The Ending
Severus, true to his word returned very quickly, though it was hard for Hermione to gauge the time in anything other than sandwiches consumed and mugs of tea drained. He looked cautiously into her room initially and then came through very quickly once he realised she was still awake. Hermione's eyes lit up the minute she spotted the large and obviously very old book he held firmly in one hand. Making his way back to the chair on Hermione's left, Severus sat down and immediately started searching the book. Having found what he was looking for, Severus was pleasantly surprised to see that some of Hermione's pallor has dissipated, and she looked downright eager to get her hands on the book in his lap.
Chuckling to himself at the look of pleasure on Hermione's face, directed as it was to the old Potions book seemed to startle Hermione from the direction of her gaze.
"My apologies for taking so long, Hermione, but Minerva kept me longer than I anticipated. Once I show you this page and you've read it, I should have the ingredients I need to end this once and for all. Oh, and there are quite a few people outside who want to see you as soon as we know it works too."
"But, they can't. I need to get up and look presentable."
"Poppy said almost exactly the same thing and once I'm sure this potion works, Poppy will help you shower and dress. She's actually running around getting that organised for you right now."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Now, I need you to read this," Severus said as he stood and placed the book in Hermione's lap, his finger pointing to the relevant curse.
"The Boogie-Man Curse? You're kidding? It's a children's fairytale, something adults use to scare children into being good."
"In the Muggle world perhaps, Hermione, but it has had far more reaching consequences for you in the Magical world, has it not? Now, before you dismiss it out of hand, you need to read this - out loud, please."
Looking at Severus sceptically, Hermione looked down at the page Severus had pointed to, and began to read slowly.
"'The Boogie-Man Curse, first recorded in 1539 and regarded as restricted almost from the time of its first known use, renders any child upon whom it is cast as susceptible to re-living hurts and those things that the child fears most. Its effects remain largely unknown over an extended period of time, as the potion is easily made and immediately counteracts the effects of the curse. It should also be noted that it must never be used by adults on other adults, as the effects are significantly magnified and can be much harder to counter.'"
Drawing a deep breath, Hermione looked up at Severus who nodded and pointed to the words in front of her again.
"' In adults, the cursed witch or wizard is prone to extreme paranoia and panic, as well as exhibiting either extreme hate or fear. The cursed individual will also seek out the nearest person known to them, with whom there is a history of fear and other torment. In this way, the curse is always present, and continues to torment its victim, until the victim either forgives the past transgressions, or suffers ever more debilitating curse symptoms. Scent plays an important part for the victim in identifying the culprit responsible for its casting. It is, at this time, unknown how this occurs, but any changes to the individual ingredients should be tempered by the knowledge that this factor has only been tested in a small number of cases. The Boogie-Man Curse has been noted to cause death in the most severe cases when the curse is concentrated into a small area. If death is not immediate, then the cursed individual is slowly driven mad. There is no known cure if the potion is not used. Forgiveness of a transgressor negates some of the more pronounced symptoms, but it should be regarded only as a temporary remedy, rather than a cure.'"
"You were legally an adult in the Wizarding world when it was cast on you, Hermione," Severus said quietly noting Hermione's look of extreme shock.
"I can't believe I didn't find it or think about it until now, and I had to ask Albus' portrait in the end anyway. He pointed me straight to this book, which has been aged to look older than it actually is. It's in the Restricted Section, so whoever used it against you had to have found it there. According to Albus, it's the only known reference to the curse, so someone went out of their way to use it on you too, and I think I know who."
Hermione looked at Severus, the question of who would hate her so much that casting it could be masked by all the fighting around her, clearly written all over her features.
"I don't know for sure, but it's my guess that if the potion works, I will have a 'house call' to make very shortly," Severus added menacingly. "But, now, Hermione, I have a potion to make, and a theory to test. Neville Longbottom is sourcing the two most important ingredients for me as we would have to wait for Spring otherwise. I won't say any more for now, but I hope this works. I'll be back as soon as the potion has cooled, and then you can start putting this behind you. How does that sound?"
"Go...good. Almost too good to be true actually," Hermione said brokenly. "But, why? Why would someone do this? What did they hope to gain from it all?"
"If the potion works as I think it will, I will drag the answer in front of you-by force if necessary. Minerva has practically begged to come along with me. Soon, very soon, Hermione. I'll be back with the potion, I promise."
Fifteen minutes later, though it felt far longer to Hermione, Severus returned with a small gold cauldron, crossing the room quickly to stand at the foot of her bed.
"You will not enjoy the taste of this, Hermione, but it's made. Neville came through spectacularly, and the ingredients he was able to source are of the highest quality. As soon as he knew the potion was for you, he went out of his way to call in some favours. What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You called him Neville, not Longbottom, or stupid, or anything else really."
"We have called each other by name for years now, and it's easy to take for granted the things you have missed, Hermione. I hope that will change very shortly though. Now, I need you to drink all of this, and you must not gag or spit any of it out. The reference is most insistent on that point."
Severus moved to Hermione's side then and held the cauldron firmly between his hands. Nodding to Hermione, he gently began to tip the contents of the cauldron into her open mouth.
Hermione's first instinct as soon as she smelt the grassy floral scent of the potion, heavily laced with honeysuckle was to spit it across the room, but she supposed that Severus would not have been so insistent on her drinking it all without gagging without good cause. Using the thumb and forefinger on her left hand to pinch her nose, Hermione waved her right hand to try and hurry Severus to tip the rest of the potion into her mouth quickly.
Once she'd swallowed the last drops in the cauldron, Hermione closed her mouth, still unsure that she wasn't about to expel the potion across the far wall.
Severus said nothing but watched closely to see if there were any recognisable changes in Hermione's features. Just as he was despairing that he had identified the wrong culprit, Hermione exclaimed loudly and looked at her healed palms. No broken skin and no scarring. Looking swiftly to her face, Severus watched the ravages of the curse being reversed by the potion. Her scarred and prematurely wrinkled skin, cracked lips and reddened nose transformed right in front of him. Hermione looked at Severus then. The look of wonder on his face was almost more than she could stand, and he had tears in his eyes. He made no effort to brush them away either.
"I had never thought...I would ever see you healed, Hermione, and I promise you I will never make you go anywhere near honeysuckle ever again."
Hermione laughed then and suddenly realised that nothing hurt. She still felt terribly weak, but not like she'd been run-over by the Hogwarts Express-several times. Without saying anything, Hermione opened her arms, one hand brushing the cauldron out of Severus's hands. Tugging him forward by his sleeves, she urged him to come closer to her. Understanding only at the last minute, Severus moved forward and into Hermione's arms, allowing her to hug him and thank him over and over again.
Stepping back reluctantly, Severus said, "I'll just go and get Poppy so she can help you shower and get dressed, and then there are quite a few people who would like to see you if that's all right?"
"You'll come back won't you, Severus?"
"I will, I promise, right after Poppy has worked her magic on you."
