Hermione looked up at the looming castle in front of her. Many years had passed since the war, yet the castle still carried the same aura it always had. As she stepped through the gates, the wards brushed up against her as if welcoming back an old friend. Many war survivors had noticed a change when on the school grounds. It was as if the castle was sentient and was showing them its appreciation. It wasn't an entirely impossible hypothesis; according to Minerva, Umbridge once spent a whole day in the dungeons as the castle refused to align the stairs to allow her ascent. Of course, that may have been Professor Flitwick using charms to confound Umbridge, but Hermione preferred the idea of a sentient castle.
As she started walking up the hill towards the entrance, she spotted a Patronus heading her way. The jaguar landed gracefully in front of Hermione and a familiar voice escaped its mouth. "Minerva is currently in a meeting and will be busy until 9:30. She has asked for you to head straight to the infirmary until she is free". Hermione stared thoughtfully at the jaguar. How fitting. They were dark and sleek but held a certain grace that fit its owner well. She had known that he was back at his teaching post and was feeling tentative about their approaching reunion. Would he be the same as he was in class? Surely not! She was replacing Poppy Pomfrey as the Hogwarts Mediwitch – a difficult role given the mischief that occurred in the school. They would be equals and any disrespect on his part would be unacceptable.
These thoughts swirled around Hermione's mind as she made her way to the infirmary. 5 years away from the castle – three years at University and two years at St. Mungo's finishing her healer training – and yet she could walk the halls as if it were still her home. She had returned after the war to complete her NEWTS, but she tested out early due to the loneliness she felt without Ron and Harry beside her. They had taken Shacklebolt's offer to enter the Auror program at a trainee level to replace their NEWTS. Hermione had been upset at their decision but understood their need to start their lives. Harry had married Ginny soon after entering the program and James Potter had been born a year later. Hermione and Ron had tried their relationship (if that's what it could be called). After their first kiss, they tried to recreate it at the Burrow. They both felt the wrongness, as if they were kissing a sibling, and promptly agreed to remain as friends.
Hermione pushed the doors to the infirmary open and stared at her new workplace. Compared to the bustling wards of St Mungo's it was positively silent. She relished the change in environment; the clean, white linoleum flooring and empty cots with privacy curtains welcomed her. As promised, Poppy's handover notes were spread out over the desk in her (now Hermione's!) office. Looking at her watch and seeing she had half an hour before meeting with Minerva, Hermione started pouring over the notes. It contained Poppy's daily tasks, patient notes, and requirements she may not have had at St Mungo's. Eating in the great hall in mornings and evenings and wearing a charmed bracelet that alerted her to someone requiring attention in the hospital were some of the requirements stated. She was so engrossed in the documents that she did not notice two figures enter the office and exchange amused glances.
Another glance at his watch. 5 a.m. He couldn't help blaming the witch in his nightmares for his lack of sleep. News of Miss Granger's imminent arrival had brought back memories of his near-death experience. His nightmares that night consisted of snake fangs and the metallic smell of blood choking him into consciousness. Over the past five years his nightmares had slowly decreased in occurrence, but that did not stop them returning with a vengeance during a stressful period. Not that a returning student was particularly stressful. It was the knowledge that he would have to look at the large caramel-coloured eyes and curly brown hair on a daily basis and try not to remember the way they had looked at she had leaned over him in the shrieking shack. The tears falling out of her eyes in quick succession. The blood and debris caked into strands of hair that brushed against his cheeks. She hadn't even seen the memories he had given Potter. She'd been crying over the death of a traitor, sobbing over his dying body as she pulled potion after potion out of her bag. His recovery was nothing short of a miracle and he immediately retreated to Spinner's End to lick his wounds in peace. Severus returned to Hogwarts three years ago, again taking the Potions teacher positions and reluctantly accepting a position as Deputy Headmaster (at Minerva's insistence).
An hour had passed whilst Severus had been buried in the past and he deemed it an acceptable time to rise and dress for the day. He'd start boosting his caffeine early to make himself bearable for Miss Granger's arrival. Whilst he did not owe her a life debt, he felt obliged to treat her better than he had during her school days. His behaviour at times made him ashamed. No amount of war stress gave him the right to lash out at children. Potter had accepted his apologies and visited him often in hospital during his recovery, yet Granger had quickly started a University in Australia and he did not think a written apology (and thank you) would be appropriate. Severus' planned apology ran through is head again as he stared at Miss Granger's back in the infirmary. After sharing an amused glance with Minerva – trust Granger to revert to her school days of becoming so immersed in work that the outside world disappeared – he cleared his throat loudly to announce their presence. He did not expect a wand to be pointing at his chest, the petite witch at the end of it staring into his eyes in shock. A brief moment passed before she realised that the perceived danger was imaginary, and an apologetic look crossed her face.
