A/N: Day Three, and the huge finale. Many apologies about my treatment of Harry Potter in this chapter. I'm most unfair. Oh, well. And the conclusion? Well, that's in the next bit...
Thanks again to my beautiful reviewers for sticking with me through this most dreadfully-written piece!
Annabelle Elizabeth: Thanks! It ends a little messily- and I need to write an epilogue. I'll get around to it.
Mandi: thanks J
Uber grasshopper: thankyou. I agree that the idea's a good one- I'm just not up to my normal standards of writing. I wrote this on paper to begin with, and that might have something to do with the rushed-ness of it. Thanks for your great review anyway!
Angel Fire: thanks, I hope so too. More surprises await in this chapter…
Risi: Well, yes, lots burn out, but wizards are a little stuck in their ways. Harry and Ron make Hermione uncomfortable, so she has drifted away from them. They haven't noticed much because they haven't seen her much. The student is just that- a student. She's just engaged in a few extra-curricular activities.
Linda: Thanks- it's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, when I read it, I see several inconsistencies- I've tried to fix most, but some are stubborn. Ah well. Thanks!
Of Potions and Professors Day ThreeMorning arrived all too soon for Hermione. She awoke shivering; her eyelids still heavy and her body aching. The sheets that tangled around her were damp, and it took her a moment to realise that she had been sweating. The heavy blanket that had kept her warm during the night was on the floor beside the bed. After taking in her situation, she slumped back to the bed, closing her eyes in frustration. She let out an explosive breath.
She wearily pushed herself up with her forearms. Flinging her legs over the side of the bed, she shuffled to the ensuite that her room had been provided with. She lunged into the shower, the hot water pummelling her body and burning her numbed flesh. After washing her hair, she pulled the warmed towel around her body and ran quickly back to the main room where there were rugs on the cold stone floor. She dressed herself in her usual black slacks and white shirt before pulling on her heavy grey robes. She wished that she could wear a different colour, but her office demanded that Unmentionables be impartial, so she wore grey. What a disgustingly drab colour, she thought despairingly. And it did nothing for her complexion.
Pulling on her shoes, she walked calmly down the moving staircases, her step never faltering as they shuddered from one position to another. She stepped into the Great Hall for the first time in eleven years, her mind suddenly overwhelmed by the lack of difference. Stalking over to the teacher's table, she wondered exactly how she ever hoped to live here again. There were just so many memories here… She felt all the emotions rushing through the room- the teenage hormones pulsated around the room so thickly she could almost smell them. She shuddered and sat down beside Dumbledore. He smiled benignly at her before turning his head to see the source of the clatter that was occurring in the Hall.
Hermione was astonished to see Harry Potter in the doorway. She sighed and turned away. She wasn't in the mood for Harry Potter and his well-intentioned melodramatic nature today. Harry Potter eventually pushed his way through the thronging crowds of adoring teenagers to seat himself beside Hermione at the Teacher's Table. She sighed, resigning herself to her fate.
"Hermione, old chum! How have things been? I haven't seen you for ages! Any man in your life yet?" He dug his elbow into her ribs painfully, and she jerked as far away from him as courtesy would allow. She winced, glanced at the boy-who-lived-to-become-a-really-annoying-man, saw that he was waiting for an answer with baited breath, and sighed again. She shook her head slightly, and stared intently at her food, wondering if he had gained any tact in the last seven years.
It appeared not, as he continued to whinge and whine like a puppy held still for too long. "Come on, 'Mione, I'm just dying to know…"
She turned and glared at the man, scalding words forming in her mind and bubbling forth onto her tongue. "Harry goddamn Potter, have you no decency? I do not wish to talk about it, and even if I did, I would not do it with the gossip-queen of the Ministry! Now, if you don't mind, I wish to eat my breakfast without the interruption of a loudmouth prat who wants nothing more than the latest gossip to tell your little bed-buddies." And with an indignant sound, she took her frustrations out on her French toast. The silence that descended on the Great Hall was stifling, as Harry Potter sat, open-mouthed, staring at the form of Hermione, who was chewing on her toast and observing her plate, seemingly uncaring of the hurt she caused.
