Weak Points and Strong

Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize belongs to me. Just borrowed. Will be returned. Snape is welcome to stay, though.

A big Thank You goes to my beta-reader and brit-picker, Melusin, who is always encouraging, helpful, and thorough.

A/N 1: I hadn't realised that I was made a validated author for a long time: thank you, TPP-team! :) Later, I was overwhelmed with work in RL and delayed posting while gradually drifting out of fandom. But I want to tie things up and will post the remaining chapters now.

Chapter 15 – Weak Points and Strong

6. 11. If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.

(Sun Tzu, The Art of War, VI. Weak Points and Strong)

When Hermione Apparated into the Broom Cave at the entry point to Nan Guthan, she grabbed one of the brooms that were hidden in a niche. Holding on to the broom with all of her remaining strength, she flew through the valley, but instead of crossing the river and heading up the slope of the mountain, she followed the river for a while and then headed off into the forest. Feeling sick and completely drained, she needed a few moments to herself. When she got off the broom, she stumbled and was barely able to stay on her feet. After a few faltering steps, she sank to her knees, retched violently and threw up.

So much for being strong and focused, Hermione berated herself. She remained crouching there for a while, breathing heavily, dry retching and trying in vain to get the imprint of a screaming Padma Patil out of her mind. And as if seeing her classmate die hadn't been horrible enough, she also felt guilty for being relieved that that Killing Curse hadn't been aimed at Snape. The last time Hermione had felt so completely shaken had been the day of her own faked death. Get a grip on yourself. There is work to do. The mantra and her breathing exercises finally helped her to focus again. She had to get to the caves; she still didn't know what had happened to the rest of the group. There was no need to worry about Parvati; she should be safe in one of the introduction caves by now.

After finally calming down enough to get to her feet again, Hermione vanished the mess and got back on her broom. When she reached the small spring on the mountain slope where she knew the entry to the Watch Cave would appear, she whistled softly. A moment later, Crookshanks came running towards her, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. A few friendly head-bumps and head-scratches later, she asked her familiar to inform the watcher in the cave that she wanted to get in. Crookshanks wove around her ankles, purred, and set off, disappearing behind the spring through a magical gate that opened only for familiars.

Hermione felt the slight, magical tingle, which told her that the outer defensive spells had been released from within. She took her wand out and wove the pattern that revealed the shimmering spider web over the cave entrance. She had to cough several times before she could chant the syllables necessary to open the gate; the shock seemed to have taken her voice away, and she could only croak out the syllables that caused the gate to finally open. As soon as she went in, Susan Bones came out of the shadows and exclaimed, "Thank Merlin you're safe, Hermione! When the others arrived without you, we were all very worried." She hugged Hermione briefly, and Hermione sighed in relief.

"So the rest of the group is back? Is anyone hurt?"

"No, only badly shaken."

"What about Parvati?"

"Hannah went for the first introduction, and Nundu will bring her in."

"She will need comforting. Her mother, father and sister died tonight. And we couldn't do anything to help them, Susan. We tried, but everything went wild there..." Tears were rolling down Hermione's cheeks, and she closed her eyes, feeling beaten and powerless. Susan hugged her again.

"You rescued Parvati, Hermione. Never forget that. You all did everything you could. Without you, Parvati would be dead now, too."

"That's right," Hermione rasped. "But it was so close... We almost had Padma, but she ran away and screamed. And that sealed her fate. And I... I couldn't do anything to help her. Not without risking Parvati's life, too... Oh Merlin, how she'll hate me!"

"Shhh..." Susan hugged her some more. "She won't hate you. Maybe a little in the beginning...until she is over the worst of the shock. She'll see soon enough what you did for her, and she won't be sorry to have survived. Not Parvati. She loves life. Like we all do."

"I don't know... She'll be devastated." Hermione sighed again, trying to calm down. Breathing deeply, she pushed her fear and grief to the back of her mind once again and focused on the tasks ahead. She had to get to the cave, get some rest, debrief together with the rest of her group and wait until Parvati and Snape arrived. After a few moments, she smiled a thank you at Susan and disappeared down the corridor that led to the Central Cavern. She was glad that Susan had finally overcome her crush on Snape and could once again act like the gentle, compassionate girl she was. Hermione suspected that Greyhound, Jeremiah Cadwallader, had something to do with Susan's changed behaviour. Hermione had seen them both talking and laughing together during the last few weeks.

