Severus was broken. But more than that, he was livid. He had never been more furious with someone other than himself in a very long time. Not since Voldemort had killed Lily and James, and even then, he'd blamed himself more than anyone else.

But now? Oh, he was absolutely enraged with Albus Dumbledore.

The nerve of that man. He knew exactly what to say, exactly what buttons to press, exactly how to kill Severus's spirits, his confidence, his self-worth, despite the fact that Severus hardly had any to begin with.

This time he'd gone too far.

Now that Severus wasn't in the same room as the man, he no longer felt small, no longer felt controlled, no longer felt the weight of those icy blue eyes, and he could think clearly.

He was thinking that there was no way in hell he was going to let Albus take the one good thing in his life away from him.

Fuck pushing Hermione away. He would keep her close, and he'd do everything to protect her, and he would keep her safe. He would not fucking fail.

Fuck the manipulative old bastard. He thought he knew everything, did he? He thought he could take away the one good thing in Severus's life under the guise that Severus was 'untrustworthy'?

He was wrong.

Severus wouldn't do what Albus wanted him to. Not this time.

He could see through Albus's words clear as day. Albus didn't give a rat's ass about Hermione's safety, not at all. He wanted her alive merely for his plan, and on top of that, he didn't want to take Hermione away from Severus solely for her safety either. No, Albus wanted to take Hermione away from him because he wanted to keep Severus broken, so that his only hope was winning the war, so that Albus could control his every move, so that he remained alone, focused only on his tasks.

Well, too fucking bad for him. Albus's little speech had done exactly the opposite of what he had intended it to.

Severus had been ready to push Hermione away for good.

Not anymore.

Hermione couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. It was too much, so much, she was completely overwhelmed.

She could only think one coherent thought: Dumbledore was an asshole.

Of course he was in a difficult position, being the leader of one side of a horrible war, having to make extremely delicate, important decisions on a daily basis, but still... A leader wasn't emotionally manipulative like that, like how Dumbledore was. A leader motivated their soldiers, appreciated those who gave their lives for the cause, who suffered daily for the greater good. They didn't beat them down every change they got, and it was looking like that was exactly what Dumbledore was doing to Severus.

He was ordering Severus to kill him, and take over the school? To make it official that he was truly Voldemort's? Making him become Headmaster, having him stand by and watch as the students he'd sworn to protect were tortured relentlessly? Severus would have no one, absolutely no one on his side. He'd be completely isolated. No one would know his true allegiance, no one would know that he was truly fighting for the Light.

And even if that was absolutely necessary, the way Dumbledore had gone about getting Severus to do it was so horrible, absolutely despicable, it was verbal abuse, emotional manipulation, and it made Hermione sick to her stomach.

He treated Severus like an imbecile, like a child, like he didn't have a clue what he was doing. Dumbledore had thrown words at Severus like weapons. How he didn't trust Severus, how Severus was irresponsible, how disappointed he was in him... how he didn't deserve a friend, a confidant, how he did everything wrong, reiterating over and over again how he'd almost killed her.

Hermione had no idea how Severus had made it this far. He must have absolutely no self-worth. He was hard enough on himself already, it was obvious to see that, and then he had to go listen to Dumbledore beat him down even further?

Hermione would have broken ages ago. She never would have lasted this long.

She couldn't believe Dumbledore had said all those things. It was so horrible.

She would do everything she could to ensure that Severus would not go through this alone. She would never leave his side. She would do everything in her power to show Severus how much he meant to her, how much she trusted him, how much she believed in him. She would support him no matter what.

Hermione knew she could never undo what Dumbledore had done, she could never heal the wounds he'd caused, she could never change Severus's mindset, but she could show him how much she cared about him, and maybe that would be enough.

Severus didn't get a chance to talk to Hermione about what Albus had instructed him to do until later that evening. He cleaned and redressed her neck, then sat down in his recliner, sighing deeply and massaging his temples for a moment before opening his eyes and turning towards the lioness who was lying in front of the cackling fire.

