2. Which spell did they perform?
As soon as dawn came, Hermione rose, quickly left her dormitory and made her way to the Gryffindor common room. Since she had been appointed Head Girl she had her own living quarters and she was really glad of her solitude but at the moment she had a pressing matter to attend to.
Now, she was quickly approaching the common room. She entered and went straight up to the boys’ dormitory. The boys were still sleeping but Hermione didn’t care at all. She sat on Harry’s bed and shook the sleeping boy.
Harry opened his eyes and whispered, ‘Hermione? What are you doing here at this time of the day?’
Hermione was tired and angry but she tried to keep calm, ‘I want to know which spell we used last night. I thought about the words but I don’t recall any spell with it.’
She had actually laughed when she first read the words, but they didn’t mean anything and so she had gone along, sure that nothing would come of it. But her wand had sparkled in contact with Professor Snape’s.
Harry looked at her guiltily. ‘Well, you see Hermione, I did some research and I found a few spells that looked good so I combined them together and I guess I made a new one.’
Hermione turned white. ‘Did you use part of a Permanent Sticking Charm?’ Harry nodded. She went on, ‘Fidelius Charm and Binding Spell?’ he nodded again. She remained silent for a while and Harry, clearing his throat, added, ‘And part of a Repelling Spell, too.’
Hermione stood up and quickly left the room, Harry tried to say something but she was already gone. He looked at the time and then, sighing, he jumped out of bed, quickly put on his uniform and tried to catch Hermione.
He found her almost at the door of the Headmaster’s office. The gargoyles were looking at her and waiting for the password. She stated clearly, ‘Ice Mice’ and the gargoyles opened the door.
The two students quickly went up the stairs and met a smiling Headmaster, ‘Welcome, Miss Granger and Mr Potter. What can I do for you?’
Hermione sat on the left chair and Harry on the right one and while she told Albus Dumbledore which mixed spell linked her to Severus Snape, Harry napped.
Albus looked at the scared Head Girl. ‘Miss Granger you know that the Repelling Spell together with the Permanent Sticking Charm is almost impossible to break. We now have to discover what the Binding Spell and the Fidelius Charm will do when they are combined.’
He smiled at her, trying to comfort the poor girl. ‘Do not worry, Hermione. We will find a solution, as soon as Severus gets better you and he will work to discover the effects and the cure for this spell. I believe that you have been punished enough for the little mistake, while your three friends will serve detention with Argus Filch for two months.’
Harry looked horror-struck at the Headmaster’s words but he knew that they had caused quite a stir and did not dare to contest the punishment.
Hermione was totally dismayed to discover that she had to work with Professor Snape to solve a problem that she had caused with her own stupidity. She thought about the man who had been the bane of her existence at Hogwarts and she was sure he would be enraged.
Harry and Hermione left after a while, both with heavy hearts. Harry tried to talk to Hermione, ‘Mione, I am so sorry about all this mess.’
Hermione looked at the boy and even though she knew that she had been responsible as well, she sneered at him, ‘And what will I do with your apologies Harry? I am stuck with Professor Snape for Merlin knows how long, trying to solve the mess that you and our brilliant friend Ron made! And you know how much Severus Snape loves me! And on top of it all I don’t even know which bloody spell binds me with the man!’
She paused her rant to take a breath and then she went on, ‘Next time you have a brilliant idea such as this one, please do not come and share it with me. Keep away from me for a while because at the moment I could hex you, Ron and Ginny into oblivion!’
Harry couldn’t find any words to comfort his friend, so they parted. She was stuck with Snape and she didn’t even know how. He had made a mess once again and one of his dearest friends was now linked with a Death Eater.
…Severus meets Hermione…
After one day, Severus was up again scaring most of the students to death. Five days after the accident, Gryffindors had Double Potion and it was the first time the culprits would see him. He was in the worst possible mood.
Albus had not been able to find what linked him and Miss insufferable-know-it-all and on top of that, the Headmaster had kindly ordered him to find a solution with Granger’s help.
He was seething and he intended to let the brats that put him into this mess know about it.
