Disclaimer - I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters . . . .
Dammit!!
A/N - Well . . I must apologize for not updating sooner. I gots a new computer though *Grinz* Only thing is, I didn't get a word processor until today. Hopefully the chapter after this will be really quick in coming.
Chapter Seven
Hermione was on her way to the library to meet Harry and Ron. She had the letter they had written her and, against her better judgement, she also had the letter that had arrived for Harry.
Hermione wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. She was too busy thinking about what advantages there were for having Snape under a spell. So it wasn't really much of a surprise when she didn't notice that the staircase underneath her feet had started to move.
When the staircase stopped moving, it didn't match up with another. It had just stopped in midair. Hermione was oblivious to this and she just kept walking, climbing a staircase that led nowhere.
She never noticed the shadow walking behind her. She was still thinking of a way to turn the problem to her advantage. She stepped up to where the next step should have been, her foot reached out to nothingness and she tumbled off the stairs.
Hermione screamed but she had the sense to grab hold of the edge of the staircase. She didn't want to fall, it looked like if she let go she would fall forever. She had read a muggle book where a girl had fallen down a rabbit hole 'I wonder what it feels like' She thought.
Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up. As soon as her feet touched the floor her knees gave way and she fell into the arms of her rescuer. His arms immediately wrapped around her.
He was tall and well built. Hermione could feel the muscles under his robe. She suddenly felt cold, a stark contrast to the warmth she had felt as she fell into his embrace. The stairs had moved while she stood there, lost in her thoughts. This time it had stopped on a staircase like it was supposed to.
Hermione stepped back from the person that has saved her and turned away without looking at his face. She ran up the stairs into the relative safety of the library.
"Hermione, why do you run from me?" Called Snape as she ran away from him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Hermione sat down at the table that Ron and Harry occupied.
She muttered under her breath, "Why do I run from you indeed!"
Harry looked up from what he was reading. It was ironically 'Hogwarts: A history'
"Who are you running from?" He noticed how shaken she was, "Hermione? Are you alright? What happened to you?"
"I swear, if it was Malfoy again . . ." Ron started before he was stopped by a cold sneering voice.
"If it was Malfoy, you would swear what?" Draco Malfoy looked at them with his trademark smirk. Hermione sighed; she didn't need this crap, not now, not ever.
"Back off Malfoy, stay away from my friends." Harry's voice was dangerously low.
"Or what Potter?" Draco spat the name, "Your mummy isn't here to save you this time."
Harry reached for his wand.
"Besides, I wouldn't waste my precious time on a mudblood, especially one as ugly as her." Draco said in a cold, calculating voice. Hermione was close to tears, but she didn't want Draco to know.
"Mr Malfoy," An equally cold voice called out. "50 points from Slytherin for degrading another student."
Draco's jaw dropped, "But . . . professor Snape . . ."
"Do you dare argue? Or do you want me to make it a hundred points?" The professor clearly didn't mind taking points off his own house at all.
Draco glared at the three friends, he knew it was their fault, but he didn't know how they managed it. He walked out of the library without a backwards glance.
"Hermione, Miss Granger, are you alright?" Snape's voice had changed. It was no longer the cold, impersonal voice that he used when talking to everyone else. It was still cold, but had a caring quality they had never heard before.
Hermione nodded, she then excused herself on the pretext of doing homework.
After she had left the library Snape struggled to control his emotions, he finally got himself sorted and turned to the boys.
"Did you get it?" He asked through clenched teeth
"Get what professor?" Harry couldn't think of anything he had received that Snape would be interested in.
"Go back . . . back to your dorm. Find the . . . letter." Snape was at war with his mind. Part of him wanted them to find the letter and part of him never wanted them to lay eyes on it.
The two boys left the library thinking Snape had finally cracked it. Snape sank into a chair, he smiled. They would never find the antidote. Especially since they didn't have any books on it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Harry and Ron were walking back to the Gryffindor commonroom slowly. They were both thinking about what had just happened.
"Harry" Ron began.
"Mmm" Harry half replied.
"Why do you think he called her Hermione?"
"Well, maybe because it's her name." Harry had totally missed the point.
"You know as well as I do that he always calls students by their last name. You know, Mr Potter. Miss Granger." Ron was impatient
"Oh, yeah. But he did call her Miss Granger, didn't he?" Harry was still lost in his thoughts
"Yes, but he did after he called her Hermione. I want to know why!" Ron felt like punching Harry for being so thick.
By this time they had reached the portrait of the fat lady who was off telling all her friends how she was on this new diet. They knocked and waited for someone to open the door for them.
"Well?" Ron was persistent.
"Well, that may be because you put a fucking love spell on him" A voice hissed from behind them.
"Hermione!" Both boys yelped, but it was Harry who continued, "You don't swear!"
"I know, but I think I have every right to be angry at you two." She had just come back from an appointment she had with Dumbledore.
When Fred opened the door for them and they stepped inside they walked straight to Hermione's desk to look through the books she had found.
They weren't there.
"Where?" Hermione was confused, she had told everyone to stay away from her desk. Who had taken them?
"One of the first years must have returned them, no need to worry 'Mione. We have something we need to tell you anyway." Harry wanted to see what she thought about the thing they had seen.
They sat down at one of the tables and started talking. It took the boys half an hour to tell Hermione what had happened. They waited for her reply; she sat there in silence for a couple of minutes.
She looked disbelieving then she stood up, and slapped Harry across the face . . . hard. She left the two boys staring after her as she ran up to her room. She didn't want to believe it, but as she fell asleep she remembered how warm and safe she had felt in Snape's arms.
