Chapter 26: The Return of Severus Snape
The next morning, Hermione readied herself for the day in a state of high anxiety. Crookshanks sensed her mood and tried to help by sitting on her lap as she ate breakfast. He then refused to budge.
"Crookshanks! Get off, I have to go to work," she said, finally managing to dislodge him from her robe.
Hermione spent the morning working alone again. Margaret was back and seemed to have lost her usual cheeriness. Hermione debated faking illness and leaving early. Whatever Severus planned to do, the news would not likely reach her inside the storage room in the Department of Mysteries.
At lunch time, Hermione ventured out to see if Margaret was in a better mood.
"Hello, Margaret," she said cheerfully.
Margaret glanced up from her desk and smiled tightly.
"Hello, Hermione," she said.
"Do you know when Gallus will be back?" asked Hermione.
Margaret's brow creased slightly and she looked down again.
"Even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you," she said curtly. "As you know."
Hermione hesitated, sensing Margaret's annoyance with her.
"Has, ah, anything interesting happened at the Ministry this morning?" she asked.
Margaret wrote something furiously with her quill and said, "No."
"Margaret..." Hermione said, and waited until she looked up again.
"Do you want to go to lunch? I've forgotten mine. I thought I'd go around the corner to for a sandwich."
Margaret stared at her as if trying to read her mind with a long, hard gaze.
"Okay," she said at last. She stood up and straightened her tailored, deep rose-colored robe.
Hermione knew Margaret was in a bad mood, but she rather preferred her without the usual chatter.
"Ah, shall we eat in?" she asked once they arrived at the cafe.
Margaret nodded and said, "I hate eating at the office."
They ordered and sat in silence for a while. Margaret people watched while Hermione stared out of the cafe window, wondering what Severus was doing at that moment.
"He'll never break protocol," said Margaret suddenly, still looking around the cafe.
"Sorry... what?" asked Hermione.
"Gallus," said Margaret impatiently. "He'll never tell you anything... about the department."
"Erm, I know," said Hermione. "I wouldn't expect him to."
Margaret stared at her for a moment, then pursed her lips and looked down at her folded hands.
"You might not always feel that way. It gets old."
Hermione frowned and then sighed as she realized what Margaret meant.
"Margaret, I'm not dating Gallus. I'm not even interested."
Margaret looked up and studied her curiously.
"Perhaps you aren't interested, but he is," she said. "I – ah – I know him well enough to tell."
Hermione stared at her and blinked, unable to think of what to say.
"We used to date," said Margaret quickly. "So, you should know... he won't ever tell you anything about what he does. He'll disappear for weeks with barely a word beforehand. He'll miss dates and forget plans."
"Margaret, I'm not going to date Gallus. But, ah... thanks for the warning."
Their food arrived and they ate without speaking for a while.
"Is that why you broke up?" Hermione asked.
Margaret shook her head.
"He ended it," she said, immediately taking a bite of her sandwich.
"So, you were okay with all the secrecy?" asked Hermione.
Margaret put down her half-eaten sandwich daintily.
"It was annoying," she said. "I hoped that eventually he would move to another department, since his job seemed to be so stressful. Instead, he got promoted."
She sighed.
"I suppose it was for the best. I couldn't have continued on never knowing what he was really doing all day."
Hermione licked her lips and asked, "How long did you date Gallus, Margaret?"
The witch across from her looked pained for a brief moment, then replied, "Long enough."
"Isn't it difficult, seeing him so often at work?" asked Hermione.
Margaret shrugged and said airily, "It was for a while. I'm over it."
Hermione stared at her in disbelief.
"I only wanted you to know what he's like," said Margaret. "Not because I still want him. It's just that you don't seem like the sort of witch who would keep her nose out of his work affairs. It would end badly... for both of you."
Hermione smiled blandly and said, "I'll keep that in mind should I ever start to fancy him."
Margaret picked up her sandwich again and Hermione finished her own meal in silence.
They walked back around the corner and returned to the Ministry. Once inside the main entrance, they stopped short in their tracks. Margaret gasped.
A large crowd of Ministry employees had formed and was slowly growing as those coming back from lunch attempted to elbow their way to the center of the chaotic scene.
Hermione stared at the people in front of her, searching for Severus, but he was not there. Harry was, though – he was standing beside his supervisor and a few fellow Aurors, attempting to answer questions from the mob.
Margaret grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the crowd, finding a spot just behind Harry where they could listen.
"We've found nothing suspicious at the moment," said his supervisor, an imposing man with wide shoulders and short blonde hair.
"Surely there will be an investigation?" asked a witch in a set of yellow robes, her face pale.
"Of course there will be, don't be thick, Maureen!" exclaimed a man next to her, wearing bright purple robes and an enormous wizard's hat. Hermione recognized him as one of the court clerks.
"How, exactly, is faking your own death not 'suspicious'?" asked another wizard from behind them.
"Our initial interview with Mr. Snape has proven enlightening as to the events which led to his apparent death," said the Auror calmly.
"Why has he waited so long to turn up?" asked someone else.
