Severus, Redux: Chapter Nine
Chapter Dedication: You may thank the lovely Tom Without A Turkey for this chapter, to whom it is dedicated, and could greatly use some cheering up. You may rest assured that without her, it very likely would not have been written for at least another month or three. Loves, hun, and thanks!
(In which there are several strange conversations)
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 19 June 1996, 02:36 AM
"Hsssssst. Hermione!"
Hermione started, and whipped her head to the right, where the allegedly sleeping Ginny Weasley lay, not asleep in the slightest.
"Ginny!" Hermione stage whispered across the open space between their beds. "What are you doing awake?"
"Never mind that!" Came hissing back with an impatient wave. "Was that really Professor Snape?"
"Ginny, you are not supposed to know about that!"
"Oh, Holy Holyhead Harpies, it is? Like, really, really?" The other girl shook her head incredulously. "My brothers are going to shite kneazle kittens when they find out!"
"Ginny! You can't tell anyone. He could get killed if you do. We have to keep this a secret." Hermione glared sternly at the other girl. "And did you seriously just swear by a Quidditch team?"
"This is so bigger than just Merlin or the Founders." Ginny waved dismissively again. "Okay, I can see not telling Ron, if for his mental health's sake alone, but do you really expect me to not tell the twins that forward time travel is possible? They would never forgive me."
"Not if they don't know!"
"Hermione Granger, they always know, somehow."
"Not this time, they don't. Ginny, it's too important."
"You don't think people are going to figure it out on their own?"
"They better not! He's changed his appearance, his name, is switching houses, all so that he stays hidden in plain sight. Please, Ginny, you have to keep quiet about this!"
"Fine, alright, alright! But you are explaining everything."
"That's the thing, Gin, I don't know. I know as much as you, really. He created some sort of potion that sent a replica of himself into the future." Hermione shrugged helplessly. "I don't think anyone knows more than that right now, including him."
"So he says."
"What do mean by that?"
"Well, this is him before he turned, right? Can we even trust him?"
"Dumbledore does, and so does the real Professor Snape." Hermione chose her words carefully. "Voldemort killed someone important to him, that's why he changed his mind and joined the Order. So when Professors Dumbledore and Snape told him that it had happened, he didn't even hesitate." She paused. "I think he's trustworthy."
There was a long silence. Then Ginny said, "Do you think he'd help me with my Potions homework? Professor Snape can't find anything wrong then, can he?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ginny, you're not even supposed to know he exists, yet. When you get introduced properly, then you can try to make friends. Once you find out the new student is good at Potions, then you can ask. Although, I'm not sure how far that'll get you. He's not incredibly fond of Gryffindors."
"Not joining our house in the switch, then?" Ginny asked dryly.
"I honestly think he'd commit suicide first."
"Ravenclaw then. There's no way he'd pass for a Hufflepuff."
Hermione shrugged. "Yes...though I do think he has stronger loyalty instincts than you think."
"Their loyalty is all family-ish, not soldier to a captain-ish. He doesn't strike me as remotely familial."
Hermione shrugged, thinking Ginny must have woken up after the scene with Madam Pomfrey. The motion caused pain to arch from her abdomen to up under her ribs, and Hermione grimaced, laying a protective hand over her side.
The door handle to Madame Pomfrey's office rattled, and like a flash, Ginny was "asleep," again. Hermione blinked in surprise at the transformation, watching as Ginny went from animated to comatose, her mouth lolling and her breath wheezing in an even not-quite-snore. She was very good. She must fake being asleep on a regular basis, Hermione realised.
Severus and Madam Pomfrey emerged from the office a moment later, the teenager's brow furrowed in a slightly disturbed expression. He started towards Hermione, only to be halted by the hospital matron. "She needs to rest, Severus."
"Atreus. You should start calling me that now; get into the habit of it. I need to learn to respond to it, too."
"Fine, Atreus. Hermione needs to rest; you should go to bed, too."
"I only have a couple questions, I promise."
