Hilltop Cottage

Hermione was anxiously wringing her hands as she paced Severus’s quarters. Every now and again her eyes darted to the Floo, then to the clock on the wall. Severus rustled that days copy of the Daily Prophet, dropping it slightly to watch his fiancée as she wore a hole in the rug.



‘Relax,’ he soothed. ‘Have some tea, or perhaps find something to read.’ He indicated the bookshelf along the far wall, and Hermione was tempted, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate.



She desperately wanted this to go well, but she hadn’t had the chance to talk to Alicia privately to tell her that things had changed between herself and Severus. She really hoped that her friend would be respectful, at least, but she had a terrible feeling the whole situation may be more than awkward.



‘Would you prefer me to leave?’ Severus asked as he quirked an eyebrow at her.



It was on the tip of her tongue to say yes, but it was too late. With a roar that made Hermione jump, the Floo sprang to life, and out stepped Alicia, looking more glamorous than Hermione had ever seen her. She was wearing a well-cut dark grey suit with a crisp, cerise shirt, and her blonde hair was long and shimmering down her back. Hermione felt immediately the lesser person in her presence, which she knew to be a ridiculous notion, but the feeling was there none the less.



‘Alicia,’ she said warmly, going immediately to her and hugging her tightly. She had missed her very much.



‘Oh, God, it’s so good to see you,’ Alicia replied. She stood back a little and looked her up and down. ‘You look fabulous, honey,’ she said sincerely.



Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Severus stand, laying his newspaper on the chair behind him.



‘Alicia, I want to introduce you to Professor Severus Snape,’ she said, turning Alicia around to face Severus, who immediately smiled charmingly and held his hand out.



‘Miss Maines, it’s a pleasure to meet you at last. I have heard much about you from Hermione,’ he said smoothly.



Alicia smiled and took Severus’s hand and shook it firmly, before turning to look at Hermione, letting out a low whistle.



‘And you left him?’ she whispered loudly.



Hermione burst out laughing, relief washing over her. She beamed at Alicia, who had obviously been prepared that Hermione would be back with Severus. She wouldn’t say anything.



‘Thankfully, she came back,’ said Severus, a touch of laughter in his own voice.



‘And how is Donovan doing? I really missed that little guy,’ said Alicia.



‘He’s doing great. You’ll see him later,’ Hermione said, smiling, ‘and I’ll fill you in on all of the drama.’



Severus quirked an eyebrow at Hermione and Alicia as they shared a looked, and Alicia laughed.



‘Girl talk, Professor. You wouldn’t be one bit interested,’ she said.



‘Why do I have the uncomfortable feeling that I will be a topic of conversation?’ he said sternly. Hermione caught the amused look in his eyes that belied his tone, and she poked her tongue out playfully.



‘Don’t be so smug!’ she exclaimed. ‘We will have so much more to talk about than the men in our lives,’ Hermione protested.



‘Oh, do we?’ Alicia teased, sounding disappointed. ‘What a pity. I wanted all of the gory details.’



‘Enough,’ Severus chuckled. ‘We have some research notes to share, I believe. The gossip can wait until I’m out of the way.’



Hermione grinned, but she didn’t notice the appreciative gaze that Alicia gave Severus as they followed him obediently into his lab.





***



Two hours later, Alicia, Hermione and Severus were standing around Minerva McGonagall’s bed. Alicia had her wand out, and was murmuring a series of charms that the others had never heard before.



They had spent over an hour poring over the sheaves of parchment that detailed all of Hermione’s calculations, Severus’s potions and their ingredients and Minerva’s symptoms. It was clear that while certain medicinal treatments were having a positive effect on Minerva’s immune system, the usual therapies had only worked to a point.



‘Do we know what your friend had been doing prior to falling ill?’ Alicia asked eventually.



Severus sighed. ‘She had been under some pressure I think. The responsibility of building up the school after the war has been a great strain, according to Filius. I feel a certain amount of guilt that I didn’t return to assist as she requested,’ he said, frowning.



‘You had your reasons, and Minerva understood them, Severus. You shouldn’t feel guilty. We don’t even know if that’s what caused this,’ Hermione chided him.



