**a/n** Hey! I haven't written an author's note in a while, so here it is! I hope you're enjoying my story. I'm just kind of making it up as I go along--it's definitely an amusing Summer activity! Sorry if some of my writing deteriorates-I'm going really quickly. Anyway, read and enjoy! It's not the most original story in the world but I hope it's at least an entertaining one!
Late the next morning, Severus Snape's eyes cracked open reluctantly. His entire body was sore, but that was nothing to complain about considering how lucky he was simply to be alive. Memories began to flood back to him--the cruciatus curse, Hermione running to him, killing Lucius.... he remembered her hands on him, healing him, repairing his lungs in a way that not even a trained mediwizard could. He remembered her eyes on his, filled with concern, power, and something else he couldn't identify. Then he tried to rise, only to be held down by a warm figure pressed against him. Snape looked down to see a peacefully sleeping Hermione, innocently curled up against his nearly naked body. Multiple emotions coursed through him--arousal, concern, relief, gratitude. But there was one other emotion that Snape was afraid to accept. He also felt love. It was what he had felt last night as he looked at her, as she spoke to him softly and saved his life, keeping her wits about her admirably. It was also what he had felt whenever she looked at him during class for the past year, although he'd never acknowledged it. Every tender emotion Snape had never allowed himself to feel made itself known as he looked at her sleeping form.
Of course, despair soon followed the rest of his feelings. She could never love him in return. Hermione had only been doing her duty--she would have saved anyone like she had him. And she was probably only pressed up against him now because she had fallen asleep from exhaustion and ended up that way. Snape vowed to himself that while he wouldn't treat her cruelly like he had the day before, he would never let her know just how deeply his feelings for her ran. She didn't need to deal with the emotional baggage of an unstable, middle-aged man whose soul was irreparably damaged. Snape would not stain her innocence in any way if he could help it. He could only hope that killing Lucius would not weigh too heavily on her.
Unable to move without disturbing Hermione, and also wanting to savor the first and last time anyone would ever sleep next to him, Snape continued to watch her quietly, his heart churning passionately. Knowing that she was sound asleep, Snape indulged himself for the first time in years and let the silent tears fall. Hermione only pressed more tightly against him as he wept, murmuring something in her sleep, almost as though she felt his sadness.
~~~~
Two hours later, Hermione sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She was sublimely comfortable in her current position. The all-too-familiar scent of musk and leather was stronger than ever in her nostrils. She was resting against something warm, and beneath her head her pillow moved rhythmically beneath her....
Hermione froze. She was curled up against an unclothed Snape! It must have happened in her sleep! Mortified, she almost missed Snape tensing up beneath her. He thought that her reaction was from revulsion! Grinning to herself, Hermione realized that he probably didn't mind her sleeping on him at all. Relaxing again, she moved her head to look at him.
"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Snape shook his head, seeming somewhat dazed and confused. Hermione grinned sleepily. "Good." She repositioned herself slightly and went back to sleep, leaving a very confused Snape to admire her sleeping form for just a while longer.
~~~~
Snape had never been more shocked in his life. When Hermione first awoke, he could have sworn that she was disgusted with the position she was in. But then she had relaxed, and even taken the liberty of making herself more comfortable, only to return to sleep! Why would she do a thing like that? She must have been truly exhausted. Snape had already dismissed the conclusion that she didn't mind being close to him as impossible. Sighing sadly, he closed his eyes and tried to catch some ever elusive sleep himself.
Eventually, the two of them did get up because the doorbell rang obnoxiously. Hermione frowned and stood up, smoothing her hair and robes quickly. Snape decided he liked her slightly disheveled look--it was sexy. Then he mentally slapped himself again. Why was he thinking about her this way? He should know better! Grumbling to himself, he limped down the stairs and threw the door open to see four familiar faces.
"Oh, hello Albus, Remus, Draco, Potter..." Hermione came up behind him and blinked at the visitors. "What are you guys doing here?" she laughed. Albus Dumbledore strode in, his eyes twinkling.
"Severus, Miss Granger, I believe we all need to sit down and have a serious talk." Hermione shuddered, but wasn't nervous anymore when Dumbledore's eyes glittered warmly at her, and Harry and Draco rushed forward to embrace her gratefully. "We're so glad you're okay, Hermione. Dumbledore sensed something was wrong last night and called us. We were so worried...." Harry murmured into her ear. Then he looked up at his Potions Master. "I'm glad you're okay too, Professor Snape." Snape only nodded solemnly and led them into the elegant parlor, with its ivory-upholstered sofa and chairs. Hermione plopped down between Harry and Draco on the sofa, and the Professors each pulled up a chair. Dumbledore looked to Snape.