"Se-Atreus." It was said warningly.
"Please? I promise it will only be a moment or so," he said earnestly.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips, and waited a moment. "Two minutes." She said deliberately. "No more."
He nodded shortly, and approached Hermione's bed.
"She says you're the reason why she's here." He nodded his head at the supine form of Dolores Umbridge, on the other side of Ginny's bed. "She says you lured her out into the Forbidden Forest to get abducted by centaurs."
Hermione mouthed a quick careful at him, shooting her eyes deliberately toward Ginny.
Severus' eyes jumped to the "sleeping" girl minutely, and he gave a little nod to show he understood before arching his brows deliberately at her, waiting for an answer.
Hermione tilted her head back and forth-the closest she could get to shrugging without pain, and said aloud, "She just offered that up, did she?"
"I asked her directly her opinion of you. She had a great deal to say."
"You asked her about me? Why?"
"I trust her judgment."
"And what conclusion has she led you to, then?"
"I'd like to know about that situation before I decide." He answered, nodding at the still form of Dolores Umbridge. "You apparently threw her to the centaurs?"
Hermione shrugged. "That wasn't the original intention; I was actually taking her to a giant that I happened to know was in there. The centaurs found us first though, and she did the rest on her own, from there."
"A giant? How's that any better? I can't believe you were ready to just give her to a giant and get carried off by centaurs, knowing what those sort usually-"
"But they didn't. There's no physical evidence that they did."
"That's not the point! You wouldn't have known!" Severus eyed her, clearly disturbed.
"We're at war." Hermione said, as expressionlessly as she could. "Maybe you haven't realised yet what that means; how it really is right now. People are being tortured, are dying. That woman was about to Crucio Harry, and has been abusing children all year. She was standing in the way of what we thought was a rescue attempt of an Order member from Death Eaters. Someone had to take her out of the way, and I wouldn't have been sad if it had been permanently."
His lips twisted sardonically. "So the ends justify the means, then?" Severus stared at her steadily.
Hermione lifted her chin, and gazed just as steadily back. "You're the Slytherin; you tell me."
They held each other's stares for a moment, and then he gave a short nod, changing the subject abruptly. "Why the flower? The book, I get," he paused, and added reluctantly, "and I really appreciate it-it was a very interesting read. But why the flower?" He gave her a slightly disgusted look. "You know I don't believe for a moment that you...are interested in me." He grimaced a little.
Hermione felt her lips quirk in embarrassment, and tipped her head to the side. "Have you ever read Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry?" When he shook his head, she continued. "My grand-mére used to read it to me when I was little. I practically learned French from it like a primer. You should see if the library has it; it's a quite popular children's book in English, too."
He huffed out a breath. "What does it have to do with the flower?"
Hermione smiled at him mysteriously, and tilted her head to the side again. "I would've gotten you a fox, but I couldn't get you one on short notice."
He stared at her expectantly.
Hermione laughed. "I guess you're going to have to read it someday and find out, won't you?"
He growled under his breath. "You're really infuriating, you know that?"
Hermione smiled. "You were warned. The most insufferable, annoying creature to ever come across your path, remember?"
He rolled his eyes at her. "So what happened to you, anyway?"
"I got cursed." Hermione lifted her eyebrows in the international sign of duh.
Severus gave an exasperated tsk, and ground out, "Well, obviously. What kind of curse?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. Dolohov was Silencio'd at the time. It slashed," she carefully demonstrated the arm movement, wincing a bit as she did, "and had purple fire." As an afterthought, she added, "and it really, really hurts."
"Dolohov? Antonin Dolohov?"
Hermione wrinkled her brow at him. "Yes, why?"
Severus shrugged slightly. "I knew his daughter in school. She was nice to me, occasionally."
"Oh, yes, I forgot about that. Blonde, right? Really good at Charms and Arithmancy?"
"Yes! You knew her?"
