Disclaimer: I don't own it. *points to J.K. Rowling* she does. The plot and poem are mine.

Title: In The Silence of the Night
Author: AddisonRae
Rating: PG13

Pairing: H/Hr, SS/HG
Genre: Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Character Death
Summary: Hermione Granger is in an abusive relationship. Her only confidant, the one man she thought she hated. Told from Snape's POV, no romance between SS/HG but it is implied .

This story, and the poem included were inspired by MrsIckleRonnykins, of HPRealm.com. It features both H/Hr and SS/HG pairings, though the latter can be interpreted as you wish.

In the silence of the night

Her screams pierce the still air

In the silence of the night

The deafening roar of pain and despair

In the silence of the night

Rescue her if you dare

In the silence of the night

Beauty dies, weak but fair

Her screams still haunt me. They always will. She thought she loved him. But her love was tainted, un-pure. She worshiped him, for all the wrong reasons. And in the end, there was no saving her. She lived with him, for months before the end. The end of a beauty so pure and true not even the bruises and scars could dampen it.

I hated him, of course. Who wouldn't? But she pleaded with me. Asked me not to interfere. I wish I wouldn't have let those eyes pull me in. Every time I looked into those wide, innocent eyes I caved. I'd do anything she wished. She knew it too, that's how she kept it secret for so long.

It all started when he took a teaching position at the school. She tagged along, like a faithful little lapdog, accepting a position as well, just to be close to him. I should have seen the signs then, but I was blinded by my hatred towards him. I associated her with that hatred. It seemed a waste of her talents to be tied down so young. If only I knew.

They hid their relationship for some time. Always claiming to be "best friends". Then, towards the end of their last year as students they let it out, and all hell broke loose. The youngest Weasley, their third wheel, was jealous of young Potter. He had lusted after Hermione Granger for years, only to have her stolen away by his best friend. He was the first of many to shun them, while the outside world glorified them as heroes.

It happened on that fateful night, the forming of a friendship of sorts. No one would have figured it out, not even we fully understood it. But we needed each other. Out of that need came trust.

I was pacing the halls, doing my best to avoid sleep. I heard a scream from the above floor, and rushed up the staircase to find the source. I paused outside their door, but silence. Then, as I was about to turn away, her soft whimper met my ears.

"Harry, no!"

I was about to barge through the door and curse him out of his very existence, but then her eyes floated up through my thoughts, pleading with me to spare her love. I regret that night, not having intervened. As I walked swiftly down to my quarters, contented to curl of with a bottle of whiskey, her last raking sob filled the air, and then still.

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She was buried under a large oak at the edge of the forest. Her favorite spot, she had confessed during one of our long talks. She was buried with a white rose, symbolizing her purity and innocence, despite her lover's malice and violence, and a letter.

My Dearest Hermione,

In the silence of the night I heard your plea. And In the silence of the night I obeyed your last wish. Potter is alive, though weather it is deserved is only for you to decide. He is currently in Azkaban awaiting trial. His knife is under your pillow. As you wished. I shall live to regret this. You have escaped your trials, when mine have only begun. Rest In Peace, love.

-Severus G. Snape

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In the silence of the night

Her breath runs across your face

In the silence of the night

You stumble yet quicken pace

In the silence of the night

She follows you in quiet grace

In the silence of the night

Her memory causes your heart to race