Summary: Another test from Voldie.
A/N: Shout out to excessivelyperky. I had an interaction about Lily with Severus and Hermione in this chapter already, but given her most recent comment, it inspired me to expand the discussion between the two.
Chapter 14
The holidays were over, and everyone had returned to Hogwarts for the start of the new semester. Severus was taking a few minutes to study in the Dungeons before he sought out Hermione and they headed to the Room of Requirement to spend the evening together. Draco came up to Severus while he was immersed in his Charms text.
"I need a word," he said simply.
Severus looked up and arched a brow at him.
"In private," Draco continued.
Severus closed his book and stood, following the other man out of the Common Room and to his private quarters.
"What's up, Draco?" Severus asked.
"The Dark Lord has another test for you."
Severus' lips thinned. "Will it involve more broken ribs?"
Draco frowned and looked down at the ground. "We had to follow his orders, Snape. I wish it had been different."
"I understand. No hard feelings."
Draco looked back up at him. "Our Lord likes the fact that you are so adept at potions. He wants you to come up with a poison."
Severus' brows furrowed. "There are many poisons already available. Does he want something specific?"
"Yes. He wants something that works like Veritaserum, but causes the drinker to slowly go insane so that they are driven to kill themselves."
"Interesting premise," Severus said, trying to mask his horror. "It would look like the person took his own life so none of us would be suspect."
"Exactly," Draco agreed.
Severus nodded. "I am not sure how long it will take me to create this potion. Does the Dark Lord have a deadline?"
"As soon as possible, of course. He did say that he knows these things can take time, so I think you have a little leeway as long as you can show progress."
"Understood. I will get the ingredients I need during the Hogwarts weekend coming up."
Draco gave him a brisk nod.
Severus turned to go. Before he got to the door, Draco spoke up once again.
"Oh, and Severus, I don't think I need to tell you that the potion must be traceless."
Severus turned back with a blank expression. "Of course."
Severus left Draco's dormitory and wandered up the stairs. He made his way out of the castle and found a secluded spot near the lake. He sat down on the ground deep in thought, his eyes roaming over the water.
Dumbledore had warned him he may have to do some things that he found reprehensible, but he had hoped that his love for potions wouldn't be sullied by something like this.
He sighed. This potion was foul. He closed his eyes, imagining a prisoner suffering the effects of the potion. He pictured Harry as the victim, slowly going insane before he turned his wand on himself and ended his life. Shuddering, he opened his eyes again and looked across the lake.
"Hey," he heard from behind him.
Turning he saw Hermione standing there.
"I thought we were going to meet up in the Room of Requirement," she said.
"I'm sorry, something came up."
"May I join you?"
Severus nodded slightly, mumbling, "Of course," and returned his gaze to the lake.
"You look disturbed. Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.
"You are perceptive," he replied quietly.
He felt her hand on his arm and looked over at it.
"Talk to me," Hermione said.
His eyes came up to hers, and he wondered what she would think of him. Quickly he averted his gaze and looked the other way.
"Severus? What is it?"
"You will think me vile."
"Of course I won't. What is it?"
Severus looked around, making sure there was no one lurking nearby. He moved closer to Hermione, cast a Muffliato, and leaned in toward her.
"The Dark Lord has tasked me with making a potion for him."
"Oh." She looked at him with concern. "What kind of potion?"
"I swear to you, Hermione, I don't want to do it, but I have to."
She soothed him by rubbing his arm. "Of course, Severus. I know. It's for the war effort, and you have to keep up appearances. Please, what kind of potion does he want you to create."
He frowned as he looked at her. "It's a poison. An insidious one. One that acts like Veritaserum for a while so the Dark Lord can learn the victim's secrets. Then it will slowly turn them insane to the point that they will take their own life."
Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. "Oh, Merlin, Severus. That's foul."
He nodded and looked away. He felt Hermione's arm go around his shoulders.
"Look at me," she said softly.
He kept staring at the lake.
"Please?"
His head turned toward her, and he gave her a fearful look.
"It's just as I said before, Severus. I know you have to do this. It's a horrible thing to have to create, but I don't think you are evil or vile because of it."
"Are you certain?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes. Of course, I'm certain. I know who you are inside, Severus Snape. Nothing you do for the cause will sway my belief in you."
Relief covered his face, and he gave her a grateful look.
