Disclaimer ~ I don't own the characters, only the plot. Let's see what I
can make them do in this chapter!
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Ron found himself in Harry's flat. He glanced down at his wristwatch. 11:00 PM. Ginny and Harry were probably getting cozy by the fire in Harry's living room. He walked towards the room he had visited so many times.
Sure enough, Ginny was there lying asleep on Harry's lap while Harry himself looked into the dancing flames. Ron cringed as he looked into the red flames. He shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, causing Harry to look up at him.
"Ron, does Hermione know you're here?" He sat up, gently pushing Ginny's face onto the plush rug in front of his fire.
"No. I don't know where she went."
"She just left you alone at home?"
"It's a long story."
"I have time." Harry answered, standing up and folding his arms across his chest.
Ron sat in a chair next to Harry and quickly tried explaining everything that happened earlier before Hermione left.
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"Professor?" Hermione tried sliding herself across the floor. Something grabbed hold of her ankle and slid her the rest of the way; tightly wrapping it's fingers around her mouth.
He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Be quiet. Don't talk. Just hold still."
Hermione nodded her head and she felt Snape's fingers unwrap themselves from her mouth. There were so many questions she needed to ask him. Everyone thought he was dead, so what was he doing here?
For a moment she thought that she had been imagining things. She reached her hands out and let her fingers wrap themselves in the cloth of his cloak. She pulled hard and felt the heat from his body come closer.
She opened her mouth to question him, but shut it again quickly as she traced her fingers down the side of his face, stopping to feel his long, crooked nose. She removed her fingers from his face.
It was Snape. What was he going to do now? Had he brought her here? Was he going to kill her for leaving him in the Forbidden Forest to burn? It would be the perfect murder though, after all, everyone thought he was dead.
There were ways to protect wizards from fire, as she had learned from years ago in Professor Binn's class. All of the witch burnings from long ago never actually burned. They'd just cast a simple charm, and nothing would happen but a gentle tickle.
If that was the same in Snape's case, then why had he gone into hiding? It made no sense. She soon fell asleep after she felt Snape's arms wrap around her shoulder.
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Ginny stirred in her sleep. Slowly, opening one eye, she listened carefully to the voices on the couch behind her. Ron was over. She had two choices; she could either pretend to be asleep, or she could risk getting kicked out of the room by Ron.
She closed her eyes again and strained to listen to the voices. "Malfoy said that?" Harry questioned.
"Yeah, I think he was right too. I think I do still love her." Ginny smiled. She was sure Harry was smiling too. She could almost hear him smile. "Stop smiling like that Harry." A small giggle escaped Ginny's lips.
"Ginny!' Ron shot up from his chair. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to know exactly what you were talking about. Or should I say who?" Ginny smiled as she grabbed the table to support her while she climbed up off of the ground. Ron's face reddened. "Relax! I already knew. Angelina and I have been trying to get you to realize it for over a week now."
"What should I do? She probably hates me now."
"I don't think so. She wants to be forgiven as much as you want to forgive her."
"I have to go talk to her." Ron said standing up.
"No. Not now!" Ginny exclaimed. "Tomorrow. Give her some time to cool off." She pulled him down onto the couch.
"Alright." He grabbed his wand. "I'll see you Monday, Harry." With a wave and a pop, Ron was gone.
"It's about bloody time." Harry muttered.
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Hermione's eyes traced the bottom of the floor. Her eyes stopped at a crack on the floor of the wall. A small stream of light filtered in through the crack. A door. It must be morning, she thought to herself; the light wasn't there last night.
She watched as the two small shadows of someone's feet blocked the light from coming into the room. Someone was out there, listening.
She swallowed as quietly as possible and tried to hold her breath, which caught in her throat. She reached out her hand to make sure that Snape was still there, in safety. The door handle began to turn. "Relax, Hermione. You've been in worse situations." She calmly whispered to herself as the door opened.
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Ron grabbed his wand and got ready to apparate to Hermione's flat. Shaking his head he put the wand back onto the stand. He couldn't just pop into her flat. He remembered how Hermione always liked her privacy.
He'd have to do things the muggle way. He opened his door and began to walk.
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Hermione closed her eyes and sat up. A small green figure walked into the room holding a tray. "Here you is Miss. Mister be wanting some too?" The house elf asked pointing to where Snape lay on the floor.
Hermione nudged Snape with her elbow and he slowly sat up. For the first time since Hermione arrived she had finally gotten a good look at her ex- professor's face. Half of his face was burnt, the skin was smooth to the touch, but with eyes you could see scars, and the skin had melted over his left eye leaving only a small sliver to see through.
She gasped and reached out a hand to touch his face. He pushed it away, "I'm fine I assure you."
"I did that to you. I'm sorry. I wanted to take you, I couldn't. I only had enough time to take one person." The house elf looked back and forth between the two, and after setting down the tray, she hurriedly scuttled out of the room.
"I don't blame you, if I had a choice I would've picked love over a professor who gave you grief over everything."
"Almost everyday I've had to listen to the sound of your screaming in my head. No one thought that you'd made it out alive. How did you, If you don't mind my asking?" Hermione wondered as she picked up a piece of toasted bread and took a bite.
