Chapter 3: For What Good Is Greater?
{A/N: Here's Another Update...In the words of Sevslave1: "Cue Hermione..."}
My Thanks To All My Readers and Reviewers...Enjoy S.S.
Happy Birthday, Severus Snape!
The Potions Classroom, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Hermione Granger had been watching the Potions Master for quite some time. Her amber eyes noted the slumped posturing at his desk almost immediately as she entered the classroom. His hand gripped the quill in which he wrote as if it had been in desperate need of something to hold on to. His cheeks were sullen, still very sallow and pale but he looked to have been missing quite a few meals. Of course there was even more evidence in the fact that he had not shown up in the Great Hall in weeks. His pallor had been far more pale, a feat that she didn't even know was possible than usual. His lank raven hair had been wet, possibly from frequent perspiration. While the mood of the class remained the same, the tone in which Professor Snape spoke was flat and dripping with a twinge of sorrow unregistered by those that dreaded the sound of his voice day in and day out when it came to taking the class. For the amber eyed in the second row however, his voice was a very integral part of the experience. Since the very first day she came to Hogwarts and he introduced the subject with a kind of subtle seduction there had been an ample amount of pride in his tone despite his false lack of enthusiasm. She could tell this subject had been more than just a profession for him, it had been an art form and largely ruled by his un-tempered passion.
On occasion she noted the slight tremble in his surprisingly graceful hand movements. So many details had come to mind in that one sitting she could hardly keep track of them. The entire Slytherin-Gryffindor class remained silent and quietly worked from their textbooks. Snape didn't seem in the mood to provide lecture and when he administered punishment it had none of the obvious favoritism it carried when he usually dished out the detentions.
Ron and Harry had been happy enough to just get through the class without suffering from Snape's constant tongue lashing.
Hermione grew more suspicious when Neville Longbottom clumsily dropped his textbook repeatedly breaking the silence of the room and Snape simply glared at the boy following his latest blunder from behind his desk and did not say a word.
At the conclusion of the lesson, Everyone scrambled to get out of the Potions Master's sight, especially Neville Longbottom fearing Snape was only holding off on the tongue lashing in a bid to give him something much worse later on. Feeling about the same as Neville, Both Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, especially Harry Potter were quickly packing up to leave as well.
They had managed to get one foot out of the door when they noticed Hermione simply staring at the Potions Professor.
"Mione." whispered Harry as if Snape didn't have ears while he continued to scribble across numerous bits of parchment. "Let's go before Snape notice that we are still here."
"You can go on ahead Harry." said Hermione still contending with her latest puzzle in the form of her Professor. "I've got to ask Professor Snape something."
"Have you gone mental?" asked Ron with wide eyes. "Snape's probably a volcano waiting to explode."
"I said I'm staying." replied Hermione with a determined expression.
Ron rolled his eyes not wishing to spend another second in "the greasy git's" presence.
"Suite yourself." he replied and took off even without Harry.
The green eyed wizard for his part ignored Ron's antics as he wondered what Hermione deemed so important that she needed to linger about in Snape's classroom.
"I hope you know what you are doing Mione." he said realizing there was no talking down the determined witch.
Like Ron, he also took his leave of her and the seemingly busy Potions Master.
Once the classroom had been clear, Hermione half expected Snape to look up from his parchments. He didn't seem all that interested in having company one way or the other but she had a few suspicions that needed addressing.
Finding her legendary Gryffindor courage, Hermione Granger approached the Potions Professor's desk. A chill ran down her spine as she noted his hand had stilled and his obsidian gaze had fallen upon her almost immediately.
"Is there a reason you have elected to bother me, Miss Granger?" he asked in an emotionless tone.
"P-Professor Snape, sir...I've noticed that you have not been doing quite so well." she said. "Is it a lasting sickness?...or perhaps I can assist you in brewing the proper potion for it?"
Snape sighed resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"Miss Granger, I assure you I am quite capable of brewing my own potions for health related instances." he said with annoyance creeping into his tone. "As for my health and other matters, my personal life is none of your concern."
Hermione took a breath knowing full well that her apparent task would not be easy. Injured animals were often very stubborn when it came to treatment and aid. Professor Snape's manner had been no different. Despite his words, she had known all too well that there was something bothering him.
"Are you getting enough sleep Professor?" asked the bushy haired witch. "Studies show many adults need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day to perform at their best."
Snape rolled his eyes this time.
"Thank you...Miss Granger, walking encyclopedia of Hogwarts." he said in a dry tone. "Should I need any more insight into the studies of human health I will be sure to give you a call."
