Snape turned around and saw the fear in her posture, then looked between where he was standing and where she was holding tightly to the doorframe. Merlin's BEARD! We didn't even think about how she would get to her room! Severus scowled at her, wondering how he was going to get her to her door without her hurting herself again. She may have been released from the hospital wing, but the last few months had taken their toll on her, and she wasn't quite up to her normal self. Well, I can do it the fun way... "Miss Granger, if you please...?" and made a sweeping gesture inviting her in. When, predictably, she didn't move, just blanched and shook her head, Severus marched up to her and took her arm. "A Gryffindor afraid of the Potions classroom? How... predictable." He sneered down at her, his voice dripping venom as he saw the sparkle of anger light her eyes.
More gently than either would have previously imagined, Severus helped her down the steps, and escorted her to the head of the classroom, keeping a firm grip on her arm, and his body between Miss Granger and the desks. When they had reached the teacher's podium, Severus placed her hand on the pedestal, so she could hold on to that as he showed her the entrance.
Hermione just looked up at him, feeling very confused. His entire manner screamed that he held her in contempt, and yet she hadn't missed what he had done in placing himself between her and harm. She knew she could trust him with her life, as he was a member of the Order, but she hadn't thought she could trust him to help her like that. "Professor Snape, thank..." she was cut off with a glare that would have reduced Neville to tears before she could finish her statement.
"Miss Granger, if you will kindly pay attention?" He sounded just like he did in Potions, when someone was caught with their minds wandering. She looked over at him, trying to keep her emotions in check. "For now, you will access your chambers like this," and he lightly tapped the brick that was in the exact center of the wall three times, and spoke a password with a sneer, "fortitude!"
Hermione nodded. She'd ask Professor Dumbledore later how to change the password. She didn't want to spend anymore time dealing with Professor Snape. She was tired, she was still sore, despite the healing that she had gotten, and was tired beyond belief. She just wanted to rest. As the door to her chambers opened, once again, Professor Snape was standing next to her, holding her firmly so she wouldn't fall, as they entered her new chambers. As soon as Hermione was freed of the grip of the older man, she made a beeline for the bed, and lay down, ignoring him as she fell immediately asleep.
Severus had started to tell her all about the room's charms and wards, but quickly became quiet when he saw her fall asleep. Even though his face did not show it, he regarded the young woman with a bit of admiration. She certainly wasn't taking this laying down, her present position not included. She was standing up for herself, and the Hermione of old wouldn't even have thought of disregarding a speaking professor. He very quietly walked over to her bed, and took off the girl's shoes before pulling up the blanket folded at the foot of the bed. With a look that would have been unreadable had anyone else been in the room, he turned and left the girls quarters.
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"Shhh... " Dumbledore cautioned. Severus just answered him with a glare. The two were in Hermione's room, modifying how Hermione would get to her rooms. A rather innocuous looking charm bracelet that held one rather odd charm of a tiny silver Victorian side-chair. Dumbledore had just finished enchanting it so that if she grasped the chair between her thumb and forefinger, and spoke the activation word, a magical chair would appear, one that would float her safely to her room at anytime. It was a rather ingenious idea, and Dumbledore thought that Flitwick had outdone himself on that one. The only negative side about it was that it was rather obvious, but it would allow Hermione to get to her rooms from anywhere in the castle with a minimum of danger. Albus just had to finalize the incantation, by keying it to Hermione, which is how he and the reluctant Potions Master found themselves in the room with the sleeping girl.
Dumbledore looked at the bed to see if their problem child was awake. She was not, but strangely, though she had collapsed on the bed according to Severus, her shoes were placed neatly by the dresser, and a small blanket was pulled over her. There was only one person who could have done that, and for him to omit it from his report, that troubled the Headmaster. Miss Granger had obviously affected his Potions Master in some way. The situation would bear watching, for though Severus presented a tough exterior, he was... innocent in the ways of the heart. As Severus protected Hermione earlier, Dumbledore would make sure that he protected Severus.
Albus placed the bracelet, along with a parchment explaining its use on her desk, and gestured to the scowling man. They both left the room feeling rather pensive.
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Hermione found herself running down a corridor. And not just any corridor, this one was lined with shadowed figures, pointing their wands and mumbling strange sounds at her. Hermione knew she had to get away, she knew they were going to hurt her, so she ran. But the more she ran, the longer the corridor became, until it stretched out before her, with no end in sight. Screaming, she tried to run even faster, to escape the menace, but it didn't work.
