(A/N: Okay, guys, it took me a long time to write the Voldemort scene, and I'm still not completely happy with it. Anyways, thanks to all you guys who reviewed, and do it again, please!)

Disclaimer – I don't own anything. Severus, Hermione, etc. all belong to JKR.

Chapter Four

Severus apparated into a small clearing. He looked around, noticing that he was apparently alone. But why would the Dark Lord call him here? It just didn't make any sense. As Severus was pondering these questions, he saw Peter Pettigrew approach him. "Wormtail," Severus acknowledged him coldly. "Where is our Lord?"

Wormtail, easily half a foot shorter than Severus, looked up at him nervously. "He is coming, Professor." And he pointed to deep in the woods, where Severus now thought he could hear screams coming from. Voldemort was likely punishing people for Lucius' idiocy. Severus' blood ran cold.

Wormtail and Severus stood in silence for several minutes, until Voldemort appeared. Pettigrew made a perfunctory bow, and then scurried out of the way. Severus, on the other hand, bowed low, and kissed the hem of Voldemort's bloodstained robes. "My Lord," he said respectfully as he straightened up, and backed away from him.

The tall, pale man in black robes looked at his servant. He got straight down to business. "Snape," he said in a low voice. "There is a task for you."

"Yes, Lord Voldemort."

Voldemort continued to speak. "About our dear homophobic Lucius. We've got to break him out of Azkaban. That, my dear Snape, will be your task. Do not come to me until you have him with you." Not missing a beat, the Dark Lord spoke. "Crucio!"

*~*

Severus looked up when he had finished telling his story. He looked into Hermione's eyes. "Hermione," he said. "I have a request to make of you, and I'll understand if you refuse, but…well, it's important, so…"

"I'll do it," Hermione responded.

He looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean, you'll do it? You don't even know what I am going to ask you yet."

"Will it hurt You-Know-Who?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, puzzled.

"And will it contribute to his downfall?"

"I hope so," he said.

She smiled at him. "Then I'll do it."

He looked impressed. "Thank you. I am going to need assistance with getting Lucius out of Azkaban."

She looked a little surprised. "So, you're going to do it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a better idea? I would like to keep my life, thanks."

She was silent for a moment. "How are you going to do it?"

"I'm going to talk to Albus. Perhaps he can help with a plan."

*~*

Severus lay in his bed, tossing and turning. He silently cursed himself for forgetting to order asphodel and wormwood last week when he was stocking up on his private potions supply. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could picture was Voldemort's pale face. Finally, tired of lying idly in bed, he got up and went to his favorite room in his entire house: the library.

Severus quietly slipped into the library, and walked directly to his favorite shelf: all the way in the back, against the left wall. Without looking, he selected the book he always read when he could not sleep: Poe. Wrapping his black bathrobe more snugly around himself, he crossed the room to sit in the armchair near the window. As he reached the chair, he noticed that there was somebody already occupying it. That somebody, Hermione Granger to be exact, had not yet noticed his presence. This, no doubt, was due to the fact that she was sobbing silently, her face buried into the side of the chair. "Hermione…" he said softly, but she did not look up; she just continued crying. Severus stopped, and considered. What was he supposed to do? He did not have much experience with crying females; usually anyone crying sought people infinitely more comforting than he was. But, as he was the only one here, he supposed he would have to do.

Severus approached the chair with no small degree of trepidation. He knelt in front of her, and gently laid a hand on her arm. "Hermione, what's wrong?"

She raised her tear-stained, flushed face to look at him, but she did not stop crying. The tears continued their slow descent down her cheeks. He waited for her to compose herself, letting his presence be felt. Finally, she drew in one long, shuddering breath, and was still, except for the occasional sniff. Severus reached his hand into the pocket of his bathrobe, and fished out a black silk handkerchief, which he handed to Hermione. She wiped her eyes, and continued to clutch at it, like a child clutching a teddy bear or blanket. He whispered, "Keep it," and Hermione smiled shakily at him. They stayed in silence for about five minutes, until Severus asked Hermione what was bothering her so, that she was crying into his armchair at two in the morning.

"I might ask you the same, Severus," she said cheekily. He cocked his head, and observed her, but not angrily.

"Fair enough," he answered. "I'll tell you why I'm awake at this ungodly hour, and then you can tell me why you were sobbing in the library." At a nod of consent from Hermione, he continued speaking. "Last week I ordered restocks of the potions ingredients that I keep for my personal use. However, I found tonight that I had forgotten to order asphodel and wormwood. I need it to sleep, especially after meetings with Voldemort. My mind dwells too much on the past, and I would never sleep without it. Now, I have fulfilled my end of the bargain. What about yours?"

