A.N.: A big thank you to Multilingualism for betaing this chapter.
Chapter 21: Separate ways
When Severus apparated to the address Hermione had given him, he didn't know what to expect. He knew Hermione's home from her memories and he had seen glimpses of her parents, but he didn't know in which mood he'd find either of them. Had Hermione managed to hold up the facade of a happy daughter returning for Christmas? Or had they somehow found out that something was wrong? He didn't doubt that it was a hard decision for the girl to cut all ties to them, but apparently, she loved her parents and making them leave the country and make them forget about her existence was the only way to know them safe.
"Hello, Severus," the little witch greeted him, while she waited patiently for him on her bed. They had agreed that it would be safest for him to come there directly and as he knew the room pretty well from her mind, there was no reason against it.
"Hello, Hermione," he greeted her back with a solemn expression. It was strange. Severus was almost glad to see the girl again. It felt like he had missed her or something but considering the circumstances she probably didn't feel the same. After all, he was here to take her parents from her. "Are you ready for… did you gather everything from the house you need?"
She nodded with her lips tightly pressed together. "I gathered some hairs from each of them, as you told me. I put them into a vial and cast a stasis charm on it. As for my personal belongings...there wasn't much that wasn't already at Hogwarts. I took all the pictures and some other things that could hint towards my existence. I want to keep them in case we can reverse all this one day."
"I understand," he replied and gazed at her. "It's a goal worth fighting for, isn't it? When everything seems lost and you're about to give up, then keep holding to that thought. You want to give those things back to your parents, right? Then you need to fight for it, do you hear me?"
When she nodded Severus could see the tears in her eyes. But he didn't comment, as he expected many more of them in the next hours. It would be hard for her, as she seemed to love her parents from the bottom of her heart, but Hermione was a strong girl and so Severus had no doubts that she'd pull through.
For a moment they just stared at each other, but finally, he straightened with a sigh and said. "Alright, I guess it's time. Do you want to come with me? Or would you rather wait in your room?" He should have known her answer. The girl was a Gryffindor after all.
"No, I'll come downstairs with you. Let me go first. I'll ask my parents to come to the kitchen with me and there I'll distract them. This way it should be easiest."
Easiest for him, Severus thought, but he didn't object. "Alright, I'll still disillusion myself to avoid bad surprises."
The girl nodded and without a word she rose from her bed. Then she moved slowly to her door and left the room without looking back at him. Her whole body was stiff and the tension was clearly visible in the way she moved. But her parents hopefully wouldn't think twice about it and think anything amiss.
Severus waited patiently for four minutes before he disillusioned himself. Then he slowly opened the door of Hermione's room and tiptoed down the stairs. As soon as he reached the hallway he could hear Hermione's voice from the kitchen.
"How do you like my idea? Mum? Dad?" she asked and looked at her parents with wide, excited eyes. Seeing her like that was almost surreal after he had witnessed her inner turmoil just minutes ago. Now nothing of that was visible any longer and Severus had to admit that the girl had taken his lessons on how to convincingly lie to heart.
"I don't know," her father said and hung his head. "I guess we could allow him to stay for a while if his uncle and aunt give their permission."
What the hell were they even talking about? Severus asked himself just as he raised his wand. Just as Hermione's mother started mouthing her agreeance, he cast the obliviation spell silently on her husband and seconds later he repeated it on her. It was over in under a minute and just as he finished the spell, Hermione leapt from her seat and dashed through the door behind him. He, too, turned around and strode into the hallway without looking back on Dan and Emma Granger, who would remain in their seats for some more minutes, staring into space, before they would snap out of their trance and remember nothing of the last 15 minutes. They would not even remember having had a daughter and instead, they would feel the sudden need to travel.
He and Hermione would have to be gone in a few minutes, but by the look of it, his young friend was ready to bolt from the house and leave her old life behind right away. Severus couldn't blame her. It must be an incredible pain seeing the people you love simply forget you. Not that understood much of being loved anyway, as he was pretty sure his mother was the only person that ever did and she was dead a long time ago.
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Hermione was back in her room in a matter of seconds. She couldn't have stayed in the kitchen for a moment longer, as looking into the empty eyes of her parents simply broke her heart. She had known what would happen of course, as she'd read everything about obliviation she could get her hands on, ever since Severus had told her, that it was the best option in her case. But, Merlin, it was one thing knowing what would happen, but it was quite another one seeing it happen to the people she loved the most.
