Hermione had just dismissed her final class for the day. Trying
desperately to ignore the sick feeling she still had after her encounter
with Korun the day before, she gathered her notes and the homework for the
day, walked to her office, and left it on her desk. She than made her way
up to Severus' office. She hadn't made an appearance at lunch, opting to
take her meal in her office while she looked over parchments to grade and
homework that she had to get done. She didn't end up eating much, and she
began to think that her missing meals may be the topic for tonight's
discussion.
Approaching the gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office, she said the password, and made her way up the stairs, knocking at the door.
"Enter."
"Good afternoon, Severus. You wished to speak with me?" She asked.
"Yes, Hermione. Please take a seat." Severus replied, calling for tea and biscuits. Once they had arrived and the two had taken seats at the fire, Severus began.
"How are your studies coming along?" He asked.
"They're going all right. Just spent yesterday and today catching up a bit. I know what you meant now when you said that it would be difficult." She replied, surprised at how calm she could be. But it was necessary to keep Robin safe. "Oh, and I just changed the password to my rooms last night. It's 'Golden Token'."
Severus nodded. "And your classes?"
"They're running smoothly. It seems that I'm having a bit of difficulty getting them to understand the basic time calculations in the fourth year class."
"Hermione. I need you to be honest with me. What's going on?" Severus said suddenly.
Hermione looked over at him, suddenly afraid. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Severus." She replied.
"You've skipped a number of meals in the Great Hall."
"I told you, I was catching up on my homework and revision." Hermione replied, slightly relieved.
"And does revision include burning your robes?" Severus spat out. Hermione looked up at him. 'How did he know that she had burnt her clothes? Did he know what else happened?' Suddenly, she was afraid of Robin's welfare again.
"What are you talking about?" She finally asked, voice shaking a bit.
"I asked one of the house elves last night if you were brought dinner, and they informed me of the burnt clothes in your fireplace. What are you hiding from me?" Severus said, turning to her.
Hermione decided to be honest about some part of the evening. "I was in the potions classroom a few hours before dinner helping Korun, and accidentally spilt some of the potion he was brewing on my clothes. He advised me that I should dispose of them since detergents would only cause more damage to the item as well as to the skin if I should wear them again."
"I spoke with Korun over dinner, and he said that he hadn't seen you since lunch time." Severus replied, a bit angry that she was lying to him.
Hermione's eyes widened, and Severus took that as a sign that she realized she'd been caught. "Hermione, I'm sorry to do this to you, but it seems that the added course is too much for you to handle. I am going to request that you drop the extra course and wait until the next term to resume." He than looked back up at her. "If you don't do it willingly, I will advise the Dean at Oxford to drop that course from your current curriculum and put on your record to limit the number you take at one time."
"You can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I assure you, Hermione, that I can. I'm worried about you. I'm only doing what's best for you." Severus said.
"Will you stop treating me like a child!" Hermione said, rising from her chair. "I don't care about what you think is best for me! I need this course."
"Why?"
"It's a good distraction." She replied honestly. "I enjoy studying, I enjoy learning, and I will not allow you to take that from me."
"What do you need a distraction from?" Severus asked. Hermione looked back up at him. She couldn't tell him what happened. How could she? He would either not believe her because of his acquaintance with Korun, which was likely since he believed him over her about when he'd last seen her, or he would start to watch her like a hawk again, giving her no privacy and driving her insane. She remained silent.
"Hermione. What do you need the distraction from?" Severus repeated himself. He was still met with silence.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. But I'm making a decision here. You cannot carry on with this course load, continue teaching, and maintain your health. I will not allow you to continue with the studies." Severus said, finally. It was once again followed by silence.
Eventually, she nodded. "Than I quit." Hermione finally replied, and walked out of the office before Severus could form a response.
~@~
It was just after dinner, and Hermione had once again not shown up at the Great Hall. Severus went to the door to Hermione's rooms. Instead of knocking, he said the password, passed through the portrait, and set locking and silencing charms on it after it closed. This was going to be far from pleasant.
He walked into the sitting room and did not see her there. Hearing some shuffling in the next room, he sat on one of the chairs in front of the fire, and waited for her to come out. He thought about what happened in the past year. She almost had him convinced that she was better after their fight during the past summer. But now, it was plainly obvious that even he had been fooled; lulled into a false sense of security.
