A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. I am just having fun
playing with her characters. This story is rated R for a reason. You have
been warned. I also have this story listed on Whispers, Adult Fan Fiction
and Lord and Lady Snape websites.. In case it gets deleted here.
Chapter Seventeen
Later that day Severus decided to drop by Hermione's classroom to escort her to Albus' office. Classes had ended some time ago and Hermione had missed dinner, having chosen to eat in her office instead. He was walking along the corridor only to hear something clanking along in his wake rather noisily. He stopped and turned abruptly but nothing was there.
"Ah-ha, you yellow bellied good for nothing! Stand and fight me like a man!" Sir Cadogan bellowed from one of the paintings to his left attracting Severus' glare. The knight raised the visor of his helmet so that he could see Severus more clearly.
"Sir, do not tempt me." Severus growled back at him, it was very unlike Sir Cadogan to say anything like this to a professor.
"You are a fiend who does not deserve to have a witch as a wife. I challenge you to a duel so that I may fight for her honour!" Sir Cadogan said as he grabbed a gauntlet from the background in the painting and threw it down at his feet in challenge.
"Go away." Severus snarled as his temper was slowly getting the better of him and he tried very hard not to rise to the bait.
"You good for nothing, cantankerous wizard, I will cut you in two with my trusty sword! My steed will stamp on your head and you will die a most painful death, which is what you deserve." He shouted back as his horse finally caught up to him- a rather dilapidated and scabby- looking horse it was as well.
"Oh, I can't wait." Severus drawled sarcastically and crossed his arms. "I'll wait right here until you find a way out of your painting shall I?"
"Folly!" Sir Cadogan said angrily as he approached the edge of his painting and started to try and stab Severus with his sword. "Fight me like a man you good for nothing scurvy cur! You overgrown bat!" Sir Cadogan said as he started jumping on the spot and put the visor of his helmet down over his face as he readied himself for battle.
"But I am not a man. I am a wizard, Sir." He replied in a deadly, harsh whisper.
"And a dark wizard at that, you traitorous Slytherin snake."
"You try my patience and I tire of you, Sir. Cease this immediately!" Severus warned, leaving no room for argument.
"You adulterating fool! You hussy loving Slytherin!" Severus slowly drew his wand. "You son of a."
"Incendio!" He shouted and pointed his wand at the painting, which burst into flames effectively trapping Sir Cadogan inside.
"Aqua Profluens!" Severus turned to find his wife standing in the corridor with her wand pointed to the painting. A stream of water erupted from her wand and effectively doused the flames. "Really, Snape," she said sadly. "I guess I should be glad you did not set alight to me as well when you got tired of me. No. You just found other entertainment instead!" She said harshly as Sir Cadogan swiftly moved out of the smouldering picture to a one that was not so smoke filled and his horse hastily followed.
"Hermione."
"Professor Granger to you," she warned coldly.
"Professor Granger. We need to see the Headmaster." Severus told her getting straight to the point.
"Why?" She demanded.
"He asked it of us after lunch but you ran off distraught and I had to relay the message." Severus told her matter-of-factly.
"You caused that distress! You absolute swine!" She shouted at him as she suddenly felt her strength wavering; the spell she had just cast seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of her.
"Really," he drawled before stepping closer to her.
"Stay away from me!" She commanded raising her wand towards him even though she didn't think she could cast anything right now. "Do not tempt me for I will hex you into the middle of next week, Snape!" She said forcefully and hoping she would not have to actually attempt it.
"Go ahead! I do not care. Perhaps you will be kind enough to put me out of my misery while you are at it?" He shot back.
"I." She lowered her wand as she caught the 'puppy-dog' expression that was in his eyes.
"I miss you." He said softly and gazing intently at her, it had only been a matter of twelve hours but he was lost without her.
"That's your problem then. Not mine." She was interrupted as an owl flew down the corridor and headed straight for her. She caught a letter it dropped for her and quickly put it into her pocket without looking at it. "Lead the way." She intoned and motioned for Snape to precede her.
"Aren't you going to open that?" He asked as they started along the corridor.
"What's it to you?" She shot back.
"It might be important."
"It's not."
"How do you know?"
"What business is it of yours!"
"I'm your husband." He replied simply.
"Unfortunately, but not for much longer," she told him.
"What do you mean?" He enquired suspiciously.
"I have filed for a divorce, the papers should arrive soon." Severus stopped abruptly and spun around to face her, mouth wide open in utter shock. This was so sudden. The spell had only been cast that morning.
"You what?" He was sure he hadn't heard correctly.
"That's right, filed for divorce. Stop by my office when they arrive so you can sign the papers." She commanded.
"I will not!" He point blank refused.
"You will. If I have to put you under an unforgivable to make you I will." She threatened.
"I will not. Forcing me to do so would not work either. It is a magical document, which requires free will from both parties in order for it to work. It can detect the imperious curse." Severus told her.
"So, you would stop me from ever being happy again? How selfish of you," she said forcefully, glaring at him with acid in her eyes.
"Professor," Sonia Flint said in shock as she came around the corner from the library and heading off on her rounds and almost bumped into Severus.
"Miss. Flint," Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Oh Professor Granger, I wonder if." Sonia began only to be cut off.
"Well, don't. He is a free agent now and you are most welcome to him!" Hermione told her.
"I wasn't going to ask that but I may very well take you up on that offer." She said smiling at Severus who rolled his eyes in frustration and covered his eyes with his hand. "I was going to ask if you had seen Samuel Davies? He is supposed to relieve me from my hall duty this evening but I had to change the timetable due to a cancelled meeting." She said as she glanced at Severus; the very person she was supposed to be seeing that evening.
"No, I have not. Why don't you try sending him an owl, I hear you're good at sending those?" She hissed before brushing past her and heading off to Dumbledore's office post haste; Severus following a little way behind like a child who had just been scolded by its mother.
~~*~~
"Ah, Professor Granger, Professor Snape," Dumbledore said as he stood up and motioned for them to sit. Hermione dragged her chair away from Severus' slightly and sat down heavily as she placed her hands onto her now very, distended abdomen and rubbed lovingly; the baby was doing flip flops it seemed and it was very uncomfortable.
"You wanted to see us, Headmaster." Hermione said far less than jovially despite her very motherly moment.
"I most certainly did. Has the plan worked, Severus?" Albus asked glancing over at him and then back at Hermione.