"Hermione." he said, and she looked up at him immediately.

"We need to talk." She tilted her head sideways, and Severus understood the unasked question. Were they going to talk like this, or was he going to transform into his Animagus?

"Hermione... After what happened before..." He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, and when he opened them, Hermione was resting her head on his knee and looking up at him reassuringly. Severus trailed a finger down her nose and furrowed his brow.

"I don't know why you trust me so much, witch." He told her, lifting her head of his knee with one hand and rising from his chair. Hermione moved away from him to give him space, and Severus concentrated on transforming, and after a moment, his four clawed feet hit the floor, and he blinked at the lioness a few feet away.

He sat on his haunches, curling his long tail around his silvery white paws, and said through his mind,

"Professor Dumbledore has instructed me to take over the task of turning you back to your human form."

It was a moment before she responded, but she did eventually, her voice low and soft.

"Do you... Do you think you'll be able to do it?"

"I am confident in my abilities."

"Have you gotten the information gathered by the other Professors?"

"No. They have nothing of value. I'll be starting from scratch." He paused, then asked. "Is this agreeable?"

"Yes, of course."

"Very well. We can start this evening. I'll begin with looking for any magical traces. It is possible that someone cast a very intricate, advanced curse on you in order to keep you in your Animagus form."

"Does one exist?"

"I've heard of one, vaguely, but I've never seen or heard of it actually being used."

"What did Professor Dumbledore say? You told him, right?"

"Of course I told him. What he said is... Irrelevant."

The old prick hadn't cared. He'd told Severus to butt out and to stop complaining and making up stuff to get Hermione out of his care.

"How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure."

"Will you... Will you tell me what you're doing? I'd like to learn from this, if I can."

"Very well." He agreed.

"Thank you." She said, giving him small smile.

Severus inclined his head and transformed back into his human form, motioning for Hermione to settle herself onto the couch.

"You will feel my magic wash over you, and it might be uncomfortable, but it won't hurt. I'm looking for any trace of foreign magic that might be present. I'll be casting a spell that you've already heard of, but I have a way of making it stronger and more effective. I'm sure that Professor McGonnagal and Professor Flitwick used this spell?"

Hermione nodded.

"They wouldn't be aware of the method I'll be using."

He didn't need to explain that what he would be doing was teetering on the edge of being considered Dark Magic. Hermione could put two and two together.

"Basically, the spell I'll be using will give me a visualization of your magic. It appears in strands, each one representing different aspects of your magic. Your magic has a certain feel, a certain aura to it, and certain colors that represent each aspect. Once I get an understanding of your magic, I'll be able to look, and feel for something that doesn't belong. If I find it, I'll be able to isolate that strand from yours, and hopefully, I'll be able to identify it. Once I know what it is, I'll know how to address it. Any questions?"

She shook her head in the negative.

"Once I start, I won't be able to explain what I'm doing. If you have any questions while I'm working, ask me after, and I'll answer them." She nodded.

He pulled out his wand and waved it over her, murmuring the complex incantation under his breath. He spent a moment just getting a feel and understanding for her magic, and then he began looking.

There was no obvious trace of foreign magic, but Severus could feel something there, something that was familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on, not yet.

He continued searching, going layer by layer through her magic, sorting through the swirling strands that appeared in the air above her still form. There was something there that didn't belong, he just needed to find it.

There!

A dark green strand, almost black, incredibly thin, and wound tightly with her own magic.

Severus was beginning to sweat from the intense concentration that the task required, but he continued on, oblivious.

He twirled his wand expertly in his hand, his voice growing deeper as his focus honed in on the strand, and when he finally managed to pull it far enough away from Hermione's magic, the recognition of the origin of the strand caught him by surprise, and suddenly the strands were gone, and his hand was gripping the couch, and his vision was swirling. He was vaguely aware that he had a splitting headache, and that his hair was plastered to his wet face, but it didn't matter.

What mattered was that the origin of the curse that had indeed been cast on Hermione was undoubtably from a Death Eater.