A/N: After a long wait, here is the second chapter in this story. Originally, I had not decided what Hermione had. I discovered the disease after four hours of research into rare brain diseases. Anyway, Thank you all so much for your reviews. Keep in mind that my brain thrives on reviews. It lives and feeds off of them, and in doing so, it feeds my drive for creativity. So let me know what you think! Now that this is finished and posted, I'm off to write another chapter, maybe two. Enjoy!

I am also looking for a beta! I would like someone who is versatile, meaning willing to edit not only Harry Potter fanfiction, but also Pitch Black/Chronicles of Riddick fanfiction, and possibly much more. After several years, I have branched out from my comfort zone and am beginning to write more stuff. If you are up for the challenge, let me know!

Severus sat at the staff table, waiting impatiently for the other teachers to enter the room. Minerva sat across from him, handkerchief out. Dumbledore was at the head of the table, a grave look on his face. He knew that it had something to do with the Granger girl. He, in all honesty, had been shocked when she not only got the potion wrong, but she simply walked out of class without another word. The fact that she had not been seen since then by anyone in the school had sparked the worry fire within a good many of them. Severus could not claim to be untouched, though there was no chance in hell he was touched enough to bawl into an embroidered square of flannel.

Thankfully, they did not have to wait that long. The teachers entered and sat down.

Dumbledore stood.

"I have called this meeting in regards to Miss Hermione Granger. As you know, she disappeared from Hogwarts yesterday morning, and has not been seen here since. I spoke to a few people in Hogsmeade that say they saw her in Honeydukes before getting on the Knight Bus. This has been confirmed by the attendant at the store.

"Many of you, in fact, all of you, do not know that Miss Granger is very sick. Over the summer, she discovered that she has a brain disease called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It is a muggle disease that also appears in bovine," Dumbledore closed his eyes. "Known as mad cow disease."

Severus held back a snicker.

"However, Miss Granger has a very different form of it. Her form is called Variant CJD. It is a genetic mutation. But here is where the rareness of this disease kicks in. The disease does not normally show up until the mid to late twenties. Miss Granger is barely eighteen, and she has been told that she has less than a year to live."

Dumbledore sighed. Severus frowned deeply. She was dying? How could that be possible? And a brain disease to top it off. If Severus didn't already believe it to be so, he would have thought that there was no God, or if there was, he had a very sick, twisted sense of humor. Give this child a brain and the ability to use it to it's full potential, then kill her with an incurable brain disease that shows up mostly in cows before she's even twenty years old.

"What are the symptoms?" He found himself asking, his voice just barely an octave over whisper.

"Progressive Dementia, personality changes, hallucinations, and seizures, I believe. I think there was more, but I honestly do not remember it all. All I know is that there is no cure in the Muggle world, and we simply do not have such a disease in the wizarding world, and it is fatal.

"Because of this, she is not safe to be by herself. She needs to be brought back where she can be watched over and helped if she takes a turn for the worst."

Severus frowned. The teachers were murmuring to each other. He couldn't say that had he known about her sickness, he would have treated her any different, but he certainly would have taken it into account, if not just a tiny bit. The fact that the young woman was out gallivanting who knows where with something that could and would kill her made him cringe. She had saved his life. Perhaps he could figure out a way to save hers. But he needed a few things first, like testing samples and research. He would have to observe her closely.

"I will find her, and when I do I will attempt to create a cure." Severus volunteered quietly. He did have a life debt to pay, after all. One by one, widened eyes turned to him.

"Are you positive, Severus?" Dumbledore asked him. Minerva was looking at him with hope. He cringed inside.

"Yes. My theory is that Miss Granger went abroad to do and see things that she wants to do before she takes her leave of this world. It is something that I think anyone would do. I will visit her parents house and look around for any clues as to where she might be heading."

Dumbledore looked at him gratefully. "Thank you Severus. I will take over your potions class until you return with her."

Severus stood.

"Headmaster, I will not bring her against her will. I may not be able to find a cure in time, if at all. If that is so, I will not deprive her of her chance to see and do the things she wants to do. If you wish, I will tutor her along the way, but I will not bring her back if she doesn't wish to be brought back."

Dumbledore frowned. "Very well. She is an adult and can therefore make those decisions. I would prefer it if she be brought back," he added when Minerva made to protest, "but I will respect her wishes."

Severus gave a small nod and left the room to go and prepare clothing. He packed his luggage and a good many books, shrunk them, and stuffed it all into one of his pockets. It wasn't until after he was on his way to her home that he began to regret his decision. He knew that he was the last person she would want to see or spend time with. He only hoped that he could find some way to help her. And for Severus Snape, that was a step and a half in the right direction at least.

A/n: all information on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was taken from Wikipedia. As Fanfiction will not allow me to post the link, the page and all it's references can be found through google. As a Disclaimer, I did not write the report, nor do I have anything to do with the information, discovery, or anything else regarding the disease.

This disease is not a laughing matter, and if anybody out there is reading this that has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or knows someone that does have it, I apologize in advance if I have offended you in any way, as it is not my intention.

Thank you for reading!