Chapter 7: Time of the Truth

There he was, though at first she thought she was mistaken. The Severus Snape she knew lurked in gloomy dungeons and dressed in heavy black robes. He didn't sit in sunny cafés, wearing merely a shirt and trousers, yet there he was. The sickly pallor of his skin was gone; the yellowish hue was replaced by the complexion of a naturally pale person. It still created a striking contrast; his fair skin and black hair were spilling over the white shirt; he looked like a cut-out from a monochrome photograph. He looked healthier that she had ever seen him before.

'Do close your mouth, Miss Granger. Did no one ever teach you that it is impolite to stare?'

Hermione realised that she was indeed gawking, quite rudely and hurried to apologise.

'I am sorry, sir. I did not expect to see you here of all places.'

'I reside in a neighbouring country and I decided to pay my old master a visit. Few people would recognise me here, so I thought it was safe to enjoy a cup of coffee and a milder climate. Apparently, I was mistaken. Would you care to join me?' He gestured to the empty chair.

She sat down tentatively and ordered an espresso when the waitress arrived. He was the one who broke the uncomfortable silence.

'I must congratulate you on your apprenticeship. George is one of the best in the field. I still visit him occasionally to ask his opinion.'

'Yes, he told me that he meets with you. He wouldn't tell me about your research, though.'

He found the disappointment in her voice amusing.

'I suppose he told you it was my story to tell?'

'Something along those lines; so will you? Tell me, I mean.'

Severus weighed his options. He had to tell her about the Wielding situation anyway, and this was a perfect opening.

'Miss Granger, I admit that I had wanted to speak to you about something important, something that is closely related to the subject of my research. However, we will need more time and this is not the place for such a conversation. Would you like to visit my cottage tomorrow? You could Floo directly from George's office.'

Hermione's eyes widened. He was actually going to tell her? She wouldn't have to beg? Curiouser and curiouser…

'Certainly, sir. I don't start classes for another week, so I am free tomorrow.'

Snape laced his fingers and leaned back in his chair.

'Now, I must admit that I am curious about what took place after our correspondence? You seem well enough to me. Are you still having nightmares?'

Hermione stared at her coffee cup for a long time and Severus somehow felt as an intruder.

'I apologise, I see that the topic is sensitive.'

She shook her head and smiled weakly.

'No, I will tell you. I just needed to gather my thoughts…now it seems to me that I was a different person then. I went to Australia to retrieve my parents. It turned out that there was a cyclone near Brisbane several months ago. Both of them were dead.'

Severus shut his eyes and cursed silently. He could only imagine what that piece of news did to someone in a fragile state of mind.

'I somehow arrived home. I decided that I really had to speak to my friends. However, just that evening Harry and Ginny announced their engagement. So I couldn't do it.' She raised her eyes. 'Come on, tell me I was a foolish Gryffindor.'

'You were, I wouldn't expect any less from you.' Her eyes widened slightly at the veiled compliment, but she continued her story without comment.

'On the next day I had a surprise visit from an old friend, Viktor Krum. When he came to see me, I was nearly catatonic. He asked what was wrong and he wouldn't back down. He yelled at me, he yelled at Harry for not noticing sooner that there was something wrong with me. Merlin, the git actually dragged me down to the hallway mirror to show me that I looked like death warmed over. You could say he brought me back from the brink of madness.' She started laughing. 'Can you imagine that I had forgotten to send my application letters, sir? Me! Forget about school!'

Severus' lips twitched without amusement. It was true, if this girl forgot about her education, she was too far gone. He sympathised with Krum with a stab of anger towards Potter and Weasley. Best friends indeed.

Hermione continued her tale of woe.

'I was better after I talked to him. It broke the dam; afterwards, I talked to Harry, Ron, and Ginny. I took your advice from the letter and had Ginny stay in my room. Viktor told me about this apprenticeship program, so here I am. I rarely have nightmares anymore. When I do, I feel detached and I can always make them go away.'

