Chapter 8
Snape exited sadly. He saw Dumbledore and Mcgonagall both standing there waiting for him. His robe was ripped and his cheek had a small slash. And a small bruise was forming around it.
"What happened?" Mcgonagall asked looking at Snape.
"She just got rid of some anger" he finally said quietly. He reached for a glass of water and swallowed it with difficulty. Without any further discussion, he moved past Mcgonagall and Dumbledore and left.
"I just don't understand how all of this could happen" Mcgonagall said, "It's cruel! And it's unhuman!"
Dumbledore frowned, "The worst is yet to come" he said, "We must all be strong for Hermione and for Severus"
"The worst is yet to come?" Mcgonagall repeated in horror, "The thought is terrifying"
The door swung open and Hermione entered looking furious. She stood there a moment, letting her eyes dart back and forth between Dumbledore and Mcgonagall. Then sharply shoved past them and left both professors staring after her wordlessly.
"Should we follow her?' Mcgonagall asked nervously.
"From a distance" Dumbledore said with a short nod. Both professors followed her quietly, being careful to not let Hermione know she was being persued. Although she seemed so determined to reach her destination, she probably wouldn't have cared if she knew she was being followed. She pushed through the doors the doors of the castle and out to the edge of the forest past Hagrid's hut. She reached down and pulled out a knife. Dirt clung to the shiny blade as she stormed back into the castle and down the dungeons.
She finally reached Snape's office. Releasing every bit of her anger she slammed the blade down into the wooden desk. Snape who had been in the chair with his eyes shut, gasped in shock.
"If you kill yourself, you'll be letting whoever did this to you win! You let that person defeat you. Their intention could have only been to bring pain and destruction!" Hermione said, "Those were your words and you did this to me and you failed! You didn't bring pain and destruction!"
Snape's eyes stared in horror at the blade still stuck in his desk.
"You brought out more! I went through pain, destruction, and then, YOU!" Hermione cried, "You sent me to hell, and then you gave me your shoulder to lean on! Now what do I do? Love you? Hate you? Kill you?"
"Hermione, there's so much to this, that you don't understand!" Snape said avoiding her eyes, "You're not the only one who is on the verge of insanity"
"I should turn you into Fudge!" Hermione said, "He's in this school somewhere! And there'll be one more deatheater in Azkaban! Then maybe you'll suffer the way I did! You'll know what a cruel, heartless bastard you are! You'll.."
"If it ends the endless torment in my head then hurry up and turn me in" Snape interrupted, unable to hold back no longer, his voice rising to shouting "If killing me can help me forget who I am, then do so! Whatever it takes to end it!"
Hermione stepped back momentarily. In her fury, pain, it had never occurred to her once that Snape would regret his actions.
"People think it is unfair that I'm alive! That I'm walking free, not locked in Azkaban with the other deatheaters!" Snape snapped, "By letting me go, I suffer more than you could ever imagine! Hermione, everything I ever did hurt someone! So kill me! Turn me in! Maybe then I can let go of these memories!"
"Dear heavens!" Mcgonagall whispered from Snape's office doorway. She turned to face Dumbledore and flinched involuntarily at the pained look on his face, "Did you know he felt so.."
"Had I known?" Dumbledore cried, "I would have done something! Anything!"
Mcgonagall finally seemed to tear herself away from Snape and Hermione staring at each other in equal torment and fury, "So, what do we do now?"
And for the first time in his life, the great Albus Dumbledore didn't know.
"I demand to be told where Hermione Granger is!" Fudge demanded, "I don't know what sort of a game you are all playing at, but I have things I need to get done!"
"Yes, I'm sure you do" Madame Pomfrey said briskly, "But until we figure out where Hermione has run off to, you'll have to wait"
"Have you all gone mad?" Fudge yelled, "The dark lord is about to kill someone, and you expect me to wait? You've got another thing coming if that is what you think!"
"Sit Down!" Madame Pomfrey said sharply, "It's your own bloody fault, she's gone! If you hadn't opened that overused mouth of yours, we could be doing something about the situation"
"I will not be treated like this" Fudge said, his face turning red.
"Cornelius! I have just spoken with Hermione" Dumbledore said entering, "And as I said earlier, Hermione knows nothing of Voldemort's plans! You have been hoodwinked into coming here, instead of being out there trying to find Voldemort's next unlucky victim!"
Fudge's face turned even redder with each word that Dumbledore spoke. At last he grabbed his winter robe, and started to leave, "You'll be hearing from me Dumbledore" he said sounding embarrassed.
I know it was short, but I wanted to get another chapter up, so I'll try to start writing the next one soon! Thanks so much for all your kind reviews! I'm glad you like it!