Chapter 4- Luna's Gift
Hermione Apparated the next evening to Ron and Luna's house. They had built a house not too far from the Burrow in order to be close to both their families. It was small, but cozy and warm, if a bit strangely decorated.
She stepped out of the fireplace to see Luna smiling at her, looking up from the kitchen table, reviewing a copy of the Quibbler.
"Hi, Hermione," she said pulling her quill from behind her ear to make notes in the margins of the columns. She could just barely make out a headline that read, "Albus Dumbledore reincarnated as goat, says brother." She suppressed rolling her eyes. Although Luna might be a bit different, Hermione had come to appreciate her. After all, she had been in Ravenclaw for a reason. The young woman was brilliant and one of the few people who could keep up with Hermione when it came to quoting facts and figures.
"Ronald told me what happened with that Daydream Charm," she said looking up from the paper, a grin on her face. "Sounds like it was more of a gift than you expected!"
"It's not funny, Luna!" Hermione said sitting down at the table across from her. "I mean, it's Snape! You know, the greasy bat from the dungeons!"
"Well, you know, he does have that dark and dangerous look about him," Luna said, an evil smile on her face. "Of course, he was always nicer to the Ravenclaws. You were at a disadvantage being both a Gryffindor and one of Harry's best friends."
"Luna Weasley! Are you admitting to a crush on Snape?" Hermione said, choking back a laugh. Luna also laughed and shook her head.
"No, but I can see just about anything in anyone; even Snape." she said and Hermione had to admit that was true. Luna had long ago admitted that she had the capacity to believe in just about everything because once you closed your mind to certain possibilities; you began to lose the ability to learn. To Hermione it was flawed logic, but she could at least understand the sentiment behind it.
"So," she said breaking Hermione away from her thoughts, "You have to tell me, what was it like?"
"Oh… well…" Hermione had a hard time thinking of the incident without blushing and she tried not to think of it. It was unnerving to think that the most exciting moment she had had with a man in years was with Snape. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to look him in the face again. Luckily, Ron's arrival spared her from having to answer.
"Hey Hermione," he said walking in the front door, his magenta work robes hanging around him. He kissed his wife and she smiled up at him. "Dinner smells good!"
"Of course, you would eat about anything," Luna said with a laugh.
Several minutes later they were all sitting around the table eating heaping bowls of beef stew with fresh homemade bread. The conversation was friendly as Ron told them of new products that Fred and George had been developing and Luna discussed some of the latest stories she was working on. Most of them were outlandish, but there were a few that Hermione was genuinely interested in. Finally, as they finished dessert, Hermione brought up the subject of her birthday.
"Well, Luna," she said as the last of the dishes flew of the table with a flick of Luna's wand, "I think perhaps I'm going to take you up on your offer after all."
Luna looked at her confused. "What offer?"
"Your offer of an expedition to search for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Hermione said hoping to keep her face straight. She determinedly did not look over to Ron who she knew would be staring at her with his mouth open.
"Really?" Luna said, looking almost as shocked as her husband, but pleased. "I never knew you were interested in rare magical creatures. I remember you didn't go for your N.E.W.T. in Care of Magical Creatures."
"Yes, well, perhaps I have been too quick to judge." Hermione hoped she sounded believable. Luna seemed to accept it but out of the corner of her eye, Hermione could see a skeptical look on Ron's face.
"Well, we should go this weekend!" Luna said unable to contain her excitement. "I've heard that there have been some sightings not all that far from Hogwarts. I'll pack the tent and we'll camp out!"
Hermione felt a surge of concern at the words "camp out" but put it out of her mind. After all, this would be wizard camping. She remembered what the tents were like at the Quidditch World Cup. Surely this would be similar. It would practically be like staying home.
"Alright," she said with a smile. The rest of the evening was spent primary with Luna chattering on about the upcoming weekend. She was clearly beside herself with excitement. When it came time for Hermione to leave, Ron walked her out. No sooner had they got through the front door, and Ron turned to her.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Honestly, Ron I don't know why you keep asking me that," Hermione said as they walked away from the house.