The bushy haired witch didn't seem all that put off by his words.
"You've been suffering from nausea quite a bit recently." she said moving in her boldness to examine his pale trembling hand still clutching rather tightly to the quill he had been using. "Judging by the way you've been clutching that quill I'd say the problem may be stress related."
Snape stood up swelling to his full towering height as he leaned over his desk. Eclipsing the teenage witch in mere seconds.
"I wonder just how stress related the cause could be...possibly some bushy haired know-it-all poking her nose into matters that do not concern her and her idiot friends Weasley and Potter, who believe just because they are of Gryffindor house rules don't apply to them so late night curfew is the right time to go sneaking about the castle despite the potential dangers and strict warning otherwise!?" he said bitterly. "Perhaps it's the numerous dunderheads like Longbottom, whom insist upon taking my class knowing full well that all they managed to do is explode their cauldrons in their collective faces wasting various means of ingredients that took me all summer to collect."
Hermione simply weathered the storm of his rage in silence and dignity befitting a girl of her intellect. Professor Snape appeared to have been quite stressed and his outburst gave validation to her previous theory. She made up her mind then to have a word with Dumbledore, it there was anyone who could help the poor Potions Professor, he could.
A foolish Gryffindor sentiment if ever there was one.
"I understand Professor." she said softly. "I simply wished to know if you were alright."
Snape grew quiet unsure how to respond to her apparent concern. No student had ever expressed concern for him before and it was almost as unnerving as the twinkle behind a certain idiotic old man's blue eyes.
He sat back down turning his attention to his parchments while the bushy haired girl showed herself out. There was another class about to come in at least they knew better than to ask silly questions. Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff potions period was beginning and he would be able to make it with out pressure from the likes of the infamous golden trio and the Slytherins, lead in part by Draco Malfoy's antics.
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The Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Albus Dumbledore paced his office, the glamour charm hid the truth of his blackened hand from the rest of the world as well as his very Gryffindor pretenses. His mind wondered to the Potions Professor. The clear signs of struggle taking place within the younger wizard had been enough to give the old man pause. This was indeed a heavy burden that had been placed upon his shoulders and it seemed he was crumbling from the weight of it.
"Severus." said the Headmaster aloud in the room. "What am I to do with you?"
At the conclusion of his statement, the old wizard heard a soft knock at the heavy wood door that sealed his office from the rest of the wizarding world.
"Come in." he said his tone growing pleasant and his aches a thing of the past in mere seconds.
The door opened and he was treated to the unexpected sight of Hermione Granger as she stepped into the center of the room.
"P-Professor Dumbledore sir." she said as if trying to compose herself and determine the best course of action in her mind. "I-If it's possible I would like to speak with you."
Dumbledore simply smiled pleasantly and motioned in a rather grandfather-like fashion toward the empty seat at his desk.
"What urgent matter brings you by?" he asked giving her his undivided attention.
The bushy haired witch gathered her thoughts as the ailing Potions Professor came to mind.
"Sir, I believe there is something the matter with Professor Snape." she said plainly.
Dumbledore had been shocked that anyone other than him bothered to take notice.
"Really Miss Granger?" he asked as if he had not already known the cause. "Do tell me more."
As if being signaled to give an oral report before a studious class, Hermione went over ever detail she had complied about the Potions Professor's drastic changes in behavior right down to the apparent lack of sleep and inability to hold down a meal. Dumbledore had been impressed with her apparent knack for detail as well as observant skills. The more the bushy haired young Gryffindor witch spoke the more the Headmaster could feel the wheels in his head turning.
Hermione Granger was the perfect candidate for his future plans for Severus. She just didn't know it.
At the conclusion of her list of details, Dumbledore silently stood and made his way over toward the window near the area Fawkes was perched. His blue eyes in hidden contemplation as he clasped his hands behind his back. Once more cradling his glamour hidden black hand behind that of his regular one.
"It seems Miss Granger, that you are the sort of witch many deemed capable of a good many things." he said addressing the young Gryffindor with flattery.
For her part Hermione had turned red in the cheeks at the obvious praise for her intellect.
"It is for that reason Miss Granger, that I require your assistance as well as your utmost discretion concerning our Potions Master." continued Dumbledore.
The sudden seriousness of the older wizard's tone made Hermione jolt out of her comfort zone.
"Sir?" she asked unsure of wither or not she wanted to know more.
"Do I have your word that you will assist me in this matter until such a time as our efforts are not needed?" asked Dumbledore.
His blue eyed gaze falling upon her mixed in with his serious expression.
"If it will help Professor Snape." said the bushy haired witch determined.
