A Maid in the Devil's Manor

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
*******************************
Chapter 39 ~ An Overnighter at the Ministry


Bozo Baggins lounged outside the Ministry, hoping to catch a shot of something interesting. Now that Rita was indisposed, he found himself having to scratch out his own living. He scratched his nose, and leaned against the brick. Suddenly he heard the unmistakable sound of apparation. He stepped away from the building, and moved closer pointing his camera at the stairs leading into the Ministry. Around the corner strode nine, no, ten Aurors, five on either side of a small woman, two holding her by her arms. Bozo looked through his camera, then lifted his head in a double take. Oh, this was too good.

“Miss Granger!” he called. Hermione looked up and Bozo snapped the picture. The flash left spots in Hermione’s eyes. The group continued into the building.

Bozo was happy. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small two-way mirror.

“Newsroom,” he said. The mirror showed a small gray room with folding chairs and several cheap wooden tables. Some wizards were there playing cards.

“Hey. Bozo here down at the Ministry,” Bozo said into the mirror.

In the newsroom was a larger mirror. Bozo’s round red face appeared in it.

“So what’s the scoop, Baggins?” one of the wizards said, throwing down a card.

“That Granger chit’s gotten herself arrested,” Bozo said.

All the wizards stopped playing cards.

“The one that the Ministry put in the hotbox for hanging with Snape?” another wizard asked. “What for?”

“Don’t know,” said Bozo, “But I got a picture. I need a story to go with it.”

The wizards all looked at each other. Suddenly there was a scramble and the sound of apparation.

Bozo watched as the group of wizards appeared one after the other and ran up the Ministry steps, and through the doors, waving their press passes at the Aurors guarding them.

“Well, this month’s rent’s covered,” Bozo said to himself as he apparated home to develop his photo.

****************************

Hermione didn’t remember much about her arrival at the Ministry. She remembered sitting down and giving her name and address, and then being photographed, then having a rather burly woman body search her, waving a knobby wand close around her person. She was given a gray cotton uniform that read “Property of MOM” and taken into a small room with a chair, a loo, a cot and a sink and told to undress and put the uniform on. She did all these things in a kind of daze. An Auror came and took her clothes and gave her a cold bologna and cheese sandwich with no condiments, and a small glass of milk. She set these on the chair and left them there.

She looked around the room. It had no window and the door was featureless except for a square of thick glass where the Aurors or anyone could look in. The loo was right in the open. There was no stall. Or toilet paper.

Hermione sat on the bed, sliding back until her back rested against the wall, and leaned her head back. How could she be so stupid as to forget to use the containment spell? She knew. She was so worried about Severus she wasn’t thinking. When he yelled at her to cast the spell, she just complied. She sighed.

Azkaban. Gods. Well, she didn’t use the Killing Curse on a person…well she did. She wondered why it didn’t register. The Priori Incantatem spell had skipped the Unforgivable she threw at Severus, and went to the last one that killed the niffler. Maybe it didn’t register with her wand because the spell never completed. It hadn’t taken a life. That would cause some problems. The potion may save the person the spell was cast on, but it also protected the wizard or witch who threw the curse so they wouldn’t be charged with attempted murder. Now that was a glitch. But the main thing was the potion worked.

When Severus fell and didn’t move, Hermione had felt the whole world had ended. Thank the gods he survived. She thought she might love the wizard. Hopefully, she would have the chance to find out if she did or not, if she didn’t go to Azkaban. Severus said she wouldn’t. But the Ministry could be vindictive. She had walked on the board without giving them any answers. That made them look bad. They hated to look bad. Hell, come to think of it, they still owed her a check.

The door clicked, and Hermione looked over at it. It swung open, and in walked Tonks, smiling and carrying a bowl and a plate. Kingsley shouldered himself in the door as well.

“Hey, Mione,” Tonks said brightly, sitting down on the bed and offering her the steaming bowl of tomato soup she carried. On the plate was a ham sandwich with tomato, lettuce and mustard.

“I remembered these were your favs when you stayed at twelve Grimmauld Place one summer,” Tonks said. The soup smelled wonderful and Hermione took it from the Auror, and spooned a little in her mouth. It was good.

“Severus contacted us, and asked us to come down and check on you,” said Kingsley, studying the witch. He could tell the Ministry went right to work on her. They usually didn’t issue uniforms until a witch or wizard was actually indicted. They were giving her bullpen therapy. Hermione should still have her street clothes. At least they didn’t put her in the dungeons.

Hermione made short work of the soup and ate half of the ham sandwich.

“Thanks,” she said to Tonks as she returned the other half of the sandwich to the plate. Tonks took it and put it on the chair, next to the discarded bologna and cheese sandwich. Then the Auror looked at her.

“Why’d you cast an Unforgivable, Hermione? You know they lock you up for that,” Tonks said, looking at the witch with a furrowed brow.

“I was casting the curse on Severus,” she said.

“What!” said Kingsley, “On Severus? We just talked to him. He was fine.”

Tonks looked at Hermione.

“Word is, you cast it on a niffler,” she said.

