"For reasons I cannot begin to fathom, your acting tonight was astounding. Congratulations for not ruining the mission and getting us killed." Snape murmured, helping an exhausted Hermione up to her room. The spell altering her appearance was beginning to wear off; leaving her the curvaceous brunette she was before the ordeal. She leant against the Potions Master and closed her eyes.
"Muggle acting classes," she replied sleepily, in way of explanation. Severus chuckled and her bushy locks tickled his nose.
"One of your many hidden skills, then?" the query subtly referred to her music, something he'd found himself missing. She nodded into his shoulder and yawned. "Okay, Miss Granger; time for bed. I suppose at some point tomorrow I can introduce you to the Library, after all there is a grand piano inside." He assisted her onto her bed and gently laid the girl down, covering her soft body with a blanket. He turned to leave but she caught his hand.
"I told you to call me Hermione," she muttered, opening bleary eyes to find her professor staring oddly at her. She hadn't let go of his hand, and found that her own hand fit better in his than the character she had played all evening.
"For now, Miss Granger, I hardly think we know each other well enough for first name terms unless it's part of the façade. You would do well to remind yourself of your status as a student, even if you are on this mission. Just because I have been forced to bring you along with me does not mean you have earned the right to call me by my given name. Good night, Miss Granger," he swept from the room, extinguishing the lights as he went. He didn't turn back, didn't see the tear slip from Hermione's eye, didn't see her heartbroken expression as she realised any niceties shown to her were lies, didn't see her curled up, alone, in the middle of the bed, suddenly not very tired.
"Damn and blast!" Severus growled as soon as he had closed his door. Why did she have to be so innocently alluring? He stormed to his bed and threw himself on it, child like, covering his eyes with his arm. He couldn't have been gladder to see Hermione revert back to her usual self after the terrible evening they were forced to endure; the sleek, raven-haired pureblood he had disguised her as looked all too real, too ideal. He had worried she would prefer the acceptance she received and would stay so… perfect in the eyes of the Old Blood Wizarding World. Then he mentally scolded himself; she was a woman proud of her inheritance, why would she choose to become someone else?
With another sigh the Potions master heaved himself off the bed and got changed, slipping on ebon pyjama pants and a green t-shirt, crawling back into the lush cocoon of his duvet. Not for the first time, he wished there was a warm body next to him, accompanying him. The bed was just too large for one man. Severus pulled up the covers to his chin, and fell into a fitful, nightmare-plagued sleep.
Hermione had just drifted off to sleep, when hoarse cries and yells shocked her awake. It was Professor Snape. She shot out of bed and grabbed her wand, dashing through the door and into his. What she saw made her gasp.
Severus was thrashing on the bed, yelling. Now she was in the room she could hear what was tormenting him. It was heartbreaking to hear.
"No!" He cried, tangling his legs in the sheets. "No, please! Not my mother! No! I swear to you… No! Please… I'll join… not my mother…" tears overflowed her cheeks and Hermione gently approached the bed, intent on waking the Professor. She sat next to him and placed her hand on his arm, shaking gently.
"Professor? Professor, please wake up," she whispered. The man jerked in his sleep, but didn't wake. "Professor… Severus!" He sprang up, sliding his wand from under his pillow and pressing it to Hermione's neck. She screamed, petrified.
"Her- Miss Granger!" Severus bellowed, lowering his wand and scooting to the edge of the bed. "What the hell are you doing in here?" She was too terrified to speak. Severus shook himself and pulled the trembling girl into his arms and soothed her, whispering apologies in her ear. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I've never been woken from sleep by anyone good and my instincts, in my line of work, make me slightly jumpy. What was it you wanted?" Hermione pulled herself out of his arms and walked to the door. It was hard to be around a man who had just been about to kill her without knowing it.
"I wanted to stop the nightmares," she admitted. "It sounded painful and no one should endure such horrific memories as yours obviously were. I'm sorry for bothering you with foolish Gryffindor sentimentalities, Professor." She left the room, still slightly upset. Severus rushed after her and caught her as she slipped through her door.
"Hermione," he breathed. "Thank you. The nightmares are something I've had to live with since… well if you heard the content of them then you could guess for how long. I just deal with them. For you to care enough to rouse me… you have my deepest gratitude and apologies for scaring you. I have to admit though, I am now faced with a dilemma; fall back to the hellish dreams, or become tired because of the lack of sleep I'll gain from trying to avoid them?" For once the Potions Master let down his carefully constructed guard and bared his soul to the woman before him. She wrapped her arms around his waist in an impulsive display of affection, one that stunned the Professor but one that he returned.
