Minerva stared at Albus incredulously.
"Albus! None of us have had to give an oath before, and I know you won't require it when The Order's original members return if they are willing and able. I will not stand by and watch as you request one out of Miss Granger!" she shouted, squeezing her prized student's shoulders tightly.
Hermione however was having conflicted reactions to this. Part of her wanted to reassure her Professor that it was okay, but she knew the seriousness of a wizard's oath, and not knowing the words or intent of the oath that the Headmaster wanted, it was not okay.
Hermione refused to be a lab rat. However she also wasn't going to vocally object as that would imply that she had something to be wary of.
"Considering what happened last time, Minerva, those who come back… will be asked. We can't risk losing this war," he said.
"What about Severus then? How will this oath affect him? I know after Alastor is recovered he'll insist on being witness to his oath of all members!" she said particularly loudly.
Her grip tightened on Hermione, as though physically holding and protecting her would protect both her and Severus. Hermione didn't say anything, knowing that the elder witch needed the physical comfort more than she felt the need to comfort. The curly haired witch understood, considering she went through something similar in the graveyard. She was more than willing to give the transfiguration mistress the silent comfort she needed.
Albus looked carefully over his glasses at his Deputy, knowing that the witch was merely watching out for the young lad. She was quite smart, which is why he spoke with her about certain things before obliviating her. He tried not to do so often so her mind wouldn't lose its profound qualities that he was so interested in.
"I trust Severus without having him need to take the oath," he replied softly.
"If you trust him, then surely you can trust Miss Granger as you're asking her to work closely with him."
"It is not the same, Minerva. Miss Granger, forgive me for saying so dear, is not proficient in occlumency, so I feel disinclined to allow for accidents. It would protect her and the Order," he said.
"Then teach her," the elder witch said nonchalantly.
"Excuse me?" He asked, blinking a bit dumbfounded.
Minerva was always quite the quick firecracker when it was the two of them, and sometimes she made him feel like an errant schoolboy. Not that he would ever tell her, of course. Yet this complete switch of attitude caught him off guard.
"You heard me," she said, lessening her grip on the younger witch, "teach her. You were a professor once, Albus. You can do it. I doubt she has to be mastery level to be proficient."
Albus stared at his friend, wondering if he was speaking with the same witch. It wasn't until she blinked slowly and looked at him through slit eyes, that he knew it was still her. However she wasn't backing down, but rather trying to make it seem polite even while she was being catty. He knew that if he didn't come up with a solution that she approved of she would find one way or another to make him miserable for a time. Time he didn't have.
Minerva was ever the cat and she would exact her revenge at some point if she didn't like the turnabout. He had caught her quite a few times, as a cat, sitting on the table in the staff room before the other staff members came in, as the elves places their preferred drinks in their normal selective seating. She would wait for him to walk into the room, and then paw his cup over the edge of the table. It was childish, but entirely within her realm considering her animal form.
"Indeed, Minerva. I believe Severus will be able to teach her, and I'll test her weekly on her progress over the summer. It would bring them a bit closer, and Severus would have a better idea of Miss Granger as a person rather than a student," he smiled faintly, "Does that sound alright with you m'girl?"
He was trying to compromise at least, she would give him that. Hermione was quite amused at the banter and knew it was best to keep quiet. However having Professor Snape fish around her mind in general was not something she was looking forward to. She had mental protection, and it was perfect considering the Headmaster wasn't even aware. Yet she specifically left embarrassing and useless information about herself floating around for those who decided to peek in.
She grinned weakly, "Whatever it takes, Headmaster. I'm sure Professor Snape will be more than adequate, if unhappy with our private lessons."
Albus smiled gently at the young witch, "I'll try to make sure he isn't too rough on you, Miss Granger. Professor Snape is firm in his methods, but we would prefer if your mind was as fit as a fiddle and as protected as Gringotts."
"Was there anything else, Headmaster?" Hermione asked politely.
"I will come retrieve you from your house one week before Harry's birthday. As bright as you are, I will be able to arrange for you to take you potions OWL early, at the very least. I'm sure we can arrange for you to take the rest equally as early and pass with flying colors," he chuckled, "But Harry will need you, so it would be for the best if you were to attend classes as normal. We won't be having you take your NEWTs just yet, even though I have faith in your potioneer abilities. If plans change, we will act accordingly, so study hard Miss Granger, but don't forget to sleep," he finished with a smile and an eye twinkle.
