Disclaimer: The same as the previous chapters. Moonvale worked her beta magic in this one too.:)
Chapter 10
Giving the patient a last lingering stare, Severus pondered and then turned to Healer Norman, "May we speak somewhere more private?"
"I have a conference room right across my office…we can gather in there. I have been informed that Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt will be joining us and he won't be alone. He will be bringing a VIP. Auror Shacklebolt, I believe, was a trusted aid for the Light side in the bloody battle. Will you question his judgment, Severus?"
"That we can decide when we see who accompanies him." On Severus' cue, Lupin and Malfoy followed the head healer and him out of the Circle.
However, things did not go as planned as Seamus Finnigan had arrived in the meantime. It was still some time before dawn.
The Irish Auror had hastily delivered some news that had left Severus weary to his bones. The Muggle Liaison Department was unable to locate Miss Granger's parents and even the muggle authorities were in the dark about their whereabouts.
The most alarming bit of news was that the media had gotten a whiff of the whole affair and were trying to get a juicy piece of the situation.
Which meant two things: St. Mungo's was no longer safe for Hermione and they could not hold any clandestine meetings of high priority under its roof.
It was then decided that they would meet at Hogwarts, where the ancient wards were strong enough to deal with the unwanted intrusion of the media and the public.
Post lunch, the four Heads of Houses, the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts greeted Head Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt and the Minister of Magic herself, Amelia Bones. No sooner had they arrived, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Seamus Finnigan, and Luna Lovegood walked into the Great Hall. When Severus simply arched his eyebrow at the presence of the odd Ravenclaw witch, Neville Longbottom supplied, "I invited her, Sir. Luna is working on a stand-alone research work about how the human mind functions…she can help."
The Headmaster just nodded in measured approval, to which he ended up receiving a dazzling smile from the witch.
As they gathered in the Great Hall, the four long tables were shifted to the sides and a large round table with cushioned chairs had been conjured for the assembled wizards and witches. Once Healer Norman and her assistant Mason joined them, the meeting was set in motion.
Healer Norman was first to brief the group about Granger's updated status. "We do have some new information which still puts Miss Granger further away from getting labeled as fatal. Since a few of the Hogwarts staff and Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy had visited St Mungo's, there has been a marginal improvement in the witch's status. The "rogue magic", as I will call it, is present and strong. Its strength has somehow been arrested for the time being. We have yet to determine how that is possible. We have also been able to decipher a few of the gibberish words she has been mumbling over and over."
Minister Bones had leaned in and asked, "What are they?"
The guarded exchange of looks between Kingsley and Bones was not lost to Severus and he felt the higher officials of the Ministry of Magic knew more about the situation than they were letting others believe.
If Healer Norman found the minister's sudden eagerness a surprise, she did not let the others get a hint of it. She was after all a Slytherin, through and through, but she was a sensible one.
Pausing a bit to word her sentence, the healer dropped a set of words to the intrigued group.
"They would be Stopper-bottle and glory- death."
When the ministry officials were uncomfortably retreating back into their shells, Snape struck, "Am I to believe you are here to make sure Miss Granger recovers from her strange illness, Minister Bones?"
"Why of course Headmaster Snape!" the minister replied, affronted by his tone.
Nodding at her, he drawled, "In that case, I would find it quite contradictory if you are hiding facts from us. By us I am referring to the ones who are collectively trying to find constructive ways to achieve that singular goal: her friends, former classmates and her teachers."
Minister Bones simply straightened her back and stared hard at the Headmaster. Then in a matter-of-fact tone, she stated, "Personally, I am truly fond of Miss Granger which is why I came here instead of having this assembly dragged up to the Ministry of Magic."
Just like that, her shoulders drooped and bringing up her hand to her forehead, she pressed her long fingers over her brows and continued, "Miss Granger was working undercover and yes, only Kingsley and I were aware of it. In fact, the proposal came from Miss Granger herself, about three years back. The information I am about to reveal must never leave this room or much of the efforts would be in vain."
