Hermione looked outwardly downcast, hiding the glee she felt. So her wand was compatible with Severus! That could mean a lot of things, but the only important one at the moment was that they had a serious advantage, with a wand that they could both use. They obviously couldn't Apparate, because of the countless wards on the place, but they were definitely ahead, regardless.
Severus's voice snapped Hermione out of her reverie. "May I suggest you remove the watching spell on the room? And then you can reinstate the heating charm, at least on ourselves if not on the whole room."
"I'll do it, then. I didn't want to do that without checking with you first."
Hermione did take off the watching spell on the room. To her surprise, the temperature didn't seem any different, which was peculiar. Snape was, however, was shivering, so she put a warming charm on him. Then, as she was about do perform one on herself, she realised that she couldn't do that particular spell to herself.
"The only heating spell I know won't work if I do it on myself, Severus," she stumbled over the unfamiliar spoken use of his first name, but hurried quickly on, "are there any others that I can do to keep me warm?"
"I didn't think about that," Snape lied, his eyes once more giving him away. "Well, you could either replace the watching spell, or we could… share body warmth."
Hermione realised several things simultaneously. The first, that Snape had evidently put a warming charm on her when he had tested her wand, as well as checking to see what spells were on the room. The second, that he didn't want to remove the listening charm on Hermione, and neither did he want Voldemort to know that he knew about it. The third was that he had something to tell her. The fourth was that she actually wanted to sit close to Severus and 'share body warmth.' She wanted the comfort, the security, and the relaxation that his arms brought on.
Even as she was thinking these things, she said, "That's better than a watching spell, after all." And she moved to him.
There was a knock on the door. Hermione stood, Snape next to her, both wanting to be prepared for whatever would be thrown at them next. To their great surprise, it was Voldemort who appeared, not messengers to bring them to him. He was followed by a bodyguard of two deatheaters, who stood menacingly by the door.
Voldemort gave no introduction. "I need you to make potions for me. You will start with the antidote for vampirism, which you will test yourselves, locked in a room with a vampire. If you do not displease me, I will allow the both of you to live and make potions for our cause. Otherwise, you will die." The unspoken word, 'painfully,' hung in the air. "And now. You, girl, have your wand. Your professor does not, and that is how it will remain. I do not care what you said in your carefully contrived conversation; you will not be getting your wand back, Snape. Neither will you be getting the hemlock. It may not be a conventional potion, granted, but I am not ignorant. You will not get your knife, either. And you, mudblood, will replace the wards you took off this room, or face the alternative."
"No." Hermione said simply.
"You disagree?" Voldemort's voice was calm, and amused.
"I do. I will brew the potion for you, only because you would find the recipe for it sooner or later, but there will be no listening or viewing wards on this room. I have taken them off, and they will remain that way."
"So you say. I have always found emotional pain to be the most influential. How would you like to see your precious parents hurt?"
"You can't lay a finger on my parents."
"Perhaps. We will see about that."
Snape hadn't said anything up until now. Now he did. "Her parents cannot be involved in this, Voldemort. You know as I do that they are untouchable. Dumbledore doesn't do things by halves. We will do this potion for you, but I will require every one of the ingredients I named previously. Hemlock is an integral part of the potion, and the knife is extremely important for adding blood."
"Do not treat me as if I am stupid, Snape. May I remind you that it was you who caught yourselves in the net I so carefully laid? I have monitored the items you have bought for the past six months. Hemlock was not among them, and is not a part of the supplies you keep on hand. You will receive the other supplies, including the knife. Oh. You will reinstate the viewing charm, Hermione. Not even the bed of your beloved teacher can keep you warm in the temperature this room can reach."
With a cruel smile and a flick of his wand, Hermione's clothes, insufficient as they already were, disappeared. He wanted her to freeze, then. And he swept out, uttering a laugh as he did so.
"Bastard," Hermione said, not looking at Severus. She wasn't cold, so Voldemort evidently didn't know about the warming charm that Severus had placed on her. Embarrassed, though, was another matter.
