Chapter 9: Research
Hermione walked cautiously down the narrow stone passageway until the hallway widened to a rounded room which held a number of narrow doors that stood at equal distance from one another all the way around it. In the middle, there was raised stone platform that shimmered with a bluish light. Inside, floated a tiny coiled creature, its eyes closed. Hermione stepped closer to it, only to be distracted by a purple door to her right with a little hand painted sign.
"Mimi's Room," she read, smiling at the tiny white flowers that had been painted on the sign.
Her eye was drawn around the room and she noticed that another sign was written on the door next to Mimi's room. "Charlotte's Room," it read; the words were written in a very precise and developed script that was as different from Mimi's as night and day. Then she saw a plain, brown door marked "Laboratory."
"But first, I'll just take a look at that pedestal," she said softly, turning back to look at it. She'd nearly touched the light when a noise behind her made her turn.
"Are you an idiot?! Don't touch that!" The sharp voice came from Charlotte, who was standing next to her door with her arms crossed. She was staring past Hermione as though she wasn't even there, her eyes focused on the platform. "It belongs to Master Snape, you horrible, sneaking menace!"
"What are you talking about?" Hermione flinched away from the creature.
"Are you hard of hearing, or something, old woman?" Charlotte replied sharply. "I know what you're doing. You're going to take him when we're so close to a cure...you're going to k-kill him. You deserved to be eaten."
Hermione went scarlet with anger, but did her best to hold it back. "I am not old," she growled. "And I'm not going to k-"
"And why do you have Master Snape's wand?!" Charlotte stomped forward, her face focused on it. "Not yours not yours not yours!"
Hermione saw Charlotte's hands shaking as she began to rock herself back and forth repeating the words.
"Charlotte, what is going- Hermione!?" Mimi had opened her door and raced over to the rocking teenager, her face a mixture of concern and confusion. She squeezed Charlotte around the middle tightly, which the girl resisted for a few moments before she quieted down considerably.
"Do you need more tight hugs?" Mimi asked, as Charlotte's hands relaxed at her sides.
"More...tight hugs," Charlotte murmured, wrapping her arms around Mimi's smaller form.
Hermione stood awkwardly to the side, not sure what to do, so when Mimi finally turned her head and gave Hermione a scolding look, she instinctively took a step back.
"Now, I don't normally get mad, especially at grown-ups, but you can't be mean to Charlotte like that, you know," Mimi said shaking her head. "She gets overwhelmed easily and then she needs tight hugs for a long time to calm down."
"I...I didn't know…" Hermione felt terrible. Even though she was still wary of Charlotte, Mimi was still a friend, and Hermione still felt awful for pushing her so much that she'd grown afraid of Hermione. "I'm….I'm sorry."
Mimi's mouth turned up in a small smile. "There. Now, was that so difficult?"
"I'm not gonna apologize," Charlotte pouted.
"Then no more tight hugs," Mimi chided, sticking out her tongue.
"Hrmph...fine…." Charlotte stared at the floor near Hermione's feet with a pouty lip. "Sorry, then."
She didn't sound all that sorry, but Hermione wasn't about to overlook her effort.
"It's ok, we're even now." Hermione smiled awkwardly as both girls stared at her. "Er...anyway, Severus asked me to help with...whatever he's working on?"
"S...s….s….s….." Charlotte sputtered.
"It's okay, Charlotte. If the Professor wants her to call him that, she should be allowed to do so," Mimi replied loftily.
"Hmph. How dare she speak of the Master that way?" Charlotte scoffed.
"I knew him...when I was younger," Hermione explained.
"Did you go to school together?" Mimi asked, looking excited. "I wanted to go to school but my...old mama said that I couldn't."
Hermione thought back to her first day in Potions class and smirked. "I suppose you could say that. He used to be my teacher, a long time ago."
If Hermione had thought that Charlotte and Mimi were shocked before, she nearly burst out laughing when their mouths hung open in shock.
"That...that makes no sense," Charlotte said, wiggling her fingers rapidly as though agitated.
"The Professor was like your father too?" Mimi asked, which made Hermione let out a bark of surprised laughter.
"He was...very different back then," she said, finally. "He had an important mission, and so he didn't have much patience for dunderheads."
"He still doesn't, either," Charlotte said with a soft snicker.
