The Second Task - Part One

After the events of the Yule Ball, each of the Four-House champions left the castle and spent the Christmas break with their respective families. Penny tried to put a brave face on things, but she was still angry and upset with Percy, feeling utterly humiliated. Shaken by her experience with Krum, Georgina was glad to leave Hogwarts and be doted on by her parents, if only for a short time. Luca's extended family came over from Italy, and he had a boisterous and fun Christmas, whereas Alicia's sporting talents were recognised with lots of brand-new Quidditch equipment waiting for her under the Christmas tree.

But all too soon, January rolled around, and the Hogwarts pupils once again boarded the train that would take them back to school and the hum-drum and grind of lessons.

On an especially bitter, windy afternoon, Alicia and Luca had their first Potions lesson of the term, and Professor Snape entered the classroom in a foul mood.

Invariably, Snape was cantankerous at the start of term, but this year his irritability reached new heights. Perhaps it was due to his Mark growing darker, causing a raw sensation of tingling and dull burning to creep through his left arm, or maybe simply because he was peeved about some precious Boomslang skin being stolen from his personal stores on the first night of term. He resolved to find the culprit of this thievery. They would pay dearly. There also remained the irascible Moody and the incessant hounding of Karkaroff to be avoided, adding to Snape's general grumpiness.

"Open your books, page sixty-nine," he snapped. Giving a heavy, portentous look to each and every student, Snape then informed them, "Today we shall revise the identification of magical creatures' valued properties and categorise their uses in potion-making."

Snape's attention was drawn to the Hufflepuff, Mr Caruso, and Gryffindor, Miss Spinnet, who had recently started sitting together in the front row. Normally, he wouldn't have given them more than a second's notice, but the sparkle of one black gemstone from a bracelet on Luca's wrist caught his eye, distracting Snape for the briefest second and spontaneously drawing unwonted attention to the pair. Slowly, he walked over to stand directly in front of them.

"Mr Caruso, would you be so obliging as to elaborate on the habitat and relevant properties of the Lobalug?"

Luca's eyelashes fluttered as he looked into his handsome Potions master's black eyes, and his mind went blank. Unnerved by the odd leer on the professor's features, Luca had heard nothing.

"Could you please repeat the question, sir?"

"Lobalugs, Mr Caruso – pray tell, where would one find them?"

"Uh, uh, um, the North Sea, sir!" Luca flashed Snape his most debonair smile, hoping his carefree charm might impress his teacher. It was worth a try.

Unimpressed and undeterred, Snape stoically pressed, "And the relevancy of any particular property thereof, Mr Caruso?"

Luca blinked, distracted now by the sultry timbre of the professor's low voice, and once again, he drew a blank.

"Please, could you repeat the question, sir?"

Snape scowled. This generation of students had to be the thickest of all he had ever taught. He glared around the room in disdain before swooping towards Luca.

"Don't ask me to repeat myself, Mr Caruso. Five points from Hufflepuff, for not paying attention. Be warned, I'm not in a generous mood today."

There were muffled sniggers throughout the class; their Potions master had never, under any circumstances, been in a generous mood.

"Amusing, is it?" quipped Snape, casting a surly look around the classroom. "Two extra rolls of parchment on all the magical creatures covered today, due by the next lesson. That should keep you sixth-years thoroughly entertained."

No one dared voice a protest or even raise a groan; things could only get worse.

And Snape wasn't letting Luca off quite so lightly, either. "Perhaps your challenged wits can at least reveal the relevant property of the Lobalug, Mr Caruso?"

Again, Luca couldn't pull anything out of his memory regarding the Lobalug, not even to save his life, and his mouth gaped open, unable to utter anything intelligible.

Snape turned his piercing gaze to Luca's classroom neighbour, Alicia Spinnet, but paused briefly before starting his interrogation.