Back in her room, she gathered her luggage with a flick of her wand. Hermione had packed her microscope and all the other scientific equipment, but also her computer and everything else that was dear to her. She didn't know if she'd ever get a chance to use the stuff again, but she would still not leave it behind. Hopefully, this war was over one day and then she'd finally have time for her hobbies again, no matter if it was in a year or in ten.
"Are you ready to leave?" Severus asked as he entered her room just moments after. He looked around with a critical expression on his face and without uttering another word he lifted his wand and transfigured the room. It was only a minute until nothing pointed towards the fact that this was minutes ago a girl's bedroom because now it looked like a plain, unused guestroom to her. Hermione looked around and seeing her room like that finally forced the tears into her eyes. Now it was really like she had never existed.
She nodded with a sniff. "Thank you, Severus. I'll just go downstairs and take the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place. That's where the Weasleys are."
He looked at her with a sad expression. "No, Hermione. First, you're coming to my place for a bit and then you'll have tea and a good cry on my sofa, or a firewhiskey if that's what you need. Can't let you go to the Weasleys in that kind of condition. You're not that good of an actor."
Hermione shrugged and sniffed again. She really didn't care where she went, as long as she could leave this empty, foreign room behind. "Alright."
Severus nodded and took part of her luggage into his left hand. Then he offered her his right arm with a grim smile. "Hold on tight, Hermione. I'll apparate us both."
Hermione took his arm without hesitation and before she could mentally prepare herself for the second side-along apparition of her life, they were already gone.
When they landed just a moment later, Hermione could feel her knees buckle under her and it was only Severus' strong grip on her arm that held her upright. At least she did not feel like puking again, as that would have simply been embarrassing in front of her Potions Professor.
"Deep breaths, Hermione," he told her and she could feel him leading her to a plain, green sofa by the fireplace. There he sat her down and started rubbing her back in slow circles. His kindness was the last straw and Hermione could feel the dam inside her break before the first sob escaped her mouth. It followed another and another one and before Hermione knew it, the tears were streaming down her face. Severus had been right. She was in no condition to face the Weasleys now, not as long as she was unable to compose herself. And right now she couldn't.
"Do you need anything? A hanky? Tea?" Severus asked and Hermione could hear the nervousness in his voice. It probably wasn't every day that he had a female crying her eyes out on his sofa.
"Both," she hiccupped and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
"Alright," he said and got up. He handed her the hanky right away before he went to the kitchen to make some tea. Hermione could hear him clatter with the dishes and somehow the domestic sound helped her calm down a bit. And so her sobs had morphed to silent sniffles when her teacher returned with two steaming mugs full of tea.
"I've added two drops of calming draught," he said casually and handed her the simple black mug with a totally neutral expression. "It will help you to get through the rest of the day and the horde of noisy Weasleys, without making you sleepy or drowsy."
"Thank you," Hermione said under sniffles and accepted the cup from him. "That's very thoughtful.
He sat down with a shrug. "That's what a friend does, right? They're supposed to dope you with potions when you're feeling down."
For a moment she stared at her mug in silence, before a snort erupted from her nose. Did he just make a joke to make her feel better? "Oh really? I guess your friendship manual is a bit different from mine."
He smiled before he carefully sipped his tea. "Oh really? What's in yours then?"
Hermione cleaned her nose before she looked at him with a small smile on her lips. "There was something about giving lots of hugs and murmuring comforting words."
Her friend's lips twitched. "Must have been the girl-version then."
For a moment they just stared at each other in silence, before both of them snorted and erupted into giggles. There were still tears in Hermione's eyes, but she already felt better than she had minutes ago. Severus had his very own way of comforting her and even if it would never involve lots of hugging or long talks, Hermione didn't mind. Because right now he was the friend she needed, with or without hugs.
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It was about an hour later when Severus dropped her two streets away from Grimmauld Place. She had agreed to him apparating her again and this time she had barely any problems to hold herself upright, after having reappeared again. Maybe it was due to the calming draught Severus had given her, or she was just slowly getting used to the feeling.
"I'll accompany you to the door," Severus said and handed her the luggage. "Don't worry, nobody but you will know I'm there."
