The warmth of September gave way to the cool breath of Autumn. Hermione had decided to take her practice outside that weekend, enjoying the remains of Scotland's nicer weather. There was something grounding about practising magic outside, surrounded by coloured leaves as the mist rolled off the hills. She found a quiet place tucked in behind the greenhouses and was reviewing her latest lesson.

They had been working on her form — again. While Snape thought her wand movements to be passible (most of the time), he stated on multiple occasions her general physique left much to be desired. She still wasn't used to someone being so direct about her flaws. If she thought he was harsh in class, nothing had prepared her for Snape's ruthless and often relentless critique of her flaws. At this point she was fairly certain his sole mission in life was to make her cry.

Hermione stepped through the pattern he'd shown her, paying particular attention to the way her body flowed. She aimed her wand at the nearest tree, her mind focused on an invisible opponent as she attacked and lunged. When she twisted out of the way, her foot slipped on a rock and she fell sideways onto her hip.

Careless as always, Granger, she could hear Snape whisper in her ear. How quickly his silky tones had become a constant in her head, narrating her daily exercise. She rubbed her side as she stood. Taking form again she started at the beginning, moving through the paces.

Slow and messy. Your arms are too low.

The effort made her grunt. Push harder. Block, sink down low, right arm up to cast a jinx. Left palm out ready to block…

A dull spasm in her chest had her doubled over, gasping for air.

I've seen mandrakes with better stamina. How could you possibly hope to defend Potter?

'Get out of my head,' she groaned.

'Hermione?'

She whipped around, wand at the ready. Neville and Dean Thomas stared at her curiously from the end of Greenhouse Three.

'Good grief, Granger. Are you alright?' Dean asked.

Hermione rubbed her chest and straightened, feeling mildly embarrassed. 'I'm fine, thanks. You just startled me.'

'Are you sure? You look a little pale,' he persisted. She glared at him.

'What are you doing out here? Is Ron with you?' Neville's eyes darted towards the other greenhouses.

'No, just me.' It irked her that lately everyone assumed her and Ron were attached at the hip. 'I was trying out some things I read in a book. Charms work, mostly.'

'It looked really cool. Like a kata,' Dean said with a grin.

Neville scrunched his nose. 'A what?'

'You know, kata.' Dean dropped into a fighting pose and swiped his arm through the air in a swift movement. 'Martial arts. My mum made me do it when I was seven.'

Hermione smiled. The patterns were a lot like martial arts, come to think of it. She wondered if Snape had drawn the same conclusion. Were magic and martial arts a thing? It could be quite a deadly combination. Her fingers prickled with the urge to hit the library as her mind spiralled off into questions around ancient Chinese dynasties.

Neville waved a hand in her direction. 'Hermione?'

She blinked. 'Sorry. What?'

'I said we're heading back to the castle now. D'you want to walk with us?'

'Oh.' Her cheeks turned rosy. 'Yeah sure. I should probably find Harry and Ron anyway. We said we'd work on our Transfiguration essay before dinner.' She grabbed her book bag and followed them across the lawns.

'I've finished that. It's my Defence Against the Dark Arts essay I've been putting off,' Dean said. 'Chameleon Ghouls give me the creeps.'

Neville looked queasy. 'Everything in DADA gives me the creeps.'

'Including Snape?' Dean teased.

'Especially Snape.'

Hermione rolled her eyes. 'Come on, he's not that bad. He's the best Defence teacher we've had since Professor Lupin.'

'True,' Dean agreed. 'That doesn't mean we have to like him. I don't know what's worse; Snape breathing down your neck over an exploding cauldron, or having to be a test subject for one of his hexes.'

Remembering the dangerous look in his eyes, Hermione knew which one she preferred.

Neville turned a funny shade of green. 'Can we talk about something else?' He squeaked. The three of them started panting as they walked up the hill.

'How are your parents, Granger?'

'They're okay,' she replied, thinking of her mum's latest letter in her bag. 'They're quite worried about all the strange attacks. Obviously I haven't told them the whole truth but they know something's up. I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out on them. They might even attempt to ground me for life.'

'Yeah, probably not the best idea to tell them a dangerous madman is after your best friend because he's the chosen one. Can't exactly see that going down well,' Dean snickered.

'No, you're probably right. What about your mum?'

Dean laughed. 'Oblivious as usual, that one. She means well but she spends half her life impersonating an ostrich.'

'At least your family can remain ignorant,' Neville moped. 'Gran sends me a letter nearly every day to check up on me.'

Dean threw an arm around his shoulders. 'It's okay Nev, she's probably just checking you haven't signed up to be a Death Eater, that's all.'

Even Hermione giggled as Neville's face paled.

