Castaways on a Sullen Sea
By weasleywheezes
Chapter 4 – Deliver Me From Evil
Hermione turned to see Draco Malfoy. She looked in his eyes but saw nothing but his black heart. A cold sneer crossed his face.
"Filthy Mudblood! Because of you my father is in exile! The Malfoys are ruined!" He spat at her viciously. "Granger, you dirty, disgusting…"
The fear in Hermione's eyes stopped Draco's speech. "You're afraid!" he laughed. "No Potters or Weasleys to save you now!"
She opened her mouth to scream. "Silencio!" Malfoy exclaimed. "You can't get away from me, Granger. Do you wish to be blessed by a pure blooded Slytherin? Or maybe, shorten this ridiculous Muggle life?"
She found that she couldn't move from fear. His venomous words, his actions, his movements, no being able to call for help or move…facing dementors wasn't as frightening.
Malfoy snarled at her, a sly grin creeping over his face. He tore at her robes savagely; taking glee in the fact that no one could hear her plead for her life. While she trashed around, he took a length of rope and tied her hands. Her constant struggle chaffed her wrists, until a small amount of blood began to appear. Malfoy took pleasure in it. "You'll pay, Mudblood," he whispered. "I will get my pound of flesh!"
Hermione began to panic even more. What was he saying? She began to twitch with trepidation. Draco, in a complete frenzy, bit at her, drawing even more blood. A few slaps to the face caused the fear-stricken girl to lie still, waiting for the inevitable. She closed her eyes. "Please…please someone help me!" she screamed within her tortured mind.
~~
Snape stalked towards the forest as stealthy as a cat. His years of working at Hogwarts had caused him to look the other way when students dallied in the bushes. He had caught careless ones before, usually amorous Hufflepuffs, and always took points from their respective houses. The clever ones (usually Slytherin House students), the ones who took great care to hide their passions, he respected; and gave warnings to instead. He saw a shapely pair of legs sticking out from beneath the bushes, a cloak lying nearby. The metallic scent of blood caught him by surprise. As he walked closer, he could hear whispered epitaphs…Mudblood pricked his ear…something just didn't seem right.
Lucius Malfoy's son was kneeling over a girl, a girl he couldn't quite see. He had caught young Malfoy on numerous occasions before, but this time he seemed strangely ferocious. When Severus and Lucius were students at Hogwarts, Severus spent most of his time in the library while Lucius, a bit of a ladies' man, knew all the places to hide on campus. Severus thought it was curious that Draco would not have learned from his father. He certainly acquired everything else Lucius once had. Like his father, Draco was a Lothario, having bedded every Slytherin who would have him. Severus pondered who the little harlot was. She was unusually quiet, and he had a sneaking suspicion perhaps it wasn't sheer bliss that kept her silent.
"Legilimens," Snape muttered -
Help me! He's placed a silencing spell on me! He's going to kill me!
"Hermione!" Severus exclaimed. Hermione's eyes grew wide. The potions master flew into a rage, knocking Malfoy over and covering Hermione with her own tattered cloak. He turned to Malfoy, seething with anger, and performed a paralysing spell on him.
"I will deal with you later, Draco," Severus whispered ominously.
He walked toward Hermione and scooped her up in his arms. As Severus carried her toward the castle, he looked down at her. Her hair was muddy and matted down, small pieces of twig lodged in the clumps of frizz and muck. She squeezed her eyes shut, silent tears spilling onto her dirt-smudged cheeks. He stopped and placed her on the ground. She was as wobbly as a newborn giraffe. He reached out his hand to steady her, paused for a moment, and then untied her wrists. She immediately began pacing and held onto her own arms, awkwardly trying to comfort herself.
Severus couldn't help but see her as a frightened animal at this point. She was at her most fragile. He knew better than to interrogate her about the ordeal, but his natural tendencies took over.
"Granger, what just happened there?"
She shook her head and pointed toward her mouth.
"Of course, the silencing spell. Do you know which one he used?"
Hermione shook her head no. Severus sighed. "Please forgive me, Miss Granger," he said softly, as he primed himself to enter her thoughts again.
He saw Draco Malfoy behaving in a disgusting manner, snarling, spitting, and a base look on his face. I will get my pound of flesh, Mudblood.
Severus trembled. He knew exactly what Malfoy was planning on doing. Hermione was right. He was going to try and kill her, but he wanted to degrade her in the vilest way imaginable first.
"Miss Granger, I won't try to counteract the spell that Draco placed on you. It could do more harm than good. I will just take you straight to Madam Pomprey."
Hermione looked at him with pleading eyes and glanced toward Malfoy's prone body as if to ask about Snape's plans for the Slytherin. Severus grimaced. "Don't worry yourself about it. Draco Malfoy will get what is coming to him."
