May arrived particularly somber: Voldemort and his followers had made an aggressively large move at a music festival that had injured a large number of people and left the wizarding world exposed to hundreds, if not thousands. It was all anyone could talk about at breakfast the morning after it happened, and by the afternoon, Minister of Magic Minchum had gained his approval to have dementors installed around the country. The students were issued with a warning to not wander too close to the castle boundaries as the dementors stationed in Hogsmeade were liable to get curious. Two boys had already been issued with detentions for flying just a bit too high and too close to the edges of the Quidditch pitch, but the damage had already been done: they could confirm that the village was now playing host to at least a handful of dementors. Hermione heard that Remus had taken the lead on the Gryffindor defense lessons and was doing his best to teach the Patronus charm, though it was a bit difficult to do so when he couldn't consistently produce one himself.
She had toyed with the idea of offering to help, but thought it best to stay out of the way of James and Sirius. They seemed to be under relative control, especially James. She didn't know if it was her threat, or the external guidance of Dumbledore, Remus and Lily, but other than an incident where one of the seventh year girls' hair was transfigured into snakes, he had been relatively well behaved over the past few months.
The topic was still fresh in Hermione's mind when she and Severus were sitting in his lab later, letting some spot clearing potions brew. She found she could no longer ignore his associations - there had been too many instances now where he had been pulled away by a conversation with one or two other Slytherins and something unpleasant happened afterwards. Random targeting of individuals had begun to rise in the corridors of the school once more, and she was fairly certain that he was behind the toenail growing hex that was becoming popular. She had just about rehearsed the right way to start the conversation with him when she was distracted by him pulling a rather impressive looking embossed text out of his satchel.
"What are you reading?" she asked.
"I'm curious about variations for that potion - I've adjusted potions before, of course, but not necessarily created a new one by altering established recipes," he responded, flipping the tome open to a previous spot he had marked.
She leaned in next to him to get a good look at the text. Despite the new looking cover, the interior was rather old and moldy looking. "Where did you get that?" It didn't look like anything she'd seen on the shelves before, and the illustrations were a bit odd. They had a surrealist lean to them that made her feel uncomfortable when her eyes ran over them.
"Slughorn wrote me a note for the restricted section. You're not the only one with unrestricted access now - I don't have to wait for you to do some research of my own." She had known that he was growing a bit impatient with her on some days, anxiously waiting for her in the library with a list of books he was waiting for her to request. She had appreciated his enthusiasm, but did not think that he would take the step to request a permission slip of his own.
She was immediately annoyed. No, no - he shouldn't be doing his own research into her potion. She needed him to keep researching into antivenoms. What had she done? He would forget all about it now. Her warnings would be completely undone - how would he remember what she needed him to do now?
"What about your research into antivenoms?"
He shrugged. "I'm doing a bit here and there." he gestured towards the edge of his brewing station where a few potions had been bottled.
Ah, that was it - he had probably exhausted his resources and had grown bored with it. He needed something a little bit more difficult.
"Should I provide you with a challenge on that?"
He sighed but raised an eyebrow at her. "Go on."
"I'm going to compound the problem. Imagine the properties of the venom refuse healing - of course they would -" she added at his eyeroll, "but imagine the poison keeps the wound open, despite all magical healing, despite muggle healing, despite everything, and the individual has to be given blood replenishing potions every hour to help counter the damage the wound has done."
"You're getting very specific, Jean."
Hermione bit her lip. "I know."
But his interest seemed piqued. He was tapping the text in a thoughtful manner but he gathered himself a moment later. "I still don't understand why you haven't worked on this yourself."
"It's too fresh." But the truth was, she couldn't. She wasn't a potions expert, and she would never know Nagini intimately enough to figure out how to counter its venom.
He nodded and picked up his dictaquill, running the feather over his lips in thought. "That means the venom must have had some sort of impervius charm in it." He grabbed some parchment and pulled it toward him, making some notes.
Hermione nodded satisfactorily and swallowed back her rehearsed words. There was no point in bringing such a touchy conversation up now if he was doing what she wanted him to do.