"Thank you, Hermione," he sighed, his voice breaking as he spoke.
Pulling him into a hug, Hermione held him for a long while. Finally, she pushed back.
"Can I help at all?"
Severus shook his head vehemently. "I don't want you involved in any way."
"Severus, I can help. We're all in this together."
He sighed and met her eyes. "We are, but this is something I'd rather you stay out of. Not just so you aren't involved in Dark potions, but if the Dark Lord senses any work other than my own, it could put you at risk."
Hermione frowned. "I understand. Maybe I can help in theorizing?"
Severus frowned back at her. "I'd prefer you didn't."
"Why ever not?"
"Hermione, I don't want you hurt."
"Talking theories will not hurt me in any way. I won't be there when you are experimenting and putting them into process. I want to help you, Severus, in any way I can."
"You are too much, you know that?" Severus said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?"
"No one has ever been such a close friend to me, Hermione."
"I would think that I am more than a friend, Severus."
"You are… of course, you are, but I've never had someone want to stick by me no matter what. It's… heady for lack of a better word."
"This is what a relationship is about. You've never had anyone close to you like this?"
"Lily was the only one. She was thoughtful and sought me out to do things all the time when we were close, but she would never offer to help with something like this. She would have told me how horrid I was for wanting to do it. She would have never suggested she even theorize with me."
"Even if she knew it was for the cause?" Hermione asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she would have if it were about that, but she was always quick to tell me how foul I was being simply because I was hanging out with my Slytherin friends."
"She doesn't sound very understanding…"
Severus scoffed. "She wasn't. Not when it came to them… nor when it came to the name that I called her."
Hermione leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"I'm sorry she didn't support you fully, Severus. I… I know she was your friend, but she doesn't sound like a very good one." Hermione cringed at her statement.
Severus frowned. "I was coming to that conclusion before I left my time. I'd felt incredibly guilty for what had happened… what I'd called her. But it bothered me that she never forgave me. It was like she took the opportunity to end our friendship not because I said something horrid, but because I wasn't cool anymore, you know? Why would a Gryffindor be friends with a Slytherin?"
"I'm friends with a Slytherin. I'm in a relationship with one."
"Well, you're different."
"But Severus, shouldn't she have been different too? I mean… she said she was your friend. Friends don't look down on one another. They don't push the other away when it's too hard to be friends. Not if they're true friends."
"If I'm fully honest, I think she was embarrassed by our friendship. Her Housemates had no love for Slytherins, and her closest friends… they had it out for me."
Hermione bristled. "All the more reason to stick up for you, don't you think?"
Severus arched a brow. "I would hope so, but even when she did stick up for me, it was only half-heartedly towards the end."
Hermione squeezed Severus' hand. "I'm sorry, Severus."
"It's okay. It's in the past. The distant past, and I feel like my relationship with her helped me to recognize true friendship."
Hermione smiled. "I want you to know that we are a team. We support each other, okay?"
He smiled shyly at her. "Okay."
"Good."
She produced a small notebook and quill.
"Where shall we start? What ingredients do you think we'll need? We can get them this weekend," she gushed.
"I was thinking much the same. We'll need Jobberknoll feathers and armadillo bile for the truth serum part of the poison. Let's start with Doxy egg and Boomslang venom for the poisons, and we'll need some tar and dandelion root."
Hermione wrote it all down. "Okay, we have our list. Maybe we should head inside and find somewhere private to brainstorm."
"Agreed," Severus said.
He rose and held his hand out for Hermione. Helping her up, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her.
"You are amazing, you know that?"
She smiled saucily at him. "I'm glad you think so."
He took her hand, and they quickly headed for the castle.
The quartet, accompanied by Ginny and Lavender, walked along the road to Hogsmeade. They were all looking forward to the Hogsmeade weekend and getting out of the Castle for a few hours. Severus held Hermione's hand as they walked to town discussing the latest Potions Weekly article.
"I still think that Wilmington was full of it when he said that replacing nettle in the Boil Cure potion with sage will make the cure more potent," Severus sneered.
"Well, maybe it'll help with remembering the boils when they're finally cured."
Severus snorted and gave Hermione a side-eye. "That's not how that works, and you know it."
"Made you laugh, though, right?"
He smirked at her as he nodded his head.