Zel
A/N - Well . . I must apologize for not updating sooner. I gots a new computer though *Grinz* Only thing is, I didn't get a word processor until today. Hopefully the chapter after this will be really quick in coming.
Chapter Seven
Hermione was on her way to the library to meet Harry and Ron. She had the letter they had written her and, against her better judgement, she also had the letter that had arrived for Harry.
Hermione wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. She was too busy thinking about what advantages there were for having Snape under a spell. So it wasn't really much of a surprise when she didn't notice that the staircase underneath her feet had started to move.
When the staircase stopped moving, it didn't match up with another. It had just stopped in midair. Hermione was oblivious to this and she just kept walking, climbing a staircase that led nowhere.
She never noticed the shadow walking behind her. She was still thinking of a way to turn the problem to her advantage. She stepped up to where the next step should have been, her foot reached out to nothingness and she tumbled off the stairs.
Hermione screamed but she had the sense to grab hold of the edge of the staircase. She didn't want to fall, it looked like if she let go she would fall forever. She had read a muggle book where a girl had fallen down a rabbit hole 'I wonder what it feels like' She thought.
Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up. As soon as her feet touched the floor her knees gave way and she fell into the arms of her rescuer. His arms immediately wrapped around her.
He was tall and well built. Hermione could feel the muscles under his robe. She suddenly felt cold, a stark contrast to the warmth she had felt as she fell into his embrace. The stairs had moved while she stood there, lost in her thoughts. This time it had stopped on a staircase like it was supposed to.
Hermione stepped back from the person that has saved her and turned away without looking at his face. She ran up the stairs into the relative safety of the library.
"Hermione, why do you run from me?" Called Snape as she ran away from him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Hermione sat down at the table that Ron and Harry occupied.
She muttered under her breath, "Why do I run from you indeed!"
Harry looked up from what he was reading. It was ironically 'Hogwarts: A history'
"Who are you running from?" He noticed how shaken she was, "Hermione? Are you alright? What happened to you?"
"I swear, if it was Malfoy again . . ." Ron started before he was stopped by a cold sneering voice.
"If it was Malfoy, you would swear what?" Draco Malfoy looked at them with his trademark smirk. Hermione sighed; she didn't need this crap, not now, not ever.
"Back off Malfoy, stay away from my friends." Harry's voice was dangerously low.
"Or what Potter?" Draco spat the name, "Your mummy isn't here to save you this time."
Harry reached for his wand.
"Besides, I wouldn't waste my precious time on a mudblood, especially one as ugly as her." Draco said in a cold, calculating voice. Hermione was close to tears, but she didn't want Draco to know.
"Mr Malfoy," An equally cold voice called out. "50 points from Slytherin for degrading another student."
Draco's jaw dropped, "But . . . professor Snape . . ."
"Do you dare argue? Or do you want me to make it a hundred points?" The professor clearly didn't mind taking points off his own house at all.
Draco glared at the three friends, he knew it was their fault, but he didn't know how they managed it. He walked out of the library without a backwards glance.
"Hermione, Miss Granger, are you alright?" Snape's voice had changed. It was no longer the cold, impersonal voice that he used when talking to everyone else. It was still cold, but had a caring quality they had never heard before.
Hermione nodded, she then excused herself on the pretext of doing homework.
After she had left the library Snape struggled to control his emotions, he finally got himself sorted and turned to the boys.
"Did you get it?" He asked through clenched teeth
"Get what professor?" Harry couldn't think of anything he had received that Snape would be interested in.
"Go back . . . back to your dorm. Find the . . . letter." Snape was at war with his mind. Part of him wanted them to find the letter and part of him never wanted them to lay eyes on it.
The two boys left the library thinking Snape had finally cracked it. Snape sank into a chair, he smiled. They would never find the antidote. Especially since they didn't have any books on it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Harry and Ron were walking back to the Gryffindor commonroom slowly. They were both thinking about what had just happened.
"Harry" Ron began.
"Mmm" Harry half replied.
"Why do you think he called her Hermione?"
"Well, maybe because it's her name." Harry had totally missed the point.
"You know as well as I do that he always calls students by their last name. You know, Mr Potter. Miss Granger." Ron was impatient
"Oh, yeah. But he did call her Miss Granger, didn't he?" Harry was still lost in his thoughts
"Yes, but he did after he called her Hermione. I want to know why!" Ron felt like punching Harry for being so thick.
By this time they had reached the portrait of the fat lady who was off telling all her friends how she was on this new diet. They knocked and waited for someone to open the door for them.
"Well?" Ron was persistent.
"Well, that may be because you put a fucking love spell on him" A voice hissed from behind them.
"Hermione!" Both boys yelped, but it was Harry who continued, "You don't swear!"
"I know, but I think I have every right to be angry at you two." She had just come back from an appointment she had with Dumbledore.
When Fred opened the door for them and they stepped inside they walked straight to Hermione's desk to look through the books she had found.
They weren't there.
"Where?" Hermione was confused, she had told everyone to stay away from her desk. Who had taken them?
"One of the first years must have returned them, no need to worry 'Mione. We have something we need to tell you anyway." Harry wanted to see what she thought about the thing they had seen.
They sat down at one of the tables and started talking. It took the boys half an hour to tell Hermione what had happened. They waited for her reply; she sat there in silence for a couple of minutes.
She looked disbelieving then she stood up, and slapped Harry across the face . . . hard. She left the two boys staring after her as she ran up to her room. She didn't want to believe it, but as she fell asleep she remembered how warm and safe she had felt in Snape's arms.
Zel