A/N: Once again thank you all for the reviews and comments and to anyone else who has been reading this story. I think this is the chapter you have been waiting for and I hope that its alright. Once again, if there are any questions or anything you want to ask please just ask me and I will answer them. Many Thanks!
A/N: Chapter Warnings – Mentions of sexual assault, suicide, bad language, and other sexual scenes.
Chapter 41 – Sirius Black, Severus' Office, and Harry's Mistake
Everyone just stared. No one knew what to say, they didn't want to believe the words that had just left Severus' mouth and so they turned to Dumbledore, wanting to be told that none of it was true. They all paused for a moment, thinking about the way in which they had all alienated Hermione during her summer stay, they all remembered the way in which they let her be called awful names as she had accusations flung at her. Everyone felt equally guilty that they had not stepped in or decided to look further, that they took the word of an escaped Azkaban prisoner, who was had gone slightly insane due to said imprisonment, and believed his stories, his lies, over the word of someone who had been family to them for nearly the last five years. They had wanted to believe the lies because it had been easier than accepting the horrible truth. Then slowly, their internal guilt still filling their stomachs like a lead balloon, their thoughts turned towards Albus Dumbledore. Hermione had gone to him for help, she had gone to him to tell him what had happened, the rest of the present Order members were waiting for an explanation. Molly, Tonks, and Minerva were all in tears; Arthur suddenly looked much older and moved to place a comforting hand upon his wife's shoulder.
But Dumbledore could no longer hide the emotions on his face, he looked angry and defeated and that confirmed that Severus' accusation was correct. There was another moment's pause and then all hell broke loose.
"The poor girl! All this time? Albus what the devil have you been playing at? You knew and you stood by and did nothing, the poor girl must've been beside herself! How dare you!" Molly screamed, agonised at the thought of Hermione being hurt. Molly considered Hermione as a daughter and the thought that she had failed one of her children was tearing Molly apart. Arthur tightened his hold on Molly's shoulder trying to keep her calm and then he turned to Albus.
"Albus, after all the years in which we have done your biding, stood by your side, fought at your command and all because we trust you. How do you think we should react to all of this? You let one of our own, one of the smartest, kindest teenagers that I have ever had the privilege to meet and you force her to keep quiet about being sexually assaulted. Once was inexcusable Albus but to stand by and do nothing only for it to happen again? That is pure evil" Arthur said.
Everyone stood and digested his words.
"When exactly did the two assaults take place?" Arthur asked Severus.
"The first assault occurred about a week after she arrived here at the beginning of the summer and the second assault occurred a couple of nights before the students left to go back to Hogwarts, the second one happened the same night I left here and I should have stayed, she did not feel safe and I let her down" Severus said.
Again they all tried to wrap their heads around the information; she had been assaulted before anyone else had even arrived to stay at Grimmauld for the summer and had ignored her and accused her of being a harlot for the majority of their stay. Only for another assault to take place whilst everyone was around but by that point, the young girl did not feel as if she could turn to any of them and talk to them. They had all let her down. Arthur's head suddenly snapped up and he gasped.
"That explains the blood" Arthur said solemnly.
"What blood?" Molly asked him.
"When I went to get Hermione's bag on the morning that we left to get the train, I noticed some blood on her bedsheets and there were a couple of drops that I could make out on the floor of the bathroom that was next to her room. I assumed that she had unexpectedly come on her menstrual cycle so I did not say anything as I did not wish to embarrass her, now I know how the blood got there and I feel so stupid for not questioning it to make sure she was alright" Arthur said in disbelief, if he had asked, perhaps she would have told him.
"Actually Arthur, you're not entirely correct. The blood was more likely to be from Miss Granger's wrists when she attempted to cut them open with a razor after the second sexual assault had taken place" Severus said.
Molly, Arthur, and Tonks gasped, Hermione had attempted to take her own life because of all of this? Now they truly felt like they had failed her, they did not do their duty and protect her and they had nearly lost her because of it.
"What role do you play in this Professor?" Tonks asked Severus.
Severus' head snapped up and glared at the young Auror.
"I hope you're not asking me if I was involved in the attacks Madame, because I can assure you that, that is a very dangerous thing to say to me at the present time" Severus hissed back at her, she recoiled back from him, as did everyone else, Tonks had not meant it quite like the way in which she had worded it.
"No sir, I meant, you seem to know a lot of the information about what happened and when it took place. I just meant to ask you how you knew about all of this" Tonks tried to recover her mistake.
"Miss Granger told me, she had no choice, she had an intense night terror and she knew that she was not going to be able to dismiss what I had seen with a simple 'I had a bad dream' excuse, so she decided to tell me. I have stuck by her ever since and I am still doing so now" Severus told them all honestly. He did not care what they thought of him, he did not care if they did not believe him, or thought he had gone soft, but he was not about to sit there and let them accuse him of being just as guilty as they were.
There was an intense moment where they all stared at him in disbelief, they had all known this man for a long time and they could not believe that out of all of them, it was Severus Snape who would become Hermione's confidant.
