Accident or Curse?

A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. As I will explain further in a future chapter, I was reworking the ending of the story in response to reviews at other sites, and I wanted to make sure this still worked with the revisions. Anyway, thanks to those who have reviewed – I'm so glad people have been enjoying this story. It has turned out to be a wonderful exercise in both discipline and creativity – I encourage other writers out there to try it!

As always, concepts and characters belong to JKR. If they were mine, my net worth would be in the black, rather than deep, deep in the red ...

Chapter 7: Accident or Curse?

On a Saturday afternoon in mid-October, Hermione was enjoying the unseasonably warm autumn sunshine. Harry and Ron had dragged her out to the Quidditch pitch, where the Gryffindor team was scrimmaging in anticipation of an upcoming match with Hufflepuff. She was theoretically watching the scrimmage, but really she was skimming the book she had brought along on common curses and hexes, trying to decide if it would be worth reading more carefully later for her independent study.

Unfortunately, Hermione was having difficulty concentrating, due to her worry about the Hogsmeade weekend that was scheduled for next week. According to Professor Snape, a great deal of discussion had been focused on whether she ought to go or not, with Snape certain that she ought to stay safe at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore equally adamant that she must go, in order to avoid tipping off Percy as to their suspicions.

Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about it. She obviously didn't want to get caught by Death Eaters, but she also didn't want to stop living her life. Ultimately, she would probably go, she thought, unless Snape talked Dumbledore around to his view. Perhaps they could set a trap for Percy ...

Hermione sighed. Percy would just be replaced by someone else – someone unknown – if they caught him.

Feeling relaxed and drowsy, Hermione put her book aside and idly watched the match as her mind continued to drift. Her experimental potion would be ready for testing tomorrow, so she and Professor Snape were to meet Hagrid at his hut tomorrow afternoon. After much persuasion from Dumbledore, he had agreed that they could test it on a variety of animals he would provide. Hermione had been on tenterhooks with nervous excitement all week, much to the amusement of her friends and professors.

Professor Snape in particular had been teasing her mercilessly about it every time she met with him for their usual work on her new project. They met three evenings each week after dinner, and Hermione found that when they were alone, they had continued to develop a friendship of sorts. Only when others were present did he treat her the way he always had before the summer.

Sometimes, Hermione quite forgot that he was still her professor, rather than a peer. So, when he had suggested on Wednesday that perhaps they ought to brew a Calming Draught for her instead of researching ingredients for their current project, she had told him to bugger off before remembering to whom she was speaking. She had blushed and stammered an apology, fearing that all the progress they had made would be wiped out – that he would kick her out and tell her never to return.

But he hadn't. Instead, after staring at her for several seconds, looking shocked, he had burst out laughing, sounding rusty at first. He kept laughing, though, and soon the mirthful sound was echoing through the lab. Hermione could only stare at him, which seemed only to keep him laughing; every time he started to bring himself under control, he would glance at her and laugh harder. Eventually, she began to get irritated and said, "It's not that funny."

He finally managed to gasp out, "Sorry, but it is ... Oh, the look on your face!"

Her irritation had reluctantly turned to amusement, and as she thought about it now, she realized that that was the moment when something had irrevocably shifted in the way she thought of him. No matter how nasty or sarcastic he was forced to be when other people were around, since then she could only see him as the laughing, teasing, attractive man he had been that evening.

She was finding it increasingly difficult to suppress her attraction to him, and she was slowly starting to hope he might be attracted to her, too. Sometimes she caught him looking at her, his eyes full of warmth, while they worked companionably on her project or on additional potions for Madam Pomfrey's stock.

Certainly, he must be very comfortable with her; if he hadn't been extremely relaxed, he would never have laughed like that. She wondered idly how frequently he laughed with other people, like McGonagall or Dumbledore, then dismissed the question as unanswerable. She suspected, however, that it wasn't very often.

In any event, she knew very well that any attraction between them mustn't be acknowledged – not so long as Hermione was still his student, or so long as he was still spying in Voldemort's camp. Sometimes she thought they had reached a tacit agreement to avoid mention of the subject for now, until such time as it was safe and proper for them to bring it out into the open.

Now, Hermione forced herself to put thoughts of Snape aside. She wasn't entirely sure her attraction was reciprocated, and while part of her was tempted to ask him, she knew no good could come of that in their current situation. Since her book clearly wasn't holding her interest, she decided to watch the scrimmage, just in time to see Ron block a shot by his sister, looking smug.

Suddenly, a rogue bludger caught the side of Ron's head, and he plunged toward the ground, broom tumbling after him. Hermione barely retained the presence of mind to cast a Cushioning Charm beneath him just before he hit the ground; then she hurried down toward where he had landed on the grass, calling his name anxiously. She dropped to her knees beside him and cast a warming charm, knowing that he was likely already going into shock. Then, she glanced up to see what was happening above her.