Ever since the Yule Ball incident, Snape had found cause to reappraise the young woman. Nevertheless, she still reminded him of the myriad idiocies and foolish predicaments in which these dunderheads frequently placed themselves, and he frowned, ruminating on the girl's seemingly sincere naïveté... But, ignorance was no excuse, and he would not allow himself to go soft on the girl.

His employment of calm superiority – a quality in which he prided himself – made the next cross-examination particularly enjoyable.

"Miss Spinnet," he began, only to stop as he noted Alicia had an almost identical bracelet to Luca's, and its three quartz beads caught the candlelight, sparkling. Good God, from potential date-rapist to plainly one of the most openly gay pupils in the student body, is the girl as daft as she is deluded?

Having rescued Alicia from the potential carnal clutches of Brent Armstrong at the Yule Ball, Snape let out an exasperated breath through his nostrils, and then smirked at the incongruity of it all. Stupid girls... won't they ever learn? Now she has a Nancy-boy courting her – won't she be surprised when he asks to borrow her lingerie for his own use? Severus almost smiled.

"Perhaps you can enlighten us, Miss Spinnet, where Mr Caruso cannot? The two of you do seem attached to one another of late, but hopefully you are the brighter part?"

Silence ensued as Alicia became flustered by Professor Snape's unexpected observation regarding her and Luca. Surely he doesn't think that we're...

"Well, Miss Spinnet?" demanded Snape.

"Sir?"

"The relevant property of the Lobalug?" he clipped out with a pronounced edge.

"The venom sac, sir," Alicia blurted. "Wizards extract its poison for use in potions."

Snape raised an eyebrow to suppress his sudden surprise.

Alicia gulped as Snape took one step closer to her side, his black eyes glittering with unreadable intent.

"Which other creature's venom may be extracted for rare pesticidal purposes?"

Luca groaned, and Alicia sighed from the tension of being put on the spot, unable to answer.

"Your luck has run out so soon, Miss Spinnet?" Snape smirked and swivelled around. His students were truly bereft of real intelligence. However, there was something to be said for their stupidity; he was feeling a bit better, as well as momentarily distracted from the irritation of Karkaroff's unceasing stalking.

As he made his way to the blackboard, Snape heard the faint, but correct, answer. "The Streeler, sir."

Severus swirled around to stare directly at Alicia. "What did you say, Miss Spinnet?"

"The Streeler, sir," she repeated. "Its venom is one of the few substances known to kill Horklumps, sir."

A dangerous glint flashed across Snape's eyes. "Indeed?"

Then his eyes narrowed as he zeroed in on her. "Perhaps you can also enlighten us, Miss Spinnet, for which use Ashwinder eggs are most prized?"

Mesmerised by his black fathomless eyes, Alicia could only blink.

"Miss Spinnet?" His lips curled, bordering on an amused smile, but his caustic tone belied it when he offered, "Perhaps a secret ingredient combined with – let us say – peach schnapps?"

Alicia felt her face flush red. Around her, she heard titters and muffled sniggers throughout the classroom. Even though she had tried to put the incident behind her, Brent Armstrong had not, and the condition in which he had left Alicia inside the coach had been depicted by the randy seventh-year with swaggering vulgar exaggeration, resulting in her being tagged an 'easy' drunkard. The gossip had spread like wildfire throughout the sixth and seventh-years. Alicia hadn't minded the snide remarks; anyone who really knew her, or was a true friend, knew it wasn't true, and her Quidditch mates and close friends had supported her through the nasty tittle-tattle.

But Alicia had not been prepared for Professor Snape's intentional cruelty, blatantly reprising the sorry saga for all her classmates to hear.

Why am I surprised? He thinks I'm a silly ninny. I'm an idiot to think he sincerely thought I was pretty. Just more of his patronising treatment... Alicia realised she had fooled herself into thinking he had truly complimented her, and she felt overwhelmed by the reality of the opposite being true. Tears welled in her eyes, and she stared down at the floor and mumbled, "Amortentia, sir."

Knowing all too well how ostracism and humiliation felt, Luca forgot himself and impulsively covered Alicia's hand with his, giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Louder, Miss Spinnet, I'm sure all of the class is interested in hearing about this particular potion."