Her next meeting with Dumbledore occurred a week later, and it was shorter than she would have liked. In the past, they had chatted easily about all manner of things, but now he was very to-the-point. He simply informed her that Healer Potts had not found a suitable subject as of yet, though he hoped she was still progressing well with the potion, and she was. She and Severus had finished brewing another variation of the potion that brought forth memories connected with laughter, and when they had taken it - or rather, when Severus had taken it - she heard him truly laugh for the first time. It was rich and deep and the sound filled her with warmth and she wanted nothing more in her life to make him laugh like that once more. It made her heart ache that his life had not been full of it.
Dumbledore had bid her goodnight and turned his attention to a small set of phials near him but Hermione delayed her rising. "Sir, may I ask…" Hermione took a deep breath and waited for his attention to be focused on her again before she continued. "When Healer Potts was here, you mentioned that she had to keep my research secret because it would be a danger to my life. Is there something I should be aware of?"
Dumbledore smiled serenely at her. "There is nothing more grave in a vow than to impress upon the seriousness of the situation with a threat of death."
Hermione nodded at his answer, but couldn't help feeling that there was something that he was not including. She pursed her lips in an effort to hold her questions back. "Goodnight, Headmaster," she nodded.
"Goodnight, Miss Granger."
By the middle of the month, Lily was driving everyone in Gryffindor tower - especially their dormitory - insane. There were fabric and color swatches spread over every available surface in their room, invitation templates, seating charts, and Hermione could see that Lily was beginning to stress herself out as well. Blemishes began to appear in the girl's usually immaculate appearance. She had appeared at breakfast that morning having forgotten to brush her hair and with the knot of her tie ridiculously crooked. Mary had rectified both quickly when she sat down next to her, but not before Sirius got a quick quip in that caused Lily to break out into tears.
Hermione didn't see her in any of their classes that day, and when she returned to the dormitory that afternoon, found Lily seated in the middle of her bed, muggle wedding magazines open around her alongside brochures for venues and catering facilities. Her hair was once again a mess and reminded Hermione of her own unruly tresses. She silently thanked Severus for supplying her with the ribbons - they had helped so much in the past few months.
"Lily - NEWTS are coming up - shouldn't you be concentrating on those rather than wedding plans?" Hermione asked, moving a pile of sample invitations off of her trunk so she could set down her satchel. Paper butterflies rose from them and fluttered around the room, dancing in the sunlight streaming in through the window.
"Yes, but - I think I'm doing okay. It's just that James would like the wedding to be over the summer because of his parents, and that means that I need to get everything settled now, and he's just given me a list of everyone on his side of the family that will need an invite -"
"Oh, has he?" Hermione cut her off, but it didn't do any good. Lily just continued.
"Yes - and that's about one hundred people but -"
"So why isn't James helping with this, then? Isn't it about the two of you - not just you?"
Lily sighed, throwing a seating plan aside and gesturing toward the window. "He has Quidditch practice."
Hermione gave a derisive snort.
"You're absolutely right - I know his family want to help, but his mum has been so focused on caring for his dad that I don't want to add to her stress -"
"But what do you want, Lily? When you envisioned getting married, what did you want?"
"Not one hundred guests just on one side," Lily scoffed. She thought for a few moments. "There's a place on the coast where my parents used to take us on holidays, and there are some lovely cliffside walks that overlook the sea. I always thought it would be a pretty setting for a wedding, just at sunset, of course if the weather were nice."
"I think that's what you should do then, personally. Do you really need all this other stuff?" Hermione gestured to the pile of magazines and fabric swatches.
"But James -"
"Sod James. He's not here going through color schemes and invitations. They don't matter to him. If they did, he would have an opinion about -" Hermione lifted a color scheme to examine it "- duck egg blue alongside tiger orange."
"I just don't want to let his parents down - they're so lovely and James showed me photos from their wedding - it was a massive society event. The Minister of Magic even showed up. I just want to meet their expectations," explained Lily.
"Well, their expectations can't be very high right now, can they? There's a war on. Did you see the paper last week? Some of You-Know-Who's followers crashed a wedding and killed half the wedding party, just because it was between a muggle and a witch."
