Artemis Moonclaw: I'd never thought someone would think me funny. I don't make many jokes… at least intentionally, but thank you!
Natsuyori: I know my writing is below par; you don't have to lie to appease me, good reviewer.
June: They do not know what happened to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th years, but all sixth and seventh years were left to guide the castle on Hogsmeade weekends. They only hope that the other years got away, because they cannot return to England.
Mugglemomof3: Thank you… and I don't watch tv much either… I see very little angel but once upon a time I wrote Btvs, so I decided to throw in a bit of the old.
Celi: Thanks, I'm glad you approve
Intelligent Witch: Sorry about the cliffy, but could you have helped it if you were in my position?
Verity Brown: Same question as I posed for Intelligent Witch
Thank you guys so much. I am having a lot of problems lately, mostly involving my military applications. I have a disqualifying aspect of my health. I am begging you… if any of you know anything or knows someone who knows anything about these matters, please tell me! I can probably get a scholarship without the military since I'm on honor role, but I've wanted to join the military so long. PLEASE! Someone can help me can't you?
Hermione took a deep breath, "Well Severus, I never thought I'd hear you ask me that."
"Someone had to," Snape replied, easily.
"No, they didn't. I am fine without a sharing time," Hermione said, defensively.
"What I meant was at some point someone had to do something. You refuse to rest and I haven't seen you eat anything, thus far," Snape said.
"If I sleep, they'll follow me," Hermione said.
"You have dreamless sleep draft," Snape pointed out.
"It doesn't matter," Hermione said. "I don't even know where Ron is," Hermione whispered, her voice wavering unsteadily.
"Does it matter? He is gone, Hermione. You can't change that. He's not in the body that is left of him," Snape said, quietly.
"It does matter, to me at least. I'm his best friend. I should be able to put his body in the ground, but I can't because the death eaters have him, and I can't do anything to stop them from disrupting his memory. For all I know they could have his head on a pike. Voldemort said that's what he would have done to Dumbledore if I hadn't got him out of there," Hermione bit her lip hard to keep from crying.
"You spoke with him?" Snape asked, looking extremely upset at the mention of his own passed friend.
"Briefly, I held up a barrier while Parvati and Seamus got you and the students out of there," Hermione said. "We had a pleasant little chat." There was thick sarcasm in Hermione's voice as she said it.
"What did he say?" Snape asked.
"There's no way to escape and if you do somehow find away, I'll give you the credit you need and feel that there is some threat out there," Hermione said. "I told him that I couldn't hurt him but we still had someone who could. He told me that it was intriguing, but not frightening. I told him how we became partners, and he thought it was odd, because you were probably our best fighter, with the headmaster giving his powers to Harry," Hermione said.
"It sounds like you had a pleasant conversation," Snape said.
"I just hope that he killed Kingsley," Hermione said. Snape looked at her in shock. "I don't want him to suffer any more," Hermione explained. "He's probably been through enough."
"He probably gave it up easily. He's not the most loyal person in the order," Snape muttered.
"Do you have any compassion?" Hermione asked.
"I have enough," Snape sighed, looking away from Hermione's searching gaze.
"You miss the Headmaster?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, in a way. His manipulating ways, and habit of ignoring me when he made his decisions are hard to miss, but he always knew how to take control and everyone obeyed instantly. It was quite admirable," Snape whispered.
"That's kind of what I miss about Harry," Hermione smiled, as tears slowly began to slide down her face. "He always took charge and was objective about his decisions." Snape couldn't hold back a snort. Hermione chuckled softly through her tears. "I know you didn't like him much, but he always did what he thought was right. He may not have thought everything through, but we all make mistakes and Harry wasn't exempt. Dumbledore's army being a partial mistake," Hermione added.
"That name clever. It was your idea, I'll wager," he gave her a genuine smile that took her by surprise. "Fudge's greatest fear was always Dumbledore gaining his own force against him."
"It was more of a group idea," Hermione said.
"Harry always said that he shouldn't lead it that the only reason he lived after facing Voldemort was that he was extremely lucky. I guess his luck ran out."
"In the end everyone's luck runs out, Healer Granger. In the end, we all die. I know that I was supposed to die in that battle, not Albus, but I guess I got on the good side of lady luck," Severus said, sourly.
"Severus, I don't know what I would have done if you had died in that battle," Hermione said, sincerely, looking at him, sadly.
Severus was surprised, he had already passed off the thoughts of Hermione having feelings for him, thinking that the others must have just been mistaken, but maybe that wasn't completely true.
"Why?" Snape asked, slowly.
"I may not always like you and hell I may at most times think you're a mean, cold-feeling prat, but I do respect you sir, and I know, after all those hours strategizing with you and Professor McGonagall, that you're much more than you seem at first," Hermione said, sliding to the ground by his feet and placing her hand on his, where it rested on the arm of the chair.
"You know nothing about me Healer Granger," Snape snatched his hand away. "Get off the ground," he ordered.
"No," Hermione replied, softly, just getting comfortable there.
"Please, get off the ground," he begged softly.
"I don't want to," Hermione said, settling herself there. She leaned against the side table, her legs drawn up beneath her.
"You are acting like a child. Get up," he said, his voice taking on a painful note.
"You're only as childish as you see yourself and I do not feel the least like a young, naïve Gryffindor first year," Hermione said, looking up at him, her soft brown eyes glittering with tears. There were tracks down her face that indicated that she was still crying, silently.
"Healer Granger, this is undignified as I'm sure you know," Snape snapped at her.
