Murder, Magic, Mayhem, and Madness

Hermione, having been turned away by Severus only months before, is suddenly infatuated with Lucius Malfoy, and someone in the castle is leaving anti-Muggle messages around Hogwarts. And if that's not enough, Severus has feelings for Hermione. How will he cope if everyday he's reminded of what he could have had?

September Continues

Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast and her gaze automatically fell on Severus, lounging casually in the Headmaster's chair. He was wearing a dark shirt opened at the collar with a hooded robe over it. He absently fingered his scar, a habit she'd tired to break him from when she had visited him in the hospital. Their eyes locked on each other as she walked to her seat, and his hand fell to the table as he scowled at her. Hermione smiled and nodded before climbing onto the bench between Amanda Featheredge, the seventh-year prefect, and Ginny.

Before long, Hermione was talking to Ginny and Amanda about the last few lessons in Transfiguration. Ginny was still wearing her Quidditch robes from an early morning practice, and Amanda had her 'Gryffindors Roar' badge on her school robes. The golden lion on the red and gold badge turned every so often, growling and roaring loudly, interrupting their discussion. "Augh, this thing!" she exclaimed. "Travers hexed it, and now I can't get the thing off!"

"Here, let me." Hermione pulled her wand and tried a series of charms, finally finding one that worked. Amanda thanked her, removing the badge as the owls began arriving. Lucius' hawk owl soared into the room and circled gracefully down to land in front of Hermione. The familiar fern green parchment with the ornate M stamped in the silver sealing wax made her smile.

"Like clockwork," Ginny remarked as Hermione untied her letter, surprised by the weight on the paper.

"I think it's romantic. He must miss you so much," Amanda said, smiling shyly.

Hermione opened the letter carefully, and a beautiful silver Celtic knot cloak clasp with six green crystals fell into her palm.

Ginny gasped and Amanda cooed. "Is he trying to turn you into a Slytherin, or what?" Ginny asked as Hermione laughed and handed her the clasp to look at. As soon as the clasp lay in her hand the crystals turned red. Amazed, Ginny set the clasp on the table and the crystals turned nearly topaz to match her napkin.

"Oh, I know what those are!" Amanda exclaimed, picking up the clasp, watching as the crystals turned pink to match her hair ribbon. "They're reflectanite! They change to match whatever color you are wearing."

Hermione smiled, taking her clasp from Amanda, and the crystals turned green again. "Okay, why are they green for Hermione, then?" Ginny asked. "She's wearing all black."

Amanda shrugged. "The stones won't turn black. Black isn't a color—it's the absence of color. I don't know why it's turning green for her. They should be clear."

Hermione felt her cheeks burn, and she covered her mouth to hide her embarrassed smile.

"What?" both of her friends asked.

"I am wearing green," she admitted, her cheeks heating even more. Amanda looked puzzled for a moment, and Ginny's brow creased questioningly. Hermione nodded, indicating down with her eyes. Ginny was the first to catch on, and all three girls began to giggle, their laughter making them laugh louder. Several Gryffindors looked up to see what was so funny, and the girls tried to contain their giddiness, failing miserably as they bent their heads together, laughing.

Hermione glanced up, and saw Severus watching her with a puzzled frown before he looked away. Still grinning, she pocketed the clasp and read her letter from her fiancé, feeling a warm glow when he asked if she liked her gift.

~oo0oo~

As she had nearly all week, and the week before that, Hermione watched as Professor Snape looked out over the students, catching his eye more than once and feeling her heart skip each time. He was wearing a long robe with a trench coat-like collar over his slacks, shirt, and waistcoat, all in black of course, but the familiar frockcoat was suspiciously absent. Hermione knew it was because, while the silk of his shirts didn't irritate his scars, the restricting collar of his coat did. The new look made him seem more modern and much more at ease with himself. The new clothes also made his frame seem much sexier in her opinion. He even wore his hair tied back in a black ribbon since it was now slightly longer than he'd previously worn it. The overall effect was that he showed off his eyes and the strong, sharp angles of his face. He looked like the dark, broody wizard girls fantasized about, somewhat rakish, a bit like a rogue and slightly dangerous… Wherever she went, Hermione occasionally heard appreciative murmurs from several members of the female student body in the corridors, the library, the Great Hall, and in the common room.

