Summary: Ministry life isn't always easy
A/N: Thanks for reading. Kind of a long chapter here. Enjoy!
Chapter 12
Hermione noticed Moody following her semi-discreetly almost every day for a week. Knowing Moody, she thought he wanted her to know he was skulking around, or he'd have never been noticed.
Entering the Time room, she huffed as she headed to her Vision room. She ran several test visions to see if Moody would become a problem. She found if he continued to think Severus and she were seeing each other, he would continue to monitor her–more secretly as time went on. He would eventually confront Severus when the Dark Lord returned and expose them. Their secret out, Voldemort would use his spell on Hermione, and the future vision she saw before about him finding out about her lineage came to pass.
She sighed. This wasn't good. He could ruin everything.
She ran another vision, this time with Moody thinking they'd broken up. The timeline righted itself, and the war was won with Voldemort not finding out about Hermione or Severus' relationship with her.
"Ugh!" she cried. "How am I going to do this?" She'd need to consult with Severus. This needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.
Later that evening, Hermione explained what she'd found out about the 'Moody problem.' He contemplated everything and looked at Hermione.
"How are your acting skills?"
She arched a brow at him.
ooo
At lunchtime the next day, Hermione burst into the Atrium with tears running down her face. She looked down at a missive in her hand and sobbed. She noticed Moody off to the side of the Atrium, just standing around as he usually did before he began to follow her. He knew her routine and had evidently been waiting for her. She quickly moved to a corner of the Atrium, where she continued to look at the letter and cry quietly.
Normally, Moody kept his distance, trying to be inconspicuous, yet conspicuous at the same time, to try and psych her out. Today, though, he approached her as she stood in a corner, her head in her hands.
"Miss Moreau, is everything all right?"
Hermione lifted her head, looking startled.
"Oh… Mr. Moody. Forgive me. I was headed to the loo…"
"Why are you crying?"
She looked away. "It's nothing, Mr. Moody."
Please, it's Alastor."
Looking back at him. "Alastor… really, everything is fine."
"Usually, people don't sob in the middle of the Atrium if everything is fine."
Her shoulders sagged, and she looked down at the letter crumpled in her hand. "Like I said, I was trying to go somewhere private, but I was overcome."
Alastor put his hand on her shoulder. "Can I help in some way?"
Hermione tried not to shrink away from his touch. She frowned and handed the letter to Moody. He read it aloud quickly.
"Maia, I'm sorry, but we cannot see one another anymore. I have too much going on to indulge in an affair. Do not try to reach out to me, I will not respond to you. ~Severus."
He looked back at Hermione as she forced more tears down her face.
"I'm sorry, Maia, but this is probably for the best. You don't know him like I do. He's a scoundrel. You're better off not associating with such evil."
"But…"
"Trust me on this, Maia. He's no good."
She sniffed. "Perhaps you're right. I just… He was…"
Moody reached out and squeezed her shoulder again. "It will be alright."
Hermione shook her head. "I thought he cared about me, but this letter was so cold. It's like it was just a lark for him."
Moody grunted. "I don't doubt it was. Men like him have no love in their hearts. They're just out to better their situation in any way they can. He probably decided you could do nothing to help him advance his desires."
"How could he think that?" she exclaimed as her eyebrows drew together in concern. "I guess I meant nothing to him." She closed her eyes and willed more tears to fall. "I thought we had something special…" she whispered.
"You'll find someone better, just you wait." His hand still caressed her shoulder.
Moving out of his grasp slightly, she wiped her eyes and nodded. "I hope so. Thank you, Alastor," she said as she met his eyes. "I appreciate your trying to comfort me. I'm going to head to the loo now and fix up my face."
He moved closer to her and patted her on the shoulder yet again. "Feel free to seek me out anytime if you want to talk. I have stories that would curl your toes about Snape!"
She nodded and moved off, heading to the loo and washing off her face. She looked at herself in the mirror. That encounter had made her skin crawl, but she hoped it had done the trick in convincing Moody that there was nothing between Severus and her anymore.
Later that evening, she sat within Severus' embrace and told him about the encounter.
"He was so damned cocky I wanted to hex him, but I just nodded politely and used my disgust to make it look like I was upset at how callous you were about breaking up with me."
