Hogwarts i am snape

At Hogwarts, what's most important? Classes, of course.

Whether it was Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk petrifying students left and right, or a most-wanted criminal who'd blown up an entire Muggle street wandering the castle, students still had to attend their lessons as usual.

A deep, resonant bell toll echoed across the damp grounds from the castle, signaling the end of Herbology.

The greenhouse immediately filled with sound as seventh-year students put down their soil-covered tools and drifted out in twos and threes.

Following the gently sloping lawn, Snape and his friends made their way to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest for Care of Magical Creatures class.

"What do you think Care of Magical Creatures will be about today?" Abbot asked. "Last week, Professor Kettleburn said there'd be a 'surprise'."

"Seven years," Snape couldn't help but sneer. "Are you still hoping for his surprises? It's a miracle he hasn't lost any more limbs in these seven years."

Pandora chuckled softly. "I rather enjoy his classes."

As they approached Hagrid's hut, a strange clattering sound reached their ears, punctuated by faint popping noises.

Professor Kettleburn sat in his specially enchanted wheelchair, with his assistant, Hagrid, standing beside him.

The elderly Care of Magical Creatures teacher was wearing a particularly bright orange hat today, a stark contrast to his missing left arm. Hagrid, in one hand, held a small black puppy on a leash. On the ground at their feet were several wooden crates nailed shut.

The puppy in Hagrid's hand whined, straining at its collar, seemingly eager to investigate the contents of the crates.

"Fang, don't go over there," Hagrid tugged hard on the chain, and the puppy was yanked airborne. He hastily took two steps forward, caught Fang, and rubbed his grizzled face against its small body.

"Good morning, Professor Kettleburn, Hagrid," Snape waved a greeting, his gaze lingering on the struggling puppy. "Hagrid, is this your new pet?"

"That's right!" Hagrid's face immediately lit up. "This is Fang, a lovely little Boarhound. He's tiny now," he added proudly, "but he'll grow to over three hundred pounds! And then he'll be—"

"—even more adorable, won't he?" Snape interrupted. "Your definition of 'adorable' is always... so unique."

"Heh heh," Hagrid chuckled good-naturedly, lifting Fang to show them. "Fang's a brave little dog, you see, always full of curiosity." With that, he set Fang down.

"Is he?" Snape asked with a hint of skepticism. He vaguely recalled that in some yet-to-happen future, during Harry and Draco's detention in the Forbidden Forest, Fang's first reaction upon seeing Voldemort's cloaked figure was precisely the same as Draco's: to bolt.

Fang, once back on the ground, unexpectedly wagged his tail and trotted to Snape's feet, enthusiastically licking the hem of his robes. A large wet patch quickly spread across his black robes.

"Looks like he really likes you!" Hagrid said happily. "Fang doesn't have many friends yet. I saw Filch has a cat called Mrs. Norris in the castle, I'd really like to introduce her to Fang someday, but Filch doesn't seem to like me very much."

"That's easily arranged," Snape raised an eyebrow. "I know Mrs. Norris. Hand Fang over to me sometime, and I'll introduce the two of them."

"Really?" Hagrid's dark, bright eyes glistened. "That would be wonderful! I hope they can be friends!"

At that moment, Professor Kettleburn patted the armrest of his wheelchair, calling the gathered students to attention.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's begin class! Today's surprise we'll be learning about is—" a delighted smile spread across his scarred face. "Blast-Ended Skrewts!"

Several uneasy gasps immediately rippled through the group. Snape turned his head, noticing the wooden crates on the ground subtly vibrating, emitting a few louder cracking noises.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Professor Kettleburn continued, his voice slightly trembling with excitement, "are extremely dangerous creatures originating from Greece. They have a human head, a lion's body, and a scorpion's tail. They're as dangerous and as rare as Chimaeras, and they're notorious for the faint humming sound they make when devouring prey."

"To our knowledge, a Blast-Ended Skrewt's hide repels almost all known spells. Please note, anyone struck by one will instantly perish. Therefore, their Ministry of Magic classification is also the highest, Class Five. This means they are extremely lethal, known wizard-killers, and impossible to domesticate or train."

