Hilltop Cottage

Severus rolled his eyes and walked almost silently to where Staff Nurse Weasley was waiting. He should have known she would see him there, despite the shadows in which he was hiding. He had learned over the past year that she was quite the extraordinary witch, with her observations and strange insights. It was undoubtedly part of her magic, but he had never encountered anyone quite like her before.

Sheepishly, he approached her, and she smiled wryly at him before casting a Silencing Charm at Minerva’s room.

‘Avoiding someone?’ she said.

‘I tolerate plenty, Nurse Weasley. Do not try to be flippant with me,’ he said quietly, but there was no malice in his voice. He did feel ridiculous at being caught out, but it wasn’t Luna’s fault.

Luna laughed at him. ‘Oh, Severus,’ she said warmly.

He tore his gaze from hers. He sometimes felt she could see his very soul with her wide blue eyes, and it was comforting and uncomfortable at the same time.

‘I brought Minerva’s potions,’ he said, placing the phials on the counter.

‘Good,’ Luna replied. ‘Are you going in to see her?’

She avoided looking at him as she walked behind the counter and lifted the potions for storage.

Severus stared at the back of her head, his gaze steely. ‘You know very well I have no wish to see… Hermione,’ he spat out. He realised he didn’t even know if she was still a Granger, and the thought that she was Mrs someone or other made him feel slightly ill.

Luna turned to look at him innocently. ‘I was referring to Minerva, Severus,’ she said gently, a sad gleam in her eye.

Luna knew exactly how devastated Severus had felt when Hermione had left, even though they had never discussed it. His heart had been broken, his grief all-consuming, and it troubled him, even now. Hermione was just the same, torn and unhealed. They needed each other, of that she was sure, but how they would get to that conclusion themselves remained to be seen. She wasn’t one for interfering; she had enough of that from Molly, so she knew how annoying it could be. Still, it pained her to see her friends so unhappy. And there was the other thing, too. Something Severus was obviously unaware of.

‘My apologies, Luna,’ Severus said, leaning in a dejected slump on the counter. ‘I just feel slightly…’

‘…Uncertain. I know. But I don’t think she would hex you, Severus, if you just went in to say hello.’

Severus shook his head and stood upright, his face blank suddenly. Luna sighed. She knew that look. He felt he had said too much, so he was back behind his walls, keeping her at bay again.

‘You could do me a small favour, Nurse Weasley,’ he said.

‘Of course, Professor,’ Luna replied. Her voice was professional, the boundary having been clearly drawn by him.

‘I need to leave a note, if you would be so kind to pass it on to… Minerva’s visitor,’ he said.

Luna stared at him. Idiot man, she thought. ‘Of course,’ she said instead, handing him a scrap of parchment and a quill.

Severus took them with a flourish and quickly scribed a few short lines, then handed the parchment back to Luna.

‘My thanks. I shall return later,’ he said stiffly, looking anywhere but at Luna’s knowing face. Damn the witch and her bloody insights. He didn’t need her manipulating.

He turned on his heel, and Luna watched him as his pace increased and he all but ran out of the ward. If it weren’t all so sad, it would be funny.


***

Hermione was sitting in a chair beside Minerva’s bed, flicking through her notes but giving them only a quick perusal. It distracted her from looking at her old friend lying beside her, but only briefly. Hermione’s eyes were constantly drawn to Minerva’s pale face, her cheeks slightly sunken, and dark shadows around her eyes. The most shocking thing, however, was her hair. It had gone from being thick and lustrous and the colour of the leaves on a beech tree in autumn, to thin and completely white. No longer contained in its usual bun, it lay limply around her shoulders, and it was this that gave Hermione the greatest indication that her friend was seriously ill indeed.

She lifted Minerva’s frail hand and rubbed her thumb over the papery skin. It was cool to the touch, her thick veins protruding from beneath the almost translucent layer. She would have no strength to hold a wand, no magic to transform into her Animagus form and no energy to bend her will to transfigure rat to goblet. Hermione let two large tears fall, and felt overwhelmingly sad.

She had hoped Minerva could have been like a grandmother for Donovan. She knew that if she had met him, she would have fallen in love with him, and that Donovan would have learned much from Minerva and loved her in return. Who else would fill that role now?

With a sigh, Hermione lifted the papers and left the room without a backward glance.


***
Hermione was preoccupied with her thoughts, and didn’t see Luna until she took the sheaf of paper from her.

‘How is your baby?’ Luna said out of the blue.

Hermione was genuinely shocked and covered her mouth with her hand.

‘How on earth…?’ she stuttered.

Luna laughed softly and put a calming hand on Hermione’s arm. ‘Relax, Hermione. I won’t tell anyone.’

‘I know, Luna, you would never do that. But how did you know?’ Hermione was amazed.

‘One of the reasons I became a nurse is that I can sense the state of someone’s health. How they are physically and mentally and what they’ve been through. I don’t know why I can, really. But I can. I haven’t told many people, only George, and now you.’

Luna tipped her head to the side a little, and Hermione was instantly reminded of Loony Luna from Hogwarts. The woman she had become was very different, but every now and then, a flash of the innocent girl would resurface.

‘So you can tell I’ve had a baby? That’s incredible,’ Hermione sighed.

‘Yes. There are changes in women who have had children. What did you call him?’ Luna smiled gently.

Hermione laughed. Not only did she know she’d had a child, but also that the child was a boy.

‘Donovan,’ Hermione said happily.

‘Will you tell Severus?’ Luna asked pointedly.

Hermione closed her eyes. ‘Don’t tell me, you can see that, too?’

Luna laughed. ‘No. But I can tell how long ago a woman gave birth. It didn’t take a genius to work it out.’

‘I wrote to him when I first discovered I was pregnant. He didn’t respond.’

‘Ah,’ Luna said in understanding. ‘He was here, actually.’

‘He was? When?’ Hermione looked around, half expecting him to step out from somewhere.

‘When you were visiting Minerva. He left you a note.’

Hermione took the folded parchment with a shaky hand and slipped it into her jeans pocket. She didn’t think she could cope with reading it just yet. After over a year away, she felt suddenly bombarded by everything. She wanted nothing more than to go home and cuddle her baby.

‘I’ll visit again, Luna. I’d better get back, I left Harry looking after Donovan,’ she said with a small giggle.

‘He’s missed you, you know,’ Luna said.

‘He’s been okay. He has Ginny,’ Hermione said, smiling.

‘I meant Severus,’ Luna said softly. The two witches stared at each other for a heartbeat, until Hermione couldn’t stand Luna’s gaze a moment longer.

‘I really need to go,’ she said hurriedly, and then turned, walking quickly from the ward, her hand unconsciously holding onto the note in her pocket.