Severus Snape's eyes flicked open to find he was not nearly as dead as he'd expected to be. Unless of course they had Hogwarts, and hospital wings in the afterlife.
Which he highly doubted.
He tried to move his head but his neck ached too badly and he groaned. His mouth was dry.
Why was he alive? The snake had killed him, the Dark Lord had made more than certain he would die.
The Dark Lord! What had happened, were others alive? Had they won!?
His mind was reeling when he was brought back to reality by cool hands on his forehead.
"Your fever is going down, I thought we'd never see you awake again." The presumed owner of the voice stepped further into a view and Severus stared up at the girl with narrowed eyes.
"What are you doing Granger?" He sneered and she gave him a soft smile. It caught him off guard, he didn't expect that.
"Try not to put too much effort into hating me, okay? You need all of your strength for getting well."
"Why aren't I dead?" He grunted, clearly annoyed with his current status of 'alive'.
"I wondered the same thing mate." He heard a grumble from the foot of the bed. The voice immediately recognizable as Ron Weasley.
"Ronald!" Granger scolded and her head whipped back to him, bushy brown hair heavy with dirt. How long had he been out? Couldn't be too long if she was still filthy.
"That was unnecessary. I told you if you cannot be nice then you can just go tend to your brothers with your mother and Ginny. I don't need you here hovering over me." She snapped and turned back to Snape. Ron grumbled but could be heard sitting back in his chair and his movement ceased.
Didn't trust the old git with his Hermione, even when he was incapacitated.
"How are you feeling sir? Can you tell me where you hurt?"
"I believe Granger, that is a simple answer, everywhere. Now, why-am-I-alive?" He bit out the words, annoyed.
"I wondered the same thing, Professor, we returned for your body and found you still had a heartbeat. Remarkable, the snake should have killed you. Harry insisted we give you a hero's burial but apparently you will be receiving a hero's welcome instead." She smiled that soft smile at him and pulled the covers up over him higher, tending to him as if she were his nursemaid.
What the hell had happened while he was unconscious?
"Hermione, he's okay now, can't you go take care of yourself?" Weasley had joined her, his hand wrapped around hers as he loomed over her. He was clean, and smelled fresh.
So why was Granger still in such a state.
"I…I can't Ron. I'll go as soon as he's up and about I swear." She shook her hand free of his and turned to Severus, he winced when she brushed the hair back from his face and frowned.
"I'm going to get him another pain potion. Please go see to Fred and George. I'm perfectly safe here." She pursed her lips and Weasley gave her a look.
Severus watched with interest. This was not how couples typically interacted, not that he'd ever been the other side of a couple- but he'd observed, many, many couples.
This was not normal.
"Fine, but if you need me, send your Patronus." She blinked over at him and watched as he went before she turned back to Severus, he narrowed his eyes on her, irritated he couldn't sit up.
"Don't tell anyone but I can't send him my Patronus, it has changed, dramatically." She pulled her bushy curls back from her face and hustled away from his bed only to return with a vial a few moments later.
"What exactly is it you're doing, Granger?" He all but growled and she heaved a deep breath.
"Look, you never liked me, and that's fine. Right now, I'm the only person available to care for you. Poppy gave me strict instructions on your care and I know I'm not to annoy you. Honestly, I've only watched over you. I find I quite like the silence of this part of the wing, it is a pleasant break from the agony over there." She gestured with her head to the other end of the wing and he wished he could turn his head and look.
"I see." He muttered, not interested in pursuing the conversation further. She popped the top of the vial and brought it to his lips and he stared at her hard.
"I promise, it is pain killer, smell it, I'm sure you can recognize something so basic by sight and scent. You are a Master after all."
Clever girl she was, stroking his ego, it was a good way to make almost any wizard malleable. She'd certainly learned to apply that vast intellect to more than just saving the wizarding world.
"Fine then." He opened his lips and she tipped the potion in, the second it hit his stomach the warm feeling spread through his limbs and his pain was near unnoticeable.
He tensed when her fingers danced across the skin of his neck.
"Sorry, you're going to have a noticeable scar. I did the best I could and extracted all of the venom." She pulled a vial from her pocket and shook it in front of him.
"Thought you might like to have it for potions." And she was right.
"But, it was a magical being, it will still scar. I understand." He nodded and found it didn't hurt too bad. Blessedly.
"Exactly, when you're finally up and moving around I will take it to your stores on my way to shower." She glanced over to the other side of the room and his eyes followed.
Her amber eyes looked sad as she stared at the redheaded family over there.