Once again, Hermione felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and she looked around, wondering why she felt as if someone was glaring at her. She glanced up at the head table, caught Professor Snape's eye, and felt the familiar shiver that accompanied every such contact. She turned, knowing that his gaze didn't give her the ominous chills she felt. No one was watching her, or staring at her, except for when she glanced at the head table again and saw Professor Snape still watching her. "Hermione, are you all right?" Ginny asked, drawing her attention and the odd, uncomfortable sensation dissipated.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," she replied. "Hey, I'm going to go to the library." Ginny nodded as Hermione rose. She saw Luna look up and wave, rising and collecting her things. Hermione motioned to her, mouthing 'library.' Luna nodded, indicating with that she would like to go, too. Hermione nodded and then turned to go to the door to wait for Luna to catch up. She noticed a few other students gathering their things to leave as well before Luna caught up to her.

They chatted easily as they exited the Great Hall and headed to the stairs, both Luna and Hermione carrying an armload of books to return to the library. Suddenly, Hermione felt her feet slide out from under her, and she fell backward, landing on her backside, hitting the stone floor with a loud thump. The floor felt sticky, wet and grimy. She tried to roll over to get up and slipped again, feeling intense sharp, shooting pains in her right hip and ankle. She heard Luna make a strangled muffled sound and looked to see her friend lying in a heap in the floor as well, covered in mud and what looked like blood. Inhaling to clear her head, Hermione was affronted by the sickly scent of blood, the taste of iron and mud on her lips. She looked at her hands, realizing that it was bloody mud she'd fallen in and tried to rise, but her ankle gave her an intense, sharp pain and she fell again. Several students, ones Hermione remembered getting up when she did had just opened the doors and started screaming.

Hermione tried to get up again as the doors opened again, and the resonate voice of Professor Snape bellowed loudly enough to vibrate the walls, "STAY IN YOUR SEATS. EVERYONE SIT DOWN, NOW!"

The three girls who hadn't fallen were edging away from the mess on the floor. One of them started to cuss and complained about the gross mud, while another tried to clean the mud off her apparently new shoes. The third was looking at Hermione and Luna, asking them if they were all right. But when the doors closed one of them screamed again, pointing, making the other two look up. The Ravenclaw girl was saying, "bigots and pureblood Nazis, how could they," while the girl with the new shoes, gasped in horror. One of the girls had stepped to far forward and slipped on the puddle on the floor.

Feeling somewhat dizzy, Hermione tried to rollover to see what had alarmed them so, though the sharp stabbing pain in her hip and ankle made her cry out in agony. Written in the same muck Hermione found herself and Luna sprawled in, were the words: Mudbloods you're unwelcome at Hogwarts. Now go home, with lines of dripping blood from the letters. The door opened and Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape stepped out, Professor Snape glaring everyone, snarling for them to be silent. Another wizard appeared, wand drawn, staring at the words on the wall and the students lying on the floor.

Professor Flitwick squealed in shocked dismay and immediately erased the offending words off the wall as Professor Snape and the other wizard began to vanquish the puddle of bloody mud that apparently filled the Entrance Hall between the marble stairs leading to the upper floors and the stairs leading down to the basement. "Miss Granger, are you all right? Are you capable of getting up?" Professor Snape asked softly.

Hermione shook her head, fighting back her tears. "I hurt my ankle and hip. I can't get up. Luna…"

"She is fine, Miss Granger," Professor Flitwick said, helping Luna to her feet and cleaning her up the best he could as the other wizard tried to calm the other frightened girls.

Professor Snape looked at Hermione, as if assessing her, as she tried to rise. "Stop, Miss Granger. Do not move." He turned to the others in the hall. "Mr. Rolfe, I appreciate knowing any findings you discover. Professor, take these girls to your office. Miss Welton, please help Miss Lovegood collect all the books and take them to Madam Pince. Tell her she may discuss their condition with me later in my office, and then both of you go to Professor Flitwick's office immediately afterwards." The girls nodded, collecting up the books as Professor Flitwick directed the others to go with him.

He pointed his wand at Hermione, then leaned down and scoped her up in his arms, ignoring her yelp of pain. "Wrap your arms around me," he said softly. Hermione complied, unable to hold back the tears of pain and embarrassment she felt. She laid her head on his shoulder and buried he face against his neck. Filch appeared on the stairs as Professor Snape carried her. "Filch, go tell Professor McGonagall that the Entrance Hall is cleared, again, and that I would like to see her in Professor Flitwick's office as soon as I deposit Miss Granger in the hospital wing, then please assist Miss Welton and Miss Lovegood carry the books to the library."

