Snape's Redemption

Disclaimer – Not mine, no way. Damn it.

Chapter Six - Of shoes – and ships – and sealing wax

Molly Weasley was, as usual, in the kitchen, supervising the washing up as she gazed out the window into the front yard. She watched Crookshanks, huddled out in the open, as he ignored all the gnomes galivanting around him. They would prod him and pull at his fur, trying to get him to chase them around. Molly frowned, once again trying to drive away her negative feelings about Hermione Granger.

Hermione Granger. She had broken both the boys’ hearts at one stage or another; Molly still didn’t really believe that Harry had felt nothing for Hermione during their fourth year, and now Ron was moping around the house, waiting for some word from her. They had heard nothing from her since she left – three days and four nights of not knowing where she was. Harry had even taken Ron down to the Muggle town to call her parents, but to no avail. Her absence was even affecting the animals; Hedwig came back every morning, despondent at having failed her owner, whilst Crookshanks had not moved from where he presently sat once he realised his mistress had gone. Molly assumed it was where Hermione had Apparated from.

“Still no word?”

Surprised, Molly lost control of her magic, and the glasses being rinsed crashed down into the sink. She turned to face Remus Lupin, but he was looking over her shoulder out the window.

“Great Merlin,” he whispered.

Molly whirled around just in time to see Severus Snape step back and wave mockingly at them before he Disapparated. He left behind a shocked looking Hermione Granger, who was holding a large, sealed cauldron over her stomach.

Remus raced out of the kitchen, the door banging shut behind him as Crookshanks leapt up and began manically twinning himself around and around his owner’s legs.

“I heard a big crash,” announced Ron as he ambled into the kitchen. Seeing all the broken glasses (and being as eager as Fred and George about using his magic legally), he gave an enthusiastic swish while yelling, “Reparo!”

He looked to his mother for praise, but found her staring out the window, oblivious to his presence. He moved over to see she was looking at.

“HERMIONE! EVERYONE – HERMIONE’S BACK!” He raced out the door.

Molly heard, and felt, footsteps banging downstairs as everyone in the house rushed out to greet the prodigal. She watched as they all crowded around the young witch, trying to hug her around the cauldron she held protectively in front of her.

Molly Weasley shuddered. Something was terribly wrong.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

“Hermione?”

“Where have you been?”

“Hermione!”

“Why didn’t you contact us?”

“What’s in there?”

“Hermione?”

“QUIET!”

Remus’ sharp shout stilled the mass of Weasleys surrounding and hounding Hermione. He continued, “Everybody take three slow steps back. Ginny, grab Crookshanks.”

Fred, George, Ron, and Harry moved away. Remus moved to stand directly in front of Hermione’s fixed gaze. Carefully he raised his hand and moved it towards her cheek.

She flinched.

He swore softly and then spoke soothingly to her.

“You are safe, Hermione. Nobody here will hurt you. You are safe.” He kept repeating that over and over. Behind Remus, Harry looked over at Ron in horror. With her hair scraped back and her pupils dilated, Harry could hardly recognise the brains of their trio.

“What’s wrong with her?” Ron asked hoarsely, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Fred and George reached over and each placed a hand on his shoulders.

Ginny said nothing, but her eyes widened and she clasped the mewling Crookshanks closer to her chest. She must have squeezed him too hard as he suddenly yowled and tried to claw his way free. The noise drew Hermione out of her zombie-like state.

“Please let go of my cat,” came the quiet request.

Ginny complied, releasing Crookshanks onto the ground. He raced over to his mistress once more. This time Hermione bent down and, after carefully placing the cauldron on the ground, gathered up her familiar and buried her face in his ginger fur. She breathed in deeply and, hitching him up so he draped over her shoulder, stood up and raised her eyes to everyone gathered around her.

“Sorry, double Apparation,” she said to explain her previous behaviour. Her eyes, however, were still fully dilated. “It’s Wolfsbane Potion,” she continued, gently touching the cauldron with her foot. “Professor Snape made it for Professor Lupin, for the coming full moon. He’s going to teach me how to make it so that he doesn’t have to quote, waste his valuable time on it, unquote.”

“Snape?” Harry piped up, incredulously.

“Professor Snape,” Hermione automatically corrected. Only Remus caught the slight cringe that crossed her face. He turned and spoke to the small group.

“Why don’t you all head inside,” he firmly suggested. “Hermione and I will be in shortly.”

“No.”

