6. [ Back in the Castle ]
To her surprise the rest of the two weeks passed in relative peace without her or Snape mentioning the bond ever again. She used to sleep in his room which was really the only alteration from her ordinary life and somewhere inside she knew she should feel worried that it felt so natural; actually she feared the day they were to be in school again when she had to lodge in her own room again- it was in the dungeons but nevertheless away from him.
At night Lucius Malfoy was in her dreams and it was far from pleasant. The worst was that she felt like dirt every time she woke up after one of the nightmares in which he was successful and took her to Malfoy mansion and usually tortured her. Never had she known that she had such a vivid imagination with all the torture techniques she invented of which the imperius curse was the most pleasant one all in all. She had trouble keeping the dreams from Snape but usually she suffered quietly, even in her dreams and so far she excused incidents like attacking the potions Master in sleep with bad memories from the ministry at the end of last year.
She could tell he was suspicious but for some unexplainable reason she hesitated telling him about the nightmares. She was a Gryffindor after all and she felt perfectly safe at his side. He didn't sleep much but he usually read until the wee hours of morning and then dozed off for a couple of hours. He never left the house and most of the days he was in the library reading as well.
Hermione spend time with the Weaslys and Harry which didn't go without much discussions like the one yesterday after dinner.
Ginny had started it involuntarily by mentioning Snape in a remark about the coming school year.
"I wonder if he will still be as strict as last year. I mean we basically lived here the whole summer and I even talked to him a couple of times."
Harry grimaced. "Don't see why that should change, Ginny. I mean he is Snape after all, the evil mean sneering bat from the dungeons."
"And let's not forget that he thinks being nice and smiling are a crime, the perverted Bastard." Ron had resumed to insulting Snape in all ways he could, favouring 'perverted Bastard' for the last week.
She had taken her three friends aside the morning after the incident with the necklace and explained things to them which had resulted in Harry and Ginny being very understanding and agreeing to Dumbledore's plan that Snap was to protect her. Only Ron had simply mumbled something and then disappeared. The looks he send in Snape's direction at meals or when he met him in the house were full of hatred and venom. Hermione tried to ignore it mostly but now she had reached her limit of understanding.
"Okay, just to make things clear, Ronald Weasly: I won't tolerate any deliberate insults about Professor Snape any longer. And especially the term 'perverted Bastard' says a lot about your maturity and capability of understanding. Harry and Ginny have listened to my story and dealt. I have told you the story a couple of days ago, so please deal already. Professor Snape has shown nothing but care and manners in the last days and I feel safe sleeping next to him- yes next to him, Ron! Nothing else has happened- he doesn't try to grope me nor does he try to get intimate in any other way. Just because you are too immature to deal with a situation like this, it doesn't mean he is as well. I am fed up with it quite frankly and if it doesn't stop I am reconsidering the fact that you are one of my friends."
With that she got up strangely satisfied with the stunned expression in Ron's face and left the kitchen to go to bed. She was deep in thoughts about why she felt so apprehensive about joining Snape in his room every night that she didn't notice the dark tall figure in a hidden corner next to the kitchen door.
Severus Snape was rarely stunned and speechless. Tonight the girl had succeeded in achieving just that and a small flicker of a smile graced his stern features for a moment. It was a shame that he was who he was, and silently he admitted that some of the insults that Weasly boy had uttered in the last days were not completely untrue, for this girl had a way of getting close to him like no one before.
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Tonks accompanied them to King's Cross station the next morning. Hermione felt a bit awkward for some reason but couldn't place where the bad feelings came from. It was a cloudy day with a chill in the air and as the black ministry cars got into the London traffic Hermione felt all in a sudden cold and numb.
The necklace felt cold against her skin as well and all in a sudden she could name the feeling- loss. She felt she had lost something precious and judging from the necklace and its cold material it was probably Snape she was missing. True, he hadn't spent every second with her in the last days but at least he had been in the same house and she knew in case of emergency he was near. Now she felt a black void where usually she felt the presence of Snape inside and it hurt.
He had told her that he would apparate to the castle ground's boundaries and they would see each other in the Great Hall but for some reason that had disappointed her immensely. What had she expected? That he would take the Hogwarts Express with her? Or that she was to apparate with him? There was probably no reason to do so. Dumbledore had told her before he left that she was safe on the train but something in Snape's eyes had signalled her that he disagreed.
Somewhere inside she knew that Snape felt probably the same- at least she hoped that it was due to the bond that linked her to the potions Master that she was feeling so lost and uneasy. And something else occurred to her as she was sitting next to Harry in the department on their way to Hogwarts- Ron made her feel awkward. She had no idea if it was because Snape disliked him or because he wasn't agreeing with the whole situation but Hermione felt almost relieved when the train moved to a halt in Hogsmead and she could get out of the small department.
