Usual disclaimer applies…Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowling.
The Secret
Chapter Ten; A Dream, Some Talks, and A Potions Class
"Hermione! Wait up!"
Hermione spun around when she heard someone calling her name. She was on her way to the Gryffindor common room, and was surprised to see someone else in the hallways. She was doubly surprised when she saw who it was that had called her.
"Draco, what are you doing out here?" she asked curiously, glancing around to see if there were any teachers about.
"I was waiting for you. I saw you leave before the sorting, and then I saw Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape leave too, all before dinner. That's never happened before, and I figured it had something to do with you. Did it?" he asked, equally curious and speaking unusually fast for a Malfoy.
Hermione laughed, "Wow, I think that's the longest thing you've ever said to me without an insult. I'm impressed. And yes, it was about me."
A couple of seconds went by, with Draco looking at Hermione expectantly.
"Well, are you going to tell me why they all needed to see you?" he finally asked exasperated.
"Actually, no," Hermione answered with a smile. "Not right now anyway. Right now, I want to just go take a shower and go to sleep. So, since we have Double Potions with you tomorrow morning, I'll see you then bright and early."
"Fine then, don't tell me," he said with a mockingly hurt expression on his face. "Don't expect me to act like this tomorrow morning," he warned with a half-smile.
"I didn't expect you to. In fact, if you do, I would've thought you'd gone completely bonkers," she replied with a grin. "But seriously, I need to go to sleep. Haven't been sleeping very well, but that's ok. Anyway, see you tomorrow morning."
"Yea, g'night Hermione," he said softly, staring at her as she turned and walked away.
As she reached the end of the hall and was about to turn the corner, she glanced back to where they had just stood. She was surprised to see Draco still standing there, watching her walk away. She smiled softly at him, and then started walking again.
As Hermione made her way up to the common room, she thought about how different Draco was acting this year. She had been extremely surprised at the announcement he had made on the train. She was strangely pleased about what he had said, and how he had acted. He had noticed her leaving this evening before the sorting, and he had been waiting for her to come out of the Headmaster's office. She wondered why he was suddenly so interested in her, and then remembered the look on his face when she had turned around.
He had been staring at her intently, even when she was walking away. She had felt his gaze on her back, which is why she had turned around. And when she had turned around, he lifted one side of his lips into an answering half-smile. When she had smiled back, he had blushed slightly, which surprised Hermione.
During her musings, she had reached the Gryffindor common room. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she gave the Fat Lady the password, and entered the room. As expected, Harry, Ron and Ginny were sitting in the armchairs by the fire. They were the only ones still in the room, and were obviously waiting for her. They didn't notice her at first, so she quietly walked over to where they were sitting, listening to their conversation.
"But what if it was something about Voldemort? Sorry Ron," Harry said, quickly apologizing as Ron shuddered slightly.
"I doubt it was about that, I mean Hermione's only a fifth year! What could she do that the older and more experienced witches and wizards couldn't?" asked Ron incredulously.
::Wouldn't he be surprised?:: Hermione thought to herself wryly.
"You guys, whatever it was, I'm sure Hermione will tell us. I mean, she always has in the past," Ginny reasoned.
"Ginny's right you guys. You know I'd tell you if anything was wrong," Hermione interrupted them, causing the three to jump out of their chairs in shock.
"Merlin, 'Mione! You scared the bugger out of me!" exclaimed Ron, placing a hand over his racing heart.
"Really Hermione, we didn't even hear the portrait open. When did you get so good at sneaking up on people, huh?" asked Harry with a smile.
Hermione smiled mysteriously, but refused to answer.
"Hermione, what did Dumbledore want?" asked Ginny, after everyone sat down again.
"We were discussing my timetable for this year. You guys know that I'm taking more classes than almost any other student. I also asked Dumbledore if I could have private tutoring lessons with some of the professors so that I'll be ready for the O.W.L.S. at the end of the year," she told them, bracing herself for their explosions.
