Severus had half an hour to pull himself together. This could not continue, he knew. Hermione was occupying his thoughts to such an extent that he couldn't concentrate on anything else. And right now he needed to concentrate on the youngest of the Malfoys.
He pulled Albus' Pensieve out from underneath his desk and touched the surface of the silvery liquid with his wand. There they were, those hideous memories of that night. Things that hadn't really happened to Hermione, but because of Draco's curse had been as real to her as if she had really been there.
Hermione had agreed to put her memories of that night into the Pensieve, so that both he and Albus could check for any proof that either Malfoy was responsible. Severus didn't share Albus' belief that if Draco could be expelled, then Hermione would be safe again, but he did agree that it couldn't hurt.
If they could only find a solid reason to expel Draco, then at least Hermione could stay at the school for as long as she needed to. Albus had already suggested to Severus that Hermione might like to teach one day and to apprentice Minerva McGonagall would be an amazing opportunity for her. She would be safe and would make an amazing teacher, Severus recognized.
No one had mentioned this idea to her, as Albus had wanted to give her time to adjust to her pregnancy before giving her anything more to think about. Severus had thought it would do her good to put the idea to her, as it would give her a stable future to cling to when everything was so unsure. However, what Albus said went. At least on the surface of things.
Unfortunately neither professor could find anything in Hermione's memories of that night to help them. Severus knew that Draco would have had to be hidden somewhere near her in the library to cast the spell, but if Hermione hadn't seen him then they couldn't see him. It was frustrating. Except now Severus had found a far better use for Hermione's memories.
The knock on the door unnerved him – Draco was early and that hadn't been expected. Severus knew that the arrogant teenager was probably expecting a pat on the back and a 'well done' for what he had done to Hermione and decided to play on the fact.
'Enter," Severus said, affecting a bored tone, sitting back in his chair.
Draco Malfoy sauntered in, a self-satisfied smile on his insipid face. He wore an air of confidence that irritated the hell out of Severus. He oozed cockiness from every pore and if there was one thing that Severus hated more than stupidity, it was cockiness. It made him itch to take Draco down a peg or two, which was good, because that was precisely what Severus planned to do.
He still hadn't decided whether to return to the Dark Lord upon his next summons and risk Voldemort finishing the job this time, or whether to go into hiding, either someplace far away, or at Hogwarts where he'd have to watch his back and couldn't leave until the Narcissistic Snake was defeated. He had decided to make that decision on how things went with Draco today; if things went badly, he'd have the choice taken out of his hands.
Draco sat down on the chair on the other side of Severus' desk. Once he was sitting down properly, Severus noticed with satisfaction that his feet were barely touching the floor. He'd bought the chair for that very reason; it was meant to make his students feel small and young, which would put them on even more of an edge.
"Good evening, Professor," Draco said, smiling a conspiratorial smile at Severus.
"Good evening, Mr Malfoy," Severus had said, his voice silky and dangerous as he tried to force down his vicious thoughts about the boy before they showed on his face. "I trust you are well?"
Draco grinned. "Very well," he said, still smiling.
Severus wondered for a second if it was worth just killing him now. No one would ever suspect it was him, being how he always favoured Slytherins, Draco especially. But he had promised Hermione and she would know it had been him when they found Draco's bloodied corpse, 'prat' tattooed on his smug forehead. And Albus, of course, knew everything. But living out the rest of his life in Azkhaban almost seemed worth it, looking at the boy's handsome, but irritatingly arrogant face.
"I trust you heard the rumour about Miss Granger's parents?" Severus asked, lifting an eyebrow. "And her subsequent breakdown?"
"Which rumour, sir?" Draco asked, his self-satisfied smile turning into a grin. "There's a lot going around."
"The rumour, Mr Malfoy," Severus said, his voice getting even more deadly, "about Death Eaters burning her parents alive?"
"Muggles," Draco said, dismissively, only a hint of guilt tainting his voice. "They had it coming."
Severus cocked his head. Guilt… That was funny, Severus had been sure that the boy was past being capable of that emotion.
"Do you know what this is, Mr Malfoy?" Severus said, gesturing to the large stone Pensieve on his desk.
"A big stone bowl?"
Severus sighed and bit his tongue to stop himself taking points from Slytherin.
"Yes," he said, his voice betraying the annoyance he was feeling. He stood and pulled his wand out of his robes. He was glad to see Draco wince as it was momentarily pointed towards him.
