Chapter 14: Can You Keep A Secret, Professor?
It was late at night, and Severus was in a truly splendid mood as he made his way through one of the school's deserted corridors.
Just a few hours earlier, his house's Quidditch team had absolutely smashed those stupid little Gryffindors he despised so much. 60 to 190 points – he still marvelled at that superb score. Finally, after all those years, his beloved Slytherins were again on their way to take home Hogwarts' Inter-House Quidditch Cup! He could not help but smirk as he thought of the shocked expression on Potter's face when Draco Malfoy had caught the Snitch right before the Chosen One's eyes. After the game, the Potions Master had then spent the rest of his night harvesting Sopophorous beans from his secret acreage hidden deep within the Forbidden Forest and was now on his way back to his chambers. Ah yes, today had been a good day!
Snape was just about to turn the corner when he heard the unmistakable creak of a heavy door echoing through the nocturnal quiet. Maybe it was a remnant of his spying days or maybe it was the teacher in him evermore prepared to catch some unsuspecting students breaking the rules, but he immediately stopped dead in his tracks and squeezed his body against the wall before risking a stealthy look into the corridor to his right.
At first, he could not see much as the light coming through an open door situated a mere few metres in front of his position was simply too bright; it took his eyes a second or two to adjust. It was only then that he realised he was looking at the entrance to the Hospital Wing. Funny – he hadn't even noticed that he had wandered into the Hospital Tower. But maybe that should not have come as a surprise, considering how much his mind had been all over the place lately.
Turning his attention back to the scene before him, he could make out a person looking suspiciously similar to Madam Pomfrey standing in the doorway, evidently speaking with someone out of his sight. The wizard's brows puckered. Normally, Poppy had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to her sleeping schedule; one that she defended with all kinds of nasty hexes, as he himself had had to experience first-hand. The only exception, of course, was in cases of emergency; but in that instance, every one of the school's teachers would have been informed. And Severus knew for a fact that Albus' Patronus would have easily found him no matter where he had been, even deep down in the woods.
Trying to get a better look, he scooted a bit closer, making sure not to step out of the protective cover provided by the nighttime shadows, just as the matron moved aside to let her conversation partner exit the room. To say that he was surprised when he saw Granger set foot in the dark corridor would have been an understatement.
He had not seen her since they had shared that quick hug in the Entrance Hall; as far as he was aware, she had not even attended the game earlier. Presently, she was dressed in what seemed to be a light grey bathrobe over a pair of red plaid cotton pyjamas, with her hair pulled into a messy ponytail at the nape of her neck – certainly a drastic difference to the risky Halloween costume she had worn just a few days earlier.
Severus watched as the Gryffindor exchanged a few more unintelligible words with the elderly healer before turning around and walking off into the direction of the Grand Staircase, her cloth slippers audibly dragging across the stone floor. He waited until the door to the infirmary had been pulled shut before moving to stealthily follow her. The thoughts in his head were running wild. Why had she been there, at this time of night at that?! Had she somehow gotten injured? Had she contracted some sort of disease? Panic already arousing in him, Snape forced himself to calm down. No, he would have been told if his personal apprentice had become sick or gotten hurt. Also, he knew that Poppy would never discharge a patient in the middle of the night. So what was really going on?
The strides of his long legs great, he was quick to catch up to her petite figure.
"Miss Granger," he growled, causing the witch to jump in surprise. "What were you doing in the Hospital Wing at this hour? It is almost one o'clock in the morning, so you are not only outside of visiting hours but also past curfew!"
"Merlin, keep your voice down or someone will hear you!"
Severus did not even have enough time to get angry about being shushed by a student – or to blush at his new love interest tightly gripping his arm – before Granger pulled him into the nearest empty classroom. Pulling out her wand, she quickly locked the door and cast a privacy charm before turning around to face him.
"My apologies, sir." She regarded him with a slight frown on her face. "But I simply could not risk anyone eavesdropping on us."
"I demand to know the meaning of this right now, Miss Granger!" snarled Snape.
After giving him a long and calculated look, the young woman tilted her head as she asked, "Can you keep a secret, Professor?"
"Keep a secret?" He almost felt as though he had just been insulted. "I was a Death Eater and a double agent for longer than you have been alive, you foolish girl!"
Granger ignored his little emotional outburst. "I will take that as a yes." She walked over to one of the wooden tables in the front row and leant against it. "My visit to the infirmary did not concern myself."
Severus just glared at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Rather, I was there to act as a sort of moral support for Ginny."
"Miss Weasley." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes," she confirmed nonetheless. "I'm sure that you noticed her absence at today's game. You see, her and Harry have been an item for a while now. But it seems as though they recently had a little mishap."
The Potions professor was growing more and more impatient. Potter and anything concerning him was one of his least favourite subjects.
"A mishap of what sort?" he pressed her.
"Well …" Seemingly searching for the right words, Snape thought that he could see her face turn red a little. "A mishap as they became more intimate. Carelessness in the heat of passion, if you will."
Snape's eyes turned big and he could feel a burning sensation starting to spread in his cheeks.
"You mean …" He could not even bring himself to say it.
Granger nodded. "Ginny got pregnant. She obviously freaked out, not knowing what to do. So after she confided in me, I set up a secret appointment with Madam Pomfrey."
She did not elaborate further, looking at him as though he should know where the story was going. But after a few seconds of Severus just staring back at her blankly, she finally lost her patience.
"The pregnancy was terminated."
"WHAT?"
Granger simply rolled her eyes. "Come on, Professor! Don't act like you aren't aware that things like this happen at our school all the time. Every year, there's at least half a dozen of girls seeking Madam Pomfrey's assistance in such matters."
"No, I did not know that!" he barked back. "What do the girl's parents have to say to all of this? And Potter?!"
She offered him a sad smile. "He doesn't know."
"What?!" he exclaimed appalled. "How could that idiot not know he impregnated a fellow student?"
"Ginny just never told him. I advised her to do so, of course; but she didn't want to. And at the end of the day, it's her body and her choice. All I can do is be there for her as a friend." She crossed her arms. "It's probably for the best anyway. Harry would have tried to convince her to continue with the pregnancy for sure, and they're just not ready for that kind of responsibility. I mean, neither of them has even finished their education yet! And while Harry might have brought about Voldemort's downfall, he cannot even keep up with his schoolwork, let alone take care of a child."
Severus was taken aback by the maturity in her voice. "She is probably right," he thought. He did not even want to imagine having to deal with another Potter brat in eleven years' time; just the idea of it made him shudder. Still, the thought of two students being sexually active made him highly uncomfortable somehow. Ironic, considering his own current emotional state.
"And so that's the reason why I was in the Hospital Wing," he could hear the brunette conclude.
"Very well." He let out an audible sigh. "10 points from Gryffindor."
"Excuse me?!" she bellowed.
"Miss Granger, as the school's Head Girl, you should lead by example. Wandering around the castle after curfew is a punishable offence." He smirked. "Regardless of the circumstances."
It was painfully obvious that that was an attempt at lightening the mood, and the brightest witch of her age threw her hands up in frustration.
"You really are something, Professor Snape! I guess I better get going before you deduct even more points – for ridiculous reasons, I might add!"
She removed her magical guards and made for the door.
"One last thing, Miss Granger."
A head of full brown locks turned to him. "Yes?"
Severus regarded her quizzically. "Why would you tell me such damning information willingly?"
"Oh, I don't believe you would ever tell, sir. You would have to admit to having conversations with your apprentice in private, after all."
And with one last cheeky grin, she disappeared into the night.