"Are you kidding? Like you need any tutoring! You could probably pass the O.W.L.S. right now with flying colors. You'd probably do better on your N.E.W.T.S. now than some of the seventh years!" cried Ron in disbelief, shocked that one of his best friends took studying so seriously.
"Come on Ron, you know Hermione loves to study! Leave her alone about it," chided Ginny. "Although I do agree with him on the passing of the O.W.L.S., Hermione," she finished with a smile.
"Thanks then. But seriously, I really want to do well, so I'm going to be tutored in Transfigurations, Potions, Charms, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. After dinner almost every night, I think for an hour or so, I won't be here. I think that closer to the tests, I'm going to spending more time with them too," she finished.
"For Merlin's sake, Hermione, when do you plan to breathe?" asked Harry.
"Yea 'Mione. Don't you think it's a bit much to start now when we have the whole year? Its kinda crazy!" agreed Ron.
"Guys, lay off! This is what I want to do, alright? And nothing you're going to say is going to make me change my mind, so just drop it. Now I'm tired, so I'm going to bed! Good night," she huffed, turning on her heels and marching up to the fifth year girls' dormitories.
"Jeeze, what's with her?" asked Ron.
"You just insulted her, you dolt," said Ginny, exasperated. "I'm going to bed too. It's late. You guys should probably go up too. Don't you always have double Potions with Slytherins bright and early on Monday's?" she asked, grinning evilly.
"Damn!" swore Ron.
"Yea, we don't really want to be falling asleep in that class, or being late either. Night Gin'," Harry said, pulling Ron to his feet.
The three made their way up the stairs and Ginny left for her room as Ron and Harry continued to the fifth floor boys' dormitories.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
She was in a room. It was different from the last room she was in. Somehow, she knew that she wasn't in Hogwarts. It was…a home, a living room.
::Cozy looking and lived in,:: Hermione thought.
She knew she was dreaming, yet she didn't know how. But she had learned to recognize the signs of being in a dream. Such as the fact that she automatically knew certain details about her environment, and that she wasn't able to leave the room she was currently in. This meant that whatever she was destined to see was going to take place in this room.
Looking around her, Hermione quickly took in her surroundings.
She was in a combined living room and sunroom of some sorts. A deep blue carpet covered the floor, plush and soft looking. The walls were covered in blue paint, lighter than the color of the carpet. Over the plain paint was an even lighter blue that looked like it was sponge-painted onto the walls. Over that, a creamy white had been feather-dusted onto the wall, giving the room a bit of color, as the walls got progressively lighter.
A huge window covered one wall, with beautiful drapes that matched the color of the carpets.
An immensely comfortable looking beige leather couch filled the wall opposite the window. Two armchairs that matched the couch were positioned under the windows, with a glass table sitting between the two.
One entire wall was occupied by a floor to ceiling bookcase that was overflowing with books. There were two tables, one on each end of the couch, that were also piled with books.
The space remaining on the walls were filled with paintings of all different varieties, which Hermione was now looking at. Once finished studying the art, and still waiting for something to happen, she made her way over to the bookcase and began reading some of the spines. She was extremely impressed by the variety of books, and was sorely disappointed that she could not actually touch or read any of the books. She filed some of the more interesting looking titles away in her mind for future reference.
As she was making her way to the end of the bookcase, she suddenly heard shouts coming from the next room, which looked like a huge kitchen.
"I don't want you going back there!!" a woman yelled, obviously distressed.
"I can't just stop! There are so many ways that I can help, that I can stop things from happening!" a man yelled back at her.
An aggravated huff was heard as a woman marched into the room that Hermione was in.
The woman was slightly taller than Hermione, but more mature and definitely older, probably in her late thirties. She had shoulder length curly blonde hair and startling blue eyes that were staring desperately at the man who followed her into the room.
