He closed his eyes and willed away mental images of the Granger girl and the battle in which she had gone from beloved know-it-all to one of the least-liked people in the Wizarding world. Unsure how the story had managed to leak, Hermione Granger’s slaying of one of her best friends had been widely publicized in a number of journals and newspapers. Snape had been very careful about screening what newspapers she actually saw in order to prevent her from having to read the worst of it. No doubt the Dark Lord had a hand in the revelation.