"I'll stay with you, Professor, just to make sure your dreams are clear tonight. We can stay on opposite sides of the bed, and I swear to you I don't fidget at all and you can count on me to not mutter, I don't snore…"
"Okay, Hermione," Severus interrupted, smiling weakly. "I believe you. If you think it will help any, I will try. Hold to your promises though, Miss Granger, or we will have a problem on our hands." There was a wry grin on Hermione's face as she skipped into the Professor's room.
"Of course, sir. And besides; it will be most beneficial to our pretence of love, if we actually sleep together... I mean sleep in the same bed," she blushed furiously, earning a scoff from Severus.
"Quiet, Miss Granger, or I will be forced to place a silencing charm on you," Sev warned jokingly. They clambered into bed, exhausted.
"Professor?" Hermione asked quietly. He groaned, rolling to face her with sparkling onyx eyes. "Please, now that we are this intimate, please call me Hermione. Good night." She buried her head under the duvet and turned away from her Potions teacher, and fell rapidly to sleep. Severus resisted the urge to reach out to brush her hair from her face and quickly did the same.
When Severus woke, he was unnaturally warm, but not uncomfortable. It took a while for the spy to realise that he had woken naturally, not with a start because of a nightmare. It took another few seconds for the reason of the above to become startling clear to him. Hermione was wrapped peacefully in his arms. He had her in his arms. He had… as he shook his head the brunette stirred, yawning cutely. Cutely? He thought to himself. You really have let yourself slip, Severus.
"Seve- Professor?" Hermione mumbled, lifting herself up to glance at him. When she realised her position she gasped and flew to the edge of the bed. See, you old fool? Repulsed by the thought of it, Severus scowled mentally, bitter that his emotions had gotten out of control and had created a whole plethora of situations and ideals that were really just not true. "I am so sorry! I swear to you that it was purely unconscious and I had no intention of getting close to you… sorry, I'll just go now…" before he could formulate a reply, Hermione had dashed from the room.
"Idiot. Dunderhead," he muttered to himself. "You are Severus Snape; ugly, greasy Dungeon bat. Get over yourself." He had to remember that no one would want him. No one would want a death eater; no one would want an ugly man with a private, reclusive personality. Put the two together and you have the most undesirable man in the Wizarding world. "Next thing you know I'll be searching for company in the Muggle world," he growled bitterly. Of course, that would make his job half as difficult – no one in the Muggle world knew of the Death Eaters, let alone his imposing personality. With a sigh and a mental shake of the head, Severus set about his morning routine.
Could she have messed up any more? Hermione mentally berated herself for a solid fifteen minutes for her foolish actions with the potions master. How on earth had she ended up on his chest? She had to admit it had been the best night's sleep she had ever had but that didn't mean it was right. The man had explicitly said no form of physical contact and had arisen to find her sprawled, unladylike and possibly drooling, on his torso. He must think of her as some kind of predator! Slapping her forehead, Hermione gingerly got dressed in the comfortable jeans and checked shirt she had stowed in her bag. Donning a black hooded jacket, she could finally admit she was ready to face Severus. It would be mortifying, and she didn't know how they were supposed to carry out the operation when they were so awkward around each other, but she was sure they could manage. After all, Snape was a seasoned spy, and Hermione a practised liar and actress. They could pull it off.
Trudging warily downstairs, Hermione wondered where the kitchen was. It wasn't a very large house, and very conventional so she assumed it would be towards the back of the house. It was an odd feeling, knowing that you were in the house of the most private professor at the school, but knowing that it was the man she was working with to save Harry, she didn't mind. Now… kitchen… there was a door at the end of the narrow corridor, and as Hermione edged nearer the more sure she got that this was the kitchen. She became confident in her strides, and opened the door to reveal the kitchen.
Only it wasn't there. Instead it was a beautifully decorated, deep mahogany library. She could not see the walls for the expanse of shelves, crammed with books, which wrapped higher and higher into the tower-like room. This was magically enhanced, Hermione decided; there was no way a house this size could hold such a treasure.
And there was the victim of her hearts desire; a grand piano. It was a wonderful Ivory Fazioli, carved with intricate patterns and vine-like forms. Rather like my wand, Hermione mused. It was like she was drawn towards the piece, yearning to caress the keys and tease sweet melodies from its strings. Before she realised it she was at the bench, sitting down and running her fingers along the length of the keys.
"So beautiful," she whispered reverently. Without being able to resist it Hermione started playing the Moonlight Sonata, revelling in the feeling of the expensive piano under her fingertips. Gently she morphed the tune into the fierier Appassionata, and once she was done, drifted to a close.
"You play like an angel," Snape's voice drifted over from the door, which was positioned behind Hermione's back. She whirled round, startled, back onto the piano, which screeched in protest.
