8. Hope and Need
"I believe he has uncovered a matter of some urgency for the Ministry."
As Dumbledore's last line fell, Hermione stared dumbly at him. A chill began to climb steadily up her back, a feeling she recognised as paralysing panic.
"He knows…" she said in barely more than a whisper. "Oh God, he knows..."
Nobody in the room moved and as the realisation of what this meant grew, she took a few steps backwards, looking frantically at the Headmaster.
"I have to go…I can't stay here…" Hermione reached behind her for the door. She heard the click as it locked. Dumbledore watched her gravely.
"If this letter, Miss Granger, does in fact mean that Cornelius is planning to come here to seek you out, then under no circumstances can I allow you to leave like that.
"What?" Hermione stared at him, aghast. "I can't stay here!"
He nodded. "Indeed. But you must realise that the Minister will bring reinforcement. Your capture would be a great asset to him, and I fear he isn't about to let the opportunity slip out of his grasp."
"Aurors?" asked Harry, looking troubled. Ron was listening to the Headmaster and darting worried glances at Hermione who looked frozen.
Dumbledore nodded. "Only the very best."
Harry paused in thought. "They'll easily find your trail if you just leave, Hermione."
Ron spoke up. "So how do we hide her here?"
"I believe we have come up with a temporary but effective solution. Severus?"
The other people in the room turned in surprise. Up until now, the raven-haired Potions master had not strayed from his spot by the wall, never mind say anything.
Snape surveyed them all for a few moments and then he held up a book that Hermione hadn't seen before. "This book holds the majority of means of concealing one's self by magic. I have found a particular method that, although temporary, will suffice for this particular 'visit'."
"Hold on," broke in McGonagall, her eyes narrowed. "The Ministry holds tabs on all magical instruction and theory books…they use that type of text in Auror training. Surely they'll uncover one of those methods easily?"
Severus glared at her. "They would, if this wasn't a first edition which they know nothing about. Only a few were published when it was first written and several pages were removed before the next edition was printed."
Eyes wide, Hermione attempted to get a better look at the book. Snape saw her and surmised what she was trying to do. It seemed to take all of his resolve but he handed it to her, his face slightly pinched.
"Page one hundred and forty-nine. Paragraph three. I would not allow you to see this unless you needed to know the ritual. It is not my custom to let ex-students take books handed down in my family for generations for bedtime reading. Remember that."
Hermione glowered up at him. "First of all, Professor Snape, I find your use of the phrase 'bedtime reading' highly unnecessary. Secondly, I do need to know this 'ritual' if it's going to work so you needn't be so condescending about it." If anything ever injured her pride, it was insults to her intelligence and attitude to paper and ink. Leave it up to Severus Snape to make it his mission to do so. She gritted her teeth and continued to carefully thumb through the pages.
When she'd reached the page he'd instructed her to turn to, she quickly scanned the text and then looked up at Snape.
"Occaegenus Reapse?" she asked. "I've heard something like this before but never this exact spell."
"What does it do?" Harry questioned.
"Well, technically, it means a true need for invisibility, or to disappear," she said, hesitantly. "Is a wonderful spell for people wrongly accused of being criminals, I imagine. It needs to be cast by people who share a trust in one another, three at the least. Once carried out, it allows the person to slip past the gaze and magical tracking methods of those who hunt them for a certain amount of time, which is defined by the absolute truth behind it. You can be seen by the people you choose to reveal yourself to, nothing can reverse that, but nobody else."
"It sounds perfect," said Ron, nodding.
"I would think it is," Hermione answered. "Should I get my hopes up or not, Professor?" she asked Dumbledore.
The Headmaster was nodding in agreement with her. "Thank you Severus, this may be what we're looking for. Once I have found a permanent way of proving your innocence to the Ministry, this will do."
Looking slightly nervous but relieved, Hermione asked the only thing she needed to know now. "When do we carry it out?"