"Amortentia," she repeated in a raised voice, her lower lip starting to tremble.

"Hands to yourself, Mr Caruso! Ten points from Hufflepuff for improper behaviour, fifteen points from Gryffindor for encouraging it." Snape wasn't about to overlook or tolerate adolescent fawning and pawing, not on his time, and definitely not when it was patently displayed right underneath his hooked nose.

Contented with their shocked silence, he continued, "As you may then deduce from personal experience, the genus is commonly referred to as 'Love Potions' – is that not so, Miss Spinnet? Although mixing them is highly inadvisable, as I'm sure you'll agree, as well as attest to?"

Alicia gasped, and then nodded her head in ashamed affirmation.

Satisfied he had finished with Alicia and Luca for the day, Snape crossed slowly to the right-hand-side of the room in search of new victims.

"The Ashwinder's as well as which other creature's eggs are of immense value? And in which manner?"

As Snape scanned leisurely over the room of big-eyed and startled students, he relaxed, thoroughly pleased with himself, having set questions that even the most bookwormish Ravenclaw couldn't answer in the space of an hour. He remarked, "No one? What a pity."

Content, he turned back to his desk, from where he intended to instruct the class to copy half of the book longhand, just like Muggles. When he reached the front desk he was utterly astounded to hear Miss Spinnet squeak out, "Runespoors, sir."

Snape halted on the spot, blinked once, and then turned to face her again. "Inform us further, Miss Spinnet, of the specific use of Runespoor eggs?"

"The Runespoor egg is important to stimulate mental agility, sir."

First Granger, now Spinnet, what was going on with these Gryffindor witches? He wasn't about to be upstaged in his own classroom by annoying know-it-alls. Snape strode to the front and ordered, "Turn to page sixty-nine, class! Begin copying, verbatim, the uses of the Lobalug."

Everyone began scribbling immediately, no-one daring to ask at which page they should stop.

"Miss Spinnet, come here," Snape called out.

Alicia felt her stomach lurch, bewildered by what she had done wrong. She gave a drowning look to Luca as she shuffled slowly towards Professor Snape's desk. He must be really angry with me for behaving as I did at the Yule Ball in the Hospital Wing...

As Alicia stood directly in front of him, Snape flicked his wand, surrounding the two of them with a Silencing Charm.

"During all your years in my classroom, Miss Spinnet, you've rarely provided more than one correct answer at any given time, and yet today, for some incomprehensible reason, you have exhaustive knowledge of an allusive branch of Potions. Surely between your Quidditch training and common-room cavorting, you haven't been spending your precious free time reading Libatius Borage's Advanced Potion-Making?"

"No, sir."

"Well, then? How do you come to know such obscure yet vital facts? I needn't warn you about lying to me, Miss Spinnet – tell me the truth!"

"My Aunt Cecily and Mr Lovegood..."

Snape cut in. "Xenophilius Lovegood?"

"Yes, sir."

Snape winced, bracing himself for a variety of ludicrous scenarios worthy of publication in The Quibbler. Beginning to wish he hadn't asked, and with no toleration for further nonsense, he warned, "Please, Miss Spinnet, I do hope, for your sake, that your association with Mr Lovegood is relevant to your knowledge of the Lobalug?"

"Not the Lobalug, no, sir."

Snape sniffed impatiently, and before he could deduct any more points, Alicia blurted out as quickly as she could, "My aunt accompanied Mr Lovegood on some of his expeditions – one of them in search of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack..."

Snape raised both eyebrows.

"And she helped set up a colony of wizards who study and protect the Nundu, Fwooper and Erumpent species in Africa; but the colony's base is in Burkina Faso..."

Losing patience, Snape growled, "Get to the point, Miss Spinnet!"

"I visited Aunt Cecily in Burkina Faso last summer and stayed in the colony for three weeks. Runespoors live there in designated forests where wizards try to protect them from..." Alicia hesitated, then sheepishly offered, "Well, I'm sure you know all about the high demand for them on the black market, sir..."

