IX

"Poppy?" Hermione called as they entered the infirmary, though it was hardly necessary; Poppy emerged from her office in her usual prescient way even before Hermione had finished.

The matron came out, took one look at the situation, and scowled.

"What have you done to him?" she asked, checking over Lucius. She took over for Harry and floated him to the nearest bed.

"Nothing he didn't deserve, Poppy," Severus drawled as he sat up and Hermione cast the countercharm.

Poppy turned around, startled.

"Oh, Severus, I didn't see you there!" She stopped, scowling again. "And what have you been up to? Is this what you left your wife's bedside for, to go pick a fight? You..." She obviously wanted to say more, but pursed her lips together firmly, waved her wand and floated a protesting Severus to the bed next to Lucius'.

"Oh, don't even start complaining, young man!" she chastised. "You should have known better than to go out and pick a fight."

"Pick a fight? Poppy, he attacked Hermione! He was the one who picked a fight," Severus exclaimed, then straightened his shoulders into a less defensive pose. "Besides which, if Hermione's experience was any indication, Lucius needed to be rescued from that horrid room."

Hermione caught sight of Harry, who was watching the scene in fascination, though obviously amazed. To see Snape being chastised, and being defensive over it, was probably like revealing Voldemort to be a fan of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. It shattered some serious illusions.

Hermione was aware that Severus would not like to be seen like this, by Harry especially, so she covertly caught Harry's attention and motioned for him to join her in the hallway. He followed, though with another astonished backward glance at the arguing pair.

"She called him 'young man'!" he said with a slightly dazed look.

"Yes, well, he is younger than she is."

Harry looked at Hermione, bewildered. "It doesn't surprise you?"

"Er," Hermione stalled. "It's not that I'm not surprised; it's more that I think I know both of them better than you do."

Harry looked at her wide-eyed, shaking his head. "But it's... it's Snape!"

"Who has been Poppy's patient since he was a student. Do you think she'll ever stop calling you 'young man'?"

"Okay, but then why are you calling Madam Pomfrey 'Poppy'?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's, er, a long story, and I would tell you now, but I expect Ginny is anxiously awaiting news of your safety."

Harry nodded and made to leave, but before he turned, Hermione grabbed his arm. "Harry, please don't mention any of this to anyone, except Ginny, of course. I don't know Severus very well, but I have gathered that he's very prickly about his privacy."

Harry nodded, though looked slightly hurt. "I wasn't planning on it. I may not like him, but I'm not going to spread gossip about your husband."

"I figured you wouldn't, Harry. I just needed to be sure."

Harry nodded tersely, but shot her a grin. "Besides which, this is too precious a memory to spread about. It's like seeing Malfoy turned into a ferret." He then winked and ran off toward Gryffindor Tower.

Not knowing what to think, Hermione stood there for a few moments before silently reentering the ward. She was interested to see that Madam Pomfrey had finished her ministrations and Lucius had woken up. He and Snape were bickering quietly. She approached Severus' bed stealthily, though both men seemed to be so absorbed in their argument that she probably could have stomped in on a hippogriff and been unnoticed.

"How dare you!" She heard Severus hiss at Lucius once she had gotten within hearing range.

"I was merely following your example, Severus. After all, as your lovely wife so amiably pointed out, you are such a good man."

Hermione was intrigued to see where the argument was heading, so she conjured a comfortable chair and settled down, feeling only a few pinpricks of her conscience as she did so. She was in plain sight after all. She was still wondering whether she should interrupt, or at least let them know she was sitting there when Severus said, "I'm warning you, Lucius. Do not even mention Hermione."

"Tch, tch. So sensitive. I remember being that protective of Narcissa at one time," Lucius drawled with mock sentimentality. Hermione shivered and tightened her grip on Lucius' wand.

"You had no right to accost her like that."

"No right? I could just as easily say you had no right to accost my wife like you did."

Severus opened his mouth, but quickly shut it, an angry flush spreading over his face.

"So you don't deny it!" Lucius said, trying to sit up in his anger, but slouching back down painfully. "I can't believe I trusted you!" he gasped.

"I don't deny that trusting me was a foolish thing to do, Lucius, but you're more foolish than I thought if you believe that of Narcissa."

"Narcissa was weak, especially when it came to Draco," Lucius spat.

