A/N: I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters
This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Assignment #8 Criminology Task #1: Victimology: Write about someone becoming a victim of something. (a crime, a victim of circumstance, be creative)
Word Count: 3273
Hermione wasn't sure where the curse had come from. She didn't hear anyone casting it, only felt something cold hit her in the small of the back. She spun, ready to defend herself, but by then it was already too late. The world around her was starting to shift slightly, not something that would be too noticeable. Everything seemed a little shorter, a little further away. Hermione noticed her jumper was too tight and ripped it off.
Around her, the world kept moving, kept fighting. No one seemed to realize something had happened. It wasn't until she tried to join back in the battle, taking a few steps towards the next skirmish, that Hermione realized what exactly she'd been hit with. She tripped neatly over her own two feet, landing face down on the stone floor.
Her first thought was some kind of body bind, but she could move. As she picked herself up from the floor, she realized her hands looked different, only slightly, not enough that anyone would really notice, but she did. They were her hands after all. She shook her head, there wasn't time for this! Grabbing her wand again, she charged back into the fray, casting shields and sending hexes flying as she went. She was starting to realize her charms were stronger than they had been, that her shields covered more than before.
Whatever she'd been hit with had affected her magic in some way, but it didn't seem to be harming anything. She'd only turned the corner when she found herself standing face to face with one of the Death Eaters. He loomed over her slightly, his mask obscuring his features. Hermione raised her wand, her breath caught in her chest. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears, how could she have been so foolish, how could she have become so unaware of her own surroundings. Moody's mantra - "Constant vigilance" boomed in her head. The Death Eater stood, not moving, but watching her.
Severus blinked beneath the mask. Who was this now? She looked... no, it couldn't be? It was true he hadn't seen Miss Granger for over a year now, but this woman standing before him, she wasn't a seventh year student.
She appeared to be about twenty, wearing a black tank top and a pair of tight jeans. Severus drew his wand slowly. She seemed to be fumbling with hers, with being face to face with him. He could see the fear in her brown eyes. Brown eyes that looked more like Miss Granger's than possible. He allowed himself a slight nudge into her mind. Granger!
This woman before him was Hermione Granger, only somehow older. He lowered his wand, wondering if that movement was going to be a mistake. He watched her studying him, a confused expression crossing her face. He nearly smiled. Miss Granger being confused was something he'd never seen before, normally she was overly eager to show off everything she knew.
Hermione watched as the Death Eater before her lowered his wand. Was this some sort of trap, a trick? She didn't lower hers, but held it steady, watching the man. There was something about the way he stood, his movements that was familiar, like she'd seen him before, without the mask. There were only a few Death Eaters she knew. This was not Lucius Malfoy. He was too tall to be a student. Slowly, her eyes widened as she realized who she was standing in front of. She slowly lowered her wand, keeping her grip on it tight though. There were too many questions that had yet to be answered for her to trust this man.
"Professor Snape," she whispered, noticing her voice sounded slightly different as well. What kind of spell had she been hit with? Nothing made any sense.
"Miss Granger," the Death Eater answered, sliding the mask from his face. Hermione nodded, she'd been right. Severus Snape was standing in front of her, his face paler than usual.
"You haven't killed me, sir," she said.
"No, I haven't, not yet anyway, Miss Granger," he replied. She smirked at him, the sounds of the battle fading slightly.
"Why not? I'm part of the Order, I'm Harry's friend. You murdered Dumbledore."
"I did, but yet you're not trembling before me. What happened to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Here," Severus said, holding up a reflective object. Hermione caught a glimpse of her reflection. She saw her bushy curls, her brown eyes... but everything else was off. Her eyes widened. She looked older.
"What...? What did they hit me with?" she asked, looking up at Severus, her eyes meeting his.
"I do not know, Miss Granger, but you can't stay here. You need to get back to the battle, you and I both have our roles to play," Severus stated. Hermione shook her head, the world was spinning again, her legs started trembling, giving out from under her completely.
Severus watched Hermione's eyes roll back into her head. Instantly, he was reaching out and catching her before she fell.
"Miss Granger?" he asked, tapping her face gently. She didn't respond. Severus frowned. He was standing in an abandoned corridor with an unconscious Miss Granger in his arms. It didn't matter that she looked like an adult, she was still technically a student, wasn't she?
That was a hazy area at best. She was a muggle-born, and therefore barred from attending the school. She also hadn't turned up somehow at the start of term... did that make her a drop out? Severus knew better than to try and figure out just how legal Miss Granger currently was, that was a path that would only lead to heart ache, to more despair. Instead, he turned his attention as to what he should do with her prone form.
He could lay her down on the floor, leave her here for the right people to find. That would be the easiest solution, but what if it wasn't the right people who found her? What if Lucius or, worse, Bellatrix, found her instead? That would mean the destruction of Miss Granger.
With a heavy sigh, he knew there was only one real solution to this conundrum. He'd have to carry her until he could put her somewhere safe. The hospital wing would be too heavily guarded. With a quick look around, Severus darted to his own personal chambers, the ones in the dungeon.
