Never the Monster
Disclaimer: the characters belong to JK Rowling, I just borrowed them for my plot.
The grandfather clock chimed the third hour of the morning. Hermione Granger stirred restlessly in her bed, counting out each toll of the bell in the barest of breaths.
"One,...two,...three!"
Before the final 'dong' finished sounding, she was out of her tangled sheets like lightening -- wand at the ready.
This is it, she thought
Stealthily, Hermione crept from her room, bare feet silently carrying her lithe frame towards her parents bedroom. Just as she reached the doorway,she felt the protective wards arround her home fall. A tremor of fear tickled at her spine but she quickly suppressed it. She had to protect her mother and father, it was what she'd trained for; taking private lessons with the potions master, upon Dumbledore's request.
Voldemort's followers had orders to capture her and bring her before their master at all costs. It had been commanded that Snape should be the one to aprehend her, no one, man nor woman was to touch her other than the double spy.
Hermione's goal was to get to safety at the Burrow before the Death Eaters made it into her house. A loud explosion echoed trhough out the house from the downstairs entrance hall. Hermione cursed violently, she was too late. They had come for her.
"Hermione, dear what's going on?" The paniced voice of her mother snapped the young witch back to into the room, she shoved her mother back inside and barricaded the door behind them. Hermione glanced over to see her father rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jane Granger went to stand beside her husband, worrying her lip in a frightened confusion.
"We need to get you out of here, Now!" Hermione told them,not giving them any chance to ask any questions before she began throwing things into bags. In quick timing, the Granger's daughter had both of her parents dressed, luggage packed and resting in nervous hands. She was just about to hand over the portkey that the Headmaster had given her in order to transport her parents to the Weasley home and safety-- she neearly had it within her father's grasp, when she felt someone grab her from behind.
As if in slow motion, she slowly watched the shear terror forming on her parents faces, before she even had time to fully register her mother's scream.
*FLASHBACK*
She hesitated in striking him in the throat, and he snatched her arms up in a briusing grip. Severus shook her roughly in his frustration.
"Never forget that they expect me to kill you! that is why you must strike, Damnit! You must never hesitate, or it will be your death!" Hermione stood there, staring in wide-eyed shock, for the first time she was speechlesss. She didn't understand how to respond to her professor's feriousity.
"Why can't you understand?! When I don that horrid mask and those gods-forsaken robes, , I am no longer your friend. I am your foe, and I cannot protect you from the demons when I must become the monster!" Snape reprinmanded her.
Hermione bit her lip to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "I know, sir. I'm sorry." she apologized, "It's just not in my nature to knowingly hurt someone that I trust."
Obsidian eyes narrowed to pinpoints at her statement. "You foolish child!" Snape growled to cover the sigh that wanted to slip past his lips. "There are going to be times where you must go against every instinct of your very nature, and do what needs to be done, in order to save your own life. I don't care what you have to do to keep fighting! Kill me if you have to in order to make it convincing enough, but never I repeat never, stop fighting! Do I make myself clear?"
The man sighs inwardly when he takes notice of how hard she's chewing her lip. If she doesn't stop soon she's going to draw blood. Hermione's startled into nodding when that metalic taste fills her mouth. "I understand, sir." she whispers.
He watches her warrily for a moment before nodding jerkily. "Good." he snaps, "Now fight!" And once more they attack each other with a vengence.
*END FLASHBACK*
Hermione brought her elbow back to slam into her assailant's throat. Her motions knock the heavily engraved mask from their face as they gasp for air. Throwing the portkeyed hairtie that she always kept for emergencies (such as this) off her wrist-- she breifly had a second to watch her mother vanish, before she spun back around, to come face to face with Lucious Malfoy. Before he had time to regain his composure, Hermione slashed her wand in a defensive movement, stunning the arrogant Pureblood. He hit the floor face first, down for the count.
Hermione didn't even look back as she escaped from the room, past the unconcious man-- if she were to have, she would have noticed the cowering form of Mister Granger in the corner of the room.
Downstairs, the house was in shambles. Everything was turned over, or thrown about the room. There had to be at least five Death Eaters in her house, counting the unconcious Malfoy still in her parents bedroom. From her spot at the banister railing, Hermione could see everything going on in the living 'd destroyed everything. Anger at their disregard for her family and the way they'd violated her home burned in the young woman's chest.
She had to act, and she had to do it now. She couldn't stand by and stomach the destructuion that Slimy Snake's minions had wrought ant longer. In a move that Snape would later attribute to her "Insufferable Gryffindor stupidity!", Hermione found the voice to yell down to the dark witches and wizards below, "Hey!" Simultaniously, four pairs of eyes turned to stare up at the little loiness.
Behind the orrnately carved mask of one man, hard, black eyes glared , the professor had told the girl to bring some attention to herself, to play things up a bit-- he never thought that she'd aactually give them the advantge on purpose! He was going to strangle her!
If his gaze weren't so fixed upon her, there would have been no notice as to how her body tensed, like it was going to spring any moment. Sweet Merlin! She's not actually going to... but before he could even finish his thought, Hermione vaulted her body over the banister. She landed on the main floor in a predetory crouch. Right in the middle of the damned Snake Pit! Severus cursed silently.
Distracted by Hermione's acrobatic stunt, the less experienced Death Eaters stood there, awestruck, before they reacted. Hermione's reaction time was faster, and she managed to hex two before she felt her professor behind her.
It was his scent that gave him away. Musk, and varying smells of cinnamon, rosemary, and sage filled her nostrils, and still, know his identity, she summoned the blade he kept hidden at his back-- just like he'd trained her to do.
TBC...