Disclaimer: See chapter 1, 6, whatever.
Author's Notes: this chapter took me ages to write so please enjoy it (and if you really don't please just pretend to, I'm too tired to deal with flames)
Severus Snape kicked the twisted sheets away from his overheated body. He had been thrashing and fidgeting all night long; his dreams plagued by the horrors of his past. With a low groan he rolled out of bed, wearing just a pair of black boxer shorts. Even though there was still a sheen of perspire on his tall, lithe body, he shivered in the cool air as he walked to his bathroom. His chambers were situated in the same passageway as his Potions classroom, deep in the dungeons, behind a painting of a lonely countryside hill. He stopped abruptly when he remembered what he had to do today. Stood in his green and white tiled bathroom, Snape pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, and then stripped off his boxers and stepped into a freezing cold shower. Shuddering, he picked up a bar of soap and began scrubbing fiercely at his pale skin.
When he stepped out of the shower, he grabbed a towel and rubbed himself dry, before walking back into his bedroom completely naked. He quickly dressed in black trousers, a high-necked white shirt, his usual black robes and a pair of shiny black boots. He walked out into his living room, and then removed the wards guarding his chambers and left, not forgetting to replace them after him. Stalking up the corridors and staircases, which led back to the main school, he walked straight into a small figure, which had the wind knocked out of them, and let out a small gasp. Severus grabbed them roughly around the shoulders to prevent them from falling, and immediately recognised the hazel eyes that stared fearfully into his.
"Miss Granger! You stupid girl! What on earth are you doing down here? You should be at breakfast!" he exclaimed.
"Sorry, Professor, I was looking for you, I wanted to know when we are leaving." Snape started walking along the corridor, and Hermione had almost to run to keep up with his long strides.
"We will leave straight after breakfast, if that is acceptable with you." He looked down at her, awaiting her answer. Despite being quite tall for her age, her head only came up to just above his shoulder.
"Of course, Sir, that's fine." For reasons unknown even to himself, Severus flinched at the address. She tilted her head to him and gave him a small smile, which he returned stiffly.
"Miss Granger, there is one small fact that the headmaster has neglected to tell you." Snape continued as they reached the entrance hall and stopped by the main doors. "We are returning to my house later today, but there will also be someone else there throughout your stay." He took a deep breath as he felt the uncommon blush starting in his cheeks. "My Mother will also be staying with us." Severus bowed his head, trying in vain to hide his embarrassment. Hermione, however, was too preoccupied with her own embarrassment to even notice his.
"O-Oh." She stuttered. "Professor?" He raised his head his face expressionless, but his obsidian eyes showing the concern he felt for the young woman. "Will she be cross that I'm there?" The look on Hermione's face made her seem so young and defenceless, even though it would be her eighteenth birthday in a couple of months. It made his heart of steel melt. Brushing a stray ringlet of hair away from her eyes, he spoke.
"No. As soon as she sets eyes on you, she will love you." Hermione smiled outright at this and slipped from his gaze into the Great Hall.
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After breakfast, Hermione, Snape and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall stood in the entrance hall.
"Well, goodbye, my dear, take care of yourself," Minerva said, clasping her student in an affectionate hug. "You will be safe with Professor Snape." As she released her, Dumbledore clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Granger, have a wonderful summer, and do try not to worry too much. I will see you in seven weeks," he said. "You too Severus." In return, Severus jerked his head irritably, but gently pulled Hermione by the arm. He levitated his suitcase beside him and banged open the doors. They exited Hogwarts and the pair walked across the lawns to leave the school grounds through the heavy wrought iron gates. Once outside them, Snape turned to Hermione.
"We have to apparate to your home now," he said, and lowered his arm to feel for her hand. "Keep hold of me." Hermione stepped close into Snape and wrapped her other arm around his waist. He stood for a moment, shocked, before putting his hand on her shoulder. As they disappeared with a 'pop', Hermione rested her head on his chest, his heart thumping furiously.
When Snape and hermione appeared again in the Granger's sitting room, Hermione opened her eyes to a scene of total devastation. Her family living room, which had once been decorated blue with a pink flower detail, was now in complete ruin. There were large, gaping holes in the wall, with the pretty wallpaper ripped and hanging off the wall. The pine coffee table was smashed to smithereens, and the couch and chairs had been overturned and trashed; the soft, deluxe blue covers had been easily slashed with a knife or some other sharp, pointed weapon. Hermione walked around the room, and tentatively reached out to touch a photograph of her parents in a splintered and cracked frame. As the tears filled her eyes again, she was half aware of Snape coming and standing behind her and putting his hand on her shoulder firmly, his face grim, in an action which dragged her back to the world of the living. Hermione turned around, knowing she had to be strong – she couldn't give Voldemort the satisfaction of ruining her entire life.
"Professor? Would you – would you please help me?" she asked as if she sincerely doubted that he would agree. However he nodded, and followed her up the stairs.
Hermione's bedroom was also painted blue, but a darker, more intense shade than downstairs. The border going around the top of the paintwork had a design of yellow suns, stars and moons, the same as her curtains, duvet and the rug on the floor.
