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Memories of Deception	By : professorflo Category: Harry Potter > General > General Views: 20868 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters within. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Memories of Deception
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9.
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 47-47
- 48-48
- 49-49
- 50-50
- 51-51
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 56-56
- 57-57
- 58-58
- 59-59
- 60-60
- 61-61
- 62-62
- 63-63
- 64-64
- 65-65
- 66-66
- 67-67
- 68-68
- 69-69
- 70-70
- 71-71
- 72-72
- 73-73
- 74-74
- 75-75
- 76-76
- 77-77
- 78-78
- 79-79
- 80-80
- 81-81
- 82-82
- 83-83
- 84-84
- 85-85
- 86-86
- 87-87
- 88-88
- 89-89
- 90-90
- 91-91
- 92-92
- 93-93
- 94-94
- 95-95
- 96-96
- 97-97
- 98-98
- 99-99
- 100-100
- 101-101
- 102-102
- 103-103
- 104-104
- 105-105
- 106-106
- 107-107
- 108-108
- 109-109
- 110-110
- 111-111
- 112-112
- 113-113
- 114-114
- 115-115
- 116-116
- 117-117
- 118-118
- 119-119
- 120-120
- 121-121
- 122-122
- 123-123
- 124-124
- 125-125
- 126-126
- 127-127
- 128-128
- 129-129
- 130-130
- 118
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- 120
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Sorry, sorry, sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I've had the busiest few weeks ever, including teacher training inteviews (accepted!) skills tests (passed!) and driving test (passed!) and this chapter was just horribly hard to write. Hopefully the next few should come a bit easier now, and I do some some bits already written.
zaubernuss Wow, I can't believe you read it all again, there's just so much of it! As far as the time-travel into the future goes, I know there's nothing to support it in canon, but i've tried so hard to stick to what is known (the research when I write anything about spells and potions takes forever) so please forgive me just this one deviation as I've had it planned all along. (I even created a special spell to make it work.) In terms of why Snape did that, he was just trying to get away from her, nothing else. He was in pain and not thinking clearly and he's convinced she doesn't really love him, so 2 years is time for her to realise that and get over him.
spaceygirl67 thanks, hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Hermione dug her fingers into her palms into a bid to stop her hands from shaking. It didn't help. She tried to act nonchalant as she strode down the hall besides Minerva and Sarah the psychiatrist that Minerva had hired two years previously, but from the concerned looks she was getting she could assume she wasn't convincing anyone. It had been months since she'd been in Snape's rooms, the last time to get the final portrait to take to Minerva's office. The removal of the past Head's from the walls had been extremely difficult, and they'd had to let Flitwick in on the secret, in order that he could help Hermione find a charm that would help get the frames off the walls.
Only Dumbledore's portrait had been left in the office. The same charms that had worked on the rest of the portraits had had no effect on his, and both Dumbledore and Minerva had insisted that she stop trying. The excuse that Dumbledore wanted to oversee the study in the absence of its rightful owner had never quite rung true with Hermione, and the blank expression on Minerva's face when questioned told her there was another reason the old headmaster's portrait had stayed. She'd seen Dumbledore sharing another portrait's space in Minerva's new office so it wasn't like he didn't have access to the rest of the castle anyway.
Hermione had spent as much time as possible during the summer months holed up in Snape's rooms, supposedly working on the potion and studying, but in reality sulking and moping just as much. She had tried using arithmancy to figure out what was wrong, but there seemed to be something wrong with her equations, something missing. She'd poured over Snape's library for any reference to either anti-venins or potion development andread his potion's journal so many times she could probably transcribe it without looking. She'd even tried remaking the potion, but couldn't see what the problem with the potion was.
Most days Minerva had had to send Tiggy in to retrieve her for the night, and it seemed that the elf had taken it upon herself to look after her and make sure she ate enough. Hermione was either so absorbed with research or with wallowing in self-pity that she would have forgotten to feed herself. Minerva's insistence that she leave the headmaster's rooms each evening irritated her enough that she wouldn't have listened if the older witch had been complaining about her eating habits, but she was unable to refuse the sad, pleading face of the little elf as she wrung her hands in dismay over Hermione's lack of appetite.
When it had come time for the students to return to the school, Minerva had reminded Hermione to pack up and move her research in the dungeon, where the older witch had arranged for Slughorn to give her space and to watch over her. Hermione had spent most of the month that followed revising for her NEWTs, but had spent some time each day trying to work out what was wrong with the potion and reading through the notebook that she carried everywhere with her.