Severus kissed the top of her head. "I would never act so horridly. I'm glad he bought it, though."
"Me too. Now to see if it really worked and if he gives up following me around."
"I doubt he'll have a reason to do so from now on."
"Hopefully…"
In the coming days, Hermione noted that Moody no longer followed her. She was careful to make sure he wasn't doing a better job of hiding himself, but he simply wasn't around when she was moving about the Ministry. Thank Merlin it had worked.
ooo
The last day of school was finally upon them. Severus was able to leave Hogwarts early, so when Hermione came through the Floo, he was there to greet her.
"Happy to be done, love?" she said as she hugged him.
His lips met hers, and he kissed her. "Yes, finally we have some time to ourselves."
She nodded and smiled at him.
"I wanted to talk to you about something."
"What is it?" she asked, her eyes looking worried.
"Nothing bad. I spoke with Dumbledore–explained to him that I was going crazy in the castle, and asked him if I could move to Hogsmeade next term."
Hermione's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Can you?"
He smirked. "I can. He did ask me to stay the night at Hogwarts on the days I had rounds. He wants me to come up with a spell so if a student needs me, I will be alerted at home so I can attend to them."
"That's prudent."
"So, what do you think? Will you move to Hogsmeade with me? We can go house hunting next week and get everything ready. I can sell this nasty place, and we can build a home together."
"Is that what you want, Severus?"
He nodded. "More than anything."
Her smile lit up the room. Moving in with Severus filled her with excitement. She wanted to be as close to him as possible.
"So, you'll spend the nights with me except for those days when you have rounds?"
He nodded. She threw her arms around him and hugged him like a lifeline.
"That sounds perfect."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she agreed as she pulled back. "Let me do some time tests, but I think everything should be fine. You'll still be teaching at Hogwarts and accessible." She looked into his eyes and smiled. "I can't wait to find a home for us, Severus."
ooo
Late July
Her time experiments proved that his moving out of Hogwarts was not an issue with the timeline. Voldemort even thought it was good that he could usually meet with him without Dumbledore knowing, so he would actually be pleased once he returned from the dead.
They'd found the perfect house–a small cottage on the outskirts of town–and moved in quickly. After spending all day unpacking, the house was finally liveable. They both crashed on the sofa.
"Merlin, I'm knackered," Hermione said.
"Exhausted," Severus agreed.
They looked around the room and into the kitchen area. "It's perfect, Severus."
"I'm glad you're here with me, Maia. This would just be a house without you. You make it a home."
She kissed him then. "I'm so excited to live here with you."
He smiled at her. "Really?"
"Yes, of course. I love you, remember?"
"I do. I just keep having to pinch myself to make sure this is real and not some blissful dream."
She stroked his cheek. "I feel the same way sometimes, but I'm happy to tell you this is real."
"Thank Merlin."
She laughed.
He gave her a serious look. "I think we should set the Fidelius charm on the house so no one can find us."
She studied his face. "That's a good idea. You don't want Dumbledore stumbling in when we're here together."
"Which will be always."
She smiled at him.
"Be my Secret Keeper?" he asked her.
"If that's what you want, yes, of course."
"I do. That way only we will know about this place, and only we will be able to enter it. It will be a safehouse for us, and no one will be able to find us if we need to hide here."
She arched a brow at him. "That will probably come in handy in the future."
"I agree. Let's do the spells first thing tomorrow. Right now, I can't concentrate enough to cast them."
She cupped his cheek and smiled at him. "Shall we head upstairs and go to bed?"
"Well, I'm not sleepy."
"Good, because neither am I."
He smirked at her as he stood. She followed suit, and his arms wrapped around her, kissing her passionately. She reveled in him. He was everything to her. If she hadn't traveled back, she would have never known just how amazing this man was.
ooo
Severus and Hermione wandered through a field searching for Potions ingredients. They moved across the field until Severus stooped down and plucked some Foxglove. He placed it in the bag he carried. The bag had divisions that would expand or contract to fit whatever Severus put in there.
Hermione wandered up and looked at what he was doing. "Oh, Foxglove. You said you were out of that."
Severus nodded. He motioned to the forest edge. "Let's head in there. I am hoping to find some moondew."
They headed over and started searching. After about fifteen minutes, Hermione called out to Severus.
