At the appointed hour, the Seventh Form Gryffindors assembled for the last time together outside of Professor McGonagall's door. They didn't understand what was happening, exactly, but they had discussed their suspicions quietly among themselves earlier and had resolved to stand by Hermione as a unit no matter what the situation was. She would not go through anything alone.
Hermione and Professor McGonagall stepped out of the door, and there was a collective intake of breath.
Hermione looked utterly amazing. And, she appeared about a decade older than the girl they had seen a day before at dinner. Harry looked at Ron, and noticed they were both gaping at her open-mouthed. Something was definitely very different about their best friend. Frankly, everyone was more than a little worried, especially at the mask of placid calm betrayed by glittering, angry eyes that Hermione was wearing.
The group had correctly deduced in their afternoon discussions that Malfoy had probably attacked her the night before, since they all knew from the meeting earlier that she and Malfoy had returned to the dorms at about the same time.
"Did he hit her with an aging spell, or what?" Seamus hissed to Ron and Neville, who were walking beside him. "She looks…extremely…mature." And incredibly fetching, Ron thought privately. He might have to re-think his and Harry's gentleman's agreement not to ever form a romantic relationship with their female best friend.
"I don't know," Neville said, "but that look in her eye! I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her anger tonight."
"Me either," Parvati caught the tail end of what they were saying. "Gods have mercy."
Hermione took Harry's arm, and the group moved en masse to the Great Hall. They had timed their entrance to arrive a few minutes after everyone else was seated, and as Ron and Professor McGonagall threw the doors open, they could see that their entrance had the desired effect. An audible gasp rose over the Great Hall, which was adorned with the silver and green of Slytherin House, the House Cup winners for the year. Everyone had noticed the absence of the graduating Gryffindors, of course, and no one had expected to see Hermione again given the rumours that were circulating about her having left in the middle of the night for parts unknown. But as she approached the Head Table with her companions in tow, more gasps went up. Everyone could see how regal and beautiful she was, and how different she appeared than the girl they knew; it was hard to put your finger on it, but she carried herself with such dignity and grace that for a minute no one was sure if she was actually the same overly-bright girl with bushy hair they'd all known since "Granger, Hermione" had been sorted into Gryffindor.
Minerva sat in her chair at Dumbledore's right hand, and Dumbledore rose and put his hands up to silence the gawking house tables filled with murmuring children. Hermione refused to look at either Professor Snape or the Slytherin table, but Harry and Ron couldn't help a sidelong glance. Draco, normally sneering and confident, looked pale and frightened and ready to bolt out the door. His eyes darted nervously from the Head Table to his companions seated nearby, and he started to stand up. In a flash, Professor Snape stood at his side, and pushed him down in his chair and kept his hand on Draco's shoulder to ensure that he would stay put.
"Miss Granger, I believe you have something to say to your fellow students?" Dumbledore prompted.
"I do." Harry looked in her eyes, and saw a fire that he had never witnessed in her. Revenge. He remembered well his own quest for revenge against Sirius Black in his third year, and hoped this would not prove her undoing. Once this type of anger started, it was hard to stop.
"As I am sure you are all aware," she looked over at Draco for the first time, "I've had to leave Hogwarts for the day for a little soul-searching. I'm sure it came as a shock to all of you to consider that I hadn't hung around to enjoy my academic success and graduate with my classmates. However, I'm sure several of you are equally surprised to see me enter the Great Hall again on cue." She looked pointedly at the Slytherin table.
"I won't beat around the bush, then. Last night as I finished my final rounds of the castle, I was attacked by our very own Hogwarts Head Boy, Draco Malfoy." She waited for the gasps and whispers to quiet down, and looked directly into his panicked eyes. "He silenced me, immobilized and disrobed me, and raped me. Not content to do just this, he hung me upside down and attempted to force me to perform oral sex on him. When I refused to participate, he used the Cruciatus curse on me until I complied." For a minute, she saw the horrified looks in the first and second years' eyes, but pressed on. "Then Malfoy raped me once more for good measure, and then hit me over the head with his fist until I passed out. When I came to, he was laughing and unbound me and told me to go back to the Muggle world I came from, and never return." She paused and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, and Lavender and Dean each put their arms around her to assist her in finishing her speech. Hermione stole a look at Professor Snape before she went on, and was surprised at what she found in his eyes. He was giving her his strength, and surprising warmth, to continue. Knowing that he was in her corner, and had seen and endured what she had and worse, she continued on.
"I actually did what Draco asked me to do. I left and disappeared into the Muggle world, for a short time. In leaving, I nearly allowed Draco to get away with this. But someone in this room found me and talked some sense into me, and I am here to make Draco Malfoy pay for what he has done to me." She saw the sneers and open loathing towards her on the face of Crabbe, Goyle, and the other graduating Slytherins, who were circling the wagons around their leader.
"First of all, in my capacity as Head Girl, and my last act as such: 200 points from Slytherin for fostering and protecting such a coward." Albus clapped, and the decorations took on the gold and crimson of Gryffindor House.
"Secondly," as the Aurors stepped out of the shadows, "I hereby formally accuse Draco Malfoy of rape and using an Unforgivable Curse on me to achieve his dreadful ends." Snape's hand on Malfoy's shaking shoulder was replaced by Mad-Eye Moody's, and Snape walked behind Hermione at the Head Table, placing his hand in the small of her back as he gave her support. The Slytherins gasped at the fact that their Head of House was not protecting Draco, and further, was giving support to Draco's accuser. A few of the more savvy quickly made a connection that Snape had to do this to save face in front of Dumbledore, and those that did explained to their slower housemates that Snape surely didn't really give a twit about the Granger idiot.
