Harry Potter and his world belong to JKR
Hermione woke up, the sunlight streaming in from the window over her head. Severus had already gotten up without waking her, but she could hear him flipping through the pages of a newspaper in the other room. She mustered the strength to leave the warm bed, found and put on her nightdress, and made her way to the living room while yawning and straightening her hair with her fingers.
Her heart did a flip when she saw the back of Severus's head as he sat in his chair, preoccupied with reading the newest issue of The Practical Potioneer. Had this become her new normal? She reveled in this tiny private moment, this snippet in time when he didn't know he was being observed and was entirely at ease. She loved him - and he loved her. Tears rose to the corners of her eyes, and she blinked them back.
Hermione smiled to herself, then lent forward over Severus's shoulder and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek, watching as his lips turned up in the semblance of a grin. His eyes went to her and watched from over the top of his paper as she sat down with her side to the back of the settee, facing him.
"How are you?" he asked, fully dressed with an empty teacup on the table beside him. He folded the broadsheet and let it sit upon his thighs.
"A little sore," she admitted, accepting the cup of tea he summoned for her from its mid-air flight. "But fine, really."
"Drink," he suggested, kindly.
She sipped and nodded, tasting both ginger and cinnamon. "Ginger, for the soreness," she reasoned, looking at Severus who seemed a bit amused. "And cinnamon...?"
"Useful for many things. I suppose, in your case, memory enhancement."
Reality came back to Hermione in an instant. "N.E.W.T.s," she groaned, closing her eyes, the easy comfort she felt suddenly dissipating. "I have so much to do in the next month."
"Perhaps, then, we can peruse some more of my mother's memories before you become engrossed in your studies?"
She nodded and smiled, enjoying his pleasant mood. He returned to his paper and she finished her tea before changing into her set of simple black robes.
A house-elf appeared with a small pop in front of the fireplace as soon as Hermione crossed the threshold of the living area. It had a small plate on its hands which she quickly lifted away, for the house-elf was shaking uncontrollably.
"Jitters brings Miss Head Girl breakfast, for she must be hungry."
Hermione watched as Severus rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Jitters," she said, blinking from the sudden pop the elf caused as it Disapparated.
"I really must ask them to stop Apparating into my chambers," Severus muttered. "They only do so when you're here."
She blushed. On the plate were pancakes covered in a hot blueberry sauce and whipped cream. She conjured a fork and knife and sat the plate on her lap, before taking a small bite. "Mmm..." She smiled to herself and took another bite. "This is exactly what I wanted."
She noticed that Severus was watching her, taking his fill of the sight of her, and wondered if he, as she, was thinking of last night.
When she had finished eating, Severus folded his paper, took some Floo Powder from the jar sitting on the mantle, and sent the plate back to the kitchens. He met Hermione in the back of the room with the Pensieve and swirled the mixture with his wand.
"I have a question," she began.
"Of course," he responded, tilting his head in her direction and looking at her thoughtfully.
"When Ron, Harry, and I had talked to Myrtle about her death several years ago, she said that she had waited for hours for anyone to come and find her. And, if I remember correctly, the person who did was Olive Hornby."
"And?"
"She had made out as though she had no friends, but it's obvious that your mother was one. Why didn't your mother go looking for Myrtle when she went missing?"
"Patience, Hermione, is a virtue." She opened her mouth to give a retort, but he explained, "You don't have long to wait for the answers you seek."
They bent into the liquid of the Pensieve and saw Eileen. She was standing in the deserted second floor girl's bathroom, staring at her reflection in the cracked and spotted mirror which was illuminated by torchlight. She concentrated and watched as her hair turned a lighter auburn, then sandy blonde, and then a striking shade of yellow. Hermione could only imagine that Tom Riddle had charmed her when he had called her "Princess," and she had become self-conscious about her appearance. She could imagine Eileen's internal dialogue, considering the amount of time she herself had spent in front of the mirror thinking similar thoughts. Perhaps if I thinned my eyebrows a little and softened the black of my hair... added some blush to my cheeks and plumped my lips just a touch... Hermione watched as Eileen squinted while adjusting her appearance. The changes were not much - no one would be able to tell much differently - but the effect was lovely.
Eileen looked down and Hermione noticed she was looking at a small snake etched into the side of the copper tap. It was strange, but not so significant or interesting in a place such as Hogwarts. However, when Eileen ran her forefinger over the engraving, Hermione immediately understood her interest. This was Salazar's symbol, the one she had been tasked by Tom to find.
