Chapter 3 - People Change

Since Hermione and Severus had been the first English visitors to leave the cave, they were surprised to find that they were not alone when they arrived at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre. It was only six thirty in the morning, Australian time, but several people

Hermione smiled as they drew nearer to the building – a low-lying structure which seemed to be comprised of several circular buildings joined together. It was a very Muggle place. Garish plastic signs said 'Welcome' in a handful of different languages, and large arrows pointed up every path to the 'Entrance'. Her mood lightened even more when they reached the doors and walked through into a sort of tunnel. Apparently, they were to follow a 'path of discovery' to get to the information desk. On the walls around them, colourful pictures and simple text described the history of Uluru and the Australian Aboriginal people. More big fluorescent arrows (this time built into the floor) guided them through this little 'maze'.

The main source of Hermione's amusement stalked in front of her without a single glance at the walls. She couldn't catch everything he muttered under his breath, but it was clear he was not impressed by what he deemed to be an 'architectural insult, belittling to the intelligence of man'.

Hermione didn't agree. Central Australia had never been high on her list of travel destinations, but now that she was here, she regretted that more urgent matters would take her away so soon. As she paused to take a slightly closer look at the very basic 'history' portrayed on the walls, she grimaced slightly. Or maybe it was just that being in the Muggle world comforted her. There was nothing to jump out at her, nothing to explode in her face and best of all, nothing to talk to her. After Harry had told all the mirrors and portraits in Grimmauld Place that she was supposed to be resting and not using magic, she had been forced to go outside every time she had wanted to try a few basic spells.

When she and the professor reached the information desk, they politely queued behind an elderly couple until another young woman attendant appeared at the far end of the long desk and waved them over. As they approached, she gave them, or rather Severus, a long appraising glance. If her smile was any indication, she seemed to approve. Although it was easy enough for Hermione to read the woman's body language, she struggled to understand what the woman – her name badge said 'Anna' – approved. In Hermione's decided opinion, Severus Snape's good qualities, such that he had, were not apparent at a glance.

'Hi, how can I help you this morning?' Anna's voice was almost unnaturally husky, a sort of low purr.

Hermione wasn't annoyed that the woman addressed the professor. She wasn't. It was only logical, of course. He was obviously the older and more experienced of the two. Or, was he? After a long moment of silence, Hermione glanced at the professor. He was eyeing Anna with great suspicion and even... anger? She wondered whether she should speak up. After all, it was very possible that he wasn't accustomed to either Muggle small talk or women propositioning him. However, just as she was about to open her mouth, he said, 'We have just arrived here in Australia and would like to travel to Sydney as soon as possible. We were given to understand that someone at this desk would be able to assist us.'

Hermione shivered. Good thing she hadn't said anything. Judging by his tone, Severus Snape was not just angry. He was furious.

Not phased by the threat, Anna smiled. A slow, lazy, smug smile that made Hermione itch to slap her for being so... so obvious. Anna's answer, however, took Hermione completely by surprise.

'Of course I can help you. But you haven't told me whether you would prefer a Portkey or Apparation coordinates, Mr...?'

He ignored her blatant ploy to find out his name.

'How?' he hissed. 'How did you know what we are?'

Anna dropped the playful attitude and narrowed her own eyes. 'I looked. My people are not so busy playing with wands that we have forgotten how to do such things.'

Hermione felt Severus tense next to her.

'You're one of them,' he stated flatly.

Anna's glare intensified, and Hermione felt the temperature in the room literally drop several degrees. She subtly observed Anna more closely. Golden brown skin, sun bleached blonde hair, light blue eyes. If, as Severus had insinuated, Anna was of Aboriginal descent, Hermione couldn't see it at all in the woman's features. Of course she couldn't. However, it was quite one thing to have read that the genes of Aboriginal Australians were recessive; seeing it was another thing altogether.

'I met a man called Benny earlier today.' Even with his hostility curbed, Snape still sounded churlish. When Anna kept glaring, he must have realised that he would have to do a bit better than that, and he added, 'Benny vouched for me.'

As if those were literally 'magic' words, Anna relaxed, though the tension in the air did not dissipate completely. Her demeanour was much more businesslike when she finally said, 'I'll need to see your travel documents.'

Severus fished around in his pocket for the cards and placed them on the counter.

After inspecting their cards, Anna looked up and gave Hermione the same long glance she had bestowed on the professor earlier, an unreadable expression on her face. Hermione shifted a bit as she felt an icy tingle wash over and through her. It was similar to accidentally walking through a ghost; no wonder the professor had reacted like a grumpy dragon when Anna had done the same to him earlier.