"Yes, Headmaster," Filch groveled and hurried off.

"Professor, the words," Hermione managed to say, still resting her head on his shoulder.

She felt Snape stiffen. "A post war prank of exceedingly poor taste, nothing else," he said curtly. "Don't concern yourself. It was much the same when the Dark Lord fell the first time."

"Really?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, maybe not in such poor taste, but yes, somewhat," he said in a soothing tone.

~oo0oo~

Severus paused on the stairs, examining the wall and floor in the Entrance Hall that had been a bloody mess only forty minutes ago, before approaching Mr. Rolfe. The incident had unsettled him, although no one looking at him would have been able to determine that. In all outward appearances, Severus knew he radiated the appearance of absolute control.

When he'd carried Hermione to the hospital wing, she'd wrapped her arms around him as he'd requested, then laid her head on his shoulder and nuzzled her face against his neck like a lover. Her breath, warm and light, had tantalized the skin around his scars in a most disturbing manner, and he'd felt her tears dampen his skin and shirt collar. Except for the one question, she hadn't hounded him for answers but seemed to be at complete ease in his arms. He'd been thankful that Madam Pomfrey's attention had been solely on Hermione after he'd deposited her on the bed and helped her adjust her foot on a pillow. He'd reacted to her, unwanted and inappropriately, and it surprised him. He'd carried girls to the hospital before without arousal but this annoying, insolent, whelp of a girl had affected him. He'd stayed at her bedside to listen to Madam Pomfrey's assessment. He'd felt a pang in his chest when he was told that Hermione had suffered a concussion and a fractured ankle.

She had looked so vulnerable laying on the bed, covered in bloody filth, her amber eyes looking up at him with such trust. He'd wanted to turn away from her gaze, but instead he'd drawn his wand and tried to clean her up. Her softly spoken thank you, while gazing up at him from the bed, had made his chest tighten again and his breath catch. He'd turned to Madam Pomfrey announcing that he'd leave the girl in her capable hands and hurried from the room, stopping for a moment to assure himself that Hermione was cooperating with the Healer, before he closed the door.

Mr. Rolfe approached him, stopping on the step below and turning to look at the Entrance Hall from the elevated angle. "I can't find anything. The dirt in the mud is ordinary, probably from the school grounds. I don't think the blood is really blood, or if it is, it's definitely not human."

Severus turned his full attention on the Auror. "Explain."

"I think it's some variation on Aguamenti, only producing a blood-like substance instead of water." Mr. Rolfe pulled a large, somewhat squashed, object from his pocket. "I found this in the corner by the staircase. It's some kind of capsule. I think this is how they carry in the dirt or mud."

Severus looked at the large capsule and nodded. It resembled the same sort of capsule the Weasley twins used for their portable swamps. "Thank you. Inform me if you discover anything else."

"I've notified the office. I suppose we should post someone in the Entrance Hall," Mr. Rolfe stated. "I'll stay here for now."

Severus nodded in assent but knew the measure was unnecessary, at least for today. The defacement of the Hall always occurs before breakfast, except for this morning… Whoever is doing this has changed their timetable. He turned and headed for Filius' office to discuss what the other girls might have seen. Severus was certain the girls wouldn't have any information that would shed any light on the occurrences, but he'd have to listen to Minerva rant regardless. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. No one except Hermione, he thought ruefully. At least she'll be all right.

~oo0oo~

Hermione had been held in the hospital wing the rest of the day and that night. Ginny and Luna both brought her the essay assignments for her classes, as did Amanda. Both Ginny and Luna demonstrated the spells they'd learned in the lessons she missed, although Madam Pomfrey was adamant that Hermione wasn't to practice them. Professor Snape stopped by later that morning and in the afternoon to ask Hermione questions about what she remembered. He had even brought her four books to read during his first visit, and he'd stayed a short while to discuss what she'd read during his next visit, the following morning. Madam Pomfrey finally allowed Hermione to leave to have dinner with her friends.

