A.N.: Hey guys, I hope you still like the story. At the moment it's all very Hermione/Severus centred, but the twins will be back soon. You'll only need a bit more patience. I'm not sure about the update schedule for the next weeks, as Corona is shaking up everything a bit and I'll barely have time for writing. But I have four more finished chapters after this one, so I'll at least be able to post once a week. Anyway, let me know what you think. You've been suspiciously silent about the last chapters.
This chapter was betaed by my writer friend Multilingualism. You should check her out, in case you haven't done so already.
Chapter 18: Truth or lie?
Dolores Umbridge was very pleased with herself. She and the Open Link had made it safely out of Hogwarts and that hadn't been easy. She had barely finished her communication with the Minister with the help of the magical mirror he had given her for such an occasion when the Headmaster appeared right in front of her office door and demanded to be let in. And Dolores knew that it was only a matter of minutes or even seconds before he would break through. The castle wards responded to him, as the Headmaster of the school, and there wasn't much to be done to keep him out, which only left the option for them to leave the castle as quickly as possible.
Luckily for them, the Minister was a wise man and had already anticipated this situation.
"You're not safe here, Miss Brown," Dolores told her student hastily and saw that the girl stared at her office door with wide eyes. Dolores followed her look and saw with worry that the door had already started to gleam in blue light. They needed to get out – fast, as they had probably only seconds, until the wards to her office would break. "We need to get you to the Ministry. Minister Fudge will know how to help you."
The girl blinked in confusion. "But this is Professor Dumbledore, Ma'am. Do you think he would hurt me?"
Dolores had to stifle a groan. Silly goose! This was really not the time to discuss the girl's confused teenage-feelings. But she reigned her frustration in and said with a collected voice instead: "No, Miss Brown, I don't think the Headmaster intends to hurt you. But he is determined to get you and use you for his own machinations. I can't force you to come with me, of course, but the Headmaster Dumbledore will probably lock you away and not let you out of his sight. So there is only one chance for us to see the minister, and it is now."
Lavender Brown stared at her with wide, excited eyes. "Alright, Professor. Take me to the Minister then. I want to meet him."
Dolores looked at him with a wide smile. "And that you will. Now come, there's no time for us to lose." With a practised motion she pulled out her delicate rosewood wand and touched the bracelet on her left arm with its tip. "The Minister supplied me with a portkey, for emergencies. Hold on tight."
The girl hastily put her shaking hands on the portkey and it wasn't a second too soon. Dolores just felt the familiar tug behind her navel, when she saw the door to her office fly open. But it was already too late. Dolores and her Open Link disappeared just a moment later and all that was left was Dumbledore with a thunderous expression on his face.
ssssssss
The news that Lavender Brown was, in fact, the Open Link had made it through the castle by dinner. Not that anyone but Lavender herself and her friend Parvati believed much of the prophecies, that Professor Trelawney spouted during the day, but when the student visited Professor Umbridge's quarters right afterwards the lesson everything seemed pretty clear. When the Headmaster himself tried to storm said quarters half an hour later things seemed fairly obvious and so a sigh of relief went through the student body, paired with rumours what would happen to the new-found Open Link. Fred and George had to congratulate their little brother for his intuition for the first time in his life and handed him the eight Galleons and three Sickles with a proud clap onto his back.
"We didn't think you had it in you," Fred admitted and his little brother grunted before he savoured his beans on toast.
"Yeah. Well done, brother," George added with a smile.
Ron sent them a pleased grin and pocketed the money inside his robes. Then he turned towards his friends that were sitting across from him and said: "See, Hermione? No harm done. We all had a bit of fun and nobody got hurt."
The girl scowled at him. "This doesn't make this kind of stuff right, Ron. What if Lavender had preferred to keep things a secret? What if she hadn't wanted the Ministry's help?"
Ron snorted. "What does it matter, Hermione? She didn't. End of story. You just can't stand that you were wrong this time." Every sensible man, especially if he knew Hermione Granger, would have known that this was the wrong thing to say. The girl was on her feet in a matter of moments, her back ramrod straight and her head high.
