The first thing Severus Snape did when apparating back to his house in Spinner's End was to cast a disillusionment spell on himself. Right after that, he checked the several magical wards against intruders that he had placed upon the house the last time he was there.
He feared they would all have vanished, given that he had been dead, so his magic would have been annulled. However, much to his surprise, the wards still stood. How was that possible? he pondered, but he had more urgent matters to consider. He cast another spell, to detect any human presence in any of the rooms. It didn't. He was alone.
He was completely alone.
Once he was sure that no vengeful Death Eaters were lurking in the shadows, he left his suitcase on the floor, and took off his traveling cloak. Though, upon sensing the temperature of the empty room, he placed it back over his shoulders.
The house was freezing… or was he? He was feeling weak and dizzy, though the lack of sleep that night and the apparition were the most likely cause. However, he had been feeling cold for a few days now, and it seemed to be getting worse. Maybe Madame Pomfrey was right and he had exerted himself too much too soon.
Well, that wouldn't be a problem anymore. He had left the castle, and with it, any remaining obligations… for better or for worse. A chill went down his spine upon that thought.
He pointed his wand towards the fireplace and lighted an abundant fire. Then, he changed his clothes into a muggle attire. Though the windows were covered by thick curtains to prevent any unwanted neighbors sticking their nose into his business, he figured it was better to blend in with the neighborhood as soon as possible. Damn it, he was really cold. He barely had any muggle clothing, and they were mostly summer, light shirts, since he only returned there from Hogwarts during the summer holidays. He looked at his parent's bedroom door upstairs, which hadn't been opened in years. When his father died, and his mother ran away, abandoning him without an explanation, he had decided to ignore their existence, previous and present. So that room was locked and the door almost blended with the walls after so many years. But maybe…
With a grimace of disgust, Severus unlocked the door. A heavy, dense humid smell filled his nostrils. He could have opened the windows and let some fresh air in – at least as fresh as the air could be in Spinner's End – but he didn't plan on spending any time besides the strictly necessary there. He opened the closet door and almost without looking, took out one of his father's old wool sweaters. That would do.
He slammed the bedroom door closed, putting on the sweater and trying to ignore his father's stench emanating from the scratchy wool. He came downstairs again, where the fire was slowly warming up the tiny living room. Though he was craving a very different beverage, he put the kettle on to make himself some tea. He sat on an old, worn out leather armchair, and closed his eyes for a second, trying to absorb the heat into his freezing bones.
He didn't know how long it had been when an insistent knock on the door woke him up, startling him. All his alarms went off, during the second it took him to realize that if any Death Eaters were coming, they wouldn't exactly knock. It was probably just a muggle sales person. He stood still, very quiet, trying not to make any noise that gave away his presence home.
However, just when he thought he was on the clear, and got up to get the kettle – whose water had evaporated long ago – they knocked again, and this time he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
"Professor Snape, I know you're there! Open up!"
He practically flew across the room towards the entrance door, Hermione's fist still in the air when he opened it. He grabbed her and pulled her into the dark hall, slamming the door closed and reactivating all the wards.
"Have you lost your mind!?" he yelled at Hermione, turning to look at her with wrathful eyes. "Do you have any idea of how dangerous it is to come here like that? Disclosing both our presences here?" he continued yelling, coming menacingly close.
"Sir, I..." Hermione was shocked, realizing how stupid she had been. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking about..."
"Clearly!" Snape remarked with a hand movement.
He towered over her, breathing agitatedly, listening into the silence for any sign of danger, his black eyes still piercing hers as if wanting to burn her down by sheer will power.
After several seconds, he began to relax, his heartbeat slowing down. Hermione was still paralyzed, deadly silent, observing him and praying that she hadn't caused any damage. Only when his survival instinct receded, he actually processed who was standing in front of him, at his childhood house.
"Why do you seem to be behind every door I open lately, Miss Granger?" he hissed, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.
"Why do you seem to only be able to drag me in an out of those doors like I'm some sort of animal, Professor?" she replied, frowning. Now that she knew they were safe, she had noticed the throbbing pain in her arm, where his fingers had dug into her flesh.
Snape was about to remark that he wouldn't need to drag her like that if she acted like a rational, normal human being… but then he saw her rubbing her arm and he bit his tongue. Not that he was going to apologize either… what did she expect? To show up at his door risking his whole survival and to be politely invited in for tea?