The incident of bloody mud was not the first, but the start of random acts of vandalism that appeared sporadically in odd places, usually in high traffic areas. Child-size bloody muddy handprints were found on the handrail to the stairs leading to the seventh floor. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was flooded five days later, spreading dirty, bloody water all over the second floor corridor. The Hufflepuffs complained of finding bloody mud handprints on the wall near their common room a few days after that. Then only three days later, the Hufflepuffs complained that there were bloody shoeprints in the corridor by their common room entrance. The seventh floor corridor was splattered with bloody mud and the words: Blood mud, Mudblood, wish I may, wish I might, have you gone by dawn's first light. Twice, bloody mud was spilled on the stairs leading to the upper levels and in the seventh floor corridor.

Severus reacted quickly to each reporting of the prank as it occurred. Every painting was asked to keep a vigilant eye on the corridors, and the torches that lit the walls at night were no longer extinguished at curfew, much to the chagrin of the paintings. The Auror office added evening patrols in the castle, and there was an Auror in the Entrance Hall at all times. The increased security alleviated the concerns of the parents, and the Daily Prophet ran articles exalting Headmaster Snape's proactive and vigilant actions in reaction to the mysterious vandalism and his thorough precautions for the students' safety.

~oo0oo~

Hermione was truly unsettled by the recurring defacement of the school corridors. She couldn't help notice that Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were targeted more often than either Ravenclaw or Slytherin. In fact, the dungeons around the Slytherin common room hadn't had any of the bloody mud or the taunting sayings. Whispers and rumors were circulating that a Slytherin was behind the messages, but in the prefect meeting, Hermione admonished the gossipers vehemently, much to the amazement of the Slytherin prefects, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall.

Hermione simply felt that while any Slytherin was capable of the cunning behind the pranks, it would be stupid of them not to deface their own corridor at least one or twice and thus draw attention away from their own house. Besides, even though the 'good' side had won, not everyone was suddenly pro-Muggle-born. Anti-Muggle-born sentiment was still prevalent, especially since the new anti-discrimination and anti-segregation laws had come into effect. The current addition of Muggle-born and half-blood students in Slytherins were proof that even the Sorting Hat was disregarding 'blood heritage' as a criteria in placement.

Hermione did note, however, that on each night that she had rounds, Severus had elected to add himself to the roster. He had also requested that she recopy the new schedule and bring it to him as soon as she'd completed it. Professor McGonagall had spoken up, asking if her schedule was inadequate, and Severus told her that he needed to know who was on rounds and that he would be personally handling all areas of security in the castle. He had also stated that he needed her to coordinate with the other Heads of House on the Quidditch schedules, so that none of the houses had problems with scheduling practices nor were any of the teams staying out on the grounds any later than necessary. Hermione had slyly glanced at him, knowing that the schedules were already arranged, but kept her mouth shut. She was even more surprised when Severus appointed her as liaison for the prefects for bringing him any and all prefect reports. She suppressed the flutter in her stomach knowing that she'd just been given the opportunity to see him nearly every week, in his office, alone, just the two of them.

When the meeting concluded, Hermione trudged sleepily back to her common room. The common room was deserted, the fire in the fireplace dying down. She walked past the furnishings, smiling to herself, when she saw a book lying open upside down on one of the tables. Fuming that a book would be so mistreated, she walked over to close the book properly, smiling at the title, The Great Wizards of the Age.

Reverently, she picked up the book and noticed a large bloody knife lying on the table. She turned the book over to make sure that the blood hadn't gotten on the pages and sucked in her breath in shock. The knife had been placed under the page for Salazar Slytherin. Hermione cringed at the red stain on the fine parchment, dismayed and then froze. Do I set the book down and go get Severus and an Auror, or take it to his office? If this were a Muggle crime scene, I've already disturbed the evidence, but if I set it down, one of the other Gryffindors might disturb it as well. She looked at the doors leading to the dorm rooms, trying to decide on the best course of action. Deciding that the evidence as already disturbed, she cast a Stasis and Repelling Charm on the table, and a Stasis Charm on the knife and book, and then carried the book and knife with her to Severus' office. She was just about to descend the stairs to the lower floors when she noticed more writing on the wall, this time in dripping red: Child of mud beware.

Hermione ran the rest of the way to the Headmaster's office, ignoring the fact that she was running while carrying a large knife. She was breathless, her heart racing by the time she reached the stone gargoyle.

"What are you doing here, running about the corridors at this hour?" the stern voice of Severus admonished her from behind. "You are supposed to have returned to your… What the…" Severus' eyes widened, and he ran up to her as Hermione turned and held out the bloody book and knife. He pointed to the stairs leading to his office. "Inside. Now."