Remus turned back to Hermione. She was stroking the purring Crookshanks and her eyes were now back to normal.

“I’ll need to talk to everyone, and I’d prefer just to do it once,” she explained.

“Hermione,” Remus interjected, his voice low with warning.

“No,” she repeated more forcefully. “I need you to call the Order. Please.”

Remus nodded and raised his wand, shooting out his Patronus.

“Harry,” Hermione turned to him. “Can I borrow Hedwig? I’d better write to my parents. I’m sure they’re worried about me since you contacted them.”

“Blimey,” breathed Ron, impressed at Hermione’s perceived powers. “You know everything!”

“No, Ron,” she smiled. “I know you.”

She turned and walked towards the Burrow. Harry and Ron made to follow her, but Remus held them back. Fred, George and Ginny had not moved.

“Be careful,” he cautioned. “Something’s not right with her and I think it may be Severus’ doing.”

“What do you mean?” Harry questioned sharply, suspicious of anything to do with ‘the traitor’.

“She Apparated in with him and, when he saw me looking out through the window, he …” Remus broke off.

“He what?” demanded Ron.

“He waved,” Remus concluded. He decided not to tell anyone that he had seen Snape with his arms around Hermione. Or how, as he stepped away, he had brushed his hands across her breasts. He knew Molly hadn’t seen that, and he didn’t want to embarrass Hermione. He also didn’t want to inflame Harry’s desire to seek revenge on his former Professor.

Remus Lupin decided to do what he always did: watch.

* ~ * ~ * ~ *

It wasn’t a full Order meeting. In fact, aside from Moody, it was the same group that had been there when Hermione left. Tonks explained that he was still ‘peeved’ that Hermione had cursed him.

“Of course,” she continued cheerfully, “he’s more ‘peeved’ that you got the drop on him.”

“Yes, well, less said about that the better,” interjected Mr Weasley.

“I think Miss Granger can now explain what she has been doing the past few days,” Professor McGonagall said pointedly. Hermione sighed and resettled Crookshanks more comfortably in her lap, accidentally elbowing Remus who sat next to her.

“Before I begin, I just need to ask that you don’t interrupt me. I’ll tell you everything I can and answer any questions, but I’m very tired, and I just want to get it all out. Is that alright?” She looked dully at everyone around the table. They all nodded, but Ron, Harry and Remus all knotted their hands under the table.

“I left here and went to see Rita Skeeter to find out more about Eileen Prince, or to tell me how to find out about her. I didn’t mention her name, of course. I just asked how I would find out about old pureblood families. She told me that it was basically impossible, because they all stuck together and didn’t want anyone else knowing anything about them. I asked about what happened when they married Muggles. She was really suspicious of me by then; you know I’m not very good at questioning people.”

Recalling her abortive attempt to get information from Mr Borgin, Ron and Harry snorted. Hermione smiled slightly at them and continued.

“So I told her that I had been doing research on all the previous Captains of the Hogwarts Gobstones Team to show the boys that there were games other than Quidditch. For some reason, she believed that,” Hermione frowned slightly. She had felt it had been one of her more unbelievable lies, but Rita Skeeter had lapped it up. “So, she took me to the Daily Prophet offices. She told me where to find the old announcement submissions. I found the one about Professor Snape’s birth and copied the address that had been given. It was lucky I did, because then the paper completely disintegrated, which I don’t think it should have done.”

“No, it shouldn’t,” interjected Mr Weasley thoughtfully. “Sounds like it had a spell triggered into it. Sorry, please continue.”

“So, I left Diagon Alley and went into London. I booked a seat on a train to Yorkshire the next morning and stayed at a Youth Hostel that night. Anyway, to cut a long story short, once I got to Yorkshire, it took me two whole days to find Professor Snape’s house. They had moved quite a few times.” Her brow creased. “Funny, there was always someone there to tell me where to go next. I didn’t think it odd at the time, but looking back,” she tapered off, lost in thought.

“What happened when you found Professor Snape?” demanded Professor McGonagall.

“Oh, he was very polite. I was cold and wet and he made me a drink, dried me off and made sure I was comfortable. I explained to him what we needed from him to help the Order, and he has agreed to help us. He is going to teach me Occlumency so I can help Harry, and also how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion. He said to tell you, Professor, that to keep the school open you need to encourage the Board’s fears. Point out that children not in control of their magic can actually hinder or harm other members of their families in a fight. Tell them that young witches and wizards need to learn the best way to defend themselves, and to the level at which they are capable. He said you should also point out that no children were actually hurt in the skirmish at the end of the term. Finally, play on the belief that as he, the resident Death Eater, had left Hogwarts, there was no-one left to influence the students or allow the enemies onto the grounds.”

