Chapter 82: A Fine Assessment

The Black Family Manor, 12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...

Upon landing in the Muggle world and entering the former home of Sirius Black, Harry Potter took of toward his usual bedroom, Sirius Black's childhood bedroom whenever he came to this place that had just been starting to feel like home after everything he had been through in the previous years. Hermione Granger had been torn between seeing to her mourning friend and checking on her badly injured lover. Snape had still been unconscious when Dumbledore and Lupin brought him inside the house.

The two wizards had gotten him to the basement and lied his battered body onto the make-shift cot he had since being stationed here. Hermione Granger watched closely as they attempted to make the were-wizard comfortable before taking their leave of him. She slipped down into the basement and did a bit of warding to keep everyone else out in the wake of Snape's injury.

She knew he needed her despite his feelings about how she handled placing herself in unnecessary peril.

Severus Snape's pale chest had been badly burned in the wake of the fight with Bellatrix LeStrange. She could see the charred flesh as well as the exposed red muscle.

"Oh Severus..." she said feeling quite badly for being the cause of this.

She couldn't help, but to think that if she had just managed to stop Harry then Sirius Black would still be alive and Severus wouldn't have been hurt in the process.

Following a minor shift of his seemingly weakened body, Snape managed to open his eyes. His expression had been one of extreme pain and he looked to be quite ghastly as his obsidian orbs took in the sight of his quite sorrowful witch.

"What are you doing here?" he asked rather bitterly.

"I-I came to see how you were faring." replied Hermione. "You took a nasty hit from Bellatrix LeStrange and it doesn't look to be healing properly."

Snape sighed.

"That's because it isn't." he replied biting back a wave of pain. "It was a curse of d-decay."

He seemed to be feeling more pain as the blackened wound began to ooze green pus and dark blood.

"What?" asked Hermione confused.

"It can't be treated with magic." said Snape gripping the cot he had been lying in. "It...it needs Muggle means...fucking bitch...I shall endeavor to tear out her throat the next time we meet on the battlefield."

"I'll get something to clean and dress that wound." she said shaken by the damage done to him.

"It'll take some time to heal...but it won't kill me...not outright at least." replied Snape meeting her concerned gaze. "The fever comes first..."

Mustering her courage, Hermione set to work collecting what was needed to offset the effects of the curse of decay Bellatrix LeStrange placed on her werewolf lover.

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The Kitchen, 12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...

Fighting back tears and the stress of having to see her lover in so much pain, Hermione filled a large bowl with warm water and sprinkled a bit of salt into it once it had been full. She had been quite busy when a rather silent Ronald Weasley walked into the room. He had been keeping his distance from both of his friends in the wake of Sirius Black's murder unsure how to proceed with either of them.

"M-Mione." he said trying his best to appear the concerned friend he had not always been.

"I-I'm fine Ronald." said Hermione not bothering to look at him as she stood at the old sink.

The red head wizard sighed.

"Of course you're fine." he said in a rather low voice. "Everyone's fine around here that Sirius is dead and Snape's laid up because of Bellatrix LeStrange...who incidentally, tortured Neville Longbottom's parents until they were living husks...never mind that you both want to get revenge on the deranged harlot...and that neither of you think for a moment that it could lead to more pain and suffering."

Hermione sighed.

"What do you want from me Ronald?" she asked as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"I don't know?" he replied. "Maybe I just want you to be human for once...maybe I'd like to see how you were feeling in the wake of things...why does it always have to be a battle with you?"

"Maybe because I can't give you what you truly want from me Ron." replied Hermione meeting his sorrowful blue eyes. "You are a dear friend and I care very deeply for you, but I do not have time for this now...Severus needs me."

Ron looked as if he had been punched in the gut by her words.

"Severus?" he said unsure he heard her right. "So it's Severus now?, what happened to calling him Professor Snape?"

Hermione turned her attention back to the sink.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"So...you've been doing the greasy dungeon bat is that what you're telling me?" he asked angrily.

The amber eyed witch continued to finish her task in a bid to get back to her werewolf lover.

"Not even going to deny it?" asked the red head wizard narrowing his eyes at her.

"What would be the point Ronald?" asked Hermione looking him in the eyes.

"I suppose that's it then." he said bitterly. "I should have known you'd turn into Snape's whore at some point...you cheer lead for him well enough...I'd go to Dumbledore with this information if I didn't already know that it would do no good...you sicken me...you and the greasy git deserve each other."

Hermione did her best to steel herself against Ron's comments as she made her journey back down into the basement.

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The Basement, 12 Grimmauld Place, Muggle World...

The witch had been crying, that much Snape could tell as she made her way back to him. She carried a bowl of water and salt as she moved down the stairs toward his cot. He could see her sadness almost as if it had been projected at him the deep blue aura around her had gotten his attention as well. He attempted to sit up only to be scolded.

"Stop." she said aptly concerned for him. "Just rest...I'll come to you."

Snape watched with attentive eyes as she made her way over to him setting the bowl of warm water down on the floor as she kneeled beside him. He groaned in the wake of the pain in his chest.

"Just calm yourself." she said gently stroking his sallow pale face. "We'll get through this together."

The Potions Master looked at the ceiling as she began to soak a formerly crisp white towel in the salt water. She had not wanted to hurt him but she knew the combination of salt water and his terrible wound would cause him a good deal of agony.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I-I'm not crying." replied Hermione not wishing to venture down the subject of Ron Weasley at the moment.

"Liar." replied Snape making an effort to look at her. "So...Weasley knows and he's treating you differently."

Hermione sighed.

She should have known he'd invade her mind to get the answers he needed.

"Just let it go Severus." she said still not wishing to speak of it.

"He's a fool." replied The ailing Potions Master. "But then he's always been much too invested in himself to notice that."

Hermione squeezed the towel as best she could in a bid not to waste the water.

"This may sting a bit." she said pressing it into the decayed wound.

Snape howled in agony making her tremble as she continued to see to it that she could slow the onset of infection.

"I'm sorry." she said for more than just the burning pain.

"It's fine." he replied. "Know that what you did will not go unpunished but it's fine...Potter and Weasley may be up their own arses, but they will eventually need you to keep them mentally sound during this war."

"I don't see how with no one speaking to the other." replied Hermione with a sad expression.

Snape stroked her tear stained cheek with his trembling pale hand.

"I may not have as much experience in terms of valuable friendships but...I know what one looks like when I see it." he said meeting her eyes. "For now...do not dwell so much on it...you'll ware yourself out...and that's my job."

Hermione chuckled a bit at this.

"You git." she said smiling at him. "Even injured you manage to be a lewd bastard."

Snape smirked rather weakly.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't witch." he said.

"No." she agreed. "You wouldn't."

She proceeded to finish cleaning the wound before dressing it quite professionally.

Snape lied back against his pillow and drifted off to sleep as his body continued to fight the rather nasty hex it suffered.