"He is, actually." Had she been looking at Snape, she would have seen the slight blush on his face. As it was, she heard the click as he unclasped his cloak, and then felt the smooth, soft material as he gave it wordlessly to her.
She murmured a thanks as she took it and put it on. Thankfully, it was long enough to cover everything. Then they sat on the hard, cold floor, Hermione once again leaning against Snape. With a slight smile, she handed him her wand and mouthed 'parchment.' He nodded, smiled, and said something softly so that she couldn't hear. Then there was parchment, and two quills. He grinned, handed her back her wand and a quill, and then wrote on the parchment:
Say something to cover up our silence.
Hermione smiled, nodded, and then said, "I'm really, really tired. Do you mind if I lean against you, only…" she allowed her voice to trail off.
"That's fine. I need to think." Hermione smiled again, and wrote:
Is there any way out whatsoever?
There are multiple ways. Each is as difficult as the last, each as unlikely to work, but each possible nonetheless. But first…
Severus said, "Perhaps, Hermione, before you sleep, you might like to cast a spell that will warn us as the door opens. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be surprised by Voldemort."
"Sure." Hermione said the spell, and then, "And now can I sleep?" She spoke petulantly, like a whining child, and saw him smile again.
"Of course." And then on the paper…
If you're not intending to sleep?
Very amusing. Of course I'm not.
Good. We were discussing escape plans, I believe?
I have beginnings of ideas, but no definite plan. First… can Voldemort have any way of finding this?
Not if we destroy this parchment before he comes. He will not know that we are even writing this, rest assured. Now, you had ideas?
Not really… just parts. Do you want to know the potions on my necklace?
Yes.
Hermione listed what she had, and how much of each. Once she had finished, Severus nodded and sat back, clearly thinking. At last, he wrote:
Well, at least we can make a start. Firstly, why don't we brew this potion so it does not work? When Voldemort makes us test it, we can do so using your potion, so it seems that it will work. Voldemort will not notice the change, because he will not test the potion himself. The vampires are his allies; he has no reason to change them back.
It sounds good… but it will be hard to switch the potions without V. knowing. Can't we just brew the full potion? It won't make much difference, seeing as Voldie won't be using it anyway. That way we still have the potion on us for backup, in case V. does set a vampire on us.
Ordinarily, yes, but… what if we were to brew the potion that boils off to leave Floo powder? It will take the wolfsbane and mint leaves to brew… the mint leaves we can maybe request more of, but wolfsbane is not a common potions ingredient. If we brew the vampire potion without the wolfsbane then we have the wolfsbane on hand to brew the Floo once he has begun to trust us enough to relax some of his watch and move his deatheaters to positions other than spying on us.
That is a good idea. And we can use the stasis potions I've got to stun the guards, and the Polyjuice so you can impersonate one of them!
It is all possible, Hermione. However, this is all at least three weeks away. We will not get back to Hogwarts before school starts. This is, you know, very dangerous. If you don't want to escap-
Before he had even finished writing the word, Hermione pushed his hand aside and wrote:
Don't even write it. You know it's useless. We're escaping, and I'm not going to chicken out, thankyou very much! If you're insulting my courage-
This time, Snape pushed her hand away, but more gently than she had pushed his.
Very clever. Your tactics will not work, though, Hermione. I speak honestly when I say-
You can stop speaking honestly and being 'noble!' As much as I admire you, Professor Snape, you're too overprotective! Aren't we, for the moment, partners? Besides, we both stand to lose more if we allow ourselves to remain captive here. Sooner or later, Voldemort will convince a potion-brewer to his side, eliminating our use.
Very well, Miss Granger.
I thought we'd stopped with the formal titles?
We had until you decided to bring them back.
Severus smiled at her, and she smiled back, shaking her head at him.
Okay, okay. Is there anything else of importance?
Not that I can think of at the moment.
Good. In that case, I'll artistically wake up and we'll make a start on the potion. Where do you plan on concealing the mint and the wolfsbane that we won't use?
A pocket of my robes, spelled to blend in with them.