"It makes sense," Hermione whispered. "How else would he have found the entrance? A girl had to have helped him. These bathrooms were still used back then; I doubt he would have thought to check them."
Severus nodded, walking out of the chamber as his mother did. Hermione followed. They walked up the two flights of stairs to the library, presumably to find Tom. However, the first person Eileen found was someone she had not intended on seeing.
"Oh, hello Rubeus!" she exclaimed at the broad back which towered over her.
He turned around and bent over in order to better speak with her. "Eileen, I've been lookin' fer yeh," he smiled. "Wanted ter tell yeh abou' Kettleburn. He wants me ter help 'im!"
"Oh, that's great!"
"An' look," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a round milky-white orb. It looked like a crystal ball but there was a dark spot in the middle, and Eileen was confused about what it was. He dropped it into her open hands so she could look it over, Hermione and Severus both standing over her shoulder as she did. "What is it?" she finally asked.
"An Acromantula egg."
"What's an 'Acromantula?'"
"A gian' spider."
"Take it, take it away!" exclaimed Eileen, handing the egg back to Hagrid and jumping back, right through Severus and Hermione. "How did you get that thing?"
"Professor Kettleburn bough' a load of 'em off some traveler, an' I... I took one."
"You took one? Oh, Rubeus, how could you?"
Hagrid immediately turned red. "Bu' it's jus' one – he won' miss it too much. I'll take care-"
"Rubeus, you need to go back and give it back to Professor Kettleburn! It's going to be a giant spider one day and you won't be able to take care of it anymore! It could hurt someone!" She seemed exasperated and desperate to get through to him.
Hagrid had already put the egg back into his pocket. "O' course I will-"
"Rubeus, please!" she begged.
He looked as though he would begin to cry again, and his shoulders were hunched over as he walked out of the library and down the corridor. Eileen sighed and turned to walk down the adjoining aisle only to find Tom Riddle standing, watching her. He had obviously just heard everything that had been said.
Eileen, however, barely noticed; if she did, she didn't give any sign that she had. "Tom, I've found it."
"Found what, my Princess?" he leered, leaning against the freestanding bookcase next to them.
"The entrance," she whispered. His eyes grew large.
The library melted away and Hermione and Severus again stood in the girl's bathroom. Tom hissed to the tap in Parseltongue, Eileen standing guard at the entry to the large chamber. The sink screeched as it moved down, exposing a huge pipe.
Tom knelt down and looked into the darkness as though attempting to discern how far the drop was. He then turned to Eileen. "Are you coming with me?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I helped you find it, Tom, but I'm not going with you." She looked out into the corridor as some girls passed by. "Hurry, someone might walk in. Go!" she exclaimed.
He slid down and out of view, and everything faded. Hermione and Severus were now standing in Eileen's dormitory, watching as she packed her trunk. Myrtle sat on her bed, gloomily looking out of the large windows which faced the mountains. She was holding a pillow to her stomach and looked slightly pale. Hermione wondered how many days of life she had left. A month? A week? She looked as though she would collapse from exhaustion and worry at any moment, and Eileen looked no better.
"Do you really have to go?" Myrtle asked.
Eileen stowed the last of her clothes before turning around. "I don't want to," she said tearfully. "My mum and dad are making me." She paused, sitting down on her bed to face Myrtle. "But I don't blame them – four attacks in two weeks means that Hogwarts isn't safe. I just wish you were coming home with me."
The two girls hugged and Eileen locked her trunk, ready to burst into tears. Hermione and Severus followed the girls down the many flights of stairs they took on their descent until they reached the ground floor. McGonagall stood watchfully in the Entrance Hall, her hair braided back and her eyes nervously looking through the square frames of her glasses. She was quietly giving orders to the few students who were leaving while running her hand along the back of a tabby cat she had awkwardly cradled in her arms for comfort. Another Gryffindor Prefect with long straight hair hurried to stand next to her, whispering quietly and anxiously.
"Augusta Longbottom," explained Severus.
Eileen quickly ran up to a middle-aged couple who Hermione quickly assumed to be her parents - and Severus's grandparents, she thought. She noticed his grandmother from one of the first memories she had seen. She was slightly short, with curly blonde hair parted to one side that fell above her shoulders. There were large pearl earrings in her ears and she wore knee-length robes layered in shades of green. His grandfather towered over her, bending over to give his daughter a kiss before straightening back up. He had short black hair and wore robes of a deep blue, which draped over him as they would a coat rack. He was thin and angular but still good-looking, his eyes a shocking blue which changed from cold to warm as his expression did. It was obvious from how they were dressed that Eileen came from a family of wealth.
