The Serpent's Kiss

Chapter Five: Meeting the Minister

The next morning, McGonagall told Hermione that she had spoken to the Minister. He would be arriving at Hogwarts today to speak to the two of them. The Headmistress was kindly allowing them the use of her office for the meeting.

So, a little before noon, they arrived at the Headmistress' office. Snape muttered the password, something she didn't quite catch, to the gargoyle and it leapt aside. She followed him up the staircase and he knocked on the heavy, wooden door. There was a deep voice from within and the door opened on its own.

Hermione hadn't been in this room many times, but she was happy to see that not much had changed since Dumbledore had died. She thought that there were a few new apparatuses lining some of the tables, probably added by McGonagall when she'd taken over the position. The portrait of Albus Dumbledore, who was slumbering quite peacefully at the moment, hung on the wall behind the desk.

This room, at least, had remained constant. She wasn't sure why that pleased her.

Kingsley Shacklebolt, tall and imposing, leaned against the desk in the center of the room. He smiled when he saw them and he moved forward to shake their hands.

"Good to see you both again. I wish it was under better circumstances, of course. Now, Minerva has told me all about this awful situation. But, if you don't mind, I'd like to hear it directly from the source."

Hermione nodded and recounted the tale that she had told so many times over the last days. Snape was mostly silent, occasionally adding a detail or two. When they got to the part about the obedience, Shacklebolt held up a hand to stop them.

"Yes, Minerva mentioned that as well. That is rather odd. Would you mind demonstrating it?"

Hermione balked and glanced at Severus. He was watching her with a raised brow. She nodded and said, "I suppose that would be alright. Go ahead, Professor."

She watched as his lips thinned, as if he were uncomfortable at being put on display. Hermione could certainly relate to that. For a week now, she'd had to deal with even more stares and pitying glances than usual. It was beginning to grate on her.

"Come here, Miss Granger."

Hermione was reminded of the time in her fourth year when she'd been witness to the Imperius Curse. She remembered Harry putting up a resistance to the curse, and so she focused every ounce of willpower she possessed into remaining still. She felt a sort of prickly sensation sweep over her; her whole body was stinging. The more she fought it, the worse it became, until her entire being was scorching.

It was no use; she wasn't strong enough. Her breath left her in a great rush as she released control. She felt her body move to stand in front of him. She hadn't lasted more than a minute.

There was a darkness lurking behind his eyes as Snape leaned towards her and held out his hand. "Give me your wand."

Her eyes widened and a noise of indignation sounded from the back of her throat. She removed her wand from the pocket of her robes and gently placed it in his hand. Hermione scowled and began to mentally amass a list of all the names that she wanted to call him.

He turned to Kingsley with a sneer. "Was that demonstration adequate?"

The minister looked horrorstruck. He was silent for a long time, glancing back and forth between the two of them. Then, he nodded and said, "I want you to know that we will be doing everything in our power to resolve this situation."

There was the sound of a throat clearing. Everyone in the room, including the portraits, glanced toward the frame of Albus Dumbledore. He was no longer sleeping, and Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that he'd just been pretending.

"Hello, Minister. Always a pleasure to see you," Dumbledore said politely as he peered down at them.

"Good afternoon, Albus. I'm assuming that you've heard what's happened. Have you ever encountered anything like this before?"

Dumbledore's eyes were grave behind his spectacles. "When Minerva asked me that question, the answer was no. However, now that I have observed the full range of effects of this spell, my answer has changed. With the bouts of pain that force you to remain in proximity to one another and Miss Granger's obedience, I now believe that this is a bonding spell."

Hermione cleared her throat nervously. Still, when she spoke her voice cracked. "What kind of bonding spell?"

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, a few hundred years ago, these spells were quite popular. They would typically use them when an arranged marriage occurred; especially if the wife was uncooperative. It would force the woman to be obedient to her husband."

The silence in the room was suffocating. Hermione's mouth had dropped open at some point and Snape, if possible, was looking even paler than usual.

"Well," Hermione began, her voice having risen to a shriek, "you must know how to break this spell, right? There has to be a way!"

Dumbledore's expression became pacifying. "It's rather difficult to answer that question. There were many different versions of this spell, specifically tailored to each family's needs. Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no counter-curse."

Hermione's breath caught in her throat. No counter-curse? She felt like she was barreling towards a panic attack. This wasn't possible. There had to be a way to fix this. Her mind was reeling against the idea of being stuck with that man forever.

"I will not accept this!" Snape was apoplectic. His chest was heaving and he seemed to almost shake with rage. "There has to be something. Some obscure counter-spell ... I will not rest until I find it."

He suddenly whirled to face her and she quailed in the face of his fury. "This is your fault," he said, shaking a finger at her.

She scoffed and her voice rose an octave when she screeched, "My fault? How do you figure this is my fault?"

Snape's dark eyes were burning her alive. "If you hadn't provoked that man, we wouldn't be here. But no, the poor, little Gryffindor had her feelings hurt. So, she had to puff out her chest and make everyone see how tough she is."

Hermione's mouth fell open again. "Well, I wasn't just going to sit back and let him talk to me like that. It might not have bothered you, but I've been fighting against that sort of prejudice since the day I found out that I was a witch."

He took a few steps towards her, so that he towered over her. "Of course, what he said wasn't acceptable. But there is a time for chivalry and self-righteousness and there is a time to hold your tongue. And because you can't tell the difference, we are stuck with each other. Ten points to Gryffindor for your brilliance," he said scathingly.

"Enough!" Dumbledore's voice echoed in the large room. "Severus, why don't you go take a walk? When you're calm, you may return."

Snape rolled his eyes at the older man. He returned her wand and then stalked from the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. Hermione winced at the sound. And when she met the twinkling gaze of her former Headmaster, she fell to pieces. She buried her face in her hands as angry tears began to pour.

"There, there, Miss Granger. You mustn't take what he says to heart. He doesn't really mean it. Severus has always been rather hopeless at dealing with his emotions and so he resorts to lashing out. He is having just as difficult a time with this as you are."

Hermione didn't believe him. She knew exactly how Snape felt about her; she could feel it in his gaze and the way he spoke to her. The man absolutely loathed her. But she didn't want to pour her heart out in front of the Minister, who was now looking a bit uncomfortable at the turn the situation had taken. So, she merely nodded without meeting Dumbledore's eyes.

Shacklebolt smiled in an attempt to comfort her. "Now that we have some sort of idea of what we're dealing with, I think our next move should be to send for a cursebreaker. Maybe they will know of something that could help. Of course, I will stress that this is a highly confidential matter."

Hermione nodded again as she brushed the last of the tears from her eyes. "Thank you both. If that's all, I think I'll be going now. I have a lot to think about."