Hermione's insides roiled with the anger inside her, and she could feel it tearing at the edges of her sight. The red mist died down, and the fuzzy feeling in the back of her mind fled. She turned to see Harry Potter still sitting gape-mouthed, staring at her. Hermione then noticed that Snape had entered silently, and stood behind Harry.
"Mr. Potter. You look like a flytrap. How about filling that obnoxious mouth with food, instead of making us all look down your throat." Snape moved to seat himself beside Madam Hooch, and Harry's mouth snapped involuntarily shut.
He turned pleading eyes to Hermione, after having followed Snape down the table. "Can I take him to Azkaban now? Pretty please?"
To Harry's surprise, as well as her own, Hermione calmly leaned over and slapped him with all her might. The noise reverberated throughout the room. A large red mark formed on his face.
"Harry, you know that it's innocent until proven guilty, or have you decided to become a law unto yourself?" Hermione then ignored the open-mouthed boy until breakfast was over.
The silence was deafening, and Harry did what little he could to restore his dignity. He began to eat.
Once breakfast was over, and all the students had left for classes, Hermione, Dumbledore, Snape and Harry walked to Dumbledore's office. Harry looked startled at the stiff form of Alicia Bennet still rested against the wall.
"What is this? Why on earth do you have a rape victim stupefied and rested against the wall?" Harry looked around the room at all the faces, seeing disgust on Severus' face- no surprise there; surprise on Dumbledore's face- not nice surprise, but the kind of surprise that you feel when you find that the mud that you just stepped in is actually a lot deeper than you thought, and now there's mud in your socks; Hermione's face showed anger. Harry deduced- with his impeccable Auror insight- that he had said something wrong.
Dumbledore sat in the witness' seat, Hermione stood in the Unmentionable's place, Harry took his place behind the accused seat, and Snape moved to the Witness' stand. Dumbledore levitated the girl to the accused seat and leaned her against it without breaking the charm. Harry still looked dumbfounded.
Hermione reached into a large pocket in her robes, pulling out a small drawstring bag, and removed a black silk-wrapped crystal. She unwrapped it, placed the clear crystal on a table in the middle of the room, and went back to her place.
"Ratio Decidendi" Hermione incanted, and the crystal flared. "Hello, Mari, I decided to take on one last case. You will discover some interesting stuff in this one, so guess what- there's going to be heaps of paperwork for you to do.
"First of all, let me introduce the players in this game." Hermione stated all the apparent details of the case, the names of the people, and then fell silent.
Dumbledore stood for a moment, saying, "I, Albus Dumbledore do witness this case."
Harry then stepped forward, beside the chair he was defending, saying, "I, Harry Potter do stand as the Auror to this case."
Severus stood, saying, "I, Severus Snape am the accused, and plead not guilty."
Hermione turned her eyes to the frozen girl. "This is Alicia Bennet. The reason for her immobility will be revealed in this case, but she is the defendant. She stands accused, also, of the crime for which she was accused Professor Severus Snape.
"And I, Hermione Granger, stand as the Unmentionable in this case. It is my role to discover the truth. I have done so to the best of my ability. Now, I will show you what I have found."
And Hermione sat down, muttering something under her breath, and upon the wall to her right, memories began to pour forth. Dumbledore's memories were first, then Severus' then Alicia's. These were the most disturbing, and there was a distinct flicker of hatred in the eyes of the stupefied girl when they began to be shown. The wall darkened…
~*~
A cloaked figure moved into the clearing, treading carefully so as to not stand on the white, writhing figures encircling the raised dais on which her master sat. Alicia reached the foot of the throne, a mockery of wood, roughly nailed together and- despite being sturdy- very ugly. She bent down, on one knee before the figure in the chair. A pale hand reached down and patted the girl derisively on the top of the head. Alicia raised her head to look at the man.
~*~
Back in the room, there were three gasps of recognition.
~*~
"Ah, Alicia, you have returned to me. Have you decided?" The man's white-blonde hair clung closely to his head, and Alicia looked up at him with yearning.
"Yes, master. I will bring to you the one you want. I have the potion almost ready, and he will be out of Hogwarts by the day after tomorrow at the latest." Alicia was almost panting; the man grasped the girl's chin and pulled her to her feet.