Hermione found herself flung onto her back, a shadow falling over her. She craned her neck to see Snape looming.

'That's the second time tonight you've failed a simple block, Miss Granger,' he crowed, his lip curling.

Disappointment washed over her. 'I'm sorry, sir. I don't know what's wrong with me.'

Actually, she did. The obvious agitation in her mum's latest letter was still going around in her head, drawing her focus. The thought of defending her parents should in theory help her maintain concentration, but in reality it did the opposite.

She tried not to flinch at how close he was as she stood up. She would never get used to his imposing presence in her personal space. He was so perceptive she often wondered if he picked up on her nervousness. Probably. Knowing him he probably enjoyed it.

His dark eyes searched her face before narrowing. 'What have I told you before? If you can't shut down your thoughts I will simply do it for you.'

Hermione blinked, trying to break the intense contact. 'I am.'

'Not well enough. That spell should be ingrained into your muscle memory by now.' He gripped her chin, forcing her head up. 'You're afraid.'

Hermione knew better than to try to pull away. She met his eyes, the intensity making her stomach clench uncomfortably. She didn't think he was using Legilimency on her; Harry said he always used the incantation, but all the same it was a terrifying notion that he could scrutinise her thoughts at will.

'It's hard not to be,' she answered truthfully. 'Everyone tries to act like everything's fine but it's not, is it?'

'No.'

She bit into the inside of her lip. 'There's been another attack. My parents—'

'Are of no concern to me.'

His tone was clipped and she clamped down on the rush of anger threatening to spill out of her.

'I believe it's time to move onto our next lesson. Put your robes back on,' he said finally, dropping her chin. He snatched his travelling cloak off a peg by the door. She frowned, glancing at the clock. It was already half-past eight.

'Where are we going?'

He flung open the door. 'Do hurry.'

She scrambled to keep up with him as he strode down the deserted corridors, his cloak billowing behind him. Through the twisted maze of the dungeons they went until they hit a dead end. Snape lifted his hands, whispering under his breath, and the wall slid to the side. The cold night air chilled her to the bone.

They came out of the castle at the top of the hill closest to the Forbidden Forest. In the distance Hermione could see the lights burning bright in Hagrid's hut. Snape picked up speed as he descended the hill and she threw her arms out for balance, trying not to fall flat on her face. He'd probably threaten bodily harm. Or laugh. Without breaking his pace he entered the forest and Hermione froze just short of the tree line.

'Are we really going into the forest?' Her teeth chattered and she wrung her hands together.

'Is there a problem, Miss Granger?'

Hermione swallowed down her apprehension, stepping out of the moonlight and into the cover of the trees. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust before she could make out Snape's shape in the darkness. She gripped her wand in her pocket for courage. He whirred away when she got closer to him and with a glance over her shoulder she rushed along after him.

They wove deeper into the forest and she desperately wished she could light her wand or at the very least conjure some flames to keep her warm. Without her cloak she was starting to shiver. Snape kept up his brutal stride until he finally stopped in a small clearing.

If Snape's presence was intimidating in the dungeons, he was terrifying out in the forest. The knowledge that she was alone with him only heightened her anxiety. Hermione thought he looked a little like a gothic prince in the murky light: Bram Stoker would have a field day.

'Sir, is there a reason we've come out here?'

'Miss Granger, before we can continue any further we need to address your fears,' he drawled. Her heart jumped in her throat.

'My fears?'

He shot her a look of contempt. 'If you wish to act like a parrot I shall transfigure you into one.'

The corner of her mouth twitched remembering Malfoy the ferret. 'I think I'll take a pass on that, thanks.'

'Tell me, why are our emotions dangerous?'

Hermione pulled her robes tighter around her. Her finger tips ached. 'They cloud our ability to think clearly. When we're not in the right mindset our judgement is impacted and we make silly mistakes.'

His eyes glinted in the dark. 'There's one exception. Fear.'

'In what way?'

He folded his hands behind his back. 'Fear is primal. Some say it's left over from our hunter-gathering days. It's our body's natural way of understanding when something is truly dangerous. It triggers our need for survival.'

'Fight or flight.'

'Precisely.'

She mulled this over.

Snape started pacing around her, his footsteps muffled by the mossy floor. 'The thoughts in your head, these so-called fears… What scares you the most?'

Hermione flushed. It was such a private question. What scared her the most? A thousand ideas rushed at her all at once, filling her brain with horrible images. Once upon a time she would have said failure, but now?

'I'm… I'm scared You-Know-Who will find my parents,' she whispered. She jumped when he stepped on a twig, the snap sending her nerves into overdrive.

