The Secret Life of Neville Longbottom – Part Three

It was not common for Doctor Cho Chang to be left confused and bewildered. As one of the top researchers in the field of genetics and organic chemistry, the young woman approached strange occurrences and unknown phenomena with curiosity rather than fear. If some compound was beyond her current understanding or if some DNA chain was unusual in some manner, then all her efforts would be directed towards learning about it, understanding it, and then applying it for the betterment of others. But this situation was rather beyond the pale for her. She was lost in darkness, bound and secreted away from prying eyes. Once again, she tried to plead with her captors for release, but the firm sponge wedged in her mouth prevented any attempts at coherent speech. Cho tried rubbing the duct tape slapped over her mouth on the floor of the van in hopes of dislodging it, but it stayed firm. “Mmmmph…” she moaned, feeling more helpless than she had ever been in many years.

It all started with the man talking to her at the research institute. It was hard to forget such a fellow as that. Brown eyes, strong features, a confident, collected voice. His dress and demeanour suggested that he was not a scientist himself, nor one of the petty bureaucrats that often nosed about in matters they didn’t understand. He had been asking her for details of her research, what her responsibilities were, etcetera. Cho had politely, but firmly, directed his attentions elsewhere. Some of her research was for government agencies, much of it defense related, and she didn’t want to lose her job by spilling vital details. The man had left her then, and Cho spent the next few hours with labwork, putting the incident entirely out of her mind.

She had been walking back to her flat when the villains seized her, pulling alongside the young researcher in a boxy white van and hurling her inside. Cho fought with all her might, but they outnumbered her two-to-one, and the element of surprise was in their wretched favour. Before she could even begin to scream, a yellow sponge was shoved into her mouth past the full scarlet lips, while the awful ripping sound of duct tape could be heard as they began securing her limbs. “MMMMPH!” Cho had yelled as a band of the sticky stuff bound her high-heeled boots together at the ankles, even as the second kidnapper pulled her arms beyond her back and tied her wrists. More tape wrapped around her thighs through her long black flowing skirt, and beneath her breasts, pinning her upper arms to her sides. Another piece sealed her mouth, preventing her from spitting out the revolting gag. The young woman’s silky raven-black hair tossed in defiance as the wretches unleashed their final restraint, blindfolding her with a length of dark cloth. “MMMMMMPH! NNNNNG!”

That had been some time ago. Now, Cho heard the lock on the cargo door screech open, and strong, rough hands seized her, bearing her away as they might a Persian rug they purchased at the local market. The young woman struggled tremendously, more out of a sense of principle than any optimism for escape, but the kidnappers paid her no heed. Making their way past massive cargo containers and the rotten smell of chemicals, they took her to the appointed cell, where their leader impatiently waited for his prize to be delivered. “Set her down on the cot,” the brooding figure demanded with an oily sneer, dark eyes burrowed into the helpless young doctor. “Take off the blindfold and gag.” Cho groaned as the sodden sponge was removed, allowing her to take in deep, shuddering breaths even as the discomfort in her jaw subsided. “Well now, Doctor Chang, we meet at last. From one scientist to another, I bid you welcome.”

Cho gasped in horror as she recognized her abductor, the grim, hook-nosed face staring back at her made infamous from wanted posters and eyewitness descriptions on the nightly news. It was none other than Severus Snape, the self-proclaimed Half-Blood Prince, the most feared and ruthless bioterrorist to threaten the world in decades. The young woman moaned in fear despite herself, as the old stories about his terror attacks sprung to mind without thinking about it, like some demonic inspiration. “What do you want? Why have you taken me like this?” she asked, trying to put on a brave face. She had been kidnapped, terrorized and placed far out of her depth, but if this was to be her end, then Cho intended on doing down with some small measure of dignity. “You should know that my absence will be noted, and I will be searched for. If I am not free, then your organization will have more trouble than it can handle from the authorities, particularly MI:5.”