"You may pleasure me now." The man stated, and smiled wickedly as the girl opened her heavy robes to reveal her nakedness beneath…
~*~
Hermione stopped the memory there, but it left little room for question. Alicia Bennet was in league with the residual Death Eaters. Harry Potter stood, open-mouthed, looking at the now-blank wall.
Hermione pulled several objects out of her pockets, enlarging them and placing them where they could be recorded by the crystal. She stated what they were as she did this.
"Incriminating cauldron, unscrubbed. Second incriminating cauldron, also unscrubbed. Restricted potions: Telepathy Potion, Veritaserum, Kenisis Potion…" There were about ten potions, all heavily restricted, all from the possession of Alicia Bennet. Hermione turned to the girl, and motioned for Dumbledore to release his charm. As he did so, Hermione cast a Muggle Charm on her, and prised open the girl's mouth to place a few drops of her own Veritaserum on her tongue. The clear potion was absorbed instantly into her blood stream, and despite the girl's several attempts to cast a spell; Hermione's Muggle Charm stopped the magic before the girl could access it.
"Why did you go to Malfoy and the Death Eaters?" Hermione stood where the crystal could record the girl's facial expressions. Alicia's face contorted, but she couldn't control her mouth.
"I am the best Potions Brewer in the world. Nothing here was a challenge. I wanted more. I found a man who not only offered me endless possibilities, but also offered me pleasure." She purred the last word, but Hermione snorted.
"A real Potions Master wouldn't leave her cauldrons unscrubbed. And I doubt that Draco Malfoy is really going to help you now- was the pleasure worth it?" She snarled; animosity between the two palpable.
Alicia's mouth twisted, but even she was unable to halt the progression of veritaserum. "I am a real Potions Master," she snarled. "I was just s…so hungry, and he was nearly gone, and I was almost with him again…" her whimpering tore the room, but the words to answer Hermione's question snuck out. "Yes, the pleasure was worth it." Alicia lowered her face, defiance etched in every line. Tears, in rebellion to her expression, snuck from her eyes, tracing trails down her face.
"Please stop this?" She gazed up at the woman, but Hermione ignored the expression.
"No. You have aided the Death Eaters, for no more than your own pleasure and the challenge of Dark Magic. You have admitted as such. Do you admit to administering potions to the Hogwarts Potions Master, for your master?" Hermione's face was within four inches of Alicia's.
She shuddered, trying to hold the words back, knowing that this was leading to an admission large enough to send her to Azkaban. Her veritaserum was top-notch, however, and the words flew from her mouth as if she had spat them.
"I do." Harry's face turned to stare uncomprehendingly at the girl in the seat, only just having recovered from his amazement at seeing the girl with Draco Malfoy. He turned his whole body, disbelief in every angle.
"'Mione, this is impossible- how can a pretty girl like this turn so evil?"
Hermione spun around to snipe at him, but Alicia answered first.
"Because there is nothing worth obtaining in the world of the decent. I gained everything I wanted from Draco. He sent me scrolls of potions, and gave me his passion. It's not hard to become evil when evil itself is swelling in you soul… and your body." She smirked at this last, and Hermione's eyes unfocussed for a second.
Gasping, she focussed again on the girl.
"That's disgusting!"
Albus frowned a little at Hermione, and so she explained. "She's with child- of Draco, I suppose. But it's imbued with the soul of Voldemort, somehow. If she doesn't have a miscarriage, this child will give birth to a new age of horror for Wizards everywhere." All eyes in the room turned to the girl. She smirked again, apparently recovered from her bout of frustration at her tongue.
Hermione closed her eyes, picked up one of Alicia's restricted potions- a telepathy potion. She unstoppered it, took a measured swallow, and replaced the seal. She then turned to stare at the blonde Ravenclaw's stomach.
Hermione's ears filled with static, but she could feel a presence somewhere in the static… she searched for the presence, and found herself mind-to-mind with Voldemort.
"You had better go, Voldemort. You will be the death of this girl, whether you live or not."
The presence cackled, echoing in her head.
