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Chapter 5: Some Quiet Please
The Headmaster Snape's body ached all over and his head pounded. His mouth felt like it was stuffed with sawdust. Who was reading the History of Hogwarts? Could they just shut up! The constant droning was not allowing him to rest. Now where was he? He could not open his eyes yes back to sleep thank goodness.
There it was again the incessant noise of someone speaking. This time it was a rich baritone of someone who was familiar to him. Was it Kingsley?
Then master spy felt the wind of another person he could hear the swishing of robes and he felt the firm grip of his pulse being taken. Opening his black eyes the Potions Master recognized it was Poppy Pomfrey.
"Well, here we are Severus. You are in your favourite bed in the teacher's ward of Hogwarts Infirmary. You are safe and guarded. The Order and the rest of the wizarding world know the truth about Albus. I want you to take it easy," the Hogwarts Infirmary Matron sternly informed her patient. Over the years he had been in her care numerous times and she knew she need to keep a firm control of him or else he would be recalculant.
Madam Poppy Pomfrey flashed a torch into Headmaster Snape's dark eyes looking at his pupil dilation reaction. The dressing on his neck wound was checked and quickly changed by the brisk woman.
"There will be minimal scaring on your neck Severus. Much was done to save you. I want you to take a sip of this water before you try and speak. There that's right," Poppy counselled as the mediwitch helped her patient to take a drink to quench his parched throat.
"Is he dead?" croaked the broken voice of Severus Snape.
"Tom Riddle is dead. Don't worry about it he is gone. Your dark mark has faded and it looks lighter than the last time. There were enough witnesses this time. Everyone is sure he is gone," advised the mediwitch.
"You are a free man Severus Snape and I wish to call you friend", advised Kingsley Shacklebolt as he gripped the shapely hand of the Potions Master. With the words of freedom Severus Snape did something that his students would be surprised he could even do, he cried. The dark inky black orbs of his eyes misted up and the powerful Auror lifted him up so he could hugged the normally undemonstrative man while his long needed emotional release quietly poured out of the notoriously stern dour man. The master spy had had lived with the stress of not giving away his thoughts or feelings for over 16 years. Kingsley was amazed that this man was still sane as it was longer than any Auror branch undercover agent had been in the field that he knew about.
Poppy quickly screened the wizard off from view when she was alerted by her alarm system that there were visitors to the Infirmary who wanted access to see the other patient and were requesting entrance to the teacher's ward. It was the Weasley Twins and Minerva McGonagall.
"Severus is awake," Poppy announced to the three Order of Phoenix Members as she opened the ward doors to enable them to enter. "The Headmaster is currently speaking to Kingsley".
,
"How is our Mia?" inquired George. The twins had moved to either side of Hermione and were holding a hand each while listening to her latest status report.
"She is still not showing any signs of responding", advised Madam Pomfrey.
Minerva McGonagall moved behind the screen to talk to the Headmaster and her former friend, Severus. Would he forgive her for all that happened after the death of Albus?
Kingsley had propped the weak man up and was starting to talk to him about everything that had occurred since the Battle. Minerva looked to check where Poppy was before calling Tinky.
"Yes Prof Min," asked the elf.
"Can you get six scotch glasses for me, please. I have a nice bottle in my private study desk that we need to have a wee dram from now that the Headmaster is awake. Don't get caught by Poppy" advised the witch.
"But there is only five humans awake so why six glasses Prof Min?" asked the curious elf.
"Cause you need a nip too!" exclaimed the witch with a smile at her co-conspirator.
"Be back in a sec Prof Min," advised the elf before disappearing from the ward.
Suddenly the privacy curtain was pulled back and two red heads popped around.
"Did we hear," said Fred.
"that right," lobbed George Weasley.
"that our Professor Mini, the cat," stated the smirking twin going under the name of Fred.
"is breaking the rules," gushed the other twin finishing the twin speak sentence.
"Yes you horrible two. Don't worry I will deny it ever happened," advised the amused witch looking at her former pupils and the mock shock they were displaying at the thought of their former House Mistress breaking the rules in Hogwarts.
Tinky appeared with the six glasses and the bottle of scotch that was wrapped in tissue paper. "Give me that baby while you set up the glasses. I have been saving this 20yr old baby for a special occasion and I think this is it," advised the witch as she carefully unwrapped the Longmorn Speyside whiskey bottle.
"Mini dear I think you can not count" advised Fred or was it George, Minerva wasn't sure which twin it was who was doing the chattering.
"Why is that boy?" inquired Minerva in an imperial tone.
"The label says 1968," advised one of the twins.
