After Snape had apprised Albus of what Draco had said, he sought out Hermione. They wouldn't have a lesson for a few days, and he needed to speak with her as soon as possible. She wasn't hard to track down, she was notoriously predictable. The potions master found her in the library as expected. "Miss Granger," he said. Her head whipped up from the book she was reading. "A word," he intoned and turned with a swish of his cloak and made his way back out of the library.
Hermione scrambled to gather her belongings and follow. He led her back down to the dungeons and his office. They passed through it into his private quarters. Once the door was shut and warded, Hermione asked, "Is something wrong, Professor?"
"I hope not, Miss Granger. That is what we're here to determine. Have a seat," he said gesturing to her usual chair. Hermione looked both concerned and nervous, but did as she was told. Severus took his own seat before speaking. "Why did you approach Mr. Malfoy about his mother?" he asked.
The witch opened her mouth to speak, but then frowned. Sensing the issue, Severus added, "Mr. Malfoy advised me that you slipped him a note." Hermione let out a sigh of relief. The wizard smiled to himself. The little swot just can't help the desire to answer any and every question posed to her by teachers.
"Oh," she said and looked down at her lap.
"Yes, 'oh'," Snape repeated. "Why on Earth did you think that was a good idea?"
Hermione shrugged and picked some imaginary lint off her skirt. "You said he was alone. That no one knew. I, I don't know, I didn't want him to be lonely."
"So, you thought you'd just slip a note in his pocket? Did you really think he wanted your sympathy?" he pressed.
Hermione looked over to the wizard and scowled. "Well, he apparently did because he wrote back," she snapped.
Severus sighed, "Why didn't you tell me, Miss Granger?"
The little witch's expression softened with the question. "He asked me not to," she answered.
"Did he ask for a vow?" Snape asked quickly, suddenly concerned that this line of questioning could get the girl killed.
"A vow?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, did you make a vow not to tell anyone, swear an oath, anything?" he pressed.
"I..uh, why does that matter?" the witch asked, becoming alarmed with her professor's vehemence on the issue.
"Miss Granger, wizarding oaths and vows are very serious. They can be fatal if not complied with," he explained.
"You think Malfoy tricked me? But how does that make sense? If he wanted to make sure I didn't talk, he would have told me the consequences of betraying him, wouldn't he? Or at least after I'd made it, right? He wouldn't have just waited to see if I'd die. Would he, professor?" Hermione asked starting to hyperventilate. "Why would he do that when I'm helping him? I thought he trusted me."
"Calm yourself, Miss Granger," Severus said gently, realizing that his approach was likely to send the girl into a full-blown panic attack. "We don't know if that's the case at all. I'm only concerned. Mr. Malfoy is under a great deal of stress, and I want to ensure he's done nothing foolish." While Hermione didn't look quite as panicked now, she did still look greatly concerned.
"Now, Miss Granger, if you feel any physical discomfort such as a burning sensation or pain, I want you to stop talking immediately. Do you understand?" The witch nodded. "So, what did he ask you for specifically, and how did you respond?" Severus desperately wanted to just watch the memory, but if a vow was in play, it could trigger at his intrusion.
The witch thought for a second. "Well, it didn't happen until the first time we met in person," she began. "He asked me if I'd told anyone about our correspondence. I told him no, that I hadn't. I said that I understood that this was a private matter. He then asked if I told you. I repeated that I hadn't. He then thanked me for my 'discretion'. He asked that I not tell anyone of our interactions. He said that he had enough to worry about without people finding out he was friends with a, well, you know."
Severus didn't like the sound of that. "What did he call you, Miss Granger?" he pressed.
"Nothing, he just said 'well, you know', the girl responded.
That was surprising. The boy never had a problem calling her names before. Of course, that was before he needed something from her. And friends? That seemed to be laying it on a bit thick. "Please continue, Miss Granger," Snape instructed.
"There isn't much more. I just said that I had no desire to break his confidence, and that I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. That was it," Hermione ended. Looking to her professor to tell her if she made a mistake.
"Did you use your wand or put any power behind the words?" Snape questioned.
"No, I just told him I promised I wouldn't say anything. Was that wrong?" she asked.
"No, you did well," her professor soothed. "It appears only to be a promise, nothing magical."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good to know," she said and her professor hummed his agreement. "I don't know why Draco told you about me, but I plan on keeping my promise, Sir. I won't break the confidence he's placed with me," she said firmly.
"I understand, Miss Granger," Snape said knowing that the less people who knew about this development, the safer everyone would be. "As for why Draco told me, well, I'm afraid that was my fault. I've been trying to get him to talk to me since the beginning of the school year. He's carrying a heavy burden. One I was uncertain he could bear on his own. This time when I spoke with him, he confided that he was no longer carrying it alone. I was worried that whoever he spoke to would be indiscrete. I prodded him to reveal who he was speaking to, and only then did he tell me."
"That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for trusting me," Hermione said looking relieved.
"Of course, Miss Granger," he said, then hesitated for a moment. "Do you have feelings for Mr. Malfoy?" He figured he better have all bases covered. If feelings were involved, things could very well get…complicated.
Hermione laughed, "Feelings for Malfoy? No, sir, definitely not. I'm glad I can help him, and we're actually getting along really well, but he's still a prat."
Severus chuckled. "He said something similar when I asked him the same question," he confessed.
The little witch laughed again. "I'm not surprised, sir. We're kind of friends, I guess. Or something like friends," she added.
"I'm glad he's not alone," the wizard said. "Do please let me know if you can think of any way that I may be of help. I won't pry, but may I also ask for an update on his wellbeing from time to time? " Snape inquired.
The witch smiled at him, "That's reasonable, sir." She looked to the mantle clock then jumped to her feet. "I'm sorry, professor. I have to go! Professor McGonagall's defensive transfigurations class starts in 5 minutes and I don't want to be late," the girl said hurriedly.
Severus laughed, "Go then, go! Be off with you, girl. You mustn't be late." The witch threw him a quick wave and was out the door. Snape stared after her for a moment smiling before shaking off his amusement. He reminded himself that he still needed to inform Albus of the conversation.
*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*S*
His meeting with Albus had gone about as well has he'd expected. The headmaster was thrilled with the development. At the very least they would have some measure of where Draco was with his mission. There was a lot they could rule out due to Granger's involvement. If she believed that what she was doing would be dangerous to others, then she would most likely tell an instructor. Severus wasn't quite as sure though. The girl had a habit of doing dangerous things. He hardly thought Draco would be a good influence on her in that arena.
Albus had been adamant though. The girl would continue assisting Malfoy as long as he needed her help. Her physical and mental health would not be taken into consideration. While he was glad that Draco had finally accepted help, he was less thrilled by who he had chosen. Oh, the witch was capable and highly intelligent. That wasn't his concern. What frightened him was her psychological reaction to Dumbledore's death. He also feared that should anyone find out about her involvement she would be ostracized or perhaps even arrested. He didn't want to have put so much time into training the girl just to have her end up in Azkaban. He tried to convince himself that it had nothing to do with how much he cared about the little witch.