Good.
Hermione stretched and yawned loudly.
"This floor really isn't very comfortable. I don't suppose old Voldie'll give us mattresses or something?"
"Only one way to find out," Severus said, smiling thinly once more. Hermione didn't know what had made Snape change so drastically from the way he had been only a month before. It seemed that the more danger was in the situation the calmer he was. His light-hearted attitude did wonders to soothe Hermione, and she knew it. She knew that this situation was much more dangerous that it appeared, and Snape was playing it down greatly. It was not every day that you got kidnapped by the most dangerous bloodthirsty wizard in centuries. Yet Snape had come up with a plan for their escape, had comforted her with his nonchalant manner, had praised her for her thinking, and had stood up to Voldemort.
Snape stood, and went over to the door. He pounded on it, and stepped back. The door opened, and in came two deatheaters, both with wands outstretched.
"Ah, Phillips again. How good to see you. I was just having words with Hermione, here. She is in agreement with me that if we are to brew these potions for your master, we will need a few items. Namely, two mattresses, chairs to sit on, changes of robes for both of us, and a shower installed. There are, of course, more, but those will suffice for the moment. Oh, and blankets and pillow? Understood?"
"You're not in charge here, Snape," the man called Phillips growled.
"No, but I have slightly more influence than you, my dear doorman."
Phillips glowered. Turning on his heel, he marched out. His friend followed, and closed the door after him. Severus turned back to Hermione; his smile rather larger than it ought to be.
"I enjoyed that." He said, almost happily for the feared Potions Master.
"I noticed." Hermione grinned. "Feel good?"
"Very." Snape said with feeling. "What do you think the odds are we'll get it?"
"Probably quite high. The requests aren't extravagant… you should've asked for a hot tub."
"I think that's going a little far," Snape said, smiling still.
"Perhaps. Anyway, you want to get started on the vampire potion? Ah, we'll need a second cauldron, too."
"Yes. Well, we can begin with just one, anyway. I'm sure our requests will be complied with soon."
They fell to, chopping ingredients and brewing the potion. "This will take about a week to brew, won't it?"
"I should think so." Severus said, and then, "Be careful with those roots!"
"Yes sir," Hermione said, face bland. It seemed that Professor Snape was never far away.
~*~*~
The deatheaters did bring beds, chairs, and changes of robes for them later on that day. Half an hour afterwards they brought a cauldron, and all of the ingredients Snape had previously requested, including the hemlock. They also brought a knife.
Five days later, the fake vampire potion was prepared, looking and smelling exactly like the real vampire potion. The deatheaters had come twice a day, bringing food and asking once a day about the state of the potion.
Severus and Hermione debated for quite a while, on parchment, as to how they could use the real vampire potion without anybody noticing. At last, they decided to conceal half of the potion each in their hands with a couple of interesting charms that Severus suggested, and to slip it into the potion they were given to test on the vampire. That way, they could administer the real potion to the vampire in the fake potion. And then they tested it out.
~*~*~
Hermione was told to administer a spoonful of the potion to a vampire that would be set on her, while Snape was to watch. And then they were both led into the room next to the one they had been held prisoner in for so long. There was a vampire in there, held against the wall with ropes that were quickly becoming looser and looser. The deatheaters shoved them in and fled, locking the door behind them. Hermione, taking a deep breath, opened the glass bottle that the new potion had been put in. She inconspicuously slipped the potion in her hand into the glass bottle, all the while watching the vampire.
It shook free of its ropes, and began advancing on her. Hermione, for the fourth time, held the potion bottle ready, waiting for an opening. The vampire bared its teeth, and leapt. Hermione threw the potion. And missed.
Her heart was pounding; she didn't even have half a bottle of potion left. The vampire was still in midair; its eyes were mad with fury and blood lust. Taking another deep breath, she threw the rest of the potion at it, aiming for its mouth, praying she wouldn't miss. Otherwise they would be in big trouble.
