towards the dungeons. A tearing jolt of pain burst from his spine, stopping him in his tracks. He gasped and the pain slowly faded. Thinking perhaps that it was another side affect of the Mayhem Manual, he moved on more carefully. A few moments later, a racking agony tore through his bones, sending him to the floor.
He was still there when Ron, Harry, and Hermione left the library and were heading to the woods again. They came upon the Potionsmaster huddled in the floor, an ink-stained garment of some sort clenched in his hand. They stopped short when they saw him. He had collapsed to his knees and elbows. They could hear his bones creaking, as if he was being crushed by some invisible force. Hermione was the first to approach him, creeping up to him like he was a wild animal that might turn on her.
"Professor?" she asked meekly. Snape raised his head to peer at her through the strands of hair in his eyes. His face was contorted, the muscles being pulled tight. A convulsion went through him, making his muscles ripple. As much as he disliked the Potionsmaster, Harry found himself aghast. It was amazing to him that Snape didn't scream. The tearing, popping sounds coming from his body were evidence enough that whatever was happening to him was awful.
"Stay with him!" Hermione said and she ran back down the hall for help. Ron and Harry looked at each other and then at the suffering professor. They inched forward, reluctant to touch him. At his best, Snape would not have appreciated being handled by the two of them and they knew it. It was horribly awkward to stand there and watch him hurt without making some attempt to help him, though.
"Do you suppose it's the Crucio Curse?" Ron whispered, his eyes wide. Harry shook his head. In his experience, that curse involved more thrashing and wailing. Snape made an odd choking sound, either from a new wave of pain or disgust at their ignorance. The boys knelt on either side of him, both nervously laying hands on his shoulders.
"If...if we were to lift you," Harry began. "Could you stand?" Snape sucked in a hissing breath around his teeth. It was Madame Pomfrey's voice that answered, as she came hurrying around the corner with Hermione and McGonagall in tow.
"Don't try to move him," she said, conjuring up one of her floating stretchers. "Leave this to me..."
"You just found him like this?" McGonagall asked, staring as the shuddering Potionsmaster was bundled up and floated back towards the infirmary. Hermione nodded, also watching Madame Pomfrey disappear with him. "Well...you children need to get ready for dinner," McGonagall said, getting hold of herself. "Hurry along now." The three children quickly scuttled away, grabbing up scarves for the chill weather outside.
"Maybe it was Madame Pince who cursed him," Harry said suddenly, thinking out loud. "She did look like she'd been eating broken glass when she got back into the library with that book Snape took."
"And you wanted me to just carry that book out," Hermione said, raising an eyebrow at Ron. He shrugged sheepishly as they jogged outside. The sun was creeping behind the shadows of the forest, throwing a red sheen over the grounds. It was even colder than before and a mist had already gathered around the trees as they went back to where they had last seen Sirius. Even the mist looked bloody in the red haze.
"So what would an ichling have to do with all this?" Harry asked, nodding to the parchment in Hermione's hand.
"I don't know," she admitted. "I knew it had something to do with magically created creatures, but this whole business about making dopplegangers and things is a little beyond me."
"Something beyond Hermione?" echoed Ron with a look of disbelief. "Something she doesn't understand? Isn't that one of the signs of the end of the world?" Harry chuckled and Hermione gave them both a half-hearted glare. They crept back into the woods and began to call for Sirius. They tried Snuffles and Fumbles, but got no answer. The mist wrapped itself around them, fading to a dull silver as the sun slipped further out of sight. The cold sank in with new enthusiasm, making their teeth chatter as they called.
From far away in the forest, a wolf howl answered their cries. Harry's first flash of hope died out as he realized it wasn't Sirius. He checked the sky quickly and was relieved that the rising moon wasn't full. The lonely howl had startled Ron and he was peering into the thick mist more fearfully.
"We'll never find him in this," he said uneasily. The three of them unconsciously looked back to where the lights from Hogwarts could still be seen above the treetops. "And dinner is starting soon..."
"But Sirius said this was important," Harry argued.