'Those fears are unwarranted. Are your parents in immediate danger at this moment?'

Her fingers twisted in her sleeves. 'How could I possibly know that? Aside from the prophecy there's no way of knowing what he'll do and when.'

'Precisely. They are in no more danger today than they have been for the last year. Until the Dark Lord is on their doorstep, there's no point in wasting energy on improbable scenarios,' he explained.

'It's not that easy,' she cried. 'They don't have magic, they're not like us. They won't be able to defend themselves.'

'Defend them like you defended your friends at the Ministry?'

His words were a fist to the stomach. For a second in time she was back in the Department of Mysteries, a feeling of doom overwhelming her as the Death Eater's streak of purple light came towards her. 'I did my best.'

'And it wasn't good enough.'

Did he always have to sound so cold? So heartless? Hermione closed her eyes against the sting of tears.

'You believe you failed that day in the Ministry,' he continued. 'Despite the fact that you fought against fully grown wizards with years of experience on you. Even now you're drowning in self-doubt. It's what drove you to these lessons.'

She couldn't contain the sob that welled up in her chest. Her hands pressed over her mouth.

'These false fears hold you back. They prevent you from listening to your true fears: the ones which will determine whether or not you walk out of a fight alive.'

The duels with Ron, the countless hours pouring over defensive magic textbooks… the way she'd practically thrown herself at her most detested professor, begging him to teach her. She had assumed it was purely because of her less than ideal O.W.L. but it went deeper than that. Being Muggle-born in a world where that was becoming increasingly dangerous… not being able to protect her loved ones when it mattered most. Her insecurities swirled around, drowning everything out.

She wiped at her cheeks and opened her eyes to find him staring intently at her. 'I can't shut it off. How do I make it stop, sir?'

The dark look he gave made her lightheaded. 'Tonight we play a game. Hide and seek.'

'The children's game?' She nearly laughed at the absurdity.

'With a twist. You will attempt to make your way out of the forest before I catch you.'

She suppressed a shiver. The thought of being pursued by Snape was unsettling. 'Fine.'

'Without your wand, Miss Granger.'

The hairs on the back of her neck raised. 'But sir, we're in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. It's forbidden for a reason — there are all sorts of dangerous creatures out here.'

He raised an eyebrow. 'Then you'd better stay silent,' he sneered. He held out one hand, his long, pale fingers like spider legs. 'Your wand.'

She relinquished her wand, her breath misting in the chilled air. She was aware of its loss when he pocketed it as though a part of her had been ripped away. Snape tilted his head down and smirked. She unconsciously took a step back.

'I'll give you a head start. Two minutes should do it,' he told her calmly. 'And Miss Granger? Mind you don't get yourself killed. I'm not fond of paperwork. '

She didn't need to be told twice.

In a blind sprint Hermione took off in the direction they came from. He hadn't told her exactly what would happen if she were caught, but there was something about the situation that told her she didn't want to find out.

One minute down.

The trees whipped past her, their branches reaching out to ensnare her. Her pulse thundered in her ears.

Off the path. He'd find her too easy otherwise.

Her toe caught the edge of a log and she hurdled through the air, barely catching herself in time. The icy air hit her lungs, making her gasp.

Faster.

Mentally the clock ticked down in her head. Thirty more seconds before he'd be on her.

There was a low tangle of roots ahead and she thrust her body forward.

Twenty seconds.

She crashed into the wet leaves, curling up into safety.

Five seconds.

Hermione pressed a clammy hand against her lips, trying to steady her breath. This was ridiculous. She knew Snape's lessons could be brutal and quite archaic at times, but this pushed everything to another level entirely.

There was a scuttle in the bushes behind and she stilled. It could be Snape sneaking up on her. Or…

'You'll have to be quieter than that, Miss Granger. I could hear you from a mile away.' His voice echoed off the trees and she inched her head up to see him slowly sauntering down the path. 'How does it feel to be alone in the woods? Defenceless. Is your heart racing? Do you feel the adrenaline coursing through you?'

She crawled away from the roots, keeping low. The stones bit into her knees.

'Is the panic setting in?'

There was a red jet of light several yards away and she pressed herself flat into the ground.

'What if it was the Dark Lord you were running from? Would you give up? Or would you run? What's your plan, Miss Granger.'

He was closer now. She shimmied on her stomach, letting herself fall into a little ditch. If only she had her wand. She could cast a disillusionment charm on herself or create a diversion further down the path.

A diversion!

Feeling through the muck she found a decent sized stone. Gathering enough courage she threw it as far as she could down the path, praying it was dark enough so he couldn't tell which direction it had come from. There was a dull thunk as it bounced off a tree and she held her breath.

