What Is Left When All Is Said and Done

Chapter 9

When Hermione regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was that she couldn't move. She could still feel her arms and legs, so she was fairly sure she hadn't snapped her neck and paralyzed herself in the process of fainting. The dryness in her throat told her that it had been more than just a few minutes since she had blacked out, but how much longer than that she didn't know. Next, she tried opening her eyes and when that worked, she realized she wasn't in a Full Body Bind either. No, it seemed she had just been immobilized with plain, old rope. Well, maybe magical rope. She didn't have time to examine it to find out though because just then she noticed someone approaching her. The room was too dark and she was still a little too groggy to identify who it was, but as soon as she heard the familiar silky voice her body relaxed.

"Drink this," he said, and she didn't bother to resist. He put a hand under her head and helped her tilt it forward so that she could swallow easier. She was fairly certain she knew what he was feeding her but swallowed it anyways. At least it tasted like water and, if anything, helped her regain her voice.

"Professor --" He dropped her head like a brick, all trace of kindness gone.

"You will remain silent, girl, unless I address you directly. Do you understand me?" The harshness in his voice told her just how much trouble she was still in.

"Yes, sir," she said meekly.

"Good." He pulled up a chair so he could sit beside her. "You will start by telling me how you found me here."

"I looked you up in the telephone book."

"You what?" He knew she wasn't lying, of course, but it didn't stop him from finding what she said just a little incredulous.

"Your father was a Muggle. This house is still under a Muggle deed and your name is in the telephone book. I suppose you never thought about getting your number unlisted."

"Don't --" he barked --"act smart with me, young lady!"

She gulped before nodding her head and repeating, "Yes, sir."

"Why did you come looking for me?"

"I need your help. Harry's dying, and you're --"

"I meant before. At Godric's Hollow. Where did you get this ring?" He held up the Personalized Portkey. "What have you done with Draco?"

"Nothing, sir! He gave me the ring at Bill and Fleur's wedding. Polyjuiced himself as Neville and told me he was worried about you. He wanted me to check in on you." She was glad now that he had given her the Veritaserum; he had no choice but to believe her.

"And why did you choose to come to me in the guise of Lily Potter? How did you even manage to get a strand of her hair?"

"It was all luck, sir. Harry's aunt had given me a locket to give to him. Inside the locket was a lock of her hair. I --" she faltered a bit here, but the potion make her continue -- "I wasn't sure where you loyalties lay at the time so I needed to trick you into confiding in someone you could tell the truth to."

"And what made you think I would confide in Lily Potter of all people?"

"I found what she had written in your textbook, sir. I didn't know it was her handwriting until --"

"What textbook?" he interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"Your old Potions textbook that Harry had all last year."

"Where is it?"

She pointed with her chin towards her feet where her bag was lying. "It's in there, sir." He grabbed it and rifled through it for the book. The care with which he brought it out only reinforced the look of longing in his eyes as he finally beheld it. He reverently opened it to the page that Lily had written on and lightly stroked the parchment with his fingers.

"So you found it," he said softly. "How did you know it was Lily?"

"I had a chance to compare it with another piece of her writing. Sir, can you please untie me now?" she tried after seeing that he had calmed down a bit. He responded by pointing his wand at her and tightening her binds.

"Please don't confuse my sentimentality with softness. Lily Evans was a good friend to me and you used her image today to take advantage of me."

"Potter."

"What did you say?"

"Potter. Her name's Lily Potter. That's what it says on her headstone." She knew she was making him angry, but she couldn't help it; he was brassing her off too. For a second, it seemed as if he was about to hit her and she braced herself for it, but the blow never came. Instead, he took a few moments to collect himself before proceeding with his interrogation.

"And what did you hope to gain from your little foray into espionage?" he asked coldly.

"I wanted to know if it was true, what Draco said about you. That you and Dumbledore had planned his death. That you were still --" Hermione gulped again because now she was starting to wonder if it was in fact, true --"good."

"Good," he echoed, but from his mouth it came as more of an epithet. "And why would you care if I was...still good?" Again, when he repeated her words, he made them sound so patronizing.

"Because --" and now she had no doubt as to the identity of the liquid he had fed her before because she never would have said this to him without it -- "because I need you to be!" She strained against her bonds as she said this, her eyes flashing. "Ever since I encountered your puzzle under the trapdoor I've regarded you with only the highest respect, even though at the time I still believed you were the one trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. I understand you, and if it hadn't been for a silly little fib that I told on a Halloween so long ago, I believe I might have ended up like you --"

"You dare compare yourself -- "

"YES! I don't care that you're Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor. Brilliant people can still make absolutely horrible decisions. I believe you made one, but you've redeemed yourself since then -- more than redeemed yourself if I had anything to say about it."

"I'm not one of your silly charity cases that you feel you have to champion!" he growled.

"I know that! You're so much more than that! Don't you understand? You are what gives me hope at the end of the day. When I think of all we've lost already and how dark things are going to be before they can possibly get better, I think of you and how you've changed. Of how much you've been willing to sacrifice for us when you don't even like us very much. And that's how I can go to sleep at night. Because I know that there's someone like you out there somewhere, doing what needs to be done when no one else can do it." There, that should shut him up for a bit. And it did. His eyes focused on something far away as he digested her words. When he spoke to her again though, it was not with a degree more warmth than before.