"All of your questions will be answered in due time, I daresay by Mr. Snape himself," he replied.
"Where is he now?" demanded the wizard in purple robes.
Harry took this moment to interject angrily, "You might have a bit of respect for the man's privacy, seeing as how he's a WAR HERO who nearly died at Voldemort's hand!"
"Yeah, you say... what if he fooled you, too?" hissed someone out of sight, and Hermione could tell Harry was imagining pulling out his wand to hex them. One of the other Aurors placed a restraining hand on Harry's arm.
"That's enough," said their supervisor, holding up a hand. "Nobody here would know about Mr. Snape's reappearance if it weren't for intradepartmental gossip. Therefore, I recommend you all to go back to work and resist jumping to conclusions or spreading any further rumors. The Ministry will issue a statement in the morning."
Hermione managed to lock eyes with Harry.
"What happened?" she mouthed.
He shook his head and flicked his eyes toward the elevators. Hermione started to walk in that direction, and discovered that Margaret was still attached to her arm.
"Sorry, Hermione," she muttered, letting go. "Hey – where are you going?"
"To talk to Harry, of course," Hermione said. Margaret's eyes widened and she grabbed Hermione's arm again.
"You'll tell me what he says?"
"Er... sure, if he'll tell me anything," she tried to say convincingly.
Margaret let go of her again and watched jealously as Hermione slipped into one of the elevators with Harry.
"Do you have the cloak?" she whispered. He nodded, and pulled it over himself. Hermione pushed the button for her floor and led Harry through the front office. Margaret was not back yet.
They went to the storage room and hid in one of the far corners behind some shelves. Harry pulled off the cloak.
"What a day," he said.
"Just hurry up and tell me how it happened," said Hermione anxiously.
Harry rubbed his hand through his hair.
"Well, this morning I checked my mail when I got to work and there was a letter without a return address. All it had on it was my name and "Auror Department" but I recognized his handwriting. It said to meet him at Agatha's Cafe for lunch."
Hermione gasped and asked, "Was he in disguise?"
Harry nodded and said, "Yes. As soon as I arrived he stood up and said, 'Mr. Potter' just the way he used to at school and I knew it was him even though he was disguised as a tall, blonde wizard."
Hermione waited for Harry to continue, eyes wide.
"We ate lunch and asked if I would escort him to the Ministry. He said the Polyjuice Potion would wear off shortly and that he would like to make an official statement announcing his return and explaining his reasons for faking his death. He asked for my protection. Of course, I said I would.
"He was wearing a hooded robe, which he pulled over his head after we left. He did not remove it until Eaves asked him to."
"What happened then?" asked Hermione breathlessly, imagining the scene.
"Well, I'd walked straight into his office with Snape behind me," said Harry. "I closed the door and just said, 'Sir, you're not going to believe this, but Severus Snape is not dead. He's standing beside me at this very moment.' Then, Snape pulled off his hood, and Eaves nearly fell out of his chair."
Hermione smiled at the thought.
"He wanted to make sure I hadn't been tricked or put under a spell," said Harry. "So, he separated us and brought in some of the other Aurors and a curse-breaker to examine me. I assume they did the same to Snape. They let me come out and watch the rest of his interrogation."
Hermione frowned and asked, "What do you mean, interrogation? He came to them!"
"Well, they wanted him to agree to take Veritaserum, but he refused on the grounds that he had not been arrested and that despite being dead, he had been cleared of all charges against him."
Harry grinned and said proudly, "Thanks to me."
Hermione patted his arm and said, "So, what then? Where is he now?"
"He agreed to stay at the Ministry long enough to be sure he was not someone disguised with Polyjuice, though he informed them it would be nearly impossible for that to be the case if he was actually dead."
Hermione laughed and said, "Unless someone had been planning to impersonate him since before Voldemort's death. Even then, unless it was expertly preserved, the Polyjuice would have lost its potency years ago."
Harry shrugged and said, "Well, just to be sure, they wanted him to stay, so he did. He's still there, I suppose. Do you – er – want to see him?"
Hermione shook her head quickly.
"No, it would look terrible of me to go gawk at him just because I'm Harry Potter's best friend. Does Ron know yet?"
Harry nodded, "I imagine he does – most of the Ministry has heard the gossip by now, as you just saw. I haven't gotten a chance to see him though."
"I wonder if he's tried to get a look at Severus yet," murmured Hermione.
"Hermione, do you think we just left Snape sitting in the middle of the Department?" asked Harry incredulously.
"I don't know," she said. "Where did you leave him?"
"He's in Eaves' office with a couple of senior Aurors," said Harry. "They have a few more standing outside the door. The others might know he's there, but they won't be able to see him."
"I hope he's all right," said Hermione anxiously. She wondered if Severus had any more surprises planned for the day.
"He seemed to be," said Harry.
Hermione fell silent.
"Well, ah... I suppose I should be getting back before anyone wonders where I've gone," said Harry. "Are you going to be okay alone?"
Hermione smiled and said, "Don't be silly, of course I'm fine."
She hugged him and said, "Put the cloak on, and I'll walk you out. I'm sure Margaret's back now."