"It has set the wheels in motion, Albus but we still do not know his identity as yet. Unless he has signed the letter he just sent to Professor Granger?" Severus said glancing over at Hermione and raising an eyebrow.
"What do you know of my letter?" She spat at him.
"Enough. Open it." He commanded shortly.
"No." She said simply. "It is private."
"Professor Granger. It is very important. May I see your letter, please?" Dumbledore asked holding out his hand. Hermione gazed at him for a long moment before pulling the note reluctantly out of her pocket and handing it over to the Headmaster. Albus opened it and read it aloud.
My Sweet,
I see what he is doing to you and it is breaking my heart. The scene in the hall today was almost too much for me and I nearly made myself known to you then. I will always be there for you but you will have to wait a while to see me in person. Remember that things can only get better.
"No signature again," Dumbledore said looking up at his two professors.
"He was witness to the scene at lunch time though. That's something at least." Severus replied with a calculating look on his face.
"What are you talking about, Snape?" Hermione demanded from her position on the other side of the office.
"Headmaster, can you remove the spell now it is becoming most difficult to be in my wife's company right now?" Severus asked exasperated and Dumbledore nodded, standing up and pointing his wand at Hermione who was glaring at Snape even more so.
"This will not hurt you, my dear." Albus said. "Sum Placidus!" A blue spark was emitted from Albus' wand this time and hit Hermione in the chest again and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. She blinked a few times before glancing at her husband but it was not with a look either of the men in the room expected.
"What are you up to?" She demanded as she looked to Severus with hatred in her eyes. "What spell did you cast on me in the first place?"
"A-Albus?" Severus asked looking to him for an explanation. Albus sat heavily in his chair and pondered things again with his chin in his hands.
"I do not know, Severus." He replied quietly after a pause and shaking his head slightly as he regarded Hermione.
"I suggest you find out, Albus! What has happened here?" Severus shouted in pure rage. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"Need I spell it out you, you adulterating fool?" Hermione shot at him as she began to feel most uncomfortable under the Headmaster's stare.
"Herm."
"How many times have I said not to call me that?" She demanded with anger clear in her face and posture. "If we are through here, I'd like to leave now, Headmaster."
"No, Professor Granger. I need for you to stay for a little while longer." Albus retorted. "Have you spoken to any students outside of class today?"
"Christopher, my brother, I spoke to Layton Frontera, and Sonia Flint on the way here erm... Carlos Nero and Thomas Buchannan." Hermione replied calming down slightly as she thought.
"And did you touch any foreign objects at all?" Albus asked.
"I do not recall, Professor Dumbledore. It has been a very long and painful day after all." She said glancing at Snape who was seated with his head in his hands and not able to make eye contact with her. "Yes, you hang your head in shame." She snarled in his direction.
"Very well, I will perform a counter spell to a curse that you may have been exposed to." Albus said standing up again and pointing his wand at her. Severus raised his head in newfound hope. After a few seconds Albus sat back down again. "Hermione, how do you feel?" He asked hopeful that she would be back to her normal self.
"Much the same, Headmaster, like a woman who has allowed her husband to use her. Like someone who has been trampled and cheated on and like an expecting mother who is sick of having spells cast on her." Albus shook his head; there was nothing else to be done. "May I go now? Since you've obviously run out of spells to throw at me. I am pregnant you do realise, don't you? I wouldn't want you to hurt this baby, even if it is a bastard." Hermione stormed from the office and slammed the door before Severus could react to her name calling again.
"Explain, old man. Now." Severus seethed through clenched teeth and looking daggers at the Headmaster from his seat.
"The spell we used this morning is no longer in effect." Albus replied matter-of-factly.
"I beg to differ. She's still acting like I have been unfaithful to her!" Severus bellowed.
"However, I do believe she has been exposed to Sekhmet's curse somehow. and she should not see you in this photograph if she were to look at it again- as I said, that spell has been lifted." Albus told him whilst motioning to the photograph he had pulled from a desk draw.
"But you performed the counter curse." Severus said starting to get a very bad feeling about this. "And she is still not back to her normal self."
"And as she pointed out, she is pregnant, Severus. The pregnancy must have thrown off my counter curse." Albus replied.
"So what do we do?" Severus asked calming down again and on the verge of falling into a very large pit of depression.
"Get the book and destroy it. It may wear off in time or indeed may dissipate once the baby is born. If not then we may be able to try the counter curse again once the baby has been born." Albus replied.
"All of those suggestions require a significant amount of time, Albus." Severus cried. "Hermione is only half way through her pregnancy."
"Be patient, Severus. There is nothing we can do right now." Albus told him.
"Albus, are you aware she has already filed for a divorce?"
"I'm so sorry, Severus." Albus said looking at him gravely. "You do not have to sign the papers though, that is your one reprieve at least and she can not make you sign them, as you well know."
"What is the point of staying married if she won't even talk to me civilly?" Severus asked miserably.
"Time, Severus. Time. It will all work out." Albus told him as he came around his desk and rubbed his shoulder in a show of support. "Trust me."
Severus snorted. "Albus, I cannot lose her. It will kill me." He told him in something of a broken voice, his entire world was crumbling about him as he spoke and he could feel the endless pit of depression calling to him to jump into.
"Then, Severus, I suggest you try to win her heart again. Fight for what is yours but do give her some time to calm herself down first, that way she will be more responsive to you." Albus suggested, after all, magic could not solve this problem just now and was therefore not an option.
Severus nodded, unable to speak for fear of a complete emotional breakdown, and quickly left the office. He decided to go for a walk instead of retreating to his dungeons alone. He needed to think, needed to make his own plans on how to win his wife back.
~~*~~
Severus moved back into his dungeons and had already been in residence for a week since the counter curses Dumbledore had cast had not worked. It was now near the end of February, well, the end of the third week actually and only one week since St. Valentine's Day, which neither husband nor wife had had any part in. He had been back to their chambers once just to see if he could get in but Marcus and Lucretia still forbade him entrance and turned him away sullenly. So, he had gone to his office and tried to get in through the secret passageway, only to find the entrance at the other end sealed with quite a nasty hex on the door, which had made his genitals itch with a rash for four days solid and didn't help improve his mood one iota.
Severus had been very sullen over the last few weeks, his overgrown-greasy- git-bat attitude in full swing and taking no animosity from anyone without rising to the bait. He had taken a countless number of points over the last weeks. So many in fact, that all Houses were struggling to maintain a level over one hundred points, and this was very unusual indeed- the lowest total mid-year since the 1660's and even that had been due to a severe lack of students due to the witch hunts.
