~ So, I did decide to publish after the first chapter (obviously). Even better, here's a new chapter for you! Finally to where I want this story to be. Although, upon reviewing the chapter, I think Snape's a lot more...mild than I generally prefer he be. But he's the character, not me. Oh well. Hope you enjoy!

Wingzrooke

Severus Snape

The room was almost silent. Beyond the room, Severus could hear birds chirping and noisy students. Inside the room, however, it was silent. He watched the girl, sleeping in a hospital bed. The starched white sheets pulled up to her mid stomach, the loose-fitting hospital robe they'd put on her. Severus had not himself seen the extent of her injuries, but it was clear from Madame Pomfrey's fury that there was more than simple malnutrition and blood-letting going on. The woman's lips were a vault, though. Not one word had been spoken since they'd left the headmasters' office. So now he sat, waiting to see if the girl would awaken. He sat there watching her until two in the afternoon, and wondered if anyone had been sent to teach his classes or dismiss them. It was an idle thought, and he returned to watching the girl sleep. He felt this unquenchable, unreasonable fear that if he stopped watching her, she would stop breathing and die.

Lying upon the hospital bed, golden brown hair in fanned out over the pillow, she looked like she might fly away at any moment. Her skin was more pale than his, and he could almost see through it. Her breathing was steady now, and Madame Pomfrey had managed to get Granger's heart rate to steady as well, with infusions of blood increasing potions. Still, one couldn't fix malnutrition overnight, even in the Wizarding world. After an eternity of watching her chest rise and fall, he noticed her right hand clench into the sheets it lay atop. Again the hand clenched, reflexively. It was her wand hand, he knew. He found it odd that even though she'd been missing her wand for two years, her body still checked for it even before she was fully awake.

Gradually her eyes fluttered open, and she met his gaze as her eyes focused. His heart sank when her gaze remained empty. So Marking her had not fixed all the damage. He had so hoped...but no, of course not. When was his life ever that easy?

"Master...?" She called out, looking frightened for the first time. Severus cleared his throat. She looked at him. "Where is my Master?" She asked timidly. He debated how best to answer her.

"He died the final death. You have been assigned to me now. You were re-marked. Can you feel the difference?" Severus explained. Miss Granger closed her eyes. He felt a gentle tug on the invisible link between them. He sent a reassuring feeling back down the link.

"Yes, Master. I can feel the difference." She replied obediently. He sighed.

Oh well, I had to start somewhere. Severus thought grimly.

"My name is Severus Snape. You may call me Severus. Do you remember me?"

"Yes, Master Severus. You taught me potions and defense against the dark arts at Hogwarts. Among other things." Miss Granger replied quietly.

"That's right. And you saved my life twice." He added. This was sure to get a response. She had never let him get away with that statement before. The girl remained quiet; a bad sign. "I'm here to repay that debt now. You are Marked, that is true, but you are not a slave. You may make decisions for yourself, so long as they do not interfere with your safety. I will have a few orders for you here and there," Severus started to explain. He knew he couldn't give her complete freedom right away. The girl had completely lost her own willpower, and so would probably only stick to what her old Master had ordered, given the choice. "For the most part, however, I encourage you to make decisions. You will eat regular meals with me, and you will need to see Madame Pomfrey here whenever she deems necessary. It will probably be at least once a week." Severus finished instructing. Standing, he looked down at her. Wide brown eyes stared up at him, and the girl gently bit down on her lip.

"Anything else, Master Severus?" She asked shyly.

"Yes, my name is Severus, not Master Severus. I expect you to call me simply Severus. Also, once Madame Pomfrey releases you, come down to my classroom. There I will give you further instruction. There is breakfast on the side table next to you. Eat it." Severus added, before turning and sweeping from the room.

