Thank you for following the story and I appreciate your reviews! The following is a slightly longer chapter, just so that we can be prepared for what's to come...
Thanks TMNinjaGinga for being my beta!
All characters belong to the brilliant J. K. Rowling.
Chapter Six - Another Incentive
Hermione ran towards her flat as soon as she got out of Snape's unit. She didn't look back as she heard the door shut behind her. All she could think, was that it had past the usual time that she would normally open her notebook and write to T. Was he still upset with her after the previous night? Would he write her a message first?
She remembered how disappointed she was only twenty-four hours ago, when T did not return her note after she asked if he wanted to play the guessing game. She took it as a hint that the wizard was either offended by her suggestion, or annoyed by her constant pursuit of his true identity.
The Previous Night...
After waiting at her desk for another hour, Hermione finally gave up on the hope that T would reply to her questions. She ended up spending the rest of the night lying in bed, staring at the ceiling as she recalled her communications with T throughout the years. The more she thought about the messages that they had exchanged the more certain she was that he indeed cared about her as much as she cared about him.
She clearly remembered the messages he had left her right after the narrow escape with Harry and Ron from Malfoy Manor with the help of Dobby. Weak from Bellatrix Lestrange's Cruciatus Curse, Hermione wasn't able to get out of bed for three days. When she finally got up in the morning on the fourth day, she found a string of messages in the notebook from a very concerned T:
"I have not received a message from you tonight. I hope you have a good reason not writing at the regular time. Please provide me with a report on your status as soon as you can."
"It's past mid-night. Is everything alright? Let me know what has happened."
"I still have not heard from you. I hope you three found a way to resolve whatever problem you have encountered. I will be waiting for your reply. Write back to me as soon as possible."
"Do you need any help? Why haven't you replied to my previous messages? Damn Dumbledore... he should have embedded a location tracking charm in the notebook. Write back."
The next message appeared to have been sent to her the day after Hermione arrived at the shell cottage:
"I was informed about your getaway from Malfoy Manor. Were any of you injured? I received conflicted information about your condition. Let me know how I can assist you."
Before Hermione was well enough to write back, T wrote her again:
"I sincerely hope that the reason why you have not replied to my messages is because you are being forced to bed rest and are making good progress with your recovery. The Cruciatus Curse can cause permanent injury. How long were you exposed to the curse? Are you experiencing any difficulties in speaking or writing? If you can read this message please write back to me. I would appreciate any signs that would indicate your current condition."
When Hermione first saw the messages, she had thought that T was concerned about Harry's safety. As she read on however, she realized his concerns were more towards her than anyone else. When she was finally able to write him a short message after three days of recovery, T wrote back immediately, as if he was waiting by the notebook the entire time:
"Good." He wrote, "You had me worried. Make sure you have plenty of rest before plotting the next step with Potter and Weasley. And as always, please stay safe."
It took another cup of chamomile tea before Hermione could finally put away those bittersweet war time memories. As she finally drifted to sleep, she heard herself whispering, "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me? Why won't you tell me who you are? Do you not love me at all?"
Back to the Present...
Hermione didn't waste a minute as soon as she walked in the door. She walked straight to her study and sat down at her desk. To her slight disappointment, there wasn't a message from him waiting in the notebook. With her brows furrowed she sent him a short greeting. She watched the pages closely and held her breath. A moment later, she let out a relieved sigh as a warm glow appeared between the pages.
"Good to hear from you Hermione. I'm sure you had a good reason to be late. Thanks for asking. I had a pleasant evening." T wrote in his message. "I made a mistake yesterday - underestimating someone. I have to admit, I have never been this pleased to realize that I was indeed, wrong."
If this was the night before, Hermione was sure she would press on and ask what made him so happy and who it was he had underestimated. However after the cold shoulder she experienced after pushing for the wizard's identity, she had decided to hold her tongue, and change the subject.
"I am very excited to see my client agreeing to be cooperative. Interestingly enough, both he and Kingsley seem to think that this is a political case. I will be careful of course. But I honestly think they are just overreacting. I don't see how they could draw such a conclusion." She wrote.
