Beauty and the Beast

The Curse

Published: 01. July 2021

He had almost collected all the necessary ingredients. Only one was left and then he could finally get out of this heat and return to his cool chambers.

Severus wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead and lifted his wand to cast a location spell. His long hair was tied back, but he felt very tempted to cut it off in this heat.

He'd taken off his robes and shrunken them to fit into his trouser pockets, leaving him in a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. Had any student been around, he would have rather endured the unbearable heat instead of risking the chance of a student seeing him like this. But it was in the middle of summer and no student was within a hundred mile radius of Hogwarts. The only residents of the castle were the professors preparing their classes. And a lemon-drop-loving old man who had nothing better to do than meddle in his life.

Severus rolled his eyes at Albus' recent attempt to get him out to go on a date with a strange lady, and focused on the path before him. He was trying to find the summer rose. That bloody plant was not easy to locate, even with location spells.

He brushed past a few scrubs and ducked beneath the low-hanging branches of a yew tree. The usual cool shade of the forest had been replaced with a hot dampness that made his clothes cling to him in an uncomfortable way.

Severus threw another look into the bag he had slung over his shoulder, making sure that the plants he had collected were still under the charm he had placed on them to keep them fresh.

He continued for half an hour to wander through the Forbidden Forest, his location spells seeming to direct him into random directions. When the setting sun was about to touch the mountains, Severus contemplated the idea of turning back.

But he didn't because something extraordinary happened.

It grew cold.

A breeze, first barely noticeable, started to pick up, making the old trees rustle around him. Severus furrowed his eyebrows, but carried on walking.

The summer heat was suddenly replaced with a threatening chill, forcing Severus to get out his robes and put them on again.

The wind grew stronger, yanking on his black robes.

"What the hell?", muttered Severus and leaned forward, shielding his eyes from the sharp wind with his hand. The wind harshly tore off the leaves from the trees, making them swirl around him in circles. The moment they hit the ground, they got covered in sparkling white frost.

The frost continued to spread out all around him, covering the path in a thin layer of ice.
Severus' found that his interest was piqued and he carried on, even though his  guts were basically yelling at him to turn around.

The sky had darkened to a stormy grey. He couldn't even see the sun anymore.

Ahead of him, large wide bushes were blocking his way. Their leaves were covered in a thin layer of white ice, turning them into sharp thorns. Severus turned around thoughtfully, feeling his hair whip around his face. The path behind him was frozen as well, and everything he had passed had turned a ghostly white from the frost.

This was really weird.

He could turn back. Or...

Severus cast a location spell again. The summer rose had to be right behind those bushes. He was almost there.

Gritting his teeth when the icy leaves touched his skin, Severus pushed his way through the bushes, using his wand to blast frozen branches out of his way. By the time he reached the other side, he was covered in snow and a few scratches.