Chapter 39: Of Wolves And Wizards

The Grounds, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...

Severus Snape took off barreling at great speed toward the object of his ire, furious in his movements as he passed through the grounds his ebony robes swirling behind him as if to mirror his unrelenting rage. Greyback held the significantly weaker young witch Hermione Granger by the throat via his long sharp claws and paraded her about as he relished in her agony as if to further taunt the Potions Master. He had told her to steer clear of Greyback, he had expressly warned her that the werewolf was dangerous to her. The struggling young witch screamed as the blue eyed beast threw her to the ground and snarled over her with his towering build. She avoided the beast's saliva knowing the enzymes would curse her if it got into her bloodstream. Greyback smirked as he saw the fear etched across her face. He leaned his massive head low to her and bared his sharp teeth.

"Not to worry witch." he said in a gruff and brutal tone. "I have no intentions to turn you...it's your Professor, that interests me and seeing his pain is what I live for."

Greyback inhaled her scent and smirked wickedly once more.

"It seems he is more than just your professor isn't he, Granger girl?" asked the blue eyed werewolf.

Hermione screamed as Greyback proceeded to claw her with his sharp nails extended just for his savage amusement.

Snape showed up looking something of across between a wolf and a wizard as he glared darkly at Greyback. The blue eyed werewolf looked up at him blood splattered across his face. He licked it away to further taunt Snape who lost all immediate control and launched himself at the other werewolf. Both Snape and Greyback tumbled down a nearby hill scratching and clawing at each other furiously.

Hermione had been badly injured, but she cared more about Severus as she scrambled to her feet hoping to assist him in anyway she could. Her battered body felt weak and was hard to keep mobile. She could do little more than rest every step as she approached the forbidden forest.

"Severus!" she shouted hearing the familiar yelp of her werewolf Professor.

Another sound followed being the savage beast Greyback's screams. Terrified and concerned for her lover, Hermione made her way down the steep toward the sound of the battling werewolves.

Snape was relentless as he over powered Greyback slashing at the exposed flesh of the brown werewolf. Snape's rage had been building to dangerous heights as he proceeded to rip the lesser werewolf into pieces.

Greyback managed to get himself free of Snape's deadly grasp trying with every ounce of his strength to avoid the ebony wolf's vicious bite near his jugular.

Hermione had never seen Severus so out of control as he continued to punish Greyback for his insolence.

Blood spilled from both heavily battered werewolves as the bushy haired witch looked on. She had not regard for her own injuries as she concerned herself with the well being of her lover.

"Severus!" she called in warning that alerted the ebony wolf to a near fatal blow from Greyback.

Snape avoided the hit just in time as he tackled the other werewolf to the ground still trying to get to his jugular. Greyback again scrambled out of his clutches and made his way over toward a cluster of trees.

Every move he made The Potions Master followed murder had been his intent and there was no way he was going to let Greyback live after touching his witch.

"Time to die dog." taunted Snape speaking through his half-wolf form. "NO ONE TOUCHES MY FEMALE!"

Greyback had not understood how Snape could be so powerful, he was only a whelp newly turned by Lupin. The elder werewolf made up his mind to fight the alpha moving in on his territory.

"I AM PACK LEADER!" shouted the blue eyed werewolf. "THIS IS MY WORLD YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS WITH THE GIFTS OF HIRCINE!"

"WRONG!" shouted the now severely territorial Potions Master. "THIS IS MY TERRITORY...THE FEMALE IS MINE...THIS ALL BELONGS TO ME!"

The werewolves attacked each other once again this time neither was willing to back down having every intention of killing the other. Snape had become much more vicious than Hermione had ever known him to be. The amber eyes of the young witch had witnessed just how ruthless the ebony werewolf could be if provoked.

Greyback had been out matched, but decided to use the concerned Hermione to pacify the relentless Snape. The blue eyed wolf grabbed the unsuspecting witch pulling her close to him in an attempt to block Snape's vicious assault. As predicted, Snape backed down when he saw that Hermione was in the line of his attack.