Hermione nodded and hurried up to the office turning to face him as he entered behind her. "Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"The common room. It was left on a table in the common room," she gasped, shaking uncontrollably. "It—the book was opened to Salazar Slytherin! There are more words, on the wall by the stairs leading down… What is going on?"

"What did the words say?" Severus asked softly, stepping toward her to take the knife she held precariously in her fingers.

"Child of mud beware," Hermione said with a shudder.

Severus stood still a moment then looked up at the wall. "Wake up, all of you, and find the Auror on patrol tonight…"

"Anderson," Hermione said softly. Severus turned to look at her. "Mr. Anderson is patrolling that part of the castle tonight."

"…and have Mr. Anderson come here immediately," Severus finished, and then turned to Hermione as all portraits exited their picture frames. "Miss Granger, sit down and tell me everything."

"I'd rather you looked," she said softly.

The surprise on his face quickly altered to one of suspicion. "Why?"

Hermione looked up at him, her trust in him giving her strength to calm her nerves. "You are a trained observer, being a spy all those years. You will see what I may have overlooked or not registered as important. And you will see it firsthand, so to speak."

Severus smiled ruefully. "That's not precisely how Legilimency works. I would see flashes, pieces. But if you are willing, may I suggest allowing me to see your memory in the Pensive?"

Hermione nodded, grateful that she wouldn't need to see the scene again. Severus opened up a cabinet and retrieved the stone basin, placing it on his desk. He explained how she should extract the memory, and what to expect, reminding her to include all of it, even the words at the top of the stairs, making her practice the spell a few times. Hermione followed his directions precisely, amazed at the silvery strand emitting from her head and placed it in the Pensive. Severus nodded, excused himself and entered the memory. Hermione waited patiently.

Auror Zander Anderson arrived as Severus was straightening up. "You summoned me, Headmaster?"

"One moment," Severus replied. "Her—Miss Granger, I would like to see the part of the memory of you reaching the portrait and climbing into the common room, up to the time you saw the book. May I view that as well?"

Hermione nodded, rising and repeated the spell, drawing out another long strand of memory, immediately feeling all her anxiety vanish as she placed the strand in the stone bowl. Severus quickly told Mr. Anderson what the memory was and both men entered the Pensive together.

Time seemed to tick slowly. She sat, trying not to stare at Severus' rear end and his long firm legs, remembering all too well just what he looked like without his robes on. And that he preferred to wear boxer briefs under his trousers. She also knew he preferred to sleep in boxers in the summer and pajamas in the winter since he'd snarled that fact at her when she'd brought him a nice pair of pajamas when he'd been in St. Mungo's. In fact, she'd had enjoyed helping him recover after the war and had hoped that they had developed a relationship—right up until the day he hexed her to make her leave. The thoughts she was trying so desperately not to think about swam unbidden to the forefront of her mind, the times discussing books, events, even philosophy. She'd loved massaging him, and helping him bathe. She even forgave him the heartache she'd had when he'd spurned her.

When Severus rose, he turned quickly enough to see where she had been staring and watched her as deep flush darkened her cheeks in embarrassment. Hermione desperately turned away from his penetrating stare, suddenly finding the green and blue hunter plaid drapes intriguing.

"I'll get Arnold Dorsey and head up there," Auror Anderson said, breaking the tension in the office. "I think the girl should remain here."

Severus looked as if he was deciding on what to do with her. He walked to his bookshelves and selected a huge book, thrusting it at Hermione. "You will wait here for me. This should keep you occupied until I return."

She accepted the book gratefully as Severus walked out of the office after the Auror. She read the title, Exsufflicate Explanatives of Contemporary Practices, smiling at the use of the Shakespearean word, exsufflicate, and then opened the cover. The book was a translation of an old Charms book, the original printing dating back to 1618. The book reminded her of the book Galileo wrote regarding the solar system, only debating the uses of Charms instead. It expounded on the theories and suppositions of various wizards, and the proposed ideas of what magic could do, and what a wizard should be able to achieve with magic if only the correct spell or incantations could be found and if the caster's magical conductor or wand would allow its application. The opposing arguments suggested that physical limitations of magic were bound by the forces of natural magic and nature and were finite. The debate of experimentation and exploration of possible magic usage made Hermione smile and occasionally giggle, considering that wizards currently used many of the possibilities debated in the book on a daily basis.

"Hermione," Severus said smoothly.