"Oh Gods, I'm so sorry Professor! My reaction was completely unnecessary, an old habit" Hermione apologised. Severus noticed she was more self-confident and mature than she had been as a student. The apology was delivered with constant eye contact and without a stammer, despite her heaving chest showing her evident fear after the interruption. Minerva simply watched on. A brief glimmer of regret crossed her face as she no doubt thought of the horrors a young woman had to go through in order to develop such reactions.
Your apology is unnecessary, let us move on" Severus said, moving to take the seat opposite the Mediwitch's desk. "We wanted to discuss Poppy's handover documents, but I can see that you've devoured all the information you can and have probably written your own improvements in the hour we've left you alone". The sentence was said with amusement rather than malice, which seemed to surprise Granger.
"I'm not sure what you expected when putting me in a room with a book full of something I didn't know" she laughed. Her eyes lit up at the humour flowing between them.
"Yes, well we all know better now. But I'm glad you're getting started dear. Unfortunately, Poppy had to leave immediately for a family emergency, so you're jumping straight in" Minerva said. "You'll be on your own over the summer to settle in, but once the students arrive, you'll have three trainees to help with the workload. In return, you will train them up before they finish their apprenticeship at St. Mungo's".
Not everyone chose the University route, but Hermione needed to escape England for a while and try to retrieve her parent's memories. She looked forward to passing on her knowledge to future healers. It would be hard work, but she was up for the challenge.
"Are there many medical emergencies during the summer holidays?" Hermione asked. She assumed that the end of the war would have ended the random fatalities and injuries over the summer. Severus cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to leave.
"I will leave Minerva to fully debrief you Miss Granger. Good day". Hermione watched after him confused.
"Come along Hermione, let us get some tea in my office" Minerva said with a smile.
"Did I say something to offend Professor Snape, Minerva?" Hermione asked once they were ensconced in the office.
"Oh no Dear, it wasn't your fault. Severus does not like to be pitied, and I think he was wary at your questioning. You see, he is still treated by some as a traitor"
"What! But that's ridiculous, we all defended him at a ministry trial, and we showed the vial of memories to the judges. They don't know wha-" Hermione raged on.
"Stop – sorry that is not what I meant" Minerva interrupted "He is viewed as a traitor by Voldemort's loyal supporters. There were some that went on the run and have not been caught. They tend to band together around the summer holidays when people tend to take time off and are more vulnerable outside of their homes. One of those being Severus."
Hermione was looking shocked and confused. How could they target one of the most skilled wizards? Her confusion must have shown, for Minerva quickly carried on.
"Severus is impressive with a wand but imagine standing up against five Death Eaters on your own. He has a knack at escaping with his life but will often need help with his injuries. Poppy begged him to not leave the Castle over summer, yet he gets hired by the Auror department to help find the remaining Death Eaters. They believe his knowledge and skill will make him more successful than the Aurors"
"So, I need to be on the lookout for when he leaves the Castle and when I expect him to return?" Hermione asked.
"Exactly. Sometimes he'll attempt to repair himself. Be forceful with him and most importantly, don't let him turn you against him" Minerva warned. She peered over her glasses threateningly at Hermione. She had become rather protective over Severus since she learned the truth of his alliance.
"I won't let that happen. I admire the man too much – not that he'd ever hear me say that. I'll ask him to inform me before he leaves the Castle so I can be on standby. If that is everything Minerva?"
"Yes Dear. I will see you at dinner" Minerva smiled as the girl walked out the office confidently. This was going to be a good year, she thought.
The knocking would not stop. Severus sighed into his hands before looking at the door again. He knew why she was here. He dreaded looking into her sympathetic eyes. Everyone found it sad that the war wasn't over for him…but him. Why should he rest when he was the best hope at finding the remaining Death Eaters? He had helped them do atrocious things at meetings. The least he could do was capture the remaining Death Eaters.
He sighed again as the knocking carried on. "Come in" he called in his most sinister voice he could muster.
Granger walked in timidly. Ah good, he still had it. Obviously, she was not as nervous as her younger self would have been. She walked to the chair in front of his desk and sat in it, smiling at him.
"Hello Professor Snape. I hope you don't mind the interruption. I wanted to catch you before you left"
Straight to the point. Very Slytherin. Severus simply stared at her, waiting for the inevitable. What she said next surprised him.
"I'm not here to mollycoddle you. You had gone through an entire war before I was even born. I will not pity you; we have all been through hell and back and I will not pretend to understand why you are choosing to go through it again. What I will do is my job – I will expect you in the Hospital Wing as soon as you return from wherever you go. I don't care if the worst you've done is broken a fingernail. I will complete my own health check. Is that acceptable?" Hermione blushed after her rant. She had no idea where her bravery had come from, but she knew it would be better to be straight with Snape. No beating around the bush in this office.