"What do you want?" He heard Hermione snap from the door to the bedroom.
"I think that should be obvious, Miss Granger." Severus said with his best intimidating Potions master voice.
"Back to this 'Miss Granger' thing, are we? All right Professor." She said, placing the bag that she had just packed beside the door. "Not that it really matters anymore anyway." She turned to go back into the bedroom, but it was slammed shut before she could get there.
"You're not getting away that easily, Hermione." Severus said, wand in hand. "Sit down and talk about this."
"Talk, talk, talk. You know, I'm really getting sick of all this talking. What the hell is it doing besides annoying the hell out of me?" Hermoine said, spinning around to face him. "You've already made it clear that you don't like the workload that I decided to have. So I've solved the problem and gotten rid of most of my work."
"If you think for one minut-"
"No. It seems to me, dear friend," she spat, "I DON'T think! Which is probably why you're here, right? To tell me that I've made another stupid decision. That what I've proposed to do with my life is not what YOU think I should do. Well, I've just had a wake up call, Snape. It's telling me that I should live my life MY way! I don't care about what you think anymore."
"Hermione, will you think rationally?" Severus retorted. "If you go out there on your own, how are you going to finance your education? You have a steady job here. You're able to continue your education without worry about how you're going to feed yourself, clothe yourself, shelter yourself."
"Oh, of course. I forgot. The great Severus Snape is just so much more logical than little ole' me. After all, who would have thought that when leaving a job, one may need another." Hermione said with sarcasm. "For your information, I have found many places that I could work at near the campus. Don't worry about how I'll afford my education, because I found a way. Now will you please unlock my door so I can finish packing?" She walked to her door, and attempted to open it again. "Severus! Damnit! Unlock the fucking door!" She turned around to find that he'd moved from across the room to directly in front of her. He looked down at her, towering over her, and using his old teaching tactics to get what he wanted.
"If you think you're getting away from me without a good reason, you had better think again." Severus said. He was too close for her comfort, and she cringed back. She turned her head to look away from him, but he brought his hands up to her upper arms, gripping her tightly. "Hermione, look at me. I'm not letting you leave."
This was more than she could take. She began to shake. "Please let go of me." She whispered, now more fearful than angry.
"Tell me NOW!" He snapped. But her shaking increased, and he could see the distress in her eyes. Something had happened. He didn't know what, and it was obvious that she didn't want to tell him. But he wasn't going to let her go.
"Let me go." She forced herself to say. When he didn't make a move to do so, she became more panicked. "Please! Let me go!" She cried, beginning to struggle violently. He was way to close for comfort.
"Hermione. What happened?" Severus said, worry etched across every line in his face. "Tell me."
"NO!" She cried one final time, throwing his hands off her, hugging herself tightly as she ran to the doors to her room. Finding them locked securely, she turned to him. "Let me out!" She screamed. She ran over to the lit fireplace, and went to grab the floo powder. Just as she began to throw it in, she heard Severus yell, "Nox!"
"No! Please!" She said, grabbing her wand once again and pointing it into the hearth.
"Accio Wand." Severus called out. Her wand flew out of her hand. She turned to face him, and he saw the extreme fear in her eyes. She looked around the room, desperate for another means of escape, her head jerking around and she backed up, taking shaky steps. She began to hyperventilate, and her vision grew dizzy. Finally, her legs couldn't hold her up anymore, and she fell to the ground. Severus was at her side quickly, and reached out to help her up.
"Don't touch me!" She said, pushing herself with her remaining strength away from him. She continued to breath erratically.
"Hermione, just relax. Breath. Inhale, exhale." He said as calmly as he could. But she wouldn't or couldn't hear it. Her body grew more limp as her strength diminished, and she blacked out.
~@~
Hermione woke some time later. She noticed that she was tucked into her bed, and that she could feel traces of a rejuvenating potion coursing through her system. Someone had dressed her in her regular nightgown, and all lights but the one from the fire was out. She heard voices through the door to her sitting room.
"Thank you, Korun. I'll let you know as soon as any changes have been made. Let's hope that this will pass quickly." She heard Severus say.