"The best way to understand their comments is probably asking them for their reasoning. It is not unreasonable for them to draw such a conclusion since they probably both have more experience dealing with the Ministry than you do. It may be wise for you to be more open to their opinions. If you could put down your pride and admit that you could use some advice from them, I suspect at least one of them would be willing to share with you their observations." He replied.
He also seemed taken aback when she asked if he knew about the questionnaires that the aurors have to complete.
"That sounds alarming. This kind of systematic inquiry almost sounds like the prelude to a bigger political movement." He commented in his message, "If your friend Ron is right about this being caused by Skeeter's articles, you may want to get a better understanding of the motives behind her writing those stories. Is money her only concern? Or did she write the stories under someone's instructions?"
The last part of T's message was the reason why Hermione stayed up late again. She had never read any of Rita Skeeter's stories with this much attention before. For each of the stories, Hermione began to write down detailed notes on the aurors involved in the scandals, as well as the other individuals connected with these aurors. She also started a time line, trying to piece together a shared history of the aurors in Skeeter's stories, hoping to find a reason why they deserved the attention of the witch's poisonous quill.
The overtime Hermione spent reading the Skeeter articles did not help her productivity on the following day. She woke up feeling completely exhausted. After making herself a strong cup of coffee, she walked down the hall and knocked on the door that led to Severus Snape's temporary flat.
"Good morning Miss Granger." He greeted her coolly.
Hermione wasn't sure if it was her imagination, the early morning fresh air, or the scent of Darjeeling coming from Snape's small kitchen, but she almost thought she saw him smile when he opened his door. But when she looked up carefully again at him, his smile had already vanished.
As the day went by, it had become apparent to Hermione that Snape was in a very good mood. Not once did he threaten to "refuse" her "service". He was almost reasonable as they went through all of the accusations brought against him, and only made one snarly comment when she tried to cover a yawn with her hand by mid-morning.
"What a shame Miss Granger, that you are no longer a student in my class." His velvet voice still had the exact intimidating effect as it did to her when she was in his potions class. "If there is one thing that I miss from no longer teaching at Hogwarts, it's taking a good ten points from the Gryffindors, and awarding a week-long detention to one of Minerva's favorite students."
Taking a deep breath Hermione carefully looked up at the wizard who was her client and her former potions master, expecting to see those piercing dark eyes pouring down at her. To her great surprise, she only found Snape looking at her in amusement. He almost looked friendly.
"Stayed up late last night, Miss Granger?" The corner of Severus' lips slowly curled up into a small smile.
"I'm sorry sir. Yes..." After a brief pause Hermione looked back up at the wizard, "Professor Snape, I guess I might be a bit naive about politics. I would appreciate it if you could share with me your concerns. What made you think there were other reasons why I was assigned this case? Why did you say this was a trap?"
Severus gave the young witch a good long look before getting up from the table. Slowly he began to pace the room and said, "You are indeed naive about politics. But I wouldn't say that is entirely your fault. After all, this kind of experience is not something you can learn from reading a book.
"The war only ended slightly over a year ago. While everyone seems to be focusing on rebuilding our world, not many are paying much attention to our new government. I haven't seen a clear structure of the new Ministry. All of the departments seem to be struggling to fix what was damaged, and have not been able to work together under a common leadership. That has been very concerning to me.
"My case has only recently been investigated by the Auror's Office. It was considered a high profile case with many high profile witnesses - Potter being one of them. No one has questioned the words of the boy-who-lived since we established the fact that he did not lie about the Dark Lord's return. My case being re-opened by a different department in the Ministry was what first drew my attention to the strangeness of the situation. I sense that they were either trying to question the credibility of the witnesses or the individuals involved in acquitting me.