"Oy, Ron, you're gonna fall on your face if you don't stop kissing Lavender. Look up and watch where you're going," Harry said.
Ron and Lavender broke apart and Ron scowled at Harry.
"We like each other, okay?"
"Well, that's obvious," Severus interjected.
"Oy, enough, Snape. As if you don't want to be attached to Hermione's lips."
"Yes, well, I have class," Severus joked.
Hermione bopped his arm with her free hand.
"Why did you strike me?" he asked her.
"Be nice, Severus."
"Weasley knows I am just joking."
They had arrived at the edge of town. The six stopped and set their plans for the day.
"Ok, Ginny and I need to go to the candy shop. She was nice enough to take some orders for the first and second years."
"Hermione and I need to visit the apothecary and bookstore," Severus advised.
"Surprising," Ron piped in.
Severus glared at him, but there was no heat in his gaze. After a moment, he shook his head and smirked at the ginger.
"Ron and I were heading to Madam Puddifoots," Lavender said.
Severus guffawed. "Really, Ron? You make fun of Hermione and my destination when you're going to go make eyes at each other over a cup of tea in an overly pink teahouse?"
"Leave it, Severus. Lavender likes the place."
Severus turned to Lavender. "My apologies, but certainly you see what I'm saying?"
She gave him an understanding look. "I do. But honestly, she has the best tea in all of Britain. And I've been going there since third-year. It's like a tradition."
"Well, enjoy your tradition, then," Severus said with a slight bow of his head. "Shall we meet back at the Three Broomsticks at noon?"
Everyone agreed and split up to their designated destinations. Hermione and Severus decided to visit the Apothecary first, so they'd have lots of time for the bookstore. They meandered over to the shop and entered. A small bell dinged as they went in. Hermione fished in her beaded bag and pulled out their list.
They went over to the attendant and gave it to him. The man reviewed everything and eyed the two students.
"There are some dangerous ingredients on this list."
"It is a project for Headmaster Dumbledore," Severus said blandly.
The attendant kept eyeing them as if to try and read their minds. Finally, he huffed.
"I will gather these, but I am sending a missive to the Headmaster about this purchase."
Severus shrugged. "Do what you need to do."
The man harrumphed and turned away to fill the order. Hermione leaned in and whispered to Severus.
"We'll need to get with Dumbledore. Maybe I should send my Patronus when we're done here."
"No need. I've already told him what we need to do. He will go along with any alert from the shop."
Hermione smiled at him. "You think of everything, don't you," she whispered.
"That's why I'm the spy."
Hermione laughed. By then the attendant had gathered all their ingredients and brought out a bag for them. Severus pulled out a few Galleons and paid for everything. They were soon on their way to the bookstore.
Severus thought that the twinkle in Hermione's eyes as they entered the bookstore was incredibly endearing. He knew that the bookstore was one of his favorite places to be, and he was glad that he shared that love with Hermione.
They both disappeared into the stacks. Severus found a book on creating new potions that he felt would help him in creating the brew for the Dark Lord. He then became engrossed in a book on defensive spells. He was so absorbed he didn't notice Hermione come up to him until she tapped him on the shoulder. He flinched before looking over at her.
"Stealthy much?" he snapped.
"Sorry. I thought you heard me." Hermione's cheeks were flushed, and she looked embarrassed.
"No, I didn't," he ground out, looking at her crossly. He took a deep breath and composed himself, continuing less sharply. "I'm sorry for being snarky because you caught me off guard. I need to be more aware of my surroundings. It roiled me that I didn't hear you."
Hermione nodded. "I understand what you're feeling. Apology accepted. I get annoyed with myself when I'm not on top of things like that too. We never know when an attack may come. It would be nice, though, if you controlled your responses."
He thought about what she said and nodded. "I will be more aware of my reactions and guard my tone. I apologize."
"You already did. We've discussed it, and I get what you're saying." She noticed the book Severus was perusing. "Oh, what's that?"
Severus showed her the title of the book. Creating Spells when Life is at Stake.
"Oh, sounds fascinating. That should help with your task," she mused.
"Yes, I was glad to find something like this. Just flipping through it has given me a couple of ideas. I can't wait to delve into it. What did you find?" he asked.
Hermione showed him the book she'd chosen: Using the Power of Transfiguration on Difficult Objects.
