Stolen Child
Chapter VI
I'll Stop the World
Professor Severus Snape awoke an hour earlier than usual, laying on his side, looking at the cold stone wall of his quarters. His blankets and sheet were tangled around him and he could barely move his legs, but he felt better than he had in ages. As always there was a fire crackling merrily in his fire place.
He sat up, untangling himself before moving to the edge of the bed. It felt as though he had been asleep for a hundred years, with nothing but a series of incredibly blissful dreams to keep his mind occupied.
Absentmindedly he opened the drawer of his end table to reach for his flask. He stopped about halfway through the motion, looked perplexed for a moment, and then shut the drawer again, empty handed. It was then that he noticed a large envelope addressed to him in neat hand writing which he immediately recognized as belonging to Madame Pomfrey, no doubt left by a house elf, since obviously an owl couldn't come pecking at his window, his room had none. His mood slid down several notches, though he still felt too good to truly and honestly scowl.
Hesitantly he picked it up and tore it open, pulled the letter out and discarded the envelope in the waste basket beneath the table, unfolded the paper and began to read.
Dear Professor Snape,
If you happen to have any free time today, would you stop by the hospital wing to sit with Ms. Granger? Since you left yesterday she has done literally nothing but stare at the doors, she is even refusing to eat, and I am becoming quite worried.
Thank you so much,
Poppy
He sighed heavily, crumpled the letter, tossed it into the waste basket, and then headed to the shower. As he lathered his hair and such he couldn't help but let his mind stray over thoughts of Ms. Granger as the scents filling the air relaxed his body and mind. Was she really sitting in her hospital bed watching and waiting for him to return? Had she been like that all night? How could she do that out of insolence? Was she simply "off" after spending six years in the world of the fairies? That is, of course if that was really where she went. For all he knew, she could have pulled some ridiculous hoax in order to ..In order to what? Why in the world would Hermione Granger want to leave Hogwarts, or the wizarding world? What reason could there have possibly been? He couldn't think of a single one, and that was saying something indeed. As much as he tried to shrug her disappearance off as some stupid prank, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was no way that her plight wasn't genuine.
The subject of Hermione Granger and her disappearance didn't leave his mind for more than a few moments the entire day. Yet again he had the class read and take notes while he sat at his desk, brooding, pretending to work, when in fact he was running through his theories on paper, and not a single one of them made sense. He found himself wishing that Dumbledore was there to tell him that he was being silly, and of course Hermione had been taken by the fairies and there was no reason to doubt it, but of course wishing was for silly little children, Dumbledore was not there, and for Snape it was nearly impossible for him to admit on his own. So hard for him to admit, that by the end of the day, he decided that he'd simply have to find out the truth from the source.
After his final class of the day Snape spent a few minutes straitening up the class room before heading up to the infirmary, mainly to give Madame Pomfrey plenty of time to leave, the last thing he wanted was her hanging over his shoulder the entire time. He glanced up at his clock about a dozen times while he waited, trying to busy himself but seeing nothing that needed to be done in the classroom. After what seemed like more like an hour he cleared his throat, tugged at waist of his robes, and set off towards the infirmary making sure to be as brisk and unapproachable as possible, so even if he ran in to a student or one of the Professors, he could easily brush them off, at least he hoped.
Unfortunately he wasn't so lucky. Halfway across the entrance hall he heard a voice, coming from the doorway of the great hall. "Not going to join us for dinner, Professor Snape?" It was the Headmistress, just the person he did NOT want to see.
"Actually, no, Minerva, wasn't planning on it." He turned to face her, crossing his arms, trying to look menacing, which was incredibly difficult to do when he knew that she wasn't at all impressed.
"Ah. Going to visit Ms. Granger, then?" She smiled warmly, one thin eyebrow raised slightly. She had aged considerably in the passed few years, finally looking her age. Her previously red hair now was more gray than anything, and the lines in her face had deepened considerably, but of course she was just as strong a presence as ever at Hogwarts, though she could never truly replace Dumbledore.
"No, I wasn't planning on it. I simply ran out of mugwort, and I was going to dip into Madame Pomfrey's supply." He glared down at her, pulling himself even more upright, a pose that would have withered any student. Professor McGonagal simply cocked her eyebrow even further, pursed her lips.
"Well then, good night, Severus, and make sure to tell Hermione I said hello." She then turned on her heal and briskly headed back into the great hall.
Professor Snape glared after her, and then uncrossed his arms, link his hands behind his back, and march onward, towards the infirmary. It seemed to take only a few moments this time around, and Severus found himself at the doors of the hospital ward in no time. He took a moment to straiten himself and then sauntered into the infirmary, and much to his surprise instantly found himself to be the subject of Hermione Granger's eerie stare. She was sitting up in her bed in almost the exact same place and pose he had seen her last, and she looked as though she had been expecting him. : : : : :
Ok everyone, there's chapter six! I apologize if it's moving kind of slow, I've been wanting to take my time with this story, and spend a lot of time on character development and such. But if it's moving too slow, you guys to shout out! I'll gladly pick up the pace! ^_^
Risi: thank you so much! You have no idea how great it is to see that you're still reading! ^_^ ^_^!!!!! I'll be getting to the war, Dumbledore's fate, Harry, Ron, the other Professors, etc, VERY soon! How soon depends on whether or not you guys think I'm draggin' my butt! *L* Thankyou so much for reviewing! *does extreme happy dance!*
Solitaire0: Voila ! *points to the chapter above* you're wish is my command! ^_- thankyou for reviewing! Like I said before, I freak out when I get reviews! *LOL* honest to god when I hear "You've got mail" I'm like YES! More reviews! And stop everything to check it, including the Sopranos *LOL* Again, THANKYOU!!