"I was well aware of the fact that they had arrested me without the general public's knowledge. They could have easily sent me to Azkaban without a trial if all they wanted was personal revenge. On the other hand, if they truly wanted a fair trial, they would have assigned a qualified... no offence Miss Granger... but when I say qualified I mean someone who has plenty of experience dealing with such sensitive cases, to be my defense lawyer. At the very least, they should have allowed your department head to decide who would be best fitted to serve as my defense team. They didn't however. That's why Shacklebolt is alarmed. Because of the nature of my case, and this unfitting assignment for you, it is obvious to me that having you involved is a trap set up for you; not for me, but for you." Severus pressed his lips tight together as he finished his thought process.
"That sounds outrageous." Hermione frowned at Snape's theory. "But let's just say, for argument's sake, that you and Kingsley are correct, and that this is indeed a trap for me. What good does it do? Unless this is for personal reasons, I really don't understand why anyone would want to target me."
"That is something I am still trying to figure out myself." Severus stroked his chin with his long pale fingers. "There is one thing to keep in mind, Miss Granger. When it comes to political cases, there are usually more complicated motives behind the sabotage of the supposed target's reputation or well-being. We need to look beyond these charges if we want to find the answer. But of course, I agree with your plan, as I see going through the accusations as a logical place to start."
When Hermione thought about her conversation with her former potions master later that day, she couldn't help noticing how he sounded approving with her plans, and how he started using "we" when he talked. Smiling to herself, she decided that was another good sign. Nothing would be more helpful than a cooperative client.
They spent the rest of the day sorting through the notes Hermione took from her initial research, as well as the documents she requested from the Auror's Office during their investigation the previous year. Hermione quickly realized when Snape was not trying to look for excuses to give her a hard time, he could actually be a very effective partner.
Working through lunch and dinner, they finally finished reviewing all of the accusations.
"Very interesting..." Severus frowned at the papers in front of them, "Did you notice that they didn't bring up the entire case this time? It seems to me that whoever wanted to reopen this case wanted only to focus on some specific events."
"If this has anything to do with a bigger target, that target must be involved in these events!" Hermione's eyes brightened up as she realized where Snape was leading.
"I see the insufferable know-it-all hasn't changed much since her years in Hogwarts." Snape arched an eyebrow as he looked back at Hermione.
"I hardly know anything, Professor Snape." Hermione let out a chuckle, "I'm only thinking along the lines of your analysis. But really," She rubbed her eyes, trying to drive away the exhaustion, "I can't think much anymore. Can we take a break?"
Severus gave Hermione a curious look before walking into his kitchen. "I don't have much to offer you Miss Granger, other than the tea you brought me a few days ago."
"Oh no that would not be good." Hermione groaned, "Those are all too strong. I really need to sleep tonight."
"Too strong…" Severus murmured. "Now you tell me…"
"I'm so sorry." Hermione's eyes widened, "Did the tea keep you up?" She thought for a moment before asking in a small voice, "Would you like to come over to my place for some chamomile tea? It helps me sleep better."
It was a slightly awkward moment as Hermione waited for a reply from the wizard. After what seemed like a careful consideration, Snape said, "I suppose that wouldn't hurt."
Severus could not remember the last time he visited a young woman's home. True, he had visited Minerva plenty of times when they were colleagues and neighbors living in the castle. But one could hardly call Minerva a young woman, he chuckled inwardly.
As he followed Hermione into her flat, the first thing that caught his eye was a small Christmas tree decorated with lights and tinsel on a small shelf by the window. Not far from the Christmas tree was a large painting of Hogwarts hanging on the wall. The painting was not the kind of traditional portrait that he was used to seeing at places like Malfoy Manor or Grimmauld Place. Instead, the painting looked rather modern, with the appearance of a photograph rather than an oil painting. It was night in the painting, with a sliver of moon hanging by the tip of the astronomy tower. Severus suspected the painting was enchanted to mirror the time of the day. His suspicion of the painting's magical qualities was quickly confirmed when he noticed two owls sailing across the darkening sky.
