April 2013- IMPORTANT A/N: This is an old story- like, embarrassingly, way early in my FF-writing career old. I don't know how people are still stumbling across it but I'm still getting reviews on it so I feel the need to add this:

THIS IS NOT A HG/SS ROMANCE. I cannot make this any clearer. It says it in the summary so I don't know why so many of you are getting to the end shocked and appalled.

Its sequel (which I personally think is a heckuva lot better, maybe because I didn't start writing it in junior high) is called What Once Was- that is- let me repeat, is a romance eventually. This one was never under the guise of being such. Please be aware of that and understand that it is categorized under the characters of Snape and Hermione because they are, in fact, the two main characters. It is not categorized under romance at all and at no point do I claim it to be such.

Thank you.

"That's it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas!"

Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood

(man, I love Alan Rickman)

A/N: Okay…here goes…the beginnings of a whole new story! Yay!

Let's see…anything needing pointed out? YES!

PLEASE NOTE: This story DOES NOT FOLLOW THE EVENTS IN HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. I have been formulating this story in my mind for, frankly, a year at least, and the latest book kind of screwed with that…so, since I'm just getting around to writing it, sorry, bummer, deal with it. (Nice, aren't I?)

Also- realize that this takes place starting with summer after 5th year…three weeks into it or so.

So, with no further ado:

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is the fantabulous work of the genius of JK Rowling…unfortunately, not me. I'm just a 16 year old girl waitin' to finish high school. Alas.

Chapter 1

Hermione Granger dragged herself off the couch and away from the horribly written, directed, and performed TV movie, barely awake and ready to go to bed. She pulled herself up the stairs to her bedroom, stopping in the bathroom to brush her teeth. She slipped in to her pajamas-silky pants with a button up shirt, both blue with clouds- and began her trek across her room, the floor obscured by numerous books she had been reading when-

CRACK!

A cloaked, masked, dark figure apparated into her bedroom. Hermione whirled around, recognizing him as a Death Eater, one of the servants of Voldemort. She realized, frantically, that her wand was buried in her trunk on the other side of the room and she would have no chance of getting it without the Death Eater realizing what she was doing. He pulled out a knife and began to stalk closer to her when-

CRACK!

A second figure apparated into the room behind Hermione, stopping the first just a few feet away from her. She didn't even have time to turn and see who it was before strong hands grabbed her around her waist and across her mouth. She twisted frantically in his grip but with no wand, was helpless. She felt herself begin to turn with the figure as the first Death Eater raised the knife reflexively, making a long but shallow cut across her stomach. Moments later, the room disappeared entirely. Hermione barely had time to realize she was experiencing her first bout of side-along apparition before it was over. She was dragged across a hallway and through a door and thrown into a room. As she regained her footing, the person let go of her. She turned to see who it was and was just able to register that it was another Death Eater before he was gone again, back out the door, which seemed to meld with the wall. She heard a faint crack, signifying he had apparated yet again.

Hermione was completely befuddled. Obviously this hadn't been planned between the two Death Eaters, the first was as completely surprised by the second's sudden appearance as she had been. She waited for apprehensively for a few moments, more shocked and terrified than she could remember being in a long time. When it became apparent that the Death Eater wasn't coming back immediately however, she decided to check out her surroundings and see if there was a way out of the room.

As she took in her surroundings, she became increasingly confused. Expecting to be in some dungeon or torture chamber characteristic of Voldemort, she was instead in a clean, comfortable-looking but sparsely decorated bedroom. There was a door to her left and she headed for it eagerly, hoping for an escape route- only to be disappointed to discover it was merely a bathroom. She walked dejectedly back in to the bedroom, anxiety and desperation building with each passing minute. She ran her hands over the section of wall that had formerly been a door, looking for any kind of release trigger but not being hopeful in her search. She waved a hand in front of the door, but nothing happened. It was undoubtedly revealed and opened by a secret password like the entrance to Gryffindor Tower at Hogwarts.

Hermione backed away from the wall, studying it, trying to use that common sense she was so famous for at school.

"Alright, if I were a Death Eater and I wanted a password for a room to hold people captive in," she muttered, "I would want it to be something like…"

She trailed off, not really sure just what a Death Eater would use as a password.

"Filthy mudblood?" She suggested hopefully. The door, however, remained unseen.

"Erm…death to Harry Potter?" She wasn't really trying but one never knew, right?

"Blast it- Open Sesame!" she declared jokingly. To her amazement, the door reappeared! She barely had time to bask in her cleverness before it opened from the other side.

