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Love Is No Big Truth	By : honeybee Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Snape/Hermione Views: 10389 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
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7. Time of
the Truth

There he
was, though at first she thought she was mistaken. The Severus Snape she knew lurked
in gloomy dungeons and dressed in heavy black robes. He didn�t sit in sunny
cafés, wearing merely a shirt and trousers, yet there he was. The sickly
pallor of his skin was gone; the yellowish hue was replaced by the complexion
of a naturally pale person. It still created a striking contrast; his fair skin
and black hair were spilling over the white shirt; he looked like a cut-out
from a monochrome photograph. He looked healthier that she had ever seen him
before.

�Do close
your mouth, Miss Granger. Did no one ever teach you that it is impolite to
stare?�

Hermione
realised that she was indeed gawking, quite rudely and hurried to apologise.

�I am
sorry, sir. I did not expect to see you here of all places.�

�I reside
in a neighbouring country and I decided to pay my old master a visit. Few
people would recognise me here, so I thought it was safe to enjoy a cup of
coffee and a milder climate. Apparently, I was mistaken. Would you care to join
me?� He gestured to the empty chair.

She sat
down tentatively and ordered an espresso when the waitress arrived. He was the one who broke the uncomfortable
silence.

�I must congratulate you on your
apprenticeship. George is one of the best in the field. I still visit him
occasionally to ask his opinion.�

�Yes, he
told me that he meets with you. He wouldn�t tell me about your research,
though.�

He found the
disappointment in her voice amusing.

�I suppose
he told you it was my story to tell?�

�Something
along those lines; so will you? Tell me, I mean.�

Severus
weighed his options. He had to tell her about the Wielding situation anyway,
and this was a perfect opening.

�Miss
Granger, I admit that I had wanted to speak to you about something important,
something that is closely related to the subject of my research. However, we
will need more time and this is not the place for such a conversation. Would
you like to visit my cottage tomorrow? You could Floo directly from George�s
office.�

Hermione�s
eyes widened. He was actually going to tell her? She wouldn�t have to beg? Curiouser
and curiouser�

�Certainly, sir. I don�t start classes for another week, so I am free tomorrow.�

Snape laced
his fingers and leaned back in his chair.

�Now, I must
admit that I am curious about what took place after our correspondence? You
seem well enough to me. Are you still having nightmares?�

Hermione
stared at her coffee cup for a long time and Severus somehow felt as an
intruder.

�I
apologise, I see that the topic is sensitive.�

She shook
her head and smiled weakly.

�No, I will
tell you. I just needed to gather my thoughts�now it seems to me that I was a
different person then. I went to Australia to retrieve my parents. It turned
out that there was a cyclone near Brisbane several months ago. Both of them
were dead.�

Severus
shut his eyes and cursed silently. He could only imagine what that piece of
news did to someone in a fragile state of mind.

�I somehow
arrived home. I decided that I really had to speak to my friends. However, just
that evening Harry and Ginny announced their engagement. So I couldn�t do it.�
She raised her eyes. �Come on, tell me I was a foolish
Gryffindor.�

�You were, I wouldn�t expect any less from you.� Her eyes widened
slightly at the veiled compliment, but she continued her story without comment.

�On the
next day I had a surprise visit from an old friend, Viktor Krum. When he came
to see me, I was nearly catatonic. He asked what was wrong and he wouldn�t back
down. He yelled at me, he yelled at Harry for not noticing sooner that there
was something wrong with me. Merlin, the git actually dragged me down to the hallway mirror to show
me that I looked like death warmed over. You could say he brought me back from
the brink of madness.� She started laughing. �Can you imagine that I had
forgotten to send my application letters, sir? Me! Forget about school!�

Severus�
lips twitched without amusement. It was true, if this girl forgot about
her education, she was too far gone. He sympathised with Krum with a stab of
anger towards Potter and Weasley. Best friends indeed�

Hermione
continued her tale of woe.

�I was better
after I talked to him. It broke the dam; afterwards, I talked to Harry, Ron,
and Ginny. I took your advice from the letter and had Ginny stay in my room.
Viktor told me about this apprenticeship program, so here I am. I rarely have
nightmares anymore. When I do, I feel detached and I can always make them go
away.�

Severus
stared into her eyes. The pain was still there, but it was something buried
deep down at the bottom. Acceptance. I wish I could
do that. He stood up abruptly.

