AN: I am sorry for making you all wait so long, but I must say that I'm a teensy bit pleased that this chapter "only" took me a year to write, since the previous chapter took about three years to write. I can't believe how quickly time passes. I still adore this story and I WILL NOT ABANDON IT.
Since it's been a while, here's a brief overview of what's happened in the story so far.
IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS:
Hermione came to Hogwarts to get away from Ron, who has abused her so badly that she's lost control of her magic. She's there under the pretense of being a Potions apprentice, but Severus is really helping her find a way to once more gain control. Harry and Minerva also know of Hermione's predicament; the Weasleys have not been told since it's feared that they will not simply take Hermione's word over Ron's.
Severus and Hermione piece together all that's happened with Ron by viewing her memories in a Pensive and later he introduces meditation in to her rehabilitation. They speak about how one's magic is connected to your soul and that Hermione most likely, without thinking, made the choice that it would be easier to live with broken magic instead of a broken soul. In these conversations they touch on the subject of soul mates and the fact that James and Lily Potter were soul mates.
An accident in a Potions class lands Hermione in the hospital wing and results in the Head Boy being stripped of his title for groping Hermione. Severus lends Hermione a book about Animagi while she's on bed rest and he admits to her that he is an Animagus himself.
After she is released from the hospital wing, Ron surprises Hermione one night out on the grounds, wanting to force her back home. Hermione tries to escape him, but is tackled to the ground. When she refuses to speak with him, his fist connects to her face and a moment later, Severus arrives and sends him flying. He takes Hermione, on her request, to his quarters.
Hermione and Severus have grown close, particularly because Severus promised Harry to look after Hermione. There's a tentative friendship brewing at first, which simmers into something... more. A Howler from Ginny, where she calls Hermione 'Snape's whore', sets Severus' blood boiling and it forces them to admit to their feelings, both to themselves and to each other.
In the midst of this, three Death Eaters escape Azkaban and Severus goes after them. While on his mission, the Death Eaters trap him in his Animagus form, but he somehow manages to get back to Hogwarts. While Severus is passed out in bed, Hermione admits to Minerva that she's falling in love with him and that it scares her. Minerva reminds Hermione to be patient with Severus. She is put in charge with nursing him back to health.
The Minister of Magic, Kingsley, comes to Hogwarts to hear what happened during Severus' mission to find the Death Eaters. He mistakenly shares with Minerva, Harry and Kingsley that he's an animagus. Kingsley and Minerva decide that the Order should meet as soon as possible, at Hogwarts, to inform them of the breakout. Hermione panics as she realizes that the Weasleys are coming to Hogwarts. Kingsley is told of what has happened to Hermione and all of them come to the conclusion that the Weasleys must be told.
And now, on with the story!
Chapter Seventeen
The Weasleys are told
George Weasley sat frozen in his chair, his eyes glued to the letter he had just read. He hadn't spoken to Headmistress McGonagall since Fred's funeral and he couldn't remember ever receiving a letter from her. It was short, to the point and had obviously been sent to more people than him. It was a summons to an Order of the Phoenix meeting taking place later that same day. That was reason enough to make him weary, but it was the post script that made him truly alarmed.
Make sure Ronald stays behind to keep the shop open. All must appear to be as normal as possible. Don't tell him you are going to an Order meeting; he will be told at a later date. On a another note, the floo will be open from 4:45.
What in Merlin's hairy balls was going on in the wizarding world now? Even if George had desperately wanted to tell Ron about the Order meeting, which he didn't, he literally couldn't. Since the head of the not so secret society had given him a direct order not to tell Ron, his hands were magically tied. Oh, he could get around it, if he really wanted to. But frankly, he couldn't be arsed.
At four thirty, George left the office and went out to find Ron behind the register looking quite pleased. He wished the customer a good evening and then smiled as George approached him.
"They said they only wanted to browse, but ended up, after a little persuasion from me, buying stuff for nearly fifty galleons!" Ron said and raised his hand in a high-five.
George smirked as he slapped his brother's hand.
"Good one, Ickle Ronniekins," he said goodheartedly without thinking and immediately saw something shift in Ron's eyes.
"I hate that name," Ron muttered, his good mood gone in an instant.
"I didn't mean it mockingly," George said sincerely, as he put his palm on his little brother's shoulder. "I meant it more as a term of endearment."