Hermione was right. Margaret was sitting at her desk resting her chin on her palm when they walked through the front office. She sat up straight when she saw Hermione, her eyes widening.
"When did you get back?" she asked.
"Not too long ago," Hermione replied.
"Well?" Margaret whispered, glancing around significantly.
"Er – I'll be right back," said Hermione. "I need to deliver something to Ron."
Margaret looked a bit confused, so Hermione elaborated, saying, "You remember, he's still in Auror training... my ex, Ronald Weasley?"
"Oh, I see," said Margaret. "Well, don't be long."
Hermione smiled and opened the door to usher the cloaked Harry out. She followed him and they hurried back to the elevator.
Harry removed the cloak as soon as they were inside.
"Er – are you coming with me after all?" he asked.
Hermione realized she was wringing her hands in indecision.
"No... I shouldn't," she said.
The doors to the elevator opened and Harry stepped out. Just as they started to close again, Hermione exited as well. Harry gave her a surprised look.
"I'll just, ah, walk you to the office," she said. "I'm trying to avoid Margaret for as long as possible."
"Right," said Harry, looking amused.
They walked to the door, which was not far from the elevator.
"Are you sure you don't want to come inside?" he asked. "Erm, didn't you need to see Ron?"
Hermione took a few steps back.
"No. I'll just, ah... catch him later," she said.
"Okay," said Harry. "See you later, Hermione."
Hermione took another small step backward and watched Harry disappear behind the door to the Auror Department. She stood staring at the door for a minute, resisting the urge to go inside. Finally, she turned and went back to the elevator.
As she was waiting for it to return to pick her up, she heard the door behind her open again. She looked over her shoulder to see Severus exiting the department, with Enid perched on his shoulder.
Hermione's mouth dropped open as she met his eyes and saw that he looked a bit smug.
"Miss Granger," he said, in a tone of voice she had not heard for years.
"Sev – " she said, stopping herself. She turned and faced him, staring at Enid who also seemed pleased with herself.
"So... it's true," she said instead. "You're back."
She stifled the smile threatening to creep over her face and continued, "Alive all this time."
"Indeed," he said. Enid ruffled her feathers impatiently.
"With a phoenix," Hermione noted calmly.
"Indeed," he said again.
Hermione formally offered her hand to him.
"Please, allow me to thank you and welcome you back... sir."
He stared at her hand for a long, dramatic moment, during which Hermione noticed a few Ministry employees hanging back at the far end of the corridor, whispering to one another. Finally, he shook her hand.
"I wish you the best, Professor," she said, again fighting back a grin as she pulled the call button for the elevator once more. It was waiting already and opened immediately. She finally allowed herself to smile at him as the door began to close again.
He took a few steps forward and held the door with his arm.
"Miss Granger, I wonder if you'd join me for lunch tomorrow? I would like to elucidate past events concerning you... and your friends."
Hermione made an exaggerated show of being astonished, even though nobody in the corridor could see her.
"Of course," she said after a moment. "Where shall we meet?"
"The Leaky Cauldron, at noon," he said, smirking at her.
"Very well," she said. They stood staring at one another until Enid squawked at them.
"I should go back to work," she said, glancing upward. "Department of Mysteries."
He nodded and backed away from the doors, watching her mysteriously as they slid shut. Hermione let a big, silly grin take over her face on the ride back to the Department of Mysteries.
When she returned, Margaret practically flew out from behind her desk.
"Did you see him?" she asked.
Hermione nodded.
"What does he look like?"
"About the same," said Hermione. "Except for the scars, of course."
"Scars?"
"From the snake," Hermione reminded her. "Voldemort's enormous, deadly, venomous snake, Nagini, who it was assumed killed him."
"How did he survive?" Margaret asked, eyes comically wide.
Hermione laughed and said, "I could hardly ask him that! I only ran into him in the corridor as he was leaving the Ministry."
"Oh," said Margaret, in disappointment.
Hermione waited for a moment and stifled yet another smile before she said, "He asked me to lunch tomorrow."
"What?!" whispered Margaret. "Why would he do that?"
Hermione shrugged and said, "He says he has things to explain. I would have thought he'd want to explain them to Harry, not me... but perhaps that would be too difficult."
"He's meeting you for lunch alone?" asked Margaret curiously.
"Ah... well, I didn't ask. I just assumed that was the case," said Hermione. "It was all a bit... surreal. I wasn't thinking clearly. He had a phoenix on his shoulder."
Margaret stared at her in disbelief.
"That's unusual," she finally said. "Interesting... and unusual."
"Yes," said Hermione. "I thought so, too."
Margaret sat back down and mindlessly shuffled the paperwork on her desk.
"Well, I suppose I'll get back to work," said Hermione.
"All right," said Margaret. "Merlin, this is an odd day."
Hermione left without further comment and went to sit in the storage room, her mind racing. After an hour of so of unproductive puttering about, she finally gave up and sat leafing through an Herbology text to pass the time.
By the time she left for the day, her mind was made up – she would leave the Ministry as soon as possible and become Severus' apprentice.