"Hermione, I have known you most of my life. For Merlin's sake, we've saved each other's lives more times than I can count and we dated for three years. I think I know when you're acting strange and trust me, you're acting very strange. You know very well that Crumple-Horned Snorkacks don't exist. I love Luna, but I gave up ages ago trying to bring her down to earth on some things. So why are you doing this?"
Hermione sighed and turned back to her friend who was looking at her with concern in his eyes.
"I don't know," she said simply. "I know it looks like I've lost my mind. But a couple weeks ago, when we were all together for Ginny's birthday, I just couldn't help but think how boring my life was. Maybe it's because I'm turning thirty or maybe it's because now all my friends will be married and starting families and here I am still alone and living practically the same life I have been since we left Hogwarts. Anyway, I just thought maybe if I try something different; do things that I wouldn't normally do, then maybe life would be a bit more exciting."
Ron looked at her for a long moment and then pulled her into his arms giving her a long hug. She was taken aback for a moment before allowing herself to hug him back.
"I'm sorry," came his muffled voice. They pulled away and he looked at her. "I never thought that you would ever feel that way. I mean, you're always so in control and you've always had your life all planned out."
"Yes, I do give that impression, don't I?" Hermione said with a smile, tucking her hair behind her ears. "So, are you going to come with us this weekend?"
Ron laughed. "I suppose. Someone will have to keep you two in line."
"Oh yes, Ron. I'm sure us two helpless girls would be lost without a big strong man like you!" Hermione giggled and the two said good-bye before she Disapparated back to London.
Hermione had taken off work on Friday so that they could leave that day and be home by Sunday afternoon. She had agreed to Apparate to Ron and Luna's house and then they would all Apparate from there. When she arrived at their house, she saw Luna preparing all the essentials for camping out.
"Could you carry this?" she asked handing Hermione what appeared to be the tent. I've got the food and we can find firewood once we're there. And, let's see, Ronald is carrying the camara in case we get close enough for a good shot. And you've brought plenty of warm clothes, I hope? It gets cold in the evenings."
Hermione was beginning to feel more and more nervous. This was sounding a lot more like Muggle camping. But, in the spirit of doing something adventurous, she just followed the two along as they went outdoors, ready to Apparate.
"Hermione, why don't you hold on to me," Ron said as they got ready to leave. "You don't know where we're going and I'd hate for you to get lost."
Hermione held onto his sleeve and together they all Apparated. The next thing she saw was a large empty field with a forest on one side and a lake close by.
"We'll set up by the lake," Luna said and Hermione followed the other two as the trudged across the field. Once they reached the edge of the lake, Luna took the tent from Hermione and began setting it up. Hermione noticed that the use of magic was especially helpful and it was done in no time.
"Well, that's done. You want to check it out?" Luna asked Hermione and she nodded, curious to see what it would look like.
As she stepped inside the flap, she could barely suppress a groan of dismay. Although it must have been a magical tent, because there were already sleeping bags inside it, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary. No bunk beds, no kitchen, nothing. Its dimensions were exactly as they should be and even a Muggle wouldn't have found anything strange about it. Hermione backed her way out and just smiled to Luna who went off in search of fire wood. As she walked away from the campsite, Hermione turned to Ron.
"You could have warned me," she hissed at him. He just smiled.
"You said you wanted a bit of excitement. I thought this would certainly be exciting for you."
Hermione gave him a look that reminded him distinctly of Snape at his most furious, but she said nothing. Most of the morning was spent preparing the campsite and finally, after a cold lunch of chicken, cheese and fruit, Luna declared that it was time to begin the search.
It was late evening and Hermione was freezing cold before she truly began to regret agreeing to do this. It was one thing to be uncomfortable when doing something of importance. It was quite another to do it when searching for something that did not exist. Luna appeared unfazed by the cold or the lack of sightings. She continued on, omnioculars in hand, pointing occasionally to a tuft of hair or broken branch, proclaiming that it was the work of a Snorkcack.
