Very Nearly Veela

Chapter 21 ~ The Approach



"Exactly what is 'Essence of Hermione Granger?" Hermione asked Severus nervously the next morning as he slowly walked around her, studying her.



They were in his private lab, Hermione sitting on a stool, before her on the table a number of implements, many of them sharp and painful looking as well as a large bowl. She couldn't take her eyes off of them. Was he planning on cutting something out of her?



"Well, I had to think about that," Snape said, stopping in front of her, "at first I thought I might need some . . . shall we say . . . intimate secretions from you . . ."



"What? What kind of . . . oh gods . . . you have to be kidding me!" she exclaimed, clamping her thighs together reflexively.



Snape quirked his lips.



"As fun as those might have been to extract from you," he purred, "a bit more thought showed me that is what we need least of all. That's what's most likely causing the problem in the first place. We certainly don't want to distill that down. Most likely it would work like a powerful pheromone and every wizard within a twenty mile radius will be trying to beat down my doors like randy bulls. And I happen to like my doors . . . so . . ."



"So what?" Hermione asked him, relaxing a bit.



"Next I thought of a bit of blood and bone," he said, his eyes flicking toward the sharp saws and knives on the counter. Hermione's face went completely bloodless.



But Severus only had those things out because he returned last night and cut up the huge Venus Flytrap plant to utilize its parts for different potions. He had plenty now, bagged up and in stasis on the floor of his potions store, ready for further processing. The utensils had all been cleaned and were just waiting to be put away, with the exception of the large bowl.



"Blood and bone?" Hermione wheezed, looking for all the world as if she were going to pass out.



"Yes," he said, teasing her a bit more, "but that would only contain the physical elements that make you who you are. It contains the life and the physical elements, but you are far more than your body," he said, thinking no male who got within ten feet of her would know that. He was having quite a difficult time himself, but was used to being disciplined. It would be much more satisfying to get at the witch when she was herself. But first, he had to get her back to herself.



"So what's left?" Hermione asked him.



"Your mind. Your mind and your experiences. Your . . . memories," the wizard said resolutely. "You are the product of your past, the woman you are today because of how you've gone through life, what you've done, what you've accomplished, what you've failed at. These aspects of you must be reasserted. We have to collect ALL your memories, distill and strengthen them, then return them to you, less the experience of being hit with the Veela spell. Everything before that moment will have to be collected. There's a saying that if the mind is strong enough, then the body will follow. Once we re-establish who you are, you will indeed become who you were. In theory."



"In theory? You mean you don't know if this will work or not, Professor?" Hermione said to him, frowning.



"We are on uncharted ground, Miss Granger. Experimentation will be necessary," he responded. "Or do you want to go through life with men falling over themselves every time they come anywhere near you. Some witches could live with that. Could you?"



Hermione shook her head. No, she didn't want wizards harassing her at every turn.



"No, I couldn't. But . . . every memory? What will that do to me?" she asked him. "Turn me into some kind of vegetable, or worse make me act like I've had a lobotomy? I mean, everything I've learned is in my memory," Hermione said doubtfully. "I could end up an idiot!"



Snape chuckled.



"Miss Granger, taking your memories doesn't remove them totally. It takes an Obliviate to do something like that. Placing your memories in a Pensieve only enhances the clarity of them when viewed. Enhances the details. You still remember what you remember, if only a bit dimmer. I assure you that you won't turn into an instant dunce, although you may experience a small measure of eurphoria, because often guilt associated with particular memories is dulled as well."



Hermione blinked at him as he picked up the Pensieve and moved it in front of her stool. Hermione turned and scooted her stool closer, her expression hesitant as she looked into its depths. Snape scowled. He didn't want to spend all day on this, though most likely it would take a while.



"Now what?" he asked her, irritation in his voice.



She looked up at him.



"You won't actually view the memories will you? I mean . . . it would be a great imposition on my privacy. There's things I'd prefer you didn't see," the witch said.



She was thinking about all the sneaky, underhanded things she had done at Hogwarts, such as stealing from his stores, easily breaking his logic puzzle when they were seeking the Sorcerer's stone, hexing the shit out of him in the Shrieking Shack. She suspected he thought only Harry had done it, when in fact both she and Ron hit him too. And there were other things.



"No," Snape lied, "of course I won't view them. I understand the need to have secrets."



Snape planned on going over Hermione's memories with a fine-toothed comb. He didn't have many opportunities like this, and he certainly wasn't about to let this one pass. He could learn something that would help him in his pursuit of the witch.



"Thank you," Hermione said, taking out her wand and putting it to her temple.



"You're very welcome. Start from just before the Veelas began fighting and go back to your earliest childhood memories," the wizard purred, pulling up another stool, sitting on it and watching her closely.



Things were going to get interesting.



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A/N: I just thought this story lay fallow for far too long, and a number of people were following it. Please remember this is a collaborative story where another author can add a chapter as long as it corresponds with what preceded it and keeps the story on an even keel. I hope someone else will follow this chapter. Thanks.