Confess (A Severus Snape Fanfiction - SSxOC)

Chapter 13

Dedicated to  @teachtaire. Thank you for voting!

At the forest's edge, Severus halted. There was no sign of the dragon anywhere. She seemed to have vanished into thin air; not a trace was left of her.

A light breeze blew through the treetops as he stood there, motionless, listening intently for any unusual sound.

Yet, there was none. All was quiet. Too quiet. With every second that passed, his heartbeat quickened in strained anticipation. "Damn you, Hagrid, and your idiotic fondness of deadly creatures," he murmured to himself.

At that moment, a blazing ball of fire whooshed past him, missing his head only by inches, and igniting several trees. Initially blinded by its fierce brightness, Professor Snape tumbled backwards and tripped over a few scattered roots, hitting the damp forest floor with a muffled groan. His wand was gone.

A deep, vicious roar sounded from behind him, followed by another burning stream of fire. Instantly, Severus rolled to the side, ducking the heat wave just in time. Fortunately, his eyes had recovered and he now could make out the creature that was releasing dark grey smoke with every breath. The dragon was large and black, her piercing eyes gleaming furiously down at him. Any moment now, Professor Snape was sure of it, she would attack again. And this time, he wouldn't be able to save himself. His wand was somewhere in the thick brush, and the muddy ground was too slippery to support his repeated efforts of getting back up to his feet.

"So this is how it ends." His body was trembling in sinister anticipation.

"No!" Voices he did not recognize echoed panicked through the night. "No! Stop! This is suicide!"

The dragon lifted its huge head, turning towards the sound. It came from the castle.

Severus likewise shifted his gaze to the shapes that were appearing in front of the school. He could make out at least three tall wizards chasing after someone.

"Stop!" they yelled again. "You'll get yourself killed! Come back! Are you out of your mind, girl?"

Girl? The person they were chasing was a girl? What in Merlin's name was she doing running right to her death?

She was stumbling several times, slipping on the grass, but caught herself every time, and raced down the hill to the dragon. And to him.

The dragon, distracted by the obnoxious commotion, spread its wings and flapped them threateningly.

"No! Don't!" The men screamed in horror after the girl, trying to catch up with her. "Don't get any closer, this beast will burn you alive!"

She didn't listen and advanced her speed, her robe fluttering in the wind. Now Professor Snape was able to recognize the school uniform with its distinct colors. Hufflepuff.

No, no, no, no, no! Was she insane? Or was he just hallucinating? It couldn't be real.

"Ms. Jones!" the wizards shouted in a last attempt to reason with her. "The dragon will kill you!"

At that moment, the creature bowed its head, ready to spit another ball of fire, but this time its target was Samara. As quickly as she could, she lifted her hand in which she was holding her wand, and cast a spell to erect a shield that would protect her from the attack.

It did not fail. The flames were instantly deflected, turning the grass around her to ashes. With several desperate moves, she leapt forward and placed herself between the dragon and her professor, casting the spell once more.

"You must have lost your mind, silly girl," Severus hissed furiously, trying his best to stand. He must have hurt his ankle, since it would not support his weight. Pain in his eyes, he growled. "Do you want to die tonight?"

"I don't care. As long as you won't."

"Spoken like a true Hufflepuff," he muttered. "Give me your wand!"

Right then, the dragon howled in agony. The three wizards, obviously trained in handling dragons, had finally arrived and were casting spell after spell to restrain the creature.

"Get out of here," the tallest one of them commanded. "Now!"

"I can't stand," Severus snapped back. "I have..."

Samara was at his side at once, helping him up. His arm around her shoulder, they limped back to the safety of the castle.