"Why are you here?" he asked instead, deciding to go straight to the point, and walking into the living room, away from the entrance door.
Hermione hesitated for a second and then followed him inside. "I just came to… Wow, it's hot in here." she said, as a dense wave of dry heat hit her face. "Why do you have such a strong fire? It's the middle of June!"
"Oh, I'm sorry that you don't find my house to your convenience." Snape replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe if I had been warned that I'd be having guests I would have made it more comfortable."
Hermione's cheeks blushed, as she lowered her head admitting her fault.
"I'm really sorry for showing up like this, Sir... I just didn't think you would reply to a letter." she explained.
"And that didn't give you any clues?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well... yes! But I needed to talk to you!" she protested. "Why did you leave? People in Hogwarts need you. Madame Pomfrey needs you!"
"Madame Pomfrey has been properly provided with enough supplies to last for a decent while."
"No, you're wrong. She said to me that they would only last for a few days." Hermione objected.
Snape's lip twitched almost imperceptibly, but he replied calmly. "Then, I'm afraid she will have to find another source of supplies. There are plenty of potion brewers that will be glad to provide their services..."
"You're wrong again. Professor Slughorn left too and he said he was retiring for good this time." Hermione explained patiently.
"In that case, someone else will..."
"She asked me." she said all of a sudden. She knew it was a risky strategy, and not a particularly pleasant one for her, but she hoped it would do the trick. "Do you really think I am qualified to provide safe healing potions for injured people?" she asked with an inocent tone, her eyes widening trying to give him a doe-eyed look.
Snape snorted, and she wasn't sure if he was mocking her too obvious tactic, or her potion making skills. He counterattacked cleverly.
"You seem to be very concerned about the recovery of everyone at Hogwarts, except that of the man who literally died from his injuries… To what do I owe such honor?"
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but the smart glow in Snape's eyes stopped her. He was setting a trap to make her feel bad. She wouldn't fall for it. If he wanted to play games, she would cut straight to the chase. "Sir, I don't believe you're ill." she pointed out, though upon second thought, the Professor's appearance had somehow really deteriorated over night. He looked paler than ever, and the thick blue sweater he was wearing suggested that he was indeed very cold, despite the overwhelming heat. But she discarded those thoughts, determined to present a solid case. "I think you left because of what happened last night."
Snape's lips tightened, and though he turned around to avoid looking at her, she knew she had been spot on.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Hermione said hoarsely, her mouth suddenly dry with shame and humiliation. "But one stupid mistake shouldn't result in you feeling that you have to leave your job, and your home… You're clearly not comfortable here either." she pointed out, with a meaningful tone, recalling how he had reacted upon a mere knock in the door.
Snape inhaled slowly, turning to face her again, and with a detached tone, he replied; "As much as you seem convinced, yet again, that you know what's in my mind better than myself… I still have a will of my own. Visiting hours are over." he informed her, pointing towards the door.
"No." Hermione replied, straightening her posture.
"No?" he repeated, taking a step forward and lowering his voice to almost a whisper.
"No." Hermione did her best to hold his burning gaze with a steady face. "I'm not done. I want to talk about this and..."
"Are you aware..." Snape said, getting even closer, with a voice so soft that in any other context would have sounded seductive… but now was sending chills down her spine "that you are trespassing on a private property, I'd dare to say stealing private information about a member of the faculty for your personal use, and that it could result in immediate and irrevocable expulsion from Hogwarts?"
Hermione swallowed hard, but she clenched her fists. "That won't work this time, Sir. You can't scare me off like a student little girl anymore. I've been through war." she also took a step closer, proving that she was confident in her statement, though internally she was trembling. "It's been a long time since I learned that expulsion is not the worst thing that can happen to me. You'll have to try harder than that. Also, I haven't decided yet if I'm going to be a student at Hogwarts again. And even if I do… you just quit your job so you're no longer my teacher." she crossed her arms, satisfied at her irrefutable logic. With a smug smile, she added "So we're just two adults now, and I believe we should have a conversation about..."
Then, everything happened at once.
There was a loud explosion and one of the lateral walls of the room bursted in a chaos of bricks, dust and shattered books.
Two dark figures came through the hole, pointing their wands at them, shooting red flashes of light.