"That's what you think, Ronald? Really? You think I'm upset because I was wrong?" She shook her head in disappointment, but then a flicker of something appeared in her eyes and she shook her head with a sigh. "Well, maybe I really am. Maybe I need to lighten up a bit, as you said. Obviously, danger isn't lurking behind every corner, as I thought."
George looked at the girl with wide eyes. Was she just trying to apologize?
"I'm sorry if I overreacted," she said the next moment and looked at them. "I think this whole situation after the Triwizard Tournament is starting to wear me a bit out." Hermione Granger was apologizing, George realized with a confused blink, for spoiling their fun. Huh.
Meanwhile, Ron grinned unconcernedly. "Yeah, probably. But now that you've realized it, you can probably start losing up a bit, huh?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll try. But you know it's not easy for me. Anyway, I need to go, guys. I hope to catch Professor Vector before the lesson starts and ask her about her last Arithmancy lesson."
The boys shrugged. "See you later for Potions then," Harry said and pulled a face. And George snorted. He really didn't envy them for having to suffer the dungeon bat for another year. His time in the Potion Master's presence was luckily over and there was no reason to suffer through the man's presence ever again, at least outside of Order meetings, and there Snape was luckily rarely seen as far as he knew. If they could also get rid of Umbridge now, then their life would be perfect – well almost. Because one specific person was noticeably absent from it.
ssssssss
Hermione had barely finished her lessons for the day when she found herself disillusioned in front of Professor Snape's office. The day had dragged on endlessly and even if there had been a sudden free period in her schedule, due to the absence of Professor Umbridge, Hermione had counted the minutes until she could finally come here. But now that she stood here, she wasn't even sure if she was welcome.
"How long do you intend staring at my door, girl?" she suddenly heard the Potion Master's voice in front of her and just then she realized that the door was suddenly open and the man was standing right in front of her. How had he known she was here? "Do you plan to come in, or are you just admiring the woodwork?"
He didn't wait for her answer and just stepped aside. Hermione only hesitated a moment, before she followed him in. His office door closed as soon as she entered, but to her surprise, Severus didn't stop there and went to the door that connected the room to his private quarters. She followed him with slow, measured steps to the sofa she had found herself on a few weeks ago and let her disillusionment drop. Then she let herself sink onto the soft, leathery fabric. The Professor sat down in one of the leathered armchairs at her left a moment later.
"Sorry, for disturbing your afternoon, Sir," she said sheepishly and stared into her lap. She, therefore, couldn't see his reaction but his voice sounded totally neutral when he replied: "I already expected you, so you were not disturbing anything."
Hermione looked up at him in surprise and blinked. "Oh."
"Don't look so upset, Hermione. It was quite obvious, after watching you during breakfast. You need to learn to keep your emotions in check." His voice was surprisingly kind, but Hermione still felt the sting of tears behind her eyes. "It's only a matter of time until our dear High Inquisitor notices that they've got the wrong person."
She nodded. "Does that mean you don't think I made this up? I wasn't sure because…"
Severus looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Because what? Because the whole school seems to believe this laughable display? I didn't think you took me for a moron, Hermione."
"I didn't! I don't!" she hastily assured him with wide eyes. "It's just that even the Headmaster seems to believe it's Lavender…"
He snorted. "So? Albus Dumbledore is not known to spend much time in the presence of his students. He hasn't suffered through four years of teaching that insufferable girl. She's as much of an Open Link as I'm a sociable person. And just because Sybil had another of her visions, I'm not going to be convinced otherwise."
Even though she wasn't even aware of it, Hermione's shoulders sagged in relief. "When you put it like that… Sorry, if I'm being ridiculous. It's just… My friends are a bit much for me these days. Can you imagine? Fred and George were starting to take on bets on who's the Open Link like this was some sort of game and nobody seemed to understand, what a bad idea it was collecting names of potential candidates like that."
"Let me guess, they thought you were overreacting," Severus said calmly but with a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
She nodded in frustration. "Yeah. And the worst part about it, my name was even on that list; Harry put it there."