Pulling the book from her hands and snapping it shut, Snape answered "Tonight."
Nodding curtly to the Headmaster, he left the room, the door slamming behind him.
"It's fairly simple," drawled Severus and he opened the book on the desk in front of him.
Hermione, Ron, Harry sat on stools in the Potions classroom before him. A space had been cleared for the ritual and swept clean by a house elf (watched reproachfully by Hermione.) It felt like they were in Potions class again. Harry and Ron looked distinctly agitated at being under the Slytherin's control again but looking at Hermione changed their minds.
She didn't look so relieved about this solution anymore. Her face and hands, folded in her lap, were whiter than they should have been. She was perched on the edge of the stool, with her legs crossed modestly. Her navy coloured robes were a little big for her; you could tell this was someone who wasn't exactly overweight. Harry wasn't sure if this was because of her ordeal or if she simply barely ate anymore. He'd watched her pick at her food before, but now he realised this might have been nerves.
Snape looked at Hermione. The girl was positively shaking. It couldn't be the ritual; he'd seen her perform far more complicated potions than this in his lessons. He settled on being the impending visit from the Ministry.
"You might try looking as if you're not about to spring from your chair and make a dash for it," he told her sharply. She jumped and then glared at him again. He was beginning to wonder if the Patented Severus Snape Death Glare had been stolen from right beneath his nose. She'd certainly directed her narrowed eyes at him enough times today. Not that he was averse to it, of course. He preferred a real opponent Hermione, rather than a weak and easy target Hermione. Pushing those angry looks of hers out of her pale face was far more satisfying.
Sighing, he pulled open one of his drawers and took out a package wrapped in purple. He walked quickly over to her and handed it over. She looked down at it and then looked back up at him.
"Chocolate?" she asked.
"Chocolate. Eat it. Having you fainting in the middle of this won't do any good. Besides, Dumbledore will be on my back in seconds if you do, not to mention that damned medi-witch."
When he returned to his desk, turning his back, Hermione raised an eyebrow, smiling inwardly. How like him to do something remotely nice and blame it on someone else. She carefully opened the wrapping and snapped a few pieces off and then naturally offered it to Harry and Ron who declined it.
"Snape's right," admitted Ron, looking as though it pained him to agree with him.
"Take some more of it. You look like you need it."
"But I'm fi-"
"Hermione." Ron's face was firm.
Doing as she was told, she took some more, but only a little, and then placed it behind her on one of the desks. Three pairs of eyes watched her. Resisting the temptation to roll her own, she bit into a piece.
Almost immediately some warmth returned to her body, spreading through her arms and chest and through her legs. Forgetting her reasons not to eat it, she ate the next chocolate chunk almost greedily. It had been a long time since she had something like this. Its creamy warmth was a foreign delight to her tongue and she closed her eyes for a moment, tasting it properly. Now she truly appreciated the appeal of Honeydukes.
Remembering she was still being watched, Hermione opened them, feeling embarrassed. But no one was laughing; Snape didn't even have a smirk on his face. They were dead silent and staring. Uncomfortable, she put down the rest of it and stood up.
"Shall we get to it, then?"
Snape stood up. "You know what you're doing, I suppose, having read it cover to cover?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes."
"Then take this," he handed her a jar of powdered Monkwort, "and prepare the circle."
She went to do as he had said, when he called her back. "Here's the robes." She looked at what he was holding up. A long white dress robe was hanging from his arm.
"It's necessary. White can define the truth, which is important here. You may change in my office after you've spread the powder. We'll be ready for you then."
A/N: Sorry for the wait, folks. I've been doing a bit more work on I Don't Want To Be Alone recently as my writer's block on that began to evaporate. Thank you for the great reviews. Oh, and also thanks for the several who wished me luck on my exams, it must have worked since I managed to achieve estimated grades for a initial acceptance to the college I want to go to. Now all I need to do is pass the real exams. Eek.
Fudge is coming soon along with Draco…