Voices, so many voices, she wanted them to stop, it was hurting her ears, interrupting her sleep. She tried to float away again but she couldn't so she made herself concentrate on the words, on the voices.
"I'm sorry Albus, there is still no change in her condition, the poor little lamb. I don't know how she survived two days. I can mend her body but I fear her mind will not recover from the torture." There was an uncomfortable pause. "Have you called St. Mungos and arranged for her to be transferred?" Hermione knew that voice, that brisk but kind tone, Madam Pomfrey, the mediwitch at Hogwarts. While part of her wondered why she was hearing her the other part didn't care. It just wanted to go back to sleep. It wanted silence.
"I pray it doesn't come to that, Poppy. I can never forgive myself for allowing this to happen, I should have had her guarded," she heard frustration in the next voice.
"It's not your fault. In a few days she was going to go stay with the Weasley's like you had arranged. You couldn't have known that she'd be attacked, and right outside King's Crossing of all places. I think it is best that we take her to St. Mungos as soon as possible, they are more equipped to deal with her. Much more so than I am."
Where they talking about her? St. Mungos? Why? She wanted to speak, to tell them that she didn't want to go anywhere, that she just wanted to sleep but she was too tired to speak, too tired to think. Darkness began to descend all around her and she fell back into the sweet oblivion where nothing hurt and everything was quiet.
It was dark as Hermione opened her eyes, the only light coming from the open window that gave her a full view of the night sky and the large silver moon. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to everything. She laid there for a few moments in confusion, in fear. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears she feared the whole world could hear it. She was in a soft bed, with warm, soft, blankets and the air smelled sweet, like early summer flowers. She closed her eyes in contentment listening to the sound of crickets and the far off hoot of an owl. She was safe, it was just a dream, just a nightmare. It was gone and she could forget that she'd ever thought up such nonsense. She sat up and yawned intending to go down stairs and get a snack. She was starving. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and looked down.
Her hands was bandaged.
Her heart started beating furiously in her chest, she could hear it and with each moment it got louder and louder. Threatening to burst through her chest. She looked around in confusion. She wasn't at her parents house. It was her room at Hogwarts, but the school year was over, she was supposed to be home. She looked at her bandaged hands. Comprehension refusing to come. Something sounded from the back of her mind but she pushed the voice away. Her voice. Slowly she unwrapped her hands and looked down. She looked at her hands, her once beautiful hands. There were bite marks on them, as if she had bit herself to stop herself from screaming. Her nails were broken, some of the nails were nearly gone exposing red flesh, as if she had been clawing at the ground. It was hard to breathe now, it had been a dream! It wasn't real, it couldn't have been real! No. No. No.
She needed the fresh air, suddenly it felt too stuffy. She couldn't breathe. She just had to get to the window. Hermione climbed out of bed and all of a sudden her knees buckled and she fell to the carpeted floor. In her mind her knees hit stone and she was back in that horrible chamber with Lucius standing over her. She cried out in pain. She needed to get to the window, she needed to be free. Arms grabbed her and she struggled, tried to get away. She didn't want to go back to the cell. She didn't want the pain to come back.
Hermione was hysterical now. She was sobbing and kicking and hitting. She just wanted to get away from him and to the window. That window, the sight of the moon and the stars, it held everything that she wanted, that she needed. She was so close. She could get away. She just had to get to the window. It was so hard to breathe... the... window... Suddenly she collapsed, unconscious and the darkness surrounded her once again.
Severus Snape lifted her in his arms and gently laid her unconscious form back on the bed. He pulled the blankets over her and took a few moments to monitor her vitals. Her pulse was dangerously fast at first but it slowed as her breathing evened out. Satisfied that she was all right, as all right as one could be after such an ordeal, he took up his vigil from the chair by the fireplace. He watched her sleep and he felt something he rarely allowed himself to feel. Compassion. He ran his fingers through his long black hair. After all she had endured he couldn't believe that she had actually survived. He'd never believed in miracles but this was the closest thing to one that he'd ever seen. The Dark Lord had her within his grasp and he hadn't killed her. He rested his chin on his hands. That wasn't entirely true. For all he knew he'd killed whatever was left inside the young woman.
