Disclaimer: I don't take any credit for anything associated with Harry Potter. No financial profit is being made.
Unlikely Partners
Chapter 10
Why the hell is she smiling? Severus wondered silently. He tried to focus his gaze on her face, but his vision blurred and then made him see double.
"Go over to your bed and make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." Hermione told him, moving back towards the bathroom.
Severus wanted to ask Hermione what exactly she was planning to do, but intense pain combined with nausea prevented him from speaking. He could barely keep his eyes open, and he feared that if he tried to stay standing for much longer he'd collapse on the floor.
Hermione disappeared into the bathroom and Severus went to sit on the edge of his bed. He sat with his back to the bright sunlight streaming into the room, not wanting to expose his face to the intense light.
His heart pounded heavily in his eardrums, each time reverberating a sharp ache through his ear canal. It felt like two hot knives were slowly being slid into his temples. He tried, iron-willed, not to think about the torturous pain. But after exhausting himself in his attempt to teach Hermione Shield Occlumency, his strength was too spent for him to think about anything else.
His magical power had drained completely. At the moment he was as utterly "magic-less" as any Muggle. This had only occurred a scant few times in his life with his powers returning in as soon as a few hours and as long as a few months.
Severus swallowed, knowing that he had no way to determine how long his powers would be gone. In truth, he had known that the temporary loss of his powers was a possibility he had risked when he had made the decision to perform Legilimency for more than a few minutes at a time with no substantial break between each time he entered Hermione's mind.
But he had been so determined to finish Hermione's lesson that he had pushed himself far past his limit. And now he had to pay the price.
Hermione returned to the room, holding a folded white washcloth in her hands. She looked at him and moved her gaze to the large window behind him.
"I'd be happy to make this room darker, but can I perform magic here without Voldemort noticing?" she asked him.
"No, . . . you can't. But my wand is on that table against the wall. You may use it."
Hermione looked to her right and reached out to pick up Severus's wand. With a determined motion she directed it at the window and the Venetian blinds fell down and closed tightly, sufficiently blocking out all rays of sunlight. Hermione then returned Severus's wand to the table.
She moved toward the bed as Severus slowly changed his position and laid down on his back. Hermione was next to him as soon as his head touched one of the pillows.
"Here," she said to him, and gently placed the washcloth across his forehead. It was soothingly hot, and Severus exhaled evenly after it touched his skin. Hermione stepped back and glanced at the chair sitting in front of Severus's desk. She then went and retrieved Severus's wand from the the side table. With a deft flick of her wrist the chair moved towards her and she directed it so that it faced Severus.
Satisfied with its placement, Hermione put Severus's wand down. She went over and sat down in the chair she had moved.
"Has this ever happened to you before?" Hermione asked softly.
"Yes, . . . but not because of Legilimency or Occlumency," Severus told her.
Hermione had believed his reaction to be a side effect of the amount of Legilimency he had performed in the last hour and a half. But it didn't make sense for that to be true if this had happened at other times when there was no Legilimency or Occlumency involved.
Severus sighed deeply.
"This is a side effect of performing Legilimency for so long, but it's not something everyone experiences after doing so. I'm only experiencing these symptoms because I'm different from most who perform the art of Legilimency."
Hermione didn't say anything. She wanted to know more, but wasn't sure what else she could ask that wouldn't put him on guard. She decided to mentally file away the information he had told her and think about it later. Now, her primary concern was to get him feeling better so that he could help her master the final step of Shield Occlumency.
"I noticed there were plastic cups in the bathroom, would you like me to get you some water?" Hermione asekd.
"No. I doubt I would be able to hold it down."
Severus tensed suddenly as a jolt of pain seared down his spine. Thankfully, the pain left as quickly as it had come, but it left in its wake a wave of profound nausea so overwhelming that he involuntarily rolled onto his side and retched onto the floor.
A startled Hermione jumped up and hurried to get Severus's wand so that she could dispose of the mess with a a quick charm. Severus was still leaning over the side of the bed, his body shaking painfully with every breath when she had completed the spell.
He muttered the most profound expletive in the English language under his breath, but Hermione heard it clearly enough. Hermione picked the washcloth up from where it had fallen on the bed and looked at the man before her with a sympathetic expression.
"I'll go run this under hot water again," she told him.
Severus fell back against the mattress with a small groan of agony. It seemed like every synapse in his body was firing in shooting pain.
Hermione returned and placed the hot cloth back on his forehead.
"How long do you expect this to last?" Hermione asked gently.
