A/N: Thank you again to all of you that have reviewed, followed of favorited this story. Special thanks to the guest reviewer who printed out the last chapter to read at her desk. That one had me smiling all day long.
Chapter 25
Hermione paced the length of her room, now and then stopping at the desk to frown at her linked parchment, her left hand toying with the coin. It had been a week since she had asked Snape about the book, but so far, she had not heard back from him.
She had taken the time to proceed with her research under the premise that she would be able to locate the spell. If she could not find it, everything she had worked on would fall apart. So far, she had practiced two spells that she needed to find the changes in the brain caused by memory spells.
Her research of wizarding healing practices had yielded an interesting spell that rendered tissue transparent. It had not been in use since diagnostic spells had been invented, allowing the healers to mend broken bones without having to look for them first.
She had practiced the spell on herself, spending days watching the muscles of her body work to move her ligaments and bones. It had been a fascinating, if eerie experience. When she was certain she had mastered the charm work, she linked it with a magnifying spell that allowed her to zoom in on what she was seeing. So far, she had achieved an effect that magnified her vision so much that she could make out the cartilage on her bones, but she needed to be able to see on a cellular level to be able to work on the neurons of the brain. There was a lot more practice to come.
She was making steady progress on that front, but her enthusiasm slowly melted away by the continued absence of any word from Severus about the book. By now, she had come to the conclusion that he must not be answering her on purpose. Of course, something might have happened to him to keep him from replying, but she thought the chances of that were rather slim.
Much more likely, indeed, was her suspicion that he wanted to annoy her by keeping the information from her until she had to ask for it again. Sneaky bastard.
She kept pacing the room, staring down the parchment. Finally, with a groan of frustration, she wrote down:
/ Well?! ? /
She sighed as the handwriting started to disappear. She knew that punctuation marks could not be translated by her version of the Morse code, instead being displayed at the same height as a word ending. Therefore, Severus could not know if she had not written "Well…" instead.
She quickly kept on writing.
/ I was wondering if you managed to have a look at the books yet regarding the one I was looking for. /
She did not have to wait long until her coin heated up.
/ I have. /
Relishing in the notion that he would have no idea what exactly she had written, she scrawled:
/ !'$%&#! /
/ Is it there? /
She waited, holding her breath. It seemed at least ten minutes had passed until she felt the heat of the coin.
/ Yes. /
Her knees weakened with relief. If the book existed, most likely, the spell would, too. She needed this information if she wanted to have some viable results before the end of summer. This, again, posed a new problem all by itself. How was she to get into the possession of the information she needed? To go there in person was out of the question – it was too much of a risk for the two of them to be seen at the same place. Maybe if she made use of a Polyjuice potion...
She dismissed the thought instantly as it would take weeks for her to make it, and she didn't have the time.
There did not seem to be any alternative to asking Severus himself to relay the information to her in some way. She was loath to ask him for a personal favor again, seeing that it also took time away from his own research for the Order. She worried her lip, uncertain how to proceed when the coin heated up again.
/ Miss Granger _ _ _ _ /
She smiled as her fingertips moved over several numerals raised at the height for a word ending, wondering what exactly he had written after her name.
/Did you just want to satisfy your curiosity concerning the location of said book or is there something you actually needed me to do? Otherwise, I would very much like to return to my own research. /
Her fingertips toyed with the quill as she wondered how to reply.
Severus' eyebrows rose as he read her response. She wanted to know everything about the Visibilis spell. He had read the book from cover to cover and knew instantly which spell she referred to. What a coincidence that her research should lead her along the exact same lines as his. Again he found himself wondering what she did in her line of work.
The information he had gathered on the artifact had not yielded much valuable information so far, but it seemed that it was a magical device that produced a potion of desired effects, e.g. enhancing a certain magical skill, if used correctly. The problem was that no one knew how the device was to be operated. If everything worked out and Dolohov eventually approached him to ask for his assistance with the artifact, Severus would need the spell. This way, he'd be able to see the underlying charms of the device so he could try to unravel how it all worked. So far no one had been able to find any instructions as how to operate the device.