Dumbledore's eyes widened for a moment then returned to normal. He had not expected anyone, let alone a Gryffindor member of the student body to willingly wish to help Severus. His attitude no withstanding, but he wasn't known as "The Dreaded Potions Professor" for nothing.
"This matter is all about helping Professor Snape as well your young friend Harry Potter." Dumbledore continued. "But I require an oath that you will not reveal any information concerning this meeting or any other between us until such a time as I see fit to release the information."
Hermione had suddenly been filled with a kind of dread of her own as she noted his words.
This was to help both Professor Snape and Harry, why wouldn't she agree.
"Professor..." she began attempting to gain more information.
"Due to the nature of this war, Miss Granger I am not at liberty to discuss much with you outside of an oath." explained Dumbledore. "But let me make this perfectly clear, accepting my terms is the best course of action if you wish to offer assistance in this matter...there are things in which I will ask of you that you may not find particularly comforting...you will be pushed to your limits and then some...but if you can rise to the occasion, you will be all the better for it...a better witch, a better friend and what you deem a role for yourself in the near future."
Unable to resist the Gryffindor trap of loyalty, glory, and helpfulness...the bushy haired witch had not known what she was in for but Dumbledore saw the conclusions she had been drawing in her mind. She had been most concerned with helping Harry Potter, whom had been plagued with his destiny since his arrival at Hogwarts, and Professor Snape whom had been crumbling beneath the weight of his own in the wake of Dumbledore's latest order.
"Well, Miss Granger?" asked Dumbledore. "Do we have a deal?"
Hermione looked at the molting familiar as it's flesh shifted into dripping ash. She had been afraid, but she had been no coward. Ever the example of true Gryffindor spirit, she nodded.
"I Hermione Jean Granger, give my solemn oath as a wizarding witch to assist you, Professor Albus Dumbledore in whatever means necessary in a bid to aid Harry Potter and Professor Snape respectively in the fight against Voldemort." she said meaningfully.
Dumbledore nodded accepting her oath.
A small pang of sadness had gone through him as he noted the conviction behind the amber eyes of the young Miss Granger. Soon she two would become jaded in the wake of this all consuming war.
"Very well." said Dumbledore. "Professor Snape has been given a task in which he finds quite difficult."
Hermione arched an eyebrow in the style of the Potions Master hearing this. She didn't whole-heartedly believe Snape would shy away from his duties given that they had recently found out that he had been apart of The Order Of Phoenix during the summer, when Harry had to defend himself before the Ministry Of Magic saving the life of his ingrate muggle cousin, Dudley from a rouge dementor.
"As you know, Professor Snape's other duties included spying for the Order while portraying himself to be a death eater among the dark lord's ranks." said Dumbledore, his face still serious in it's expression. "For your first assignment, I need for you to retrieve a certain tome from Madam Pince in the library...let her known you have my permission to obtain it and bring it back to me here."
The bushy haired witch wondered why Dumbledore had swore her to secrecy if he was only going to request she bring him a tome.
"Of course Headmaster." she said dutifully.
She rose from her seat and made her way to the door catching a glimpse of the elder wizard cautiously nursing one of his arms. It had been more than enough to arouse her suspicions and clearly something was going on that not everyone in Hogwarts had been privy to. None the less she concerned herself with completing her given task if only to obtain more information.
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The Library, Hogwarts Castle, Wizarding World...
Madam Pince had been quite busy with parchments of her own like the Potions Master had been. The bushy haired witch approached the desk as she had so many times before and requested the tome Professor Dumbledore had instructed her to bring to him. Madam Pince didn't even bat an eyelash as she handed the tome, oddly enough wrapped in black velvet to the young Gryffindor witch.
"Do be careful with this book, Miss Granger." said Madam Pince her stern eyes falling on the younger witch as she mentally assessed the wisdom of giving such a young witch a dangerous piece of reading.
Hermione nodded and placed the tome inside her knapsack.
Once it had been secured, she took her leave of the library.
It didn't take her long to return the tome requested to Dumbledore but all hopes of obtaining more information seemed to have dwindled some after he wordlessly dismissed her to focus on reading. He did however notice when she reached the door and knew better than she did that her curiosity would bring her back, as well as have her observing the Potions Professor more than usual.
Yes, Hermione Jean Granger had been a perfect candidate if what he had planned were to go off without a hitch. Her intellect and muggle-blood would be a boon to Snape in the near future, not to mention her being a steadfast ally if ever one needed one.
With any luck, she could provide Severus with the much needed assistance that eluded him thus far.