Sonia Flint had gone one step too far a couple of days after the showdown in Albus' office. She had sent him another note asking for a private meeting to discuss her Potions project. She had turned up in his office in a very slinky negligee and had all but thrown herself at the Potions Master's feet. Severus had pushed her away and she had turned on him, withdrawing her wand from a very precarious location and throwing the imperious curse at him. Of course having previously been a high ranking Death Eater he had learned quite quickly how to fight this particular curse. Severus had allowed her to think she had him under her control until she dropped her wand in order to kiss him and he withdrew his own so quickly she never saw the stunning spell coming. She had dropped to the floor and Severus had immediately summoned the Headmaster.
Dumbledore had enervated Sonia and cast the counter spell to Sekhmet's curse on her. She had immediately snapped out of the state she had been in, and looking at her appearance had feinted in pure embarrassment. She had been taken to the infirmary and had been kept under observations for several days due to having suffered a severe depletion in her magical ability, which required complete bed rest. No punishment was due her even though she had used an unforgivable because she had been under a curse at the time herself. Since that incident Sonia had thrown her self into her work and had not been seen anywhere near Severus, choosing to drop any ideas she may have had about doing a Potions project as well. He had received a very formal letter of apology from her as she had remembered everything she had done whilst under the curse and really felt the need to apologise profusely.
Hermione had finally been able to stop crying although it had taken a whole week for her to get her emotions under control. She had stopped dining with her Gryffindors and now sat up at the high table with the other teachers. She never looked at Severus and always sat on the other side of the Headmaster to him. She had stopped speaking to him altogether so that she didn't have to continually feel like she was in a bad mood. She had never seen him in the Potions lab or anywhere near there when she was teaching first and second year classes and that was just fine by her. She had decided to basically block the entire part of her short married life with him out of her mind. She never talked to anybody about Severus and their situation. well, nobody except Layton that was.
Layton had simply been there for Hermione, something of a shoulder to cry on, her rock. He had been a very good friend to have around and had just seemed to know everything that was going on, which was great as she really didn't feel up to lengthy explanations. He was always there whenever she was carrying heavy stacks of marking back to her office or needed help getting books out of cupboards and things. Hermione had not used her magic much at all, she was constantly tired and when she did try to cast spells she did find them difficult or that they would go sadly awry. She put this down to her pregnancy though and had simply done things the Muggle way from then on not bothering to go to Madam Pomfrey or anyone.
One day Layton had even brought Hermione lunch as she had said she had to skip her meal in order to catch up on her own research. He was acting like a human house elf but he loved to simply do things for her. It was very strange to her and she always had doubts about their budding friendship, knowing that she should not let it continue since she was his teacher but all of those thoughts seemed to go away when he was there. there was always something in the back of her mind battling with those doubts and telling her it was entirely alright for them to be this way together.
Layton had had Hermione under control for long enough now to not need to constantly be in contact with his book when he sent her thoughts. He could simply control her so long as she was in the close vicinity to him and it was becoming easier as her magic depleted and was sucked into his book and given back to him. He was becoming very strong and powerful now.
One day in class Layton had pulled a book out of his bag, which Hermione had thought that it would be beneficial if the rest of the class saw. He handed it around and though no one seemed to open it they were all quite impressed. Layton was so happy he had shared this with the class and Hermione just went along with that, thinking that she should not question anything he ever did. as something in the back of her mind was constantly telling her- especially whenever he was near her.
Severus had given Hermione quite enough space and was now intentionally running into her in corridors, though not speaking to her as yet. He was looking at her for longer periods of time and only looking away when she became visibly uncomfortable. Hermione was now six months pregnant and she had started to waddle. She was very distended now, this being her first child and most definitely her last. She had found out just this week that the baby was male and she had decided that she would name him Callum. Callum Andrew Granger that was. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with Severus, and her child would therefore not be taking his surname. She had been hurt although she didn't think the crime was that bad anymore and she did miss him. well, she missed him until Layton came and then there was that voice of so-called reason in her head again that told her she hated her husband beyond a shadow of a doubt and that Layton was everything she needed. Layton was always there for her.
~~*~~
It was Saturday and a Hogsmede weekend for students in third year and above. The last visit before the Easter holidays so that the students may buy presents to take home if they wished. Severus had been asked to supervise the visit and when he asked who the second teacher supervising the students would be he was pleased to find out it would be Hermione. After breakfast he went out into the entrance hall and stood by the doors directly opposite Hermione. Glancing over at her he noted he had a few minutes before any student would arrive seeking an exit from the castle.
"How are you?" He asked breaking the silence between them and looking at her intently.
"I've been better." She mumbled tiredly and glanced at him quickly with sunken black eyes, she didn't have the energy to argue with him.
"And the baby?" He asked; his voice very soft as he watched her cautiously. This was the first time they'd spoken one word in almost three weeks.
"Fine," she said quickly then thought on her answer, he was trying at least and it was good they weren't arguing for once. "He's doing well, Poppy said he has turned over and he's sitting against my spine, which is quite uncomfortable for me."
"He?" Severus asked in surprise, he thought it would be a girl but a boy was wonderful all the same.
"Yes." She nodded as the doors to the Great Hall opened and the students began to trickle out. She cleared her throat. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students going to Hogsmede please check out with me."
"Slytherin and Ravenclaw students with me," Severus shouted at the approaching mass but kept his eye trained on Hermione as he processed the information he was going to have a son.
The students began to be checked off and headed out of the doors to their day of freedom from school. As the last of the students approached Severus asked if she would like to walk with him down to Hogsmede just as Layton Frontera was about to be checked out. Hermione glanced at the student and then up at Severus. "No thank you, Snape. I prefer to walk with the students." She told him coldly and having reverted back to being clearly angry with him.
"Okay, then I will see you in town." Severus said as she left with the last of the students and Severus took the lists to Minerva so she knew who had left the grounds and so she could check them back in once they started to trickle back later in the day.
Leaving the Great Hall after briefly speaking to Minerva, Christopher Granger intercepted him. "Mr. Granger." Severus acknowledged.
"Severus." Snape looked at him; Chris had always been careful about calling him 'Professor Snape' when in school and wondered at the change now.
"'Professor Snape'," Severus corrected him.
"No, for this it should be 'Severus'." Chris said looking up at him solemnly. Snape nodded.
"What can I do for you then?" Severus asked clearing his throat.
"I need to speak to you."