Hermione Granger

Her master walked out of the room, and Hermione stared after him. Slowly she looked at the food on the table next to her. Rebellion spread through her stomach as she picked up the tray and inhaled the scent before her. Ignoring that, her hand picked up the utinsels and began shoveling the food into her mouth. Madame Pomfrey bustled in just in time to see Hermione lean to one side and begin to throw the food back up. The matron gasped and rushed to Hermione's side. When she saw the tray of food, she snatched it away from the girl. The girl protested, rising to claim the tray of food back. Madame pomfrey held the tray away from the girl. But the girl followed silently. Finally the matron charmed the tray to stay on the ceiling. Hermione kept trying to jump and reach the tray, however. Sighing in exasperation, Madame Pomfrey used a binding spell on the girl.

"You can't eat whole foods yet, Miss Granger. You must start with liquid nutrients." The nurse scolded.

"Master told me to eat regular meals, and to eat that meal. I must eat that meal." Hermione informed the woman. Who was this woman, to get in the way of Hermione following her Master's orders? She was going to make the Master have a bad opinion of her. That could not be allowed. Try as she might, however, her body would not move. Hermione tried, she really did. But the spells her former Master placed upon her did not leave room for trying. The pain began. At first Hermione ignored it as she tried to get to the food she had to eat. But the pain increased exponentially. Soon she gave in and was screaming. Frantically the older woman tried to figure out what was wrong. She tried pain potions, but nothing worked.

The door to the room was thrown open and then Hermione's master was by her side. She could tell he did not know about the spells the old Master put on Hermione.

"Madame Pomfrey, what is going on here?" He demanded angrily. Hermione felt tears slip down her cheeks. She had tried to obey, she had. She braced herself for more pain, but only the spell hurt.

"The girl was insensible. I was trying to explain that she cannot have solid foods yet, and she said she had to eat the food on that tray up there. I restricted her so I could work on her, and she started to scream." The nurse summarized.

"Stop, Miss Granger. You don't have to eat that food." He said softly, and gently into her ear. The pain vanished and her body eased. Her eyes slid halfway shut, she was exhausted again. "My apologies, I did not realize the girl could not have solid food." Severus said stiffly to the nurse. "My concern was that she had not been eating, and that she must eat to regain her strength." He said calmly.

"Of course she must eat, but her body has been so long without proper nutrition that it cannot absorb it. She will end up throwing most of it back up as she did this morning. She will need to start out with special liquid food. I can give you the recipe. But she must eat these for quite some time to come." Madame Pomfrey replied scornfully. Severus bowed his head.

"My apologies Miss Granger, I did not know. I'm sorry to have caused you pain. From now on, you will eat as often as Madame Pomfrey says and what she says until she pronounces you ready to go back to a regular schedule of eating. At which time you will eat regular, healthy meals." Her Master ordered softly. Shock rippled through her. Sorry? She had made her Master sorry? How could that be? She was just a worthless body, her only purpose was blood supply. Why would he care whether or not she hurt?

"Please don't apologize, Master Severus. My pain does not matter. Please, don't worry." She pleaded softly.

"Master?" Madame Pomfrey demanded in a dangerous, strangled voice.

"It is something that I could not help, Pomfrey. I'm doing what I can to give her the greatest amount of freedom she can have. And your pain does matter, Miss Granger. No matter what that piece of filth who was your previous master, told you, you are an important person. You should not be in pain simply because you cannot do something or you disagree." Her Master scolded them both. Hermione bowed her head. He was odd, this Master. None of the stories she'd heard from other Marked matched what he said. She sighed, he did not know her place.

Then it is up to me to know my place. I must never be disobedient or make him look like a bad Master, whatever he wants. She thought grimly.

"Now, first I must remove that spell the …...previous master...put on you." Severus growled. Hermione got the feeling that he wanted to call her old Master something else, but she wasn't sure what it could have been. Not that it mattered much to her. Her Master held out his hand. She held out to him her left hand, the one her old Master always used to place or remove spells on her.

