Two

Many thanks to my wonderful beta melusin and my lovely alpha readers chivalric and savine_snape.

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.

~Terry Pratchett

~~~^~~~

The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.

~Terry Pratchett

~~~^~~~

'Mr Snape will do,' Snape said.

'Mr Snape, then. Please have a seat,' Hermione pointed to the visitor's chair in front of her desk before she sat down herself. 'Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?'

'No, thank you.'

'So... How can I help you, Mr Snape?' Hermione peered more closely at the man she'd only seen briefly during the last thirteen years. It had to be said that he looked a lot better now than when she'd been at school. He was still lean, and his features were still prominent, but he had lost that gaunt, haunted appearance.

Snape cast a look around the room. 'I trust our conversation will remain private?'

'Granger and Patil takes all necessary measures to ensure client, or potential client, confidentiality,' Hermione replied.

'Hm,' said Snape. He had his wand out in a flash and cast Muffliato before he continued, 'I hear you might be representing Lucius Malfoy.'

Ah. That answered the question who he'd been to see in Azkaban earlier today.

'Word travels fast, it seems,' Hermione said.

'So it seems. Any truth in the rumour?' He leant back in his seat, seemingly completely at ease.

'There might be,' Hermione conceded. 'However, I'm not at liberty to discuss the case with you. Besides, why are you here?'

Snape looked vaguely uncomfortable. 'I'm not asking you to discuss confidential details, but Lucius deserves better than to be condemned for something he didn't do.'

'What makes you so sure he didn't do it?' Hermione leant forward.

'Do you think he's guilty?' Snape asked in return.

Hermione weighed her words carefully. 'Do I think he's capable of locating an obscure curse and using it? Absolutely. Do I think he would try to get rid of someone he doesn't like? Certainly. But I very much doubt that he'd be stupid or careless enough to leave his wand lying around after the event.'

Snape nodded. 'Exactly. Lucius is a good many things, but stupid isn't one of them. And surely you wouldn't want an innocent man rotting away in Azkaban, would you?'

Hermione nearly snorted. 'I'm not sure "innocent" is a word I'd ever use in connection with Lucius Malfoy.' She paused. 'But you can stop trying to appeal to my better nature and sense of justice. I did agree to represent him.'

Snape looked relieved. 'Good, then get him out of Azkaban. It's destroying him.'

Hermione's eyes narrowed. 'Excuse me, did you just tell me what to do?'

'I was merely making a suggestion,' Snape answered smoothly.

'Uh-huh,' said Hermione.

Snape continued, '...implying that it would be beneficial to the health and general well-being of your client if he was released on bail.'

'Hm.' Hermione wasn't convinced. 'You still haven't told me what your interest is in all of this.'

'I have my reasons,' said Snape.

It had been a long day, and Hermione felt tiredness creeping through her body. 'Why are you here, then?'

'So far, the evidence against Lucius is merely circumstantial. However...and please understand that I'm only presenting my own reasoning, not telling you how to proceed...given the current political climate, you will have to actually prove that Lucius is innocent in order to win this case.' Snape looked appraisingly at Hermione.

She nodded, having come to the same conclusion on the return boat from Azkaban. 'What exactly are you suggesting?'

'We need to find out exactly which curse was used and by whom. I'm offering you my not inconsiderable knowledge of the Dark Arts. Besides, I can go to places you can't.'

'Basically, you're suggesting we team up and snoop around a bit.' Hermione smiled.

'That's one way of putting it, yes.' Snape's mouth curled up in what almost looked like a smile.

Hermione suddenly wanted to see him smile more often. He'd never be called handsome, but there was something about him that made him appear very attractive, she realised with a bit of surprise. She quickly directed her attention back to the matter at hand. 'I suppose I could do with some assistance. Thank you, Mr Snape.'

'You're welcome. And you may call me Severus.'

'Right, Severus.' Hermione liked the sound of that. 'Then, it's Hermione to you. Any suggestions where to start?'

'Yes, by finding the exact curse that was used.'

'I thought St Mungo's had already consulted some Dark Arts experts?'

Severus sneered. 'Some experts indeed. I have other sources. Let me do some investigating, and I'll get back to you.'

'That sounds good. I'll wait to hear from you, then.'

Severus rose to leave. 'I'll see you soon, Hermione.'