Snape's thoughts immediately turned to the diary hidden in his robes. If the hide of a Blast-Ended Skrewt truly repelled almost all magic... perhaps it could be used...

"Such a dangerous creature, are you sure you want to teach us with live ones?" Mary asked nervously, her eyes darting towards the noisy wooden crates.

"Don't worry," Professor Kettleburn smiled mysteriously, then nodded to Hagrid. "Open them up."

Hagrid picked up an iron spade nearby and began prying open the lids of the wooden crates. As the first crate was opened, a gasp immediately erupted from the crowd.

"Gross!" someone shrieked, jumping back a few steps.

Snape endured the strange smell and leaned in for a closer look. "Gross"—that word perfectly matched his first impression of these strange creatures.

Inside the crate was something resembling deformed, shelled lobsters, greyish-white and slimy, looking utterly horrifying, with many legs splayed haphazardly, but no visible head.

As Hagrid opened all the wooden crates, the students saw that each box contained about a hundred six-inch-long creatures stacked upon each other, bumping clumsily against the crate walls as they crawled.

A very strong smell of rotten fish and shrimp gradually filled the air. Most peculiarly, every few seconds, sparks would shoot from a creature's tail, and with a soft 'pop,' it would propel itself a few inches forward.

"Newly hatched," Professor Kettleburn proudly announced. "You can raise them yourselves! This will bring us unprecedented new knowledge."

"These are Blast-Ended Skrewts?" a Hufflepuff student asked skeptically.

"Well—" Professor Kettleburn chuckled, "—not entirely. Those are too dangerous. You see, in Scotland, in 1296, a Blast-Ended Skrewt attacked a wizard, but was ultimately released—oh—no—not because it was legal, but simply because no one dared to go near it."

"Then what are these?" Pandora, amidst the constant popping sounds, walked forward curiously to observe them.

"I call them Blast-Ended Skrewts," Professor Kettleburn said. "What do you think of them?"

"They're quite endearing," Pandora said sincerely. "Are they a result of cross-breeding?"

"Indeed," Professor Kettleburn looked at her with appreciation. "A hybrid between a Blast-Ended Skrewt and a Fire Crab."

"This was inspired by your previous thesis on magical creature hybrids, and I asked my friends in Greece to help me breed them. While the Ministry of Magic prohibits the import of Blast-Ended Skrewts, Blast-Ended Skrewts are not within their regulatory scope."

"Doesn't this severely violate the Creature Breeding Ban Act passed by the British Ministry of Magic in 1965?" Bertram Aubrey sharply pointed out. "And why should we raise them? Will this be on the N.E.W.T. exams?"

"British Ministry of Magic laws don't apply to Greek wizards," Professor Kettleburn winked at him. "As for the exams, children, knowledge shouldn't just serve exams. You are some of the finest students in all of Britain; merely passing exams is hardly exciting."

"Alright, your task for today is to try feeding them," he said, waving his stump easily. "You'll try feeding them a few different things—I'm not quite sure what they like to eat—I've prepared Giant Ant Eggs, Frog Livers, and Emerald Tree Boas—take a bit of each and see if they'll eat it. That's the charm of magic!"

Snape put on dragonhide gloves, grabbed a handful of slimy ant eggs, and put them into the crate. But the Blast-Ended Skrewts seemed uninterested in any of the food and instead began to attack each other. Weaker individuals were blasted open by their companions and quickly devoured.

"Professor!" Hagrid exclaimed. "They're cannibalizing each other!"

Professor Kettleburn hastily told the students to step back, instructing Hagrid to separate the Blast-Ended Skrewts into more crates.

In the chaos, Aubrey suddenly shrieked.

"Ow! It hurt me!"

"Oh, don't worry," Professor Kettleburn said calmly. "They're not Blast-Ended Skrewts; being hit by one won't kill you. The Greek wizards have already proven that for us."

"Its tail exploded!" Aubrey angrily showed the burn marks on his hand.

"I imagine that's why we call them Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid grumbled, going over to inspect the wound on his hand. "Head to the Hospital Wing quickly; the wound will heal soon if you don't."

