Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dolores sat in the Leaky Cauldron, sipping a pink Pomegranate Fizz. She looked down at the drink. It was the Wizarding equivalent of a Shirley Temple. It was made with pomegranate juice and cream. Aside from tea, it was her favorite beverage, being the one she always turned to when she wanted to celebrate. Today, she had much to celebrate.

Her musings were interrupted as her partner joined her. He ordered a Firewhiskey and smiled gloatingly after Tom had shuffled off to get his drink.

"Ah, Dolores, we have conquered!" he said haughtily.

Umbridge grinned, her teeth flashing a bit as she too gloated about their win. "He has finally been taken care of. He should have been thrown in Azkaban after the first war!"

Her partner shrugged. "It doesn't matter now. His new prison will make up for all the punishments he's escaped over the years. I suspect he'll be totally insane in a few months."

Tom came and placed the drink in front of Dolores' partner. He grasped it quickly and saluted her. Dolores, in turn, lifted her Pomegranate Fizz and clinked her glass against his.

"To a lifetime of misery for Snape," the man said.

"And an eternity of pain and torture!" Umbridge added before shooting back her drink. Her partner did the same. She straightened out and placed her glass back onto the table. "I want to thank you for your help. This truly was the perfect punishment."

The man smiled evilly. "Yes, it certainly was. The only unfortunate thing is that you don't have him in your possession."

Umbridge stared into her glass. "Yes, that would have made for a perfect day, wouldn't it? It seems that the Granger girl has some vendetta against him, though. Hopefully, he'll get his just rewards for being one of those despicable Death Eaters. I wish we could cast this spell on every one of them."

Her partner furrowed his brow, but Umbridge was still gazing into her glass and didn't see his look of consternation. "Indeed," he said finally as he rose. He lowered his head slightly in farewell. Umbridge looked up and smiled at him.

"Thank you, again, for your help," she said before he departed.

"You know how to contact me if there are any problems, right?" the man asked.

"You're simply an owl away, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's right. Simply an owl away." The man turned and left the pub, leaving Umbridge to smile into her glass as she thought of the horrors that awaited Severus Snape in his newfound existence.

A loud knock came at Hermione's door. She got up and answered it. Harry burst through the door.

"They did it, didn't they?" he asked in trepidation.

Hermione nodded her head and motioned toward a stiff Severus Snape, who was seated on her lounge chair. Harry ran up to him and crouched down so he could look into his face.

"Hermione, there's nothing left of him!"

Hermione came up to Harry. She frowned down at him. "I know," she replied. "I've never seen anything like it. I imagine he would look much the same if he'd been Kissed. I don't think there's much of a difference, do you?"

"No, I don't. Can he do anything?"

Hermione gave a quick nod. "He listens to commands. He can carry them out."

"What are we going to do, Hermione?"

"I was hoping you might have an answer."

"They used a spell, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Spells can be broken." He stood straight and pulled out his wand. "Finite Incantatem," he chanted. Nothing happened. "I figured that would be too easy, but at least we've ruled it out."

Hermione looked to Harry with trepidation. "What if his being is gone forever?" She began breathing heavily as she glanced at Severus. His body remained still, his eyes vacant, as he stared blankly at the wall.

"Oh, Merlin, what if he's simply gone, and we can do nothing to get him back?" she cried.

Harry's hands came up to Hermione's arms. He jostled her slightly so her attention would be drawn back to him.

"Hermione," he said softly. "There's a way. We'll find it. If a spell was cast, then it can be reversed. His spirit went somewhere. It will be able to reenter his body once we find the counter-curse."

Hermione looked deeply into Harry's eyes. She saw the reassurance in them and calmed herself. Her shoulders slumped, and she breathed a small sigh of relief.

"You're right, of course, Harry. It's just... it's just so hard to see him like this." She glanced back at Severus' immobile figure. It was as if he were a doll perched upon the couch. He hadn't moved a muscle nor had he hardly blinked. His stare was fixed and lifeless. If Hermione hadn't known better, she'd assume he was dead.

Hermione shook her head and tried to clear her mind. She pulled away from Harry and wandered over to her bookshelf. Her fingers traveled the books on the shelf until she found the one she was looking for and pulled it down. Breaking Spells was the title. "Maybe there's something in here we can start with."

Harry pulled another book off the shelf. Hermione gave him an odd look.

"Hey, you're not the only one who can do research, you know!"

Hermione smiled for the first time in hours. "You wouldn't have been able to tell that during our school years, Harry."

He grinned at her and settled himself on the couch to pore through the Potions book in his hand, hoping that maybe the spell could be counteracted with some sort of potion. Hermione settled next to him and began poring through the spell book.

They remained like that for hours. Hermione glanced up occasionally and frowned at Severus. He never moved. He hardly blinked. It was as if he wasn't really there, but he was. The whole situation was very eerie.

Finally, she slammed her book shut. She looked over at Harry.

"It's late, and I've come across nothing. I'm heading for bed. You can stay here, if you'd like."

"No, Ginny would worry." He closed his book and set it on the table in front of them. "I'll poke around the Ministry tomorrow. Did it seem to you that Umbridge was in control during the hearing?"

Hermione nodded. "She would say something, and Kingsley would mimic it."

"She wouldn't have Imperiused him, would she?" Harry asked.