The potion flew through the air, in seeming slow motion. The vampire also moved, taking years to come closer. And then the potion made contact, on the vampire's blood-red lips. It swallowed and continued on, crashing into Hermione. She screamed, and leapt back, but the vampire made no move to follow. It was on the floor. It was human.
Severus had jumped forward, and was holding her now. Everything seemed surreal, and Hermione felt a searing pain. At her neck. Had the vampire…? The world was spinning, going dark…
Hermione was leaning against Severus weakly, his hand over her lips. There was a nasty taste in her mouth. It tasted like the potion smelled. Had she…? She looked up at Severus, who was still holding her tightly to him. His eyes were panicked, but they calmed once they looked into hers and saw that she was human and alive. Suddenly, she went limp. A vampire had bitten her and she was normal. Severus had saved her. His hand moved from her mouth, and his arms loosened, as if to let her go. She turned, though, and flung her own arms around him.
He held her for a moment, patting her back soothingly, before slowly pushing her away.
"It was successful," he told her softly. "We need to look at the vampire."
She nodded, and realised that Voldemort could not know about what had just happened. She went to the slumped form on the floor, the one that had bitten her before the potion took effect. It was a boy, a boy of about eight, by the looks of it. He was shaking and sobbing. Hermione immediately stooped down to comfort him, much in the same way that Severus had done to her. He clung to her, crying, and she held him and murmured soft, soothing, meaningless words to him until he quieted.
"It's okay, you're okay," Hermione said softly, looking down at the small form clinging to her.
"I… I…" he was taking great, sobbing breaths, trying hard to calm himself. "It was… oh…" he burst out crying again and Hermione once more found herself calming him. She looked up at Severus. He was looking down at the child, staring at him grimly. Then he purposely strode towards the door, and banged on it.
It was a while before the door was opening. In the duration, Hermione had succeeded in calming the child enough to get his name, Benjamin, and to find out bits and pieces about him. He was, in fact, nine. He was of wizarding parents, and, from what Hermione gathered, he had been a vampire for about five months.
When the deatheaters came, Snape spoke to them commandingly, the exact words lost to Hermione as she continued to comfort the sobbing child. He never seemed to run out of tears. Then Severus came and took Benjamin off her, speaking softly and soothingly to him, and handed him over to the deatheaters. Then the door closed, and Severus came back to Hermione. He sat next to her, close, but not quite touching.
"I told them that if they don't take the child back to his parents, we will suddenly become very uncooperative. They'll take him back."
"Good. He- Benjamin- it was so sad!"
"I know." Severus nodded his head. And then, "How are you?"
"I'm fine. Tired, but fine."
"It wasn't for long. I was praying that you'd be okay." Severus's voice was frank, and his manner more open than she had ever seen it.
"Um… thankyou." Hermione didn't quite know what to say. She showed him instead, instinctively wrapping her arms around him. It wasn't unnatural or uncomfortable, and, by that, Hermione realised that Severus was no longer the strict, powerful, dark Potions Master he had been, but rather a complex man, just as capable of emotions as she, but able to suppress them, to use them, and, most of all, to put her safety and comfort above his own. He wasn't her teacher any more. He wasn't even her partner, or her ally. He was a friend.
He held her, and hugged her back, and somewhere in there Hermione felt his fears. He had been afraid for her. He was angry with himself, for not preventing this. He was angry with Voldemort. He was worried, scared, and hiding it all.
Then he withdrew, gently moving her arms from around him. "Let's go back next door, shall we?"
Hermione nodded, and stood. She grinned at Severus, still on the floor, and helped him up, before walking towards the door. Before she could knock on it, though, it opened. Deatheaters again.
Severus pulled Hermione back, away from the door and regarded the tall man coolly. "I see you make an appearance, Malfoy."
The cloaked figure pulled down his hood, revealing the sneering face of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione restrained her sudden urge to ask him to pull it back down again. Aggravating him, no matter how fun, was probably not the best of ideas in these circumstances.