Auror Shacklebolt, in the meantime, passed on a long parchment to Snape. He found it to be a Standard Statutory Oath to Secrecy bond paper so he swiftly took the proffered quill and scribbled down his signature. Once all the others had done the same, with Lupin finally handing back the parchment, Minister Bones cleared her throat and began.
"The last war has taught us many things. Among the common lessons we learned, we were made aware of the existence of magical catalysts and carriers like those of Horcruxes. While we have revised our past incompetent laws and doctrines, we have also allowed newer ideas to get nurtured."
The minister turned her head and nodded at the Herbology apprentice. "I am aware of the fact that Mr. Longbottom here is working on remedial properties of exotic plants, with the interest of finding a breakthrough that would regenerate lost cognitive functioning among patients suffering from the after-effects of the Cruciatus Curse."
She gave a small smile when Neville jerked his head and turned to look at Draco, "I allowed Mr. Malfoy to access the documents stored in the Archives of the Ministry because his research showed promise to finding solutions to restrict long-lasting effects of the same curse. While Mr. Longbottom is searching for an outside remedy, Mr. Malfoy is searching for an inside remedy, a way to revitalize the suffering nerve cells of the victims, am I right?"
Draco answered with a curt nod.
"On the other hand, Miss Lovegood is working on the studies of the human mind. A similar field of medical science is present in the muggle world. Collectively, we felt it was time to bring that into our society. Simply because war affects anyone and everyone is the same way. It leaves behind scars both physical and mental."
A thoroughly confused Potter blurted out, "But how are all these related to Hermione's case?"
"Have patience, Mr. Potter, we are coming to that!" The deep voice of his superior, Shacklebolt, echoed in the otherwise empty hall.
Resuming her speech, Minister Bones went on, "These are all related because Miss Granger had set these researches into action from the very beginning."
The three younger wizards and the Ravenclaw witch were out of their seats vehemently questioning her statements. In reply, Minister Bones held up a hand to quieten them.
"I want all three of you to think hard on how you came up with the idea of working on these subjects to begin with."
Neville was the first to divulge. "I had always wanted to get mum and dad out of their miserable state. It was tough growing up without them being around," then, as if chancing upon a greater truth, he beamed at the Minister, "In those days, just after the final battle, when Malfoy and Hermione had successfully worked out the advanced yet rudimentary blood replenishing potion for Professor, er…Headmaster, she would join me in my own research for remedial plants. After we both had returned as official 8th years, it was she who encouraged me to start thinking about my present project seriously."
Luna Lovegood had grown into a composed and reasonable young witch, Severus observed. Maybe it was her short interaction with the muggle world or the war had had its effect on her. Though she still looked dazed and in a trance at times, she was indeed more alert. Most importantly, she hadn't once spoken of ridiculous creatures swimming around their heads. She was the next to speak.
"Minister Bones is right. Granger had a way of dealing with people. She was no longer being forthright and bossy. She would think things over. One day, while we were at the library in our 8th year, she had simply dropped a muggle textbook on my homework. Patting my back, she had whispered, 'Nargles' is your way to fight the world but Luna, there are far better ways and I think you are a smart Ravenclaw. If there are days when you think you are failing, just look at Professor Snape.' She had tapped on the cover of the book and had muttered 'Give this a try, and Happy Birthday!' Much in her Granger-ish fashion, she had gifted me 'Battle for the Mind: Psychological Impact of War'. It was written by a muggle scholar. It succeeded in convincing me to study muggle psychology."
"Now that you put it that way, Longbottom and Lovegood, I can now understand how Granger had talked me into pursuing Potions and molded my interest in this thesis of mine; quite the Slytherin move on her part. Her exact words were: 'For your godfather Draco, you can try to be an ideal son'. This was after you had banished her out the hospital, Headmaster…"
Every pair of eyes were trained on the youngest Headmaster of Hogwarts and Potter came to a very crucial conclusion, "She was doing all of this for you. All this time."
A/N: It is my own explanation for Luna's odd behavior and her tendencies to talk about strange small creatures that only she had the capacity to see. Maybe there were others too, but I rather felt it was her own form of defense mechanism.
Battle for the Mind: Psychological Impact of War was published in 1998 and is written by Wendy Holden.