When she entered the Central Cavern, Geoffrey Abbott and the other members of her group jumped up from one of the large tables where they had been eating. "Hermione, are you all right?" Geoffrey asked.

"I'm OK." Hermione sat down and let the others tell her what had happened after she'd followed Mrs. Parvati and the Death Eaters into the Three Broomsticks.

"We got your message and followed you. Then we heard the screaming and shouting in the Three Broomsticks. When we went in, we saw Mr. and Mrs. Patil dead on the ground; there were Death Eaters and other people running around, screaming and hexing everything that moved. We didn't see you, but we kept ourselves ready in case we were needed. Even though we were Disillusioned, we had our hands full avoiding hexes and curses. It was complete chaos in there. After a few moments, we heard Nundu order the other Death Eaters to get out, and they all Disapparated. We checked the upper floor and saw the two dead girls in one of the rooms. At that time, we didn't know that one of them was an Inferius. We couldn't see you anywhere, and there was still so much confusion...so we looked after the injured people in the Three Broomsticks, and when help arrived, we got out."

"I'm sorry, but things were too chaotic. I couldn't send you another message."

"We couldn't have received it, anyway, in all that confusion. But you did manage to save one of the girls, didn't you?"

"Yes." Hermione swallowed, close to tears again. "But we lost her twin sister." She buried her face in her hands, sobs shaking her body. Geoff put an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her briefly; the others patted her on arms and shoulders.

"First time for you to lose someone, isn't it?" Geoff asked.

Hermione nodded. "If just... If she hadn't panicked... If we had stunned her earlier... Damn!"

Rose Chambers, an older girl who had also been part of their group, crooned in sympathy. "It comes as a shock when you've successfully saved a few people, and then things go wrong and you lose someone. We've all been through this, but we'll never get used to it. It's horrible each time it happens."

Hermione still couldn't speak. She didn't know why Padma's death had affected her so much. She had been present when Mrs. Weasley was murdered, but back then she had known that she couldn't have done anything to prevent it. This time was different though; she went over her actions again and again, wondering where things had gone wrong. She was still weeping when the message came that Snape and Parvati were on their way to the Watch Cave.

Hermione sighed, wiped the tears from her face, blew her nose, and waited, dreading the moment when she would have to face Parvati Patil.

Hermione's worries proved to be unfounded. When Snape led Parvati into the Central Cavern, she merely looked around in astonishment and then greeted Hermione calmly. Parvati's face was very pale, but her features were composed; there was a steely gleam in her black eyes.

"Parvati... I'm so sorry..." Hermione stuttered, not daring to approach her former classmate.

"Don't be." Parvati replied coldly. "You saved my life. I can never thank you enough for that. I owe you, Hermione."

"You owe me nothing." Hermione had to fight the tears again. "I just wish..." She swallowed and looked down. When she looked up again, she was staring right into Snape's narrowed eyes.

"There was nothing you could have done, Nightshade," he said. "You did everything that was required of you. If someone were to blame, it would be myself since I didn't stun the girl quickly enough. Miss Padma had a very strong desire to run away... We can beat each other over the head endlessly over this, Nightshade, or we can help her sister adapt to life in the Underground. She has decided to become one of the fighters."

"I see," Hermione said, feeling weak. She sat back down at the table and watched Parvati's introduction to the people in the cave. She didn't believe for a moment that Parvati really felt as cold and unmoved as she appeared. She knew Parvati Patil. The girl had always been rather emotional, bordering on silly. She was convinced that Parvati was suffering from severe shock, and that it only was a matter of time before a violent eruption of emotions would happen. She resolved to be ready for that moment and help as best she could.

Parvati, however, seemed determined to behave out of character. Hermione offered to share her quarters with her for her first night in the Underground, but Parvati refused.

"Don't worry about me, Hermione," she said. "I need to cry, long and good. And that is best done alone." A bit of her composure cracked; she swallowed, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "And then I'll have my revenge. Professor Snape promised me that I'd have the opportunity for revenge. And I'll take that opportunity, if it's the last thing I do." She turned around and walked towards her quarters.

