'mindspeak'
Chapter Eleven:
Hermione sat in one corner of the cramped space, sulking. She had intended to keep her black mood in place until Ron returned, but her dark-haired friend had other ideas.
"You could have at least warned me, you know? Maybe a polite hint here, a discreet insinuation there to let me know what was really going on? I've been working my arse off trying to make space for you guys, and what thanks do I get? I ask you!"
Hermione sent Harry the darkest of her glares. It didn't seem to have any effect. He was still grinning like a maniac and looking ready to burst into laughter at any second.
"If you've quite finished winding me up…" Hermione paused here to see if her words had had any effect. The outrageous grin seemed slightly more thoughtful, but apart from that, nothing else had changed. "You could consider telling me what we're going to do once Dean and Seamus actually get here. Have you ever cast Obliviate?"
The grin faded. "No, but we both know the theory, remember? All that research you did for the DA is about to come in handy."
Hermione put her head in her hands. "Harry, we've never actually cast the spell before. Ministry Obliviators practice on animals for months before they're let anywhere near a human. Months, Harry!"
She didn't even realise she was twisting the hem of her robes in her hands until Harry reached over and grabbed her fingers.
"OK, Hermione, so Obliviate won't work for this. They're our friends after all; we don't want to scramble their brains. Why don't we try 'Obscuris'? That would stand up against Legilimency, and the beauty of it is that the caster would only have to say 'Lux' and their memories would be restored! Pity we never got round to teaching the DA that one, it's awesome!"
Hermione grinned at her friend's dreamy expression at the idea of using new magic. He's always such a child when it comes to learning a new spell. Hermione glanced down at his hand still holding hers, and her grin faded as she saw that the robe sleeve had ridden up, revealing several thin, white scars scratched on the inside of his wrist. They weren't anything like the messy scribbles he had gained from Umbridge upon the back of his right hand – these were neat, clean – but both sets of scars had something in common.
They were both self-inflicted.
"Harry…"
Seeing where her gaze had fallen, Harry yanked his hand away and firmly tugged the sleeve back into place.
"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered, keeping his eyes averted.
"Harry, you should–"
"I said I don't want to talk about it!" he snapped at her, his eyes blazing. A moment later he sighed and bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Hermione. It's my problem. I swear I haven't done it since I came back to school. When… when Voldemort's been taken care of and I'm free once more… I'll go and see a professional about... I promise."
Harry looked shyly up at her from underneath his mop of hair. "It's just… I have to be strong now. Don't you see? If I go admitting weakness to myself now, I won't be able to go on. So… so, when all this is over, I'll," Harry swallowed hard and continued speaking to his knees, "I'll need your help to teach me how to be vulnerable once more. How to give up control to someone else…" Harry's voice trailed off in a whisper.
Hermione gulped and shoved a hand in front of her mouth to try and stop the hiccups of grief for her friend from escaping.
"Oh– Oh, Harry!" She launched herself at him and wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders. "Of course I'll be there for you! Ron will as well, you know that! We're not going to give up on you, Harry, we'll be there whenever you need us, I swear to you!"
Harry leaned into her shoulder and gently touched her arm, but did not return the embrace. After a minute, Hermione pulled back.
"Now," she said, sniffing hard and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Harry watched her with a slight quirk to his lips. His eyes were dry. "Now, where were we?"
"Not interrupting something, I hope?"
Harry and Hermione looked up, startled at the sound of Ron's voice. He, Seamus and Dean were leaning on the inside of the portrait hole, leering at the pair of them. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, and then, with a startled yelp, sprang apart and scrambled to their feet, blushing furiously.
"Nothing happened!" Is it just me, or does my voice sound higher than normal? Hermione wondered.
Ron laughed. "Yes, Hermione, of course it didn't. The fact that there wasn't an inch between you is merely a coincidence!"
Hermione felt her cheeks flushing again, this time in anger. She put her hands on her hips and gave the three boys her best 'Molly Weasley' glare. "You listen to me, Ronald Weasley! You'll heed me when I say nothing happened. I'll be speaking with you later about something important, so you'd better bear this in mind!"
