What if

Again

In a pleasantly uplifted mood, Snape left the bathroom 15 minutes after Kathryn. He went back to the Great Hall but was stopped midway, when he heard younger Weasley's voice coming from behind the corner, followed by Tonks' giggling. Severus could already guess what the pair had been up to, and he would be happy to ignore them if they weren't supposed to be taking care of Harry.

Severus turned the corner to the expected sight of snogging teenagers. He cleared his throat watching the two jump away from each other with horror plastered on their faces.

"Weasley, where is Harry?" Snape asked sternly, choosing not to address the scene he just witnessed. He hardly had the moral high ground to lecture them after what he did with Kathryn just now.

The redhead went crimson, shifting from foot to foot. "I... uhm... he was just here, Professor," he stammered glancing around.

Severus immediately lost his good mood. Leave it to Gryffindors to lose the precious Boy Who Lived... again.

"How long since you last saw him?"

"I... I'm not sure, Sir," Charlie replied, visibly unnerved.

Snape cast him an annoyed glare and then turned to Nymphadora, "Tonks?"

The girl shrugged, "I'm sorry Professor, could be 20 minutes or so."

"If I don't find Potter within the next 15 minutes you two are going to spend the whole weekend cleaning cauldrons! I suggest you start looking for him," Severus growled at them and went back to the Great Hall in hopes the boy chose to return to the Ball rather than using the opportunity to roam the castle unsupervised.

However, no one inside has seen Harry and Severus scowled at Kathryn as if it was her fault the boy got lost again. Snape didn't find Harry in the next 15 minutes and not even in the next 30. His irritation growing with every minute, he asked the portraits and paled visibly when they told him that the boy was seen walking in the Third-floor corridor. Without waisting another second Severus bolted there, taking the stairs two at a time.

His heart racing, he proceeded to curse Albus the whole time as he ran. Only Dumbledore would be crazy enough to have a 10-foot three-headed dog in a castle and expect students to be safe. Of course, the entry was protected by spells which should prevent the curious teens from getting anywhere near the canine. Unless... Unless the caretaker forgot to lock the door. And caretaker being Hagrid, such a scenario was very possible. Fuck!

When Severus saw that the dreaded door was left open, he felt his heart sink all the way to his stomach. A sickening feeling squeezing his chest, he walked slowly through the door fully expecting to see the mutilated remnants of the child's body. However, the sight he was greeted with still managed to knock the breath out of him.

There was the monstrous dog lying on its back and wiggling its tail furiously. The three huge heads were emitting satisfied yowling noises, wearing absolutely blissful expressions with their tongues stuck out on the side. The culprit of this immense pleasure was none other than the lost Boy Who Lived, who sat on the dog's belly rubbing it with hearty giggles.

Severus stared at the bizarre scene rendered speechless. The chimera only ever acknowledged Hagrid and even he always had to be extra careful. The rest of them, mortals, had to use the magic flute around the dog. And the damn thing was nowhere to be seen!

The dog sniffed his presence and turned one of the heads towards the intruder, a low angry growl freezing Snape in his place. Severus blanched at the sound, for a second forgetting to breathe, as his mind raced through scenarios on how to get the boy unharmed.