Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery

Chapter 21 ~ Albus Lays it Down

Severus apparated into his rooms, walked directly to the floo. Albus must have kept the flames lit in hopes of their return. He adjusted the witch in his arms, grabbed some floo powder and tossed it in.

“The infirmary,” he said, then stepped through.

“Poppy!” he bellowed as he ran with the witch, depositing her in an empty cot and drawing the curtains around them. He began to unfasten her robes. Poppy appeared.

“Severus, where have you be…” she stopped as she saw Hermione, pale and breathing shallowly. She drew out her wand and ran it over her as Severus parted her robes. She had on a t-shirt and jeans underneath. Poppy immediately divestoed all her clothes, leaving the witch naked. Severus looked down on her body, but was too concerned about her condition to find her arousing.

Poppy tried to examine her, but the spell wouldn’t work.

“She’s warded,” Severus said, “A repelling spell.”

Poppy quickly removed the spell, then ran the wand over Hermione again.

“She’s barely alive,” Poppy said as she pulled the sheet over her. “What happened Severus?”

“She was hit with the Killing Curse,” he said. Poppy covered her mouth with her hand in horror.

She immediately applied a hydrating spell, then asked Severus to tell her the situation under which the spell was applied. He did.

“Voldemort’s dead, then?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Severus replied as he watched the medi-witch run her wand over Hermione’s body, the tip of it glowing blue with healing power. “I just don’t understand why Miss Granger isn’t. She took a full blast just before he died.”

“That is probably because the Dark Lord was dying, and although he cast the spell, he did not have enough power left in him for it to kill her completely. But she has been damaged. Badly,” the medi-witch said.

“Will she live?” the Potions Master asked, his black eyes resting on her pale face.

“I don’t know. She looks like she’s had a rough few days,” the medi-witch observed, noting the dark circles under the witch’s eyes.

“We were working around the clock without much sleep or nourishment,” he replied.

Poppy left him standing by her bedside as she went for some potions to build her body up. Hopefully if she could strengthen the witch physically, her body would heal naturally. Severus looked down at the witch.

“Why is such an intelligent witch as yourself, so fucking stupid?” he seethed at her. He wasn’t really angry with the witch, he just felt helpless.

Poppy returned with the potions and a kind of funnel with a long tube attached to it. Severus looked at the contraption.

“A muggle design. I thought it could be useful. I can get liquids down her this way,” she said.

The witch tilted Hermione’s head back then pulled her mouth open. She applied a kind of gel to the tube, then fed it into Hermione’s mouth until the funnel was resting against her lips. She then lifted the witch slightly and began pouring potion after potion down her throat, presumably to her stomach. Severus helped her by holding Hermione up. Some color came back to the witch, but she didn’t regain consciousness.

Poppy ran her wand over the witch again. Her mouth stretched in a thin, satisfied line.

“Much better,” she said, “All we can do now is wait. Will you be staying, Severus?”

“No. I need to report the Dark Lord’s demise to Albus, then retire to my rooms. I am exhausted,” he said. He turned and left the infirmary.

Poppy looked after him, finding it strange he would leave the witch like this. Anytime one of his students was injured in class, he stayed with them until they at least regained consciousness. Well, he did have to see Albus. She looked back down at Hermione, brushing her tangled hair back. The poor, poor dear.

***************************
Severus debriefed Albus of all that had occurred from the day he and Hermione left until their return tonight. The Headmaster was appalled at the Dark Lord’s attempt to kill his deatheaters, but not surprised. He was a most evil wizard.

“And Hermione?” he asked.

“She took a Killing curse…meant for me,” the Potions Master said in a low voice. “Luckily, the Dark Lord was on the brink of death when he cast it, and it didn’t kill her. But she is in bad shape.”

“Are you all right, Severus?” the Headmaster asked him, worry in his voice.

Severus looked up at the white-haired wizard sharply.

“Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be all right?” he snapped at the wizard, “the Dark Lord is dead and I am free at last.”

