Spoilers: Goblet of Fire
Kudos for Mistress Arion (thank you so much!) for kindly reviewing this chapter and making it medically correct :) Your help was inestimable, thank you again! Any remaining mistake is, of course, entirely mine.
Thank you all for your kind reviews!
Pearle: thank you for making my fic a recommendation on WIKTT! I couldn't believe it!
Molly: thank you! I hope you will like this chapter also! Yes, I know the tongue thing is gross :)
Ezmerelda: alright, the big secret is out! No, English is not my first language, but I enjoy writing in English and as I don't have a beta reader, well, too bad :) Sorry for the grammar though... I try to write British English, but as I spent two years in the USA, maybe it's not as British as I think it is.
Elliot: well, the very beginning (the use of Veritaserum on Hermione and the question concerning Severus) comes from Auror Borealis's Tell Me Lies, but everything after is 'mine'.
The infirmary was crowded on this morning. Albus, Minerva and Poppy were gathered around Severus and Hermione. The jar containing her tongue was on a table, along with a bottle of a silvery potion.
"I connected your parents' fireplace to the Floo network, Miss Granger," said Albus.
She nodded silently, not taking off her eyes from Severus. Deftly, he removed the seal and took the tongue to put it in a bowl. She shivered as she felt the caress of his hand trail down her back and glared at him. He was careful not to look at her. He poured some of the potion in the bowl, letting the tongue soak as it slowly un-shrivelled and black turned to pink.
Wordlessly, Poppy handed him a jar filled with ice. He picked up the tongue, rinsed it and placed it in the new jar. Hermione bit her lower lip at the feeling of his fingers running through her hair. He gave her the bottle of potion and she emptied it in her mouth. She grimaced at the pain and ran to the bathroom before being sick in front of everyone.
Poppy's eyes turned accusingly to Severus, who scowled back. Pursing her lips, the mediwitch hurried after Hermione and brought her back before examining the inside of her mouth.
"The potion worked," she said with relief.
"How extraordinary," Severus murmured sarcastically. "Would this mean I know my job?"
"Miss Granger, Severus will accompany you to your parents. I trust you will be able to come back to us soon."
She nodded and followed Severus to the fireplace. He took a fistful of Floo powder and threw it in the fire.
"Hermione Granger's house," he said distinctly.
He grabbed Hermione's hand and stepped into the fireplace.
Obviously, Hermione's parents had been informed that she was coming, for they didn't look surprised when seeing her coming out of the fireplace. They did look surprised at Severus's presence though.
"Hermione, what happened?" asked Mr. Granger, quite unbalanced by the forbidding presence of the wizard in his black robes.
Severus stepped in smoothly, his accents those of someone used to be obeyed without discussion.
"Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger, I am Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts. There had been a… an accident and–"
"What kind of accident?" interrupted Mrs. Granger.
"A flying accident," Severus lied without blinking. "When Miss Granger fell, her tongue was bitten through."
Mr. Granger was a calm man and Severus could appreciate him being practical. He could also see where Hermione's thorough analysis of a situation came from. Not half an hour had passed and the hospital had been called and Hermione was taken care of, the ice jar pulled out of Severus's hands as the Grangers departed hastily for something called an 'Emergency Room'. Unwilling to intrude on such a family crisis, the wizard remained in the Grangers parlour and sat, resigned to wait. He opened the book he had brought with him – the one about mind-speech – and started reading it again.
He couldn't concentrate. The words were dancing before his eyes and he had been reading the same line at least five times without understanding it. He looked up several times to the clock in front of him, unwilling to know exactly what they were doing to Hermione and yet worried something could happen to her. Albus had entrusted her care to him.
Almost four hours after they had left, Severus was still on the same page and the front door opened, Hermione following her father. Severus stood up immediately and searched Hermione's eyes for any clue of what had happened. She tried to mouth something but she had difficulties to move her lips and only managed to twist them in a meaningless way. Her eyes were glassy. Severus stiffened. What had happened to her?
"They gave her a local anaesthesia and some strong sedatives," explained her father, noticing the tension. "We had to argue a bit, but they did agree to release her once she came out of Recovery."
He smiled and patted Hermione on the back.
"Thank God they trust us to do her aftercare, otherwise, she would have been there for a few days."
Hermione shook her head vehemently and her father smiled.
"I know, sweetheart. That's why we made them release you."
He looked back at Severus.
"Her whole mouth and jaw are numb. It should wear off relatively soon, but the pain will come back."
He reached into his coat pocket and handed Severus a brown-paper packet.
"They gave us the antibiotics she should take to be sure she doesn't get an infection. Twice a day, every day, for the next two weeks. Her tongue will be swelled for at least a week, so she won't be able to talk much, if at all until it heals a bit."
Severus nodded, not really listening. Hermione stepped forward, put her hand on his wrist and locked her eyes with his.