~~
After alerting the Headmaster of the situation, Severus slowly walked back to the thicket where Draco lay frozen, silently cursing the boy. He knew that Lucius was a perverse man, but he didn't realize that the younger Malfoy was also as twisted.
He stopped and glanced toward the lake. "I should just throw Draco in the lake right now," he said to himself, "and then the little bastard would drown."
The small voice of his conscience stopped his train of thought. It's exactly what Lucius would do. It's exactly what Voldemort would do. "It's what my father would have done," he replied.
He looked down and saw Draco. His eyes were narrowed, cold, calculating, as if he would kill him given the chance. Severus bent down and looked him in the eye. He could see Draco's resolve weakening. Regardless of the fact that he was no longer a Death Eater, Severus Snape was still dangerous to cross.
Snape whispered in Malfoy's ear. "Are you afraid I'm going to treat you like your father does? You're mistaken. I'm much worse than your father ever thought about being. Haven't you wondered why I don't have any children of my own?"
Malfoy flinched. Severus stood up and kicked the dirt near Draco's head. He stifled a laugh. "You should feel rather fortunate, Draco. I've decided that I won't beat the holy hell out of you."
He grabbed Malfoy by the neck and hoisted him to his feet. Snape uttered the counter curse that restored Draco to free movement.
"Professor Snape, I will tell my father about this!" Malfoy shrieked.
Severus, upon hearing the threat, began to laugh hysterically. "Oh, please do, Draco! I'd like to see what he could do to me!"
Severus marched Malfoy toward the castle, berating him and constantly threatening him. He walked into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sinistra, and Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper, were waiting for the duo to arrive.
"Take Mr. Malfoy outside and wait for further instructions, Minerva," the headmaster instructed. McGonagall and Sinistra grabbed the student by the arm and dragged him into the hall.
"Professor Snape," Hagrid said, "It's a good thing you were stalking 'round the grounds, aye?"
Severus sat in a chair. His face was pale, his breathing shallow, and his brow furrowed. With disgust, he told the headmaster everything he had witnessed and was able to glean from Hermione herself. "He was…so vicious. It was sickening. Disgusting, and…Hermione…"
Hagrid, flushed and sweating, shook his head with rage. "I'll make sure Malfoy comes nowhere near 'Ermione ever again." With that, he was gone, on his way to deliver Draco to Ministry of Magic authorities.
When the groundskeeper had left, Dumbledore looked at Snape with kind eyes. "Is there something I should know about you and Miss Granger, Severus?"
He cleared his throat. "Quite honestly, sir, I'm not sure." He ran his fingers through his greasy hair and shook his head. "It's not important."
Dumbledore smiled. "Maybe you should see her."
"I don't think that's wise. I think, maybe, I should just leave her alone for a while."
"Is that what you think she'll want?"
Severus looked down towards the floor. "I think that's what I want."
The wise headmaster smiled thoughtfully and began to gnaw a Chocolate Frog. "Very well, then."
~~
Hermione lay in her childhood bed, clutching her pillow. Everything had happened so fast. First, a breathless Ron stood by her side in the hospital ward, swearing vengeance, then a bleary-eyed Harry hugged her and gave her a fleeting kiss on her forehead, before she heard the echoes of his vomiting. Suddenly, she was asleep, and before she knew it, Ginny Weasley was giving her a teddy bear to cuddle and saying goodbye to her. Professor McGonagall had escorted her home, at least she thought she did, and explained to her mother what had happened. Days turned into weeks; she wasn't sure how long she sat in her darkened room, reliving every horrible torturous moment of Draco's attempt on her life.
One thing kept popping to the forefront of her mind. Snape. What was he doing there? Was he following her? And why did he call her name like an anguished lover?
When she slept, she dreamed of him. The wry smile on his face during some of their tutoring sessions; the soft tone of his voice when he congratulated her on a job well done. Then that unspeakable night – and the professor's eyes filled with horror.
"I must be hallucinating," Hermione told herself. "Why would Snape care about me?"
She called Crookshanks to her and began to stroke his fur softly. While she wanted to stay in the comfort of her bed, she missed her friends, she missed Hogwarts, and to her amazement, she missed Professor Snape.
Her mother opened the door to her bedroom. "Hermione, you have a letter here. Would you like to read it when I bring in your lunch today?"
"Actually, I was thinking I might join you for lunch today. May we have it in the garden?"
"Yes, dearie. We'll have your favourite when you were a little girl. Brie and spinach, if you like."
Hermione smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. "That sounds wonderful. And some Ovaltine, too, please."