Chapter 2
Lisa turned around and lifted her shirt. It was even more beautiful in person than in the picture. The 3-D quality of the artist was exceptional and the brilliance of the color against her pale skin made it quite lifelike. She could almost smell their scent. Hermione wanted to touch it, but didn't dare. "It's incredible Lisa. I've never seen anything like it. You have a right to be proud." Hermione had a question but was afraid of hurting her.
Lisa smiled at the compliment as she pulled her shirt down. "Thank you."
Hermione had to ask. "Lisa. Why did you leave the word, mudblood, and not have it embellished too?"
She got a faraway look as she answered. "My father was a muggle. I was very close to him. He taught me so much about life. I try to honor him by living in a muggle home, in a muggle town, with a muggle job. My parents loved each other very much, but it was my mother's world that allowed Death Eaters to go unchecked for so long. It was the magical world that killed my family, not muggles. I love my mother, but I am more proud of my muggle heritage than my magical one. And so I only added, 'and proud of it.' Does that make sense?"
Hermione smiled and was touched beyond measure. She too loved her muggle parents and would have been devastated to lose them. She had to get this woman to bring her good sense to a clinic and help others. "Lisa you're a Legilimens aren't you?" Lisa looked down embarrassed. "I felt you enter my mind at the door."
"I'm sorry Hermione, but I needed to know you were real and not just someone trying to get in."
Hermione wasn't angry. "It's okay. I only bring it up because I want to ask you to do something that I think will help you as well. The Ministry is staffing the clinics I'm organizing with Legilimens to help those who come for treatment. We desperately could use your inspiration. Would you be willing to work at the local clinic? The pay is not top dollar, but the rewards are exceptional. Will you do it?"
Lisa considered for a moment. "Is there something nearby?"
Hermione was thrilled at the prospect. "There is a local clinic about ten miles from here. Would that work for you?"
Lisa took some time to answer. "I…I'm not sure I can do this. My pain is still so much on the surface. Can you give me a little time to consider it?"
"Of course you can. There's no pressure. I only hope to let other women gain from your courage and perhaps you can find some comfort in helping others who have suffered like you. Here's my address. Let me know what you decide." Hermione handed her a small card.
They talked about simple things after that. Lisa had quite a dry sense of humor. She loved cats. She had a job managing at a local tearoom. She had no family now, all killed by Death Eaters. The woman who owned the tearoom, a muggle, had found her after the attack and took her to the local hospital. She took Lisa in and cared for her and helped her get back on her feet. They were like mother and daughter now. It was one of the things that held her back from helping at the clinic. She would not abandon her friend and her job. Hermione assured her she could work whatever hours she wanted.
It was getting late and she needed to get back home. Hermione thanked her for a pleasant afternoon and asked her to keep in touch. The train ride home gave her plenty of time to think about Lisa and what she had been through. Scribbling down notes of what happened. She had given Hermione permission to use her story and pictures in the Quibbler, but had requested her name be changed. She was sure Luna wouldn't mind and quickly agreed.
oopOqoo
Severus opened the door when she got home. He took one look at her face and pulled her into a hug. "Hey wife, I was worried about you. It's late."
"I'm sorry love. Lisa and I talked for longer than I had figured on. She such an incredible person. Her whole story is a triumph. She gave me permission to tell it in the Quibbler. I've got to get my notes to Luna so she can publish it."
Hermione gave out a long sigh and rubbed her eyes. Severus growled at her. "Not tonight you're not. I saved you some supper, are you hungry?"
She grinned as her stomach growled back. "Oh, now I remember why I married you. You're the one who takes such good care of me."
Severus pulled her in for a hug, kissing her forehead. "And I always will. Come on."
After supper they sat on the couch with a glass of wine. Severus had his arm around her protectively. "It must have been rough to hear her story. Are you sure you're okay?"
Hermione sighed, "Yes, I'm fine. The more of these stories I hear, well, it tells me just how lucky I am. Even with all that I went through. And that's not a fraction of what you suffered year after year. Oh Severus. I look at you now and marvel that you did all of that alone and for so long. She asked me how I coped with it. How did you?"
Severus didn't want to talk about it, but she needed to know. "Hermione there are things you do to get by that are just instinct. Finding pleasure in small things. Keeping the goal in mind. Not slowing down long enough to feel hope or fear or anything else. After a while you go numb and it just becomes a way of life." He played with the curls of her hair. "And I wasn't completely alone. Believe it or not I had Madam Pomfrey." She looked at him to explain. "I would come in beaten and bloody and she would pick me up off the floor and pour my own potions down my throat. Heal my wounds. Keep me alive for a little while longer. As a kid, after the marauders had done their worst, and then again when I became a spy, she just continued to treat me, never asking how or why. Just a kind face with a kind word. I don't think I ever thanked her properly though I felt more like her son than my own mothers. She was the real reason I stayed alive. Knowing that at least one person cared whether or not I came back."
There were tears in Hermione's eyes. "How I wish I could have been there to ease your pain and give you strength."
Severus laughed, "You were there. You were just 16 at the time and hated my guts."
Hermione turned red and covered her eyes for a moment. "No! You're so wrong." She turned and looked into his beautiful black eyes. "I may have been 16, but I never hated you. In fact I defended you. True, I didn't like you very much. You were a right bastard to the whole class, but you were the best teacher there. I respected your brilliance and skill more than you know. I learned so much in your class."
A slow smile started to grace her face. "But the lessons I've learned lately have been much more interesting. Your voice still makes me tingle." She got up to staddle his hips and began to place feather light kisses over his face. Her warm breath on his neck sent shivers in all the right places. "I can help with your pain now. Let me kiss it and make it better. Just tell me where it hurts, or where you want it to hurt." Her lips and teeth on his earlobes. Severus moaned knowing he was in trouble. Really good trouble.
oopOqoo
After a night of lovemaking that should have set the curtains on fire, Hermione slept in late. Severus woke as he always did with the sunrise. It was his privilege every day to wake early and watch her sleep. Even with her hair a mass of frizz she looked like an angel to him. He still pinched himself at being so lucky to have her love. He gently pushed a stray curl away from her face and brushed the back of his fingers over the soft skin of her bare shoulder. At this time of day he could admit to her that he loved her more than life. Knowing she wouldn't hear him. A part of him still didn't like being this vulnerable. He knew that if he ever lost her it would be fatal to him.
It was getting very late in the morning and she would be behind for work if she didn't get up soon. He hated to wake her, but he knew she would be furious with him if he let her sleep. "Hermione." He said gently, rubbing a thumb over her cheek. "Hermione love, it's late. You've slept in."
She moaned and rolled over. "Five more minutes."
"Ok, but don't blame me when your late for the ministry." Her eyes blew open and she sat up and swayed like she'd been on a two-day drunk. "Woa there. Are you okay?"
She didn't have time to answer as she ran to the bathroom. He tried not to take it personally when he began to hear her retch. "Hermione? Are you okay love?" He was going to open the door when the warning came to "stay out!" He waited patiently outside for the sound of a flush, water running and teeth being brushed. She immerged pale and drawn. Severus immediately put a hand to her forehead to check for fever. None. He was about to call his wand and give her a complete scan when she caught sight of the clock.
"Sweet Nimue I'm late." She began to run around the bedroom looking for her clothes, shoes etc. He gave up and went to the kitchen to make coffee and toast and thank the gods that potions could be made at home, with no more commute than Hermione's bunny slippers need to make.
She skidded into the kitchen to grab a piece of toast and the to-go cup that Severus had made for her. A quick kiss and she was out the door with Severus saying "Have a good day" to the air.