"Of course. Is there anything else I could do to help?" She cringed as she heard Korun's voice.
"Well, I need to step out and grab one of my books. I don't want her to wake up alone. Would you be able to stay and keep an eye on her until she awakens?"
"Of course, Severus. No trouble at all."
"I shall return shortly."
She heard the sound of the entrance to her rooms opening and closing. Than the sounds of footsteps approaching her door. Hermione decided that it was best to feign sleep. If he decided to attack her, she had the element of surprise. And he seemed less likely to do anything if she wasn't conscious to experience it.
The door to her room opened, and the potions teacher walked in. She could see him through the slits in her eyes, and she dared not move. Standing by the doorway, he looked back at her. He looked like he was considering something. After a few minutes, he walked to her bedside, and grabbed for something on her bedside table. A few moments later, she had to use all the willpower she had not to flinch as something came into contact with her forehead. She could tell a cool cloth had been placed there, and Korun leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"You're a smart one, mudblood." He spoke. Did he know she was awake? She kept still. "But I promise you that it still stands. You tell anyone, and I will kill her." She still did not move. "Oh open your eyes. Your attempts to act unconscious are pathetic." Hermione still did not move. She felt something lightly touch her temple, and trace down her face while he continued to whisper in her ear.
"You know, I enjoyed you. And I wouldn't mind having you again." He whispered. His finger continued down her chin, her throat, to her collarbone. "What do you say? It could be fun if you let it." The door to the entrance of her rooms opened again, and Severus approached the door.
"Thank you for staying Korun." Severus said. "You'll find her lesson plans on your desk. I stopped by there to drop them off."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Korun said, looking back over to Hermione before leaving the rooms all together. Severus sat down with the book he brought with him. There were a few minutes of silence as he opened his book and began to read.
"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" He finally spoke up. Hermione opened her eyes slightly. She looked back at him, deep in thought.
"Bring me Robin, and I will." She replied.
A/N:
Again, thank you to all who reviewed (Lisa, Chani, Bitc-of-da-world, and tulipsaside).
Bitc-of-da-world: It's one of those threats that sometimes is taken seriously by a person who for one reason or another cannot think of the logic of the threat properly. Although by the time Korun finds out that Hermione told, it would be harder to carry out the threat, the attack may have clouded her judgment.
~@~Aras~@~
Approaching the gargoyle at the entrance to the Headmaster's office, she said the password, and made her way up the stairs, knocking at the door.
"Enter."
"Good afternoon, Severus. You wished to speak with me?" She asked.
"Yes, Hermione. Please take a seat." Severus replied, calling for tea and biscuits. Once they had arrived and the two had taken seats at the fire, Severus began.
"How are your studies coming along?" He asked.
"They're going all right. Just spent yesterday and today catching up a bit. I know what you meant now when you said that it would be difficult." She replied, surprised at how calm she could be. But it was necessary to keep Robin safe. "Oh, and I just changed the password to my rooms last night. It's 'Golden Token'."
Severus nodded. "And your classes?"
"They're running smoothly. It seems that I'm having a bit of difficulty getting them to understand the basic time calculations in the fourth year class."
"Hermione. I need you to be honest with me. What's going on?" Severus said suddenly.
Hermione looked over at him, suddenly afraid. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Severus." She replied.
"You've skipped a number of meals in the Great Hall."
"I told you, I was catching up on my homework and revision." Hermione replied, slightly relieved.
"And does revision include burning your robes?" Severus spat out. Hermione looked up at him. 'How did he know that she had burnt her clothes? Did he know what else happened?' Suddenly, she was afraid of Robin's welfare again.
"What are you talking about?" She finally asked, voice shaking a bit.
"I asked one of the house elves last night if you were brought dinner, and they informed me of the burnt clothes in your fireplace. What are you hiding from me?" Severus said, turning to her.
Hermione decided to be honest about some part of the evening. "I was in the potions classroom a few hours before dinner helping Korun, and accidentally spilt some of the potion he was brewing on my clothes. He advised me that I should dispose of them since detergents would only cause more damage to the item as well as to the skin if I should wear them again."
"I spoke with Korun over dinner, and he said that he hadn't seen you since lunch time." Severus replied, a bit angry that she was lying to him.