"I don't know what happened. I had no wand and the fire started to burn me. I blacked out from the pain and woke up here. How long have I been here exactly?"
"Eight years." Hermione nodded. "Eight long years."
"Eight years? I figured four." Snape smiled warmly. "I bet there are dozens of Weasleys running around the house. Shame I can't be at Hogwarts to torture them. I can imagine little freckled, redhead know-it-alls."
Hermione smiled. "Actually Ron and I aren't together anymore. We broke up about seven years ago. Until last week, I'd never even talked to either Harry or Ron."
"The Golden Trio, broke up? And what has everyone done with their lives?"
"After graduating Hogwarts, Ron, Harry, and I went off to be aurors. After a year of training I did something I shouldn't have. Ron and I broke off our engagement, and I left training. Harry and Ron are aurors now.
"I'm a medi-witch. People tell me I'm quite good, saved the minister's son a few months ago-"
"Who is the minister?"
"Mafalda Hopkirk. You know. she used to work in the Improper Use of Magic Department."
"And the Malfoy's?"
"Lucius died during the war. No one knows what happened to Narcissa, although everyone thinks she went into hiding after it was discovered that he was a death eater. Draco is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"What about Longbottom?"
"Neville? Hmm. I haven't heard from him in ages. Not since the night in the Forbidden Forest. Never gave it much thought. I suppose if he were dead I would've heard something about it."
"Curious. How's Dumbledore?"
"Oh he's great! Hasn't aged a day since I left Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall is still teaching Transfiguration. I saw her running around Hogwarts as a cat last week."
"Are any of our alumni married?"
Hermione smiled. "Fred and Angelina! Angelina's pregnant with twins. Hopefully not another Fred and George. And Harry and Ginny are engaged to be married."
"So, how did you end up here?"
"It's a long story. It started out last week in the Leaky Cauldron." After Hermione ahd explained everything that had happened in the past week, Snape listening the entire time, he finally spoke.
"What do you think happened?"
"I don't know. I never asked Ron what he saw. All we know is that it was really big, then really small. My guess is a polyanimagi. I have no idea if that's who took me. To be honest I have no idea what's going on."
"Well, your guess is better than mine. At least you know what's going on out there." Snape nodded. "Are you going to eat that?" He asked pointing to her piece of toast. She shook her head and put it in his hand. He needed it much more than she did.
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Ron goes to Hermione's house in the next chapter. I'm going to get to work on it right away, so it should be up today. (Three chapters in less than 24 hours? Woah) Please review. Tell me what you like/don't like.
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Ron found himself in Harry's flat. He glanced down at his wristwatch. 11:00 PM. Ginny and Harry were probably getting cozy by the fire in Harry's living room. He walked towards the room he had visited so many times.
Sure enough, Ginny was there lying asleep on Harry's lap while Harry himself looked into the dancing flames. Ron cringed as he looked into the red flames. He shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, causing Harry to look up at him.
"Ron, does Hermione know you're here?" He sat up, gently pushing Ginny's face onto the plush rug in front of his fire.
"No. I don't know where she went."
"She just left you alone at home?"
"It's a long story."
"I have time." Harry answered, standing up and folding his arms across his chest.
Ron sat in a chair next to Harry and quickly tried explaining everything that happened earlier before Hermione left.
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"Professor?" Hermione tried sliding herself across the floor. Something grabbed hold of her ankle and slid her the rest of the way; tightly wrapping it's fingers around her mouth.
He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Be quiet. Don't talk. Just hold still."
Hermione nodded her head and she felt Snape's fingers unwrap themselves from her mouth. There were so many questions she needed to ask him. Everyone thought he was dead, so what was he doing here?
For a moment she thought that she had been imagining things. She reached her hands out and let her fingers wrap themselves in the cloth of his cloak. She pulled hard and felt the heat from his body come closer.
She opened her mouth to question him, but shut it again quickly as she traced her fingers down the side of his face, stopping to feel his long, crooked nose. She removed her fingers from his face.
It was Snape. What was he going to do now? Had he brought her here? Was he going to kill her for leaving him in the Forbidden Forest to burn? It would be the perfect murder though, after all, everyone thought he was dead.
There were ways to protect wizards from fire, as she had learned from years ago in Professor Binn's class. All of the witch burnings from long ago never actually burned. They'd just cast a simple charm, and nothing would happen but a gentle tickle.
If that was the same in Snape's case, then why had he gone into hiding? It made no sense. She soon fell asleep after she felt Snape's arms wrap around her shoulder.
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Ginny stirred in her sleep. Slowly, opening one eye, she listened carefully to the voices on the couch behind her. Ron was over. She had two choices; she could either pretend to be asleep, or she could risk getting kicked out of the room by Ron.
She closed her eyes again and strained to listen to the voices. "Malfoy said that?" Harry questioned.
"Yeah, I think he was right too. I think I do still love her." Ginny smiled. She was sure Harry was smiling too. She could almost hear him smile. "Stop smiling like that Harry." A small giggle escaped Ginny's lips.