"If you could just get my clothes from the wardrobe and drawers, Professor," Hermione instructed. Again, Severus nodded and summoned a small suitcase. He opened the pine door of the wardrobe, and started pulling out items on wooden hangers. Most of the clothes were jeans and tops, although there were a few dresses and skirts that Severus uncharacteristically thought would look quite pretty on her. He wondered what to take, and in the end just put everything in, thinking she could sort it out later. Whilst he did this, Hermione moved around her room, picking up her favourite items or those that held the most sentimental value. In this, she included her cd played and best cds, and her treasured childhood teddy bear; Paws. When Severus had finished packing everything into her magically expanded suitcase, he picked it up as if it were as light as a feather, and led her downstairs.
"Ready, Miss Granger?" he asked her, not wanting to upset her.
"Yes," she murmured. "Goodbye, home." The sorrow in her voice made even Snape's normally harsh character want to comfort her. Instead, he held her by the shoulders and apparated.
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Hermione decided that apparating made her queasy. When they had arrived with a 'pop' at their destination, she still had her eyes scrunched shut. She apprehensively cracked open one eyelid, closely followed by the other. Snape's hands had dropped from her shoulders and he had moved to stand by her side, suitcases still floating nearby, to reveal a large country mansion set at the top of a hill. With a small, quaint village miles below. Hermione opened her mouth, enable to hide her surprise. The house itself was a grey, gothic style mansion, even complete with the odd sprinkling of gargoyles. Ivy covered the ancient building, softening its sharp appearance.
"Welcome to my humble home, Miss Granger," Snape said, and Hermione could not miss the unmistakeable irony and sarcasm in his voice. He then stooped and easily lifted the two heavy suitcases and marched up the gravel frontage towards the magnificent oak door, with Hermione scuttling along behind, almost tripping over her slightly too big robes. The door itself was traditional to the house style, with black iron bars, bolts and handle on the dark, stained wood. Snape, his hands full, kicked it open with a little more force than Hermione thought was nessercery, and guided her inside.
Although it had been bright sunshine outside, the main foyer of the manor was deserted and dark, despite the light flooding through the numerous windows; some stained in bright colours, creating rainbow patterns on the dark wood panelled floor. Snape put the suitcases down, and slammed the door shut with a thud that made Hermione jump, and flicked a switch on the wall which triggered the whole place to be bathed in man made light. Snape looked satisfied, and moved away, when suddenly, there was a large bang, which caused Hermione to shriek in shock, and they were plunged back into darkness.
"Damn!" Snape cursed. "That bloody fuse box again!" There was just enough light for Hermione to see the angry expression on his face. "I apologise, Miss Granger, I will be right back. Will you be okay?"
"Of course, Professor, I'll just wait for you here." Snape nodded, not wanting to leave Hermione alone in her present state of mind, but knowing she was definitely sensible and strong enough.
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Hermione watched Snape dash up the majestic staircase before her, running quickly and with ease. Squinting slightly in the sparse light, Hermione looked around her. She was stood in a very long room, with an abundance of furniture and many doors leading off it. On the walls, there were many paintings, both of people and landscapes. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if any of these concealed hidden rooms and passageways. Looking above her, there was a large and elaborate chandelier, which sparkled prettily in the natural light. The large, wide staircase that she had just watched Snape go up just minutes beforehand was also dark stained (black almost) wooden panels, but there was a rich, red carpet going up the centre of each stair, which matched the luxurious wallpaper on the walls. After about fifteen steps, there was a carpeted landing, where the stairs then veered off in two directions; one to the left, and the other to the right. Hermione wondered in awe how on earth she would remember where anything was in this house!
She then left the deep blue rug by the door, which she had been standing on, and started walking down the lengthy room to her right. As she stopped to admire a painting of a very beautiful woman, something stood in the crack of a semi-opened door that caught her attention. When the creature realised it had been spotted, it shied away into the room behind the door.
"It's ok, you can come out, I won't hurt you." Hermione whispered softly until the little creature reappeared completely. She realised immediately that it was a house elf – the long, flopping ears and over sized nose assured her of that fact, although she couldn't tell what sex. What was strange though, was that the house elf was wearing clothes. True, these consisted of a man's shirt, which was rolled up at the sleeves about five times and still hung over her hands, and a pair of disgustingly dirty pair of socks, but they were clothes alright. Hermione knew full well that house elves were freed as soon as they were given clothes. However, she decided not to ask or ponder over it now. "Hello," she said softly. "What's your name?"
"Cosy," came the nervous reply. Even with her naturally kind disposition, Hermione had to stifle a snort.
*Cosy?* she thought. *What sort of name is that? Even for a house elf!* Pushing these thoughts down, and thinking instead that she had never thought of Snape as the sort of person to enslave house elves to tend to his every whim, Hermione held out her hand to the elf, which she decided was a girl.
"How do you do, Cosy?" she said kindly, gently shaking the shy elf's tiny hand. The elf then gave her a very small, nervous smile. There was suddenly another loud crash, and the lights flickered on. Blinking slightly from the sudden light, Hermione realised that the elf had slipped away and shut the door with a decisive click. Sighing softly, she stood, and walked back towards the suitcases, just in time to see Snape thundering down the stairs, wand in hand.
