~ Chapter 10 ~
A week later, they slipped into a routine of only speaking first thing in the morning and exchanging brief words before bed. Snape spent most of his time sorting out the garden near the cliff edge. Hermione kept herself busy inside with Penny; they'd formed a close friendship.
That's right, my best friend is now a cat.
She tried to make progress with him but he continued to talk to her in a formal way. I'm just glad that he still talks to me. There has been no more news about Malfoy's case, and Hermione found herself getting more and more worried by the day.
Hermione nudged open the front door with her shoulder then placed the bucket on the top step. Her task for today is to scrub the grimy surface of the wrap-around porch, by hand. The day would be boring if I did it with a wave of my wand.
Penny strutted down onto the overgrown grass and she raced around in search of something to play with. Hermione pulled out the hard bristled brush and began to scrub the top step.
The morning air pinched at her cheeks and she stopped to button up her coat. December would be upon them soon and she wondered if they would still be here at Christmas. I couldn't spend that day with him avoiding me.
"He had a nightmare last night," Penny appeared from the grass and she turned to look at her.
"He did?" Hermione sighed. I haven't had another nightmare...now I feel bad that he was alone last night when it happened. "Is he OK?"
"Passive as usual."
"I shouldn't mention it to him, should I?"
"Don't," she said. "I just informed you in case he lashes out when he talks to you."
"Thank you for the heads up."
Hermione focused on cleaning the front part of the porch, then the next time she looked up it was because a shadow covered her. For a moment, she thought it was a stranger, but her mind registered it as being Snape.
"Oh," she tucked some hair behind her ear. "Hello, sir."
"What are you doing?"
She glanced at the scrubber. "Cleaning."
Was he about to give her another lecture about what she should be doing? She never would've guessed him to be a man of sexual prejudices — maybe it's a good thing that he doesn't expect her to clean, just because she's a woman.
"I went inside the house and you weren't there! What if someone had taken you?" she didn't expect to see such anger on his face.
"I-I was with Penny," she stammered and her chest rose rapidly in panic. "I didn't know that I should inform you-"
"Well think harder next time!"
It was Hermione's turn to become angry. She tossed the scrubber into the bucket and stumbled to her feet. Her eyes lit up like a lioness about to pounce on its kill.
"I am my own person, understand?" she crossed her arms. "I'm aware that I have to be careful, but don't think I'm going to stand here and allow you to take out your anger on me! If you don't wish to talk about it, that's absolutely fine — just don't think that I'll let you make me uncomfortable to be here with you!"
He kept his narrowed eyes on her, and she glared back at him with equal ferociousness. If an outsider took note of their personalities, they would be quick to note how different — yet, somehow similar — they are from one another.
A personality clash was bound to occur somewhere down the line, but that didn't mean she wished for it to happen.
"Are you two quite finished?" they glanced down at Penny, who stared back at them with an amused sparkle in her eyes.
Hermione's anger fled her body and she sagged beneath a tiresome weight. "I'm sorry for shouting at you, sir," she stared down at the drying wood.
"I...apologise too," it sounded as if someone was threatening to kill him if he didn't say those words. "You may come and help me with the garden."
An order...shall I defy him or oblige?
"I'm cleaning the porch," she said. "I'll eventually make it to the back porch, then I wouldn't mind helping you."
His jaw tightened. "Very well."
She watched him walk away with a violent tug of his outer coat, then he sat down on the steps. Bloody hell. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him but soon returned to cleaning the porch.
He stalked her throughout the process until she reached the back porch around midday. She thought he might be polite and ask her if she was hungry — I'm very hungry — but he didn't seem to be in the mood for niceties.
She turned to look at him as he leant against one of the wooden beams. "Has Professor McGonagall contacted you yet?"
"No," he grunted. "I don't think she will for a while."
The air was still awkward between them and she wished to fix it. I'm not sure how to act around him anymore.
"Would you like some lunch?" she asked.
"No."
She sighed in response and pushed down her anger. It's like dealing with a child; he infuriates me just like Ron used too.
"Are you not hungry or do you not want me making things for you?"
He didn't respond but she could feel his eyes on the back of her head. I guess it's the latter. She kind of understood why he disliked it. He's been dependent on himself most of his life, and having someone offer to do things for him is probably a new thing; he seems like the kind of person who hates change, whether it be for the good or bad.
"Sir?"
"What?"
"I appreciate everything you've done for me thus far, but I don't wish to have you around if you don't want to be here," she explained. "I'm painfully aware that I shouldn't have mentioned anything about becoming friends—"
A strong arm wrapped around her waist and she was picked up, just as a green flash of magic burnt the wood where her head had been. She screamed in fright and found herself being pulled back into the house by Snape.
The house shook around them and she ended up pinned against the door by his body. Before she could move to look up, he disappeared from the house and out into the back garden to enter the fight. Hermione trembled with adrenaline then she scrambled to pull her wand from her right boot.
When her hand touched the handle, she received a shock up her arm. "No...No!" she screamed, realising he'd thrown wards up to keep her sealed inside.
Hermione rushed into the small study nearby and ran up to the window. Three masked men stood on the cliff edge with their wands drawn. She tried to bang on the window to get his attention, but the thuds were muted.
"Bloody hell!" she glanced around the room for any sign of hope, then whirled back around at the sound of a duel commencing. I have to do something!
She sprinted from the room and hurried up the stairs, gracefully tripping on the top step and landing on her arm. Her hiss of pain was breathless, but she got to her feet and headed down the hallway towards the loft hatch.
There's a large window that leads out onto the roof...I think I remember it being open! She jumped a few times to undo the bolt and it eventually fell down, narrowly missing her head. The ladder slid down to her feet and she climbed up, breaking the middle step in the process.