"My, my. And here I thought you two made such a lovely couple. But perhaps you had reason to suspect her being faithless? Maybe you identified with Laius for some reason?" Severus suggested nastily.

Lucius reared up, no longer even pretending to be calm.

"How dare you?" he hissed, even as he was gripping his side in pain. "How dare you suggest such filth!" he wheezed, still breathing hard.

"Now, now, Lucius," Severus replied with a nasty smirk, "there's no need for such dramatics. I was only voicing a rogue thought. I would never believe such 'filth' of Narcissa or Draco."

Hermione wondered whether she should intervene, as Lucius' face became a livid red as he stared at Severus hatefully. But just as she started raising her wand arm, Lucius calmed down.

"Is that how you justified it?"

Severus sighed in exasperation, bringing his fingers up to massage the bridge of his nose in a very familiar way. "Justify what, Lucius? If I am to defend myself against your dubious claims, I need to know what you've deluded yourself into thinking."

"But, Severus, old friend, if I tell you what I suspect, you might never reveal your other trespasses."

Snape nearly growled, but spoke in his nearly civil tone. "Did I betray the brotherhood? Yes. Your claims against me there are well justified, but that is not something I will ever apologize for. Did I lie to you about my role, betraying some foolish notion of friendship that goes beyond rationality? Again, the answer would be yes. I didn't trust you, Lucius. I never have. Did I take advantage of your absence to lure Draco away from your path? Yes. Again, I will not apologize for doing something his father should have done for him: secure his safety! If that had the side benefit of lessening the bond between the two of you, so much the better."

Lucius interrupted with another growl. "How can you possibly think rending a father and son bond can be a good thing?"

"Lucius, look at yourself then and now. You swore fealty to a madman intent on ridding our world of some of our brightest, which would result in us becoming a cesspool of inbreeding. The likelihood was that had Voldemort succeeded, we would have ended up little better than Muggles after only a few generations."

"You are more deluded than I suspected if you believe Mudbloods like your wife add anything to our world," Lucius interjected.

Hermione observed Severus closely, but saw he was smiling at Lucius pityingly.

"If your prejudice blinds you to logic, then so be it, old friend. You'll find your lack of reason is not going to be regarded highly without your fortune to back it up."

Lucius scowled at the Potions master, then turned away, looking decidedly sulky for a moment. Snape must have noticed because a feral grin crossed his face, though it was gone in an instant.

"Then, dear friend, you were in prison, which was the only thing saving your pathetic life from the wrath of your master. What kind of an example does that set for a boy? Do you really believe I was the driving force behind Draco's disgust in you? I think not. It was your foolish actions and delusions that started it. You raised him to be ridiculed, and when you were no longer there to tell him what to think and how to behave, and he finally had to think for himself, surprise, surprise, he found that your teachings were faulty. Your beliefs and behavior put him into the humiliating position of having to kowtow to Potter, of all people."

"The Dark Lord would have accepted him with open arms!" Lucius objected.

"Long enough to kill him!" Snape shot back. "Which brings us to your 'weak' wife." Snape smiled evilly. "Did I entertain your wife many a night in your absence? The answer is again, yes."

The effect was immediate. Lucius lunged out of bed more quickly than Hermione thought possible. She had raised her arm to bind him when he stopped moving very suddenly. Hermione noticed Severus discretely aiming his wand at the blond wizard, and with a quick flick of his wrist, Lucius was back on the bed.

"Now, now, Lucius. You asked, and you shall hear. Narcissa came over to my place many times, but not for the reasons you obviously assume. You should be ashamed of yourself to think that. She would never have been unfaithful to you... with me. You know as well as I do that Narcissa valued beauty very highly. That was the reason she married you after all."

Snape looked at Lucius lying immobile on his bed and smirked. Slowly, he got up and moved towards Lucius, careful to keep his wand trained on the blond.

"But she did come to me because she needed me." Snape let that statement hang in the air for a few moments. "She needed me to protect Draco in his father's absence. She needed me to help her evade capture. She needed me for fucking... errands."

Snape towered over Lucius threateningly. He was positioned so that both his and Lucius' faces weren't visible, but Hermione could guess at the derisive expression he must have been gracing Lucius with.

"As much as I thought you a fool to remain faithful to the Dark Lord, I still considered you my friend, Lucius. I took your son under my wing as requested by your wife. I made sure the Order kept an eye on Narcissa for her own safety. I even fetched her some of the more dubious herbs she requested, even though being caught with them on my person could have been quite troublesome.