Hermione gasped in surprise.
"Uncle Sev" she whispered, unheard by the other two. She was startled by his appearance. This Severus looked to be the same age as the one in Hermione's previous dream. However, in this one, his face was gaunt and haunted. He was deathly pale, and incredibly thin, but the worst were his eyes.
The woman also seemed to think there was something wrong with the haunted look in his eyes, for she exclaimed, "Severus, how much longer can you put yourself through this torture? You're practically killing yourself!! And if you're not beating yourself up, you're letting him walk all over you and force you to do things that are destroying your soul! How can you even consider going back to him?!" she cried, tears forming in her eyes.
"How can I not go back?" he roared back. "How can I refuse Albus when I can save innocent people's lives…when I can redeem myself for what I have done in the past?"
"Why do you keep blaming yourself? You were a kid, Sev! And the past years you have spent as a spy for Albus have more than paid your debt to society! Why can't you forgive yourself? Others have forgiven you already, but you still punish yourself!"
"Who am I to judge when I have made amends for what I have done? How can you know that I haven't already? How can you believe that these few years as a spy has cancelled out the years spent torturing and killing innocent people? How can you ask me not to back there?" he asked, flinging himself into one of the armchairs in defeat, holding his head in his hands.
The woman kneeled in front of him, replacing his hands with her own. Forcing his head up, she looked at his anguished face and replied softly, "Do you know how much it kills me to see you go every time you are summoned? I am constantly afraid that you'll be uncovered, or that Aurors will show up at one of your meetings. I sit in agony every second you are gone, thinking that it might have been the last time I'll ever see you! Please don't put me through that…don't put yourself through the pain anymore," she pleaded, now hugging him tightly as tears streamed down her face.
"Rose," Severus whispered, his voice breaking. "Please don't ask me to do this…I need to do this. For myself, for Albus, for the innocent lives I can save. I will be alright. I promise you that I will never leave you!" he promised vehemently.
"How can you keep that promise though? How can you be so sure? We were so sure about Lila…" she cut off, sobbing uncontrollably now.
"Oh Rose…my sweet Rose. That is why I have to go back. So others won't lose their precious children like we had to. I need to do this, darling. Please understand," he pleaded.
"Severus…I…I don't think I can handle it anymore," she whispered, heartbroken.
Hermione gasped at this, as did Severus, his face draining of what little color it previously held.
"Wh-what do you mean?" he whispered, dreading what she might be implying.
"I…I don't think I can cope with losing you, not after losing Rose. I don't think I can put myself through this torture for much longer," she said sadly, tears still streaming down her face.
"Please," Severus whispered softly. "Please, don't leave me Rose. I need you. I don't think I would be able to survive without you. Please don't leave.
Tears were streaming down Hermione's face as Rose slowly pulled herself out of Severus' embrace, sitting back on her heels.
"Will you keep going back to him, Sev?" she asked quietly, hiccupping from subsiding sobs.
"Don't make me choose…please don't make me choose," Severus pleaded softly, brokenly, shaking his head slowly back and forth.
"I need to know Severus. Please don't go back to him," she begged one last time.
Severus looked at her sadly for several minutes before slumping forward, head in his hands once more. "I can't stop my work, Rose. I can't break my oath to Albus," came him muffled reply.
Anger flashing in her eyes, Rose stood up and started pacing the room. "What about your vows to me, Severus? I know this is important to you, God, I know! But your safety and our love is important to me!"
"How can you expect me to choose then? You're making me choose between the lives of innocent people and the woman I love with my entire heart, body and soul! Please don't make me choose!" Severus cried, standing up to face Rose.
"So you won't leave him. You'd stay with that evil bastard, the one who killed your own daughter right in front of you! The one who forces you to do things that still haunt your nightmares?"
"Don't you think I hate him for that? Why do you think it's so hard for me to choose? By continuing to help Albus, I'm working against that bastard! But I don't want to lose you! I wouldn't be able to live without you, Rose!"