Professor Dippet was scurrying from family to family and looking harried, assuring that Hogwarts would be safe before long, that the attacker would be found, and that he was deeply saddened at the students' departures. Eileen took the time that the Headmaster spoke to her parents to hug Myrtle goodbye a final time.
They were suddenly in Eileen's bedroom at home, and she was laying upon the covers of her bed, sobbing. The Daily Prophet was splayed out on the covers in front of her, the headline "Girl Murdered: Culprit Identified, Expelled" in large lettering across the top. Professor Dippet was standing in front of the students in the Great Hall, looking morose and giving a silent speech. Lower on the page was a small picture with a handsome boy in Slytherin robes who smiled as he was being handed a large trophy for special services to the school. An article on another page was titled "Grindelwald's Forces Strong in Bulgaria."
Suddenly, the boy in the photograph stepped out of green flames which sprung up from the grate in Eileen's empty fireplace.
"There, there," he said, clucking his tongue at her with false empathy, "no use in crying."
She sat up and grabbed her wand from the drawer in her bedside table, pointing it straight at him. "How did you find me?"
"The school has records." He drew out his own wand. "You know as well as I that you aren't allowed to perform magic outside of school. Lower your wand," he commanded.
"What are you d-doing here?" She edged further away, without lowering her wand.
Tom stood near the edge of her bed and looked over her large bedroom. It was painted a soft blue and had high, vaulted ceilings, not unlike the Ravenclaw dormitories. She had a four-poster bed with white draping fabric and a matching bedspread. A large bookcase hugged the far wall and was filled to the brim with novels and small knick-knacks which seemed alive as they whirred, spun, and crawled around the books. Her half-emptied trunk sat open next to a wooden desk by the fireplace, and on the desk sat a birdcage with a small brown owl inside, its head tucked under its wing.
When he did not say anything to her, she said, "I've read the Prophet; I saw that you, you've b-blamed Rubeus..." she stuttered. She then glared at Tom. "Rubeus would n-never have kept a creature that could... could k-kill someone! And, the attacks... they all s-started after you opened the c-chamber. It made me w-wonder if, if..." When he made no effort to dissuade her of her opinion, a horrified look came to her face. "It was you," she whispered, her wand shaking. "Rubeus... and M-Myrtle," she gulped, tears filling her eyes. "I'll... I'll tell Professor D-Dippet what you've d-done!"
This was why he had come. He strode towards her, his furious face centimeters from hers as she sat back on her bed. "Tell him what? How you told me the exact location to the entrance of Slytherin's chamber? How, without you, I would never have been able to release the monster - and your filthy, Mudblood friend Myrtle would still be alive?" He had sneered the word friend, not caring what she felt, the horrible weight of the consequences of her actions hitting her like a punch to the stomach. "I'm sure he would take pity on you, before breaking your wand and expelling you. What would your family think?"
He pulled away from her and stood up, looking out of her window to the meadow below. She studied his face and found that he was no longer handsome to her. His face was white and stony, his lips thin, his nose and cheekbones sharp, his eyes dull and lifeless.
"Get out, Tom," she ordered, crying freely. "Out – get OUT!" she shouted, throwing a book after him as he leapt towards the fireplace at the sound of high heels on wood. He disappeared before Eileen's mother stuck her head in the room.
"What's wrong, dear?" she asked sweetly, entering the room as her daughter cried. She looked impeccable in her long blue gown, and did not hesitate to pull a sobbing Eileen to her chest, her eyes looking upon the newspaper on her bed. "I'm so sorry about your friend, Eileen. But at least you will be able to go back to school in the autumn, now that the boy who did it has been expelled." It was a weak gesture of comfort and her mother knew it. She sighed, and said, "It's almost time for dinner – will you come down?"
"I'm not really hungry," she murmured, miserably.
"All right." Her mother watched as she lay down in bed, despondent. "Try not to feel so bad, there's nothing you could have done to prevent it. What has happened, has happened." Eileen's tears streamed down her face as she turned onto her side, trying to come to terms with what she had just learned.
The memory faded, and they reappeared within Hogwarts. Hermione and Severus watched Eileen standing in an empty corridor, her long wand clutched in her shaking hand. She was wearing her Hogwarts uniform, her black hair braided down her back, and her face was flushed as though she had been running. Now trapped at the end of a corridor, she turned around and frantically searched for some way to escape her invisible pursuer. She had her hand on an empty classroom door, trying to pull it open in order to disappear inside. Several of the portraits were silently eyeing her with suspicion before looking back the way she came, only to see Tom Riddle striding in her direction.
