OpheliaBlack- Yeah sometimes simple really is the way to go, especially when you don't want to make a fuss. Snape's caught in a dilemma at the moment but you know what they say, knowledge is power!
kigostories - Thank you, I will.
Monday morning dawned bright and sunny, promising to be another glorious day. Hermione, having spent Sunday inside, alternately worrying about Snape and losing herself in thoughts of Bellatrix, determined that this would not happen again. Taking the earliest opportunity, she got Arthur to root out an old hammock he'd told her about, before he went off to work and convinced Fred and George to sling it between two of the trees in the orchard for her. The others all decided on a game of quick quidditch.
The only fly in the ointment then, was Ron, "Oh come on Hermione, don't be a spoilsport!" he whined.
"Ron, it'll make an odd number, besides when have I ever played quidditch with you? I hate quidditch…"
"Not if Viktor's playing, eh Hermione", Fred said winking at her, before wisely flying beyond arm's reach. Giving up trying, Ron flew off to join the rest of them and Hermione settled down to read her 7th year Arithmancy textbook, occasionally looking up when the banter got particularly raucous.
Hearing the crack she associated with apparition, some time later, Hermione looked up but did not acknowledge the visitor coming towards her and went back to her studying. "Miss Granger" Snape said conversationally as he joined her.
"Professor" was all she replied.
Frowning he said, "I wondered if we might talk" he looked up at the sky, "somewhere we will not be disturbed".
She debated saying no but knew it was not a request, besides if she forced him to have the conversation where they were, someone was very likely to interrupt or overhear and that would make all her lying, rather pointless. Gazing out at the open fields she had a sudden flash of inspiration and said "the garage, I'll meet you inside in 10 minutes". He nodded his consent and walked back around the side of the house before Molly spotted him.
"Who was that?" Ron asked, flying down and hovering in front of her.
"Snape" Hermione replied, sounding disinterested and not looking up from her book.
"Snape? I wonder what the greasy git wants?"
Hermione shrugged and carried on reading, "I think I'm going to go inside" she said closing her book and looking at the boy as he turned back to watch Ginny score, "this sun is giving me a headache". Ron thought it was probably all the reading but wisely just nodded and flew off yelling, "not fair Ginny, our team was a man down!"
"Not her problem Ron" Fred replied, "if you can't keep your mind on the game, maybe you should sit it out?"
"It's the only way you two would win", Ron replied, "I'll give you that, you'll need the head start, come on George, let's show them how it's done!"
Making sure there was no-one watching, Hermione trailed after Snape, wondering just how unpleasant he was going to be. She found him sitting, rather uncomfortably, on top of what she judged to be a small chest freezer, the plug blackened and half dismantled, telling her Mr Weasley had at some point, tried to get it to work. "Miss Granger, how good of you to join me" he said.
"I don't believe I had a choice Sir" she said, perching precariously on the bonnet of the Ford Anglia, in front of him.
"And yet, we all have free will and therefore the ability to choose" he reflected.
"Sometimes however, the choice is forced upon us by circumstances" she replied and they both knew she was not talking about today.
He nodded, "that it is Miss Granger. Care to tell me about the choices you've been making recently?"
"Care to tell me why you've been snooping through my head?" she replied, then added "Sir" as an afterthought.
He grinned, surprising her as he said, "habit".
"You've been through my thoughts before?" she asked shocked.
"No" he clarified, "I admit, before Saturday, I would not have dreamed it would hold anything more interesting than, the heart number of Weasley, the correct method for brewing Barrufio's brain elixir and possibly some vague, unidentified longings for Krum".
"Viktor and I are just friends and Barrufio's brain elixir is a load of bunkum based on good flavouring and the placebo effect" she said scornfully.
"And Weasley?" he asked, his eyebrow heading skyward.
"That doesn't mean anything, I know everyone's heart numbers, it's a much better way of getting a read on people, since it tells you their motivations. Professor Vector says that…"
"Yes I'm well aware of the evangelising zeal of Professor Vector" he said, cutting her off.
"I'm just pointing out, that the fact that I know doesn't mean anything. Yours is 4 for instance and please don't read anything into that".