He touched the silvery liquid inside the Pensieve with his wand, watching it swirl about, then become completely transparent. Within it Severus could see the fire, licking at Hermione's ankles, a silent scream leaving her lips as she ran out of the room to go and try in vain to save her parents.
Severus lifted his wand, the trail of liquid still transparent as it followed his wand from the Pensieve.
"Would you like to see what happened at that house that night? What your father did to them? What torment Miss Granger enjoyed?" His voice was now so dangerous that anyone who knew him would have known to run; but Draco didn't notice.
"Erm… alright," Draco said, uncertainly, eyeing the Pensieve suspiciously.
"Good, good," Severus said, smirking.
As Severus lifted the wand to Draco's head, he muttered a spell, quietly. Draco felt a shiver go through his body before total darkness hit him.
The liquid turned silver as it entered Draco's head and Severus stepped back. Draco suddenly reached up and clutched his head, screaming, completely oblivious to Severus' satisfied smile. He might have promised not to kill the boy, but he definitely hadn't promised he wouldn't put him through exactly what Hermione been through. It was only a pity that Draco wasn't watching his own parents burn to death instead.
Severus watched as Draco fell from the chair to his knees, screaming louder. He winced, glad he'd thought to cast a silencing charm on his office. Albus probably wouldn't have approved of his ever so slightly sadistic way of getting through to Draco, and he definitely wouldn't have approved of the way Severus was enjoying it.
Severus grimaced at that. Years spent with Death Eaters, pretending to be as sadistic and twisted as them, must have had some effect. He'd always known he wasn't a nice man, but just lately he'd been more aware of it, as if Hermione's light was making his darkness more apparent.
It was like she'd turned into his conscience. God, what a thought. His very own Jiminy Cricket. And he didn't even like the girl, the bloody irritating know-it-all who didn't want anything from him.
The spell Severus had cast was allowing Draco to feel and see everything Hermione felt that night. From the moment the curse hit, Draco was stuck watching Hermione's agony, while feeling it along with her. It would be less horrific for him than it had been for Hermione, as he had never even met the Grangers, but he would still experience the pain and see the terror on all their faces. Clones couldn't feel, Severus knew, but it was scary how well they managed to fake it.
Draco was begging now, his words jumbled and incoherent. Severus knew there would be no danger for him, as there had been for Hermione, but he had to watch the time carefully. Hermione's memories of coming out of the curse were in there too and Draco would be able to hear he music Severus had played and hear his voice from the moment Severus had managed to get through to her. He had approximately eighteen minutes until he had to bring Draco out, before he risked exposing himself as the person who had saved her life, then had thoroughly and passionately kissed her.
Although leaving him to witness that would have the added bonus of giving Draco a small nervous breakdown, Severus decided that however amusing that might be, it probably wouldn't be worth it in the end. Maybe.
Severus' thoughts were interrupted as Draco suddenly reached out and grabbed his ankle, still whimpering and sobbing. Severus jumped and kicked his ankle out of Draco's grasp, before backing away and sitting behind his desk.
Now that had unnerved him.
He checked his watch. Eleven more minutes until Hermione would hear the music he had played, knowing that music was fabled to get through to a person's subconscious. It had been a wild stab in the dark and he owed the idea to Albus, who had bought him something called a 'self-help tape' last Christmas.
Its title had been something ridiculous about winning friends and influencing people. Severus had listened to the first fifteen seconds, before tossing it into a chest, along with a pair of pink, knitted bed-socks his Aunt Gloria had sent him on the same day, with the message 'to keep your toesies warm, Severus'. He thought she was incredibly lucky he hadn't sent her a vial of his most lethal poison in return; the senile old bat. 'Toesies' indeed.
Nine minutes to go, Severus noted, checking his watch again. And in about fifteen minutes Hermione would be watching him walk out of the door, thinking he didn't want to be with her. It had almost killed him to walk away from her, but he'd known he had to do it. What use could he have been to her with no job, in hiding from Voldemort and all his Death Eaters?
Except Albus hadn't fired him. He still had his job and even if he'd have to go into hiding, she should be in hiding herself, especially now she had her unborn child to think of. They could have gone into hiding together – Severus had more than enough money to support them for three lifetimes if needs be.
Except she didn't want anything from him. And he certainly didn't want anything from her. To be alone with the irritating girl for any length of time, however attractive and entertaining she could be on occasion, would drive him to distraction. Her intelligence was notable, but she talked far too much.
Severus shook himself back to reality. It was pointless thinking improbable thoughts. He looked at his watch again and noted that it was nearly time to pull Draco out of Hermione's hell. Draco was coughing and choking, tears running down his face. Severus knew he couldn't die, but still felt a chill go through him – it had only been a matter of days since Hermione herself had lain on his bed, crying, choking and dying.
