Several months came and went before Autumn turned into Winter. By that time, Hermione had settled into a nice routine with her classes and students during the day. Her evenings, however, were spent with marking assignments, the occasional detention or tutoring session, and other random duties – such as those she shared with Neville, her fellow joint Head of House for Gryffindor. They also spent a couple of evenings a week together at the castle, or met with friends at the Three Broomsticks or at the Hogs Head since they were by far the youngest professors in the castle and had more in common with each other than anyone else. It helped that they had been friends since their very first trip on the Hogwarts Express, as well.
Hermione really enjoyed being with her fellow Gryffindor – even if he did talk about his girlfriend, Hannah Abbott, way too much for her liking – especially since she could not reciprocate with that particular topic of conversation. After all, she had dated only occasionally since Viktor and had not found anyone else that she was even remotely compatible with, nor was she likely to do so anytime soon. That was especially true since she spent the majority of her time sequestered away with the children at the school with no eligible bachelors in sight.
Most of the time she was fine with this arrangement. She was an independent woman, after all, and she did not need a man to be happy. Once in a while, though, she realized how much she missed being part of the Trio, or half of a couple, or somebody's daughter. At those times, an unexpected wave of loneliness would trap her and she would fall into a temporary funk as she realized just how alone she really was. However, she had learned with experience that, if she just waited it out, the feeling would eventually pass and she would remember that her life was wonderful just the way it was.
Nevertheless, it was during one of those down and lonely periods that she decided to spend some time in the lab in order to catch up on some of the potions that Madame Pomfrey had requested for the hospital wing. She started with the ones that would take the longest to make; namely the blood replenisher and the Skele-Gro. While they simmered, though, she decided to take a walk. It was going to be a long evening in her own company and, hopefully, the cold winter air would help to clear her head and invigorate her body and soul a bit in the process.
Severus rustled his wings restlessly. Technically, his particular bat form was meant for more moderate, or even tropical climates, and therefore, the cold did not sit well with him. Consequently, he stayed inside most of the time and the forced confinement really wore on his temper – which he could acknowledge to himself was not very pleasant even at the best of times! It was particularly bad when he was bored, however, since it was at those times that he missed being a man the most. Then, at the very least he could visit the restricted section of the library for something interesting to read or, if the boredom was strong enough, he could visit a colleague and share some tea…or, better yet, something stronger.
His enforced solitude made him admit to himself that he had experienced some decent times with Minerva and Filius before all of the…unpleasantness…happened. He had respected them as colleagues and had even considered them friends...though he had never admitted that part aloud. He heaved a little bat sigh as he realized that he missed how easy their interactions used to be and he really wished that he could talk with them again in order to explain his side of things properly.
Severus then shook himself when he realized that he was becoming morose and decided to go outside for a short excursion – just to stretch his wings - so that he would not fall into a deeper depression. He knew that it was far too cold to stay out for long, but Lonny always kept a nice fire going in his rooms to hold the Scottish chill off. Therefore, Severus knew that he could warm up in front of it when he returned.
Once his decision was made, he winged up to his high windows and out into the night. He did not expect it to be quite so frigid and unpleasant, however. Therefore, he decided to fly just one loop around the castle - mainly because he really did need to exercise his wing muscles a bit, but he did not want to stay out too long.
Despite his adjusted plans, however,, he had only made it about halfway around his target when he realized that he was not going to be able to make it the rest of the way. It had started to snow and the visibility became increasingly worse the longer he was out. Not only that, but his low body mass just could not seem to retain enough warmth to maintain the energy for speed or altitude. Consequently, Severus was in serious trouble and he knew it.
