"Go." Hermione inclined her head to the now open door of the room he had been held captive in with little reprieve other than being taken out and beaten and berated beyond measure. "Shower. Fresh clothes are in there."
He watched her with intent in his eyes trying to work out what angle she was coming from. Or perhaps she didn't have an angle at all, and he was buttering her up just right and he had her exactly where he wanted her. Perfect. She was starting to trust him.
"You are smeared and smattered with your own blood. I can't morally sit by whilst you are in such a state. Harry and Ron probably won't be back for days, or weeks so you are safe."
"Where did they go?" Voice heavy with questions as he watched her tilt her head to the side just so as if thinking.
"Bill and Fleurs wedding. I wasn't very much interested in going anyway," She harrumphed, letting a short, sharp breath out of her nose indignantly. "Now, shower, go." She ordered with bitterness in her voice, but she tried to remind herself that she really didn't care if she was missing the wedding with her two friends.
"Thank you." He bowed his head ever so slightly showing his appreciation. Of course, he could run right now. He could have taken her wand on many occasions. Hell, he could overpower her now and take it, a young girl of her age wouldn't physically be a match for a man, genetically one stronger than the other. He could run but where was the fun in such a thing as that? There was none. This was much a game of cat and mouse and he was having too much fun to quit now. He wanted to see how far he could take this. He wanted to see if he could fully sway her onto his side and have such hatred and loathing for the two boys that she would do anything for Severus.
Once he left the room she sighed hopelessly. Why was she like this? The vigilante fighting for the rights of others while ruining the friendships she had formed with others. Why did she do this? Was Severus Snape worth the loss of her friends? Probably not if she were honest but how could she stand by while such an unjust was being committed right in the same house she was currently residing in. It would make her no better than the uncouth savages if she turned a blind eye and walked away and pretended that nothing was happening. That wasn't her.
She knew she could patch things up with the boys eventually, she hoped. She knew she could bring them around but right now her main priority was Severus and seeing what became of him. She could let him go, but at the same time, she wasn't sure what sort of reception that would garner her from the order and her friends alike. They would likely ostracize her that much was evident, but would she receive the same treatment he currently was? It was possible. After all, they would view her as a traitor and assume she was in on whatever little scheme Severus had going on at any time.
Her thoughts must have been running rampant for a while because it was all that long before he was pulling her from her revere by clearing his throat heavily. Something she assumed he must have done a few times because she realised, he was standing before her dressed in the loose-fitting tee and a pair of house pants; the only things she could scrounge up in the house that would fit him.
"I'll get your robes cleaned and washed up for you. You don't look half as intimidating dressed in what you have on right now." Eyes raked up and down several times taking in the man that stood before her. He looked like a totally different person when he wasn't clad in the blackest black. Not as intimidating, not as dour. She noticed his frame was quite lithe, the loose tee showing off his thin body and she supposed maybe they weren't feeding him enough; she would have to rectify that situation.
"That would be appreciated. I feel almost naked in this ghastly get-up." He waved a hand airily over the outfit he was wearing, nose wrinkled in disgust at the offending outfit she had bestowed upon him. Of course, he was grateful for the show and the effort she went to finding him something to wear but it just wasn't him. No. Dark clothes and brooding was his signature brand.
"Would you like another Occlumency lesson?" He asked gently as he sat beside her on the bed. It wasn't like they had anything better to do to pass the time and he was feeling generous towards the girl. After all, she was the only one that had ever shown him compassion and kindness the entire time he had been here.
"Yes!" She almost squealed in delight. The days had been terribly boring and dull that it would be nice to break the monotony up. The walls almost felt as if they were closing in on her day by day, but she knew she was safer here than leaving, for now, anyway.
In a flash she had almost leapt from the bed to the floor in the blink of an eye, legs crossed she oozed the image of the teacher's pet sitting and waiting to be praised for a straight back and a tight lip. Pathetic.
He gently lowered himself on the floor in front of her a lot slowly and more casually than she had. The old body ached to get down on the ground now. Bum bones digging into the incredibly hard wooden floor causing him to wince slightly and find a more comfortable position.
"You remember what you have to do, Hermione?"
"Of course, I don't forget anything."
He almost rolled his eyes at that statement. Of course, he should have known has astute she was. It was almost sickening that a person could strive to be so perfect at everything they tried their hand at.
"Are you ready?" He arranged himself on the floor again to a decent level of comfort on the dust, threadbare mat and he cringed to think what microscopic creature was current running rampant beneath him in the filthy carpet.
"I'm always ready." She airily tossed a few errant curls over her shoulder and stood stock-still unmoving.
"Yes, indeed you are," He bit dryly. Was there ever a time this girl wasn't ready or didn't want to learn?
Inhaling a sharp breath he looked at her intently for a minute before pushing through her mind. A few haphazard roadblocks were throw up to stop him but he moved through them with ease and precision. It would take her a while to be able to push him from her mind, he was years ahead of her in practice and strength and she needed to strengthen her own mind to give her the ability to push him out. With the way the little Swot applied herself she would no doubt eventually be able to penetrate his own mind and the thoughts are hidden deep down behind the walls he threw up and guarded heavily.
