Through the Looking Glass ~ COMPLETED

NOTE: I had to make a major edit to this chapter. I was off my game and bumbled the relationship between Albus and Grindelwald big time. It's fixed now. Sorry about that.

Chapter 28 ~ Snape Learns Something

Hermione was surprised that Professor Snape brought her into his private quarters, rather than his office. His study was quite Spartan in furnishings, a sofa, two armchairs set before the fireplace with a table between them, a large writing desk in one corner, and a liquor cabinet in the other. But what the room lacked in luxury, the library more than made up for. The walls were covered in recessed bookshelves and filled to the brim with tomes. She loved how it smelled here, of old leather, parchment and some spicy scent, possibly sandalwood. As she took a seat in one of the armchairs, her brown eyes rested on the books longingly. He must have so many rare publications.

Snape noticed her interest in his books immediately. The other Hermione had shown no interest in his library at all. This witch looked as if she would gladly devour each and every one of his titles. He moved the small table from between the chairs.

”Miss Granger, turn your chair,” he directed, turning his own to face her. Hermione obliged him. Then the wizard pulled out his wand.

”Hold very still, Miss Granger,” he said softly, murmuring an incantation and passing the wand around her seated body as if checking her for weapons. He wasn’t however. He was checking the hex Tom put on her. The tip of the wand glowed blue, just as a mediwitch’s wand would do during the examination of a healthy body. But then, the blue light became streaked with black flashes. Snape lowered it, shaking his head slightly.

”You have indeed been hexed, Miss Granger. I don’t know what the spell is, but I do believe if it is tampered with, it will go into full effect and you will expire,” the wizard told her, taking the seat across from her.

Hermione’s eyes glistened.

”Be brave,” Snape said to her. “I’m going to do my best to keep you attached to your mortal coil.”

Hermione blinked at him.

”But Professor, there’s no guarantee that Tom Riddle will remove this spell even if he gets what he wants,” she responded.

Snape frowned slightly.

”We’ll cross that moat when we get to it, Miss Granger, but you have my word I will do my best to make sure he does remove it. That is all the comfort I can offer you at this time,” he told her. “What I need from you now are details about the alternate universe’s society. How they operate. What laws they follow, how they interact. The overall climate. Can you tell me anything?”

Hermione nodded. She had read the very twisted history of that world in an attempt to understand it better.  Especially the rise of Albus Dumbledore, which had been rather shocking.  It seemed he and a wizard named Grindelwald had aspirations to streamline the world magically.  But Grindelwald believed that Muggle-borns should rule, being they were born with magic from above and were the purest wizards and witches, while Dumbledore hated Muggles because they had beaten his sister until she could no longer function properly.  He considered any witch or wizard born to them freaks of nature. Tthey began to fight between themselves, each wanting to be the leader and establish their own rule.  There was a battle and Dumbledore’s youngest sister had been killed.  Grindelwald fled, but Albus found him years later and killed him, then set about establishing a new Order, one where Purebloods were held in high esteem.

He also became smitten by the idea of eternal life, and had undergone physical and magical experimentation to prolong his own existence, taking on the name of Lord Bedaub Mules after his transformation. He had a following of Purebloods who followed his every instruction. They operated like terrorists, often kidnapping Muggles and Muggle-Borns, putting them to death in horrible ways, and taking down those in positions of power. Tom Riddle had his own group, the Death Eaters, who battled the Order. It was a hard fight however, and he had been unable to destroy the despot or make any leeway.

Snape listened to Hermione very carefully, asking question after question for clarification, particularly about how Tom Riddle ran Hogwarts. As he suspected, with an iron rod. He was well-respected by wizarding society and considered something of a hero. Hermione then told him of the society itself, how marriage was binding for life, but open for other partners, the main purpose of marrying to produce offspring. She told him how Purebloods marrying other Purebloods was frowned upon and how they were considered magically incestuous, and held in lowest esteem.

Snape took this all in, questioning her for almost three hours before they took a break, the wizard ordering food and drink. It was after curfew now, but he still needed to know more . . .