"I won't, what is Bellatrix's?"
"1" she replied and then thought it was possibly something she shouldn't already have worked out.
"Remember what we were saying about choices Miss Granger?" Snape said, sounding vaguely sarcastic.
She slumped forward slightly, "what exactly did you see, Professor?" she asked, biting the bullet.
"Apart from the"… he paused, trying to find a suitable word, "interesting, image of Bellatrix right at the beginning. Nothing", he admitted, "after that you were concentrating too hard on your tale and I did not wish to go too deeply and have you notice me. The next time anything was obviously amiss, was when you asked if anyone wanted you to use the necklace. You were chanting, 'please, no' in your head. I now know that Krum would not have been summoned, because he lent his necklace to you".
Hermione mumbled something that sounded like, "as bad as Dumbledore , bloody Legilimens".
"I assure you, he was better…" her Potions Master reassured, "but then he was permanently practicing on someone. May I ask what gave me away?"
"Nothing at the time" she admitted, "although I did feel a slight tug, I realise now that you must have been summonsed". Snape looked puzzled and she continued, "Moody came back early Sunday morning with Kingsley, they were arguing and he said you'd been 'tip-toeing through my head'. Tell me Sir, you said that you know Victor lent me his necklace, did you go to see him?"
"I did".
She nodded and said, "that probably explains it" and looked slightly ill.
"Care to enlighten me?"
"The aurors found Bellatrix in the Department of Magical Transportation, she was looking for something. They were worried about the Burrow wards, that's why they came back here, but she wasn't was she, she was looking for Viktor".
Snape frowned, "I imagine she was actually looking for me, probably from the portkey records. There's an automatic quill record written at the Portkey office from all the Stations. Fortunately, identity is taken by wand and I borrowed someone else's for the occasion. Do not worry Miss Granger, I will corroborate your story to the Dark Lord. Krum didn't know what was happening, he was summoned, saw you were in trouble and came to your rescue. The boy is in Bulgaria, he will be safe. I should congratulate you on the false-memory charm you put on him".
"I didn..." she started confused then said, "oh, you think I should have done?"
"I think, Miss Granger, that it would be safer for him if Bellatrix's thinks you did, how would I have come back with this story otherwise?" She bit her lip and nodded, "Now, I suggest you start from the beginning and tell me exactly what happened" he said.
"Why should I?" Hermione asked mutinously.
Snape steepled his hands and brought them to his lips in contemplation before replying, "two reasons Miss Granger, One, Bellatrix Lestrange is a dangerous woman and I have not stayed alive this long, without knowing a thing or two about handling people like her, I may be able to help you. Two, if you don't, I will be forced to look for myself".
"Carrot and stick, Professor?" she asked, appreciating his honesty if nothing else.
"Quite", he replied, "although I hope you will choose carrot. You will forgive me Miss Granger, if I say that based on the brief snippet I have seen thus far, I would prefer not to have detailed images of you and Bellatrix in my head, that I am sure you would not wish me to entrust them to a pensieve and that I do not intend to obliviate myself".
Hermione nodded, took a deep breath and started at the life debt, told him what she could remember of the death eater attack and then moved on to Bellatrix waking her up.
Snape, having heard Rookwood's version of events at the same time that Bellatrix had, finally understood what had happened. She had, he acknowledged, worked it out much quicker than he but then, she did have the evidence right in front of her. Continuing to listen as Hermione set out the rest of the story, he found himself becoming increasingly puzzled again, though was wise enough not to interrupt. He could understand Hermione's punching her tormentor. He could understand Bellatrix's wish to retaliate. He could even understand the method she used, it wasn't new after all. What he could not understand, however, was either of their reaction to it; even after watching the replay in the, somewhat naïve, Gryffindor's head.
From what he could remember of it, the spell Bellatrix had used forced a purely physical reaction and was intended to cause humiliation. The feelings that he could sense running through the girl at the mere recollection of events, however, were not those of shame, despite the embarrassment she felt at the retelling of them. As for Bellatrix, the spell should not have affected her at all. Why then had she not freed herself from Hermione? Why had it taken so long for her to get up and leave? Why had she even responded? Surely if she wanted her revenge, the best thing to have done, would have been to have left Granger unfulfilled?