"I never touched her, though. She was your wife."

Snape backed off and returned to his bed, never turning his back on Lucius. It was at that point he noticed Hermione for the first time. He subtly startled, but quickly graced her with a wry smile and motioned for her to come to him.

Not sure what to expect, Hermione dutifully rose and approached Severus who put a protective arm around her shoulder and smiled down at her. He then turned back to Lucius with a fierce expression.

"You were my friend, Lucius. Killing Narcissa was the beginning of the end, and don't even try to deny it," he added quickly when Lucius blinked angrily. "Before you visited her, she was finally on the mend. You killed her needlessly, Lucius." Lucius closed his eyes, pained, but Snape was merciless and continued.

"Any friendship we had was over the moment you threatened Hermione, and when you attacked her, you made me your enemy."

Hermione shivered at the intensity of his words and was a bit dismayed by the fear that was filling Lucius' eyes. She reminded herself to not push Snape too far.

Lucius wrenched his eyes away from Severus and focused on Hermione. She wasn't surprised that all the fear turned to anger as he locked eyes with her. She had caused him an awful lot of trouble, one way or another.

"SEVERUS!" a voice called angrily. Snape's shoulders hunched fractionally, and he turned around to face an appalled Poppy Pomfrey.

"You get back in bed this instant! You know as well as I do that any weight on your hip during the healing process risks deformity!"

Snape nodded and then used Hermione as a support as he slowly and painfully levered himself back into bed. Hermione hadn't been aware that he'd been in any pain as he confronted Lucius, but now saw his face was drawn from the exertion.

"Ms. Granger–" Poppy started, but Hermione held up her hand.

"I really wasn't aware of his injuries, Madam Pomfrey! If I had been, I would have forced him back to bed immediately!"

Poppy rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware of that. I was going to ask you to watch over your husband to make sure he doesn't do anything more foolish."

"Oh. Of course," Hermione said, thankful she wasn't going to get reamed out again. Once was enough for a lifetime.

"As for you," Poppy said, turning back to Severus with a very stern look on her face, "seeing as this is the third time you've been silly enough to disobey my strict orders today, you are hereby confined until I deem you healthy enough to leave!"

Snape paled slightly. "Poppy, be reasonable!"

"Reasonable, my arse! One more word of protest, and I will give you something to make sure you stay put!"

"But–"

True to her word, Poppy summoned a bottle from her stores, read the label, and forced it on Snape.

"Don't make me bind you," she growled as he tried evasive maneuvers.

He continued struggling until he saw Hermione watching. He immediately stopped resisting and opened his mouth, shooting Poppy a resentful glare. Once he'd swallowed the potion, Poppy smiled at him and patted his cheek.

"Now I can be sure you'll rest like a good boy."

If anything, Snape's look became more malevolent, and Hermione had to smother a grin. Then Snape's glare mellowed, and his frown softened. He looked around the room dazedly, and when his eyes rested on her, he smiled.

"Hermione!" he said, sounding almost happy. "I'm so happy to see you."

Hermione looked up at Poppy, who was now tending to Lucius.

"Erm, Poppy, what was that?"

"Hmm?" Poppy said as she looked up from Lucius to Hermione, then followed Hermione's worried gaze to Severus. "Oh, it's just a strong Calming Draught, dear. Don't worry; he'll be fine."

"But, er, did you have to give it to him?" Hermione asked, growing more worried by the moment as Severus started humming something that sounded suspiciously like "I've got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" while placidly looking at Hermione's breasts. "I doubt he would have gotten up again."

Poppy laughed, though not unkindly. "This is not the first time I've had to confine him to a bed in this manner, dear. I expect you're right about him not getting up again, but he wouldn't get any actual rest. He'd just sit there pouting and grousing for the entire night, draining himself further. With this potion he'll be able to rest and heal properly, so that in a few hours, he'll be fit to grouse for England!"

Hermione was shocked when Severus chuckled at the jibe. She looked at Severus again, who was gazing at her with unabashedly soft eyes. It gave her the collywobbles; that was not Severus.

"Er, well, I can see the why you'd want to give him the potion, but shouldn't he agree to it? Isn't it, er, unethical to force treatment on a patient?"