Severus stared in surprise. When had Granger removed the stick from her ass? He liked it. Yet he couldn't respond with too much enthusiasm, else she'll think he's wrapped around her finger by September. "Acceptable? I wouldn't even grade that speech a troll" Hermione looked at him in despair. "However, I will acquiesce to a health check when I have returned and completed anything necessary. I often have important owls that need to be sent as soon as I return"
Hermione felt like she'd won. What she'd won she had no idea, but it felt like a victory. "That would be passable" she joked. "I would like you to contact me when you leave the Castle so I can be alert". Severus nodded and Hermione smiled again. They had come to an understanding.
Severus felt touched that she'd cared enough to storm down to the dungeons and demand this from him. He felt he owed her something in return. "You may…call me Severus. You are a member of staff, and as such we are equal now"
Hermione did not expect this. Being thrown out of his office? Turned into potions ingredients? Absolutely. Being offered to call him his first name. Absolutely not. He really has changed since school. "Thank you, Severus. You may call me Hermione".
They looked at each other awkwardly. Hermione, looking away from Severus' piercing stare, made eye contact with a selection of books stacked against the office wall. In a dream like state, she wandered over to them, bending down to peer at the titles. She gasped at the third book. "Hidden Herbs from the Ages. How did you get this Severus? There's only three copies in England alone!"
Severus had to focus his mind back to what Hermione was saying. He was sure no-one had voluntarily stayed in his office for this long, and they had definitely not been so distracted by his book collection that they'd stuck out their bottom in his direction. No! She had been his student five years prior. Thoughts back to books Severus.
"I received it from an old friend. One who owed me a favour, and I chose to cash in that favour by obtaining the book". Hermione continued peering at his books in fascination, unaware of his uncomfortable thoughts. A floo call interrupted them both.
"One moment Kingsley" Severus stood up and proceeded to collect his outdoor cloak. "Miss Granger take this as my letting you know I am leaving the castle. I will alert you once I return for an unnecessary health check-up". With that he entered the floo and disappeared.
Hermione wandered back up to the infirmary to continue looking over Poppy's notes. It seemed as if the little monsters had suffered from every magical incident in the book. No wonder the teachers always looked stressed! She thought over her training at St Mungo's – her first day consisted of observing and helping Neville's parents. Their torture during the first war had removed their ability to act and think for themselves. They were no better than someone suffering from Dementia. It broke Hermione's heart but also toughened her up enough to complete the rest of the placement. It had always been her plan to find a way to bring them back to consciousness. Maybe this summer would be the perfect opportunity to do some research.
Hermione headed down to the Great Hall for lunch, with plans to spend the remainder of the afternoon in the library. The smell of the ageing parchment hadn't changed since her school days. The library held over 10,000 books of ranging genres and were well protected from the effects of time and grubby fingers. The large, stained-glass windows allowed sunlight to flow in during the day, whilst the many lanterns along the bookcases meant late-night wanderers could find their way.
Since the war, a muggle section had been added to the library. It included the classics; no-one could resist a timeless 'Jane Eyre' or 'Emma'. Hermione headed there now, intent on finding all the neuro-science books they had. There were not many, it turned out, but three was a start. Through her previous research, Hermione had realised that the cruciatus curse focused on aggravating the nerve endings to the point that they become permanently damaged. In severe cases, such as the Longbottom couple, this ultimately reduces impulses to the brain and makes them appear brain-dead. Hermione shook her head and sadness creeped into her heart – she knew what it was like to have parents that did not recognise their child, yet she couldn't help but remind herself that she was the reason her parents did not know who she was.
A swish of a cloak disrupted Hermione's musings. Severus Snape had returned. "Severus!" Hermione called down the corridor. Her short legs struggled to keep up with his long strides.
"Granger, I don't have time for a check-up now. Go back to the library" he sneered. His hair was lashing around his face as he stormed down the stairs towards the dungeons. As a student, Hermione would have run in the opposite direction from this, but her work and life experiences had hardened her. She ran after him and stood in his way.
"Firstly, please call me Hermione, I am not your student anymore. Secondly, we discussed your check-up earlier. I don't care if you have somehow come back in a better condition than you left, I would like to see it for myself. So go and do what you need to do, and I will see you in the Hospital Wing in 1 hour" Hermione said sternly. His face smoothed as she spoke – his occlumency walls were coming up, but Hermione could not say why. Maybe he was trying not to laugh at her? Or maybe he was going to finally kill her? The man was a mystery. She decided not to hang around for the answer and strode past him, back up the stairs.
An hour and a half later, Hermione was pacing. Her emotions ranged from worried (what if he had succumbed to an injury?) to angry (would he always be this difficult?!). She would have loved to spend the rest of the afternoon in the library, but she would not neglect her duty as school healer because of one stubborn man.