"George lost an arm to a collapse, he was lucky not to lose his life. They're trying to regrow it but it isn't looking great. Fred is having a time teasing him." She informed him and turned back to her chair.
"Just let me know if you need anything, I'll do whatever I can for you." She hovered, unsure what to do and not wanting to upset him. He blinked up at her for a moment and took a deep breath.
"You should go and bathe, Granger. I will be here when you return, if you are worried I will stand and flee from your care. I fear you have little to worry about. I doubt I will be up and running about in the next hour." He watched her facial expression, it didn't change and he wondered just how badly this war had actually affected her.
He'd never thought about what it would do to the Golden Trio, all of the hardships. Never expected to need to worry about it, had expected to die during the war. It had always been at the back of his mind, he'd always known he would die by the Dark Lord's hand.
"Okay, if you're certain you don't mind." She looked hesitant, bit her lip. He almost thought she may be afraid to walk out of the hospital wing.
And then it occurred to him.
That was exactly it, she was afraid to leave the security of the wing, all of the others there, possibly even his own presence made her feel safer.
"On second thought, help me up Granger, I think I'd like to walk you to the showers and perhaps have my own while I wait for you." She blinked at him, her mouth fell open and it took her a moment to recover.
"Are you certain sir, you shouldn't be trying to stand up without anyone there in case you fall."
He could feel the smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth and almost cursed himself his next words.
"No worries, Granger. I didn't say I would go into a separate bathing room. I'm certain a stall separating us will be ample coverage." He cocked an eyebrow and the witch flushed bright red, it deepened his smirk.
Oh, she was going to be a fun little swot now she was no longer his student.
"Uh, o-okay." She wet her lips and flipped his blankets back, her hand out to help him from the bed.
It wasn't long until he was walking through the shattered corridors, his lumbering figure close to hers in case he stumbled. She needed to be able to catch him, though he worried he may in fact crush the little witch should he fall on her.
She didn't seem to have grown much in her time at Hogwarts, though he was unsure how he'd never noticed it before.
Perhaps because he'd had bigger things on his plate.
The wellbeing of the wizarding world for example.
She held the door to the girls' showers open for him and he slouched in. She blushed when he tossed his robes off in the main area, leaving only his shredded white shirt and black slacks on. It was probably the greatest state of undress any student, current or former, had ever seen him in.
"If you need me, please just say something." She turned on her heel and scurried toward a stall as quickly as possible, a towel from the cabinet going with her so she could wrap herself up should he fall.
As soon as she was under the rush of hot water and the dirt was falling away she moaned her pleasure and Severus tensed in his stall several from her. A woman making that sort of noise was enough to awaken certain sensations in him no matter how much pain he was in.
The sweet scent of vanilla and peaches permeated the air and he recognized it as the scent Granger often wafted all over the castle, everywhere she went. He'd recognize it as her anywhere, no other student used such muggle scents.
It was refreshing.
"Please cease your incessant moaning and groaning." Hermione tensed at his voice right after a particularly long sigh of relief.
"Sorry sir." Her squeak echoed through the tiled room and he smirked despite himself, black hair clung to the wound on his neck and he grimaced.
It was a blessing, he supposed, that he regularly wore a cravat and would not have to display that particular scar for the world to see. He would be able to hide that one without magic.
Granger's arm shot up over the top of her stall to grasp her towel and his eyes locked on the smooth, pale flesh. Marred by a the scar of a single word 'MUDBLOOD' and he knew, this girl, young woman, she would have a very tough time with both her physical, and her emotional scars.
And because she saw to him while he was unconscious, he felt the undeniable responsibility to see to her as soon as he healed.
"Granger, how would you like a potions apprenticeship?" He questioned over the stall and he heard her stunned gasp, followed by her feet slipping on wet tiles and her crashing very hard to her bum on the wet floor.
"Owwww." She whimpered and lay there, sprawled.
"I'll take that as a yes?" He smirked, not worried about her poor tailbone, she could have one of his pain potions if she needed.
"I would really love that sir." She exclaimed from the floor, her voice still pinched with pain. He could see her long legs from under the stall and smirked.
"Good, prepare your things to be moved to the dungeons at the end of this week, and do not expect preferential treatment." He wrapped a towel around his hips and stepped out, feeling much more relaxed, refreshed, and less hobbled after the hot water.
She'd just stepped from her own stall and with wide eyes and bright red blush on her face turned around quickly, apologies flying from her mouth.
He forced himself not to chuckle. He knew what he was getting himself into with the know-it-all but it would be worth it. A genius apprentice and the repayment of his debt.
It was a win-win for all parties involved.