"Can it wait? I'm supervising the students in Hogsmede today?"
"No." He replied simply.
"Very well," Severus said before turning to seek out the Deputy Headmistress again- she was still at the head table. "Professor McGonagall. Add Mr. Granger to your list. He will be with me today."
"Very well, Severus. Take good care of him; he is a first year after all." Minerva warned him from the high table. Severus nodded before turning back to Chris.
"Come along. We are going into Hogsmede and you can speak to me on the way there." Severus spun around and marched them both out of the hall, his cloak billowing out behind him and Chris hurrying to keep up.
When they reached the exit and stepped out into the frosty February morning Severus noticed that the last of the throng of students were already at the school gates. In fact squinting into the distance Severus noted that the last two people were simply Hermione and Mr. Frontera. Severus frowned.
"So, what did you need to speak to me about, Chris?" Severus asked strolling along with Chris at his side and stuffing his hands into his pockets and out of the cold.
"Hermione, of course," Chris said tightening his scarf about his neck, he had had it in his pocket from the day before when he had been outside for Care of Magical Creatures.
"What about her?" Severus raised his eyebrow.
"She's missing you." Chris replied simply.
"Really?" Severus drawled. "It's a pity she doesn't tell me that herself then."
"Well she won't. I don't think she can." Chris said.
"Oh? And why would you think that?" He asked looking down at him and raising an eyebrow.
"I heard a few conversations she's been having with that boy she's with right now." He said squinting into the distance and seeing his sister with one of the students.
"Mr. Frontera?" Severus asked.
"Yeah, she and he have become quite friendly. He's always hanging around her."
"Indeed." Severus said frowning, he hadn't quite noticed that himself; he would have to watch more carefully it would seem. "And what have you heard and observed of them?"
"I've observed that he is always there with her between classes, helping her carry things, bringing her food from the kitchens, walking around with her in the halls and things like that." Chris told him.
"And what have you heard?" Severus asked taking all of that information in and processing it.
"Well, I've only just started to listen to them with those extendable ears. She's been saying that she misses you and that she doesn't think what you did was so wrong any more. He's been telling her to forget about you, that she doesn't need you so long as he is there. and that he'll always be there for her and the baby." Chris said.
"Hmm," Severus replied as they reached the gates and Severus let them both out before stepping out himself and resetting the wards behind him.
"And he started calling her 'my sweet', which I think is really weird." Chris said with a scowl on his face.
"I would agree, Chris." Severus said, thinking that that should mean something to him but he couldn't quite think; Chris was giving him so much else to think about right now. They reached the edge of the town and started to walk more slowly.
"So, why did you do it?" Chris asked suddenly.
"Do what?"
"Cheat on my sister?" Severus halted and pulled Chris off the path and over to the wall of the church where he and Hermione had been married. They sat down after Severus had performed a warming charm.
"Right, let me bring you up to speed as I do think this is necessary." Severus began after he erected a secrecy bubble similar to the one Dumbledore had used. "I did not cheat on Hermione." He stated and Chris glanced at him sceptically as Severus looked at him straight in the eyes.
"But she said."
"It doesn't matter what she said. She is under the influence of a spell. or rather was." Severus sighed. "Hermione was receiving letters from a secret admirer and hate mail from someone else saying that I was having an affair with the Head Girl."
"Sonia Flint?"
"Yes."
"Well, I know that as I told her about it having overheard a conversation in the corridor to the same effect."
"Oh, I wondered where she heard that from." Severus said casting a sideways glance at him. "Not that it matters anyway. One day a letter came with a photograph with seemingly me in a compromising position with this particular girl. The photograph was magically altered and Hermione suggested a plan in order to trap the two people trying to break up our marriage."
"This spell that was cast on her was part of that plan?"
"Yes, the Headmaster cast the spell on Hermione. The spell would make her think that it was I in the picture, and she would be angry only, at me. Hence the scene in the Great Hall, we were trying to flush out the secret admirer you see."
"So, what went wrong?" Chris asked.
"It's the fact Hermione is pregnant. It somehow altered the spell. She was not simply angry but quite distraught. The Headmaster removed the spell later that day but it didn't work."
"Why?"
"Well, that is a story which involves the Book of Shadows." Severus said and then relayed what exactly the book was all about to him. "So, we now believe Hermione is under this book's curse and that the reason the counter curse did not work was because she is pregnant."
"So what happens now?" Chris asked shocked at what he was hearing but so pleased that Severus had not actually cheated on his sister.
"I'm trying to win her back as it were. I've given her time to calm down a bit as the Headmaster suggested but it appears that I now have competition with her new student friend." Severus said through clenched teeth.
"He must be the letter writer." Chris said deducting from the information he'd just received.
"What?" Severus asked looking a bit shocked.
"Powers of reasoning, he's always hanging around her now that you're out of the picture. He is related to Theresa Urmintrude who was believed to have that book. Therefore, he must have access to the book. if he's not already the one controlling it. His fourth year friends have all been exhibiting signs of being in control from what you describe to me that the book does." Chris said. "And as for my sister, well, I forgot to mention that she no longer does any kind of magic. She finds it too tiring and is putting it down to being pregnant."
Severus looked at him sharply as his brain tried to fit all of the pieces together. He was quite certain that Chris was right. Layton Frontera must be the one in control of this book. Severus stood up abruptly and looked at Chris. "We must do something about this. Come along, Chris." Chris stood up.
"Where are we going?" He asked as he rushed along in Severus' wake as he set off on a fast pace into town.
"To find Hermione, we need to watch her." He stopped and Chris bumped into him. "Feel like being a real spy for a day?" Severus asked as he turned to face Chris.
"I'd love that." Chris said excitedly, his eyes sparkling in anticipation of being able to play something like a real-life Sherlock Holmes.
"We must disguise ourselves." Chris looked around the general vicinity for something with which to do that. "I mean with magic not camouflage, Mr. Granger we are wizards not Muggles!" Severus snapped.
"Oh, right." Chris said sheepishly.
"Evanesco!" Severus said casting a cloaking spell on them both. Chris didn't feel any different and looked to Severus quizzically. "We are invisible to everyone but each other." Severus explained quietly.
"Cool." Chris said rather impressed.
"However, in order to be a spy you must realise that we will still cast a shadow, and we will still be heard as well as feel quite solid if someone were to walk into us. Got it?" Severus asked raising his eyebrow.
"Yes." Chris nodded.
