Title: Inverted
Author: SevenAgainstThebes
E-mail: sevenagainst_thebes@yahoo.com
Pairings: HG/SS eventually
Disclaimer: JKR owns all HP characters, places, etc. etc....I merely get to borrow them for this little writing exercise.
*Note: Lots and lots of dialogue here......*
________________
Chapter 4: Another Long Winded Talk
________________
When Severus Snape arrived back at his private chambers, he was not at all surprised to find another visitor.
"Two visitors in one night. How wonderful." Snape said dryly. "Please sit, Headmaster."
"Thank you, Severus. Have a seat yourself." Albus Dumbledore settled himself into the second chair by the fireplace. "You found Miss Granger, I presume?"
"Yes, she was in here when I came back from the staff meeting. I escorted her back to the infirmary."
"Good, good..." Dumbledore trailed off.
Snape rubbed his temples with his fingers. "It's quite late, Albus. I don't mean to be rude, but if this isn't a social call, please make it known now."
Dumbledore sighed and his intent gaze focused on Snape. "Hermione Granger is a witch with a capacity for greatness. She is also one of Harry Potter's closest friends. Those two things have sparked Voldemort's interest in her as a useful pawn against Harry. A third unknown element has also proven to make her an efficient weapon for his use. We must find out what exactly that third element is."
"You have not tried to interrogate her about the events on the 31st?" Snape asked.
"Unfortunately, my attempts to question her have been answered with a plea for more time to process through what occurred. The information we have now concerning the incident on Halloween are simply those that we have cobbled together from the reports of students and faculty. Miss Granger, on a visit to Hogsmeade, was separated from her friends. They returned to Hogwarts without her, expecting to find her back already. She wasn't. She remained missing until halfway through the Halloween feast. That was when she snuck through the doors of the Great Hall and went to her seat at the Gryffindor table. Professor McGonagall noted her tardiness, took her to the side, lectured her privately and assigned her a detention. The girl returned to her seat and had what seemed to be a normal meal with her friends.
"Later that evening, she went up to Mr. Potter and asked if she could talk to him in her room. Mr. Ron Weasley asked if he could come along but Miss Granger rejected his request, stating that she and Harry needed to talk about his progress in his classes. This was not out of the ordinary as, due to his heavy Quidditch duties as captain, Mr. Potter started to fall behind in his classes. Miss Granger offered to tutor him. Also, as one of her duties as Head Girl, from time to time she would speak privately to various students on issues she felt were of concern.
"Nearly ten minutes passed before Mr. Weasley noticed that Mr. Potter had accidentally left his Transfiguration homework on the table. Remembering that Mr. Potter had voiced his need for help on a few problems, and needing help himself, Mr. Weasley made his way to the Head Girl's room. He stood outside the door and knocked. No one came to open the door. He could hear nothing from inside the room. This was later found to be due to a powerful Silencing Charm. No trace of light could be seen at the edges of the door. Mr. Weasley grew nervous, remembering Miss Granger's disappearance earlier in the day. He tried knocking again, yelling their names this time. No answer. He tried the basic Alohomora spell. The door would not open. He then used the Blasting Charm." Dumbledore paused.
Snape raised his eyebrows. "Destructive but effective...Weasley does have a bit of sense in that head of his."
"Yes. Mr. Weasley is a bright young man and quite a courageous and loyal friend." Dumbledore closed his eyes briefly, seemingly arranging his thoughts, and then continued. "After Mr. Weasley blasted in the door, he came upon a most horrific scene. Mr. Potter was lying on the ground, nearly unconscious. His glasses lay by his side, broken. His wand, snapped and tossed into a corner of the room. Miss Granger, or what he thought to be Miss Granger, was kneeling by Mr. Potter's body. She held a dagger in one hand and in the other was what we later identified as a blade that is used to skin animals. Where she got those weapons, we do not know. Mr. Potter was apparently conscious enough to realize that Mr. Weasley was in the room. Mr. Weasley yelled for help and ran over to try to stop Miss Granger from stabbing Mr. Potter. Other students soon came into the room. One of them apparently slapped Miss Granger in the face. She started crying but continued to plunge the dagger back into Mr. Potter's body. Their attempts to hold her arms back or take the weapons away from her were to no avail."
"How unfortunate that none of them thought to disarm her with a spell." Snape muttered.
"Luckily for Mr. Potter, Fawkes, being the perceptive phoenix that he is, alerted me to a problem in Gryffindor Tower. I arrived on the scene a second later, disarmed Miss Granger and as a precaution, cast a counterspell that would rectify what I assumed to be the problem. And that, is what we know so far." Dumbledore leaned back in the chair.
"You cast Consciusimens on her."
"I wouldn't recommend it to be used again. The spell has the delightful effect of bringing all of your mind's thoughts, feelings, memories to the surface all at once. You are basically overcome with your own mind. It brought Miss Granger back but is also causing her to suffer mood swings and affecting her sleeping habits by pushing her to dwell on her own thoughts and emotions. She is mentally and emotionally vulnerable at the moment; not to mention physically drained from the use of magic. It seems Mr. Potter fought back when she attacked." Pulling out his wand, Dumbledore conjured a cup of tea. He sipped at it thoughtfully and glanced over at Snape.
Snape rubbed his eyes. "You have requested that I teach her Occlumency," he said tiredly.
"Quite correct, Severus."
"Occlumency will not work completely with Inverterimency. You know that as well as I do." Snape stifled a yawn. "My apologies, Albus. It is nearly 2 and I have been up since 5 this morning."
Dumbledore waved off his apologies. "I am afraid I have kept you up too late. But before I leave, let me remind you that Occlumency may not be absolutely effective, but you should recall that it was I who instructed you in Occlumency and it did help, did it not?"
"Yes, and I am grateful for the lessons but—"
"You are the only one who understands her situation." Dumbledore got up and walked closer to the fireplace. From the pockets of his robes, he took out a pinch of Floo powder and threw it in the flames, which then glowed green. Before he stepped into the flames, he turned back and addressed Snape once more. "Help her conquer her fears, Severus, and maybe you'll conquer your own."
_________
Conciusimens – cognizant of (conscius); the mind (mens)
Inverterimency – to turn, twist (invertere); the mind (mens)
I really hope I'm using the Latin terms right. If not, please let me know what I did wrong. Thanks! :)
Hermione and Severus interaction in the next chapter! I promise :)