Summary: The truth comes out.
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Severus will find out th truth in this chapter. We're in for a ride.
Chapter 14
Severus lay unconscious for two days. Hermione had reviewed her healing to make sure she hadn't missed any venom or internal injuries. Thankfully, she hadn't. His body just needed the time to recover, and she suspected he'd not had much real sleep for at least three days before the battle.
She'd used Empathic magic to communicate with Harry, letting him know she was okay and would be back when she could.
"What's up, Hermione? Why did you disappear?" she heard Harry's thoughts in her head.
"I don't want to go into it right now. I'll let you know when I see you. How went the battle?"
"Well, we won. Snape's memories were enlightening. He was on our side the whole time, Hermione. He was innocent. And in those memories, I found out that I had to die by Voldemort's Hand. Hermione, my scar was a Horcrux!"
"I thought that might be the case," Hermione thought.
"Wow, you really are brilliant. The thing was, Voldemort struck me down, but I was able to come back."
"Merlin, Harry, how?"
"I don't know exactly. I did see Dumbledore in the beyond. But anyway, after that everything seemed to go our way, and I was able to destroy Tom."
"Thank heaven, Harry. It's finally over."
"Yeah, now why can't you come back? We're just here at Hogwarts."
"I don't want to go into that, Harry, like I said before. Please just drop it. I'll tell you everything soon."
"Ok. Don't be gone long."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," she assured and broke the connection with him.
oooOOOooo
She sat in the chair beside Severus' bed, watching his chest rise and fall. She'd been doing that for a good hour now with no other signs from Severus that he was awake. Suddenly, she heard him groan. Getting up from her chair, she sat on the side of his bed and waved her wand over him. His vitals were fine. Severus slowly opened his eyes and looked at her incredulously.
"Herm… Miss Granger," he said.
"Does anything hurt?" she asked him.
He took stock of his body. He reached up and felt his neck, pulling his hand away and giving it an odd look.
"Surprisingly, no. How am I alive, and why is my neck in pristine condition?"
"I healed you," Hermione said succinctly.
"No, really, how did this happen?" Severus asked sharply.
"Bear with me as I explain," Hermione said.
Trepidation filled her. She would tell Severus her secret now and find out how he would react.
"Before we went on the run, I took any book from the Grimmauld Place library that I thought might help us. One of those books was a book on Empathic Magic. It's a book on healing. At one point, we were escaping from the Ministry and Ron got Splinched. I remembered the book and was able to heal him almost immediately with the healing magic described in it. It's a way of using your empathy for someone or someone's situation to increase healing powers. I studied and perfected the teachings in the book, practicing them when I could. I was able to use that magic to heal your neck and neutralize the venom in your system."
Severus arched his eyebrows at her. "You were able to perfect this magic?"
She nodded. "This magic is actually something few can practice. You have to have an empathic personality to even be able to use it. Have you heard of this type of healing before, Severus?"
His eyes grew wide as he realized she'd called him by his name. Hermione felt herself blush, and she averted her eyes.
"I haven't heard of it, but healing is not my specialty. You may want to discuss this with Madam Pomfrey when this war is over."
Hermione smiled. "It's over, Severus. Harry killed Voldemort, and all the Horcruxes were destroyed. Neville killed Nagini."
Severus pulled back the sheets and looked at his left arm. He choked up. "It's gone. It's finally gone!"
"Oh, I'm so glad!"
He stared at his arm for a while, running his fingers up and down where the Dark Mark had been. Finally, he stopped and looked at Hermione.
"Why do you keep calling me Severus?" he asked with a mixture of curiosity and accusation.
"There's something else I need to tell you about Empathic Magic."
"Go on."
"There's an aspect of this magic that is used to help a patient reach memories that may be hidden. It can also be used to find out truths about someone who may be hiding something from either others, or even themselves."
She bit her lip as Severus looked at her, his eyes narrowing.
"I've been… I've really been in your dreams, Severus. It's been me. I know that you are innocent of murder. I'm your friend, and I love you."
Severus sat up suddenly and glared at her.
"You! You've been in my head for months now, every night? What are you playing at? Did you tell your two stupid friends all about me then sat there and laughed?"
"Oh, Severus, no. Of course not. They don't even know anything about this!"
He looked surprised, but then became angry again.
"You took advantage of me! You seduced me! How dare you invade my dreams for months! Was it fun for you when we were making love to think about how much of an idiot I was to think it was just a dream?"
"It was never like that! I could never think you're an idiot. I fell in love with you in your dreams. Everything I said to you was real!" she cried.
