Anything recognizable is the property of J.K. Rowling. I do not make any claim to ownership, nor do I make any money from this.

Please do not read if you are not of legal age in your country. This is nowhere near being a happy go lucky romantic story.


Burn It With Fire

The day went acceptably well. Hermione kept up her fake accent, the students focused on their work, leaving her to begin experimentation on a method to remove the Dark Mark. Severus lurked over student's shoulders until they either finished their potions or exploded the mixture. By the end of each lesson, Hermione would notice he was scowling harder than usual and he would rub absentmindedly at his arm and she would re-apply the salve. The third time she forced his sleeve up, he tried to fight it saying it was fine and didn't hurt. She simply shushed him and continued working.

At last, the classes were done for the day and they just relaxed in chairs close to the fire in Hermione's rooms. Granger was thankful she didn't have to contort her mouth for the sake of the accent any more and Severus rested his eyes. A migraine had started behind his left eye at lunch and only got worse as the day went on. Now it pounded with each beat of his heart and pulsed under the thin skin of his forearm. Pain potions were having no effect already and Snape vaguely wondered how long he could keep it up before he cracked.

Hermione opened her eyes and spoke softly. "The potions aren't helping anymore, are they?"

He shook his head as little as he could.

"You should sleep when you can." She suggested.

The older man tried to nod, but exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep in the chair next to the fire. Hermione just smiled and got up from her chair to sleep in her own bed.


The rest of the week followed the same pattern, Hermione would force the older man to let her take care of the tortured tattoo and assist in class. More students were successfully completing their potions as Severus spent more time resting at his desk and Hermione taught more. She would spend all of her spare time researching a way to remove the link Narcissa tortured him through. Every night Snape would fall asleep in the chair and after the third night, he began waking up with nightmares.

The first night it happened, Hermione woke in the early hours of the morning to the sound of someone walking in her living room. She found a very agitated Severus pacing and tearing at his arm. It took the Gryffindor 20 minutes to get the older man to sit down and allow her to heal the jagged scratches and that had required her threatening to hex him into immobility.

The second night, Hermione left her door open and woke when he gasped in pain. Severus mumbled in his sleep for several minutes about the nightmare that plagued him. He saw over and over the night he took the Dark Mark. The revel with muggle women to torture and the pain of the brand sloshing together in his empty stomach to make him sick. Hermione held him until he quieted and stopped trying to gouge out the tattoo and he slowly woke.

Despite her best efforts to get him to talk, Severus would never mention what torments Narcissa forced him to relive. He would clench his jaw and refuse to budge until the bushy haired Gryffindor moved on to a different subject. She just shook her head at the stubborn man and let him stew. After all, she had her own nightmares to keep her company at night.

Severus remembered waking in her arms and secretly enjoyed the times throughout the day when she would so gently take care of his arm. He grew to enjoy her company and the kindness she showed him by allowing him to sleep in her sitting room chair. Somehow it was easier to fall asleep through the pain while she was there.

Severus was floating on pain potions and sleep deprivation, vaguely watching Hermione grading the third year essays on wolfsbane when she froze in her movement. All he could do was stare at the rapidly expanding ink blot where the quill still rested on the page. Without a sound she laid down the quill and left the room. Snape didn't even have enough willpower left to wonder what would cause her to blot a student's essay so badly and proceeded to pass out again.


Some time later, Severus realized he was being shaken roughly. He pushed her hands away, not fully returning to consciousness. When he felt her undoing the buttons on his sleeve he pulled his arm away, letting it fall off the arm of the chair. The skin pulled tightly across the Dark Mark but the pain didn't register.

"Damn it, Professor." Hermione cursed and reached for his hand. He pushed her away again, head lolling against the chair.

"Stop it!" She shouted at him, slapping at the hand trying to push her again. "I said stop it!" Hermione actually slapped him across his face hard enough to make his teeth click together.