'I'll look forward to it,' Hermione said and found that she actually meant it.

~~~^~~~

After she'd left a note for her secretary to file an application to get Lucius out of prison on bail, Hermione finally went home, walking through the crisp evening rather than using the Floo or Apparate. She took several deep breaths of fresh air or what passed for fresh air in London and felt a bit more awake again.

When she opened the door to Grimmauld Place, a delicious smell was wafting upward from the kitchen. She dropped her briefcase and cloak in the corridor and went to investigate. Harry was standing at the stove, stirring something in a saucepan. With a jolt, Hermione realised that he had said he'd be back today.

She greeted him with a hug. 'How was the Algarve?'

'Brilliant.' Harry grinned. 'Best training camp we've ever had. We're so going to win the league this year.'

'You'd better. I don't fancy losing ten Galleons to Padma again after the Tornados beat you in your last game.'

'Not going to happen. This year, the cup will have the Magpies' name on it. I'm making spag bol. Want some?'

'You're a life-saver. I'm starving.' Hermione sniffed in the direction of the saucepan. 'Smells good. Just let me change into something more comfortable.'

~~~^~~~

When she came back downstairs, a glass of wine was already waiting for her. She took a sip. 'Very nice.'

'I brought it back from Portugal.'

After Hermione had put plates and cutlery on the table, they settled down to eat.

'Delicious,' she said between two mouthfuls of pasta only to find Harry regarding her.

'You look like shit warmed over,' he said.

'Thanks. You really know how to make a girl feel special.'

'My pleasure. But seriously. Is everything all right?' he asked, pouring her some more wine.

'Yeah. Just a long day. And I've got a new client.' Hermione drained her glass and held it out for Harry to refill.

'Anyone we know?' Harry asked.

'Lucius Malfoy.' Hermione waited for the news to sink in.

Harry had been about to send the dishes over to the sink, but his wand stopped in mid-motion, causing their plates to shatter on the floor. He stared at her. 'You're having me on,' he finally said.

Hermione waved her own wand twice. The dishes reassembled themselves and then floated over to the sink. 'No.'

'But he must have loads of solicitors to handle his affairs. What does he need you for?' Harry kept looking at her as though she'd just announced that she'd never read a book again.

Hermione Accioed yesterday's Daily Prophet from the stack of used paper next to the bin. She folded it so that the headline was clearly visible and pushed it towards Harry. His face clouded over while he read. Hermione watched him calmly and waited for the explosion that was bound to follow.

'How can you even think of taking this case,' Harry shouted, throwing the paper down. He jumped up and starting pacing across the kitchen, raking his fingers through his already untidy hair. 'Malfoy hasn't changed one bit. I bet if he could bring back Voldemort, he'd do it in a heartbeat.'

More pacing.

'And now Teddy has lost his Gran, too. He's all alone in the world, now, except for me. And you...' He seemed too agitated for words as he continued pacing.

Hermione didn't think that this was the right time to point out that Teddy still had Mr Lovegood and Luna.

'How can you, Hermione? How?' Harry's voice had grown louder with every word.

'Snape seems to think that Malfoy is innocent,' Hermione replied.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. 'What's Snape got to do with all this?'

'He came to see me in my office after I got back from Azkaban,' Hermione explained.

'How did he even know?' Harry asked.

'I suppose he reads the newspaper too, and he'd been to see Malfoy.' She watched as Harry came back to the table and sat down.

He didn't say anything for some time, just stared at the tabletop. 'If Snape says Malfoy's innocent, then he must be,' he finally said.

Because Snape can do no wrong. Works every time, Hermione thought before she said, 'Actually, I don't think he did it, either. It's all a bit too convenient and a bit too obvious, but I suppose most people will react exactly as you did.' Though maybe with a little less shouting.

'Can't really blame them.' Harry poured himself another glass of wine. 'It's good then that he's got you and Snape on his side.'