"Do you think I care? If she doesn't bring me to life, someone else will. Malfoy is just as useful as his father was, but a little more dedicated. You will never find him, and I will return. This precious world you care for so much will be torn away from you." Hermione could feel the presence. If only…
Hermione took her hand and placed it on Alicia's stomach. She pressed down- hard.
"Ah! What was that, you meddling girl?"
Hermione pressed a little harder, and in her physical ears, heard Alicia whimper.
"Get out, get out bitch. Filthy Mudblood, get your hands away from me. I will be miscarried, long before I have the time to build up enough strength… Bitch! Ah!" Voldemort continued to fill her mind with silent screams, while Alicia echoed them in the physical reality. She felt someone pulling her hands away, so she pulled her mind away from Voldemort; turning her mind instead on whoever was pulling her hands away.
"…Got to get her away… Hermione? Is that you? I have a potion that will do the same thing; don't get your hands dirty. His blood isn't worthy to be spilled on your hands…" Hermione pulled her mind away from Snape's mind, aiming this peripheral hearing at the roof. She sat back; suddenly back in the real world. She turned and faced the crystal.
"It's Voldemort, alright. Professor Snape believes that he has a potion to help Miss Bennet reverse this unfortunate situation." Hermione turned to Snape, and motioned for him to leave.
Alicia was glowering in fury, but unable to move away from where she was held.
Harry Potter was still staring at the pretty blonde girl. "But, but she's not a Slytherin! Why would she ever go near Malfoy?"
Hermione stared at the man who stood as Auror. "Harry, have your prejudices gotten such a hold of you that you become shallow and unable to discern the truth?"
Harry looked at Bennett's face, looked up to Hermione and sighed. "I don't know. I miss my family. I haven't seen Ginny for three months, I haven't slept for four days, and I haven't seen Ron since two nights ago. We're all run off our feet- and I don't know why. There have been so many occurrences that the Ministry's considering hiring twenty new Aurors. We can't tell who's part of the Death Eater cult or who's not. I'm sorry, 'Mione." He looked so sheepish that she had to smile.
"It's all right, Harry. I'm under a large amount of strain myself- I just quit my job, which was driving me quite literally insane. When we work this all out, I'm going to work here, as the new Defence teacher. Then I'll be freed- a little- from this dark miasma that has taken a hold of my soul. I'll be alright in the end." Her wistful, watery smile was still in place when the charm hit her.
"Slut. I'll kill you all," Hermione's Muggle Charm seemed to have worn off, and the boils that were now creeping up her leg were evidence that her reflexes were not as sharp when she was relaxed as when she was tense. Alicia was still stuck in the chair, bound to the chair until the trial finished. Snarling at the girl, whose face was now contorted with rage, Hermione levelled a particularly nasty hex at the girl. The words began to spill from her mouth, and it was only with severe effort that Harry managed to break her concentration enough for her to break the spell. A small splutter of sparks fizzled out of her wand, but the spell didn't work.
"You have attacked an officer of the law, with no provocation. This in itself is a criminal offence, and is punishable with a sentence in Azkaban. Let this be testimony in itself of the desperation in this girl's soul." This last she spoke to the crystal sitting in the middle of the room. She then reached over and removed the girl's wand, snapping it before her face.
Snape then shoved his way back into the room, shouldering his way through the door.
"Here's a pretty little potion for you to drink," he snarled, pushing her mouth open and tilting the bottle. Hermione, grim-faced, walked over and pinched the girl's nose. The grey, murky potion spilled a little, but most was impulsively swallowed, allowing the girl no choice but to quell the growth in her womb.
The trial recommenced, although the outcome was assured. Soon enough, the witness was ending the session.
"I, Albus Dumbledore, do hereby witness this inquiry."
"And I, Hermione Granger, have been the unmentionable and prosecution. I have suffered under the burden of proof, and have lived up to the standard of proof. This case is yours. My decision is not binding, but the arm of this Auror is. Miss Alicia Bennet will be held in custody awaiting her answering and sentencing.
"That's all from me, Mari. Do what you want, but I'm not being bothered by all this again. Albus has offered me the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and I've decided to take it. I apologise at the lack of notice, but I'll go insane if I go on doing this.