"And why would you assume that I have anything to do with the black market, Miss Spinnet?"

"I don't, sir, I thought – I meant..." Thoroughly flustered, and fearing she might be making things worse, she continued, "There's a great demand for Runespoor eggs on the black market, so you'd know all about their high value." Digging herself deeper in the mud, and feeling ready to burst into tears of embarrassment, she hurriedly continued, "One day, I was in the forest with my aunt, cutting milk thistles and Rooibos plants, when Aunt Cecily accidentally tripped and stepped on a hidden Runespoor. All three of its heads lunged to bite her, but just before the poisonous right head struck, I lashed out and cut off its head. The serpent survived; I mean, the remaining two heads of the serpent survived. They seemed quite happy and were able to slither back into the thistles..."

"Indeed? A happy two-headed Runespoor serpent?" He smirked dourly.

"It – the two remaining heads seemed healthy enough... Everyone says it was my Quidditch instincts that helped me to react so fast..."

"And save your Aunt's life," Snape finished.

There was a sudden solemn moment about the girl's precarious story.

"Yes, sir." Alicia swallowed hard, praying this would abate and satisfy Professor Snape's suspicions.

It was perhaps one of the very few times that Snape had been truly impressed by anything a student had disclosed, and he'd heard quite an earful through the years. He sighed, reflecting that, of course, such a tale would be told by a loyal, brave Gryffindor. "That was a very quick response indeed," he had to admit. Tersely, he added, "Very brave of you. You are a true Gryffindor, aren't you, Miss Spinnet?"

"It was just luck, sir, being in the right place at the right time." Then shyly, she added, "Rather than, say, being in the wrong place at the wrong time: in a carriage drinking Amortentia-spiked peach schnapps from, basically, a stranger." Her throat constricted self-consciously. "I'm so sorry, sir. Really, truly sorry. I never meant to grab you or embarrass you, Professor Snape."

Snape's eyelashes flickered fleetingly. He realised the adolescent girl had been obsessing about the unfortunate event. Remembering his own pubescent discomfort and angst, his disdain momentarily softened. Silly girl. So much potential, yet so much adolescent confusion.

Despite his nerves, which were strained by the ever-present soreness of his Dark Mark and its unwelcome reminder of inescapable turmoil, Snape was undeniably impressed by Miss Spinnet's deeds. Her summer holiday had equipped her with valuable life experience, and she had acquired useful, relevant knowledge for her studies. He smiled at the notion of a world so refreshingly simple and devoid of duplicity – a world without Dark Marks evoking a sense of impending darkness and eliciting fear of a Dark wizard's revival. If only three-headed serpents were one of the worst worries to plague the planet. How simple life would be.

He sighed again, suddenly so very tired, and he allowed himself another amused smile at life's quaint paradoxes as he looked at the young witch who reminded him of an earlier time in his life, a simpler time, with all its trivial concerns...

Snape's contemplation was soon followed by a characteristically sardonic response. "Again, how very Gryffindor of you, Miss Spinnet. The lethal venom of the Runespoor's right head could have ended your curiosity, and your life, as well as your aunt's. She's fortunate to have an attentive and brave niece, such as you."

"It was just luck, sir," she replied bashfully.

For a short moment, Snape smiled bittersweetly at the young woman. "There's no such thing as luck, Miss Spinnet." He then disdainfully pointed out, "Just opportunity. Heed that; I tell you it not only as your Potions professor, but as the Head of Slytherin."

"Yes, sir, I will," whispered Alicia, her eyes wide with awe at Snape's sudden intensity.

Snape's gaze lingered on her. Alicia did not trick herself into thinking her Potions master had attached anything more to his words or gaze, but a warm feeling of pleasure surged through her. She took pride in her bravery and was glad she'd had a life experience relevant to Snape's Potions class, but more than anything, she was pleased that the object of her affection acknowledged the purity of her selfless act. It is the little things in life one can be happy with and grateful for.