"Severus, if you don't mind, tell me as much about last night as you can remember until Hermione can pick up." He began the story with hiding Hermione in the secret room, then running downstairs to see Lucius and Voldemort. Telling the somewhat edited version of his beating from Lucius, he told them he was seriously injured and that then Voldemort had cast the cruciatus curse. Then he allowed Hermione to tell the rest of the story, not wanting to say to much about Lucius's fate.
"Well, I saw Voldemort apparate away, so I ran downstairs to assist Severus," Harry looked at her strangely when she referred to Snape by his first name, but she just rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, for some reason I just knew what to do, and I knelt next to him and somehow transferred enough energy to make his muscles relax some, so I could start treating his injuries..." Dumbledore chose this moment to cut in.
"Miss Granger, what happened to Lucius?" Hermione paled visibly, and described the man's threats to her and to Snape, editing out the innuendo. Then she took a deep breath and whispered, "I used Avada Kedavra. I killed him." Everyone gasped audibly except for Snape and Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked at Hermione with concern in his eyes. "Where is the body?" Hermione told him about Minny's orders to her children, and Dumbledore nodded. "It is, perhaps, for the best. None of us will mention the truth of what happened last night to anyone. Our story, and yours, will be that he apparated away shortly after Voldemort." Even Draco nodded, but he was still grief-stricken despite all his father had done to him. Hermione rubbed his back comfortingly, feeling better now that Dumbledore wasn't angry with her. She smiled inwardly when Snape's eyes glinted for a split second. Was he jealous? Hermione hoped so.
Even Dumbledore was impressed when Hermione described how she had healed Snape the night before, and Harry regarded his friend with even more respect, if such a thing were possible. Professor Snape just looked sort of proud, although to most people he would have been his normal, icy self.
When the story was finished, Dumbledore nodded to the students and told them to go upstairs to the library so that he, Snape and Lupin could speak privately. Hermione led the way upstairs, chattering excitedly to her friends. She'd forgotten how much she missed them, and was glad to see them both again.
Late the next morning, Severus Snape's eyes cracked open reluctantly. His entire body was sore, but that was nothing to complain about considering how lucky he was simply to be alive. Memories began to flood back to him--the cruciatus curse, Hermione running to him, killing Lucius.... he remembered her hands on him, healing him, repairing his lungs in a way that not even a trained mediwizard could. He remembered her eyes on his, filled with concern, power, and something else he couldn't identify. Then he tried to rise, only to be held down by a warm figure pressed against him. Snape looked down to see a peacefully sleeping Hermione, innocently curled up against his nearly naked body. Multiple emotions coursed through him--arousal, concern, relief, gratitude. But there was one other emotion that Snape was afraid to accept. He also felt love. It was what he had felt last night as he looked at her, as she spoke to him softly and saved his life, keeping her wits about her admirably. It was also what he had felt whenever she looked at him during class for the past year, although he'd never acknowledged it. Every tender emotion Snape had never allowed himself to feel made itself known as he looked at her sleeping form.
Of course, despair soon followed the rest of his feelings. She could never love him in return. Hermione had only been doing her duty--she would have saved anyone like she had him. And she was probably only pressed up against him now because she had fallen asleep from exhaustion and ended up that way. Snape vowed to himself that while he wouldn't treat her cruelly like he had the day before, he would never let her know just how deeply his feelings for her ran. She didn't need to deal with the emotional baggage of an unstable, middle-aged man whose soul was irreparably damaged. Snape would not stain her innocence in any way if he could help it. He could only hope that killing Lucius would not weigh too heavily on her.
Unable to move without disturbing Hermione, and also wanting to savor the first and last time anyone would ever sleep next to him, Snape continued to watch her quietly, his heart churning passionately. Knowing that she was sound asleep, Snape indulged himself for the first time in years and let the silent tears fall. Hermione only pressed more tightly against him as he wept, murmuring something in her sleep, almost as though she felt his sadness.