"We won't do him any good getting lost," Hermione told them. "I'll leave a trail so we can find our way back." She tapped her wand on a nearby tree and left a glowing ball of light on it like a radioactive plum. Harry cast lumos to give them some light and they first thing they saw was a football-sized spider making its way across the path in front of them. Ron went green. As soon as it was out of sight, they went on their way again.
"I wish I was an animagus," Harry sighed after a few moments of silence became oppressive. "Something with wings, like an owl or falcon. Then, I could fly up and find him easily."
"Even without wings," Ron said. "Just having animal sight or sense of smell would make it easier . What would you be, Hermione?"
"I'd have to think about it," she said, stopping to leave another glowing mark. The mist was now so thick Harry expected there to be resistance when they walked through it. They walked close together, their shoulders touching. A wind had picked up and the cold was bitter. They had balled their hands up inside their sleeves, and were wishing they had remembered their gloves as well, when the sound of movement ahead of them made them stop.
"S-snuffles?" Harry called, catching himself just in case. A fresh slap of stinging wind whipped across his face, making his eyes water and his scar tingle. He felt Hermione shiver next to him. As they watched, a snow leopard appeared in the mist and took a cautious step towards them. The huge white dog North materialized out of the mist beside it. Before their eyes the leopard became Professor Lorelei Zephyr.
"You're an animagus??" Ron asked in disbelief. She frowned at him.
"Hardly," she said holding up one arm. Around her wrist was bracelet carved from something that looked like ivory. The claw of some large cat dangled from it like a charm. Harry saw a look of understanding dawn on Hermione's face.
"Why are you following me?" Zephyr asked next, narrowing her eyes at them dangerously.
"We aren't," Harry tried to think of an answer that wouldn't reveal Sirius to the strange professor. He caught sight of North, sniffing at the edge of Ron's robe. "We're looking for my dog."
"The black one?" she asked, and Harry nodded. "I passed its tracks that way"she said, pointing back towards Hogwarts.
"Why are you out here, ma'am?" he asked next. Her eyes narrowed again.
"I'm looking for someone too," she said. "You should get back to the castle while there's still some light." And with that she was gone, becoming the snow leopard and vanishing with North back into the mist. They stood there for a moment, trying to pick her out again, but she was gone.
"Do you suppose she's after the same person we are?" Hermione asked quietly. "Do you think she knows?"
‘Did you notice that she wasn't red-faced or shivering?" snapped Ron. "Like she didn't feel the cold?"
"Maybe we should go back," Hermione said, cutting off Harry before he could argue. "Harry! We'll never find him on our own. You were right...We need wings. We'll go back to Hogwarts and send an owl. Hedwig will find him much faster than we will."
Harry had to admit that she had a point. Ron looked half-frozen and was giving him a pleading look. Finally, he nodded and they begin to follow Hermione's markers back towards the castle. Then, it was as if they had suddenly walked into a place where the air was being sucked away from them. The mist was pulled away from them in sheets. Ahead of them, a large orange glow could be seen through the haze.
"That's not one of your markers is it?" whispered Ron. Hermione just shook her head. Harry had the feeling that his scar should be hurting, but all he felt was the cold. They waited a moment, the only sound their shivering.
Slowly, the morthahg came through the trees. It was a few yards ahead of them, a glowing orange pestilent cloud. It took shape for a moment, taking the form of a massive, many-horned bison. As they cowered, it slowly changed again, becoming more dragon-like. The three children stood frozen and terrified as it passed. Its shape dwindled, becoming a blanket of fiery little mice scurrying along. They melted back into the poisonous colored mist that blew along the ground as the natural silver mist cleared to avoid it.
"Let's go," Hermione squeaked as soon as it was out of sight. "Let's hurry." Harry had a sudden image of what would happen if the morthahg engulfed them. It destroyed magic, the Elmskills had said...Would it just burn them away like acid, leaving nothing behind? Or would it just destroy the magic in them, leaving them muggles with wooden sticks in their hands? Either thought was horrible.
"Harry," Ron whispered. "We SHOULD go back..."
"Sirius is out there," Harry said. "So is Professor Zephyr. We should warn them, at least."
Ron and Hermione looked at each other in despair, but then they nodded too. Though obviously terrified, they agreed. They both took one of his arms, sharing heat and support, and walked forward into the mist again.
Story and art by me!