She nodded and with a last thankful smile towards him she turned around and started moving. It wasn't far and so it was only about two minutes until she found herself using the silver doorknocker that had the form of a serpent biting his own tail. Hermione could have sworn that it curled itself around her fingers as she grabbed it.
It was only a moment until the door was opened and the smiling face of Molly Weasley came into view. The Weasley matriarch wore a brightly coloured apron over her simple clothes and she immediately pulled her into a strong motherly hug.
"Hermione! It's so nice of you to join us!"
Hermione smiled. She didn't even have to force herself to do it, as the older woman simply gave her the feeling of being home, no matter if they were actually at the burrow or in a dark, gloomy house like Grimmauld Place. Still, she was already grateful for the potion Severus had given her. Because Molly Weasley's motherly greeting would have probably been enough to reduce her to a sobbing teenage girl again. "Thank you for having me, Mrs Weasley. My parents were so excited about their skiing trip to Switzerland. They really need a little time for themselves, you know?"
The older woman nodded with her kind eyes full of understanding. "Of course. The boys will be thrilled to have you here. Come in."
Hermione nodded and followed her with a small smile. And really, just as she had passed the big staircase, Ginny, Ron and Harry swooped down the stairs and pulled her into a six-armed hug. "Hermione!" Ginny shouted happily before she let go of her. "I'm so glad there's finally another girl here. Can you imagine? We've all got our own rooms now. This place is huge, now that it's finally all cleaned out." She chatted happily and Harry and Ron only stood next to the female redhead and nodded. "Well, not Fred and George, but they prefer to be in each other's company all the time anyway."
"You say that like it's a bad thing, little sister," Fred's voice sounded from above and when she looked up, she could see the twin's faces peeking down at her with a matching smile on their lips. "But there's nothing to say against the presence of an intelligent and witty conversation partner, right, Georgie?"
"Absolutely, Fred. I'm so glad you appreciate my qualities."
The other twin snorted. "I was actually describing myself, twin o' mine."
George rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "Of course you were. Well, Hermione, if you are ever in need of a witty and intelligent conversation partner, our room is right next to yours."
They winked at her with a wide smile and somehow Hermione found herself smiling back.
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Hermione's potion-induced composure lasted until she closed the door of her room behind her in the evening. It was the picture of her suitcase that finally let her inner walls crumble and it was only a matter of seconds until the first sob escaped her mouth. The suitcase reminded her that she no longer had a home, or parents she could come home to. She was alone now, couldn't even trust Harry or Ron any longer with her secrets, because Harry had somehow been "blessed" with a part of Voldemort's soul and Ron would never be able to keep a secret from his best friend. And so there was nobody she could share her burden with, except Severus. And he was not here, was rarely available anyway and even though she had come to like him, she would always feel kind of embarrassed, if she got overly emotional in his presence. Because emotions were a thing that Severus Snape did not do well. But god, how much did she yearn for a shoulder to cry on and for a pair of arms simply holding her.
Hermione didn't even bother changing into her pyjamas and just threw herself onto her huge queen-sized bed. The Blacks had without doubt been a wealthy family and so her room, which must have been a lady's room once, didn't miss any comfort she might have wanted. But right now Hermione didn't care as she simply wanted to lie in her new bed and cry for everything she had lost today and would lose in the following months.
"Hermione? Love, what's wrong?" a soft voice suddenly murmured into her ear, before she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. Somehow she must have forgotten to lock and silence the room and so there was suddenly a pair of worried redheads right next to her on her bed.
Gods, she didn't have the strength lying or even talking to them now and so she simply shook her head and buried her face into the pillow. But Fred and George didn't let her reaction discourage them and before she knew what happened, she was gently lifted into one of their laps, while another set of arms gently cradled her from behind.
"It's alright, love. Whatever it is, we're here, huh? You can talk to us if you want." This was George, she knew him by his voice. He was the one behind her then.
Hermione answered by shaking her head again before another sob escaped her mouth. She was pretty sure that by now Fred's trousers would be covered in snot and tears, but somehow she couldn't find herself to care.