"I do indeed." Malfoy smirked at Snape. "I see you are the traitor I believed you to be from the very beginning. Grovelling at Dumbledore's boots; I might have known. You are, of course, not escaping from here to pass any more information on to you master." Malfoy's smirk was victorious now, his eyes gleaming with malice.
"Did Voldemort send you here to gloat, Malfoy?" Snape asked calmly.
Malfoy glared at him and snapped out, "I do believe your famous tongue is quite losing its touch. My son has told me that you are softening. It is indeed true. My lord wishes me to tell you the vampire potion must be bottled for him by tonight. You are then to get to work brewing energy and stamina potions."
"If you say so." Snape's voice was carefully bored.
"I do." Malfoy was obviously irritated now. "Come."
~*~*~
They bottled the vampire potion that afternoon, and made sure the ingredients they elected not to use were hidden. Voldemort did not come to see them again. Instead, his deatheaters came every day, bringing food, and telling them which potions to make. Snape and Hermione made them perfectly, saving up the ingredients for floo powder bit by bit.
The days fell into routine. Hermione would wake up on her mattress-on-the-floor. She would get up as Severus did. As soon as they awoke, breakfast was brought in. It was invariably bread and milk, but they ate it nonetheless. Then they would spend most of the morning brewing potions of increasing complexity for Voldemort. Snape would take the time to teach Hermione new things about potions. She learned more in one morning in Voldemort's castle than she ever had before, both practical and theoretical that she had never before heard of. In the afternoons, Snape would help her keep up with all her classes at Hogwarts, a thing she did almost religiously.
Hermione came to respect him as she never had before, but it was more than just respect. He was no longer the condescending professor, or the aloof potions master she had worked with on the vampire potion. He was now like he had been the night they had tested the vampire potion; he was calm, protective, logical, and encouraging. Hermione had a feeling that Snape softened and suppressed his sarcastic ironic sense of humour around her now, but every so often in surfaced. At some times it made her cringe, and at others it made her laugh, but it was an integral part of him. He used his own peculiar brand of humour to make the best of the situation, to seemingly lighten it even as he acknowledged its seriosity.
Hermione didn't know when it happened. She had no idea when her feelings for him changed, but they did change. Almost a week before Christmas, she realised that she didn't think of Severus as a friend anymore. He was, dare she say it, almost a… well, perhaps the best term was 'crush.' It was the attention he paid her, her mind babbled on, or no, it was just that he was the only male here. He was probably married, he was twice her age, no, it wasn't possible, she was crazy.
But somehow, sometime she came to accept it. She liked him, no big deal. Maybe she would initiate a deeper relationship, maybe she wouldn't. She was eighteen, and that counted as adult even by muggle standards. She would act normally. She could do it. No problem.
At last, they accumulated all the ingredients for the potion to make Floo powder. And they began to brew it. The potion would take a week to brew, and to turn it into powder and perform the necessary charms a further five days. It was three days until Christmas. Even if this worked, they couldn't get back to Hogwarts before term started. If it didn't, well, they might never get back. The one certainty they had was that Voldemort had no hold over them. Snape appeared to have no family or friends that he cared for outside of Hogwarts. Hermione's grandparents were dead, her parents were under Dumbledore's protection, and her friends were at school over the holidays. Her father was an only child, and her mother had a sister that Hermione had not seen since she was two years old. Her mother and her aunt had fallen out. Thus, there was nobody for Voldemort to threaten. He did not need to, anyway. On the surface, Hermione and Severus were both obedient to Voldemort's wishes.
The next two days were the same as the days before, with little incidents standing out in her mind. Her hair-tie had broken midway through stirring the Floo Potion in its first, most crucial stage, her wild hair escaping its constraints. Snape had stood behind her, his hands gently holding her hair out of the way as she finished stirring.
There was the end of the first stage, when the potion turned the appropriate shade of green indicating that it needed to simmer for half an hour. She'd laughed happily and hugged him before she even realised what she was doing, and, seeing as he hugged her back, she pretended not to be self-conscious.