'But, Hermione…' Harry's voice appeared in her mind.
'But nothing, Harry! He's your best friend, he deserves to know. Now, shut up; we need to sort out these two.'
Harry sighed. Ron gulped. Dean and Seamus pretended they were the completely innocent ones in the whole matter.
"OK, you two, come and sit down here. We need to have a word."
The two boys in question shuffled forward and settled down next to each other. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down, completing the rough circle. They all barely fit into the space that was now impossibly cramped.
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Harry, if you would?"
Harry leaned forward and gave Seamus and Dean an apologetic smile. "Listen, guys, Snape might be onto us. And the worst thing is – he can read minds." The two boys looked terrified. "Now, we three can do Occlumency – the ability of shielding our minds from mind-reading – so that isn't a problem for us. You, on the other hand, are unable to and we don't have time to teach you."
'Not to mention, there's no way I can shield five minds at once!' Harry muttered in his head.
Hermione and Ron snickered silently.
'Harry?' Ron's voice sounded uncertain. 'Maybe we shouldn't Obliviate them after all. I mean, I know it's dangerous leaving something for Snape to find, but we could seriously injure them!'
Harry was about to reply when they heard Seamus and Dean mutter to each other.
"Dean, Dean, he's turning red and looking constipated again. Should we be worried?" Seamus hissed at his companion.
"I dunno, maybe we should offer him some Bowel-eezy?" Dean muttered back.
It took all of Hermione's willpower not to burst out laughing. How Harry kept a level voice when he continued speaking, she would never know.
"So Occlumency's out." Harry cleared his throat for attention. "Therefore, the only option left is a memory charm. Obliviate is unacceptable, not only because it's dangerous, but also because who'd want to permanently lose memories of such a great victory?"
The four boys grinned at each other and Hermione resisted the impulse to roll her eyes.
"So, instead, we've chosen a reversible spell: 'Obscuris'. Essentially, it'll cloak the memories in shadow, making in damn near impossible to remember or extract until the caster performs the counter-charm. Understand?"
Seamus and Dean nodded.
"Do you trust me?"
The boys nodded once more, looking dubious.
"Well, that's great, because Hermione's performing the charm!"
Dean and Seamus grinned at her with barely concealed relief, and Hermione looked back with barely concealed annoyance. It's a well-known fact these days that Harry's magic is getting a little strong, but that's no reason for him to burden me with his responsibilities! she thought angrily, and then paused. Wait a minute, I just promised him that not ten minutes ago! All right, all right, I'll do it!
"You first!" She pointed at Dean. "Come here."
Dean shuffled over and knelt in front of her. Hermione put her wand to his temple.
"Obscuris!" Dean's eyes went blank. "Dean Thomas, you will not remember your involvement in anything to do with Snape singing to the Minister. You will not remember this meeting," Hermione intoned. Dean's eyes were beginning to gain back a little focus. "Quick, get him out of here!"
Harry and Ron grabbed Dean's upper arms, flung him out of the portrait hole and slammed it shut. After a moment, they peeked around the edge to make sure that he'd gone.
"Wandered off like a little lost deer!" Ron snickered as he sat down next to Seamus, who looked vaguely horrified.
"Did you really have to throw him out like that?" he asked, bewildered.
"Yes, he was coming round," Hermione told him briskly. "And we're going to do the same to you too in a minute." She knelt down in front of him and touched her wand to his temple. "Obscuris! Seamus Finnegan, you will not remember your involvement in anything to do with Snape singing to the Minister. You will not remember this meeting." She paused a little before adding. "And you will not be confused to find yourself outside the portrait of 'Udell the Unusual.'" Leaning back, she let Harry and Ron repeat the same procedure with Seamus that they had with Dean.
"Right, now that that's done," she said once the portrait was closed again. "I think that's enough excitement for one day, I'm going to bed."
oooOOOooo
Severus had found that kicking his furniture was very therapeutic, if rather painful for the feet. Unfortunately, he was impotent to do anything else; it wasn't like he could hex the little bastards who were going to make his life a misery as soon as he started teaching classes tomorrow. He could only snarl and yell and be generally unfair. And he normally did that anyway.