It was well past midnight when they finally returned to their campsite and collapsed into the sleeping bags. Hermione couldn't remember the last time she had been so cold and hungry, but she was sure that it had been a more pleasant experience than this.
They awoke the next morning and Luna announced that she thought they should circle around the lake, stating that often times Crumple-Horned Snorkacks would gather at such areas, drinking and bathing. Hermione and Ron agreed, thinking that this would at least be a nice way to spend the day, but once again, they were proven wrong. By mid-afternoon, the day had clouded over and rain was threatening. Hermione was once again chilled to the bone and no matter how many warming charms she used, her hands still felt like ice. Every step she took, she mentally cursed herself for having such a crazy idea. As humiliating as the Quidditch and Daydream Charms were, at least she hadn't been traipsing about the wilderness looking for imaginary animals. Hermione was just about to suggest that they turn back to the campsite when suddenly Luna let out a loud gasp as she peered through the omnioculars.
"Come here," she whispered, beckoning toward Hermione. She was perched precariously on a rock that jutted out into the lake and Hermione had to be careful trying to walk out to join her. When she finally reached her, Luna shoved the omnioculars toward her.
"Look! Over there!" she said pointing across to the other side of the lake.
Hermione suppressed a sigh of resignation and looked in the direction Luna was pointing at. What she saw she never would have believed. There, drinking from the lake were two of the strangest animals she had ever seen. They appeared to be of similar size and shape as a rhinoceros, but they were covered in thick brown hair and their horns… Hermione couldn't help but gasp. Their horns were crumpled like accordions and sticking out at strange angles. She turned around to see Luna had grabbed her camera and was taking pictures. She looked at Ron who was looking through a second pair of omnioculars, his mouth gaping open.
She had spun back around to look again when she heard a sudden cracking sound and suddenly it felt as if the earth had fallen away from her. All she could do was let out a small strangled shriek as the rock beneath her crumbled and she tumbled into the lake. The water was freezing cold and for several long moments she couldn't catch her breath as it felt that her lungs had just frozen. Luckily, the water was shallow that close to the shore and she was able to find her footing relatively quickly.
"Hermione," she heard Ron shout as he scrambled down to the shoreline, followed closely by Luna. Hermione dragged herself on shore, shivering from the cold but laughing. How many times had she privately ridiculed Luna for her belief in imaginary creatures only to discover they weren't imaginary at all?
"Are you alright?" Ron asked as they reached her. Hermione was shivering so hard she couldn't answer, but Luna performed a quick drying charm on her clothes, which helped greatly. She only wished it worked for her hair as well, which was still dripping.
"Luna," she said as she began to warm, "was that what I thought it was?"
Luna smiled proudly. "I knew there was a herd around here! I got a bunch of pictures! Dad will be so excited! I hope I'll be able to get an article ready in time for the next issue."
Hermione didn't think she had ever seen Luna so excited as they headed back toward their campsite. She was chattering at such a rate that even if Hermione had felt like talking, she wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise. As it was, though, she only wished she could warm up. She had insisted she was fine once Luna had calmed down, but in truth her whole body was beginning to ache both from the constant cold and the long hikes they had been on.
Because of their success, and Hermione's fall into the lake, they decided to head back that evening, rather then wait for the next day. Hermione had never been so relieved. All she wanted was a hot bath, a warm bed, and a long night's sleep.
By the next day, however, it was clear that something was wrong. Not only did she feel like she was getting sick, with her throat burning and her head aching, but she had developed a rash all over and was itching everywhere. By late afternoon she felt so miserable, that she gave up trying to have a normal day and went to bed.
She awoke the next morning not feeling any better and the rash had spread all the way up to her face and her hands and feet. It felt like every inch of her was crawling and nothing she did seemed to help. She floo-called to Gringott's and told them she wouldn't be in before crawling back into bed and falling asleep.