At first she had resented the way Slughorn had hovered over her, not knowing the story behind what she was doing, but as always on the prowl for something that would bring him money or prestige. When, after a few weeks after she'd completed and aced her NEWTs she still had no progress to show, she'd reluctantly consented to let him have a look at the potion, although she had convinced Slughorn that it was merely for academic purposes. She was sure he didn't believe her, but for some reason had decided to help her anyway.
It hadn't taken Slughorn long to realise what she hadn't had the experience or knowledge to see, that in actual fact the recipe for the anti-venin was correct. There had been nothing wrong with her arithmancy or brewing, so the potion's professor was convinced that the creator had made an error while brewing it himself. And when she'd thought about it, Hermione had been able to recall many days in which Snape had toiled over the unknown potion as she worked on the opposite side of the bench. She'd felt his eyes on her many times, and noted the tremor in his hands on more than one occasion, but had never had the courage to ask what the problem was. Had he made a mistake because he had been distracted by her?
Together Slughorn and she had recreated the potion and tested it successfully on a mixture of Hermione's blood and Nagini's venom that she'd brought down from Snape's lab. The next step had been to work out what Snape had done wrong and how to counter it. Hermione had almost wept in frustration when she'd recalled how she'd chucked away the rest of Snape's anti-venin that was left in his lab in a fit of pique, a couple of days after the battle. She'd had to return to the shack to search for the phial that had contained the anti-venom she'd given to him. Luckily, upon learning of Snape's 'death' on the day of the battle, Minerva had sealed the Shack with strong wards soon after the fighting had ended to prevent anyone from defiling his body. She'd then promptly forgotten all about it once she had learned of Snape's possible survival and removal to the castle.
The shack had therefore been untouched since Hermione had left it months ago, and she'd easily found the phial. It had contained just enough remnants of the potion for the two of them to test. Hermione had been close to coming unhinged when the results showed that the potion was perfect, and Slughorn had been perplexed by how badly she was affected. He'd been completely in the dark as to the purpose of what Hermione was trying to achieve, although he had been persuaded to help by the prospect of having one third of the Golden Trio, the highest achieving student in a hundred years under his thumb, and the prestige of tutoring her for a mastery in potions.
Hermione had never previously considered potions as a possible career, but she'd been more than willing to suck up to Slughorn to get what she wanted. She'd found she'd acquired a new pleasure in the subject, although it may have had something to do with the memory of Snape working quietly across the bench from her, the feel of his eyes on her as she brewed, or the way he had gently stroked her hair as she read a book at his feet. She could almost feel his presence beside her in the dungeon classroom where he had taught for so many years as she worked.
The 'tutoring' Snape had given her in the safety of his chambers had helped her to improve her skills considerably in a short space of time, and she wondered how many students would have been more interested in the subject had Snape taken the same care in teaching them as he had with her. Slughorn, of course, had attributed her skills to his own teaching and took great pride in regaling the rest of the staff and anyone in earshot with stories of his talented 'apprentice' and his own expertise.
While his posturing had driven Hermione half mad, she could at least appreciate that she would not have done nearly so well with the potion without his help, so had bitten her tongue and ignored him as best she could. When she'd calmed down from her shock at discovering that the anti-venin she'd given to Snape had been brewed correctly, she'd been glad once again for Slughorn's knowledge. He'd made a throw-away comment about one of the ingredients being liable to react badly with other substances, and immediately she'd been sure that was the problem. She'd given Snape Draught of the Living Death and a healing potion as well as the anti-venin, so there was a good chance there was something about the mix that had prevented Snape from healing properly.
Hermione had done some reading and identified two ingredients in the Draught of the Living Death that may have reacted with those in the anti-venon. Despite her faith in her own abilities, this was too important to get wrong, so while she may have been able to work out what needed to be done by herself, she'd decided to she wanted to continue working with Slughorn to find the answer.
Minerva had needlessly cautioned her against the old potion's professor's propensity to use take advantage of any given situation. Between the two of them they'd had to cajole a reluctant Slughorn into taking an Unbreakable Vow, (which involved a raise and access to some of the rarer plants in the greenhouses) before sitting him down to explain everything.
