Chapter Thirty: Halloween Results

(i) The characters and world of Harry Potter are the property of the remarkably talented J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this.

(ii) Thank you to all the readers who have stayed with me through the writing of this tale. Your kind reviews have been enormously helpful. Not only do they provide motivation and inspiration to keep going, but your intelligent comments help me formulate my plot and character development. So please do continue to review and tell me what you think of the story. You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear from you.

(iii) And finally, much gratitude to my brilliant beta, Queen_of_Stars.

All errors that ultimately remain are my own.

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Lucius and Severus returned to the Great Hall just as Ginny stormed in through the student entrance. She looked like a Valkyrie on the prowl for a brave soul to take with her back to Valhalla as she marched over to her mother and began speaking furiously. Lucius could not help but motion to the blazing redhead and murmur, "Splendid, don't you think, old chap?"

Severus merely groaned. "I've had more than enough of the bloody Weasley brats to last me a lifetime. I do hope I'm no longer Headmaster when the next batch arrives. The lot of them are nothing more than hot-headed, impetuous and completely lacking in all sense."

Lucius threw back his head and laughed. "You're so droll, Severus. Arthur isn't all that bad, really. Utterly mollycoddled by Molly, of course," here, Lucius' smirked at his own clever pun before continuing, "and his three sons Bill, Percy and George didn't seem too bad when they came over to mend the family breach."

Severus huffed, "I suppose. Bill was never that much of a bother, and Percy, though a pompous arse, wasn't an annoyance to teach. Quite a good student actually. And I suppose George, without the influence of his much more mischievous twin, is probably maturing somewhat. But that youngest brat, she is the worst of the lot. I've never seen such a vindictive shrew, not even Bella was that bad at her age."

Lucius shuddered at the mention of Bella. Then, trying to recapture his earlier sense of joviality, he murmured sardonically, "Still, old chap, I bet she'll be a pleasure to tame, eh? All of that fire and passion, just waiting for a strong hand."

Severus laughed. He knew what his old friend was up to. Doing his best to not get wound up but to play along to the teasing, he said, "Yes, well, old chap, you're an old married man, and I'm soon to be. I'm thankful that Draco is safely tied to Astoria. Let some other brave fool take on the spitfire."

Lucius chuckled. It pleased him to know that he could soften his friend up with just a few chosen words. Lucius was very observant, and he could see the change that their conversation and agreement had wrought on the countenance of his dark companion. Before, Severus had looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders; now, he looked years younger – almost returned to his summertime conviviality, in fact.

Leading Severus to Narcissa, he took his wife's hand in his. "I have wonderful news, my dear, Severus has stated his agreement to the betrothal contract with our beloved Hermione."

"Oh, Severus!" exclaimed Narcissa, standing up on tip toe to kiss his cheek fondly. "Welcome to the family."

Severus' colour rose visibly. He was not one prone to blushing, so seeing the heightened colour in his cheeks was a rarity. "Thank you, Cissy." Then, striving for levity, he murmured, "Does that mean I have to start calling you both mum and dad?"

Lucius chuckled darkly and Cissy giggled. Hermione though did nothing but blush furiously. She had encouraged and pushed for this outcome, but now that it had been arranged, she felt suddenly tongue tied. By allowing her new father to initiate a betrothal contract, she had clearly indicated her feelings for Severus and her commitment to wanting a permanent relationship with him. She did not know how he really felt at her cunning manipulation. She had gone through Lucius and had avoided forcing him into a confrontation. She hoped against hope that her Slytherin tactic did not backfire against her.