Before leaving, Snape approached the professor and asked, "Professor, are there any Blast-Ended Skrewts in Britain now?"

"Besides Greece, they should be gone everywhere else," Professor Kettleburn replied. "Decades ago, the German Ministry of Magic used them as prison guards, but after Erkstat Prison was abandoned, those creatures should have all been dealt with."

"About their hide being able to repel spells?" Snape probed tentatively. Erkstat Prison is where Newt rescued his brother Theseus.

"That would be for adults," Professor Kettleburn said. "To be precise, the more mature the individual, the better the effect. I've also heard a theory that a Blast-Ended Skrewt's magical resistance is directly proportional to the number of wizards it has devoured."

"Alright," Snape shrugged. "Goodbye, Professor."

On the way back to the castle, he finally had time to consider another dangerous plan: how to use that long, thin, goblin-made dagger to deal with the Basilisk, allowing it to absorb the Basilisk's venom, as a weapon to destroy the Horcruxes.

This thought swirled in his mind until Pandora whispered at the dinner table, "The laboratory is ready. I've already contacted Moaning Myrtle."

"Oh, good," Snape nodded. "We'll go over later." Preparing in the Room of Requirement would indeed be a good option.

In the Entrance Hall, he was about to head upstairs when he saw Lily descending the staircase.

"Severus," Lily said excitedly, her green eyes brightening the moment she saw him. "How did your Muggle shop procurement go?"

Only then did Snape remember the mass production of Wolfsbane Potion.

At that moment, one of his feet was already on the staircase, caught between the two girls.

"All the Muggle supplies are acquired," he said dryly. "Flasks, droppers, all there. But the ingredients are still incomplete; I only managed to buy Australian Opaleye blood. Occamy eggs are out of stock everywhere."

Pandora took a step up, standing beside Snape.

"I was worried about this before you left," Lily's expression had returned to calm. She slowly took a cloth bag from her robes. "I know Occamy eggs are very rare in the West, so I was concerned you wouldn't be able to find them."

"At Professor Dumbledore's instruction, I wrote a letter to the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Mr. Newt Scamander," she continued, her green eyes briefly sweeping over both of them. "I told him about our plan."

"Fortunately, Mr. Scamander wrote back saying that, based on his knowledge of Occamies, the truly effective ingredient in Wolfsbane Potion is the eggshell, not the yolk or albumen."

"He sent us quite a few eggshells," Lily rattled the bag in her hand. "Now, the ingredients are all here. Shall we brew the potion together?"

Snape felt fine beads of cold sweat continuously breaking out on his back. Should he go with Pandora to the Room of Requirement, or with Lily to brew the Wolfsbane Potion?

He couldn't help but think of a troubled poem: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, one a dead end, the other also a dead end.

Just as he stood frozen in place, Pandora suddenly spoke: "You're brewing a potion, Severus? How wonderful to go to that place together? You know, it has all the magical equipment you need."

"Where is good?" Snape muttered inwardly. "Are you suggesting I keep you two under the same roof?"

"What place are you talking about?" Lily looked at Pandora, asking calmly.

"Oh, a suitable place for brewing potions," Pandora took a few more steps up, coming alongside Lily. "We've been conducting experiments there before."

"Anyone else there?" Lily asked.

"Hm—" Pandora made a peculiar expression. "No one else."

"Then let's go together," Lily smiled, looking at her.

"Alright, follow me," Pandora nodded, leading the way upstairs.

Lily also quickened her pace, walking abreast with her.

"Uh—" Snape stammered from behind, feeling like a Galleon eyed by two Nifflers, about to be torn in half at any moment. "I'm feeling a bit unwell—"

Both girls turned their heads in unison, silently looking at him.

"Oh, never mind, just keep going," he finally said, following them with heavy steps.

Perhaps dealing with Basilisks and Blast-Ended Skrewts would be easier, he thought.

Snape's got himself into quite a pickle, hasn't he? Caught between two clever witches and a potentially disastrous brewing session! And the mention of a Blast-Ended Skrewt's hide and a goblin-made dagger... it seems he's planning something very dangerous indeed for the Horcrux.