BrenaMarie – Asteroid Beater

Five days had passed since Hermione and Severus had been attacked in London. The Auror department had submitted even more reports of evidence that had been gathered from the lineament. As Hermione shifted through the myriad of papers and charts on her kitchen table, she groaned in frustration.

"We've got seventeen days left, and we're not any closer to tracking this madman!"

I feel like I should be out there, doing something. Sitting here, buried under paperwork, is not getting us any closer to this idiot. Why now, anyway? We've had ten Dark Lord-free years. Isn't it obvious that things are better without him around?

At that moment her new kitten, Tigger, mewled at her from the floor.

"Oh, you are adorable, come here."

She bent over, placed him in her lap, and began to stroke his soft fur.

Tigger decided at that moment that Hermione's case notes would make the perfect toy and began batting at the loose pages. He then put his two front paws up on the table. When she reached over to move her rambunctious kitten from the table, Hermione focused on the page Tigger's paw rested on.

A large section of land had been apparently dedicated to the growing of Mother of Thyme...

"Mother of Thyme... bloody hell!"

Hermione nearly tripped over her cat as she ran to the fireplace.

Severus Snape sat in his office at Hogwarts. Instead of working on the piles of assignments that needed marking, he had Granger's research organized in stacks in front of him. Potion ingredients, charts, Auror reports, he had sifted through all the material meticulously.

He pulled out the parchment that had the poem on it and read through it once again.

"This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever!" he growled as he flung the offending parchment to the side.

Next, he pulled out the chart of ingredients she had created and gave it another good look.

"All together these items create nothing," he muttered aloud.

"But what if some of these ingredients aren't even supposed to be counted?"

He picked up his quill and started scribbling all over Hermione's chart.

"There, now that makes sense," he said as he gazed down at his work.

"SEVERUS!"

Severus looked over to his fireplace to see Hermione's head floating in the flames.

"Damn, woman, I'm right here! You've no need to scream as though you're being murdered."

"Sorry," Hermione said, slightly chastened. "I just noticed something disturbing on one of the latest reports. Can you come through?"

I was finally getting somewhere! This better be good.

He quickly snatched up the ingredient chart and looked over to the fireplace.

"Move. I'm coming through."

"Now, what was so important that you insisted on interrupting me?"

"Honestly, Severus, there's a psychopath on the loose trying to resurrect the Dark Lord, and you're worried about your free time. We should be working on this together anyway!"

"I agree. We probably should be working on this in the same place," Severus said sincerely. He had no desire to continue arguing with the witch.

"Let's sit down. I've actually just found something interesting also," he continued

Once they were seated at the table, Severus reached into his pocket and pulled out the ingredient chart he had been working on.

"Look," he said while pointing at the crossed out items. "I don't think he's using these ingredients at all. There is a possibility that he planted them to mix us up, or he's stocking his ingredient closet." He pointed to several items on the list. "Either way, if we focus on these, I'm sure that they would make an extremely potent base for a resurrection potion."

"Severus, this is great work. Do you think he's missing anything else?"

Severus looked up from the chart and noticed the warm, encouraging smile she was sending his way and felt momentarily distracted.

How does she have the ability to completely hypnotize me like this?

Coming back to himself, he answered, "Belladonna."

"Which would aid in easing the cross-dimensional delirium, of course! Why do you think he hasn't harvested it yet?"

"I haven't gotten that far yet, actually. I'm thinking I might need access to the dark texts kept in your department. Would it be possible to get me in there?"

"We'll have to go see my supervisor; he gave me permission to bring you in on this case in the first place. I don't see why he wouldn't give you the credentials to get in, but we've got to ask. Before we go though, let me show you what I found." She handed him the report from earlier.

"Mother of Thyme? Doesn't St. Mungo's use that in the morgue?"

"Exactly! That's the main ingredient in the stasis potion they use for the bodies."

Hermione watched as Severus paled as he stared at the report.

"Severus?"

"Where's his body, Hermione? What did the Ministry do with it?"

"Last I heard, it was kept in a heavily warded area in the bowels of the Ministry. I've been told only the Minister knows how to get to it."

"We need to go talk to Kingsley then. We've got to make sure this maniac doesn't have the body already!"

Before Hermione could say another word, Severus was already stalking towards her fireplace.

Hermione stormed out of Kingsley's office, leaving Severus to wrap up their visit.