"Ratio Decidendi,"
The crystal darkened, smoky, until it was dark grey and opaque. Hermione grasped the stone, wrapped it in its black cloth, replaced it in its bag and charmed it. She then handed it over to Albus, sighing wearily as she did so.
"I'm finished here. I think I'll take a little while to clear my head." With her eyes on the floor, she shuffled out of the room.
Albus looked up to Harry, motioning for him to take the girl. She was hissing in rage, and beginning to clutch her stomach.
"Make sure she's looked after, Harry." He admonished, not meaning for her to be pleasantly looked after. "I don't want any slimy creation pertaining to be Voldemort in existence."
"Right you are, Dumbledore," Harry chirped, leading the girl- now doubled up in pain- out the door. He took the pouch from Albus on the way out, and, once they were off the property, apparated with the girl to Ministry headquarters.
~*~
"Harry! You look like your charge is going to die- what did you feed her?" someone quipped on the way into the office, but Harry just smiled pleasantly as he led the girl to the hospital area of the Ministry. The woman there frowned and bustled and arranged, but it was not long before the reaction took place. Harry couldn't stand to see it, and left the room long before she aborted. He shuddered at the thought of it. If it had been for any other reason than the imminent return of Voldemort, he would have discouraged this option against all odds. The horror of Voldemort, however, still hung over his head- he still had the nightmares of his final struggle with the Dark Lord now, eleven years after the fact.
After what felt like a long time- and probably was- Harry was invited back into the room. The Medi-witch had a stern word to him on the way in, however.
"I don't care to see unborn children forced out of the womb before their time. This sort of thing disgusts me- I would like to know the reasoning for it."
Harry wiped his hand across his weary brow, and explained what had happened of late. The woman frowned, but nodded her head. "I agree that it was the best course of action- and the potion was well made also- but I never want to see you resort to this again. Do you hear me?" the woman shook Harry's shoulders, and he pushed down a chuckle as he nodded contritely. "Right. You can take her away then. I never want to see her again," the woman's face contorted into disgust as she bustled away.
Harry entered the room and, grabbing the girl's arm, dragged her from the room. He closed the door firmly behind himself. The blonde girl whimpered, but did little else. Harry guessed that even miscarriage exhausted a person. And things hadn't been going well for Miss Bennett today, either. As he passed the Adjudicator's office, he handed in the crystal, and put in Alicia Bennett's cell number.
Once the girl was firmly locked away, Harry Potter went back to the Auror floor, checked to see if there were any other assignments to deal with- surprisingly, there weren't- and he decided to go home. Four months was a long time to be 'at work', even when he was sleeping, and he got the feeling he'd be making things up to Ginny for quite a while. If she was still there when he got home, that was.
~*~
Hermione slumped into the chair in Dumbledore's office that evening before dinner, awaiting his decision.
"You will be a permanent member of staff here, Hermione." Dumbledore smiled at her- a weary smile, but a smile nevertheless. "I hope you'll be more permanent than my last Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher- who lasted about seven weeks. They're just so hard to find," his face was a combination of wry humour and genuine consternation.
"Thankyou, Dumbledore," Hermione professed sincerely, leaning over to take his hands in her own. "I hope you'll not regret this. It will be a good change from law enforcement," she smiled.
"Is your guest room good enough for your personal use?" Dumbledore enquired. Hermione nodded.
"Though a workplace would be appreciated," she added, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck. Dumbledore just laughed quietly, however.
"Of course, dear. It will be there by the time you arrive. But in the meantime, shall we progress to dinner?" he stood to take her arm, and escorted her to dinner.
~*~
Severus Snape slouched in his chair at dinner, not caring about his posture over his recently saved hide. Dinner was full of conversation, mainly revolving around Hermione, and her recent appointment to Professorship. Severus didn't care- the conversation didn't revolve around him, and he was barely consulted. The distraction-free dinner was the culmination of a wonderful day. Well, he thought, perhaps not wonderful, but better than most. And I still have a job. He was startled to see Hermione Granger's eyes reach down the table to meet his own, and the small smile she gave him.
Maybe life gets better than this, after all.