"It'll just take me a minute." Hermione said as she made her way to the kitchen. "Make yourself home." She frowned at her own words. What made her say that? Did she really just ask Snape to make himself home? There had to be other ways to offer the polite gesture. Shaking her head slightly, she proceeded to put the tea kettle on the stove.
Severus wandered on into her study, where the young witch kept several photographs of her friends. Severus frowned in annoyance as a very excited Harry Potter waved at him from one of the pictures on her bookshelf. Next to a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Severus found a few muggle pictures of a much younger version of Hermione and an older couple, who he guessed had to be her parents. Severus was aware of the fact that Hermione did not have any siblings. From the way her parents cuddled next to the young girl in the pictures and their bright smile towards the camera, Severus could tell Hermione meant the world to her parents.
"Merlin's beard!" Hermione suddenly let out a yelp from the kitchen. "When did you come in here T? You scared me!"
Not believing his own ears, Severus hurried to the kitchen, only to find a large black cat on the countertop, with its tail held high, nudging Hermione with its fluffy head.
"What did you say, Miss Granger?" He asked.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you. I was just startled by my neighborhood cat. I call him T. He is actually very friendly. It's just that I never knew when he will show up. And he is always so quiet around me, until he jumps up next to me I don't know he's there. I should probably find his owner and offer a bell for his collar…"
"T? I thought your cat's name was Crookshanks." Severus frowned, not realizing what he said.
"Crookshanks ran away during the chaos at Bill's wedding. I haven't seen him since." Hermione sighed; a frown suddenly appeared between her brows, "How do you know my cat's name is Crookshanks?"
Blinking a couple times at the young witch Severus answered coolly, "You should know by now how your Head of House thought of you three. Minerva talked about you three like children of her own. The name of your cat must have escaped her at least once or twice."
"Oh…" Hermione thought for a moment, not sure what to make of the information. She couldn't remember when she had talked to Minerva about her pet.
"You said the cat often shows up unannounced?" Severus changed the topic by bringing up a question, "How do you know he is not an animagus?" He frowned at the cat, who was now staring at Snape with his golden eyes.
"Not to worry Professor Snape." Hermione smiled at the cat as she reached for the tea pot and the cups. "I thought about that, quite a few times. It's amazing that he knows how to push open my window and visit me when I'm home alone, often when I needed some company. For a while I thought he was someone I knew. But after trying the Homorphus Charm several times on him, I can guarantee you he is nothing more than a beautiful, but ordinary cat."
Severus watched quietly as Hermione set a small dish of milk down on the kitchen floor for the cat named T. He was glad that Hermione was no longer questioning how he came to the knowledge of her pet cat's name. What was more intriguing to him however, was that she had named the friendly cat T.
He followed her wordlessly into her study as she set the tea set on a small table by her sofa. Walking up to her desk he immediately recognized the notebook that looked exactly the same as his.
"This is my favorite chamomile, Professor." Hermione asked him, "Would you like some sugar or honey?"
"Straight is fine." He answered, and turned to take a cup of the warm liquid from her. When he turned back towards her desk with the cup in his hand, he noticed the notebook had disappeared.
"A good friend of mine recommended that I research Rita Skeeter's stories." Hermione pointed to some newspaper clippings on her desk. "I think there are some links among the stories that she has written. I need a little more time to process them though."
"A good friend of yours… is that so?" Severus seemed amused by the information. "That's a reasonable angle." he nodded in agreement, "I am intrigued to know what you can learn from her stories."
Glancing over the pile of newspaper, Severus noticed several books on advanced Memory Charms. "Memory Charms." He arched an eyebrow at the witch, "Is this also a research project?"
"Uh…" Hermione opened her mouth but hesitated. A long moment later she said, "Yes. I was hoping to find a way to undo a Memory Charm."
Looking at the witch curiously Severus sat down in the sofa opposite her. "Do you mind explaining the purpose for the research?" When he noticed her hesitation he added, "I may be able to offer some assistance."
Hermione's eyes widened at his words. After months of research, she had almost given up hope of finding a solution. Biting on her bottom lip she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Finally she asked, "Professor Snape, what are your opinions about using Memory Charms to protect the innocent?"