"To hell with dignity!" she shouted at him. She turned away from him, still leaning against the table, with her other side against the table. She placed her hand to her face trying to brush some of the tears away, but it was a worthless attempt as they just kept flowing. Her shoulders shook softly.
Hermione nearly jumped when she felt an arm wrap around her waist, slowly, uncertainly.
Snape sighed and drew up all the courage he could. He slipped from the chair and to the floor. He sat with his back to the table, turned slightly towards her, and carefully moved his arm to encircle her mid-section. His arm rested on the opposite side from where his arm snaked around her, resting softly against her hip.
Hermione leaned back against his chest. She could feel his strength even through the thick robes, frock coat and sweater-shirt. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back against his shoulder; her head nestled between his shoulder and neck. She lay there for a long time and soon her tears had subsided and she just lay there, in his strong embrace, her eyes closed
"What do we do now?" Hermione asked in a whisper. Snape tensed and Hermione laughed. "I meant with our war," Hermione told him. She smiled slightly as she felt him relax considerably; his grip around her waist became slightly tighter
"I suppose we have to contact the Irish and American ministries. Most American and Celtic witches and wizards are muggle-borns and would no doubt support our cause," Snape supplied.
"I heard that Wes has already tried asking the Watcher's Council for help, but no such luck. They support the separation completely between muggles and wizards," Hermione said.
"I could have told you they would respond unkindly to any attempt at enlisting their assistance," Snape said.
"I believe you just did," Hermione said, softly.
"Indeed," Snape sighed. He picked up a piece of her long, slightly wavy brown hair absentmindedly. "When did your hair tame out by the way?" he asked.
"Just before I became a full-fledged member of the order," Hermione replied, meaning the summer after her sixth year.
"Yes, now I remember. I had wondered why it didn't get in the way while we were writing out the escape routes from the castle," Snape said. Hermione giggled, softly for a few seconds. When she silenced a not uncomfortable silence fell over them.
"Severus, I'm scared," she whispered.
"I would consider you an imbecile if you were not," Snape replied, softly. Hermione shivered as she felt his warm breath across her forehead.
"I mean I'm not only scared of fighting the dark lord. I scared of this place; I'm afraid of Angel… and Oz," she admitted, quietly.
"Angel will never grab you like that again and if he does I will personally stake him. Also, if you're not afraid of Remus, why would you be afraid of this new werewolf, Oz? Remus has attacked you before, while Oz has not," Snape pointed out.
"I know Remus can be controlled, but Oz's species are untamable and they are a werewolf three days of the month, not only one," Hermione replied, still shivering slightly.
"If it comes to the worst and Oz in werewolf form attacks you and gets through me, you could always push Black in front of you. If the werewolf has food, it will finish before getting more," Snape's lips curled up in a smirk. Hermione hit his chest softly, reprimanding him. "I love Sirius. I would never do that. After my parents…" Hermione fell quiet for a moment. "After they died, he took me in and watched over me, like a fun uncle and Mrs. Weasley…" Hermione's voice cracked, tears welling in her eyes.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't save her," Snape murmured, putting is other arm around her and turning to pull her completely into his embrace. She pressed her forehead to her chest, gripping the fabric of the front of his robes, weakly. She found that she had no tears, so she let herself be comforted by the hesitant embrace of the Potions Master.
"There are so many that I could have saved, Severus. I can see almost every one of them as they fell," Hermione muttered. "I remember how we kept only going to the ones still moving. What if one of the ones that weren't moving were still alive? We could have helped them. I don't even remember when Ron fell. I don't remember seeing him on the ground either." Hermione began to tremble, as memories of her friend invaded her thoughts. "He was always so happy, so optimistic. The thought of losing had never entered his mind when we fought the final battle."
"It was not the final battle. We will win, Hermione. We will win for your friends; we will win to help all muggle-borns; we will win because we are fighting for what is right and we know this," Snape whispered against her hair.
"Thank you," Hermione said, looking up into his black eyes with her own coffee-colored orbs.
"You need to get some rest," Snape told her. He helped her to her feet as he stood and pulled back the covers of the bed. He helped her get settled on the bed and pulled the covers back over her. "Here," he handed her a potion that he conjured into his hand out of nothing. She took it and drank it without question and seconds later she had fallen into a blissfully dreamless sleep.
"I told you," a voice called from down the hall. Snape scowled, and stalked to the door. He looked back at her, nestled deeply into the blankets of the grey-covered bed. He shook his head and pulled out his wand. Restraining himself from making the grey room green-themed, he forced himself to make the room colored with Gryffindor colors. A deep red carpet and two red, two gold walls, with a deep red comforter that had gold trim was what the finished result was.
"I'm impressed. You actually know what Hermione's favorite color is?" a smiling voice asked behind him. "Well, actually, her favorite color is dark blue, but all the same."
"Shut up Remus," Snape growled, closing the door. He waved his wand at the door and it locked itself from the inside. Her name etched into the door, with silver letters.
"Healer Hermione Jane Granger," Remus frowned.
"How deep in her files did you go to know that her middle name is Jane?" Remus asked.
"I know every order members middle name, Remus. It's part of being a secret-keeper for all the passwords to their minds."
"So you're the one Albus said he hired to guard our minds before he died," Remus said, ponderingly.
"Can't you ever just keep your mouth shut werewolf?" Snape questioned.
"Not when I'm right, and I am. You held her in your arms didn't you? I can smell her on you," Remus grinned lopsidedly.
"Is this what you do to deal with your grief Remus? Do you just pester other people?" Snape asked.
"Something like that," Remus said darker than his normal tone.
"Indeed, something," Snape muttered, stalking past the man to his own room, slamming the door behind him.
There you go, review and tell me if you like it!