Hermione backed further in the room as the masked Death Eater advanced on her, wand in hand. When he passed the doorframe it melded back into the wall once more. She had nowhere to go, completely defenseless, her arms wrapped across the shallow knife wound to her abdomen. As she bumped into the back wall, she closed her eyes, ready for the cruciatus curse, or possibly straight to Avada Kedavra.

But neither came. She looked up as the Death Eater was lowering his wand.

"Honestly, Miss Granger. Open Sesame?"

Hermione could only stare in shock as her Hogwarts potions professor pulled off his mask, sneering slightly at her choice in password attempts.

"What- but- how on earth…?"

"You really should learn how to form a proper sentence, you sound like a blithering idiot." Hermione opted, instead, for silence. Snape's tone became suddenly more urgent. "Where are your parents?" he asked.

"My- my parents?" She asked, not understanding.

"Yes, you foolish girl! Your parents. Mother and Father?"

"They're out of town," Hermione said carefully, suddenly suspicious. She didn't want to reveal to closely their location.

"Thank you," Snape said snidely, "And they are due back…?"

"In a few days," Hermione finished for him.

"I'm afraid it's going to be longer than that now," Snape said. "And when would you next expect them to attempt to contact you?"

"Around ten a.m. They call every morning."

"Good, that gives us some time," muttered Snape.

"Time for…?"

"Use your common sense, Granger, for Merlin's sake! If Death Eaters continue to attempt to locate you, which they will, they don't take to failure easily, they'll use any means necessary to get hold of you. Which includes somehow wrestling the information from your parents. As long as they are away and do not attempt to contact the house, they should remain hidden. To be perfectly honest, a better night could not have been chosen to try to abduct you." Hermione stared incredulously. "Had your parents been home, they would probably be dead or captives of The Dark Lord by now."

Hermione paled. Then suspicion struck her again. "Well hang on!" she said indignantly. "You were dressed as one of them, surely someone will find out it was you."

"Which is why I spent the last ten minutes obliviating the minds of the Death Eater in the house and the Death Eater who told me of the planned attack. As far as he'll remember, he was with me until an hour from now, I couldn't possibly be suspected."

"Ah…right," Hermione said faintly, hardly paying attention anymore. The room had begun to spin a little and she reached out one arm, revealing her wound, to grab the nearest bed post. Snape frowned at her.

"You're hurt," he observed. "Silly girl, why didn't you mention sooner? How did that happen?"

"The other Death Eater," she muttered. "He had a knife. As you spun me to apparate, he got me. It's not deep, really, I'll be fine." Snape sighed.

"No, I doubt that. It's probably laced with something," he continued to her inquisitive look. "A sedative, something of that sort. Probably not dangerous, but we'll need to be sure." He went into the connected bathroom and opened a cabinet, pulling out a few bottles, a washcloth and a basin.

"You just happened to have everything in there you needed, nothing more?" Hermione asked curiously, as he had removed everything from within the cabinet.

"It's designed that way," he explained. "You are familiar with the Room of Requirement, I daresay?" She nodded. "It works under much the same principle, but it takes things from my own stores in my lab." He glanced at her bloodstained shirt. "You'll need to remove that and lie down."

It took her a few moments to register what she had said as she was preoccupied with the previous answer.

"Ex-excuse me?" she spluttered.

"Well, you can hardly expect me to take care of your wound through your bloody shirt, now can you?" he snapped.

"Well- no, but…"

"You've wasted enough time without mentioning it to me, I haven't time to get in touch with someone else to do it for you in case it is dangerous. I can assure you, this is just as discomfiting to me as you." He moved forward and began examining her pupils.

"Well, yes, I understand that, but…"

"Miss Granger, it is nearly three in the morning and judging by your pupil size and unfocused expression, you have in fact been drugged. I understand that this is awkward, but honestly, you are a sensible girl, usually," she made a face, "you can see the necessity of the situation, surely?"

She sighed, nodded, and turned away and began unbuttoning her top, relieved she had been too lazy earlier to remove her bra. Snape returned to the bathroom to fill the basin with warm water and by the time he returned, she was lying on the bed, waiting apprehensively. Hermione was beginning to lose focus on what was going on. Snape peered into her eyes one more time before setting to work.

He washed the wound stretching across her abdomen and then poured a type of disinfectant over it. A second liquid eliminated the effects of the drug as best as possible after it had been present in the blood stream as long as it had. Finally, he muttered a spell and the wound closed on its own, leaving a raised white line that would disappear by morning. No more than a few minutes work. He moved to cover her with the comforter, but something caught his eye first.

