Bitter air smacked the opening of the tent back and forth in Harry's panic. Already out of view, Harry rushed down the mud hill into the thicker trees surrounding the tent. Left to gather what sense she could make from Harry's outburst just now, Hermione held her wand tight by the side of her thigh and took a careful look out of the tent to see what caused her friend to leave so hastily.
Hermione glanced over the watch point facing her about ten feet away and saw no different to the usual much needed thick blanket thrown over the camping chair, with a tree stump for the flask of tea and small pile of books Harry or Ron never read. Hermione narrowed her eyes to scan the rest of the darkness before casting a light to see if that helped, but nothing. Ron had gone a week today and now it seemed Harry had left too. No, Hermione knew Harry would come back but doubtful if Ron would. Whether it was the necklace or not, Hermione couldn't believe Ron had just left like that. Sure the necklace affected them, causing paranoia after about eight hours but neither Harry or herself had reached the point of wanting to cause hurt with hateful words like Ron had. Days of her tip toeing around him, trying to comfort turned into her basically being a surrogate Mrs Weasley with sneaking him extra chocolate from her supply and sitting next to him as much as she could was all for nothing and bitterly thrown in her face after he accused her of spending all her time with Harry.
Thinking of the necklace, Hermione tucked it into her jumper, the cold chain finding balance against her vest. She thought of Harry just finishing his shift, he woke her gently and handed her the necklace, moaning a bit of how tired he was before heading off to the toilet back outside. Taking her turn, Hermione got out of bed fully dressed and buttoned her coat up, stuffed her feet into her boots ready to take her shift. She held the tent flap open for Harry to come inside and rest, but he tensed looking out into the darkness.
"Did you just see that?" He hissed.
"What?"
"It looked like a someone's patronus." Harry took one step away from the entrance, cocked his head slightly in the direction where Hermione saw nothing. Nonetheless less her breathing quickened and her fist tightend around her wand.
"I'm going to check it out."
"No, just leave it. We're safer if we stay within the wards, Harry." Hermione held out her hand. Harry looked out again but nodded and turned to come inside until his shoulder brushed her hard as he left quickly, shouting, "There!" "Did you see it?!" Clearly Harry didn't wait for an answer and left Hermione in the entrance of their tent with the opening flapping back inside.
Nearly seven minutes had past, Hermione changed her mind again on the appropriate amount of time to wait before running after Harry. First she decided to wait five minutes then go after Harry but after feeling him leave her wards at that point in time she then talked herself into thinking Harry wasn't reckless enough to leave the wards for long so at ten minutes she decided she would go running if her hasty friend hadn't returned. So she nervously sat on the edge of the camping chair with her wand ready and eyes frantically checking all around her.
Eight minutes passed with only the forest silence humming around while her heart pounded in her ears.
Nine minutes passed with dry gulps of air failing to calm her down.
Ten minutes - her time was up. She wiped her sweaty palms down her jeans and stood up. About to head off in the direction Harry went, when she turned quickly back after hearing a twig crack.
Close enough to make out a tall figure of a man, Hermione jumped down to hide behind the chair. The intruder walked quickly just on the outskirts of the wards. Certain her wards were successfully hiding the tent from the dark stranger, Hermione stood up to get a better look. Her wand tingled, warning her strong magic was nearby, this person wasn't just taking a leisurely stroll. Keen to be soon facing the wizard, Hermione left the chair and further away from the safety of the tent to keep up with him. Trees past hiding the man's face but Hermione's curiosity was urging her to follow and get closer.
'It couldn't be...' she thought, hunting for more of who this man was. Dressed head to toe in black, Hermione was close to placing why the tall wizard looked familar. Just as he was about to leave the length of her wards it clicked into place. Hermione was overwhelmed with digust, hate and anger. She dropped the wards and like a theatre curtain falling, the concealed location of the tent and herself were displayed dramatically, meant to shock the wizard to halt and look at her.
Hermione met the black eyes of Professor Snape. She inhaled sharply through her nose, straightened her back, held out her wand ready to face the murderer. Snape hadn't even turned to face her fully he just gave a quick glance, a sneer and walked on.
"No! Stop!" Hermione scrambled in shock after him.
"I advise you return and activate your wards, Miss Granger." His deep voice lazily drawled making Hermione's head spin by how out-of-place he sounded.
"No you have to stop!" Hermione panicked that he was going to vanish. In a mix of emotions, she was embarrassed for feeling a strong childish panic that the only grown up she had seen in weeks was about to leave. She reached out and grasped his forearm. Never touched her professor before, his body felt alien to her. Snape's reaction made it clear her touch was off putting, he wrinkled his nose as if she was a nasty smell on his top lip. Hermione held on through his struggle to brush her off, she felt physically strong with adrenaline. Snape shocked her when he stopped, pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand and stood with Hermione behind him still holding on.
He breathed breathed heavily. Feeling tired and older than his years. Still knackered from how quickly he had to move from the lake after Potter bolted through the forest quicker than Snape thought the boy would have. Plus to which, the damn sword was a pain to place in the water and now here he had Granger playing cops and robbers on his damn arm.
"I need to leave."
"No. Sir, you need to... explain why you're here... and everything else. You... were the reason why Harry ran off tonight, aren't you?" Hermione squeezed him harder.
Snape said nothing and instead prized the girl's fingers off but then he felt the hard tip of Granger's wand under his jaw. For such a small person, Snape was surprised by her strength and speed.
"You need to come back with me." Hermione told him sternly. She reached for his other arm now to guide him back to the tent but with that same strong arm she was holding, her professor now had his wand tipped at the small of her back.
"This will hurt if you do not lower your wand." He stated coldly.
Hermione stiffened and but didn't lower her wand. "I'm not letting you go."