“We can handle MI:5,” Snape replied condescendingly. “Even Agent L can’t stop what’s coming. Within a few weeks time, my organization will have carried out one of the greatest terror attacks in human history, and you, my dear, are going to help us.”

“How?” Cho asked, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer.

“The laboratory at which you work houses many diseases being studied by the decadent capitalist pigs,” Snape answered, his tone becoming considerably unhinged as he spoke. “You are going to give us the codes for the Secure Wing and help us obtain samples of these viruses for our use. You will then assist us in manufacturing a suitable delivery system, and you will help us make the diseases even deadlier with your knowledge of genetics. This whole wretched world will be consumed by terror and pestilence, and I will be their heralds!” His voice rose to a fever pitch. “That’ll teach all those bullies who pushed me around as a child! Let’s see how they feel when I start hurting them just for fun!”

Cho was aghast. What the terrorist was describing was nothing less than genocide, and the young woman was shocked that even an evil a figure as Snape would consider such a proposition. Moreover, was Snape so worked up about a bad childhood that he was willing to let the entire world suffer for it as a result? Absentmindedly, she strained against the tape securing her wrists, but to no avail. “I am a doctor, Mr. Snape. My duty is to protect life and better the lives of those around me, not bring chaos and destruction to the planet. I will not help you.”

“Insolent woman!” Snape shrieked, grabbing her forcefully by the jaw. “You are hidden deep within my secret mountain hideaway, and an army of guards stand between this place and any interlopers. Should you defy me, you will not see the dawn.”

One life weighed against the entire planet. Cho accepted her decision wholeheartedly. Snape flinched back as the young woman spat in his face, anger sparking in her brown eyes. “I will not help you. Do what you will with me, but my knowledge is to be used only for the betterment of humanity, not some adolescent scheme of world domination. Do your worst, you lit-MMMMMMPH!” The last of Cho’s words were silenced as the gag returned to its place in her mouth, and tape sealed her ruby lips. “MMMMPH!”

“You’re just like those bullies who teased me!” Snape wailed, stripping the tape from her ankles before yanking her to her feet. “Well I’ll show you! I’ll show all of them!” He signalled an awaiting guard, throwing Cho into his arms. “Throw her into the cells! Perhaps tomorrow, she’ll be in a more cooperative mood.”

“Sir!” Another of the terrorists approached, dressed in dark fatigues and flak jacket, carrying a glossy sheet of paper. “One of our security cameras caught this two minutes ago. We think he might be inside the facility.”

Chocolate-brown eyes widened over the duct tape as Cho gazed upon the photograph, seeing a man about her age in the act of leaping over a fence, a half-dozen dead guards left in his wake yet nary a drop of blood defacing his tuxedo. “Mmmph?” It was the same man who approached her at the research institute!

The terrorist leader hissed in dismay. “Agent L. He’s here, inside the base!” An oily cold hand stroked his hostage’s dark mane, causing her to twist her head in revulsion. “Perhaps, my dear, we can find some purpose for you after all…”

“There’s another thing, sir,” the second terrorist said, fiddling with his belt.

“And what’s that?” Snape sneered.

“I’m already here!” the man declared, drawing a silenced pistol and gunning down the villain holding Cho, throwing him back in a spray of bright blood, drawing a shocked “MMMPH!” from the girl. The figure shifted his aim towards Snape, but the monster had taken up where his subordinate had perished, ducking behind Cho and grabbing her by the throat. “Let her go, Snape!” the scientist’s erstwhile rescuer declared, trying to manoeuvre around and get a clear shot. “We have commando teams attacking the base even as we speak! The Death Eaters are finished, so give it up while you can.”

“Agent L!” Snape howled, pulling Cho closer towards him, his pistol lying gently at her temple. “You’ve interfered in my affairs for the last time! Back away, or I give Doctor Chang a first-hand lesson in the composition of her brain matter!”