He looked at her bitterly. "Except for the fact that you were really there and not a figment of my imagination!" he huffed.
She looked to the floor in embarrassment. She refused to make eye contact with him for a while. They both were silent until she finally got the courage to say more.
"Severus, I'm so sorry. I never meant to deceive you like that. I started out wanting to know why you killed Dumbledore. When I found out that he made you kill him, I was angry! If he wasn't already dead, I'd probably have killed him myself! And then I thought about how alone you must be, portraying a murderer in front of those who had been your friends. I wanted you to have a way to release some of that stress."
"I don't need your pity, nor do I need you! Get out! Leave me alone! I want to have nothing more to do with you."
Hermione looked to the ground again, tears flooding her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She wiped them away and looked back up at him.
"Of course, if that's what you want. This is my home. You can stay here as long as you want. No one will know where you are. Let me see what's going on in our world. I'm sure Harry is trying to exonerate you after he saw the memories you gave him. I'll come back with any news."
"Don't bother," he grumbled under his breath.
"I'll come anyway," she said softly.
She could bear his caustic look no longer. She fled from the room and down the stairs into the sitting room. Tears streamed down her face as she mourned her lost love. She would never be able to get Severus to forgive her. Her love for him would go unrequited.
She let herself mourn for some time before wiping her tears away. She waved her wand in front of her face, taking away the puffiness that her tears had made.
"Winky? Winky, can you hear me?" she called out.
In a pop, the House-elf appeared before her.
"Missy Granger, how can I help?"
"Oh, good. Thank you for coming, Winky. Headmaster Snape is upstairs recovering from his battle wounds. He doesn't want me here."
"Did you try to give him clothes, Miss?"
Hermione chuckled softly at that. "In a way you might say that, Winky. Can I ask you a favor? Would you please watch over him?"
"Oh yes, Winky loves helping the Headmaster."
"Are there any special Elf spells you could put on this house so no one but me can find it? I don't want anyone coming here without my permission. I fear that the Ministry will take the Headmaster into custody before his name can be cleared."
"You's gonna help the Headmaster be free? The House-elves know he's no murderer. Can you clear him?"
"I hope so, Winky. Can you put up wards or spells?"
Winky snapped her fingers. "Done. No one but you and anyone you bring with you can get in here. The Headmaster is safe."
"Thank you, Winky. Professor Snape is probably hungry. Would you see what he wants to eat and help him get up and move around? I don't know if I'll be back today. I honestly don't know when I'll be back."
"Winky will take care of everything, Missy Granger. Don't you's worry."
"Thank you, Winky."
Hermione gave Winky a nod and Disapparated away. She appeared at the Hogwarts gates and made her way up to the castle, frowning at the sight of it. All of the towers had some sort of damage to them. Rubble was everywhere. It looked like all the bodies had been cleared, thankfully. She wondered who else had lost their lives.
Entering the castle, she found Mr. Filch and Professor McGonagall standing there surveying the damage. Professor McGonagall was pointing and saying something when she looked over and saw Hermione.
"Oh, young lady! Where have you been?" she cried as she rushed up to Hermione.
"I've been safe. Is Harry here?"
"He is at the Ministry talking to Kingsley."
"Kingsley?" Hermione asked.
"He's been appointed Minister for Magic."
"Oh! That's wonderful. Professor… who did we lose?"
Professor McGonagall sadly listed everyone on their side who had lost their lives. Tears filled Hermione's eyes again as she thought of those who had died. She found out that Lavender Brown had survived her attack from Greyback, thankfully. Many more were injured but would be okay. She caught up on the battle and how it had gone down.
"That still leaves the question as to where you were," Professor McGonagall said with an arched brow.
Hermione looked at her professor. She was unsure what her thoughts on Severus were. She decided to ask.
"What has Harry said about Professor Snape?"
"Well, he's why Harry went to the Ministry. He's trying to get him exonerated."
"Do you believe what Harry said about him?"
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Hermione visibly let out a breath. "I would hope you would, but the story is one I can see some people not believing."
"Hermione, what does this have to do with where you've been all this time?"
"I saved him, Professor. I've got Severus Snape hidden away as he recovers and until his name is cleared."
"Oh! He's alive? May I see him?"
Hermione smiled. "No. I can't say where he's hidden. Not until it's safe for him to emerge. But when I see him again, I'll tell him you were asking about him."
At that moment, the doors to the castle opened and in walked Harry and Ron.
"Hermione!" Harry called and enveloped her in a hug.