Snape's top lip rose with her threat and pushed his wand closer into her back. "Foolish girl. What would you have me do if I returned with you? Sit and sip tea while I update you and Potter on the latest at Hogwarts. I have many things on my agenda tonight and discussing threats with an insufferable pest is not one of them. Either lower your wand Granger or I will hex you more than once."
Hermione ignored him and pushed him to move "Stop talking, and walk." Starting to get annoyed that Snape wasn't taking her seriously. For godness sake, she wasn't proud of it but she had hurt several wizards since being on the run and knew she'd have to hurt more, even kill if needed.
Hermione felt like boiling water was thrown at her back. Snape hexed with a strong sting. She arched her back and fell. Snape watched, aiming his wand down at Granger rolling around on the muddy floor, ready to stand by his word and throw a couple more hexes before leaving.
Surprisingly Granger tolerated the pain well with only a few little screams to break the silence. Another hex, this time at her left leg. Snape was about to finish with one more, knowing the girl would be fine once he left but Granger distrcted him grasping at his ankle. He took a step back but found she had his other leg locked in place with a spell. The top of a messy bun full of curls fell back as Granger looked up at him.
"You've never liked me."
Snape raised an eyebrow at Granger's stoic words, surprised she'd say something so selfish while Potter was still out and about. Snape was already silently undoing the restraints Granger had placed on his ankles. He remained silent, eager to keep Granger talking while he escaped her impressive ties.
"You just ignore me. Ignore me in class, in the corridor, the restricted section - even stealing from your potion store. I'm not important enough for you to even give out detention. God forbid you had to be alone with me for a whole detention. Just me it seems through because I know Harry gets your attention, poor Neville too. Bloody Lavender and Pavti as well. Even Ginny moaned at me for having a months detention with you last term. Not just dentions, no, you insulted me when I asked you for extra homework that time." Granger stood up. She pointed her finger at him ready to continue her onslaught. "I bet you dont even know I figured out your task in first year, the one you designed to confuse Professor Quirrell. I even set your robes on fire that year. You just think I'm a know-it-all brat."
Snape had enough. Granger was shaking with rage and even though her confessions where enlightening he had already wasted more time than he wanted in this damn forest. Finally his ankles now free, Snape went to walk away but the girl's words took a change of topic that sent a shiver down his back.
"... I saw you with her, during the Summer. That's when i realised you're just a man really. Under all them...buttons, you're not that scary. I tried getting your attention at Professor's Slughorn's party - it was probably the wine or desperation to get away from Cormac but i thought, if you'd go with her then you might be intrested in me. Silly really, but I just want you to like me like all the other teachers do." Granger was now on her tiptoes and gripped onto the collar of his travelling cloak. Her pupils were large and her skin looked damp. Maybe being on the run this long had affected the girl. More concerned over whom Granger had seen him with rather than the girl's wellbeing, Snape entered the girl's mind.
The memory he was after was surrounded by blurred windows of others, mainly of himself ignoring Granger or walking past her in mid-sentence asking for her grades early or something like that, he never heard her finish. Others were of the strong adolescent feelings for the daft Weasley boy, that wasn't a surprise. Lucikly there were no fantasies nor a crush that the girl held for Snape himself, the girl was meerly after his respect but going a crazed way about it. There the memory he was after, Granger walking towards the kitchen door in her dressing gown at Black's house in the middle of the night. In this memory the sound of a woman moaning made Granger stop just as the door was open enough to see. Snape remembered he was knackered that night but seeing Nymphadora in just a t-shirt, knickers and socks gave him that extra boost to follow his on-and-off lover into the kitchen. A bottle of wine later brought him to the point of the memory Granger had the gift to witness. Snape watched himself, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly knowing this wasn't one of the nights he persuaded Nymphadora to morph. He stood behind Granger as his other self, still fully dressed fucked Tonks relentlessly over the wooden table. He chose to do her from behind more to humor himself in a twisted nod to his school enemies favoured position of their animagus forms, a dog. A creak upstairs startled Granger and she move away from the door making the memory fade around him.
Back in the dark frosty forest with Granger a centimetre from his nose, Snape felt the restraints round his ankles tighten again and move higher.
"I'll make sure you notice me now." Hermione said coldly.
The restraints tightened, stronger than before and even verbally chanting made no difference. Snape would not admit it but he was starting to panic. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his head. He needed to leave, he had somewhere to be. If he was late... His wand and even his hand spurted crackling magic but somehow Granger was using some form of dark magic that stopped any spell from maturing. The ties around him reached his knees and caused him to trip. The stature of his size did not fall gracefully and his robe and hair got covered in mud, whipping his face with dirt as he turned to look up at the girl.
Snape struggled to escape as the ties climbed higher to his waist and wrists. He kicked and knocked his head and shoulders up and down. Failing hexes bounced of the girl as if she had warded herself. Snape finally caught a better look at what was holding him in place and found it was tree roots of all sizes twisting round him. Up at his shoulders now he was shockingly thinking of screaming for help. Maybe Potter was on his way back by now. But Snape still believed be could get out of this mess. It was only Granger after all. What on earth was the girl reading in the restricted section to learn this?! Damn Dumbledore telling him to let the girl study in there. Snape continued to chant spells for his escape. But the forest fell silent when his deep voice stopped in shock to watch Granger take off her boots, unzip her jeans to lastly push down her knickers.
"Do you notice me now, sir?" Granger didn't even sound the same. Whatever dark spell she had cast, had surely taken over.
Snape felt bile bubble in his throat as the girl climbed on top of him and already moving his robes away from his groin. Snape opened his eyes wide to bring sense to the girl while a tree root tightened over his mouth making him unable to scream for help.