Hermione yawned. 'I suppose so.'

~~~^~~~

Hermione arrived late at her office the next morning. She had stopped at the apothecary in Diagon Alley on her way to get some headache potion, but her head was still pounding. The fact that Megan had called in sick didn't do anything to improve her mood. Nor did the owl that arrived from the Ministry with a note saying that Malfoy's bail had been denied. No reason was given. Hermione thought about Flooing the MLE, but then decided to go in person. She swallowed another phial of headache potion and set off for the Ministry.

The official in charge was a red-haired, plump wizard who introduced himself as Colin Prewett.

'How can I help you, Miss Granger?' He asked with an insincere smile.

Hermione replied, 'I'd like to know on what grounds bail was denied to my client, Mr Lucius Malfoy.'

The smile soured. 'Oh, you're representing Malfoy, erm Mr Malfoy.' He looked at her as if she were something unpleasant he'd found stuck to the sole of his shoe. 'Let me get the file.' With a wave of his wand, a folder landed on his desk; he started to leaf through it.

'Ah. Yes,' he said after what seemed like an inordinate amount of time. 'Yes, I'm sorry we can't release Mr Malfoy on bail. There is a substantial danger that he would try to interfere with witnesses and try to abscond.'

'It is unlikely that he'd try either. Let alone both at the same time.' Hermione continued, 'My client has not been accused of a capital offence, so the denial of bail is very unusual.'

'I'd think attempted murder qualified as a capital offence, wouldn't you say?' huffed Prewett.

'My client is accused of using an unknown curse against Mrs Lovegood, not of attempted murder,' Hermione pointed out.

'Yet,' muttered Prewett.

'Excuse me?'

'Nothing, nothing,' Prewett hurried to say. 'Of course, if Mr Malfoy could be persuaded to agree to additional conditions, we might reconsider bail.'

'And what would these additional conditions be?' Hermione asked.

'House detention for one thing.'

Hermione nodded. 'I think we can agree to that.'

'We may have to increase the bond you've offered. And he'd also need a surety who is not related to him,' Prewett added. 'If you agree to the sum specified and name a surety within twenty-four hours, we will grant bail.'

Hermione took a look at the sheet of parchment he had pushed towards her. She swallowed when she saw the sum. "We will get back to you. Thank you for your time, Mr Prewett.'

~~~^~~~

Hermione decided to walk once more. This time, not because she wanted the air, neither fresh nor the London kind, but because she was afraid she'd splinch herself if she tried to Apparate. To say she was fuming would have been the same as calling Vesuvius a campfire.

By the time she arrived back at the chambers of Granger and Patil, several stray locks had escaped her once neat bun, and little sparks of magic were sizzling off their ends.

She met Padma in the corridor, who took one look at her partner and friend and ushered Hermione into her office. She conjured a cup of tea and pointed to the sofa in the corner. Hermione looked mutinous, but sat down and took a sip of tea anyway.

It was very strong, she realised when the warm liquid ran down her throat, and it did help to calm her down a bit. Not for long, though.

'Care to tell me what's going on?' Padma asked.

'The Ministry is what's going on.' Another strand of bushy hair departed from the bun with an angry hiss. 'I've had it up to here with their bigotry and their fucking prejudices that change with the political flavour of the day.'

'Any specific reason or just the usual idiocy?' Padma didn't sound particularly surprised.

'Malfoy. They're refusing bail unless he agrees to special conditions, and apparently he's going to be charged with attempted murder.' Hermione felt the energy slowly draining out of her; her head started to pound again.

'Shit.'

'That sums it up nicely.' Hermione took another sip of tea.

'So what are you going to do?'

'Find a nanny for Malfoy, and then prove that he didn't do it.'

~~~^~~~

Back in her own office, Hermione Flooed Draco. He agreed to come through immediately. After he'd authorised the ridiculously large sum of bond money the Ministry was demanding, Hermione informed him of the additional requirements.

'I don't think the house detention will be a problem. "House" would include the grounds, right?'

Hermione nodded. 'Can you think of anyone who'd be willing to act as surety for him?'

'Hm, mother might be willing to do it,' Draco replied hesitantly.

'I know they're technically no longer related, but do you really think that's a good idea?' she asked.

'Probably not,' Draco admitted. 'Plus, there might be a bit of a problem with her current husband.'

'That too.' Hermione had started fiddling around with a quill on her desk while she tried to come up with another idea.

Then Draco said, 'Severus.'

'Do you think he'd be willing to do it?' Remembering the solitary figure stepping from the Azkaban ferry and the man who had turned up in her office last night, she knew the answer already.

'Yes.'

It was then that Hermione realised that Severus hadn't left any contact information.

He'd said he'd be in touch, but had given her no way to contact him. She sighed and swallowed her pride. 'I expect you know how to reach him?'

Draco nodded. 'I'll tell him to get in touch with you.' He looked as if he meant to say something else as well, but then thought better of it.

When he was about to leave, he turned around again and said, 'Thank you.'

~~~^~~~

Padma had found a new Muggle café that did excellent sandwiches, so she and Hermione went there for lunch. It had the added advantage that they could have another good whinge about the Ministry since they were unlikely to encounter any of their former colleagues. If you worked for the Ministry, you had lunch in the Ministry canteen. It was an unwritten law. Only in very special circumstances would one go elsewhere for lunch, and most certainly not outside the wizarding district.

A tuna mayonnaise sandwich with salad later, and Hermione was ready to face the intricacies of wizarding jurisdiction again. Which turned out to be a good thing as Severus was already waiting for her when she and Padma returned.

'About time,' he greeted her.

'And a good day to you, too,' Hermione replied. 'Have you talked to Draco?'

Severus pulled out his wand and, again, cast Muffliato. 'Yes. I will act as surety for Lucius.'