"You dare run?" he mocked, shooting a red spell at her.
"Protego!" she exclaimed, deflecting it.
"Impressive magic for a – fourth year," he said, pausing only to aim a hex at her heart as he gained ground on her.
She deflected this once again before sending out a string of defensive spells. The portraits began clamoring and shuffling about to find better frames to see the duel, and Tom stepped back a few feet to distance himself from her, still looking furious.
"No one – no one – touches Lord Voldemort's possessions," he seethed, watching her tremble in fear. Hermione and Severus stood against the wall, between the two, as their spells ricocheted off the ceiling and caused several paintings to fall to the ground and shatter.
He shot a spell at her, causing her to double over in pain and slump to the floor. She scrambled onto her knees, still deflecting his spells. Eileen wondered if he would kill her as he had killed Myrtle, without a second thought. He had had murder in his eyes ever since he returned to Hogwarts the following September. She lifted her wand high as did he, both ready to strike, when they found themselves suddenly immobile.
A soft voice admonished, "That is enough." Dumbledore materialized between the two of them, looking from face to face in silence. With the slightest of motions he released them from their invisible bonds.
Tom dropped his hands to his side and stood stock-still, glancing past the Transfiguration Professor to glare at Eileen. "I was only protecting my things from this fourth year. She was attempting to steal a book of mine."
Without waiting, Dumbledore walked over to her and examined her. He ordered, "Please wait for me in my office, Tom, as I escort Miss Prince to the Hospital Wing so that her injury may be attended to." The Head Boy glared once again before turning on his heels and ascending the closest staircase.
Dumbledore directed her down several flights of stairs and then towards the Hospital Wing, his footsteps silenced by the golden slippers he wore to match his eggplant and gold robes. Hermione and Severus were not so quiet, and they listened closely to hear his hushed words.
"Stealing is not permitted at Hogwarts." Hermione stood next to the young Ravenclaw and noticed that she was struggling not to burst into tears, from the shame of being caught and the pain of the injury, which must have been great for she was having difficulty breathing and clutching her chest. "This behavior does not seem characteristic of you, Eileen, and I do not believe Tom would attack a fellow student for a possession as insignificant as a book." He paused. "Perhaps, there is something you wish to tell me?"
"No, sir," she gulped. It was more than obvious she was lying, but he did not let on that he noticed.
"Might you be able to tell me why you considered theft in the first place?"
"The book... interested me," she said, miserably failing to fabricate a story.
They stopped outside of the main door to the wing, and he turned to face her. "Please hand it to me." She hung her head as though finally defeated and, without looking at him, removed her hand from her stomach, reached into her cardigan, and pulled out a thin leather journal. Dumbledore turned it over in his hands and said, "You are an excellent student, Eileen, and all of your professors highly praise your work. It would be best not to present Professor Dippet with a reason to punish you." She nodded, her eyes still cast downwards, and entered the adjoining room by herself.
"Hermione," said Severus, putting his hand over hers. She stepped next to him and her head spun as they left the memory together. As he put away the Pensieve she sat up on the work table, waiting for him to turn around. When he did, she appeared to be deep in thought.
"Did your mother ever see Myrtle's ghost when she came back to Hogwarts?" she quietly asked.
"I'm unsure. I believe that Myrtle spent many years haunting Olive Hornby, until the Ministry ordered her to return here." Severus put his kettle in the sink and washed it out with water.
Hermione crossed her legs and tucked the excess fabric of her robes under her thighs as the table creaked. "How many more memories are there?"
"Not many," he answered, pulling his wand out to dry and put away the teapot.
She placed her hands in her lap and squeezed one in the other, asking, "What happened to your grandparents?"
Severus placed his wand back within his cloak and sighed, leaning against the table with one hand. "Dragon Pox. I never knew them."
"And your mother was their only child?"
"Yes."
"Why, then, didn't she inherit... inherit anything?"
His black eyes were inscrutable. "Do you mean to ask, why did I grow up in relative poverty when my own mother had been born to a family of affluence?"
Hermione looked embarrassed. "I didn't mean-"
"It does not matter - it is the truth. My grandfather had accumulated quite a lot of debt. There was simply nothing left for her."
After a pause, Hermione asked, "Did... did your mother never warn you about Voldemort?" Severus didn't answer her question, but instead placed the tips of his fingers under her jaw and tipped her head to the right, as though examining her. His eyebrows were furrowed, and she frowned as well. "What?"