Katie Bell, who had apparently been about to toss the Quaffle to Demelza Robins, had gasped and stopped mid-toss. Coote and Peakes, the Beaters who had replaced Fred and George, looked on in horror, obviously unsure what to do. Ginny shouted at them, "Catch the damn Bludgers before they hit someone else!" Then she raced toward the castle, calling for someone to get Madam Pomfrey to come at once. Harry, who had been facing away from Ron when the accident had happened, didn't stop right away, seemingly not realizing what had happened until he heard Ginny's shouts as his hand was about to close around the Snitch. He caught it and hurried back to Hermione and Ron, whose eyes were now half-closed, strips of white eyeball all that were visible between his lids.

"Severus, I think you're worrying over nothing. Aurors will be all over Hogsmeade and she'll be with her friends, all of whom are well aware of the threat to her safety," Dumbledore said insistently.

Severus bit back a growl of frustration. Albus had persuaded him to discuss this in the course of a walk around the lake, since the day was so unexpectedly fine. Now, he stopped walking and stared at the Headmaster. "Why are you so determined to be optimistic about this? Why can't you see that the danger she'll be in if you're wrong is too great to warrant the risk?"

Whatever Albus might have said in response went unvoiced, as shouts from the direction of the Quidditch pitch reached their ears. Turning to see what had happened, Severus saw the Weasley girl racing on her broom toward the castle. They were too far away to hear what she was saying, but it was clear something was seriously wrong. By unspoken agreement, they tabled their discussion and hurried off in the direction from which Miss Weasley had just come. As they drew near, Severus saw the back of Hermione's unmistakable bushy head, and his heart skipped a beat before he realized that she was uninjured. Otherwise, she would have been lying on the ground with a crowd of people bending anxiously over her, rather than being among the number bending over the still form of someone Severus could not yet see.

"What happened?" Albus asked.

"Rogue bludger," Potter said. "Ginny's gone for Madam Pomfrey."

"We saw her," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure they'll be here shortly." He paused, then asked, "Was anything unusual happening?"

Potter narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore looked like he didn't want to worry them, but Severus thought they should be worried, so he said bluntly, "The Headmaster is concerned that the Bludgers may have been cursed."

The students gasped, and Severus might have been amused by the fact that they did so in unison were he not so concerned about Hermione, who was looking very upset. Part of him hoped, for her peace of mind, that this was a mere accident, but another part thought that a cursed Bludger might just be sufficient to convince Albus to keep her safe at Hogwarts next weekend, after all.

Madam Pomfrey arrived just as the fool Beaters were explaining that they just hadn't noticed that Weasley wasn't paying attention, and by the time they had, it had been too late to intercept the Bludger before it hit him. Thus, the Bludger probably wasn't cursed, after all – although Severus resolved to check it anyway. Who was to say that this wasn't a ploy to create a distraction that would permit someone to kidnap Hermione in the chaos?

Madam Pomfrey cast some quick stabilizing spells and then conjured a stretcher to transport Weasley to the hospital wing. The entire group followed her toward the castle, but Severus caught Hermione's eye, gesturing for her to hang back for a moment. "What happened?" he asked quietly. "Did you see any indication that the Bludger was cursed?"

She shook her head, looking pale and shaken. "No, but then, I wasn't paying close attention. Ron had just blocked Ginny's shot and was smirking at her when the Bludger hit him in the head and he fell. I cast a Cushioning Charm, but he was still unconscious when I got to him. Thank Merlin I happened to look up when I did. Otherwise, he would have landed really hard."

"All right," Severus said. They began walking together to the Hospital Wing.

After a bit, Severus said quietly, "It looks like the Headmaster is set on you going to Hogsmeade next weekend. I've had no luck talking him out of it. You must stay with your friends at all times, Hermione."

"I will," she promised.

"You still have the Portkey I gave you for Potter's birthday party?"

"Yes, of course," Hermione said. "I'm definitely planning to wear it."

"Good," he said. He paused, then glanced at her. "I would be seriously displeased if something untoward were to happen to you. Please be very, very careful." She glanced at him sideways. He said, "You look surprised. Did you think I wouldn't care?"

"No, it's not that," Hermione demurred. "You've demonstrated repeatedly that you will go to great lengths to prevent harm coming to one of your students, and I like to think that we've developed a friendlier relationship than you have with most of your students." He nodded once in acknowledgement. She continued, "It's ... I suppose I didn't expect you to be so forthcoming about the fact that you care."

He nodded again, then said, "If there's any chance it will convince you to be more cautious than you often have been in the past, it's worth speaking more plainly than I otherwise might."

Hermione smiled at him. "I promise to be extremely cautious, Professor, if only because there is a conversation I am hoping to have with you, once certain events have transpired."

Snape nodded in acknowledgement. "I shall look forward to it," he said softly, just as they reached the hospital wing, where he quickly took his leave, saying he thought her friends would be more comfortable if he didn't wait with them.

Quote from DH: "He caught it and hurried back to Hermione and Ron, whose eyes were now half-closed, strips of white eyeball all that were visible between his lids."