Need to Know II

Need to Know

Minerva was a ridiculously easy mark. Just a modicum of subtle direction, and it was possible to discover nearly everything she knew about a subject— without her realizing that the information had been deliberately elicited. Gryffindors. Absolutely no sense of discretion, even when they knew they faced a Slytherin.

“Hermione was magnificent,” Minerva reminisced. “The child was everywhere— helping the wounded, organizing the chaos. She made an entire Auror squad stand down with a single glare.” Minerva’s expression, on a less dignified woman, would have been called a grin. “But then, Severus, she had an excellent teacher in that regard.”

Settling back in his chair, Severus made an idle connection between Minerva’s mention of the wounded and the ‘hospital’ headline he had seen, characteristically ignoring her amusment. To his surprise, the comment sobered Minerva thoroughly.

“Her visits weren’t entirely altruistic,” she said quietly. “She’d incurred more internal damage than we’d realized from Bellatrix’s curses.” Her lips thinned. “Hermione, poor child, needed quite a bit a healing and reversal done. I believe she would have gone in any case— goodness knows we were short-handed —but volunteering gave her a plausible reason in order to keep those bloody reporters from digging further.”

If there was one thing that Severus missed of Hogwarts, it was the miles of corridors that allowed him to pace with a certain sense of purpose as his mind untangled the snarls of his thoughts. The tiny house he'd moved into could only afford a charmed never-ending hallway.

Granger's memoir had severely downplayed her encounter with Bellatrix— understandable, but the idea… Severus was nearly physically ill to think of Hermione subjected to the extensive damage Bellatrix had been capable of. Perhaps… something… had triggered a relapse. Having hidden her treatment initially, doing so now would be easy— and logical.

_{AN: This was basically an addendum to the last section; 'new' stuff should be due out later tonight/tomorrow. I hope everyone's enjoying and, if you can, please drop a little token in the review box. Thank you!}