"Breath. Come on, Granger breeeeeeath." Draco said slowly yet assertively as he tried to get Hermione to look at catch her breath. He choked a little, the air thickening around him, making him question his sanity for staying so close to her when she didn't appear able to calm down.
"Draco you need to move, now." Professor Snape said, having observed the two for just a few moments before recognizing that Miss Granger was unlikely to calm down. "Now, Draco!", he demanded and the boy jumped back, moving away as quickly as he could. With a few quick wand movements from Snape Draco was pushed back, unable to move forward and a large barrier went up around Hermione just moments before a bright light flashed. Snape gave a deep groan, his wand arm twitching slightly and beads of sweat springing onto his forehead. With a sharp intake of breath and deep sigh, he was able to stand as the light faded down, leaving a disheveled young woman, crumpled on the floor.
"Is she alright Godfather?" Draco asked hesitantly.
"She will be; you'd feel it if she wasn't. Go ahead of me to my rooms and clear the hallway." Snape said, as he picked the young woman up into his arms.
"Yes, sir."
They luckily made it back to his private quarters without any interference, likely due to the majority of students being in the Great Hall for breakfast still. "Is there a reason you didn't just levitate her?" Draco asked as his godfather laid Hermione on the sofa.
"You don't use magic on someone who is magically spent, Draco. It only serves to irritate the core further and take longer for them to come around. This is the second time in mere days that she has drained herself with an outburst." Snape said the last part with a sigh.
Draco nodded his head in understanding, mulling over the implications to that knowledge, thinking of how vulnerable it could leave her if it happened near the wrong person. "What can I do to help?"
"For now you can head to class. I'm going to give her a sleeping draught to keep her asleep for some hours still, so if you want to check in on her you can come back later this afternoon when your courses are done. Don't give me that look, my wards will be set and will alert me should she stir before then. She must rest, because once she is awake she's going to spend the rest of the night learning to control her damned emotions."
*Break*
"Potter, a word." Snape said as he dismissed the rest of the class.
"Yes?" Harry asked, his voice obviously irritated at being asked to stay behind.
"I don't believe I asked the shadow to stay, Weasley. You can leave now." Ron Weasley stomped out of the room, grumbling as he went. "Now Potter," he began as the door swung closed, "I believe you suffered from a lapse in judgement this morning and I'd like to give you the opportunity to work through whatever stupidity you need before seeing your friend again."
"She's already got you serving her, I see. I don't have anything more to say about her." Harry snapped.
Snape raised his eyebrow at Potters words. "Do go on, I'll wait until your speech resembles some sort of intellect to begin an actual conversation." He drawled on, eyes slightly rolling at the stupidity of the teenager in front of him.
"I can't believe Dumbledore trusts you! You're clearly serving You Know Who and doing whatever his disgusting spawn wants now as well!"
"Yes, because the Dark Lord obviously wants his daughter to be friends with his worst enemy, making it exceedingly difficult to murder you without her abandoning him completely. Though please, do continue raging as you are, pushing her away entirely…directly into the arms of a man who can offer her more than you'll ever be able to." Snape responded.
Harry opened his mouth halfway through Snape's response but shut it, clearly mulling over his words. "What do you mean?"
"About which part, exactly?"
"Offering her more; Hermione doesn't care about status or gold, none of that matters to her."
"Correct, but he has much, much more than that Potter. He is one of the most intelligent wizards to ever walk this planet, without his morals standing in the way of what he will be willing to teach her. Have you met another student here that rivals Miss Granger's intellect? Another student or Professor that can satiate her thirst for knowledge?"
Harry sat down in the seat closest to him, for once taking in the information being given to him.
"He's evil, she'd never trust him."
"She is quickly learning, as I hope you will, that there is much more to this war than you are aware of Potter. Miss Granger has been thrown full force into a world she should have been a part of her entire life; her entire world has been flipped upside down in a week and her best friends have abandoned her. I personally do not understand what appeal you have to her, as you and Weasley have had the most abysmal loyalty I have ever observed but she cares about you. Don't be stupid Potter or you'll regret it later. You are dismissed."
*Break*
"Ungh." He heard from the direction of the couch.
"I do not recommend sitting up quickly, Miss Granger." She heard Snape say from somewhere behind her.
She turned her head, taking in the parts of the room that she could see from where she lay on the couch. The wall across from her was lined with bookshelves, save for the fireplace on the wall opposite where she lay. Her body felt refreshed, though the overwhelming feeling from the last week left her emotionally drained and her brain foggy. After a few minutes she pushed herself into a sitting position and looked around.
"I passed out again, didn't I?" she asked.
"That much should be obvious." He responded with a wave of his hand around his quarters. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, I suppose but not all there."
"That will have to do. I have had my elf leave a meal under stasis for you in your rooms. I have some marking to finish up and will meet you there in two hours, which should allow you plenty of time to get anything you need done."
"What are we doing, sir?"