Poppy looked up, frowning. "Normally, yes, but Severus signed an agreement to allow me to tend to him as he required. It was a necessity of the war, you know."

Hermione bit her lip, frowning. "But the war is over. Shouldn't he be allowed to heal or not heal as he chooses?"

"Hermione," Severus said before Poppy could say anything else, "it's fine. I feel fine. It's a lovely feeling actually."

"Maybe it is the end of the world as we know it," Hermione muttered to herself and was startled again when Severus laughed rather loudly, then started singing the R.E.M. song off key.

Closing her eyes to adjust to this new reality, she opened them as she thought of how defenseless Severus was in this mellow state.

"Okay, Poppy, if he says it's fine, it's fine, but I'm not comfortable about Lucius being here with him when Severus is in such an... unguarded state."

Poppy looked between the two men and nodded crisply.

"Well, considering Mr. Malfoy will be in Auror custody very shortly, I suspect they will request he be dosed with a Calming Draught as well. If you'll watch these two, I'll go Floo the Ministry to see what they want done."

Hermione nodded, and Poppy went off.

"Why are you so worried, Hermione?" Severus asked sweetly.

"Because you aren't eliciting any fear in me right now."

Snape frowned slightly. "And that's bad?"

Sighing, Hermione turned to face Severus. "No, it's not bad under normal circumstances, but well, I don't like being around Lucius."

Severus "ahhed" and nodded knowingly. That reminded Hermione of something he said earlier.

"Severus, in the cavern you said something about me mentioning the tunnel, but I don't remember telling you about it."

"You didn't," he admitted freely, smiling. "I overheard your entire conversation with Pooter, er, Potter. I didn't really like it, truth be told."

"Didn't like what?"

"It really hurt when you said it was only thoughts of Potter that kept you going."

Hermione recoiled slightly, not expecting that admission. "I'm sorry, Severus. I..."

He waved his hand lazily, as if brushing flies away from his face. "I understand, Hermione. I really do. It's okay."

"No," Hermione replied, "it's not okay. But I don't know what to do to make it better."

"Oh, that's easy," Severus said, grinning. "You could love me."

Hermione's chest tightened painfully. Severus was looking at her so beseechingly, so innocently, that the request took her breath away.

"I'll try. I really will." She smiled at him hesitantly. "The thing is, right now, I'm very angry with you."

He looked genuinely concerned at that. "Why?"

"Well, this morning when I woke up, Theodore was watching over me, and well, we talked, and he told me about you warning him off."

A look of comprehension overtook Severus' features, then sorrow. He didn't say anything, though.

"Did you?"

"Did I what?" he asked carefully.

"Did you warn Theodore off?"

He looked upset, but he nodded. Hermione drew in a shaky breath.

"Why?"

"I didn't want to see either of you hurt."

"But..." Hermione was finding it difficult to talk as her throat started closing. She drew in another shaky breath before continuing. "Did you warn off Blaise Zabini and any others as well?"

Severus closed his eyes, a pained look on his face. He nodded minutely after a moment.

"Why?" she cried plaintively. "Why would you do that?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her intently.

"I dissuaded Blaise and the others because by then I realized my feelings for you. I knew it was the only way I had a chance to protect you like I'd promised."

Her hasty conclusions were right. She suddenly felt ill, so she forced that thought to the back of her mind. "But you didn't marry me just to uphold your promise."

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Still not sure about that, are you?"

Hermione looked away. "No, I'm sure. I can't see you chasing down Lucius wandless just to protect me." She offered him a half smile, which he returned with interest.

"I'd do it again, you know."

She nodded, keeping her head low to hide her face. She didn't know whether he meant he'd chase after Lucius again, or scare away her suitors again, but she was beginning to think it was unfair of her to question him while he was under the influence of this potion. It felt wrong.

Suddenly, she felt his hand under her chin, lifting her face up.

"What's bothering you?" he asked, wiping a stray tear off her cheek with his thumb. "Why are you so sad now?"

She tried to smile at him. "I just realized how unethical I'm being, questioning you when you're like this."

He smiled back. "It's what I'd do." He offered her a slow wink. "Besides, I'm not under any compulsion to answer. It wasn't Veritaserum Poppy gave me after all."

His hand was still on her cheek, and she involuntarily leaned into it, cherishing the warmth he was offering so freely.

Closing her eyes, she admitted very quietly, "If you were like this all the time, it would be easy to love you."