Severus remained silent for several long seconds.
"I've lost all of my magical strength, Miss Granger. There have been times when I have recovered quickly in the past, but there's no way for me to know how it will go this time. I'll just have to wait and see what happens."
Hermione stilled. That had not been what she wanted to here. Completely losing one's reserve of magical strength was a serious thing indeed, she knew. And she couldn't think about what would happen if Severus didn't improve.
She sat back down and watched Severus, silently willing him to return to full health.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
"No. Unless you happen to be some kind of miracle worker, there isn't a damn thing you can do."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Order of the Phoenix had gathered at Number 12 Grimmauld Place for one of their fortnightly meetings. It was late in the evening and everyone was assembled in the old house's parlor, waiting for Minerva McGonagall to call the meeting to order.
Remus glanced at Nymphadora who was leaning against him on one of the room's two sofas. Nymphadora had requested to be the first to speak at tonight's meeting. She and Remus had agreed that it would be better to let everyone in the Order know what was going on with Severus and Hermione as early on in the meeting as possible.
Remus moved his gaze around the room, trying to judge what people's reactions would be. Mad-Eye Moody sat on the piano bench smoking a pipe. Out of all the Order's members, he was the only one who still didn't trust Severus. Undoubtedly, he would be the most outraged about what had happened. Fred and George Weasley sat on the floor against the wall.
It was hard for Remus to guess how they would react. If he was a betting man, he would have put his money on the chance that they would protest against the situation. Molly and Arthur Weasley sat in kitchen chairs by the doorway. Molly was what Bill called a "Severus Supporter" and Remus pegged her to understand the importance of carrying out the intricate ruse, especially since Hermione would be in grave danger if she refused to comply with Severus's request. Remus knew Arthur would side with her.
Sitting on the sofa opposite from Remus and Nymphadora were Bill and Fleur. Bill's face had improved over the weeks, though the side of his face held a tangled network of shiny scar tissue and there was a scar above and below his left eye. The scar on his eye was now pink, but would eventually fade to white.
Bill's hair was down, around his face, in an effort to obscure some of the scar tissue. His bride-to-be held his hand and smiled at her fiancé. It was hard to predict what they would say after they had learned Nymphadora's news. Bill didn't like Severus. But he didn't possess the deep distrust and even hatred that Mad-Eye had for the man.
Professor Flitwick sat on a low stool next to the couch. Remus doubted there would be much protesting from him. The diminutive man respected Severus Snape and would trust him in almost any situation.
The Nigerian Kingsley Shacklebolt had spoken with Severus enough to know that he was no Voldemort supporter. Also, he didn't know Hermione and wouldn't have the personal concern for her that everyone who knew her would have.
That left Minerva. Remus knew she trusted Severus almost as much as Dumbledore had. She was also extremely intelligent and would see that there had been no way to avoid putting Hermione into the situation she was now in.
Remus let out a soft sigh. It was time to see if his initial guesses were correct. Minerva had risen from her seat and all eyes were now on her.
"Tonight we have several matters to discuss. We have many issues to address, but before we start with the reports, Nymphadora has informed me that she wishes to give us some rather important information." Minerva announced.
Everyone's gaze shifted to rest on Nymphadora.
"A few days ago, Severus told Remus and me that Voldemort has become excessively paranoid after the loss of his second horcrux. Somehow, Voldemort has sensed that Harry wishes to seek out and destroy the five horcruxes that he knows about. So Voldemort came up with a plan to prevent Harry from finding those horcruxes and ordered Severus to help him carry out this plan."
The room was tense with silence.
Mad-Eye snorted. "I'm sure Snape was more than happy to comply."
"What's the plan?" George asked.
Nymphadora was silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to best state what had happened without causing half the room to erupt in anger.
"The plan was for Severus to take a female hostage. Someone who is close to Harry."
"What do you mean by the plan 'was'?" Fred asked seriously.
"The plan has already been executed," Nymphadora said clearly.
"Nymphadora, what are you saying?" Minerva asked.
"Listen! Before I say anything else, all of you have to realise that Severus is in complete control of the situation."
"What happened?" Minerva demanded.
"Severus asked me to convince Hermione to be his captive. She agreed to it and is with him now. She's staying in Severus's private rooms."
"WHAT?" Fred and George shouted in unison.
"You actually let that girl be taken to Voldemort?" Mad-Eye asked.
"Yes, but you must understand"–
"What the hell possessed you to make such a decision without consulting us first?" Bill asked irately.
"The poor girl's probably being Crucio'ed as we speak, and it's your fault." Mad-Eye said scathingly.