Severus deep dark eyes locked upon Hermione for a long moment before he answered in his cool velvet voice, "It is an admirable act to protect anyone from the Dark Lord during the war. Certain things may be better if forgotten. Depending on the circumstance when the Memory Charms were cast, it may not be as evil as it is commonly considered."
Hermione let out a shaky sigh as she frowned at her cup of tea. After a long pause she said, "I cast a Memory Charm on my parents at the beginning of the war. Now they don't even remember that I ever existed. I want to bring them back."
Severus sat quietly as he listened. He didn't say a word in reply. Instead, he simply gave Hermione a small nod, encouraging her to go on.
"I have tried everything Professor: potions, spells, charms. But nothing seems to have even the slightest chance of having the qualities needed to counter a Memory Charm. Although a few Order members knew that I had sent my parents to safety at the beginning of the war, no one, other than Harry and Ron, knew about the Memory Charm that I used. After the war, I saw how the new Ministry dealt with witches and wizards who had used magic on muggles, and I knew they would not understand. So for all this time, I haven't been able to talk to anyone about my research. Ron and Harry tried to encourage me, but other than that they have not been helpful. To be honest with you, Professor, I am at a point where I am about to give up. Do you know a way to undo it?" Hermione looked up at Severus tentatively.
Severus examined the young witch in front of him and thought for a long moment, and decided not to comment on her use of the Memory Charm without fully considering the consequences. Setting the tea cup down at the small table he asked her, "Have you had a chance to study Legilimency?"
Hermione's eyes narrowed as she considered his words. Her jaw dropped as she suddenly realized what he was implying. "Of course! Are you saying that by entering someone's mind through legilimency, the lost memory can be brought back?"
"I see that your chamomile tea did not put your mind to sleep." The corners of Severus' lips turned up into a small smile. "Yes indeed. Memory Charms do not simply erase one's memory. Instead, the charms lock away the targeted memories deep into one's mind. It is different from occlumency, in which case the occlument has the control over how to hide certain memories. In the case of a Memory Charm, one's memory is altered by an outside force. And therefore, can only be repaired by an outside force, through legilimency."
"Why was this treatment not mentioned in any of the books?" Hermione was beyond excited, and couldn't believe how she could have missed the logical solution.
"Not everything is written in books, Miss Granger," Severus answered impassively. "Or should I say, is written in the books that are considered appropriate for ordinary research." A smirk slowly spread across his face. "Since memory charms are not a magic to be encouraged, their solution, naturally, has never been published widely."
"That makes complete sense! Thank you Professor!" Hermione jumped up from her seat and began to pace the room. She twisted her fingers together nervously as she considered the new knowledge. A moment later she stopped in front of Snape and asked, "Can you teach me Legilimency, Professor Snape? Please?"
Severus' heart sank as he looked back at her eager face. If there was one thing he had not mentioned to her regarding his case, it would be the fact that he didn't think it was a defendable case. The power behind the accusation seemed to be too much for a young witch to fight. Legilimency was not some magical theory that could be learned quickly. If he were to teach her before him being sent to Azkaban, he would need to start soon. "When would you like to start Miss Granger?" He took a deep breath and asked quietly, "Tomorrow?"
"No, of course not!" She let out a chuckle, "You've got to get your priorities straight. We will focus on your case first. We can start as soon as we have your name cleared, if you don't mind."
Severus didn't know what to say as he stared at her beautiful smile. "What if… we lose the case?" He finally asked coolly.
"We won't!" She continued to smile at him brightly, "This just gives me another incentive to work harder. I will help you fight them, Professor Snape! We will win the case!"
Frowning slightly at the excited young witch Severus was at a loss for words. He might just have to think of another way to make sure she got the help she needed. Because somehow, Severus did not think there would be much a future for him, or anything else that he had begun dreaming of over the past few years.
I would love to see your review again. I'm working on a Christmas present for you. Hopefully we will have the next chapter up right in time! =)