Chapter 26
The Road to Hell. . .
It was eleven o'clock. The castle was asleep, save for two people.
Hermione was tucked safely into Sirius' arms. He had fallen asleep some time ago. A half-smile on his face. She watched him sleep. "I'm sorry, Sirius," she whispered. "I never meant to lie to you, I promise. But I have to help Severus' mum. I promise when I get back it'll be you and I again, like it's supposed to be." She climbed out of the warm safety of his arms. He stirred. Hermione held her breath but he did not wake.
Hermione crept to James' trunk. Hating every fiber of herself, she opened the trunk and rummaged through it till she found the two items she would need.
The Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak. She was a thief and a liar. And now she was betraying the best friend of the man she loved.
She had come full circle.
All for the sake of Severus and his mother.
Was it worth it?
Yes, it was.
And that's what made it so hard.
She snuck wordlessly out of the dormitory. The common room was eerily quiet. The fire had since died down, and the lights on the tree faltered. She shuddered and longed for the safety that she knew Sirius' arms would bring her.
Draping the Invisibility Cloak around herself, she whispered to the parchment, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
The map sprung to life. It was just as Hermione had remembered. She checked for teachers and when she saw none crept outside.
Overhead, the sky was growing cloudy. The Indian Summer had cooled down and it seemed as if it wouldn't be much longer till it died down for good.
Hermione crept up to the Astronomy tower. It had once been a respectable tower, used only for stargazing, but now it was notorious for being the spot of choice for Hogwarts' young lovers. She shuddered. She much rather preferred to have been there late at night with Sirius. She twisted his ring around her finger and let the ancient magic strengthen her.
Opening the door, she saw Severus jump.
"Thought you weren't coming," he hissed.
"Of course I came. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Hermione covered the ring with her hand, as if to protect it. "Here, put this on." She draped the Cloak over herself and Severus. He looked wary, but put it on. "Where did you get this?" he asked.
For fear of possibly incriminating James Hermione did not answer. She merely climbed on the broom behind Severus.
"I didn't know you could ride a broom," she told him.
"I ride it all the time," he confided to Hermione.
"Why don't you play Quidditch?" She asked curiously.
He snorted. "As if I would waste my time on inane sports."
She stiffened. James played Quidditch and so did Sirius (although he'd been out for a game on account of an injured knee). And so did Harry. But because she wanted to hurry, she said nothing.
They soared expertly out of the Astronomy tower. As they soared over the Forbidden Forest Hermione could not help but remember the last time she'd been on a broom. The last time Hermione had ridden a broom was when she'd fallen into 1975. This ride was oddly similar. If this was indeed her task she would have to go home. Back to her own time.
Was she ready to do that?
She pondered the question as they soared over houses. Was she ready to go home and see Harry, Ginny and Ron again?
Was she ready to leave Lily, James, Remus and Sirius?
If she went home she'd be with Ginny, her best friend. And Harry, her other best friend. Ron, her first love.
If she stayed she'd be with Lily, whom she had come to love as a best friend. And Remus, who understood the need of drawing up study schedules.
And she'd be with Sirius, whom she now knew to be her soulmate.
An hour later, Hermione was colder than she'd ever been. Her wet robes stuck to her. They had been flying in the clouds. She clung to Severus so as to warm herself.
"Are we there yet?" Hermione yelled, for it was hard to be heard.
"Almost! My house is the one with the red doors."
Hermione nodded and scanned the rows of houses. Then she yelled, "Go down! There's my old house!"
Severus swooped down. "I thought you lived in France," he said.
She nodded. "But I lived here when I was younger."
In truth this house was her parents' house. The one she lived in with her parents during the summer. But it wasn't her parents' house yet.
They circled the house a few times. Tears sprung to Hermione's eyes, tears for her parents. This was the house where she grew up. This was the house with the red painted shutters and the rose garden. This was the house with the attic that Hermione was sure ghosts dwelt. This was the house with the tree Hermione liked to sit under. This was the house that she used to sit in late at night and listen to the summer rain. She did not let Severus see her tears. "I'm ready," she said resolutely. And they moved on.
They passed her street and entered a dodgy part of town. A place with taped-up windows, broken Butterbeer bottles and wizard graffiti that shouted obscenities when people walked past it.
They landed in front of a house that seemed to reflect the fear Hermione now felt. The paint was peeling off, and one shutter was swinging off its hinges. The well-worn steps had cracks, and the flowers were withered beyond repair.