"SHUT UP ALASTOR!" Remus roared. He very rarely raised his voice, but on the few occasions that he did, he was able to immediately bring everyone to silence.
"How long is Hermione going to have to stay with him?" Molly asked, speaking for the first time.
"We don't know." Nymphadora told her.
"What are Harry and Ron going to think when Hermione doesn't show up for the wedding?" Arthur asked.
"Hermione can write a note to you saying that she's too ill to make it to the wedding, give it to Severus, and he'll deliver it to you in time for the wedding so that you can show it to Harry and Ron. A couple days after the wedding, Severus will tell Harry that he has Hermione." Nymphadora explained.
"What kind of guarantee do you have that Severus won't hurt her?" Fred asked.
"Severus is an honorable man.– Nymphadora began.
"Minerva, may I check this woman for being under the Imperius curse?" Mad-Eye asked.
Remus sent him a dangerous glare and Minerva decided that it was a good idea to change the subject.
"Before this conversation gets any more out of hand, I'd like to move on to another topic of discussion." Minerva said authoritatively. "Nymphadora, did Severus mention anything about Narcissa and Draco Malfoy?"
"No. But I didn't ask. The matter concerning Hermione took precedence over all other topics of conversation."
"I see." Minerva moved her gaze to Mad-Eye. "Do you believe that it's likely the two have left the country, Alastor?"
The old auror shrugged.
"It's very possible. If they're still in England, they're living without magic, or else the Ministry would have been able to detect their location long before now."
Minerva nodded.
"What are everyone's thoughts on whether Narcissa and Draco are still in Voldemort's good graces?"
Flitwick spoke for the first time. "Draco enabled the Death Eaters to enter the castle. Voldemort might look upon Draco's actions favorably for that."
"Draco failed the ultimate task, though. Didn't Narcissa tell Severus that Voldemort threatened to kill Draco, if he failed to kill Dumbledore?" George asked. "So the two of them could be in hiding."
"Narcissa never did anything to anger Voldemort. Severus says he never found out about the Unbreakable Vow. Would she be willing to go on the run for something her son did?" Bill asked.
"Considering the risk she took to make the Unbreakable Vow in the first place, she obviously doesn't want to see Draco die." Remus pointed out.
"Yes, but look at the situation this way," said Kingsley. "Severus said that Bellatrix voiced some serious doubts about his loyalty to Voldemort. What if Narcissa was just acting, and the true purpose of their visit was to perform the Unbreakable Vow as a test of Severus's loyalty. If he made the vow and killed Dumbledore, or helped kill him if Draco had done the deed, they would perceive him as being a true follower of Voldemort. If he made the vow and refused to kill Dumbledore, he would die, and The Order of the Phoenix would lose their most valuable spy. If that had been the case and the women were questioned under Veritaserum, Voldemort would likely praise them for their deed."
"Perhaps Voldemort didn't mean for Draco to try to kill Dumbledore at all, perhaps the real purpose was to see where Severus stood." Flitwick stated.
"But Draco did raise his wand to Dumbledore but he couldn't bring himself to cast the killing curse." said Nymphadora. "And he was in the presence of several Death Eaters when that happened. Voldemort is bound to know that Draco hesitated, and I doubt he's going to let him get by without some kind of punishment."
"If Narcissa and Draco have left the country, where might they have gone?" Minerva asked.
"Aurors are being dispatched to France, Ireland, Germany and Spain at the end of this week." Nymphadora told her.
Minerva sighed. "I suppose all we can do now is wait to find out more information." She turned to Remus. "How is the Latin translation coming?"
"I've found out why Dumbledore was harmed when he destroyed the second horcrux. Apparently horcruxes can only be directly destroyed by the their maker. Though in Harry's case, because of his connection to Voldemort, he is the only person other than Voldemort who has the power to directly destroy a horcrux. Now, the indirect destruction of a horcrux might be something anyone can do without suffering any ill effects."
"What does indirect destruction involve?" Minerva asked.
"I've only just begun to work on the part that explains it. I'll know more at the next meeting."
"Very well. I'll expect a copy of written information on the subject." She then addressed everyone in the room. "Now let's move to the rest of the reports. Kingsley, let's hear yours first."
Minerva then reached into something that resembled a carpet bag next to her and withdrew a clipboard and self inking quill. She then settled down to hear the rest of the night's reports which would hopefully have less outraged interjection than when Nymphadora had given her information.
A/N: Review please! Your opinions mean a lot to me.