Hermione's eyes widened, and Severus took that as a sign that she realized she'd been caught. "Hermione, I'm sorry to do this to you, but it seems that the added course is too much for you to handle. I am going to request that you drop the extra course and wait until the next term to resume." He than looked back up at her. "If you don't do it willingly, I will advise the Dean at Oxford to drop that course from your current curriculum and put on your record to limit the number you take at one time."
"You can't do that!" Hermione exclaimed.
"I assure you, Hermione, that I can. I'm worried about you. I'm only doing what's best for you." Severus said.
"Will you stop treating me like a child!" Hermione said, rising from her chair. "I don't care about what you think is best for me! I need this course."
"Why?"
"It's a good distraction." She replied honestly. "I enjoy studying, I enjoy learning, and I will not allow you to take that from me."
"What do you need a distraction from?" Severus asked. Hermione looked back up at him. She couldn't tell him what happened. How could she? He would either not believe her because of his acquaintance with Korun, which was likely since he believed him over her about when he'd last seen her, or he would start to watch her like a hawk again, giving her no privacy and driving her insane. She remained silent.
"Hermione. What do you need the distraction from?" Severus repeated himself. He was still met with silence.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. But I'm making a decision here. You cannot carry on with this course load, continue teaching, and maintain your health. I will not allow you to continue with the studies." Severus said, finally. It was once again followed by silence.
Eventually, she nodded. "Than I quit." Hermione finally replied, and walked out of the office before Severus could form a response.
~@~
It was just after dinner, and Hermione had once again not shown up at the Great Hall. Severus went to the door to Hermione's rooms. Instead of knocking, he said the password, passed through the portrait, and set locking and silencing charms on it after it closed. This was going to be far from pleasant.
He walked into the sitting room and did not see her there. Hearing some shuffling in the next room, he sat on one of the chairs in front of the fire, and waited for her to come out. He thought about what happened in the past year. She almost had him convinced that she was better after their fight during the past summer. But now, it was plainly obvious that even he had been fooled; lulled into a false sense of security.
"What do you want?" He heard Hermione snap from the door to the bedroom.
"I think that should be obvious, Miss Granger." Severus said with his best intimidating Potions master voice.
"Back to this 'Miss Granger' thing, are we? All right Professor." She said, placing the bag that she had just packed beside the door. "Not that it really matters anymore anyway." She turned to go back into the bedroom, but it was slammed shut before she could get there.
"You're not getting away that easily, Hermione." Severus said, wand in hand. "Sit down and talk about this."
"Talk, talk, talk. You know, I'm really getting sick of all this talking. What the hell is it doing besides annoying the hell out of me?" Hermoine said, spinning around to face him. "You've already made it clear that you don't like the workload that I decided to have. So I've solved the problem and gotten rid of most of my work."
"If you think for one minut-"
"No. It seems to me, dear friend," she spat, "I DON'T think! Which is probably why you're here, right? To tell me that I've made another stupid decision. That what I've proposed to do with my life is not what YOU think I should do. Well, I've just had a wake up call, Snape. It's telling me that I should live my life MY way! I don't care about what you think anymore."
"Hermione, will you think rationally?" Severus retorted. "If you go out there on your own, how are you going to finance your education? You have a steady job here. You're able to continue your education without worry about how you're going to feed yourself, clothe yourself, shelter yourself."
"Oh, of course. I forgot. The great Severus Snape is just so much more logical than little ole' me. After all, who would have thought that when leaving a job, one may need another." Hermione said with sarcasm. "For your information, I have found many places that I could work at near the campus. Don't worry about how I'll afford my education, because I found a way. Now will you please unlock my door so I can finish packing?" She walked to her door, and attempted to open it again. "Severus! Damnit! Unlock the fucking door!" She turned around to find that he'd moved from across the room to directly in front of her. He looked down at her, towering over her, and using his old teaching tactics to get what he wanted.
"If you think you're getting away from me without a good reason, you had better think again." Severus said. He was too close for her comfort, and she cringed back. She turned her head to look away from him, but he brought his hands up to her upper arms, gripping her tightly. "Hermione, look at me. I'm not letting you leave."
This was more than she could take. She began to shake. "Please let go of me." She whispered, now more fearful than angry.