Hermione stared after her. So that's how Snape had circumvented an hysterical outburst from a girl he knew to be emotional. He saw what she needed: she needed to find a task, and he had given it to her. It wouldn't be a permanent solution, but it would be enough for the moment. Oddly comforted, Hermione went to bed as well.

A week later, Hermione helped Snape with a reconnaissance mission. He had told her that Voldemort was planning to move closer to Hogwarts.

There was a deserted house in Hogsmeade that had once belonged to an old family of purebloods, but the last descendents of that family had been sent to Azkaban after the first Voldemort war. They had since died, and the property had been bequeathed to one of Voldemort's minions and thus was out of the reach of the Ministry. It seemed to be the ideal base for Voldemort, who wanted to attack Hogwarts, take the children hostage, and then take over the Ministry and the rest of the wizarding world.

Snape was supposed to find out if the place was safe, and Hermione's task was to stage a fight with him in as flashy and dramatic a manner as possible, so it would be noticed by the neighbours. Hermione would act as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, which she was. That way, Snape could tell Voldemort a half-truth about being attacked by Order members without having to tell a blatant lie. Hermione thought that it was a rather silly scheme, but she was prepared to do sillier things than a fake fight if it helped with Snape's deception. The attack on Hogwarts would be postponed for a while longer without revealing to Voldemort that Snape was actively sabotaging his plans.

Snape had explained to her that he was surreptitiously encouraging rash and imprudent actions by pretending to give in to Bellatrix Lestrange's impatient urging. Like the reconnaissance mission, many of these 'on the spur of the moment' skirmishes were less than successful and would, over time, lead to restless and distrustful Death Eaters. They also showed Snape's own overt advice of caution and careful planning in a good light. It was a subtle way to undermine Voldemort's forces, but also a dangerous one if Snape was ever found out.

When they had completed their mission, she followed Snape to the office cave for debriefing, as usual. However, instead of going over the mission, he asked her about Parvati Patil. Hermione told him what she knew about her house and classmate, and he seemed particularly interested in Parvati's fascination with Divination...and her admiration for Sybill Trelawney.

"I may have found a way to delay the Dark Lord's plans long enough for your friend Potter to accomplish his quest, whatever it may be," he said distractedly. An idea seemed to have formed, and evidently he was pondering about how to put it into practice. Hermione watched him, fascinated.

"Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak," he quoted Sun Tzu again."Tell me, Nightshade. Is Miss Parvati truly courageous, or is it merely the ever-present Gryffindor bravado?"

Hermione scowled. "I thought you didn't like silly house attributes? So why now?"

He smirked. "It is undeniable that the Hat Sorts according to the character of the student, as little sense as that may make in a school setting, when it would be far better if all types of characters were randomly distributed in the four houses. However, as that isn't how it's done, we must make the best of it. There must be a reason why Miss Patil was sorted into Gryffindor. If she has any of you and your friends', ah, taste for adventure... It would be a very dangerous mission, but it could help our side greatly." His expression had become serious.

Hermione studied him for a moment. "Parvati is changed from the attack. She wants revenge; she's almost fanatical. She doesn't mourn; she seems to simmer with unresolved tension. I'm afraid of what will happen when she boils over. I hardly recognize her any longer." She frowned, at a loss for a better explanation.

Snape nodded slowly. "I've come to a similar conclusion. She has little in common with the giggling, silly young girl I knew from Hogwarts. You may have noticed that she soaks in everything concerning the Underground. She seems thrilled by it."

"I've noticed it, too. She admires you and everything you've done. As we all do, of course." She smiled at him sheepishly. "But we don't constantly talk about it. It's not a crush, I don't think. It's almost like... I'm sorry..." She grimaced, glancing at him, embarrassed.

Snape narrowed his eyes and grumbled, "Out with it. What is it?"

"It's more like worship, if you know what I mean." Hermione flinched when she saw his scowl. "I mean, I've seen people have crushes on someone, and that's not it. It's like she sees you as a beacon in the dark, as a substitute for her mother, father and sister. The one person who can order her to do anything."

"That won't do," Snape snarled. "I'm not the Dark Lord. I neither need nor want fanatical followers. I need people who will work with me and are able to think for themselves. If Miss Patil is driven by fanaticism... No, that would do more harm than good. Damn." He jumped up and started to pace.

