At Hogwarts, what is the most important thing? Of course, it's attending classes.
No matter whether a Basilisk from Slytherin was roaming the corridors petrifying students, or whether the Ministry's most wanted fugitive who blew up an entire Muggle street was lurking inside the castle, students still had to go to class as usual.
A deep, resonant chime echoed across the damp grounds from the castle, announcing the end of Herbology.
Immediately, the greenhouse filled with rustling sounds as the seventh-year students put down their soil-covered tools and walked out in small groups.
Following the gentle slope of the lawn, Snape and his classmates headed toward Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest for Care of Magical Creatures.
"What do you think we'll learn about in Care of Magical Creatures today?" Abbott asked. "Last week, Professor Kettleburn said there would be a 'surprise.'"
"Seven years," Snape couldn't help curling his lip. "And you're still expecting surprises from him? The fact that he hasn't lost any more limbs in seven years is already a miracle."
Pandora chuckled lightly. "I actually like his class."
As they neared Hagrid's hut, a strange clattering sound reached their ears, mixed occasionally with faint popping noises.
Professor Kettleburn sat in his custom-built magical wheelchair, and beside him stood his assistant, Hagrid.
The elderly Care of Magical Creatures professor was wearing an especially bright orange-red hat today, which contrasted sharply with his missing left arm. In Hagrid's large hand was a small black puppy. On the ground near their feet lay several wooden crates nailed shut with iron spikes.
The puppy in Hagrid's hand was whining, straining hard against its collar. It seemed desperate to investigate whatever was inside those crates.
"Fang, don't go near it," Hagrid tugged on the chain with a bit too much force, and the puppy was yanked right off the ground. He hurriedly stepped forward and caught Fang in his arms, rubbing his bearded face affectionately against the little creature.
"Good morning, Professor Kettleburn, Hagrid." Snape waved in greeting, though his gaze lingered on the struggling puppy. "Hagrid, is that your new pet?"
"That's right!" Hagrid's face instantly lit up. "His name's Fang. He's a lovely little boarhound. He's small now," he added proudly, "but he'll grow to over three hundred pounds! Then he'll-"
", be even lovelier, won't he?" Snape interrupted him. "Your definition of 'lovely' has always been... so unique."
"Heh heh," Hagrid gave two good-natured laughs and lifted Fang up for them to see. "Fang's a brave pup, yeh see? Always curious." As he spoke, he set Fang back on the ground.
"Is he?" Snape asked skeptically. He vaguely remembered, in a future that had yet to happen, the night Harry and Draco were sent into the Forbidden Forest for detention, Fang's first reaction upon seeing the hooded figure of Voldemort had been exactly the same as Draco's: he ran for his life.
But after being placed on the ground, Fang unexpectedly wagged his tail and ran straight to Snape's feet, enthusiastically licking the hem of his robes. A wide patch of drool quickly spread across the black fabric.
"Looks like he likes you!" Hagrid said cheerfully. "Fang doesn't have many friends yet. I saw Filch has that cat, Mrs. Norris, one day I'd love to introduce them, but Filch doesn't seem to like me much."
"That's easy enough," Snape raised an eyebrow. "I know Mrs. Norris. Give Fang to me sometime, and I'll introduce them."
"Really?" Hagrid's black eyes grew moist. "That'd be great! I hope they can be friends."
At that moment, Professor Kettleburn clapped his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair, summoning the gathered students.
"All right, since everyone's here, let's begin! Today's surprise lesson is-" an excited grin spread across his scarred face, "Manticores!"
A few sharp intakes of breath rippled through the crowd. Snape turned his head and noticed that the wooden crates on the ground were trembling slightly, producing a few louder cracking sounds.
"The Manticore," Professor Kettleburn continued, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, "is an extremely dangerous creature native to Greece. It has the head of a man, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion. It's as dangerous and as rare as the Chimera, and it's famous for the soft humming sound it makes while devouring its prey.
"As far as we know, Manticore hide repels nearly every known spell. Be aware, anyone stung by its tail dies instantly. That's why the Ministry classifies them as XXXXX, the highest danger level. They're highly lethal and are known killers of wizards. They cannot be tamed or domesticated."
Snape's thoughts immediately drifted toward the diary hidden in his robes. If Manticore hide could truly resist nearly all magic... perhaps it could be used for,
"With such a dangerous creature, are you sure it's safe for a live demonstration?" Mary asked nervously, glancing toward the still-rattling crates.
"Don't worry," said Professor Kettleburn with a mysterious smile, then nodded at Hagrid. "Open them up."
Hagrid picked up a metal shovel and began prying open the lids of the crates. The moment the first one was opened, the crowd erupted in shocked exclamations.
"Disgusting!" someone shrieked, jumping back several steps.
Fighting down a strange odor, Snape leaned closer to look. The word "disgusting" was, he had to admit, a perfect description.
Inside the crate was some sort of deformed, shell-less lobster, grayish-white, slimy, and horrifyingly ugly, with numerous legs sticking out at odd angles and no visible head.
As Hagrid opened the rest of the crates, the students saw that each one contained roughly a hundred six-inch-long creatures piled on top of each other, crawling sluggishly and bumping into the sides.
The air quickly filled with a powerful stench of rotting fish and shrimp. Most peculiar of all, every few seconds, one creature's tail would spark, pop!, and it would jerk forward several inches.
"Just hatched not long ago," Professor Kettleburn announced proudly. "You'll be raising them yourselves! This will bring us brand-new knowledge."
"These are Manticores?" a Hufflepuff student asked doubtfully.
"Er... not exactly," Professor Kettleburn said with a smile. "Those are far too dangerous. You know, back in Scotland in 1296, a Manticore attacked a wizard and was eventually released, oh, not because it was legal, but because no one dared to go near it."