"How can you be so full of questions?" he muttered.
"Perhaps if you weren't so reticent..." She placed her hands on his chest, smoothing out his black jacket before dropping them into her lap again. "But really, tell me."
He dropped his hands to his sides and looked down at her over his hooked nose. "No - no, she did not. She thought that to leave me ignorant was to protect me, to allow me to retain the smallest vestige of an innocent childhood. It is, perhaps, her most bitter regret." He sighed, and began to clear away several cauldrons which sat on the table, to busy himself. "You must realize, the mere thought of him caused her to suffer greatly. I do not know if she has ever come to terms with her own feelings of guilt in regards to Myrtle's death. I believe she was also perhaps one of the few people who could see the Dark Lord for what he was - understood what he was capable of - and watching him slowly rise to power made her frightened. She did not want me to suffer the same fear; she was too protective of me. She could not have imagined that-" He did not go on. His throat had gone tight.
"If-"
"As much as I would enjoy answering all of your questions, I believe I am keeping you from your studies." She pressed her lips together in dissatisfaction before hopping off the table and gathering her things. "You needn't - I'll send them through the Floo," he instructed. Severus gently embraced her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him delicately on the lips. "Perhaps I will see you later."
"Mm-hm," she hummed, a pitch higher than was normal. She left and studied the stone floor, deep in her thoughts as she walked up the stairs to her room.
Peeves swooped overhead and noisily played a tune on the suits of armor, so Hermione took a different flight of stairs to avoid running into him. She passed the library on the fourth floor landing and was surprised to see Ginny, running to the stairs while being batted over the head by a book.
"Miscreant! Pillock! Ink, spilled all over my book!" screeched the old librarian.
"Ouch! I didn't mean – ouch!" She dropped her messenger bag on the floor before picking it up by the strap. "Oh, Hermione!" she called out once she'd spotted her, quickly running up the stairs after her as the book zoomed into Madam Pince's arms. "Wait up!"
Hermione slowed her pace a little, stopping on the fifth floor landing. "What is it?" she asked, neither meanly nor kindly.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what I did, but I was worried about you." Hermione began walking again, but Ginny followed her closely, brushing her long hair out of her eyes.
Hermione turned, refusing to look at her and instead angrily addressing the steps. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was to be questioned by McGonagall – McGonagall – about it? She still won't even call on me in class, and it's been two months!"
"So... so you are seeing Snape," confirmed Ginny, quietly, as though she still couldn't quite believe it.
"Well, supposedly you've been spying on me - it shouldn't come as a complete surprise," she spat. They had walked up the final flight of stairs and paused for breath, as they were well-winded by now.
"I just... I can't understand what you could possibly see in... in him."
"No... I don't suppose you would," retorted Hermione.
Ginny suddenly looked around the corridor, and then down at the floor. "Fred died right here, you know." Her voice wavered. "I have to walk past here every day, and remember it. And you – you weren't here last year, when the Carrows terrorized everyone. You couldn't imagine-"
Hermione turned to face her. "No, I obviously couldn't imagine how frightened you were. I was only on the run from the Ministry and the Snatchers, caught and tortured, and then broke into Gringotts, only to come back the next day to Hogwarts to fight in the battle."
Ginny's mouth hung open. "I may be blinded, but it is difficult to forgive someone for when... Fred might still be alive, if..."
"Blame Snape if you like," Hermione responded, acid in her voice, "but he was only doing what Dumbledore had asked him to do. He played his part as a villain so convincingly, it seems, that you still don't have it right." Ginny turned pink. "He was constantly being watched. If the Death Eaters had thought he was soft on the students, he would have been removed from his position as Headmaster. Who knows who else would have taken it up." They now stood outside the door to Hermione's room. "No, I can't imagine what it was like to live here during that time, but you can't hold Snape accountable for something the Death Eaters did the night of the battle. I'm sorry Ginny, but blaming Snape isn't going to bring Fred back."
Tears came to Ginny's eyes, and her bottom lip trembled, then thinned. A group of Gryffindor boys passed them, laughing loudly.
"Anyway... I really have to get to studying," Hermione said quietly, moving towards the door.
Ginny stopped her. "Wait, Hermione - er, I have been meaning to tell you... My mum wants to have a graduation party for you, me, and Luna. Everyone's going to be there."
Hermione stared at her blankly, and then looked down. "Um... thanks for letting me know. I'll think about it," she replied, opening her door with the flick of her wand and closing it behind her. Ginny crossed her arms, sighed, and walked towards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.