With one hand still clasping his nose and another firmly grabbing his Zorua, Magnus had turned towards the Ravenclaw Tower. Then halfway there, he remembered that the twins had been expecting him.
It was still not that late, but knowing Fred and George, they would probably already be in their laboratory inside the Room of Requirement.
Try as he did, he could still not stop drops of blood from littering the hallways as he changed his direction instead.
Holy crap, he thought to himself.
Now that the adrenaline that had seemingly numbed his reaction had worn off, Magnus didn't know which of the things that had happened was insane.
He couldn't believe that Snape had tried to penetrate his thoughts using Legilimency. He was certain that was illegal. At the very least, it was not sanctioned to be used in the manner the Potions master had tried.
But that paled in comparison to what his Zorua had done.
Once again, the Pokémon had messed with the professor to the point he might have already been hurt as he tried to flee away from the Zorua.
"Holy crap, that is the second time you saved me, buddy," he said, momentarily releasing his nose and beaming a radiant smile at his Zorua.
The problem was that those drops of blood began to fall on the Pokémon's fur.
"Shit," he cursed again, holding his nose tight.
He could already feel blood still welling down his nostrils and it was already beginning to go down his throat.
Maybe I should be heading towards the hospital wing instead of the twins' lab.
But as scattered as his thoughts were at the moment, he didn't know what he could tell the nurse. Magnus did not want to get under any more scrutiny at the moment.
Besides, if he went there, he might need to explain that Professor Snape had caused this, which, glad as it would have made him, Magnus knew it wouldn't favour him.
Reaching the seventh floor, he quickly paced to and fro three times across the blank stretch of wall.
I need to access the twins' laboratory.
After the third try, the familiar door materialized before him and Magnus pushed it open.
Almost immediately, he was greeted by colourful bubbles swirling inside the room and popping when they made contact with his head and face.
The twins were already upon him.
"Welcome to the party, mate."
And indeed it was a party. Magnus didn't bother himself wondering where the twins had gotten all the manner of food that was on the tables and the luxurious couches. At this rate, the twins might as well set up their restaurant inside the Room of Requirement. They were pretty much living the life in here.
They, however, froze when they saw the blood that was seeping down his palm. He had tried to staunch it but it seemed the flow was still coming.
"What in hell has happened to you, mate?" Fred exclaimed, looking honestly shocked.
Magnus suddenly realized that it wasn't just Fred and George. Alongside them were Lee, Harry and Ron.
The only person missing from the entire team was Hermione. It made sense, Hermione wouldn't have come even if they had dragged her.
"I need something to stop the bleeding," Magnus said, letting go of his nose.
Almost immediately, a basin of water and a small face towel appeared on the bench where the twins did their experiments.
Magnus quickly began to wipe his bloody nose. It took a while before the bleeding stopped, but by then he could barely see things in a stable way.
His head also felt dizzy.
"You have to lie down, mate. I think that is what Madame Pomfrey would tell you."
"Shouldn't he go to the nurse?" Harry asked. "He clearly lost a lot of blood. Look at his robes."
"No, no, no nurse," Magnus said.
"Snape did it."
"What?" Fred and George immediately swore furiously.
"By God, he couldn't."
"Yes, he fucking did," Magnus said.
"He hit you?" Ron asked.
"Not hit me... he tried to read my thoughts. I mean, using Legilimency."
"Using what?" Ron repeated.
"He didn't." The twins swore again. "Blimey, that will cost him his job."
"We shall take him to McGonagall. Mate, wake up. You shouldn't even have stopped the bleeding."
"I can't," Magnus said, feeling frustrated just saying that.
"I think Snape knows too much already, guys. By the time I realized he was reading my mind, it was already too late. He knows about the vial I stole, and I'm not sure, but I think he also knows about Hagrid's Deino now. I think Malfoy told him already."
He hesitated for a while.
The group gathered was staring at him in disbelief.
"I think it's also safe to assume that he knows about you guys and the Pokéball. My guess is that he didn't get that far... but knowing Snape, he might have seen glimpses of that. In which case, he will try to dig into these things."
"All the more reason we should get him fired," Fred said.
"It's our only chance," George added.
"Didn't you hear anything I said? We can't."
"Listen, mate," Fred began. "If it's about us, we can easily close the lab. If it's about Hagrid, well, he has a Pokéball. You can't let him get away with this, can you? Think how cool the school would be without that git."
George nodded. "Fred is right. Mate, Snape has gone too far. I swear even the Ministry will probably have his ass in Azkaban. Who knows? He may still be working for You Know Who. My dad told me he was one of the Death Eaters."
"The who?" Harry asked, and the group turned to him.
"Death Eaters? You know, like You Know Who's followers?" Ron explained.
"Oh, you don't understand," Magnus said, desperate. "Guys, he knows everything. I think he knows about my Zorua's ability too."
"What's he talking about?" Ron asked. Amongst all the group members, only Ron had not seen the Zorua's ability.
"His Zorua can mess with people's minds," Harry explained. "I mean, pretend to be something it's not."
"Exactly. The Zorua saved me from Snape. He was probably going to give me a medicine, but I didn't trust him. I thought it was Veritaserum, you know? The truth potion."
"That git," Fred swore.
"Honestly, I think he was trying to help, stop the bleeding. But I didn't trust him."
"And you were right not to, mate," George added.
"My point is that my Zorua helped me by pretending to be a serpent. I don't think the Ministry would take it kindly if they heard there was a Pokémon that could pretend to be anything."
"Well, you explained to them, right? You told them about evolution," Ron said. "They were going to set up a club for it."
"Think about it," Magnus told them. "I don't think they fully believe the range of abilities Pokémon are able to do. If they do, they might ban them from Hogwarts students entirely. I mean, some abilities are too dangerous, and that is not even the most potent. At least until then, I want to keep my Pokémon's ability a secret until I'm sure they won't react the usual way they do."
All of them were quiet for a moment. That point had clearly brought them to the same conclusion. No one among them wanted to lose their Pokémon.
Not at this point, when there was so much potential and excitement surrounding them.
"I hate to admit it, but Magnus is right," Lee said.
"Well, I'm not losing my Espeon, but I still think we should find a way to expose him. Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore," Fred suggested.
"And say what?"
"I don't know... that he attacked you. Clearly, you don't have to explain anything more unless Snape brings that up. In which case, he will be screwing his own career."
"Just let it go," Magnus waved the suggestion aside. "In the meantime, guys, I think somebody should warn Hagrid. He's in more danger than all of us. If Snape now knows about him, then probably the Ministry will. I don't think they will treat Hagrid the same way they treated us."
"You bet they won't," Harry said. "I'll warn him."
"I'll go with Harry," Fred offered.
"Well, in that case, I suggest whatever we were going to do, we postpone. Until we are sure there is no threat on the horizon."
The four of them scrambled in unison.