Chapter 8
J. owns everything, I am just writing the story.
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The next week was tense for both Snape and Hermione. After her outburst Hermione refused to leave her room for days, Snape had to leave her food, books and schoolwork outside her bedroom door for four days.
Snape had to admit that he missed Hermione's company. She had an amazing gift for filling the silence with good conversation which did not make him feel uncomfortable or bored. In truth he had become very fond of the slip of a girl. When he finally got completely sick of the silent treatment, he devised a plan to get her to come out of her room and speak with him again.
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That night Snape knocked on Hermione's door.
"Ms. Granger I was thinking of going for a walk around the castle grounds tonight and I was wondering if you would wish to join me as you have not left my chambers in almost three weeks now, I thought you might like the fresh air as long as you promise to stay close to me as we walk" Snape said to the door hoping she'd respond.
The door to Hermione's bedroom opened a crack and she looked up into Snapes dark, black eyes with her big brown ones.
"I would like that very much professor" Hermione whispered.
"Very well then meet me in the living room in five minutes with a suitable cloak" and with that Snape strode to the living room patting himself on the back for his small victory.
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Ten minutes later after navigating the secret passaged from the dungeons up to the grounds of the castle the two unlikely friends were walking side by side along the banks of the black lake taking in the moonlight and fresh air.
Snape noticed that Hermione seemed very jumpy and skittish, but thought he was just imagining things after not seeing her for a few days. She winced at almost every sound and continued to let Snape walk ahead whenever they came close to a corner or a particularly dark area. Snape knew for a fact that whoever had hurt her had completely distorted her view of the world and most likely herself too. Anger boiled up inside of him when he thought of how she looked laying on the hospital bed completely covered in bruises and marks.
Just then as they were walking around the outskirts of the Dark Forest a twig snapped and something bellowed deep within the woods causing Hermione the practically leap behind Snape and his billowing robes as Snape pulled out his wand ready for whatever approached then. After a minute of dead silence, they heard hooves on the forest floor and Snape assumed it was either a unicorn or a centaur. He pocketed his wand and turned to face Hermione who was still hiding behind him, shaking and staring ahead unseeing what was right in front of her.
"It is alright Ms. Granger there is nothing to be afraid of" He said softly as he reached a hand forward to touch her shoulder and extract her from her trace.
"Yes sir" Hermione said.
Just as Snape turned to walk back to the castle Hermione stuck her hand into Snapes holding it tightly. Snape was so shocked he froze for a minute and looked out at her. He could not fathom why she would want to hold his hand, but she was doing so and of her own free will. Unsure of what to do and unwilling to let go of her petite hand he resumed his walk back to the castle while the young woman walked beside him keeping close to the dark man she knew so little about but felt so safe with for reasons unknown to her.
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Once they had walked back to the castle and navigated their way back to Snapes chambers it felt as though a tense fog between them had been lifted. They seemed to settle back into their old routine almost immediately. Hermione went and made them both a steaming, hot cup of tea after removing her cloak and Snape went into his library to find a book for them to read each which they could later discus after forming their own thoughts and opinions on whatever subject was being explored.
When they had gotten round to talking to each other Snape bared witness to a Hermione Granger he had not seen for many weeks. It appeared as though she was now just as eager as she used to be in class. It brought a slight smile to his lips which was quickly replaced with a frown when he remembered that even though she was making excellent progress she had still not told him what had happened to her and he knew she could not return to her dorm until she told him exactly what was going on.
That night Snape had chosen to sit on the couch in the library opposed to his usual arm chair and after Hermione was completely exhausted from her ranting and raving about how it was completely ludicrous to use a certain ingredient in a new potion that was being developed to help victims of the torture curse Snape was all too familiar with, she collapsed on the couch next to him and began to doze off. She eventually ended up fast asleep, leaning on Snapes shoulder which caused him to tense up. He was completely baffled; it was strange enough that the girl would fall asleep near him at all never mind on him. How could she possibly feel safe with him near, a death eater? He had to admit it to himself that it was actually quite nice to have someone trust him to much and find any comfort at all in his presence
Then, almost as if The Dark Lord had sensed that one of his followers was feeling such happiness and contentment, Snapes Dark Mark burned against his skin ruining his only solace and contentment; the girl resting her head on his shoulder.