He'd given them up once he'd become headmaster, but the wards still recognized him, and the passwords he'd set up hadn't changed. He wondered why, in the back of his mind at least, but didn't pursue that line of logic. He laid Miss Granger down in his bed.
He ran a quick diagnostic spell over her. There was nothing physically wrong with her. That mean that her new age, twenty-three according the spell, had to be the cause of her current state. Either that or shock. Whatever she'd been hit with, an aging spell of some sort, was apparently more that her body could handle at the moment.
"Sleep well, Miss Granger," he whispered, before stalking from the room, his robes billowing around him. He knew she'd be safe here for now at least. There were few that could enter the chamber, and she'd be able to leave once she woke. There was nothing to keep a person trapped in his chambers, merely to keep unwanted people out.
The first thing Hermione noticed was the feeling of silk sheets beneath her hands. She curled her fingers around the fabric. Silk? Where could she be that she was feeling silk? The infirmary used linens, functional, but not this soft. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in the darkness that surrounded her.
She remembered facing Professor Snape, he'd lowered his wand to her. That still confused her, he'd murdered Dumbledore, hadn't he? Her thoughts were like trying to catch fog. She was missing something, she knew that much. Slowly, she sat up. She had been laying in a large bed adorned with black silk sheets. She could see a little glimmer of light behind the drawn curtains. She pushed them aside and looked around.
The bedroom was empty. She slowly rose to her feet, the feeling of spinning returning. She sat back down, letting it subside before she tried standing again. Everything still felt off, like just slightly changed. She took a few steps before seeing a large mirror. She remembered Professor Snape showing her her reflection, she hadn't looked like herself. Had it been a trick? She rushed over to the mirror and her heart dropped at seeing her reflection. What Professor Snape had shown in the corridor was true. She was older, not too much older, but definitely older.
"An aging spell?" she whispered, wondering if such a thing existed. She didn't doubt it did, there were so many spells, curses, hexes, she couldn't possibly be expected to know them all. But why was she hit with this one? It had aged up a bit, but that appeared to be all? That wasn't much of an offensive spell. Hermione looked around the room again, trying to figure out where exactly she was.
There was a bookshelf against one wall, a trunk at the foot of the bed, and she could see a door that most likely led to the loo. She made her way that direction. Once she'd relieved herself, she turned her attention back to her surroundings. She found the exit to the bedroom, a heavy wooden door that lead into a nice sized sitting room.
There were more book shelves. A quick glance at the titles made Hermione's heart soar. There were so many different subjects, potions, however, was the most predominate. She knew where she was now, a place she'd only ever thought about in her darkest dreams. These had to be Professor Snape's chambers.
Part of her wanted to run, to flee before he came back. Who knew what he had in mind for her, why he'd brought her here. Had he merely done so to protect her? Another part wanted nothing more than to grab one of the hundreds of leather bound tomes and sink into the black leather chair. Pushing aside the longing to read, Hermione found the exit and stepped out of the chambers and into a dungeon hallway. That only confirmed her thought of him bringing her here to protect her. If he'd wanted to something untowards to her, wouldn't he have made it so she couldn't escape? Hermione ignored the feeling of warmth in her chest. He cared about her! This was no time to think about such things! She needed to get back to the battle, who knew what was happening!
Severus watched the snake coming at him. He'd known this was a possibility. He knew he could die tonight, and he'd thought he was prepared for that eventuality. However, what he hadn't counted on was seeing Miss Granger, the way her eyes had looked into his.
He was a madman to believe that she could care about him, but there had been something there. She'd trusted him in a way she shouldn't have. She'd lowered her wand to him even after everything he'd done. The snake lunged at him, but Severus, with a new reason to live, stepped aside, throwing fiend fire as he moved.
Potter ran from the room, saving himself. Severus wouldn't have expected anything more from the boy. The snake burned, the air filled with black smoke as the horacrux screamed horrid things, things Severus had never wanted to remember.
"Useless boy! Freak boy!"
"Mudblood lover!"
"I never want to see you again, get out of my life!"
"Snivilius."
Severus pulled himself back together. He was alone in a burning shack. The Dark Lord and Potter were gone, locked in their seemingly never ending battle. He let out a sigh as the sounds of his past disappeared as the horacrux burned to nothingness. Severus walked from the burning shack. It was fitting it was going up in flames. It had stood for a chapter of his life, a chapter he was glad was now closed.
Hermione looked around at the destruction. The world was still spinning a bit when she moved to fast, part of her knew it was just her body and mind adjusting to be aged five or so years quickly.
"Where's Harry?"
"Forest, he went to go fight You-know-Who," came the answer. Hermione merely nodded.
"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort's voice bellowed. The battle stopped as the Death Eaters erupted in cheers, to the stunned silence of everyone else. As sudden as it had stopped, it started again, this time the side of the light mourning the loss of Harry.