"Very well stay close to me, and off we go." Severus said as he moved off into the town more slowly so that Chris could keep close and they wouldn't draw attention to themselves.
Chapter Seventeen
Later that day Severus decided to drop by Hermione's classroom to escort her to Albus' office. Classes had ended some time ago and Hermione had missed dinner, having chosen to eat in her office instead. He was walking along the corridor only to hear something clanking along in his wake rather noisily. He stopped and turned abruptly but nothing was there.
"Ah-ha, you yellow bellied good for nothing! Stand and fight me like a man!" Sir Cadogan bellowed from one of the paintings to his left attracting Severus' glare. The knight raised the visor of his helmet so that he could see Severus more clearly.
"Sir, do not tempt me." Severus growled back at him, it was very unlike Sir Cadogan to say anything like this to a professor.
"You are a fiend who does not deserve to have a witch as a wife. I challenge you to a duel so that I may fight for her honour!" Sir Cadogan said as he grabbed a gauntlet from the background in the painting and threw it down at his feet in challenge.
"Go away." Severus snarled as his temper was slowly getting the better of him and he tried very hard not to rise to the bait.
"You good for nothing, cantankerous wizard, I will cut you in two with my trusty sword! My steed will stamp on your head and you will die a most painful death, which is what you deserve." He shouted back as his horse finally caught up to him- a rather dilapidated and scabby- looking horse it was as well.
"Oh, I can't wait." Severus drawled sarcastically and crossed his arms. "I'll wait right here until you find a way out of your painting shall I?"
"Folly!" Sir Cadogan said angrily as he approached the edge of his painting and started to try and stab Severus with his sword. "Fight me like a man you good for nothing scurvy cur! You overgrown bat!" Sir Cadogan said as he started jumping on the spot and put the visor of his helmet down over his face as he readied himself for battle.
"But I am not a man. I am a wizard, Sir." He replied in a deadly, harsh whisper.
"And a dark wizard at that, you traitorous Slytherin snake."
"You try my patience and I tire of you, Sir. Cease this immediately!" Severus warned, leaving no room for argument.
"You adulterating fool! You hussy loving Slytherin!" Severus slowly drew his wand. "You son of a."
"Incendio!" He shouted and pointed his wand at the painting, which burst into flames effectively trapping Sir Cadogan inside.
"Aqua Profluens!" Severus turned to find his wife standing in the corridor with her wand pointed to the painting. A stream of water erupted from her wand and effectively doused the flames. "Really, Snape," she said sadly. "I guess I should be glad you did not set alight to me as well when you got tired of me. No. You just found other entertainment instead!" She said harshly as Sir Cadogan swiftly moved out of the smouldering picture to a one that was not so smoke filled and his horse hastily followed.
"Hermione."
"Professor Granger to you," she warned coldly.
"Professor Granger. We need to see the Headmaster." Severus told her getting straight to the point.
"Why?" She demanded.
"He asked it of us after lunch but you ran off distraught and I had to relay the message." Severus told her matter-of-factly.
"You caused that distress! You absolute swine!" She shouted at him as she suddenly felt her strength wavering; the spell she had just cast seemed to have knocked the stuffing out of her.
"Really," he drawled before stepping closer to her.
"Stay away from me!" She commanded raising her wand towards him even though she didn't think she could cast anything right now. "Do not tempt me for I will hex you into the middle of next week, Snape!" She said forcefully and hoping she would not have to actually attempt it.
"Go ahead! I do not care. Perhaps you will be kind enough to put me out of my misery while you are at it?" He shot back.
"I." She lowered her wand as she caught the 'puppy-dog' expression that was in his eyes.
"I miss you." He said softly and gazing intently at her, it had only been a matter of twelve hours but he was lost without her.
"That's your problem then. Not mine." She was interrupted as an owl flew down the corridor and headed straight for her. She caught a letter it dropped for her and quickly put it into her pocket without looking at it. "Lead the way." She intoned and motioned for Snape to precede her.
"Aren't you going to open that?" He asked as they started along the corridor.
"What's it to you?" She shot back.
"It might be important."
"It's not."
"How do you know?"
"What business is it of yours!"
"I'm your husband." He replied simply.
"Unfortunately, but not for much longer," she told him.
"What do you mean?" He enquired suspiciously.
"I have filed for a divorce, the papers should arrive soon." Severus stopped abruptly and spun around to face her, mouth wide open in utter shock. This was so sudden. The spell had only been cast that morning.
"You what?" He was sure he hadn't heard correctly.
"That's right, filed for divorce. Stop by my office when they arrive so you can sign the papers." She commanded.
"I will not!" He point blank refused.
"You will. If I have to put you under an unforgivable to make you I will." She threatened.
"I will not. Forcing me to do so would not work either. It is a magical document, which requires free will from both parties in order for it to work. It can detect the imperious curse." Severus told her.
"So, you would stop me from ever being happy again? How selfish of you," she said forcefully, glaring at him with acid in her eyes.
"Professor," Sonia Flint said in shock as she came around the corner from the library and heading off on her rounds and almost bumped into Severus.
"Miss. Flint," Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"Oh Professor Granger, I wonder if." Sonia began only to be cut off.
"Well, don't. He is a free agent now and you are most welcome to him!" Hermione told her.
"I wasn't going to ask that but I may very well take you up on that offer." She said smiling at Severus who rolled his eyes in frustration and covered his eyes with his hand. "I was going to ask if you had seen Samuel Davies? He is supposed to relieve me from my hall duty this evening but I had to change the timetable due to a cancelled meeting." She said as she glanced at Severus; the very person she was supposed to be seeing that evening.
"No, I have not. Why don't you try sending him an owl, I hear you're good at sending those?" She hissed before brushing past her and heading off to Dumbledore's office post haste; Severus following a little way behind like a child who had just been scolded by its mother.
~~*~~
"Ah, Professor Granger, Professor Snape," Dumbledore said as he stood up and motioned for them to sit. Hermione dragged her chair away from Severus' slightly and sat down heavily as she placed her hands onto her now very, distended abdomen and rubbed lovingly; the baby was doing flip flops it seemed and it was very uncomfortable.
"You wanted to see us, Headmaster." Hermione said far less than jovially despite her very motherly moment.
"I most certainly did. Has the plan worked, Severus?" Albus asked glancing over at him and then back at Hermione.
"It has set the wheels in motion, Albus but we still do not know his identity as yet. Unless he has signed the letter he just sent to Professor Granger?" Severus said glancing over at Hermione and raising an eyebrow.
