Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Madam J. K Rowling .I have just made their lives more vivid for my readers to comprehend the characters effectively.

Plot: This story is about a broken Hermione who is grieving on Ron's death and her dark haired savior Severus Snape brings her back to life. It does not follow the books after Half-blood prince. It is written with Snape's POV. It is worth reading, even for those who hate their pairing with a passion seldom found. So enjoy and live your live with zeal and zest.

Chasing the clouds

Chapter 1:

Once glossy leaves were turning honey colored and were hugging the musky ground of Bulgaria with every gust of wind. I was engineering my way through orchard thinking about my life. I was always a precious pawn of Dumbledore and Dark Lord, but a pawn nonetheless. I was merely eighteen years old when I joined the ranks of the Death Eaters and was twenty one years old when I became a double agent and the Potions Master of Hogwarts. Thirty eight years of my life had been spent in pleasing people first my mother, then Dark Lord and Dumbledore. I had always been toyed by the people I loved, that had made me bitter and anti-social. I was sent in Bulgaria two weeks ago to pinpoint the location of Gregovitch's prison and then signal Dark Lord to arrive and personally finish his business with him. I had accomplished my mission just last night and was returning to Britain in a few minutes.

I pushed open the mahogany door of International Portkey Centre of Bulgaria and went to the counter where a striking, blonde witch handed me my portkey, a gold locket, booked for me by the Malfoys. I followed the witch to my portkey booth. I grabbed the locket and closed my eyes. I felt a strong pull, emerging from my navel and moments later I found myself in the grey, dimly lit Malfoy Manor. Draco Malfoy, my god son greeted me and congratulated me on completing my mission I reluctantly returned his hug and followed him to Malfoy's study. Lucius greeted me with his customary smirk while Narcissa filled our goblets with firewhisky. Like always Draco emptied his goblet first and I exchanged my untouched goblet for his empty goblet. We were chatting about the mission when Doholov entered and said in his crooked voice:

"Draco, Rodolphus Lestrange has brought new, untouched ripe fruits for us from London. They are perfect to take in this season. Want to have a bite?"

A smile crept on Lucius's face and he winked at Draco and Doholov. Narcissa opened her mouth to say something when Lucius silently hit her with a sleeping spell. He could fool others, but I was a double agent due to a reason. He cradled his chalky white wife to his chambers and announced in that cold voice he reserved for those who he considered bearable:

"I think Narcissa needs to take rest. She is under a lot of stress lately. Draco, my dearest son, why don't you go with Dolohov and taste those fruits. Snape, my friend I think you should go to kitchens and have dinner. Dark Lord will be arriving here in an hour from Lestrange's Mansion and you should be calm and collected while facing him. Please excuse me now."

I could clearly see that he was cooking something, but I preferred to keep a low profile. I entered the kitchen and dined on lamb stew and chicken enchiladas. I finished my stew and headed towards the rear door of Main Hall as it was near the kitchens. The moment I pushed open the copper colored, large oak doors of the Main Hall, I immediately regretted that. The Hall was filled with the muffled shrieks as if someone was brutally tortured. No! Not tortured as if someone was ….raped! I whipped my head in the direction of the shrieks and froze in my place. Malfoy Junior and Doholov were brutally raping two young, muggle ladies.

My blood boiled at the sight and I bit the inner side of cheek so hard that I tasted the salty, metallic blood. I quickly healed myself. I had to do something to stop them, to save their honor. I gripped my walnut wand and stunned Malfoy and Dolohov with a flick of my wand. The noise brought Lucius there, but my steel glare froze him in his place. I levitated the onyx colored, large tablecloth from the table and covered their battered bodies. I went near the girls and checked their pulse. They were alive, but unfortunately I was not experienced enough to heal them. I was about to retreat back to my chambers when two bruised hands, with fresh nail marks got hold of my robes.

A girl tried to say something to me, but only resulted in coughing crimson blood on my onyx colored robes. She again coughed and then said in a hushed whisper:

"You are the only person here with a heart made of flesh and not of concrete. You look like a kind man. Please be kind enough to reunite us with our God and free us from this tattered mass of humiliated body. My sister and I beg you for this. Just grant us death and end our misery. God will reward you with something… something so precious that will blossom like a white rose in the barren garden of your heart. Stop chasing the clouds and embrace the truth….."