Hermione ate her food, feeling drained under the Potions master’s interrogation, but judging by how focused the wizard was, she could tell her responses were of the utmost importance. But why did he need to know so many details?

After they had eaten and the house elves retrieved their dishes, Snape studied Hermione for a moment.

”Miss Granger, do you know Occlumency?” he asked her.

”A bit,” Hermione replied, “but I’m not as good with it as I’d like to be.”

Snape nodded.

”Something you definitely need to work on in these dangerous times,” he responded, “however, I must ask you not to use it when I perform Legilimency on you.”

Hermione paled. He was going to invade her mind? If he did, and she didn’t block certain memories, then he’d see . . . he’d see . . .

”Professor, I really don’t want you sifting through my memories. They’re . . . they’re private . . . personal,” she told the wizard.

Snape’s face contorted.

”Miss Granger, there are things your personal experiences can add to what you’ve told me, such as perspective. I can also receive insights that won’t be available any other way. No matter what occurred while you were in the alternate universe, Miss Granger, I doubt if hiding it is more important than your life. If you are concerned about keeping your secrets, Miss Granger, more than likely those secrets will take you right to the grave. But then again, dead witches tell no secrets, do they?”

Hermione stared at him.

”But . . . but you don’t understand,” she said to him, her voice breaking.

”I do understand. I’ve kept secrets, terrible secrets all my life, Miss Granger. I doubt anything I find in your mind will hold a torch to my own dark memories. There’s nothing you’ve been through that will surprise me. This is a matter of utmost importance, Miss Granger, not only in relation to your own life, but possibly to the wizarding world at large. Surely, you wouldn’t be that selfish as to put yourself before the welfare of thousands of others?” he asked her.

Hermione stared at him.

”No, I’m not,” she said, sounding defeated. “But, could you make it so that I don’t see what you see in my mind? I . . . I don’t want to relive it with you. It’s too . . . It’s too . . .”

”Of course, Miss Granger. If you like, I can place you in a state of unconsciousness. That way you won’t have any recollection of what I’ve seen. I could even Obliviate this entire session from your mind afterwards, if you’d like.”

Hermione considered this. That would be the easy way out, but the Professor would still know what had happened between her and his counterpart. She had no idea that he had also been involved with her counterpart, and already suspected she’d done likewise.

”No, you don’t have to Obliviate me,” she said softly, “but I’d like to be unconscious during the act.”

”Very well,” the wizard said, drawing his wand. “Just relax.”

Snape murmured a spell that put Hermione into a deep sleep. He would have to remove it in order for her to awaken.

”Now, Miss Granger, let’s see what you were so desperate to hide,” he breathed.

“Legilimens!”

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Snape sent Hermione back to Gryffindor tower and reported to Albus immediately.

”Did Miss Granger give you a thorough idea of how the society works?” the Headmaster asked him, his blue eyes rather worried.

Snape nodded.

”I should be able to paint a very compelling picture of it when I go before the Dark Lord tomorrow night. Hopefully, it will enthrall him so much, I’ll be able to escape being tortured. I haven’t had any information he’s deemed worthy in quite a while. A displeased Voldemort is a Crucioing Voldemort,” the Potions master replied. “After I’ve hooked him, I will dangle the bait . . . knowing Voldemort, his curiosity will do the rest.”

”I hope you’re right, Severus. If you can pull this off, the final battle may never occur,” the Headmaster told him. “The war will be over.”

Snape wasn’t sure if Albus were correct or not. This entire situation could virtually explode in all their faces, making things worse instead of better. Yet, it was worth a try. Everything seemed to be at a stalemate at this time, with Voldemort making more evil plans and the Order thwarting him at every turn, but making no headway over all. At this rate, the war could go on forever. Something had to give.

”By the way, Headmaster, Miss Granger is still in danger. Tom Riddle extended the hex eight days. He will remove it only if our manipulation of the situation is successful,” Snape said silkily.

Albus turned crimson.

”What? He didn’t remove the spell?” he hissed.

Snape shook his head.

”Obviously, this version of Tom Riddle is as dishonest and untrustworthy as our own,” Albus said, scowling. “But, still, he appears to be the lesser of two evils. We simply must make this work, Severus. We must.”

