Mad World
By: mistress-steerpike
Rated: R
Pairing: Hermione/Snape
Summary: The moderately anticipated sequel/prequel to the events in "Eulogizing Hermione", Hermione is being sent into hiding after her "death". Secrets are revealed through a sequence of moderately clever flashbacks. Enjoy.
Authors note: Okay, somebody emailed me to ask if I could update them and I was so happy that someone asked that of me, and then...I accidentally deleted their email instead of replying and telling them I would oblige. I'm so sorry, so if you know who you are, just email your address along my way and I will take care of it. Updates to this story will be announced in my online journal, here is the address: Also, to those interested, this story was written to the sounds of "Evanescence", anticipate a bit of quotage as the story progresses, their songs just fit the mood. Oh and also, also, yes, I do love "Donnie Darko" and I do realize that Tears for Fears did the original "Mad World" song...I just like the Gary Jules version better.
Hermione Granger was now officially Musette Anne Bateman, as stated in the Witches ID that Albus Dumbledore handed to her as they stood outside the gates to Hogwarts castle. She studied tiny rectangular card that contained her portrait, it smiled weakly at her, and nodded its head slightly. Suddenly, the card disappeared into a puff of yellow and red smoke, which drifted into the pocket of her robe.
"Where am I going, Professor?" Hermione inquired, eyes still locked on where the card once was held. Had she been looking in his direction, she would've noticed the lack of twinkle in his eye, as he sighed quite mournfully.
"A little known wizarding mental health institution called Cliff's Edge, it's never been known for its safety conscious methods of dealing with the less-fortunate, sadly."
"Why there?"
"Well, Miss Granger, if it was discovered that you were not dead, who would think to look for you in a place like Cliff's Edge? The more questionable the conditions of the hiding place, the safer you become. Do you understand?"
She did.
"Yes, sir."
"To everyone there, you are to be my ward, a suicidal orphan turned slightly unhinged by the fatal attack on the attack on your parents, and my dearest friends, the Bateman's. Can you remember that?"
"It doesn't matter, as long as they do. All I need to know is my name, and not even that, considering my new lodgings."
"Very good, Miss Granger. You make a very convincing lunatic."
"Harry is the only other person to know about this, am I right?"
"Yes, but my duties as your secret keeper prevent me from telling him your whereabouts, except for in the event of my death, or the end of the war, in which someone will come to fetch you promptly."
Hermione felt a small smile cross her face as she thought about his words.
"Everyone but two think that I'm dead...won't my homecoming be a surprise."
"Indeed, I daresay Professor Snape may be the most grateful to see you alive and well when this is all over." Hermione started a bit, her eyes widening, and face paling in shock.
"You know?"
Dumbledore placed a large, wizened hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"My dear, I have known all along...well not until tonight actually."
"He came to visit me?"
Dumbledore nodded at this.
"I don't see why he would, it was over a few days before I got into this whole death mess...I meant nothing to him."
"Are you so sure, Miss Granger? He seemed very distraught to me."
"That was him feeling guilty, no doubt, just as I wanted it to be...He won't be sacked, will he?"
"Definitely not! He's a value to the order, and you're dead, so it wouldn't make sense, would it?"
No sense in not seeing the logic in that one, Hermione reflected.
"Now, if you don't mind, time is growing short, and Cliff's Edge desperately needs a new face..." With two small pops, both student and headmaster were gone.
They reappeared at the heart of what Hermione regarded as "the world's largest petrified forest". The height of the building, and the surrounding trees stubbornly vanquished any rays of the new rising sun, and Hermione shivered inwardly. There were no flowerbeds, as the sun most likely never visited often enough to support any type of plant life. The long path to the front door was overcome with weeds, tall grass, and sharp loose rock, all of which brushed Hermione's ankles as she and Dumbledore advanced on it. Hermione paused when she saw Dumbledore had stopped moving.
"What?"
He quickly conjured a pair of shears and a box of Miss U.K. Witch instant hair color and handed the items to her.
"In case somebody recognizes you."