Severus Snape walked into Gringott's as usual later that day feeling unusually cheerful. That wasn't a word he generally applied to himself; in fact he wasn't sure he had ever used it, but something about the day just seemed a bit better than normal. It was a beautiful autumn day, the research he was doing on an experimental potion was going exceptionally well, and, he had to admit, he was rather looking forward to seeing Hermione.
He knew it was completely irrational of him; she surely was not looking forward to seeing him, but for some reason she had occupied a larger than normal portion of his thoughts the past couple weeks. At first he had told himself it was just because of her strange behavior. Then he told himself it was because of the kiss; after all, what man wouldn't think about that! But finally he had to admit that for a long time he had been looking forward to these trips to Gringotts. She was always pleasant to him and never seemed put off by his moods. It was the only time he felt like he could relax outside of his own home.
So, he was naturally dismayed when he reached Hermione's office. It was closed and locked and no amount of knocking brought the young woman to the door. In three years, he had never known her to take a day off and so it took him a moment before he went in search of someone to inquire on her whereabouts.
He found a goblin who appeared to be a manager, or something like it, and he stood, shocked, when he was informed that Hermione had called in sick. Sick! He wasn't aware she was even capable of illness. Surely someone so collected and organized would never allow their body to rebel against them in such a way. As he stood there, the goblin now walking away from him, he realized that he only had one option, or his day would be ruined. Feeling a bit discouraged, he left Gringott's and made his way to the Ministry.
Hermione was lying on her couch trying to keep her hands from scratching herself to death when she heard the knock at the door. She sat up and stared at it wondering who it could be. Perhaps it was Ron or Luna coming to make sure she was alright after the weekend. Or perhaps Ginny stopping by on her way home, she did that sometimes.
"Who is it?" she called throwing a robe on and running her fingers through her wild hair. There was a long pause and she thought perhaps they had gone away.
"Severus," said the voice from the other side of the door. Hermione's brain was suddenly frozen with panic. What was he doing here? How did he even find out where she lived? She mentally groaned when she imagined how she looked. She hadn't bathed since Saturday night, she hadn't even got dressed since then and her face was covered with a rash so horrible it was surely karma for what she had done to Marietta Edgecomb in her fifth year.
"What do you want?" she called through the door. Maybe she could get him to go away.
"I want you to open this door," came his reply. Damn.
"Uh… I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not feeling well and I wouldn't want to get you sick." Yes, that was it. She was doing this for his benefit.
"Hermione, if you don't open this door immediately I will just open it myself. You haven't even bothered to put any wards on it."
Hermione mumbled something rather profane under her breath and went over to unlock the door. As soon as she opened it, she saw his eyes widen with shock as he took in her appearance.
"Well," he said thoughtfully, "clearly you weren't lying."
"Clearly," she snapped and stalked back into her living room, picking up a tissue to blow her nose. He followed.
"Tell me, have you been swimming in any lakes lately?" he asked with what almost sounded like amusement. Hermione turned around and stared at him.
"Well, not exactly swimming but yes. Why?"
"Gnitsweed poisoning," he said with a triumphant glint in his eyes.
"What is that?" Hermione's mind was quickly going through her mental stores of information but for some reason came up empty on the topic of Gnitsweed.
"It's a rare plant found in freshwater lakes," Severus said. "You probably have never heard of it because it becomes completely useless when cut and therefore has never been used in any Potions. However, when a person comes into contact with it, it can cause a red rash that quickly spreads over the entire body. And I daresay that your cold is because you were foolish enough to go swimming in the middle of September."
"Yes, well thank you Healer Snape," Hermione said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. It did not seem to bother him; on the contrary he seemed amused by it. "Incidentally, how did you manage to find me?"
At this Severus shifted uncomfortably and turned away from her. She thought his pale skin looked a bit pink as if he was blushing. Surely not!
"As it happens, Mister Potter owes me a favor for…" he cleared his throat, "for some help I gave him during the Final Battle. I was a bit concerned when you did not show up for my appointment so I requested your address from him."
