Enchanted, parts 57-60
Title: Enchanted
Team Name: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 4x100
Rating: PG
Challenge: Bookmark challenge
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Post-DH (epilogue ignored). Thanks again to a_bees_buzz for making it better. Previous instalments: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, 17-20, 21-24, 25-28, 29-32, 33-36, 37-40, 41-44, 45-48, 49-52, 53-56.
For the next few days, Hermione spent most of her free time - whenever she was not attending someone’s funeral or was not needed somewhere else - in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey welcomed the extra pair of hands, and she was happy to help out.
Besides, this gave her a good excuse to spend more time with Snape.
After her first visit, he hadn’t bothered to try and get her to leave again. Not that he welcomed her with open arms either - although, as Hermione mused, this was probably a good thing. She would have been rather worried if he had.
* * *
She was practising her floor-scrubbing spells a couple of days later in Snape’s part of the infirmary when she was suddenly struck by the realisation that soon, he’d be allowed to leave.
‘Have you thought about your plans for the future yet, sir?’ she asked him.
‘Hmm?’ he responded without really paying attention.
A moment later he raised his eyes from the Daily Prophet and looked at Hermione.
‘Did you just ask me about my plans for the future?’ he asked incredulously. ‘I can’t see why they should concern you.’
‘I’m just curious.’ Hermione shrugged. ‘Will you stay at Hogwarts?’
* * *
Snape did not answer immediately, busying himself with folding up his paper.
‘Professor McGonagall discussed the issue with me the other day,’ he said at last. ‘Obviously, I am not going to continue as Headmaster. I expect she will be named Headmistress as soon as the more pressing issues have been dealt with.’
Hermione was not quite sure how to respond, so she said nothing.
‘I gather that after Potter’s quite public declarations regarding my allegiance during the battle, I am not in immediate danger of being taken to Azkaban,’ he continued. ‘However, I imagine there will be a trial.’
* * *
The idea of a trial - and worse, the possibility of him being imprisoned - made Hermione’s throat go dry.
‘You’ll be fine,’ she assured him, hoping desperately that she was right. ‘They’ll listen to Harry. And we know you helped us - that you gave Harry the sword, and that you tried to protect the children at Hogwarts, and …’
‘I didn’t do a very good job of that though, did I?’ he spat out. ‘There are a hundred children more than willing to testify how they were tortured while I did nothing!’
‘Don’t say that!’
Without thinking, she grasped his hand.
--
On to parts 61-64.
Team Name: Spy for the Order
Word Count: 4x100
Rating: PG
Challenge: Bookmark challenge
Characters: Hermione, Severus
A/N: Post-DH (epilogue ignored). Thanks again to a_bees_buzz for making it better. Previous instalments: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, 17-20, 21-24, 25-28, 29-32, 33-36, 37-40, 41-44, 45-48, 49-52, 53-56.
For the next few days, Hermione spent most of her free time - whenever she was not attending someone’s funeral or was not needed somewhere else - in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey welcomed the extra pair of hands, and she was happy to help out.
Besides, this gave her a good excuse to spend more time with Snape.
After her first visit, he hadn’t bothered to try and get her to leave again. Not that he welcomed her with open arms either - although, as Hermione mused, this was probably a good thing. She would have been rather worried if he had.
* * *
She was practising her floor-scrubbing spells a couple of days later in Snape’s part of the infirmary when she was suddenly struck by the realisation that soon, he’d be allowed to leave.
‘Have you thought about your plans for the future yet, sir?’ she asked him.
‘Hmm?’ he responded without really paying attention.
A moment later he raised his eyes from the Daily Prophet and looked at Hermione.
‘Did you just ask me about my plans for the future?’ he asked incredulously. ‘I can’t see why they should concern you.’
‘I’m just curious.’ Hermione shrugged. ‘Will you stay at Hogwarts?’
* * *
Snape did not answer immediately, busying himself with folding up his paper.
‘Professor McGonagall discussed the issue with me the other day,’ he said at last. ‘Obviously, I am not going to continue as Headmaster. I expect she will be named Headmistress as soon as the more pressing issues have been dealt with.’
Hermione was not quite sure how to respond, so she said nothing.
‘I gather that after Potter’s quite public declarations regarding my allegiance during the battle, I am not in immediate danger of being taken to Azkaban,’ he continued. ‘However, I imagine there will be a trial.’
* * *
The idea of a trial - and worse, the possibility of him being imprisoned - made Hermione’s throat go dry.
‘You’ll be fine,’ she assured him, hoping desperately that she was right. ‘They’ll listen to Harry. And we know you helped us - that you gave Harry the sword, and that you tried to protect the children at Hogwarts, and …’
‘I didn’t do a very good job of that though, did I?’ he spat out. ‘There are a hundred children more than willing to testify how they were tortured while I did nothing!’
‘Don’t say that!’
Without thinking, she grasped his hand.
--
On to parts 61-64.