Semper Fi, Hermione

I\'m still way ahead of my beta I\'ve decided to continue updating and as she catches up I will edit. I hope you enjoy the story even if there are a \'few flaws in the slaw\'. Thanks to charmed3 for all the efforts she makes.





Hermione woke with a thin scream. She opened her eyes and a precious comodity, sunlight, streamed through the window. She realized she was in Hogwart\'s infirmary, but her memory was at best hazy. She clearly remembered the pain, fear, humiliation and the dark dungon she was in; but her rescue was unclear at best.



She was still uncomfortable. She ached in her joints, itched where she was healing and her breath was still painful. She slid her legs out of the bed and tried to stand. To her horror her legs couldn\'t support her weight and her knees buckled beneath her.



Severus, who sat with her all night, caught her. Hermione, in a wave of panic scratched his face and screamed. Madam Pomfrey with Professor Snape\'s help forced a Calming Draught into her. She was but back into bed and a few charms were placed so she couldn\'t get out or harm herself. Poppy, with a grim look on her face escorted Severus away from Hermione and treated his wounds.



"Well," she said, "I guess it could have been worse." She cleaned the Potion Master\'s scratches and healed them. "I should have known you would stay the night with her." When Snape tried to interject she simply spoke over him saying "Don\'t try to fool me young man. I\'ve been treating your wounds way to long not to know what kind of person you are, and I have heard your rambelings many a time. Don\'t worry, I won\'t let the students know you are not the Great Bat of the Dungons you make yourself out to be." With that she shoo\'ed him out telling him to go eat and get some rest because he looked like death warmed over. She then Flooed Albus to let him know Hermione was awake and her reaction to Severus.



Hermione was much calmer now that the draught had some time to work. One of Hogwart\'s many house-elves appeared with a food tray. "Miss must eats afters her ordeals" piped a squeaky voice "yous see yous feel much better after you eats." Hermione smiled for politeness sake at the little female elf. She wore a pink tea towel stamped with the Hogwart\'s Crest. She accepted the food and even tried to eat a little. The tea did more for her than the food. Fresh and sweet, it warmed her insides which felt cold and tight since she was abducted.



Her Head of House moved the curtain aside, conjured a comfey chair, and carassed her hair; much like a mother would do. Tears poured out of the older woman\'s eyes, but as any other Gryffindor, she wiped them away and asked how she was doing. Hermione, who loved her mentor, responded much as a hurt child would have. She hid her face in the matron\'s neck and cried until there were no tears left to shed. She was shaking terribly trying to find comfort in her teacher\'s arms. Neither noticed the headmaster who peeked in and left them to their privacy.



Albus went back to his office and sent an elf to inform Harry and Ron that Hermione was found and they should come to his office right away. They would have to be informed, but how much should he tell them? He didn\'t want either of the boy\'s to go off in a temper, neither of them were prepared for a show down with Malfoy and they couldn\'t just run and greet Hermione. He just didn\'t know how much she could take and after the way she treated Severus he just wasn\'t sure how to proceed. The poor girl went through an ordeal and she would never be the same young lady again. He decided to follow the advice of a muggle doctor he once knew \' First, cause no harm.\' in his profession that was part of their oath and it was the only advice Albus felt comfortable with at the moment. Hermione had to set the pace for now.



Severus arrived with the two boys at the same time, if for different reasons. The boys were showing their temper and took it out on their teacher. The Potion Master folded his arms in front of him and glared at the boys until they shut up.



Albus using his usual tactic to buy a bit of time, did his ritual of offering everyone a lemon drop. He was correct in his assumption that no one wanted one. He then ordered tea. His and Severus\'s tea, unknown to the students were laced with brandy.



Harry was the first to speak, he was angry that he was not notified immediatly that Hermione was returned. He berated the Headmaster for several minutes, growing red in the face. Ron was also yelling which added to the chaotic scene.



"Enough!" The Potion Master had lost his patience with the two boys and held them by the neck of their uniforms giving them a little shake "You couldn\'t do anything for her, she needed immediate medical help, you two idiots would have been able to do less than nothing!". He was so disgusted with Harry and Ron he dropped them into their seats.



Dumbledore remained calm and as if nothing had happened sipped his tea before he spoke. "Severus," he said, "found her completely by chance. She would not be alive if it weren\'t for his efforts." Harry and Ron both looked gobsmacked. They were uncertain of what to do or say next. Finally, exasperated, Professor Snape told them to shut their mouths before they caught a fly.