“MMMMMPH!” Cho screamed, trying to run, but Snape held her fast, preventing an escape. Something snapped inside her then. She had been abducted, bound and gagged like some half-wit heroine in a cheap novel, the wretched taste of the sponge had become intolerable, and now this slimy serpent was threatening her life, and quite frankly, she was sick of it.

A booted heel rose up and came crashing down on Snape’s foot, inciting a yelp of pain from the terrorist, while a second kick sent him stumbling backwards. His pistol barked, and a bullet hissed past her head, close enough to brush several silky strands of hair. Then Agent L was upon him, kicking the sidearm from his grasp before beating Snape senseless, heavy blows raining down. “Mmmmph!” the young doctor exclaimed, seeing the terrorist wounded by the spy’s gunfire reaching for the pistol. “NNNNGH!” she cried, kicking it away from his hands before following it up with a blow to the head. “Mmmfgh!”

“You’ve never hold me!” Snape screamed. “Throw me in prison again, it won’t matter! I’ll escape, and I’ll see you dead, Agent L!”

“Maybe, maybe not,” the secret agent replied, his fatigues torn to reveal a black tuxedo underneath. “You’re a scientist, right? Well, you seem to be under a bit of stress. I recommend twenty cc’s of shut of hell up every twelve hours, then call me in the morning!” he snapped, delivering one last final punch to knock out the terrorist leader completely. “Recommended by four out of five doctors,” he quipped, moving to assist Cho. “Are you alright?”

Cho nearly retched as the sponge was removed, but kept it together. “Yes, I’m fine, thank you,” she replied, groaning in relief as the last of the tape was removed. “What about the rest of the facility? If what Snape said was true, then there is a great deal of hazardous material to be dealt with.”

“Don’t worry. By now, our commando teams should have cleaned up any resistance, and now our hazardous material disposal units can work freely. What did Snape want from you?”

“My aid in procuring for him various diseases, and my research in hopes of making them more effective as weapons. Don’t worry; I didn’t give him anything, though I’m not entirely certain how long I would have lasted if he started forcing me at gunpoint.”

“Well, you didn’t help him, and that’s what’s important,” Agent L replied, shedding himself of the tattered fatigues. Cho noticed that he was quite handsome, in a rugged, masculine sort of way, and she unconsciously began to smooth her skirt and satin blouse, trying to make herself look somewhat presentable. “But I’m just glad I was here to assist, Doctor Chang. I’ve fought Snape before, and trust me, his methods are very unpleasant.”

“And I, in turn, am very grateful for the rescue.” A sultry smile graced her scarlet lips, and the good doctor walked towards the spy, heels clacking on the linoleum floor. “I must say, I wasn’t expecting aid so quickly, nor from someone willing to take this kind of risks himself. Listen, I can make a mean chicken parmesan when the mood strikes me, and the mood has definitely struck me. Perhaps you and I could get together tonight, Mister…”

“Longbottom…Neville Longbottom,” came the reply, and the two moved to embrace…






“Neville? Neville, are you paying attention?” came the sweet feminine voice, and Neville emerged from the daydream to find himself in the Library of Hogwarts. “Are you alright, Neville?” Cho Chang asked, looking quite lovely in regulation robes, skirt and blouse.

The Gryffindor blushed, the fantasy still quite vivid in his mind. “Sorry, Cho, I guess I just drifted off for a second. What was the question?”

“I just wanted to know if you were ready to start studying. You did ask me to tutor you, after all.”

“Of course, of course. I know you’re really busy these days, and I really appreciate you taking the time to help me with Transfiguration,” Neville responded. “I just seem to be distracted lately.”

“Yes, Luna told me something similar happened when you were tutoring her in Herbology this week. Is everything alright, Neville?” Her tone was sincere and her beautiful face without guile. “Honestly, if there’s a problem, then maybe talking with someone might help. At least, that’s been my experience.”

“No, no problem, Cho,” Neville replied. He blushed again, thinking again of the fantasy, and was mortified to consider what the compassionate young woman might think of it. “No problem at all…”