Lily observed the chaos around her. "You're right, of course. It should be small and private - it's what I've always wanted anyway." She grabbed her wand and flicked it. A massive swarm of papers and fabric and ribbons rose and tidied themselves into a neat stack on her bed. Hermione was struck by how bare the room suddenly seemed.
"You can do what you want, but that's what I think," Hermione reiterated.
"You're right though. All this," she picked up the stack. "It's not what I've wanted at all and it's just been causing me stress. I haven't been revising as hard as I could be, and it'll be a weight off my shoulders if I just put it away." She rose from her bed and dropped it into her trunk. "Done."
Hermione was surprised that Lily's next move was to turn and give her a hug.
"I know there are some things we don't agree on, but I can't deny that you're sensible and you care. Thank you."
Hermione returned the hug. "If James gives you any trouble, just send him my way."
Lily laughed and wiped away a small tear. "I think he's been a bit frightened of you since the bird incident in the hospital wing."
They laughed. The incident in the corridor had definitely not been relayed to her.
"And Jean?"
"Hm?"
"I hope I can return the same favor for you someday."
She gave Lily a soft smile and nodded. "You'll owe me two favors - I have notes from all the classes you missed today."
Lily gaped at her for a moment. "It's not Wednesday…?"
Hermione shook her head slowly as Lily realised her mistake and let out a growl of frustration. "Definitely no more of this. Thank you again."
Hermione nodded and left to attend to her workroom. She was pleased the next day to see a study schedule tacked next to her bed and another peeking out of Lily's satchel. James appeared to have had some of the wind knocked out of his sails and was clutching his own.
It was difficult to concentrate on revision, though, with horrible news hitting the tables every morning. Voldemort seemed to have capitalised on the chaos and confusion caused by his attack at the music festival, because there was another attack at a Muggle campsite in Cornwall by werewolves that he had obviously orchestrated. The picture in the Daily Prophet showed the Dark Mark glittering above ripped tents and caravans with their doors ripped off their hinges. Hermione kept seeing Bartemius Crouch's name more and more in the Daily Prophet and wasn't surprised when she saw him named the head of Magical Law Enforcement that same day. Sirius had said that his rise to power had been swift.
She had been incredibly upset by the news about the campsite- it was one that her own parents had taken her to when she was a child, and it weighed heavily on her even as she sat with Severus in his workroom. They did their best to avoid the headlines that splashed the front pages of the Daily Prophet, but she couldn't keep silent any longer.
"You're planning on joining Voldemort," It was a statement rather than a question. This was not how she rehearsed having this conversation, but it was an opener all the same.
There was a sudden tension in the room and Severus went deadly still. He had been fiddling with the toy mouse she had gotten him for Christmas, waiting for a potion to simmer, but he suddenly discarded it on the couch next to him. He avoided her gaze. "If I am?"
"I don't see what he possibly has to offer you. You're a half-blood, so you can't necessarily agree with blood purity. Your friends have included Muggleborns. I'm one. What could possibly be the draw?"
Hermione almost thought he wasn't going to answer when he drew in a long breath.
"Power," he sighed. "Protection."
"For who? Yourself?"
He jumped from his seat next to her and began to pace the room.
"You don't understand. You wouldn't - I've lived almost my whole life feeling powerless - weak. My father," he allowed his voice to trail off for a moment. "He wasn't a kind man, Jean, and there was very little I could do to protect my mother. You saw what happened over the holidays and that - that wasn't even a taste of what I grew up with!" He drew in another deep breath, turning to her and pointing in an accusatory manner towards the door. "And stupid Black and Potter decided to make my life a living hell from the moment they laid eyes on me. Always seeking me out to humiliate me and bully me and…" his voice caught in his throat. He seemed to come to himself and folded his arms across his chest, fixing her with his gaze once more. "I have had very few bright spots in my life. You have been one of them, and I want to protect that. I will do whatever I can to protect that, even if it means keeping company with some people I don't like, and I sure as hell am going to stay as far away from Black and Potter as I can."
Hermione knew he would join, and he would beg, and when everything fell apart, he would understand how thin the promises of mad men were. She had known all along that this would happen - that was the tragedy of his story.