“But it was Draco who let them in,” Ginny piped up.

“Yes, but he said that people would prefer to believe that Professor Snape, as Head of his House, had brainwashed Draco in someway,” Hermione explained. She paused and took a gulp of water from the glass in front of her, preparing for the reaction of her next confession. “We also discussed Horcruxes,” she whispered.

“WHAT!”

“Oh, Miss Granger.”

“How could you?”

“He already knew,” she shouted above the din that broke out. “He knows all about them!”

Everyone quieted.

“He can help a little with them,” she continued. “He said that the Black library had the most information about Horcruxes that he had ever seen. We have to go back to Grimmauld Place because a lot of the answers are there. And Harry, you need to summon Kreacher there as well. He’s important, for some reason. I don’t know what.”

“Miss Granger,” Professor McGonagall interrupted. “Did he tell you anything about his true allegiance? Did he say why he killed Albus?”

“No.” Hermione concentrated on petting Crookshanks, her eyes down, looking at nobody.

“Did you ask him?”

Hermione was silent.

“Are there things you cannot tell us?” Remus questioned her gently.

“He’s helping,” she whispered, not answering him. “Isn’t that enough?”

Suddenly, Remus reached out and grabbed her right hand, pulling it off Crookshanks and slapping it down on the table.

“Specialis revelio!” he said, rapping his wand smartly on her hand. A red rope flared briefly on her hand and disappeared.

“You’ve made the Unbreakable Vow,” he stated, shocked. He let go of her hand and she immediately started furiously petting Crookshanks.

“Hermione,” Tonks whispered. “What have you done?”

Gathering Crookshanks in her arms, Hermione stood.

“What I had to do. We need his knowledge. We need his help. He’s the only one left now that Headmaster Dumbledore is gone.” She backed away from the table, her eyes darting from person to person.

“Really, Miss Granger,” exclaimed Professor McGonagall. “You have severely over-rated him. We have many others in the Order who are more skilled and more trustworthy than Severus Snape.”

“Really, like Mundungus? Or Mrs Figg? Yes, I can see that they make a much greater contribution than Professor Snape!”

Her voice was angry, but Hermione was desperate. Desperate to believe that Snape was vital to the Order, that they needed him, that her ordeal was not in vain.

“Hermione, calm down,” commanded Mr Weasley, who was also standing. “We are not belittling your efforts; it’s just the Unbreakable Vow is very … well, it’s not to be entered into lightly. And, although we are pleased to get all the help we can, you paid too high a price.”

“Did I?” she screeched. “Well, I know where one of the Horcruxes is! R.A.B. Regulus Alphard Black! The locket – the real locket - is at number twelve Grimmauld Place and so are the books on how to destroy it! Think I’ve still paid too high a price?”

And Hermione broke down. She collapsed onto the floor sobbing, holding fast to her familiar who was frantically trying to lick up all the salty hurt from his mistress’ face. A gentle hand touched her back. She looked up to see Harry’s beautiful emerald eyes gazing at her.

“Thank you, Hermione,” he said. “You did well.”

* ~ * ~ * ~ *


A/n – Chapter title is from the poem The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll. They lure in the gullible oysters and then eat them. Watch Dogma for a very good interpretation of why this poem could turn people away from any organised religion. Plus it has Matt Damon in it. And Ben Affleck pre Jay-lo. Oh, and an obscure English actor you may have heard of – Alan Rickman.

To all my wonderful reviewers – I’m trying to make it not so cliff hangery, did I succeed? Is ‘hangery’ a word? I especially like to thank all those who keep on reviewing and those who leave such detailed reviews – they really do make my day. I’m so happy when I read them and this chapter was written because of you all. Otherwise I was just going to reread the early Anita Blake stories all weekend!! (The ones where interesting stuff happens, not just metaphysical sex). I wish I could reply to them all on AFF.net, but I don’t seem to be able to.

By the way - the title is not ironic. This is Snape\'s Redemption - this is a huge hint!!

And once again – I love my betas!! GinnyW, Clara Minutes & Griff (thanks for the cauldrons of virtual chocolate frogs). Not only do they correct my errors, but they say nice, nice things!!!