The next day
It seems I was wrong about Severus' state of mental health, it seems he took one too many curses and had gone insane, I always thought Dumbledore would be the first to crack, all the signs were there. Leaving Severus and Hermione together was probably not the smartest thing I had ever done. After relaxing for a while above the kitchens I made my way back down to the dungeons, I must have got about 10 minutes sleep before Severus came storming into the room. I wasn't really surprised to see him, he was never one to stay long in the hospital wing but I didn't expect to see him in such a foul mood. Worried I raced back up to the hospital wing to see if I could find Hermione but she wasn't there, Madame Pomfrey was though and I could hear her complaining to Dumbledore about Severus' behaviour. From what I could decipher it seemed as though upon the girl awakening Severus had let rip at her to which Hermione began screaming back at him, then after a few minutes of this Hermione charged out of the hospital wing followed shortly by Severus who insisted he move back into his chambers. He was such a prat. I poked my head around one of the beds and caught the headmaster's eye when Madame Pomfrey turned away, probably to deal with another patient; he mouthed "find her". I didn't hesitate.
Hogwarts in all its grandeur was possibly one of the most fortunate of places to live, 3 solid meals each day and house elves to carry out the house work but being a ferret, travelling around the castle had always been a little difficult, having small legs I had to take a lot more steps than others required, over the years I had become used to it however I always knew where I was going in the past. After racing through the first three floors I hauled myself onto the fourth, panting heavily.
"Okay," I said aloud, hoping to receive some sort of revelation "where would she go?" Briefly I thought of the Gryffindor common room, but no that was too crowded, the room of requirement but then that was too far, residing as it was on the seventh floor.
"Where could the know-it-all go?" and there it was, a blinding moment of inspiration and I was off, certain now of where she had hidden herself.
She was curled up in a corner when I found her in one of the least used parts of the library, she did not notice my approach as her head was resting on her drawn up knees, arms curled around herself protectively. Her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs. Dooking gently I nudged her leg; there was no need to frighten her anymore than she already had been, Severus' temper was scary at times. Raising her head to look at me I winced slightly at her appearance, her eyes still had bags under them but were now also red and bloodshot. Her hair was a fright as well but I sure wasn't going to tell her that (not that she would have understood me anyway). She smiled thinly, sniffed and reached for me causing me to panic. Not that I disliked the girl but sympathy and compassion weren't really my cup of pumpkin juice, before I could back away though I was held tightly in her lap as she sobbed into my fur. I cringed at the condition of my fur would be in after this emotional session but kept my thoughts to myself. I had hoped to find out what had been said but she was inconsolable and in-coherent, so I offered what comfort I could.
An hour or so later I trudged down from the Gryffindor tower, I had sat with (well on) Hermione for nearly two hours before gently herding her back to her dormitory, the poor girl had exhausted herself as well as me. To top it all off I could feel how ruffled and damp my fur was from Hermione's crying bout. What I have to go through for humans. Now not only did I look like an old rag but I was severely pissed at the cause for my and Hermione's discomfort or in her case, her heartbreak. Severus was in for it when I got to him, and he thought I was angry when he tested a potion on me without my consent, I glowed in the dark for a whole week. So I charged down to the dungeons, the only occupants of the castle still up were the house elves that quickly moved out of my way when they saw my temper. Unfortunately there would be no release for my temper tonight. He was asleep, well, really he was comatose. An empty bottle of Ogden's finest laid out next to him on the bed. This if possible only resulted in an increase in my anger, but not the blinding rage that had possessed me a few moments ago, instead a cold calculating anger remained one that I would use to my advantage, to help Severus see sense, after all I was a Slytherin's familiar, perhaps it was time to remind him of that.
