Chapter 30

Hermione felt her frown deepen as she re-read the letter.

"Is everything alright?"

Hermione glanced up, eyes meeting concerned green ones. As much as she wanted to say yes, that everything was fine; she couldn't find the words nor the ability to lie to the woman who she had already shared so much with, and through a confluence of events had shared so much with her. "No." She breathed as her gaze went back to the letter gripped within her hands, "It's not." After she finished her second read through, she sighed. "Ron wants to have lunch today and I…" she folded the letter in half, "am not ready to see him."

"I did not realize that you and Mr. Weasley had a falling out." Minerva stated as she reached for her coffee cup.

"I had asked Ginny and Harry to help me grab a few hours of sleep, because of my…nightmares. He believed that something happened between Harry and I; and he…" she swallowed the lump in her throat as she blinked back the tears, "he said some hurtful remarks about what happened at Malfoy Manor too."

"Hermione," Minerva leaned forward, concern lacing her face and eyes, "what did happen at the Manor?"

Slowly Hermione pulled her sleeve back on her arm, and with a muttered revealing spell, the angry red word 'Mudblood' instantly became visible. "She carved it…" a solitary tear ran down her cheek, "into my arm when I wouldn't give up Harry's whereabouts."

Minerva's gaze didn't leave Hermione's face, "Is that all that happened?"

"I was the recipient of the cruciatus curse multiple times." Hermione added, and then after several seconds of Minerva's unfettering gaze, she found herself admitting the last of the horror. "She was going to make me…" her words breaking, "hers once…Voldemort arrived."

Minerva reached out, hand resting atop Hermione's; "And?"

Hermione's voice became somewhat steadier by the understanding and resolute expression meeting her, "I…was saved. Dobby freed Harry and Ron. We escaped to Shell Cottage before breaking into Gringotts and then coming to Hogwarts."

Minerva gently pulled Hermione's arm closer, "I think," she reached out with her left hand taking her glasses and snapping the frames open before donning them. "If you are willing," she glanced over the gold frames to meet Hermione's eyes, "that I will be able to alter the nature of the curse."

"Poppy said that it was permanent." Hermione rasped as her eyes darted to the marred flesh.

"It can't be healed," Minerva agreed, "as it's a type of branding hex that purebloods used to use to denote who belonged to them."

"Then, what can you do?"

"As I said, I'll alter the curse. Now," she slide her right hand tenderly along the marred flesh inwardly wincing at the ferocity with which the hex had been cast; the residual magical signature pulsing along her fingers. "are you willing?"

Xoxo

Hermione flexed her arm as she blinked back the tears and stared at the red mark six centimeters from her elbow along the meat of her forearm. The red mark…that no longer bore the hateful verbiage Bellatrix had intended to forever scar and brand her with; instead, Minerva had morphed it into the shape of a Griffin.

It had been excruciating and had taken everything she had had not to scream as Minerva forced the hex to do her bidding; which by the pallor of Minerva's face, it had not been easy for her either. But, she had noticed that as time went, the pain of the morphing the hex lines eased.

"If you'll excuse me." Minerva said standing, fingers shakingly gripping the chair's back as she turned toward her room.

Hermione immediately stood, "Are you alright?"

"I'm merely…" Minerva started to stumble, but Hermione reached Minerva and supported her, bringing Minerva's arm over her shoulders, "tired."

"It was more than merely shifting the words," Hermione continued walking with Minerva to her room, "wasn't it?"

"Bellatrix was intent on you becoming her property." Minerva murmured as she stumbled forward and in a handful of steps felt her body being eased onto the bed, "I just need to rest for an hour or so."

Hermione picked up Minerva's legs and slid her body fully onto the bed, and with care she vanished Minerva's hair pins to the table and boots to the floor at the foot of the bed before drawing a light weight blanket over Minerva's slumbering form as she breathed a quiet thank you from her lips; as her eyes focused on the Griffin now gracing her forearm, appearing more as an elaborate tattoo and not the curse it had meant to be.

Xoxo

a/n: Another day, another dribble ;)