This was where Severus lived.
They kept the Invisibility Cloak on as they headed to the front door. Severus didn't bother to unlock the door, for it hadn't been locked in the first place. They opened the door to find an empty sitting-room. "I'll go get my mother," Severus whispered.
She nodded. "I'll keep watch." Hermione pulled her wand out. She darted her eyes around the house. Broken Butterbeer bottles littered the floor and the quantity was only matched by the piles of Daily Prophets. The house had been dismantled, most likely by a person in search of alcohol.
Severus crept down a few minutes later with a scared-looking woman. She had a vast quantity of black hair matched only by the purple bruises that scattered over her skin like mines.
"Hello Mrs. Snape, I am Hermione Granger," Hermione whispered soothingly. "We're going to get you out of here."
The woman's fearful eyes held an unspeakable gratefulness. Hermione knew then that it had been worth it.
"Mum, Hermione and I are going to Floo you to St. Eustace's," Severus told his mother. He wrapped strong arms around the frail woman.
"WHAT IS THIS?" A loud voice boomed. Hermione jumped and Mrs. Snape cowered. "What are you doing, boy?" the voice barked. It was Severus' father.
His father looked as if he had once had the semblance of goodness but had long since abandoned it. His eyes were sunken in and red. He held a face of utter rage. He turned his attention to Mrs. Snape. "You're not going anywhere." She whimpered and Hermione grew a hatred for a man she had only known for five seconds.
Severus looked at Hermione. "Take my mother and go, I'll hold him off–" He was interrupted by a swing form his father. Severus fell to the floor in pain. Hermione ran, practically carrying Mrs. Snape to the fireplace. She flittered around frantically for the Floo Powder. "Oh, where is it?" she cried.
Knocking newspapers over and chairs on their sides Hermione and Mrs. Snape groped for the Floo Powder. Severus and his father were in the foyer and Hermione slammed the doors to the sitting-room shut. That bought them time, though Hermione could hear the fight in the foyer.
Finally Mrs. Snape found the Floo Powder. Hermione thanked the stars. "You go first," she instructed Mrs. Snape. The door was being pried open.
"How can I ever thank you?" Mrs. Snape asked Hermione as she stepped into the fireplace. Hermione, distracted, only told her, "You can thank me by getting out of here now." Mrs. Snape nodded, tears glistening in her eyes. She said clearly, "St. Eustace's Shelter for Battered Witches!" and disappeared in a glorious green fire. Hermione felt triumphant, but it was dampened by the word "Alohamora!" Mr. Snape had gotten through. Hermione positioned her wand.
"Crucio!" Mr. Snape yelled, pointing his wand directly at her. Severus knocked him over before the curse could reach her.
Mr. Snape shook Severus off and turned his wand to him. "Crucio!" Hermione ran and jumped in front of Severus. A golden light was cast around them and the spell was deflected.
Sirius' ring had worked.
Severus and his father wore identical expressions of shock at the deflected spell. Severus was the first to gather his wits and yelled "Expelliarmus!"
Severus lifted Hermione up and shoved her toward the fireplace. "Go, I'll ward him off–"
He put the Floo Powder in her hands. "Go and take care of my mother, I'll be right there." "NO! Severus, I am not leaving you!" Hermione cried. "He's dangerous!"
"GO! Stop being stubborn for once in your life!" He yelled. She nodded. "Be careful."
Hermione said clearly, "St. Eustace's Shelter for Battered Witches." A split second before she disappeared she heard "Petrificus Totalus!" but did not know who was on the receiving end.
Hermione landed in front of Mrs. Snape, who was already being attended to by a volunteer. "Welcome to St. Eustace's," a woman said cheerily. "I am Callisto."
Hermione smiled at her but looked back into the fireplace worriedly. Her worries were relieved a minute later when a battered but safe Severus appeared.
"I'm all right."
Mrs. Snape was placed into a clean bed, her bruises beginning to heal from the care of the nurses. Severus had gone to fetch his mother tea.
Hermione sat at the foot of Mrs. Snape's bed. "I should have left after after Severus was born," Mrs. Snape said to Hermione, anxiously twisting her bedcovers. "I just thought if I left, we'd have no place to go. For years I believed that. I was a terrible mother."
"You were not," Hermione told her compassionately. "Mr. Snape was the terrible one. But it's over now."
Severus returned with the tea. Mrs. Snape took it and smiled at her son. She stirred her tea thoughtfully and looked at the pair of them.