Without waiting any longer she crawled over to another tree. Hermione peered out at the path: it was empty. Had he taken the bait then?

Carefully as she could she crossed the path to the other side, hyper-aware of every second she was out in the open.

'Gotcha.' Snape smirked triumphantly, slinking out from behind a tree.

'No!' Spinning on her heel she tried to break free as he lunged for her.

From a distance something screamed. Every hair on her body stood up on edge. Snape froze, a strange look crossing his face.

'Stay here,' he hissed. Then the shadows shifted and he was gone.

Hermione stood alone on the path, ice flooding her veins. Her wand. He'd left without giving her wand back.

There was a rustle in the underbrush.

'Professor?' Her voice trembled. How could he leave her without her wand? She whimpered and coiled her body, ready to sprint for her life. There was something in the underbrush close by and she didn't want to find out what. Did she obey Snape or try to make it back to the castle on her own?

She watched the bushes move.

Run then.

She took off just as something crashed behind her. The darkness surrounded her, pulling at the corners of her vision. Out. She needed out of the forest now.

She stumbled over a rock and fell this time, her palms taking the force of the blow. She barely had a moment to register the sting before she was running again.

There was a heavy thudding to her left. Keep going. Keep running.

Without thinking she made a hard right, changing her course. The thing behind her slid on the wet dirt. She was too terrified to look. Was this how she was going to die? Taken out by stupidity in the Forbidden Forest by some evil creature? Hysterically she envisioned Snape standing over her corpse and rolling his eyes.

The heavy footsteps were closing in on her. Her lungs burned. She was not fit enough to run this fast.

The trees were thinning ahead and she could almost make out the faint moonlight. Close. She was so close.

Where was Snape?

Her chest squeezed painfully —

There was a snarl and something caught the edge of her robes. She let out a scream, dropping to the forest floor. Her arms flung out to protect herself. She cringed, expecting teeth and claws to tear into her.

A shield flared bright around her and there was a muffled growl of pain. Her ears rang.

'Very good.'

Hermione unfurled her arms. Snape lay a few feet away, half sprawled out amongst the leaves. She never thought she'd feel such relief to see the sour professor. He stood up, brushing the dirt from his trousers.

'Impressive, Miss Granger,' he crooned. 'You can drop the shield now.'

Her mouth fell open. 'Wh— what? But sir, I don't have a wand. I couldn't have.'

'I'm quite aware of that. Who knew it would only take a little pursuit to draw wandless magic out of you.'

She blinked up at him, stunned by the realisation. 'You were chasing me!'

He rolled his eyes and waved his wand, her shields disappearing. 'Of course, what did you think it was?'

'I don't know,' she ground out. 'You told me to stay. That scream—'

'A Blood-sucking Bugbear, miles away. It was never anywhere near us.'

The feeling returning to her hands, Hermione had the sudden urge to smack him. 'But you told me to stay.'

He shrugged; an elegant raising of one shoulder. 'I wanted to see how you would react if you thought your life was in danger.'

She let out a noise of indignation and thrust her finger inches from his chest. 'Is that all? You drag me out into the freezing cold forest, take away my wand and nearly scare me half to death just to see what I'd do?'

'My, my, Miss Granger. What a terrible temper we seem to have this evening,' he said silkily.

With a huff she pulled her robes around herself and stomped off toward the castle. It was a ridiculous exercise and he was a ridiculously horrible man. Snape fell into step beside her and she glanced at his cloak enviously.

'I felt like I was going to die,' she eventually admitted.

'You never left my sight. I wouldn't care to explain to Dumbledore why I led an unsuspecting student into the Dark Forest to die.'

That piqued her curiosity. She had never given thought to whether Snape had told Dumbledore about their lessons. She filed it away for a later date.

'How did you feel?'

Hermione let out a breath through her nose and considered it. 'I was terrified. I saw something and then...' She shuddered fiercely, as though her nervous system was shedding the adrenaline. 'It was horrible.'

They had reached the hidden entrance. Snape turned to her, his dark eyes burning as he handed her back her wand. It warmed to her touch and she clutched it to her chest like a talisman, grateful to be united with it.

'Yet when I caught you, your brain managed to focus enough to disarm me. Without your wand, no less. That is the difference between fear and worry. Your fear will save your life. Worry and doubt will destroy it.'

Without another word he opened the door and disappeared into the depths of the castle, leaving Hermione behind with her dazed thoughts.

Author Notes:

This was a hard one to write! Suspenseful scenes are not my forte. Any feedback is always welcome, I just want to write an enjoyable story for all you wonderful people :)

Playlist:
Surface, CATT
Fire, Saint Mesa
Fear & Delight, The Correspondents