"But why not Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, leaning toward him from her reclined position. "You know that he's working against him, and you know he's working for the protection of everybody. Did you see that he tried to argue for a lesser sentence for Michael Gibson?"
Snape scoffed, nearly spitted at her suggestion, dropping his arms to his sides and clenching his fists. "Dumbledore? What has Dumbledore ever done for me? Do you know that when Potter and Black nearly killed me - do you know what Dumbledore did? Let them off! I'm the one who suffered for it! I'm the one who was bound not to speak of the circumstances, who was threatened with expulsion if -" he was panting now with the rising volume of his voice. His words were getting more and more erratic. He took a moment to calm himself before he began again. "Albus Dumbledore has never offered me anything. He has only made it easier for others to take their hatred out on me. If he had been an honest man, if he had been a kind, upstanding man, he would have squashed Black and Potter's bullying of me the moment it started. Damn Albus Dumbledore and the people he holds dear."
Hermione watched a bead of sweat make a trail from Severus' temple to his jawline. His breathing had only started to slow, and she could feel her heart thudding in her chest. She waited for it to relax before she answered. "I think Albus Dumbledore is a man who has made many mistakes - and he has been negligent in his treatment of you, I am not denying that - but I trust him to provide us with the best future."
They were quiet for a time. Hermione fought herself not to argue and plead with him - he had to do it, he had to join Voldemort. Now that they were finally having this conversation she found it difficult to hold back and remember that despite her meddling, it was the path he was going to take.
He took his seat next to her once more. "Please let me do things my way, Jean." he pleaded quietly with her. "Please." His words carried more weight than just that request. She heard 'please don't leave me', 'please continue to love me' and couldn't help but reach for his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze.
Hermione took a deep breath before she spoke. "I won't go with you, Severus, but I won't go against you. I understand you, but I will urge you - earnestly - if there ever comes a time where you no longer want to do it, no longer believe in the cause and feel as though you have nowhere to turn - look to Dumbledore."
He was silent. She glanced at him, but he was staring blankly ahead. The only movement she could detect was the rise and fall of his chest.
"I'm sorry, Severus," she added.
His grip on her hand tightened. "But you will stay with me." It was a question more than a statement.
"Yes."
His whole body seemed to exhale at her answer.
"You will remember what I said?" she asked.
"Yes." he nodded. "But I don't want you to worry - you will be safe. I've been promised - I promise." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him, kissing the top of her head.
Hermione didn't respond but sat silently with him until it was time for them to return to their dormitories.
With the weight of her conversation with Severus playing on her mind, and the pressure of their final few classes and studying for their NEWTS, Hermione had almost forgotten that she was waiting on a letter from Healer Potts until an owl landed in front of her at breakfast one morning. She had assumed it would be a letter from Dumbledore cancelling their next meeting, and was pleased to read instead
Dear Miss Granger,
Our presence is requested this evening by Healer Potts. Please meet me in the entrance hall at seven P.M.
AD
She couldn't help the grin that broke onto her face. When she looked up at the head table, Dumbledore gave her a wink and she returned the gesture with a nod.
"I won't be around this evening," she whispered to Snape on their way to Potions.
"What? Why?" She was surprised at his reaction. He actually stopped walking and turned to her. She cast a quick muffliato.
"Dumbledore's taking me to St. Mungo's. They're interested in the potion."
His eyes darkened. "What about me?"
Hermione's stomach dropped. In all her time with Dumbledore, she hadn't once mentioned that Snape had helped her develop the potion. She had a feeling that the headmaster had suspected it, but she had never outright said that she had had assistance from him. She felt terrible - she never meant to take full credit for their work, but in her attempt to keep her relationship with Severus private, she had inadvertently done so - and she certainly wasn't helping him develop a trust in Dumbledore.
"Oh, Merlin, Severus - I was so excited, I didn't even think - I will speak to him. I promise."
He pursed his lips in annoyance and they took off walking once more.
He acted normal throughout the class, but she could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was still unhappy. When they turned in their potions at the end of class, Severus' looking just slightly more perfect than everybody else's, she gave his arm a quick squeeze and began making her way upstairs.