"MISS GRANGER!" Severus barked loudly, hoping that it would be enough to wake her. Oh why hadn't they thought to give her some Dreamless Sleep Potion. They were letting her down with alarming frequency today. Unfortunately the girl did not awaken, she just let out another scream of fear. Severus leaned over and shook her, barking her name again.
Hermione sat straight up in bed, eyes wide with fright, sweat pasting her hair to her head in an odd pattern, and smacked her forehead into the nose of Severus Snape, who groaned loudly at the painful contact. "What? Who?" Hermione raised her hand to her head, and rubbed it a bit, wondering what was going on. She had been having a nightmare, that much she remembered. She looked over and saw Professor Snape holding his nose, and cringed. "I'm sorry, sir! I didn't know you were there, I didn't see you!" She apologized quickly.
"Obviously, Miss Granger." Severus rolled his eyes and took his hand from his face. There was no blood, so it was doubtful it was broken. It would just be sore for a day or two most likely. "5 points from Gryffindor for stating the obvious, Miss Granger." He turned away, and called over his shoulder sure she would be scowling at him. "And if you are quite recovered from your nap?"
"Yes, Professor." Gingerly she sat up, tried to swing her legs over the side, but they wouldn't go. There was something blocking them, something she couldn't see. "Um... Professor? I can't get out of bed." She spoke quietly, not wanting to anger him further.
Severus couldn't hold in a snort at her statement. He'd forgotten the charm around her bed. "Well, Miss Granger, you can either stay there, or possibly ask for a password, since obviously someone's put a charm around the bed to keep you from falling out." He smirked at her. "Are you sure that you haven't rattled what little brains you posses?" He just loved saying things like that to her, as he amusedly watched her face color with anger, before deliberately calming herself.
"Professor Snape, may I have the password to release me from the Dolus charm?" Her voice was sweetly innocent, but her eyes shot daggers at the man smirking before her.
Oh good girl! She wasn't letting him walk all over her. This was going to be quite amusing. He could spend his time in the Great Hall baiting Minerva, and then evenings fencing with the girl. This would definitely make up for the time he would be spending making all those potions. "The password, Miss Granger, is 'swish'. Do try to remember it, as you will not be able to change it." He could hear her muttering underneath her breath, but chose to ignore it, this time.
"Swish." Hermione repeated the password, then tried to get out of bed again. This time it worked, but once again, she over balanced when standing, and went crashing forward. She tensed up, waiting for the impact of her head on the dresser, but amazingly she fell to the floor. It had felt like her head had met a smooth surface inches before the corner of the dresser, and had just slid off. And the floor wasn't the stone she was used to falling on, it felt almost like.. foam?
Gingerly and with great care, she got to her feet to stand before Professor Snape, daring him to say anything. She was surprised to see no sneer, no smirk, just a rather bland expression on his face. "Miss Granger, as you can see, not all in this room is as it appears. We've done our best to make this safe for you, until we have found the perpetrator." He kept his voice as bland as his expression.
Hermione's jaw dropped, and she looked not unlike her friend Ron had earlier. Snape... Severus Snape was not being mean to her. He wasn't nice, but he wasn't mean either. "Thank you, Professor." She looked around the room to really see it for the first time. It looked like a standard Hogwarts dorm room, even though it had only one bed. "Professor Snape, may I ask a few questions?"
He could see it in her eyes, she wanted to quiz him about the rooms, and quite frankly, his day had been exhausting. He wasn't up to it. "No, you may not. I will inform the Headmaster you are awake, as he requested a meeting with you as soon as you were awake. No doubt he will just adore answering any questions you may have." With that flat statement, Severus turned and swept out of the room in his normal overdramatic fashion.
As he left the room, Hermione couldn't help herself and she stuck her tongue out at the now closed door. Then she smiled and relaxed for the first time in months. She felt safe here. It was a nice change. But now, to finish waking herself... she drew her wand and cast a freshening spell on herself. It wasn't quite up to her usual standards, but it did enough that she felt a bit better about things. Looking down at the floor, she noticed for the first time that she was in her stocking feet. She didn't remember taking her shoes off, but she must have. And they were placed in front of the dresser as she normally did. Shrugging, she slipped them back on, before noticing the golden bracelet sitting on the desk. She read the peace of parchment it was placed on and couldn't help but giggle at the activation word, UFO. Smiling, she placed the bracelet on her wrist, feeling more at peace than she had in days. She pulled her Advanced Runes book out of her backpack, and settled in to catch up on her reading while waiting for the headmaster.
She didn't have to wait long, however, just long enough for her to get warmed up to her subject, and be reluctant to put the book down when her fireplace turned green, and a head appeared. Hermione was surprised that her fireplace was hooked up to the internal Floo network, though she supposed it made sense.
