A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
Word Count: 2001
Drugged. That was the only thing he could think of as he scooped her up. He'd only stepped out of his chambers to go get something from his office. Instead, he found her laying there, unconscious, at his door. At first, he'd been terrified she was dead, she had been so still. He'd checked her chest, it rose and fell in a normal rhythm. He'd sighed in relief, now he wondered if that relief was premature. Her body was limp in his arms. Within in minutes they were at the hospital wing.
"What happened?" Poppy asked as Severus pushed the door open and rushed inside. He held Hermione close to his body.
"I found her like this, just outside my chamber door. She's breathing."
"Put her down over here. Carefully."
"I've got her," Severus whispered gently putting the girl on the bed. Madame Pomfrey was already waving her wand over her, checking multiple things.
"Is she going to be alright?" he asked trying not to sound worried. The idea that someone would attack Miss Granger, he couldn't help but wonder why. Hopefully he would have some answers if she woke up.
"She was drugged, as you suspected, Severus. Do you know with what?"
"No, I do not. As I said, I found her like this. Will she be alright?"
"Physically? Yes. Mentally? I honestly don't know. I don't know who would have done this to her, or with what. She doesn't appear to have any outer damage, no blunt force trauma, thankfully. She should wake soon. Hopefully she'll have some memory of what happened."
"What did happen? If you can tell me anything?" he asked hoping beyond hope that someone hadn't taken advantage of her, not like that. It was one thing to knock her out, it would have been another to corrupt her.
"She was not raped, Severus, if that's what you're thinking." He sighed loudly in relief.
"It was what I feared, yes. Why drug her then? What did they hope to accomplish?" Madame Pomfrey only shook her head. Professor McGonagall stormed into the room, she looked at Severus, at the unconscious girl on the bed.
"What happened?" she asked looking at Hermoine's unconscious form.
"She was drugged, Minerva. Severus found her outside his room."
"I see," she said slowly glancing his direction. He glared at her.
"I did not do this, Minerva," Severus stated his hands curling into fists. "I would never, never drug a student."
"You've threatened to poison a handful of my lions, and Mr. Longbottom's toad, if I'm not mistaken?" Professor McGonagall asked tilting her head as if daring Severus to challenge her statement. She'd received many complaints about the man from just her students alone.
"Mere threats to scare them into taking my class seriously. I would never put a student in actual danger. Do you honestly have that little faith in me?" Severus asked eyeing her. Things had been tense since the war had restarted and sometimes he wondered if Professor Dumbledore's assurances about his loyalty were enough. Professor McGonagall was saved from answering by Hermione letting out a loud groan as she opened her eyes.
"Where am I?" she asked groggily. Professor McGonagall rushed over to her. Severus hung back slightly. There was no reason to crowd the poor girl, it wouldn't help her remember anything.
"You're in the hospital wing, Miss Granger. Do you remember what happened?"
"I..." Hermione shook her head.
"Someone drugged you for an unknown reason. Can you think of anyone who would do such a thing?" Hermione started to shake her head, but sudden realization filled her eyes.
"My research! Where's my bag?" she asked searching frantically along side her bed, the nightstand, anywhere within reach.
"It wasn't with you when I found you," Severus answered. Hermione cursed loudly. She had an impressive vocabulary when angry, Severus couldn't help but notice.
"What exactly were you researching, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked. Hermione looked at the three people standing by her bed, her honey eyes focusing on Madame Pomfrey. Taking the hint, Madame Pomfrey nodded and excused herself to her office leaving Hermione with Severus and Minerva.
"This doesn't leave this room," Hermione whispered looking at the two professors. They nodded. Severus couldn't help but be curious despite himself.
"I was researching a way to change Dark Magic into something else, to transmute the energy into light. I think... I might have found a way to take down you know who," she whispered. The announcement had the desired affect. Both professors were suitably shocked.
"Where were you going with this information, Miss Granger?" Severus asked wondering just how he fit into this whole puzzle. It wasn't likely the girl would have been coming to him for any kind of advice.
"Your office, sir," she answered softly. He blinked in surprise. Hermione continued, "I know you're close with Him. I know you're experienced in the Dark Arts. I wanted you to look at it, make sure I was on the right track. You were the logical person to speak to about all of this."
"And you didn't tell me any of this?"
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall. I know I can trust you, but I didn't want to get anyone's hope up until I knew for certain I was right. We need to find my bag, everything was in there! If someone... in the wrong hands..."
"It could pervert light magic into Darkness," Severus answered. "We'd lose what little element of surprise we might have had." Hermione nodded tears building up in her eyes. How had this happened? How could she have lost something this important?
"We will find it, until then, can you remember anything before you were drugged?"
"I was going to Professor Snape's office, I had my bag. I should have put a spell on it! I was only going from the tower to his office, I... I was stupid."