"She would have had to do it to the entire Wizengamot. They were unanimous in their decision."

"Hmm... I think she's probably the place to start. Maybe we can find out exactly what spell was used on Snape, and go from there."

"That's a good idea, Harry. I'll search the Ministry library and see what I can find on breaking spells."

"All right. Good night, Hermione."

Harry glanced at Severus and frowned. He walked by him and let himself out of Hermione's flat. Hermione moved to Severus and stooped low so she could look at him.

"It's time for bed, Severus."

Severus made no move at all. Hermione stood and went into her spare room. With a wave of her wand, a bed appeared. She waved her wand again, and a chair morphed into a small dresser. She went to the doorway and called to Severus.

"Severus, get up and come over here, please."

Severus rose and jerkily walked to the spare room.

"You can sleep here, Severus. Go ahead and go to bed."

The man jerked his way to the bed, laid down, and stared up at the ceiling.

Hermione's heart constricted within her. She waved her wand, and his clothes transfigured themselves into pajamas. She wandered over to his side. Looking down at him, she studied his face once again. Empty... it was empty. She bent low and kissed him on the forehead. She pulled back and tenderly closed his eyes for him.

"Go to sleep, Severus," she whispered. Turning, she looked back at him once again. "Hopefully, we'll have some answers tomorrow."

She made her way out of the room, leaving a Hollow man marveling at the tender touch he'd received from the beautiful witch who was his caregiver.

A few days had passed before Harry had returned to Hermione's flat. In that time, Hermione had studied whatever books she could find on breaking spells. She had come up with ideas, but without knowing exactly what was cast, she would be unable to do anything to counteract the spell.

She'd taken a few days off from work, giving herself the time she'd needed to study. She had also taken that time to care for Severus. He really hadn't needed much care, actually. All he'd done was sit in a chair and stare at the wall. Hermione had prepared him meals, and he'd robotically eaten them. She'd fussed around him occasionally, trying to see if there was any Severus Snape within him, but she had always been disappointed. Sometimes, she would try to keep from looking at him, but her eyes had ultimately been drawn to him frequently. His vacant expression had clouded her dreams at night.

She sat next to him now. He was on the couch, staring straight ahead.

"Severus, look at me."

The man turned his head slowly until his vacant eyes were looking toward her. Hermione gasped involuntarily. It was a reaction she'd found herself doing a lot these past few days. His eyes were always so empty. No matter how she'd tried, she was unable to keep from reacting to the sheer emptiness in his face. Unbidden tears fell down her cheeks. Would she ever stop crying for this man?

"I didn't realize how hard this would be," she muttered to herself. "How I want you back and whole again!" Her hand came up, and she caressed his face.

At that moment, Harry decided to Floo through into her flat. He emerged from the fireplace and gave Hermione a curious look. Hermione withdrew her hand and placed it in her lap awkwardly.

"Umm," Harry said. He cleared his throat. "Am I interrupting?"

Hermione gave him a withering look. Harry chuckled. "You have to admit, that was a bit of an odd sight...you stroking Snape's cheek."

Hermione blushed furiously. Harry's eyebrows rose. "IS there something to tell, Hermione?"

"Harry, of course there isn't! Are you accusing me of taking advantage of a man who's lost his mental capacities?"

"No, Hermione. I know you would never do such a thing." He watched his friend curiously. "So, why were you doing that?"

She glanced at Severus and then back at Harry. "I feel so lost and helpless. I hate seeing him like this. Harry, I don't know how much longer I can watch him bumble around like a mindless drone."

"Are you sure this is just friendly concern?"

Hermione's eyes snapped to Harry's. "What are you implying?"

"Could your concern be more than just... concern?"

Hermione looked down and twisted her hands in her lap. "What would you say if I said that it was?" She glanced up and gave Harry a tremulous look.

"You're saying you have feelings for Snape?"

She sighed. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. It started almost immediately when I was working on his case. He's not what he used to be when we were kids." She looked at the empty shell that was once Severus Snape. "I find him intriguing."

"Does he find you to be equally... intriguing?"

Hermione scoffed. "I doubt it! He finds me to be a capable lawyer. That's as far as his feelings go... or went... however you want to categorize it."

"Hermione, why are you doing this? If he has no feelings for you, you're setting yourself up for disappointment, if and when we can restore his personality."

"No, I'm not. I know there's absolutely no chance for me with him. Harry, he needs me. I'm not going to abandon him just so my feelings don't grow."

"Can't you just keep yourself from becoming enamored, for lack of a better word?"

"I think it's too late for that," Hermione muttered.

"Be careful, okay? Snape's not the nicest guy when he feels cornered."

"Harry, I won't corner him. He'll never know. We'll get him back to himself, and he can go on with his life."

"We'll have to find Dumbledore first."

"How is that coming?"

"Nothing has come to light. I do have a plan with Umbridge, though. That's why I stopped by."

"Please, don't keep me waiting," Hermione retorted.

"I'm going to meet with her in place of Auror Duncan for their weekly review of arrests. I'll slip her some Veritaserum and question her about what happened. It will serve her right after all the Veritaserum she used on students during our fifth year."

Hermione smiled. "I think that should work. Come by as soon as you're done. I want to know what you learn."

"You'll be the first to know, believe me."