"Ginny!' Ron shot up from his chair. "How much of that did you hear?"
"Enough to know exactly what you were talking about. Or should I say who?" Ginny smiled as she grabbed the table to support her while she climbed up off of the ground. Ron's face reddened. "Relax! I already knew. Angelina and I have been trying to get you to realize it for over a week now."
"What should I do? She probably hates me now."
"I don't think so. She wants to be forgiven as much as you want to forgive her."
"I have to go talk to her." Ron said standing up.
"No. Not now!" Ginny exclaimed. "Tomorrow. Give her some time to cool off." She pulled him down onto the couch.
"Alright." He grabbed his wand. "I'll see you Monday, Harry." With a wave and a pop, Ron was gone.
"It's about bloody time." Harry muttered.
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Hermione's eyes traced the bottom of the floor. Her eyes stopped at a crack on the floor of the wall. A small stream of light filtered in through the crack. A door. It must be morning, she thought to herself; the light wasn't there last night.
She watched as the two small shadows of someone's feet blocked the light from coming into the room. Someone was out there, listening.
She swallowed as quietly as possible and tried to hold her breath, which caught in her throat. She reached out her hand to make sure that Snape was still there, in safety. The door handle began to turn. "Relax, Hermione. You've been in worse situations." She calmly whispered to herself as the door opened.
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Ron grabbed his wand and got ready to apparate to Hermione's flat. Shaking his head he put the wand back onto the stand. He couldn't just pop into her flat. He remembered how Hermione always liked her privacy.
He'd have to do things the muggle way. He opened his door and began to walk.
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Hermione closed her eyes and sat up. A small green figure walked into the room holding a tray. "Here you is Miss. Mister be wanting some too?" The house elf asked pointing to where Snape lay on the floor.
Hermione nudged Snape with her elbow and he slowly sat up. For the first time since Hermione arrived she had finally gotten a good look at her ex- professor's face. Half of his face was burnt, the skin was smooth to the touch, but with eyes you could see scars, and the skin had melted over his left eye leaving only a small sliver to see through.
She gasped and reached out a hand to touch his face. He pushed it away, "I'm fine I assure you."
"I did that to you. I'm sorry. I wanted to take you, I couldn't. I only had enough time to take one person." The house elf looked back and forth between the two, and after setting down the tray, she hurriedly scuttled out of the room.
"I don't blame you, if I had a choice I would've picked love over a professor who gave you grief over everything."
"Almost everyday I've had to listen to the sound of your screaming in my head. No one thought that you'd made it out alive. How did you, If you don't mind my asking?" Hermione wondered as she picked up a piece of toasted bread and took a bite.
"I don't know what happened. I had no wand and the fire started to burn me. I blacked out from the pain and woke up here. How long have I been here exactly?"
"Eight years." Hermione nodded. "Eight long years."
"Eight years? I figured four." Snape smiled warmly. "I bet there are dozens of Weasleys running around the house. Shame I can't be at Hogwarts to torture them. I can imagine little freckled, redhead know-it-alls."
Hermione smiled. "Actually Ron and I aren't together anymore. We broke up about seven years ago. Until last week, I'd never even talked to either Harry or Ron."
"The Golden Trio, broke up? And what has everyone done with their lives?"
"After graduating Hogwarts, Ron, Harry, and I went off to be aurors. After a year of training I did something I shouldn't have. Ron and I broke off our engagement, and I left training. Harry and Ron are aurors now.
"I'm a medi-witch. People tell me I'm quite good, saved the minister's son a few months ago-"
"Who is the minister?"
"Mafalda Hopkirk. You know. she used to work in the Improper Use of Magic Department."
"And the Malfoy's?"
"Lucius died during the war. No one knows what happened to Narcissa, although everyone thinks she went into hiding after it was discovered that he was a death eater. Draco is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"What about Longbottom?"
"Neville? Hmm. I haven't heard from him in ages. Not since the night in the Forbidden Forest. Never gave it much thought. I suppose if he were dead I would've heard something about it."
"Curious. How's Dumbledore?"
"Oh he's great! Hasn't aged a day since I left Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall is still teaching Transfiguration. I saw her running around Hogwarts as a cat last week."
"Are any of our alumni married?"
Hermione smiled. "Fred and Angelina! Angelina's pregnant with twins. Hopefully not another Fred and George. And Harry and Ginny are engaged to be married."
"So, how did you end up here?"
"It's a long story. It started out last week in the Leaky Cauldron." After Hermione ahd explained everything that had happened in the past week, Snape listening the entire time, he finally spoke.
"What do you think happened?"
"I don't know. I never asked Ron what he saw. All we know is that it was really big, then really small. My guess is a polyanimagi. I have no idea if that's who took me. To be honest I have no idea what's going on."
"Well, your guess is better than mine. At least you know what's going on out there." Snape nodded. "Are you going to eat that?" He asked pointing to her piece of toast. She shook her head and put it in his hand. He needed it much more than she did.
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Ron goes to Hermione's house in the next chapter. I'm going to get to work on it right away, so it should be up today. (Three chapters in less than 24 hours? Woah) Please review. Tell me what you like/don't like.