"Professor!" She cried, trying to calm her nerves. She always relaxed when she played but managed a trance-like state, which left her quite a vulnerable person while she played. It was only due to quick reflexes and sharp senses that she allowed herself to continue. "I am so sorry, I was looking for the kitchen and found this instead, and just couldn't help myself…" she trailed off at the odd look in his eyes. Then she realised; it was amusement. He was amused. Oh.
"Miss Granger… Hermione. It is fine for you to use the facilities of the house for the time that we are here. I do not use the piano for I have an abominable lack of musical talent. I was, if you recall, going to show you this room today anyway. However if you still seek the kitchen it is this way." The black-haired man left the room without glancing back. He found her shock hilarious and it was only years of practice in schooling his features that he managed to control his grin. It would never do for the woman to see him vulnerable… well, any more vulnerable than he had been while he was sleeping.
"Professor, I know this is a bit unorthodox but I would very much like to cook breakfast this morning, if you are unopposed to the idea?" Hermione called conversationally to the Potions Master as she followed him down the hall. She had seen his fists clench in response to his thoughts a second earlier and had decided to try to change the conversation before he became… morbid.
"If you wish, Hermione, but only if you return the gesture of informality and call me Severus. I have given up on all hope of retaining professional detachment in this mission, due to your incessant chattering and nonsense frivolities." The man growled in reply. It was hard to hear, but there was definite sarcasm and teasing in the tones that would have otherwise hurt Hermione dreadfully.
"Good to hear, Severus." She responded cheerfully, skipping to catch up with him. If nonsense frivolities were what he wanted, that would be exactly what he got. "I was thinking of a light breakfast of a Ham and Cheese Omelette; French style. Does that suit your needs? Oh, and coffee, of course. Can't have a French-themed breakfast without coffee, can we?" She laughed at the mock scowl pasted on the man's face.
"It sounds fine, Hermione. I'll just sit here and wish for death, while you potter around the kitchen all happy and obscenely lively for this time in the morning," the scowl grew more pronounced as, predictably, she danced around the kitchen, whipping up what Severus had to admit was a delicious smelling meal. Once it was cooked they sat and ate in silence. He finished quickly, groaning quietly in appreciation for the food. Why did Hermione have to be so brilliant at everything?
"Hermione," Sev started, rolling the name off his tongue. "As you cooked a more than satisfactory meal I must insist on washing the dishes. You are treating me extremely well; it's almost unnerving." Hermione looked cross, her hands on her hips.
"Severus Snape, you are obviously underfed and exhausted. You are doing amazing work for the order and I'll be damned if I let you continue a substandard quality of life. You've taken me under your wing while we find… Harry," The increasingly upset girl's voice broke on the name of her friend. "And the least I can do is pay you back in one way or another." Speech done, she sat down and buried her head in her hands, struggling to gather her composure. She had tried so hard to remain mature about the situation but she was just a seventeen year old girl whose best friends were either dead or missing.
"Hermione, you've done so well so far; you've remained strong and you really are a big help with this mission. It's so much more believable that I have accompaniment and you did so magnificently. I know I've been harsh to you but you are allowed to have emotions," Slowly the professor moved around the table to place a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You can be you. It's not a weakness for you; it's strength." With these words the bushy-haired youth threw herself into the muscular arms of her companion, tears running free.
"I'm so… afraid for Harry… what if we're too late? What if he dies? I'd have no one left! Ron killed Bellatrix for me but got himself killed in the process… Harry's all I've got left. He's my family and my best friend… I can't live without my best friend, Professor; I've already lost too much." Severus frowned, confused.
"You still have family in the Muggle world, do you not?" he queried, sitting on the tiles of his kitchen with Hermione in his lap. "I do not wish to belittle Potter's worth to you, but you will have others, even if he does not return. Which he will." The Potions Master felt the lithe girl in his arms shake even harder in response to his questions.
"No one knows but Dumbledore and us three… Bellatrix killed my parents, my entire family." Severus went completely still. The extermination of the Granger family? Why did he not know about it? How did she survive? In response to the news that quite obviously devastated the girl he merely held her closer, rocking her gently. "I rarely sleep at night; I feel like if I do my barriers will crumble, or I'll wake up and Harry'll be gone too and I'll have no one left." The small words of the bright young woman clenched at Severus' heart, breaking it.
"I'm here for you, Hermione. I'll be here," he whispered. A strong impulse came to kiss her on the top of the head, to nuzzle into her hair, to be closer to her and for once, Snape didn't restrain himself or control his impulses, merely acted on them.
"I'll be here."
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long! Serious case of writers block... any way, hope you enjoyed this much more angsty chappie, with an explanation as to why Ron got rid of Bella!
Ashes xx