Dust filled her lungs and she coughed it back out. The cold pinched her skin and she sighed in relief when she spotted the open window. She pushed at the broken glass and carefully manoeuvred herself out onto the brittle roof.
"Go back inside!" Hermione's foot slipped on the damp, but she managed to grip onto the window sill to stop herself from falling. Penny was staring up at her from the side of the house the window led out too. She could hear the sound of fighting and knew that she couldn't ignore it.
I'm not an invalid...he needs my help, and I can't lose him!
She let herself slide down to the edge of the roof, and with a staggered breath, she jumped down and hit the ground hard. Her ankle rolled beneath her and she cried out in pain.
"Hermione-" she readied her wand and managed to get to her feet, then limped around the side of the house.
Hermione arrived just in time to see one fallen man, Snape duelling another, and an injured one on his knees about to fire the killing curse his way.
"Avada-"
"Stupefy!" The man flew backwards startling the two duelling men, and Severus delivered the final blow to his opponent, causing him to roll towards the edge of the cliff.
Hermione's chest heaved for oxygen and the rush of adrenaline fled her body. The pain from her wrist and ankle came alight, causing her to cry out in pain. She stumbled backwards until her back hit the porch then she landed on the grass with a thud.
A flash of silver passed her and she spotted Snape's Patronus racing off to deliver a message. She looked up in time to see a dishevelled, and furious, Snape charging towards her.
"You stupid girl!" he yelled, and before she could think of a snapped retort, he picked her up off the ground and carried her inside.
He put her down on the sofa while she cried out in pain. Snape grabbed her bruising wrist and roughly took hold of her calf to inspect her burning ankle.
"I'm s-sorry — he was going to kill you!" she whimpered loudly, and he stopped to look into her eyes.
"Calm down," he whispered. "Take some deep breaths," his hand came to rest on her shoulder and she nodded through her tears. Without thinking, she gripped on tight to his hand and tried to control her breathing.
They stayed that way for a while until the flames turned green and a group of Aurors stepped out, followed by McGonagall.
"Hermione!" she raced over to the sofa, and before she could smother her, she whirled around to glare down at Snape. "What happened?!"
"What do you think, woman? They found out we are here, only you, I and Sniderfield know of our whereabouts!" he still hadn't let go of her ankle, and his grip tightened around the swollen flesh. She hissed in pain and grabbed his arm.
"My a-ankle," she hiccuped a sob and he released her.
"Are you accusing me of being in an alliance with those fools?" McGonagall pinned him with a deadly look. "I should be asking you that question!"
"He's insinuating that either Sniderfield isn't who we think he is, or one of his understudies can't be trusted," Hermione hissed and Snape gave her a perplexed look.
He shook a thought from his head then glanced around the empty room. "I'm taking her to Spinner's End, don't inform Sniderfield until I tell you to. After they're finished, pack up our things and come to us through the floo."
"Wait a second-" Snape didn't acknowledge her and gestured for Penny to jump onto Hermione's stomach, then he picked her up and awkwardly went through the floo network.
…
I guess this is his childhood room.
Hermione sat up in the small double bed with her foot resting on a pillow. He'd applied a bruise salve to heal her purple foot, and her sprained wrist had been mended, yet it ached still when she flexed her fingers.
She couldn't get herself to fall asleep; she felt something unexplainable in this house, and her knowledge of his past didn't help. This house was never a home to him. The silence was getting to her as she glanced around the dark room; nothing could make this day any worse, perhaps tomorrow will be better for them both?
She moved her head towards the open door just as Penny slithered out of the darkness. The feline jumped onto the bed and curled up against her side like a dog.
"Shouldn't you be with your master?" Hermione kept her voice quiet.
"He's sleeping, so I came to check on you," she said. "And as I thought, you're up and bored."
Hermione smiled. "I'm not a fan of this place...I know he doesn't like it here."
"You should worry about yourself for now."
"How is it fair that he can worry about me, but I cannot offer him the same courtesy?" she raised a brow then reached out to scratch Penny's head.
"He's a complicated man; unfortunately, it's one of his many flaws," Penny's tail lightly tapped the quilt and it pulled them both into a comfortable silence.
I wonder if Snape would let me write to Harry and Ron? A part of her wished to reconcile with them, and now seemed like a good enough time. I'm going to be stuck here for a while and he hates talking to me anyway...I want someone else to socialise with that isn't a cat.
Suddenly, a loud moan came from another room, which turned into a whimper, then a scream. Hermione stopped stroking Penny's fur and threw back the quilt. Is that Snape? He must be having a nightmare! The thought hurried her along and she ended up standing outside his bedroom door.
She was a little unstable on her ankle but the throbbing pain didn't faze her much. Penny hugged her good leg and gave a slight nod of her head, so Hermione opened the door carefully.
Snape squirmed beneath his thin sheet with a layer of sweat soaking his body. A part of her pleaded to race to his side and ease his pain, but her logical side told her that would be the biggest mistake to make.
"We should leave him," Penny whispered, and Hermione responded with a sad expression. "He won't appreciate being woken up by you, and I don't mean that in a bad way."
She already knew that, but the sight of his tense face made her heart thud in her chest. I wish he was an easy man to understand…
"Lily!" he cried out in pain causing Hermione's blood to run cold. She had no reason to respond in such a way, and her mind didn't seem to want to communicate any sane moves.
Hermione released a staggered breath then placed her hand on the door handle. Penny wandered out into the hall, and before Hermione could scream at herself to stop, she violently slammed the door shut behind her.
She heard Snape's startled grunt. With a regretful look on her face, she limped back to her room and fell into a haunted sleep.
AN:/ Hello! Sorry for the wait, I hope you liked this chapter, so please let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed thus far. It means a lot to me!