"Are you his apprentice, then?" Hermione asked.
Charlotte turned her nose away. "He's teaching me things, so he's my Master. He used to teach Mimi things too."
"It's hard to learn my lessons when he's all...manticore-y," Mimi said. "And Charlotte isn't much of a teacher."
"Blehhh," Charlotte replied, theatrically sticking out her tongue. "You could still study out of the books. I do it all the time and I'm way ahead of anyone at Hogwarts."
"I don't wanna!" Mimi replied, sticking out her tongue in reply. "It's hard when I get stuck on a word. Cooking and cleaning is easier. My old mama said it was all I was good for."
Hermione was beginning to think that she needed to have a "talk" with Mimi's "old mama." Preferably starting with the Bat Bogey Hex.
"It's true that you're very skilled in the kitchen, Mimi," Hermione said gently, "but there's a lot of things that you can develop skills in as well, like basketball, swimming, reading, and yes, even magic."
"I haven't done accidental magic yet and I'm already eight," Mimi said, pouting. "I'm a Squarp."
"It's a Squib, Mimi," Charlotte said, turning up her nose, "and Master says that I'm plenty good at Arithmancy even though they told me I'm supposed to be one too."
"Charlotte is one fourth goblin," Mimi said, somewhat shyly, as though she wasn't sure if she should tell Hermione, "and her mum and dad hate how tall she is and how she can't make the metal work for her the way they do."
Charlotte bared her teeth, which were somewhat sharper at the tips than what was proper on a regular human being. "I don't care! I like Arithmancy, and if Master says I'm good, then I'm good! I'll never go back to those horrid people in their horrid hovel making horrid swords for horrid customers! I don't care if they're supposedly my flesh and blood! Master promised! He promised he wouldn't make me!"
Charlotte began rocking back and forth again and making strangled gasping noises in the back of her throat, and Mimi tightened her grip.
"Maybe we shouldn't stand around in here while she's upset like this," Hermione suggested gently. "I need to go into the lab, though. Severus wanted me to see something in there, and I need to figure out what it is."
"He doesn't let me in the lab often, but Charlotte has access to the wards," Mimi said, squeezing Charlotte tightly until the older girl began to relax again.
"Yeah," Charlotte said, as her shaking subsided, "even a Squib can help brew a potion."
"There's nothing wrong with being a Squib," Hermione said, trying to think of something positive. "One of my very good friends from school had a lot of trouble with his magic and his family even thought he was a squib until he was nearly out of elementary school, but in the end, he pulled the Sword of Gryffindor from the Sorting Hat and killed the Dark Lord's murderous snake."
Hermione belatedly realized that this was perhaps not the appropriate sort of story to tell a young girl, but Mimi lit up with excitement.
"Do you mean it?" she asked.
"Yes," Hermione replied, "and there are plenty of things that a Squib can do in both magical and Muggle society. Things that no one else can do. Well-paid and satisfying careers that you don't need a flashy wand or a book of incantations to do well at."
Both Mimi and Charlotte looked somewhat mollified by Hermione's words, and Charlotte finally stood and led them to the laboratory.
"You stay out, Mimi. Master won't like it if you get into something you shouldn't," Charlotte said loftily.
"Hmph!" Mimi pouted, but she stayed outside. "I'll just be in my room. I'm mending some things. If you need me, just knock twice. If I need you, I'll knock twice too."
Charlotte rolled her eyes but Hermione nodded and waved at the girl as the door swung shut.
Though the lighting was a bit low in the room, Hermione found it rather cosy. There was a tall shelving unit against one wall with various ingredients labeled and stored inside, as well as a table for chopping and a desk in one corner with a bunch of paper and books stacked all over the place in a manner that reminded Hermione of her own desk at home. In the center of the room was a ring of what looked like electrical coils, each with a caldron boiling merrily on top of it. Hermione thought she could see some sort of runic charms built into the coils, but she didn't have a chance
"Here's the log book. You should start here." Charlotte shoved a thick leather book into Hermione's hands and then went around the middle brewing area, stirring potions and checking them before she strode off into a tiny little side room, where, Hermione supposed, she was working on Arithmancy.
Hermione sat down at the desk, being sure not to disturb any of the stacks that lay upon it, and opened the log book. Luckily, the desk had a small table lamp that was charmed to work with a quick Lumos, which Hermione learned by picking up the lamp and reading the instructions glued to the underside of it.