Shakily taking her cue, Hermione started to hack at her beautiful long tresses with the shears, not caring about evenness, or style. She stopped butchering her hair when it became an unruly chin length monstrosity. Opening the hair color box, she extracted a single vial containing the smallest translucent drop of coloring; she uncorked the vial, and spilt the coloring unto the top of her head. Instantly, the dye took affect, turning her hair from honeyed brown, to a questionable peroxide blonde. She was in tears by time the procedure was over, and Dumbledore had produced a small mirror for her to peer into.
"Come now, Miss Granger, it was only hair, and like all living things, it will grow back, and so shall your coloring. We must greet your captors now, I think they may grow impatient."
Hermione looked mournfully to the ground, her severed hair disappeared quickly, as she heard Dumbledore perform a charm. Biting her lip until it hurt, she nodded in agreement.
"We mustn't keep them waiting then."
It took all of Dumbledore's strength to push open the large door at the entrance. Hermione immediately put on a slightly vacant appearance, keeping her eyes submissively to the ground, deliberately fidgeting with her hands.
Standing in front of them was a very tall, very gaunt woman. The skin over her skull seemed so tight that her hazel eyes took on a very wide appearance, and her pink frosted lips were pulled into what seemed like a perpetual smile. Her color of hair was unknown, as it was concealed by a nurse's habit, as was her rail thin body. She extended one skeletal arm towards Dumbledore, and took his wizened hand into her expertly manicured one.
"Albus Dumbledore, such an honor," she greeted mechanically, her voice monotone, and frigid as cold steel. Her eyes shifted to Hermione, and narrowed quickly, before turning them back to Dumbledore.
"The feeling is very mutual, Nurse Pratt. This is my foster child, Miss Musette Bateman." Hermione lifted her eyes to the formidable nurse, and the muscles in her mouth worked ever so slightly to give her an almost imperceptible smile of acknowledgement.
"Oh dear...what did she do to her hair?"
"It happened during one of her fits, most unfortunate."
"Oh yes, and the color does not match those dark eyes at all...a redhead, perhaps?"
"I'm not here to discuss her hair color, Nurse Pratt, I'm here to discuss her making Cliff's Edge a temporary home. I cannot handle her, sadly. She was once a very agreeable child...but the attack on her parents has left her violent, to herself and others. She rarely speaks, and when she does...well, there are words she says that I don't think need to be discussed in civilized conversation. She desperately needs your expertise, your care."
"Does she now? What do you have to say about this, Miss Bateman?"
Hermione looked to Dumbledore, her eyes wide, he smiled encouragingly, the customary twinkle almost blinding. Grinning, she looked at Nurse Pratt and replied with, "Fuck."
"I see. Now, if you will both follow me to my office, I have some papers you'll need to sign, Professor."
They followed her down several long corridors. Hermione tended to curiously glance into the windows of the patients' rooms, but never got a good enough idea of what the living conditions were like, as it took quick strides to keep up with Nurse Pratt.
Nurse Pratt's office eerily reminded Hermione of Delores Umbridge, with all of its kitschy ceramic kittens, and the sight impairing pastel walls. They both seemed to favor the same sort of style: Tacky extreme.
Pratt invited Dumbledore to take a seat in a bright pink overstuffed armchair, but failed to offer Hermione the same courtesy. She stood at Dumbledore's side, trying hard not to look at the offending color of her surroundings.
"Now, what these forms are basically saying is that this commitment is involuntary, and whenever you, her ward, feel she has achieved satisfactory mental health, than it is your job to come and collect her, and in the event of your death, Miss Bateman will remain with us, until we feel she has achieved satisfactory mental health...unless of course, a new guardian is provided for her."
Hermione felt her stomach drop. She looked frantically at Dumbledore, who was maintaining his usual calm demeanor. He smiled, nodded, and promptly signed the form. Hermione felt as if she was witnessing the signing away of her very soul.
"By the way, Nurse Pratt, how is your elder sister faring these days?"
"Well, she's been right as rain ever since we moved her from that dreadful St. Mungo's. Those people...thinking they are the authority on how to deal with my sister's trauma...utter buffoons, every last one of them. Now, I will show you both the room Miss Bateman will be staying in, I'm sure you will find it very pleasant..."