Severus was achingly aware of Hermione. He had done everything in his power to avoid being in her presence. He had thwarted her every attempt at apology and had watched as she had slowly become more and more inward-looking as their estrangement lengthened. He had also, he could admit it to himself, gratefully noted that she had not turned to any other boy in her disappointment. Indeed, he would, if pressed, almost be able to swear that she had regretted her harsh words almost as soon as she had said them out loud. Undeniably, when not in a state of abject misery, he could even rationalise that her illogical behaviour was the result of either the Dark Veela curse, her own inherent darkness that had emerged following the Battle or even some kind of lingering effect of his Veela allure. It was laughable given his reputation for sheer unpleasantness and unpalatability, but the very strength of people's dislike for him was a result of the force of his Veela taint. If he had not been a Dark Veela, he would most probably have had encountered plenty of cases of sensible people acting like village idiots in the presence of his Veela magnetism. He may not have been built in the mould of a conventional Veela, but when he had learned of his Veela ancestors, research had shown the physical traits he had inherited. If what Hermione felt was genuine affection for him, then the Dark Veela power would begin to lose its affect on the way she saw him. The Dark Veela curse would be muted, altered and transformed. Thankfully, he had also learned that in the face of true love, not only would the Dark Veela curse be broken, but so would the ordinarily encountered Veela charm. Love seemed to have the ability to render the beloved immune to all Veela manifestations, so that she would never be enthralled by him like others who saw nothing but his outer shell. The others would probably only see his restored Veela magnetism, but she, she would see him for the man, the wizard he truly was.

As Hermione and Severus stood stiffly together, the silence between them grew and stretched. Narcissa and Lucius soon realised that, despite Severus accepting Narcissa's felicitations, he had yet to acknowledge Hermione. Seeing the look on the younger woman's face, Narcissa slipped her arm through Lucius' and said, "Ah, Lucius, I must go and say hello to Andromeda. I've not spoken to her in days." With a knowing raising of her eyebrow at Hermione, the Slytherin drew her husband tactfully away.

Severus frowned at the retreating Malfoy couple. This wasn't the first time that they had deliberately manoeuvred Hermione and himself together. It was disconcerting for the master spy and manipulator to be so effectively handled. Standing alone with Hermione, Severus felt tongue-tied. He knew he had to say something, but he felt extremely discomfited.

Hermione, too, felt the weight of their long silence. But she was ultimately a Gryffindor. Tentatively, she said, "Hello, Severus." It was neutral, noncombatative.

Latching on to the general greeting, Severus politely inclined his head and said, "Hello, Hermione."

Silence reigned once more. Hermione was growing impatient. She did not have the Slytherin quality of being able to wait for something to happen. "This is ridiculous," she said finally in a huff. "We've never been unable to talk."

Severus' lips twitched. Hermione was so gloriously predictable. It was one of her most charming traits.

Seeing the slight softening of Severus' expression, Hermione swiftly pushed her advantage. "You were right. I was wrong. I apologise. Can we please be friends again? I've missed you."

Hermione's less than gracious, yet utterly earnest, apology brought a real smirk onto Severus' countenance. His eyes almost twinkling with mirth, he said, "Thank you for your gracious apology. It is always pleasurable to hear that I was right." Then, more seriously, he reached out to take her hand. Kissing her fingers tenderly, he said, "I've missed you too. Beyond reason, beyond anything I can properly express."

"Oh, Severus," murmured Hermione. She knew how much it must have cost the taciturn man to admit to his weakness for her. "I really want to talk to you properly," she said softly. "I want to feel your arms around me, to know really and truly that all is well between us."

Severus' eyes darkened further with passion. "And I want to hold you, Hermione. But you know how things stand. Once the betrothal contract is signed and our relationship is made more formal, we will be allowed greater freedom, but not till then."

Hermione nodded. "I know. I promise to be more rational about things. I don't know what's gotten into me. When I'm with you, all my thought processes seem to turn to mush."

Severus smirked. "I'm glad I'm not the only one suffering a loss of good sense," he said teasingly.

Hermione pouted. Immediately, she observed the further darkening of Severus' eyes. She realised that he was burning with passion for her. This urbane pretence at socialising was as difficult for him as it was for her. Taking strength in the palpable desire emanating from Severus, Hermione murmured softly, "At least you seem to outwardly demonstrate good sense. I've acted like a right fool on more than one occasion."