"Give her a bit more time. Is she getting special treatment, too? Otherwise, there is still a month or so before she'll be ready for outside missions, anyway. Maybe she'll have calmed down a bit by then. Or..."

"Or what?"

"Or you'll have to break the hero-worship by... I don't know... How does one break fanatical worship? How do people get out of something like that?"

"Many don't. If the object of their devotion is providing what they crave, then they'll get in deeper and deeper until it becomes religious, almost. Look at Barty Crouch and Bellatrix Lestrange. Nothing the Dark Lord did could diminish their adoration; they proudly went to Azkaban for him. It takes a certain madness, a certain mindset to become that fanatical, I think. I'm not certain. I never quite understood it. My fascination with the Death Eaters was very short-lived."

"You came back to our side when Harry's mother was threatened, didn't you?"

"Her, and my own mother. You saw my memories; I had become disillusioned, too. Clearly, I didn't get what I wanted."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe if Parvati is denied what she craves as well... More than anything, Parvati wants revenge. You put her up to it yourself, after all."

Snape gave her an approving look. "That's true. And if we don't give her an opportunity for it until she deals properly with her loss... that might work." He pinched the bridge of his nose and briefly closed his eyes. After a moment's thought, he looked up again and nodded. "I shall assign Miss Patil to work with Cassia Fenwick. Miss Fenwick lost her father and her uncle in the first war, and her mother and two siblings last year. She knows what it feels like to be the only one left. And she's adjusted admirably. I think if anyone can set Miss Patil straight, it would be Cassia Fenwick."

"She's Transfiguring old fabric and plastic into clothes and other items, isn't she?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. She's with the recycling team."

"I hope for Parvati that it works. And as for your plan, Nundu... What exactly did you have in mind, anyway?"

Snape shook his head. "I don't think it will work... I'd need someone very brave and level-headed to go through with it. And I'm not certain, yet, that Miss Patil would be the right person to do it."

"Couldn't I go?"

"No!" he almost shouted. "You're needed here, Miss Granger. How often do I have to tell you?"

Hermione was surprised at the outburst. Did he think she wasn't brave enough?"

"Err... I mean, it's only been a week. I really think that Parvati needs time to grieve."

"Plans have to be made, Miss Granger, plans with people who can be relied upon. Time to grieve and heal is a luxury we don't have. Some people need it, but they aren't of much help if it takes them longer than two months to become productive in the group."

"Well, not everyone loses their whole family at once, do they?" Hermione felt her anger rise. Planning and scheming was all well and good, but shouldn't the people get a bit of consideration, too? She told him as much, which earned her a disapproving scowl.

"Pseudo-military organization, Nightshade, remember? Guerrilla. Underground army. That's what we are and have to be, not a therapy ward. Miss Patil claimed that she wanted to fight. When you fight, you have to mourn in private and deal with your emotions on your own, mostly. Just like you did, Miss Granger, and most of the others."

Hermione wasn't convinced. "If we give up our compassion, don't we give up one of our strengths? We can help each other. We aren't one-dimensional. We can fight and still take care of each other."

"So we can. And that's why I suggested Cassia Fenwick. But we don't have much time. The Dark Lord wants action. Miss Patil would have been just the right person..."

"I wouldn't give up on her just yet, Nundu. I think it very much depends on your plan. Parvati was in the original DA; she wanted to be prepared and worked hard. She was never afraid to speak up, either, and she always supported Harry. It wasn't her fault that she was removed from school after... err... Professor Dumbledore's death."

Snape closed his eyes, a painful expression flickering over his features for a fraction of a second. "Very well. I shall wait. And perhaps I will come up with another plan to delay the Dark Lord a while longer."

Hermione didn't see Snape again for a whole week. She kept herself busy teaching basic Charms and Arithmancy to the younger children and felt challenged by the advanced Charms lessons Emmeline Vance gave them. Minerva McGonagall came once during that week to teach Advanced Transfiguration. She focused on the practical aspect in her lessons; she expected the students to do their theoretical assignments independently.