"Traitor!" one of them yelled, as the other instructed "Get the mudblood!"
Hermione was frozen in her spot, a high pitch humming in her ears, paralyzed as a wild animal before a truck's lights on the road. She had no time to react, no time to think, when a tall figure pushed her to the floor, and she felt the sharp corner of a coffee table sinking in her lower back. She screamed in pain, and then everything went black.
There was a roaring sound of screams and noises that blended together into the deafening sound of strong wind, as she felt her body being squeezed and pulled from every direction in a familiar, yet ever unpleasant feeling. She knew she was apparating, though it wasn't her doing. Someone was bringing her along with them, but they were too close for her to see anything, and though her fear was begging her to try to get away from them, her instincts reminded her to stay still to prevent splinching. She focused on breathing, though this person's smell was a mixture of beer and dry sweat that made her stomach even more upset that it already was.
At last, everything went quiet, and the horrible feeling stopped. She hit the ground again and she moved her legs and arms, desperate to get away from her captor.
"Wait, wait!" a familiar velvety voice ordered her, while grabbing her hand. "Come!" Snape instructed, pulling from her arm as he raced towards Hogwart's gates.
Without fully understanding what was going on, Hermione followed him, tripping over her own feet as they ran as fast as they could, away from the apparition point. They passed through the gates and Snape pointed his wand at them, closing and locking them.
His eyes were still fixed on the apparition point, awaiting the Death Eaters arrival any second. Hermione tried to get a look too, but Snape intercepted her, covering her with his body, hiding her behind his back and extending an arm so she wouldn't move from there.
There were a few seconds during which neither of both were able to breath.
"Hermione?" an altered voice called her from afar.
Snape flinched and turned around automatically, just to find Hagrid rushing towards them with a concerned look. Once he realized it was only the groundskeeper, he exhaled relieved, and then he noticed he was still holding Hermione's hand.
He let go of it as if it burned, practically jumping away from the girl.
"What's going on?" Hagrid asked, quickly reaching their position thanks to his huge strides.
Hermione stammered, still too shocked to answer.
"Professor?" Hagrid insisted, getting worried.
"We were attacked." Snape informed him, his gaze still nailed to the apparition point. But, by the looks of it, no one was following them there. Which made perfect sense. It was one thing to ambush him in his house, in the middle of a decadent muggle neighborhood… but showing up at the gates of the Wizarding School, where dozens of wizards would be able to see them and capture them, turn them in to the Ministry and Azkaban… If they had some common sense – which in the case of some Death Eaters was a lot to assume – they wouldn't dare show their faces anywhere near Hogwarts ever again.
"What? By who? Are you okay?" Hagrid asked, placing a huge hand upon Hermione's shoulder, almost making her lose her balance.
"I think so." Hermione said at last, with a trembling voice.
"Should I call Professor McGonagall?" the groundskeeper insisted.
"That won't be necessary." Snape affirmed, finally looking away from the gates and towards them. "There is no danger to the school. They won't follow us here."
"But who?"
"Death Eaters." Snape explained impatiently. "Apparently they were eager to get revenge on the traitor that contributed to the Dark Lord's demise. It seems like I won't have a choice but to stay here after all, Miss Granger. I hope you're satisfied." he added bitterly, beginning to walk towards the castle.
He had never been fond of his childhood house. It was filled with dark memories that he didn't enjoy recalling. It was humid, ugly and grim. But it had been his remaining nook in the world, where he could have some privacy, where he could just be. And now, even that was lost. He had no energy left to feel angry or upset. He just felt extremely tired and… defeated.
"Sir, wait." he heard Hermione rushing to follow him, and he turned around with a sigh of exasperation. "I can't even begin to say how so..."
"So don't." he cut her harshly. "Frankly, Miss Granger, I'm getting tired of hearing your apologies. What about trying to prevent there being something to apologize for, instead?"
"You're right." Hermione nodded, convinced. Her impulsive, prideful behavior had almost gotten the both of them killed. She needed to get a grip on herself, this time for real. "Rest assured, Sir. I won't get in your way anymore." she said, and after a brief hesitation, she added. "And… about last night… Don't worry. We don't have to mention it. I swear it will never happen again."
Snape gave her a quick acknowledging nod and turned his back at her again, resuming his way back to the castle. For some reason, even if he hadn't believed it possible, her words had just made him feel even worse.