I can't believe him! We're trying to catch a psycho who wants to resurrect the Dark Lord, and he's treating this like we're inspecting cauldron bottoms! We only want to know if the body is still here and safe! He only needs to take a few precious minutes to just go check!

In an attempt to find composure, she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes. Because of this, she didn't see the one person approaching who she least wanted to speak with.

"Hey, Granger, you're looking good, as usual," Michael Corner said in his usual suggestive way.

Damn it, I don't want to deal with this slime-ball right now.

"What do you want, Corner?"

"I noticed you come in earlier with the great bat. How about you ditch him and come have a drink with me?" he said while staring at her chest.

"How many times do I need to tell you, Corner? I wouldn't be caught dead having drinks with you. Now leave me alone."

"Oooooh, I love it when you get feisty."

Corner reached out to put his hand on her arm, but it was caught in mid-air.

"Mr. Corner, it may have escaped your notice, so allow me to enlighten you. Hermione is obviously not interested in going out with you tonight or any night for that matter. I suggest you stay away from her, if you value your health."

"Oh, yeah, Snape? What would you know about Hermione's interests?"

"Would you like to try me, Corner?"

In that moment Michael Corner's sense of self-preservation kicked in as he realized exactly whom he was dealing with. He promptly snatched his arm back and walked away without another word.

Wow, I can't believe he just did that. I could have handled dunderheaded Corner on my own, but it was lovely to watch him take care of it. It almost looked like he was jealous.

"Hermione, I..."

"Thank you, Severus. You have no idea how long that idiot has been harassing me. Come on; let's go see Head Unspeakable Croaker."

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice, sir. I know you're very busy right now," Hermione said as she sat in her supervisor's office.

"It's not a problem at all, Hermione. Now, what can I do for you two?"

Hermione glanced over at Severus, and he motioned for her to continue.

"After sorting through the evidence, Severus may have discovered a lead. We were wondering if you might be able to grant him access to the Dark Arts library downstairs."

Hermione watched her supervisor appraise her partner and then turn his attention back to her.

"A lead, you say? And what would be the nature of this lead?"

"Well, sir, Severus believes that the perpetrator might be looking to harvest Belladonna next. We would like to do further research with the dark texts on potions that may use these ingredients as a base."

Hermione pulled the list out of her pocket and handed it to Croaker.

"This is a very interesting discovery, Professor. What I would like to know is, how would finding the text lead us to the perpetrator?"

"If I can get a reasonable facsimile of the recipe being used, I'll be able to create a potion to counteract it. So, even if you arrive to the site too late, the Dark Lord would only need to be doused in it to cancel the process."

"Very well. This evidence is sufficient grounds for me to grant you access. Hermione, you'll need to stay with him though."

Hermione looked over to Severus and smiled. Turning back to her supervisor, she simply said, "That shouldn't be a problem, sir."

Feeling accomplished, Hermione and Severus exited the office. They might not have been in such good spirits if they had known Croaker's office was "bugged."

An incarnadine potion sat bubbling away in a dimly lit laboratory while its creator stood nearby. Pleased with his progress thus far, he began to speak to himself.

"Everything is moving along according to plan. Granger has been as studious as ever, just as I had hoped. I love watching her agonize over every little detail that I've planted. She'll be chasing leads into next year at the rate she's going. Plus having her working this case has given me perfect access to the one I need to complete this potion."

He began to chuckle at his ingenious plan. He then retrieved his blade in order to prepare the valerian roots for addition to the potion. As he sliced, his thoughts drifted to the one its creation was for.

"I can't wait until you return to us. The wizarding world, and the Ministry especially, will return to greatness when your influence is present once again. Those fools, they're trying to stop me, but once they see you, they'll realize it was for the best."

He added the valerian root to the potion and began stirring for the required amount of time. When he completed the requirements of the current stage, he removed the stirring rod and reverently placed it next to the cauldron.

He turned away from the workbench to gaze upon the well-preserved body of his mentor.

"In seventeen days, you will return... and I will be the one standing by your side."

A/N: Prompt words for week 3: Incarnadine, Assiduous, Inure, Sartorial, Laboratory, Mother & Hogwarts. Words used: Incarnadine, Laboratory, Mother & Hogwarts. This chapter is complete at 1,863 words.

I need to give major hugs to debjunk for the beta work & constant cheerleading. Thanks, Honey!

Up next for this team: Elizabeth, Moon Chaser!

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