The walk to Dumbledore's office felt as though she were heading to the execution scaffold. She had no idea how Dumbledore would react when she told him, but she needed to for Severus' sake. As she rode the steps to the top of the landing, she kept trying to rehearse an answer for every possible reaction he could have. She heard voices coming from inside the office - Phineas Nigellus' distinctive one among them - but didn't hesitate to knock.
"Yes, come in," he answered. The accompanying voices ceased.
When Hermione opened the door and peered inside, Dumbledore didn't seem surprised in the slightest.
"Hello, Miss Granger. Is there something wrong?"
She stood in front of his desk and took a deep breath before she answered, spouting forth an explanation she had rehearsed the whole walk up. "Professor Dumbledore, I must first apologize. I need to confess that I did not entirely come up with this potion on my own. I've had the help of another student -"
"Would this be Mister Snape, by any chance?" he interrupted. She could see Phineas Nigellus nodding proudly behind him.
Hermione nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes, and I've told him that we're going to test it at St. Mungo's and I think as he helped develop it that he should be able to see the outcome of the results as well."
Dumbledore contemplated her over his steepled fingers. "I had suspected as much. I am afraid that will not be possible to arra -"
Hermione had dreaded that response and couldn't help her outburst. "But he deserves to see it through to the end just as much as I do!"
"Severus Snape is not -" he began but she interrupted him once more.
"Severus Snape will -" her words were cut short by her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. Dumbledore's wand lit up.
"Miss Granger -"
It was only a moment before her tongue became unstuck and Hermione surged on with her argument. "Severus Snape is one of the most brilliant minds when it comes to potions - he's going -" Her tongue quickly stuck to the roof of her mouth once more. Some of the portraits gasped at her arguing with the headmaster. She heard some distinct tutting noises from somewhere to her left. But she needed him to know - she needed to make Dumbledore understand that he needed to offer this olive branch, he needed to make this reparation if he wanted any part of Severus Snape to trust him enough to turn to him in the future.
Dumbledore sighed deeply. "I have long suspected that he is the reason for your visit. And though I feel that should comfort me, I am afraid that it does not when I see the path that he is trodding."
Hermione opened her mouth, testing her ability to speak. "He wants to do good. And though I cannot say more, I ask you to please trust me on this. You had enough faith in me to help me come back here, and I ask you to have that faith in yourself and your decision to do so."
Dumbledore was quiet for a moment and then nodded. "I will allow it. He will be expected to keep his silence on these ventures, though. I do not want or need this visit to get back to the Board of Governors or anybody else. It would be just as harmful for me as yourself."
"I understand. I trust Severus Snape. He will be silent."
When she left Dumbledore's office, she went immediately to Snape's lab where she knew he would be filling orders and preparing ingredients for Slughorn.
The door yielded to her touch and she saw him not at his brewing table or before any ingredients, but seated on the couch reading through an ancient looking text.
"I didn't expect to see you," he said.
"I've gotten permission for you to come along," she answered, sitting down next to him.
"You shouldn't be doing things for me."
"I wanted to. You were right - you've had a massive influence on the creation of the potion and you deserve to see it through. I spoke to Dumbledore and set things right about it and he knows now, so you're free to come along."
"I don't want it out of pity - his or yours." Gods, he was in a strop. He didn't get in one often, but he was a miserable git when he did.
"Merlin, Severus - you're so infuriating sometimes! I wouldn't do that to you. I've done it to right a wrong and to set it straight! You deserve full recognition for what you've done and I was appalled at my own behavior for not letting it be known. If there is anyone to be upset at, it's me. I'm the one who neglected to say anything."
This seemed to satisfy him. He set the tome aside. "Where am I meeting you?"
"In the entrance hall at seven. You're to be quiet about it as well - no telling anyone we're leaving, and nothing about what happens while we're there."
"Of course," he looked at the clock he had affixed to the wall. "We have a few hours. What shall we do until then?"
"Well, I'd like to get my notes together and double check the phials. And then I need to make sure that I finished my Defense homework…" she trailed off at seeing Severus raise his eyebrow. "Or I can just remind myself that I've done all that earlier today and spend time with my brilliant boyfriend."
His face brightened once more, all traces of his indignation melted away.
