Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Harry knocked on Dolores Umbridge's door. A tray laden with two cups and a stack of papers balanced somewhat precariously on his arm as his fist tapped the open door. Umbridge looked up, and her eyebrows narrowed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Madam Umbridge. Auror Duncan sends his apologies. His daughter is sick so he cannot make your scheduled meeting. He sent me to review the arrests for the week with you."

Umbridge sighed. "Come in, then," she said curtly.

"I took the liberty to bring us up some tea. I hope that's all right?" Harry asked.

Umbridge looked from Harry to the tea. She smiled. " Darjeeling... my favorite! Thank you, Mister Potter. That was most... kind."

Harry set the tray on the desk and distributed the tea. He settled into the soft chair in front of Dolores' desk and passed a copy of the arrests to her. He sipped his tea, hoping to urge Umbridge to do the same. She followed suit, after sniffing at it curiously. Not finding any offensive odor, she downed the cup quickly. Harry began his report, keeping an eye on her, looking for the signs that the Veritaserum he'd slipped into her cup was working. Her eyes glazed over slightly after a few minutes.

"Madam Umbridge, what was your involvement in Snape's trial?"

"I controlled it, of course," she stated. Her eyes narrowed at Harry, but he didn't let her get a word in.

"What do you mean?"

"I slipped the Wizengamot a potion that made them susceptible to suggestion. I merely suggested that Snape be convicted and that the Hollowing Spell be used as his punishment."

Harry's lips thinned. "How does the spell work?"

"It binds the person's magic and personality so the person becomes a shell of himself."

"Where does the magic and personality go?"

"They are trapped in the inner recesses of the brain." Umbridge fidgeted a bit at the information that was spewing out of her mouth, but she had no choice but to comply.

Harry's eyebrows rose. "So, Snape is still there, he just can't do anything?"

"That's right."

"Is he aware of his surroundings and what's happening around him?"

Umbridge grinned evilly. "That's the beauty of the punishment. He is fully aware and can feel whatever happens to his body. He just can't react! No one knows he's cognizant. It's like solitary confinement for eternity!"

"What spell did you use?"

"I didn't use any spell. I wasn't the caster. My partner was."

"Who is your partner?"

"I don't know. He always comes in disguise. He told me of the spell and gave me the potion to use on the Wizengamot."

"What spell did he use?"

Umbridge fought not to answer. Unfortunately, the Veritaserum was her enemy. "He said Inservio before casting the spell."

"How did he move his wand?"

Umbridge removed her wand and made a back and forth swishing movement.

Harry thought for a moment. He decided that he'd found out all he could. Quickly, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at Umbridge. "Obliviate!" he chanted.

Umbridge blinked. Harry gave her a quizzical look as he hid his wand away again. "Madam Umbridge? You seemed to be far away for a moment."

Dolores blinked and looked at Harry. "I'm s... sorry," she stuttered. "I seem to have drifted off. What were you saying?"

Harry pointed to his paper. "We apprehended the vagrant wizard who was living behind the Diagon Alley Café. His hearing will be tomorrow."

"Oh, thank Merlin! He was such a nuisance!" Umbridge uttered.

The two went through the rest of the report, and Harry soon was on his way, carrying his laced tea with him, a smirk gracing his face.

Hermione lifted the spoon and fed Severus a mouthful of soup. It was simply easier for her to feed him herself when dealing with a messy food like soup. He was constantly missing his mouth and spilling all over himself when he did it on his own. This way, food actually got into the specter of a man.

A knock on the door caused her to frown. She rose and went to answer it. She looked a bit surprised to see Harry so soon after their conversation the other night.

"You've done it already?" she asked as Harry moved past her and into the room.

"It was quite easy, Hermione. She's a glutton for Darjeeling tea. She drank it down almost immediately. She did sniff at it, but as the Veritaserum is odorless, she didn't suspect anything."

Hermione pulled him to the sofa and sat down. "What did you find out?"

Harry explained the entire conversation to Hermione, highlighting the fact that Umbridge had controlled the Wizengamot and was working with someone unknown. He craned his head and looked over at Snape, who was seated at the table, staring blankly ahead.

"No change in him?" he asked Hermione.

"Of course not." Hermione looked to Severus sadly. "It just breaks my heart to see him like this."

"Hopefully, he won't have to be this way much longer. Umbridge told me the spell."

"What is it?"

"She said the man who put the spell on Snape moved his wand like this." He paused to show her the movements. "Then he chanted Inservio."

"Inservio," Hermione repeated. That means to enslave." She thought for a moment. "Did she tell you exactly what the spell did?"

Harry explained all that Umbridge had divulged about her partner and his spell. He told her how Severus was trapped within himself. Hermione rose and went over to the stiff man sitting at the table.

"So, he's in there, he just can't communicate?" she asked as she peered into Severus' face.

"There's more," Harry continued. "He can hear everything that goes on around him, and he can feel anything that happens to his body."

Hermione frowned. "You mean he can hear us right now?"

"Yes, he just can't respond back. Umbridge said it was like a solitary-confinement type of punishment."

Hermione stared at Severus. "You can hear me?" she muttered. "Oh, Severus, we'll get you back, I promise!"

He was still empty, but the realization that he might be able to hear her whether he showed any emotion or not, calmed Hermione and gave her some hope. Straightening, she went back to Harry. She sat back down on the sofa and folded her arms in front of her. Suddenly, her eyes went wide. She looked at Harry as if the world were about to end.

"I thought you'd catch on rather quickly," Harry mused.

Hermione stood and grabbed Harry. She dragged him to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Casting a Muffliato spell, she turned quickly back to him.