They didn't have time to grieve as the battle raged without him there, but things started turning in their favor. Spells and hexes meant for their side were bouncing around the room, rebounding, hitting the Death Eaters instead. Hermione watched as Harry appeared as if out of no where. She knew he'd been under the cloak. She'd seen him rip it off enough times.
What she didn't expect to see was the shadow standing the doorway, his face no longer masked. Her heart skipped a few beats at the fact he was safe. Hermione ignored it. This was no time to deal with her feelings for her former teacher. The fact he'd kept her from harm, however, didn't go unnoticed in her thoughts. She crossed the hall, defending herself as she went. The world was spinning again, she could tell things were shifting again. Apparently the aging spell, curse, whatever it was, wasn't finished with her yet.
"Miss Granger," Severus said, seeing her swaying. He rushed towards her, nearly getting himself hit by a spell himself. She snapped out of her daze and managed to shield herself from another hex just as he reached her. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with fear.
"My lab," he ordered, pulling his cloak around as they fled from the battle just as Harry was delivering the spell the would rebound and finally end the whole war.
Severus' lab was still set up, he'd been brewing when he'd had the chance. Hermione sank onto one of the chairs, looking a bit worn out. Severus guessed her age to be around thirty now. He couldn't deny she looked amazing, the way her curls fell around her face, the way she'd grown into her features. Now was not the time for such thoughts though. If they didn't find a way to stop the curse, she'd continue to age until eventually she was dead.
"Here, eat this," he ordered, handing her a bezoar.
"I'm not poisoned," she muttered, but did as he ordered.
"It might slow down the spread of the curse, if nothing else, buy us some time to figure out what you were hit with."
"There's more than one aging spell?" Hermione asked, her voice almost sarcastic. Severus fought the urge to smile.
"There's a few, Miss Granger."
"Can you reverse it? Stop it? I mean, it's not a potion. Maybe Professor Flitwick-"
"Has very little experience with the Dark Arts, Miss Granger. This is certainly a dark spell, something of which I am an expert."
"So much so Dumbledore refused to allow you to teach them?"
"That is a conversation for a completely different time. Now, hold still," he ordered. Hermione rolled her eyes, but did so. She could feel him running spells over her, trying to determine what exactly her body was doing. She watched his face, the look of concentration on it. She had to admire the dedication he was putting into this, the way he looked so determined to solve this problem. Finally he looked up and nodded.
"Thankfully it's not one of the more deadly ones, the ones that would kill you instantly if I tried to stop them. Now, hold still, I know this is going to hurt."
Arresto miscueratque," he said, waving his wand over her. Hermione felt as though she'd been hit by lightning. Her body spasmed again the chair. Severus quickly slid her to the floor before she fell. Her limbs twitched, her fingers curling and uncurling rapidly. Finally she laid still, her eyes closed.
"Miss Granger?" he asked, his voice hopeful. When she didn't respond, he bent down over her, listening to breathing, watching her chest rise and fall.
"Miss Granger?" worry colored his voice a little. Had he been wrong? Had he done permanent damage to her?
"Hermione?" he finally said, his heart frozen in his chest. Her features had not reverted back to her original age, but he didn't seem them changing. Slowly, she blinked her eyes open, looking straight into his.
"You did it?" she asked, allowing him to help her sit up.
"Yes and no, I stopped the aging. However, I was not able to reverse the damage the curse had already caused. You are thirty, and I am afraid that is now your age," he answered.
"I'll age normally from here on out though?"
"Yes, you will. I am sorry Miss Granger. I wish I could have reversed it entirely," he whispered, looking at her. She gave him a small smile.
"It's not all bad though, sir. The fact I'm older does mean I can do a few things, things I never considered when I was still able to be confused for a student," she admitted, trying to ignore the fact he entire body seemed to ache, both from the curse and the fact her body wanted nothing more than to kiss the man kneeling before her.
"I don't follow, Miss Granger."
"Hermione, I'm not your student anymore, sir. And being as it is, I can finally do this," she stated, nearly throwing herself into his arms and kissing him passionately on the lips. Severus sat there in shock. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Hermione Granger to be kissing him in his lab, no matter how many times he might have fantasized about such a thing. He slowly returned the kiss, savoring the feeling of having her in his arms. He was the one who broke the kiss before it could go further than either of them were ready for.
"There's going to be a lot of explaning," he said after a moment.
"Such as why you killed Dumbledore, how you were on our side all along, the fact I'm over tine years from where I should be?" she asked.
"Among them, yes."
"And do we have to go up and answer all of them now?" she asked, laying her head against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and shook his head.
"No, we do not."
"Good, then they can wait a bit. You just saved me from a death curse, I think that means we are allowed a few more moments of peace," she stated. He simply nodded, holding her close, his mind reeling at how much she meant to him, how for so long he'd been denying these thoughts, those dreams of moments like this one.
She smiled up at him, and for a brief moment, he could hear her thoughts, thoughts that mirrored his about for long she'd pretended to not have these feelings, feelings for him, dreams of moments like this one. They stayed in each others arms until finally they rose to finally face the barrage of questions they knew the rest of the world would have for them, questions they at least didn't have to answer alone.