Her Professor hummed thoughtfully before he got up to prepare some tea in the kitchenette that Hermione could see in the back of the room. For a while, he didn't say anything and Hermione listened to the clatter of dishes, while she tried to calm her agitated thoughts. It wasn't long until he placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her, while he sat down with his own one in hand. "Let me be frank with you, Hermione. It will only be a matter of time, I think days before it becomes known that Miss Brown is not the Open Link. There seems to be a way of testing it in the Department of Mysteries and if I have to make an educated guess, this is where Miss Brown, our High Inquisitor and the Minister are currently heading. As soon as she's back in school, the hunt for the Open Link will start again and as time goes by the measures to find said person will get more and more desperate."
Hermione nodded. An uneasy feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach and she could feel herself starting to tremble at her Professor's words. "I know," she said silently and took a careful sip from her cup before she placed it on the table with shaking fingers. "But what am I supposed to do then?"
Severus looked at her with his dark eyes and for a moment he didn't reply. Then he sighed, rubbed his forehead and said: "Well, there's an easy way out of this situation. Get yourself a boyfriend and… seal the bond." His expression was totally neutral when he said it, but Hermione still stared at him with wide eyes. "What? You want me to… no. Absolutely not. I can't just pick someone and get it over with. I'd be linked to him for life and I'm not doing this if I'm not sure if I love him."
The man sighed. "I know. But I still wanted for you to know all your options, not just for now but also for later when things get more desperate."
"I understand," she said and hung her head.
"Good. As this currently doesn't seem an option, you'll have to improve your acting skills. Not only your friends noticed that there's something amiss with you and that has to stop, immediately. You need to learn to lie, Hermione, and you need to learn it fast."
He had a point, Hermione realized, but there was a huge problem. She wore her heart on her sleeve. Lying was the one thing she really wasn't any good at. "How? I'm such a bad liar and it's not like I can walk around and just practise."
Severus sighed. "Then you'll have to practise with me, I guess. Because as it seems, there's nobody else."
The whole situation was totally surreal and if anybody would have told her that she'd be sitting in Professor Snape's private quarters and he'd offer to teach her lying while they were having tea together, she would have laughed and thought they were taking the Mickey out of her. But fact was, that this was her new reality and somehow she'd have to adapt. "Alright," Hermione said and sighed.
"Let's make this a game, then, like truth or lie. Do you know this one, Hermione? I'll start telling you something. This way you'll probably feel a bit more comfortable when it's your turn. It could also help to establish the link between us a bit further."
Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. "You want to strengthen the link? But I…"
The man looked at her with a stony expression. "Stop right there. I remember the rule we established and I mean it. There will be no romance between us, not ever. This ship has sailed for me, so stop panicking Hermione. Still strengthening the bond would be advisable, as it would help us when things start going south. Currently, our magical cores are only liked by something like a small straw. It is enough to stabilize your magic, but in case you get attacked, it won't be much of a help. But the more we start to… know and trust each other, the wider the straw becomes. Ideally, I'd prefer something like a pipe in case we have to draw magic from each other fast."
"I think I don't understand what you're suggesting, Severus," Hermione said and looked at him with a helpless expression. The man sighed and Hermione could have sworn that he suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable.
"I suggest that we try to get to know each other better. And hopefully, we'll discover that we are not totally averse to spending time in each other's presence."
She looked at him with a small smile. "Alright. And who knows? Maybe we'll even become friends."
He looked at her with a raised brow. "Was that your attempt telling me your first lie, Hermione? Because it almost sounded convincing."
The chuckle escaped her mouth before Hermione could help it. "That's only because I was telling the truth. The last weeks showed me that I didn't know you very well, Severus and you're right. It's time to change that."
At that, the corners of his mouth twitched. "Alright. Then let's start our little game. Are you ready?"
Hermione nodded eagerly before she started studying Severus' expression. It was only a moment before he said: "I always wanted a cat when I was a kid. I was never allowed to have one, though and today I'm glad I wasn't. Merlin knows what would have happened to the poor animal in my father's presence."
The man stared at her with a serious expression and Hermione shook her head in frustration. It was impossible to tell, if he had just lied or if this really was a sad story from his childhood. She sighed. "It's the truth," she said and stared at him to wait for his answer.
The man sighed. "No, it was a lie. I just told you what you wanted to hear, which made lying even easier. I don't even like cats, Hermione. They're far too bossy for my liking."