"Looks interesting. Are you ready to go?"
Hermione nodded, and they moved to the counter to make their purchases. Soon everything was packed up, and they were heading for the Three Broomsticks. Entering, they noticed Ron and Lavender had already gotten a table. They headed there and sat down.
"So, how was your romantic tea?" Hermione asked.
Lavender beamed at Ron. "It was perfect. The tea was perfect, the company was perfect. Everything was perfect."
"Do you feel the same way, Weasley?" Severus asked with a raised brow.
Ron reddened and shrugged. "It was good. Not as hokey as I thought it would be."
Hermione looked at Severus. "Hmm, maybe we should try it next time."
"Heaven forfend!" Severus cried, making Hermione burst out laughing.
"Somehow I knew you would say something like that," she told him.
At that point, Harry and Ginny arrived and settled into the table.
"Are you all sugared out?" Ron asked.
Harry picked up a large bag showing off their purchases.
"Wow, did you buy enough for the entire school?" Ron exclaimed.
Harry grinned. "Yeah, probably. We went a little crazy, right Gin?"
Ginny nodded. "Definitely."
Rosemerta came by then, and everyone put in their orders. The special was Irish stew, and most got that. Severus asked for Fish and Chips, and Ron ordered Steak and Kidney pie.
Rosemerta nodded to all of them and headed back to the bar and kitchen. Harry looked over at Severus and Hermione.
"So, did you two buy out the whole bookstore?" he asked.
Hermione grinned and shook her head.
"Only half," Severus replied drolly.
"Thanks for leaving something for the rest of us," Harry shot back.
Severus smirked at him. "I didn't know you could read, Harry."
Ginny burst out laughing as Harry glared at Severus. "Remind me not to spar with a Slytherin unless I want my arse tossed to me," he said before smirking.
"I'm glad you finally figured that out," Severus answered, grinning at the Boy Who Lived.
Their food arrived soon after that and everyone was occupied with eating for a bit.
"You know what we should do?" Ron said after a few minutes.
Everyone looked over at him.
"We should get up a game of Quidditch with all of us."
"There's not enough to have a real game," Ginny said.
Harry nodded as well.
"Maybe we can get a few people to meet us on the pitch," Ron continued.
He looked around and saw a few Hufflepuffs gathered at a table nearby.
"Hey, Jason, would you like to join us in a game of Quidditch?" he asked.
The Hufflepuffs discussed and Jason turned back to them.
"Yeah, sounds like fun."
Ron looked over at Lavender.
"I'm not very good at Quidditch," she said.
"Is that why you didn't play at the Burrow? I thought you said you had a headache."
Lavender blushed profusely. "My head did hurt, but I didn't want to be a detriment to everyone."
"Oy, Hermione isn't that good either, but we play all the time. Isn't that right?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Ron." She shook her head and looked at Lavender. "They go easy on me."
"Sorry, 'Mione, but you must admit you're not interested in Quidditch that much."
She gave a quick nod. "True."
"Anyway, Lav, with all of us together, we can help you out," Ron offered.
"I actually am pretty good at Quidditch," Severus said.
"Yeah, you did all right over Christmas hols," Ron mused.
"Did you play before at school?" Hermione asked as she looked over at him.
"Not officially, but I would join in at practice. I was a stand-in if anyone couldn't play."
"So you played all the positions?" Harry asked.
Severus nodded.
"Damn. That's awesome," Ron said.
The Hufflepuffs got up from their table then.
"We'll see you on the pitch in forty-five minutes, okay?" Jason asked.
"Sounds great," Ron replied.
Everyone was almost done with their meals. They soon finished and got up to leave. Harry led the way out with Ginny and the other two couples followed behind. They emerged from The Three Broomsticks and began to walk along Main Street towards the Castle.
From out of nowhere, they were surrounded by Death Eaters. Everyone had their wands in hand in an instant and formed a circle with their backs to each other so they could fend off the attackers.
"Well, what have we here? It's Harry Potter and his Mudblood friend, along with the blood traitor, and… why, isn't that Severus Snape? Looks like you're just as much of a coward as your father was running away to Germany."
Severus snarled at the Death Eater but said nothing.
"We have a message for you, Potter. The Dark Lord is coming. You will soon have nowhere to hide!"