The things that affected her most, however, happened of Christmas Eve. The deatheaters came once more with food and questions, and Severus dealt with them as calmly and coolly as he usually did. Once they had left, as Hermione smiled at him, Snape did the most peculiar thing yet. He flushed slightly and avoided her eyes.
That was enough for Hermione. It was her first real indication that Severus liked her as more than a student, more than a friend, and much less platonically than a daughter. Never backwards in going forwards, she decided on her plan while brewing a simple pain-relief potion for Voldemort, gazing at Severus, who was working on the Floo potion. She would take the initiative tomorrow, Christmas day, and see how it worked out. Quelling her nervous excitement, Hermione added the last of the ingredients to the cauldron. She would not let herself back out tomorrow.
~*~*~
"Merry Christmas, Severus," Hermione said as he woke up. He smiled up at her, drowsy still in the early morning.
"Merry Christmas yourself." He replied softly. "I have no present for you." His smile was weak, his eyes almost wistful.
"Well, I have one for you!" Hermione said, grinning at him.
"You do?" his eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh, it's nothing material," Hermione reassured him, smiling still, but nervously now. "But rather, something to let you know you're appreciated. I know a lot you've done for us and for me alone, believe it or not. You've… become to me more than just a respected professor to be admired. More, even, than a friend."
Ordering her nerves to calm themselves, she bent down until she was in front of his curious face, and kissed his lips softly. There was complete silence. Hermione withdrew, smiled at him, and walked calmly over to the cauldron on the other side of the room. How would he react? If Severus reacted extremely negatively, she could always pretend it was a joke. That would defy the whole purpose of taking the initiative here, but… well, if she could get out of this situation with her pride intact it was more than she dared hope for. With luck, though, he wouldn't react unfavourably. The look in his eyes as she had kissed him had told her that he was surprised, yes, but not unhappy with the turn of events. There was a touch on her shoulders, and she turned, stomach suddenly flipping. Why had she done it?
"Why?" It was a question, and his face was blank. Hermione didn't dare look into his eyes, dreading to see what the reply there would be.
"Because I wanted to. Because I like you a lot, and because I want you to know that."
"Ah. Hermione- no. It can't… we can't… you're a student."
"Not here I'm not," Hermione said firmly. Later, she would wonder where she got the courage to do this; right now, she put all her energy into persuasion. "Now, at least here, we're equals. You're my teacher at Hogwarts, true enough, but we're not at Hogwarts."
"That makes no difference. The wishes of both of us aside, it can't be! You're young-" Severus was trying to school his brain to work. It was too early, that was the excuse he gave.
"I'm legally adult. And I should hope I'm not as immature as some of my age." Hermione finally looked up into his eye, daring him to accept her for what she was.
"True- but you're still so much younger. And it's Hogwarts custom, Hogwarts' rules, even, that-"
"I graduate from Hogwarts this year. In less than two terms, actually. I knew enough to graduate last year, and you know it."
"You knew enough to graduate in your fifth year." Snape said ruefully. "That is beside the point. You remain a Hogwarts student, and as such it would be greatly immoral of me to-"
"Do you like me?"
"But-"
"Do you like me?" There was a dangerous note in Hermione's voice now. It was all or nothing.
"Yes, but-"
"Am I, at the moment and in present circumstances, a student?"
"No."
"Am I underage?"
"You're of legal age in the muggle community, yes." Severus seemed to be schooling his thoughts. "However-"
Hermione interrupted him again. "Can we finish this first, please? What issues stand in the way?"
"The wizarding age of adulthood-"
"Don't even try it, Severus. I read, remember? The age is flexible, depending on circumstances and the person involved. I fit the 'sixteen' category. And you know it."
"Very well." His face was blank, but his eyes showed the emotion his face would not.
"If it weren't for your morality qualms, would you object? The age difference, or whatever it is that you're worried about." Hermione had no idea where this self-assured aspect of herself was coming from. Her common sense was cowering and quivering, demanding that she flee and hide. Some strange, suicidal tendency in her would not let go, though.
"Technically-"
"Severus!"
"No." He admitted defeat.
"So is there a problem?"