The desperation in her voice finally pulled him through the veil to consciousness. "Granger." He mumbled thickly. "Murtlap won't do any good."

"Hush. I figured it out." She held a piece of rolled up leather to his mouth. "Bite on this so you don't break your teeth. This is going to hurt."

The older man just blinked at the brunette pulling desperately at his sleeve. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to save you. Now shut up and bite this or I'm going to start anyways." Wisely he didn't argue and took the leather between his teeth.

"I'm sorry." Hermione mumbled and placed her thumb on his forearm so her nail just rested on the bottom most tattooed line.

She dug her nail into his tortured flesh, calling up her magic and pushing it at the Dark Mark. The blue flame crept from her thumb to the line and began devouring it, leaving burnt flesh behind. The fire burning along his skin and inside his flesh made the older potions master grimace and clamp down on the leather in his mouth. But despite the pain, he didn't move his arm an inch.

By the time she had finished, Severus had passed out. Hermione finished with a spell to test if the link was really broken, then healed his burnt flesh as best as she could. Lastly she applied Dittany and wrapped a clean bandage around his arm. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Hermione pulled the leather from between his teeth and threw it in the fire.

Carefully she levitated the potions master out of the chair and to his bed. Hesitating for a moment, Hermione undid the buttons on his jacket and his other arm, but left him clothed. Exhaustion overtook her and she slumped into a chair near his bed, holding the older mans hand to keep him from scratching the still healing burn.


When he passed out, Severus thanked the darkness for its sympathy. Nothing hurt in unconsciousness and he wished to stay there. Eventually the blackness rejected him, forcing his ravaged mind to accept waking. Vaguely he looked to the side and noticed Hermione sleeping in the chair. His arm itched below the bandage and he tried to scratch it.

The movement woke the younger woman and she kept a hold on his hand. "Don't touch it." She warned and closed her eyes to sleep again.

He obeyed and drifted off as well. When he awoke however, she wasn't there. He might have thought it was a dream when he noticed several long curly hairs on the chair. The effort of looking around exhausted him, and Severus slept again, ignoring his empty stomach and full bladder.

The next time he opened his eyes, Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed with his arm in her lap. She was examining the wound and rubbing essence of Dittany into the angry skin. It was several moments before he really understood what he was seeing. She had her back to him, long hair looking slightly unreal. Severus reached out and touched the honey and chestnut tresses with his free hand.

"How do you feel?" She smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Like a dragon pooped me out." He mumbled, still playing with her hair.

"Well, you could use a shower. Feel up to it?"

He nodded uncertainly. "What time is it?"

"Lunchtime."

He groaned. "It's Friday isn't it? I missed my classes."

"I took care of them. And one Hufflepuff wished you well." Hermione helped him sit up. "Now don't get this wet. I'll put a repelling charm on it, but it won't do any good it you dunk it."

Severus forced his legs to obey his will and staggered to the bathroom. "Anything else you need?" Hermione called through the door.

"No thank you." He mumbled back from where he sat on the closed toilet just resting.

Eventually he did gather enough strength to undress and slide into the tub after relieving himself and brushing his teeth. The warm water felt good on his sore body. He felt as if he had been under the Cruciatus for hours then he realized he couldn't feel Narcissa digging at his mind any more. He sat up and looked at his bandaged arm.

Just as he was about to undo the wrapping Hermione's voice drifted through the door. "Don't touch it yet." He looked guiltily at the door and back at the bandage.

He grabbed the end of the bandage again but stopped at Hermione's tone. "Don't make me watch you take a bath."

Obeying, he left the bandage alone and bathed, awkwardly washing his hair with one hand. When he finally finished and donned his thick black bathrobe he emerged to find Hermione sitting with two trays of food. They ate in silence before the brunette got up.

"Class starts in 10 minutes."

He began to stand up with her but was stopped by a raised hand. "You are to stay here and rest. And don't touch that bandage. I'll know if you do." She winked and left the room.