"Oh, what am I going to do? He heard every word the other night! He knows I care about him."

"Hermione, it's all right. Everything will be all right."

"Harry, no, it won't! This is Severus Snape we're talking about. He'll be... angry. He'll belittle me and call me a fool!"

"Hermione, you don't know that. Maybe he'll be flattered."

Hermione wrung her hands together nervously. "Flattered? Severus Snape might be flattered? Have you lost your head? He'll frown and call me a silly, little girl with silly, little fantasies. What have I done? I've ruined a friendship that was just beginning!"

Harry reached out and grasped her shoulders. "You need to get a hold of yourself. We need to reverse this spell and then you can go hide under a rock as far as I'm concerned."

Hermione furrowed her brow in thought before snapping her head up and holding it high. "You're right, of course, Harry. We have to concentrate on reversing the spell. Show me the wand movements again."

Hermione turned off her emotions and became serious. She was all business as they picked apart the wand movements.

"All right, let's look at some of the books I've found. They're out in the front room."

She removed the Muffliato and went back into the room. She stopped dead when she saw Severus. He hadn't moved, still facing the same wall, still with a blank look on his face, but everything changed for her. Her eyes widened, and she seemed to turn in on herself. A friendly hand touched her shoulder reassuringly.

"Hermione, focus please. Everything will be all right."

Hermione gave her head a little shake and went over to the table. She grabbed a book and sat down across from where Severus was. Harry picked up another book and sat next to her. The two friends flipped through page after page, working at a furious pace, scanning the pages quickly and turning to the next. Hermione found nothing in the book she was studying that could help, so she exchanged it for the next book in the pile. This went on as they searched every book on the table. Finally, in the second to last tome, Hermione pointed at the page she was scanning.

"There," she said, showing the book to Harry.

"Mind Altering Spells," he read as he looked at the top of the page.

Hermione explained what she'd found. "This spell is the basis for reversing Mind Altering Spells. Since Severus' mind is still intact, we can start here and adjust the spell to pull his mind back to where it ought to be."

"You're not just going to shoot spells at him until he's cured, are you?"

Hermione looked at Harry as if he'd lost his head. "Harry, we need to do more research before we'll be ready to do anything. In any case, we can't cast the spell on Severus right away. We'll need to experiment with some test subjects."

"What kind of test subjects?" Harry asked.

"Mice will work," she replied. "I'll pick some up tomorrow. We'll have to cast the Inservio Spell on them first and then try to cure them. Hopefully, it won't take too many trials before we find a combination that will restore Severus' being to him."

"What can I do?" Harry asked.

"Give me a couple of days to experiment. When I've come up with a spell, I'll have you join me and learn it."

"You want me to perform the spell."

Hermione glanced at Severus. "I think that would be best."

Harry gave Hermione a concerned look. "Whatever you say," he said finally. He then stood. "I'll leave you to your research, then."

"You don't have to go, Harry."

"Oh, yes, I do," Harry said with a laugh. "Ginny will be upset if I spend too much time away from her. I came right over after work, and she'll want me to be home soon."

"She has you so wrapped around her finger!" Hermione joked.

"It's exactly where I want to be."

Hermione smiled at him. She rose and walked him to the door. Closing it behind his retreating form, she leaned against it and sighed. She longed for someone to feel that way about her. Glancing back at Severus, she frowned. If only it could be him!

Wandering back to the table, she told Severus to get up and get ready for bed. He jerkily rose, then walked into the bedroom and lay down on the bed. As she'd done every night, she transformed his clothes into pajamas. A clean set of clothing sat on the dresser, awaiting the morning.

Hermione sighed and her shoulders sagged. She meandered to the bed and sat on the side of it, looking down at Severus. His eyes stared up at the ceiling and never wavered from their position. His face registered nothing.

She took his hand in hers. "Harry says you can feel this," she said as she rubbed his hand with her thumb. "I know I'm not your favorite person, but I thought you might like some physical contact."

She continued to rub circles on his hand and stared at him. Quite a while passed before she mustered up the courage to say what she wanted to say to him.

"Severus, I'm sorry. I didn't know you could hear me when I spoke about my feelings for you. I've enjoyed our small amount of time together and was hoping to consider you a friend. I suppose I've mucked that up now. I hope you aren't too angry with me.

"I promise, Severus, I won't breathe another word of this out loud. I wasn't intending to tell you, and I won't bring it up. I'll keep my distance from you and give you your space. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

The man lay motionless on the bed. Nothing moved. His eyes remained glued to the ceiling. Hopelessness filled Hermione. Even if they succeeded, could he ever be the same? Her eyes closed, and her head dropped slowly.

This just isn't fair. No one should have such a punishment placed upon them. It's evil.

Her head came back up as she opened her eyes. She reached over and closed Severus' eyelids, so he could get some sleep.

"I'm going to work on the counter-spell now, Severus. Hopefully, this nightmare will be over soon."

She'd kissed his forehead every night before this. She debated whether she should do it again.

Of course you shouldn't do it again. Not with everything you know now.

Still, the debate raged within her. What would it hurt?

I've already done the damage to our relationship. A few more kisses on the forehead in the next couple of days will not make his rage any worse.

With her decision made, she bent low and placed her lips on his forehead. She kissed him quickly, rose from the bed, and left the room. Knowing that he could feel her when she kissed him made her insides flutter. Could it ever be possible that he would enjoy such a show of affection from her?

Now you're really in fantasyland, Hermione. How could he ever think of you as more than the little know-it-all that he used to teach? Don't get trapped in possibilities that will never be possible. He doesn't see you that way and never will.

She went back to her book and buried herself in it, spending the rest of the night making notes on possible spell variations.