Ron was quickly behind him, taking his turn giving her a hug.
"Oy, Hermione. Where've you been?" Ron said as he hugged her tightly.
"That's a long story."
"Well, we have plenty of time. Let's head up to the Common Room and talk," Harry said.
"Is there a lot of damage there?" Hermione asked.
"Nah, we fixed it up straight away so we'd have somewhere to stay," Ron explained.
"Great," Hermione said as she followed their leads and turned to the staircase.
"Where did you go, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, we were expecting you to help us!" Ron said in annoyance.
"I was able to save Snape," she said.
The boys stopped and both looked at her, their eyes wide.
"Snape is alive?" Harry said.
"Yes."
"Well, where is he?" Ron asked.
"He's in hiding in a safe place. Let's get to the Common Room."
They hurried there and were soon settled on the couches in front of the fireplace.
"So, tell us what happened!" Harry said impatiently.
She explained what had happened and how she'd used her Empathic Magic to cure Snape.
"I'm sorry it took so long to come back. He was unconscious until this morning."
"Where is he?" Ron asked. "The Ministry will want to see him."
"What's the status on exonerating him?" Hermione asked.
"Well, we were coming along fine. The Wizengamot is meeting tomorrow morning to deliberate the evidence and make a final ruling, but Kingsley thinks everything will be accepted and he'll be cleared. But that was when everyone thought he was dead."
Hermione thought for a minute. "Perhaps we shouldn't let them know that he's not dead."
Harry thought on it. "Maybe."
"Harry, do you think they'll be less likely to clear him if they know he's alive?"
"I do. Kingsley said it would be a simple hearing because he's dead and it would just be a matter of clearing his name. If he were alive, he' might have to testify, and it would probably be a long trial process."
"Well, that's it, then. I'll just stay out of the way, and you won't say anything about him being alive."
"What if he's cleared, then comes back and they decide to try him again?" Ron asked.
Hermione harrumphed. "Can they do that?"
"I don't see how they could. Once they rule, that's the end of it," Harry said.
"Yeah, but they make up their own rules all the time," Ron argued.
"True, but with Kingsley at the head, he won't let that happen," Harry replied.
"Should we do this?" Hermione asked them both.
The three each looked at one another for a minute before they all nodded their heads. "It's the best way to do it," Harry said at last.
Ron moved closer to Hermione and put his arm around her nonchalantly.
"Well, now that that's settled…" he said as he pulled her closer.
Hermione unwound herself from his arm and moved away from him.
"Hermione, what's going on? I thought we were–you know… together."
Hermione gave him an odd look.
"Wherever did you get that idea?"
"When we were in the Chamber. I mean, you hugged me."
Hermione's mouth dropped open. "I hugged you? We celebrate destroying a Horcrux and not being drowned by hugging one another and all of a sudden, we're together? I'm sorry, Ron, but we're not together!"
Hermione got up and distanced herself by sitting on a winged-back chair. She crossed her arms and glared at Ron.
"Oh, come on, Hermione. We're meant to be together."
Harry nodded. Hermione huffed.
"Maybe last year, Ron, but not anymore."
"What do you mean, not anymore? You've always wanted to be with me."
Hermione grit her teeth. This man-child was always saying things that were unfeeling of her or her desires. She stood up, her hands clenched and magic crackling in the halo of her hair.
"Ronald Weasley, I wanted you in sixth-year but you were too busy sucking face with Lavender Brown and throwing that in my face. Then when you got tired of her, you thought we could just be together. Well, I'm sorry, it doesn't work that way. You're always jealous, and you say you want to be with me, but you ogle other women. When you decided to up and leave us in the woods, you showed your true colors. I have no intention of ever getting together with you. Is that clear?"
Ron looked stricken.
"But Hermione… we're supposed to…"
"No!" she shouted. "We're not supposed to be anything. I've no interest in you. I am in love with someone else!"
Her eyes grew wide, and her hand slapped over her mouth. Harry was looking at her curiously, but Ron was angry now.
"Who is it? What did you do, run out on us every night so you could be with your two-bit man-whore?"
Hermione gathered her frayed wits. She removed her hand from her mouth and stood straight. In a dignified manner, she answered Ron.
"He's not a man-whore, and it doesn't matter, because he won't ever return my feelings."
Harry looked at her. "Who is it, Hermione?"
"I can't do this right now. I'll be up in my old room. Send your Patronus when the Wizengamot has ruled."
She bounded for the staircase and disappeared up it.
"Hermione!" Harry cried.