"That means it was bottled in 1988 after 20 years maturing in sherry casks. Albus gave it to me as his last Christmas present," advised the Gryffindor witch with a tear in her eye remembering her friend.
When the glasses were distributed to all she raised her own glass saying "To Albus, the order and all who died, Slaite!" before she knocked back her dram in a quick smooth action.
"Slaite! Slaite!" Was heard round the room even from the croaking voice of Severus Snape. The group knocked back their drams in salute to all their comrades who were not alive to celebrate the peace and the end of the reign of terror of one Tom Movarlo Riddle.
Snape started to cough after swigging his whiskey and Madam Pomfrey promptly busted the group.
"Minerva McGonagall where has your common sense gone. You do not smuggle scotch into my patients," exclaimed Poppy pretending to be outraged before turning to pull her own glass out of her matron's apron.
"Not unless you bribe the mediwitch with a nip in her glass too," she advised holding her glass out for a dram, which was promptly supplied by the party in the teacher's ward.
"Severus I am going to say we have to water your scotch down as it is burning your throat irritation, Sorry Min but we have to do it or I will have to cut him off from the bottle" advised Poppy.
"Fine fine. Ruin a perfectly good single malt whiskey with water," grumbled the Head of Gryffindor.
Tinky poured the next round and made the appropriate adjustments to Severus Snape's drink glass. The group discussed the changes being made to the school and what improvements that they thought could be added to the building and current education practices. For most of the discussion Fred had been quietly observing Hermione who had not moved while occasionally participating in the conversation with the others.
There was a lull as another round was poured. "George why did she do it? Why did she save me?" Fred asked his twin.
"I don't know why mate but I will be forever grateful that she did cause I could not have survived losing you", advised George patting his brother on his back with a soothing stroke.
"She did it cause she could not stand another family being torn apart or in anguish due to the war. She had lost her own family and she wanted to make sure that other families did not experience the same loss", advised Poppy remembering the explosive entrance of the witch into the room of requirement on the day of the Battle. The look on the witch's face was clear to all that she wanted to stop the destruction of families and the pain everyone was going through with the war.
"She wanted Severus to have a life to be able to live his life freely and all the others she showed compassion to. Miss Granger saved so many that night. I find it interesting that Harry Potter visits her but your younger brother does not. Why do you think that is boys?" inquired the mediwitch.
Severus Snape was surprised to hear that the pupil who he had often bullied had been the one who had saved him. He thought he was going to die after giving his memories to Harry Potter. So the gentle unseen hands had belonged to her. He had felt someone caring for him as he was losing consciousness.
"What do you mean she lost her own family?" Kingsley questioned sharply. "They have not appeared in any of our records of the Muggle war dead".
"This does not go out of the room and you certainly don't tell Harry or our ickle brother Ronikins the prat. Hermione made us promise not to tell them she doesn't want any misguided pity", advised George.
"Hermione oblivated her parents last year just before Bill's wedding so that they had no memory of her and then sent them to Australia. At Christmas she found out that they had been killed in a road accident using something called the Internet while they were on the run. She hasn't told the boys or very many of the Order about their deaths," acknowledged Fred taking a sip of the fine scotch before looking down into the caramel treacle with hints of mahogany and sherry liquid that he swirled around in his glass. The Weasley twin was lost in his own thoughts of the day they had found the younger witch crying silently in the dark about the loss of her parents.
"She just kept on fighting. Do you know she was tortured at the Malfoy estate by Bellatrix. That's when she got the scar on her forearm. I still don't know the full story of what happened but Bill says it was horrendous. I just don't know where the munchkin keeps getting her strength from to keep fighting for what she believes in", stated George looking at the pale curly haired girl lying in the next bed. The prankster quickly wiped away his tears as he thought of his friend and her actions saving his brother and so many others during the Battle of Hogwarts.
"What is going to happen when she wakes up?" asked Kingsley curious about the young witch's prognosis. The new Ministry of Magic would interested in making sure she was cared for as a heroic war veteran.
"We will cross that bridge when it happens but now Severus it is time for you to turn in. Who is going to read to her tonight?" commanded Poppy Pomfrey as she broke up the party. The mediwitch nabbed the bottle before Minerva McGonagall could grasp it up. "I will keep the second half for when she wakes up" the mediwitch advised as she walked out to hide the 20yr aged scotch whiskey in her office.
"Min you need some sleep. So go. Kings you have enough on your plate as it is. We will stay tonight. Between Tinky and the two of us we will look after her," advised George.
After Kingsley and Minerva had left. Tinky set up another cot for the twins and the rotation began again of readers who were talking to the comatose witch. There was plenty of reading material in the form of a large stack of magazines on the bedside table.