"How long have you and Severus been together?" Mrs. Snape asked.
Severus coughed loudly and Hermione looked visibly afflicted.
"We're not together," Hermione told her carefully. "I'm in love with someone else."
There. She had said the words she had always meant to say to Sirius.
And she'd said it to the people who disliked hearing it the most.
Mrs. Snape nodded and said nothing.
And no one saw the pained look on Severus' face.
Hermione had gone off in search of extra blankets for Mrs. Snape.
"She is a wonderful girl, son," Mrs. Snape told her. "I know she says she loves another, but what she did for you tonight–that is no small act."
Severus nodded. "I know. She is amazing."
"Do you love her?" Mrs. Snape asked her son, watching closely.
He sighed deeply. "I think I do."
After Hermione and Severus had settled Mrs. Snape in, they headed back for Hogwarts. The ride was silent; both were thinking of their loves. Severus had never had anyone go to the lengths she had for him. She'd jumped in front of him, risking her life for him. And how had she deflected the spell?
They reached the Tower. It was dawn, but the clouds still lingered, growing thicker and thicker.
Hermione and Severus walked past the Great Hall. They'd shed the Cloak. Hermione carried it in her arms. They stopped in the hallway that would lead them on their separate paths.
"This has been some night," Hermione commented.
"It has been. My mother's free."
"She seems very nice," Hermione commented.
"Yes." Severus seemed afflicted; there was something else on his mind.
"The only thing is, how am I going to explain it to Sirius?" Hermione wondered out loud. "All those times I said I was at the library I was really with you. I lied to him over and over."
"I told you," Severus said, a bit impatiently, "He'll believe because he wants to. Listen, Hermione. I have never told anyone this.....but I want you to hear it.
"Tonight you went farther for me than anyone has. You lied to your boyfriend, you saved my life...you listened to me. Hermione, I haven't been able to talk to anyone like I have with you. You were the only one in this dratted school who knew art and loved it like I did. And you stood up for me against Sirius that day in Potions. I know you don't remember, but I do. That's when I knew you were special. I guess what I am trying to say...Hermione, I love you."
Hermione was so flabbergasted she could not speak. Before she could gather her wits, Severus gathered his courage and he kissed her.
Hermione was flabbergasted. All she could think of was that Severus was kissing her and how she did not like it. Finally she pushed him away. "Severus," she panted. "What did you just do?" "I kissed you," He said. "Because I love you." He'd said the words Hermione had longed to hear from Sirius.
"But–I'm with Sirius, Severus."
It did not sink in. "He is not good for you, Hermione. He doesn't know you like I do. He doesn't know art. He hexes people for the fun of it."
"Don't talk that way about him!" Hermione cried. "I love him!"
"Do you?" Severus asked coolly. "Is that why you lied to him over and over and even left him to go with me?"
He was right. She had done terrible things to Sirius. The things she had done did not equal love. She held his ring compulsively, the ring that had saved both her life and Severus' life.
"Hermione," Severus said, a bit more softly, "I can give you more than he can. If you'll let me."
There was a long silence.
"No, Severus," Hermione said finally. "I love Sirius so much that it hurts. I love him so much that I hate myself for lying to him."
The hurt look on Severus' face made Hermione hate herself even more than she already did at the moment. "Severus–I want to be your friend. Please. We've gone through so much together–"
Something in Severus' eyes closed off. For the first time he lost his stoic demeanor.
The vulnerability she had seen in his eyes before had closed off. And this time for good. He walked away.
"Severus!" Hermione cried. "Please! Please come back so we can work this out."
Her cries were unanswered. She stood in the hallway for a long time. The tears slowly poured. She'd lied to the man she loved and she'd hurt another man whom she came to cherish as a friend.
All in one night.
How did the saying go?
Oh, yes.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Hermione entered the common room exhausted both physically and mentally. She walked up to her dormitory to take off the wet and worn clothes. She slid into her nightgown and ran up to the boys' dormitory, eager to see Sirius.
Sirius' back was to her; his breathing was even. He was asleep. Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. When Hermione tapped him softly he woke up and looked at her.
"Hi, love," she whispered to him.
"Hey," Sirius said, rubbing his eyes. "Where were you?" he asked, watching her closely. "I went to the library," Hermione said, the lie slipping off her tongue. She didn't want to hurt him.
"Oh," Sirius nodded. "Was that before or after you lied to me and kissed Severus behind my back?"
Hehe, how many of you hate me for leaving it like this?!?