"I can't take the constant fear, the agony of waiting though," she whispered.
"But how can you make me choose?"
"I need to know, Sev. Would you be willing to give up spying?"
Severus looked at her in despair for several minutes before answering quietly, eyes filled with heartache, "No."
Hermione gasped again, drawing her hand to cover her mouth in shock.
Rose looked absolutely staggered herself, physically stepping back from Severus. New tears threatened to fall as she looked at him with hurt and misery in her eyes, before whispering, "So be it," and running from the room.
Severus, looking as if his heart had just shattered to millions of pieces, which it had, started to run after her, before stopping dead in his track. Running a hand through his hair, he collapsed onto the couch and broke down, sobbing uncontrollably.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hermione woke up with sobs wracking her body. She pulled her legs up to her chest, and buried her face in her knees, continuing to sob hysterically. She must have been loud, for Lavender flung open the bed coverings hastily, asking worriedly, "Hermione….Hermione what happened? What's wrong?"
When Hermione didn't answer, just continued to sob and rock back and forth, Lavender climbed onto her bed and enfolded her in a hug, stroking her hair. She whispered repeatedly, "Shhh, Hermione, everything's going to be alright. Shhh." She continued this until Hermione calmed down, her sobs receding to sporadic hiccups.
"Hermione, what happened?" Lavender asked once Hermione had calmed down, concern lacing her words.
"I…I had a dream…th-that's all," she whispered.
"How could a dream affect you so deeply though?" Lavender asked incredulously.
"O-over the summer, my dreams started to b-become life-like. I started being able to feel emotions and pain and stuff in them, transferring the emotions to when I wake up as well. I woke up like this more than once. It's really nothing," she explained.
"Alright," Lavender said hesitantly. "If you're sure you're alright…"
"Yes," Hermione said.
Lavender gave Hermione one more looked that was filled with concern, before getting up to go back to her own bed.
"Lavender," Hermione called out, stopping her. "Thank you," she finished softly.
Lavender turned back to Hermione and gave her a hug, whispering "Anytime, Hermione. Anytime."
As Lavender made her way back to her own bed, Hermione sat thinking about what she had just seen. It was heart-wrenching. She suddenly had a desperate urge to see her uncle.
She quietly got out of bed, shoving her feet into slippers and throwing a robe on. She placed an invisibility spell on herself that she had read in a book over the summer. She tiptoed out of the dorm and through the portrait hole.
She hurried quietly through the empty and drafty halls of Hogwarts, getting colder as she progressed towards the dungeons. She thanked whatever Gods were looking down on her that she didn't come across any teachers.
As she reached the door that led to her uncle's private quarters, Hermione belatedly wondered what time it was, and whether or not Severus would be awake.
::Too late now,:: she thought to herself.
She quietly knocked twice on his door, and then stepped back, waiting for an answer. When none came, she knocked two more times, this time slightly louder.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and an angry looking Severus stared out into the hallway. Not seeing anyone, his eyes darkened dangerously, and he growled, "I know someone's out there. Show yourself before I start cursing at thin air."
Hermione silently cursed herself for forgetting that she was under the invisibility spell, and quickly whispered, "Finite Incantatem."
"Alexial," Severus said in surprise as she appeared out of thin air. He quickly noticed her state of disarray, as well as the tear streaks on her face.
"Uncle Sev…" she started, and then paused as her eyes started to tear again.
He quickly ushered her into his rooms and shut the door. He led her to the fireplace in the room and sat her down in one of the comfortable armchairs.
He could tell that she was forcing the tears back, to keep them from falling. Worried, he asked her quietly, "Alexial, what happened?"
"I had a dream, Uncle Sev."
Severus looked slightly surprised that a dream would cause such a reaction, and then became worried about what type of dream it could have been.
"Alexial, what did you see, honey?"
