Disclamer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters of this story. I'm just borrowing them from JKR to write something for my own pleasure and I'm not collecting any kind of payment for this other than reviews!
Background: After the War, Severus Snape and Hermione Granger are different people. They were both damaged, Severus by the pain of being a spy and Hermione by the beastly savage things she had to do to help Harry win. She had killed for Harry, but something had died inside of her.
After the War, Hermione and Snape begin a relationship of sorts. There is a mutual attraction for both of them but it would be improper if a professor and a student went too far.
This is just a moment when Hermione is caught in the rain. Please enjoy!
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Hermione always enjoyed standing in the rain. It had a way of calming her thoughts and cleaning her soul. So that is why, on a warm April day she was out in the rain. She was standing with her back to the castle and watched the rain as it splashed onto the surface of the Lake. The rain had been falling gently when she first went out, but now it was falling faster and it was getting colder.
Wash away my troubles, wash away my fears. Clean my heart, renew my soul.The thoughs that repeated in Hermione's mind, though they were sometime changed or reworded, it was what she thought every time. She wasn't an overly religious person, but she thought that the rain was God's way to give someone a release. The rain didn't judge, it didn't point fingers, it just fell. It washed away worries; it helped to calm fears and helps to renew a broken heart.
The cold rain continued to fall, and Hermione continued to stand in it. She heard someone walking down the soggy grass, but she chose to ignore it. Whoever it was, he stood behind her for a moment, watching the lake as she did before he spoke.
"What are you doing Miss Granger?" asked the mysterious person.
"Washing away my troubles and calming my fears. The rain does it for me. I don't know why you would care, Professor Snape," Hermione replied. She closed her eyes for a moment, waiting for him to say something. Just as she was about to turn around to face him, he stepped forward to stand beside her.
"Do you think the rain will clean my soul also, Miss Granger?" he asked.
"I do. The rain is rain," she started. "It will fall the same no matter what you tell it. It will carry your secrets into the ground where the grass takes them and uses them in ways you and I don't understand."
They stood in silence for a few moments before Snape noticed that Hermione was shivering. The rain had soaked though her thin cloak, so there was nothing to stop the rain from soaking her skin too. Severus unbuttoned his cloak, pulled it off of his shoulders and wrapped Hermione in it. At first, Hermione looked questioningly at him, before she wrapped it around her tightly.
"You asked why I care, Miss Granger." She nodded, but didn't say anything. She looked at him to continue. "I noticed that you were absent from dinner today, and that you hadn't been yourself in my class as per usual. I may be the Greasy Dungeon Bat, but I still care for my students. Especially ones that are smart, caring and know which end of a caldron sits on the fire."
Hermione surprised herself and Severus when she stepped forward and hugged him. He stood solidly for a moment, and then relaxed into her hug, and he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed back. They didn't say anything for a long while, just stood in their hug. Both were lost in their thoughts of the War, of what they had done and what had happened to them.
"Thank you. I appreciate you coming to get me," Hermione started. "Harry and Ron don't understand what I had to do to insure that we won. I used my knowledge, my own hands, to kill someone. I raised my wand, said the spell and killed him. Now, I am afraid of what I know. I'm almost afraid of my wand!" she cried. Severus was at a loss for a moment before he pulled Hermione closer into his arms, and hugged her tightly.
"Shhh, Hermione. I know, I understand. I know how it feels to kill. I know how it feels to be afraid of what is in my head. But, I don't let it stop me; I want you to know that. I worked through my fears. I let the rain wash them away." Severus replied.
Hermione hugged him tighter before she pulled away. There was that look of forbidden attraction in both of their eyes, but there was nothing they could do about it. Maybe, after she graduated they could try something together.
For the last few weeks before graduation, Severus would find Hermione by the Lake every time it was raining. He started to bring an extra cloak for her. They would mostly stand quietly together, occasionally saying something. They grew to know each other, and the possibility of a relationship grew with every rainstorm.
Hermione and Severus grew to love each other through the rain.
A/N: Thanks for reading this short little story. I would really like some reviews! If you loved it, tell me. If you hated it, tell me! I wanna know!