Chapter 15: Severus

Chapter 15:

Severus:

It had been a long, long night for Severus. He had hoped that Draco would agree to staying with him and Hermione, and when he hadn’t… What he had done to Draco tightened his throat. But what choice had there been? If he hadn’t trapped Draco at the Shrieking Shack, Draco would have become nothing but Lucius’s pawn in battle, or the Dark Lord would have been told how he tried to protect Severus. He did what he did to protect Draco!

And what gives you that right? What right do you have to force Draco into hiding?

His obligations as Draco’s teacher and Head of House popped up as excuses; but if he was supposed to be protecting his students, he certainly wasn’t doing that by fleeing Hogwarts. No, the truth was that Draco mattered to him. He was willing to do anything to protect Draco, even if that meant losing Draco’s affection.

And Hermione? What about her?

He winced inwardly as he remembered how he had treated her. She just… she had made it so much more difficult to do what had needed to be done. She had this tendency to make Severus feel like—and want to be—a better man. Usually, it was one of his favorite things about her: that he felt like a good person around her, not the person he truly was. But to do something he knew she would consider wrong in front of her… it had tested his resolve. Now he was worried she would never again trust him or look at him with that light in her eyes. Was there anything he could do to regain her trust, to make her hope again that he was a good man?

After he had finally managed to convince Hermione and Draco to sleep together in the Shrieking Shack’s only bed—that had been more difficult than expected, considering how tired they had been—he had retreated down to the entry room below to think. First, practical matters: he needed a bed, they all would need food, and this shack desperately needed cleaning (a pang of regret stabbed him anew); and that meant he needed to contact Treedy, the house-elf Dumbledore had given him as a gift years ago. Treedy was all too eager to obey, leaving Severus with the more complicated concern of what he could do to make things right with Hermione.

Freeing Draco was not an option, but what else was there? He had already done all he could for the Boy Wonder. He was already doing all he could to protect Hermione, given that she had chosen to stay with him. What else could he do?

As if hearing an echo, Draco’s voice calling Hermione “Mudblood” reverberated in his head. Mudblood… Hermione’s parents are Muggles… The Dark Lord needs no excuse to kill Muggles…

He shot up quickly, the plan completely formed in his head. Summoning Treedy again, he told him what he needed and sat down again to await his return. Within moments, Treedy had returned with the address of Hermione’s parents.

It was twilight before Severus managed to find the right house, after spending hours walking through street after street. Once there, he spent his time putting up as many defensive wards as he felt could go on the house without calling undue attention to it. He wanted to protect the Grangers, not make the Dark Lord aware of them. By the time he had finished, the neighborhood was beginning to wake up. He was about to Disapparate when someone cleared his throat.

“Excuse me,” the man said, “but what have you been doing to my house?”

Flabbergasted, Severus turned around to see Hermione’s father standing in his bathrobe, confusion and concern furrowed in his brow.

“Mr. Granger, I am Professor Snape.” He wracked his brain thinking of anything he knew about Hermione’s parents and came up with nothing. “I have some news regarding your daughter. It would be best if we spoke inside.”

Nodding brusquely, Mr. Granger led the way. Once inside, Severus found himself explaining to Mr. Granger that, while his daughter was quite safe, he and his wife needed some extra protection.

At this, Mr. Granger’s look of confusion became overwhelming as he asked, “From whom?”

“From Voldemort. Surely—”

“Who?”

Muggles and their blissful ignorance.

When it became clear this was going to take much longer than expected, he excused himself for a moment, claiming he needed to use the restroom, summoned Treedy, and asked him to give Hermione and Draco breakfast.

As Mr. Granger began to understand the vulnerability of his position, his face grew pale. Severus did his best to reassure him that what he had done to the house would make them much safer, as long as they stayed within its walls, but Mr. Granger was inconsolable. Finally, when all of Severus’s helpful suggestions had been exhausted, Mr. Granger’s face lit up.

“And you, then? You must be a powerful wizard. Couldn’t you come round once a day to check on us and make sure we’re alright?”

With a groan that just managed to be inaudible, he replied, “Very well. Now, if you’ll excuse me...”

Finally able to leave, he Disapparated back to the Shrieking Shack… where he was immediately accosted by an irate, but beautiful, Hermione.