Ron violently shrugged George's hand off his shoulder as real anger flashed in his eyes. George frowned, wondering why on earth he was reacting this way.
"Ron," he started, but was immediately cut off.
"It reminds me of Fred, okay?" Ron bit out as he glanced away from his brother's worried gaze.
The shop was completely quiet for a few seconds as George felt the usual stab of pain at the mentioning of his twin.
"Fine, I'm sorry," George immediately said, not being one to question things that made others miss Fred more than usual. "I won't use it again."
"Thanks," Ron muttered, then did a double take at George's outdoor cloak. "Are you going somewhere? It's not even five yet."
George winced internally; Ron hated manning the shop on his own, let alone close for the day. Thankfully, George had the upper hand, knowing there was one thing Ron hated more.
"Yeah, Gringotts summoned me; something to do with the bookkeeping for last year. Probably nothing, but they mentioned it was urgent – they want to close the books and needs this sorted as soon as possible. I know how much you hate this stuff, so I was hoping you could stay here?"
Ron had made a face at the mentioning of bookkeeping and was already nodding his agreement before George had finished the sentence.
"Thanks, mate. If it's a slow night, perhaps you can close early."
He was throwing Ron a bone here, because he did feel slightly guilty about lying straight to his face. A second later he panicked – what if Ron decided to close early in time for dinner at the Burrow only to find it deserted?
"You got it," Ron answered with a grin. "Any thing I can do?"
Thank the gods for small blessings, George thought. Knowing that he liked drinking as much as he disliked bookkeeping he was almost entirely sure that Ron would do as suggested.
"Yeah, go to the Leaky and have a drink for us both – Merlin only knows how long I'll be hanging with the goblins tonight!"
"Yes, sir!" Ron answered with a snort and a mock salute, waving as George walked out of the shop.
Diagon Alley was crowded, as per usual. George made his way towards Gringotts and as soon as he was out of eyesight of the shop, he turned, getting lost in the crowd, and quickly made his way to the nearest Floo station. Paying a few knuts for some Floo powder, he shut the privacy door and clearly said "Hogwarts, Headmistress' office!".
A second later he stumbled out of the fireplace, grumbling under his breath about hating Floo travel as he brushed of the soot from his clothes.
"Welcome, Mr Weasley," said the Headmistress, braking her stern facial expression for a moment in order to give him a small smile. "Have a seat, if you will."
George smiled and nodded at her and then he glanced around the room. Strange, he thought. Only Weasleys so far. Arthur and Molly were speaking with Charlie, while Ginny was clinging to his arm as if she was afraid he would suddenly disappear again; it had been almost nine months since they had last seen him. Percy had apparently brought along some of his work since he was reading an old scroll while scribbling in a notebook, obviously trying to look very busy and important.
The fire roared to life again and Bill stepped out with his wife and their little girl Victorie. George noticed Bill do a double take and then frown; he too must have noticed the fact that there were only Weasleys present.
"George," Bill said in greeting as he gave his little brother a quick hug and a tap on the back. "Where is our baby brother?"
"Back in the shop," George answered with a shrug of his shoulders at Bill's bewildered look. "I'm sure McGonagall will explain all in a minute."
They didn't have to wait long. Minerva called a house elf for tea and then asked the Weasleys to take their seats. Ginny let go of Charlie with a small pout, but after a murmured promise of extra gruesome dragon stories from Romania, the girl's mood grew lighter.
Arthur asked about Hogwarts and its students while they all watched two unknown house elves serve tea and biscuits. Minerva kept a close watch on all of them, noticed them all take a sip of the tea, and then opened her mouth to start speaking.
"Now that you've all had a helping of tea, it's time for a few others to join us. Severus, if you please."
The door opened and Severus Snape entered, along with a terrified looking Hermione Granger. George could only stare in surprise; he barely recognized her. The proud, fearless, annoying girl he had once known to make his and Fred's time at Hogwarts more complicated than necessary, was now cowering behind the Potions Master, her eyes darting around as if she was waiting for someone to attack her.
He started when Ginny suddenly sprang to her feet, while Molly went rigid and started fiddling for her wand.
"You!" the redheaded girl exclaimed angrily, before she suddenly swayed, while Molly had gotten her wand out and had barely pointed it at Hermione before it went flying through the air into Severus Snape's waiting hand.