"I'm alright. Everything went fine."
Only then did Severus relax.
He brought her back to Hogwarts without losing time and she resumed her life as before. During Potions, Severus could see the pain in the depths of her eyes, but she never uttered a complaint. Harry and Ron were waiting excitedly for her to recover her voice and the week passed in a blur. Severus, looking at her attentively, noticed she was calm, even though she had to know that Albus was ready to summon her as soon as she was able to talk.
The Potions Master had not revealed that she could mind-speak and, apparently she had chosen to keep it secret also. Knowing that he shared a secret with Hermione aroused mixed feelings in him. There was the bitterness at his foolishness for caring for the fact; after all, she shared countless secrets with Harry and Ron. But on the other hand, it was the first time a student willingly shared a secret with him – outside of something related to the Death Eaters. And she was a Gryffindor, not even from his own house, but she had told him, not Minerva.
Shaking his head, he drove his thoughts away from Hermione. She was no longer his responsibility. He had fulfilled his task toward her, teaching her wandless magic, brewing the potion to restore her tongue. Now they were back to standard teacher-student relationship – or lack thereof.
When he came in his classroom for the first class of the day – Slytherins and Gryffindors Double Potions – he noticed immediately Hermione's absence.
"May I know why Miss Granger decided that my class was not worth attending?" he drawled, directing his attention mostly to Harry and Ron.
"She's at the infirmary, sir," replied Harry.
Severus had never been in such a haste to see the class at an end.
Hermione was still at the infirmary when Severus entered after his class.
"What happened, Poppy?" he asked curtly.
"Sepsis," she replied, frowning. "The Muggle antibiotics aren't strong enough. She has a high white blood cell count and body-wide infection. Her tongue swelled again, she has a fever and yellow wound drainage around the stitches."
Severus looked at Hermione suspiciously. Despite her eyes bright with fever, she seemed quite content. He sat by her.
"Miss Granger, why did you not come to Madam Pomfrey when your tongue began to swell and drain? You were aware, no doubt, that the stitches were to come out tomorrow? You knew it should be healing?"
Hermione shrugged and looked away.
"Miss Granger, by behaving so, you will only make Albus even more eager to know why you severed your tongue in the first place."
Not caring for Poppy watching them, Hermione took his hand in hers.
"Wouldn't he… have asked anyway?" she replied, her words once again slow, as if the fever made it difficult for her to concentrate.
"Certainly, but you could have thought of a convincing lie," he mind-said, not willing to reveal their secret in front of Poppy.
"Gryffindors can't lie to save their lives, Professor."
"How pathetically true," he said mockingly.
He stood up and left before she had a chance to answer. Poppy pursed her lips in reprobation.
"Miss Granger, if Professor Snape behaves improperly toward you, you should notify Albus immediately. He would take the necessary measures to insure it wouldn't happen again."
Hermione rolled her eyes and waited for Poppy to turn her back to her before escaping from the infirmary.
Her sepsis gave her one more week of respite as Poppy added new and stronger anti-infection potions to her daily antibiotics regime. The swelling began to subside, slowly. Albus watched her with curiosity during each meal.
"The poor girl must be devastated," he remarked once. "She had not uttered a sound in one month and half."
Severus shuddered. He still remembered her scream and it rang regularly in his head during his nightmares.
"Severus, how did you communicate with Miss Granger? Was she writing a lot?"
He saw Poppy pursing her lips but she didn't dare saying a word.
"No, Albus. She only wrote the first day. I… I read her lips. It's common for deaf people – and spies," he added in a low voice.
"Then maybe we should ask her now. You could translate her words to me."
"Are you sure he would tell you the truth, Albus?" interrupted Poppy.
"Of course, my dear. Severus wouldn't lie to me."
"I would rather have her telling you the truth on her own, Albus, since, obviously, I'm concerned."
"True, true. It's just that… ah well, I'm probably imaging things. A brilliant witch like Hermione Granger would never…"
Her end of his sentence was lost to the others. Behind Albus's back, Severus and Poppy exchanged glares.
"Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!"
Both Severus – who was bringing a new stock of potions to the infirmary – and Poppy turned on their heels when hearing the ear splitting shouts of Harry and Ron.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, twenty points from Gryffindor for shouting in the corridors," said Severus coldly.
"But it's Hermione!" said Harry, panting.
Severus went very still.
"What happened to Miss Granger, Mr. Potter?" Poppy asked sharply.
"She's raving mad," offered Ron. "She was talking to Crookshanks as if he was Professor Trelawney, claiming that Divination is a fraud."
"She called me Peeves," added Harry, obviously puzzled.
Poppy and Severus didn't lose any more time. They ran in the corridors, followed closely by Harry and Ron. Hermione was on a couch in Gryffindor common room, restrained by Dean and Seamus as she was trying to claw them and herself.