In a flash, Snape cancelled the Silencing Charm and snapped up to standing. He nodded to indicate his wish for Alicia to retake her seat.

Alicia walked back to her desk, lost in thoughts and musings of what had transpired. Even though the encounter had been brief and curt, Snape's manner suggested he acknowledged her strength of character. She saw Luca waiting for her, eager to hear what Snape had said. But before she could speak, Luca whispered, "Alicia, look!" He was pointing at her wrist.

Alicia gazed at her bracelet and then gasped in surprise. They stared in amazement: her second bead had turned a dark shade of red. Snape had, genuinely, smiled.

Georgina soon got wind of Alicia's success and heard all about the tale of bravery she had told during the very first Potions lesson of the term, and she felt snakes of envy writhing in her stomach. If she were honest, it felt like a betrayal. How could Snape smile about anything a Gryffindor had done? Snape was always sniping about show-offs and quixotic recklessness from students in that particular House, so how could Alicia's haphazard attempt with a Runespoor have possibly impressed him?

She was doubly annoyed because she couldn't use the first idea she'd thought of to make Snape smile, either. Originally, she had planned on using Elixir of Euphoria, but after the first task, when it became clear that the Protean Charm's criteria for Snape's reactions during this tournament were based on them being genuine, she had to discard the idea. Plus, after her Head of House had stepped in so graciously after her unfortunate incident with Krum at the Yule Ball, ensuring the Durmstrang student kept far away from her thereafter, it would have felt spiteful and ungrateful to use such underhanded tricks, even to a Slytherin such as herself.

This left Georgina with precious few options from which to choose. She considered a Tickling Charm, but decided that too could contravene the Protean Charm's rules. Plus, she didn't want to think how much trouble she'd be in for firing a spell at a teacher. She also thought about buying him a gift, but knowing Snape as she did, he would probably call it 'highly inappropriate,' and it would probably let slip her little crush on him once and for all. Georgina didn't think she could take the embarrassment.

In truth, she was still smarting from her perfectly-brewed potion losing out to Luca's idiotic heroism in the first task. Luca was her best friend, and of course she was happy for him, but it touched on her competitive and ambitious Slytherin nature; she just had to win this task in order to save face. She had a clear advantage; after all, Snape favoured his own House. If she didn't win this time, then she might as well go and jump in the Black Lake.

It was late January by the time she'd thought of something plausible with which to win the task and even that was looking like a challenge. A genuine smile could come from telling him a joke, but how likely was it that he would actually find it funny? For inspiration, she went to visit the Comedic Female Gargoyle – a talking gargoyle located on a stairwell on the third floor, just outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom – one rainy Sunday afternoon. The Gargoyle loved to tell jokes to anyone who would listen, and Georgina presumed the gargoyle was not short of material.

She wasn't wrong. Within the first five minutes of greeting the gargoyle, she was bombarded with a stream of jokes.

"How many house-elves does it take to feed a dragon?

He's still trying to get the fur off his tongue."

These and many more made Georgina groan. The jokes weren't even good enough to make her laugh, let alone Snape. She lasted twenty minutes listening to the gargoyle's juvenile gags before turning on her heel and stomping back down to the dungeons in frustration. This just wasn't going to work. She would have to think of something else.

February arrived, and Georgina's frustration mounted as the deadline for the second task grew ever closer. The only comfort she could take was that neither Penny nor Luca had succeeded in their own tasks yet, meaning there was still hope for her.

However, when she went to meet with her Head of House for Careers Guidance one chilly but bright Wednesday afternoon, she remained out of ideas.

"Enter," drawled Snape's rich baritone after she rapped politely three times on his office door.

Georgina slipped inside carefully and cordially greeted her professor, who responded in turn. She closed the door behind her and perched on the precarious stool opposite his desk. She didn't feel nervous, but she was unsure what this meeting would bring. Snape's one-to-one sessions with his House members were usually short, perfunctory affairs, unless there was some serious grievance that needed escalating, so she wasn't at all sure what to expect.