With that thought, she stormed towards the door just as it opened. She stared at Severus, momentarily surprised, whilst he looked around awkwardly. With a quick prayer that his mood had recovered, Hermione pointed him towards a cot.
"I thought you weren't coming" Hermione said to fill the silence.
"I considered it, but I knew my wards would only keep you out for so long. I can only assume you were coming to bang my door down when I entered" Severus said. His eyes were dancing with amusement. Hermione was thankful for his humour breaking the awkwardness she was feeling. She tutted in response and started casting spells.
"Of course. I take my job very seriously!". Hermione frowned as one of her spells indicated trauma around his ribcage. Despite living in the castle with Severus for over six years when they were professor and student, she had never thought about his body before. Even in the shack, he was buttoned up to the neck, and the many layers probably helped saved his life. However, now she would need him to remove something so she could investigate his ribs further.
Turning around to take her notes, she briefly looked back through his file. He had been through so much in his life – it was heart breaking. "Severus, I can see you have a repeating rib injury on your right side. Have you ever had this looked at?"
He looked away briefly. "It is of no concern. I treat it myself"
"Will you let me try and help? I am well read on my healing spells you know" she joked, but his face remained stoic. He looked extremely uncomfortable suddenly.
"No, I'm fine. Just leave it Granger"
It felt wrong to leave it, but she knew he wouldn't budge on this one. "Fine, but I still need you to take your shirt off so I can check your spine positioning. It took a lot of damage during the year and the vertebra are easy to dislodge again by accident"
He gave a long-suffering sight before slowly undoing the buttons of his frock coat. He was trying to make this as awkward as possible in the hopes she wouldn't ask again, however Hermione was entranced with his long fingers. They were delicately undoing each button – the buttons she had looked at every day at school. It felt surreal. Once he was free of clothing on his top half, he looked to the ceiling.
Hermione could understand. She had often been embarrassed over the many scars her body had. Instead of being disgusted, as she assumed her lovers were, she saw only bravery. His back was a criss-cross of pain, and his front showed dents where his flesh had been gouged. She could tell he was struggling with the revealing of his body, so she reacted as only a Gryffindor would do. "I am all finished, you may dress and go. And Severus…I never really had the chance to thank you for everything you did, but I want you to know how grateful I am that you were on our side. I never understood how much pain you went through for us, and I'm so sorry. I am truly thankful for you" she said, before walking off to her office and closing the door.
Severus watched her go with conflicted feelings. During the first war, he had imagined the praise he would receive once people knew of his sacrifices, and he looked forward to it. Yet the second war had broken him so much, he couldn't bring himself to feel anything when his Order of Merlin First Class was delivered. For the first time in a while, Hermione's statement brought him a little happiness. He walked back down to the dungeons and contemplated how to deal with the new emotion. The dungeon bat couldn't be seen sporting a heart!
The weeks flew by as Hermione started to understand the workings of the Hospital Wing. Surprisingly, she'd already had two patients. Minerva had slipped in her Animagus form and required patching up and Filch had knocked a stack of books on his head.
Her favourite parts of the week had been the dinners. Sitting round the large table in the Great Hall, Hermione got to see all her favourite professors and catch-up on their life. She was currently sat in Hagrid's hut, carrying on their conversation from dinner.
"But 'Mione, everyone thought you and Ron would've made a great couple. There was even a bet going round the teachers!"
"Hagrid!" Hermione screeched, embarrassed that her private life had not been so private. He just laughed at her expression.
"Well, are ye dating anyone now?" he asked. Fang drooled on his leg whilst Hagrid looked at him affectionately.
"No, I'm not. I'm just focusing on my work for now. There's no room for books and boys in my life Hagrid, you know me!" she laughed. Once it went dark outside, she walked back up to the Hospital Wing to carry on reviewing Madame Pomfrey's notes. She had avoided reading Severus' medical history during the day, just in case he wandered in (not that he would voluntarily head to the Hospital Wing!). She looked at the clock, noting the late hour, and pulled out his file.
She flicked through the first wizarding war, stopping occasionally when the words 'close too death' appeared. They were written much too often for her liking. It was nearing midnight when she reached the snake attack. She had been avoiding it for too long, dreading the memories it would bring back. The entry went as expected: "Patient suffered from poison and fang injuries. Injection of phoenix tears had removed the poison but did not have an effect on the surface wounds". Hermione had been lucky to obtain the phoenix tears. When Dumbledore had died, she had called Fawkes and begged him for the tears. He was very willing, and she was beyond thankful for his gift.
Further down the page, she noticed an entry made one day later. It mentioned Severus had suffered from a broken rib. So much of the bone had broken off, that only skele-grow could re-grow it, however it was too close to the lung warrant the risk of using the potion. It had the potential to grow too close to the lung and cause further damage. He would instead need it regularly checked to ensure it re-grew naturally. So, this was the rib injury he wouldn't let her check. But why? She suddenly gasped.