A jagged scar was visible, curving away underneath her bra line below her left breast. He stared at it for a moment, curious as to where it came from and more than a little suspicious.

Snape looked up at Hermione's face. She appeared to have fallen asleep. He pulled the blanket over her, waved him wand, getting rid of the basin and bottles, and grabbed her bloody shirt, careful not to touch the bloodstained part.

"Harmony!" he called.

A young female house elf appeared instantly. "Yes, sir?" she asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I apologize for waking you. Please take this to my lab," he said, handing the shirt to her. "The blood will need to be tested, she was hurt with a laced knife. I'll be down in a while to do so."

The house elf gave a nod and disappeared. Snape gave Hermione one last glance, was satisfied she'd sleep awhile, and left the room, muttering the door-revealing spell first. He headed to his study, the only room in the house with a floo-connected fireplace. He grabbed a handful of green powder from a bag on the mantle and threw it in.

"Albus Dumbledore!" he called.

A few seconds later, Dumbledore appeared in the fireplace, awake and alert as ever.

"Ah, Severus," he greeted warmly. "I was wondering when you'd be in touch, usually you return from gatherings earlier."

"Well, I would have contacted you sooner," he growled, "but I had to take care of something."

"Problems?" Dumbledore asked worried.

"In a manner of speaking," Snape replied sarcastically. "In a bushy-haired, know-it-all manner of speaking." At Dumbledore's questioning raised eyebrow, he beckoned for him to follow back to the room he had left Hermione in.

"Oh, dear," Dumbledore said worriedly, going to the side of the bed. "She was attacked?"

"Oh, I managed to get her before anything happened but as I was apparating away with her, Nott pulled out a knife. A shallow scratch," he assured Dumbledore, "but laced with some sort of drug, I suspect a sedative. I have taken care of it."

"What of her parents?"

"Out of town. We got lucky. You'll need to get in touch with them before ten tomorrow morning, that's when they'll be calling the house. I presume you know where they are?"

"Oh yes, Tonks has been keeping an eye on them for me. She'll know. Is there anything else I should know? Severus?" he asked again at the younger man's hesitation.

"I'm not sure," he began slowly. "It may be nothing."

"I find that, with you," Dumbledore smiled slightly, "anything worth noticing is rarely nothing. What is it?"

"I was surprised at the level of hesitation she showed when I indicated I was to be dressing her wound." He raised a hand to stop Dumbledore as he was about to speak. "Obviously it was a rather uncomfortable situation but the sedative was well in effect at that point. She fell asleep almost immediately after lying down. I suppose I mean to say that I find it hard to attribute her behavior entirely to modesty. She is a sensible girl, she understood the necessity of the situation. Anyway," he continued, "I probably wouldn't have given it another thought, but as I was finishing, I noticed something."

"What?"

"A rather unpleasant looking, somewhat suspicious scar below her left breast." He lifted the blanket gently and lowered it to show Albus.

"Any you think it was acquired during foul play of a sort?" Dumbledore asked agitatedly.

"I suspect. Obviously, I cannot be sure without asking her, and I assume I'm not the person she'd be most delighted to have that conversation with."

Dumbledore pondered a moment. "Very well," he said. "I need to get in touch with Tonks and Miss Granger's parents. You've got everything under control here?"

"Yes. What will happen to the girl?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore considered. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "I'll have to think about that. There may be…complications, considering your position. We shall see."

Snape nodded. "I'll see you in the morning than?"

"Oh yes," Dumbledore replied, "only a matter of hours really. We can discuss with Miss Granger what she will do for the remainder of the summer when she wakes. Take care, Severus."

Snape nodded. "And you," he replied, watching Dumbledore disappear back into his fireplace. He trudged wearily to his lab so he could find out exactly what Nott's knife had been laced with. He seriously doubted he'd be getting any sleep that evening.

A/N: Okay, so what d'ya think? This is going to be a long, pretty complex story. I hope you all enjoy it!

R & R! (ya know, kinda like in MASH, when they go for a few days R & R in Tokyo?...or wait…not that kind…I mean…)

READ AND REVIEW! Of course, if you're down here, you've already read, you're halfway there! Good job! Now finish it up!

(yes, I'm a little loopy, it's nearly 3 a.m., I've been writing this for about two hours now…not bad for me actually, 2300 words in 2 hours…anyway, that's not the point…)

Cheers!

Lexi