This made Greyback believe he had the upper hand. Confidant to the point of sloppy arrogance, he taunted Snape over his in ability to do him harm for fear of his precious witch being injured. Hermione rolled her eyes as she struggled against the brute's grasp. As she struggled, one of her hands had escaped his grasp. The blue eyed werewolf had been so busy taunting and side swiping Snape that he had not paid attention to the fact that Hermione had still been clutching her wand.

"What's the matter Snape!" Greyback continued to taunt the Potions Master. "Can't do anything while I have possession of your little witch?...and you call yourself an Alpha."

Fed up with Greyback's taunts, Hermione aimed her wand at the mangy mutt's foot.

"Ignis!" she shouted.

Within seconds the blue eyed werewolf's foot was engulfed in flames.

"AHHHHH!" shouted the beast as he flung Hermione toward the far end of the forest.

Snape had leapt to make his way to her side when he found himself blindsided by a relentless Greyback. The built werewolf attempted to reach Snape's jugular vein when the Potions Master countered sending the brute sailing into a nearby set of trees. The ebony werewolf emerged in full revealing himself to be much larger than Greyback and far more vicious when in his true primal form.

It had been no real surprise that Snape had broken Greyback's ribs in the scuffle or that he went right after the weakness of the formidable brute with ruthless tenacity.

Hermione had been out cold at the base of the trees which were not looking as sturdy as they had been when she first arrived in that part of the forbidden forest. One such tree swayed as if it were about to break. Snape looked over at Hermione noting that she did not make any sort of movements. The wolf fearing the worst for it's mate savagely beat Greyback to death and raced over toward the downed witch.

The sudden shift from unyielding rage to outright concern when the angry Snape found himself covering Hermione's small battered body with his own just as the tree snapped and fell on them both. The last thing Snape knew was the sharp jolt of pain as the heavy tree crushed his spine. He blacked out from there unsure wither or not Hermione had been alive.

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LATER...

Snape came to at the sound of a very concerned Albus Dumbledore's voice. The Headmaster had managed to get the fallen tree off him and was stunned to see him covering Hermione with his newly naked form. The witch did not appear to be drawing breath as she lay motionless beneath the dour wizard. Confusion filed across Snape's pale face that only intensified when he caught sight of a kneeling Remus Lupin.

"Easy Severus." said Lupin in a soft tone. "You've been hurt pretty bad...there's a good deal of damage to your spine..."

Snape cared not for his own health his main concern was the witch. Though the damage to his spine was a good indication as to why he could not feel certain parts of his battered body.

"G-Granger..." he rasped with more effort than he had to with previous injury.

"S-She's not moving, Severus." said Lupin truthfully. "She hasn't even drawn a breath."

Snape struggled trying to lift his heavy frame off the young witch fearing that he had been crushing her. His body did not seem to want to cooperate. The raven haired wizard tried again this time gathering every ounce of his will and rolled off the young witch. Hermione had indeed been breathing but she still didn't make any sort of movement. Fearing that Greyback tossing her into the trees might have caused her to be paralyzed, Snape shifted his focus to the witch indefinitely.

"We have to get them both back to Hogwarts." said Dumbledore. "Poppy can see where to go from here."

Lupin nodded in agreement.

He bent down and lifted the limp Hermione into his arms inciting a predatory growl from Snape as he did so.

"I'm only taking her to the infirmary." said Lupin. "Nothing more."

Snape had known this, but being as hurt as he was and disoriented to boot, his primal wolf side trusted no one.

Especially not with his female.

"Severus?" said Dumbledore concerned about the younger wizard.

The Potions Professor felt a sharp twinge of pain near his ribs, which had been good and crushed by the tree's fall. He growled in agony as his obsidian eyes shifted around taking in his surroundings. He caught sight of a dead and bloodied Greyback about 2 yards away. It was good riddance. He hated that brute for years and feared him for much of his life. Everyone knew it was he that created the sodden shadow that was Remus Lupin in dreaded werewolf form.

Having had his small measure of revenge, Snape blacked out once more finding himself obvious to the Headmaster gently levitating him as he made his way back to Hogwarts. In just a few more minutes he would be entrusted to Poppy's care as Hermione would. Though the probability of their surviving this incident was shrouded in doubt. Dumbledore was confidant they would each make a full recovery.

Then again, he was a Gryffindor, the confidence was more or less a clever mask for the mounting waves of concern that filled him.