The usual disclaimer applies. I own nothing and make nothing; everything belongs to the very talented JK Rowling.
A/N...I apologise profusely for the delay in posting this chapter. Between writer's block and my muse insisting I work on NUO, it has been a rough few weeks.
Chapter 4
Hermione ran her hands through the short stubble that was her hair. It had been shaved off, rather unnecessarily in her opinion, about two weeks ago when the lice outbreak had been detected. It didn't matter that she didn't actually have lice, or that if she did, they could have removed them with a spell. She rather thought that the shaving was meant to be a humiliation or a punishment.
She did not know what day it was, but she quickly figured it out when a guard rapt very loudly on her door. "You have a visitor. Back up to the door so your hands and ankles can be restrained."
She slowly turned around as she felt the tingle of the spell take hold. "Who is it?" She asked , although she knew the guards rarely responded to any of her questions.
She payed careful attention to the direction that they were heading. Unlike the last time she had a visitor, this time she was very alert. She had been sleeping better the past couple of weeks, and she had actually been making an effort to eat better, despite the poor quality of food.
She sat down at the table in the visitors room, and stared at the door wondering who would be visiting. She was pretty sure it was not Professor McGonagall after the way she had spoken to her the last visit. She was really hoping it was...
"Harry!" She yelled a little louder than she had meant to, making the guards jump and brandish their wands briefly.
"Hermione?" The look of shock was evident on his face. "Oh, God, Hermione...I'm sorry I haven't visited you sooner," he shook his head sadly.
"It's...it's okay, Harry," she smiled timidly at him. "I wasn't in a ...good...place earlier. Not that I am in a good place now, but I am better. If you had tried to visit a few weeks ago, I probably would have refused your visit. My visit with Professor McGonagall didn't go well when she was here several weeks ago."
"Still-," he started, but he just kept looking at her hair.
"Oh, this?" She rubbed her hand across the top of her head. "Apparently everyone gets their head shaved when there is a lice outbreak. It will grow out," she said nonchalantly.
He intertwined his hands and began twisting his fingers. It was a nervous habit that Hermione had noticed years before, and now she knew there was something uncomfortable that he was going to tell her. "What is it that you are not telling me, Harry?"
"Well...did Professor McGonagall mention anything to you about getting you a retrial?"
Hermione's expression went back to neutral as she stoically replied, "Yes, she did. And no, I'm not expecting a retrial. The Wizengamot wanted to make an example of me to show how different they are now that Voldemort isn't in charge. I'm sure that sentencing for crimes against Muggles is something the new administration is proud of, not something they would overturn."
"Oh...er...okay," Harry spoke nervously. "Then I suppose it won't surprise you that you did not get a retrial. Not only that, but they are processing more Muggleborn wizards that tried to protect their families using magic. They are taking it to the extreme," he nodded his head sadly.
"I'm not surprised," Hermione grimaced slightly, "It is a slippery slope once you convict the first case. I wouldn't be surprised if they start convicting for a lot of things done in the war that were illegal, even if they were to protect love ones or friends."
The tension had increased in the room ten-fold from the serious conversation, and they both just stared at each other for a few minutes.
Harry finally spoke first, "How are you Hermione? How are you really?"
She sighed and fidgeted slightly, "I'm not good Harry...and as long as I am here it won't be good. But I am coping now, taking it one day at a time. I've been reading books, believe it or not, that Professor Snape has been giving me. Professor McGonagall brings him books on his visits, and he passes them to me in the courtyard when I happen to see him."
Harry looked surprised, "Snape? I'm surprised after the way he treated us at Hogwarts that you talk to each other."
Hermione smiled slightly, "Yeah, me too. But he was so surprised to see me here, and we talked the first week I was here when I had pretty much given up on living," she paused for a second when Harry had gasped, "Believe it or not, he is the reason I am coping better. He actually listens to me, and is the only other person here who will talk to me. I don't think anyone else talks to him, either."
At that moment, Hermione realised the visit was over as the guard walked towards the table. As Harry headed towards the door, he gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm glad you are doing better, even if it is Snape that I have to thank for it."
-ooOOoo-
Hermione shivered slightly as she sat in the courtyard, reading the battered copy of The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger. It was only the second book that Professor Snape had given her in the courtyard, but she was beginning to wonder if he requested only disturbing or depressing books from Professor McGonagall.
As another cool breeze hit her again, she wondered how many more visits she would be allowed in the courtyard before it was too cold. Would they provide her a coat or cloak, or would visits cease once autumn was here. It was only mid-August, but the weather was quickly changing already.
She had just unfolded the crease in the page to begin reading, when she saw Professor Snape approaching her. She gasped slightly as she glanced at him, still not used to his hair being shaved as well. His hair had been shorn about the same time as hers, but it still looked so strange to her to see him without his long, lank locks. He looked older, and more haggard...and definitely less intimidating.
"Have you finished the book?" He asked her in the velvet tones she had remembered from Hogwarts.
"Not yet," she replied courteously. "I had a visitor this week, and was too distracted to read much."
"Minerva?"
Hermione shook her head sheepishly, "No, I think she might still be mad at me after the last visit. Actually, it was Harry."
Professor Snape's eyebrows rose slightly, before he schooled his expression to neutral once again. "Potter? That is surprising."
"Why would it be surprising?" She asked sharply. "He is my best friend, and one of the few people that supported me in my trial."
"I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising, then," he sighed slightly as he changed positions beside her, "It is...difficult to change opinions of someone after years of mutual animosity. Potter...Harry...is not his father, despite the uncanny resemblance. I've had plenty of time to think about it since I have been here, and it puts everything in perspective."
Hermione was surprised by his candidness. "I know what you mean...about perspective. Harry had told me that I wasn't going to get a retrial, and that many more wizards and witches were going to be tried for crimes against Muggles. And most of them are Muggleborn. I didn't even lose my temper...it just wasn't worth it when I can't do anything about it anyway."
"The Ministry is making a huge mistake, but it won't realise it for many years, I'm afraid. They were so upset after the war, they are trying too hard to make amends. All they are doing is making it much worse. Muggleborns are going to be terrified to even visit their families for fear of accidentally performing magic and being prosecuted. They are segregating the Muggleborns just like the Dark Lord had, only in a different way," he shook his head sadly.
After a few moments of silence, he looked over at her book. "How close are you to being finished? I brought another book that I am finished with."
She quickly flipped the book open and glanced at the pages, "Maybe another twenty pages or so? What book did Professor McGonnagal bring this time?"
"The Prince," he mumbled as he handed her the book.
"Hmm...Machiavelli, why am I not surprised?"
He smirked at her, then noticed the guard slowly walking towards them.
"Thank you, Professor Snape," she smiled slightly as he walked away.
He nodded, then quickly added, "I'm not your Professor anymore. You can call me Severus."
She smiled as she watched him leave the courtyard. Yes, things are definitely getting better.
A/N...Just so you know, the story will start moving quicker from this point on. The story will skip weeks and months at a time ( a necessity since it is set in prison). So, I anticipate it being shorter than my other stories. But we will see...sometimes my muse surprises me ;)