~~~~
Two hours later, Hermione sighed and her eyes fluttered open. She was sublimely comfortable in her current position. The all-too-familiar scent of musk and leather was stronger than ever in her nostrils. She was resting against something warm, and beneath her head her pillow moved rhythmically beneath her....
Hermione froze. She was curled up against an unclothed Snape! It must have happened in her sleep! Mortified, she almost missed Snape tensing up beneath her. He thought that her reaction was from revulsion! Grinning to herself, Hermione realized that he probably didn't mind her sleeping on him at all. Relaxing again, she moved her head to look at him.
"I'm not hurting you, am I?" Snape shook his head, seeming somewhat dazed and confused. Hermione grinned sleepily. "Good." She repositioned herself slightly and went back to sleep, leaving a very confused Snape to admire her sleeping form for just a while longer.
~~~~
Snape had never been more shocked in his life. When Hermione first awoke, he could have sworn that she was disgusted with the position she was in. But then she had relaxed, and even taken the liberty of making herself more comfortable, only to return to sleep! Why would she do a thing like that? She must have been truly exhausted. Snape had already dismissed the conclusion that she didn't mind being close to him as impossible. Sighing sadly, he closed his eyes and tried to catch some ever elusive sleep himself.
Eventually, the two of them did get up because the doorbell rang obnoxiously. Hermione frowned and stood up, smoothing her hair and robes quickly. Snape decided he liked her slightly disheveled look--it was sexy. Then he mentally slapped himself again. Why was he thinking about her this way? He should know better! Grumbling to himself, he limped down the stairs and threw the door open to see four familiar faces.
"Oh, hello Albus, Remus, Draco, Potter..." Hermione came up behind him and blinked at the visitors. "What are you guys doing here?" she laughed. Albus Dumbledore strode in, his eyes twinkling.
"Severus, Miss Granger, I believe we all need to sit down and have a serious talk." Hermione shuddered, but wasn't nervous anymore when Dumbledore's eyes glittered warmly at her, and Harry and Draco rushed forward to embrace her gratefully. "We're so glad you're okay, Hermione. Dumbledore sensed something was wrong last night and called us. We were so worried...." Harry murmured into her ear. Then he looked up at his Potions Master. "I'm glad you're okay too, Professor Snape." Snape only nodded solemnly and led them into the elegant parlor, with its ivory-upholstered sofa and chairs. Hermione plopped down between Harry and Draco on the sofa, and the Professors each pulled up a chair. Dumbledore looked to Snape.
"Severus, if you don't mind, tell me as much about last night as you can remember until Hermione can pick up." He began the story with hiding Hermione in the secret room, then running downstairs to see Lucius and Voldemort. Telling the somewhat edited version of his beating from Lucius, he told them he was seriously injured and that then Voldemort had cast the cruciatus curse. Then he allowed Hermione to tell the rest of the story, not wanting to say to much about Lucius's fate.
"Well, I saw Voldemort apparate away, so I ran downstairs to assist Severus," Harry looked at her strangely when she referred to Snape by his first name, but she just rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, for some reason I just knew what to do, and I knelt next to him and somehow transferred enough energy to make his muscles relax some, so I could start treating his injuries..." Dumbledore chose this moment to cut in.
"Miss Granger, what happened to Lucius?" Hermione paled visibly, and described the man's threats to her and to Snape, editing out the innuendo. Then she took a deep breath and whispered, "I used Avada Kedavra. I killed him." Everyone gasped audibly except for Snape and Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked at Hermione with concern in his eyes. "Where is the body?" Hermione told him about Minny's orders to her children, and Dumbledore nodded. "It is, perhaps, for the best. None of us will mention the truth of what happened last night to anyone. Our story, and yours, will be that he apparated away shortly after Voldemort." Even Draco nodded, but he was still grief-stricken despite all his father had done to him. Hermione rubbed his back comfortingly, feeling better now that Dumbledore wasn't angry with her. She smiled inwardly when Snape's eyes glinted for a split second. Was he jealous? Hermione hoped so.
Even Dumbledore was impressed when Hermione described how she had healed Snape the night before, and Harry regarded his friend with even more respect, if such a thing were possible. Professor Snape just looked sort of proud, although to most people he would have been his normal, icy self.
When the story was finished, Dumbledore nodded to the students and told them to go upstairs to the library so that he, Snape and Lupin could speak privately. Hermione led the way upstairs, chattering excitedly to her friends. She'd forgotten how much she missed them, and was glad to see them both again.