"And that, Minerva, is why I demanded that they all receive a mild sedative before we entered," Severus sneered, lifting an eyebrow towards Minerva in a way to show her that he had been right.
"You what?!" cried an outraged Molly, but it lacked strength.
In the same moment Ginny lost the battle against her fatigued senses and sank back down on the chair without an outraged look in her eyes.
"Arthur, do something!" Molly demanded feebly.
"What would you have me do, dearest?" came Arthur's rational, but tired, voice. "We have all been given the same potion and really, Molly, can you really blame Severus for following his instinct? You did point your wand at Hermione."
"Because she broke poor Ronald's heart without reason!"
"She's under Snape's influence, what would you expect?!" Ginny exclaimed without hesitation.
George sat completely still in shocked silence. What in Merlin's hairy balls had he missed?
"FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN, SHUT UP FOR FUCK'S SAKE – BOTH OF YOU – BEFORE I DO SOMEHTHING I'LL REGRET!"
Harry's sudden outraged voice and the fact that he used an uncharacteristic swear word made the Weasley women freeze in their seats. The boy who lived stepped up behind Hermione, his expression livid. For a moment, no one said a thing. Then George couldn't take it any longer.
"What the hell is going on?"
His question wasn't accusatory or angry, just genuinely bewildered.
"She broke poor Ronald's heart!" Molly whimpered as she burst into tears. "She up and left him for..."
"Mother, no offense," George interrupted, not in the mood for his mother's hysterics, "but since I see poor Ronald every day and see first hand that he's not, in fact, heartbroken, I would very much like to have someone else answer my question. Demanding an answer from the terrified, broken witch behind Professor Snape seems evil, so I will instead turn to you, Harry. Will you shed some light on why my mum wants to hex Hermione and why my sister seems extremely angry with her, while I'm just sitting here wondering what the fuck have I missed?!"
Again, the room grew quiet. Harry let out a soft sigh. He gently pulled Hermione towards him, putting his arm around her. Ginny let out a strangled sound at the sight, but was strangely sedated after a glowering look from Harry.
"It's really not my story to tell," he said before he turned to the witch next to him, his voice becoming softer. "But if you want me to, Hermione, I will tell them."
She thought about it for a moment; she could practically feel Severus' eyes boring into the side of her face, sending silent thoughts of strength and support to her.
"Thanks, Harry, but I will tell them. Go sit, please."
It looked like Harry for a moment would argue with her, but then he gave her a nod and he sat down on the chair nearest to her. Hermione glanced at Ginny, who was once again... pouting? Glowering? It was a strange look, but Hermione knew without a doubt that the younger girl was very disappointed that Harry hadn't sat down closer to her.
Hermione didn't bother to ask Severus to sit; she knew he would do whatever he pleased, so no point in wasting time doing that. She took a deep breath and gathered her courage.
This was it. And even though she had thought about what to say nonstop for the past twenty-four hours, she still didn't really know where to start. Sighing, she decided to go with their preconceived thoughts on the matter.
"As far as you know, I came to Hogwarts a while back, starting an apprenticeship in potions under Professor Snape. I did this without telling Ron or anyone else and I have treated Ron in an unforgivable manner. Have I missed something?"
"You've ignored our letters!" Molly huffed, her arms crossing over her chest.
"And you let Snape stun Ron and then you just left him lying outside!" Ginny continued, her glaring eyes turning towards the Professor.
"He did WHAT?!"
Apparently, Ron hadn't shared that story with his whole family. Molly's eyes immediately snapped to the Headmistress.
"Minerva, I want Severus Snape on probation for this slight, starting NOW!"
"Molly, please," Minerva said as gently as she could, even though she wished to shake some sense into the woman. "I cannot put Professor Snape on probation since Ronald wasn't a student at the time. Now, please..."
"So it is in fact true?" Molly demanded shrilly. "How can you let such things go on at Hogwarts? It's unheard of, a guest of the castle being treated in such a way!"
"He wasn't a guest! He rowed a boat over the lake, found a weakness in the wards and camped on the edge of the forest until I came outside one day!"
Molly looked startled at Hermione's outburst, but quickly found herself again.