Severus gently placed her arm within his and indicated that they begin strolling around the room. Standing in one place was driving him to distraction. He needed to move to avoid doing something utterly foolish like picking her up and taking her swiftly to his bed chamber. Once they had begun to weave their way around the gathered guests, he said quietly, "Hermione, I've spent more than twenty years as a spy. If I can't manage to at least outwardly portray a demeanour of sense and reason, then I'd probably have died long ago."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I know. I'm sorry. I just can't think when I'm with you."

Severus chuckled, which raised the immediate attention of the group of people they were just passing which happened to hold Neville Longbottom and his grandmother. "I can't say that I am honestly unhappy. I like to know that I have some affect on you."

"Beast," said Hermione with a grin. She was over the moon that they seemed to have resumed their friendship. But she wanted to make sure though that he was not displeased with Lucius' proposal. "Severus," she said finally, "I know you'll tell me I'm being silly, but are you really okay with Lucius' initiation of the betrothal contract? I know you'd never have agreed to it if it was something you didn't feel was right, but I don't want you to agree because you feel pressured in any way. It just seemed, once Cissy explained to me what it entailed, that the contract was the best way to make you see that I wanted to be with you in the long-term and that I was serious in my feelings for you. It also seemed like the best way to force you to acknowledge me again, if it was only to have you yell at me."

Severus squeezed her hand that was on his arm. "Silly girl, indeed. Hermione, you know I would never have agreed if it was something I didn't want. It was one of the reasons why I was being so insistent on us not falling into bed. I wanted to do things right. The Snapes may have been working class louts, but my mother came from one the wizarding world's best families. The Princes have excellent connections. I wanted to honour you with a proper marriage proposal. One that I felt I would eventually deliver once you had done with your education."

"Oh, Severus," said Hermione, her eyes moist with tears of joy. "Thank you. I'm so glad you still want me."

"Foolish know-it-all," growled Severus. "Want you, woman? I want you so much that if we weren't in this damned castle, surrounded by these damned people, I'd say to hell with convention, custom and tradition and take you right this very minute."

Hermione turned so that her eyes met his heated gaze. As they looked into each others' eyes, all that needed to be said was said, silently. In that moment, no one and nothing mattered. They pledged their love for each other. The curse was not yet broken, but it was now merely a matter of time.

Somehow, that meeting of the eyes between Severus and herself did more than assure Hermione of their shared affection and passion. It also helped lift the fear she had not even known she had possessed of being truly alone in the world. It was not surprising really when she thought about it. She had always thought that she, Ron and Harry would stay together. But Ron's behaviour immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts really shook Hermione's confidence. She had buried it beneath her quest to clear Severus' name and in trying to come to grips with their altered world. But it had awakened in her an old fear, one that stemmed from being a mostly unwanted child and friendless goody-two-shoes from primary school. When Severus and the Malfoys had extended their support, she had not questioned their motives too closely. She didn't really care at that point what they wanted; she just wanted to belong. Now though, as she gazed into the eyes of the man she had come to love beyond all sense and reason, she realised that she would have to finally grow up. No longer could she just go with the flow. She could not let herself be pushed around and manipulated. Dumbledore had done it for most of her school years by controlling the information she possessed. If she was to prevent the Malfoys from doing the same thing, she would truthfully have to take charge of her own future and destiny. It shocked her how suddenly clarity seemed to dawn upon her with the confirmation that she was loved and wanted for herself alone.

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Ginny was so angry and disappointed with Harry's behaviour that she was shaking. She left him in the rose garden and stormed into the Great Hall. Going straight to her mother, she said furiously, "I don't know how that cow managed it, but she's done something to Harry, and he's broken up with me. It has to be her bloody influence. No one else has the ability to make him think things through, and no one hates me as much as she does. The bloody Slytherin whore."

Molly stared in shock and agony as Ginny finished her tirade. "Harry's broken up with you? Are you sure?"

Ginny was livid. "Of course I'm sure! He says he wants a quiet life. He wants to apparently at some point move to the country and make SOUP for Merlin's sake. I don't know what's going on, mum." Then, looking around the hall, she asked curiously, "Where's dad?"