"It was of the past…of you and…and Rose. I think it was your last fight…it was horrible," she said softly, turning and throwing her arms around Severus's neck.
Severus sat completely still, not moving, absorbing her words. Memories of that night flooded his mind, and his eyes became dark and cold. He slowly untangled Hermione's arm from around his neck and stood up, walking into his bedroom.
Hermione was silently berating herself for bringing up the dream to her uncle. She should have just written to her mother.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard something crash in the next room. She jumped out of her chair as she heard something else hit the wall and splinter. By the time she made it to the door of the bedroom, two more things had been broken. She was just reaching the door when Severus threw a glass at the wall to the right of the door. It shattered, and Hermione was hit by several pieces of splintered glass.
She gasped in shock and pain, quickly bringing her hands up to her face where one of the larger pieces had embedded itself in her cheek. Stepping back from the doorway, she whispered, "Uncle Sev."
When he didn't hear her, she whispered a bit louder, "Uncle Severus."
Still nothing.
She spoke sharply, pain lacing her words. "Severus!"
He whirled around from where he was about to throw another glass, and it slipped from his grasp as he saw her face and right shoulder and arm. The color drained from his flushed face and his mouth opened and closed as if to say something but couldn't.
"Help," Hermione said dazed, eyes staring blankly at him, removing one of her hands from her face where blood was oozing steadily.
He quickly rushed forward, propelling Hermione towards the fireplace, where he quickly flung Floo powder in and yelled, "The Hospital Wing." Grabbing her good arm, he hurled her into the fire, quickly following.
When they arrived, it was dark and silent in the wing.
"Poppy!!" Severus roared, searching for bandages in the medicine cabinet.
"Poppy, wake up!" he roared again, and suddenly one of the doors in the wing was flung open, allowing Poppy Pomfrey to come bursting out, clad in pajamas and a robe, hair disheveled.
"What is it? What happened?" she asked quickly, then gasped on seeing Hermione's state. Hermione's eyes had a blank look in them, and her hands were shaking.
"She's in shock, and it looks like she's lost some blood. What happened Severus?" she asked, quickly going to one of her cabinets and withdrawing equipment.
Pushing Hermione down into a chair, she pried her hands away from her face and was shocked at how deep the piece of glass was embedded in her cheek.
"Severus, go get a blanket and wrap it tightly around her, leaving her right arm out. She's in shock, and I have to do something about this piece of glass," she commanded quickly.
After doing what he was told, Severus told her about what had happened. During the explanation, Poppy quickly and efficiently removed the pieces of glass from Hermione's face, her shoulder and her arm. She healed the shallower scrapes and cuts, and bandaged the ones that would need to heal on their own, the worst being the one on her cheek. She then had Severus carry Hermione to a bed, as she went to fetch two potions. With Severus's help, they were able to get Hermione to drink a calming potion and a dream-less sleep potion.
When Hermione finally drifted off into sleep, Poppy finally turned Severus, who was sitting in a chair with his head in his hands.
"Severus," she said, walking up to him.
He lifted his head, and she was shocked to see such heart-wrenching emotion in his usual cold and unfeeling eyes.
"She'll be alright, Severus. You should probably go tell Albus what happened. And you might want to owl her parents about what happened and that she is alright. I have to write a report in her medical files. She'll be asleep until morning, she shouldn't wake up till then," she said, putting a comforting hand on Severus's shoulder.
"Thank you Poppy. I…I can't believe how close I came to seriously hurting her," he said, his voice shaking. "I mean, if the glass had been just a little bit higher, she could have lost her vision! How could I have been so stupid as to do that when she was there!" he exclaimed angrily, shaking his head in disgust.
Poppy was surprised and confused as to why Hermione had been in Severus's chambers, but decided not to say anything. Instead, she quietly helped him out of the chair and began propelling him towards the door. "Go tell Albus," she said softly. "I'm sure everything will be fine, Severus. She was not seriously hurt, and she'll recover perfectly fine, thanks to your quick thinking in getting her here instead of trying to heal her yourself. Now go," she said, pushing him through the doorway.