As expected, the History of Magic lessons turned out to be quite different from those of Professor Binns and were very interesting and enlightening. Florean Fortescue didn't only teach them about historical events, he had a way of connecting past events to present conflicts that had never been made all that clear by the ghost-teacher at Hogwarts. Hermione was fascinated.

Defence was taught by Snape, and in his absence by Perry Price. Price was a good teacher, Hermione thought, but Snape was better. She really started to miss his dry humour and grew slightly worried by his long absence, but Emmeline assured her that this had happened before. Snape had the means to contact the Underground when he was in trouble.

"Price is good, isn't he?" Parvati said after a very exhausting, but also successful lesson, where they had practiced to levitate each other towards their opponents as a surprise attack. "But he's not as brilliant as Snape, is he?" Her eyes shone.

"Snape is brilliant, that's true," Hermione admitted. "When he's in the mood. At other times, he can be pretty nasty."

"Can you blame him with all the things he's burdened with?"

"Not really," Hermione replied. "But he's human, you know. He makes mistakes." She glanced at Parvati sideways.

"Does he now?" Parvati arched an eyebrow. "You know, you don't need to look at me like that. I don't worship the ground he walks on. I don't have a crush on him." She sighed heavily, eyes still shining. "I just can't believe that he built all this. That he is so... good! We did him such injustice, back at school. Everyone was either complaining or laughing about him. No one really respected him, with the exception of the Slytherins, perhaps. Do you remember the hard time we gave him when he taught Defence for Professor Lupin in our third year? And he was right to teach us about werewolves. My father was so furious when he learned that Dumbledore had let a werewolf teach children at Hogwarts, you know." She looked at the ground, swallowing hard several times.

Hermione didn't know if she should be pleased that Parvati was showing signs of mourning, or be upset about the things she'd said about Remus Lupin.

"Professor Dumbledore trusted Remus Lupin. And Nundu had his reasons not to trust him... but that's his private problem." She scowled. "You know, he's not been the fairest of teachers. Snape, I mean."

"No, but he still did what he could to help our side, didn't he? I don't even want to think about all the dangers he must have faced...and still does. At least he gets the recognition he deserves, here, doesn't he? I mean... he's got the name Nundu. That's as good as the Order of Merlin, First Class. And he deserves it." Parvati's eyes were shining again. "I just wish I could do something to help. I want to be part of the Underground fighters."

"You know, Parvati, everything you said is true," Hermione said thoughtfully and slightly ashamedly. "I don't think I even said as much as 'thank you' to Snape after he saved my life. Instead, I doubted him constantly and used to challenge him all the time. I thank you for reminding me...reminding all of us of what Severus Snape has done for us."

Parvati nodded. "Yes, indeed. And I don't think he'd be angry if someone said 'thank you'. I did, and he looked so surprised. Not many people can have said it."

Hermione blushed with embarrassment. There she was, thinking that Parvati fanatically adored Snape, when instead she was seeing clearly what she, herself, and others hadn't seen. That they owed their lives to Severus Snape, that they owed their well-being and considerable comfort to his efforts. That they were relatively safe in their refuge caves while he went to Voldemort's camp almost daily and risked life and limb by still spying for them...and not only spying but also trying to influence the actions of their enemy. She'd completely forgotten how often she and the other Underground members had risked their lives when they went on rescue missions. The achievement was Snape's, and he should finally get the praise he deserved.

"Don't you want revenge any more, Parvati?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I do, but that's secondary. What's needed for our fight here comes first. I think I'd get my revenge indirectly in any case, if we're successful. Of course, I still want to tear every limb slowly from the monster that killed..." Parvati couldn't continue, tears were streaming down her cheeks now, and she was unsuccessfully trying to suppress her sobs. Hermione put her arms around her and kept her in her hug, letting Parvati cry, trying to give her comfort and a warm shoulder to lean on.

When the worst sobs had subsided, Parvati wiped her face, hiccoughed and tried to smile. "Thank you, Hermione, I needed this. You're not quite like I remember you from school, you know. Seems like I was blind, and everyone around me has so much more depth than I suspected." She gave Hermione a squeeze and the same bright-eyed smile she'd reserved for Snape up to now.

Hermione felt oddly relieved. Apparently, she had been completely wrong about Parvati's feelings. "That goes for you, too, you know. Perhaps it just means that we've grown up a bit and started to see each other as we really are?" She winked.