"I don't know what you think you know of me, but I can assure you, there are many things that I've done that would cause you to lose rather than gain more sleep."

"I know that Dumbledore's stood up for you time and time again no matter what Harry's accused you of. I know what you told me this morning in Godric's Hollow. And I know what's in my heart." He turned to her with an indiscernible look in his eyes then.

"Your heart has been wrong before." That shut her up. Mercifully, he did not require her to comment, so the two of them remained in silence for a turn. Finally, he spoke again.

"While you were unconscious, I intercepted a message from McGonagall's Patronus. She wanted to inform you that, 'yes, his portrait is still asleep'. May I ask what meaning this has to you?" That he had assumed a more civil tone with her was not lost on Hermione, but she was wise enough not to comment on it either.

"After you had told me about the Phoenix Solution, I remembered something that Harry had said about what happened in the cave which you probably didn't know about. But I wanted to confirm something else with the Headmistress before I brought it up with you."

"Stop speaking in riddles, girl. What are you trying to say?" The urgency in his voice told Hermione he had guessed where she was going with this, but she held her tongue for a moment more to savor the feeling.

"I believe that Dumbledore isn't really dead."

"Explain yourself!" She only smiled in response to the sharpness of his tone.

"'His portrait is still asleep.' Professor, I think you know what that means." She could tell he was struggling with whether or not to believe her.

"What happened in the cave?"

"The two of you had thought of everything. Except for the ends to which a very desperate young man will go to in order to save the life of someone he thinks he has nearly killed."

"Enough, just tell me! What did Harry do?" If she wasn't sure before she was a hundred percent certain now that she had his full attention.

"He gave Dumbledore a sip of water."

"What! How? Albus would have made sure there wasn't any --" Finally realization dawned on Severus. "The fool. He gave him the water from the lake!"

"It might not have been the smartest thing to do --"

"The 'smartest thing to do'! That wasn't water that he fed him --"

"I know, sir."

"-- that was a modified version of the Draught of Living Death!"

"I know, sir," she repeated once again.

"If you know that, then why are you still smiling?"

"Because, sir, I know that means that Dumbledore. Isn't. Dead." She watched him carefully to see how he would react to her pronouncement, expecting him to be subtle as usual. Therefore, she didn't expect the bolt of energy that seemed to charge through his being and change his demeanor completely. For maybe the first time in her life, she saw her former Potions professor smile -- a real smile, not a reaction to someone else's embarrassment or in conjunction with causing said embarrassment, but a smile that came from pure happiness.

"He's not dead," he whispered to himself. "He's not dead. He's not dead! Oh dear child, do you know what this means?"

"Yes, but I could better appreciate it if you would untie me," she reminded him. Without even stopping in mid-stride, he pointed his wand at her and the ropes vanished while he continued to pace and mutter to himself. She sat up and rubbed her limbs to help them regain circulation faster. A glance at her watch told her it was the evening of the same day. Now that she had a better view of the room, she saw that it was completely lined with books. She was tempted to peruse them while she waited for him to notice her again, but she controlled the urge. There were more important and pressing needs.

"Sir, we need to help Harry."

"Bugger Harry," he said dismissively.

"What?"

"I said --"

"I heard what you said, you git!" He had finally stopped pacing and was looking at her again now. She was so furious she marched up to him and confronted him without her wand. "Don't you dare --" she pushed him without effect -- "tell me to 'bugger Harry'! He's dying right now because you --" she shoved him again -- "were too pigheaded to let him think of you as anything other than an enemy." He caught her arms before she could hit him again.

"Me? You're blaming me for --"

"Yes!" she screamed. Tears were falling from her eyes now as she continued to struggle against his grip. "It's your fault! And mine! And Ron's!" At his name, she went still. "Oh God, Ron!" she cried as her knees buckled beneath her. Instead of letting her fall, he did what any other man in his situation would have done and cradled her to his chest. He let her continue to cry while he tried to soothe her by gently stroking her hair.

Finally, Hermione was able to collect herself enough to speak again. "I'm -- hic -- I'm so sorry, Professor." She braced herself against his shoulders and leaned back away from him. He let go of her, but made sure she was stable enough to stand on her own.

"It's all right, Miss Granger." He lowered his eyes to avoid hers. "I...apologize for my insensitivity." Yet another thing she had never seen him to before today. First a smile and now an apology.

"I forgive you," she said before he could take it back. His eyes flashed and they made eye contact briefly before he looked away again. Hermione would have bet that it was the first time he had ever heard those words spoken to him before. He cleared his throat to relieve the awkwardness of the moment.

"Well, it seems we have a more than a few problems to solve. I need to figure out how to wake the Headmaster from his sleep, and you need to find a way to save Harry."

"And we need to let the others know that you're still on our side," she added.

His only response was to smile down at her. Two smiles in one day; the world was definitely coming to an end soon. Then something else occurred to her.

"What happened to Wormtail?" He brushed his hand towards one of the walls

"I Stunned him and returned him to his room. I suppose we shall have to find some way to deal with him later. Most likely a Memory Charm of some sort."

"Wait." It was her turn to smile now. "I think I know exactly what to do with him."