His hand stilled, and she squeezed her eyed closed further, not wanting to see his hurt expression.

"I'm sorry," she said, pulling away from him. "I shouldn't have said that." She looked around the room to keep herself from seeing him.

His hand covered hers gently, prompting a quick look at him in surprise. He didn't seem upset, as she'd expected, but mischievous.

"Well, when I'm being a particular pain in the arse, you could always drug me back into this lovable form," he suggested, a smile tugging on his lips.

She smiled, shaking her head at his audacity. She sniffled slightly and looked around for a tissue, finding one on the table between the beds. When she returned to his bedside, he looked pensive.

"What's the matter?"

He looked at her carefully. "Would you do something for me?"

"Depends. What do you want me to do?"

"Kiss me?"

Hermione was startled by the request, but her eyes immediately dropped to his lips. She licked hers unconsciously.

"Why?"

"To make up for the last one," he said, offering her a sad smile.

Remembering their last kiss, she frowned, not relishing the idea. But looking over at him, seeing his preternaturally soft eyes gazing at her so lovingly, she decided it was a good enough reason for her. She bowed down and pressed her lips to his. He kissed her back very tenderly, and she soon found herself lost in a spine-tingling kiss as their lips melded to each other's, softly exploring without delving too deep.

It was a very innocent kiss, though not exactly chaste. When she reluctantly parted from him to straighten her protesting back, she felt as if she wouldn't be able to walk straight. She opened her eyes and found Severus lying back, touching his lips with a very content look on his face.

When he opened his eyes, they were almost twinkling, and she was sure he was going to profess his love, but Poppy came round the curtains at that moment.

"Well, the Ministry has given me instruction to dose you, Mr. Malfoy." Poppy turned to address Hermione. "Ms. Granger, would you be so kind as to stand guard while I unbind him?"

Hermione nodded, standing up. She found she was right about the inability to walk, though concentrating seemed to make it easier. It was only a few steps to Lucius' side, and she aimed his own wand at him very carefully.

Poppy unbound him, and although he started glowering immediately, he didn't move otherwise. He even swallowed the potion without protest, glaring at Hermione the entire time. It took only seconds for the potion to activate, and soon his glare became more of an annoyed grimace.

As soon as that happened, Poppy backed up and cast a simple Confinement Charm, preventing Lucius from leaving the bed. She checked Snape over quickly and then nodded to Hermione with a wink.

"I'll be in my office. Call if you need anything, dears."

Hermione had the distinct impression Poppy had seen the kiss. For some reason that she preferred not to think about, Hermione was not bothered by that. She looked down in time to see Severus smiling up at her, relaxing back into the bed with a satisfied air.

She took the moment to observe him in the same way he was observing her and found she didn't mind his face at all. His nose was big, true. His hair was greasy as well, although with it short it simply looked like he'd added too much hair gel. She decided she really did like the new haircut; it accentuated his fine cheekbones, which really did frame his face nicely. And the best part was that when he decided to smile, like he was doing at the moment, he couldn't hide behind that curtain.

"You're smiling at me," Snape commented.

"Oh, well spotted, Severus. Has marriage really made you so mundane?" Lucius muttered under his breath, reminding Hermione a bit of Kreacher. Both Hermione and Severus chose to ignore Lucius.

"Am I?" she said, smiling a little more.

"Oh, please," Lucius grumbled.

"Yes." Severus paused a moment, his face growing serious. "Does this mean you've forgiven me?"

Hermione's eyebrow rose on its own, and she noticed Lucius perk up. "For what?"

"Hmm," he said, eyes narrowing dangerously, though his relaxed grin belied his mood. "Trying Slytherin tactics on for size, are you?"

Lucius snorted unbecomingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said innocently.

Lucius snorted again.

"Questioning me while I'm in a very pleasant frame of mind, sneaking around in plain sight, smiling beguilingly while I'm incapacitated, and then using my own techniques against me... I must say, my dear, you have learned from the best."

Lucius cut off Hermione's giggle by laughing derisively. Hermione shot him an irritated glare before turning back to Severus. "Well, it's good to know that no matter how relaxed you are, you're still terribly arrogant."

"What he is, is a lying son of a–" Lucius started, but Snape cut him off, admitting: "Oh, I'm a bastard as well; don't you doubt it. I just find you to be a... softening influence."