"Hermione, what happened to you?" He was, however, smiling ruefully.
She grinned at him, happy that the matter was resolved. "You."
"Ah."
"So you're willing to try and make this work?"
Snape raised an eyebrow, and then smiled at her. "You win. This round. But when we get back to Hogwarts…"
"Then it might be different."
"Might?"
"Might." She said it matter-of-factly. "In the meantime, I claim my prize." Her grin was almost feral as she kissed him. Snape, this time, did not complain. In fact, she thought he rather enjoyed it.
~*~*~
The Floo potion was finished the next day, Boxing Day. The problem now was to get the powder, which meant boiling the potion at very high temperatures to get rid of the water quickly. UHT, Hermione thought flippantly, excited at the prospect of escape. Severus performed the necessary charms to raise the temperature of the fire, while Hermione hummed to herself so she would not hear Severus say the charm.
Thirty minutes, and three sheets of parchment, later, they had come up with the finishing touches of the plan. The 'conversation' went as follows:
When will the Floo powder be ready?
It will be ready to use in five days, give or take an hour or so.
So we'll be getting out of here in five days?
It would perhaps be better if we escaped in seven days. Voldemort cannot expect anything, and we must have two potions in progress after we escape.
Unless… Severus, would Voldemort be likely to come in this room once he finds we've gone?
Yes. He will not trust the deatheaters when he himself has the ability to double-check. Why do you ask?
If we have something toxic in the potion, we can weaken or even kill him.
Any deatheaters entering the room before he does will be immediately aware of it.
Perhaps not. Will Voldemort want to check what the potions are? We could make it so the potions react to whoever stirs them after such an amount of time, giving off fumes… could we?
Theoretically, yes. This might take some thinking over. Did you have other ideas?
They run along the lines of: kill Voldemort, escape, graduate from Hogwarts, and live happily ever after with a prince of my choosing.
For the moment, we'll leave the last part of your future undiscussed. Let's go with escape-and-kill-Voldemort. If you have nothing specific in mind, then, think this over. Add an onion, some cedar wood, and a drop of honey to a simple energy potion, and it will immediately give off fumes potent enough to put a troll out cold.
We could devise a plan to make those three ingredients drop into the cauldron the moment Voldemort enters?
Not keyed to him, precisely. But keyed to something he has sole possession of, perhaps.
Does he drink unicorn's blood still? Hermione's recalled Harry's first-year description.
No, but unicorn's blood leaves a mark on a person… yes, that's perfect. In fact, I even know the charm we could use.
And then, what do we do with him when he's out-cold on the floor? We'll be at Hogwarts, won't we?
True. Unless… Severus paused for a minute, deep concentration on his face. Then he wrote: We could incorporate into the potion a temporary loss of power… just while he unconscious, any ongoing spells will cease to be working. The apparition ban is an ongoing spell… once the ban is removed, we can Apparate back here, and do whatever Dumbledore decides to do to his Lordship.
Hermione smiled. Partly, is was because the plan seemed that it would work, but mostly because it seemed that Snape was able even to write sarcastically.
It sounds good to me. How soon can we brew this potion?
It will take two to three days. Assuming you can last that long.
Hermione decided to ignore him. Good. If we have all the ingredients, let's start.
Hermione learned even more over the next three days. She had only done very basic adaptation in the past, and even then it was in working on potions for her own interest. Adaptation was something generally left to universities to cover, mainly because it had the potential to blow up half of Hogwarts. With only a minor mistake.
The energy potion that Severus had said was simple was not precisely so. Hermione could have made it without Severus's help, she thought, but including the loss of power properties was something that she could not have done. Then the extra ingredients had to be ground up, and Severus put a charm in place so that when Voldemort entered the room the ingredients would drop into the potion. That was done and settled, and there were still two days to go.
Those two days were, perhaps, the most frustrating of all for Hermione. There was nothing left to be done, no potions left to brew. All she had to do was wait. Hermione was not known for her patience. By lunchtime on the first of the two days she had had enough.
"Severus?" she asked. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Hmm?"