They parted ways briefly that evening to have a quick dinner and gather their cloaks and testing supplies before they quickly reconvened in the entrance hall to wait for Dumbledore.
Dumbledore came from the direction of the dungeons, surprising them both. They had expected him to come from the Great Hall considering dinner was nearly over.
"Oh, lovely. If you please join me," they moved toward him and he touched his wand to each of their heads. Hermione felt cold trickle down her scalp, her back, and slowly down over her whole body. When she looked at her hands, she found she could only see the stone flagon flooring.
"A precautionary measure. It wouldn't do to have someone see you leave the grounds while everyone else is banned from leaving site."
"Agreed," came Snape's voice from somewhere to her left. Dumbledore nodded satisfactorily.
They exited the front doors and Hermione reached out towards where she thought Severus might be. She got a handful of cloak, but after a moment felt his fingers close around hers. They walked in silence to the sound of the gravel crunching beneath their shoes.
"You can apparate, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked as they neared the front gates.
"Of course."
"And I believe you passed your test last year, Mr. Snape?"
"Yes, Headmaster."
"Good. Do we all know where we are heading?"
"The foyer of St. Mungo's." Hermione confirmed.
"Exactly. I will see you there in a moment. Oh -" he tapped his wand to their heads once more. Hermione felt suddenly embarrassed, very aware of her hand in Severus'. Dumbledore had been able to see them the whole time.
"One, two," and on three, he turned into a swirl of butter yellow and silver and disappeared with a pop.
Snape nodded at her to go first, and with a twist she found herself in the marble foyer, Snape apparating a few feet from her seconds after. His hand quickly went to smooth his hair.
"Excellent - well done. And here is Healer Potts to greet us, just on time." Dumbledore brushed undetectable dust from his robes before he gestured to the stout woman waiting for them.
As they approached, Healer Potts gave Severus a suspicious look. "What's this?" she asked Dumbledore.
"Another creator of the potion. Miss Granger insisted he come along."
Severus drew himself up to his full height and met the older woman's eyes - there were no slumped shoulders or bowed heads here. Healer Potts looked very much as though she were doing a military inspection of him.
"Very well then. Come on." She said finally in a clipped tone.
They made their way to the Janus Thickey ward where there was a curtain pulled tightly around a bed at the far end of the ward. Healer Potts motioned them into it.
A man was seated on the bed flipping happily through an annual. "Oh, hello," he greeted them, his slightly too-long hair bounced around his ears as he nodded at them in greeting. His round face showed genuine delight at their appearance.
"Hello, Graham," greeted Healer Potts. "Are you having a nice day?"
"Yes, yes," he replied, holding his annual out to her. "Look what Cindy brought me. Pictures of all my family. I'll be seeing them next week, you know."
Hermione could see pages of Beano comics.
"Oh, they look lovely, don't they?" Dumbledore leaned down to have a closer look at the comic. "This one here is my favorite," he said pointing to a panel.
Graham clutched the annual to his chest in pleasure as he met Dumbledore's eyes. "Mine too!"
Healer Potts motioned for them to exit the curtain.
"That was Graham. He is a warden of the ministry. He came to us about a month ago. We're not sure exactly who he was or how his memory became scrambled, but no one has come forth to claim him as of yet, and legilimency hasn't helped. I feel that your trial could help illuminate some of that information for us."
"Yes, that would be most interesting," agreed Dumbledore.
Hermione pulled the phials from a small bag she had brought. Severus pulled out his notebook and dictaquill. They walked back through the curtain.
"Oh, hello," Graham greeted them once more. He held the Beano annual out to them. "Would you like to see my photo album?"
"We have a treat for you, Graham - something nice." Healer Potts seated herself on the bed next to him. He looked at her curiously. "This nice young lady is going to give you something, but we're going to ask you a few questions about it. Do you understand?"
Graham nodded enthusiastically and held his hands out toward Hermione.
Snape's notebook was floating in the air beside him, his dictaquill moving along the page quickly while Snape mouthed wordlessly beside them. When Graham's attention became distracted by him, he stopped and nodded at him before covering his mouth and resuming his silent dictation.