Molly's face darkened even further. "I don't know what's gotten into people today," she said with a frown. "Your dad had the foolish notion to take Bill and Percy and go apologise to the Malfoys. When George saw them do it, he joined them. Only my dear Ron had the sense to stay with me. Everyone seems hell-bent on sucking up to the Slytherins. It is as if there's some geis in place to make people be nice to the Malfoys."

Ginny's eyes widened. "It wouldn't surprise me if they've cast a dark hex or enchantment. You know what they are like."

Molly, too, seemed stunned at her realisation. "We need to do something, Ginny. If you're father's under it, why Harry could be too. This would explain everything."

Ginny nodded. It would indeed explain what was going on. "Who should we tell? What should we do?" she asked excitedly. She was not known for her clear-sighted skills in planning but for immediate action.

Molly, too, was not by any stretch of the imagination a natural planner. "Minerva," she said at last. "We can't trust Kingsley, we know he's been spending time with them and with Andromeda."

Ginny frowned. She didn't particularly like her Head of House. But she could not deny that Professor McGonagall was an excellent witch. "I'm not sure, mum. I think Professor McGonagall might be tainted too. She's always been partial to the Slytherin whore."

Molly frowned. "I don't think the Malfoys have had the opportunity to speak to Minerva and do something to her. They could have slipped something past your dad at work, and the same could have been done to Percy and Bill. But Minerva's too sharp to have been hexed without her knowing it."

Ginny could not refute this claim. Nodding, she said, "Right, mum. We better go speak to Professor McGonagall."

Molly agreed. She collected Ron, who was locked in Lavender's arms, and walked swiftly up to Minerva, who was still seated behind the Head Table.

Minerva's eyebrows rose as she watched the approach of Molly, Ron and Ginny. Wondering what was going on, she immediately searched for Severus and Filius. She could feel the energy emanating off the three Weasleys. She needed backup. The war had taught her enough to realise not to take on a volatile force alone. Unfortunately, Severus was deep in conversation with Hermione. They seemed lost to the world, so deep was their concentration upon the other. Even as her lips twitched with suppressed joy at seeing them finally speaking to each other, her eyes scanned the room for another source of help. Filius was speaking to Kingsley, and even though Minerva tried valiantly to attract their attention, both seemed too engrossed to notice her subtle beckoning. With a sigh, Minerva tried to gather herself for the approaching storm. Help arrived, however, from an unexpected source.

Pomona Sprout and Poppy Pomfrey had been seated a couple of seats down from Minerva at the end of Head Table. They had been discussing the implications of the Weasley-Malfoy reunion when they heard Minerva's audible sigh. Seeing her steeling herself for the three Weasleys, whose approach was obvious, the two witches quickly realised that something was afoot. It would have been impossible, indeed, to miss the serious looks on the faces of the approaching trio. Not wasting a moment, the two women moved to sit on either side of Minerva.

Minerva started as she noticed the two women taking their places beside her. Turning to look at Pomona, she was stunned to see the Hufflepuff wink at her. A quick glance at Poppy confirmed to Minerva that she had found allies. Her eyes twinkling in gratitude, she allowed herself to relax ever so slightly. She was not alone. Whatever was about to occur would not have to be dealt with alone.

Molly, Ron and Ginny were so focused on their mission that they had not really noticed the looks they were getting as they made their way over to the Head Table. But, as they reached Minerva, they found Poppy and Pomona beside her. Ron and Ginny would perhaps have, if they were alone, desisted in their plans at that point. But Molly only found Minerva being with the two other witches a plus point. No way could she think that Pomona and Poppy would be partial to the Malfoys. Feeling that her mission would be all the more likely to succeed due to the presence of the two witches, Molly immediately spoke. "Minerva, I'm so glad to see you with Poppy and Pomona. Ginny's just made me realise that something strange is going on."

Minerva's face became instantly serious. With a frown, she asked, "Something strange? What have you noticed, Molly?"

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A/N: Love it or hate it, please let me know what you think.