Hermione Snape and the Divergence Point: Vol #2

Chapter 9: Extended Hospital Stay

Whispering voices muttered something in the hospital wing, carrying enough through the wing for Severus to make out a squeaky, girl's voice and a boy's voice with an Irish accent. Breakfast hadn't started yet, he imagined they hadn't expected anyone to come by, much less a teacher. Relief washed over him when he saw the two chatting under their breath. When he heard Hermione was in the hospital, he worst fear was that she had been the target of the creature or attacker, not some juvenile prank.

Hermione who had been perched on the edge of her bed whispering to O'Malley glanced over her shoulder seconds after he entered and scrambled to her feet. He spied the tip of a dark brown tail flicking around her bare feet. O'Malley looked at the girl in awe. It seemed he had no idea of Severus's intrusion before Hermione shot up. He wondered how far she could hear.

"Oh!" Hermione squeaked. "Morning!"

Hermione looked more human than he expected, her skin darkened to a tawny with dark brown stripes along her forearms–-no it wasn't her skin, a very thin layer of fur. Pointed ears protruded from her bushy hair the same colour of her stripes and bottle-brush tail twitching behind her, its fur standing on end and claws tipped her fingers rather than nails. Hermione's face still looked very much like her, save her eyes, which had not only grown considerably in size, but one eye was a lamp yellow while the other was amber. He hoped the human features dominating the feline features meant the failed transfiguration could be undone soon.

"I'm just waiting for my clear to leave," O'Mally pointed and scrambled to the other side of the wing. "I'll be over there."

"O-" Hermione started but he was gone.

Severus placed a hand on her head and examined her carefully for a moment and noticed that she had also grown shorter. Though outside of the feline features, Hermione seemed unharmed. Though he wasn't sure what he had been expecting. It seemed neither was she as her mismatched eyes darted from side to side. Though he was thankful it was nothing more than a prank, the fact that Hermione had been hit at all meant that she couldn't defend herself, despite everything he taught her before she left for Japan.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I hear and smell things I wish I never did and I had an overwhelming urge to pounce on an owl that came for Pomfrey," Hermione sighed. "So, just fantastic!"

"I see nothing will put a stop to your cheek," he sighed. "I'm glad you're otherwise unharmed. How did this happen?"

Hermione shrank and her tail curled around her feet while her ears lowered as she wrung her hands. "I-erm-I did disarm the first one, and I was going to do so with the other, but I-erm- kind of-erm- was grabbed before I could-erm-I-ouch!" She had dug her claws into her hand causing it to bleed much more suddenly than usual.

"I'm not blaming you, love," he said looking at her hand. "I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked anyone thought this appropriate with everything going on. There were three of them?"

Hermione's ears and tail twitched. "It doesn't matter," she folded her arms over her chest. "Madam Pomfrey says I'm mostly human and I'll be out in two weeks."

He didn't buy that and wondered if she feared their retaliation if she said names. He knew the usual suspects, but it seemed crueller than what a number of them would do. Though Hermione earned ire from people who knew nothing about her simply because she was his child. It could have been anyone, though his efforts were probably wasted on identifying them. Not when he still didn't know if the Chamber really had been opened or if it was a sick hoax.

"I suppose what matters," he automatically went to brush her hair behind her ear, realised he couldn't and soothed her hair instead. "Is that you'll be back to normal after a time. Though given everything, I must ask:why were you out so late?"