"Your future starts in just four short months, Miss Smyth," Snape began, looking carefully at his student across the desk. "You will be leaving Hogwarts and beginning to forge your own way in the world. As such, you need to decide what kind of career path would be suited to your skills."

He paused to flick through a pile of parchments on his desk.

"Your predicted NEWT grades fall between O and A, so there is no need for concern in terms of your academic achievement. Although I should warn you not to be complacent; these next four months are critical, and I expect you to study at every available opportunity."

Georgina nodded eagerly. She couldn't stop the flash of pride that swelled within her at Snape's backhanded compliment. 'No need for concern' in Snape-speak translated as a prediction to pass all her subjects comfortably. Whilst that thought made her smile, she also hoped she would not let him down.

"So, Miss Smyth, have you any thoughts on what line of work you will be pursuing after school?"

Georgina looked down. No, she had not considered what her future plans might be. Why would she? She was a pureblood Slytherin from a wealthy family, and she'd planned on spending the next year travelling around Europe, paid for by her mother and father. She'd think about trivial things such as work after seeing the sights and then going to visit some of her ancestry's settlements in the Dordogne. Even then, work would probably involve some placement in the Ministry, organised by her father by pulling some strings from his own well-placed connections. After all, it would make the family look good to have another Smyth at the Ministry.

"I was planning on travelling for a bit after school before deciding on a career path, sir," she admitted.

Snape merely quirked an eyebrow. "Even so, Miss Smyth, you must have some idea of which career path you'd wish to follow?"

Georgina shrugged noncommittally. "I really haven't thought about it, sir," she confessed.

Snape's eyebrows knotted together in annoyance. "You really haven't thought about it," he repeated slowly.

Uh-oh. Georgina felt the temperature drop several degrees and realised she had strayed onto dangerous ground. Of course she'd thought about her career, but her life was mapped out for her by her parents. What she wanted and what she had to do were two different things.

"You are one of the brightest students amongst the seventh-year Slytherins, and you tell me you haven't even thought about what you are going to do with the rest of your life?"

Georgina's breath hitched in her throat. Had he just complimented her? Why couldn't he have said that before? She would have easily have won the first task!

"I don't know where to start, sir," she replied, not untruthfully. "There're so many careers to choose from; I just don't know how to narrow it down."

"Such as?"

"Well, following in my father's footsteps at the Ministry seems logical. But then, that's more what he wants me to do, not what I really want to do."

"And what exactly do you want to do, Miss Smyth?" he pressed.

Once again, Georgina looked down. Surely, if she admitted this to him, Snape would mock her.

"Well?"

"I'd like to be a Potioneer, sir. For St. Mungo's."

To her utter surprise, Snape's lips quirked into a brief, crooked smile. "An admirable vocation. It certainly plays to your strengths; you are a fine potion-maker. I can give you some contacts should you like to investigate this avenue further."

Shocked to have accidentally brought a smile to Snape's face, Georgina managed to reply, "I – er, yes please, sir."

Unconsciously, her eyes flicked to the bracelet on her wrist. The second bead glowed bright green. She suppressed the urge to punch the air in victory.

The rest of her meeting passed by in a bit of a blur as Snape provided her with various leaflets and pamphlets, as well as information on the next St. Mungo's open day. By the time they'd finished, Georgina was seriously considering cutting the apron strings and pursuing an illustrious career treating magical maladies and injuries.

Once she had finally left Snape's office, she allowed herself a triumphant hiss of celebration. She'd done it! She'd made Snape smile! And without even trying!

With renewed Slytherin confidence, Georgina sashayed back down to her common room. She felt she'd nailed this task for definite, beating the Gryffindor usurper and impressing Professor Snape with her passion for Potions.

Who needed two-headed Runespoors?

Authors' Note:

Written by nagandsev and star_girl.

The Snapettes look forward to receiving your review!