"Graham, if you could please tell us what you smell from the potion, that would be most helpful." Hermione uncorked the vial for him and held it out to him. He took it and lifted it to his nose.
"Lemon! Did I get that right?"
"Yes, excellent. Now, if you don't mind drinking it and telling us how it makes you feel -" Hermione encouraged him to drink it back, and he did so enthusiastically.
"What does it make you think of?" Snape added.
"Lemon meringue pie! Why is that boy calling me Stephen?" he looked at Healer Potts.
Dumbledore and Healer Potts exchanged looks. "I can search records for a Stephen," he offered.
Healer Potts nodded thankfully. "Shall we try another?" she asked.
Hermione looked to Severus. "We've never tried it more than once at a time before."
"We've never had need to. We can't have someone keep taking this until they regain all their memories - there's a disconnect, for one, and two, they will reach a point of overdose," he explained.
"What do you think, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore prompted her.
Hermione ran some quick calculations in her head. "I think we can try three doses without ill effect. Is that what you got, Severus?"
The dictaquill and notebook were in his hands now, flying over the page. "I have four, but that is absolutely pushing it with the fresh ingredients. Three is safer, although you will want to give him a standard calming draught afterward. The mistletoe berries will have caused his heart rate to rise alongside whatever stress he may be feeling from the memory retrieval."
Healer Potts nodded at him. "Excellent appraisal, boy." Severus nodded at her and gestured for Hermione to hand Graham - no, Stephen - another vial. "Please tell us what this makes you think of."
Stephen smelled it obediently. "Roast dinner!" he replied, and drank it down. He squinted at Professor Dumbledore. "Professor! How did you get here so quickly? And how did your beard get so long!"
"So pleased you know me!" Dumbledore smiled at him, stroking his beard now that attention had been called to it. "I'm sorry, I have trouble recalling your name - you are?"
"I'm Graham! Pleased to meet you!" Stephen nodded enthusiastically and held his hand out to Dumbledore.
Severus gave a small sigh that spoke his exasperation at the situation. They exited the curtain that shielded Stephen.
"I suppose it's difficult when we don't know exactly what happened. If it was a spell backfiring, or obliviate damage or something else entirely - this potion won't repair that damage, just look for the memories to help give us clues to who he was before his accident." Hermione reached out to him reassuringly.
"You two have done more than we've been able to in the last month," Healer Potts encouraged. "I would like you to keep me updated on your progress."
"Yes, I quite agree," jumped in Dumbledore. "I am very impressed by the both of you. And you, Mister Snape, Professor Slughorn always brags about your abilities, but it has been a pleasure to see you work in person." He gave Snape a very intense look. Hermione said a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening that Snape took note of Dumbledore's praise.
Snape was eying the Headmaster curiously.
"Well, if that's all -" Healer Potts began to direct them back down towards the foyer, but Hermione stopped.
"Healer Potts, something I would like to ask - I was shown the potions recipes with my last visit and saw that they contain Rivers of Lethe. My colleague," she gestured to Severus who stood a little straighter at the mention "found a mention of a trial of this in a potions journal published about ten years ago, but nothing further. Has St. Mungo's expanded on this research themselves, or are you practicing from the theoretical research?"
Healer Potts looked a bit taken aback by their question. Dumbledore had an eyebrow raised but had popped a sweet into his mouth and appeared very interested in the memos winging their way through the corridors.
Severus opened his notebook and cleared his throat. "It was recorded as being tested to help patients forget traumatic events and spell damage alongside healing them. In those cases, it would work as the potion would be working on the physical, and that particular ingredient would work on the mental. However, it was noted that though it tested successfully in older wizards in homes to help them forget they were in care - I'm not sure applying it broadly as has been done here by the looks of it is the best course of action. I would recommend diluted swooping evil venom with powdered knarl quills administered approximately half an hour after treatment if that is the goal you are trying to achieve."
Healer Potts' mouth was pursed into a thin line, but Severus met her eyes boldly. "And this is related to the work you two are doing?"
Hermione opened her mouth to respond but Severus' clipped voice broke in from beside her.
"I do independent work of my own under the guidance of my potions professor."
Healer Potts looked to Dumbledore. "Severus is one of our more gifted students," he agreed.