Severus stared into her eyes. The pain was still there, but it was something buried deep down at the bottom. Acceptance... I wish I could do that. He stood up abruptly.

'I have to go, Miss Granger. I will inform George that you will visit me tomorrow via his Floo. At what time shall I expect you?'

'About nine in the morning, is that convenient?'

'Yes, it is. Until tomorrow, then.' And he was gone, just like that. Hermione watched him go. He looked odd without his billowing robes. She glanced at the table—he had left enough money for both their coffees. She shrugged and stood up, heading home. The whole encounter seemed surreal. Still, she couldn't wait to visit.

Exactly at quarter to nine on the next morning, Hermione knocked on Master Borisov's door. He opened it and greeted her.

'Good morning, Miss Granger! I understand that you will be visiting Severus?'

She nodded.

'Very well.' He took a handful of Floo powder and threw it in, clearly saying 'Severus Snape's cottage'. The fire turned green and Hermione stepped forward into the whirlwind of green flames.

She stumbled out of the fireplace, but a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and steadied her. She looked up to see Snape smirking at her.

'The worst way to travel, I believe. Good morning, Miss Granger. Come outside.'

She followed him and gasped when she walked out of the cottage. They were apparently somewhere in the mountains. There was a garden with fruit trees and herbs around the house. Snape was sitting on a bench next to a wooden table, looking very out of place amongst the bright warm colours of summer. His dark eyes studied her intently and he gestured to another seat.

'Please, sit down. Before we discuss my research, I will give you something to read. It may seem irrelevant, but please bear with me. When you finish, we will speak.' He handed her a thick tome and opened it at the beginning. Hermione glanced at him in confusion. He clicked his tongue impatiently.

'Read, Miss Granger!'

She shrugged and took the book.

"The history of wizards goes back to the dawn of humanity. There were always the ones who could heal wounds, who could find food and water, the wise folk, the shamans. As humanity developed, so did the wizards. While the ancestors of what we call 'Muggles' worked with tools and created the rudiments of technology, the ancient wizards studied magic, they created the first wands and the first real spells. After a while, the two groups started fearing each other. Muggles feared the wizards' powers; the wizards feared the sheer numbers of the Muggles. So, wizards decided to hide. They erected magical barriers that the Muggles could not see. They invented the Muggle-repelling charms.

Ever since the beginning, there were always wizards who had special skills. The Metamorphmagi could assume any shape and form with only their will. The Animagi could change into animals. The Wielders, the most powerful of all, could tap into the life force of the Earth. Every living thing releases its life force into Earth after it dies. It lays there, an immense source of life energy, waiting to be used again. They could make crops grow on barren soil; they could heal a mortal wound. They all had a strict moral code, for no Wielder would ever draw life from a living thing, anyone who did could never Wield again. Few were those who tried because they lived in harmony with nature and they respected every life, from the human to the smallest flower. If they picked a plant or killed an animal, it was always for food, shelter, or medicine, and they never used their powers to kill.

However, even amongst the noblest of humans, a villain can be born. Graolf was his name and he was the most powerful Wielder in his generation. Conceited and power hungry, he was never satisfied with what he had. He studied the darkest of rituals and he managed to create a curse, a curse that enabled anyone who uttered it to drain the life of the target. Graolf died in the process, because he incorporated his Wielding power into the curse itself.

Since then, the Wielders were feared and hunted everywhere. People did not remember their good deeds; they only remembered Graolf and his Unforgivable curse. As wizards and witches went in hiding from the Muggles, the Wielders went in hiding from their own kind. They are believed to be almost extinct and every effort was made to erase them from history. Wielders still exist though, and they walk amongst wizards, but they never show their skills. Their lore is passed down from generation to generation, because Wielding is often inherited, especially from the mother. They all bear the collective guilt that one of their own created the darkest existing curse. Legend says that one day another Wielder shall undo the evil that was done by Graolf. However, to this day, no one has succeeded. All we can do is hope."

Hermione looked up from the text, her mouth hanging open in shock.

'Are you…are you one of these Wielders?'