"What do you know of my letter?" She spat at him.
"Enough. Open it." He commanded shortly.
"No." She said simply. "It is private."
"Professor Granger. It is very important. May I see your letter, please?" Dumbledore asked holding out his hand. Hermione gazed at him for a long moment before pulling the note reluctantly out of her pocket and handing it over to the Headmaster. Albus opened it and read it aloud.
My Sweet,
I see what he is doing to you and it is breaking my heart. The scene in the hall today was almost too much for me and I nearly made myself known to you then. I will always be there for you but you will have to wait a while to see me in person. Remember that things can only get better.
"No signature again," Dumbledore said looking up at his two professors.
"He was witness to the scene at lunch time though. That's something at least." Severus replied with a calculating look on his face.
"What are you talking about, Snape?" Hermione demanded from her position on the other side of the office.
"Headmaster, can you remove the spell now it is becoming most difficult to be in my wife's company right now?" Severus asked exasperated and Dumbledore nodded, standing up and pointing his wand at Hermione who was glaring at Snape even more so.
"This will not hurt you, my dear." Albus said. "Sum Placidus!" A blue spark was emitted from Albus' wand this time and hit Hermione in the chest again and she closed her eyes for a few seconds. She blinked a few times before glancing at her husband but it was not with a look either of the men in the room expected.
"What are you up to?" She demanded as she looked to Severus with hatred in her eyes. "What spell did you cast on me in the first place?"
"A-Albus?" Severus asked looking to him for an explanation. Albus sat heavily in his chair and pondered things again with his chin in his hands.
"I do not know, Severus." He replied quietly after a pause and shaking his head slightly as he regarded Hermione.
"I suggest you find out, Albus! What has happened here?" Severus shouted in pure rage. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"Need I spell it out you, you adulterating fool?" Hermione shot at him as she began to feel most uncomfortable under the Headmaster's stare.
"Herm."
"How many times have I said not to call me that?" She demanded with anger clear in her face and posture. "If we are through here, I'd like to leave now, Headmaster."
"No, Professor Granger. I need for you to stay for a little while longer." Albus retorted. "Have you spoken to any students outside of class today?"
"Christopher, my brother, I spoke to Layton Frontera, and Sonia Flint on the way here erm... Carlos Nero and Thomas Buchannan." Hermione replied calming down slightly as she thought.
"And did you touch any foreign objects at all?" Albus asked.
"I do not recall, Professor Dumbledore. It has been a very long and painful day after all." She said glancing at Snape who was seated with his head in his hands and not able to make eye contact with her. "Yes, you hang your head in shame." She snarled in his direction.
"Very well, I will perform a counter spell to a curse that you may have been exposed to." Albus said standing up again and pointing his wand at her. Severus raised his head in newfound hope. After a few seconds Albus sat back down again. "Hermione, how do you feel?" He asked hopeful that she would be back to her normal self.
"Much the same, Headmaster, like a woman who has allowed her husband to use her. Like someone who has been trampled and cheated on and like an expecting mother who is sick of having spells cast on her." Albus shook his head; there was nothing else to be done. "May I go now? Since you've obviously run out of spells to throw at me. I am pregnant you do realise, don't you? I wouldn't want you to hurt this baby, even if it is a bastard." Hermione stormed from the office and slammed the door before Severus could react to her name calling again.
"Explain, old man. Now." Severus seethed through clenched teeth and looking daggers at the Headmaster from his seat.
"The spell we used this morning is no longer in effect." Albus replied matter-of-factly.
"I beg to differ. She's still acting like I have been unfaithful to her!" Severus bellowed.
"However, I do believe she has been exposed to Sekhmet's curse somehow. and she should not see you in this photograph if she were to look at it again- as I said, that spell has been lifted." Albus told him whilst motioning to the photograph he had pulled from a desk draw.
"But you performed the counter curse." Severus said starting to get a very bad feeling about this. "And she is still not back to her normal self."
"And as she pointed out, she is pregnant, Severus. The pregnancy must have thrown off my counter curse." Albus replied.
"So what do we do?" Severus asked calming down again and on the verge of falling into a very large pit of depression.
"Get the book and destroy it. It may wear off in time or indeed may dissipate once the baby is born. If not then we may be able to try the counter curse again once the baby has been born." Albus replied.
"All of those suggestions require a significant amount of time, Albus." Severus cried. "Hermione is only half way through her pregnancy."
"Be patient, Severus. There is nothing we can do right now." Albus told him.
"Albus, are you aware she has already filed for a divorce?"
"I'm so sorry, Severus." Albus said looking at him gravely. "You do not have to sign the papers though, that is your one reprieve at least and she can not make you sign them, as you well know."
"What is the point of staying married if she won't even talk to me civilly?" Severus asked miserably.
"Time, Severus. Time. It will all work out." Albus told him as he came around his desk and rubbed his shoulder in a show of support. "Trust me."
Severus snorted. "Albus, I cannot lose her. It will kill me." He told him in something of a broken voice, his entire world was crumbling about him as he spoke and he could feel the endless pit of depression calling to him to jump into.
"Then, Severus, I suggest you try to win her heart again. Fight for what is yours but do give her some time to calm herself down first, that way she will be more responsive to you." Albus suggested, after all, magic could not solve this problem just now and was therefore not an option.
Severus nodded, unable to speak for fear of a complete emotional breakdown, and quickly left the office. He decided to go for a walk instead of retreating to his dungeons alone. He needed to think, needed to make his own plans on how to win his wife back.
~~*~~
Severus moved back into his dungeons and had already been in residence for a week since the counter curses Dumbledore had cast had not worked. It was now near the end of February, well, the end of the third week actually and only one week since St. Valentine's Day, which neither husband nor wife had had any part in. He had been back to their chambers once just to see if he could get in but Marcus and Lucretia still forbade him entrance and turned him away sullenly. So, he had gone to his office and tried to get in through the secret passageway, only to find the entrance at the other end sealed with quite a nasty hex on the door, which had made his genitals itch with a rash for four days solid and didn't help improve his mood one iota.
Severus had been very sullen over the last few weeks, his overgrown-greasy- git-bat attitude in full swing and taking no animosity from anyone without rising to the bait. He had taken a countless number of points over the last weeks. So many in fact, that all Houses were struggling to maintain a level over one hundred points, and this was very unusual indeed- the lowest total mid-year since the 1660's and even that had been due to a severe lack of students due to the witch hunts.