"So what happens now? What do we do with Sirius?" Arthur asked the headmaster, he was trying to keep calm for Molly's sake but all he wanted to do was cart Sirius Black back to Azkaban. Everyone's attention slowly focused back on the man who had committed the crimes in the first place. Up until a few seconds ago, they had all completely forgotten that he was even in the room.
Dumbledore hesitated, he knew he was in a delicate situation, he knew that Sirius was a valuable member to have fighting alongside them all in the upcoming war; he was a great dueller and could be rather inventive when it came to fighting the other side. However, the problem was that now most of the Order knew about what Sirius had done and there was no way that Dumbledore could just brush the problem away anymore.
Dumbledore huffed, he had never been this stumped over such a complicated predicament before. He was about to respond when Arthur cut in.
"It doesn't matter what you say Dumbledore, Alastor is still wandering around downstairs and I have a feeling that Remus would have hinted at the situation up here by now. I don't think it's your decision anymore" Arthur said as he could see Moody already climbing the stairs towards them.
Dumbledore sighed in defeat once more and Sirius was pale and shaking.
"What's all this then?" Moody snapped at them. He had just run into a very angry werewolf, who had informed him that Black had carried out two counts of sexual assault on an underage Hogwarts student who, at the time, was under the Order's care.
"Of course Snivellus would rat me out to an Auror" Sirius muttered to himself fully believing that Severus had somehow already told Moody about the situation, the shock of the turn of events was slowly wearing off and he was showing his true, immature colours to the rest of the Order.
"Now Alastor let's just keep calm-" Dumbledore began to say but was cut off.
"Is it true Albus? Is what the werewolf told me even remotely true?" Alastor asked the headmaster.
"Remus?" Sirius whispered sadly and unbelievingly, his only friend in the entire world had grassed him up.
"Yes it is" Minerva confirmed.
All eyes turned to her; they'd forgotten that she was there. Dumbledore glared at her for a moment but she glared straight back. Sirius Black was not getting away with it this time.
Alastor growled, he was now in full Auror mode, even though he wasn't technically one anymore, and he approached Black.
"I have wanted you back behind bars for a long time, almost as much as I have wanted to get my hands on Severus Snape" Moody growled.
Taking out his wand, Moody cast the spell that Auror's used in order to temporarily remove one's ability to cast magic, he bound Sirius and prepared to apparate.
"I've got you, you little shit. I will make sure the guards are EXTRA friendly towards you, perhaps then you might get a taste of your own medicine" Moody smiled darkly.
All Sirius could do was gulp, as Moody apparated his arse to the Azkaban holding cells until a formal trial could take place.
Everyone breathed once more and they turned back towards Minerva.
"You knew?" Molly gasped.
Minerva nodded sullenly.
"Why did you not say anything?" Tonks asked bewildered.
Minerva sighed; she had partly not said anything due to Hermione's begging of her not to but the painful truth was that had she wanted to say anything, she would not have been able to talk to anybody about the situation besides those who were already involved.
"A very ancient magical bond exists between the professors and the headmaster at Hogwarts. The headmaster of the institution can call upon a vow of obedience, of sorts, where the employees must, within reason, obey the headmasters command should he believe that the situation be so great that he feel the need to call upon this bond" Minerva said, trying to appear strong and not let a tear fall.
"But, isn't the taking of a bond or a vow a two way process? There has to be compliance on both sides, doesn't there?" Tonks asked; everyone stared at Minerva shocked, had she truly, willingly taken a vow of obedience on a matter as serious as this?
Minerva shook her head.
"My compliance was my signature when I agreed to become a professor at Hogwarts nearly 50 years ago. Like I said, the bond is dated and it has only ever been called upon a handful of times since the school was founded" Minerva told them.
Dumbledore placed his forehead in his hand and rubbed his temples. This would create more of a mess for him now.
"Then how come you can tell us about it now?" Tonks asked.
"Because you know about the situation of which I am not supposed to speak of. I told you, I can talk about the situation as long as those who I am talking to are also aware of the situation. That is why I can now speak freely and Dumbledore will have to release me of my bond as I'm sure Hermione will want me to speak on her behalf at Black's trial" Minerva said.
They all accepted her response, it was confusing and long winded but it was true and they all started talking about the letters they were all going to write to Hermione, all the apologies that they owed her but Severus stopped them.
"I think the best thing for you all to do is to leave her be for now, it's going to be devastating enough for her knowing that you all know and that Black has been arrested. She is unsure what she plans to do for Easter, but it is likely that she will choose to be where her friends are. So if you can wait a few weeks and let her prepare herself, it will make all of this easier for her instead of bombarding her with letters and apologies, it will be less overwhelming for her this way" Severus told them.
"You think that will be for the best" Tonks asked.
Severus nodded.
"Alright, we won't overwhelm her and will wait for her to come to us when she is ready. But, can you tell her that we are all thinking of her and that we love her and if she is ready to talk to us before Easter then all she has to do is send us an owl?" Arthur requested.