"This is dead useful," she commented, "and much better than a silly old candle."
She got to work, reading through the log, which seemed to start sometime at the beginning of the year. According to the summary at the beginning of the journal, Severus had narrowed down the transforming agent in his blood, which had somehow interacted with the venom to create the monstrous manticore each day. There was a note about the increasing frequency of the transformation, which had originally started out as once a month during the full moon, and had begun to increase in duration over the past several years until he was forced to largely hermit himself away in the castle and only visit the village very rarely.
Hermione went through page after page of potions failures, many of which he'd tested rats or mice (if he could capture them) or on himself with varying results. Hermione was astounded and amazed at his focus, but she knew that much of it was due to desperation, not simply scientific inquiry. As the year went on, there were a few passages that gave her the impression that he was beginning to despair, but Hermione noticed that they'd begun to lessen in length. Sometimes, there would be entire days worth of gaps, and there was one page that was so shaky that it was nearly impossible to read. Finally, she reached the last page, which bore his distinctive spidery scrawl. According to the notes, he'd written about her transformation, and how it had seemingly split the amount of time he was transformed ("will need more data," he wrote, "before coming to a concrete conclusion that this is the case").
There was also a note that made her smile almost involuntarily. "Hermione's scent- aphrodisiac? Must brew Amortentia and compare." She snorted, covering her mouth to keep Charlotte from hearing.
At the very bottom, she saw a note addressed to her:
"Hermione, if you are reading this, it means that Charlotte hasn't been an unreasonable dunderhead and has let you into the laboratory. As you probably have read this entire book from cover to cover, I merely wish to reiterate that the potions currently brewing only need to be checked once every hour, on the hour, and that each will prompt the sounding of a tinkling bell and the coil will turn green to differentiate each of these. Charlotte, though surly and often difficult to speak to, is a veritable genius when it comes to theoretical Arithmancy and using it to bond runes to seemingly Muggle objects. She is also incredibly knowledgeable about the potions we are brewing.
"As you may already know, we are trying to derive the distilled venom of a purified basilisk pup (the translucent creature in sleeping stasis you likely saw in the other room, which was the only ventilated location away from the brewing room that we could spare), which the Dark Lord used in tandem with other ingredients and a spill to create the Dark Mark, and a variety of other ingredients that I have pared down over the past few years to create an antidote. The potions should all be a similar shade of bubblegum pink when they are finally boiled down to completion. At midnight, there will be a few additions to the potions that will require precise timing and at least two people.
"That's where both you and Charlotte will come in. She has been briefed on the specifics, but I shall also include the instructions here. Once the potions have cooled, please pour and label each one. Be kind to Charlotte. She can be a bit of a dunderhead sometimes, but her heart is in the right place. Both her and Mimi's parents volunteered them as bait to draw me out, in a bid to get me to eat them and use it as a ploy to get me killed by a hunter such as yourself so they can quietly reclaim the land and castle that belongs to me. As you can tell, that didn't happen, but I can't bear to send them back to the village after their families so cruelly threw them away. Thank you, Hermione. I know I can trust you with this. Sincerely, Severus."
Hermione looked away from the letter as Charlotte cleared her throat. "We have ten minutes before midnight strikes," she said, handing Hermione an apron and turning to face the potion circle. "My Master has briefed me on what he wishes to be done. Come and take your place."
Hermione nodded, putting up her hair with a ribbon she found in the pocket of the apron and tying the apron securely. "I'm ready," she said, finally.
Charlotte handed her a wooden spoon and they both set to work.
Hermione was amazed at how focused and meticulous Charlotte could be in working on the potions, and it showed in the even, bubblegum pink color in each of her caldrons. Her chopping technique was second to none (well, Hermione thought, perhaps second to Severus, who had obviously taught her well). In fact, Hermione felt as though she was being just a bit outclassed, considering how rusty her potions making skills were. However, over time, she began to speed up in her ministrations and when Charlotte smiled ever-so-slightly at Hermione's copied techniques, Hermione felt herself developing a growing sense of appreciation for the normally quiet, sullen girl.