“That was the last animal that died before we found the answer,” Hermione said. She was so disoriented by her situation, she didn’t realize she wasn’t making any sense. Tonks looked at Kingsley, who shrugged.

“Answer? What answer, Hermione?” Tonks pressed.

Hermione’s amber eyes turned and met Tonk’s hazel ones.

“We found a way to stop the Killing Curse,” she said.

Tonks eyes got wide as saucers. Kingsley came further into the room. Both Aurors stared at Hermione as if she had just sprouted out of the floor.

“You’re shitting me,” Tonks breathed.

Hermione shook her head. “No. That was the project Severus and I were working on, the one I wouldn’t reveal to the board. We’ve created an elixir that protects from the Killing Curse, and I tested it on Severus tonight. I forgot to cast the containment spell to hide the signature, so the Aurors came. And I was arrested. But the potion worked, Tonks. It really worked.”

Kingsley and Tonks looked at each other. They had known Hermione for years and knew the young woman would not lie about such a thing.

“Holy shit!” Tonks said, jumping up and down on the bed. “Hermione, you and Severus are fucking heroes! Oh my gods.”

“Congratulations, Hermione,” Kingsley said in his rich, deep voice. He looked thoughtful. “You know, when this comes out, the board is going to send Aurors to the Manor to ‘investigate’ your claim. They’ll take everything, including your research if it’s not registered. Then they can claim it.”

“The research is at a solicitor’s. And Severus destroyed everything else, except the actual potion,” Hermione said.

Tonks leaned into her, lowering her voice as an Auror peered in the window at them, then left.

“Listen, Hermione. If I know Severus, he will be here bright and early tomorrow to register the potion and arrange a demonstration. Don’t tell anyone about the potion until after he gets word to you. No one. If you get your hearing before you hear from him, drag it out as long as you can before telling them. Got me? It’s important.”

Hermione nodded.

Suddenly there was a commotion outside the door. Several heads were trying to look in on Hermione at once. It was the news-wizards. Then more yelling sounded and they all moved away from the window, followed by the profile of a scowling Auror.

“Damn,” Kingsley said, “Looks like you’re going to be in the morning news again, Hermione.” The witch shrugged. “I’m not worried about it. I am so blacklisted now it won’t make a difference.”

Tonks smiled at her. “Not for long. Once you prove that you’ve created a potion that stops the Killing Curse, you are going to be the most famous and beloved witch in wizarding history. You and Severus both. Lips will be puckering up for miles just for the chance to kiss your asses.”

Hermione laughed despite herself. Tonks stood up.

“Is there anything we can do for you, Hermione?” Kingsley asked.

Hermione looked at the loo. Her stomach didn’t feel too good.

“Could you get me some toilet paper?” she asked Tonks.

“Sure,” Tonks said. “And we’ll have them cut off the lights so you can have some privacy.”

“Thanks,” said Hermione, relieved. The idea of being watched while she was on the loo bothered her immensely. She probably wouldn’t have been able to go.

Tonks bent over and embraced the witch.

“You’re going to be all right, Hermione. This is the storm before the calm,” the Auror said, her hazel eyes dancing. “The whole wizarding world is going to be bowing at your feet. So you hold on. You get some sleep. I’ll be back with the TP.” The Auror walked towards the door.

“Stay strong, Hermione. Everything’s going to be all right. Severus will handle it,” Kingsley said, “so you just get some sleep.”

Hermione smiled at the Aurors.

“Thanks. Both of you,” she said softly.

They left the room. A few minutes later, the door opened and Tonks tossed Hermione a roll of toilet paper.

“Night,” she said.

“Good night, Tonks,” Hermione replied.

The lights went out.

Hermione sat there for a moment, waiting to see if anyone were going to look in. All was quiet. She walked over to the loo.

She didn’t think she’d get a wink of sleep.

*********************************

Severus and the house elves cleaned the labs thoroughly. Not a thing was out of place, and not a bit of the destruction remained. The counters sparkled, the cabinets and coolers were pristine. The labs looked like they did when they were first set up. No trace of the work that went on there remained. Only a few nifflers in their cages. The elixirs were safely hidden. He had one bottle he would carry with him to the Ministry tomorrow.

Severus wiped his hands on a cloth and dismissed the house elves. He stood in the silent lab. It was too quiet here without Hermione. In fact, the entire Manor felt like it had lost some light when she left the premises. It felt wrong without her. She belonged here.

Severus sighed and walked down the hall to her rooms. Again, too quiet…too empty. He would give anything to hear Hermione screech at him in a temper. He thought about what she told him tonight, before she cast the curse. She wanted him, and him alone. And gods how he wanted her. Damn. He should have thought about the containment spell. But it was such a heated moment, neither of them were thinking properly. The thought of her in a cell at the Ministry made his chest tighten, but there was nothing he could do before morning. He hoped she was all right. He would be there first thing in the morning to get her out. And he would have a little something to show the board if they gave him a hard time about releasing her.

He was going to bring her home.

**********************************
A/N: Night, night, Hermione. Poor lonely Sev. But he’s gon get his woman. Lol Please review.