'I was going to suggest a Portkey,' said Anna, 'but since you both have your Apparation licences, I can just give you a picture of the Apparition point in Sydney to fix on as your destination. Have a look and let me know what you think.'

Hermione found herself staring at a magical picture of a sandstone arch engraved with large letters proclaiming it to be 'The Lowest Basement'. It didn't move like a normal magical photograph, but it seemed to have more depth than any Muggle prints she had ever seen. The arch jumped out of her as a focal point; it really appeared to be three dimensional. Even though there were no people in the frame, Hermione could hear faint noises – movement and indistinct voices – the type of white noise encountered wherever there were more than a handful of people.

From somewhere above her, she heard, 'We would like to take a Portkey.' In stark contrast to before, the professor now sounded very mild. Just a shade too mild, in fact. Hearing him, Hermione felt shame and anger rise within her. That two people who had almost come to blows a minute before should now adopt this... this transparent and insincere civility to spare her feelings completely and totally enraged her.

More reminders of inadequacy and incompetence. More reminders of failure.

Hermione felt Anna's eyes searching, assessing her again, but this time, she did not feel any discomfort. Her anger spiked as she remembered that this woman – this woman who could apparently see or sense magic – had not even noticed that there was a girl standing next to the professor until a few moments ago. Hermione had never asked for this life – for the magic, for Hogwarts, for the war. But now, even her worst day in the magical world seemed better than any ordinary day. She was not sure how many more days of being coddled, belittled or treated like an imbecile she could stand.

Anna's bland, 'Perhaps a Portkey would be best,' was the last straw. Hermione felt almost nauseous as the sheer force of her rage and frustration jumpstarted her magic and sent it racing through from deep inside her to the very tips of her fingers. She could taste it and embrace it, a raging fire burning in every ounce of her blood, bone and flesh.

It was glorious. She hadn't felt this powerful since the war.

'Don't waste your time,' she snarled, she wasn't sure to whom. Without thinking of the consequences, without thinking of anything other than proving she was a witch – a very good one, in fact – Hermione focused every cell of her being, all her will and power, on the 'Lowest Basement' with its sandstone arch. The world seemed to slow for a second, just long enough to catch a glimpse of Professor Snape's eyes widening with alarm, as she felt her way into the darkness and turned on the spot...

...CRACK!

Severus caught himself at the last moment, stilling the hand that had instinctively shot out to grab Hermione Granger. At that moment, he couldn't have explained why it was imperative that he let her go. He had wanted to go with her, he had known that he must go with her, but some impulse stronger than conscious thought had caused a momentary hesitation.

He broke out into a cold sweat when his mind finally dredged up the reason, and he realised how close he had come to Splinching them both, possibly beyond repair.

...have you ever attempted to Apparate from your house to Bulgaria to visit your friend, Mr Krum, and taken a friend along with you?

Merlin.

He had absolutely no idea if she could manage the distance alone, but he knew for certain that she'd have had no chance with him as unanticipated baggage.

'Did you see that? I didn't think she even had it in her to make it to Alice Springs!' If Anna's grin was any indication, she found the situation vastly entertaining.

Severus would have liked to scream himself hoarse at the idiotic woman, but there was simply no time. He had to find Hermione and confirm whether she had arrived at the Apparation point in one piece or...

He was going to be sick if he thought too much about the consequences of 'or'.

Breathing deeply and striving for calm to ensure that he did not arrive in several pieces, Severus completely forgot about all the gruesome things he would like to do to Anna as he concentrated on forcing his body through the one and a half thousand miles to Sydney.

Merlin help him if any harm had come to Hermione Granger.

When Severus arrived at his destination, directly underneath the apex of the sandstone arch, it took no more than a moment for him to get his bearings and fix on a small crowd not far away from where he was standing.

Striding over, he saw that a handful of people – it wasn't quite a 'crowd' – were indeed gathered around a small figure lying on the tiled floor. He elbowed his way through the onlookers and good Samaritans until he was kneeling at her side.

'Hermione!'

On her other side, a rather elderly gentleman had his fingers on her wrist and his wand out. He was muttering spells that Severus didn't recognise.

Since the man did seem to know what he was doing, Severus held his tongue. He bit the inside of his cheek as he watched helplessly, looking for signs of life on Hermione's face. She was so pale, so still. He was so focused on willing her eyes to open, he started violently when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

'Don't worry. My husband is Healer, or he was until very recently. I'm sure she'll be all right in a minute.'

Severus ignored the kind voice and gentle hand. Did the woman really think that she could make him feel better? However, the emptiness of the her words reminded Severus that he could help Hermione.

