Cuts That Never Heal (sequel of DBoW) Finished

VI Private investigators

Hermione raised from her seat after swallowing a few tasteless spoons of oatmeal. While staff, already informed by Minerva in the night, were only discretely eyeing him from time to time, the students apparently weren't talking about anything and anyone else then the presence of the strange, long gone Potions Professor. They were bluntly peeking at him, eventually achieving in getting his unwanted attention. Hermione could see, even from her distance, how he frowned over his meal and how the muscles of his face flinched. She wondered if that was just a part of the expression of disgust or an uncomfortable spasm, a symptom of his fatal disease.

"Listen!" Hermione raised her voice to get the attention of those gathered in the Great Hall. She knew that both, Minerva and she, screwed up today and a big time. They should have been prepared and react accordingly to every situation. Instead, Minerva never showed up and Hermione was late to announce the changes to the students, especially those from Slytherin. She let Snape reach the High Table and proclaim himself to the crowds as a new member of the staff. She felt extremely guilty, especially in the light of her late function. She owed Slytherins explanation, she owed them coming early to heir dormitory and enlighten them on all the changes they were to be put through for the sake of Snape's survival.

But she didn't do it. Partially, because she honestly didn't know what she could have told the always-curious-students. They would have besieged her with so many inconvenient questions...

And she didn't have any answers to give them; she damn well knew that everything Snape has told McGonagall, was deeply confidential. Hence, announcing his presence here, in the Great Hall, seemed to the young witch as a much safer option.

However, as awful as she felt for leaving her students without proper explanation, Hermione was confident she was leaving them in good hands. Snape could be a crap of a teacher when it came to emotional stuff, a real bastard sometimes. But somehow, he bestowed on his own house much more love and patience she would have ever anticipated from such a grim, dark man he usually was.

And yet, a few years ago, he have unexpectedly showed her compassion and trust that moved something in her heart and soul.

Hermione realised, she has been standing there in the middle of the High Table and everyone was staring at her with anticipation. Students were starting to whisper, other staff members look at each other in confusion.

"In the absence of our beloved Headmistress, who will, I'm sure about it, join us at lunch, I have some great changes to announce." She remembered them meeting Lupin for the first time on their long way for the third year at Hogwarts. She remembered his slim, exhausted silhouette and how happy they were to be the first to discover who the new teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts was. They were cheering him up later at the feast.

This time things were not quite so enthusiasm-evoking.

Snape was a ghost of the dreadful past as much to her as to the rest of people in the castle. Only for Hermione, it was much more personal matter.

"As you may have noticed, we have a guest in our school, whom I want you to welcome with all the honours and respect he deserves as a former professor and war hero. Some of you, especially older students, probably know him in person, as he used to taught here before and during the war. He was even a Headmaster until professor Minerva McGonagall took over this noble position... I had the honour to graduate under his supervision to became the Potion Mistress. For at least a part of this semester, Professor Severus Snape will be joining me in teaching Potions, and will be back in his role of the Head of Slytherin."

When she finished, the silence that fell was so deep and piercing, that Hermione was afraid no one would react as they were expected to. Although she knew how much Snape cared for others' sympathy and love, she wanted to at the minimum try to make it right. Maybe even not for him but for her own sake. So she started to clap, looking towards the dark shadow of the man she once knew, and then, one after another, staff members joined and the older students from Slytherin started to clap as well, surprisingly, showing some kind of enthusiasm. The rest of the Great Hall simply followed the lead.