"COSY!" he yelled, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. The same door was flung open, and the little elf ran to her master shrieking.
"Master, master! You is home at last! I has been so worried!" she exclaimed as she wrapped herself around Snape's left leg. Snape looked a little uncomfortable about this, but patted Cosy's head quite affectionately before prizing her off his leg. He then knelt down so he was on her level.
"Cosy, has my mother arrived yet?" he questioned urgently. Cosy shook her head emphatically, making her ears flap.
"Owl arrived this afternoon, had message Mrs Snape would come tomorrow not today."
"Thank you. Cosy, this is Miss Hermione Granger. She will be staying with us for the duration of the summer holidays."
"Yes master, we have already met." Cosy then flashed Hermione a toothy grin. She was clearly a lot less nervous around her master. Snape then raised one eyebrow, trying to hide his confusion with his famous sarcastic mask.
"Indeed? I will not ask," he said sardonically. "Cosy, would you please make up the bedroom down the hall from mine." She nodded enthusiastically at Snape and rushed off at top speed up the stairs to perform her task. "Miss Granger," Snape said, turning his full attention to her. "I will show your room and the rest of the house." With that, he lifted her suitcase, leaving his alone on the rug, and started up the stairs. Hermione followed close behind, gazing around her at the paintings on the walls, now she could she each one properly. Snape turned to the right at the small landing, neglected to tell her what was in the left wing of the house and continued up until they reached a long corridor with doors on either side. As they walked past, Snape informed her of what each door was. Bathroom, guest bedroom, his study, another bedroom, a small office used for storage. He also did not inform her of what one door was, but she guessed that it must be his bedroom. A bit further down the corridor, he stopped in front of a door to the left of the passage, and opened it, holding it so Hermione could enter first. Her breath caught in her throat.
It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen in all her life. It was quite a small room, but it suited her needs perfectly. The room was painted a very pale pink, and the four-poster bed in front of the door was also decked out in the same shade. There was a mahogany chest of drawers, wardrobe and bedside table. To the right of the bed, there was an enormous window with a beautiful view out over the backgrounds of his house, which included a huge, ancient acorn tree. Beneath the window there was a dark pink cushioned window seat in the same wood as the furnishings. Down to the left of the room, Hermione spotted another door, which she thought, probably led to a en suite bathroom. Hermione turned to look at Professor Snape. She saw he had an almost indistinguishable smile on his face at her amazement.
"Professor, I don't know what to say! Thank you for giving me such a beautiful room!" Unintentionally, Snape's smile grew a little wider in the face of her appreciation.
"It's fine, Miss Granger. Now, I'm sure you've got things you want to do, so I'll leave you to settle in." Hermione smiled her thanks, and Snape walked into the room and put her suitcase down by the bed. As he left the room, Snape turned, and flashed her a self-conscious smile, before replacing it with the cold, hard expression Hermione knew so well.
A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter, and I out enough description in it for you! Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, I have been feeling ill all the week, and last night I pretty much went to bed when I got home. I was also a lot more tired than I usually am, coz I had a rehearsal for the school play, The Taming Of The Shrew (to anyone who cares, I'm Bianca. Does that mean anything to anyone?!). BTW, anyone know when Snape's birthday is? Also, could someone please tell me how you set up author alert, coz I wanna but I don't know how to do it. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, and remember, the more you review, the more I'll write!
Oh yeah, to anyone in the uk, who didn't have half term this week, just a couple more days! Yey! I should hopefully get time to write quite a lot next week, but I don't know if I'll be able to post coz I might have to go to London. Will try to get at least one more post up before Saturday. See y'all soon, hope you liked this chapter, and please review!
Ladyofseverus, as soon as I get my author alert going I will add you to the list. Any idea how you do it?
Darkfire, well, I hope this provided you with a good enough description of snape's house! Thanks for reviewing again, glad u like my writing *blushes*
Severusgirl, glad you liked the pensieve, I wasn't too sure about it myself. Many thanks
ProfessorGaladriel, ok, cheers, glad you like the story and will continue to read.
Phoenix Wing Star, no you're right, ss/hg is addicting! Thanks for the review
Serpentina, thanks for your very nice email, please update FTDO soon!
Tracy, yey, thanks!
Cherry 7-up, yay for me, lol! Except I haven't updated in a bit….oops, soz. Glad u like it hun!
History17, many thanks for your review and comments. No need to worry, their relationship will not move fast, there will be a lot of tension before that! Glad u r enjoying it anyway!
Kimnlei, glad u like it, spesh the kiss.
Ladyofthewinter, glad you liked the chapter and the pensieve bit, and you didn't find it too confusing! Many thanks for all your reviews, it means a lot.
H20-polo-player, lol! Thanks, I will be sure to let you know if I get any flames! Many thanks for reviewing! So am I right in thinking you like my writing?
Marisa Raven, thanx for the review, hope u liked this chappie.
Again, many thanks to all reviewers – you guys are why I write! Hugs and smoochies, loz xxxxxxxx