"What! Oh!" she exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her skin. She was so deeply engrossed in the book when Severus arrived back in his office that she hadn't even heard him enter. "I didn't—is everything okay?"

Severus' sneer turned into a half smile. "I believe it is safe for you to return to your room. I will escort you."

Hermione nodded and looked at the book, loath to set it down. "You may borrow the book and return it to me when you've finished," he said, and she looked up at him with a huge grin. In the corridor, he turned his head to look at her. "How far did you get?"

"The third chapter," she admitted, casting a sly glance at him.

He cocked an eyebrow. "What do you think about the suppositions presented?"

Hermione looked at him, smiling that he was willing to discuss the book with her. "Some of them are amusing. Several of the magical abilities argued as improbable and impossible are taught here at school."

"It was written nearly four hundred years ago," he stated, allowing her to start up the stairs before him, "and before the statute of secrecy. There were those who claimed to possess magic in the magical community who were in fact charlatans. No doubt you noticed the repeated use of the phrase magical conductor in the text."

She smiled and nodded. "I wondered about that. I suppose times have changed," she admitted over her shoulder, wishing he'd walk next to her.

"Indeed," he said smoothly as they reached the top of the stairs.

Hermione paused, waiting for him to flank her and started walking again. "Thank you, sir. I really appreciate the loan of the book. I'll take excellent care of it."

"I know how you lionize books. I thought it would amuse you, as it did me when I read it," he said, the tiniest flicker of a smile softening his expression.

His words hit her, and she was stunned by his generosity. "It's yours?"

Severus nodded. "Yes, one from my personal library."

Hermione hugged the book to her chest.

"I knew it would keep you sufficiently occupied." He stopped a few steps from the Fat Lady's portrait. "In you go."

Hermione sighed and announced what the new password was to be, sorry to see the painting swing open. "Thank you, sir. Good night," she said, looking at him, wishing the walk could have been longer.

He bowed slightly. "Good night, Miss Granger," he said, turning on his heel and walking away.

~oo0oo~

News of the book and knife somehow leaked out among the student body the following morning, although the rumors modified it in that the objects had become an ancient tome and a dagger, which sounded a little more menacing. Students sought out Hermione to ask her about the incident, but she couldn't remember it because Severus had wanted to keep the memory to review again. She was supposed to see him in his office before dinner to have the memories restored, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.

A quarter-hour before dinner, Hermione approached the stone gargoyle and rode the stair to Severus' office. She paused, her hand raised to knock when she heard Professor McGonagall's raised voice. "But they want to leave, Severus. Surely under the circumstances you can appreciate my concern."

"If their parents wish to withdraw their children, I cannot force them to stay," he said firmly. "ENTER."

Hermione timidly opened the door. "If this is a bad time, I can come back, sir."

"No, Miss Granger, I was expecting you," Severus said formally. "Professor, if you'll wait a moment?"

"Certainly," she replied stiffly.

Hermione entered and quickly approached the desk. The Pensive sat waiting, the silvery memories swirling inside. "Is anything wrong, dear?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Hermione looked up and gave her Head of House a wan smile. "I'm not looking forward to having this one back, that's all."

Severus stood. "It's benign enough." He explained how to retrieve the memory and how to replace it in her mind. Hermione listened intently, repeating the spell and nodded. "Very well, go easy, one memory at a time. You will feel a bit disoriented as the memory settles back in. If you get a headache, tell me immediately."

Hermione nodded and lifted the first memory from the Pensive. The feeling of it going back into her head did make her woozy at first and the images replayed in her mind as the memory settled into place. The second memory, which was actually the earlier memory caused a bit more disorientation as the images melded together, then the one of finding the book and knife seemed to replay sequentially. Severus was watching her intently while Professor McGonagall watched in earnest. Finally, Hermione nodded.

"Do you still feel disorientated?" he asked softly.

Hermione shook her head. "No, sir, and I don't feel any headaches either."

"Fine; you may go," he replied, sitting back down, waiting for her to leave before finishing his conversation with Minerva.

September continues ~

~~oooo0oooo~~

Author's Notes:

I know, it was a rather dirty chapter, but do things progress. Don't worry.

Many thanks to my betas, Pookah, CourtneyRochelle, and MadBrilliant for helping me clean up my many mistakes. I really appreciate it more than you can possibly know. I'd be ashamed to show my story to anyone without your invaluable help. And to era1960 for being there when I needed to bounce ideas and have a second opinion, thank you all for being a friend.