And with that, the spells started flying. The students fought valiantly, but the Death Eaters were using Dark Magic, and they were penetrating their shields. Lavender was thrown to the ground; Ron shot a curse at the Death Eater that had sent the spell.
Ginny blasted the Death Eater in front of her, and he flew backward. The one next to him moved over and sent a stunner at her. She shielded it and sent a Reducto at him. The man stumbled but shot another curse at Ginny. She shielded too late and wound up on the ground.
Harry sent a stunner at that Death Eater, but he was able to shield it. An evil grin came from him as he aimed at Harry.
His spell hit Harry straight in the chest. Harry fell to the ground, his eyes staring straight ahead. Ron knelt down, holding his shield over the two of them as he assessed Harry's injury.
"He's alive," Ron called to everyone.
Severus turned toward the Death Eater who had attacked Harry.
"Sectum Sempra," Severus cried at the other man, watching him crumple over as blood started coming from all parts of his chest.
The other Death Eaters hesitated for a moment as one of them checked the felled man.
"We need to get out of here," he cried to his comrades.
The others began to Apparate away. He stood and pulled up the bleeding Death Eater and spun away quickly. The Death Eater who had spoken turned and shot a spell at Severus. He shielded it, but part of it caught his lower right leg. Severus sank down to the ground with his hand on his ankle. In a moment, he had passed out.
"Ron, we need to get them to the Infirmary!" Hermione called.
Ron nodded, pulling up Harry and Apparating with him. Hermione and Ginny got Severus to his feet and Hermione spun around with him, appearing in front of the Hogwarts gates, closely followed by Ginny and Lavender, who had regained consciousness sometime during the battle.
Ron had opened the gate magically and they burst through dragging Severus with them.
Ginny stopped.
"Hermione wait!"
She waived her wand and Severus began to float alongside Hermione.
"Thanks, Gin," she said as she raced along with her hand now on Severus, guiding him up the path.
Ron was ahead of her doing much the same with Harry. Students stared at them as they hurried through the door and quickly made their way to the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey was near the doorway when they burst in and set to work diagnosing what exactly had hit Harry and Severus.
"It's like a Petrificus Totalis, but it's leaching his magic from him," Pomfrey said quickly.
She turned to Ron. "Quick, Floo the Headmaster. I need his help with these spells."
Ron ran to the Floo and reached out to Dumbledore. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over Severus.
"This one is zapping his magic as well, but it's also attacking the muscles in his leg, basically turning him to stone."
Severus' leg was turning grey, and it looked like it was hardening and turning into a statue. Madam Pomfrey placed her wand directly on Severus' shin and muttered a spell.
"Sana," she said. She repeated it, and a circle of orange light spread over his entire leg.
Without moving her wand she cast another spell. "Restituet," she commanded. She repeated that one five times before Severus' leg began to look like it was returning to its normal flesh.
By this time, Dumbledore had come through the Floo, and he was attending to Harry. He waved his wand over him in a pentagram pattern and chanted a long spell in a singsong voice.
Pomfrey moved up to him and mimicked his movements, blue sparks coming from her wand and into Harry's chest. They worked for several minutes, finally lifting their wands and looking at each other. Pomfrey nodded at Dumbledore, and he sighed in relief.
Meanwhile, the other four had been huddled together watching the heroic measures that both of the elder wizards had done.
"Will they be okay?" Lavender asked.
Madam Pomfrey turned to them and nodded.
"It was touch and go for a bit with Mr. Snape, but they will both be all right."
She looked back at the two students. "They will probably be unconscious for an hour or so," she advised.
Looking at Dumbledore, she smiled. "Thank you, Headmaster. That spell is impossible without two people casting it."
"Of course, Madam Pomfrey. But without your prowess with medicine, it wouldn't have worked no matter how many people were casting that spell."
Pomfrey blushed and looked down. She gathered her emotions and looked back at the four students.
"You may stay if you would like but do not try to awaken them prematurely. They need to heal, and in this case, being unconscious helps them to do that."
Hermione rushed over to Severus and grasped his hand as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her eyes roved over him as if she were trying to commit his every feature to memory.
Ginny did the same with Harry, holding his hand and sitting on the bed. Ron and Lavender came up to the two women.
"Hermione," Ron said.
Hermione startled before looking at him.