She was right about Hermione's room being pleasant. It was small, but bright, with blue and white striped walls that matched the spread on her daybed. On one end of the room was a sweet white dresser, with a pitcher resting on the top, on the other end was a large window that seemed to face an area on the grounds that let sunlight soak in, casting shadows on the blue carpeted floor.
"Very nice...I must take my leave of you, Miss Bateman. Nurse Pratt, make sure you take care of this girl. Despite her serious problems, she is very dear to me, and a few others at home. I shall miss her greatly."
Hermione had done very well in keeping her composure up until then. Quite suddenly, the tears came, as did the sobs. She threw her arms around Dumbledore, and embraced him as tightly as she dared, burying her face into his beard. He patted her back, and murmured soothing words. She released him, her sobs calming to quiet hiccups, and her eyes red and swollen.
"Goodbye, Musette."
She was quite alone with Nurse Pratt then. She didn't dare speak as she waited for her to make a move.
"I'm going to show you to your real room, but first you need to follow me to the hospital ward."
"For what?" Hermione asked fearfully.
"Miss Bateman, it is a theory here that the mentally unstable, once slipping into their comfortable insanity, have no human right to reproduce, for fear of what they will do to the children they bear, or what the children will become. It is customary here for every patient to be sterilized immediately upon their arrival."
"Let me get this straight...you are going to perform a mandatory sterilization surgery on me...because I have a few issues? Does Dumbledore know about this?"
"No dear, I'm afraid not. Now, if you'll please follow me..."
Hermione made a beeline for the door, and slammed right into a large figure blocking the way. Hands tightened around her upper arms in a vise grip, and she was lifted easily off of the ground, and slung over the large man's shoulder, shrieking and swearing as loud as her lungs would allow. Severus's name came unbidden to her lips in a scream before Nurse Pratt hit her with a "stupefy" curse. She slunk into the warm darkness of her subconscious mind immediately.
End of Prologue
Flashbacks in future chapters will explain the events leading up to this, I hope you enjoyed the first installment! Goodnight.
By: mistress-steerpike
Rated: R
Pairing: Hermione/Snape
Summary: The moderately anticipated sequel/prequel to the events in "Eulogizing Hermione", Hermione is being sent into hiding after her "death". Secrets are revealed through a sequence of moderately clever flashbacks. Enjoy.
Authors note: Okay, somebody emailed me to ask if I could update them and I was so happy that someone asked that of me, and then...I accidentally deleted their email instead of replying and telling them I would oblige. I'm so sorry, so if you know who you are, just email your address along my way and I will take care of it. Updates to this story will be announced in my online journal, here is the address: Also, to those interested, this story was written to the sounds of "Evanescence", anticipate a bit of quotage as the story progresses, their songs just fit the mood. Oh and also, also, yes, I do love "Donnie Darko" and I do realize that Tears for Fears did the original "Mad World" song...I just like the Gary Jules version better.
Hermione Granger was now officially Musette Anne Bateman, as stated in the Witches ID that Albus Dumbledore handed to her as they stood outside the gates to Hogwarts castle. She studied tiny rectangular card that contained her portrait, it smiled weakly at her, and nodded its head slightly. Suddenly, the card disappeared into a puff of yellow and red smoke, which drifted into the pocket of her robe.
"Where am I going, Professor?" Hermione inquired, eyes still locked on where the card once was held. Had she been looking in his direction, she would've noticed the lack of twinkle in his eye, as he sighed quite mournfully.
"A little known wizarding mental health institution called Cliff's Edge, it's never been known for its safety conscious methods of dealing with the less-fortunate, sadly."
"Why there?"
"Well, Miss Granger, if it was discovered that you were not dead, who would think to look for you in a place like Cliff's Edge? The more questionable the conditions of the hiding place, the safer you become. Do you understand?"
She did.
"Yes, sir."
"To everyone there, you are to be my ward, a suicidal orphan turned slightly unhinged by the fatal attack on the attack on your parents, and my dearest friends, the Bateman's. Can you remember that?"
"It doesn't matter, as long as they do. All I need to know is my name, and not even that, considering my new lodgings."