Hermione paled, but managed to smile back, "Thank you, Headmaster. I'll be sure to study hard. Will there be any other tasks for me?"
"No, my dear. Not at the moment, should something arise, I will see you," he said, "Now go see, Harry. I'm sure you'll feel better about these decisions once you see him. While you're there, please let Mrs. Weasley know that I'd like to speak with her."
Hermione stood up and nodded politely at the headmaster and her professor, "Yes, sir. Thank you, Headmaster. Professor McGonagall," and left to see her brother.
The headmaster's eyes followed her as she made her exit. He would have to watch her carefully, she would be useful, but how much use was yet to be seen.
Minerva regarded Albus as he watched the young witch leave his office. Whatever mind shields the witch had was more than adequate considering he did not know that Severus and Miss Granger were already familiar with each other in terms of private lessons. This subject however would be more personal.
"Albus, I'm going to have a nightcap, I will see you in the morning," she said with a weary sigh.
The Scottish witch left before her employer and friend could say anything.
Harry was breathing deeply, his eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful her heart almost broke. He was still suffering from the occasional tremor and she could see some of the small spams. This would probably be the most peaceful sleep he would get until the war ended, even with the aftereffects. Hermione brushed his hair out of his face, looking at his scar.
"Mrs. Weasley, the Headmaster would like a word with you. He's in his office," she said politely. Her voice was soft and light.
Molly wrung her hands together, her nerves getting the better of her. She wanted to be next to Harry, but she couldn't tell Albus she'd see him when she wanted to either. Her sons were there and they would watch and make sure nothing romantic happened. Ronnie knew that Hermione was supposed to be his, so she had nothing to worry about.
"Thank you, Hermione. Bill, please go get your father. Tell him I'm meeting with Albus. Ron, Hermione, you both behave, Harry needs his sleep," she huffed.
Bill got up and left to do as his mother asked, not wanting to sit around in the Hospital Wing. He was worried about Harry, but he also wasn't close enough to the young wizard to feel comfortable doing so.
Ron rolled his eyes behind his mother's back, whereas Hermione had to hold back a sneer.
"Where is Aunt Petunia?" she asked her friend quietly.
"You just missed her. Madam Pomfrey gave them their own room somewhere in here and they all left to turn in for the night," he replied.
She hummed in response.
They sat in quiet for a long time after that, neither saying anything to the other. Ron didn't hound her with accusations or questions, not that he would get any answers. He was too busy turning green when he looked at Harry's scar.
It was red and angry, not nearly as much as it had been in first year when they went after the stone. However it was a near close, it looked fresh… almost as fresh as the dark marks…
She was out of her element since there was nothing for her to reference to, nothing to study, he was the first person in recorded history to survive the killing curse, and almost immediately he was hidden away amongst muggles. There were no records for her to look up. His scar worried her.
She hoped she would be able to talk to him, to get him to see a healer. It had been 13 years, but if it was spell damage they would still be able to find a trace of something. She refused to have people like the Minister floundering for an excuse to shove his claims to the side on the off chance that he was off kilter because of it.
… it would be taken care of before his birthday and before the headmaster retrieved her for the summer. She would speak to her parents about it in person. If he wouldn't go willingly, she would find a way around it.
Ron let out a long breath, "I'll be back, 'mione. I have to go use the loo."
His chair scraped against the floor as he got up without waiting for a response. The black dog woofed softly, also getting up. He jumped down gingerly, only his nails making a light tapping sound, and followed the young wizard. The young witch watched them from the corner of her eye to see which toilet they were going to use. When they left the hospital wing entirely, her shoulders dropped, unaware of how tense she was.
Looking over she noticed Moody was also sleeping, if a bit fitfully, which didn't surprise her. He was sleeping in an unguarded, unwarded, area. Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the safest places on Earth, but in reality there were too many residents for that to be true. She didn't blame him. She also couldn't set a small ward around him, it would alert the Headmaster and Madam Pomfrey.
"Thimi," she said softly.