'Thank you.' Hermione scribbled his name on the parchment with the bond agreement, sending it out to her secretary. It promptly came floating back into the room.

Oh, right. Megan had called in sick. Hermione snatched the parchment out of the air and went to send it through the Floo in the outer office herself. Before she left, she cancelled Severus' Muffliato.

He recast it, just as she came back. Hermione refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. There was such a thing as caution and there was paranoia. 'I just hope we're doing the right thing.'

'You don't have to trust Lucius, but if you want to win this case, you'll have to start to at least pretend to believe that he didn't do what he's accused of, and that he won't do anything to screw this up.' Severus was looking at her intently.

Hermione sighed. 'Actually, I do believe that he didn't attack Andromeda. I told you yesterday. It's just... He's Lucius Malfoy.'

'Yes, but he isn't an idiot,' Severus pointed out.

'Any other news?'

'I went to St Mungo's this morning. Obviously, I couldn't ask to see Mrs Lovegood, but I managed to retrieve a copy of her medical file.' He put a small parchment on the desk, tapped it once with his wand to enlarge it, and then pushed it towards Hermione.

She didn't ask how he had acquired the file duplicate, but started to read the description of the symptoms.

'Hm, basically this ties in with the Aurors' report. Semi-translucent, partly conscious of her surroundings, but neither really alive nor dead. So, she's not a ghost. And apparently the Healers have no idea as to her prognosis.' Hermione paused. 'She could die any minute.'

'Or she could remain in this state indefinitely,' Severus added.

Hermione felt her stomach twist. 'That's horrible.'

'Yes,' Severus agreed. 'One more reason to find out what and who caused it.'

'Have you ever come across a similar curse before?'

'No. Most Dark curses are aimed to torture or to kill outright. Or to use the victim to do one's bidding, like the Imperius Curse. Neither seems to be the case here.' Snape pulled the parchment towards him and looked at the description of the symptoms again.

'True, though I'm sure the conscious part of Andromeda isn't exactly happy. Still, this seems to be intended more to make the people around her suffer.'

Severus nodded. 'I agree. A good starting point would be to find out if anyone has a grudge against Andromeda and her family. However, I suggest we start with trying to find out which curse was used. This might give us a clue to the culprit as well. Not that many people have the extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts that would be required to find such an obscure curse.'

'The obvious place to start would be the Restricted Section in Hogwarts' library. As far as I know, it has quite an extensive collection of Dark Arts texts. Especially since Dumbledore's books have been added to it.' Hermione quickly thought about her appointments for the rest of the week. 'How about Saturday or Sunday? Do you have time? I'm sure Minerva would be happy to accommodate us. '

A shadow passed over Severus' face. 'No.'

'No?'

'You understood me perfectly. Hogwarts' library is out unless you want to go on your own.' Severus crossed his arms in front of him.

'But why? It's our best option, and I'm sure Minerva would be happy to see you. Every time I've met her since the war, she's been going on about how much she misses you.'

Severus didn't say anything. His posture had become even more rigid at the mention of Minerva's name.

Ah.

'This isn't about Hogwarts at all, is it? It's about Minerva.' Hermione peered at him intently. 'You're still angry with her.'

Silence.

'After all these years.'

A tiny nod.

Hermione felt a wave of sadness wash over her. 'She was supposed to hate you.'

'She was supposed to be my friend. She could have picked up on a few things.' Severus sounded like a sulking five-year-old.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to take Severus in her arms, to hold him and tell him things would be all right. She had a feeling he wouldn't respond kindly if she gave in to that particular impulse. The annoying little voice in her head pointed out that she might like to hold Severus for entirely different reasons, too.

'No. She couldn't have. You were the best bloody spy the wizarding world has ever seen. If she'd suspected the truth, others might have too, and you'd be dead.'

'Yes, well. I'd have been dead, anyway,' Severus said stubbornly.

Wrong approach, obviously.

'Well, I for one am glad that you're not. And so is Minerva.'

'Hm.' Severus's posture relaxed a bit.

'Minerva isn't young anymore. Do you really want her to die without you having forgiven her?'

'I'm not a Gryffindor. Appealing to my better nature isn't going to work,' Severus pointed out.

Hermione tried a different angle. 'Forgiving Minerva, or at least pretending to, would be a good strategic move? Because we urgently need the Hogwarts library?' she wheedled.

'You're not going to give up, are you?' Severus sounded weary.

Hermione shook her head. 'No.'

Severus hesitated, then said, 'I suppose the Restricted Section might be of some use.' He paused. 'Saturday. Apparition point outside the gates. Ten a.m.'