"Very good, Miss Granger. You make a very convincing lunatic."
"Harry is the only other person to know about this, am I right?"
"Yes, but my duties as your secret keeper prevent me from telling him your whereabouts, except for in the event of my death, or the end of the war, in which someone will come to fetch you promptly."
Hermione felt a small smile cross her face as she thought about his words.
"Everyone but two think that I'm dead...won't my homecoming be a surprise."
"Indeed, I daresay Professor Snape may be the most grateful to see you alive and well when this is all over." Hermione started a bit, her eyes widening, and face paling in shock.
"You know?"
Dumbledore placed a large, wizened hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"My dear, I have known all along...well not until tonight actually."
"He came to visit me?"
Dumbledore nodded at this.
"I don't see why he would, it was over a few days before I got into this whole death mess...I meant nothing to him."
"Are you so sure, Miss Granger? He seemed very distraught to me."
"That was him feeling guilty, no doubt, just as I wanted it to be...He won't be sacked, will he?"
"Definitely not! He's a value to the order, and you're dead, so it wouldn't make sense, would it?"
No sense in not seeing the logic in that one, Hermione reflected.
"Now, if you don't mind, time is growing short, and Cliff's Edge desperately needs a new face..." With two small pops, both student and headmaster were gone.
They reappeared at the heart of what Hermione regarded as "the world's largest petrified forest". The height of the building, and the surrounding trees stubbornly vanquished any rays of the new rising sun, and Hermione shivered inwardly. There were no flowerbeds, as the sun most likely never visited often enough to support any type of plant life. The long path to the front door was overcome with weeds, tall grass, and sharp loose rock, all of which brushed Hermione's ankles as she and Dumbledore advanced on it. Hermione paused when she saw Dumbledore had stopped moving.
"What?"
He quickly conjured a pair of shears and a box of Miss U.K. Witch instant hair color and handed the items to her.
"In case somebody recognizes you."
Shakily taking her cue, Hermione started to hack at her beautiful long tresses with the shears, not caring about evenness, or style. She stopped butchering her hair when it became an unruly chin length monstrosity. Opening the hair color box, she extracted a single vial containing the smallest translucent drop of coloring; she uncorked the vial, and spilt the coloring unto the top of her head. Instantly, the dye took affect, turning her hair from honeyed brown, to a questionable peroxide blonde. She was in tears by time the procedure was over, and Dumbledore had produced a small mirror for her to peer into.
"Come now, Miss Granger, it was only hair, and like all living things, it will grow back, and so shall your coloring. We must greet your captors now, I think they may grow impatient."
Hermione looked mournfully to the ground, her severed hair disappeared quickly, as she heard Dumbledore perform a charm. Biting her lip until it hurt, she nodded in agreement.
"We mustn't keep them waiting then."
It took all of Dumbledore's strength to push open the large door at the entrance. Hermione immediately put on a slightly vacant appearance, keeping her eyes submissively to the ground, deliberately fidgeting with her hands.
Standing in front of them was a very tall, very gaunt woman. The skin over her skull seemed so tight that her hazel eyes took on a very wide appearance, and her pink frosted lips were pulled into what seemed like a perpetual smile. Her color of hair was unknown, as it was concealed by a nurse's habit, as was her rail thin body. She extended one skeletal arm towards Dumbledore, and took his wizened hand into her expertly manicured one.
"Albus Dumbledore, such an honor," she greeted mechanically, her voice monotone, and frigid as cold steel. Her eyes shifted to Hermione, and narrowed quickly, before turning them back to Dumbledore.
"The feeling is very mutual, Nurse Pratt. This is my foster child, Miss Musette Bateman." Hermione lifted her eyes to the formidable nurse, and the muscles in her mouth worked ever so slightly to give her an almost imperceptible smile of acknowledgement.
"Oh dear...what did she do to her hair?"
"It happened during one of her fits, most unfortunate."
"Oh yes, and the color does not match those dark eyes at all...a redhead, perhaps?"