Severus glanced one last time at the figure sleeping in the bed, then turned and made his way to the Headmaster's office.
He stood looking at the humped gargoyle for several minutes, dreading have to tell Albus what he had done to Hermione. He couldn't get her shocked white face dripping with blood out of his head. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid as to lose his control with her in the next room. He knew she was always curious, and needed to help other people. He knew that she would have eventually tried to calm him down, to soothe his pain. He was furious with himself, and horrified at the possibility of what could have happened.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see the gargoyle spring to the side, or that Albus was standing in the entrance of the passage.
"Severus," he said softly, not wanting to scare the professor completely out of his wits.
Severus jumped anyway, startled out of his thoughts, and guiltily looked up. He quickly looked down again, ashamed of what he had done, and worried about how his friend and mentor would react.
"Come inside, Severus. I'll get you some tea," Albus said, and then turned and started up the stairs.
Severus reluctantly followed, taking a seat by the fireplace where he had sat not hours before.
"Tell me what happened, Severus," Albus said after the two had sat in silence for several minutes.
As Severus explained how Hermione had shown up in tears, the dream, and his reaction, Albus was watching Severus intently. He knew that Severus was always harder on himself and punished himself more than any other person Albus knew of. He could tell that the man was filled with guilt and disgust for his lack of self-control, as he called it.
He let Severus finish talking and sat thinking of a way to ease his pain.
Finally, he said quietly, "Is she alright?"
Severus nodded, "Yes, thank Merlin. Poppy healed everything quickly except for the gash in her cheek and one by her elbow. Those have to heal by themselves," he continued, relief apparent in his words.
"And there will be no lasting damage?"
"Not that I know of. Poppy is a wonderful Medi-Witch."
"And do you think Alexial will understand what happened?"
Severus looked up at him for a couple of seconds. "I don't know," he said glumly.
"Come now, Severus. Of course she will. She loves you, you know. And she saw exactly what happened there that night. She knows what you were feeling, and how hard it was for you. She's also an extremely smart girl, Severus. She knows that you would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially her. When you know that she will forgive you for a mistake, will you allow yourself to forgive yourself?" he asked quietly.
"I could have killed her, Albus," he said softly. "Or blinded her, or she could have bled to death if I hadn't finally listened to her calling me."
"Yes, Severus, all those things could have happened. But they didn't. She's fine and she will be fine, and she'll understand. You and I both know that she was never in mortal danger, for every teacher in the castle would have been in your quarters before the first glass was broken."
"I know, I know. But…I can't get her face out of my head. The fear, the pain…it was deadly white, Albus. And that piece of glass sticking into her cheek with blood pouring out…I can't stop seeing it," he said despondently.
"Severus, why don't you go get some rest. Take some dream-less sleep potion like Alexial did. You still have to teach classes tomorrow remember? And you can talk to her about it tomorrow after she has her meeting with Sibyl. Now go to sleep, my friend," he said, rising and beckoning towards the door.
Severus got up and turned as he reached the door. "Thank you, Albus," he said softly, before exiting the room with a flourish of robes.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Ginny were waiting impatiently for Hermione to come down from her rooms. They were all surprised that she was so late, for she was usually one of the first ones in the common room in the mornings. Finally, Ginny ran upstairs to her room, only to come back looking confused and worried.
"She's not there," she said.
"Are you sure? Maybe she's in the bathroom or something," Harry reasoned.
"No, I'm sure she's not. Lavender said she wasn't there when she woke up this morning," Ginny replied.
"Maybe she's already downstairs at breakfast. Or in the library or something. Let's go down and see if she's there," interrupted Ron, wanting to get to breakfast at the Great Hall.