She ignored him and Ron. She didn't want them to see the tears that had come back with the thought of Severus never accepting her as the woman he loved.
oooOOOooo
Much later that night, Hermione snuck into the boys' dorm and woke Harry. She held her finger over her mouth and motioned for Harry to follow her back down to the Common Room.
"I've been thinking," she said as she settled into the sofa.
"That's odd. You never do that," Harry said with a grin.
She grinned back.
"I think we should tell the Wizengamot that Snape is alive. Ron is right, they could reverse their ruling if they find out he's alive after they rule."
"Hermione, it's going to be so much harder."
"What if I testify?" she asked.
"Why would that help?"
Ron came down the stairs looking sleepy. "What's going on?"
"Sorry, Ron. I didn't want to wake you," Hermione explained.
"Oh, but it's fine to wake Harry, right? Is he your lover?"
Hermione huffed. "Drop it, Ron. This has nothing to do with that. Sit down." She motioned to a spot next to Harry.
"I was just telling Harry that you're probably right about the Wizengamot, and that I want to testify in Snape's behalf."
"Fat lot of good that will do. What can you add?"
Hermione looked to her lap. "I've known that Severus was innocent for months now."
"What?" cried Ron.
"How?" asked Harry.
She explained her Empathic abilities and what she'd been doing with them all these months.
"I can use what I've learned as evidence. Anything gleaned from Empathic Magic is actually admissible in court. My text says so."
"That might work. They'll have two witnesses. Yeah, we should do it, Hermione. Good call."
Ron was glowering at her.
"It's that Greasy Bat, isn't it?"
Hermione played dumb. "I beg your pardon?"
"He's who you love, isn't it? You went and fell for the git!"
Harry looked shocked. "Is that true, Hermione?"
She sighed and looked away. "Yes, it is."
"That's it; I'm done here."
Ron got up and made his way to the stairs. He stopped short and wheeled around.
"I can't believe you'd fall for that git. He's ugly and mean, and for Merlin's sake, Hermione, he hates you!"
He glared at her. Hermione kept watching the flames in the fireplace, trying to ignore him.
"You've gone daft. Did he cast an Imperius on you so he'd get off?"
Her eyes snapped to his.
"He is an honorable man, Ronald Weasley. He'd never do such a thing! I love him of my own free will, not because he cursed me. He's loyal and brave, and he would have never run out on us like you did!"
Ron walked back up to her and leaned over her, sticking his nose in her face.
"That's what this is about, right? You can't get past it. Well, fine! I hope you and your ugly git are very happy with each other, you daft cow!"
He straightened back up and left, taking the stairs two at a time.
"He's not ugly," Hermione muttered to herself as she looked down.
There was silence for a little bit before Harry spoke.
"Are you serious about him, Hermione?" he asked.
Hermione looked up at him and saw confusion in his face.
"It does seem daft, doesn't it?" she asked him.
"Oh, yeah."
Hermione huffed.
"It's just that, Ron is right. He's never been nice to you."
She nodded her head. "I know. He never was. But in his dreams that changed. We got to know each other. We became friends. He's not like the man we know, Harry. Much of that was his spy act."
"Sure."
She looked into Harry's eyes. "I'm not saying he likes you, because I know he doesn't. But a lot of the things he said and did were to portray the bastard so no one would suspect that he was on the side of good."
Harry thought about that and finally nodded.
"Hermione, I don't want you hurt."
A tear fell down her cheek. "It's too late for that. When I told him I was really in his dreams, he exploded and said he never wanted to see me again." She threw her head into her hands. "He'd told me he loved me while I was in his dreams; now he can't stand the sight of me."
Harry was up in an instant, budging her over and cramming next to her on her chair. He pulled her close.
"Shh, you know him. He's just mad. I bet he warms back up after a while."
She lifted her head. "Do you really think so?"
"Hell no, but miracles can happen anytime. I mean, I thought he was a murderer just a couple days ago."
Hermione chuckled despite herself.
"Oh, Harry. What would I do without you?"
"I'll tell you what. Let's get some sleep. I bet things won't look so terrible in the morning, and if we're going to appear before the Wizengamot, we need our rest."
She nodded and hugged him.
"You're taking this much better than I thought you would."
They stood, and Harry shrugged. "I figured Ron screamed enough for both of us. Besides, Hermione, who am I to tell you who you should be with? You've always been super supportive of me and my interests."
"And that's why I love you, Harry Potter." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for being my rock."
"Well, I am the Chosen One."
They both cracked up at that and headed for their respective dorms.