"I found some!"
He wandered over to her and nodded at the small white flowers. "Perfect, Maia. Thank you."
He harvested a large handful. Hermione had moved off already, and he hurried to catch up to her. They meandered farther into the forest and soon came upon an area where the trees opened up. Nestled within the trees, they found a small lake.
"Oh, this is so pretty," Hermione said.
"Yes, it is."
Hermione turned to Severus. "How about a swim?"
Severus arched a brow. Pulling out his wand, he cast a spell over the lake.
"No leeches or other dangerous things. Yes, we should take advantage of this find."
They quickly stripped down to their underwear–Transfiguring them into swimming suits. Hermoine was the first one in, quickly followed by Severus. They buried themselves in the water and stood back up. Hermione pushed her hair out of her face.
"The water is perfect," she remarked.
Severus moved up to her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her with abandon. She opened to him, and nothing else mattered for a great while. They finally pulled apart and Severus pulled her close, resting his chin on her head.
"It's so peaceful here," he murmured.
"Yes, I'm glad we stumbled upon it."
They swam for a while, crossing the lake several times. Finally, Severus climbed out and cast a drying charm upon himself. Hermione floated on her back for a bit before joining him.
"You looked incredibly serene out there," Severus remarked.
"I was. I almost didn't want to come out."
He smirked at her. Looking around, he stooped to pick up his clothes. "We should dress and go. It's going to get dark soon."
"Unfortunate."
"We can always come back another day."
Hermione moved close to Severus.
"This could be our secret place!"
He looked up at her and arched a brow. "Hmm, yes, I like that idea." Severus stood and pulled his trousers up.
"Me too," she agreed.
Hermione got dressed quickly, and they Apparated home.
ooo
Lilah smiled as Hermione came into her office.
"Maia, thanks for coming so quickly."
"Of course. What's up?"
"We need to wait for Warren; then I'll go into it."
They chatted for a moment before Warren rushed in.
"Sorry, I'm late," he said. "My time experiment went longer than expected."
Hermione grinned. "That's not a good use of time," she joked.
Warren rolled his eyes at her. They had running time jokes between the two of them and always tried to one-up the other.
"Thank you for coming, Warren. You're really not that late."
"What did you need us for, Lilah?" he asked.
"I have an assignment in the field for you."
"I didn't know there were field assignments in the Department of Mysteries," Hermione mused.
Lilah nodded her head. "There are. We always hope not to have any in a given year, but they evidently come up."
"Sounds like these aren't to be looked forward to?" Warren remarked.
"No, not at all. A field assignment means that someone has messed with magic so much it affects one of the aspects of the Department of Mysteries. Ultimately, anything changed along those lines would change the timeline, so our department is left to straighten out the issue."
"Even things like something that affects the Love department?" Warren asked.
"Think of it like this… Someone affects the way people fall in love… I'm not talking about love potions or anything. It would be something that affects a lot of people. Persons who would normally fall in love don't, or the wrong people fall in love. What does that do to the timeline? It would affect every aspect of it because people who were meant to be born wouldn't be."
"So we're the Unspeakable Aurors?" Hermione joked.
"In a way," Lilah said with a grin. "And I would like you two to be our next Unspeakable Aurors."
Hermione chuckled. "I thought I was avoiding being an Auror by working here!" she said with a laugh.
"Well, this is a bit different."
"So, who are we after?" Warren asked.
Lilah passed a folder across the desk to Hermione and Warren. Hermione took it and opened it so that both Warren and she could see the entire report. Seeing a photo of a man with silver hair that came down to his shoulders and a long grey beard, Hermione read the name at the top of the paper.
"Soran Willingsby," she read.
"He's trying to go back in time and stop Grindelwald from being caught and imprisoned."
Hermione's eyes snapped up to Lilah. "You can't be serious."
"There's always someone, isn't there? He's developing a Time-Turner and has almost completed it. Your job is to destroy the Time-Turner and apprehend Willingsby and bring him to Azkaban."
"I don't get how people can be so evil," Warren said with a shake of his head.
"Nonetheless, there are many of them. Do either of you have any questions?"
"Are we restricted from any spells?" Hermione asked.
"No. If you need to use the Killing Curse, do so."