"Finete Marris Incantatum" He murmured, and she felt a multitude of spells release. All of the spells her old Master had placed on her released and dissolved away. It was as though she could breathe again suddenly. Almost as though the weight of the spells had been restricting her lungs. Her new Master smiled at her gently. "No more unnecessary pain." He told her gently, squeezing her hand once before releasing. "Now, I have to return to my class. I suspect I scared some of them and several cauldrons have probably exploded. You'll likely see me in a few moments with some students, Poppy." Severus sighed. "Granger, behave and do what Madame Pomfrey tells you do. When you are released, meet me in my classroom." Severus ordered.

"Yes, Master Severus." She replied obediently.

"Just Severus." He corrected with a scowl.

"Yes, Severus." She replied contritely. He smiled grimly and stalked down the hallway. Hermione looked up at the Matron.

"Here, drink this. This is your first meal of the day. We will start out once a day for now. You will meet with me once a week, unless you feel sick in any way. Then you will report to me immediately. Other than that, you will meet with me every Wednesday. Now, I've just a few checks to do before you can go." Madame Pomfrey said, handing a glass to Hermione. Obediently Hermione knocked back the tall glass. Her stomach rolled dangerously, but it settled as Hermione watched the Matron do her work.

Finally the woman released her, after making the girl change into some regular robes. Hermione hurried to find her Masters' class room . Surely she'd taken too long. He would be angry.

Severus Snape

To his great relief, no one had exploded a cauldron. Being Ravenclaws, they were mostly competent enough to carry on with the instructions in their book and on the board. If they got stuck, they put a stasis charm on their cauldron and waited. No one was. It was a review potion, and several people had their vials on his desk and their cauldrons cleaned out. Those children were studying, potions books open on their desks. The classroom was mostly silent when he came in. Amazingly, not a hand went up and not a child asked where he'd been. If it had been his previous class, or the next class, Severus knew it would not have been so simple. He dismissed the children who had already finished, and one by one the class slowly filed out.

He had a few moments to switch his notes and then the next group was filing in. It was a group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Quickly he set them to work, and started winding his way around the cauldrons. Every now and then he would look at the door, expecting the girl to come walking through. It was not until half way through the class that she finally did. When Hermione Granger walked through the door, the whispering that had been flowing around the room stopped. Several children stared with their mouths wide open. Apparently even the younger children had heard of Hermione Granger, missing defeater of Voldemort.

"The Hermione Granger...!" Several people whispered, confirming Severus' conclusion.

"Granger, come in. Class, I trust you all know of Hermione Granger. She will be assisting me sometimes in class. Now pay attention to your potions." Severus ordered. "Granger, for now I want you to walk around as I am doing. Make sure everyone is staying on task." He instructed. She nodded silently. The class went fairly well, and Severus wondered why he'd never accepted the assistant that both Albus and Minerva had offered to hire for him. He'd always seen it as weakness, but that day not a single cauldron exploded and his classes were almost silent once they got working. He chuckled to himself. Miss Granger had proved doom upon those who were off task that day. Finally classes ended for the day. A small house elf appeared after the last student exited his classroom. The little elf handed Severus a recipe, and Severus realized it was the draught required for Miss Granger.

"What is your name, elf?" Severus asked.

"Mimz, Professor Sir." The elf squeaked, looking frightened.

"Mimz, if I make a copy of this recipe, can one of the cooking elves make sure it gets made for Miss Granger? And then have it delivered to her place at dinner?" Severus asked. The elf bowed.

"Of course, Sir." The elf replied automatically. Severus waved his wand, and his nonverbal spell duplicated the recipe. He handed a copy to the elf, and the elf vanished with an enthusiastic "pop!"

"Come, Miss Granger. We have a few errands to run before dinner." Severus called. Almost immediately she was at his side. It was time to do some shopping.

Well, there it was. Like I said, Severus came out a lot more mild in this first bit then I generally intend him to be. I think I kind of like this version of him, though. Thank you to "worrywart," "Whovi10," and "FluffyPurpleBunny" for their reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter also.

~ Wingzrooke