And then she closed her sea green eyes and bowed her head. My cold, grey eyes surveyed them and then the truth settled. They were not common muggles rather they were nuns of a church and were barely eighteen or nineteen years of age. The platinum crosses dangling in their necks were evident of that. There were cinders on their necks which meant that my "fellows" had burnt their church to ashes and took them as hostages, as "ripe fruits ready to be tasted" I looked at their pitiful condition and then made up my mind. I sucked some air in my chapped lungs and then muttered:

"You are in luck today, worshippers of God. I am being very kind today"

Draco and Dolohov had just regained conscience and were equally confused by my answer like Lucius. An angelic smile surfaced on the blood smeared faces of the nuns when I pointed my wand at the pile of table cloth housing their bodies and muttered in a cold voice:

"Avada Kedavra"

A band of emerald light shot from the tip of my wand and enveloped them. Moments later the nuns were history. They had died in a fraction of second by my single spell, but they were the prettiest and most relaxed corpses I had ever seen in my life as they both had angelic smiles planted on their sculpted faces. Lucius regained confidence and pinned me against the wall by grabbing me by the collar. He bellowed:

"WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU STUN MY SON?"

Before I could say anything, a hush fell over the magnanimous mansion and a chill ran through my spine. Lucius let go of me at once. The Dark Lord had arrived! I did not need to peek at my mark for confirmation as a familiar, emotionless voice muttered:

"Crucio"

And I crouched on the ground due to the unbearable pain. To my greatest relief the torture lasted only for thirty seconds and then nagini helped me in getting up. The Dark Lord gazed at me like I was a prodigal son and then said:

"Severus! You have no right to stun my precious followers. You earned that Crucio"

Before I could even make up a good excuse for stunning that rapist, murderer Malfoy junior, Lucius prod used some tears in those stone eyes and said in a pathetically helpless tone:

"My lord, my only son Draco was having "fun" with these good-for-nothing muggles when Severus, he stopped to give me an icy glare, stunned him and finished those muggles with a single Avada"

Iprepared myself for another long Crucio, but nothing happened. The Dark Lord looked at me and then his snake like face twisted into something which seemed like a grin, but actually he looked more hideous than a dead blob fish. He spoke while looking at me in an odd way:

"You killed two people with a single Avada?"

I simple nodded as I was too dumbstruck to actually comprehend what was happening though I tried my level best to digest it. He again smiled that absolutely hideous smile and then said in an annoyingly warm tone, which troubled me to an extent:

"You pleased me very much when you killed Dumbledore for me and then found Gregorovitch for me and just a minute ago you did something which only a handful people in the wizarding world can do. You killed two people with a single Avada. Today you'll sit with my precious Nagini on the last step of my throne. If I ever had a son, he would have been just like you. You are intelligent, loyal, witty and very adaptable, an excellent wizard, an asset to our side…."

He would have droned on and on like Professor Binns, but stopped abruptly when Lucius muttered under his breath:

"And a greasy git, an overgrown bat, and a bull headed worm who had led a more chaste life than that Parish we killed in morning"

To his utmost bad luck, the dark lord heard that and awarded him with two minute long Crucio. Oh boy! Was I satisfied! Suddenly the perfect moment got ruined when Bellatrix asked us to take our seats in that too shrill voice of hers. I walked towards the throne like a sheep ready to be slaughtered. Who in the world would love to sit with a fifty foot boa constrict, except maybe Bellatrix? When everybody got settled, Bellatrix rose from her chair and said overzealously:

"My Lord two days ago, Greyback came across three teenagers in the woods. Two of them ran way due to the third one, but we got the third one. She is a mudblood my Lord! Crabbe and Goyle Senior will bring her here in a moment"

The heavy oak dors swung open and the beafy Crabbe and Goyle entered with a lump of flesh in battered robes tailing behind them. Her bruised arms, her battered robes, her steady walk, her limp, her swollen legs and her bowed face was evident of the fact that Malfoys had had "fun" with her repeatedly over the course of two days. The tremors running throughout her body after every twenty seconds could only result due to Bellatrix's Crucio.

Crabbe and Goyle halted ten feet away from the throne. The moment they let go of her, she sank to the ground like a thread less kite. She was too weak, too fragile, too broken… Bellatrix stood up from her seat and stood behind the girl. She grabbed her shoulders and the girl shrieked. Bellatrix smiled as if her shriek was music to her ears. She looked at the Dark Lord with the puppy dog expression and said:

"My lord! She is the toughest girl I've ever seen in my whole life. Neither Malfoy's attempts nor my crucio was able to break her down."

Then she stared at the girl and the said in that irritable voice which resembled more to the wail of a wounded goose:

"But you know what mudblood! Everybody breakdowns. Everybody submits. Sooner or later everyone submits whole heartedly to our cause. If my crucio cannot make that happen then My Lord's crucio will!"

The moment those words left her filthy mouth, she grabbed a fistful of the girl's chestnut hair and brought her face in light. Though the lips of that girl were swollen, her small nose was smeared with crimson blood, a large scar was housing her forehead, but those eyes were the same warm, chocolate brown as I had seen seven years ago for the first time. The mudblood, soon to be awarded with a long crucio which might cost her life, was none other than HERMIONE GRANGER…..

I hope you enjoyed the story. Please review. Next chapter will be up soon till then keep reading and writing.

Cosmos Sirius