"I didn't do it," Draco sniveled. "You can't prove anything. My father won't stand for this nonsense."
"No?" Minerva said, hot with rage. "A little Veritaserum should fix that obstacle."
"Besides," Snape said levelly, staring at the boy. "You confessed to the rape, and your wand will provide the rest of the information that is needed under Priori Incantatem."
Dawning horror flickered across Draco's patrician features. There was no way out. Snape had been right; he had been a fool, and there really was no way his father could save him now. But Voldemort knew no such rules, and Draco had some knowledge of how important he was to the Dark Lord. Surely Voldemort would never allow the power he had been waiting for 18 years to obtain to slip away like this.
"This isn't over," Draco said as Mad-Eye Moody led him away, flanked by several other ministry officials. "I'll see you in hell, Granger."
As the door to the Great Hall closed, Hermione sank to her knees, and the world went dark.
*~*
She didn't open her eyes at first. She could tell by the smells in the air that she was in the Infirmary. There was another scent, too, one that she couldn't place at first but realized must be Snape. She had not realized that everpresent patchouli-and-wintergreen scent in the Potions classroom was actually his own unique smell. It was rather comforting and pleasant, and much easier to lie there and live in a world of scent and sound instead of opening her eyes to face a new day.
She could hear his breathing near her, and gradually became aware of Harry's scent nearby as well. Madam Pomfrey said softly nearby, "Harry, you must get on the train. It's about to leave. We will owl you immediately at the Burrow, you and Ron, when she awakens."
"I can't leave her like this."
"You can and you must, Mr. Potter," Snape said in a sullen, tired voice. "You are needed to make sure things don't get out of hand on the Hogwarts Express on the return trip to King's Cross. The Slytherins are very upset about Malfoy; I daresay there may be an incident. I would go myself and keep an eye on the brats, but I am needed…here."
Harry knew he was right, and stood to leave. "Be strong, Hermione. I'll see you in a few days." She listened to his footsteps retreating, and then opened her eyes and looked directly into black eyes, staring at her with a look of concern.
"You heard that." It wasn't an accusation on his part, just a statement of fact.
"I wasn't ready to face Harry, yet. A lot has happened, and I'm not quite at the acceptance phase yet." Hermione stretched, and sat up, but became immediately dizzy and lay down again. "How long have I been…"
"Only overnight. I carried you directly here from the Great Hall when you fainted into my arms. Dobby and Winky are moving your things to new rooms, out of Gryffindor Tower and down in the dungeons." At her shocked look, he said, "No, I'm not making you an honorary Slytherin, not to worry. I want you to be where I can get to you quickly if there is trouble. I certainly trust that Malfoy has been caught breaking the law and should be punished with a lengthy stay in Azkaban, but I don't trust Voldemort to let his prize go so easily. Minerva has duties away from Hogwarts for much of the summer, so I need to keep you close. I'm sorry if you're disappointed."
She processed this new information. He was committed to protecting her, so much so that he was voluntarily consenting to share his erstwhile lonely space with her during the summer to ensure her safety. Perhaps her new life as Sister Mary Rebecca could wait a while, after all.
She studied her former Potions Master with frank abandon. She felt as though she had never really seen him with adult eyes, and at this point, her childhood was definitely lost to her forever. She felt as if she had gained years of age in a day. She felt that strange sense of inner power and wisdom again, and wasn't sure what to make of it. She had fainted from the exhaustion of carrying all the anger, but once she had let it go, she felt relaxed, if very much still troubled about the emotions swirling inside.
Severus Snape was…gods help her, he was all of a sudden attractive. Was this her gratitude at his insistence in helping her manifesting itself inappropriately? His hands, his lips, his dark eyes, his shoulders and strong hands…oh, my. She had never thought of any boy except Viktor Krum in this way before, much less an older man, much less her hated Potions Professor! What in blazes was happening?
He allowed her to watch him without his normal dry commentary when a student's eyes lingered too long, wondering what she was thinking. The girl…no, woman in front of him had changed dramatically overnight, and he wondered if he might not ought to have Poppy do a complete physical on her. Her eyes were different – wise and unusually bright, reminding him of Dumbledore. And she no longer looked like a child to him. It was a strange transformation, and he wondered if the Mother Superior would have any explanation of what had occurred.
Where had that come from?
The Mother Superior. With sudden clarity, he looked again at Hermione, who was still quietly matching his stare. Something had happened to this girl, and he would bet a fistful of Galleons that the Mother Superior would have an explanation given her little speech as they left Ireland. He had no use for organized religion, of course, though the Snape family was often seen attending the local church for appearances' sake when he was a child. It was all so much hokum and nonsense to him, but that Mother Superior had immediately struck him as one of the more powerful Muggles he had ever met. There was definitely much more to this story.
And when had she become so blasted attractive, anyway? Damn it all, this was one utterly vile complication he did not need. He had already promised to help protect her from Malfoy, asked her to be his apprentice; had he gone completely mad?
He didn't want to answer that question yet.
"I'll let Poppy and Dumbledore know that you have awakened, and we'll send that owl to the Burrow so all the assorted Weasleys and Potter will know you are all right. I'll leave you in the good Madam Pomfrey's capable hands." Snape got up and turned around to leave.
"Thank you, Professor Snape. For…for everything."
"Rest, Miss Granger." He walked away before he lost his ability to do so, as he was beginning to find her rather irresistible and needed space and time to think.