"I hope we won't have to," Hermione mused. Standing, she nodded at Lilah. Warren also stood.
"We'll take care of this right now."
"Thank you both. Be careful."
"We will be," Hermione said.
They retreated from Lilah's office and went into a side room to pour over the data in the folder. Soran Willingsby was an older wizard who had agreed with Grindelwald back in his heyday. He'd been under surveillance since Grindelwald was imprisoned. The Department of Mysteries knew he'd been creating a Time-Turner, but it didn't become an issue until he actually was coming close to succeeding in what he was trying to do.
He lived in Ottery St. Catchpole in a house at the end of a side street–far away from people so as not to be noticed. He was a recluse, only leaving his home when necessary, so many in the area were unaware of him.
Hermione looked up at Warren. "Well, what do you think?"
"Hmm. I think if we Apparate into the main area of town and Disillusion ourselves, we can come upon his home without being noticed."
"Good idea. We can also cast some spells as we near it to determine the strength of the wards around his home."
"That's going to be the hardest part. Getting through the wards quickly enough so he doesn't hide the Time-Tuner."
"He probably will have some creative wards. According to this, he was a supporter of Voldemort, but didn't participate with any of the Death Eater activities, probably so he could still work on his Time-Turner without casting a spotlight on himself," Hermione mused.
"I have worked with the Auror Department on Ward breaking. They need to be quick, and they've taught me some good spells to get wards down within a few seconds, no matter how strong they are," Warren explained.
"Good. I think without that edge, he'd disappear with his Time Turner and we'd be unable to find him."
They spent a few minutes working out a plan for when they entered the home.
Warren stood. "All right, shall we?"
Hermione nodded and rose too. "Let's go."
They made their way to the Atrium and Apparated to Ottery St. Catchpole. It was a busy time in the small town, and a couple of other people were Apparating in and out of the area. They walked over to the street where Willingsby lived. Disillusioning themselves, they placed a tracker on each other so they'd know where they were.
When they were near the house, they scanned it for wards. They were formidable.
"Will your techniques take these wards down quickly?" Hermione asked quietly.
Warren sent a couple more spells at the house to verify the strength of the wards.
"They definitely are intense, but I can take them down before he notices."
"Good, let's go, then."
They came to the edge of the wards, and Warren began an intricate spell. He cast, and the wards disappeared.
"Great work," Hermione offered as they rushed in and burst through the door.
They caught Willingsby by surprise, but he was quick in his old age and stood, casting a spell that dropped their Disillusionment. He began sending curses at them. They shielded themselves, and the conflict began. Hermione threw a stunner spell, which Willingsby shielded and sent a blasting curse at her. She was able to dash away from it in time and sent another stunner.
Meanwhile, Warren was doing similar moves and spells. He dodged Willingsby's curse and rolled to his right. Hermione marveled at the skill of the man, being able to take on two people and still be standing. She dodged another curse, but she heard Willingsby cry multiple Confringo hexes in rapid succession at her. She was unable to dodge all of them, and her shield failed her as the strength of several blasting curses being thrown rapidly at her. She was hit with a burst of fire, and all turned black.
Taking advantage of Willingsby's concentration on Hermione, Warren sent a Petrificus Totalis at him, and the man's limbs snapped together, and he fell to the floor. Warren rushed over to Hermione, who was still unconscious. With a wave of his wand, he sent his Patronus–a bear–to summon Aurors. He waved his wand over Hermione as he waited for their arrival, but he was unable to do anything for her. She'd need to be taken to St. Mungos.
ooo
Hermione's eyes opened, and she noted she was lying down. A white ceiling met her gaze. She turned her head suddenly and saw Warren sitting in a chair in what looked and felt like a hospital room. She groaned and lifted her hand, rubbing her head.
"Ugh, what happened?"
Warren turned quickly over to her and sighed in relief.
"Merlin, you've been unconscious for almost twenty-four hours. You were hit with a Confringo curse. You're lucky to be alive."
"Twenty-four hours? How can that be?"
"You were in surgery for eight hours, and they settled you in here after that. The Healer explained that it would take this long for you to regain consciousness. How do you feel?"
"Like I was run over by the Knight Bus…" She closed her eyes tightly as she took stock of her body. It hurt everywhere.