�I have to
go, Miss Granger. I will inform George that you will visit me tomorrow via his
Floo. At what time shall I expect you?�

�About nine
in the morning, is that convenient?�

�Yes, it
is. Until tomorrow, then.� And he was gone, just like
that. Hermione watched him go. He looked odd without his billowing robes. She
glanced at the table�he had left enough money for both their coffees. She
shrugged and stood up, heading home. The whole encounter seemed surreal. Still,
she couldn�t wait to visit.

***

Exactly at
quarter to nine on the next morning, Hermione knocked on Master Borisov�s door. He opened it and greeted her.

�Good
morning, Miss Granger! I understand that you will be visiting Severus?�

She nodded.

�Very well.� He took a handful of Floo powder and threw it in, clearly saying
�Severus Snape�s cottage�. The fire turned green and Hermione stepped forward
into the whirlwind of green flames.

She
stumbled out of the fireplace, but a strong hand grabbed her shoulder and
steadied her. She looked up to see Snape smirking at her.

�The worst
way to travel, I believe. Good morning, Miss Granger. Come outside.�

She
followed him and gasped when she walked out of the cottage. They were apparently
somewhere in the mountains. There was a garden with fruit trees and herbs
around the house. Snape was sitting on a bench next to a wooden table, looking
very out of place amongst the bright warm colours of summer. His dark eyes
studied her intently and he gestured to another seat.

�Please,
sit down. Before we discuss my research, I will give you something to read. It
may seem irrelevant, but please bear with me. When you finish, we will speak.�
He handed her a thick tome and opened it at the beginning. Hermione glanced at
him in confusion. He clicked his tongue impatiently.

�Read, Miss
Granger!�

She
shrugged and took the book.

�The
history of wizards goes back to the dawn of humanity. There were always the
ones who could heal wounds, who could find food and water, the wise folk, the
shamans. As humanity developed, so did the wizards. While the ancestors of what
we call �Muggles� worked with tools and created the rudiments of technology,
the ancient wizards studied magic, they created the first wands and the first
real spells. After a while, the two groups started fearing each other. Muggles
feared the wizards� powers; the wizards feared the sheer numbers of the
Muggles. So, wizards decided to hide. They erected magical barriers that the
Muggles could not see. They invented the Muggle-repelling charms.

Ever
since the beginning, there were always wizards who had special skills. The Metamorphmagi could assume any shape and form with only
their will. The Animagi could change into animals.
The Wielders, the most powerful of all, could tap into the life force of the
Earth. Every living thing releases its life force into Earth after it dies. It
lays there, an immense source of life energy, waiting to be used again. They could make crops grow on barren soil;
they could heal a mortal wound. They all had a strict moral code, for no
Wielder would ever draw life from a living thing, anyone who did could never Wield again. Few were those who tried because they lived in
harmony with nature and they respected every life, from the human to the
smallest flower. If they picked a plant or killed an animal, it was always for
food, shelter, or medicine, and they never used their powers to kill.

However,
even amongst the noblest of humans, a villain can be born. Graolf was his name
and he was the most powerful Wielder in his generation. Conceited and power hungry,
he was never satisfied with what he had. He studied the darkest of rituals and he
managed to create a curse, a curse that enabled anyone who uttered it to drain
the life of the target. Graolf died in the process, because he incorporated his
Wielding power into the curse itself.

Since
then, the Wielders were feared and hunted everywhere. People did not remember
their good deeds; they only remembered Graolf and his Unforgivable curse. As
wizards and witches went in hiding from the Muggles, the Wielders went in
hiding from their own kind. They are believed to be almost extinct and every
effort was made to erase them from history. Wielders still exist though, and
they walk amongst wizards, but they never show their skills. Their lore is
passed down from generation to generation, because Wielding is often inherited,
especially from the mother. They all bear the collective guilt that one of
their own created the darkest existing curse. Legend says that one day another
Wielder shall undo the evil that was done by Graolf. However, to this day, no one
has succeeded. All we can do is hope.�

Hermione
looked up from the text, her mouth hanging open in shock.

�Are
you�are you one of these Wielders?�

He nodded.