Chapter VI
I'll Stop the World
Professor Severus Snape awoke an hour earlier than usual, laying on his side, looking at the cold stone wall of his quarters. His blankets and sheet were tangled around him and he could barely move his legs, but he felt better than he had in ages. As always there was a fire crackling merrily in his fire place.
He sat up, untangling himself before moving to the edge of the bed. It felt as though he had been asleep for a hundred years, with nothing but a series of incredibly blissful dreams to keep his mind occupied.
Absentmindedly he opened the drawer of his end table to reach for his flask. He stopped about halfway through the motion, looked perplexed for a moment, and then shut the drawer again, empty handed. It was then that he noticed a large envelope addressed to him in neat hand writing which he immediately recognized as belonging to Madame Pomfrey, no doubt left by a house elf, since obviously an owl couldn't come pecking at his window, his room had none. His mood slid down several notches, though he still felt too good to truly and honestly scowl.
Hesitantly he picked it up and tore it open, pulled the letter out and discarded the envelope in the waste basket beneath the table, unfolded the paper and began to read.
Dear Professor Snape,
If you happen to have any free time today, would you stop by the hospital wing to sit with Ms. Granger? Since you left yesterday she has done literally nothing but stare at the doors, she is even refusing to eat, and I am becoming quite worried.
Thank you so much,
Poppy
He sighed heavily, crumpled the letter, tossed it into the waste basket, and then headed to the shower. As he lathered his hair and such he couldn't help but let his mind stray over thoughts of Ms. Granger as the scents filling the air relaxed his body and mind. Was she really sitting in her hospital bed watching and waiting for him to return? Had she been like that all night? How could she do that out of insolence? Was she simply "off" after spending six years in the world of the fairies? That is, of course if that was really where she went. For all he knew, she could have pulled some ridiculous hoax in order to ..In order to what? Why in the world would Hermione Granger want to leave Hogwarts, or the wizarding world? What reason could there have possibly been? He couldn't think of a single one, and that was saying something indeed. As much as he tried to shrug her disappearance off as some stupid prank, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there was no way that her plight wasn't genuine.
The subject of Hermione Granger and her disappearance didn't leave his mind for more than a few moments the entire day. Yet again he had the class read and take notes while he sat at his desk, brooding, pretending to work, when in fact he was running through his theories on paper, and not a single one of them made sense. He found himself wishing that Dumbledore was there to tell him that he was being silly, and of course Hermione had been taken by the fairies and there was no reason to doubt it, but of course wishing was for silly little children, Dumbledore was not there, and for Snape it was nearly impossible for him to admit on his own. So hard for him to admit, that by the end of the day, he decided that he'd simply have to find out the truth from the source.
After his final class of the day Snape spent a few minutes straitening up the class room before heading up to the infirmary, mainly to give Madame Pomfrey plenty of time to leave, the last thing he wanted was her hanging over his shoulder the entire time. He glanced up at his clock about a dozen times while he waited, trying to busy himself but seeing nothing that needed to be done in the classroom. After what seemed like more like an hour he cleared his throat, tugged at waist of his robes, and set off towards the infirmary making sure to be as brisk and unapproachable as possible, so even if he ran in to a student or one of the Professors, he could easily brush them off, at least he hoped.
Unfortunately he wasn't so lucky. Halfway across the entrance hall he heard a voice, coming from the doorway of the great hall. "Not going to join us for dinner, Professor Snape?" It was the Headmistress, just the person he did NOT want to see.
"Actually, no, Minerva, wasn't planning on it." He turned to face her, crossing his arms, trying to look menacing, which was incredibly difficult to do when he knew that she wasn't at all impressed.
"Ah. Going to visit Ms. Granger, then?" She smiled warmly, one thin eyebrow raised slightly. She had aged considerably in the passed few years, finally looking her age. Her previously red hair now was more gray than anything, and the lines in her face had deepened considerably, but of course she was just as strong a presence as ever at Hogwarts, though she could never truly replace Dumbledore.
"No, I wasn't planning on it. I simply ran out of mugwort, and I was going to dip into Madame Pomfrey's supply." He glared down at her, pulling himself even more upright, a pose that would have withered any student. Professor McGonagal simply cocked her eyebrow even further, pursed her lips.
"Well then, good night, Severus, and make sure to tell Hermione I said hello." She then turned on her heal and briskly headed back into the great hall.
Professor Snape glared after her, and then uncrossed his arms, link his hands behind his back, and march onward, towards the infirmary. It seemed to take only a few moments this time around, and Severus found himself at the doors of the hospital ward in no time. He took a moment to straiten himself and then sauntered into the infirmary, and much to his surprise instantly found himself to be the subject of Hermione Granger's eerie stare. She was sitting up in her bed in almost the exact same place and pose he had seen her last, and she looked as though she had been expecting him. : : : : :
Ok everyone, there's chapter six! I apologize if it's moving kind of slow, I've been wanting to take my time with this story, and spend a lot of time on character development and such. But if it's moving too slow, you guys to shout out! I'll gladly pick up the pace! ^_^
Risi: thank you so much! You have no idea how great it is to see that you're still reading! ^_^ ^_^!!!!! I'll be getting to the war, Dumbledore's fate, Harry, Ron, the other Professors, etc, VERY soon! How soon depends on whether or not you guys think I'm draggin' my butt! *L* Thankyou so much for reviewing! *does extreme happy dance!*
Solitaire0: Voila ! *points to the chapter above* you're wish is my command! ^_- thankyou for reviewing! Like I said before, I freak out when I get reviews! *LOL* honest to god when I hear "You've got mail" I'm like YES! More reviews! And stop everything to check it, including the Sopranos *LOL* Again, THANKYOU!!