Hermione waited a beat for Lucius' interruption, but none was forthcoming.

"That's nice to know. Maybe I'll be able to tame the wild beast without drugging him first?"

Lucius snickered at the thought while Snape smiled at her, though it had an edge to it that made her shiver.

"Are you really sure you want to tame me, my dear?"

She shook her head. "No, but it might be nice if you weren't such a paranoid bastard all the time."

He clutched his heart in mock pain. "You slay me with your words, Madam."

Lucius made a gagging noise, losing all pretense of maturity.

Growing serious, Severus added, "So have you, or will you, forgive me for my latest misdemeanors?"

Hermione frowned. "I don't think I want to talk about that right now."

Snape's eyebrow rose. "Your Gryffindor nobility is preventing you from taking advantage of me?"

"No," Hermione said. "First, I'd rather not discuss it where we're going to be interrupted every few moments by Lucius' childish ploys, and secondly, I'd rather talk about it with the Severus whom I'm married to, not this wonderful, relaxed stranger."

Severus frowned. "It was only a Calming Draught, Hermione. This is me, just without the edge."

"Maybe so, but your edge is very sharp, and I've already been sliced a couple of times." Hermione paused, trying to think her words over carefully. She hated hurting this Severus; it felt ten times worse than hurting the normal Severus because it seemed as if he was such a nice guy. He didn't deserve the same caution and reticence the normal Snape did. "I'd rather duel upfront with all weapons visible than wait for a surprise attack."

Lucius looked from one to the other expectantly, gauging both their reactions, but was disappointed when Severus seemed to accept her case. He nodded silently before looking away, making Lucius choke in disbelief.

"What are you thinking, Severus?" he asked, outraged. "How can you lie there and idly accept this girl's terms? Where's your pride, man?"

Severus looked over at Lucius with a raised eyebrow.

"Pride?" he said, his voice on the verge of laughter. "You, who have been resorting to the tricks of a five-year-old, are questioning me about my pride?" He shook his head and turned back to Hermione, obviously amused.

"I was wondering something," he said to Hermione, ignoring Lucius' angry spluttering. "When we were in the kitchens, you seemed... I was under the impression that you were nervous. Why?"

Hermione fidgeted, torn between wanting to be honest and wanting to hide that little portion of her adventure from everyone.

"The house-elves probably scared her away," Lucius muttered snidely.

If Hermione could have controlled one thing in her body at that moment, it would have been her blood flow. She desperately didn't want to blush, but felt the uncomfortable heat covering her entire head nonetheless.

Lucius guffawed loudly, pointing at her. "I was right! See how red she's getting?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk, Malfoy!" she shot at him with a glare.

Severus raised his eyebrow in disbelief while Lucius just laughed harder.

"Come now, Lucius, you underestimate Hermione. It would take more than one house-elf to scare her. It would take an entire house-elf rebellion!"

Hermione fidgeted, blushing even more fiercely.

"There was a house-elf rebellion?" Snape asked, disbelievingly, though there was a hint of humor in his voice now. "The house-elves rebelled against you?"

Hermione avoided his eye and nodded, completely embarrassed. She was expecting another mocking statement, but what she heard was Snape's melodious laughter adding itself to Lucius'.

She looked at Snape, mortified.

"Well, at least you can claim success in your efforts for spew," he said between chuckles.

Hermione glared at him. "It is not spew! It is S.P.E.W., the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare!"

Lucius howled with laughter, nearly doubling up on his bed. "Spew!" he said, trying to catch his breath but failing. "And here I thought your wife was supposed to be smart, Snape!"

Snape's laughter increased, his body shaking with mirth. "She even made buttons with the word emblazoned across it!" he explained to Lucius.

Lucius did double up at that, tears leaking from his eyes. "That's..." he panted, trying to talk, "that's too perfect!"

Snape nodded in agreement, not even trying to talk. Hermione looked between the two, her anger building along with her mortification.

"What's going on, here?" Poppy asked accusingly from behind Hermione, causing Snape and Lucius' laughter to increase even further. That was the last straw for Hermione. She couldn't bear to hear Poppy's laughter added to theirs, so with one final hurt look at Severus, she turned and stormed out of the room.

---

Avery's notes: Laius was the father of Oedipus Rex.

Huge thanks to Southern for her awesome betaing skills! But, of course, any mistakes you see are purely my own.