Hermione shook her head. "Her daughter, I think, if it's the same woman. Luna's never actually told me her mum's name. I don't know much about her honestly, only that she looked a lot like Luna, was good at Charms and Arithmancy, and died when one of her spells went wrong. You'll meet Luna, I'm sure. She was with us tonight. She's a Ravenclaw, a year below us. Bit of an odd one, but still."
There was a short, slightly uncomfortable silence.
"I should go." Severus muttered.
"Will I see you tomorrow at all?" Hermione wondered.
The other teenager hunched his shoulders. "I don't know." He muttered. "Maybe." He glanced at her appraisingly once more, then whirled and exited the hospital wing. Hermione had a sudden mental image of swirling robes and cloak, and had to stifle a giggle. He'd been practicing, she thought. He wasn't nearly so awkward looking as even only a few days ago. The movement didn't look quite right without the appropriate flowing bits.
She glanced over at Ginny, who was still affecting sleep. "Ginny! You still awake?"
The other girl didn't respond, and let out another soft wheezing breath.
"Ginny, he's gone! It's okay!"
No response. Hermione blinked. Had the other girl actually fallen back asleep? Hermione waited another beat, and then snuggled back into her pillows. The day had felt years long...
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, 19 June 1996, 06:04 AM
She awoke sometime later for no obvious reason; that unnamed sixth sense setting the back of her neck tingling and nervous alarms off in her head. She waited for a moment, still, and when nothing immediately happened, twisted slightly to look out the nearest of the massive, arched windows.
It took her a moment to pick out the constellations she was seeing; they had moved significantly enough that it had probably been four hours or so since Severus-Atreus-had been there. It was most likely nearly morning-the castle would probably be waking up soon for breakfast. Hermione settled back into the bed, and closed her eyes again, attempting to go back to sleep for a few more hours. She was about to give up and resign herself to the fact that she just simply wasn't sleepy at this point, when the door to the hospital wing creaked.
Hermione cracked her eyelids and peered through the blurry fringe of her lashes, as Professor Snape stomped more quietly into the room than she would have imagined possible in dragonhide boots. He was shaking slightly, she noticed, and limping a little, trying to ease the weight on his left leg.
As if on cue, Madam Pomfrey suddenly appeared from her office. There must be a connecting door into her chambers as well, Hermione noted. She had clearly been awoken, as evidenced by her night dress and old fashioned cap, her usually neatly put up hair was hanging in a long, loose braid down her back.
"Severus, you're back. The Headmaster said you might not make it until morning." She hurried over, a potion in one hand, her wand in another.
"No, I'm fine. I said I'm fine. Stop touching me. I was under for barely ten minutes this time. He wasn't really displeased with me. I did I was supposed to, as far as he was concerned. Lucius, though....he nearly killed Lucius tonight." The Professor sat one of the unoccupied beds with a soft grunt. "You'll want to keep an extra eye out for Draco. He has a habit of taking out his displeasure on people's family and dearest friends."
He glared moodily at the floor before glancing back up. "How are they?"
Madam Pomfrey gave him a sympathetic smile. "Mostly fine. Miss Weasley will be here another day or so. Miss Granger quite a bit longer. I'm afraid she was hit pretty thoroughly. She had a very unusual visitor earlier, however, and I think she felt better for it."
He growled. Hermione very nearly didn't catch her mouth from dropping open. Severus Snape actually growled. Standing, he started pacing a few short steps, stomping and muttering under his breath angrily.
Madam Pomfrey watched in amusement for a while, then said circumspectly, "You're still fighting?"
He shot her a furious look.
"You didn't know, then."
"No. No, I bloody well didn't. Or about today, either, and I bloody well should have been told. It was Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack, all over again. How am I supposed to keep everything balanced if I don't have all the information available to me?" He hissed at her.
"Be fair, Severus. You're not the only one who has to juggle a difficult balancing act. One misstep, and you might know too much for everything to fall in line correctly. Everyone in this situation is walking on very thin ice. Give it time." She soothed.
Professor Snape grunted, and Hermione fought to keep her brow from furrowing. Was the hospital matron referring to Professor Dumbledore, or another spy, perhaps?