He nodded.

Her eyes lit up. 'Professor, this is amazing! How is it possible that I have never read anything about it?'

Severus sighed in exasperation.

'The last paragraph explains that, I believe. It is forbidden knowledge. Even today, the use of Wielding is as grave a crime as the use of any Unforgivable; it is punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban. A Wielder would never disclose himself willingly, and the ones who know of their existence believe that it is bad luck to even utter the word.'

She was staring forward, chewing on her lip furiously. He could almost see the wheels turning inside her head.

'Graolf's curse…it is Avada Kedavra, isn't it?'

'Yes. There is no other curse that kills instantly. It has no counter-curse because it does not evoke ordinary magic. In the old days, it was the only Unforgivable; the others were added only about a century ago.'

Hermione rested her forehead in her hands and sighed.

'This is what you are working on, right? You are trying to counter the Killing Curse.'

'Perceptive as always, Miss Granger.'

'What I cannot understand is why you are telling me all this?'

'As I said, a Wielder would willingly disclose himself only to another Wielder. You were not paying attention.' He held his breath, waiting for her to catch on.

Hermione's eyes snapped up and all colour drained from her face. She shook her head.

'Oh no. You have to be joking. I am not a Wielder! Even if I was, how would YOU know?'

He scowled and barked at her.

'Control your temper, Miss Granger. I rarely joke, and never about matters that are serious. Please, remember the moment in the Shrieking Shack when you saved my life.'

'What about it?'

'Recount it, with details.'

'I found you on the ground and I heard a gurgling noise. I realised you were alive. I tried to heal you, but the spell wasn't working. I tried again, but I was so tired…I braced myself on the ground…' she stopped and looked at him in horror.

'Yes, you have to touch the ground in order to tap into the force. That was what you did, but along with it, you used up almost all of your magic for the spell itself.'

She shook her head in disbelief.

'How can you be sure?'

'I found a flower on the floor of their Shrieking Shack, Miss Granger. A single red flower had grown exactly on the spot where you had healed me. It happens, when you do not properly channel everything you have drawn. It seeks to ground itself into something. In this case, it found a seed.'

Hermione stared forlornly at her shoes. Severus sighed.

'It is not a bad thing, Miss Granger. It is a gift. You will have to be careful around others, but I fail to see the tragedy.'

'It is just so…sudden, sir. Everything was falling into its place; I was having a normal life for a change, and now this.'

Severus sneered at her. 'I never thought I would hear you whining, Miss Granger.'

She straightened her shoulders and glared at him.

'Okay, show me.'

He blinked. 'I beg your pardon?'

'Show me how you do it, I want to see.'

Severus rolled his eyes. He slipped down to the ground and touched the soil between the blades of grass. It was easy; the meadow was brimming with life. He concentrated and found what he was looking for. Several minutes later, he opened his eyes.

Hermione couldn't look away from the sight. He was sitting on the ground, touching the soil, and a small seedling appeared beneath his fingers. She stared in amazement at the flower, which in the matter of minutes grew to full height, budded, and finally opened a single bloom. The oddest thing, however, was the expression on his face. He looked serene and almost…happy, a look she never thought she would see on Severus Snape's face. When he opened his eyes and looked at her, she couldn't contain her excitement.

'Professor, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Will you teach me?'

He stared at the flower and caressed it with one finger. Standing up, he dusted off his trousers and said wearily, 'Teaching you seems to be my destiny, Miss Granger. As all types of magic, in moments of stress or emotional instability, Wielding can be expressed involuntarily. It needs to be learned and controlled. We will begin after breakfast.'

He went inside the cottage and brought out a plate full of fruit and cheese. He plonked it in front of her and ordered, 'Eat! You will need your strength.'

A/N: Thanks to Gryffindor_Slytherin for still doing an amazing job and putting up with my atrocious grammar. Hugs and kisses to everyone who left a review, it really means a lot to me. I am very happy that people actually like my writing!
This chapter's title belongs to Axel Rudi Pell.