The other agreed and they made their way down from the Gryffindor tower. As they entered the Great Hall, they sat down at their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, but Hermione was nowhere to be found.
"Maybe she's in the library? You know how she likes to read sometimes during breakfast…maybe she went to get a book or something," said Harry, getting slightly worried that Hermione wasn't present on the first day of classes.
They began to eat their breakfast, and Professor McGonagall handed out the timetables for the Gryffindors. As Ginny was about to leave for Charms and Harry and Ron were about to leave for Double Potions with the Slytherins, Hermione hurried into the Great Hall.
"Hermione!" exclaimed Harry, noticing her bandaged cheek and arm. "What happened to you cheek? And your arm? Where were you?"
"Are you alright?" asked Ginny worriedly.
Hermione, quickly buttering a couple of pieces of toast and wrapping them in a napkin, nodded her head. "Yes, I'm fine guys, don't worry. I just had to go to the Infirmary, that's all."
"What happened?" asked Ron.
"I was up really early this morning, so I wanted to go to the library. I was on the second to last step coming down from the common room, but I wasn't paying attention and I lost my balance. They're just scrapes that's all. Madame Pomfrey said it would be better if they just healed naturally. It's fine really! They don't even hurt at all," she said, trying to get them to stop worrying.
Checking her watch, Hermione hurriedly grabbed her bag and the wrapped pieces of toast. "Come on you guys, we have less than five minutes to get to Potions. I don't really want to start the school year off with getting on Snape's bad side," she said hurriedly, inwardly smiling at the irony of the situation. She hoped that her uncle was alright and that he wasn't blaming himself for what happened. Knowing from her mother's stories about what Severus was like, Hermione was pretty sure that he was feeling rotten and guilty, and hoped she would have a chance to talk to him during the day.
Grabbing the rest of their things, Harry and Ron followed Hermione as she raced through the halls and down the flights of steps to the dungeons where the Potions class was. They made it into the room and to their seats seconds before Severus glided in, robes billowing and the door slamming shut behind him.
He silently and forebodingly stalked to the front of the room and spun around to face the class. Silently, he let his gaze wander over each student in turn, lingering for a second more on Hermione's. She gave him a small smile that no one noticed and even though he didn't acknowledge the hello, she knew that he had seen it.
He began to wander up and down the rows, glaring at students here and there. "I see you have all survived the summer. How pleasant," he sneered as he neared Hermione.
She almost laughed when she saw amusement flicker through his eyes as he continued to insult students. Severus saw her biting the inside of her mouth to keep from giggling and quickly strode back to the front of the class.
"Now, Madame Pomfrey is in need of some of the easier healing potions. Today you will be attempting to make them. Those who finish within the time limit and actually complete the potion correctly will be awarded two points each and your potions will be bottled and sent to fill the medicine cabinets."
A gasp went through the dungeons at this statement. The students were shocked…even if it was only two points, Snape rewarding points for a correct potion? Many were waiting for the other half of the instructions to come, and they weren't disappointed.
He continued with a smirk, "Those who fail to complete the potion, either finishing too late or making the potion incorrectly, will fail this assignment and hand in two scrolls on how to make an effective healing potion…Well? What are you waiting for? The potion is found on page 48 of your books, get moving!" he growled when no one moved.
Instantly, the students began bustling around the room, gathering equipment and ingredients for the potion. Hermione, Ron and Harry quickly read over the potion and directions. Hermione sent the two boys to get the ingredients as she began to organize the rest of their materials. Working efficiently, the boys sliced and crushed different ingredients while Hermione added ingredients and stirred the potion. They were able to finish the potion well before the time limit was up. And, since Hermione had organized and added all the ingredients herself, the potion was most definitely correct. Snape grudgingly gave them two points each after testing the potion, then stalked away to terrorize Neville.
After bottling and cleaning up their equipment, the three took out rolls of parchment and started on the homework that Snape had given to those who were finished.