"Do you even have a clue what your friend has been through?" The professor was in his full blown Git-of-the-Dungons mode as he leaned in from his superior hight. "Have you any clue what it is to be a female captive in the hands of Death Eaters?" He spat at the two boys. "Lucius is one of the worse. I find it amazing she survived at all and it\'s not over for her yet."



Ron at this point looked a bit green, Harry was white around his mouth trying to reign in his temper and not quite succeeding. Finally, after a minute or so, he had enough control to face his most hated teacher. "what do you mean it\'s not over for her yet? She is back; no one would dare to harm her at Hogwarts!\'\' Ron, a much better strategist than Harry ever was, looked like he wanted to vomit. He didn\'t need to hear any more to understand what was going on. He understood in that second that Hermione was supposed to be found either dead or beyond repair. He would be the first to admit she was a stable influence on both of them and she was smart, damn smart. Unfortunately, the knut had not dropped for Harry.



The Potion Master and Albus\'s spy looked at Harry with complete disgust. Before he could say anything however, Ron answered for him. "Harry, she was a tool to get to us, you especially. Malfoy wanted us to come running and, well, he and his friends hurt her. They raped her." This last part he stumbeled over as it was the hardest part to think about, let alone to say.



"Among other things Mr. Weasley." The headmaster said, he looked so old and sad at that moment. The four people in the office all had a reaction to Ron\'s statement. Harry looked as if all the wind was knocked out of him, Ronald looked as if he could just cry for his friend. Severus, however looked appraisingly at Ron thinking to himself that pehaps Weasley was growing up a little. He was beginning to think like a warrior and since they were going to have a open war as soon as Harry was ready it was good to know at least one of them was growing a few brain cells. "I will let you know as soon as Hermione is able to have visitors." Albus said as he lead the boys out of the office. "You are excused from classes until the morning."



Afer the door was shut, fawkes let out a mornful little trill. His human and friend were both very upset. "Severus, I must say I am surprised you held your temper as long as you have." Now that the students were gone he brought out of his desk a bottle of Ogden\'s Firewhiskey (for medicinal purposes, of course) and two shot glasses. Both teachers had a shot momentarily alone in their thoughts.



"How bad is she Severus?\'\' The headmaster broke the silence, "Can you help Hermione?"



"Headmaster, Albus, the girl has been through Merlin know\'s what. She reacted violenty to my assisting her so she would not fall. She has always been a strong young lady, but to have the very control of her body ruthlessly torn from her, that alone can crack a woman. Poppy already confirmed she was sexualley abused several times and by more than one person." Like Hermione, he was looking out of a window his back to the headmaster. When he had sufficent control of the emotions that he never showed to students or anyone else really, he turned and continued. "We also know she wasn\'t fed, suffered from dehydration and has pneumonia, granted that is the easiest to cure." Severus sat in the chair Harry had occupied. He wiped his brow wearily, "as for the rest, only time will tell, but I must warn you that we may never haver her back.



Albus watched his spy crush his anger leaving a calm exterior with a volcano of emotions inside. He hated to ask, but Severus was the only Legilimens on staff. Finally, after a sigh Albus spoke the for the last time this meeting. "Severus, I know it\'s hard, but to help her we need to know exactly what happened. Will you do what you can to get this information? Will you try to help her onto a healing path?"



"The information I can get sir, but I don\'t know if I am able to help her. That is in \'her court\' as muggles would say." Severus then explained in detail why Hermione may not except his help. He was a nasty teacher who made her cry, he wasn\'t the most compassionate person and the biggest reason of all was very simple. He is a man. The poor girl was raped and abused by men and, more than likely would not want any male anywhere near her.



Albus kept nodding allowing Severus to rattle off all the reasons why he felt Miss Granger would not want his help. Severus had several valid reasons, and true, Hermione would have to set the pace; however Severus didn\'t take into account a few things. Yes, he was a hard taskmaster, true he was of a surley disposition but Hermione respected him as a teacher and authority figure and she knew he was a spy. Albus also figured that Severus had been to enough Dark Revels and seen how most of the women were treated that he would know what she went through and be able to help her. As a Legilimens he could get the information as a reformed Death Eater he could hopefully undo some of the damage that they did, if they were very lucky he might be able to help her heal mentally and emotionally.