"Miss Granger, if you have a moment?" The Headmaster politely inquired.
"Of course, sir!" Hermione almost rolled her eyes at that. As if he didn't know she was waiting for him. Hermione was impressed as Albus stepped out of the fireplace, no soot, his beard still impeccably groomed. She wished she knew how to do that, she always fell out of a floo fireplace, even before her current troubles. She'd hate to try it now.
"Settling in?" He inquired as he took a seat across from her, settling himself in like they were two friends having an afternoon chat.
"Yes, sir." Hermione smiled at the Headmaster. He always cheered her up. Everything in his manner was safe and comforting, which was why she couldn't let him into her head. She didn't want him seeing some of her more... base moments.
"Splendid! I assume Professor Snape has briefed you on the differences about this room?"
Hermione snorted. "No, sir, he didn't. He stated you would do so." She wondered why Snape would tell her that the Headmaster would answer her questions, when he was obviously instructed to do so.
Albus nodded, a sad smile marring his face for a moment, before he launched into a list of the charms and protections on the rooms. At the end, he sat back, and looked at her expectantly. "I'm going assume you have some questions, my dear?"
Hermione grinned widely. "Of course!" She took a moment to gather her thoughts before starting her litany of questions. "How do I change the password? How do I leave?" She asked earnestly, then rushed on before he could answer, "Am I allowed visitors? If so, what kind of restrictions will I have? What happens if I need to come back to my rooms during a time when the Professor is teaching a class? How is my floo regulated? What fireplaces am I connected to? Do I need any special training on using the chair?" She paused to take a breath and Albus held up a hand.
"My dear, lets go down this list one by one... " He interrupted quickly. To change the password, tap the brick six times, then say the new password. Then another three taps, say the new password, and you will be granted entrance. I would suggest changing it after you have had any visitors. To leave, just open the door, it will open up on the hallway outside the potions classroom." He paused and gave her a stern look before continuing. Of course, to anyone knowing Professor Snape, it was rather tame, but it got the message across. "You can have as many visitors as you want during regular hours. However, all visitors must be back in their respective dormitories by curfew. And regardless of curfew, there will be no male guests after 8pm, do I make myself clear?" Hermione nodded silently. "On weekends, you may have the occasional female visitor stay beyond curfew, but they must be escorted back to their dormitory by a staff member, so it would be wise to limit the lateness of such visits." Albus stroked his beard absently as he about her next few questions. "As for returning to your rooms during classes, I'll have Professor Snape give you a schedule, and please try to avoid having to do so. However, your safety comes first, and should you need access, I'm sure the Professor will understand."
Hermione smirked at that statement. Professor Snape being understanding, that would be the day! "And my floo?" She prompted.
"For safety reasons, your floo access is one way only for you. Certain staff members, have incoming access, but only from my office. They are myself, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey. Those four staff members also have access to your chambers via the potions classroom with their own override password. We will try to announce our visitations, but there may come a time when urgency won't let us stand on politeness. You, however, can floo out to your classrooms, to my office, and to the Great Hall. That should allow you to safely arrive anywhere you need to be."
"Um, Headmaster, I'm not so sure that is safe. My landings have never been... " Hermione tried to think of the least embarrassing way to explain, "less than graceful." She blushed as she admitted this.
"Miss Granger, for going to your classes, the Professors have been made aware of your situation, so they will be waiting to, 'catch' you, as you will. As far as the Great Hall is concerned, I'm sure if you arranged a time, you would have no end of volunteers from your classmates to help you."
Hermione nodded, humiliation burning her cheeks. To think she had been reduced to this. She couldn't help herself, her eyes became wet, as she tried to hide the unshed tears.
"There, there, my dear, it won't be that bad. And I'm sure we'll get all this fixed in no time." Dumbledore patted her hand soothingly. "And as for the chair, it also has been treated with the Dolus charm. The password this time is 'flick'" The Headmaster smiled at her as she wiped her eyes and tried to stifle a small chuckle. "The chair only knows the one destination though, so only use it when you need to get back to your rooms." Hermione nodded, feeling better.
"And now, my dear, it is time for dinner, if you will allow me to escort you?" He rose and held out his hand to the young woman in front of him. Hermione took his hand, and they entered the floo together, both with a sense of hope for the immediate future.
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A/N: Sorry its been a couple of days, this chapter had me flummoxed for a bit. Thanks to my wonderful Mika for the idea of the chair.
And for clarification, Hermione went into the Hospital wing on a Saturday, and this ends Sunday. The pace will be picking up shortly, I just wanted to get the setup done *right*.