Her eyes
lit up. �Professor, this is amazing! How is it possible that I have never read
anything about it?�

Severus
sighed in exasperation.

�The last
paragraph explains that, I believe. It is forbidden knowledge. Even today, the
use of Wielding is as grave a crime as the use of any Unforgivable; it is
punishable by a life sentence in Azkaban. A Wielder would never disclose
himself willingly, and the ones who know of their existence believe that it is
bad luck to even utter the word.�

She was
staring forward, chewing on her lip furiously. He could almost see the wheels
turning inside her head.

�Graolf�s
curse�it is Avada Kedavra, isn�t it?�

�Yes. There
is no other curse that kills instantly. It has no counter-curse because it does
not evoke ordinary magic. In the old days, it was the only Unforgivable; the
others were added only about a century ago.�

Hermione
rested her forehead in her hands and sighed.

�This is
what you are working on, right? You are trying to counter the Killing Curse.�

�Perceptive as always, Miss Granger.�

�What I
cannot understand is why you are telling me all this?�

�As I said,
a Wielder would willingly disclose himself only to another Wielder. You were not
paying attention.� He held his breath, waiting for her to catch on.

Hermione�s
eyes snapped up and all colour drained from her face. She shook her head.

�Oh no.

You have to be joking. I am not a Wielder! Even if I was, how would YOU know?�

He scowled
and barked at her.

�Control
your temper, Miss Granger. I rarely joke, and never about matters that are
serious. Please, remember the moment in the Shrieking Shack when you saved my
life.�

�What about
it?�

�Recount
it, with details.�

�I found
you on the ground and I heard a gurgling noise. I realised you were alive. I
tried to heal you, but the spell wasn�t working. I tried again, but I was so
tired�I braced myself on the ground�� she stopped and looked at him in horror.

�Yes, you
have to touch the ground in order to tap into the force. That was what you did,
but along with it, you used up almost all of your magic for the spell itself.�

She shook
her head in disbelief.

�How can
you be sure?�

�I found a
flower on the floor of their Shrieking Shack, Miss Granger. A single red flower
had grown exactly on the spot where you had healed me. It happens, when you do
not properly channel everything you have drawn. It seeks to ground itself into
something. In this case, it found a seed.�

Hermione
stared forlornly at her shoes. Severus sighed.

�It is not
a bad thing, Miss Granger. It is a gift. You will have to be careful around
others, but I fail to see the tragedy.�

�It is just
so�sudden, sir. Everything was falling into its place; I was having a normal
life for a change, and now this.�

Severus
sneered at her. �I never thought I would hear you whining, Miss Granger.�

She straightened her shoulders and glared at
him.

�Okay, show
me.�

He blinked.
�I beg your pardon?�

�Show me
how you do it, I want to see.�

Severus
rolled his eyes. He slipped down to the ground and touched the soil between the
blades of grass. It was easy; the meadow was brimming with life. He
concentrated and found what he was looking for. Several minutes later, he
opened his eyes.

***

Hermione
couldn�t look away from the sight. He was sitting on the ground, touching the
soil, and a small seedling appeared beneath his fingers. She stared in
amazement at the flower, which in the matter of minutes grew to full height,
budded, and finally opened a single bloom. The oddest thing, however, was the
expression on his face. He looked serene and almost�happy, a look she never
thought she would see on Severus Snape�s face. When he opened his eyes and
looked at her, she couldn�t contain her excitement.

�Professor, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Will you teach me?�

He stared
at the flower and caressed it with one finger. Standing up, he dusted off his
trousers and said wearily, �Teaching you seems to be my destiny, Miss Granger.
As all types of magic, in moments of stress or emotional instability, Wielding
can be expressed involuntarily. It needs to be learned and controlled. We will
begin after breakfast.�

He went
inside the cottage and brought out a plate full of fruit and cheese. He plonked
it in front of her and ordered, �Eat! You will need your strength.�

A/N: Thanks to Gryffindor_Slytherin for still doing an amazing job and putting up with my atrocious grammar. Also thanks to anyone who reads this...I know there are people who do that, because the hit count goes up. If you take the time to leave a review, it would be very, very nice and you would make me a very happy author :)
This chapter's title belong to Axel Rudi Pell.
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Love Is No Big Truth