"No talking, huh? Must be bad then," Fred said and stroked her hair with his fingers. "Alright. Looks like you're in dire need of a Weasley-cuddle then." Before Hermione could process what he was saying, he carefully got up and lied down next to her on the bed. His brother did the same and so it was only seconds later that she was tightly sandwiched between her two favourite Weasleys. Fred spooned her from behind, whereas George was right in front of her and pulled her against his chest. There he held her tightly, while he rocked her in his arms and somehow this helped to soothe her nerves. Hermione didn't know how long they held her like this, but after a while, her sobs died down. When her tears finally stopped falling she realized that George's shirt was totally soaked by now but her friend didn't even seem to notice. Instead, he had his face buried in her curls and mumbled something unintelligible into her hair.
"Thank you boys, I think I really needed that," Hermione admitted against George's chest. "I'm better now, thanks."
"Good," Fred said behind her, without letting go. "Do you want to talk about it now? We won't tell a soul, we swear."
She felt George nod into her hair. "Absolutely. And we won't judge, you know? Whatever it is, you can tell us."
Hermione wanted to, she really did. Because she felt like she had to talk about it, properly, at last once. And apart from Severus, who wasn't available at the moment, the twins really seemed to be her best option, they were her friends too, after all. Hermione sighed. She wouldn't be able to tell them the whole story, but at least a part of it. "Today I obliviated my parents to make them go abroad. They no longer remember having a daughter, but in a few days they'll leave the country and hopefully be safe."
"Fuck," George mumbled in front of her and pulled her even closer. "I'm so sorry, love. I can't even imagine how that must feel."
She nodded with a heavy heart. "I keep asking myself if I did the right thing, you know? But with Lavender gone and after the attack against your dad… there's no saying what will happen next. But I thought with being Harry's best friend and a muggle-born at that there's quite a large target on my back."
"You did the right thing," Fred assured her from behind without hesitation. "Believe me. I know it was a hard decision, but I think you're right. This war will get much worse before it starts getting better again."
"Yeah," Hermione said sadly. "I know. But, God, I miss them and who knows if I'll ever see them again? I suddenly feel so alone, you know?"
"You're not though," George said and a moment later she could feel his hand on her chin. He used it to slowly tilt her head up so that their eyes finally met. "You're not alone, Hermione. Fred and I will always be there for you, you hear me? No matter what…"
She nodded slowly, unable to break their eye contact and her mouth felt suddenly dry. "Alright, thank you," she mumbled and had the urge to hide against his chest again. But George didn't let go of her.
"That's what friends are for, love," Fred said from behind. "And we are your friends, remember?"
"Yeah," Hermione admitted before suddenly a yawn escaped her mouth. Merlin, all this crying had really worn her out. But it was probably a good thing, as it would prevent her lying awake and pondering over her fate for hours.
"Sounds like you're ready for bed, love," George said and rolled on his back. "Should we try to sleep?"
"You're staying?" she asked him with wide eyes and stared at him in disbelief.
" 'Course we're staying," Fred said from behind and with a whisk of his wand the lights in the room suddenly went out so that the three of them were surrounded by darkness. "Can't let you alone like this."
"But… we can't… I mean, you're…" Hermione mumbled, but Fred already conjured a big blanket for them and covered her with it.
"We're what?" George asked confusedly, but before she could answer he added. "Seriously, Hermione. No one will even notice we're here. And it's not like we're doing anything, yeah?"
"Just sleeping," Fred confirmed from behind her. "Well, and maybe a cuddle or two. We're here to comfort you, after all." Like to get his point across he put an arm around Hermione and turned her around towards him. Then he pulled her close so that her head suddenly rested on his shoulder. And, God, it felt good.
"Alright," she said with a sigh and relaxed against him. "But I warn you, if you're snoring I'll throw you out."
"Sounds fair to me," George said casually, scooted closer and put an arm around her waist before he snuggled against her back. And Hermione couldn't help but note how perfect it felt to be held by them like that. With Fred and George surrounding her like this, she suddenly felt safe again and definitely no longer alone.
In a dark corner of her mind, she wished that it could always be like this. But she knew it couldn't and so she decided to just enjoy the night. As she slowly fell asleep on Fred's shoulder, with his scent in her nose, she decided to lock the memory of this night deep inside her heart and when the dark times would finally knock on her door, she'd use it to get her through them. Even if she could not have the twins for herself, she could at least have this.
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A.N.: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's not easy for me to write fluff, but I had the feeling we all needed that in these dark times. Well, I definitely did and Hermione did, too. I hope you are all well and safe and I could give you some distraction with this chapter. I really worked hard to publish it this soon.