‘Is there anything specific about Minerva’s magic I need to know about? She was a Transfiguration Professor, I believe?’ Alicia looked up at Hermione with her face set.



‘Well, she is incredibly gifted in that area. And of course, she’s an Animagus,’ Hermione said proudly.



‘What animal?’ Alicia said suddenly, her eyes bright.



‘She is a tabby cat,’ Severus murmured, staring down at Minerva’s pale, lined face.



‘A cat?’ Alicia asked in disbelief.



‘Yes,’ said Hermione. ‘Why? Is that significant?’



‘Well, it’s significant if she contracted her illness when she was in her Animagus form, yes.’



‘Good god, I had never even considered that it might not be a human virus,’ Severus said, shocked.



‘Why would you, Severus? It didn’t cross my mind either, but I know that when Minerva is under pressure she enjoys spending time in her Animagus form. She explained it to me once. It gives her the chance to run and stretch in a way she can’t as a witch,’ Hermione said softly.



‘What should we do, Miss Maines?’ asked Severus seriously.



‘Well, firstly you can call me Alicia. All of my friends do.’



She flashed him a wide smile, but Severus didn’t acknowledge it. He was too concerned about Minerva.



‘Secondly,’ Alicia continued briskly, ‘you will need to find a specialist who has experience with Animagus illness. If there is no one here, I could contact my own department. I know that Barnabus Speight would be fascinated with this case.’



‘I’ll check with Luna,’ said Hermione, and she slipped out of the room.



Severus raised his eyes to Alicia. ‘I don’t know how to thank you. We have been going around in circles with this,’ he said sincerely.



Alicia smiled warmly. ‘Nonsense. It just needed fresh eyes, that’s all.’



She walked around to where Severus was standing and placed her hand over his where it rested on Minerva’s bedclothes. She squeezed his hand lightly, and Severus looked at her with a puzzled frown. He was about to speak when the door opened, and Hermione walked in. Alicia immediately removed her hand from Severus’s and walked over to Hermione with a small smile.



‘Any joy?’ she said, a little too brightly.



Hermione looked at Alicia in confusion and didn’t quite understand what she had just seen. She turned to look at Severus, whose face was blank and emotionless. He had signs of a tell tale flush to his cheeks. She looked back at Alicia, who had schooled her face to its normal, friendly demeanour, and shook her head. Whatever it was, it could wait for now.



‘Luna said there is no specialist here at the hospital. They don’t have many cases of this type, apparently, which would explain why we hadn’t thought of it before,’ she said calmly.



‘You will call your colleague then, Miss Maines?’ Severus spoke firmly, and Hermione noticed the edge to his voice, even if Alicia didn’t. She did notice his reverting to her more formal mode of address, however, and she took a slight backward step before nodding.



‘Of course. I’ll Floo call him as soon as I can,’ she said simply.



‘Very well. Hermione, I have Hogwarts business to attend to this evening, so I will leave Miss Maines in your capable hands tonight. Say goodnight to Donovan for me.’ He went to walk from the room, pausing to kiss Hermione lightly.



‘Severus? Do you mean you’ll be staying at the school tonight?’ Hermione was disappointed, and wondered what had happened. They had agreed never to have another night apart, now that they were reunited.



‘Only for tonight, Hermione,’ Severus’s voice softened as he spoke, and he smiled at her briefly. ‘I have much to do, and it will give you and Miss Maines plenty of time for that ‘girl talk’.’ He looked briefly at Alicia and his gaze went steely for a brief moment.



Ah, thought Hermione. Alicia must have said something to upset him when she was out of the room. She would talk to him once Alicia had gone and reassure him. Her feelings for him had never really changed, despite what she may have declared to her friend in the heat of an emotional moment.



Severus closed the door and Hermione grinned at Alicia. ‘Now we have the night to ourselves, let’s get Donovan to bed early and open a bottle of wine.’



Alicia smiled at her a little tightly. ‘Sure, great idea.’



As they walked out into the hospital corridor, Hermione lowered her voice.



‘Then perhaps you will explain exactly what was going on when I walked back into the room, and why Severus would rather be anywhere but in your company.’