"I will do that Arthur" Severus agreed. They all agreed that this way was the best way forward, and Severus left them to stew over the day's revelations. Severus wanted to get back to his Hermione.
.
.
.
Severus Snape had left headquarters thinking about the fact that the Order now knew, the Order and how he needed to quickly inform his Hermione before anyone else got to her first.
He got back to the school and walked through the halls like a madman and was relieved to find Hermione conversing with Potter in the great hall. Severus approached her and noticed he already had her attention.
"You need to come with me" he told her seriously.
She gulped, understanding the severity of his tone and immediately grabbed her things and followed him back down to his office.
As soon as the door had closed he turned towards her, he looked worried, as if he didn't know what to do or say next. This was starting to worry Hermione.
"Severus, you're scaring me" Hermione said gently.
Severus looked at her and immediately felt guilty, the poor girl was shaking; she looked truly frightened.
"The Order knows Hermione" his words were whispered but seemed to echo around the room.
Hermione gasped, she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She was relieved but at the same time scared and nervous about the reactions of the Order. Would they believe her?
Severus, sensing her worry, slowly walked over to her and clasped her hands between his.
"Don't worry Hermione, Lupin told Moody what was happening and Moody had already taken Black to Azkaban before I left headquarters. He's not going to hurt you anymore and believe me, by the way Molly Weasley nearly yelled the house down, you will have more support on your side than you can probably imagine right now" Severus told her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Severus wrapped his arms around her waist and held her for a moment. He then sat down in his office chair and pulled her onto his lap. He was extremely happy that Black was getting exactly what he deserved. It was about time and Severus wished that it had happened sooner.
He kissed the top of Hermione's head.
"Are you alright?" He asked her.
Hermione hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Severus noticed her hesitation and raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her to explain.
"It's just, I'm satisfied that somethings being done but at the same time, it's taken so long to finally get to this point and now that we're here, it feels almost pointless because I've put it all behind me and moved on. I don't know how to feel, I just don't feel anything really" she said. She meant every word she was happy but she felt that she didn't really care anymore because there were more important things to worry about.
Severus nodded; he understood what she was saying and agreed with her. It had taken far too long for something to be done.
"I should've done something sooner" Severus said.
Hermione shook her head.
"Nope, don't you dare blame yourself, I needed you, I still do, and I don't want to even think about what would have happened if you had taken it all into your own hands. I'm just glad to have you by my side Severus" she told him.
Severus stared at her for a moment, she was making sense but that didn't ease his guilt.
Hermione saw this and so leaned up to kiss him, just a short but sweet kiss on the lips. He kissed her back and looked down at her and gave her a small smile.
"And how are you feeling? Are you still sore?" He asked her.
Hermione smirked; her hand slowly made its way from his shoulder, down his chest and stomach and finally settled against his trouser covered cock.
"Are you asking because you're concerned about my discomfort, or are you wishing for another round?" She asked him seductively.
He groaned in response, she really did have him wrapped around her finger. He leaned down to kiss her again, this time it was a slow and deep kiss. Hermione moaned into the kiss.
They remained like that for a while and soon the heat in the room escalated and they were practically dry humping each other, they were so involved with one another that they didn't hear a timid knock at the door.
Severus groaned so loudly at Hermione's ministrations, that the person on the other side of the door took that as an invitation to enter. The door hadn't been locked after all.
Harry waltzed into the room and immediately froze as he noticed Hermione sat on the potion professors lap, they were snogging, Snape's hand was up Hermione's shirt and Hermione's hand disappeared down somewhere between the two. Harry couldn't quite see but it wasn't difficult to guess where that hand was, and Harry had to stop thinking before he lost a perfectly good lunch.
Severus and Hermione had immediately separated when they had heard the office door swing shut behind Harry.
"Harry!" Hermione squeaked at him her cheeks flushed bright red.
Severus silenced and warded the door, just like he probably should have done in the first place and glared at Harry.
"Don't you know how to knock Potter" Severus snarled whilst quickly putting his cloak back on to cover up a problem that was being quite persistent.
Harry pretended not to notice.
"My god! I'm sorry, so sorry. I knocked and I thought I was allowed in -" Harry explained really quickly before turning to Hermione.
"I'm so sorry, believe me that was the last thing I wanted to see" Harry apologised to her.
Hermione nodded, still beet red.
"What did you want Potter?" Severus asked him.
"Err, Professor McGonagall came to me, she was looking for Hermione but I didn't tell her where she was. She seemed slightly erratic and a bit worried. Is everything alright Hermione?" He asked her.
Hermione nodded but Harry didn't look so sure. Severus took over for her.
"Mr Potter, your mutt that you call family has finally got what was coming to him. The whole Order knows about his extra activities and is currently dealing with him. I have a feeling that Moody is hauling his arse to Azkaban" Severus told him.
Harry looked shocked for a second and then looked at Hermione to analyse her reaction. She looked calm, relaxed and like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Harry smiled.
"Well, it's about time, don't you think?" He said.