Hermione, not being able to concentrate with so much extra noise in the room, let her gaze wander around the cold dungeon.
She smiled slightly as she looked up to see her uncle watching her. Making sure no one else was looking, she touched her cheek and then smiled again, mouthing "I'm o.k." to him. She saw his head barely move in a nod of acknowledgement, then saw his lips twitch has he held back a small smile. He then turned away, going back to checking an awaiting student's potion.
Her gaze still wandering aimlessly, she felt eyes on her, and began looking for the person who was watching her. She was slightly, but not particularly surprised when she found it was Draco.
As he continued to stare at her, she raised an elegant eyebrow in a silent question and smiled faintly.
He reciprocated with raising one of his eyebrows and pointedly looking at her cheek.
Her smile broadened slightly, this time a mysterious one that brought a glint to Draco's eyes. She shook her head and mouthed "Later", at which he nodded and turned back to his work.
As Hermione did the same, her eyes caught Harry's, who had been watching the silent discussion between Draco and Hermione with a frown.
"What?" asked Hermione, who wasn't aware that he had seen the interaction.
"Nothing," he said with a smile.
She smiled back at him, then asked, "You sure?"
"Yea…what was that between you and Draco?" he asked after a second.
"That? He was just asking me what happened to my cheek, that's all," she answered.
As Harry was about to ask her another question, they heard someone clear their throat dangerously, directly behind them.
"I suggest, Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger, that if you do not wish to lose the points you have just received, you will cease this discussion and return to your work," came the silky warning of the Potions Master.
"Yes sir," the two replied in unison.
Severus, laughing to himself, made his way to the front of the room, to sit at his desk. He had also seen the little conversation between Draco and his niece, and he was pleased that Draco had already befriended Hermione, and he was assuming, the others of the Gryffindor trio. He had also seen the look of jealousy in Harry's eyes, and had heard the conversation between Harry and Hermione. He chuckled as he thought of the problems that Hermione was in for.
The class ended uncharacteristically uneventful. Even Neville had managed to complete the healing potion. Severus thought it was a good sign that the clumsy boy had started the year without melting a cauldron. As the class was preparing to leave, he called out, "Ms. Granger, if you would stay behind after class."
Harry and Ron gave her sympathetic looks and told her they would wait outside, before filing out with the rest of the class.
Severus got up and shut the door, then put a silencing spell on the room before turning to Hermione.
He quickly gathered her in a quick hug, saying softly, "I am so sorry, Alexial, so incredibly sorry. When I think about what could have happened to you…"
"Uncle Sev," Hermione interrupted, putting her hand on his arm, "I'm fine, really. Madame Pomfrey healed everything except for my cheek and a scrape on my elbow, which will both heal in a few days. Really! I'm alright. And it wasn't your fault, ok? I shouldn't have entered the room when you were upset like that."
"Don't blame yourself, you wanted to help me, like I was supposed to be helping you. I completely disregarded why you came, and just left to throw stuff at the wall. I could have killed you, or blinded you!"
"But you didn't! And I came to your rooms last night because I experienced what you went through, and understood the pain that you felt. You had every right to lose control like that last night, so don't even think about saying you shouldn't have," she scolded.
He laughed for a second, then said, "You are so much like your mother, Alexial. I wrote and told her what happened, just so you know."
She nodded, and then hugged him. "I have to go to Charms, Uncle Sev, and Harry and Ron are waiting. I'll see you later, alright?"
He nodded and smiled, saying, "Nice job on the potion, Alexial. You have quite a gift for it, did you know that?"
Hermione blushed and said, "Thank you. See you later, Uncle Sev," before gathering her things and running out to Harry and Ron.
Severus watched her go, smiling to himself. He thought back to the exchange between his niece, Harry, and Draco. She had no clue that the two boys were obviously smitten with her. He laughed to himself, thinking how entertaining the following months would be as everything unfolded.