In Between Dreams
Chapter Two - Our Only Hope
"It is our only hope, Severus, you know it," Dumbledore reasoned.
"Knowing," Severus countered, "does not make the poison any easier to swallow." He grimaced visibly, as if he literally tasted the metaphoric poison he spoke of. Snape gave up the banter in favor of watching Madam Pomfrey pace the adjacent ward. It was not often she gave in to worry, and he rather enjoyed the production it became when she did. Translucent as the barrier between the wards was, from his perspective, anyway, he could still detect a defined crease in her brow, evidence that she was deep in thought. It aged her horribly, or so he believed.
"Come, now, she cannot possibly be as intolerable as you suggest," Dumbledore said, "She's not been a hindrance thus far." Dumbledore tried to implore Snape to listen; it was in his best interest to, after all.
Snape was at an impasse – for the first time in over a decade he possessed the free will to resist Dumbledore's machinations, and yet he still felt obligated to submit to them. And beyond that, the decision itself seemed to have "life or death" implications, which he was not wont to ignore. Grimly, Snape chose life. He heaved a long-suffering sigh, for being fooled once more into thinking he had choice when it came to matters of his own life.
"I'll do it." Dumbledore did not need to ask what "it" was; he simply nodded, smoothed his already pristine robes, and rose to leave the Intensive Care Ward. At the same moment, Pomfrey stood, unsatisfied in the search of her stores, and turned to look at Hermione. They had Hermione at a slight disadvantage. Snape and Dumbledore watched from behind the enchanted barrier as she abruptly fell from her window seat. They could see her, but she could not reciprocate; she did not see the concern on the face of the current Headmaster, or the satisfied smirk on the face of his one-time replacement.
Pomfrey soon righted Hermione and plied her with potions at a rate of speed that made the resident Potions Master dizzy.
Snape secretly hoped that she had incurred some significant injury, either from the Final Battle, or during her fall from the window that would prevent her from assisting him in his work that evening. But he was not optimistic about it; the Fates never seemed to work in his favor.