"Then what are these?" Pandora stepped closer, observing the creatures as the popping noises continued.
"I call them Blast-Ended Skrewts," said Professor Kettleburn. "What do you think?"
"They're adorable," Pandora said sincerely. "Are they hybrids?"
"Yes," Professor Kettleburn looked at her approvingly. "A cross between a Manticore and a Fire Crab.
"This was actually inspired by your essay on magical creature hybridization, so I had a friend in Greece breed them for me. While the Ministry bans the import of Manticores, Blast-Ended Skrewts aren't technically on their restricted list."
"That seems like a serious violation of the 1965 Ban on Experimental Breeding of Magical Creatures Act," Bertram Aubrey said sharply. "And why are we raising them? Are they on the N.E.W.T. exam?"
"The British Ministry's laws don't apply to Greek wizards," Professor Kettleburn said with a wink. "As for exams, children, knowledge shouldn't exist only for tests. You're the best students in Britain; studying just to pass exams would be far too dull."
"Now then, today's task is to feed them." He waved his stump casually. "You'll try giving them a few different foods, I'm not quite sure what they like, so I've prepared giant maggots, ant eggs, frog livers, and grass snakes. Try a bit of each and see what they eat. That's the charm of magic!"
Snape pulled on dragonhide gloves and tossed a handful of slippery ant eggs into a crate. But the Skrewts seemed uninterested in food and instead began attacking one another. The weaker ones were blown apart by their peers and promptly devoured.
"Professor!" Hagrid exclaimed. "They're eating each other!"
Professor Kettleburn hurriedly told the students to back up, instructing Hagrid to separate the Skrewts into more crates. Amid the chaos, Aubrey suddenly screamed.
"Ah! It hurt me!"
"Oh, don't worry," Professor Kettleburn said calmly. "They're not Manticores, being stung won't kill you. The Greek wizards already proved that."
"Its tail exploded!" Aubrey shouted angrily, showing his burned hand.
"I reckon that's why we call 'em Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid rumbled, checking the injury. "Better get to the hospital wing quick, wait too long and the wound'll close over."
Before leaving, Snape stepped up to Professor Kettleburn. "Professor, are there any Manticores left in Britain?"
"Outside of Greece, they should all be gone," the professor replied. "Decades ago, the German Ministry used them as prison guards, but after Nurmengard Prison was decommissioned, those creatures were supposedly disposed of."
"And the part about their hide resisting spells?" Snape asked cautiously. Nurmengard, yes, that was where Newt had rescued his brother Theseus.
"That only applies to adults," Professor Kettleburn said. "More precisely, the older they are, the stronger the effect. I've even heard that a Manticore's resistance grows in proportion to the number of wizards it's devoured."
"All right then." 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 slay the Basilisk, letting it absorb the creature's venom to forge a weapon capable of destroying Horcruxes.
That thought lingered in his mind until Pandora whispered at the dining table, "The lab's ready. I've already spoken with Moaning Myrtle."
"Oh, good," Snape nodded. "Let's go there later." Conducting their preparations in the Room of Requirement wasn't a bad idea.
In the Entrance Hall, just as he was about to head upstairs, he saw Lily coming down the staircase.
"Severus," Lily said excitedly, her green eyes lighting up when she saw him. "How did the Muggle shop procurement go?"
Snape suddenly remembered the Wolfsbane Potion mass-production project.
At that moment, one of his feet was already on the first stair, and he found himself caught between two girls.
"I got everything from the Muggle stores," he said dryly. "Flasks, droppers, all that. But not all the ingredients, only managed to buy Australian Opaleye blood. Occamy eggs are sold out everywhere."
Pandora stepped up beside him on the stairs.
"I was worried about that before you even left," Lily said, her tone now calm again. Slowly, she drew a small cloth pouch from her robes. "I knew Occamy eggs were rare in the West, so I worried you wouldn't be able to get them.
"At Professor Dumbledore's suggestion, I wrote a letter to the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Mr. Newt Scamander," she continued, her green eyes briefly glancing between the two of them, "and told him about our plan.
"Fortunately, Mr. Scamander replied that, based on his knowledge of Occamies, the truly effective component in the Wolfsbane Potion is the eggshell, not the yolk or the white."
"He sent us quite a few eggshells." Lily shook the pouch lightly. "Now, the ingredients are complete. Shall we brew it together?"
Snape felt a cold sweat slowly spreading down his back. Was he supposed to go with Pandora to the Room of Requirement, or brew the Wolfsbane Potion with Lily?
He couldn't help recalling a twisted line of poetry: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, one is a dead end, and the other is also a dead end.
As he stood frozen in place, Pandora suddenly said, "You're brewing a potion, Sev? Why not do it in that place? You know it has all the magical equipment you need."
"What's so good about that?" Snape muttered inwardly. "You expect me to put you both under the same roof?"
"What place?" Lily asked, looking calmly at Pandora.
"Oh, a good place for potion-brewing," Pandora said, walking a few steps upward to stand beside her. "We've been doing experiments there."
"Anyone else?" Lily asked.
"Hmm..." Pandora made a strange expression. "No one else."
"Then let's go together," Lily said, smiling at her.
"All right, follow me," Pandora nodded, taking the lead up the stairs.
Lily quickened her pace to walk alongside her.
"Er..." Snape stammered behind them, feeling like a Galleon caught between two Nifflers, about to be torn in half. "I don't feel so-"
Both girls turned their heads at once, silently staring at him.
"Oh, nothing. Let's keep going," he said at last, his steps heavy as he followed them up.
Perhaps, he thought, dealing with Basilisks and Manticores would be easier than this.