"I'll look into it," replied Healer Potts. "I didn't expect an interrogation from this." She directed at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore had a surprisingly innocent look on his face.
They left, Dumbledore casting the spell to make this disappear once more. Hermione didn't dare hold Snape's hand as they walked back up to the castle, and when they reached the entrance hall at Hogwarts, he made them reappear once more. Dumbledore could tell they both were itching to continue their research and threatened them both with having their heads of house check their beds.
"I spoke with Professor Slughorn earlier this evening, Mister Snape. He will be expecting you to report in to him your safe arrival. And you, Miss Granger - I believe that Professor McGonagall would be most displeased to find one of her students out of bed after curfew. You've both done very well - but concentrate on your NEWTS for now, please."
They both nodded and with a look of farewell towards one another, took off in their opposite directions.
Hermione spent that evening with her mind turning over everything she had done for the past two years - two years to finally bring about some sort of solution that would lead to a permanent recovery of memories. It wasn't perfect yet, but she could tell that there was something special about this potion in particular. While she would normally be annoyed that it had taken her so long, she had to admit that she was enjoying the journey. If she had never come back here, she never would have connected with Severus - and no, that wasn't in her original plans, and no, she never thought when she travelled back here that she would develop feelings for him, but how could she not when he seemed to fulfill everything she wanted from a relationship?
And, though Dumbledore hadn't remarked on it, she still felt slightly uneasy about his knowing about her and Severus' relationship. If the confirmation that they had worked together on the potion didn't explicitly say they were romantically involved, their easiness with each other and the brief touches they shared that evening definitely did. She knew that some of the professors were aware of the attachment between them, but she had never thought that the news would get back to the Headmaster.
She and Severus once again dove into revising for their NEWTS. With only a week to go before they started, the sitting area of Severus' lab had now been transformed into an area for them to practice the various spells they expected to come up. Hermione's workroom almost felt vacated every time she went in to look after the mice, and she felt that they were feeling their absence as well - they ran to the edge of the cage every time she and Severus appeared. Hermione felt guilty at this and tried to remember to bring little bits of apple more often.
Severus was beginning to look a bit sickly as well - the yellowish undertone reappeared in his skin and he developed dark circles under his eyes. His hair was more lank and greasy than usual. Hermione had a word with Dobo to take him sandwiches when she was not with him and he regained some of his color, though the circles under his eyes did not vanish. If Hermione thought that she studied intensely, she found her match in Severus Snape.
Her next meeting with Dumbledore, she was relieved that he stuck to the subject of her research. After they rehashed the evening and her thoughts on it, he leaned back in his chair and smiled at her over steepled fingers.
"You'll be pleased to hear that Healer Potts has requested an investigation into potions administration at the hospital after your questions, and the condition of some of the patients appear to be improving."
Hermione smiled. "And have we heard anything about Graham - or Stephen?"
"Oh, yes!" Dumbledore sat up in his chair excitedly and motioned toward the book that carried the register of magical children's names. "We found out his real name and got in contact with his family. He was supposed to go erumpent hunting for six months which explains the lack of familial contact - they weren't expecting to hear from him anyway."
"Do we know what happened?"
Dumbledore did his best to hide an amused smile. "I believe it had something to do with nonpayment of goods received when he made it to Africa. He was given a portkey back to Britain and ended up in St. Mungo's that way."
"Oh dear." Hermione took a sip of her tea.
Dumbledore leaned forward and placed his elbows on his desk. When he spoke once more, his voice had regained its seriousness. "Miss Granger? I am sorry for doubting Mr. Snape."
Hermione nodded. "I believe Mr. Snape is the one you should apologize to, Headmaster, if you forgive me for being so forward."
"I agree. I must admit that I have always had my doubts about him and it has caused me to fail to acknowledge what talent he has in the classroom. Horace has told me for years… but I fear that I am too late in this recognition for it to have any impact."
"I believe letting him join us was a good step."
He nodded. "Let's call it a night, Miss Granger."
When she made the short walk from his office to Gryffindor Tower, she crossed her fingers and desperately hoped that Dumbledore would indeed follow through on his words.