Yuletide Potions VIII
Title: Yuletide Potions VIII
Team: Order of the Phoenix
Word Count: 6 x 100
Challenges: Broken Memory Charm, Comfort and Joy (though there isn’t much joy in this set ....)
Rating: all ages
Characters: Minerva, Severus, Hermione; Hermione’s parents mentioned
Start from the beginning: Part I
Part VII
*****
Eyes wide, Minerva demanded, “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing!” Severus barked, slamming the parchment down on the work table. He stormed from the workroom, and Minerva winced as she heard the unmistakable sound of Hermione retching.
She snatched up the parchment.
Wendell is ill.
“Merlin,” Minerva whispered. She skimmed over the rest of the note until one word caught her attention: Dementia.
She made her way to the front of the shop. Hermione’s hysterical cries ringing in her ears, Minerva made sure there were no customers, locked the door, and turned the sign to indicate they were closed.
*
She grabbed a vial of Calming Draught from the shelf and hurried to the lavatory. One glance told her that, though he was obviously uncomfortable, Severus was in control. A distant part of Minerva was proud of her fellow Head of House. He held his hand out for the potion, murmuring, “Get a clean rag from the basket by the workroom door.”
Weeping, Minerva complied.
Severus wet it, drew Hermione’s hair aside, and laid the cloth across the back of her neck. All the while, he spoke quietly in Hermione’s ear, a songlike murmur that seemed to calm both women.
***
Trembling, Hermione rested her cheek on the toilet seat. “It’s all my fault,” she whispered.
Daddy.
How could I have done such a thing?!
There was no way she wasn’t responsible. Her botched memory charm, along with her frequent experiments in trying to restore her parents’ memories, had unravelled her father’s beautiful mind.
I failed. Wasn’t it enough, that they’re still alive? Why did I have to be so selfish and try all those spells to bring them back?
She felt gentle hands rubbing her shoulders, gentle words soothing her troubled soul. Hermione breathed deeply, breath stuttering into her lungs.
*
She looked up through puffy, red eyes to see her friends, hovering over her. Ashamed, she pulled the rag off the back of her neck and wiped her mouth with it. “I’m …” she began, but then she closed her mouth. It would be absurd to say she was all right. Her head was pounding, her stomach was churning, her chest was aching ….
Her heart was breaking. Scrunching her eyes shut, she tried to will the fresh wave of tears away.
“Here,” rumbled Severus.
She turned her head to see him right next to her, offering a vial of Calming Draught.
***
She took the vial from Severus, her blotchy face evening out to a ferocious, embarrassed red. Hiccoughing, she whispered her thanks and downed the bitter concoction without flinching. Glad that Hermione seemed to be coming back to herself, he Summoned a cup and cast an Aguamenti, pressing it into her hand. He waited for her to swallow, settling himself more comfortably on the floor and pulling her to rest against his thin chest.
“You did what you had to,” he murmured. “I’d treated you abominably in school. For all you knew, I was -”
Hermione’s trembling intensified, and he fell silent.
*
“It wasn’t your intentions I was afraid of,” she whispered. “But you did know how to find them, if Malfoy convinced Voldemort they were worth hunting.” She wrapped her arms around his chest, voice trembling. “I should have thought of something else. I should have studied memory charms more -”
Her voice was rising, shaking in a way that told Severus she was on the verge of losing it again. “You did the best you could. No one your age could have done better.”
Minerva folded her arms. “What can we do?”
Looking up, Severus answered, “I’m taking Hermione to Gerringong.”
*****
Please forgive the uber-late posting; I was distracted by a very cute man tonight.
Part IX
Team: Order of the Phoenix
Word Count: 6 x 100
Challenges: Broken Memory Charm, Comfort and Joy (though there isn’t much joy in this set ....)
Rating: all ages
Characters: Minerva, Severus, Hermione; Hermione’s parents mentioned
Start from the beginning: Part I
Part VII
*****
Eyes wide, Minerva demanded, “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing!” Severus barked, slamming the parchment down on the work table. He stormed from the workroom, and Minerva winced as she heard the unmistakable sound of Hermione retching.
She snatched up the parchment.
Wendell is ill.
“Merlin,” Minerva whispered. She skimmed over the rest of the note until one word caught her attention: Dementia.
She made her way to the front of the shop. Hermione’s hysterical cries ringing in her ears, Minerva made sure there were no customers, locked the door, and turned the sign to indicate they were closed.
*
She grabbed a vial of Calming Draught from the shelf and hurried to the lavatory. One glance told her that, though he was obviously uncomfortable, Severus was in control. A distant part of Minerva was proud of her fellow Head of House. He held his hand out for the potion, murmuring, “Get a clean rag from the basket by the workroom door.”
Weeping, Minerva complied.
Severus wet it, drew Hermione’s hair aside, and laid the cloth across the back of her neck. All the while, he spoke quietly in Hermione’s ear, a songlike murmur that seemed to calm both women.
***
Trembling, Hermione rested her cheek on the toilet seat. “It’s all my fault,” she whispered.
Daddy.
How could I have done such a thing?!
There was no way she wasn’t responsible. Her botched memory charm, along with her frequent experiments in trying to restore her parents’ memories, had unravelled her father’s beautiful mind.
I failed. Wasn’t it enough, that they’re still alive? Why did I have to be so selfish and try all those spells to bring them back?
She felt gentle hands rubbing her shoulders, gentle words soothing her troubled soul. Hermione breathed deeply, breath stuttering into her lungs.
*
She looked up through puffy, red eyes to see her friends, hovering over her. Ashamed, she pulled the rag off the back of her neck and wiped her mouth with it. “I’m …” she began, but then she closed her mouth. It would be absurd to say she was all right. Her head was pounding, her stomach was churning, her chest was aching ….
Her heart was breaking. Scrunching her eyes shut, she tried to will the fresh wave of tears away.
“Here,” rumbled Severus.
She turned her head to see him right next to her, offering a vial of Calming Draught.
***
She took the vial from Severus, her blotchy face evening out to a ferocious, embarrassed red. Hiccoughing, she whispered her thanks and downed the bitter concoction without flinching. Glad that Hermione seemed to be coming back to herself, he Summoned a cup and cast an Aguamenti, pressing it into her hand. He waited for her to swallow, settling himself more comfortably on the floor and pulling her to rest against his thin chest.
“You did what you had to,” he murmured. “I’d treated you abominably in school. For all you knew, I was -”
Hermione’s trembling intensified, and he fell silent.
*
“It wasn’t your intentions I was afraid of,” she whispered. “But you did know how to find them, if Malfoy convinced Voldemort they were worth hunting.” She wrapped her arms around his chest, voice trembling. “I should have thought of something else. I should have studied memory charms more -”
Her voice was rising, shaking in a way that told Severus she was on the verge of losing it again. “You did the best you could. No one your age could have done better.”
Minerva folded her arms. “What can we do?”
Looking up, Severus answered, “I’m taking Hermione to Gerringong.”
*****
Please forgive the uber-late posting; I was distracted by a very cute man tonight.
Part IX