He could almost hear that dratted tune being replayed in his head. The only good thing he could see coming out of today was that the staff would probably stop teasing him now. After all, one does not just ignore a request from the Headmaster!
Snarling softly, he gave his sofa another vicious kick as his mind was dragged back to the reason for his humiliation. Singing! Honestly! For Merlin's sake, I never sing in private, let alone in front of an audience! Groaning, he gave the end of the sofa another kick, blessing his boots for being sturdy enough to prevent a great amount of pain.
Someone laid a hand on Severus' shoulder.
He spun around with a cry, whipping his wand out and pointing it at… the Headmaster's nose.
"Albus," he squeaked, before frowning and clearing his throat. "Albus," he continued in his normal voice. "What the bloody hell are you doing in my quarters? And how the blazes did you get in, in the first place!"
"Severus." Albus twinkled charmingly. "You forgot your supper." He levitated a tray into Severus field of vision which contained the remainders of his cottage pie, a slice of apple tart and, once again, a glass of apple juice.
Severus sighed, knowing when he was beaten, and took the tray. "Are you going to make a habit of this, Albus?" he grumbled as he settled down into his chair.
"Most likely," Albus replied cheerfully as he took the sofa. "I should have been doing this for years, you know!"
Severus groaned. "Merlin preserve me from barmy old codgers!" he muttered quietly, but not too quietly, causing Albus to laugh. "At least you didn't bring Minerva this time."
Albus smiled. "I thought you'd appreciate the peace and quiet, my boy."
"Peace and quiet? Then why are you still here?"
"Ahh, as you may have discovered over the years, my attendance is compulsory."
Severus stared at the Headmaster for a moment, and shoved a forkful of cottage pie in his mouth before he could comment. Some things were best left unsaid.
Albus sat peacefully for a few minutes, twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling until Severus had started on his apple tart.
"I've been wondering, my boy... what did you think of the recording device that Minerva sent you?"
Severus took a sip of apple juice and cleared his throat. "It will be very useful for spying on the Dark Lord. I have become rather adept on gathering information for you, but, after all, I am only human." He smirked ruefully and took another sip of apple juice, before making a face. "Honestly, Albus, are you trying to make a point?" He swished the glass from side to side, drawing attention to it and making the liquid swirl around in distracting eddies.
Albus smiled widely. "But you like it so much, Severus!"
"I don't, I–" Severus cut himself off when he saw the smug look on Albus' face. After all, he didn't want the Headmaster to stop giving it to him. Severus sighed and set the tray on the table. "All right, you've made your point. Now get out of my quarters!"
Albus chuckled and stood to leave, allowing Severus to escort him to the door. Once there, the Potions Teacher's hand on his sleeve made him stop and look back.
"Albus," Severus said, his voice low and serious. "How do you get into my quarters?"
Albus raised his eyebrows. "I've said before; magic, Severus!"
Severus closed his eyes, trying not to be exasperated. It didn't work. "What kind of magic, Albus?" he grated.
Albus eyes went wide, and the twinkle in them made Severus wince in anticipation.
"Magical magic, Severus," the Headmaster told him, innocently.
"That's it, get out! And stay out, you infernal old meddler!"
Severus slammed the door on the laughing Headmaster and stormed over to his desk to mark the essays he had received today, seething at Albus' audaciousness. However, at the same time, he was slightly impressed.
Severus sighed as he stared at the massive pile of unmarked work in front of him. He knew he should look over the essays Albus had done for him for outrageous comments, but that would mean falling behind on his current workload, which Severus was loath to do.
Why the old codger found it necessary to mark all the work due in for this week, I don't know! I only asked him to do the ones for the next day. And then he had the cheek to fall asleep on my desk! Severus rolled his eyes at the memory while getting out his red-inked quill and preparing to start on the Fifth Year Ravenclaw/Slytherin essays. I suppose I'll leave the ones Albus did to chance...
A/N: 'Obscuris' means 'shadow' while 'Lux' means 'light' in Latin. Or should do, hopefully