”I’ll do my best, sir,” Snape replied.

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Hermione made her way back to Gryffindor tower, where Harry and Ron were waiting for her, full of curiosity as to where she’d been and what she’d been up to. To their chagrin, Hermione went straight to her room, saying she was tired.

Harry and Ron looked after her.

”Something is up with Hermione, Harry. She’s hiding something from us,” Ron said, his blue eyes narrowed.

”She just got back, Ron. Maybe she’s traumatized and needs some time to get her feet back on solid ground. You heard how it was there. It couldn’t have been easy for her to go through all that. Imagine, being in Slytherin house,” Harry replied.

”Yes, with evil us,” Ron said, shaking his head slightly. “I wonder what kind of git I was in that world. A Slytherin. Ack! I’m traumatized just thinking about it.”

”Let’s just go to bed, Ron and give her some time. She’ll come around, I’m sure. Maybe she was with Dumbledore, telling him more about her adventure,” Harry suggested as they headed for their room.

”Tom Riddle as the Head of Hogwarts. That’s just nutters,” Ron murmured.

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Hermione quickly undressed for bed and climbed in, turning to lay on her back and looking up toward the ceiling. When Snape awakened her, he didn’t act any differently. He just told her he’d seen all he needed to see and that she should return to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione accepted a pass from him, and faltered before leaving. She wanted to ask him what he saw, but didn’t. She didn’t have the nerve. Still, she couldn’t detect any difference in his demeanor.

But she wouldn’t. Snape was a spy after all. His ability not to react to things he discovered helped to keep him breathing. It didn’t mean he wasn’t affected by the knowledge he gained, just that he could control himself in spite of it.

And the wizard was very much in control as he sat in his study, musing over what Hermione had gone through during her time in the alternate world. It had only been a few days, and some might consider what she did shocking. But Snape could see it was something she fell into that she was unprepared for and swept away by.

Her interaction with his counterpart was not a calculated, planned activity, like Snape’s experience with the Slytherin Hermione. Perhaps if Miss Granger hadn’t been such a bleeding heart Gryffindor, she wouldn’t have taken the proverbial plunge, but Snape suspected that the previous contact with the wizard had a lot to do with it. The snogging started it all. She was a young woman with burgeoning needs after all. It could have happened with any wizard who pulled a response from her.

He had seen everything in entirety, from the kisses, to the shower to the deflowering. It was disconcerting to see himself making love to the witch, because that is what happened. It was no animal act, and his counterpart was kind, gentle and thorough. He treated her properly for her first time, and it was easy to see it had been good for the witch. He would have done no less himself, given the opportunity.

Still, Legilimency could also let the viewer experience emotions, and Hermione was truly smitten with that world’s Snape, and believed that the sexual act was more than what it was. Snape felt her hurt at the end of it, although the wizard hadn’t been unkind. He just wasn’t invested in any meaningful degree. Hermione had been one student out of many students, and he had a life of his own beyond the walls of Hogwarts.

Snape nursed his Firewhiskey, unable to push the intimate details out of his mind. He had never considered Hermione Granger anything more than an irritating student and friend to Harry Potter. One who had earned him quite a few stripes from the Dark Lord, although she knew nothing of it. If she did, no doubt she’d martyr herself to him as well.

”How can I make it up to you, Professor Snape?” she’d wail.

A smirk played about the wizard’s pale face for a moment as he considered how he might answer that. No, that would be absolutely unconscionable. But he idly wondered if she felt any residual attraction to him. He had to admit to himself that he felt a physical attraction to her because of the talented, manipulative young woman he’d dallied with.

If one could call what he did to her “dallying.”

Snape finished his drink, Scourgified the glass and put it away. This situation with Miss Granger might be something worth exploring after this current state of affairs was concluded, provided she survived.

The dark wizard lowered the fire in the hearth and retired to his bedroom.

Hm. Hermione Granger. How many heart attacks would that cause if they became an item? She would be graduating soon after all.

He’d have to try to keep her breathing and find out.

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A/N: Still feeling a little “off.” Sigh. Thanks for reading.