Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright on Harry Potter, much as I'd like to.
Minerva McGonagall would have bristled with indignity if someone called her a busybody. She would not have denied it, but she would certainly take offence at it being said aloud. Right now she consoled herself that she was not being nosey; merely concerned for the welfare of her brightest pupil. She had meant to pop in to check on Hermione for only the briefest of moments but seeing Severus enter the ward she held back waiting for him to leave.
Five minutes passed to ten. Ten melted into fifteen. After half an hour Minerva shifted and stretched out her front legs. You retained some of your characteristics even in your animagus form and right now, in the drafty stairwell, her rheumatism was playing up. 'What on earth is he doing in there?' she thought crossly. She had spoken with Poppy who had assured her that Hermione's condition was not serious, painful definitely, but not life-threatening. She couldn't imagine Severus spending more than a necessary second by the Gryffindor's bedside.
She allowed another five minutes to elapse before restlessly padding up to the heavy doors that marked the entrance to the infirmary. Tilting her head to one side she strained her ears to pick up the slightest sounds from within. Not surprising really as the thickness of the doors had been designed with the intention of shielding those on the exterior from the reality inside.
**Thirty-five minutes earlier**
Severus was eyeing Hermione with the same amount of caution that one would a sleeping lioness. The girl seemed flushed and was making faint moans of pain in her sleep. He chided himself for not bringing more of the analgesic with him. Regardless of his cold-hearted outer persona, he was much like any other human when it came to compassion, seeing a child in pain troubled him and he wished he could somehow alleviate it.
He spied the mortar dish on the bedside table and quietly stooped over it to ascertain if there was any remnant of the salve within it. A thin green veneer remained on the bottom almost completely dried out. He rubbed his fingers into it, smearing the small quantity up. There was nowhere near the amount needed to fully cover her affected area. Snape judged that the amount would just about treat one of her hands, which probably would ease her rest for a while giving him time to fetch a fresh batch.
For better access he settled down in a kneeling position by Hermione's bedside and commenced lightly massaging the fingers of her left hand, being mindful not to wake her. She sighed and turned slightly causing him to still his action. As she nuzzled down into her pillow Snape realised that she had closed her grip around his hand. To make matters worse she pulled her hand upwards and inwards such that his fingers, intertwined with hers were trapped beneath her chin. Any attempt to extricate himself would surely result in her waking, and would most likely result in an endless barrage of questions from the annoying know-it-all. He strongly doubted that she would accept his explanation of his presence being 'all her cat's fault'. The only option as far as he could see was to wait it out. She had to loosen her grip eventually…
Five minutes later Severus realised that his wait could be quite some time. He shifted in tiny degrees trying to get more comfortable. He knew it was hopeless, at the end of the day, a cold hard floor was a cold hard floor, and not being blessed with a well-padded posterior there was nothing he could do to change that. He felt a warm mass nestle into his side and looked down. Crookshanks' bright green eyes gazed up at him, almost apologetically. Snape gave the cat a resigned look and began scratching Shanks behind his ears. After about ten minutes Shanks felt Snape's hand slow and then stop. He twisted his head up to look at the Professor. Severus's head was tilted to one side, lying flat on the edge of the mattress next to Hermione, his shoulders moving up and down in the gentle rhythm of sleep.
'Their first night together,' thought Shanks, 'the morning after's gonna be hell, but they'll definitely have something to think about.' Feeling more than a little smug at the way his plan was working out he pushed closer into Snape's soft cloaks and gave himself over to the dreamworld.
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Minerva pushed against the swing door cautiously. The hinges were old and rusty and she didn't want to alert the occupants of the ward to her intrusion. Whatever was going on she wanted to witness herself. She squeezed through the narrow portal she had made, being sure to let it close gently, without a noise. With care she crossed over to the darkest part of the room and keeping in the shadows made her way over to Hermione.
As the only patient in the wing came into view Minerva pushed her senses into overdrive trying to locate the bad-tempered Potions Master. She did not want to be spotted by him if she could possibly help it. He already sneered at her about her watchfulness over her charges. She knew that he didn't mean it so negatively, but she always found herself feeling defensive and she'd rather not give him further ammunition to throw out at her in the staff room.
At first glance he was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if he might have left without her noticing, but she dismissed this knowing that he would have had to pass right by her if that were the case. She moved so that the bed was directly in front of her. It took ten seconds for her brain to process the sight before her. It took a further thirty seconds for her brain to coordinate with her eyes for a double-take to confirm the vision.
Hard though it is for a cat to do, Minerva pursed her lips. Silently exiting the infirmary she made her way to her rooms to ponder on what, if anything, to make of the sight of Hogwarts' unashamed resident sourpuss keeping a bedside vigil over Hogwarts' current queen of the bookworms.
Oblivious to McGonagall's thoughts, the occupants of the infirmary slept on.
Author's Notes:
Ok, so I haven't posted in ages. But do not fear, I have used the time well and more chapters will soon be on their way!
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