'She has Belby's disease,' he urgently told the Healer. 'She shouldn't have been Apparating, but we've just come from Ayer's Rock.'

The old man did not look at all impressed when he finally had time for a glance in Severus' direction. 'Belby's disease, is it? She came very close to burning herself to a crisp, you know. She's stable now, but she'll need to be monitored at least until she wakes up. Helen,' he looked at the woman who had spoken to Severus. 'I'm taking this girl to emergency. You go to the sales and get those things you promised Elliot and Georgie. I'll see you at home later.' He conjured a stretcher and made sure that Hermione was comfortably settled on it before stalking off down the street without another word.

'You'll have to forgive John's bad manners.' The woman caught Severus' arm before allowing him to follow. 'He got quite a shock when he saw her Apparate in with such a loud noise and faint.'

Severus nodded dumbly. He supposed good manners dictated that he should thank Helen for her kindness, but he was up and moving before he completed the thought. He had absolutely no idea where the hospital in this city was, or why there were so many people shopping in this crowded street at seven in the morning.

All that mattered at the moment was not losing sight of Hermione Granger.

The first thing that Hermione became aware of as she struggled slowly back to consciousness was the sound of quiet conversation.

'So, is the whole shopping district underground?'

'Yes. We had to move a few things once the Muggles put the train system and some of their shops underground, too. But most of wizarding Sydney is still a series of inter-connected tunnels like the one I took us through to get here. If you prefer air and sunlight, you're always free to use the Muggle roads on the surface – there's a lot of entrances to the tunnels all over the city – but that's less useful when you're carrying or wearing something obviously magical.'

'I see. Would you happen to know any places to stay close to this hospital?'

'The fancier hotels around here have harbour views, but if you're on a tighter budget, you can't really go past the Golden Niffler down in the Lowest Basement, not far from where I found you. It's close enough to all the shops as well as the sights.'

Professor Snape and... someone else?

'Mmmmfph.'

As soon as she made the noise, Hermione felt a cool hand on her forehead.

'How are you feeling, Miss Granger?'

Hermione opened her eyes and felt a moment of panic when she realised that she couldn't move her arms and legs. Giving up, she croaked, 'Thirsty.' A strong hand held her down as her bed bent itself into a more upright position at the flick of a wand.

'Here, have this.' It was the voice that Hermione had not recognised from before. An elderly man she had never seen in her life came into her field of vision. He was offering her a cup of an electric blue liquid. 'It will help to rehydrate you.'

'Miss Granger, this is John Sanders. He is the Healer who brought you here after you fainted.'

Hermione almost choked when she heard the professor. He kept his words neutral, but that tone forcibly reminded her of some of Neville's more memorable Potions disasters. As she carefully sipped the sweet blue potion through a straw, she tried to recall the sequence of events that had occurred prior to her waking up in a hospital bed.

'Thank you, Mr Sanders,' she whispered. She wondered where this hospital was. Had she made it all the way to Sydney, or were they still in the middle of nowhere?

'Not a problem, my dear,' he replied. 'I'll leave it to Healer Matthews to explain more fully what happened to you, as well as the steps you will need to take to recover. You need to rest, now.' The lines on his face deepened as he smiled. 'I should go and check that my wife hasn't bought half the Lowest Basement. Boxing Day sales, you know. I hope you enjoy your trip once you've recovered.'

With that, John Sanders made his way out of the ward, and Hermione closed her eyes once more. She felt a bit less... charred and toasted... after the blue potion, but her head still ached, and now, added to the pain were terrible feelings of guilt. She was a burden – on her friends, on her acquaintances – and now, apparently, she had even inflicted her problems on complete strangers.

'You will be pleased to know that you made it in one piece to Sydney.'

Hermione knew that the professor was livid, but nevertheless, his presence was oddly comforting.

'I want you to know that were it not for the timely aid of a highly experienced Healer who just happened to be out this morning to catch the post-Christmas sales, you would not have lived long enough for us to have this conversation.'

Hermione heard the words, but her mind was too sluggish and her body too weak to care beyond the bare facts. She had almost died. She certainly felt like it. She bit her lip and let a single tear squeeze out from behind her shut lids. Everything hurt.

Thankfully, the professor said no more.

Once the Healers had given Hermione a few more potions and forced her to eat lunch, they said that there was nothing more they could do for her. All she needed was bed rest, at least for the next two or three days, and she was banned from attempting any magic for ten days, though they had assured her that after that time, she would be ready to attempt basic exercises to increase her strength.

Such was the temptation of magic, though, that the Healers had made Hermione give her wand to Severus and told him to refrain from using magic in her presence, as well. Hermione had expected him to object, but he had only thanked the Healers for their assistance and asked if that meant he shouldn't take her Side-Along anywhere. It did.