"Even so, a Professor stunning someone on the grounds of Hogwarts without cause is inexcusable..."
"Madame, please refrain from continuously insulting me."
Severus' voice was icy cold and very low, but everyone heard him and Molly's mouth snapped shut.
"I rarely do anything without cause. I stunned Mr Weasley because he was threatening to take Miss Granger away from Hogwarts against her will."
"That's impossible, they love each other; they belong together!"
"Ginny...," Harry growled out in warning, but Severus held up a hand to stop him.
"Miss Weasley, if that were indeed true, why did I see Mr Weasley tackle Miss Granger to the ground, straddle her and hit her straight across the face?"
The shocked silence of the eerily quiet room was deafening, but Molly managed once again to get on her feet, while George couldn't understand what he was hearing. Could this really be true? Was the true meaning of the Hermione's disappearance from Ron's life stemmed from the fact that he had abused her?
"Take back your filthy lie this instant, Severus, or I won't be held accountable for what I will do to you! No one spouts such rubbish about one of my children!"
Severus straightened his back and leveled Molly with an icy, calculated look.
"Madame, I may be many things, but do not call me a liar. The only person I've ever directly lied to was the Dark Lord, and as I don't believe he was human, I think we can disregard him in this instance. Would you not agree?"
Molly looked slightly taken aback at the reminder of his closeness to Voldemort. Ginny, however, was not to be deterred.
"Ron told me what happened! You discovered them locked in a compromising position and became jealous, you great, dingy, dungeon..."
Suddenly Ginny's voice disappeared; Harry had silenced her with a wandless, silent spell – he had heard enough of the rubbish Ron had apparently told her.
"You're done speaking, for a while, Ginny," Harry said tiredly. "I really don't want to make any rash decisions, but if you keep talking, there's a chance we'll both be single after tonight."
Ginny's eyes widened in fear, while Molly apparently got another burst of energy from that statement.
"Harry, that is not the right way to treat..."
"Molly! That's enough!"
Arthur could no longer do nothing. He had had enough of the chaos – it was high time for them to start talking about things like the adults they were. He yanked his gaping wife down on her seat, and then turned to the witch who was once again cowering behind Severus.
"Hermione, I apologize for my wife and daughter. Please continue."
Hermione sent the eldest Weasley a grateful look as she straightened out a little. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Severus for a moment before she started speaking.
"However much it pains me to say so, what Professor Snape says is true. I came to Hogwarts because I didn't know where else to go. I needed to go somewhere where he wouldn't be able to get to me, somewhere I felt safe."
"You speak as if you're afraid of him and I can't possibly imagine what Ronald could have done to make it so!" Mrs Weasley thundered, her eyes blazing.
"If you're quiet, mum, and let Hermione speak, I'm sure we will be told," Bill said rationally, but with a hint of annoyance at his mother's constant interrupting.
Ginny flinched slightly; this was the first time Bill had spoken since since Hermione had entered the room, and she shot her favorite brother a look of betrayal, looking quite annoyed at Fleur's nod of agreement.
"Miss Granger, if I may?"
Severus shot Hermione a questioning look and when she gave a short nod, he continue. He folded his arms over his chest, looking very much the part of intimidating Potions Master.
"The night Miss Granger arrived at Hogwarts, she had a black eye, a deep cut on her back and large chunk of her hair missing – her scalp was visible to us, even though we stood several feet away from her."
The room suddenly became very quiet. George felt sick to his stomach and he chanced a look at the rest of his family. Bill looked furious while his wife looked appalled. Charlie was shaking his head, his eyes shut firmly as if was willing the images in his head to go away. Percy had dropped his scroll to his lap, his jaw dropped in shock. Arthur's mouth was pressed into a very thin line and Ginny... His sister looked confused. She was staring at Hermione as if she was seeing her for the first time. His mother, on the other hand, let out an annoyed huff.
"And what proof is there that Ronald did that to her?"
"She told us," Severus answered simply.
"That's not proof!"
"What reason would she have to lie about something like that, mum?" George said quietly, a frown on his face.
Molly whirled around, rounding on her son with a look of betrayal on her face.
"Your brother doesn't have a single abusive bone in his body!"
Harry couldn't help it; a single snort escaped him and Hermione gave him a startled look. She saw his expression; he hadn't snorted out of amusement. No, Harry Potter would not laugh in a situation like this. He was angry; angry, because he himself had once shared Molly's assessment. He had been blind and it had cost his other best friend so much.