Afterwards, Charlotte showed Hermione her Arithmancy project, which was in addition to her studies. Hermione found herself incredibly impressed with the work and told Charlotte so, which seemed to make the girl very happy, indeed. Hermione had to admit that some of the Ancient Runes work was actively beyond her own pool of knowledge and she silently decided that she would have to start reading up on it as well, so that she could develop her own informed opinions on the subject. In fact, Hermione barely noticed when the first signs of her impending transformation began to make themselves known.
"Your skin….it's green!" Charlotte pointed and Hermione let out a horrified squeak, stumbling backwards against the doorframe.
"I...have to go…" Hermione said, panic rising in her voice. She threw off her apron and grabbed the wand Severus had let her borrow before tearing through the door to the laboratory and running for the larger warded door to the kitchen. Hermione slammed the door behind her just as her hand began to throb and she could feel it going furry and paw-like. She raised the wand and warded the door as Severus had done. It was odd that he had, though. After all, he'd not tried to get through the door, nor had she. But, she reasoned, it wasn't as though he could tell her in his current form.
"Mrrr? Mrrr!" Severus immediately stood from his place at the fire and padded over with a marked spring in his step. Hermione noted that his snake tail was still very much asleep. She wondered if this was possibly a side effect of one of his potions.
Hermione pressed her forehead against his and stroked him under his chin as he purred against her with pleasure.
"I did as you asked," she said softly, smiling as he licked her cheek. "You were right, you know. Charlotte really isn't as bad as I thought she was."
Severus snorted and Hermione nearly wished he had an eyebrow to arch in this form, for he surely would be doing so.
"They've both had rough lives, haven't they?" Hermione asked miserably. "And you...I didn't understand the extent of your past transformations before. It must have been very lonely in the castle all alone."
"Mrrr," Severus replied, scent marking her against her face. He pushed her back playfully until she was nearly against the wall and Hermione felt her heart do a flip-flop. A glance to her hand showed that the transformation had receded for the time being, and she stroked the fur on his neck gently as the rich, heady scent of him filled her nose.
"Why do you smell so amazing?" she whispered, rubbing her face against his. "I...I want to...I want…." She kissed his nose. "Like that, only...in matching forms...and not just on the nose."
Severus responded by grabbing her by the scruff of her robes in his teeth and padding back over to the fireplace like an oversized cat with a prized mouse.
"Severus! I can walk, you know!" Hermione laughed as he deposited her down on the soft manticore-sized cushion. Then, he grabbed the hem of her robes with his teeth and began to pull up on it. At first, Hermione thought that it was some sort of game, but then she realized that if she didn't take them off, she'd rip through them and destroy them during her transformation.
"You just want to see me naked, don't you?" she scolded him as she lifted them over her head and threw them over one of the chairs by the fireplace. Of course, even with the fire, she found herself shivering, so she sat and hugged herself to retain some of her warmth.
He responded with a purr-growl and lay down on top of her, his fur warming her skin as he began grooming her with his tongue.
Hermione giggled and ran her fingers through his thick fur as he continued to lick her. She closed her eyes, feeling his rumbling purr vibrating against her body until she felt nearly boneless with relaxation. It was heavenly, like a full body massage. Hermione felt her long night catching up with her and yawned wide, feeling deliciously sleepy, even as something frantic fluttered in her chest at the thought that the position she found herself in was rather improper by all accounts.
Don't be silly, it's not like he thinks of me like that, she thought, feeling slightly wistful at the thought of what it would be like if he did.
But then, his weight shifted and she realized that she was no longer being given a manticore tongue bath. Opening her eyes sleepily, she could still feel his warmth, but it was somehow...diminished.
"Hmmmm, Severus, don't stop," she mumbled, grasping blindly for his furry mane and finding nothing but warm, soft skin instead.
"Are you sure that you mean that, Hermione?" His voice was deep and soft, almost a whisper.
Her eyes went wide and she stared up at his very human face, his dark eyes full of both disbelief and undisguised hunger. He caressed her cheek as he pressed his very naked body against her, seemingly waiting for her reply.
"Severus," she whispered back, her voice filled with wonder.
"Did you mean it...what you said about my nose?" Severus glanced away, his cheeks growing warm and pink.
Hermione didn't answer. But when he turned his face back to look at her, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him tightly against her, kissing his nose from base to tip and trailing down until she finally met his lips with her own.
It was perfection.