"Tell me NOW!" He snapped. But her shaking increased, and he could see the distress in her eyes. Something had happened. He didn't know what, and it was obvious that she didn't want to tell him. But he wasn't going to let her go.
"Let me go." She forced herself to say. When he didn't make a move to do so, she became more panicked. "Please! Let me go!" She cried, beginning to struggle violently. He was way to close for comfort.
"Hermione. What happened?" Severus said, worry etched across every line in his face. "Tell me."
"NO!" She cried one final time, throwing his hands off her, hugging herself tightly as she ran to the doors to her room. Finding them locked securely, she turned to him. "Let me out!" She screamed. She ran over to the lit fireplace, and went to grab the floo powder. Just as she began to throw it in, she heard Severus yell, "Nox!"
"No! Please!" She said, grabbing her wand once again and pointing it into the hearth.
"Accio Wand." Severus called out. Her wand flew out of her hand. She turned to face him, and he saw the extreme fear in her eyes. She looked around the room, desperate for another means of escape, her head jerking around and she backed up, taking shaky steps. She began to hyperventilate, and her vision grew dizzy. Finally, her legs couldn't hold her up anymore, and she fell to the ground. Severus was at her side quickly, and reached out to help her up.
"Don't touch me!" She said, pushing herself with her remaining strength away from him. She continued to breath erratically.
"Hermione, just relax. Breath. Inhale, exhale." He said as calmly as he could. But she wouldn't or couldn't hear it. Her body grew more limp as her strength diminished, and she blacked out.
~@~
Hermione woke some time later. She noticed that she was tucked into her bed, and that she could feel traces of a rejuvenating potion coursing through her system. Someone had dressed her in her regular nightgown, and all lights but the one from the fire was out. She heard voices through the door to her sitting room.
"Thank you, Korun. I'll let you know as soon as any changes have been made. Let's hope that this will pass quickly." She heard Severus say.
"Of course. Is there anything else I could do to help?" She cringed as she heard Korun's voice.
"Well, I need to step out and grab one of my books. I don't want her to wake up alone. Would you be able to stay and keep an eye on her until she awakens?"
"Of course, Severus. No trouble at all."
"I shall return shortly."
She heard the sound of the entrance to her rooms opening and closing. Than the sounds of footsteps approaching her door. Hermione decided that it was best to feign sleep. If he decided to attack her, she had the element of surprise. And he seemed less likely to do anything if she wasn't conscious to experience it.
The door to her room opened, and the potions teacher walked in. She could see him through the slits in her eyes, and she dared not move. Standing by the doorway, he looked back at her. He looked like he was considering something. After a few minutes, he walked to her bedside, and grabbed for something on her bedside table. A few moments later, she had to use all the willpower she had not to flinch as something came into contact with her forehead. She could tell a cool cloth had been placed there, and Korun leaned over to whisper in her ear.
"You're a smart one, mudblood." He spoke. Did he know she was awake? She kept still. "But I promise you that it still stands. You tell anyone, and I will kill her." She still did not move. "Oh open your eyes. Your attempts to act unconscious are pathetic." Hermione still did not move. She felt something lightly touch her temple, and trace down her face while he continued to whisper in her ear.
"You know, I enjoyed you. And I wouldn't mind having you again." He whispered. His finger continued down her chin, her throat, to her collarbone. "What do you say? It could be fun if you let it." The door to the entrance of her rooms opened again, and Severus approached the door.
"Thank you for staying Korun." Severus said. "You'll find her lesson plans on your desk. I stopped by there to drop them off."
"Thank you, Headmaster." Korun said, looking back over to Hermione before leaving the rooms all together. Severus sat down with the book he brought with him. There were a few minutes of silence as he opened his book and began to read.
"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" He finally spoke up. Hermione opened her eyes slightly. She looked back at him, deep in thought.
"Bring me Robin, and I will." She replied.
A/N:
Again, thank you to all who reviewed (Lisa, Chani, Bitc-of-da-world, and tulipsaside).
Bitc-of-da-world: It's one of those threats that sometimes is taken seriously by a person who for one reason or another cannot think of the logic of the threat properly. Although by the time Korun finds out that Hermione told, it would be harder to carry out the threat, the attack may have clouded her judgment.
~@~Aras~@~