He frowned at the Headmaster. Albus looked at him soberly.

“It’s not your fault, Severus. She’s a Gryffindor. She would gladly lay down her life for another,” he said gently.

Severus slammed his hand on Albus’ desk before he could stop himself.

“No one asked her to lay down her life! I didn’t need protecting!” he yelled, “I didn’t need her to jump in front of a spell meant for me! I didn’t ask her to do anything…anything at all but stay out of the way, Albus. But no, she had to be a fucking hero. Now look at her…the stupid little chit! If she dies, it will be her own fault.”

Albus nodded.

“Yes it will be, Severus. It was her call. Obviously she thought of your well-being before her own. I am sure she didn’t mean to be hurt. She was reacting to someone she cared deeply about being in danger,” Albus said.

Severus looked up at him, startled. He knew.

“Severus, I’ve known about how Miss Granger’s felt about you since her seventh year. I also kept tabs on her in university. She never once went out on a date, or took up with any young wizard, though plenty were in pursuit of her. I know she is a focused young woman, but I suspected in her heart she already had a man she loved. She wouldn’t betray that love despite the wizard she fell in love with had no use for her. A sad thing really, to love someone who doesn’t love you back,” the Headmaster said.

“Yes it is,” Severus replied, somewhat relieved that the Headmaster had not yet divined his purely physical interest in the young witch. “But you know my nature Headmaster, and how I feel about women.”

“Yes, I know about your bigotry, Severus. How you judge them all by that one,” the Headmaster replied, frowning at him slightly.

“It was more than that one, Albus. I’ve exposed more women for what they are than I care to count,” he replied, “they all are untrustworthy and unfaithful. It was not just that one.”

Albus looked at the wizard, and tapped two fingers on his desk.

“Severus, did it ever occur to you that those “unfaithful” women may not have acted in such a way if you hadn’t made it your business to tempt them into your arms? That maybe you are so gifted at seduction, they couldn’t help themselves? You made it a point to target witches in long-term relationships, women who may have been in a rut, or not been as happy as you presumed they were from the start? You decided to ‘test’ them as if you were some kind of authority on fidelity. You had no right to do that.”

“You went out on a mission to ruin those women, Severus. You were seeking revenge, trying to make their men as miserable as you were. You took a perverse joy in informing them you bedded their wives or lovers. How many times did those women tell you no, before you finally convinced them? I am certain not every woman whose ‘duplicity’ you proved said yes to you the first time around. Didn’t you in fact hound them until they acquiesced, then condemned them? They might have remained faithful if you had not been so determined that they wouldn’t be.”

Severus didn’t say anything, but he had been very persistent with many of the women. It was as if he wouldn’t take no for an answer, making his moves on them every chance he got until he bedded them…then exposed them.

“The women weren’t whores, Severus. Most wizards would have left them alone after being told no. But not you. You made them into whores with your persistence, your bitterness, ruining good relationships and lives as you did so. Finally, you withdrew from all of them, telling yourself you proved an entire sex’s unworthiness and using it as an excuse not to risk your heart again. Now, you will probably saddle that sweet witch who loves you and risked everything for you for whatever reason, with the same erroneous title of ‘whore’ based on your own lascivious actions. You are truly a miserable man, Severus, and it goes far beyond your former service as a spy to the Order. You impose your misery on yourself, and on others. It is your own fault you are alone and unhappy.”

Albus adjusted his glasses. The glare on them wasn’t just from the torches as he looked at the Potions Master.

“I only hope that you don’t ruin Hermione Granger. She doesn’t deserve that…especially with what she was willing to do to save you,” Albus concluded.

Severus stared at the Headmaster for several moments, then rose.

“If you are through, Headmaster,” Severus said, “I will retire to my rooms.”

Albus looked up at him with a very obvious frown now.

“Your rooms? Aren’t you going to check on Hermione’s condition?” he asked the Potions Master.