There was a faint pop and a brush against her thigh alerting her that Thimi had arrived and she was invisible.
"If you have any more of that special potion, please give some to Harry," she requested mutely.
Thimi patted her thigh twice, letting her know that it would be done.
Hermione watched as a potion vial made itself visible in front of Harry. Thimi was still unseen as she gave Harry Potter a potion of her making and the young witch was relieved when her brother's tremors lessened until they stopped.
The vial disappeared and the witch felt her heart lighten knowing that her brother would not be in pain. Thimi patted her thigh twice more and the witch reached over with her hand and held the house-elf's hand for comfort.
She wanted to say more, but felt that it wouldn't be appropriate. So she sat and watched her brother sleep.
Petunia wrung her hands together nervously as they all got ready for bed. They had been provided with 3 infirmary cots. She had forgotten how scared she had been for her nephew when he first came into their lives. She had forgotten how scared she was for her sister when she mentioned being part of a war and going into hiding.
Vernon tried to comfort her by telling her it was their war and their problems, but even he knew that they were empty words. War excluded no one. He was a bright chap, was one of the best in his old academy sport wise, but he remembered the smarter lads being frustrated when tutoring him. He would say the same things then and they told him that he would regret thinking the way he did in the future if there ever was a war.
Petunia knew he was trying though and appreciated it. She didn't reply, as she was tuning him out, but holding his hand helped.
She almost wanted to be out there with her nephew, to keep a close eye on him. However she also didn't want to be around that redheaded woman. Lily's hair was prettier than hers by far. Even if she was a muggleborn, her sister was a much better witch in every way. Yet she knew that for a while that witch was more motherly to him than she had been for a… very long time.
Dudley was laying down on the cot, staring at the ceiling, his skin was clammy and pale. That Cedric kid nearly died. They had stared at nothing but hedges for about an hour, but they could see the colors from time to time from their magic. They could hear screaming, and it chilled him to the bones, not that he would ever say so. Seeing Harry and that boy just appear out of nowhere, looking like they had gone through one hell of a wringer, then Her-Her… his new cousin, that girl just appear on top of him. It was chaos. That important looking man made him believe that the other kid was dead. He looked dead as far as he could tell… he hoped he wouldn't have nightmares about it.
It was his first experience with death, his parents always kept him home when there were funerals or wakes, so he was never prepared for the bomb that was a dead body in his face. Even if he turned out to not be dead, for those few chaotic minutes, to him, he was dead. He knew that it would dwell with him for the rest of his life.
"Albus, you wanted to see me?" Molly asked, letting herself into his office.
"Yes, Molly. I'm reinstating the Order, can I count on you and Arthur once more?" he asked heavily, there were no twinkles in his eyes for her.
"Of course, Albus. You can always count on us," she said, knowing that her husband would agree.
There were many other things they could have spoken about, but with Voldemort coming back into place and the second war coming back up, everything else seem insignificant, at least for the night.
He thought about telling Molly about his places for Miss Granger but decided that would be more on a need to know basis, and at the moment she did not need to know.
"I've sent Bill to go fetch Arthur," she informed the elder wizard.
"Good, good. This summer we're going to be quite busy. I was thinking of speaking with Sirius and having the Order meet at Grimmauld Place in London," he said grimly.
Molly grimaced, wanting nothing to do with a Black residence. She didn't like her mother-in-law and she was sure she wouldn't like what was left of her family.
"I'm sure since it has been uninhabited for nearly 13 years now, it'll be in quite an uninhabitable space. I'm going to need your help to give it a nice, spring cleaning we'll call it," he chuckled lightly, trying to make light of the situation.
Molly forced a small smile for Albus, she was a house-witch and she was good at what she did. She had seven children, and they did make quite a mess, she was familiar with cleaning large messy places quickly.
"I'll need the children to help, of course," she mentioned.
"Of course, of course," he said.
"I'll give you the address after I've been made secret keeper," he said.
The floo turned green and Arthur walked out, brushing soot off his robes.
"Albus, I came as soon as Bill informed me. What do we need to do?" he said straight to the point.
Albus smiled at the other wizard. With old members ready to return to the fold with nary a question, reassembling the Order would be easier than he thought.