He scoffed at the absurdity of her question. "Getting you under control, Miss Granger. You cannot continue to gallivant around the castle as the ticking time bomb that you are. Had I not been there today no one would have been around to help you. You need to start thinking about the position you are putting yourself in everytime you allow your emotions to get the better of you."
"I understand that sir, it's just…"
"There is no 'it's just', Miss Granger. If you thought you were valuable as the best friend to Harry Potter, what do you think you're worth as the daughter to the Dark Lord?"
She hung her head slightly, taking in a deep breath before responding, "I'll see you in two hours, sir." She moved towards the door of his quarters but turned back as her hand touched the door, "I don't know which side you're truly on, but I do know that you didn't need to bring me back her and allow me to recuperate here, so thank you, sir."
*Break*
Draco sat on the floor, texts splayed around him and his parchment rolled out in front. He'd been attempting to write the last three inches of his essay for the last hour with no success. His brain couldn't stop thinking about his betrothal. She had seemed so calm the night before, really she'd seemed calm over the last weeks, with the exception of the magical outbursts. He didn't know how he felt; he'd always known he was betrothed to the daughter of one of his parents friends and that, according to his parents, he had not yet met her. This idea of her had been around since he was a young child but it was just a part of the world he grew up in. He could not imagine how she must be feeling, especially when she hated him. Or, did she? Did she still hate him? It seemed like they were beginning to get along. He shook his head and read the same paragraph of his transfiguration text that he'd been trying to find something in. His head jerked up just a few moments later as the portrait made way for Hermione, who stepped through with a small smile on her face.
"I'm sorry about earlier."
"You don't need to be sorry, I didn't hear Potter but it was obvious whatever he said wasn't polite." He responded, wanting to kick himself a moment later when he face fell.
"You're right." She all but whispered.
"Sorry, shouldn't have brought it up. He's a wanker, him and Weasley don't know they're losing."
"That's the problem, isn't it? After almost seven years of friendship, they still don't understand just how much I love them, just how much I'd give up to keep them safe. Almost seven years of friendship and one of the first moments I really need them, they're gone." She said the last two words with a thickness to her voice that made Draco's throat tighten with grief for her.
"I'm sorry, Hermione."
She nodded her head and stepped into her room, closing the door behind her quietly.
*Break*
I'm not quite sure why I'm writing you and I'm not sure if I'll send this letter. I'm angry, with you for being who you are, with Dumbledore for all of the lies and deception, with Draco for being so calm about this ridiculous notion of being told who he'd marry but I am most angry at myself because the truth is, I want to know more. I need to know more about who I am, who I would have been and about what's been taken from me. I hate you, but I also want to know you.
Sincerely,
Hermione Granger
"My Lord." Severus said with a deep bow, as he placed the letter into his hand. A few moments passed as the Dark Lord read through the letter, a chuckle leaving his lips that only days prior would have been terrifying.
"Did she say anything when she gave you this letter?"
"Only that I should tell you to 'pick a time', My Lord."
"She is very much like her Mother. I'll kill Dumbledore for what he's taken from me but before he dies I'm going to destroy everything he's worked so hard to build."
"Of course, My Lord." Snape answered, his head turned down slightly in acknowledgement of what was just said.
"You are doing your lessons on Saturdays?"
"For now I am meeting with her for at least two hours each day at curfew and then we will spend the entire day practicing, beginning today once I am back."
"Choose one of the weeknights and bring her here, is she is amenable to it."
"Yes, My Lord."
"Is there anything else of note for now?"
"No, My Lord."
"Do not let me down, Severus. I expect her to have full control in the coming weeks. I want to begin to work with her."
"You trust that she will not turn against you, My Lord?"
"There is no one who can tell what she will do, but it is very apparent that the easiest way for me to build a relationship with my daughter will be to introduce her to magics that she has not even dreamed of. She wants more than what Dumbledore has shown her, she just doesn't know it yet."
Severus tilted his head again, bending slightly at the waist and said his goodbyes. He walked down the corridor towards the floo.
"Severus!" he heard Lucius' voice call.
"Ah, Lucius. I did not expect to see you, I'm in a bit of a hurry to get back to the castle."
"This will take but a moment. Can you please give these to Miss Riddle? Draco tells me she is most interested in learning about inheritance, so I sent a few texts last week but I believe she will find these quite useful over the coming weeks."
"I'll be sure to give these to her; I would recommend that you not call her Riddle though. I don't think she'll take kindly to that."
"Ah, of course. It is difficult; I've waited over 15 years to see my god daughter."
"But she has yet to become Miss Riddle and I suspect at least a part of her will always be Miss Granger."
Author's Note: I know it's been forever….I've been trying to get back into writing my other fanfic, but this one keeps pulling me. I went back and read through my outline and plan to hope back and forth between writing chapters for both of my fics. For those interested, this fic is going to be Hermione/Draco and Hermione/Snape (not a trio) but it's going to be a slow burn for Hermione/Snape. I'm also a little undecided with where I'll take Voldemort's character – I have two endings, so we'll see!