"I'm not here to discuss her hair color, Nurse Pratt, I'm here to discuss her making Cliff's Edge a temporary home. I cannot handle her, sadly. She was once a very agreeable child...but the attack on her parents has left her violent, to herself and others. She rarely speaks, and when she does...well, there are words she says that I don't think need to be discussed in civilized conversation. She desperately needs your expertise, your care."
"Does she now? What do you have to say about this, Miss Bateman?"
Hermione looked to Dumbledore, her eyes wide, he smiled encouragingly, the customary twinkle almost blinding. Grinning, she looked at Nurse Pratt and replied with, "Fuck."
"I see. Now, if you will both follow me to my office, I have some papers you'll need to sign, Professor."
They followed her down several long corridors. Hermione tended to curiously glance into the windows of the patients' rooms, but never got a good enough idea of what the living conditions were like, as it took quick strides to keep up with Nurse Pratt.
Nurse Pratt's office eerily reminded Hermione of Delores Umbridge, with all of its kitschy ceramic kittens, and the sight impairing pastel walls. They both seemed to favor the same sort of style: Tacky extreme.
Pratt invited Dumbledore to take a seat in a bright pink overstuffed armchair, but failed to offer Hermione the same courtesy. She stood at Dumbledore's side, trying hard not to look at the offending color of her surroundings.
"Now, what these forms are basically saying is that this commitment is involuntary, and whenever you, her ward, feel she has achieved satisfactory mental health, than it is your job to come and collect her, and in the event of your death, Miss Bateman will remain with us, until we feel she has achieved satisfactory mental health...unless of course, a new guardian is provided for her."
Hermione felt her stomach drop. She looked frantically at Dumbledore, who was maintaining his usual calm demeanor. He smiled, nodded, and promptly signed the form. Hermione felt as if she was witnessing the signing away of her very soul.
"By the way, Nurse Pratt, how is your elder sister faring these days?"
"Well, she's been right as rain ever since we moved her from that dreadful St. Mungo's. Those people...thinking they are the authority on how to deal with my sister's trauma...utter buffoons, every last one of them. Now, I will show you both the room Miss Bateman will be staying in, I'm sure you will find it very pleasant..."
She was right about Hermione's room being pleasant. It was small, but bright, with blue and white striped walls that matched the spread on her daybed. On one end of the room was a sweet white dresser, with a pitcher resting on the top, on the other end was a large window that seemed to face an area on the grounds that let sunlight soak in, casting shadows on the blue carpeted floor.
"Very nice...I must take my leave of you, Miss Bateman. Nurse Pratt, make sure you take care of this girl. Despite her serious problems, she is very dear to me, and a few others at home. I shall miss her greatly."
Hermione had done very well in keeping her composure up until then. Quite suddenly, the tears came, as did the sobs. She threw her arms around Dumbledore, and embraced him as tightly as she dared, burying her face into his beard. He patted her back, and murmured soothing words. She released him, her sobs calming to quiet hiccups, and her eyes red and swollen.
"Goodbye, Musette."
She was quite alone with Nurse Pratt then. She didn't dare speak as she waited for her to make a move.
"I'm going to show you to your real room, but first you need to follow me to the hospital ward."
"For what?" Hermione asked fearfully.
"Miss Bateman, it is a theory here that the mentally unstable, once slipping into their comfortable insanity, have no human right to reproduce, for fear of what they will do to the children they bear, or what the children will become. It is customary here for every patient to be sterilized immediately upon their arrival."
"Let me get this straight...you are going to perform a mandatory sterilization surgery on me...because I have a few issues? Does Dumbledore know about this?"
"No dear, I'm afraid not. Now, if you'll please follow me..."
Hermione made a beeline for the door, and slammed right into a large figure blocking the way. Hands tightened around her upper arms in a vise grip, and she was lifted easily off of the ground, and slung over the large man's shoulder, shrieking and swearing as loud as her lungs would allow. Severus's name came unbidden to her lips in a scream before Nurse Pratt hit her with a "stupefy" curse. She slunk into the warm darkness of her subconscious mind immediately.
End of Prologue
Flashbacks in future chapters will explain the events leading up to this, I hope you enjoyed the first installment! Goodnight.