Shortly after this conversation, Severus asked the Healers for a little time to arrange accommodation for them both before Hermione was discharged from hospital. Hermione fell back asleep before he had returned. When she finally awoke again, she found herself in a small, clean hotel room. Warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the single window on her right.

Turning her head slowly, Hermione was surprised to see that Professor Snape was sleeping in a chair with his feet up on her bed, his head lolling slightly to one side. Even in sleep, his features were marred by a slight frown. Trying not to wake him, Hermione feebly attempted to sit up but immediately realised that she didn't have the strength. Every muscle started to cramp, every joint screamed with agony. She whimpered, and her companion jerked into wakefulness. He hurriedly removed his feet from the bed and rubbed his eyes with his hands. She could hear him muttering invectives under his breath. Something about how 'it should be the middle of the bloody night'.

He glared at her through bloodshot eyes. 'You're awake.'

'I can't sit up.' Her voice was barely more than a whisper. Somehow, it hurt more to talk now than it had at the hospital.

He sighed. A long, tired sound rather than an impatient one. Hermione eyed him warily as he stepped closer to her. She doubted he would hurt her on purpose, but somehow, she doubted he was going to be gentle, either.

'I'm not supposed to use magic.'

Hermione nodded. She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out as he put his hands under her arms, as if she was a baby, and slowly lifted her into a sitting position.

It was not comfortable. Hermione had so little strength, she sagged weakly against the hard, flat headboard, whimpering again as she slowly crumpled back down onto the bed. She kept her eyes tightly shut, as if somehow not seeing would protect her against the pain. She heard another muttered curse and felt, rather than saw, him cast a large enough cushioning charm beneath her to keep her upright.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that he was standing with his arms crossed, wand in hand. The look on his face was slightly pinched; there was a certain tightness around his eyes, and his lips were pursed more thinly than usual. As it was, Hermione was far too grateful for the comfort to have even the smallest urge to tell him off for disobeying the Healers' orders.

'Thank you.'

Wordlessly, he uncrossed his arms and flicked his wand to conjure a glass and fill it with water. He then levitated it to her.

Hermione was confused. This seemed far less like a single instance of overlooking his instructions and much more like wilful disregard of them.

'Are you hungry?'

Hermione took a long moment after sipping a few mouthfuls of water to consult her stomach. It seemed that water would be fine for now.

'Not really.' Ahh, her voice was coming back.

He promptly settled himself back in the chair beside her bed. Once he was comfortable, he just sat quietly and looked at her.

And looked at her.

And kept looking at her.

Finally, Hermione could bear the silence no more.

'You said you wouldn't use magic.' She hadn't wanted to accuse him, but she didn't mean to sound like a whining child, either.

His eyes narrowed. 'Your Healers suggested that I not use magic so that you would not be tempted to either, Miss Granger. However, I have a suspicion, which you are free to correct, which tells me that temptation is not your problem.'

Dead tired, sick, lonely and frustrated, something inside Hermione snapped.

'Of course it isn't!' She was furious that she couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks. 'I can't do magic anymore. Why do you think you were sent here with me? I... I'm not a witch anymore.'

A moment later, her mattress sunk as it accommodated the weight of another person. She felt a rather tentative hand touch her shoulder for a moment, retreat, then come back – with conviction this time.

'Look at me, you silly girl!'

Hermione immediately obeyed, blinking away tears furiously in an attempt to prove that she was not a silly girl. She couldn't say why, but it appalled her to show weakness in front of him. Bitterly, she wondered what polite platitudes he would think it appropriate to utter this time.

'I have tried to be patient with you, Miss Granger, but I draw the line at listening to utter idiocy,' he snapped. 'People with no magical powers do not travel over a thousand miles in the blink of an eye. They do not have the potential to burn themselves to a cinder if they misuse their gifts, whatever they may be. If you could not do magic, I would be sitting in front of a good fire reading a book in England, and you would be free to search for your parents in whatever tedious Muggle manner you wished!'

Hermione blinked, then smiled for what seemed like the first time in months as his words sank in. She felt a strong urge to giggle, then laugh as she realised that what he said was true.

She was still a witch. After weeks of fruitless attempts to levitate objects in her bedroom, she had Apparated from Ayer's Rock to Sydney and lived long enough for Professor Snape to bite her head off for it.

Life was good.

AN: Apologies to those who were hoping for an outback adventure. I have visited Alice Springs and Uluru, but not at length or, I'm ashamed to say, with great interest. I was a bit of a bratty teenager travelling with my family at the time.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta, JunoMagic.