Parvati swallowed the last of her tears and giggled weakly. "I just wish I could have learned that without..." and she burst into tears again. Hermione held her quietly, sad and relieved. She would talk to Snape as soon as he got back. Parvati would be fine; if there was a mission only she could do, she would be up to it. Hermione was certain of it. Why had she underestimated all her friends so much? Perhaps she had been just a bit too full of herself? Humbled, Hermione resolved once more to look at people more closely in the future and not to take herself quite so seriously any longer.

Valentine's day had arrived, and everyone who wasn't on watch duty or another essential assignment had assembled in the central cavern for breakfast. On special days like this, all of the DA who didn't have essential tasks liked to congregate and spend the day in each other's company. In most cases, such days were completed with a party and dancing in the evening.

Hermione was surprised to see Snape sitting at the breakfast table when she entered the central cavern. The room was nicely decorated. There were a few hearts and pink balloons, but mostly, the tables were decorated with pale pink and white roses. Bee's tastes were a far cry from Professor Dumbledore's garish preferences for festive decorations.

Hermione flashed a smile at Snape and nodded a greeting. She was determined to thank him for all he had done for them as soon as she had the opportunity and to tell him about the development with Parvati. She was certain that he'd be glad to put his plan into action.

She watched Snape inconspicuously during breakfast. Many who entered the cavern, Parvati among them, showed surprise and pleasure at seeing him and nodded greetings in his direction. He acknowledged each of them gracefully with a nod of his own.

When everyone was seated, he stood up and tapped his spoon against his teacup. Hermione stopped eating and looked at him in surprise, as did many others.

"While I have your attention, everyone," Snape said, a slight smile lightening up his harsh features. "I wish to ask you all to be present at dinner tonight and stay on afterwards...everyone who isn't needed for the Watch or for an urgent mission. I have the great pleasure not only of announcing a party tonight but also a very joyful event. There will be a wedding, and everyone is invited. And now you may proceed." He sat down again, flashing a smile at Emmeline Vance, who blushed becomingly.

***Hermione sat petrified. A lump had formed in her throat and she sat silently meditating for a few minutes. A few minutes were sufficient for making her acquainted with her own heart. She touched...she admitted...she acknowledged the whole truth. Why was it so much worse that Emmeline should be married to Severus Snape instead of them secretly being lovers? Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by such a commitment? It darted through her, with the speed of an arrow, that Severus Snape must marry no one but herself!

How long had Severus Snape been so dear to her, as every feeling declared him now to be? When had his influence, such influence begun? – When had he succeeded to that place in her affection, which Ron Weasley had once, for a short period, occupied? She looked back and realised that it had been so for some time already. But could she ever hope of gaining his affection? Now that he was planning to get married to someone else that same day?***

Hermione despaired. She did not deserve his affection; she had often been negligent or antagonistic, slighting his advice, or even wilfully opposing him, insensible of half his merits, and quarrelling with him because he would not acknowledge her false and insolent estimate of her own. Would her lesson in humiliation never end? Wasn't it enough that Parvati Patil had shown her how blind she, Hermione, had been, convinced about her own infallibility, arrogantly judging everyone by her own standards? And now she was reaping her rewards and had to accept what she'd got.

A stealthy glance showed Severus Snape deep in conversation with Emmeline Vance. Both were smiling. And here she was, begrudging both her friends the happiness they had found, begrudging it because of her own selfish desires. Swallowing hard, Hermione got up and left the cavern. She went towards the Watch Cave and picked up a fishing rod on the way. She needed fresh air. She'd spend the day out of doors, trying to catch as many salmon as would bite in mid-February. Perhaps the fishing would calm her down sufficiently to face the events of the evening with some grace and acceptance. It wouldn't do to spoil the ceremony with wails of disappointment and self-pity.

A/N 2: Please don't kill me.

A/N 3: My apologies to Jane Austen, again. That part between the asterisks has been shamelessly stolen, mangled and forced into the plot.

A/N 4: Fishing in February isn't impossible in Scotland. This was confirmed through an inquiry on the insanejournal community 'snapedom' and after consulting several 'Fishing in Scotland' websites. And salmon fishing is allowed from January (February in some rivers) to November.