"No, you were distracted," Severus stated. "You'd had a breakthrough, you were drunk off the excitement of it." She nodded. He understood exactly how she'd felt.
"Yes, sir. I remember leaving the common room, walking down the hall... Then... waking up here."
"You did make it to my chambers, Miss Granger." Her eyes widened.
"Oh... Maybe you weren't in your office? Why else would I have gone there?" she asked blinking her eyes in confusion.
"I do not know, Miss Granger. I also did not know you were familiar with where my chambers are located." Hermione's face flushed brightly.
"I... I know where they are, yes. I had no real use for the information, but I also know where Professor McGonagall's chambers are too, and Flitwick's. Don't think you're special, sir." Severus glared at the girl.
"Do you remember reaching Professor Snape's office?" Professor McGonagall asked changing the subject before Hermione and Severus could snip at each other any longer. Both of them seemed to like antagonizing each other. It had become much more prevalent this year. If one didn't know better, you'd think the pair hated one another. She had a feeling it might be the exact opposite.
"No, I don't remember reaching his office, much less his chambers," she answered slowly.
"So it stands to reason, you were drugged between the common room and there. Do you remember eating or drinking anything unusual?"
"No, I ate dinner in the Great Hall, same as everyone. I sat with Ron and Harry."
"Did anything unusual happen at dinner?"
"Not that I remember."
"Who else knows about your research, Miss Granger?"
"Me. That's it, sir. I've told no one what I'm working on."
"Could someone have inferred what you were working on, someone oversee you in the library?"
"I guess, I mean, it's possible, but they wouldn't have been able to read my notes. I used a combination of ancient runes and some athrimancy when writing them. I mean, if someone's really determined, they might be able to possibly translate them?"
"Has anyone been following you? Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?"
"Harry thinks Draco's up to something."
"I said out of the ordinary, Miss Granger. Potter always thinks Mr. Malfoy is up to something."
"Um, no, not that I can think of," she answered wrapping her arms around her legs. "We need to find it, I put so much time and energy into the whole thing, and..." Hermione whispered starting to rock back and forth hyperventilating.
"Miss Granger, please calm down. Getting worked out will not help us accomplish anything. I'm going to see if anyone saw anything, Peeves, perhaps?" Professor McGonagall said. Hermione nodded. "Stay here with Professor Snape until we know for certain whatever you were given is out of your system."
"Alright," Hermione agreed laying back in the bed. Professor McGonagall nearly stormed from the room to hopefully find some evidence as to who would dare drug one of her students. Hermione turned to Professor Snape. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill.
"Here, start writing as much of your research as you can remember, the sooner we get it recommitted to paper and out of your brilliant mind, the sooner we can start working on it. If you can remember before the attacker has a chance to translate the copy they stole, we might still have a chance," he stated. Hermione gave him a weak smile, one he returned as she started scribbling across the page. He couldn't understand half of what she was writing, but he could see the determination in her face. After nearly ten sheets of parchment and two ink wells, she stopped writing.
"Bloody hell, I can't... remember, the breakthrough I had... I can't remember it," she sobbed tears falling from her eyes. Her entire body shook. Her breathing becoming faster and shallow. Severus summoned the pages before the tears had a chance to smear the writing.
"Miss Granger?" Severus almost reached for her. Her eyes were wide, unseeing as she continued to rock back and forth. Severus recognized a panic attack when he saw one, he'd dealt with them his whole life. When she didn't respond, he said her name again. "Miss Granger?" The fear in her eyes scared him. "Hermione! Calm down!" he finally shouted.. She froze, her tears still streaming down her face, but her breathing started to slow. She looked to him.
"I didn't realize you even knew my first name," she whispered. "I can't remember... the catalyst, it made it all work."
"I know. I know, Miss Granger. We will figure it out, if you'll help me understand anything you've written. Between your handwriting and your insane shorthand, I can't make heads or tails of this. For all I know you've given me a recipe for Mrs. Weasley's mincemeat pies." A giggled rolled off her lips. Severus sighed in relief. It wasn't enough to pull her from the brink. No, he had to make sure she was alright.
"Even I don't know that recipe, sir," she stated after a moment. "Here, hand them here. Alright, see these numbers here mean potions components. The runes on this side aren't really runes, but wand movements," she started explaining. He couldn't help but be impressed by her brilliance. He had a feeling whoever had taken her original notes would never be able to translate them. He sat in the chair next to Hermione's bed and scooted it closer to get a good look at her work.
"No one saw anything," Professor McGonagall announced walking back into the room. Immediately Severus pulled the chair back making more of a gab between him and Hermione. Professor McGonagall pretended not to see anything.
"Has she remembered anything else?"
"The majority of her formula, but not the breakthrough that sent her running to my door," Severus answered. Hermione's eyes were starting to droop. Both adults could tell she needed rest.
"Hermione, get some sleep. We'll continue this in the morning." Hermione nodded her head slightly and she was asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.