He bent over Draco's now still form and put his wand to his ear, slowly drawing out the silver liquid. He took a few steps back and waited for Draco to come round. His breathing slowly returned to normal, his body uncurling.
His eyes opened slowly and he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room. He looked scared and bewildered as he tentatively pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked down at his arms; pushing the sleeves back and looking for burn marks. Finding none, he looked up at his Potions Professor.
"You can see why that spell is so popular among Death Eaters, can't you?" Severus said, conversationally. "It's far worse when it's actually your parents you have to watch begging for help, dying in agony in front of you."
Draco looked at him, his eyes wide, before vomiting onto the stone floor.
Severus waited patiently until the boy had emptied the entire contents of his supper.
A waste of the lovely lamb dinner they'd all eaten earlier, Severus thought, suddenly wishing he'd chosen to skip that meal himself. It was far less pleasant seeing it half digested all over his office floor.
He quickly got rid of the mess, before helping Draco to his feet and lowering him carefully into the chair he had been sitting in earlier. He handed him a beaker of water and then walked back to his own side of the desk.
"I'm disappointed, Mr Malfoy," Severus said, his voice bored. "Miss Granger didn't react as badly to the curse, and it was her parents she watched burn."
"What… what did you do that for?" Draco's voice was as unsteady as his hands, which were shaking enough to spill his glass of water over his robes.
"I thought you might like to see what effect that little curse had," Severus explained, leaning back in his chair. "As you seemed so proud of it."
"But… you're meant to be on my side," Draco whispered, placing the beaker on the desk with a shaking hand.
"I am, Draco," Severus said, his eyes meeting Draco's and his voice sincere. "More than you know."
"Then why?"
"What? You didn't enjoy watching the Mudblood scream and beg? Don't tell me you actually felt for the girl?"
"I just don't like to see it."
"Apparently you have inherited your father's belief that inflicting pain is… amusing," Severus said, leaning forward in his chair. "Torture is necessary and sometimes even enjoyable, but in this case Mr Malfoy, a little subtlety could have gone a long way."
Draco still looked shaken and confused.
"You tortured Hermione without even thinking of the other options. I know subtlety has never been a strong point in the Malfoy family, but you are going to drive her out of this school if you carry on this way. Then where will you be, without your precious Mudblood to hand in to the Dark Lord?"
"I needed to break her," Draco said, desperately. "I had no choice."
"Everyone has a choice, Draco," Severus said, hoping Draco would catch the hidden meaning in his words, while at the same time knowing he wouldn't. "It's our choices that make us, or break us. Subtlety is an art every man should master. You barged in without thinking; a Gryffindor quality if ever there was one."
Severus sent Draco a malicious smirk, which widened as Draco looked up at him and glowered.
He must be feeling better, Severus noted, amused.
"Do you have any idea what it is to be a Death Eater?" Severus asked, his face becoming serious. He got up and sat on the desk in front of the shaken Slytherin. "You will have to torture and rape innocent men, women and children. If you don't like seeing one girl hurting, how do you think you will cope with murdering babies as they sleep?"
"You mange it, sir," Draco said, his voice sulky as he continued to stare at his hands.
Severus nodded. "I do what I have to do."
"And I'm doing what I have to," Draco said, looking up and finally meeting Severus' eyes. "If I can't break the Mudblood, then I will not only lose my family, in less than a year, I will lose my life."
"There are other paths, Draco," Severus said, kneeling next to the chair.
Draco suddenly regarded Severus wish suspicion. "Is this because the Dark Lord tortured you? Have you… turned against him?"
Severus sighed, getting to his feet. He should have known Lucius would not be able to stop himself telling Draco about that.
"The Dark Lord has done far worse than that in his time," Severus said with a bitter smile. "If I thought it would help, I would show you. I have not 'turned against' him. I am merely trying to make you see that your way is not going to work."
"I have to turn Granger," Draco said, his voice stronger now, but still with a desperate edge to it.
"Then do it with a little Slytherin subtlety," Severus said with a sigh. "Did you not realise that the curse nearly killed her? What would you have done then? She is on the verge of leaving the Wizarding world altogether because of your brutish way of tackling this situation. If you are to get her to turn to Voldemort, then you will have to stop her despising you."
Severus looked at the traumatized boy and wondered if what he had seen and what Severus had said to him would make any difference at all. Then he took his seat again and started talking, drawing Draco in the best he could.