“Yes, tomorrow, after I am rested and have seen to the condition of my classroom. Hopefully it hasn’t been destroyed in my absence,” he said smoothly.

Now, Albus didn’t curse often, but this was one occasion that he let out an expletive that made the Potions Master’s brows lift and several parchments on his desk to ignite. He put them out with his hands and scowled at Severus.

“Just go then,” the Headmaster said.

It also wasn’t often that he felt the urge to hex his staff members, but he definitely had an itchy palm at this moment.

Severus looked at the irate Headmaster, shrugged then stepped through the floo.

The Headmaster shook his head.

“Severus, Severus, you blind, pig-headed idiot,” he muttered under his breath, his blue eyes focused on the green flames. “You are and have always been your own worst enemy.”

***************************

Severus stepped through the floo into his study, and was immediately accosted by an overjoyed, and glossy black Raucous. The raven fluttered and beat around his head excitedly, trying to perch on his shoulder and preen his hair with joy.

“Stop, Raucous!” Severus said, waving his hands at the over-excited bird.

Finally Raucous settled on the back of the armchair, his black eyes glittering with happiness. He sent the wizard an image of great crowds of cheering people, confetti and released balloons.

“Thank you, Raucous. I am glad to be back,” he replied to the raven.

Raucous then sent him an image of devil-Hermione, followed by a question mark.

“She is in the infirmary, very badly hurt,” Severus replied.

The raven looked stunned for a moment as he saw the image of Hermione slamming into Severus, pushing him out of the way and being enveloped in a spell that was obviously meant for him. He let out a squawk.

“She may have saved my life, yes,” the Potions Master said with irritation.

The raven didn’t like Hermione, but this definitely softened him toward the witch quite a bit. She had saved the best master the bird ever had.

Severus walked into his bedroom, undressed and got into bed, Raucous perching on the headboard. He lay there with his arms behind his head, thinking of Albus’ speech and the witch lying near death in the infirmary. Lying in his place.

“Raucous,” he said to the raven, who pulled his head out from under his wing, “I want you to do something for me.”

The bird hopped down on to the bed and looked at him expectantly.

“I want you to go to the infirmary and watch over Hermione for me. Send me images. Will you do that?”

The bird squawked assent.

“Thank you,” Severus said to the familiar.

The Potions Master rolled out of bed and walked to the floo, followed by Raucous. He threw in some floo powder. The flames turned green and Raucous fluttered through. He returned to his bed and saw Madam Pomfrey in his mind through the connection. She had her hands on her hips and was talking to the raven.

“Oh, so he sent you to watch her, eh? That’s something, I guess. Well let me get some parchment to place under the chair to catch anything you may drop,” she said.

Raucous squawked at her derisively.

“I know you are housebroken, Raucous, but I don’t want to open windows for you. Hermione might catch a chill,” she said, divining why the bird was upset. Poppy left, presumably to get some parchment.

Severus watched from the raven’s point of view as the bird walked up to the privacy curtain, and after several attempts at finding the opening, walked through and fluttered up to a chair near Hermione’s bed. The bird looked at her and made a soft noise. She looked peaceful, as if she were just asleep and not fighting for her life.

Severus watched her through Raucous’ eyes for a long while until he drifted off to sleep. Even then, her image was clear and strong against his closed lids.

*******************************
A/N: Albus got him told, didn’t he? He was pissed too. I don’t know if any of what he said sunk in, but it was pretty good. Maybe it did sink in. Severus sent Raucous to watch her. Well, we’ll see what happens next. I’m going to take a break and write and upload tomorrow unless the reviews get too rabid and ya’ll force me back to the keyboard tonight. Anyway, please review.

PLEASE REVIEW “BECOMING FAMILAR” >>> NEXT CHAPTER

Email Ruth Solomon | Home

Number of Visits:

The Burning Pen

Becoming Familiar with a Man of Misery
by Ruth Solomon

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence. Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately. You are not welcome here. The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 22

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
*******************************