"Crabbe, Goyle, let me go! Malfoy, call back your lapdogs!" she shouted, struggling madly, directing her glare at Neville.
Her voice was hoarse with misuse, but it was indeed good to hear her again. Severus swooped down on them and lifted Hermione in his arms, blocking her hands against his chest.
"Let's go, Poppy," he said grimly.
She looked at him with surprise and led briskly the way back to the infirmary.
The diagnostic was not long.
"Allergy," said Poppy, puzzled. "I don't understand…"
"She was using Muggle antibiotics after the surgery. Could it be that it didn't do well being mixed with magic?"
"Or with the remnants of the Silentium Charm or with your spell to preserve her tongue," continued Poppy darkly.
Hermione looked at them.
"Oh, Headmaster," she said, smiling at Severus. "Could we study fairies in Defence Against the Dark Arts? Surely, they're dangerous; it is known that they can bewitch our mind and ensnare our senses…"
Severus remembered a bit guiltily his claim of being the Headmaster when confronted to the Marauder's Map.
"Miss Granger, I am not the Headmaster and potions are better than fairies at bewitching your mind. Not that you need it now in any case."
She began scratching her arm while smiling at him. Poppy and Severus were so surprised that they didn't react until blood appeared under her nails.
"Severus! Help me, we need to tape her fingers!"
When Poppy seized Hermione's right arm, the girl protested:
"But, Madam Pince, I returned the book I checked out yesterday!"
"Obviously, her tongue is not hurting her anymore," commented Severus, taking hold on her left arm before she clawed at Poppy's face.
"I think I preferred when she was silent. She'll be raving until we get whatever mixture is causing this out of her system."
"Maybe you should keep her here. She seems to be willing to attack other students. It would be safer for her to stay under your guard."
"Oh no, no, no! I can't have detention now! I have the NEWTs to study. Or is it the OWLs? Please, Professor McGonagall," she said, taking hold of Poppy's arm, "don't let him punish me. Not Filch, please!"
"It's not getting better, but you may be right, Severus," conceded Poppy.
"Good. I'll tell her friends to bring her homework here. Hopefully she will be able to study a bit."
He looked at her and wondered, very briefly, if she had done it on purpose or if it was only a coincidence. He doubted that she would have deliberately put herself in a position to fail the NEWTs.
Severus found himself going back to the infirmary quite often, as Hermione proved to be a difficult patient. Poppy threatened to stun her at least once a day since she was trying to sneak out regularly, claiming she had to go to the library – or Transfigurations, or Charms. The mediwitch had to tape Hermione's fingers every day and she kept an eye on her at every moment: Hermione didn't miss an occasion to get rid of the tape on her fingers.
"I think I found it!" exclaimed Poppy after two weeks. "A combination of the antibiotic, the preserving potion and what appears to be Chocolate Frog!"
"Great," muttered Severus. "All of this because of Mr. Weasley's obsession with chocolate. At least, we know it was not truly deliberate."
He snorted, looking at Hermione.
"Get rid of it then."
"I'm trying, Severus Snape!"
Severus kept Hermione still while Poppy waved her wand above her. The chocolate eyes slowly focused and she looked with surprise at her taped fingers.
"Miss Granger," Severus said sternly while she was removing the tape with a suspicious single-mindedness, "I think the Headmaster would like to see you."
She followed him meekly as soon as she got the tape off her fingers. Once they were in the corridors, she looked up at him.
"Professor Snape, please… could we not go?" she asked timidly.
"I'm afraid not, Miss Granger. Albus insisted to see you as soon as you were able to talk and, might I add, talk sanely."
Only too soon were they in front of the gargoyle then in Albus's office.
"Miss Granger, please sit. I would offer you a sherbet lemon, but I don't know the effect it could have on your tongue. Now, I think we have something to tell me."
"How about we skip the confession and go directly to the expulsion part?" she said nervously.
Albus looked at her in shock.
"How about you tell us everything or I force Veritaserum down your throat and hex your teeth to Durmstrang if you try to bite yourself again?" replied Severus grimly.
"Miss Granger, I usually don't force students to tell me things they want to keep secret. Nevertheless, I think that, this time, it went too far. If you think that what you're hiding deserves expulsion, I wish to know what it is. No student was ever expelled from Hogwarts without a chance to defend himself."
"Except Hagrid," muttered Hermione.
"He was framed, Miss Granger, and by a mastermind. I do not wish to repeat this mistake."
She looked down mutely.
"Hermione, what is it you refused to say in class about Severus?" Albus asked gently.
She stared at him with despair in her eyes, knowing she had no choice.
"He's one hell of a kisser?"
Disclaimer: the idea of the Chocolate Frogs is not mine, but comes from Mistress Arion when she reviewed my chapter. I loved it!
Next chapter, the answers!