No one said a word. Uneasy looks were shared between the Weasleys; they all new that Ron had a short temper and always spoke and reacted without thinking. Could that really have evolved to physical abuse?
"Harry, how dare you?" Molly hissed through her teeth. "He's your best friend! That you're here, defending her, is disgusting!"
"The only disgusting thing I've done is ignoring the signs that have been telling me for a long time that something was wrong," Harry said and then turned to Ginny, who was wildly waving her arms in the air.
He frowned, wondering if he should release her from the silencing spell. Something in her eyes told him that he should and he nodded to her, letting her know that she could speak once more.
"Mum, we owe it to Hermione to listen to her story," Ginny said immediately after the spell on her had been lifted. "We might be wrong."
Harry exhaled loudly, the relief evident on his face. There was the Ginny he knew and loved so much.
"No! It's preposterous!" Molly shrieked as spun around to face Hermione. "My Ronald would never do such a thing and I don't appreciate you spewing such lies, Hermione! What on earth has happened to you? You used to be a smart, level headed girl who loved my son! I don't even recognize you anymore!"
"Neither do I!" Hermione suddenly roared, shocking Molly into silence, her eyes widening in surprise. "I loved Ron with all of my heart once, just as I thought he loved me!"
At this point Hermione's voice broke and she took a moment to compose herself.
"But he broke me! He made me feel like a worthless pile of shit and he did horrible things to me! And he had me believe that if I ever told anyone I would be shunned and alone and..."
"Well, at least you are right about that," Molly haughtily interrupted, finding her voice again. "We will never forgive you for these lies and we will shun you."
Hermione's face drained of color as she let out a wild gasp of pure panic, her nightmares flaring to life. This was her worst fear come to life – losing the people she considered family because they wouldn't be able to handle the truth.
She didn't hear the Weasley children all crying out an outraged "MUM!" nor did she see Arthur overcome his fatigue to stand up and yell "MOLLY! Don't you dare!" She didn't catch Harry's confused look nor did she see Minerva's eyes widen, her hand coming up to her chest as if she couldn't believe her ears. She didn't see Severus' body tense, nor did she notice him gripping his wand tighter in anticipation.
"As Matriarch of the Weasley family, I hereby..."
"Legilimens novis!"
The unusual spell snapped Hermione out of her initial panic and her senses returned to her. She watched as Severus kept his wand pointed at Molly, staring unblinkingly into her eyes. What had he said? Legilimens... novis? She knew novis was Latin for reverse, but she had never heard of it being used together with Legilimency before.
"I can't believe she almost did that!" George gasped as he slowly got up to his feet and trotted over to Hermione, looking over her intently. "Are you alright?"
"What?" Hermione asked, looking slightly bewildered at his genuine concern.
She glanced around at the other Weasleys and noticed their horrified expressions.
"What did she almost do?"
"She almost shunned you," George explained as if it was obvious.
Hermione stared blankly at him. She looked at Harry, who simply shrugged his shoulders.
"George, she was raised in the muggle world," Ginny said, her voice hitching a little. "She doesn't understand that if mum had finished the sentence..."
She turned to look at Hermione, her eyes full of sorrow.
"If Snape hadn't stopped her, you would have been dead to us."
The room was quiet for a moment. Harry tried to hide a cough behind his hand, the only indicative of how confused he truly was.
"I beg your pardon?" Hermione demanded flatly.
What on earth was this magic that she'd never heard about? It sounded absolutely ridiculous!
"I am so sorry, Hermione, but this conversation will have to wait," Arthur said as he eyed Severus and Molly warily. "If Severus is doing what I think he is, we won't have to worry about her doing it again. But we will have a hysteric Molly soon."
"What is he doing, dad?" Bill asked as he absentmindedly stroked his daughter's head. "I didn't quite catch the spell."
"Reverse Legilimency," Arthur answered. "Instead of viewing her memories, he is showing her his. Very uncommon spell; you have to be a highly trained and skilled Legilimens to stand a chance to do it correctly, but you also have to have complete control over your own mind. Very few people in the entire world knows how to do this. I shouldn't be surprised that Severus can do it; he really is brilliant."