Looking around as she hopped from the train she saw the huge figure of Hagrid shouting for the first years and noticed some other students from her year moving towards the lake in a crowd of people that soon separated her from Harry and Ron.
"Come her." She felt him a moment before he uttered the words quietly and turned around relief showing on her face combined with the most sincere smile of affection. Without thinking she gripped the tall dark figure of Severus Snape and clutched him tight in an almost bruising embrace.
For a short moment he returned the hug but then moved away almost as if he remembered where they were.
"We apparate to the castle grounds." He gripped her hand and pulled her away from the crowd behind one of the station buildings. "Albus has arranged that you get your licence earlier and we have his expressed permission to apparate together." Looking into her pale thoughtful face he gently cupped her cheek.
"I felt so lost." Her voice was small and soft so that the wind almost carried it away.
After a short moment of hesitation Snape placed his arms around her shoulders and pressed her small form to his, gently caressing her hair as she snuggled into his robes.
It hadn't been very long since he had last hold her in London before they had gone to breakfast together but it had felt like an eternity for her. Grateful for his understanding she nuzzled the fabric of his black robe and tried to memorize his scent of herbs, wood and sandalwood.
Placing a soft kiss on her forehead and then gently extracting himself from her Snape took her hand again and when his eyes met hers a short expression of softness was shown.
"We have to go now. Ready?"
After a short nod from her the two disappeared from the platform leaving the students behind.
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The two figures that moved across the ground in the direction of the side entrance from where Minerva knew it was only a short walk to the dungeons looked very awkward matched. The tall dark hook-nosed potions Master with his flying robes and the usual sneer on his face who strode across the lawn with long strides and the tiny bushy-haired constantly babbling Gryffindor prime student who had to almost run to keep up with him. They looked awkward if you didn't know them very well.
Minerva knew Severus Snape now for almost three decades. He had been a student here when she had taught and it had been painful to see him turn from a bright brilliant promising student into his dark tortured self-loathing self and on more than one occasion had she wished for things to be different for her colleague. Contrary to popular faith she didn't hate Severus- it was mostly house rivalry that made them bicker so much at school but she trusted him because she knew Albus trusted him. Never in all her life had she imagined to see him enduring the constant chatter of a teenaged Gryffindor witch while pretending to be his vicious self when he had trouble hiding the amused grin from appearing on his stern features. The way he placed his hand on the small back of Hermione's tiny figure and the implicit trust the girl showed by leaning into him slightly was all the proof she needed that Severus Snape, evil monster of sneering remarks, was drawn to her like he had never been drawn to anybody else.
Turning around to her life companion and best friend and facing his twinkling expression she frowned.
"I see it, Albus, but it could be just the necklace. After all I have never seen Severus so- "she hesitated and continued softly "friendly."
The headmaster considered the thought for a moment and then shook his head slowly.
"The necklace only caused for an ancient wedding ritual to take place but it never altered any feelings. It seems that these two had friendly feelings before these interesting developments altered their lives." Silently chuckling he leaned back in his chair.
"Albus are you implying what I think you are implying?" said Minerva her voice rising an octave.
"What am I implying my dear?" Albus said still obviously amused.
"That this old bat had an inappropriate relationship with my most brilliant student before this necklace accident happened!"
"No. I am not implying that. I said they probably liked each other but I have complete trust in Severus and he would never seriously consider a relationship like this with a student. I simply meant that he in all likelihood felt drawn to her for reasons he sure couldn't explain."
Placing herself in another chair the head of house sighed.
"And now? Everybody in the house could see how they behaved in the last weeks with each other. Molly Weasly was concerned and even threatened me several times to send me a howler if something happened to her sweet Hermione. A howler! I didn't have it in me to tell her that these things were only allowed for students. If they continue with this tension and their public display of affection it will cause rumours."
Nodding Albus raised himself from his place behind the desk.
"I know, I know. I have to make an announcement of sorts tonight to explain things. We have to be extremely careful. Severus talked with me last night and expressed concern over the fact that Hermione Granger could be in danger of raising the suspicion of Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters once they have re-grouped. He made it very clear the he had to tell them something but wasn't sure to which extent to avert any danger from our student." Noticing his colleague's raised brows he smiled. "Severus is really fond of her and wants to protect her Minerva. We have to find a way to explain things to the school and the ministry so that it won't cause any uproar."
Sighing he sank down again and contemplated his options. There really was only one way to stop the ministry but it would be difficult to explain this to Voldemort without raising any suspicions. And his potions Master wouldn't like the idea as well. But laws were laws and it was his duty to make sure they got through these events unharmed. Why was it always him who had to make the difficult decisions?