When the lesson started, he noticed that the bushy-haired girl had entered without the two side-kicks. Potter and Weasley entered last, and after eyeing with sorrow the seats near Granger, they went to sit at the back of the class.
Snape sneered suddenly, ‘Potter and Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for your tardiness!’
Both students knew they were not late but after seeing the face of the Potions Professor did not dare utter a single word of complaint.
Hermione looked at her teacher and he was surprised to note her amused look in her eyes.
Could it be possible that he was avenging her too?
The lesson proceeded in its usual fashion with Severus taking points Gryffindor every time that the two boys dared to breathe. Hermione at first had found the idea of punishing them very comforting, but now she was starting to worry that she would not be able to earn back all the lost points.
When the bell rang, everybody stood up and ran for the door, but Hermione was stopped by the strong and silky voice of Severus Snape, ‘Miss Granger, stay!’
She took a calming breath and approached his desk.
He studied the girl, she was very thin and pale. Obviously she spent her days in the library rather than outside and she did not look like she was eating enough.
He sighed. The girl reminded too much of himself at that age, but for the fact he never put a professor in such a mess.
‘So, we are stuck,’ he started. ‘I have done some reading but I could not find anything on this spell. Did you have more luck?’
Hermione watched him. He was trying to be nice but she was detecting a lot of resentment in his voice. He was probably keeping his shouting for later, hoping that first she had some precious information about their predicament.
‘I searched for the effects of the two spells together and I found an article.’ She had researched a lot and she was dreading having to explain the exact nature of the problem they were facing.
She cleared her throat, ‘Well, the Fidelius Charm is used to conceal a secret inside someone’s soul while the Binding Charm should bind a person to an object. In our case it was used in a spell concocted to link people who cared with each other. The article was saying that in 879 BC, a witch wanted to protect her husband from his enemies and she performed this spell. The result was to link the two of them, to unite their souls. While one of them was alive the other could not die and they could not be separated for more than a day, else the spell would take the two back to the last place they had been together.’
He posed the next question very carefully, because he knew he wouldn’t like the answer. ‘Why did this not happen with us? Why we were not taken back to the Forest after a day?’
She replied, ‘Well, to answer your first question, I believe that there is a certain distance we can be from each other before the spell comes into effect. We see each other at every meal so possibly that is enough to satisfy the magic.’
She took a calming breath. ‘There is a very serious side effect if the spell is not used correctly. The problem is that the two people have to love and respect each other deeply, otherwise after a year living with the spell they will both die. That is what happened to the couple I mentioned, because he did not love her enough.’
Severus paled. ‘Love? That we should love and respect each other? Have you got any idea of the danger you have put us in? We are going to die in a years time!’
‘Sir, it’s not only my fault! You Apparated in the middle of the circle!’ she retorted, and then she put her hands over her mouth. She had never been that disrespectful to any teacher.
‘Ten points from Gryffindor for your lack of respect, and detention with Filch tonight.’ He approached her and when he saw her taking a step backward, he smirked.
He moved near enough to whisper in a deadly cold voice, ‘Do not ever dare using that tone of voice with me. You and your little friends should not have been outside after curfew. Now leave, before I change my mind and take away more points.’
He was still smirking when she disappeared as fast as her feet could carry her.
Hermione was hurt by his words and she was scared to death. They were bound to each other and she was going to have to learn how to love him. He was a Death Eater, and a spy. He had always been ruthless; what could he possibly do to make her love him?
She had been hopeful that together they could find a solution, but if they couldn’t even stand each other’s company for more than a few minutes, how were they going to survive?
He despised her and she disliked him as well, and now she had to try to love him!
Love and Snape in the same phrase made her shudder with disgust at the present moment, but at least she was willing to consider. He had been rude and had made it clear that they were going to die.
She sighed. She had been right in neglecting to mention the other minor side effect. Their soul was now one and therefore they were connected in a mental way. After a week under the spell she would be able to feel his emotion and vice versa.
And the week ended tonight.
Always in My Mind by lucyferina
Chapter Notes: Here’s the second chapter, I would like to thank everyone who is reading my story.
A special thanks goes to snarkyroxy, my beta, who corrected my mistakes and made the whole chapter nicer to read.