If there even was an artifact. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He had no concrete information to go on, and living in this state of limbo was slowly driving him crazy. He did not have anyone to talk to (not that he usually talked much or even wanted to, but it was nice to have the opportunity, even if he practically never made use of it) and nothing to do besides his research. He would have given his right hand for a potions lab just to have something else to do besides sitting in the library or his hotel room.
As such, Granger's intrusions were not as unwelcome as he had first deemed them to be. It amused him to rile her, and even if he would never admit it to himself, he had felt a sudden rush of happy excitement when his coin had heated up.
He pondered her request. There was a whole chapter on the Visibilis spell, but the relevant information to perform it was summarized on one page. It should be enough for her to work with.
Yet, remembering all those potion essays of Granger's, always packed with extra information and longer than required (which led to him having to spend twice as much time correcting them), Severus thought she could just do with some extra information.
He pulled out his dict-o-quill and placed it on his linked parchment, reclined in his chair and pulled The Roots of Magic into his lap. Checking the chapter length – 18pages of fine script – he cleared his throat and started to read.
Hermione sat at her desk, cursing her burning fingertips. Parchments piled high all around her, filled with her handwriting.
She stretched her aching limbs and shook out her hand to loosen the knotted muscles. She had been at it for three hours and had finally reached the end of the chapter about the Visibilis spell.
He must have used a dict-o-quill and read it out loud, she figured, otherwise his hands would have been cramping by now. Of course, translating it back from the coin was even more of an effort.
Giving a deep sigh, she slid further down in her seat, contemplating taking a long, hot bath. The temporary quarters she had been assigned at Hogwarts offered a gigantic tub with a breathtaking view of the lake. Something she would make use of a lot during the next few weeks.
A frown appeared on her face when she realized the coin had not cooled. Experimentally, she ran her finger around the rim again.
/ Table of contents /
Hermione groaned. Although she really wanted to get her hands on as much information as she could – pun not intended – she didn't think she could take any more. The skin of her fingertips was just short of peeling off. Maybe she could leave it and continue in the morning…
With a desperate moan, she realized she would not be able to sleep unless she finished all of it. Cursing, she picked up the coin and went to work. Luckily, there were only 25 chapters listed. She held her breath when she had written down the last word:
/ Glossary /
She eyed the coin with suspicion, not putting it past Severus to even read out the glossary itself just to spite her, but luckily, he had spared her that. The coin had cooled and she rested her forehead on the smooth surface of her desk.
Severus was settled back on his bed, propped up by pillows, with a book in his hands. His fingers, about to turn a page, froze in the air when he felt a spot of heat at the side of his leg. He put the book aside and slipped his hand into his pocket, his fingertips running over the warm surface of the coin.
/ Thank you so much for putting your time and effort into helping me. It was all I could have wished for. I think it is more than enough to continue with my research, so I do hope I will not be needing more of your assistance in locating further information. Indeed, it turns out, the previous owner of the quarters I have been assigned in Hogwarts left a rather nice collection of books on related topics, most of them belonging to a certain Eileen Prince. /
Severus snarled. They had put that little chit into his quarters. Of course he had not had any opportunity to reclaim his belongings, so everything he had owned was probably still there. Minerva had stowed away his personal possessions before letting anyone stay there, he was sure of it, but obviously, she had not deemed it necessary to remove his books from his library. He growled when he thought about Granger pilfering his collection. Lounging on his couch. Sleeping in his bed!
No, don't go there. He stopped himself before he could think up more scenarios including Granger and his bed.
How dare she…
/ Actually, the quarters were a pleasant surprise in many ways. Currently, I am soaking my sore fingertips in the most magnificent tub, enjoying a breathtaking view of the lake. I wish you could see it. The view, I mean. /
If Severus could have gaped at the words, he would have. As it was, he had translated everything in his head, so all he could do was frown at the coin. Insolent little chit.
Summoning the linked parchment and a quill, he quickly wrote.
/ As long as you do not make use of the red bath crystals, everything should be fine. They're not for the faint-hearted. /
With a smile, he put the parchment aside and retrieved his book, waiting for her to take the bait.
A/N: * throws out new chapter as bait, fishes for reviews *
Any thoughts on the crystals?