She couldn't help but snort before she looked at him with a raised brow. "And you don't like to be bossed around? How very surprising." Hermione managed to hold her laughter in for a second before it erupted out of her with a snort and she started giggling helplessly. Within moments she had to hold her aching tummy, but the giggles would and would not stop, not even when she saw Severus' dark expression. That only made it worse. And so it was many minutes later when the last giggles finally died down and Hermione looked at her Professor while wheezing for air. "Sorry, Severus, but I think I needed that."
The man looked at her with an unreadable expression on the face. "I'm sure you did. Well Hermione, now it's your turn. Tell me a truth, or a falsehood, your choice."
She took a deep breath and started to think. Lying to him would be almost impossible, as he had seen most of her memories anyway. But they were only doing this for practice anyway. "I'm afraid of heights. When I was a little girl I climbed into a tree in order to get a ball that was stuck there. I fell down and broke my arm. Ever since I'm afraid to leave the ground."
Hermione stared at her Professor and tried not to blink. The man looked at her with a thoughtful expression, until finally, his mouth twitched. "The part with the tree was a lie," he said and looked at her with a raised brow. "For the rest, I'd say it was the truth."
She groaned in disappointment. "Yeah, you're right. How could you tell I was lying?"
"Your eyes. You didn't blink, not once which was very suspicious."
Hermione nodded in resignation. "Right, I'll remember to blink next time then. Your turn, Professor."
The man nodded with an almost bored expression. "My best friend as a child was a muggle-born. I met her before we even got our Hogwarts letters but when we finally were at school, we were sorted into different houses. Later on, I mucked things up, badly and I'm still regretting what I've done."
Again, there was nothing in his expression that could give away, if her Professor just had lied to her. But she remembered that he was probably again telling her things she wanted to hear and said: "That was a lie."
The man shook his head with a sad expression. "No, unfortunately, it wasn't. I wish it was."
Suddenly Severus didn't look like her Professor at all and instead, there was a sad, lost man sitting in front of her. And Hermione's heart went out for him. "I'm sorry, Severus. Can I… is there anything I can do?"
He shook his head with a carefully blank expression on his face. "No. It was many years ago. She's dead now."
Hermione winced in sympathy. "And you never made up, before she died? Oh, Severus!" Before she knew what she was doing she leapt from the sofa and pulled him into an embrace, while standing in front of the armchair. It was an awkward position and for a moment Severus was stiff as a board, but finally, his body relaxed a bit and she could feel his hand pat her back.
"I… it's alright Hermione, I'm alright," he assured her awkwardly and she hastily pulled away from him. But instead of going back to the sofa she kneeled down in front of him and looked at him with sad eyes.
"You're lying," she said and in another fit of boldness, she took his hands into hers. "And don't even try denying it. I can see it in your eyes."
Severus Snape stared down at her and nodded slowly. "I know. But it's the lie I keep telling myself in the hope that I'll believe it one day and make it the truth."
She gently pressed his hand and nodded. "I understand. And I'm not judging you, Severus Snape. But I want you to know that you are no longer alone because now, you have a new friend, Severus. She's a muggle-born too and quite bossy sometimes. You'll have a hard time scaring her off because she already knows all your dark looks and is not afraid of them."
He stared at her with a confused look on his face. "You're asking me to be my friend?"
Hermione shook her head with a smile. "No, Severus, I am not asking you anything. I am merely letting you in on the facts. I am your friend, not because of the Open Link, but because I want to be. I want to be there for you and I know you'll be there for me. Don't try denying it. I know you are a good person, Severus Snape, you won't convince me otherwise."
The man blinked at her with an open mouth. "Are you… you are not trying to sell me another lie, are you?"
She shook her head with a smile. "No, I meant it, every word. And now I'm going to hug you again and not just to prove my point."
Severus looked at her with a crooked smile. "You really are bossy, aren't you?"
Hermione snorted. "Absolutely. So better you get used to it, now. Luckily for you, I'm not a cat though. And now come here." She pulled him into another hug and this time Severus hugged her back - tightly. And it didn't feel awkward at all, Hermione though. No, somehow it just felt right.