"Are you doing anything?" At this, he sat up and looked at her properly. "Not anymore," was his wry response.
"I'm sorry. I'll let you get back to examining the décor." Hermione rolled her eyes at him, and he actually cracked a smile.
"I think I've seen enough of the décor," He told her, still smiling. "Come." He patted the bed next to him gently, making his command seem more of an invitation. Hermione obliged, and leaned up against him. "I've had enough," she said. "I want to go home."
"I just want to get back to Hogwarts. I've had enough of this whole business. But… look, Hermione. There isn't any hope. Unless our side attacks the castle, we're going to be here for a while. And they don't even know where we are."
"For all we know." Hermione said hopefully, really believing in what she was saying. Then she remembered that they were getting out, and not letting anything slip to Voldemort was crucial. "Mixed blessing," she said. "Much as I want to get home, at least here we can keep this," and she leaned up to hiss him before saying, "open. At Hogwarts, well, that's not going to happen."
"I guess that's true," Severus said softly. "However, there are ways…" He trailed off, looking rather smug. Hermione sat up quickly.
"What? How? Why didn't you say something earlier?"
"I wasn't sure this was real, earlier," Severus said softly. "I had thought… perhaps… that you would change your mind."
"I haven't, and I won't." Hermione said softly. "This… is more important to me than anything before in my life."
"It is the same for me. That's why I was afraid to accept you. Accept us. I didn't want the risk of losing you, once I had you."
"I…" Hermione had to reply to that. "You won't lose me," she promised at last. "Not ever. I know you think I'm young… I know I'm young, eighteen is young. But my age doesn't change anything. But tell me; how will we be able to have our relationship open?"
"How long have we been here? A month?"
"Something like that. I think school started last week. I've missed so much!"
"That's just it. You haven't. Tell me, have you been to a lesson in the past year when you haven't already known everything that your professors told you?"
"Potions," Hermione said, smiling at him.
"Excluding Potions?" He asked, smiling back.
"No," she admitted.
"Well, let me tell you that you're certainly not behind in Potions. You have learned more with me here than you would have done in a month at University."
"Really?" Hermione asked, excited. "That means I'll be ahead when I go, and so I can probably take an extra subject, and-"
"Hermione."
"Oh, right."
"So you're obviously ahead of all your classmates by quite a way. Tell me, what have we been doing in the afternoons since we've been here?"
"Keeping up with my studies." Hermione told him, still not understanding.
"No," he told her. "We've been going ahead. And now, I'm quite certain that you know enough to pass not only your NEWTs, but also higher level papers in Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration."
"But I can't take them, surely. I mean, you take them at the end of your first year at University."
"Traditionally. You can, however, take the exams at Hogwarts, and be able to go straight to your second University year. Of course, if you take them there won't be an issue with university acceptance. Anybody capable of taking those exams a year early without a university education is welcome anywhere."
For once, Hermione was speechless. Severus seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Those exams need to be taken in a month's time. By then, I would assume we will have been found. Results come the week after. I doubt that you will be required to attend classes after having passed those papers."
"But… there would still be six months of school left," Hermione finally managed, still shocked.
"Tell me," Severus said, "What would you want to study in university?"
"Charms and Potions,' Hermione said without thinking.
"Which would you take your Master's degree in?"
"Potions," Hermione answered.
"And your thesis for the written part of the Master's examination?"
"How charms can effect and strengthen potions, focusing on defensive, medicinal, and sensory potions," Hermione said slowly.
"So you already know exactly what you plan on doing. Now, let me tell you a few things. I am one of the twenty Potions Masters in the country. Your professor Flitwick was previously a charms lecturer at EMU, and Hogwarts has one of the most extensive magical libraries in the country. I have my own personal library of Potions texts. And aside from all of that, I believe that you must be apprenticed to a Potions Master for six months before you are considered qualified to take the examinations for your Master's degree."
"Um… wow." Hermione sat still for a moment, soaking in the full implications of what Severus had told her. Then she threw herself at him, kissing and hugging.