Madam Pomfrey paused, then laid a hand on his arm. "It was good to see you that age again. You were a lot more carefree."
"I was an idiotic brat."
Madam Pomfrey laughed softly. "Severus, surely you know by now that most teenagers are. I fixed your teeth, today."
Professor Snape shot a glance at the older woman. "My teeth are perfectly serviceable."
The hospital matron actually snorted in laughter. "Your happy other-self said the same exact thing. It was purely for concealment purposes, according to them, I promise."
"Them?"
"It was Miss Granger's idea, actually."
Professor Snape was impassive for a moment, clearly thinking, then said reluctantly. "How did it look?"
Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Good, Severus. Someone who doesn't know you as well wouldn't have seen it, I wager, but you were very pleased with the result. Obviously, doing anything about it now would negate the point, but when this is all over, you should consider letting me do yours."
The Professor paused so briefly it was almost an illusion, then snorted derisively in answer.
"Well," Madam Pomfrey responded mildly, "at least wait until you see it for yourself and think it over. He's apparently the original reason, after all."
Hermione could have screamed with frustration. Why weren't they talking more clearly? What she wouldn't give to have some of these cryptic statements explained! Clearly there was more going on to the whole situation than met the eye, and possibly more people involved than she imagined.
"Yes." Professor Snape finally said, a little bitterly. "He's the reason. I wonder now if it was ever about me?"
"Oh, Severus. Of course it was. It always has been. You're still the same person, after all, just in a different situation. You have the chance to be free, here."
"Then what changed? Why bother with me at all?"
"I don't know. Perhaps that's the first question you should ask. It might clear up a lot of the problems you're having right now."
To Hermione's surprise, the Professor glanced over at her, then got up and actually walked over to her bedside. Hastily, she slid her cracked eyelids the rest of the way closed, listening to his approach, and tried to even out her breathing the way Ginny had effortlessly feigned sleep earlier. There was a pause, and she could actually feel the Professor staring down at her.
"What happened to her?" He asked. "How close was it?"
"Very close. I had to be a bit creative with this one, I haven't seen it before. She couldn't hear the incantation, but she said it manifested in the form of purple fire. It didn't leave any marks."
"Dolohov." The Professor said quietly, his voice hard. "That's one of his favorites. You'll want to check out her appendix."
"She's been complaining of pain in her ribs, and her shoulder."
"She was just in a fight with several Death Eaters. She likely has more than a little internal bruising that is unrelated. Or it could even be referred pain, but I know that hex, and you should check her appendix."
"I'll do that when she wakes up; poor thing has had a long night." They were quiet for a moment longer. "He asked her about Dolores Umbridge and the centaurs."
"And what did she say?"
"That we were at war, and she wouldn't have regretted it if the woman had been permanently removed."
To Hermione's shock, the Professor let out a low chuckle. "Good girl."
Madam Pomfrey huffed in soft laughter as well. "I thought you'd like that. Will you please let me help you? Just because you can bear ten minutes of Cruciatus after-shocks doesn't mean you have to."
The Professor sighed. "It really isn't that bad, Poppy, really. Honestly, my trick knee is hurting more. The Cruciatus always makes it act up again, and we already know there isn't really anything you can do about that.
"Go home then, and take a mild pain potion and ice it. Try to work things out, hmm?"
There was a quiet disparaging huff, then Hermione heard their footsteps receding.
Long after the Professor left and Madam Pomfrey went back to bed, Hermione lay awake, replaying the conversation in her head.
A/N: Happy Summer Solstice, all!
I am very sorry for the rather awful delay of this chapter. It took me a while to write and finish because I was hung up on a plot point later in the story, and didn't think it was a good idea to continue until it was sorted. Hopefully, now that it has, Severus, Redux will swim right along and pick up more momentum.
The Little Prince is a lovely children's novella. If you have never read The Little Prince, and would like to, here is a link to an English Translation. :-)
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