Hermione could feel her eyes widening with surprise. "You… you called in his life debt to you? For my address?"
"Well… it wasn't an official life debt," Severus said quickly. "And he told me that if I upset you that he would make sure I spent the rest of my natural life becoming intimate with the dementors at Azkaban."
Hermione had to choke down a laugh, but a particularly painful itch in the middle of her back made her forget her amusement as she squirmed to reach it. Severus noticed and seemed to remember why he was there.
"Are you connected to the floo network?" he asked suddenly and Hermione nodded.
"If you would permit me to retrieve some things from my home, I believe I have something that would help with that."
Hermione again nodded and he made his way to her fireplace. As soon as he was gone she sat down on the couch and thought about how odd this all was. Why was Severus so concerned about her that he was calling in favors from Harry? He surely couldn't be that concerned for her well being could he? She felt a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought, which she didn't want to put too much thought into.
Severus had only been gone a few minutes when she heard him return back through the fireplace, this time with what appeared to be several potions.
"Pepperup," he said handing the smoking vial to her. She drank it dutifully and waited for her ears to stop smoking. He then handed her a tub of something gray that smelled salty.
"It should help with the rash," he said as she dipped her finger into the gel-like substance. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Thank you," she said and he appeared faintly embarrassed by her gratitude.
"Well, just see that you don't miss any more of my appointments," he said gruffly. "How else am I supposed to get my money?"
"Well," Hermione said thoughtfully, "I suppose someone else could have helped you."
He could tell she was teasing him and it was a strange sensation. He didn't know of anyone else who had the nerve to do so. His lips turned up into a faint smile.
"Yes, well, I would rather deal with you. Everyone else would either stare at me once they found out who I was, or they would try to make small talk." He spoke in a disgusted tone of voice.
"Oh, well I suppose I should be flattered." There was a long uncomfortable pause as Hermione tried to think of something to say. "Would you care for a cup of tea?" she finally asked unsure of what else to do. Severus shook his head.
"I do not care for tea," he said shortly before realizing that he was probably being inconsiderate so he quickly added, "but I wouldn't mind a glass of water. Floo travel always makes me thirsty."
"Alright," Hermione said and went into the kitchen to get it for him. When she returned she saw he was sitting in an armchair looking quite out of place.
"So," he said as he accepted the glass from her and took a drink, "what exactly were you doing in a lake in the middle of September? You have already said you were not going for a swim."
Hermione sighed and sat down on the couch. "It's a long story, much of it you wouldn't believe, but let's just say I was camping with Ron and Luna."
Severus nearly choked on the sip of water he was taking. "Well, considering your company, I'm sure there is a bit more to it than that."
"Yes, there is, but as I said you wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been there."
Severus smiled again and Hermione was struck by how much younger he looked when he did. "That seems to be a common occurrence where Mrs. Weasley is concerned. She seems to have the ability to make the unbelievable believable."
Hermione wondered when he could have had that much interaction with Luna outside of the classroom, but didn't ask. She didn't want to share her own experience and she figured he probably wasn't that anxious to share his either. They talked for a while longer, making the small talk that Severus seemed to despise so much, until Hermione's constant itching finally made him rise.
"You appear to be very uncomfortable and I think I have taken up enough of your time," he said setting his glass on the coffee table and rising. Hermione joined him and followed him to the door.
"I appreciate your help," Hermione said as they reached the front door. Severus looked down at her and, as her eyes met his, for one long moment she could think of nothing but the kiss they had shared the week before. From the look in his eyes it seemed he was thinking of the same thing and Hermione was surprised that she had a sudden desire to repeat the experience. Severus, however, broke his eyes away and opened the door, however paused before leaving.
"I will see you next Monday, then," he said and she nodded, suddenly unable to speak. "Have a good evening, Hermione," he said as he left.
"Good-bye, Severus," she said and sighed as she shut the door.