If Snape would have gotten there a moment later he didn't know what would have happened. He thought back to four days ago when the dark mark on his arm had began to burn, summoning him to a meeting. He had thought nothing of it, the meetings were never at regular intervals, simply whenever the Dark Lord wished. He had taken a few moments to inform Dumbledore and then he had changed into his Death Eater garb, not very different from the robes he usually wore. He had made his way to the front gate and as soon as he was off of school grounds he had apparated, following the call of the dark mark. Once there he had waited, dreading whatever was going to happen, if this might be the day he never returned. When the room had been nearly filled the great doors on the other side of the room had been opened and hauled between two Death Eaters had been a nude, unconscious, Hermione Granger. He had felt horror in his stomach as he recognized her, as he stood there helpless to do anything but watch as she gradually roused and realized where she was, the initial horror on her face...
He by no stretch of the imagination liked her, but he had always held a kind of grudging respect for her intelligence, she had been one of, if not the best, student he had ever had and there she was bravely facing her death. He had watched as Lucius crucio'd her over and over again while furiously trying to figure out someway to help but there had been nothing he was able to do. His palm bore nail marks from the frustration he had felt. The utter helplessness. Even now he could hear her screams in his head, out of all of the tortures he had witnessed through his years of being a Death Eater hers had been the worse. A lesser person would have broken from the pain but she'd never given up her secret. After an hour he had been sure that Lucius was going to kill her in his rage. The entire time Snape had battled with his conscious.
Save her and condemn himself?
He'd wanted to spare her the agony that was being dealt to her. Grab her and apparate somewhere safe. But in doing that, if indeed he could even manage to get to her, would have been a death sentence for him. Voldemort wouldn't have stopped until he was dead. The Order would be without their spy. He would have had to risk too much so instead he had watched her being tortured, all the while trying to push away the urge to vomit. He had almost passed out in relief and hopelessness when Lucius had ordered her to be taken to one of the holding cells. The cells were so heavily guarded that he knew there would have been no way to release her from them but at the same time it bought them a little bit of time. Once the Death Eater meeting was over he had gone back to Grimwauld Place and told the more senior members that she had been taken. Next to getting her back their second priority had been keeping the news from Potter and Weasley. They had succeeded in that aspect. He and Dumbledore had stayed up late into the night devising a plan and it was agreed upon that if she was still alive the next time he was summoned then he would do everything in his power to save her, even if it meant revealing himself to Voldemort as a traitor. Even if it meant risking his death.
He had known that she would be safe until nightfall because all Death Eater meetings took place after darkness fell. He didn't know if this time they would all be summoned to watch her torture and possibly, if he couldn't do anything, the end of her life. The Order had an unregistered animagus watching Malfoy Manner and that night when Lucius apparated they all knew where he had gone. Severus had waited for a summons, knowing that if he got there too soon Voldemort would know something was wrong. After a half an hour he knew that it was now or never. Wearing an invisibility cloak he apparated to the secret chamber, hoping she hadn't been moved or she wasn't still in the cell.
He had gotten there just a silver light filled the room and for a moment he had been blinded by it. He heard Voldemort scream and when he had been able to see again Voldemort was thrashing on the ground in pain and Lucius was knelt over him trying to help. He took the advantage and he scooped up the limp, unconscious Gryffindor and apparated to the Shrieking Shack as quickly as possible. Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey had been waiting and they'd transported her to Hogwarts and then she'd been taken to the infirmary where she had been in an almost coma-like state for two days, until a moment ago. Madame Pomfrey had been called away to St. Mungo's a few days ago so here he was watching over her, wondering if he had been too late, if her mind was too far gone. It was simply another regret on a long list of regrets. He sat there dozing, but never quiet asleep in case she should wake.
Severus was startled as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, early morning sunlight flooding the room, and saw the Headmaster standing next to him. His eyes traveled to the bed just to make sure that she was still there, still safe.
"Has there been any change?" Dumbledore asked heavily, looking every one of his years.
Severus nodded and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Dumbledore handed him. "She woke up during the night while I was sleeping. She was barely coherent. She had a panic attack and she passed out, she's been sound asleep since then."
"I am worried for her well being, Severus. Maybe Poppy was right, she should be at St. Mungo's where she could get the proper care," he said as he sat in the chair opposite Severus'.
"Voldemort or Lucius may decide to finish what they started. She's safe here, besides, I'm sure she feels a certain amount of safety here, this was her home, after all, until a week ago when she graduated." In truth he felt as if he was to blame for this. He wouldn't go so far as to say that he felt like it was his duty to watch over her but there was something telling him that he needed to. He had watched her in that chamber, writhing on the floor in pain, sharing every long second of it with her in his mind.
Snape heard a sound come from her bed and both he and the Headmaster turned to see her looking straight at them.