Sonia Flint had gone one step too far a couple of days after the showdown in Albus' office. She had sent him another note asking for a private meeting to discuss her Potions project. She had turned up in his office in a very slinky negligee and had all but thrown herself at the Potions Master's feet. Severus had pushed her away and she had turned on him, withdrawing her wand from a very precarious location and throwing the imperious curse at him. Of course having previously been a high ranking Death Eater he had learned quite quickly how to fight this particular curse. Severus had allowed her to think she had him under her control until she dropped her wand in order to kiss him and he withdrew his own so quickly she never saw the stunning spell coming. She had dropped to the floor and Severus had immediately summoned the Headmaster.
Dumbledore had enervated Sonia and cast the counter spell to Sekhmet's curse on her. She had immediately snapped out of the state she had been in, and looking at her appearance had feinted in pure embarrassment. She had been taken to the infirmary and had been kept under observations for several days due to having suffered a severe depletion in her magical ability, which required complete bed rest. No punishment was due her even though she had used an unforgivable because she had been under a curse at the time herself. Since that incident Sonia had thrown her self into her work and had not been seen anywhere near Severus, choosing to drop any ideas she may have had about doing a Potions project as well. He had received a very formal letter of apology from her as she had remembered everything she had done whilst under the curse and really felt the need to apologise profusely.
Hermione had finally been able to stop crying although it had taken a whole week for her to get her emotions under control. She had stopped dining with her Gryffindors and now sat up at the high table with the other teachers. She never looked at Severus and always sat on the other side of the Headmaster to him. She had stopped speaking to him altogether so that she didn't have to continually feel like she was in a bad mood. She had never seen him in the Potions lab or anywhere near there when she was teaching first and second year classes and that was just fine by her. She had decided to basically block the entire part of her short married life with him out of her mind. She never talked to anybody about Severus and their situation. well, nobody except Layton that was.
Layton had simply been there for Hermione, something of a shoulder to cry on, her rock. He had been a very good friend to have around and had just seemed to know everything that was going on, which was great as she really didn't feel up to lengthy explanations. He was always there whenever she was carrying heavy stacks of marking back to her office or needed help getting books out of cupboards and things. Hermione had not used her magic much at all, she was constantly tired and when she did try to cast spells she did find them difficult or that they would go sadly awry. She put this down to her pregnancy though and had simply done things the Muggle way from then on not bothering to go to Madam Pomfrey or anyone.
One day Layton had even brought Hermione lunch as she had said she had to skip her meal in order to catch up on her own research. He was acting like a human house elf but he loved to simply do things for her. It was very strange to her and she always had doubts about their budding friendship, knowing that she should not let it continue since she was his teacher but all of those thoughts seemed to go away when he was there. there was always something in the back of her mind battling with those doubts and telling her it was entirely alright for them to be this way together.
Layton had had Hermione under control for long enough now to not need to constantly be in contact with his book when he sent her thoughts. He could simply control her so long as she was in the close vicinity to him and it was becoming easier as her magic depleted and was sucked into his book and given back to him. He was becoming very strong and powerful now.
One day in class Layton had pulled a book out of his bag, which Hermione had thought that it would be beneficial if the rest of the class saw. He handed it around and though no one seemed to open it they were all quite impressed. Layton was so happy he had shared this with the class and Hermione just went along with that, thinking that she should not question anything he ever did. as something in the back of her mind was constantly telling her- especially whenever he was near her.
Severus had given Hermione quite enough space and was now intentionally running into her in corridors, though not speaking to her as yet. He was looking at her for longer periods of time and only looking away when she became visibly uncomfortable. Hermione was now six months pregnant and she had started to waddle. She was very distended now, this being her first child and most definitely her last. She had found out just this week that the baby was male and she had decided that she would name him Callum. Callum Andrew Granger that was. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with Severus, and her child would therefore not be taking his surname. She had been hurt although she didn't think the crime was that bad anymore and she did miss him. well, she missed him until Layton came and then there was that voice of so-called reason in her head again that told her she hated her husband beyond a shadow of a doubt and that Layton was everything she needed. Layton was always there for her.
~~*~~
It was Saturday and a Hogsmede weekend for students in third year and above. The last visit before the Easter holidays so that the students may buy presents to take home if they wished. Severus had been asked to supervise the visit and when he asked who the second teacher supervising the students would be he was pleased to find out it would be Hermione. After breakfast he went out into the entrance hall and stood by the doors directly opposite Hermione. Glancing over at her he noted he had a few minutes before any student would arrive seeking an exit from the castle.
"How are you?" He asked breaking the silence between them and looking at her intently.
"I've been better." She mumbled tiredly and glanced at him quickly with sunken black eyes, she didn't have the energy to argue with him.
"And the baby?" He asked; his voice very soft as he watched her cautiously. This was the first time they'd spoken one word in almost three weeks.
"Fine," she said quickly then thought on her answer, he was trying at least and it was good they weren't arguing for once. "He's doing well, Poppy said he has turned over and he's sitting against my spine, which is quite uncomfortable for me."
"He?" Severus asked in surprise, he thought it would be a girl but a boy was wonderful all the same.
"Yes." She nodded as the doors to the Great Hall opened and the students began to trickle out. She cleared her throat. "Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students going to Hogsmede please check out with me."
"Slytherin and Ravenclaw students with me," Severus shouted at the approaching mass but kept his eye trained on Hermione as he processed the information he was going to have a son.
The students began to be checked off and headed out of the doors to their day of freedom from school. As the last of the students approached Severus asked if she would like to walk with him down to Hogsmede just as Layton Frontera was about to be checked out. Hermione glanced at the student and then up at Severus. "No thank you, Snape. I prefer to walk with the students." She told him coldly and having reverted back to being clearly angry with him.
"Okay, then I will see you in town." Severus said as she left with the last of the students and Severus took the lists to Minerva so she knew who had left the grounds and so she could check them back in once they started to trickle back later in the day.
Leaving the Great Hall after briefly speaking to Minerva, Christopher Granger intercepted him. "Mr. Granger." Severus acknowledged.
"Severus." Snape looked at him; Chris had always been careful about calling him 'Professor Snape' when in school and wondered at the change now.
"'Professor Snape'," Severus corrected him.
"No, for this it should be 'Severus'." Chris said looking up at him solemnly. Snape nodded.
"What can I do for you then?" Severus asked clearing his throat.
"I need to speak to you."
"Can it wait? I'm supervising the students in Hogsmede today?"
"No." He replied simply.