He decided to head down low. He knew that there would be no open windows or doors in the castle in such harsh weather, but felt fairly confident that he could make it to Hagrid's hut. He was sure the man would offer him shelter. After all, he had occasionally visited the half-giant in his bat form over the years when the need for some human company and conversation became too much to bear alone. In fact, it was a testament to Hagrid's fascination with strange animals that he never thought it was unusual for his giant fruit bat friend to wing in for a couple of hours, two or three times a year, drink a thimbleful of firewhiskey, and then disappear again until the next visit. Therefore, Severus knew without a doubt that Hagrid's hut would definitely be his best option - especially since he would be able to sneak out from there and head back to his chambers after the weather had calmed down with no questions asked from the big man.
Relieved at having figured out an alternative to his imminent demise, Severus the Bat turned towards the hut…only to be immediately knocked out of the sky by a stray branch of the Whomping Willow. He had mistakenly flown too close to it in the low visibility and he could do nothing as he heard his wing crack as the delicate bone(s) in it snapped. In fact, only one last ironic thought echoed in his mind as he lost consciousness and spiraled uncontrollably out of the sky to land in the cold wet snow.
So this is how it is all finally going to end!
Severus awoke to the distant sound of singing again. He was warm, comfortable, and currently pain free – even though he could see his wing was stretched awkwardly out beside him. Someone must have found him, taken him in, and patched him up. He could not move, but he assumed that his savior had placed him under an Immobilis charm so that he would not hurt his injured wing further while it was healing. It was what he would have done in the same situation. Plus, he suddenly realized that, even though he was not on a perch, he was suspended in mid-air in a comfortable resting position for a bat. He had to admit that it was clever of his rescuer to think of that.
He could also smell the distinctive aroma of Skele-Gro, which he was assumed he had been given, but he could not taste any remnants on his sensitive tongue. Therefore, he knew that it must have been administered topically, instead. He wondered at the skill of the person responsible, and how they knew to replace the duck eggs in the mixture with ostrich ones - since the former would have been toxic in his bat form. Not only that, but apparently whomever it was also knew how to take the notoriously difficult potion and turn it into a salve for the small thin bones in his wing, as well.
Severus was quite impressed, but perhaps he should not have been because he also knew instantly upon awakening that he was in the Potions lab, as well. Besides the sound of simmering cauldrons around him, there was the unmistakable pungent aroma of potent ingredients in the air. Therefore, the new Potions Master must have either found him or he was helping whomever had rescued him from a snowy death. He knew then that old Slughorn must have finally retired for good and had since been replaced because Horace would never have agreed to treat an animal, much less actually have one in his lab. He was a good man, but he had always been very uncomfortable around anything with fur, feather, or scales.
Consequently, Severus wondered who the new Potions master was and if he knew him. After all, even as a bat, he had kept track of the passage of time by reading the newspaper every time he flew into the village. Therefore, he realized that just over five years had gone by since the final battle and his accident. That was barely enough time to earn a Potions mastery – much less be hired to teach the subject, as well. Therefore, the new Potions professor had to be one of the old crowd.
Severus was distracted from these thoughts, however, when he heard the singing again. This time the sound was getting closer and closer and he finally recognized it as the tune he had heard from the Potions lab several months before. When the singer finally entered the room, Severus could not believe his eyes! The face was a bit older, more mature, and he would even admit that it was more attractive than he remembered. However, there was no mistaking that untamed mane of hair.
It was Miss Granger!
The woman came straight towards him as she entered the room. She also spoke softly and it was obvious that she was trying not to frighten him.
"Hello, you fine fellow," she said. "I see that you are awake, now. Don't you worry, though. Your wing will be all fixed up by morning and then we will see if we can get you back home. The problem is I just don't know to whom you belong. I don't know of any students who brought a bat with them this year. I know the none of my Lions did and I just saw Filius and he said that none of his Eagles did, either. I'll speak with the Snakes and Badgers in class tomorrow and we will see if one of them is your human. Of course, you could have come from the village, but I don't know how you would have flown so far in that terrible weather. You must belong to somebody, however. Why else would a handsome example of a fruit bat like yourself be in Scotland in the middle of winter? We were very lucky that I happened to be out for a walk and found you when I did. I don't think that you would have lasted much longer otherwise. In fact, I was about to turn around myself and come back in to finish my potions when I saw you lying there in the snow. I'm so glad that I did. It would have been a tragedy to lose such a beautiful creature."