"I think Lavender and I are going to go. We could both clean up, and you both seem to have everything under control. We'll let Jason know we won't be meeting them and come back later when they're both awake, yeah?"
Hermione nodded, but then she rose and threw her arms around Ron and then Lavender.
"You guys were awesome. We'd all be dead if you hadn't been there to help."
Lavender hugged her back tightly before pulling back.
"He'll be okay. Madam Pomfrey said so, so don't fret."
Hermione nodded her head but seemed to be near tears.
"I won't… I won't."
Ginny joined them, hugging the other three. She too had tears in her eyes. Ron pulled his sister into a hug, and Lavender hugged Hermione again.
"Shhh," she said. "They're all right. We all made it against those horrid Death Eaters. Everything will be fine. You'll see."
Ron was mumbling something similar to Ginny. Both of them pulled away and Ginny and Hermione both nodded at them.
"Thanks, you guys," Ginny said.
"Yeah, you've been brilliant," Hermione agreed.
Ron grasped Lavender's hand and walked out of the Infirmary. Hermione looked at Ginny, whose eyes were still watery. Hermione bit her lip and suddenly, they were hugging one another tightly.
"I was so worried," Ginny murmured.
"Me too. I thought for sure those spells were going to kill them."
They held the hug for a little bit as they let their tears flow. Finally, they pulled back. Ginny wiped her face, and Hermione followed suit.
"C'mon, Hermione. Our men need us to be strong, not blubbering idiots."
Hermione chuckled. "You're right."
Wiping the tears fully from her eyes, she returned to Severus' side and took his hand again while sitting on the bed. Ginny did the same with Harry. They both sat there in silence as they watched both Harry and Severus rest and recuperate. The hour took what seemed like forever to pass, but finally, Harry began to stir. Hermione looked nervously at Severus, but he was still unconscious. Turning to Harry, she saw Ginny move his hair from his eyes.
"Ginny," Harry said feebly. "What happened?"
"They hit you with a spell that petrified you and was draining your magic. Madam Pomfrey had to get Dumbledore to help her negate the hex."
"I feel so weak."
"Let me get Madam Pomfrey," Ginny said before rushing over to the Mediwitch's office. She stuck her head in the doorway.
"Harry's awake," she said to Madam Pomfrey.
The Mediwitch moved quickly out of her office and over to Harry's bed. She waved her wand over him several times.
"The hex is completely gone, Mr. Potter, but your magic was drained by it. It's not the end of the world; it should come back within forty-eight hours, but you definitely need to rest and try to not overexert your casting for that timeframe."
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Harry murmured.
She nodded at him, then went over to Severus' bed and waved her wand over him like she had with Harry.
She turned to Hermione finally. "He'll be okay."
Hermione gave her a wan smile and watched her move back into her office. When she turned back, Severus was looking at her.
"Oh! You're awake!" she cried as she leaned in and hugged him lightly.
"Hermione?"
"The spell that you were hit with was turning you to stone. Madam Pomfrey was able to counter the hex and cure you. She said you'll be okay in a day or two."
Severus gazed down at his leg and lifted it so he could see it better.
"Hard to believe I was turning into a statue," he remarked.
Severus looked at Hermione and noticed a tear trickling down her cheek. He reached up and wiped it dry.
"Now, now. No need for tears," he admonished. "I am obviously fine."
Suddenly his eyes went wide, and he turned his head quickly toward Potter's bed.
"Harry… is he?"
"He's okay too. He needs to rest. The hex he was hit with was draining his magic, but Madam Pomfrey said he'll be fine in about forty-eight hours."
Severus closed his eyes in relief. "Thank Merlin."
"Glad you're okay too," Harry called from his bed.
The two men grinned at each other.
"Both of you need to rest," Ginny admonished.
"We are resting, love," Harry said with a little more vigor than before.
Ginny arched her brow at him.
"You two really should rest more," Hermione agreed.
Severus' hand shot out and grasped hers. "Stay here with me?" he asked.
"Of course," she said as she waved her wand and extended the bed so she could comfortably lie next to Severus.
Settling in, she rested her head on Severus' chest. His hand reached up, and he weaved his fingers into her hair. Stealing a kiss from the top of her head, he closed his eyes and settled into slumber.
Over at the next bed, Ginny had done the same, and she was hugging Harry and whispering in his ear to go back to sleep. He obliged immediately.