Escape ↣ Harmione

Chapter Nine

They didn't speak, they reached the apparition point and not a word passed between them. Arriving at the gates, they walked up the path to the school and up to Minerva's office still in silence. It wasn't until the first cup of tea had been drunk, and whisky distributed that either of them found their voices.

"I know why she's in your house," Severus said, his voice croaking slightly.

"Oh Merlin, I wasn't expecting that. I felt like a first year explaining why my homework wasn't done." Minerva said shakily.

"Next time, we send Albus," he added sagely.

Minerva snorted then laughed, and he joined her. Tensions bled away as they shared a laugh at the thought of Albus backed into a corner by the straight talking Grangers.

"Do they know Severus? Do they know where she is?"

"I don't think so," he answered. "Mrs Granger was angry it had taken so long for us to speak to them, Mr Granger disappointed for the same reasons. Although, he was harbouring a small amount of pride she'd done such a successful bunk. There were memories of the skiing trip, but I couldn't look deeper, or they would have noticed."

"Will it get to that point do you think?"

"If Albus decides that those two waiting out the deadline is less important than having Potter in the school then yes. He'll order me to do it."

"She's told them everything, everything that has ever happened to her within these walls."

"Was she really that unhappy when she started here?" he asked wrinkling his forehead trying to remember Miss Granger as a first year.

"She took longer than most to adapt, the hand waving…"

"She still does that," Severus objected.

"Well yes, but when you are running rings round your classmates in your first lessons, and muggle born to boot it doesn't win you any friends. It wasn't until the incident with the troll that she made friends with Mr Potter and Mr Weasley. Her dorm mates ignore her for being too studious, and she ignores them for being too frivolous. Miss Brown and Miss Pavarti," Minerva answered his questioning look.

"She's not hexed them? They are two of the most simpering fools in the year!"

"Yes, thank you Severus, but no, they seem to co-exist by pretending they don't."

"Didn't Weasley spend some time searching for Brown's tonsils with his tongue?"

"Trust you to remember that," Minerva snorted.

"It was during meals; it was a very effective way of putting the school off their food. So, she's told her parents everything, and we're in rather a tricky position," Severus grumbled.

"How so?"

"If I go hunting for memories of her whereabouts obliviating them afterwards is a higher risk. They have so many memories of magic that the chances of it being done right are slimmer. In fact, I'd bet money she's told them about obliviation which means… Damn it all to hell, that foolish, too clever for her own good, stubborn, harridan of a witch!" Severus all but shouted, sloshing his drink as he jerked upright with realisation.

"Severus! Whatever is it?" Minerva asked in alarm.

"She's told them!" His voice and eyes were begging her to understand.

"Told them what?"

"Told them about Legilimency and Occlumency! The bloody smug chit told them, and they were blocking me."

"But they are muggles they can't block Legilimency. They can't use Occlumency."

He sagged back into his chair unwillingly impressed by her, and unreasonably angered for the same reasons. "Her parents are in on it," he said tiredly.

"You're going to have to explain better," Minerva responded. She poured him another drink, he took it and drank half before meeting her eyes.

"You are right; muggles can't use Occlumency to block Legilimency. Occlumency is magic, and they can't use it. What your irritating Gryffindor witch has worked out, and shared with her parents to boot, is that you don't have to. A light scan like the one I performed on her parents follows thoughts directed by the emotions the person is feeling at the time. You don't notice because you are already feeling that way. She's trained them; she must have, but when? And gods how?"

"Severus, you are diverting again."

"Miss Granger has told her parents everything. Everything about her experiences here, about Potter, about the Dark Lord, who they called Tom for Merlin's sake! About Albus, about me, everything about me. Which means they know I can perform Legilimency. To keep me from picking up on anything important or vital all they had to do is concentrate on how they felt about us, about the school. The anger, the disappointment, the worry they had for her safety here. They love her and care for her. They have accepted what it means for her to be magical, and she's teaching them to use it against us. The pride, her father felt about her successful bunk? Was that natural in the situation? On the face of it, you could argue that yes, the school and her Professors have shown a high level of ineptitude in keeping her safe, and she's outfoxed us all. Why not feel pride in that? But his daughter is missing; she is presumably operating on limited resources. Pride in those circumstances?" Severus raised an eyebrow in obvious incredulity.

"You think she's told them she was leaving?"

"Almost certainly."

"Then what do we do? Do we tell Albus her parents know she's in hiding? He won't take that well. If she'd left on her own, then maybe he'd let her go, but assuming Mr Potter is with her and the war building," Minerva shook her head.

"Albus won't lose his chess pieces if he can help it. He needs both of them, Potter won't make it without Granger, she is quite clearly the brains of the operation."

They sank into silence.

"If you go and look, and they don't know what then?" she asked.

"Then we wait for them to surface."

"Severus," Minerva said looking at him. "What if they don't?"

They decided that they had to tell Albus, they didn't like it, he was likely to tell Severus to do something neither of them liked to think of, but they saw no way around it. There was a war on, and Harry Potter was critical.

Albus didn't take it well. It seemed that being outmanoeuvred was something only he was allowed to do to other people. Not something that happened to him. He agreed it was likely that they had run off together, and declared that this would be the primary focus of their attempts to find and return them both.

They sat through his dissection of all the interactions they had had with Miss Granger in the run up to the last weeks of term looking for clues. The three of them watched Severus' memory of his meeting with her. In his rooms later, they had drawn solace if not humour, from the look on Albus' face as he watched a sixth year pace and call him names. The goodbye she had given him had Minerva's lip tremble. It was evident with hindsight that that was exactly what it had been.

None of their interactions in the two weeks after that meeting threw up any further clues. The pair had continued to study, eat, and chat as normal. Nothing had been out of place until they simply hadn't returned.

Albus demanded Severus return to the Grangers and find out by whatever means, what they knew of their daughter's disappearance. He baulked, Minerva backed him up, and he was spared the task. For now, Albus agreed. But only if they returned once the deadline passed. After that, Mr Potter's return would become the highest priority and would be achieved by whatever means.

Neither of them liked that answer but settled for it. They couldn't see a reason for the pair not to return once Miss Granger was out of harm's way.