Putting aside all of these questions for the moment he said, unreassuringly, "Miss Granger, you do realise, that now the debt is broken, Bellatrix will come after you; if only to ensure that the Dark Lord never hears of her betrayal, for he will not see it as anything else". Hermione nodded miserably and he looked at her for a moment, before seeming to come to a decision.
"Stand up" he said and then "where do you keep your wand?"
"It depends what I'm wearing" she replied, standing and pulling it from the back pocket of her jeans.
"No good. Bellatrix has always been one of the quickest and best duellists around and she plays dirty, if you are not always ready for her, you will stand no chance. Give me your wand and roll up your right sleeve". She did as he asked and he showed her a holstering charm that was not taught at Hogwarts. "Jerk your index finger backward, like this" he said showing her and then watched as her wand shot forward and crashed to the ground. Picking it up, he re-holstered it and said, "Now, put your arm down so that it is hanging naturally and this time try to catch your wand". It took a few attempts but eventually she got it and had to admit, it cut her first cast time to milliseconds. "It is not something the Ministry would approve of, so I would appreciate it if you told no-one of this Miss Granger", he asked. Hermione nodded and he said, "good. Now, Occulmency, let us see if you are a more adept pupil than Mr Potter was".
It seemed like hours, though was in reality, less than one. Seeing he had exhausted her, they stopped and sat back in their respective places, neither minding the silence. He watched as she got her strength back and when he thought she was ready said, "you have done well Miss Granger. Now perhaps you could do something for me? Do you recall where in the Forbidden Forest you were, when Bellatrix cursed you?"
Hermione thought for a moment and then said, "I think so Sir".
"And do you think you can side-along apparate us there?" he enquired.
"I, I don't know" she said, feeling a little sick at all the things that could potentially go wrong, "in theory, yes".
"Theory is no good unless it can be put to practical experiment, Miss Granger", he said, standing up. "I have spent most of the last six years being told that you are the brightest witch of your age, now is the time to prove it. Then after that, the headmistress has invited you to afternoon tea".
"I'd better tell someone I'm leaving" she said.
"Yes" he agreed, "Or Weasley will be knocking down the door to the Bulgarian embassy and heaven only knows what that will do for international relations" .
Fortunately for them both, the Weasley children were still engrossed in their game and entering the house, Molly thought Snape had just arrived. "Severus, we weren't expecting you, were we?" she asked, looking up from the table, where she had valiantly spent the morning trying to get the RSVP's they'd had for the wedding, into some semblance of order.
"No, Molly" he replied, "I'm here to escort Miss Granger to afternoon tea with the Headmistress, although she had the Board of Governors with her when I left, so I imagine she'll be needing something stronger by now".
"Afternoon tea you say? Then you have some time, do either of you read French? I can't make head or tail of some of these" she said waving at the cards, "and Fleur just says not to worry about it, if zay turn up, zay turn up" she finished, doing a passible imitation of her soon to be daughter in law, "well that's all very well for her but what about the catering? At the moment I'm not sure whether it's for 50 or 500 and…" She trailed off, seeing a distinct glower appearing on the Potions Master's face and turned to Hermione for help, only to find her biting her lip in an effort not to laugh.
"I haven't done it for some time but I'll give them a go" the girl volunteered quickly.
Snape, listened to her stilted translation of the first one and despairing of ever getting out of there, plucked it out of her hand, saying, "Oh give them here and start writing. Molly, put the kettle on, this may take some time".
Despite Snape's dire predictions, it did not take that long, mainly because of his burning desire to leave and Hermione's fear that if they didn't, someone might eventually wonder why her Potions Master was apparently on escort duty. Her nerves well and truly overcome by her wish to get out of there, the side-along apparition went smoothly and they found themselves back in a place she'd much rather forget. He did not need her to stay however and after she had pointed out where Bellatrix had been standing, Snape escorted her to the edge of the forest. "The Headmistress will probably be waiting for you by now, the password is Clynelish but I suggest you check with one of the paintings that the meeting is over first", he said and she watched as he disappeared back the way they had come.