by Aurora
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Though I wish I could at least Borrow Snape
for a while.I promise I would put him back where I got him. ;-)
Hermione Granger surveyed the Hogwarts grounds with a new sense of pride. The war with Voldemort had ended less than a year ago, and this place... This magical, wonderful place was still her home. She smiled as a breeze swept around her frame, moving loose hairs into her face. She brushed them away lightly as she felt a twinge of loss in the pit of her stomach. She decided it would be ignorant of her to not reflect on what the war took from her. She lost her mentor and one of her best friends, among the many other lives that were lost.(Pureblood and not.) Voldemort didnt stay true to his empty promises and killed anyone. She smiled sadly then at the memory of her friend Ron and her surrogate mother McGonagall, after her parents deaths by Voldemort's hands. She missed them, as she missed all the lives that had been lost that fateful autumn day her seventh year.
Harry had doubled over in pain, grasping his scar.
He yelled at Ron to run, but he refused to leave Harry's side. She had
watched in fear from the arms of a Deatheater holding her captive while
Voldemort and the others faced down Harry, Ron, Albus, Minerva, Remus,
Sirus, among hundreds of other wizards and witches.
She remembered the surprised look on Voldemort's
ugly face when the deatheater holding her had flung her from him casting
the Avada Kedavra curse towards the evil incarnate. She also remembered
how quickly it changed into a sinister grin as the curse was deflected
back. In a spilt second Snape had moved out of the way and the curse had
hit Minerva. Voldemort laughed as her lifeless body fell and turned towards
Snape who was reaching for his wand that had slipped from his hands.
She remembered picking up Minerva's wand and trying
to use it on Voldemort, but had it torn from her grasp by another deatheater.
She screamed which caused Voldemort to turn to her instead of Snape. Ron,
in a moment of rage and fear, jumped on Voldemort and knocked him to the
ground. Lucius Malfoy then stepped in.
She remembered the look on his face as his lifeless
body fell to the ground seconds after Ron's. She also remembered the look
of triumph on Draco's face.
Then things got fuzzy. She could remember only bits
after that. Magic was flying everywhere. She remembered running after something,
slipping and falling. Then she could only remember blackness and voices.
Then she heard Harry's voice above the rest and then silence. There were
strong arms picking her up, the scent of cinnamon and something else, and
then nothing until she had awakened in the hospital wing amongst many others.
She had looked over and saw Harry being fussed over by Ginny and then looked
even furthur to the still forms on the tables in the far corner. She began
to cry at the site. She saw people gathered around other survivors, all
crying together. She was alone.
Harry and Ginny did turn and smile weakly at her
and she tried to do the same. Then the person in the bed after the three
empty ones next to her stirred and groaned.
She had turned towards the sound and bit back a
gasp. Snape looked like hell. That plus his isolation from the rest made
him look small and very much alone. She didnt remember how she got there
or had even decided she would go, but somehow she ended up sitting down
next to him. He looked over at her with a very tired and beaten look and
talked barely above a whisper.
"What-.....What are you doing?" he spoke, trying to sound threatening.
She looked at him then and for once in her life saw the pain in his
eyes that he masked so well.
"Nothing. Nothing at all." she had replied while getting up and pulling
a bed right next to his. She laid down on it and reached out to put his
hand in hers.
He tensed at first and looked at her searchingly.
"You're not alone." was all she had said then before beginning to drift
off into sleep.
His grip tightened on her hand then and she grinned. He acknowledged
she was right. He wasnt alone. They all had suffered from Voldemort and
he wasnt the only one and neither was she.
She still remembered the feel on his hand in hers
and the smell of cinnamon....
"Professor Granger!"
She chuckled to herself.
What a way to ruin a reverie.
She turned towards the voice of one of her first years.
"Yes Miss Moss, what can I do for you?"
"Um, Professor Dumbledore asked me to fetch you."
"Still fretting that I wont eat."she mumbled.
"What was that Professor?"
"Nothing dear.Thank you. Tell the Professor that I shall be at dinner
shortly."
The girl smiled and nodded before running off.
Hermione hugged herself while glancing at the now setting sun before
turning towards the Great Hall.