After the explanation, she moved away from him for a moment and did something at a side table that Severus just could not see. When she moved back into his line of sight, he saw that she held a syringe that was about half full of…(Here he took a sniff)…mango juice and…sleeping draught.
"Here you go, my dear," she said as she inserted the tip of the syringe into his mouth. He could not move his body, but his tongue still seemed agile enough to eagerly siphon the liquid out of it. "I'm sure that you are thirsty, plus this will help you rest while your wing finishes healing. I'm afraid that if you stay awake any longer that you might start to panic and accidentally hurt yourself."
With those soothing words, she stroked his head and ears gently with her fingers, and his eyes closed in pleasure – despite his best efforts to resist. How long had it been since he had felt the loving touch of a woman? One who actually thought he was handsome? How ironic was it that it happened to be Miss Granger stroking him so intimately and that he happened to be a bat of all things while it happened? All the same, though, Severus could not help but to feel fonder of her in that moment than he could ever remember feeling before – even when she had attempted to save his pathetic life back in that shack all those years ago. He even allowed himself to have one nice thought about her.
The witch certainly is clever, I'll give her that, he thought as sleep overtook him once again.
When he awoke again, he was surprised to find himself wrapped up in a bat-sized blanket and snuggled up on what appeared to be Miss Granger's bosom. It may have been several years since he had actually been a man, but he had not forgotten what those were! He could also see the Potions Quarterly journal in her hand and could feel the heat from the fire. Thus, he concluded that she must have been concerned about his body temperature and was trying to keep him warm and still while he rested and healed. Meanwhile, the woman obviously the felt his small wakeful movements because she quickly put down her journal. She then picked him up, unwrapped him, and took him over to a nearby perch that she had apparently assembled just for him.
"Hello there, handsome fellow," she said again. She kept her voice soft and gentle not to spook him. "Your wing is all healed up and it should work just fine now. However, we can't really test it out yet because it's just too cold outside – and we don't want a repeat of what happened to you in the first place. Unfortunately, there's just not enough room in here, but I will work on finding a place for you to stretch your wings. Meanwhile, I've had you all wrapped to keep you cozy and to keep you from injuring yourself if you woke up scared here in my quarters– especially since a couple of the potions that I have given to you could make you a bit disoriented at first. Now I bet you're hungry, so I am going to let you perch and I have acquired a lovely snack – just for you - from Neville's private greenhouse."
Severus's mind whirled with all of the new information that he had gathered. After all, it was clear to him that Miss Granger was the new Potions professor at Hogwarts. Even though they were in her private chambers now, which had been Slughorn's previously, and Merryweather's before that, his keen nose could recognize the distinctive smell of the lab and the ingredients on her. His sharp eyes had also picked out the little nicks and stains on her fingers that all serious potioneers tended to sport after a while in the profession.
Consequently, he could not help but to wonder where she had achieved her Mastery so quickly, since he was the only other one that he knew who had completed the program in less than five years. With anyone else, he would have been a bit worried over the speed of her education and her relative youth to be a Master. However, he knew that Granger had been one of the best students to ever pass through his class - even if he had never deigned to tell her that fact – and had even ridiculed her for it, instead. In light of the current situation, however, he felt a small worm of guilt push its way into his conscience over his behavior to her all those years ago.
At the same time, though, his still very Slytherin mind started to see the possibilities of exactly how she could help him in his certain situation. Surely, she, of all people, would be capable of brewing the potion that could return him to his human form. The only question that remained was how he could alert her to his condition – even though he still could not speak to her. Then he still needed to convince her to help him – despite their less-than-amicable history.