9. Hidden Faith
Hermione folded her borrowed robes neatly over a stiff-backed chair in Snape's office. Taking a minute to glance around his personal ingredients selection, she exhaled slowly and then turned to open the door.
"I'm ready," she heard herself say. Who did that voice belong to? Confidence masquerading the nerves that twisted in her stomach.
"So are we," replied Ron, as he filled up a bowl with water from a large, tin jug.
Snape stood up from where he'd been crouching on the floor and looked up at Hermione intently, unfalteringly with those unreadable eyes. Uncomfortable beneath his survey, she looked down to avoid his probing gaze
"Then we shall begin," he said. "It is a moderately simple ritual…even for you two." He glanced pointedly at Ron and Harry, both of whom glared. Hermione felt a little surprise. Snape had never used to miss a chance to group Hermione into their category.
"Now. Take the bowl, Mr. Potter. Drink from it and then pass it to Mr. Weasley, who will do the same. Then I shall drink from it. When I have done so, Miss. Granger, take the bowl from me and rinse your face and hands. This will ensure a bond of trust.
"Go ahead, Mr. Potter."
Harry picked up the deep bowl and then hesitated as it was on its way to his lips. He looked slowly up at Snape.
"Trust? Look, maybe it isn't such a good idea for you to-"
"Harry," interjected Hermione slowly. "It's okay." Her eyes met temporarily with Snape's and the other two in the room felt distinctly that there was something they hadn't been told. Hermione seemed almost embarrassed to look at Snape, but his black eyes were unfathomable, telling them nothing.
Harry lifted the bowl to his lips and took a slow sip of the cool water. Instantly he felt something connect. He passed the bowl to Ron and then took his place, crossing by Snape as he did so. Ron followed suit, drinking deeply and passing the bowl to Snape. He went to stand a little to the right of where he had been previously.
Snape drank very quickly and then nodded to Hermione. She took the bowl from him and went to kneel in the centre of the sprinkled circle of Monkwort, the others forming a triangle around her. Dipping her hands into the water, she shivered slightly. The liquid was freezing and the thin, white dress robes did little to keep cold air of the dungeon from her skin. Hermione brought her hands up to face and allowed the water to trickle down it. She closed her eyes and stayed kneeling.
Snape watched her as she took in a deep breath and began murmuring beneath her breath. Harry and Ron strained to listen the strange words they did not recognise. They only caught a few.
"Airidh…còir…ni 's. Soilleir…iarr…"Hermione fell silent and raised her head, eyes still tightly shut. This was her signal. As her last words fell, the three men standing around her felt the connection they'd sensed before tighten, sealing them more firmly in place.
They all picked up the small jars that had been placed near to each of them. As they held them, the ingredients inside glittered with strange, flickering lights, moving too quickly to truly tell their colour.
Snape spoke first.
"Earbsadh." He strode forward to Hermione, placing one long finger into the shimmering powder contained within his jar. He made a small line in the centre of her forehead with the dust."Mi bheir earbsadh a thu." The mark immediately disappeared, seemingly into her skin. Hermione took in a deep breath. Snape stepped back into the triangle as Ron came forward.
"Neart." Ron went to Hermione and dipped his finger into his jar. He drew a line across her lips, with a thick liquid, glittering as brightly as the dust before.
"Mi bheir neart a thu." The oil vanished and Ron went back into the triangle, between Harry and Snape. Hermione shivered, but made no sound.
Harry stepped into the circle. He delved his hand into the jar, and clenched his fist so that his entire hand was coated in a strange, shining oil. He paused and looked down at his hand. "Fìrinn."
Steeling himself, he pressed it gently to her face. "Mi bheir fìrinn a thu."
Harry stepped away, leaving a large handprint staining her face. The other two men joined in with his gaze, watching her. Hermione didn't move, and after several moments Ron chanced a glance at Harry. Before he could say a word, however, there was a great flash of red and green light and Hermione and the room vanished, leaving a great looming darkness to settle upon them.
Severus awakened with a severe headache, and found, to his intense displeasure, that he happened to be lying on his classroom floor, robes thrown askew. He raised a hand to his forehead with a slight groan, and then, as he remembered what had happened, shot up.
Ron and Harry sat on a desk nearby, sharing a whispered conversation. When they saw that he had awoken, the slipped off the tabletop almost guiltily.
"Where is she?" he asked shortly, not willing to waste time.
"We don't know," said Ron, looking vexed. "Maybe something went-"
"Good," replied Snape and then noted their puzzled glance. "You do understand the point of this ritual? Or has that, like many other things, escaped your assuredly vacillating attention?"
"Look here-" began Ron, his cheeks and the tips of his ears turning red.
"Why look? There's no point until she decides to reveal herself, Mr. Weasley, or hadn't you grasped that fact yet?" Snape went over to where the shards of glass from the shattered jars lay. He waved his wand over the mess. "I don't suppose it would be to much trouble for you to help clean this up and take the surplus ingredients on my desk into the storeroom?"
Looking sullen at Snape's address, Ron went to the desk and began to gather up the various items there. Harry went to assist him.
As Snape cast another cleaning charm, his eyes narrowed to see any remaining splinters of glass between the stones, he started at the touch of a hand upon his shoulder. Whirling around, he felt an odd mixture of relief and annoyance.
"Miss Granger." Hermione looked back at him, emotionless and removed her hand. "The spell has worked, I assume?"
"Yes," she answered. "Where are Harry and Ron?"
"In the storeroom," said Severus. She nodded and went towards the door that he gestured to. On her way, she turned to look back, with an expression of what could only be silent thanks. A moment after she opened the door, there was two surprised voices. Severus replaced the wand in his pocket and headed from the classroom to inform Dumbledore that the spell had worked successfully. All they needed to do now was make it through the Ministry enquiry.
Which would be sooner than they expected. Outside the great front doors of Hogwarts, stood Cornelius Fudge and Draco Malfoy. Draco had a look of grim determination in his eyes, which was quite a comparison to the jovial Fudge.
Leading the way, Draco pushed the door he remembered so well and stepped inside, holding it open courteously for the Minister.
Somebody clearing his or her throat caught his attention. Eyes narrowed, he turned his head. A broad grin appeared on his face.
"Uncle Severus."
A/N: Thank you for lots of lovely reviews :-) They made me smile. Which helps lately. I thought this ritual up during a French lesson and used an English-Gaelic dictionary for the words. Well aware something may not be correct, but unless you're a Gaelic expert, you get the gist of it.
Earbsadh- Trust
Neart- Strength
Fìrinn- Truth
Mi bheir a thu- I give to you
Avery- In reply to your review- 'Awesome story but I got confused of why Hermione is being hunted. Like what did she do?' – If you can be bothered, I 'd suggest backtracking and re-reading Chapter 2. Hermione clothed herself in Death Eater garb to divert the Ministry's attention from the battle between Harry and Voldemort so that it could all finally be over. She was simply going to Stun them and then go back to the Order, labelled as 'just another Death-Eater', but the hood slipped from her face, and as she wasn't wearing the mask, the remaining Ministry workers saw her identity and there wasn't time to do a Memory Charm- the damage had already been done.
I hope this answers your question and thank you for your review. On a further note, did anyone else feel confused by the plot? Please tell me if you did.
DistinctVagueness