"I'll see if the Mediwizard has some pain potions for you," Warren said as he cast his Patronus to alert the staff that Hermione was awake.
"What happened with Willingsby?"
"We got him. He was so concentrated on you that I was able to defeat him. Sadly, it was a few seconds too late to save you from being struck."
"The Time-Turner?"
"Destroyed. And Willingsby has been shuttled to Azkaban awaiting trial. I doubt he'll see the light of day again."
Hermione sighed. "Well, I'm glad we got him, but…"
At that point, the Mediwizard came in. "Good afternoon, Miss Moreau. I'm Karl Barrister. I'll be taking care of you while you're here. Can you sit up? I have a pain potion for you."
"I think I need a little help," Hermione told him.
Karl helped her into a sitting position, then handed her the potion. She drank it and immediately felt better.
"Thank you."
"Has that alleviated all your pain?"
"No, but it's much better."
Karl fished in his pocket and pulled out another. "Take another. You should be pain-free after that."
Hermione nodded and drank the second potion. "That worked, thank you. When can I leave?"
"We expect you to be here for two more days. The spell not only damaged your body but weakened your magic."
"Are there any long-lasting effects?"
"Thankfully, no. We were able to repair the damage that the spell caused. You'll have to take a healing potion twice a day for the next ten days, and that will fully heal your body. Your magic should be fully renewed by the time we release you."
"Thank you for saving me."
"Of course. Can I get you anything?"
"I'm a bit hungry."
"I will bring you a meal."
Karl turned and left.
"You haven't been here the whole time, have you?" Hermione asked Warren.
"No, I was here when you were brought in. They told me your surgery was going to be a while, so I had them send an Owl when you were done. I visited then for a little bit, then came back a while ago and have been here with you since."
"Thanks for sitting with me, Warren. I appreciate it."
He nodded. "Lilah and I were worried about you."
"She knows I'm okay?"
"Well, she knows you're here and that the surgery went well. I'll let her know you're awake when I leave."
Warren sat with her for an hour as she ate and rested.
"I need to go," he said finally. "Can I get you anything?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for being here."
Warren rose from his seat and gave Hermione a slight hug. He left her to herself then. Hermione reached over to the table next to her bed and picked up her wand. She cast her Patronus and her otter danced around her before stopping in front of her, wagging its tail enthusiastically.
"Go to Severus Snape and give him this message: I was injured and am in St. Mungos. I'm sorry if you were worried. I've been unconscious until now."
The Patronus spun around in a circle and bounded out of the room. She smiled after it. It was less than five minutes before Severus was striding through the doors. He rushed up to Hermione and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Maia…" he said in a choked voice. "May I hug you? Will you be hurt?"
She shook her head and found herself engulfed in dark wizard. "I was terrified when I couldn't find you. I called the hospital, but they wouldn't say if you were here or not. What happened?"
He held her just like that as she explained how she was hurt. Finally, pulling back, his eyes met hers.
"You could have been killed."
"I know. It was close from what the Mediwizard said."
Severus blinked profusely to try and hold back tears that were forming in his eyes. "Merlin, what would I do without you?"
His arms were around her again. He held her close, not saying a word. Hermione felt him shudder as he held her. Her arms were around him in an instant.
"I'm all right."
He squeezed her harder. He held her like that for a long time before finally pulling away.
"I am glad you are still with me."
"So am I," she said with a smile. It dissolved quickly. "You probably shouldn't be here. What if someone finds out?"
"I don't give a damn where I should and shouldn't be. I'm staying here with you. I can say you're a family friend or something. I don't care if anyone knows that we were in the same room together, Maia. I won't leave you here by yourself."
"Thank you, love. But really, you can only stay for a bit. They're strict about visiting hours, from what Warren said."
His eyebrows knit together. "All right. How long are you stuck in this God Awful place?"
"Another two days."
"I will come every day after classes."
She grasped his hand and squeezed it. "All right, but maybe use some Polyjuice or something. Severus Snape visiting a young woman multiple times is bound to bring up curiosity."
Severus thought about that, nodding eventually in agreement with her. "I will do as you ask, but I won't like it."
She laughed lightly. "That's okay. I don't want you to be in any danger."
"You will tell your boss you won't be doing any more of these assignments," Severus ordered.