"Very well," Severus said before turning to seek out the Deputy Headmistress again- she was still at the head table. "Professor McGonagall. Add Mr. Granger to your list. He will be with me today."
"Very well, Severus. Take good care of him; he is a first year after all." Minerva warned him from the high table. Severus nodded before turning back to Chris.
"Come along. We are going into Hogsmede and you can speak to me on the way there." Severus spun around and marched them both out of the hall, his cloak billowing out behind him and Chris hurrying to keep up.
When they reached the exit and stepped out into the frosty February morning Severus noticed that the last of the throng of students were already at the school gates. In fact squinting into the distance Severus noted that the last two people were simply Hermione and Mr. Frontera. Severus frowned.
"So, what did you need to speak to me about, Chris?" Severus asked strolling along with Chris at his side and stuffing his hands into his pockets and out of the cold.
"Hermione, of course," Chris said tightening his scarf about his neck, he had had it in his pocket from the day before when he had been outside for Care of Magical Creatures.
"What about her?" Severus raised his eyebrow.
"She's missing you." Chris replied simply.
"Really?" Severus drawled. "It's a pity she doesn't tell me that herself then."
"Well she won't. I don't think she can." Chris said.
"Oh? And why would you think that?" He asked looking down at him and raising an eyebrow.
"I heard a few conversations she's been having with that boy she's with right now." He said squinting into the distance and seeing his sister with one of the students.
"Mr. Frontera?" Severus asked.
"Yeah, she and he have become quite friendly. He's always hanging around her."
"Indeed." Severus said frowning, he hadn't quite noticed that himself; he would have to watch more carefully it would seem. "And what have you heard and observed of them?"
"I've observed that he is always there with her between classes, helping her carry things, bringing her food from the kitchens, walking around with her in the halls and things like that." Chris told him.
"And what have you heard?" Severus asked taking all of that information in and processing it.
"Well, I've only just started to listen to them with those extendable ears. She's been saying that she misses you and that she doesn't think what you did was so wrong any more. He's been telling her to forget about you, that she doesn't need you so long as he is there. and that he'll always be there for her and the baby." Chris said.
"Hmm," Severus replied as they reached the gates and Severus let them both out before stepping out himself and resetting the wards behind him.
"And he started calling her 'my sweet', which I think is really weird." Chris said with a scowl on his face.
"I would agree, Chris." Severus said, thinking that that should mean something to him but he couldn't quite think; Chris was giving him so much else to think about right now. They reached the edge of the town and started to walk more slowly.
"So, why did you do it?" Chris asked suddenly.
"Do what?"
"Cheat on my sister?" Severus halted and pulled Chris off the path and over to the wall of the church where he and Hermione had been married. They sat down after Severus had performed a warming charm.
"Right, let me bring you up to speed as I do think this is necessary." Severus began after he erected a secrecy bubble similar to the one Dumbledore had used. "I did not cheat on Hermione." He stated and Chris glanced at him sceptically as Severus looked at him straight in the eyes.
"But she said."
"It doesn't matter what she said. She is under the influence of a spell. or rather was." Severus sighed. "Hermione was receiving letters from a secret admirer and hate mail from someone else saying that I was having an affair with the Head Girl."
"Sonia Flint?"
"Yes."
"Well, I know that as I told her about it having overheard a conversation in the corridor to the same effect."
"Oh, I wondered where she heard that from." Severus said casting a sideways glance at him. "Not that it matters anyway. One day a letter came with a photograph with seemingly me in a compromising position with this particular girl. The photograph was magically altered and Hermione suggested a plan in order to trap the two people trying to break up our marriage."
"This spell that was cast on her was part of that plan?"
"Yes, the Headmaster cast the spell on Hermione. The spell would make her think that it was I in the picture, and she would be angry only, at me. Hence the scene in the Great Hall, we were trying to flush out the secret admirer you see."
"So, what went wrong?" Chris asked.
"It's the fact Hermione is pregnant. It somehow altered the spell. She was not simply angry but quite distraught. The Headmaster removed the spell later that day but it didn't work."
"Why?"
"Well, that is a story which involves the Book of Shadows." Severus said and then relayed what exactly the book was all about to him. "So, we now believe Hermione is under this book's curse and that the reason the counter curse did not work was because she is pregnant."
"So what happens now?" Chris asked shocked at what he was hearing but so pleased that Severus had not actually cheated on his sister.
"I'm trying to win her back as it were. I've given her time to calm down a bit as the Headmaster suggested but it appears that I now have competition with her new student friend." Severus said through clenched teeth.
"He must be the letter writer." Chris said deducting from the information he'd just received.
"What?" Severus asked looking a bit shocked.
"Powers of reasoning, he's always hanging around her now that you're out of the picture. He is related to Theresa Urmintrude who was believed to have that book. Therefore, he must have access to the book. if he's not already the one controlling it. His fourth year friends have all been exhibiting signs of being in control from what you describe to me that the book does." Chris said. "And as for my sister, well, I forgot to mention that she no longer does any kind of magic. She finds it too tiring and is putting it down to being pregnant."
Severus looked at him sharply as his brain tried to fit all of the pieces together. He was quite certain that Chris was right. Layton Frontera must be the one in control of this book. Severus stood up abruptly and looked at Chris. "We must do something about this. Come along, Chris." Chris stood up.
"Where are we going?" He asked as he rushed along in Severus' wake as he set off on a fast pace into town.
"To find Hermione, we need to watch her." He stopped and Chris bumped into him. "Feel like being a real spy for a day?" Severus asked as he turned to face Chris.
"I'd love that." Chris said excitedly, his eyes sparkling in anticipation of being able to play something like a real-life Sherlock Holmes.
"We must disguise ourselves." Chris looked around the general vicinity for something with which to do that. "I mean with magic not camouflage, Mr. Granger we are wizards not Muggles!" Severus snapped.
"Oh, right." Chris said sheepishly.
"Evanesco!" Severus said casting a cloaking spell on them both. Chris didn't feel any different and looked to Severus quizzically. "We are invisible to everyone but each other." Severus explained quietly.
"Cool." Chris said rather impressed.
"However, in order to be a spy you must realise that we will still cast a shadow, and we will still be heard as well as feel quite solid if someone were to walk into us. Got it?" Severus asked raising his eyebrow.
"Yes." Chris nodded.
"Very well stay close to me, and off we go." Severus said as he moved off into the town more slowly so that Chris could keep close and they wouldn't draw attention to themselves.