Severus sprawled out comfortably across the luxurious bed and pulled the comforter up to his waist, enjoying the feel of the heavy material against his bare legs. It was one of the few times when he felt safe, curled up in his bed with a nice downy comforter around him. Leaning back against the headboard, he propped himself up on the overstuffed pillows as he lost himself in a novel. If there was one upside to living in the Muggle world it was the books. He had to admit to himself that Muggle literature beat most of the wizarding world's offerings.
He was no sooner ready to turn off the light next to his bed and go to sleep when he heard the incessant pounding on the door below him. Throwing on his black silk bathrobe, he made his way grumbling down to the door and threw it open in full Snape-the-Bastard fashion.
"What the hell-" The original question he was going to ask about what the other person wanted was cut short when he saw who it was. "-happened to you?" he finished instead.
She was a wreck. That was the first thought that came to mind as he looked at her. Swaying a little bit, Hermione reached out for the doorframe. Severus caught her easily as her knees buckled and aided her over to one of the chairs. There was a streak of soot across her cheek and her clothing was ripped and singed. Her hair was sticking out at odd angles and she looked ready to pass out at any moment.
"They blew up my house!" was all she said before letting sheer exhaustion overtake her.
He regarded her unconscious form for a moment before gently lifting her. Hermione was surprisingly light and he effortlessly carried her to one of the rooms in the back, laying her down in his makeshift guestroom. It was nothing more than a mattress spread out on the floor with a small bathroom, nothing more than a toilet and sink, with a cramped closet for a shower attached, but it served its purpose of housing anyone who was there for their cause and had nowhere else to go. Draping a blanket over her, he was just about to turn and head back to his own room next door when he heard her call out to him.
"Don't." The voice was small, weak and the sheer emotion in it seemed to tug at his heartstrings.
Severus turned around at the threshold and studied at her. This powerful witch now looked diminutive and frightened. He knew she had every reason to feel that way; however, comforting the distressed was never his strong point. Holding his position, he waited for more encouragement to stay.
"Stay." Her dark eyes begged him to not leave her alone to a world of nightmares and so he returned to sit on the chair that occupied a corner of the room, pulling it away from the desk so he could face her.
As the Head of Slytherin House, forced to comfort students, much to his displeasure. Even Slytherins, who he swore had coined the phrase "Never let them see you bleed," could be emotional at times. Eventually, he had gotten used to gently placing a soothing hand on a sobbing child's back and telling them that things weren't as bad as they seemed. But Hermione wasn't a child and this time things were as bad as they seemed. This was more than consoling a sullen teenager as they dealt with their significant other breaking up with them, failing an exam, or falling down flat on their face in front of everyone. No, this was comforting her as her life literally crashed down around her.
In the wan light, the former professor saw the tracks of her tears creeping down her cheeks. Her short episode of unconsciousness) had taken the edge off of the pain, but now that she was awake again the enormity of what had happened less than an hour ago hit her,hard. Gently moving off the chair, Severus knelt with slightly less grace than he used to have. He was getting old and starting to show it.
He was eye to eye with her now, staring at her as she sat on the soft mattress, watching as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks.
"Miss Granger, are you alright?" he asked her, his resonous voice unnaturally soft and touching.
"What does it look like?" she spat at him before a faint rose color tinged her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." The look of sheer embaressment on her face was enough to crack the tough façade that he had bult up, and
rather than revert back into his usual caustic professor mode, like he was so tempted to do, he found himself laughing instead. Not a long laugh, but a full hearty laugh none the less.
Hermione looked up at him, surprised at the sound, and let a small smile creep across her face as the tears started to slow.
"What about a nice cup of tea? You look like you need it." He slowly drew back until he was sitting on his haunches and allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch up slightly. She nodded to his offer as he stood up extending his hand to her, which she used to rise much more gracefully than she could have otherwise.
"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat, would you?" she asked meekly.
"Soup?" he replied, gently leading her from the room ready for another outburst. He had seen people who had survived traumatic events and he knew that she was more volatile than she let on. The young witch nodded her agreement and he led her down to the kitchen area.
END OF CHAPTER 16I have to thank my amazing beta Betz yet again for how wonderful this chapter came out, she's GREAT...:) Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers as well!