Hermione frowned at him. "Now just a minute. I understand you're upset and worried, but you just can't tell me what to do like that. I'm not your minion."
"You will not put your life in danger like this."
"So, in that case, you can just stop being a spy too, so your life isn't in danger?"
He looked away. "That's different."
"No, it's not. We both will be involved in the war in the future, and my job will sometimes require me to do missions like this. I'm not going to tell them no!"
"Maia, I just want you safe!"
She squeezed his hand. "I will be, but Severus, you can't Lord over me like this."
He frowned at her, glaring at her for a moment. Finally, his gaze softened.
"I apologize. I was worried all night when you didn't come home, and I couldn't find you anywhere. Then, when I got your Patronus, so many scenarios went through my head as I rushed over here. I overreacted and demanded something of you that was unfair. I do want you to be careful, though, love."
"I know, and I will be. You're forgiven."
He leaned in and kissed her then. Pulling back, his eyes lit up. "You know what? Maybe we can have some kind of talisman that would alert one of us when the other is hurt or in danger."
"Like a necklace of some kind?"
"Or a ring."
"That's an excellent idea, Severus. Let's work on that when I'm released. Maybe we can use the bracelet you gave me for Christmas?"
"We'd probably want something a little more subtle."
She chuckled. "All right. We can figure it out."
"I will research when I'm back home."
ooo
Severus treated Hermione with kid gloves once she was released. He Side-Along-Apparated her back to their home and settled her onto the sofa, waiting on her hand and foot. Finally, Hermione had to say something.
"Love, I'm not going to break. Please just let me be me, okay? I don't need you to be at my side every second."
He sat beside her and grasped her hand. "You're sure?"
She smiled and nodded. "I feel mostly myself. I am perfectly able to move around and do things."
"Okay…" he hesitated. "But you're sure?" he repeated.
"Severus! Yes! For Merlin's sake!"
He grinned at her. "Just kidding."
"You're a cad, you know that?"
"I do, and always wonder why you put up with me."
"Because you do things like wait on me hand and foot when I'm ill. You love me without reservation, and you're sexy as all get out."
He blushed at that. "Thank you, Maia. You're everything to me."
She smiled at him. Reaching up, she held him lovingly and kissed him over and over again.
ooo
The next day, Severus showed her what he'd researched. They decided necklaces would be the best idea. The spell Severus had found didn't need to be activated by the wearer. It would just involuntarily note when the wearer was hurt or incapacitated, causing the partner's necklace to heat. It would then turn into a Portkey so the partner could Apparate to the location of the other.
"This will probably be helpful when you're attacked by Voldemort and the snake," Hermione mused as she examined the spell.
"I imagine it will be useful for many things."
Hermione looked up at him. "So, we just need to pick some jewelry we are willing to wear forever?"
He grinned at her. "Yes, then we can cast the spell on them."
"Let's go shopping and find some that match."
"That would be acceptable. Gladrags has a decent jewelry section."
"Put on your Glamour, and we'll head out!" Hermione told him.
In less than half an hour, they were in the Hogsmeade shop looking at their selection. They immediately liked two different sets. One was two carved dragons that formed a heart shape when put together. The other was a black stone heart that was magnetic and cut in two. Each piece had a black rope necklace to hold it.
"I think I like this one best," Severus said as he pointed to the black heart. "I like that on their own, they look just like a gemstone and not part of something else, but then when you put them together, they are obviously a heart."
"I like that too. I think for our purposes, it would be best for the stones to stand alone and not obviously be half a heart."
Severus nodded. They bought the black stone set and headed back home. The necklaces were enspelled, and they each helped the other fasten their necklaces on.
"We wear these always," Severus mused. "I've spelled them to not choke us while we're sleeping."
"So we'll never take them off?"
"Not until the war is over, and maybe not even then." He smirked at her.
"All right. Actually, I feel safer already knowing you won't be far if I'm ever hurt and vice versa."
"Me too." He fingered her necklace and looked into her eyes. "And this is a symbol of my love for you, which makes it even better."
Hermione smiled lovingly at Severus as she ran her finger along his necklace. "I agree. Too bad this will be buried under your cravat and all those buttons."
"You love those buttons. You said so yourself."
"I do," she smirked as she kissed him soundly.