"But what is he showing her?" Charlie piped up.
By the way Molly was whimpering, Hermione new exactly; she exchanged a look with Harry, who also had caught on. He winced, but knew that there was nothing to be done about it now.
"He's showing her my memories of my last recent years with Ron," she told them somberly. "We've been viewing my memories in a Pensive, so they are completely accurate. And absolutely horrible for a mother to see."
She wasn't upset with Severus for the intrusion of her privacy; her heart was aching for the woman who had always felt like an extra mother in the world she never could truly share with her parents.
"Why have you been showing him such private memories, Hermione?" Arthur wondered, his eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion, noticing her tense and glance quickly at Minerva. "There's more to the story, isn't it?
Hermione gulped, but nodded slowly. She opened her mouth to tell them about her loss of controlled magic, but was stopped by Minerva.
"She can only tell you the rest if you all take a vow of silence," the Headmistress said, ignoring their incredulous looks. "This is dangerous information, especially with certain recent events that we will talk about at a later date."
George saw the hesitation in the rest of his family's expressions, so he quickly got his wand out to set an example.
"I, George Weasley, swear not to utter a word of what has been spoken of here today with anyone who wasn't present at this meeting, until Hermione Granger releases me of my vow."
A purple swirl erupted from his wand and then faded quickly. Hermione gave him a small smile which he happily returned. One by one, the rest of the Weasleys said their vows.
"What about mum?" Ginny asked, looking at her old head of house.
"If we can get a vow from her after Severus is through, then we can tell her. Otherwise, we will have to revise the vow to not include her."
George was getting nervous now. What in Merlin's name had his little brother done to warrant such secrecy? He chanced a quick look at his sister, who no longer seemed remotely annoyed or angry with the older girl. On the contrary, Ginny looked as nauseous as he felt.
"Hermione, do you want to tell them?" Minerva asked the girl gently.
For a short second she felt like refusing, but she let out a sigh instead and then nodded.
"I'm not sure when or how, but Professor Snape seems convinced it happened because of Ron's... abusive manner," Hermione said carefully, taking a deep breath in preparation for her shocking news. "I have lost control of my magic."
Absolute silence. Nobody moved and Hermione briefly wondered if the Weasleys had stopped breathing. The room was completely silent for half a minute and was then suddenly broken by a heartbroken wail that made everyone flinch.
Severus had ended the spell on the Weasley matriarch.
Molly Weasley was inconsolable; Arthur rushed over to his wife and tried to hold her, but it was impossible as her arms flailed around madly. The Weasley children were in a state of shock and could barely do more than look back and fourth between Hermione and their mother.
Hermione on the other hand was watching Severus; she had seen him stagger moments after he had ended the spell and she guessed he was overcome with fatigue after holding such a complicated spell for so long. A moment later, Severus lost his balance and was forced down on one knee, his hand coming up to Minerva's desk in support.
Hermione nearly cried out in alarm as she hurried over to him, suddenly remembering that he was still recovering from severe injuries.
"Severus, are you alright?" Minerva demanded, finally becoming aware of the Potions Master being on his knees, just as Hermione reached him.
Without a second thought she grabbed his arm, her other arm coming around his body so that she could help him to a nearby chair. Harry was there a moment later and together they hoisted the Professor to his feet.
"I will be... just fine, Minerva," came the exhausted voice of Severus Snape. "Thank you, Miss Granger, Mr Potter."
"You suffered from magical depletion only days ago!" Hermione scolded him fiercely as she and Harry lowered him onto a chair. "What were you thinking, Severus?"
At the moment, Severus was too tired to register that she had called him by his first name. Harry however, noticed and his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. He let go of the Professor and took a few steps back, quietly observing them. Severus turned to look at her and gave her the briefest of smiles, enjoying the fact that she still hadn't let go of him.
"It was necessary."
Not until now did Hermione understand the seriousness of what Molly had been about to do when she had attempted to shun the younger witch.
"It's... real?"
Severus simply nodded and she understood that he was unable to speak more at the moment. Hermione gripped his shoulder a little tighter as a thousand thoughts was milling through her mind.
"Thank you," she said quietly, trying her best to convey with her eyes how truly grateful she was that he had intervened.