Not that the secrecy really mattered so much anymore. Snape's survival and jump forward in time still wasn't well known, although the senior staff at Hogwarts had been told after his name had been cleared. One of Kingsley's first acts as Minister had been to 'bow' to the pressures from the public and grant Snape a full pardon and Order of Merlin. Hermione smiled to himself as she remembered the headline, Severus Snape: The Secret Saviour – (a story in three parts). Rita Skeeter had been more than willing to sign the magical contract that Hermione had drawn up in order to get the one and only interview with the golden trio.
Skeeter had actually done a good job of writing Snape's story, and had milked it for all it was worth, getting evidence from others to corroborate what she had learned from the three of them. Not that she truly cared, but it made for a sensational story, and since she was denied the pleasure of writing trash about two of her favourite victims; Harry and Hermione, she'd settled for raking in a huge amount of money for her exclusives instead. Hermione was just glad that they had managed to keep Skeeter from publishing the full facts about Snape's love for Lily. They'd tried to make it seem as if they'd just been childhood friends, but Skeeter had guessed the truth. Luckily the terms of the contract had prevented her from writing anything Hermione told her she couldn't print.
Despite the full story from the trio also being published the press had continued to hound them for more details, and while Hermione had holed up at Hogwarts, Harry and Ron had stayed at The Burrow for the summer, though they came often to see her and to help where they could with the repair of the castle. They had both seemed to heal quickly, and the gaunt look they had both acquired from their year on the run had disappeared after a few weeks of Mrs Weasley's cooking.
The ministry had offered the three of them jobs without them having completed their schooling, but they had all chosen to attend Hogwarts for a final year. Hermione believed that it was more the chance to be together than to complete their schooling that had made the decision for them. Harry hadn't wanted to be parted from Ginny, nor Ron from Luna, who had also returned to the castle.
Hermione had spent the first term so bound up with her work with Slughorn, as well as the completion of her NEWTs, that she had barely spent any time with her friends. Most of the little time she'd allowed herself away from her work had been taken up with sessions with Sarah, the psychologist Minerva had brought in, and in any case, she'd felt like a spare wheel around the two happy couples.
Minerva had been true to her word, and all the staff had been forced to be assessed by Sarah. Flitwick and Minerva, along with one or two other had only had a few sessions, whereas Professor Sprout had continued going for most of the following year, and all the rest of the staff had been somewhere in between. Sarah had also spent time with the returning students. Surprisingly, despite all Luna had been through, she had only needed the one session, although most of the 7th years and those who had come back for the extra year had had weekly sessions that had lasted until they had completed their NEWTs and left the castle.
Hermione had been the only one to visit more than once a week at first, although the frequency had dropped after a few months, once Sarah felt she had dealt with most of the fallout from the year on the run and her time with Snape. The discovery of why Snape's anti-venin hadn't worked and how to fix it had probably helped her move on somewhat as well, and she had stopped pushing herself almost to the point of exhaustion.
Hermione smiled tightly at the woman to the left of her. Sarah had been a godsend really, despite her own reluctance to talk to anyone about what she'd been through. Hermione had been the last one to stop her regular sessions with the psychiatrist, almost a year after the battle. Sarah had been asked to stay for the following year by Minerva, as some of the student's still suffered occasionally, and the acting Headmistress had felt it wise for them to continue to have someone who they could go to.
Sarah had promised Hermione that when the time came for Snape to return that she would accompany her as far as she could, and Hermione had not been surprised to find Minerva at her door as well that morning. They had gone with her to the dungeons to collect the potions that had been brewed in preparation, and Minerva had sent Slughorn off to the infirmary where Madame Pomphrey had set up a special area where Snape could be sequestered away from prying eyes.
Hermione ran her hand across the phials that were hidden in the deep pockets of her robes, as if to check that they were still there. She knew that everything had been well planned and prepared, but she could not stop her nervousness mounting as they approached the gargoyle that guarded the stairway up to the Headmaster's study. Minerva and Sarah stopped at the bottom of the stairs and watched as the gargoyle began to move at the slightest touch from Hermione.
"We won't go up, there's nothing we could do even if you did need help. You'll have to rely on Tiggy until he's moved to the infirmary. We'll wait for you there." Minerva smiled down at Hermione, laying a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "You'll do just fine my dear."
Overcome with emotions, Hermione found it hard to answer, so instead turned to the other woman.
