A Fool's Hope, A Fool's Courage

The many small panes of the shop's window sparkled in the sunlight. Hermione stared at the sign above the door, trying hard not hyperventilate.

"Ollivander's," it said, beautiful blackletters painted on a wooden sign, "Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."

She gasped for breath and held it for a second, shivering, her stomach tight. I didn't kill him. I didn't kill him. I'm a witch. I'm what … I'm who …

Her hand was shaking when she reached for the door and pushed it open.

"Madam Snape," a reedy old voice murmured. "I see you have come for a new set of wands …"

oooOooo

Astoria pressed her lips together so she wouldn't sigh. She'd never liked dungeons. Not at Hogwarts, and not here, at the Ministry.

Especially not this week.

Draco spoke in monosyllables and Mr. Potter didn't say much more.

And it was all her fault.

"Miss Gr– ah, Astoria?" Draco entered the office. "My son's mother – Hannah Abbott – will be here shortly, dropping of my nephew and my son for a few hours. But the Minister just sent me a memo. She wants to see me right now. It shouldn't take long, but just in case, would you be prepared to keep an eye on the children?"

For a second, Astoria just stared at him. "Your son?!"

The ghost sighed. "I was engaged when I died. Shortly after my death, my fiancée discovered that she was pregnant. My son was born in October 2001. Since then, Hannah and I have separated amicably." For a second only Astoria's gasp disturbed the silence of the dungeon.

Draco stared at Astoria, translucent silvery eyes darkening to the shadows of the walls behind him. "Just so you know what to tell your mother: Hannah is engaged again – she'll marry Neville Longbottom this summer." Raising an elegantly slanted eyebrow, he sneered at Astoria. "I generally do prefer to avoid painful misunderstandings these days."

"Of course, sir." Her throat felt painfully dry.

When Draco moved past her and disappeared through the closed door, she was almost grateful for the ghostly chill that flowed in his wake. Her cheeks were burning with shame.

Astoria wilted in her seat like mouldy Muggle paper. For a long moment she sat slumped over her desk, wondering if she'd ever live that faux pas down.

When she leant back at last and reached for the topmost parchment of the EMU pile, the Floo roared to life.

A small, sturdy boy with silvery, translucent hair tumbled out of the fireplace. Scrambling to his feet, the child grinned at her. "Look, look, I got my hair just right this time! Just like uncle Draco's!"

A second whoosh of flames, and a woman with a toddler in her arms stepped out down from the hearth. "Hello," she said briskly. "I'm Hannah Abbott. Where's Draco? He was supposed to meet us here."

oooOooo

"Much as it grieves me," Severus announced in a cold voice, silvery letters repeating his words in the air next to him. "Five points from Slytherin House. And twelve inches on time management, to be handed in with the essay you were meant to write. Tomorrow."

"Additionally …" He allowed his demeanour to soften subtly. "Fifteen points to Slytherin for keeping a promise. Even if neither the promise nor the way you kept it was particularly Slytherin."

"Sorry, sir," Alina mouthed and hung her head.

He inclined his head and motioned for her to show him her various class assignments. Now that she could mostly keep up with her classmates, he knew better than to trust her judgement when to admit that she needed help with something.

For a moment Severus stared blankly at Alina's latest Transfiguration essay. He had to suppress the urge to get up and rush to the library, so he could shake Hermione and ask her what in Circe's and Nimue's name she was playing at. Why hadn't she come to him?

A shiver raced down his spine. Suddenly he felt cold in spite of his multiple layers of clothing. Out of the corner of her eye, Alina glanced at the floor behind him.

Oh.

So his shadow had just disappeared?

Severus frowned and cleared his mind, intent on for once catching every sensation that went with the experience. But he waited in vain for the feeling of warmth he had come to associate with the moment his shadow entered a room Hermione was in.

A second later, Alina jumped a little and looked guiltily back at her parchments.

When he laid her Transfiguration homework assignment aside, a clearly defined shadow followed his every move.

Where was Hermione?

Maybe she didn't have to work this afternoon? But wouldn't she have told him? Maybe a headache. Yes. That must be it. She hadn't mentioned that the incident to him. Or that she was feeling poorly, though he'd already begun to suspect that he would need to help her again with her magic before her appointment at St. Mungo's tomorrow.

Maybe she'd gone for a walk to clear her head.

Annoyed at himself, Severus shook his head. "Miss Petrel," again silvery letters followed every word he spoke aloud, "I don't know if you're aware that Switching Spells will almost certainly feature in your Transfiguration OWL. At the end of this year you should be able to transfigure guinea fowl into guinea pigs and back. By now switching parchment into sheep fur and back should pose no problem for you."

Jumping back, he snarled, "Concentrate, silly girl! Sheep fleece, not sheep!"

With a flick of his wand, he vanished the animals and Alina's Transfiguration essay.

"Miss Petrel, I think that concludes this charming lesson," he sneered. "Even with that Quick Quill of yours you will need time to write three essays instead of only one to–"

The Floo activated in an explosion of green.

No face appeared, only Healer Mugwort's voice issued from the flames with an urgent call: "Severus! Floo over at once. Hermione needs you. Now."

oooOooo

A/N: Thank you for reading! Comments are always welcome: if something made you frown or smile, or if there's a line that you really enjoyed ... feel free to drop me a line and let me know.