"No, what I did... was wrong. I should have used... another spell.. to stop her. The intrusion to your privacy... is unforgivable, and yet... I hope that you... will find it in you to... forgive me."
"Of course, Severus! But we will talk about this later, but know that I'm not angry with you. Rest now, please."
She finally took her eyes off the Potions Master and her gaze locked instead with Harry's; instantly she knew that her best friend was well aware of that something had changed between her and the older wizard, but neither of them said anything.
Molly had calmed down by now as she had been coerced to drink not only her entire cup of tea, but Arthur's as well; the calming draught had still been active. She was leaning heavily on Charlie, her eyes unfocused. Arthur was currently speaking to the Headmistress about revising the oath – Molly was in no state to agree to an oath of silence at the moment.
"I'll take my family home now, Headmistress," he said as they had all made the change to their oaths. "I'm concerned for my wife; her strong reactions before the spell are as alarming as the one she had after the spell."
Minerva merely nodded in understanding and Arthur immediately turned to Hermione.
"Hermione, no words I say can probably make you feel better, but know this; we are taking you seriously and we don't doubt you. You will not lose us and Ron will have to answer for what he's done to you."
Hermione smiled sadly.
"That's all I needed to feel better. My biggest fear has always been losing all of you; Ron knew that and frequently used it against me to make me stay. I'm sorry that you had to find out like this."
"You have nothing to feel sorry for, Hermione."
George, Bill and Percy all spoke at the same time, surprising everyone in the room including themselves. Arthur smiled, even though it didn't reach his eyes.
"See? You're not alone, Hermione."
He grasped her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Weasleys!" he said suddenly, startling Hermione, but the rest of his family straightened their backs, recognizing the tone of their Patriarch. "Until we know how to proceed with the information learned here tonight, we must not treat Ronald any different. George, this will be extra hard for you, but it is of utmost importance. It's too easy for a wizard to simply vanish in the wizarding world."
They all agreed, even though most of them did it grudgingly.
"Good. Then let's take your mother home."
"Dad, can I stay for a moment?" Ginny wondered gently. "I need to speak with Hermione. Harry will make sure I get home safely."
Hermione started in surprise, and she and Harry shared an incredulous look. Could Ginny really have changed her mind so completely, just like that? Arthur's gaze shifted to Harry, who nodded once in agreement.
"Very well. Best not to make it too late, Ginny."
All Weasleys except for Ginny bustled over to the fireplace and disappeared in the green flames one by one. Once they had left, Minerva finally let out a deep sigh.
"Severus, really. I should scold you for using such a complex spell so closely after you drained your magical core, but I understand why you did it," the headmistress said seriously. "Harry, Hermione and Miss Weasley – you may stay and have your talk here. Come, I will help you to your quarters, you impossible man."
The fondness in her voice was unmistakable and it made Hermione smile.
"I'll come by after dinner, Severus, and talk about tomorrow's assignments," the young witch told him and the Professor only inclined his head in the affirmative.
Minerva helped Severus to his feet and guided him over to the floo.
"Professor Snape?"
Ginny's small voice made them halt and Severus turned his head to give her a cautious look.
"I don't want to hold you up unnecessarily, I just wanted to say... I'm sorry. I've said some terrible things about you and to you."
If Severus was surprised, he didn't show it. Hermione and Harry, however, were gaping in shock.
"Thank you, Miss Weasley."
At the moment he felt like he couldn't say anything else; he was too tired to speak, too tired to listen. Ginny seemed to understand, because she nodded and gave him a small smile.
With that, Severus let Minerva floo them to his rooms and didn't complain once as she fussed over him. His thoughts were occupied by the events of the last hour and while he was slightly surprised of the mostly positive reactions from the Weasleys, the use of that spell now appalled him. He had betrayed Hermione's trust and inflicted such pain on Molly that he felt sick with himself. He should have known that Hermione's big heart would forgive him without a second thought, but he would still have her understand that he had handled the situation poorly.
Nevertheless, he couldn't deny that his heart didn't soar over the fact that she had called him Severus freely in front of other people.
"Severus! Get into bed!"
"Aye, aye, ma'am," he murmured and slipped into bed and a moment later he slipped into a dreamless sleep.
Minerva watched him for a moment, making sure he was really sleeping.
"You are a good man, Severus Snape," she whispered as if not to disturb the quiet. "Sleep well."