Hermione stared into her lap, twisting the handkerchief in her hands. She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it just all overwhelmed me. Harry, Ron, and Draco are dead. I just…At school, you know, you think that you and your friends are invincible, that nothing bad will ever happen to you. Of course that's not so, and I'm ashamed to admit that I really only learned that lesson recently. It's all only just caught up with me, I suppose. I mean – Harry survived You-Know-Who so many times, only to be killed by Lucius Malfoy. It's ironic."

"I've never doubted that Lucius is as evil as Voldemort, in his own way. Besides, it is good to express your emotions, whether verbally or through tears. Its not healthy to keep it all bottled up inside."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "All this from the austere man who we thought had no emotions?"

"I learned the hard way, and I wouldn't wish my experiences on anyone else. Sevolod died when we were twenty. It was hard, because Sevolod was just another version of me, only more outgoing." Severus rubbed his chin, remembering. "I got the news of the accident in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Third Year Potions. Albus came to see me in the dungeons, and he took me outside in the halls to tell me the news himself. I promptly turned my back on him, returned to class, and threw a cauldron at the wall. Needless to say, that was not the best reaction, especially because I was in class." He sighed. "What I'm trying to say, is that the release of tension and emotion is a good thing, and perhaps the best way to 'vent' is to cry. Certainly not to throw a cauldron at your class." Hermione snorted.

"It's just that I feel so responsible. I just keep thinking that if I was there, things might have turned out differently. I could have, perhaps -- "

"You'd have been killed along with Potter, Weasley, and Malfoy. And what would that have accomplished? Nothing, except depriving the wizarding world of one of the brightest minds in centuries."

Hermione looked at him, rather surprised by his words. Well, if she thought about it, she supposed it was no more surprising than the fact that he was comforting her at all. "Thank you," she said softly, and he nodded understandingly.

"You've got to have some way to release all the pent-up emotions," he said.

"Can I – well – how did Sevolod die?" she asked, a little nervously, unsure of his reaction.

But Severus just sighed. "I suppose there's no reason why I shouldn't tell you," he replied. "You already know we were both twenty when it occurred. Sevolod had always been somewhat reckless…actually, that's an understatement." Severus shook his head, remembering. "He had come to visit me at Hogwarts, and after we had both a few drinks too many, I told him about my involvement with Voldemort. He was not pleased, to put it mildly. Anyway, he stalked out, and I didn't hear from him for two weeks. But I never thought anything bad would happen to Sevolod, because, as you said, you never think anything bad will ever happen to you. Dumbledore told me he was dead, killed by Lucius Malfoy." Hermione gasped.

"Oh God," she said.

"Yes, well…it appears that Sevolod had gone and tried to throttle Lucius, for, and I quote, 'Inducing my brother to the Dark Side.'" Severus snorted. "Well, you saw how thin and lanky Sevolod is. He never stood a chance."

"I'm sorry," whispered Hermione.

Severus waved a hand dismissively. "And imagine my surprise when, about two months after his death, Sevolod shows up in my chambers at Hogwarts." He snorted, remembering. "I walked in, and Sevolod is just sitting in my armchair. I almost had a heart attack. He tried to get me to quit the Death Eaters, but it was too late. I had already gone and told Dumbledore everything. I was already acting as a spy."

The two sat in silence for some time, listening to the rain pitter- patter against the windows. Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "I've got to get my stuff from my apartment, so when are we leaving for Hogwarts?"

"Tomorrow."

Hermione turned to look at him in amazement. "Tomorrow? How the hell am I supposed to get all my stuff in less than twenty-four hours?"

Severus looked blankly at her. "How much can you have to pack?"

She groaned. "You have obviously never seen a woman pack," she told the Potions master.

He raised an eyebrow. "Not recently…"

"Well, you can help me," Hermione decided. "It'll go faster that way. We had better go now. Neither of us is going back to sleep," she added hastily when Severus opened his mouth to object.

Severus shook his head. "Let me change," he said, resigned to his fate.

"Wear Muggle clothes!" Hermione called after his retreating back. When he was gone, Hermione sighed and leaned back into the chair, exhausted. She had been crying for quite a while before Severus came upon her. She really was glad, she reflected, that she was going back to Hogwarts. It did seem the most familiar and safe place she could think of. It would bring memories of Ron and Harry, but nothing, she thought, she couldn't handle.

At that moment, Severus reappeared in the library. He was dressed in black jeans again, but this time he wore a charcoal gray fleece and a long black trench coat. He was also carrying two cups of coffee. He held one out to her, and Hermione took it, looking warily at it.

"From Pearl," he explained. Then, rather impatiently, "Go on then, drink it! It won't poison you, you know, I ran out of arsenic last week."

Hermione, stifling the urge to laugh, took a sip of her coffee. She tilted her head, reflecting. "Hmm…it's rather bitter, you know."

He took a long drink from his own mug before answering. "Two hours from now, you'll see why I like coffee so much."

Hermione shrugged. "I'll hold you to that, Severus. Shall we?"

He nodded, and they apparated away.