He slowly began to pick through her thoughts. All boring at the surface, they always were. That was where everyone kept memories, they weren't afraid of, they weren't ashamed of and they didn't care about. The good stuff was always buried deep down, and he always had to work hard to excavate them.
More walls were thrown up in haste but knocked back down again as fast as they were put up. He began to trawl through memories of her friends, things they had done together and the conversations they had.
Memories of her crying broken-hearted over the torment at the behest of Draco Malfoy popped up and he couldn't feel a tiny bit sorry for the girl. He too knew what it was like to be bullied relentlessly in school.
He dug deeper, further along in the minefield of memories. She threw up another brick wall and with all her might pushed him from her mind in a panic. There was something there she didn't want him to see and she had done better than good to push him away. Of course, that just piqued his interest and he wanted to know what was hiding there. What sordid or morbid memory or thought did she have hiding behind there to force him out of her mind with all her might? He would find out eventually if it were the last thing he ever did.
She sat on the floor shaking, energy levels depleted for the copious amounts of energy and magic it took to expel him from her mind.
He watched her with intent for a few minutes as she regained her composure.
"Want to talk about that?"
"No," She bit.
"I was only asking." He held his hands up defensively at the sudden attack on him.
"How do you do it?" She shakily drew herself up to her feet and sat on the bed; he followed suit.
"Do what?" An eyebrow arched in question.
"Enter my mind without your wand? It's complex magic and quite tiring as well. To do it without a wand would require utmost practice and magical ability. I am assuming you can do wandless magic?"
"I can. At times, yes. It's taxing on the body and the magic but it is doable. I am only so well-practised in mind fucking people without a wand because I have spent years practising. It doesn't tire me much anymore perse and I can do it anywhere, any time and mostly without people knowing. I can gently enter and scratch the surface of one's mind and pull out before they know. Obviously, if I wanted to go deeper as I did with you today they would be alerted, it would be impossible to enter that deep without detection. I can do wandless magic, that's correct but nothing of magnitude. A few healing spells here and a hex or two there."
"I can do mild wandless magic. Nothing too adventurous mostly summoning things from a few rooms away." She stretched her arms high above her head and yawned loudly, not even trying to cover it up.
"It's taxing, isn't it? Trying to push someone from your mind I mean. You will need your rest after our sessions until you get some more stamina and I will need a few days between them to regain the exertion from wandless magic."
"Do you mind if I spend the night in here, Severus?" Innocence laced her tone as eyelashes fluttered sweetly. "I really don't like sleeping in my room alone with that creepy elf tiptoeing around. The other night I woke up and he was standing over me watching me sleep and I am certain he was moments away from smothering me with the pillow.
Well, yes, he did mind. He didn't want to share a bed with the girl, he found it hard to sleep as it was on his own let alone with the little Swot taking up half the bed. He would only keep her up all night with his tossing, turning and thinking out like to himself. He would be up, and he would be down, he would pace and cast an eye to the moon just yonder the window, but he was all for gaining trust and buttering her up even more, so yes… It would be fine. He gave himself a few weeks max and she would follow him out of this house like a well-trained puppy.
"Be my guest." He inclined his head to the far side of the bed. "But I warn you now I am a terrible sleeper at the best of times and will probably keep you up most of the night."
She shrugged, crawling across the bed she shimmied under the blanket over the top of the mattress, head resting upon the pillow and was out like a light.
He wished he could fall asleep with such ease. It usually took him three hours and ten sacrifices to Merlin before he even felt drowsy.
He laid down beside her, his back to her front. He had to admit it was a lot more comfortable sleeping in these clothes than trying to do so in the robes he had been stuck in.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Groggily his eyes fluttered open as the early sunbathed the room in its golden glow. Blinking once, twice, thrice he tried to process what exactly was going on here.
Hermione's back pressed hard against his front, brown hair tickling his nose as the scent of her shampoo ensnared his senses. His arm draped over her; a hand splayed on her hip gently. He realised he had spent the entire night asleep and never once stirred and by the looks of it, either did she.
He stayed like that, long fingers tickling her hip with small circles tracing over the bare skin where her shirt had ridden up. This wasn't right morally but she looked so content within his embrace he would feel terrible to break it right now. So, he laid, tracing circles and listening to her shallow breathing with the rise and fall of her chest. After all, she was the only one to show him the kindness of late and he would remember that when push came to shove, and he had to choose who to spare when the time came, and all of this came to fruition. He would throw Potter under the bus no qualms about it for the treatment he had bestowed upon him, but he couldn't do the same to her, she looked out for him and he would look out for her. The saying rang true, you did catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
A/N: Hey guys. Sorry, it took me so long to update! I finally got my other story finished and am slowly going through updating the rest. I hope you liked this chapter, it's just a filler!
-Aliasmel1