"Just remember what we discussed. Just get him to the infirmary and take things from there. There's no point worrying about anything else until he's better."
Sarah reached out to squeeze Hermione's arm as she finished speaking, but in typical Hermione fashion she launched herself suddenly at the two surprised women, wrapping an arm around each of them and pulling them in for a hug. "Thank you both so much. I don't know where I'd be without the two of you." She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall before either Minerva or Sarah could see them.
The two women waited until they heard the door at the top of the stairs click shut before either moved.
"I do worry about her," Minerva began as they turned to head towards the infirmary. "Merlin knows how his return is going to affect her, whether she manages to save him or not. She's done so well in moving past it all." She eyed the younger woman at her side, wishing for once that she would give her some idea of her opinion on Hermione's situation, but Sarah had always refused to discuss any of her sessions with either students or staff. Minerva had no idea even whether Hermione intended to pursue a relationship with Severus, or if she'd dismissed her feelings as a product of the situation they'd been in. The girl had been completely unwilling to discuss it further with her, although Minerva had been glad to see that after a few months she had begun to return to her usual self, although quieter and a little more isolated than before.
"Hermione will be fine. She's got a good head on her shoulders, and we've spent plenty of time discussing this moment and what may happen next. I believe she will have the strength to deal with whatever comes."
"And what about him? So much depends on what he does next." Minerva had looked across at the woman walking alongside her as she spoke, and therefore caught her slight smile.
"From the impression I have got of him, not just from Hermione, but from others too, I have some idea of what to expect. Psychology is of course never an exact art though, and I understand he can be… difficult."
Minerva snorted. "That man takes contrary to a fine art. He seems to take pleasure in doing the exact opposite of whatever anyone expects of him. His connection with Hermione, however… Well I admit I was surprised at first, but it does make sense. They are the two most exceptional students to pass through Hogwarts in all my time here, both extremely focused and dedicated to whatever cause they take up." She peeked sideways to see if she was going to get a response, and found Sarah nodding silently to her words.
Encouraged, she continued, still watching for a reaction as they began to descend toward the infirmary. "Hermione is warm and compassionate, and Severus needs someone who will show him affection. He is just as passionate as she under that cold exterior of his, and from what I saw, genuine in his feelings towards her, despite all that nonsense about Lily Potter. I would not be surprised to find that he used the time-turner because he was scared she didn't feel the same for him. He is so used to rejection and to being solitary. He was never popular at school, nor was he close with anyone except Dumbledore and myself during his years teaching. I understand that his home life was nothing to brag about either."
This time she'd managed to catch a range of emotions that had flashed across Sarah's face, from agreement to surprise. The irony that she was arguing for a relationship between the two was not lost on her, considering how she'd convinced Severus to push her away, but after watching Hermione for the past two years, as well as her own reflections on Severus' behaviour had changed her mind a great deal. She'd been more worried for the girl at the time than aware of his feelings, but the more she had though on it, the surer she was that she had been wrong to force them apart. Severus had deep feelings for Hermione, she was more than convinced, but whether he would act on them was another matter.
"I am not surprised about his background, although no one else has mentioned it to me before. Was Hermione aware of all this?"
"I am not sure how much he told her, though he is not one to be loquacious, particular about his past. If she knows anything, it is more likely the information comes from those memories he left to Potter. I recall her telling me something about them, although she seemed to be more focused on her discovery of his relationship with Lily, such as it was."
"Yes, we have discussed those memories, but only in passing, as I asked her only to discuss what was relevant to her. Hermione's own experiences and feelings are what are important, so we did discuss what she learned of Lily Potter, but nothing else about his past. That is for him to deal with. I was planning to clear some of my schedule in anticipation of some sessions with him once he begins to recover physically. I am sure it would be a good…"
Minerva laughed. "Severus… talk to someone about his feelings? I'd love to see you try and convince him to attend a session with you. It'll be hard enough keeping him in the infirmary long enough for him to fully recover, I can't imagine he would ever be willing to accept counselling, especially from someone he doesn't know well. No offense to you, but he finds it next to impossible to trust anyone. No, a good kick in the backside is what that boy needs… "
I know I've jumped over 2 years in just one chapter, but this story really is long enough, so I only wanted to go over the main points. For those interested in what Hermione and Sarah talked about there will be more in the next chapter, although again, I'm not going into masses of details or I'll never finish.
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Memories of Deception